Recovering from Birth Control Pill Side Effects

Hi, I would say- always follow your instincts if you are not happy about this don't take it, there are other options open to you.

No.

I have been on Yasmin for years. I am 22 and also healthy. I expressed these concerns to my doctor, and he essentially said that if you were to experience any of the negative side effects of this pill, it would have already happened. The people who have these issues with the pills have just started taking them and have a bad reaction, usually not someone who has been on them for years.

In many parts of Asia, Lemon Juice is used on a ball of cotton wool.. And then inserted. This imobilises the sperm and kills any STDs.

I'm not a fan of taking birth control pills either. About three years ago I started using a little computerized device that takes your temperature, stores the information over a period of months, and uses this information to determine if you are fertile or not. If you do an internet search on "natural methods" you should find websites that sell these devices. It has worked for me for three years and I don't have to deal with BC side effects. Hopefully this is helpful.

I have never herd of that before is it hard to manage? Is it risky? I will have to check it out. If you have any advice on it please let me know, but thank you so much for the reply! Hope I'll find the perfect solution soon.

There is a great book called 'The Billings Method' that's about natural birth control. It came out in about 1980 and is written by Drs John and Evelyn Billings. Using the Billings Method you learn your own individual cycle and can plan to prevent pregnancy or to try for one. Every teenage girl should learn about her own cycle and this method teaches this. There are now Billings Centers around the world helping women. There is a lot of info on the net if you search for it. I believe this is the official site:

www.billingslife.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=249&Itemid=119%u2329=en

Although Dr John Billings has now passed away he and his wife Dr Evelyn Billings legacy lives on. This method has been scientifically proven but Drs still give the pill to girls and young women to supposedly help their cycle, even though most never do blood tests first to see which should be prescribed.

There is also a small gadget called 'Maybe Baby' it is the size of a lipstick and is a small microscope. You wake up in the morning and first thing you do is put a smear of spit on the lens and leave to dry for a couple of minutes. You then look at it and it will show up as fern leaves if you are about to or are ovulating. I bought mine at the chemist but a search online will give you more info. It has been known for a few decades that womens saliva put under the microscope could show when they are ovulating, so now you can get what is really just a mini microscope the size of a lipstick. This really does work so you can either avoid sex during your fertile time or use a condom. If trying to get pregnant then you know your ovulating time.

That's all and good. However, sperm can live in your body for 2 days. So even if you are not ovulating today, have sex, ovulate tomorrow, or the next day... Guess what?

If you can learn the Billings Method, and I will say it can take a while for those with irregular cycles, you can tell when you are about to ovulate not just as you are ovulating. You are able to tell via your mucous. It has been proved to be as effective as the birth control drugs. I personally found using the Maybe Baby microscope was very easy as it shows a different pattern before you ovulate. Yes it does mean either abstinence or a condom for aprox five days of your cycle. The Billings method is easier to learn when you are not sexually active, as having sex the night before alters the mucous first thing in the morning.

First I would like to say that I LOVE this site!!! I noticed there were very few comments in the birth control section so I would like to add my experience in hopes of helping women who are sick of putting dangerous things into their bodies.

When I was young (and naive) I went onto the ortho evra patch because I became sexually active. I noticed no promblems in my body from it but both of my sisters became angry and violent and had to stay away from it. I was using the patch for almost 9 years until they discontinued it because of all the sicknesses and deaths that were connected to it. I switched to the ortho pill about 9 months ago. Since then, I have gained 20lbs. I am getting horrible acne that I can't seem to control no matter how well I eat (with lots of probiotics) and no matter what natural remedy I use ( acv, coconut oil, etc. internally and externally).

I used to get about one or two pimples once a month but now I have at least ten at one time. I wake up with two to three new pimples every morning.

Before starting the pill, I received bladder infections regularly with three that turned into kidney infections with the help of antibiotics. I had learned to control and heal them with lemon water and was free of any uti for a year. When I started taking the pill, NOTHING could stop them! I've tried everything including acv, cranberry pills, lemon water, uva ursi ect. along with an alkaline diet and no sugar, carbs, or dairy.

I have decided to stop taking the bc pill as of yesterday and today was the first day I woke up with NO new pimples. I will be trying a natural method to prevent babies. I strongly suggest than every woman look into the BILLINGS METHOD! It's time to tune into our bodies instead of relying on dangerous methods that have harmed more women than we know. Let's be aware of our fertility instead of running from it! I hope this will help someone!

Your friend, Noelle

it sounds like you just need a hormonal balance. try taking maca. I would suggest 2 caps every morning. your periods will get less painful and your cycle more on time. you must be careful when you are balanced you are also more likely to get pregnant. if you stay with this maca for 3 months your body should normalize. by the way you should stop the maca when you are bleeding. go right back on when the bleeding stops.

Hi peas4everyone. I'm bobbi, I'm aware your post is old, so have no idea if you will revisit this site. I took the contraceptive pill for several years for a long term acne problem. It gave me lower and upper abdominal pain, amongst other things. I have an inflammation problem now throughout my entire body. I think your abdominal pain is being caused by inflammation also, you do not mention any other problems but I have many. Has anyone else had this adverse reaction and have any remedy suggestions?

Hi Bobbi from UK, I also have an inflammation problem thought my body with tendon and joint pain, especially when exercising. I have not found anything to remedy it, and have only been off the pill for two weeks. Have you heard if this goes away or is a long term side effect?

I've been on birth control pills for 8 years with no problems. I have been on the lowest-dose birth control because I thought it would be better for my body (less hormone = less drug, right?). A couple of years ago, I started noticing low libido. When I was interested in sex, it was painful. Very painful. Most times, my husband and I had difficulty with insertion. I felt dry all the time. When I spoke to my GP about the issue, I was asked about relationship problems/psychological issues, etc. My husband and I have a great and loving relationship. I have no known psychological issues (depression, anxiety, etc.). With neither relationship nor psychological issues, I couldn't figure out the problem. I decided to go to a naturopath in search of another opinion. She sat down and talked to me for well over an hour. She found that because of my lifestyle (very high-activity), I was probably converting a lot of estrogen into testosterone to suit the needs of my muscles/activity-level. She said I essentially had two options:

1.) Go on a higher-dosed birth control to have more estrogen in my body.
2.) Get off the birth control completely and allow my body to do what it's supposed to do.

I decided to get off birth control completely. I had an IUD inserted. I got the IUD made with copper only (no hormones). I could not be happier. Yes, my periods are heavier and more painful, but not too bad. A few days after the IUD insertion (days because I was crampy for a few days after insertion), I had a sex drive again. Sex was easy too. I was well lubricated (naturally). I feel more in-tune with my body and its natural cycles. I have felt great overall ever since! My husband even says my skin has a "glow" to it now. It has truly been life-changing. I highly recommend to anyone having sexual issue on birth control pills to reconsider staying on them. The route I chose (IUD) may not be for everyone, but a life-changer for me! I sincerely hope this helps someone else out there!

Dear Mary:

Hormones are generally removed from the body slowly. However, its likely that the body becomes toxic after long term use. Hence the best ways to remove the hormones and it's toxic by products is for me to drink water with hydrogen peroxide, food grade. My favorite concentration is one capful of 3% H2O2 per one liter of drinking water. As to the bone thinning problem, I have found both magnesium supplements, (usually magnesium chloride and perhaps magnesium citrate) with 10,000 i.u or 20,000 i.u. of vitamin D2 or D3, taken for about a month may help some of that problem and whether to continue or not often depends on how well the back pain and it's related problems improves.

Ted

I have had many problems with birth control - weight gain, spotting etc. I work out regularly, eat right etc. etc. The worst of my problems has been hair thinning/loss. My weight has resumed to normal, although it took a long time to do so. I have been off BC for 7 months. I wanted to have some time for my body to return to normal before beginning any treatments. I've just started taking ACV. I drink it and I rinse my hair in it. The hair growth has not been noticeable yet, but it definitely has some life and volume back. I hope to have a full recovery, get my hormones rebalanceded as I'm now peri-menopausal. I'm so glad to have found this site - as it gives me hope of finding a natural solution!

I drink decaffeinated tea, 1 tbs of ACV, add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, VitC and a squirt of honey.

Good luck, things should return to normal, it just takes time.

I have been on the pill for almost 9 years now and I would like to get off it. Much of the reason I have been on it is to control my acne. I am worried about breaking out when I get off the pill so I would like to start re-balancing my hormones - possibly taking supplements like Dong Quai and Evening Primrose. I don't know too much about this, and would appreciate any advice on how to re-balance my hormones when getting off the pill. Thanks!

Hi Angela,

I've been plagued most of my life with acne, and I'm almost 50 and finally free from it. I gave up Gluten 3 years ago and it was amazing it went away. So give it a try it might help.

To the person with Siatica. There is a book about Ortho-Bionomy that may help you. It tells you different positions to put your body in and basically do your own body work. If you go on Amazon you can get it there. It has a lot of info for Siatica. It has helped me with shoulder and wrist pain from repititive stress. It has probably saved me from surgery for carpel tunnel.

It doesn't work all the time, I have my friend who used this method and got pregnant 2 times.

Hi DJ,

Are you anywhere near the age for menopause? There are women who experience menopause in their thirties, as well.

Also, after 22 years on artificial hormones, it's possible your body grew dependent on them and decreased the production of certain hormones. In a way, you are probably going through withdrawl. Any change in hormone level will result in unpleasant symptoms. You may want to avoind using hormone cream, and give your body time to rebalance. I would give your body at least a month of cleansing before worrying.

aarogers1,

This is a known side effect of Plan B :

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/plan-b-one-step-side-effects.html

Here is a very important quote from the literature :

>>> '

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking levonorgestrel:

More common

• Heavy or light menstrual bleeding

Incidence not known

• Absent missed or irregular menstrual periods
• cramps
• irregular menstruation
• pain
• pain in the pelvis
• stopping of menstrual bleeding

Art

Here's what I would try if it were me:

1. Cayenne pepper (get the powder) is a powerful herb that is known for stopping bleeding. Take a teaspoon any way you can get it down. Mix in water, lemonade, tea. Yes it's spicy but you can drink it quickly. Otherwise look for capsules.

2. An herbal tincture / extract known for stopping hemorrhage after giving birth. Shepard's purse has a long history of use and is very effective. Herb Lore makes a blend called Anti-Hemorrhage tincture, and Wishgarden makes another version called Wombstringe. Perhaps those will help.

3. Take charcoal in the morning on an empty stomach to absorb any lingering traces of the medication.

4. Take Blackstrap molasses which has helped many women with heavy menstrual bleeding.

The herbal tinctures and cayenne should work very quickly. Those tinctures are used by midwives in emergency situations after a mother has given birth and is bleeding more than normal. This usually prevents hemorrhaging and a trip to the ER. If I were in your shoes I would take all four of the above right away. If you didn't see a change within a day or two, I don't know of any other options than to go to the hospital.

Dear aarogers1,

I have used cayenne pepper in the past to help with severe bleeding (miscarriage and periods) - 1/2 teaspoon in some grape juice, drink with a straw. Repeat in an hour if needed.

Several cups of red raspberry leaf tea daily for a few weeks may help to settle your hormones back down.

With all of this blood loss you will need to rebuild your iron stores. Low iron, unfortunately, tends to make bleeding worse. It's a vicious cycle.

To rebuild blood, liquid chlorophyll is wonderful. It is not unreasonable to go through an entire 16 ounce bottle of it in a week. I take a tablespoon every hour when bleeding is heavy.

Blackstrap molasses, 1 tablespoon daily, is also a help to restore iron in the blood.

Please let me know how it goes.

~Mama to Many~

There was one interesting case, mostly from private email in curing the dandruff, which took a couple of weeks to stop most of it. The cause was pretty much well know, which is fungus and yeast. There are plenty of ways of killing them and this is well known also, such as the topical use of tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, tar, sodium selenite and others.

However the case that I had some successes were the use of vitamin D which was at the time about 15,000 i.u. which meant taking plenty of the cod liver oil each day, and the application of white distilled vinegar and some occasional use of tea tree oil or lavender oil, but not everyday as it is drying. Both vitamin A, Vitamin D, vitamin E, and evening primrose oil prevents scalp drying, that resulted in dandruff.

I have found that people with dark skin people living in cold climates, or people not exposed to the sun complained of dandruff and hence a vitamin D is implicated. Vitamin D helped in more ways than one, by increasing the immune system (vitamin D has limited ability to reduce fungus and yeast). Vitamin A, usually 25,000 i.u. taken maybe 5 days out of a week, vitamin E, 200 i.u. for example taken three times a week during morning hours, and evening primrose oil, 1000 mg taken two times out of a week were also helpful.

It should be noted that borax used as a shampoo and the solution is left overnight, has an anti-fungal effect, and also the body needs the boron to balance its hormones, which I often mixed together with a small amount of magnesium hydroxide. One approximate estimate is one tablespoon of borax in one cup of water, plus one tablespoon of milk of magnesia to be used as a dandruff shampoo. The milk of magnesia is used to raise the pH, discouraging the fungus growth (they don't grow in alkaline environments), and the borax is used to directly kill them.

The scalp circulation should be helped with a remedy for internal purposes such as 2 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice plus 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water taken twice a day. Alkalinity of the body, which results in increase circulation should also discourage fungus growth which causes dandruff.

While most solutions for stopping dandruff are drying it is the evening primrose oil, vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin D (and perhaps vitamin K2 as it is also antifungal) are used to prevent the drying of the scalp.

In general estrogen lowers the body immunity as most hormones increases free radicals, and hence, this is where vitamin E and also sodium ascorbate (500-1000 mg/day for 5 days out of a week) vitamin C (alkaline form of vitamin C) shines. Magnesium ascorbate is also another possibility where the dose is about 500-1000 mg/day taken only 5 days out of a week. In case you are wondering why the vitamin C, besides it is being an antioxidant, vitamin C seems to have some anti-fungal properties too, mostly from its antioxidant properties as fungus tend to grow better in higher heavy metals, which do create free radicals.

In some cases excess heavy metals may initiate dandruff and so is chlorinated water, which lowers the body immune system by suppression of thyroid glands and hence some chlorella supplements might help, as it lowers the body heavy metal buildup. Heavy metals create free radicals and fungus tend to grow in both acidic and high metal environments, and hence it will take some time, a couple of weeks to do its job. However the frequency of chlorella supplements taken appears to be taken 4 days out of a week and the body needs 3 more days to further detoxify itself. Chinese parsley or coriander can also be taken but I believe it should be taken something like once every other day. They also chelate the heavy metals and thus removing the nutrients for further fungus to flourish causing the scalp.

In case the tea tree oil or lavender oil frequent use causes drying, I prefer to mix them together with sufficient amount of natural vitamin E to lubricate them, and that is about 50/50 mix, which is 50% vitamin E and 50% lavender oil (or tea tree oil), for example. Lavender oil is milder and less irritating than the tea tree oil.

A simpler way and cheaper of dealing with itchy scalp which may result in dandruff is the use of apple cider vinegar applied topically overnight on the scalp or just plain white distilled vinegar. At least where I lived, the price of apple cider vinegar is quite prohibitive and hence, its effects should be about the same in stopping the itchiness. The acetate portion of the apple cider vinegar is somewhat anti-inflammatory, stops itchiness, but also it is anti fungal. My experience with such use is not so drying to the skin that much. For some people who are more sensitive to vinegar, they can be left on for a several of minutes (such as 5-8 minutes) then rinse.

It should be noted that the reason why hormone use such as estrogen causes dandruff is that hormones tend to cause the body to increase free radicals, and hence the body becomes more sensitive to free radical metals and oily foods which has free radical fatty acids. Hence, it is necessary that vitamin E and vitamin C are used, but I believe that the body also needs to get rid of excess oils that may in turn create free fatty acids and become food for the yeast or fungus which causes dandruff. Therefore, I would probably take one tablespoon of granulated lecithin a day sometimes mixing with food or taken alone so that the liver won't be congested of both free fatty acids or free heavy metals. Free heavy metals are oil soluble and granulated leicithin helps the body get rid of both.

Ted:

You're wonderful and I thank you for sharing all of your knowledge with the world. I have severely dry scalp with itching and inflammation. My dermatologist told me that the dryness and flaking I was experiencing on the sides of my nose, forehead, and ears were related to my scalp condition. Upon further research, I came to believe that this was due to yeast. I began treating my face with ACV and it's clearing up beautifully. I have been drinking ACV according to your basic instructions as well, however, my hair is chemically treated (African American) with relaxer and permanent color. Won't the ACV do damage to this type of hair? I have several other problems that I have been told may be causes of my scalp symptoms such as,endometriosis and fibroids (i.e.possible hormone imbalance). What can I do to balance my entire system?

An email for Ted: Just reading your response about removing dandruff I would like to try this method, however, I would like to ensure that it will not negatively affect other parts of my body? I recently had a BC implant removed after 3 years for several reasons and would not recommend this type of BC to anyone in the future. I have found that I have several imbalances in my body and I do not know which one to address first, or if I can address a few of them at the same time?

All my life, since I can remember I have had a runny nose (very embarrassing) which gets worse when I am active. The more active I am the more it runs either in hot or cold environments. I have dandruff or itchy scalp, I have rosacea although it is under control right now, so I am left with burst blood vessels on my cheeks, on occasion (during ski season) I have an extremely itchy pinky toe (which EV Coconut Oil fixes), I believe I have candida as I have a light white coating on my tongue. And just to top it off I have had internal hemorroids for many years on and off (which ACV is not able to assist with, nor a vege diet high in fibre - makes no difference). I had a vegetarian diet for over 7 years until I could not keep my weight on so I started slowly eating meat again, however, I am slowly moving away from a full meat diet. I have read many, many pages on all of my imbalances and I have been adjusting my diet to an alkaline diet slowly, cutting out dairy, coffee, soft drinks, (although breakfast is the hardest to adjust) and drinking more water.

I would appreciate any advice on what you suggest I attack first, or if they are all related. I did go and see an Ayurvedic Dr years ago, however he changed my cycle and did not know why so I would prefer advice from someone who knows about the big picture. Thanks so much in advance!