HORROR-MOANS!!!

[Marcina]

Yes this is a topic about hormones. Women hormones. If you're a man and you do not want to read this, run away now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ok. I warned you.

 

 

 

So here's the deal. I was on birth control for about 7 years. The "pill". Because "the pill" is full of synthetic hormones and other nasty things that can increase a woman's chance of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, breast and cervical cancers, it wasn't a difficult choice to say "Goom-bye" and stop taking the pill.

I'm absolutely through with hormonal contraceptives. These days I practice celibacy.. But it's not really by choice. You see, I have experienced some side effects since I quit taking the pill last April or May. I don't quite remember when it was.. The first few weeks were great. My acne cleared up, I had more energy, and I was making better gains in the gym.

Then a month passed and I started getting a couple pimples... Then it turned into full blow acne all over my face. Then my hair started falling out.. Then I started growing hair on my face and had to shave my legs and underarms EVERYDAY. Then some more time passed and I started experiencing mood swings, depression, HOT FLASHES, insomnia, and then fatigue. I cut all my hair off because it was literally all over my house. I would blow-dry my hair after having a shower and it would stick to the bathroom door. It was nasty. Actually, about 3 weeks ago I cut my hair and I'm STILL finding it.

 

Last Friday I finally saw a doctor about it and he sent me for bloodwork. I was tested for diabetes, had my thyroid checked, cholesterol, iron, B12, FSH, estrogen/progesterone and all sorts of things. They took 5 vials of blood and found NOTHING wrong.

This is so annoying. I have a hormone imbalance or something.. and I don't know how long it'll take to get back to normal? Should I go to the doctor again? Or should I just wait it out and see?

 

Any other ladies around here stop taking oral contraceptives after a long period of time and experienced this?

[Octopussoir]

Is this a true story by you?

[Vegan Joe]

I'd go back to the doctor and see what they have to say.

[Marcina]

Is this a true story by you?

 

Yes. I realize I have an interesting way of writing and explaining things that are autobiographical. But yes, it's all true.

[lobsteriffic]

I would definitely go back to the dr. Something isn't right. It's been a few months so you would think that if it was going to correct itself it would be improving by now...

 

This is good to know...I really want to get off the pill and am thinking of switching to a non-hormonal IUD. Problem is I don't have a regular dr. to discuss this with.

[CollegeB]

I'd say that after 7 years of altering your body chemistry then it's going to take a time to get back to normal. I think contraceptives are just massive amounts of female hormones, so your body probably has been over producing testosterone for some time to try to normalize itself. I think that's what you are going through now. I have female to male friends who are on T and it took about 6 months for them to completely alter their body chemistry/hormones. Getting a doctor to run some tests on your hormones wouldn't be a bad thing, but I doubt they can do much. Maybe put you back on low levels of female hormones to try to counter the T?

[Ruz]

I wouldn't touch any hormonal shit like the pill! When I took it it gave me blinding migranes. so the doctor changed it to try another one. which gave me permanent nausea and spotting..so I tried a low hormonal type pill which made my teeth start to fall out! Serioiualy..check out the info, its one of the rarer side effects!

Anything which does that to my body can't be a good idea...so I stopped taking it. I was only taking it anyway to see if my tits got any bigger..but sadly, to no avail! LOL

[lobsteriffic]

Marcina if you don't mind me asking, what pill were you on?

[HCPinGviini]

I took a nap few hours after reading this and had a dream where I was in the same situation you're facing now. I'm sorry to hear about your missfortune with pills. *hugs* and kisses.

[Im Your Man]

Wow that's some hardcore symptoms you got. I think your body will re-adjust with some time and maybe faster if you eat very clean like mostly fruits and greens. I guess that taking the pill for so long made your testosterone and oestrogens out of balance and then quiting the pill your body needs to go back to a normal hormonal production but right now it is completely out of order but I hope you will get better soon. All those pills and drugs are making amphibians and marine animals becoming hermaphrodites and it is transforming men into women and women into men.

 

Endocrine disruptors : http://waiting-for-the-miracle.blogspot.com/2009/02/msg-gmo-more-and-more-insecticides-and.html

[Marcina]

Yes, IYM, I read about that and it's the main reason I quit taking it! The pill is bad for the environment, and bad for my body.

 

 

The first pill I was on was "Allesse" and I took it for a couple years. It worked great but after awhile I started getting acne, so the doctor switched me to "Marvelon" which I took for another couple years. While I was on it I experienced migraines, my boobs got bigger (yay!) but after awhile I got the acne again. The doctor then switched me to "Yaz" and I became sick as a dog on that. I had vomiting, nausea, headaches, I couldn't even THINK about food. I also had severe depression and suicidal thoughts. I quit taking it after 5 days. I read the booklet it came with and it said to quit taking it if I had the suicidal thoughts and immediately see your physician.. So I did. He wanted to put me on another pill and I refused. He prescribed it to me anyway but I never filled the prescription out.

[cubby2112]

You could maybe try the NuvaRing method for a little bit. It is supposed to have the lowest dose of estrogen of all birth control methods, giving you a small, constant supply. It might be a good way to "wean off."

[Ducati]

I think you should try an Eastern Doctor. Western Doctors will try and give you a pill.

 

It actually sounds like many of your symptoms resemble menopause. Perhaps your body isn't producing enough estrogen of its own? Maybe it still needs time to adjust to the lack of pills.

 

I could never ask a woman to take birth control. It is so much more risky for a woman than a man. I paid $650 for permanent birth control. I ethically could never justify having a biological child. I will adopt if I ever want one. I really don't understand the vegans who will protest a puppy mill, but have no problem breeding themselves. There are millions of kids that need a good home. Just my .02.

[Marcina]

That's well said, Ducati.

 

Actually, I would love to be sterilized if my ovaries haven't shut themselves down yet. Lol!

 

They won't do that procedure for women under the age of 30 unless you've had 3 children. Ridiculous.

 

So I just practice celibacy.. One other symptom I have is loss of libido.

[Michelle]

Wow! That doesn't sound like fun. You're too young for menopause, but those symptoms sound a lot like menopause has been described to me. My vote goes for getting checked out again, and by a different doctor, if you can.

 

I was on the pill once - it was so long ago, I don't remember what it was called - I discontinued it after about a month because it made me feel awful. I also used Norplant for a few years, but discontinued that because getting my period only about twice a year seemed like a bad idea. Wonderfully convenient, but a bad idea overall. I don't trust anything that messes with the hormones that much.

 

They won't do that procedure for women under the age of 30 unless you've had 3 children. Ridiculous.

Not necessarily true - I had the procedure done under the age of 25 and I did not have 3 children. (I have two.) The doctor resisted and I really had to argue a bit to talk her into performing the procedure, but I think she just wanted to make sure I'd considered the implications seriously and that I just wasn't looking for "easy" birth control. Everyone kept saying "But what if you remarry and your new husband wants more kids? What if you change your mind?" Ugh. (No, I've never regretted the decision.)

 

Again, my vote goes to seeing a different doctor, if the current one won't help you.

[Ducati]

When I went in for the snip, they had me talk with the doctor for a consultation so he could make sure I thought it over well enough. Normally, they make you wait 2 months after the consultation to make sure you still want to go ahead.

 

I do in and the doctor says, "How long have you thought about this, and are you sure you don't want children." I said "Six billion people on this planets, millions of children being raised by unfit parents, millions of adoptable babies, not enough food, not enough water, not enough land, and children annoy the hell out of me." He says "Ok, I have an opening tomorrow. Will that work for you?"

[Ruz]

You MUST go back and see your doctor!

Edited September 21, 2009 by Ruz

[Ruz]

That's well said, Ducati.

 

Actually, I would love to be sterilized if my ovaries haven't shut themselves down yet. Lol!

 

They won't do that procedure for women under the age of 30 unless you've had 3 children. Ridiculous.

 

So I just practice celibacy.. One other symptom I have is loss of libido.

I don't know whether changing your doctor will do any good. I asked about steralization once, many years ago now, but the same rule applied. However, my doctor said that it could be done with a psychiatrists note...so basically you need to convince a shrink that you know what you are doing.

This is in the UK of course, where i would have been referred to a shrink for free if i had decided to go along with it. However, I know things work a bit differently where you live.

Also, on further investigation, I dont think female steralization is really a good idea. your ovaries produce many hormones, which as an athlete, help you stay flexible. There are also many other benefits which may be worth your while checking out.

Personally, like many other women who do a lot of sport, I rarely have any periods..infact, once my BF gets under 12% they stop completely--which is fine by me because quite frankly they are a huge pain!

As regards loss of libido, be thankful at the moment! If you dont have a partner its def the best way to be..afterall there's nothing worse thn constantly thinking about sex!

If you do find someone, I would strongly recommend taking a "shot" of damiana every day. I also read that damiana helped stabalize female hormones, so it may be worth your while checking it out. Here's a link to start you off : http://www.rain-tree.com/damiana.htm

If that fails, well try adding ginseng into the equation...Or L. arginine, which has been poved to help treat loss of libido (get that pea proten out!!)

But above everything else..you MUST go back and see your doctor!

[Ducati]

I have to agree. Female sterilization is so much more involved and more dangerous. A guy can have it done quite inexpensively, and in about an hour. Plus, I still get all the hormones. Just none of the babies.

[Marcina]

Okay I guess I should go back to see my doctor then.

 

The worst thing is the fatigue. I went to bed at midnight last night and slept until 3 in the afternoon today. I woke up several times.. At one point I woke up very early in the morning and stayed awake for an hour and a half. My sleep is all messed up. I'm always tired.

 

I also have this terrible bloating. It feels like I swallowed giant bubbles of air. It's quite uncomfortable.

[Ruz]

These can all be symptoms of stress...write a list before you go back to the doctor so you don't forget anything

[VeganEssentials]

Sorry to hear that it's been so rough getting off the artificial hormones of the pill.

 

For men that use testosterone for years and go off, it can take weeks, months or even years for their bodies to regulate and get back to normal again. I wish I could say it is surprising that you've had to suffer for so long, but any time you put your body's natural production of hormones out of the natural cycle for so long, it can take a ton of time to regulate. That's part of the reason why many men that start using steroids never come off - for some, the hair loss, depression, impotency, etc. can get the best of them and they prefer to never stop using because of the side effects in trying to get their bodies back to normal. I can imagine that it's quite the same for some women.

 

Hope things get better for you soon enough!

[Marcina]

I made a doctor's appointment for this Friday.

 

We'll see what's up.

[lobsteriffic]

I'm glad you're going to the doctor. Best of luck!

[medman]

I'd say that after 7 years of altering your body chemistry then it's going to take a time to get back to normal. I think contraceptives are just massive amounts of female hormones, so your body probably has been over producing testosterone for some time to try to normalize itself...

 

The modern incarnations of 'the pill' are actually very mild doses of hormones, either progesterone or a combination of estrogen and progesterone.

 

How old were you when you started on oral contraceptives? It sounds possible that you have a hormonal imbalance that might have been masked by the pill, not caused by coming off it. Women don't normally suffer a 'rebound' effect when coming off the pill, unlike the example of men taking testosterone. It has to do with the way hormonal feedback goes on in the endocrine system; the pill, which relies either entirely or mostly on progesterone (depending on the brand), doesn't wreak havoc with feedback systems the way a testosterone supplement does.

 

I'm not advocating for the pill, I'm just trying to get to the crux of the matter. I think it's an environmental issue, and there are certainly health risks, so please don't take this as a blind defense of it. I just don't want to see it blamed before you rule out other options.