Heart to Heart with Hads

Ep. 38 | The Truth About Hormonal Birth Control and What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You

• Hadlea Shaw

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This episode sheds light on the hidden effects of hormonal birth control on women's health, sharing personal experiences and factual insights on its impact on hormonal balance, mental well-being, and the body’s nutrient levels. The discussion emphasizes the importance of being informed and offers guidance on supporting one’s body after discontinuation of contraceptives.

• Exploring personal experiences with birth control 
• Understanding hormonal birth control mechanisms 
• Discussing long-term side effects on health 
• Highlighting relationships between mental health and hormonal changes 
• Providing strategies for detox and hormone balance post-birth control 
• Encouraging awareness and open discussions about reproductive health

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Speaker 1:

Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Heart to Heart with Hads. Today we're going to be diving into birth control, hormonal birth control and its effect on your body. But first things first. I kind of just want to do a little bit of an update on how I'm doing. If you've been following me on Instagram, you've probably seen that I've been trying to restore my menstrual cycle and last week I finally got one, so I was super happy about that. Another thing that I did as well well, let me just go, let me just dive deep into that. Go, let me just dive deep into that.

Speaker 1:

I hadn't had one since probably July yeah, it was July of 2024. So almost, you know, seven months, I guess you could say, since I had had one. And so I had one in February, which was pretty neat, and I had been, you know, I'd pull back on my training. I had increased my dietary fats. But a lot of times when there's HPA dysregulation, hpa access dysregulation going on which I think that was the case for me that is the case for me. After getting my Dutch test results back, it showed that I had a I think it was high metabolized cortisol. I can't remember if it was high or low, but anyways, with that being said, just meaning that all of my cortisol is essentially converting into cortisone and so my body is just like not properly I don't know what the word is using cortisol the way that it should be, and so that could be causing some of that dysregulation. So basically, a little bit of adrenal fatigue. Now I don't abuse caffeine, like that's not something that I do, but it can just be. It can happen from, you know, excess stress and cortisol. So I will be supplementing with that. Also, my estrogen was low compared to my progesterone. My progesterone was really. Also my estrogen was low compared to my progesterone. My progesterone was really really high. I think it was due to the supplement that I was taking that helps increase your natural progesterone levels. So definitely pulled back on that and I won't continue. I won't take that again until I reach a certain point in my cycle. So I'm hoping to just keep getting regular, consistent cycles.

Speaker 1:

But there are supplement. There is a supplement that I'm going to take that's going to um help increase my estrogen levels. Let me look it up in my check-in really quick and then I'll be able to tell you exactly what that is. Now I don't. That's why my sound wasn't sounding very good. Now I don't think that you should just go and take this blindly. So make sure that you're working with a coach who can help you with this. My mic is just like all over the place today. I don't quite know what's going on. Let me see. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. No, that's not it. Okay, red clover. So I'll take this four weeks on and then two weeks off, just because you don't want to do get too much estrogen. But it should help increase that.

Speaker 1:

I'm also doing a little bit of a flush. Right now I'm finishing a little bit of a detox, which I was kind of weird that I started that two days before I started my cycle. It was really cool to see that, but at the same time I was like, oh, was it because of everything I've been doing, or is it just because of that? So yeah, with the flush, the detox itself, it's basically just something like cellular cleanup that I have some of my clients do that are dealing with weight loss resistance. So I just decided to do it just to see if it would help, you know, kind of kickstart my metabolism, get me to feel a little bit better and just kind of push in a lot of nutrients. So that is what's been going on with me. But other than that, some life updates. I guess you could say nothing really crazy going on, um, but I am going to be moving soon, not states just or anything, I'm just moving like 10 minutes from where I am right now. So that's fun and that's cool. I'm really excited about it because it's definitely been like God's sin and answered prayer, so, thankful for that. I'm trying to connect back to my wi-fi because it just kicked me off for whatever reason. So, trying to figure that out, trying to figure that out Okay, we're reconnected. It says Hopefully. Okay, we're good, we're good.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, so getting into the topic of today, talking about birth control, I just want to do like a little preface. I'm not a doctor. This is just all on personal experience and also what I've learned through my educational courses and resources. I'm not a doctor, I don't. This is not intended to be quote-unquote medical advice. This is just kind of things that what I help my clients do and help myself with.

Speaker 1:

Um, yeah, I was on birth control, for whatever reason. Honestly, I think I just thought that it was cool, not because, like I needed it because I thought I was gonna get pregnant. I think it was mostly just because I was like, oh, my acne, and I didn't even have acne. I don't, honestly, really huge mistake me even getting on it. I think I actually think I got on it because my periods were incredibly bad and heavy, like super bad, like I'd be going through multiple tampons a day. And this was in high school too. I think my sister dealt with the same thing, um, but I have not had any sort of issues like that since getting on birth control. It was very much regular and not as bad Before that. I would actually get sick. I would like go, I would have to like miss a day of school the very first day of my cycle because because I was literally like dry, heaving and just feeling so terrible.

Speaker 1:

So then I got a birth control. So I was on that from, like I think, the end of my senior year. I also had some cysts and all sorts of things. So after that I was like, okay, let's just try it out. So from then up until 2022, september of 2022. So I think I was on it for a year and a half, so not even well, I don't know. It was the end of 2020. No, the beginning of 2020. And then the end of 2022. So almost two years, yeah, yeah, almost two years, of being on it, um, and then after, when I got off, I got my cycle, probably back after about three months, um, september, october, november, december. I got one in December, so that was my first one, and then I got one in January, february. I didn't get one in January, then I got one in February, then I had one in March, april, may, june, july, then all the way up until I started prep, and then since my prep, I haven't necessarily had a regular one, which was 2023 of December, of 2023. So that's just a little bit of backstory on, like birth control, my cycle, yada, yada.

Speaker 1:

Anyways, I think that there's a lot of misinformation on birth control, and so that's why I kind of wanted to chat about it, because oftentimes women are, you know, prescribed it from their OB, their primary care physician, whatever. Because they're dealing with, you know, acne hormonal imbalances, which that's a whole nother topic in itself. There's, that's such a controversial, like wide range topic. But when I mean hormonal imbalances, you know an ability to gain or lose weight. Now, when you're young, you're probably not. That's not the reason you're getting on it. It's usually for what it's intended for. You don't want to get pregnant and you want your acne to go away and you want your cycle to be regular and you don't want it to suck so and have terrible PMS symptoms, and so that's why they typically put you on it. Now for them to say like, oh, this is going to regulate your cycle quote unquote or balance your cycle, your hormones quote unquote. Totally not true.

Speaker 1:

I think it's important to know exactly what hormonal birth control is and how it works. Like what its mechanism of action is. I think it's synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestin which suppresses the FSH, so your follicle stimulating hormone and your luteinizing hormone, lh from the pituitary gland halting egg release. Now, first thing we should go over too is everything starts in the brain. So if your brain is signaling you know not to have ovulation which is that's basically what it's saying is, you're not going to ovulate, you're not going to get pregnant, and so, like in my case, I don't think I was even ovulating. So something was going on in my HPA axis, my brain, that was telling me okay, we can't send ovulation, your body doesn't feel safe right now to ovulate. Anyways, that's just another tangent in itself, a little side note. Another tangent in itself, a little side note. So halts the egg release and then the progestin itself also thickens the mucus, which blocks sperm from reaching the egg. Another thing it does is reduces the thickness of your uterine lining, which prevents implantation. So implantation happens after ovulation, typically, if you are a regular menstruating person, not on hormonal birth control, and so if that implantation does happen, you'll be pregnant. So if there's no implantation, it doesn't happen. But that's typically what happens whenever you're on the hormonal birth control pill. That's how it works in a nutshell. In a nutshell Now, the systemic impact of birth control has lots, lots and lots of facets to it.

Speaker 1:

So first things first, obviously number one, hormonal disruption. When you're putting synthetic estrogen, synthetic progesterone not progesterone progestin into your body, you're automatically down-regulating your natural production of your own hormones estrogen and progesterone, and so this can sometimes cause that post-pill amenorrhea. 30% of women tend to struggle with that. Not only that, liver function is impaired as well. So it increases the pill birth control, whatever. It doesn't really matter if you're doing birth control IUD patches, implants, they're all going to have the same sort of mechanism going on. But liver function increases your SHBG, so your sex hormone binding globulin, which lowers your free testosterone and also decreases your libido, your sex drive. So this is directly related to your liver health.

Speaker 1:

And then another interesting fact these are just facts that I've pulled up Hormonal birth control is linked to a 50% increase of Crohn's disease and disrupts the gut microbiome balance Because the birth control is depleting you of so many essential nutrients, which is another impact of the birth control itself depleting those nutrients. You're going to have decreased absorption of nutrients. I don't know if that just made sense. Since it's depleting your nutrients, it's going to be harder for you to absorb nutrients coming in from foods. So this is why it's important that you know if you are someone that's on birth control, you are supplementing with essential vitamins, nutrients, and then when you're coming off, it's important that you're you're increasing those foods that are going to increase those essential vitamins, nutrients as well. So you know, like zinc, magnesium, like all of your vitamins A, c, d, e, k, all of the above you're going to want to be supplementing with birth control and after once you get off, and that one just really irks me that 50% increased risk of Crohn's disease. That is absurd. Also very sad, because I know people who do have Crohn's and I know how much it affects them and so you know, if this was something that maybe we could have talked about like that would have been talked about whenever you're prescribed this, then it would be like, okay, I maybe don't actually want to take this. And if you've been listening, if you follow me, you know that all disease begins inside of the gut and if the gut is impaired, you're more likely to get so many other types of diseases, cancers, all sorts of things. So it's really saddening and frustrating that we're not totally informed on all of these things at a young age, and then it's just a cascade and I've seen so many women deal with so many issues because of it, and that's why I want to just shed light on it and shed some of these facts and how you can help even increase your, get your natural hormone levels back up and get you to feeling good again.

Speaker 1:

But we're not done with everything that it disrupts um, mental health. This is another big thing that's affected. There was a study that found a 23% increased risk of depression among birth control users. This is incredibly scary too, because personally I believe that depression, anxiety, is the root of literally everything. I know gut too, but your anxiety, your feelings, your emotions, all of those, your stress, directly impacts your gut, which directly impacts everything else. The whole body is connected as one and so whenever you're addressing something, you need to address it from a whole body standpoint, not just one piece, every single thing. And as scary as that may seem and may sound, when, when I have clients come to me and they're dealing with, you know, some sort of mental issues that I cannot help them with, I refer them out you. I cannot help with that. And until you can, you know, get that mindset better, it's going to be so hard to even make lots of progress because you're stuck in that anxiety, that stress, that depression, which is a trickle-down effect into every day of your life. Now, I know I go off on little tangents, so just bear with me, and I know this is kind of a deep and bulky episode. So a lot of educational things going on in this one. So a lot of educational things going on in this one.

Speaker 1:

Another thing, another impact thyroid disruption. So you know elevated estrogen. So when being on birth control, your estrogen is elevated and whenever you have too much estrogen in the body and your estrogen to progesterone ratio is high, your body doesn't detoxify out all of that estrogen, then you're dealing with, you know that unexplained weight gain, all of those other, you know that low energy, not being able to put on muscle mass, gaining body fat in areas that you don't want, like your stomach and your legs. So elevated estrogen increases your tbg, so your thyroid binding globulin potentially causing hypothyroid like symptoms. So a down regulated thyroid can be a cause of birth control, which is really freaking sad. So, and then just some of the long-term concerns that, like if you're, if you're someone that's you know on birth control for a long period of time and long-term effects. After the fact, the common side effects can be mood swings, weight gain, headaches, low libido, which those mood swings and those headaches are likely coming from the nutrient depletion, especially the headaches. And then that weight gain from, you know, excess estrogen not being able to properly detoxify. And then that low libido which we talked about earlier, which you know when your sex hormone binding globulin is up is increased high SHBG, your testosterone is low, so we don't want that super high. Going back into the nutrient depletion, you know B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, selenium. Selenium is super important for thyroid health. Magnesium is important for, you know, relaxation and digestion and all of the things B are important for your brain, your cognitive function.

Speaker 1:

Blood clots raises the risk by three to five times. You're at a higher risk for cancer. This is just a. What's the word I'm looking for? A, why can't it come to my brain? A statistic a statistic I found the World Health Organization classifies oral contraceptives as group 1 carcinogens Carcinogens.

Speaker 1:

Do you know what carcinogens means? If you don't, we're going to look it up because I'm not sure of the exact definition. Carcinogens are substances or agents that cause cancer. They damage DNA and interfere with the normal cell growth and division, leading to development of cancerous tumors. How freaking scary is that? Very scary, very scary. Okay, it says as group 1 carcinogens due to breast and cervical cancer risk, but notes decreased ovarian and endometrial cancer risk. So it increases your risk of breast and cervical cancer, if I'm reading that right, classifies oral contraceptives as group one carcinogens.

Speaker 1:

Yes, okay, wow, bone density loss this is the next one. So long-term use uh, especially with the progestin only methods can weaken bone density. Um, and I have a feeling that's because it's downregulating your natural production of estrogen and progesterone, and so if you don't have enough estrogen, if you don't have enough progesterone, that's what's going to cause less bone density. So that's why, whenever you know menopausal women are experiencing low estrogen, low progesterone and they're dealing with some of those like joint pains and all those things, it's because they don't have like estrogen helps with the like lubrication of joints and bones and without that, decrease, decrease bone density. So, wow, that's a lot Um and so, going into what things are often hidden, you know, first thing kind of like what we talked about at the beginning is it's used to mask the symptoms that you may be facing.

Speaker 1:

So the PCOS, the endometriosis, the irregular cycles, all these things are getting suppressed and not necessarily treated. So it's being used to slap a bandaid on, kind of like what we hear with everything else when it comes to um, you know, typical Western modern medicine and prescribing things whenever there's these symptoms that arise, instead of figuring out why they're caused. Same thing goes for this. And then you're not informed on the post birth control syndrome. So when people do get off of birth control, up to 50% of women experience acne, hair loss, cycle disruptions. All the above because your body was relying on this thing for so long and then it comes off and it it's literally like holy shit, what the F?

Speaker 1:

And so that's why it's important that whenever you do decide to come off, that you have a plan of action and you don't just get off, because then that really really messes with your, your body, your overall well-being, and this is why it's this is something I really stress with my clients right now. I've had a couple that have come to me and they've been on birth control and they've got off, and I've had to take them through an entire process to restoring those and and when they get off, they don't feel the best. That's the thing. So really supporting their body with lots of nutrients is very beneficial for whenever they're opting to get off, um and that's a process in itself. So if you're in that process, please reach out to me. I'd be more than happy to help guide you into the next steps is huge.

Speaker 1:

So for most women, ovulation returns within, you know, 90 days after getting off birth control, but over 20% face delays for over a year after getting off, and so I personally know lots of people who've been on birth control who cannot get pregnant, and I do think it is caused not only by the birth control pill itself, but also just other. You know there's obviously other factors, but birth control being one of them, you know, obviously, high stress, the things that are in our food, the toxins, all that toxin overload, I think, is the biggest problem, and so birth control itself is a toxin. Um, I truthfully believe so. That is my two cents on that one. And then, um, there is a lot of research, uh, on how birth control can impact your relationship, your relationship. So birth control can influence who you decide to date and your relationship satisfaction. So I don't remember exactly the study or where this came from, but those who are on birth control tend to pick more feminine style men, and what I mean by that is typically men who have, you know, lower testosterone levels. And I'm not just saying this because I'm in the bodybuilding scene, I'm just saying this because it's true facts Like you're more likely to pick someone that doesn't go to the gym, has low testosterone, not muscular, and has more feminine characteristic traits, which is really really crazy. But it does alter, obviously your brain chemistry to some extent, and so people have noticed, you know, when they get off, that they're no longer attracted to that same person, um, or that they're attracted to more, you know, masculine, more high testosterone, which is really crazy. So I don't know, I do not know, but I think it's true. It is true, obviously, there's research around it. So, yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell on what I know about, you know, birth control and how it affects you.

Speaker 1:

Now, as far as how to support your body, um, on birth control and after birth control, we're going to talk about that a little bit. So I recommend doing some sort of liver detox. For anyone that's on birth control, I recommend doing it at least, uh, once every six, if not once a year, just because, um, it is a toxin, your body does deal with some toxin overload from it. It's important to kind of help eliminate that, get that, get all of your detox pathways opened up, especially because all those hormones and toxins are staying built up into your body. With being on the birth control. Now I recommend doing the same thing once coming off is immediately doing a detox. So ways you can do that with medical food, some supplementation, which I know exactly how to do this. So if you're someone that's wanting to do this, reach out to me and I can help you during this process. Also, some ways to aid in those detox pathways are dandelion, tea, cruciferous vegetables so I like to think, broccoli, that's my favorite and then, you know, making sure that you're replenishing those nutrients. So these are all things you can do on and when getting off Supplementing B vitamins, magnesium, glycinate, omega-3s, zinc and the biggest piece you need to focus on is making sure your gut health is good.

Speaker 1:

You need to focus on is making sure your gut health is good, making sure you're getting enough fiber so that you're properly detoxifying any excess estrogen. You can use probiotics too, but this needs to. That would be the last thing I'd recommend, because we don't want to feed any bacteria that may be in there any bad bacteria. So that's why probiotics are. Take probiotics lightly. If you need help with that, reach out to me and I can help you with that, because I don't just tell anyone to get a probiotic for no reason without knowing what they're using it for, and there's different strands of probiotics, so knowing what strands and their strength is really important as well. So, going back to the gut fiber for microbiome repair, I love to make sure that adrenals are balanced, so incorporating things like ashwagandha, rhodiola to help regulate cortisol.

Speaker 1:

And then, um, you can cycle synced or try to get your cycle back in a regular pattern. Um, this is more for when you're getting off. Uh, so you can adjust based on the phase of the moon or what your typical cycle would be. Um, for cycle days one through 14, this is just a seed cycling that I have been doing to get mine. I like to do pumpkin seed, pepitas and flax seed on the first half of my cycle. So days 1 through 14. Days one through 14. This is your. My mic keeps moving around.

Speaker 1:

Um, this is your follicular phase. So the menstrual, obviously days one through 17,. Day one through seven typically. Why can I not talk Day one through seven? Typically is your menstrual cycle. A normal menstrual cycle is anywhere from three to seven days. It doesn't have to be a full seven days, it doesn't have to be a full five days. Three to seven days and then you move into you know that that proliferative phase after that. So, moving into ovulation, your follicular phase, and then going into the luteal phase. And so in the luteal phase you'll do ground sesame or tahini, which I use, and you'll do sunflower seeds in that, and that just helps with the estrogen and progesterone ratios, getting those in the ideal range for those two periods of your cycle.

Speaker 1:

I hope all that made sense. But the overarching theme here is just learning about what it does to your body. And then obviously there's some other things you can do to, to, to, to help um once getting off um, which I'm very well versed in that, so can help anyone that's struggling with that. But it's just important to understand the benefits and the risk and then seeking, like that holistic side support to repair your body post birth control. Another thing, too, is recognizing like body temperature and things like that, so that you can naturally, you know, have a like birth control naturally Cause I know that's a lot of concern for a lot of women is okay.

Speaker 1:

So how do I know my cycle? Is, you know, like, how can I prevent myself from pregnancy? Yada, yada, yada. And that just comes down to, you know, I like to use natural cycles and I use Oura Ring and I track my temperature so that I know where I'm at in my cycle, cycle, cycle and avoid certain days, um, like abstaining certain days. So that's important to keep a note of too.

Speaker 1:

When you're coming off, I know it can be stressful too, because it's like I have to really be careful now and it's like, yes, but that's how you learn your body and you'll actually like feel like the different phases when you do have a cycle and it's really cool to see like, wow, this is how the human woman body is supposed to work. So, um, just also to remembering that your body's symptoms are signals and they're not diagnoses. They're not a diagnosis. So, keeping that in mind, but yeah, if anybody needs additional help on this, please reach out and let me know.

Speaker 1:

I love talking about this. This is something I'm very passionate about and I have gained a plethora of knowledge from it and from my own experience. Dm me with any of your birth control questions, um, or if I should do a follow-up q a, let me know. But other than that, hope you guys enjoy this episode is really fun to do and it got me really excited about helping those in need of assistance. So thank you guys for joining in. Please give me a review rating, share with your friends, somebody who may need to hear it, and I'll see y'all in the next episode. Bye.