Body and Soul Reconnection

I stopped taking oral contraceptives before I became pregnant with my first child; two decades ago.  Back then I was not aware of all the dangerous consequences these drugs could pose.  Since then there have been a variety of new products that have hit the market.  Ones that have been marketed aggressively to young women are the contraceptives YASMIN and YAZ.  Besides being marketed as contraceptives, the big selling point was to help control acne and PMS symptoms.  Other “benefits” some women noticed was weight-loss.  Word of mouth spread about this benefit and young women ran to see their Doctors to get on these pills or switch over to them.

Little did they know what type of price they would pay for all the potential “benefits”.  To read the over 4900 comments posted by women about Yasmin go to Medications.com, Yasmin Forum.   About 1/3 of the women on the forum did not suffer major side effects.  The other 2/3 suffered from a myriad of symptoms and some were even hospitalized.

Example symptoms are:

• Severe Migraines
• Depression
• Severe mood swings
• Blood clots
• Strokes
• Chest pains
• Stomach upset
• Breast pain
• Breast cysts
• Skin problems
• Nausea

In doing my research on this subject matter, I came across the story of a 16 year old girl in Switzerland who was on Yasmin (possibly for acne).  She suffered a lung embolism (when a blood vessel supplying the lung becomes clogged up by a clot – a lump of coagulated blood) and she is now severely disabled.  The Switzerland authorities are investigating her use of Yasmin as the potential cause for this rare ailment on a 16 year old.  To read the story go to “Truth About Birth Control”.

By the way, the Medications.com site  has comments posted by many users of other birth control pills and medications.  It may be a good idea to bookmark this site and learn more about how others are doing with a particular medication.

Dutch and Danish Study On Blod Clots

A Dutch study, which compared 1,524 women under the age of 50 who had deep venous thromboembolisms (blood clots forming in the legs) with 1,760 women with no such history, found a      5 time increased risk in oral contraceptive users. The risk of an event was highest in the first three months of use and lowest with birth control pills containing levonorgestrel (least risky synthetic hormone).  Pills with equal doses of estrogen that contained the progestogen desogestrel had double the risk of the pills using levonorgestrel, the researchers found.

The Danish study of all women aged 15 to 49 from 1995 to 2005 found roughly the same association.

Women taking oral contraceptives had a 5 time increased risk of blood clots compared with nonusers, and the risk differed by the type of progestin. “The newer types of oral contraceptives containing drospirenone (Yasmin and Yaz) or cyproterone acetate are associated with an increased risk compared with oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel,” Van Hylckama Vlieg says. Specifically, the researchers found that:

* Levonorgestrel boosted the risk of blood clots by nearly fourfold compared to nonusers.
* Gestodene boosted risk by 5.6 times.
* Drospirenone boosted risk 6.3 times.
* Cyproterone boosted risk 6.8 times.
* Desogestrel boosted risk 7.3 times. (double the risk of levonorgestrel)

The risk of blood clots was also associated with the level of estrogen in the pills, with higher estrogen dose linked to higher risk.

FYI, the brands which contain Desogestrel along with ethinyl estradiol go by the name – Apri, Cesia, Cyclessa, Desogen, Kariva, Mircette, Ortho-Cept, Reclipsen, Solia, Velivet, Azurette, Caziant

By the way, Yasmin’s and Yaz’s synthetic hormone ingredients are Drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol.

Your Body Communicates To You

Whether you are trying to clear up your skin or ease painful PMS, keep in mind that birth control pills are merely addressing the symptoms and are not solving the root problem.  Your body is actually trying to tell you something. Acne may indicate that your colon, lymph or liver need support.  PMS may be occurring because hormones are out of balance, your life is too stressful, and/or your adrenal glands may be very stressed. There are natural alternatives which can reverse the symptoms many young women seek to resolve with contraceptives.  Many of my clients with acne, painful periods, and fibroids have had great success with the right supplements.  Birth control pills may improve your symptoms for a short time, but your body and its overall health is at risk when you consider the long run.

Currently I am working with a handful of young female clients who are on different birth control pills.  Curiously they are all deficient on B6.  In addition to this deficiency one client is also having issues with Zinc and the other is having issues with B12.  The deficient B6 and zinc combination has caused a chronic yeast infection which has lasted over 3 months.  She has stopped the pill but now needs to work on undoing its ill effects.

My client who is deficient in both B6 and B12 struggles with debilitating fatigue, loss of appetite and depression.  Contraceptives can create depression because the body sometimes has a neurochemical reaction to artificial steroids (female hormones), and from a lack of a women’s own natural superior hormones, estradiol and natural progesterone secreted with ovulation.

Taking Birth Control To Prevent Pregnancy

There are no reliable methods of birth control available to women that are as easy to use as the birth control pill but as safe from side effects as the rhythm method.  This is the challenge.  Birth control pills, shots and implants are identified in just about every known woman’s reproductive disease and disorder, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and infertility. The intrauterine device (IUD) can cause irregular bleeding and infertility. That has left the diaphragm, cervical cap, and condoms as supposedly safe and effective alternatives.  Condoms are the second best alternative to an actual oral or injected contraceptive drug.  Though their efficacy is great it is not as high as the birth control pill because they must be used correctly and every time.  How responsible each couple is with alternative contraceptives varies.

I have come across couples who did not want to have any more children and they have opted for surgical sterilization procedures.  The male surgical sterilization is the least drastic in method and recovery.

The following is a great guideline of supplements for those women who still plan to take a contraceptive –

Nutrient Daily Amounts (in 1 or 2 doses)
Vitamin B6 50-100 mg.
Vitamin B12 50-200 mcg. (sub-lingual is best)
Folic acid 400-600 mcg.
Vitamin E 400 IU
Vitamin C 1-3 grams
Zinc 25-50 mg.

I understand that birth control pills can be initially an “easy” fix, yet it is wise to be aware of how our delicate inner “eco-system” can be affected.  All synthetic drugs including birth control pills can cause extreme side effects.

**Caution – if you are ever found to have an abnormal pap smear result, it is advised to stop contraceptives immediately.