After 9 Years, I Went Off the Pill — Here’s What Happened

Breakouts? Check. Mood swings? Check. But I’m still glad I did it. Here’s why.

I’ve been struggling with chronic gut issues for years, including severe bloating, sharp needlelike pains, constipation (I’m talking four to five days at a time), hives, brain fog, and anxiety.

I decided to see a functional medicine doctor through Parsley Health, because all of the other doctors, gastroenterologists, and specialists were just prescribing me medicine instead of getting to the root of my issues.

After my first appointment with my new doctor, we established a game plan to begin the healing process. It required zero drugs.

In the fall of 2017, my doctor gave me a diagnosis of Candida overgrowth and leaky gut and urged me to do several things in order to heal. Here’s what they prescribed:

• Start an elimination diet. I cut out the most common inflammatory
  foods, such as dairy, wheat, corn, soy, and eggs. For me, eggs
  specifically hurt my stomach.
• Quit hormonal birth control (HBC). My doctor concluded that the pill was
  affecting me more than I realized (disrupting my microbiome), and I should stop
  it immediately.

Most people don’t know this and doctors don’t discuss it enough, but the pill is notoriously linkedTrusted Source to Crohn’s disease and other gastrointestinal and stomach issues.

I was on HBC for 9 years. It was originally prescribed to me as a way to treat my acne. Looking back, I wish I knew more about the weight of my decision to put synthetic hormones into my body.

Oftentimes, when the pill is prescribed for things other than preventing pregnancy (like acne, cramps, and irregular periods), it’s just slapping a bandage on a larger hormonal issue that needs to be addressed. Now that I’m off the pill, I’m handling all of the hormonal and gut issues it was masking.

After exhausted attempts to heal my cystic acne with benzoyl peroxide, antibiotic pills (which most definitely altered my gut flora and probably contributed to my GI issues today), and lots of concealer, I was prescribed birth control.

Turns out, coconut oil was the answer to all of my skin issues. But nonetheless, I continued taking birth control.

I now know birth control was likely affecting me more than I realized. I had frequent headaches that lasted days at a time, felt cloudy, and experienced other symptoms I probably don’t even know because I’d been on it for so long.

Deciding to get off of the pill was an easy decision to make. I had considered quitting for months, but my excuse was always that I didn’t have time for acne or crazy mood swings. Here’s the thing: There will never be a “good” time to have those things, but the longer you wait, the harder it will be. So, it just took my doctor ordering it for me to finally take it seriously.

Here’s what I’m personally doing to combat my transition off the pill:

• Continue the elimination of foods
  that inflame my gut (gluten, dairy, corn, soy, egg, and refined sugar).
• Read “Woman Code”
  and use the MyFLO
  app to track my cycle and eat foods that support my flow.
• Listen to podcasts like “Fertility Friday”
  and read anything I can about balancing hormones, estrogen levels, and
  adaptogens.
• Consistently take my favorite Yeast Is a Beast
  probiotic from Lovebug, and also take magnesium
  and zinc
  supplements, since HBC is known to deplete these micronutrients.
• Continue my natural skin care
  routine with daily topical use of coconut oil and tea tree oil.
• Be kind to myself and work on accepting whatever challenges may arise
  during this tough transition.