“Post Birth Control Syndrome” is the term used to characterize the signs and symptoms women experience after stopping hormonal birth control.
Symptoms may include changes irregular periods, mood, bloating and constipation, IBS and SIBO, acne, disordered eating, anxiety, weight gain and body fat resistance, thyroid imbalances, PCOS, and infertility (just to name a few).
Unfortunately, most doctors don’t recognize “Post-Birth Control Syndrome” as a “thing”, much less have a strategy to heal your body from Post-Birth Control Syndrome —instead diagnosing and band-aiding your symptoms individually.
However, considering the fact that the majority of females (90%), ages 18 to 64, have used birth control at some point in their reproductive years and many have used more than one contraceptive method throughout their lifetime (76%, including: oral contraception; Depo-Provera, the vaginal ring or the patch; and long-acting reversible contraceptives, including IUDs), Post-Birth Control Syndrome is something we need to be talking about.
Birth Control Busted
In recent years, more and more people outside the conventional healthcare model, are waking up to the fact that birth control pills may be one of the biggest threats towards women’s health and empowerment about our bodies.
Doctors think these drugs are safe, because they believe the drug companies’ information about their products, however, over the past 60 years, there have been relatively few large-scale studies about people’s lived experiences using hormonal birth control at all.
Aside from drug’s side effects, doctors and their patients are never informed or even taught about basic knowledge to prevent conception (such as cycle tracking, temperature tracking and understanding how your body works), instead opting for sterilization.
Birth control has also been “re-purposed” in other ways outside of birth control, for a variety of issues—from stopping athlete’s periods, to treating acne and helping girls with anorexia gain weight—band-aiding more symptoms versus addressing root causes.
The result? A cascade of hormone and gut imbalances “under the hood” from the synthetic hormonal replacement!
Why Post-Birth Control Syndrome Happens
Before we jump into the steps for healing Post-Birth Control Syndrome, let’s briefly review why Post-Birth Control Syndrome happens in the first place.
I am big on “root causes”, and when we understand the root causes behind what is driving your period irregularities, gut problems, skin problems, thyroid problems and other hormone imbalances, it will better help know how to address them.
So what’s up with all the symptoms from birth control?
Like why do all the Post-Birth Control Syndrome symptoms happen after you stop birth control?! (You thought you were doing a good thing for your body!).
Birth control is a synthetic hormone, also known as a xenoestrogen (fake estrogen).
While it may seem like Post-Birth Control Syndrome symptoms occur after months or years on the pill, the symptoms are really just building the entire time you are on the pill or IUD.
As you flood the body with extra fake hormones, they are busy “stirring the pot” of gut bacteria and flooding your liver and gallbladder with extra toxins to detox (ie. xenoestrogens).
Since gut bacteria are responsible for breaking down excess estrogens, and your liver and your gallbladder are responsible for clearing them out through your poo and pee. As you flood the body with excess estrogens, there is “hormone overload” and voila: underlying hormone and gut imbalances galore!
Finally, when you “pull the plug” of birth control, it’s like poking a wasp nest. All hell breaks loose!
This combined with the effects that synthetic estrogen has on cortisol (ie. Excess estrogen drives cortisol up), then voila: you’re left with more hormone imbalances and inflammation!
If you’re struggling with “Post-Birth Control Syndrome” and want to reset your hormones, your gut, your skin, your metabolism and beyond, look no further than these 5 Steps to Heal Post Birth Control Syndrome for a Total Hormone Reset.
Note: We suggest several supplement supports in this article. That said, YOU WILL NOT NEED ALL supplements. It is best to consult with a functional medicine practitioner for a customized protocol to heal from post birth control syndrome.
5 Steps to Heal Post Birth Control Syndrome for a Total Hormone Reset
Step 1: Love Your Liver & Gallbladder
Your liver and gallbladder are the gatekeepers and controllers for your estrogens.
Think of them like Batman and Robin—a tag team. Your liver (“Batman”) is responsible for breaking estrogens down and clearing them out of the body through poo or pee. After estrogens go through phase 1 and 2 liver detoxes, it then tosses the baton to your gallbladder (Robin) in the form of bile or sends them to the kidneys for clearing out.
Your gallbladder then is cued to “squeeze” and release bile into your small intestine where enzymes and gut bacteria then go to work to further detox, metabolize (use) and circulate your estrogens as well as send any excess estrogens on through the digestive system to the colon (to clear out any excess estrogens).
In Post Birth Control Syndrome, the liver and gallbladder are a bit overwhelmed—slowing down the detox and digestive process.
Hence, during your Post Birth Control Syndrome, they liver and gallbladder need all the support they can get.
There are a handful “star” players to help out below!
Liver & Gallbladder Supplements
Note: Order most all supplements everything and get 10% off in the Fullscript Store (HERE), unless otherwise linked. Again: We suggest several supplement supports in this article. That said, YOU WILL NOT NEED ALL supplements. It is best to consult with a functional medicine practitioner for a customized protocol to heal from post birth control syndrome.
- Calcium D-Glucarate — Helps break down excess estrogens
- Beta TCP — An enzyme that your gallbladder clear out bile easier
- Iberogast — A digestive bitter for helping you poo. If you are not pooping, this is typically a clogged gallbladder and dysbiosis problem (especially if you are already “eating healthy” and drinking water)
- Glutathione — The body’s master antioxidant that helps the liver do it’s job. NAC also has a similar effect if you cannot tolerate glutathione.
Food
- Drink celery juice or cucumber juice on an empty stomach in the morning, and add bone broth to sautéed veggies or sip by itself.
- Eat cholagogue rich foods into your diet (great for your gallbladder), including green veggies, beets, carrots, dandelion and fennel tea, celery juice, apples, pears, fresh herbs
- Eat organic, wild caught and grass fed proteins with each meal (20-40 grams)
Lifestyle
- Swap toxic chemicals in makeup, hygiene and cleaning products for non-toxics
- Breathe clean air. Ensure you are living in a mold free environment and use a quality air purifier in your home (mold is an extra xeno-estrogen)
Step 2: Get Your Lymph Flowing
Your lymphatic system is like the “Nile River” for your entire body—it helps keep all detox pathways flowing, delivers nutrients from point A to point B, and helps keeps all organs moving and grooving.
If your lymph is stagnant, then you’re going to have “back up” in all systems, leaving you with excess estrogens circulating (with no where to go).
Supporting your lymph involves a combination of foods, supplements
Lymph Support Supplements
- Humic Fulvic Earth Minerals — Minerals that act like the “spark plugs” for your body, helping every cell and organ absorb the water you drink!
- Fulvic 400 Minerals — Extra detox and organ support!
Possible Add Ins: Lymph Active by Cell Core (use code use code PJ03HABY to place your order) OR Homeopathy (work with your practitioner) — Extra herbs or homeopathic agents can help move your lymph if you have symptoms of bodily swelling, bloating and puffiness. Note: These may not be needed once you have minerals online.
Lymph Support Foods
Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of clean filtered water daily.
As for foods, hydrating foods are your lymph’s best friends. Think: fruits and veggies. Aim for 3 to 5 servings of veggies—especially green veggies, and 1 to 2 servings of fruit daily. Cooked veggies tend to digest best.
Lymph Support Lifestyle
Daily “lymph” draining practices (that also help your liver and gallbladder) include:
- Sweat – sauna or detox baths in epsom salt
- Dry brushing your skin daily (before you shower)
- Rebounding – jumping up and down for 3 to 5 minutes is amazing for getting things moving and grooving, and/or Legs up the wall (lie on your back with legs up the wall for 5 to 10 minutes).
These may seem like “small things”, but the “small things” add up to be big things with consistency and resetting your body back to balance in Post Birth Control Syndrome.
Step 3: Reset Your Gut Bugs
Your gut bacteria comprise your “estrobolome” — making the gut your largest “endocrine organ” (hormone balancing organ).
The trillions of buddies in your belly are responsible for metabolizing and modulating the body’s circulating estrogen. It is ultimately your gut bacteria (the estrobolome) that affect estrogen levels, which in turn can impact weight, skin, libido, hair, hormone balance and mood; along with bloating, constipation.
In Post Birth Control Syndrome, women are left with gut dysbiosis (bacteria imbalance).
What this means is that you have an overgrowth of certain bacteria, many of which are “gram negative” in nature, and a depletion of healthy bacteria for overall gut balance.
For some, this may also look like SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), leaky gut, candida or SIFO (small intestinal fungal overgrowth), along with all the symptoms that go along with it—bloating, constipation, gas, stomach pain, food intolerances.
To “correct this”, we must come in with a one-two punch:
#1. Build up the good gut bugs with probiotics, pre-biotic fiber and short chain fatty acids
#2. Cleanse out the ‘bad’ bugs with antimicrobial herbs.
I always start with steps 1 and 2, plus probiotics and prebiotics before moving into antimicrobial herbs to make sure you’re best able to cleanse out the bad bugs without a negative reaction.
Here are my top supplements and foods to help you do this:
Note: Order most all supplements everything and get 10% off in the Fullscript Store (HERE), unless otherwise linked. You will not need ALL of these. Work with a practitioner to customize your approach.
BUILD THE GUT
Probiotics
Supplements (good gut bugs)
- D-Lactate Free Probiotic- Custom Probiotics
- Probiospore Probiotic Find in the Fullscript Store (HERE)
Foods
- Fermented and pickled vegetables
- Water and coconut kefir
- Cultured coconut yogurt
- Kimchi
- Kvass
Prebiotics
Supplements (help your good gut bugs stick).
Foods
Add in 1 resistant starch/day plus 3-5 servings of veggies.
Resistant starch
- Cooked and cooled potatoes/sweet potatoes
- Cooked and cooled rice and gluten free oats
- Legumes (beans and lentils)
- Green-tipped bananas
- Green plantains
Soluble fiber veggies & fruits (boiled, sautéed, steamed, with stems, peels, stalks, seeds, & skins removed):
- Arugula (well cooked)
- Artichokes (not Jerusalem)
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Beet tops
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Chard
- Cucumber
- Collards
- Daikon radish
- Fermented veggies
- Garlic
- Green beans (from frozen section – well cooked)
- Green onion
- Kohlrabi (& leaves)
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Mustard greens
- Onions (red, yellow, white)
- Pattypan squash
- Peas
- Pumpkin / Kabocha squash (fresh)
- Radishes (& tops)
- Rutabaga leaves
- Spinach
- Turnips
- Yellow squash
- Zucchini
Short Chain Fatty Acids
CLEANSE THE GUT
Antimicrobial Herbs
Anti-fungal & Immune Support
Consult with your personal functional medicine practitioner or become a client of our virtual functional medicine clinic today for a customized approach:
Step 4: Support Your HPA Axis
Your HPA Axis is code word for your “stress response system.”
And in Post Birth Control Syndrome, your stress response is pretty confused. Hormonal birth control can both increase and reduce stress hormone responses to a stressor. Research shows that, while taking birth control, your cortisol may run “higher,” whereas after pulling the plug, it may run “lower.” This makes sense sense high levels of estrogen tend to “drive” cortisol up, whereas low levels can drive cortisol down.
Translation: In Post Birth Control Syndrome your body is less able to “handle” imbalances and stresses that come its way, setting you up for heightened anxiety, hair loss, blood sugar imbalances and poor glucose tolerance (PCOS), acne, autoimmunity, IBS, constipation, bloating, food intolerances and weight resistance.
“Supporting the HPA Axis” in Post Birth Control Syndrome must entail both mind and body practices.
Body:
- HPA Axis Support
Adrenal Adaptogens to ‘Boost’ Energy:
- Adreno Distress Guard OR Cordyceps (in the Fullscript Store HERE)
Mind: HPA Axis Support
Incorporate at Least One Mind Body Practice Daily:
- Breath work, Yoga, Meditation, Sauna & Cold Therapy, Biofeedback (Heart Math or Brain Tap)
Step 5: Replace Your Nutrients
Birth control depletes your B vitamins and tons of other nutrients like zinc, Vitamin C and E, selenium and magnesium, explaining why you may experience depression, anxiety, mood swings, bloating and constipation, fatigue, skin problems, immune challenges, headaches and/or nausea in the Post Birth Control Syndrome phase.
Inflammation (due to high homocysteine levels) and dysglycemia (blood sugar imbalances) are also created from nutrient depletion.
Interestingly, intervention studies with vitamin B6 supplementation have reported improvements in clinical symptoms of B6 deficiency and fewer side effects in OC users who may be deficient in this vitamin.
During your Post Birth Control Syndrome recovery, reenergize your cells with nutrients in a highly absorbable liquid formula like this multi-vitamin.
And of course, let food be thy medicine.
A paleo-based real food diet is a great start, eliminating pesticide-containing grains, lectins (found in beans and grains), dairy, sugar, seed oils and alcohol.
At least 80/20 balance! 80 percent of the time eat real whole foods, 20 percent of the time, let life happen.
Summary
Post Birth Control Syndrome is a “thing”, but being “stuck” with it does not have to be.
Looking for a practitioner who understands Post Birth Control Syndrome? If you’re serious and invested in your health and getting well (versus managing symptoms), connect with us for a complimentary health strategy call and let’s make a game plan for you together!
REFERENCES
- Contraception in the United States: A Closer Look at Experiences, Preferences, and Coverage. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/report/contraception-in-the-united-states-a-closer-look-at-experiences-preferences-and-coverage/
- Oxfeldt, M., Dalgaard, L. B., Jørgensen, A. A., & Hansen, M. (2020). Hormonal Contraceptive Use, Menstrual Dysfunctions, and Self-Reported Side Effects in Elite Athletes in Denmark. International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance, 15(10), 1377–1384.
- Bird, J. L., & Oinonen, K. A. (2011). Elevated eating disorder symptoms in women with a history of oral contraceptive side effects. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 14(4), 345–353. https://doi-org.uws.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s00737-011-0229-z
- Nielsen SE, Segal SK, Worden IV, Yim IS, Cahill L. Hormonal contraception use alters stress responses and emotional memory. Biol Psychol. 2013 Feb;92(2):257-66. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.10.007. Epub 2012 Nov 3. PMID: 23131613; PMCID: PMC3558603.
- Fallah, S., Nouroozi, V., Seifi, M., et al. Influence of OC’s on Homocysteine and Nitric Oxide Levels: As Risk Factors For Cardiovascular Disease. Lab Anal . 2012 Feb;26(2):120-3
- Mohn, E.S. et al. Evidence of Drug–Nutrient Interactions with Chronic Use of Commonly Prescribed Medications: An Update. Pharmaceutics 2018, 10(1), 36
Cortés, Manuel E. & Alfaro, Andrea A.. The effects of hormonal contraceptives on glycemic regulation. Linacre Q. August, 2014; 81(3): 209–218. - Palmery, M et al. Oral contraceptives and changes in nutritional requirements. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2013 Jul;17(13):1804-13.