Kind of an important topic…Ā
Before you put your teenage daughter on the pill to “NORMALIZE” her cycle, we should talk…don’t just accept a pill as an answer. Get to the reason WHY whatever is occurring! It is a topic that is not questioned or discussed NEARLY ENOUGH! It’s just a quick and easy answer like most medical conditions… š
I was on birth control pills since I was 15 years old to help “NORMALIZE” my period and the pain I suffered with my endometriosis. They tried to tell us that what I was experiencing was “NORMAL” at my age, but my parents weren’t having it. We kept looking for answers, but things were different back then, and I certainly didn’t know anything about nutrition and Functional Medicine and what was actually going on in my body. I was diagnosed with endometriosis through laproscopic surgery at 20 years old! I dealt with infertility, inconsistent cycles, and indescribable pain for many years.
What I didn’t know or even think about as a teenager or even until I was 39 years old with a very extensive medical background and many years of my own experience, as well as learning from many of my patients’ experience, is that I was still suffering from the same issues at 15….in addition, what are these pills doing to my body?
Little did I know, these pills were causing digestive issues, depleting essential minerals and vitamins that my body needed to function properly….and the ANXIETY!!!
If you follow me at all, I talk about my anxiety and mini panic attacks that started in my late teens/early 20s…GUESS WHAT?? ALL RELATED!!! Remember where most of your serotonin lives?
Of course I never connected any of this as a teenager, not even after earning a doctorate degree in pharmacy. Not even after many years, sitting down with doctor after doctor, many who are fertility specialists, the best in their fields at reputable establishments. I mean, I was in good hands and nobody could give me a good answer other than birth control pills, or that one SUPER FUNNY University of Pennsylvania Fertility Specialist who chuckled at his desk with my mom and 22 year old, pharmacy student me, “Just get pregnant every 9 months.” We didn’t laugh….he was the same guy, who when we first met said the obvious, that endometriosis grows from estrogen, why would a doctor put you on BCPs….fast forward 6 months, said doctor gave me a prescription for BCPs when his procedures didn’t help. š¤·š¼āāļø
Fast forward another 20 years, about 240 packs of BCPs, and one miracle baby turned teenager later, I left an OBGYN consult regarding potential surgery…remember this was during covid so I was by myself sitting on an exam table with a stirrup in my face, my doctor standing speaking to me about removing my fallopian tubes and an ovary that causes me much pain on the daily, and a med student staring at me taking notes. I left the office and burst into tears and called the only person that I knew would have an answer, a plan, a laugh and would make me feel better. Theresa Long Moore my bestie and omniscient practitioner of all things natural and holistic to help me get it together. She calmed me down, we got a plan together, and quite frankly, it changed my life! Not only did I start to focus on root cause for myself, I started to become very aware of this root cause in my daily pharmacy practice for my patients.
If you are still with me, interested in what I am saying… šš»
š£ These pills can wreak havoc on the body and cause silent (or not so silent) side affects that are just considered PMS or just the things “we have to just suffer with” and most importantly, what is happening to the body and how it can lead to health issues later in life.
Learning how your gut health is connected with hormonal balance is so important for women to understand! It is not talked about enough! LET’S CHANGE THIS!
Let’s love and nurture our bodies and the AMAZING gifts that they are!
I’m here if you need my help! Xox