PCOS & Birth Control

Was birth control the first thing the doctor offered you after being diagnosed with PCOS? Most women with PCOS are told to take birth control and there are a lot of unanswered questions about the impact this has on the body!

On this episode of A Cyster & Her Mister, we talk about birth control and if it’s a good option after being diagnosed with PCOS. We go over the side effects associated with the pill and the symptoms of post-pill syndrome & what you can do about it!

As always, we read a personal Win of the Week from a cyster who has been managing her PCOS like a boss! Feel free to submit your messages on Instagram for a podcast shout out!

Join us in The Cysterhood, a community of women learning how to manage PCOS & lose weight, Gluten and Dairy Free! http://bit.ly/The-Cysterhood

PCOS & Birth Control 

Sirak and I cannot tell you how often we hear this: “I went to my doctor and told them about my problems with PCOS and they simply prescribed me the birth control pill.” Not only have we heard this a thousand times over, but this was my own experience! 

Often, symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), like painful, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, excess hair growth, and acne, are “treated” using hormonal birth control. However, this commonly (and often flippantly) prescribed medication doesn’t actually get to the root issues of your PCOS . . . and it could potentially make things worse. 

In this episode, we discuss how hormonal birth control can do more harm than good!  

Does Hormonal Birth Control Help PCOS?

First of all, despite popular belief, birth control does not treat PCOS. It can help mask some of the symptoms of PCOS by essentially turning off your reproductive system and cutting communication from your brain to your ovaries. This can regulate your menstrual cycle, prevent ovarian cysts, reduce the growth of excess facial and body hair, and improve acne. But, like I mentioned, it’s not the holy grail it seems. 

Hormonal birth control doesn’t get to the root cause of your symptoms, meaning as soon as you get off the pill, all those symptoms will return (and sometimes worse than before.) Plus, the birth control pill comes with additional symptoms, risk factors, and long-term effects, making the purported benefits seem a lot less enticing . . .

In fact, a lot of women report weight gain on birth control. This is because hormonal birth control gives your body a lot of synthetic estrogen, and that can slow your metabolism down, make you retain water, and reduce your muscle mass. Not good! Hormonal birth control can also make you deficient in essential nutrients like vitamin B6 which is essential for serotonin production. Because of this, many women experience worsening depression and anxiety on birth control. 

But, that’s not all! Hormonal birth control can increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. And, guess what? As a woman with PCOS, you are already at an increased risk of these long-term complications! You don’t need anything worsening your chances of developing long-term complications. 

So, while there are some temporary benefits of hormonal birth control, Sirak and I recommend you reconsider taking it after you weigh the pros and cons:

Pros and Cons of Birth Control for PCOS

Pros 

• Regulates periods
• Reduces androgens to improve hirsutism and acne 
• Prevents ovarian cysts 
• Very effective contraceptive 

Cons

• Can cause nausea 
• Often leads to weight gain
• Can contribute to mood changes
• Increases risk of blood clots
• Worsens insulin levels
• Depletes essential nutrients 
• Strains the liver
• Inflammatory 
• Provides only a temporary solution

Related: Can Birth Control Cause Mood Swings and Irritability?

How Do I Get Off Birth Control?

Know what you’re getting into. 

If you’re ready to get off of hormonal birth control, we’re here with you! Understand that as you get off, your body may have a hard time adjusting and the synthetic hormones may stick in your body for many months or years after you get off birth control. This can cause a series of unpleasant symptoms known as Post Birth Control Syndrome. You can learn more about that from Dr. Jolene Brighten’s book Beyond the Pill! 

Do a liver cleanse. 

Synthetic hormones are hard on your liver. They can strain your liver over time and prevent it from working properly. But the liver is ESSENTIAL for hormone regulation and production, so you need your liver performing at its best. To help reset your liver post-birth control, I recommend doing a liver cleanse! I recommend Gaia Liver Cleanse, but there are lots of options. 

Start taking helpful supplements to address problems.

Hormonal birth control can cause nutrition deficiencies of vitamin B6, B12, magnesium, and folate. All of these are essential for reducing inflammation, balancing hormones, and just feeling your best! To help get your body back in shape, get a high-quality multivitamin like my MetaMulti from my Ovafit line! 

Maintain a balanced, anti-inflammatory diet. 

Hormonal birth control is inflammatory, which is terrible for a PCOS body (or any body!) Inflammation can cause fatigue, body pain, headaches, digestive issues, and more. So, to heal the inflammation that’s been brewing for however long you’ve been taking the pill, we recommend an anti-inflammatory gluten- and dairy-free diet. Don’t worry, it’s not restrictive—it’s just intentional to help you heal! You can find all my meal plans and PCOS-friendly recipes on The Cysterhood app. 

Choose a new form of birth control. 

If you still need contraceptive, make sure you choose a new form! There are non-hormonal options that are much better for a PCOS body. We’ll get more into that below. 

Address your PCOS symptoms using natural methods. 

Of course, you got on hormonal birth control, hoping it was a cure for PCOS. It wasn’t, and that’s really difficult, but there are still ways you can heal that actually get to the root cause of the issue and allow you to reverse your PCOS and finally live symptom-free! Here’s how you can naturally manage your PCOS. 

What Is The Best Birth Control For PCOS?

The best birth control to prevent pregnancy with PCOS is debatable! I recommend cycle tracking/natural family planning, but that can be less effective depending on how you do your tracking. Here are some great ovulation tests for PCOS, but if you’re curious about other options, here’s our post on IUDs!

Can Both Control Cause PCOS?

We’ve already discussed how birth control is not a PCOS treatment, but can it actually cause PCOS? We explore that in THIS post. For more on how birth control can negatively affect your body, check out part two of our birth controls series where we interview Jolene Brighten!