My journey with birth control

So you’re thinking of coming off of birth control?

I know it can be scary. Trust me, I’ve been there.

I was put on birth control at the age of 18 for two reasons. One, I had killer cycles that left me doubled over in bed with pain and no amount of Advil helped. Two, it felt like every person I knew was on birth control and I wanted to hop on the train too (felt very reminiscent of the time that I demanded to start shaving my legs because everyone else had started and I didn’t want to be left behind).

There were so many things I didn’t know then that I wish I had. 

It wasn’t my fault. It was my doctor's fault. I never got a full explanation or understanding of what birth control was and what it was going to do to my body. I was never warned of the side effects. I was never told that it was not balancing my hormones or fixing my cycle. And I definitely wasn’t told that my cycles would get worse after coming off of it.

Fast forward a few years and at the age of 21 I was ready to stop taking it. I was naturally gravitating towards a more holistic lifestyle and I just hated having to take a pill every day. And to be honest, I wasn’t good at taking it regularly which I knew was worse for me than not taking it at all.

When I discontinued it, I did it under no medical supervision (I didn’t think it was necessary!). At first it was fine. My cycles were pretty much the same the first couple of months.

Then all hell broke loose.

I would go a month without getting it then all of a sudden I would have it twice in one month. My anxiety was worse, I couldn’t keep on weight, my hair was falling out, my breasts had shrunk even smaller than pre-birth control days, and I was growing more hairs on my sideburns and arms than I liked.

So I knew it was time to go back to the doctor and get things checked out. I told her my symptoms and she ran some labs and sent me along my way for the time being.

Then a week later I got a phone call and she told me that my labs were in and I had PCOS and I should go back on the pill, oh and by the way, she already went through the trouble of putting in that prescription for me.

And that was that.

I was shocked.

For one thing, how unprofessional was it to deliver a diagnosis like that over the phone? Even worse, she gave me no reassurance or information on what PCOS was! I relied on Dr. Google to tell me the ins and outs of it and man did I freak out when I saw the glaring infertility and diabetes associated with it.

And to tell me that my only option was to go back to what started it all to begin with?

I was floored. I was upset. I was shocked. I remember calling my mom and crying to her because here I was at 21 thinking I was going to be infertile and end up with diabetes.

That’s what happens when doctors don’t take the time to talk to their patients, educate them, and give them hope for their health and future.

You don’t just drop a bomb on someone like that and send them along their way.

I decided I had enough. I was tired of the healthcare system. I was tired of being left in the dark about my health. I was so unbelievably tired of not being able to make a choice for myself when it came to MY body.

So I decided to go to that trusty ole Dr. Google and figure things out for myself. From what I read about PCOS, I knew there was certain things I needed to do with my lifestyle to be successful.

I changed to an anti-inflammatory & paleo diet, I reduced the number of days I was lifting weights and focused more on sweating, I used herbs like fennel and spearmint to lower my androgens, and I focused on really good self care and stress management.

Within a few months my cycles had normalized, I had none of the symptoms I had before, and I felt better than ever.

I know now that what I had was post pill PCOS. It’s a category of PCOS that can commonly happen to women when they come off the pill. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s definitely something to be mindful of. What I’m most shocked about is that my OB/GYN never considered this for me or thought that my androgens were something I could lower naturally.

It created this fire in me to understand why every single doctor thinks that women’s health issues can be fixed by birth control? I get it when women want to use it for it’s designated purpose - to prevent pregnancy. But we need to stop thinking that the off-brand uses are okay and that the only way to balance hormonal irregularities is to shut down the hormones altogether.

That’s why I found my passion in working with women to optimize their hormones.

I get it. I’ve been there. I wanted more answers too. I wanted to be heard. I wanted my experience to be validated. I wanted to know that there were other options out there and that I could be an active participant in my own healthcare. 

We need to change the model around how we practice women’s health. That’s why I’m in this space. I want to be a part of that change and I want to give women hope when it comes to their health.

Stay tuned for more. I’m a lover of writing and an even bigger lover of all things health and wellness. With this blog, I plan to share glimpses into my own health journey, dive deeper into various health ailments, effective natural treatments, lifestyle tips, and more!

With love,

Dr. Paria Vaziri, ND