Coming off of birth control pill can be scary if you went on it to “fix” particular problems. For me, it was acne, for you maybe it’s the mind numbing cramps or the monthly migraines. Either way you have decided to call it quits and you are scared your old symptoms will return or worsen. Maybe you are starting to realize that it isn’t the healthiest thing for you to be taking very strong synthetic hormones on a daily basis OR maybe you just are ready to get pregnant but are scared of the backlash. Either way, coming off the pill may seem as simple as flushing the pack, but it’s a little more complicated for your body. Here are 3 things to focus on over the next three months to help get you body back on track:
step one:
Supporting liver detoxification
those synthetic hormones that have been floating through your system aren’t just going to disappear overnight. In fact, it may take MONTHS for your liver and kidneys to properly dispose of all that and your liver already has a full time job disposing of everyday toxins. Help the poor guy out! The first month after coming off the pill I always recommend going through a cleanse to reset your system, nourish your body and give your liver the support it needs to work more essentially. If you want to learn more about how to PROPERLY detox CLICK HERE to read my blog post on detoxing.
There are a couple of supplements that I think are great to help support your liver and detox those synthetic estrogens. First is a rather famous, milk thistle, it is a herb that helps your liver to regenerate faster. BTW did you know that your liver can regenerate?? Secondly is a supplement called DIM, it is concentrated cruciferous vegetables that help to bind with excess estrogens to be detoxed. Combine that with the tips detailed in my detox post and you will be helping your body to recover faster.
step two:
Nurturing your first ovulation
This is very important!! When you were on the BCP it prevented you from ovulating AT ALL. So now it’s your bodies job to REMEMBER how to ovulate and produce certain hormones on its own. Imagine your baby making machinery has been gathering dust the last X number of months or years. Well it’s time to dust things off and press the reset button. The journey of the follicle is actually 100 days; meaning it takes a little over 3 months for your follicle to mature to a egg ready for ovulation. It may take you 3 months to get your first period, because you CAN NOT have a true period without ovulating beforehand. This means it’s your job to do your best to nurture your ovaries and the follicles that will attempt graduating to eggs. Nurturing your ovulation really entails supporting your body systems as a whole, because the success of your reproductive system relies heavily on the function of your other systems. Stress management, sleep and nutrition is KEY here. Stress has never been your fertility friend and it certainly isn’t now. High amount of stress can cause your body to prioritize producing stress hormones like cortisol over sex hormones like progesterone. Your body will steal the building blocks for progesterone and funnel that to make cortisol, it’s actually called progesterone steal. Sleep helps to flush cortisol levels and help to restore the full function of your ovaries. Nutrition helps to ensure that your follicles are properly nourished and will develop into a strong and healthy egg.
Ovulation is also important because for the entire time you have been on BCP, your body has not produced progesterone and ovulation is the primary way you get progesterone. Progesterone will help to calm the frazzling effects of high levels of estrogen and balance your mood and nervous system, say goodbye to post pill anxiety and hello peace!
There are a few herbs which I think are AMAZING at kickstarting your reproductive system. The first one is my personal FAVORITE because it is what helped me get my period back, after 6 MONTHS of no ovulation and no period. Macaharmony is an amazing company based out of california and is more potent than any other maca supplement i have tried. They have a cold processing that preserves the integrity of the herb. Maca is an adaptogenic herb that helps to strengthen the communication between the pituitary gland and the ovaires, it is rich in magnesium and supports your adrenal glands. This was my gateway supplement into the big beautiful world of high quality supplements and I take it on a daily basis to this day!
The second one I would recommend is one you have probably already heard of and that is Vitex. Vitex is a wonderful herb, famous primarily for jump starting an absent period because it helps to nurture a healthy ovulation. Pure Encapsulations is a very clean and potent brand that I trust.
step three:
Restoring your gut flora.
Lastly, after years of being on the birth control pill it can certainly have a damaging effect on your digestive system. Birth Control has been linked to an overgrowth of candida yeast, a naturally occurring bacteria that can be damaging when it overgrows. Candida has been linked to acne, fatigue, skin rashes, and an intolerance to sugar. It is important after coming off the pill to support the healthy bacteria in your gut by supplementing with probiotics and getting enough probiotics through food. In addition to a high quality probiotic supplement, you can get probiotics from any fermented food: sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, kimchi. Start adding in more fermented foods in on a daily basis, to crowd out the bad bacteria with good bacteria. Secondly you need to FEED these good bugs with prebiotics; prebiotics are essentially fiber you get from fruit and vegetables. Big takeaways from this is find a high quality probiotic supplement, include more fermented foods with a base of a whole food diet. Designs for health a pharmaceutical grade supplement brand that I’ve partnered with that have an AMAZING probiotic supplement check it out here:
If you need a kick start to help you detox and take one step into a whole food diet, check out my 21 day hormone reset cleanse here!
