Growing Older on Oral Contraceptives

Woman has taken birth control for several years with no ill effects. Lately she has experienced a brown discharge, cramping, and mood swings, as well as a disinterest in sex and poor vaginal lubrication. What is causing the change? What can be done about it?

Case #: 911

Concern：

I’ve been taking hormonal contraceptives for a couple of years now, and lately I’ve been getting a brown discharge, cramps below my tummy, and moody swings. Sex is uncomfortable, dry, and my sex drive is very low and can go very quickly. Please, can you help me?

Discussion：

The problems you’re experiencing have to do with how your body is processing the hormones from your oral contraceptives. It appears that originally, your body was doing rather well balancing the estrogen and progesterone levels in your body, even with the added hormones from the birth control.

Now it seems that your body has either stopped processing the hormones so efficiently, or, that your body has begun to enter peri-menopause and estrogen production has slowed. That’s where your problems begin. Each of your issues is related to insufficient levels of estrogen.

Estrogen to the Rescue

To solve all the problems you’re currently experiencing, the solution is simple: increase your estrogen levels. But while the answer is a simple one, formulating the best way to do so might be a bit more complicated. It’s rather unsafe to ingest pure estrogen—high levels of estrogen in the body have been linked to breast cancer and blood clots in the legs, as well as uterine and ovarian cancer. This is due to estrogen’s function as a tissue growth stimulant in the genital and breast areas.

External Sources of Estrogen

However, you can take in enough estrogen to rebalance the levels of hormones in your body without putting yourself at risk for these diseases. Because you’re experiencing problems not solely relegated to your genital region, it does seem necessary for you to systemically increase your estrogen. For some women experiencing vaginal dryness and low sex drive, it is often enough for them to apply a topical estrogen cream to reinstate their healthy sex life. In your instance, we must institute a holistic hormonal change.

A Safe Alternative

What I consistently recommend for women in your position is to consider integrating phytoestrogens into their diet. Phytoestrogens are plant chemicals that can act inside the body as hormonal agents, but don’t carry the same payload as actual hormone molecules. Not only that, but because they are plant derived, the chemicals are able to degrade in the body in a way that synthetic hormones do not.

Where does one come across these phytoestrogens? If you’re eating a healthy diet, you probably already are! They’re found in beans, legumes, and soy products. However, the levels needed to generate hormonal change are higher than what are likely to be found in your regular dietary intake.

Clarify and Recondition

What I’m recommending that you do is to begin a natural herbal formula designed to reduce vaginal discharge. (TRY: Vaginal Regeneration & Detoxification Formula) The reason I suggest this particular formula is because it not only contains herbs high in phytoestrogens, but also uses powerful detoxifying herbs to flush the excess synthetic hormones from your body; resulting in a more efficiently processing hormonal system overall.

I’m one hundred percent certain that by supplementing your diet with more phytoestrogens to increase your estrogen levels will solve every problem you’re experiencing. You won’t need to worry about discharge, dryness, or sexual disinterest any longer.