A Symptom in the Making for Eight Years: She’s on Birth Control and Now Has Brown Discharge

After taking birth control for eight years, she’s experiencing her first bout of brown vaginal discharge. Like many women, she rightly suspects the culprit is her oral contraceptive.

Case #: 1513

Concern：

I started birth control exactly eight years ago, and on that eighth day I experienced brown discharge. Could this be a result of the birth control? Or could it be something else?

Discussion：

Throughout the 1950s, a married woman was likely to have four children before age 25. These large families were crammed into small houses that offered little in the way of comfort – the costs of feeding and clothing so many children prevented parents from moving into the spaces they desperately needed.

It is no wonder that, by the time birth control hit mass markets in 1960, women everywhere wanted it. They no longer had to accept the toil of raising kids and running large households. The pill even allowed them to take an active stance on their own health care needs. But this liberation came with a cost that persists today: the pill is an imperfect solution to the dilemma posed by sex and motherhood.

Pros and Cons of the Pill

In addition to preventing pregnancy, the pill presents certain health benefits that cannot be found in other medications. It controls periods so they are lighter and less painful; has shown to prevent uterine and ovarian cancers; reduces the severity of PMS, including the appearance of acne; and protects against the development of ovarian cysts.

The pill’s cons include the risk for increased blood pressure as well as an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Birth control pills can also cause blood clots that may lead to stroke or heart attack and present a laundry list of side effects that range from fatigue to loss of libido. Another common side effect is brown vaginal discharge. Doctors call this “breakthrough bleeding” and describe it as a “normal” yet temporary occurrence.

Why the Brown Discharge?

Birth control pills contain artificial hormones that mimic the body’s natural production of estrogen and progesterone. These chemicals are intended to prevent ovulation, the key event that precedes pregnancy. Without ovulation, no egg is released for sperm to fertilize.

But adding synthetic hormones to the body upsets the delicate balance of those hormones already present. Estrogen and progesterone naturally offset each other’s functions to keep the female body stable. Any disruption to one therefore means a disruption to the other.

Estrogen helps create the uterine lining that sheds each month during menstruation. When estrogen is optimally balanced, that lining develops in a thick, lush layer and remains in place until bleeding starts. A deficiency in the hormone, however, disrupts the lining’s development – it grows in a thin and watery consistency. Unable to remain in the uterus until menstruation starts, it sheds throughout the menstrual cycle. Your brown vaginal discharge is therefore an effect of hormonal imbalances.

Balance Your Hormones and Correct the Problem

Any woman who has taken birth control for an extended time is likely to have a hormonal imbalance. Such a phenomenon starts with the liver, which is responsible for metabolizing medications and hormones. Overloading this organ with too many chemicals impedes its function. Depending on the way in which your body responds to birth control pills, either estrogen or progesterone levels can become too high. The other hormone then becomes too low.

To eliminate your vaginal discharge, you must restore balance to your hormones. Don’t worry, this isn’t as difficult as it sounds. A relief & detoxification formula can help you achieve this task without the hassle of unwanted side effects. Formulated with such herbs as Fenugreek and Safflower, it boosts immunity to eliminate infection and also expels toxins from the body. (TRY: Natural Formula for Vaginal Detox & Infection Relief) The liver is then free to function effectively, meaning it metabolizes excess hormones until they are again in balance.