Wholistic Birth Control
Did you know that the pill was tested on impoverished, Catholic women in Puerto Rico? Did you know that out of approximately 132 women tried for the pill back in the 1950’s that 3 of them actually died? Did you know that the pill was released to the general public anyway?
Theresa Vargas cites, “The truth was that little was known about the drug’s effects when Rock and biologist Gregory Pincus – with the backing of birth control advocate Margaret Sanger and philanthropist Katherine McCormick – decided to launch the human trials. The drug had been tested on rats and rabbits, and on a small sampling of women in Rock’s medical practice in Massachusetts. But its largest test would be in Puerto Rico, where as many as 1,500 women took the drug over several years.
Three women in the trials died. But no autopsies were conducted, and so it remains unclear if their deaths were linked to the drug, which was given in much higher doses than it is today.”
Did you know that Doctors chose not to share these results as they may “confuse the patient?” Those patients, my fellow goddesses, were our grandmothers, our mothers, our sisters and our aunts. I’m pretty sure that they were anxiously waiting for an easy and accessible answer to not be trapped at home with unwanted pregnancies. However, by also choosing not to examine the cautionary inserts included with their prescription of 28 days worth of little pink pills, they were buying more than they bargained for.
We’ve been sold a bill of goods, my friends, and it is time for us to reclaim our hormonal health just as John Robbins wrote in his book, “Reclaiming Our Health: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Sources of True Healing.” It was there, back in 1998 in the pages of that book, that I was first shocked to learn how women had been harmed by hormonal birth control.
Here are some of the common side-effects of the birth control pill as per Cosmopolitan Magazine:
THE BAD
- 1. Nausea. Though expected to last only up to three months, some women feel queasy when they start the Pill, Ross says. Taking your pill with a meal can help reduce how icky you feel during the time your body needs to adjust to new levels of estrogen and progesterone.
- 2. Breast tenderness. Alas, this downside of oral contraceptives can apparently last for up to 18 months on the Pill, according to a report by the American Family Physician. Sorry.
- 3. Bloating. Changes in the ups and downs of your body’s sex hormones can lead to water retention and bloating. These effects may be particularly strong for women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and other gastrointestinal tract disorders. That being said, many women feel better six months into a new pill regimen.
- 4. Headaches. A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that approximately 10 percent of women feel headachy within a month of starting the pill. Once the body acclimates to a new oral contraceptive, however, the study authors conclude most reports of headaches go away.
- 5. Increased appetite. Perhaps you recall from ever having PMS that hormones can make you super hungry. Same goes when you alter your estrogen and progesterone levels via birth control. But an increased appetite doesn’t always lead to packing on pounds, Ross points out. In fact, she says, “there’s still no definitive proof that birth control directly causes weight gain.”
- 6. Yeast infections. Some women may need to invest in a few more Monostat packs after they go on the pill. Ross says this is likely due to changes in the use of tampons and new patterns of bleeding induced by the Pill.
- 7. Mood swings — and other emotional issues. This issue is complicated. While some women with a history of mood issues — depression, anxiety, even insomnia — tend to see an increase in their symptoms’ severity once they go on some birth control pills, others report that going on the Pill improves their psychological turmoil. (More on this below.)
- 8. Blood clots. Newer versions of birth control pills (like Yasmin) appear to put some women at an elevated risk of blood clots compared to “first-generation” pills, whose progesterone has a different chemical makeup. So long as gynecologists and patients monitor side effects, this can be kept under control. But be sure to bring this up with your doctor, just to be safe.
- 9. Brown spots on your face. Oral contraceptives have been found to increase women’s risk of a skin condition called melasma, which can make your face break out in some brown-colored splotches. Research shows, however, that this is more likely to occur in women who have a family history of the skin issue. Switching from the pill to an IUD may be able to resolve this, several case studies suggest.
- 10. Lower sex drive. Some women report decreases in their libido once they begin the Pill, Ross says. But she points out that much of this may be due to birth control’s shorter-term side effects — think: bloating, breast pain. (Who wants to be sexual when everything hurts and you feel like there’s a balloon in your belly?)
- 11. changes to eyesight for those using contact lenses
Sound like a bad late-night television ad by Big Pharma for a drug you’d never choose to take because the side effects outweigh the benefits? They don’t even mention infertility.
We’ve been addressing folks’ timeline traumas for almost 20 years and we’ve noticed that when we address the pill homeopathically on the law of nature, like cures like, suddenly they will be able to conceive.
I, myself, suffered a mini-stroke on the pill in 1982. While being treated for said trauma at The Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, I also learned that that there is a home north of the city dedicated to women who’d suffered strokes and other debilitating side-effects while taking the pill.
So what do you do if you want to engage in romantic love and sex without risking the chance of conception? How do you preserve your hormonal health? How can you ensure you don’t risk having to suffer from the list of side effects? Or infertility later on? Or have a stroke like I did and end up in hospital either short or long term? Or God-forbid, end up like three of the women from Puerto Rico did?
Here’re are the options we suggest for our own patients:
THE LUWI
This is a latex-free alternative to the condom that acts like a second skin in the woman’s vaginal canal. You insert it so you’re sure that you’re covered. You can join their club out of the UK and they’ll drop ship these latex free sheaths. The big advantage of a Luwi is that you can wear it up to 8 hours before intercourse so you don’t have to suspend lovemaking to put anything on. It also prevents STD’s and potential infections.
THE FEM-CAP
The Fem-cap is softer silicone than say a DivaCup, but kind of similar. It takes a few tries the first time to really make sure it’s in place, but there are lots of instructions and Youtubes, etc. Colleagues of mine have never had it slip out of place, their partner can’t feel it, and you can leave it in for 24 hours. You can add more spermicide and use it multiple times. You just need to keep it in for 7 hours after sex.
It uses a lactic acid based spermicide which they also sell- totally natural, and they haven’t had any issues with it throwing off their vaginal flora.
http://www.anarreshealth.ca/product/contraception-fem-cap-cervical-cap-98-effective
NON-MEDICATED IUD
Between my own pregnancies, I used a non-medicated IUD. I had 3 of them over the course of my menstruating years in between my two children. After my fiasco with hormonal birth control, I was not about to risk a progesterone time-released IUD.
In my mind, I was not about to mess with the 5,000 self-regulating hormones and chemicals in my body. I’d already an inch and a half tumor in my left breast that I wasn’t going to risk messing with my hormones any further. I didn’t even use the copper ones. For patients, I’ve added a dose of homeopathic copper (cuprum) for regular chelation in their Drainage and Organ Support Dropper Bottle.
THE SALIVA TEST
We used to recommend The Lady Comp when back when we first opened our practices, however, they don’t seem to be making them anymore. There are fertility saliva tests you can choose from, so we found one that touts a 98% accuracy.
Now this wasn’t a great method for me as my hormone levels did not show up clearly enough for me to have an accurate read out, while other women who do have high enough levels love this option. This is why I chose the IUD as I could pretty much conceive while folding my husband’s underwear!
CONDOM and SPERMICIDE (natural sources)
Once you know if you’re ovulating, or you want to be on the safe side with your committed partner, or you’re engaging in a fling or one night stand with a partner you don’t wholly know, this is always a good back up option.
Here’s some natural alternatives to the usual condom and spermicides you buy at the drugstore:
https://ethicalfamilyplanning.com/natural-contraception/homemade-spermicide.html
https://www.meghantelpner.com/blog/natural-condoms-lubricant-organic/
http://www.justinathompson.com/blog/2014/8/5/how-to-shop-for-condoms
http://naturalspermicide.blogspot.com/2011/01/comparing-spermicides.html
THE PERFECT NATURAL LUBRICANT
Coconut oil … enough said!
No Liability Note: The author and physicians at Arcanum Wholistic Clinic are in no way liable for the information offered in this blog. Whatever means of birth control you use has to ultimately be your decision and ultimate responsibility. Also, we do not recommend tubal ligation or vasectomy as these disturb the natural, healthy operating of our sex organs. What affects one part of us ultimately affects the whole.
Sources:
https://www.johnrobbins.info/other-books-by-john/reclaiming-our-health/
https://arcanum.ca/2018/01/03/the-pill-blog/
https://www.healthline.com/health/birth-control-effects-on-body#9
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290196.php
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a56313/side-effects-of-your-birth-control-pill/
https://arcanum.ca/2018/05/24/are-your-hormones-marching-to-a-toxic-beat/
https://ethicalfamilyplanning.com/natural-contraception/homemade-spermicide.html
https://www.meghantelpner.com/blog/natural-condoms-lubricant-organic/
http://naturalspermicide.blogspot.com/2011/01/comparing-spermicides.html