Hormonal contraceptives suppress your natural hormones, including testosterone. When you suddenly stop talking it, there is a rebound hyper secretion of sebum, your skins natural oil production because of androgen rebound.

It happens because your ovaries stopped talking to your pituitary gland while you were on the pill and now, they are re-learning how to communicate with your brain again.

Secondly Birth control pills or any other form of contraception alters the gut flora in your intestines causing dysbiosis.

In my last post too, I talked about how dysbiosis causes immune system activation and inflammation.

This consistent inflammation sends the immune system into overdrive, so that a simple small pimple turns into an ugly, painful cyst.

How to treat post pill acne?

· Say no to dairy as it is full of hormones and inflammatory proteins (called A1 casein) that may promote or make acne worse.

· Restore your microbiome by promoting healthy gut flora with a homeopathic probiotic. Your gut microbes play a crucial role by metabolizing excess circulating estrogen which helps to reduce inflammation. Also include foods rich in pre- and probiotics in your diet.

· Supplement with zinc as it helps to regulate testosterone, it kills the bacteria on the skin that causes acne, and it reduces keratin production that blocks pores.

Most importantly, do a homeopathic birth control pills detox to restore the hormonal balance.

When Adriana came to see me in my office, she was dealing with many symptoms of post birth control syndrome. One was the lost libido which was taking a toll on her relationship. She had been off the pill from the last two years and had never been feeling the same sex drive what she had pre-pill.

I often see women in my practice who are off the pill and now struggling to have their pre-Pill sex drive. Let us talk about why this happens. First of all, let’s try to figure out which hormone is responsible for our sex drive. It is an androgen, kind of female testosterone. When you are on the pill it replaces the production of natural hormones like estrogen and progesterone with synthetic hormones that suppress the function of your pituitary gland. So your pituitary gland stops producing follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) which are responsible for signaling the ovaries to produce and release an egg. It doesn’t stop here only as it also messes up with the production of free testosterone.

The pill also stimulates the liver for synthesizing a protein called Sex-Hormone Binding Globulin. SHBG binds to testosterone and makes it inactive. As a result, natural hormonal rhythm stops and available testosterone is not enough to kindle the sex drive. The same thing was happening in Adriana’s case. She was suffering because of low testosterone and high levels of SHBG. You might be thinking she was off the pill then why she was having high levels of SHBG.

Post effect of the pill on your libido

When women decide to go off the pill for any reason may be side effects or wants to conceive, their bodies start to produce natural testosterone again. Research has shown that even after quitting the pill, there is a high level of SHBG left in the bloodstream which binds the free testosterone and lowers the available levels of free testosterone which affects your libido. Yes, you read it right, even after quitting the pill SHBG levels remain elevated as Women who stayed on the pill are left with 4 times the amount of SHBG they would normally name. Adriana was put on homeopathic detox and within few appointments, her libido was back.

Anna came to see me with a diagnosis of estrogen dominance from a functional doctor. She was suffering at the hands of heavy bleeding, irregular periods, and an enormous amount of fatigue. She was flipping out over things that usually didn’t bother her. She was not feeling like herself as her mood swings were making her sad and guilty. On further inquiry, I came to know that her bowel movements were also not in good condition. In order to find out the root cause of her condition, when I dug more, I came to know that her immune system had also gone week as last year she had caught coughs and colds several times. She was put on antibiotics. Antibiotics certainly cleared up the bacterial infection but since then her poops and cycles had gone haywire. I was not surprised to hear.

How antibiotics can affect our hormones?

Antibiotics not only change the gut flora but can also increase your estrogen levels. Yes, you read it right, our gut contains a colony of beneficial bacteria called the estrobolome, which produces an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase that helps metabolize estrogen. In a healthy gut, the estrobolome produces just the right amount of beta-glucuronidase to maintain estrogen homeostasis. When you take antibiotics, there is dysbiosis of gut flora resulting in overgrowth of estrobolome bacteria, which means too much beta-glucuronidase being made. This causes already-detoxified estrogen to be reabsorbed and recirculated, in really high levels. This leads to a state of estrogen dominance.

Antibiotics, Emotions, and Hormones

Anna was already dealing with a high level of estrogen. Antibiotics provided another boost to her estrogen levels and now she was dealing with not only physical agony but was also on an emotional roller coaster.  Finding the root cause of all the misery helped me cracked the case quickly. I prescribed her a homeopathic remedy based on her unique symptoms to correct the dysbiosis of her gut flora. She was also prescribed another remedy for her emotional turmoil. Treating the root cause while repopulating the gut flora with homeopathic probiotics did the job wonderfully. During her third follow up she was thrilled as she was having her cycles regularly without heavy bleeding. Her energy level was also increased. She was feeling more light and calm as she mentioned, ‘It feels somebody has pulled me up from a long, dark ditch.’

If you are also struggling with any kind of hormonal imbalance or emotional mess, feel free to book a 15-minute free chat with me by clicking the link below.