Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Finally, SOMEONE Gets it!

When I had the TV on this morning, I saw an advertisement that was SPOT on....no pun intended.
Yes, this post is about our monthly friend...



     I LOVE this ad! It really spoke to me! I was like finally- someone gets it!! Yes, periods are a fact of life. But, that doesn't make them any easier to deal with. For each woman it's different, which can make it even harder to treat systematically.Over the past couple of months I have wondered from time to time if it is something that I should be "treating". I mean, it's a natural process of body- why should I try and change it through a hormonal Birth Control Pill?! Last month, I got sign from Mother Nature. She's good about cuing us in...as long as we listen. Anyway, I began to seriously consider going off the pill as a way to treat my period when three things happened. 


   The first problem was that my period started WAY to early. I am not talking a couple of days, I'm talking a whole week in advance. Then when it finally got to the time when I should have it, it was very out of whack.  When I called my doctor, she seemed to indicate that it was normal and to wait about 3 months of the same type of pattern before coming in. RED FLAG- let my body be out of complete whack for 3 months?! I don't think so...

    Problem number two? Migraines. Everyday, migraines. I had thought that I had a migraine in the past, but boy was I wrong. Almost evening I found myself laying on the couch covering my face and trying not to puke. My husband, a migraine vet, new the signs almost immediately. They were practically untouchable by any sort of Ibuprofen or Excedrin. 

     Last blinking sign? After talking to a friend what night she told me a story that spoke to my biggest apprehension- a friend of hers had been on the pill for about 10 years. When she wanted to have kids, she suddenly found her self unable to do so.  I can't imagine how scary that would be! Fortunately, after years of therapy they were able to conceive.

     That was it! I was done. Off the pill I went! Although there seems to be conflicting studies about the harmful side effects of the pill or "treating" your period, I thought it best to lean on the side of caution. I hope to treat my symptoms naturally. I plan on using my diet, exercise, and Evening Primrose Oil. I know it won't be easy, but it's worth letting my body do what it needs to.

      Here's a couple of good sites if you are interested in finding alternative ways to treat your pms.



Good Luck Ladies.
xoxo,
Suzie

5 comments:

  1. I totally agree that treating things the natural way is the best way to go. Unfortunately in my case I had to "treat" my period. I have PCOS making my periods very very very irregular, heavy, and LONG. I would seriously have my period for a month, stop for 2 weeks, have it again for 3 weeks, stop for 5 months (sending me into an absolute freak out thinking I was pregnant). And we're not talking a normal period...I was anemic all the time becacuse I was losing so much blood. To complicate matters more, I have a genetic blood clotting disorder making it 10X more likely that I will have a blood clot at some point in my lifetime (and the pill can increase those odds). The only way I found out about my genetic disorder was because my cousin actually passed away due to having thousands of blood clots in her body after starting the pill (the same pill I was on at the time!). Doctors immediately pulled me off the pill. I then had to weigh my options. At the time I was a full time student, in a new relationship and definitely did NOT want a baby at that point so some kind of birth control was necissary, and of course some way to control my period. My doc and I decided on the Mirena IUD because it has very little hormone in it and therefore reduces the chances of birth control induced blood clots. The only downside was that I had to go into the OR to have it inserted because my cervix was that of a girl who has never had a child and therefore not very willing to open. A year later and I now get a monthly period that lasts 1-2 days and is barely noticable.

    Aaaaaaanyways, I guess what I'm saying is that for people who want/need to be on birth control but the pill is just not doin it for them, consider an IUD. I would not change it for the world!

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  2. I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your cousin. That's terrible. I think you bring up a very important point! It is so important to listen to our bodies and know when a chemical intervention of such is needed. I have heard really good things about the IUD and I am glad that you bring up the idea that there are other options. Great post and thanks for commenting!!! :)

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  3. I have never been on birth control longer than a month ... but your symptoms sound like drug withdrawl? I have had experience with seeing people detox from drugs and all sounds the same. I am not a fan of medication unless it's life and death or a motrin for one of my clutsy falls. Good luck....did the bc help u lose or gain any weight?

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  4. I was on the pill for about 3 years. I had some really weird experiences on the pill. The three biggest ones were that it made me pretty tired, it changed my disposition slightly, and made me gain weight. That's not to say that there weren't other factors that lead to my weight gain, but it certainly sped up the process. I think I gained about 75 pounds in two years? It was something crazy like that. I have read for some women going off the pill means weight gain, but I haven't experienced that.All of my migraines were happening while I was on the pill. The first day without it, I felt terrible- Tired, nauseous, and headaches. The next day, I actually felt like me!!! I'm like you, I have really tried to cut out chemicals in my body if not entirely necessary. However, I am NOT against them- if you need it for YOU DO IT!

    Thanks for posting ;)

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  5. Just visiting this site from the link on Jimmy Moore's blog. Good site, I've put it in my favorites. I had to comment re migraines - when I hit 50, I was on the pill, had monthly migraines from the estrogen crash & was therefore on prescription estrogen, was overweight (& still am but working on it), and had high blood pressure - all of which is practically a recipe for a stroke! I got an IUD in 2008 & the migraines stopped almost immediately. I have since discontinued the estrogen, I lost 35 lbs in the last year, & I was recently able to stop the blood pressure med - Woo hoo!

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