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Detox and Birth Control

I wanted to ask something to see if anyone else has had a similar experience. I got off of birth control pills in July, and from August to November I was constantly sick with the flu or things like it. Getting sick had nothing to do with getting off the pills, but it inspired me to make a change. The second to last time I was sick I said

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  • AleBrazilAleBrazil Raw Newbie

    Ola RawrAdisaurous!
    Wow, just so much going on, may be your body is just trying to find its center.

    We womyn are so ruled by are hormones. Your body has gone and is still going through so many,many changes. Give it sometime. A few months.

    Just as a general rule: the body needs fats to make hormones, so some raw womyn end up not having periods for months or years.

    One thing I can tell you for sure is:
    It is ALL related. Its all happening to one body. Thus it is all related. Could 32 hours of sleeping not be related to “hormonal detox PMS?”

    Best advice I can give you, if you need some is:
    find a great midwife you can talk to.

    Peace,
    Al

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Interesting. Have you always had a regular cycle before BCPs? Is pregnancy ruled out?

    One time, I did a cleanse and was on a raw diet… and my longest cycle was 45 days. I thought I was pregnant, but it just came very late.

    After BCPs, it can take a month or more for your body to return to its cycle; that’s what I remember reading from the Natural Birth Control book I have. I used to be quite regular… but ever since doing a cleanse and eating raw meals, it’s not as predictable. I’m not 100% raw.

  • It’s been such a journey. It seems that I started on this path long before I had even heard of raw foods. The pills made me depressed, emotional, eliminated my sex drive, and my periods were just not natural to me. I just felt so unnatural and like something was wrong that I (along with my husband) decided to get off the pills. I got off and we purchased a LadyComp. A fertility computer. Tracks my temperature, menstruation , and the length of my cycle. Tells me which days I am more likely to be unfertile. So we are using that as alternate birth control.

    I was always regular before the pills. One cycle was 46 days long and the next one was 86 days. Both times I thought I was pregnant and I got urine and blood tests to make certain I wasn’t. Should I consume more seeds to make sure I get enough fat?? I eat about half a cup to 1 cup a day. I also use olive oil, flax seed oil, and eat 1 hass avocado a day. Are there any supplements or foods I should be taking/eating to regulate me?

    Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it all. It’s nice to have some other people that understand. Besides my husband, I only have 1 other friend that is raw, and he’s a guy.

    AleBrazil: Where can I find a midwife?

  • Hi ladies! I was wondering if you knew any good online resources where I can research the effect of BCP’s? I just stopped taking them (on accident b/c I’m moving & forgot to refill), but debating on starting up again. I’ve always liked being on them b/c I have acne and they seem to help. I would like to be more educated on the subject.

  • MarichiesaMarichiesa Raw Newbie

    RawrAdisaurus,

    Alebrazil is right. Its all related! I have addressed this topic on a different thread because I thought I was in menopause! ( ha! ) I’m recently turned 40 but have always been a clockwork fertile myrtle.( 3 kids all conceived with a thought practically.) For the past 11, raw, months, starting age 39 I had no period. Then 4 days ago I got it. Total shock!!!! Exhaustion, mood swings, crazy bloating the whole shebang. I’m muddling through but choosing to look at it as my body finding its next deeper level of balance. Bodies are FASCINATING! ;0)

  • AleBrazilAleBrazil Raw Newbie

    About finding a Midwife:
    I don

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    I just got off Yasmin a couple of weeks ago. Nothing strange happened yet, too soon to tell if I’m ‘back on track.” I do feel a lot calmer and less anxiety as a result. A site I’ve been reading up on is www.fertilityfriend.com to learn about charting. I was on BC for about 2 years, but now I feel better knowing I’m off it. I don’t trust big pharma!

  • raw_mama: when i was researching the subject to see what I could do, I came upon this: http://www.epigee.org/guide/hormonal.html and http://www.epigee.org/guide/pill.html – I am sure there are better websites and resources on the subject but that is the only one I saved. Personally, they just made me very depressed and I had alot of sad days and I never wanted to have sex. It just seems that suppressing ovulation can do more damage than it can do good.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    I’m tracking my eating habits… so, I’ll have to check how fat affects my cycle. I had no idea!

    I’m curious… so, if I wanted to have a longer cycle… is it recommended to eat less fats… or should I not even be thinking that and take the “recommended” amount of fat and get my cycle regularly? (did that make sense)

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    Well I’ve been off BC pills for almost three weeks and yesterday had an awful bout of depression/severe moodiness…I def didnt feel like myself…I thought I was going mad and realized it was probably due to being off BC….my poor boyfriend!! UGH being a woman is rough sometimes. Anyway I found a forum here http://www.steadyhealth.com/Side_effects_of_sto…

    Now I know this is a pretty common side effect. I’m very relieved to be off pills and will have to wait it out until I get back on track…I just cant stand the depression/moodiness, Ive been depressed before in my life and it’s truly the worst feeling!! At least my diet is healthy and I exercise, it could be soooo much worse like during my SAD days….LOL….sad and SAD…one in the same sometimes…

  • AleBrazilAleBrazil Raw Newbie

    germin8, Personally I would not recommend cutting out fats so your cycles are further apart simply because youer body needs fats for all kinds of things.

    So it

  • teadeteade Raw Newbie

    So I just got off of birth control on oct 15... I spotted very lightly in November, but haven't had a period since...

    I read that it can take 3-6 months to get your period... and that for some, very rarely, it took 18 months tops!!! omg, I can not wait that long!

    Is there any way to specifically help out my body to speed up this process? Should I consume more fats? I do eat fat, I also had regular periods before the pill and on the pill.

    I also have taken 4 pregnancy tests and they were all negative (I haven't even had sex, but I did do other things, but I'm positive sperm didn't touch there)

    Anyone offer advice?

  • I did the same thing as you, I stop taking my birth controls, because I wanted to go all natural. The same thing happened, I was really irregular in my periods. I found the most natural thing for it and it works, RED CLOVER tea. I know that you still have to boil water to drink it. It might take a few months to take effects, but it will take less time to stop bleeding. At least drink one tea per day. It helped me.

    Let us know how that works.

  • Hiii... Im scared. I have never missed a peroid.. Though I have never paid close attention either... I have taken the pill but never for longer than a month. I have never felt natural or safe or trust in that weirdo idea, so I tried a few times, but failed every time...

    Anyhow.. I had a questionable evening with my boyfriend and did take the morning after pill.... (YUK)..... but anyways... I have still not had my period and its been about a month.. I have taken two pregnancy tests and both came up negative... I am sorta bothered... I guess I have been extremely stressed out lately, and have also been experiencing symptoms of IBS.... I read that that is common in young women as it can be hormonal related, and stress certainly doesn't help. I have also been extremely depressed as well... Perhaps that is what is causing the delay? I dont know.. :( I felt a few times the onset of a menstrual cycle but.... nothing. I am only 18 I am far too young for an unexpected birth... :(

    I am taking Udos Oil as a supplement (not to mention the ONLY supplement that i take other than clay for digestive help and mineral supplement) And I do eat alot of nuts and seeeds (i was freaked cause i though i was eating too many, and now perhaps too little!?!??!?!)

    I dont know.. I am really worried sick. I am young and still learning alot about being raw... Any words of wisdom would be wonderful..

    p.s. I am probably 80% raw. And have been for three months now. (rice and oats get me every time!)

  • AleBrazil, I agree Depo Provero is horrible. I took it way back when in my twenties (I'm a young 38-woohoo!) and it totally took away my periods. And yet, it made me feel like less of a woman. No, I didn't fell like a man ("He a-looka-like-aman"-Mrs.Swan-MadTV) but I still didn't feel quite right either. It was affective as a BC-method but I went back on the pill after stopping it.

    Then, the pill was no walk in the park either. MAJOR mood swings, weight gain!! The fact that I was putting hormones in my body that WEREN'T MINE bothered me to no end too. After much debate, from both sides with my husband, I decided to go off the pill and he agree to get snip-snipped (his idea, not mine). BEST thing we could have done. Of course, it's the last resort if you're not wanting to have any kids.

    Anywho, I FEEL like myself again now that I'm off any BC method. I track Aunt Flo with a star on the calender each month so I have a general idea when she's coming to visit. Granted, I'm peri-menopause (hereditary thanks Mom!!) The monthly mild-moodiness I experience is from the next stage in womanhood...the occasional hot flash is okay by me.

    Raw foods make me feel alive. I can literally feel the 'powerful, life force' when I drink a green smoothie each time, knowing I'm getting the absolute freshest, healthiest food source into my body. I know that sounds rather hokie but it's true.

  • Okay, I just cut and pasted this from some random website that popped up when I Googled: herbs for menstruation. I hope it helps. I've personally used don quai and vitex, finding both beneficial. However, licorice should be used with caution as it can raise blood pressure in those prone to it. As always, it's a good idea to study up on stuff before using it.

    "Menstruation usually follows ovulation like clockwork: 14 days after releasing an egg, a woman begins bleeding. If there is any variance in this cycle, it is most often during the time after menstruation. However, to be normal, your cycle need not be exactly 28 days long; it should only be fairly regular. It is also normal for the menstrual cycle to shorten and become irregular as you approach menopause.

    A changeable cycle probably means a hormone imbalance. Ginseng, Siberian ginseng, motherwort, vitex, don quai and licorice can help. The Chinese have been using don quai to regulate menstruation since at least the sixth century b.c. Typically, don quai is taken during the two weeks before menstruation.

    Results of studies conducted in China led researchers to conclude that this herb enhances the utilization of oxygen in the liver and also that it contains small amounts of nutrients important to women: vitamins B2, B6 and E, pantothenic acid, choline and zinc. Since don quai can increase uterine bleeding, avoid it if you are pregnant or have heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis or uterine fibroids, unless a knowledgeable herb practitioner gives it to you as part of a formula.

    Other herbs used in both Chinese and Western formulas to regulate a woman's cycle are motherwort, skullcap and ginger. They are especially useful to encourage menstruation that has been delayed by illness, stress or overexertion. Studies conducted in India showed that aloe vera juice, traditionally used there as a female tonic, also regulates menstruation. You can purchase this juice ready to drink in a natural food store.

    Most of the women I know who have regulated their menstrual cycle with herbs

  • www. mothernature.com.....that's the site I googled.

    :)

    Oh, and when you're close to when you THINK you're having your period, or a little late and positive it's not pregnancy, take as hot a bath as you can stand with some epsom salts swirled in with lavender essential oils and sip a glass of wine (if you partake from time to time....I know, I know, it's not raw but geesh, it's once in awhile and wine does have SOME health benefits..:). This "ritual" usual relaxes you and puts your mind at ease. Before you know, Aunt Flo is knocking on the door, demanding to visit!!! lol

  • Hi RawrAdisaurous ...I have a similar problem last year after I stopped taking birth control pills. I stopped having periods for like 3 or 4 months and I became extremely scared at a certain point. First I thought I got pregnant but after I went to a doctor I found out that cigarette bins was the reason my body behaved awkward

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