Hey everyone
We have received a lot of emails and comments in regards to hormones and we wanted to go ahead and address this issue on our blog. We wanted to give you all an update on how our hormones are doing since being off birth control.
Twins Hormonal Story:
We both had been taking birth control pills for 10 tens when we decided to call it quits! It was each of our own personal decision to do it. **Remember it is your own individual choice to take the pill or not because everyone has their own reasons.
Michelle has been off birth control for about 1 year. As she learned more about the ‘natural world of eating’ she decided she wanted all of her life to be more natural and went off the pill. She got off it for her own reasons, she did not want to have to take a pill anymore. She just got tired of putting foreign/fake hormones into her body. Her body was also showing her signs that it was time to re-think the pill. She started to see some of her old symptoms coming back which made her realize that the pill and her body were not getting along any more.
I have been off the pill for about 7 months. I definitely have seen pros and cons from going off the pill. I saw Michelle do it first (she is the guinea pig in our family) and saw how mentally she was loving not being on the pill. Though I did see her downsides like breakouts, emotional ups and downs, etc. Even after seeing her struggles I still wanted to GO OFF THE PILL! And I did!
**Side note – plus both of us still have not had our periods since going off the pill. Michelle has had test done, both nothing showed up. We thought maybe it had to deal with thyroid, but test result came back fine. Both of us were at first alarmed but now have realized it will take time for our body to come back into balance. I mean for 10 years it was on auto-pilot, so to speak!
Now I have been sharing some of my struggles of me ‘going off the pill’ here on the blog. Some symptoms I have been experiencing are emotional ups and downs, acne (this has been the hardest to deal with), change in my energy levels, and depression (another big issue). Remember each person will experience different symptoms. Some people may not experience any of these but yet some people will experience all of them. It just all depends on each person individually. Sorry that we can not be like “yeah you will do fine off the pill, you will see no side effects” because that is just not true. Though, we do feel going off the pill has been a great decision no matter the side effects we are going through because we know our body will eventually get back to normal! Remember healing is a journey!!!!!!!
Ok enough of the side effects let’s get into how we are naturally healing our hormonal imbalance!
Twins Healing Hormonal Imbalance FOOD Plan:
Things that we have been doing to help ‘heal’ our bodies after going off birth control are
- eating a high raw diet
- drinking green smoothies everyday
- incorporate at least 2 fermented foods a day
- eat more zinc, vitamin A and E containing foods
- make sure we are getting are essential fatty acids
- increase our coconut oil intake
- drinking clean water (natural spring water and/or reverse osmosis)
- have MSM powder
- incorporate pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds more into our diet
We have been reading and learning more and more about how to ‘eat’ the right things to help with hormones. Our part 2 post will be more about this and our face care routine. We will provide more natural remedies in our next post too.
And we got an email from a reader,Jessica, who told us about a great online community for hormonal and birth control help and advice that she started up. Please check it out, goingoffbirthcontrolpills.com. Also our friend and counselor, Gena, discussed her thoughts on birth control you can read here.
It is great to see others sharing their experiences because it really helps mentally knowing that you are not the only one with issues! 
Please stay tuned for Part 2 of Hormones! We have so much great insight to share with you all.
Till next time,
The Twins
L&M
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post girls!!!! I was surprised by the lack of information available online and known by doctors regarding symptoms when going off BC. I have been off the pill now for 6 weeks and I feel better than I have in years. Yes I was a bit CRAZY (for lack of a better word) for the first 3 weeks but I am slowly becoming more stable than I have ever been. The pill made me have such high highs and such low lows and I haven’t felt that since stopping. Also, my chest is smaller (which I am happy about), and my appetite is decreasing. However, in only 6 weeks I have already noticed my face breaking out a teeny bit. It is interesting to see how differently everyone reacts to stopping.
Oh also, I could nap ALLL afternoon. I haven’t needed this much sleep since I was 16. I sleep every chance I can now, and I was never like that before. I get tired faster too.
Sabrina, thanks for your lovely comment! Yes we noticed our sleeping being different at first too, it has gotten better lately though some days we are still very tired and hard to get up! And there really isnt that many great sites for good information which is sad. It is interesting to see how people react differently.
Hey girls! I went off the pill because mainly I did not like the way it made me feel, and I LOVE not worrying about it. I did not get my period for about 6-8 months after going off, so that is completely normal. Everything is fine now, so don’t have any worries! Like I said, 6-8 months and I wasn’t on the pill for anywhere near 10 years!
Whit, glad to see you went off the pill and doing better now
I hope I get there soon!
I was on a pill for 5 years and it was the most horrific decision I had ever made. My world changed back to normal… almost, when I came off it. I did not have any break outs, but the pill caused a huge hormone imbalance, depression and other things. I had not had a period for over 2 years after I got off–some people NEVER recover from it–that is what they fail to tell you. Outside of cleaning out my system with a high raw diet and seeing huge improvements I finally had to get on a progesterone supplement [natural] and that was the only was I could start my period again.
I am still dealing with side-effects of the pill and how I wish I could turn the clock and have a do-over with this. I could have felt like a human being and a woman for the 5 years that I felt miserable and could not figure out why until after the fact.
Elena, thanks for your great comment! Yes depression is an issue we are dealing with as well coming off the pill. And I agree not many people tell you that you may not get your period back for awhile and how different your body is going to feel after being off of it! I wish you the best of luck!
that’s really interesting, I’ve often wondered about that. I know I’ve had to try out a bunch of different kinds, as they really played with my emotions. Looking forward to part 2!!
Thanks so much for sharing as I know this can be a very personal topic…and know you are not alone.
I really appreciate how you the both of you treat your bodies…you are doing the best you can, and I hope you both find your balance soon!
Heather, it is a personal topic but one that needs to be addressed, so many women need to understand the full circle of what hormones and BC are all about. And the best ways to help find balance, I think we are all trying to find that
“I mean for 10 years it was on auto-pilot, so to speak!”—THANK GOD you went off it now. Seriously, I have mommy friends who didnt go off it til they were ready to start trying and at age 27-30, then it takes 1+ yr for period to return, and all of a sudden, it’s a really long process and clocks are ticking. Really, this was the best thing you could do.
I was on it from ages 15 to 28. No issue getting my cycle back but I have come to find out I was/am rare.
I love this post. Thank you for bringing attn to this matter…as has Gena. The message always bears repeating though
Thanks Averie, wow such great information. And yes it does need to be repeated often. Women need to know that BC is doing to their bodies and the side effects of coming off of it.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and journey with such a personal topic. Your insight and honesty is always appreciated
Thanks Kelly, this is a personal topic, but something we want to share hoping to help other girls!
Hi Sweet Ladies!
Thank you for doing this post – I honestly thought I was the only person going through something like this – it’s nice to know I’m not alone. My hormones are all over the place and I have not had a period in over 1 year and a half since going off the pill. VERY frustrating – I am looking forward to part 2
xoxo
So interesting! Thanks for sharing a great post girls!
Thanks for discussing this, ladies! I’ve been off the pill for about 3 weeks now, and I’m definitely feeling all over the place! I certainly didn’t expect to be feeling as crappy as I do right now, but it’s nice to know that everyone reacts differently when going off the pill! I guess after 11 years, my body was pretty used to it! Thanks for the discussion.
I was on Yasmin for six months, then ring for two. I am SO glad that I am no longer on them.
I feel like I can actually manage my emotions, eating, etc. It was very coincidental that ALL of my major health problems started after I started the bill. It messes with your yeast balance….my intestinal problems all made more sense.
People are SO easy to pop the pill and they don’t realise so many times what they’re doing. I just think that yes..sex is great…but there are many other ways to deal w/ your cycle w/o hormones.
Thanks for doing this.
Do you mind sharing how much zinc you’ve found to be effective? Do you notice when it does/doesn’t work for acne?
I started taking 50mg/day yet it hurt the tummy, even with food. But it helped my skin immediately.
Then I took 30mg/day with food, which was easier on the tummy, but saw little help.
I just started 30mg twice/day, and I should soon see how it’s helping.
So..I’m really curious how others are handling this, too.
We did take a zinc supplement before but do not remember the dosage, but we overall did not see much improvement so we stopped taking it.
Good luck Isle, let us know if you any more questions.
I am not a fan of the pill. I took it for years, too. I think it is the reason I had trouble conceiving both of my kids. It took more than 2 1/2 years for my period to return both times I stopped taking it. I should’ve learned the first go round. I don’t plan on going back to it this time.
Yes Shannonmarie it is about learning from our own mistakes!
That comic is hilarious.
Great post! Glad that both of you are taking care of yourself and doing what is good for your hormones/bodies!
I came off the pill in May 2009 after being on and off it for about 8 years. It was making me crazy and I feel absolutely liberated no longer being on it! I now use the Justisse method to track my cycles and I love how in touch with my body I feel.
Thanks for the site mention! Hopefully the posts will pick up the pace soon
It’s so great to see women discussing this openly — it’s so important!
I’m happy to report that I am FINALLY not as tired now… for about a month there after going off the pill, I thought I was going to collapse into a heap on the floor. Yuck!
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