Birth Control

At my 6 week postpartum check up my OB prescribed me some birth control. I was a bit leery about going on 'the pill' again after what happened about two years previous.

 (This is where I would have linked you to my previous blog post, but I don't have access to that blog. Just know that two years previous I was on YAZ and it created cysts on my ovaries and I had to have two rounds of steroids in order for them to go away and get the bleeding to stop. It was painful, expensive, and left me feeling drained. A few months later I became pregnant and didn't have to worry about birth control or periods. It was glorious.)

I explained to my doctor about my previous experience with birth control. She offered lots of other options but for me it boiled down to money - which one is the cheapest? She prescribed me a different form of birth control - one with a different hormone than is found in YAZ, hoping that I wouldn't have another adverse reaction.

The next couple months I had lots of bleeding - fatigue - and just general yuckiness. For months I let these symptoms progress, chalking them up to my body adjusting from just having had a baby - it is, after all, quite dramatic what happens to the female body. The moment I couldn't deny that something more was happening was when I began to bleed so heavy that I was on the verge of hemorrhaging - that, and the fact that I had been continually on my period for over a month (in varying degrees). With the urging of the nurses in my office - who were about ready to strangle me since I had been ignoring their medical advice for the past 7 months - I called my OBGYN. They told me to come right in - they would work me in during their lunch. Having worked in a medical office, I knew right away that this was more serious than I thought - doctors don't like to give up their lunch hours!

I was both scared and embarrassed (I wasn't exactly feeling in my 'prime' and knew I'd be getting an exam done... awesome). During my appointment I was asked literally hundreds of questions - those ruled out it wasn't medication induced, I had a couple different types of ultrasounds - those ruled out cysts, and finally out of desperation I had blood drawn. They tested for everything since they weren't sure what the cause was. Right before I left the office my doctor asked that I discontinue my birth control until they could figure out the cause - she had a feeling that it might be the cause, she just didn't know why.

My blood results took almost a week to come in. The results? My body had literally no progesterone. My OB felt that this was caused by my birth control. She recommend that I discontinue taking it and see if my body would naturally level itself out, and if not, we could start me on supplements to get me back to normal. Between what my doctor told me over the phone and what the doctors and nurses in my office told me it seemed quite obvious that this would be the cause of all my issues (well, not ALL my issues - =D). Some symptoms of low progesterone are (according to an article one of the nurses printed off of WebMD):

1. Mood swings
2. Depression
3. Insomnia
4. Appetite changes
5. Weight changes
6. Irritability
7. Lack of concentration
8. Anxiety
9. Fatigue
10. Frequent menstruation
11. Irregular menstruation
12. Low sex drive
13. Migraines
14. PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
15. Vaginal dryness
16. Painful intercourse

I had 13 out of the 16 symptoms listed. I'll let you decide which ones those were. Needless to say I was less than good company most of the time. Since that initial doctor visit, I've had labs done two more times - each time my progesterone levels had increased substantially - my body was able to correct itself on it's own with out the need of hormone supplements. Within days of discontinuing my birth control I could already tell that 'the pill' was the cause for my crumby physical state. Today, I've been off the pill for almost 5 months - and I honestly feel like a whole new person. I have more energy (even though I find myself sleepy - I think that just comes with the territory of being a work mom), I'm not as irritable, I smile more, I laugh more, and overall I just feel more in balance.

As of today I've lost 37 lbs since the beginning of the year. A bit of it was before I figured out that my hormone levels were going hay-wire, but most of it has been since April. It hasn't been easy, but having my body in harmony has really helped things. It is gratifying to know that my struggle with weight-loss after having Weston wasn't completely due to my lack of will-power.

I have learned three important lessons from this experience:

1. To listen to my body and what it is telling me.

2. 'The Pill' is not for me - next time around we'll be using a non-hormonal method.  

3. My husband is a saint for putting up with me through all of this - It was hard for me, but it was just as hard for him. And for that, I love him all the more.