Birth Control Aftermath: Vitamin Deficiencies And Their Link To Infertility and Other Symptoms

There are a lot of nutrients that get depleted when you go on the pill that your healthcare provider most likely did not mention to you. It is estimated that 150 to 200 million women around the world are using oral contraceptives, some of whom use it for years or even decades.

Whether you are for birth control or against it, you should always be aware of anything you are putting into your body.

You may be giving consent, but if you don’t truly know how something affects your health long term, you aren’t giving informed consent. You are your biggest advocate, so you need to be operating in a way that reflects that. Nobody is going to look out for you better than you.

Let’s start off with the basics.

Why do women get put on the pill?

When the pill came out in the 1950s, contraception was actually illegal. Companies had to figure out a way to prescribe contraception, but in a way that didn’t get them in trouble. They marketed the pill as a way for women to “fix their issues”, and made the pill bleed mimic a 28 day cycle. This was so that when you were on the pill, it looked like your period had been regulated. Such a win for the pharmaceutical companies!!

Since then, we’ve been prescribing the pill to women for a variety of issues, ranging from cramps to endometriosis. Rather than taking a closer look into the root cause of our issues, we go to the people in white lab coats who give us the quick fix solution. And because so many of us can’t be bothered, we don’t look further into how that can affect our bodies long term. We’re just worried about the problem in front of us. Which the pill does seem to fix!

That is, until our original issues come back worse than before. Does that mean the pill made them better? No. All it means is that the pill suppressed them, but only as long as we were taking the medication.

But Lorin, I feel great on the pill!

I am glad to hear that the pill is working well for you. In fact, lots of women have claimed that in addition to regulating their periods the pill also helped clear their skin and have fuller hair.

You want to know what else does this? YOUR OWN NATURAL PROGESTERONE.

The progesterone that you make in your body is anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and anti-androgenic. Estrogen (or estradiol) runs our show, and progesterone balances out our estrogen. We only make progesterone when we ovulate. When we ovulate, our bodies drop an egg, and that empty egg sac becomes our corpus luteum that makes our progesterone.

If you have really bad periods, Endometriosis, PCOS, or low energy, one of the driving factors is usually low progesterone or estrogen dominance. Stressors, such as not eating enough calories, eating too much sugar, and not having enough sleep, can greatly impact our reproductive system and our levels of these hormones.

You don’t have a birth control deficiency. You may just need to ditch your bad habits and get healthy.

What would it look like if we actually got to the root of our issues, instead of putting temporary band aids on them?

Are there alternatives to the pill?

If you’re looking to fix your ailments and not be on the pill, look into boosting your own levels of progesterone naturally.

There are also endocrine disruptors all around us that disrupt our hormonal balance such as plastics, our makeup products, and our hygiene products. In addition to a healthy diet, exercise, and proper sleep, you may want to take a deep dive into some of the products you use everyday.

How do oral contraceptives work?

Oral contraceptives, or “the pill” works by mimicking a 28 day cycle that a woman would typically have when they are menstruating. For 21 days, the woman will take a small pill that is typically a combination of estrogen and progesterone. There are pills that are also just progesterone. Then, for 7 days, the woman will take a “sugar pill” and have her “period”.

I put the word period in quotes because it is not an actual period. During your sugar pill week, your body is experiencing a sudden drop from the hormones you’ve been taking for three weeks. This sudden drop can actually cause your uterine lining to shed.

Normally, your body would prepare the uterine lining to fertilize an egg to be implanted into the uterus so that you could carry a baby to full term. But, because you aren’t ovulating, there is no medical reason why your uterine lining would have been built up.

The synthetic estrogen and progesterone taken prevents ovulation. In other words, it helps to prevent an egg from being released and potentially fertilized. Without an egg, there is no possibility of fertilization.

It is important to mention that the progesterone taken is not the same as the progesterone that is naturally produced by the body. The progesterone in the pill is actually progestin, which does bind to our progesterone receptors in the body, but does NOT act the same way that progesterone does.

Why doesn’t the body just bounce back post-pill?

For years, you have relied on synthetic estrogen and synthetic progesterone to run your show. You have stopped ovulating altogether, and have stopped receiving the benefits of making your own natural hormones. And now you expect your body to just return to normal?

Unfortunately, that isn’t how it’s going to work. You can NOT shut your fertility on and off like a light switch. Your body is made to carry out certain processes, and by going on the pill, you disrupted one of those processes.

It may not be your personal purpose, but your biological purpose is to reproduce. Your body is desperately trying to reproduce.

The pill affects everyone differently, but it’s important to recognize that you can’t just expect everything to go back to normal. You need to give your body time to bounce back, and you need to help it along the way with proper nutrition and healthy habits.

With that being said, let’s take a deep dive into some of the nutrients you may need post birth control. Keep in mind that since everybody is different, not everyone will react the same to birth control. Therefore, not everyone will have these nutrient deficiencies.

B Vitamins

Some great sources are grass fed beef, liver, and dark leafy greens such as swiss chard and collard greens.

The pill impacts many different processes in the body, one of which is liver function. B vitamins, such as B2, B6, B12 and folate (B9) all help to support liver detoxification, as well as cell division and repair.

Folate is especially an area of concern if you are looking to get pregnant and sustain that pregnancy. Studies show that the pill impairs folate metabolism, and that women who are on the pill have lower folate statuses. If you go in depleted of folate, both your body and your baby will suffer.

You’ll want to include B vitamins in your diet in the form of whole foods. In fact, having adequate riboflavin in your diet can help reduce the intensity, duration, and frequency of headaches, which are a common side effect of the pill

You may also choose to take a high quality B complex supplement.

Selenium

Selenium levels have been shown to be negatively affected by the pill. Selenium is an essential precursor for glutathione, which is an important antioxidant produced in the liver that helps combat free radicals by preventing cellular damage. If you do not have enough selenium, you will have a hard time ovulating.

This is because selenium promotes healthy follicles in your ovaries, which are responsible for maturing and releasing your eggs. Research has also shown selenium can help protect against birth defects and miscarriages caused by DNA damage.

A deficiency in selenium can also lead to having lower glutathione levels, harder periods, and troubles with your thyroid.

Progesterone and the thyroid are closely connected, as progesterone stimulates the thyroid. This is why you have temperature spikes in the middle of your cycle. When you aren’t ovulating on a consistent basis, your thyroid will suffer. This is why so many women experience hypothyroidism post-pill. This is especially true if hypothyroidism runs in your family.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin important for protecting your cells from oxidative damage. Vitamin C also aids in collagen formation and protects your adrenal glands that control your stress response.

In addition to whole food sources, there are also great powdered sources of vitamin C, such as acerola cherry and camu camu berry powder.

Zinc

Zinc is crucial to having healthy hair, skin, sperm concentration and motility. Zinc is also incredibly important for the development, maturation, and release of your eggs. Unfortunately, studies have shown that women who take oral contraceptives have lower levels of zinc in their blood.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that plays a role in energy production, muscle relaxation, and healthy bone maintenance. Researchers have hypothesized that the increased risk for blood clots on the pill can be attributed to the changes in calcium and magnesium when using oral contraceptives.

Vitamins That Can Increase With Birth Control

Just as the pill has the ability to deplete nutrients, it also has the ability to elevate nutrient levels. Specifically, birth control pills can increase levels of iron, copper and vitamin K.

The female body is very good at recycling iron, but also very good at absorbing iron. Normally, this wouldn’t be a bad thing because we would only be getting iron from food sources.

However, we’ve gotten into the habit of fortifying iron in many products, such as cereals and breads. Couple this with your pill, and you can have iron overload. And because iron, copper and estrogen are closely connected, estrogen in your tissues can further increase iron retention.

Excess iron leads to inflammation, estrogen dominance, insulin resistance (a driver of PCOS), and is linked to many autoimmune diseases. Excess iron can also deplete you of vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy fertility. This includes, but is not limited to, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, zinc, and magnesium.

Therefore, if you’re taking a prenatal or a multivitamin, you’ll want to make sure that it does not contain iron. You can learn more about how to pick a high quality prenatal here.

High levels of vitamin K are also concerning if you have a family history of blood clotting or if you are taking anticoagulant medications. It is rare that a healthcare professional would prescribe both to you, but you should still be aware of this.

Potential post-pill symptoms

Insulin resistance and weight gain are common symptoms that women experience post pill. Remember that just because something is common does not mean that it is normal.

When you get off the pill, you may experience the same issues you had when you were first prescribed the pill. This includes cramps, migraines, acne, and an irregular period. You can also have an absence of your period, otherwise known as amenorrhea.

You may also experience a phenomenon called post-pill PCOS. This is characterized by a high androgen level, insulin resistance, and an inability to lose weight. Again, this is due to an imbalance of your hormones.

Lastly, there has been a consistent link between long term oral contraceptive use and an increased risk for Crohn’s disease. The mechanism for why this occurs is still unclear.

Conclusion

I am always a big advocate of looking into the root cause of your issues as opposed to slapping a temporary band aid on it to be addressed later.

If you decide to take birth control, you should at the very least be well read. Your body is a complex and tightly regulated machine. It is up to you to be proactive and do your own research, because your healthcare provider certainly will not do your homework for you.