44: Your Guide to Birth Control (Part 1): Hormonal Birth Control

We should all have the right to choose the contraception that works for us – BUT also be FULLY informed of all the options we have available to us and the risks and benefits of those options. You are entitled to make an informed choice. 

This is where I think our medical system is falling down at the moment – the being informed part. How can you have informed consent when your doctor has to understand the problem, and then present you the options and complete a prescription in 10 minutes? They can’t and that’s why so many of us have absolutely no idea what options we have available to us and also what the risks and benefits of those options are. 

This podcast covers the hormonal options. Hormonal options always contain synthetic forms of Oestrogen and Progesterone, which are the hormones that your body normally produces in response to ovulation. 

The way they work is that they mimic the shape of our own hormones and then fit into the slot – all hormones act like a lock and key. There are different ways they can inhibit pregnancy based on the action of those hormones and the amount and combination that they do. So when talking about each option I’ll explain to you how it’s believed that they work to prevent pregnancy.  

Like many things in life, there can be a bit of a tradeoff involved, in the case of hormonal contraceptives (and in fact any drugs), you’re making a trade-off between convenience and effectiveness and adverse effects. Drugs have effects, and those effects have knock on consequences. Because our body systems work together, we can’t expect to just turn one thing off and it not have any other consequences. But where it gets tricky is that the risk is not the same across all of us. This is why you’ll hear me talk about some people having a problem while others didn’t. The reason for this is probably mostly genetics, other conditions and in many cases, they don’t know. This is why it’s important for you to know the options so you can make the right call for you.  

This episode is for you if:

  • You’re currently on hormonal birth control
  • You’re thinking about going on a hormonal form of birth control
  • You want to know more about the effects of hormonal birth control on your body
  • You want a breakdown of the birth control options available to you

Some things we cover in this episode:

  • The combined Pill – monophasic, biphasic and triphasic
  • The mini Pill
  • The Injection (Depo Provera)
  • Levonorgestrel IUD (LNG IUD)
  • The Mirena coil IUD
  • NuvaRing
  • Contraceptive Patch
  • The different product names of all of these birth control methods

Resources and References:

The combined pill: 

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the pill is 99.7 percent effective with perfect use: Contraceptive Effectiveness 

Effects of hormonal contraceptives (not just ‘the Pill’):

Emergency contraceptive pill – the morning after pill is 100 percent effective in stopping clinical pregnancy if given prior to ovulation, but would have no effect in stopping pregnancy if given on the day of ovulation or after ovulation: 

Want to understand more about that PCOS root cause, how different methods of contraception affect that root cause and how you can put your other symptoms into remission? Then come join us in The PCOS Protocol.

We’ll guide you through all of the changes you need to make in order to feel in control of your PCOS and get back to what’s really important to you!

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