I really don't want to go on birth control (hormones)?

Question

I've always had irregular menses. About a year and a half ago I went to an OB-Gyn and she put me on Yasmin. I had some MRIs done and they concluded that I had a small tumor in my brain that was causing my irregularities.

I stayed on it for about a year, until I couldn't take it anymore. I felt moody, got a headache every time my period came around, and just didn't like being on hormones. So I got off it since January of this year, but I've only had 1 period since (in January) and spotting for 1 day last month. So today I went back to the OB-Gyn and told her I stopped taking the Birth control pills in January, and she said I should start taking them again because of my condition, because I don't have enough estrogen to make me bleed which can cause cancer if I don't shed my lining regularly and also that I can get osteoporosis later on due to my low estrogen. So she gave me a prescription for Alesse.

Now, I really don't want to take it! Is there any way to go natural? Perhaps change my

Answer 1

Holy Cow.  I am looking in the mirror! Whew... Bless your heart girl.  I know EXACTLY what you are feeling!

Because of my issues, I was put on birth control at the age of 12. It 'fixed' stuff so I took it until I was 31 and wanting to get prego.  Came off, my body freaked because it had never been allowed to make hormones so it now couldn't.  At this time I was blown off my many docs, told my symptoms weren't unnormal.  lol..whatever.  Had more blood drawn than your local Red Cross. ;) Saw an herbalist, saw a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, saw a naturopathic doc (natural hormones)....Natural remedies gave me FAR MORE results than any conventional doctor/medicine did.  The unfortunate side...is if you're as messed up as me hormonally...it's difficult to pay so much out of pocket.  Natural stuff isn't considered medicine and I couldn't keep up with paying.  I came off all the natural stuff 6 months ago and felt great...until 2 wks ago.  I started seeing symptoms again and am going to TRY nuvaring again.  Yes, it's conventional medicine in nature, which I HATE, but it's got 2/3rds less hormones and I had no side effects like the pill always gave me.  I am seeing a doc on friday to hopefully get on that.  One of the herbal things a doc put me on was called FertilityBlend. Google it... you can get it at GNC too.

Fingers crossed and prayers up... it's a maze, isn't it?  The doc I see Friday is doc #19!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!! :)

Answer 2

Weight is a factor. I do not know the exact conversion from kilos to pounds but it does not sound like you are terribly over weight but that a little weight loss can help. You do not want to become too heavy or too thin as both can upset hormone balance but maintain weight in a healthy range.

Moderate exercise 3 to 5 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes each time can help with weight, hormones and prevention of osteoporosis (if it is exercise that is weight bearing).

Reduce consumption of meat and dairy products, where you can not aviod them use only organic as most contain hormones that were given to the animan and can mess with our hormones if eaten.

Increase intake of fresh, raw vegetables and some cooked vegetables, fresh when possible frozen when necessary, do not eat canned. Increase whole grains, avoid foods containing white flour and sugar, avoid processed and packaged foods.

Increase intake of soy based foods which contain phytoestrogens.

Herbal supplements that may help are red clover, raspberry leaf, wild yam, black cohish, blue cohosh and dong quai. I would suggest a visit to an herbalist near you to see which supplements will best support your specific needs.

Answer 3

You don't give enough information, but I am assuming your brain tumour is likely a pituitary adenoma.  These are benign tumors that can play havoc with your bodys hormone levels.  The only treatment is to remove the tumor, or treat with hormones.

You are overweight which also can interfere with your bodys' hormone levels.

I understand your reluctance to go on the OCP or other hormonal treatments.  I would suggest you be referred to an endocrinologist.  ObGyne is more of a surgical specialty than a medical one, and I have found that endocrinologists do better workups and treatments than just trying one OCP after another, which is likely the approach your Obgyne is trying.

I understand your desire to `go natural``, but that is a bit of a crapshoot, and you are right to be concerned about future osteoporosis or other cancers.  The advice offered so far for various Chinese herbs etc is not evidence based, and potentially dangerous with some of the concoctions suggested.

Answer 4

I would seek out alternative medicine solutions. Find a reputable acupuncturist who can diagnose you and prescribe you a customized herbal combination to help your condition. If you are wondering what people did before hormone replacement was invented, they drew from a wealth of ancient knowledge of herbs. The Chinese tradition is one of the ones that has best survived and is accessible today. There are other disciplines as well, I only recommend acupuncture because I have had so much success with my practitioner and the herbs she prescribes me for my various ailments. I too hated being on hormones and i was on birth control for 7 years.  When I went off, my acne got really bad, but I stuck with acupuncture and herbs and it helped way more than anything else. But you have to research a really good Dr. There are a lot of ineffectual ones out there, and the best ones may not be on the Internet. Good luck.

Answer 5

I'm taking this pill called "fem med hormone balancer" and its got vitex, red clover, red raspberry, wild yam and saw palmetto in it (all natural and nothing else) and its worked wonders so far and I've only been taking it for 2 months. flax seed oil is supposed to work greatly too, as is borage or evening primrose. if you're into aromatherapy, geranium oil helpes a lot too

Answer 6

You might want to try a herb called Dong Quai.  It is brilliant in helping stimulate and regulate the menses.  Also Agnus Castus is brilliant as well.  You might want to include some walking to your daily routine to help you shed some pounds. Hope this helps a little bit.

Answer 7

Go to you local health food store and get some golden flax seed in bulk and just eat 'em!  They are really good for female issuses.  You might also want to try Primerose Oil capsules.  You can get them at Wal Mart even.  Soy helps with estrogen.  I would suggest maybe laying off of meat, especially red meat, as it seems to have a lot of hormones, and you need to get your body's hormones straightened out first.