"The Pill" Revealed

The thought that the Pill is a safe and natural way to correct hormone imbalances has led to it's wide range of use for alleviating painful periods, but also for things such as correcting acne.  You can now watch TV commercials promoting The Pill for complexion problems.  It seems to me as I've sat in this chair for many years helping to identify and treat hormone imbalances that puberty is becoming medicalised.  Why do I have say that?  Well, for one, I have two daughters who are at that age of change so I have a keen awareness of it, but also because it can take several years for a teenagers menstrual cycles to balance out.  I've seen girls as young as 13 prescribed The Pill for acne and to "regulate" their periods. 

In 1940 when contraceptives with oestrogenic chemicals ("synthetics" by the way) were introduced, the rates of breast cancer were much lower than they are today.  We now have technologies that will determine which kinds of breast cancer tumors grow as a result of estrogen exposure, ER+ or not ER+.  The Kaiser Permanent tumor registry in the U.S. revealed that from 1974 to 1985 the incidence of ER+ breast tumors rose 131 percent.  Dr. Max Cutler gave a US Senate Hearing testimony in 1970 after investigating the pill.  His reports of breast biopsies for the same patients 2 and 3 times (before and after the start of The Pill) showed "increased cellular activity" and in his words, "the risk is a potential time bomb with a fuse at least 15-20 years in length."  (Hmmmm?  Boy does that statement resound truth today). 

Dr. Clair Chilvers released a story in the Lancet in 1989 showing women using the Pill between 49-96 months had a 43% greater risk of breast cancer and users >97 months had a 74% greater risk.  Another paper that same year in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that women on The Pill for at least 4-10 years and beginning early in life have a 40-70% greater risk of premenopausal breast cancer than do women who never took The Pill.  Harvard School of Public Health even weighed in on a landmark study showing that women who took the pill before age 20 and later diagnosed with cancer had tumors with worse prognoses than those never taking The Pill or who started on it later in life.

This is just one aspect of the introduction of The Pill to our society.  Cervical Cancer concerns are another problem and a very commonly diagnosed problem in young women.  Not only have the rates of cervical cancer increased, but the incidence of STD's have also increased.  The Pill ushered in sexual freedom resulting in increased prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and venereal diseases simply due to assumed "protections".  A form of viral infections is genital warts known as HPV (human papillomavirus). It's a double edged sword because HPV (human pappilomavirus) common to cervical cancer patients is stimulated by The Pill.  The risk of cervical cancer is 50% higher for Pill users according to a study in the American Journal of Obstretics and Gynecology.  Those "protections" have really caused disease in the end.

I'm asked all the time about my thoughts on oral contraceptives.  Today we are in a better position than back in the 1940's when high doses of contraceptives were introduced, but overall, I am not an advocate for The Pill unless there is an endocrine disorder than needs management and the benefits and risks have been shared to the user.   Using contraceptives for complexion and menstrual regularity in a young cycling female is NOT the best way to go.  The statistics speak for themselves in terms of the risks (I think you would agree) after reading this.  I'm not sure what the next 30-40 years will show us on this topic, but I think the evidence thus far is very concerning.  My opinion is that treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, and infertility are managed best by using bio-identical hormone replacement therapies such as natural progesterone, integrative therapies such as metformin, and other evidence-based treatment approaches.  I have many women using progesterone replacement therapy along with other complimentary therapies to restore true balance back to their bodies.  Will it prevent a pregnancy? No!  But, there are other less offending contraceptive options, and excitedly for me, there's a culture of women rising up saying they want the most natural approach to therapy possible in treating their female issues. 

If you are touched by this topic in any way, I would be happy to discuss your concerns personally and privately.  The testing to determine imbalances is simple and affordable and hopefully will change your life for the long haul.

To your good health,
Dr. Sonja