Because apparently, you ‘have’ to be on the pill.

Some days I find it easier to write than others.  Today is one of those days ‘special’ days where I’ve been experiencing verbal diarrhoea – you know, those days where you just can’t string a sentence together to save yourself?  So rather than beat around the coconut tree, today’s post is in the theme of blurting it all out or so help me!  Hopefully my words are far less messy typed.  Here goes…

After lasts weeks whirlwind post – ‘dying to lose your period’, the comments that flowed on were pushing my little brain buttons.  Many women were emailing, messaging and replying telling me that they had no other choice but to be on the pill because their bodies were unwell in some kind of unkind way.  Of course I was already heartbroken from the topic of the day – the lengths people were to go to, to reduce their own natural body cycles or take their hormones offline all together was squishing my little love muscle, but this was another level and a punch to the gut, not intentionally of course, but nonetheless it gets to me because there are so many untruths we’ve been fed.

Let me ask you – is the pill really your solution?

Perhaps you’ve been lead to believe it is.  Perhaps you’ve been lead to believe that the pill is the only solution to your endometriosis, your amenorrhea, your PCOS, your PMS, your acne or backed up pipes or your fear of reproducing a tiny human right at this moment is about as appealing as eating spam (out of a can).  Perhaps your circumstances are super serious – I get that much.  I’m not watering it down.  I get that you’ve been told the pill is your only solution.  Perhaps you took your first pill packet without little thought because the Doctor told you so (and it’s not necessarily her fault either – they’re told it’s safe too).  And then for others, there was a nagging innate feeling that it just wasn’t right for you.  Perhaps up until now, you’ve never actually questioned it because your knowledge about yourself has been focused elsewhere.

So why is it then, that Doctors and specialists all around the world are prescribing the pill as if it were lemonade?  Let me ask you this; if they gave it to you and told you it was a known carcinogen (actually on the same level as asbestos), would you still take it?  If they gave it to you and explained it’s horrible side effects and potential risks that range from feeling mentally deranged right through to stroke and breast cancer, would you not question it what so ever?  You wouldn’t take it so willingly I know – because you are a smart cookie.  But nobody is sharing this with us.  And of course as you’ve learnt in Debunking PCOS, first and foremost the pill is stuffing up your gut faster than you can say ‘geronimo!’  The gut is the centre of your own universe – it is the pivot of your health.  If your gut function is bunged up, you can’t absorb nutrients, you can’t utilise essential vitamins to make hormones – bingo!  We have a problem.

I know I’ve written about it many times before – just search ‘the pill’ in my search function – I dare you.  You can find out all the issues involved with the pill in the many articles I’ve poured hours into over the years.  I’m not here today to dive into that.  I’m here today to ask you to begin to question everything.  Dr Sherrill Sellman shared in our event earlier this month, that a known pharmaceutical company owner once stated “his best customers were women in their 20’s because he knew they were the ones that would most likely need to use drugs in their 30’s to conceive” or words to that effect.  What in the heck is going on here!?  See – it’s not your Doctor’s fault.  That is their one and only ‘solution’ to your reproductive issues.  The bigger problem lies in this – it can’t, will not and can not ever treat the root cause of your gynaecological issue. In fact, in the long run as the pill stuffs up your body system, it can only ever make it worse.  It’s time to ask yourself, why is the problem there in the first place and work at treating the crux of the matter and not treating symptoms.   Treating symptoms will only ever lead you to chasing your tail around and around again.  The only true way of healing is peeling away the layers and starting at the beginning.

Do nothing, nothing changes.

So perhaps you are on the pill because your Endo is so bad and you’re frightened as all heck to see what happens if you come off.  Or perhaps you have a serious case of PCOS.  You’re not alone – but I can tell you this for sure, do nothing, nothing changes.  If you’ve lived with the same diet and lifestyle habits you always have, and not changed any part of your lifestyle to begin to heal your illness, you can’t expect there to be a change when you do come off the pill.  But, if you start to implement your own shifts in lifestyle, you can know you are doing great things behind the scenes, working toward that day when you are ready to take that leap and stop taking it.  For most, so many of their niggly issue dissipate because the pill wasn’t actually helping at all – and of course you won’t ever know until you try.

I’ve been questioned many times on my public dislike of the pill – that I’m maybe irresponsible for suggesting people come off medication that’s ‘saving their lives.’  I have to ask the question, who really is being irresponsible here?  Using a bandaid approach to treat serious issues or actually digging in deep and working out what in the world is going on, individually – because we know nothing is a one size fits all and it’s all about listening to your inner voice and doing what is right for you.  Maybe the pill is your short term solution – but it really can never be your long term problem solver.

23 Comments

  • July 28, 2014 By Juanita 9:18 am

    I honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw your blog pop up in my Facebook feed – I have been on the pill since I was 17 for acne, am now 21 and just so sick of the side effects that come with it. At the time I thought it was a miracle in clearing up my not even that problematic skin, but if I could go back I would never have started the vicious cycle in taking it, coming off, and experiencing a horrible breakout soon after so I would have no choice but to take it up again. Which obviously works in favour of these pharmaceutical companies. Being only 21 years of age and scared of what these pills are doing to me just doesn’t seem right. I now have to be worried about my fertility at my age!

    Thank you for voicing these concerns because I honestly felt like I was the only one in this fight, that it was just all in my head. There’s going to be more of us girls for sure, and I hope we all get through it together.

    • July 28, 2014 By Deny 9:59 am

      I’m so thankful for the info you’ve been posting. I took the pill for under 12 months and experienced dizziness and nausea… subsequently I’ve never touched it since. Since, I’ve had so many woman’s issues but just do my best to deal with them as they arise… It certainly is a confusing world out there when it comes to woman’s health. Keep up your positive work 🙂

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:07 pm

      I hope you girls have my Debunking PCOS download (it’s on sale until midnight with 50% off using code word ‘july50’) – this is the very reason why I created it!! x

  • July 28, 2014 By Tess 10:23 am

    Hi Nat, thank you so much for your article. I have become increasingly fascinated in your material and writing because I have an inkling that the mini pill I am on is not for me, but I don’t know how to not take the pill safely (i.e. without having a baby at the moment – and not constantly freaking that I’m going to). My digestion is not good at all and I have recently been told I was low in zinc and iron. I was a little perplexed as I eat quite a lot of food with zinc in it and after reading some of your posts thought hmmmmm maybe this pill thing isn’t such a good idea. I also get my period WAY to often so that probably explains the iron dilemma. I find it all a bit stressful actually! Have been learning a lot from you though so thanks x

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:09 pm

      Tess again not to blow my own horn but my Debunking Ovulation download (www.debunkingovulation.com) teaches you how to understand your cycles for conception AND contraception. It’s on sale tonight until midnight at 50% off if you use the code word july50 at checkout. xo

      • July 29, 2014 By Tess 11:15 am

        Thanks, have done so and looking forward to learning more 🙂

  • July 28, 2014 By Kim 10:26 am

    Hi Nat, I love the message you have been spreading. I was diagnosed with hepatic adenomas, most likely due to the pill. I emailed you via the Pagoda Tree a week ago to try and arrange a consultation but I haven’t heard back yet. I understand you are extremely busy but I would love to be in contact regarding my situation.

  • July 28, 2014 By Carla Brion 10:32 am

    This a GREAT pearl of wisdom right here. So inspiring; helping us to take our health and happiness into our own hands start to heal ourselves. Thanks for the courageous words, Nat
    <3

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:09 pm

      such a pleasure x

  • July 28, 2014 By Kat 10:52 am

    Finally, someone has the b***s (guts) to expose the pill for what it actually is, a bandaid solution! I have severe Endometriosis and constantly having to defend the fact that I am not taking the pill is so exhausting. The reaction I get from other females is always along the line of, ‘oh well, that’s why your suffering’. And not to mention the amount of women who actually think the pill has ‘cured’ their endo. I can also appreciate that a lot of women are able to carry on a normal life with hormonal suppression but I will stick to a naturopath and natural alternatives thanks. I say, do what works for you, I just wish doctors told the truth, there is no pill that will ‘fix’ you.

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:10 pm

      Kudos to you – well done x

    • July 29, 2014 By Amy 4:39 am

      Hi there, I loved this article. I would love to know more about natural solutions as I don’t agree with pumping my body with this ‘pill’ to sort me out!!

  • July 28, 2014 By Brock 10:54 am

    Great blog!

    Wonder when the doctors will sell an all inclusive package of the pill, canesten and Imodium as one handy pack ?

    Always had me curious how many women had all these health issues and more and doctors prescribing more of the same (and worse) to deal with it.

    It is good many doctors will prescribe a probiotic and perhaps this is why inner health plus has become so popular and perhaps none of these products are required in the first place.

    Viva la natural baby !

  • July 28, 2014 By Libby 2:15 pm

    I have severe endometriosis. After I was diagnosed, I did all the diet, exercise and lifestyle changes and guess what? It really helped my symptoms but after awhile my symptoms got back to what they were before I did the the changes. When I went in for a laparoscopy, my endometriosis was worse than ever. A endometrioma that had leaked all over my abdomen and was still 7 cm in diameter, and my ovary was adhered to my pelvic wall, along with many other problems. At that time, I was not taking the pill and I was only using alternative medicines along with diet and exercise to treat my endometriosis.

    I’m all for people only taking the pill after they have weighed up the risks and benefits, but I am currently taking it because I’ve done everything else and this is pretty much all that is left. I don’t like being on the pill generally, but have now found one that works for me. It’s perfectly valid to need to use medicine to help deal with your disease – no one tells diabetics not to take insulin!!

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:11 pm

      There’s always a reason why our bodies do ‘things’ – more to the point, I think exploring what this is, is the only way we can truly fix something long term. But we all need to come back to what works for us individually I agree x

  • July 28, 2014 By Justine 4:02 pm

    I am one of those who was on the pill for many years as a ‘survival’ strategy. I went off it 8years ago and I have to admit it has been very hard staying off it. One reason was because my periods have been so heavy, I struggle with anaemia constantly and also am unable to leave the house for two or three days which makes normal living a challenge. My period was every 21 days so I only had about 1 week ‘off’ every cycle. The other reason was the pressure I have been put under by doctors and hospitals to go back on the pill. I have been attacked and blamed for sabotaging my own health when ‘easy’ options are available to me. I have been on a very long road and had a couple of surgeries for polyps and endo which made no difference at all. I have read everything I can find and although I already had a pretty healthy lifestyle I researched more specifically to make sure I was eating the best diet for my problems. After seeing many medical and alternative practitioners I have finally had some improvement with chinese herbs and have just started seeing a new naturopath who I feel confident will help me tweak the remaining issues. You just can’t give up. Women’s Bodies, Women’s wisdom gave me the confidence to stand my ground when bullied by doctors and joining a Red Tent group helped me start to view my periods in a more positive light and share with other women. I am so glad I am finally in a place where I can embrace my cycles (even the hard ones) before I lose them altogether. I wish I had come across all the knowledge I now have much earlier in my life but, better late then never. Everyone has to be ready to receive new information and I have found each new piece of the puzzle has led to the next discovery. I do envy those who have sailed through but I also know I would never have looked so deeply or learnt so much about my inner female wisdom if I hadn’t been faced with so many things to overcome. I am very sceptical of doctors and have find it very disheartening that they scoff at looking at women’s health holistically. My journey would have been far less traumatic if I hadn’t been forced to keep my medical treatment separate from my other healing.

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:13 pm

      Well done to you for following your intuition. I agree, there is no easy road sometimes, but it is all part of the journey. I commend you. x

  • July 28, 2014 By Amy 4:26 pm

    Nat, thank you SO much for your honest words! I’m 19, close to 20 and have never been on the pill, and never want to be! Last year, my mum (and the rest of my aunties) suggested I go on it. However, for some reason, even with these beautiful people who influence me, deep down I knew it’s not for me. Yes, I have irregular periods, man, I started off with having such a heavy period in the early years, however, I do believe that going on the pill is just like sticking a band aide over it all and pretending it’s not there. It breaks my heart that so many girls (even most of my friends) are put on the pill for the sake of it. If they are ever unsure about something that is occurring to their body, I will always hop onto your website and search for what they could be looking for and send them the link. I can’t thank you enough for giving females every where a chance to find this information out in a safe and trusting environment!

    • July 28, 2014 By Nat Kringoudis 7:13 pm

      So refreshing to hear this from a young woman! Good on you – I feel encouraged by your words x

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  • August 1, 2014 By Kylie 4:40 pm

    Hi Nat,

    I was on the pill for many years until I was unhappy with the side effects. The thought of producing a human is 110% something I do not want to happen. So I instead had implanon and after 2 years was also happy with this. I now have Mirena. I understand your stance on the pill, just wanted to know your thoughts on Mirena ( I am so sorry if you have spoken at length about this already). I have spoken to my doctor about giving my body a break but he just said if i did not want to procreate do not chance it. I feel like I am doing the wrong thing for my health but the scare of a baby seems to be winning that little bit more at the moment.

  • November 1, 2014 By Kelly Hitchen 6:58 pm

    Hi Nat,

    My girlfriend has told me lots about you and lately has got me thinking about the pill. I’ve been on the pill for 8 years now, and noticing more and more lately my moods are snappy… And it’s hurting my marriage with my husband. Now I’m not 100% it has to do with the pill (monofeme) but it could be, and I hope it is(because I hope I’m not like this the rest of my life), my question is: I’ve been reading a lot online that going off the pill makes mood swings WORSE… Would you say this is true? I’m so confused what to do 🙁

    Thanks, Kelly.

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