Struggling with PCOS Again - Need Birth Control Advice

by Stephanie
(Colorado Springs)

My husband and I have given up trying to have a baby right now.

We've decided to wait until I can get healthy.

I have recently had Implanon put in for birth control. I have read multiple stories afterwards that this is not a good birth control from cysters. Is this true?

What birth control is recommended?

I really don't want something that is going to slow or stop me from losing weight. I'm working hard to get it off.

So I'm extremely frustrated. It feels like nothing positive will ever come from this horrid disease.

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Editor's comments: Hi Stephanie, we don't recommend birth control as an effective long-term solution for PCOS.

For one thing, women on birth control often gain weight. The more weight you gain, the worse off you are because the increased fat produces hormones and other biochemical that mess up your hormonal and metabolic balance.

In addition, there are many side effects from taking any birth control medication. One of the most common is increased risk of blot clots.

Here's a possible side effect that almost no one knows about. A recent medical research study showed that women who took certain types of birth control had smaller pituitary glands inside their brain than other women.

The pituitary gland is an absolutely crucial control center in your brain for hormone regulation and a bunch of other things.

Older women also have shrunken pituitary glands. Smaller pituitary glands have also be found in people who have hypochondria, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, psychosis, schizophrenia, agoraphobia (fear of public and crowds), bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and former boxers who took performance drugs.

So it appears that shrinking your pituitary gland may not be a desirable thing.

It so happens that the types of birth control pills prescribed for women with PCOS is the type that may cause your pituitary gland to shrink.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that birth control pills are going to solve your PCOS problem. They are good for suppressing symptoms but do not address the underlying causes.

From our perspective, if you want to start a family, your first priority is to, as you just said, to get healthier.

Birth control pills do absolutely nothing to build your health. If birth control pills actually made women healthier, then most women would be totally healthy by now. But this is obviously not the case.

The only true way to build your health is to learn and adopt better healthy practices and lifestyle, which include:
- Better diet (more veggies, less junk food/beverages, high quality protein, essential fats, etc. - diet plan here.)
- Regular, increased exercise.
- Reduction of chronic stress.
- Adequate sleep.
- Positive attitude.
- Avoidance of recreational drugs.

This is harder work than taking pharmaceuticals. But the potential payoff is huge.

PS: PCOS is "horrid" only because most people don't know what to do about it. Medical research has shown that if you do the things I just outlined above, you can gain a good degree of control over this disease and it won't be so horrid anymore.