Real People, Real Stories 

Let’s get real, reviews these days are HUGE! I know people who will not go to a restaurant or see a new movie without a full-blown, deep-dive into the online reviews first. Reviews are great! They help us to really see what other people think of a service, food, or product before we buy. Hopefully preventing a poor experience and subsequent buyer’s remorse.

Personally, I read reviews before buying certain products, but, other than that I don’t put much weight into online reviews. That’s just me! When it comes to the big things, I don’t like strangers online clouding my judgement of something before I have the opportunity to make my own mind up.

How does Jane Doe know what I like and what I don’t like? Sure, maybe she was really disappointed with the new pizza place in town, but, what is she hates crunchy crusts and I love crunchy crusts? She gives it 3 stars because of that? Well, then I would totally miss out on the best crunchy crusts in town! When it comes to getting feedback that is actually pertinent to me, I go to people that I know and trust and have a conversation with them about their experiences before I make my decision.

So when it comes to women sharing their stories with their own hormone balancing and fertility optimizing journeys, I want you to know the full story instead of just reading a few sentences of someone’s review online! So settle in on this 20ish minute journey to get to know a wonderful woman, Lindsey, and see what her experience was like on her functional fertility journey. You can also read below for a summary of her story, our plan of action, and her amazing outcome.

Background Story

Lindsey came to me with the goal of successfully getting off of her hormonal birth control (HBC) which she was put on for irregular periods. She and her husband were looking to begin a family in the next year and she knew that she needed to get off of birth control but was nervous because she had tried to come off of birth control before and her period did not return for six months. At this point her doctor recommended for Lindsey to go back onto birth control to regulate her periods. 

She was at a loss and felt like she was caught in a vicious cycle: stop HBC, symptoms return, period is completely missing, and the only solution offered is to go back on HBC. She knew that even on birth control when she had a period here and there it wasn’t a true period because HBC works by completely shutting down ovulation.

No ovulation = no period = no baby.

Talk about stress!

Post Birth Control Syndrome

Post birth control syndrome is the presentation of one or more symptoms after the discontinuation of HBC. These symptoms can include:

• Acne
• Amenorrhea (loss of menstruation)
• Infertility
• Heavy and painful periods
• Migraines
• Depression
• Gut dysbiosis
• Gas and Bloating

In Lindsey’s case she was experiencing some of the symptoms above and secondary amenorrhea which is defined as the cessation of regular menses for three months or the cessation of irregular menses for six months. Most cases of secondary amenorrhea can be attributed to polycystic ovary syndrome, hypothalamic amenorrhea, hyperprolactinemia, or primary ovarian insufficiency (1). Post birth control syndrome can also be the culprit.

It often takes 4-6 months, sometimes up to a full year, for the body to regulate back to regular cycles after being on HBC. But, if a woman is put on HBC for irregular cycles to begin with, then that can be unnerving, especially if trying for a baby is in your near future. You just don’t know what’s going to happen after you discontinue it!  

Plan of Action

Every single woman’s story, genetic predispositions, exposures, and lifestyle create their unique hormonal code. That’s where functional nutrition comes in, which provides specific and individualized care for everyone. In Lindsey’s case we focused on balancing her unique hormonal code with results from her DUTCH test and implemented the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) to track her monthly cycles and monitor changes from her treatment plan in real time. 

After six months of working together on gut healing, liver detox support, adrenal support, and mineral repletion, Lindsey was able to see the changes in her cycles as they regulated from 60+ days down to 30 days. She took on the incredible privilege of learning to track her cycles and own fertility cues with FAM and was able to see the changes in her body through her chart along with other noticeable changes like increased energy, more regular digestion, less bloating, and better sleep.

Outcome

Because Lindsey learned FAM in her Functional Fertility program, and her husband did too (mutual understanding in this is key!), they were able to embark on a much clearer approach to their fertility journey. They understood when to use alternative forms of birth control (i.e. condoms) to prevent pregnancy while in her fertile window and when it was alright to not use any contraception methods at all while still avoiding pregnancy. Then the time came to forego any form of contraception and see what happened!

Sure enough, they were met with success!

After tracking her cycles with FAM, she was able to see that her post-ovulatory temperatures remained high for 18 days which meant she had indeed conceived! Knowing that she primed her body with the right nutrients to support fertility and next a growing baby, took major steps to heal her gut, and balanced her hormones to achieve pregnancy was a wonderful feeling!

Lindsey’s dedication, willingness to change, and her commitment to keep in touch with me on any questions throughout the program were all tools to her success. Congratulations, Lindsey!   

IMPORTANT: This information is provided for educational purposes and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare practitioners before undertaking any changes in your diet or adding supplements.

Citations

(1) DL, M. (2020). Amenorrhea: evaluation and treatment. – PubMed – NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16669559 [Accessed 10 Jan. 2020].