I've been on birth control for half of the time I've been alive.  And I've only caught glimpses of the REAL me in between methods. I am now 100% birth control free, which means free of exogenous hormones and heavy metals that, to sum it up, start a war within the body from a physical, emotional, physiological and anatomical sense.  We women have been under siege, thinking there is just something wrong with US for decades since the inception of birth control without stopping to challenge it's prescription.  We go years in what I refer to as ‘the slow boil pot' and ‘all of a sudden' one day we wonder how we even got here.  Consider the statistics:

• Women who are on ‘the pill’ and have had 3 sexual partners in their LIFE, are 15 TIMES more likely to develop cervical cancer!
• A woman who takes Birth Control for 2 years before 25 years old, and has not been pregnant, increases her odds of getting cancer 10 fold!
  
• Women who get migraines AND take birth control, are 2-4 times more likely to have a stroke than women who get Migraines & don't take Birth Control.
• SMOKERS – Women who take BC & smoke have a 12 fold increase in fatal heart attacks and a 3 fold increase in brain hemorrhage. 
• Taking BC inhibits our sense of smell, which results in LOWERED SEX DRIVE and a false sense of attraction to significant others, as our sense of smell is used to determine compatibility through the scent of hormones.  INTERESTING HUH?  Ironically, when I dated an X, I didn't notice his breath, but then after I stopped my Depo shots, it bothered the hell out of me!  If you have similar stories, please share them below. I LOVE hearing them. 

Fat, fatigued and frumpy, a term coined by Dr Sara Gottfried, referring to the internal mass destruction exogenous hormones cause to our liver, adrenals, brain, and ‘Lady Garden' just to name a few.  This podcast BLEW ME AWAY with info on Birth Control and the cascade of health challenges it can cause on Underground Wellness podcast episode titled ‘Own Your Vagina‘  I highly suggest you buy her book ‘The Hormone Cure' as it will give you a great deal of insight on this topic, what your options are, and how you can be proactive at wrangling your health back in. I have her to thank for opening my eyes to this as well as Chris Kresser, Functional Medicine Acupuncturist, who did a podcast on the new diagnosis in the health industry…post birth control syndrome.  POST BC SYNDROME?  Wait right there…another diagnosis manufactured by and fabricated in Western medicine to refer to a syndrome caused by the very thing that was intended to ‘suppress' PMS symptoms while also preventing getting pregnant.

When you're finished watching my video below, I highly encourage you to listen to (or read) CHRIS KRESSER'S RADIO EPISODE  titled Healthy Birth Control, Irregular Periods, and UTI’s addressing this issue. Here's an excerpt from that episode addressing this common and often ignored symptom among women:

“I eat clean, I exercise regularly, my doctor tells me my lab tests are ‘normal', I try to minimize stress and sleep 7-9 hours, but I have irregular or painful periods”.

First off…periods should happen once every 28 days…non clotting and non painful bleeding for 3-5 days, minimal food cravings, non disrupted sleep and minimal bloating.  IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE ON HERE, understand this.  ANYTHING outside of that is NOT NORMAL.  AND is your body trying to tell you something, that you're choosing to not listen to!  I'd say 9 out 10 women I work with are on birth control because they have HORRIBLE periods and multi task with ‘the pill' because they don't want kids (yet) AND-OR they need to do SOMETHING to minimize the cramps, mood swings, bloating, nausea, acne, and a whole host of other ‘can't live withs'.  Do these sound familiar?  Chris summarizes the likely origination of these problems:

“Irregular periods stem from the improper distribution of the hormones through the cycle and the overall amount of hormone that’s being produced is low.  That usually corresponds to some significant amount of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress or fatigue, which a lot of people refer to as adrenal fatigue, because keep in mind that the female hormones don’t just go out of balance for no reason; 7 or 8, 9 times out of 10, they usually go out of balance because something else has happened first, like the adrenals have gone out of whack…. you have this problem with production, and it usually corresponds with the adrenal fatigue, so you really have to treat the adrenals along with the female hormones or it’s not going to be a successful treatment”

Guess what ladies?  I'm 1 of 300 some odd Functional Diagnostic Practitioners in the US who have been trained to explore exactly this. You'll notice in both Dr Sara and Chris Kresser's radio shows, they recommend you work with a functional practitioner who can explore the root causes and flat tires that surface as symptoms.  We want to investigate the ‘hook' underneath the water, rather than the bobber on top, so to speak. We can explore your endocrine system in greater depth than you'll find in modern medicine, and examine your body and it's functions as a whole, from an integrative angle. What might be causing your nightmare periods could be something as simple as adrenal fatigue or low progesterone – the most important ‘peace' hormone in the female body.  And if you have low progesterone, you probably struggle with this too:

LOW PROGESTERONE = LOW SEROTONIN (DEPRESSION) & CONSTIPATION (weight gain)

This is something not offered through standard hospitals today because guess what?  It restores the normal functioning of your body so that your body is in harmony, what we refer to as homeostasis, so you can live your life the way God intended, free of drugs, disease, and crazy person syndrome LOL.  I am UP TO HERE hearing stories on women coming in for their pap and maybe a minor complaint if that…and being solicited to take birth control, when the patient didn't ask for it.

I'm not here to get on the pill.  Even when she resisted, her doctor INsisted.  

And MORE STORIES of women being prescribed anti depressants when new STUDIES prove that 90% + of the time, the issue is not even IN the brain, it's more about what the brain is not RECEIVING in the way of information, and our guts are inflamed (READ HERE to learn about leaky gut as a horrible side effect of birth control, resulting in Auto Immune disease).  Most of the time, their thyroid hormones aren't functioning well…I see this in over HALF of the women I test…who have seen dozens of doctors over 5-10years, with unresolved complaints, meanwhile are progressively getting worse. PLEASE ask yourself this

‘Has my doctor tested ALL 6 THYROID MARKERS?'

I'm willing to bet 99% they have NOT.  And even if they have, the lab ranges they use are pooled from old and sick people mostly.  THAT is who you're being measured against for how they define ‘healthy'. Is that even fair?  So, if your thyroid is off, you'll likely have a hard time losing weight, you're always tired, you're bloated, your food feels like it just ‘sits' in your stomach, your waistline is expanding, maybe bloating, you JUST…CAN'T…GET…ENOUGH…SLEEP, you're depressed and/or anxious at the same time, your sex drive is on vacation…probably somewhere in Bali sipping Coconut Water, doing yoga on the beach – heyyyyy, if I were your sex drive and I could disappear, that's where I would go….HA!

And guess what prolongs thyroid disease, weight gain, depression?  BIRTH CONTROL! 

PS. – Since I wrote this blog and made this video, thousands of women have reached out to thank me, because they FINALLY feel like someone understands them. And hundreds more have asked for my help in helping them recover from long term birth control damage, hormonal fluctuations and detoxifying the liver, and hence the fat cells…many women lose 6-10 pounds in the first month ALONE, of water and toxicity brought on by birth control.  I'm not asking for a pat on the back, I'm encouraging you to take my hand and pat yourself on YOURS.

The journey of many winds that brought me here, to you, to deliver this message, to help empower women to make THE BEST health decisions for themselves and their family is the VERY one you're on RIGHT NOW.  If you're reading this, you're likely fed up with your birth control method.  Or are looking to make the best, safest and healthiest option for you.  This is EXACTLY what inspired me to study to be functional wellness practitioner.  When I walked in to a naturopathic doctors office to ask her for help on flushing the ‘old birth control' I was on to make way for the new….all she told me was to take more fish oil.

I paid $150 for 30 minutes to be told to take more Fish Oil…to reduce symptoms of switching Birth Control!

That…to me….is not ok.  If a beautiful Goddess like yourself if looking, like REALLY looking to do the BEST thing for her Goddess Garden, I'm going to test…not guess.  Lab tests will show us accurate, full day readings of your hormones with references ranges of ‘healthy' vs sick individuals.  THIS was my estrogen when I had my Copper IUD in.  I was in the LUTEAL phase (ie around day 18 of my cycle)…and I had 3 TIMES MORE ESTROGEN than what a ‘healthy' woman with OPTIMAL ranges would have who is THRIVING.  High Estrogen comes with higher odds of cancer (since it's a growth hormone), mood swings, weight gain, fatigue (I know…you get it…you've heard this enough times by now, I'm sure).

Are you starting to get the BIG PICTURE?  Bottom line ladies:  It's time you rethink your birth control methods, as well as any other ‘quick fix' symptom band-aids we're silencing the voices of our body with. It's time to listen, time to take charge and time to change your life FOR GOOD.  Here's my story.  I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, PLEASE ask questions in the comment section below, SHARE with other women who struggle with the same, and by all means, CONTACT ME if you would like help bringing your body back to PERFECT HEALTH!

DOCTORS DON'T RUN THESE LABS, AND FOR THAT REASON, WE WILL RUN THEM FOR YOU!

YES, WE DO ACCEPT MOST MAJOR INSURANCE TO RUN THESE LABS! 

This is MY story on how Birth Control has destroyed my body and ruined my life!  This video is for mature audiences only.  I am not a medical doctor (although I'm studying to be a naturopathic doctor) hence am not recommending you follow any of the steps I took to get my life back, HOWEVER, I do want you to begin thinking for yourself as to the potential long term effects that birth control burns into the body, many of which may be irreversible.  It adds to the stress element inside of our body physiologically, chemically…add that to the emotional stress and mind stress of the SuperWoman Day we're expected to perform, and you have a future nightmare waiting on your future calendar that you'll be forced to address and not like.

Your health detective awaits:

TO TALK TO DIANE 1 ON 1 ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL or any lady logistics, such as how to increase your odds of fertility, preparing for a healthy baby, recovering your adrenals and beautiful temple from childbirth, hormone balancing, herpes or HPV, bacteria overgrowth, yeast infections, itchy/swollen ‘Gardens', Urinary Tract Infections, and just about everything else under the sun:

BOOK A TIME WITH DIANE HERE!

YES, WE DO SKYPE CALLS.  Diane has clients all around the world, and runs her practice remotely!

CLICK HERE (or the image below) FOR PART 2 …20 MONTHS LATER…