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clear search termsUnintended Consequences! Oral Contraceptives and Dis-ease Beginning in the Gut
Hormones in the gut? Dis-ease beginning in the gut??? Check out this clinical tip for some insight on oral hormone supplementation that might surprise you!
Do you know what happens when someone uses oral contraceptives or other sex hormone supplementation orally? What effect do you think hormones likely have on the gut given our precious microbiome and the immune system housed there? What does your intuition tell you?
Oral contraceptives increase C-reactive protein! Check out the detail yourself: here and here and here and here and here
Increase in inflammatory bowel disease risk? Check it out here and here
We already very well now that oral contraceptive can deplete various nutrients, especially Vitamin B6 (a great read for detail). Do you think there’s a connection!?
We know that estrogen promotes histamine release. Is this involved?
Hmmm….now think about the impact of xenoestogens that enter our body through the mouth (e.g. pesticides)? What interconnectedness can we practically Expect?!
And make sure to check out:
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Warmly,
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Tracy,
I had a question today that I don’t know how to answer. Do you know what particular hormone in the OCP deplete B6? I reviewed the article posted and it does not state. I do think this is a great question because many OCP’s are combination pills and some more dominant than others. I think most are estrogen and progestin.
Thank you.
All hormone supplementation will make use of key nutrients to facilitate detoxification and clearance, so in a general sense, yes, they all lower available supply of B vitamins, including B6. However, the more dramatic effect of oral contraceptives on B6 sufficiency appears to be specific to estrogens and is in part influenced by estrogenic effect on tryptophan metabolism, serotonin synthesis, and metabolism. This may be of interest to you: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/001078247490078X .
What about the absorption rate of transdermal patches and creams? They vary according to site and person depending on skin permeability. I struggle with getting patients an accurate dose, because you just never know how much they are actually getting.
Yes, your point is important and good justification for testing serum levels of hormones to check for optimal absorption and appropriate dosing not too far into usage onset and then episodically to confirm whether adjustments are necessary. Timing of testing will, of course, depend on usage/purpose, but if trying to mimick physiologic levels (e.g. gio-identical hormone replacement in postmenopausal women), it will perhaps make sense to test on Day 12 and Day 21.
I am a functional med practitioner. Myself and 1 other patient cannot tolerate TD progesterone or oral. It makes us both anxious and “crazy” feeling with terrible insomnia. I have tried dose 1 mg TD applying at different times. My supervising dr. has suggested that 99% of women in our practice have no problems. I am frustrated, 48, and having hot flashes. Anxiety. And insomnia no matter what I do with all of my functional knowledge. I secretly feel like I have nowhere to turn as a pt for help. Thoughts?
I am on black cohash, niacin, ashwaghanda, relora, magnesium, gaba before bed. I was on TD 1 mg progesterone x 2 months and felt awful. I have been off x 1 week and still feel pretty unlike myself. The insomnia is what’s killing me. Cbd, melatonin, nothing works and makes me feel very hung over .
Indeed, I concur that your personal experience is not typical, but I want to address it because it provides an opportunity for deeper exploration of hormones overall… I too have had two clients in my practice over the years who had a similar reaction. I do have a number of thoughts which might be helpful and perhaps one of them will resonate with you for further exploration. You don’t mention your menstrual status, so I am going to assume at 48 y/o that you are in later perimenopausal years – still menstruating but perhaps skipping cycles occasionally or experiencing irregularity in duration/intensity. I am also going to assume that the progesterone you have been using is truly bio-identical and not a progestin (because the effects of these two substances are *not* the same). Now, to begin, I have two perhaps obvious thoughts… (1) I would make sure that you need progesterone. We typically associate mid/late perimenopausal time with low progesterone in women (due to the decline in ovarian output), but absolutely *nothing* is true for *all* women. Due to individual variations in adrenal function/output and hormone metabolism, you may already have adequate progesterone; I have twice seen DUTCH test results… Read more »
Is there any contraceptives you recommend over the pill?
Indeed, I don’t think it’s appropriate to give “general” recommendations on contraceptives, as there are unique, individual circumstances that must be taken into account for each person in consult with their physician (especially regarding current hormone status, cancer history/risk, fears/beliefs). These are some articles which might be helpful to share with patients/clients… http://www.saragottfriedmd.com/the-birth-control-pill-7-reasons-why-you-may-want-to-stop-and-how-to-stay-healthy-if-you-dont/ and https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/4-functonal-medicine-doctors-on-what-they-actually-do-for-birth-control and https://experiencelife.com/article/hormonal-birth-control-aviva-romm/ .