Welcome to The Blog 
(All things hormones, birth control, toxic-free living, and self advocacy)
I'm not Anti-Birth Control. I'm Pro-Informed Consent. Do you know the difference?

Birth control can feel like the devil. But I'm not completely against it.

If you've been around, you know how much I talk about healing our bodies without birth control. Healing our hormone problems without being on hormone-suppressing medication that can have some pretty serious side effects on the rest of our body functions. So if you're seeing this and putting the pieces together, you're probably wondering if I'm completely against birth control altogether. Doesn't it seem that way?

I was talking to someone earlier on Instagram about how she can't easily get her birth control filled in the state she lives in. It was a respectful dialogue, so I appreciate that! She went on about how she hates taking it and doesn't know how to NOT be on it. I can totally respect that and still have feelings about getting off birth control! Have you heard about informed consent? 

Informed consent is the process of communication between a patient and physician that clearly identifies how a certain medication or procedure will likely impact you. It should talk about the benefits, downfalls, and everything in between. Notice how I say it "should"? That's not always the case...

In today's medical world of a revolving door and spending as little time as possible with a patient, I think a lot of doctors and physicians are quick to only tell part of the story. The part that says "if you take this, you'll be good to go!" It puts a lot of pressure on us, the patients, to do the outside research ourselves to verify what the doctors are telling us and make sure they didn't leave anything out. 

Think back to when you were prescribed birth control. Did your doctor tell you that you don't actually have a real period on birth control? Did they tell you that your libido might completely flatline? Did they tell you that the medication significantly depletes key nutrients our body depends on to function? These are just a few of the things that I never knew about and probably a lot of other people didn't know about either. 

If we're supposed to trust doctors, shouldn't they be telling us the WHOLE story about the possible side effects of a medication? So we can make an informed decision on whether this medication is right for us? It's definitely not the right solution for some people, but how would we know that if we're not told what might happen to us?

Part of being a self-advocate is asking the questions. Digging deeper with your doctor. Letting them know you're confused or worried about something. If they're doing their job right, they should completely respect that communication and guide you towards ultimately making a decision that YOU think is best for your body. Not what THEY think is best.

So what does all of this mean? It means I'm on your side. Regardless of whether you want to be on hormonal birth control or not! I'm here telling you just SOME of the ways that birth control can impact your body. I'm here as a second (or third or 50th) resource telling you what your doctor might have glanced over. Because it's your body. You know your body best. You deserve to know the whole truth about birth control.

I'm not anti-birth control. I'm pro-informed consent. It makes all the difference in the world.

Enjoyed this post? I'd love it if you could share with a friend that might enjoy the encouragement and comment below if you were told how birth control could impact you! See you later :)

Just so you know, I may earn a commission off the links on my blog at no cost to you through various affiliate programs. I appreciate your support and love sharing my favorite products with you! :)

0 Comments

Leave a Comment

Just so you know, I may earn a commission off the links on my blog at no cost to you through various affiliate programs. I appreciate your support and love sharing my favorite products with you! :)

I Felt Out of Balance

 

It all started with small rashes under my armpits. They grew bigger. They were fiery red. They burned. I couldn’t itch them since they burned so bad. They flaked. They were embarrassing. I didn’t know what they were. Then they showed up on the crook of my elbow and on the top of my right hand. I thought it might be due to a gluten or dairy intolerance, so I changed my diet. It helped temporarily and my rashes didn’t hurt as bad and weren’t as red. But diet changes weren’t enough. I was devastated. My rashes remained for MONTHS!

Then the "fluff" showed up around my belly and hips. Maybe the start of winter contributed as well; either way I swear my pants used to fit me way better…

My hair started falling out. In chunks! I’d always had some hairs come out when I washed my hair, so I was used to it. But not to this extent. I knew something was going on.

My acne became out of control, almost to the extent when I was in high school. Red, painful, cysts that I just couldn’t resist picking. And here I had spent all these years at the dermatologist “healing” my acne for it all to come back with a vengeance.

I was in tears at least once a week. I felt hopeless. I felt so alone. No one could relate besides one girl I followed on Instagram. My boyfriend was supportive, but how could he understand though? He had no idea what I was going through.

I took a deep breath, wiped my tears and trucked on. Then the next week would start all over again with a meltdown because I was fat, my hair was falling out, my acne was returning, and my rashes burned SO. FREAKING. BAD. I was angry, frustrated, confused & hopeless. 

I had heard that stopping birth control could come with some pretty gnarly symptoms. And I thought I was ready for whatever would happen. But I didn’t realize how mentally and emotionally challenging these symptoms would be.

Like many people, I started taking birth control in high school. I took it mostly for my acne, but pregnancy prevention was nice too. My hormones were manipulated for over 7 years. The birth control was prescribed by my doctor, so why would I ever question how it was affecting my body?

Turns out, I had NO idea just how much it affected me. All of me. It wasn’t until I read this book that I understood how much my body was impacted by these synthetic hormones that I didn't even realize were synthetic at the time. How hormonal birth control can be prescribed to “treat” certain conditions, yet it’s really only a bandaid fix. I didn’t want that bandaid fix anymore and I wanted to heal myself naturally. So I took the leap and ditched my birth control.

Aside from some of the challenges of getting off birth control, I noticed a whole new world of positives that came from it. For the first time in my life, I actually had energy! I no longer needed to sleep half the day away. The mental fog was gone! My mood increased, as well as my libido, which I swear was gone for good. I finally felt like I was in control of my health for the first time. Truly healthy and truly better.

My goal is to be that shining beacon of light for you if you are struggling with the decision to finally get off hormonal birth control. You are not alone in worrying how your body will react. You are not alone in this transition and your experiences. It might be challenging. But we are strong. We are healers. We are self-advocates. And only we know what’s best for our bodies.

Ready to join the community?  

Contact

Copyrights © 2025 held by respective copyright holders, including Sydney Veloz.