Going off the Pill - crazy cycles and pain....

[cfiddlinmama]

I'm posting this for a friend. She was on BCP for several years. Decided to go off of them. Her cycles are irregular, painful and crazy. She has also had pressure in her abdomen and pain. She had cysts that resolved on their own. Her dr is saying it's probably endometriosis and wants her to go back on BCP for 3 months.

I know it's normal to have a period of adjustment going off the pill. She's pretty miserable. What sort of herbs, nutritional support, supplements do you recommend to your clients? I thought of progesterone cream, would that help? Any book or web site recommendations? Thank you so much!

[nashvillemidwife]

I'm going through the same thing right now but I know I have endometriosis (that's why I've been on the pill). Red raspberry (at least 2 cups of tea/day) is the recommendation I keep getting. I was already using the natural progesterone cream before I stopped taking the pill so that hasn't made a difference.

I've gone off the pill several times in the past but this is the first time that things didn't return to normal right away. The pain isn't new, but my cycles have always been 30-32 days so I start taking ibuprofen prophylactically on day 30. It's much easier for me to treat it before it starts than to get on top of it when it hits. Now, however, my last 2 cycles were 29 and 25 days so I'm having trouble staying on top of the cramps.

[ZoeyZoo]

Not a BP... but I had a lot of cramping pains when I went off BCP. I didn't have endometriosis. For me the lack of a synthetic hormone really made my hormal balance crazy. I was charting when I went off and my charts were crazy. I used the herb vitex to help regulate my hormones. I had a normal chart and conceived the next month.

[Sage.Naissance]

All herbs are different for everybody, so she can play around with a few to see which feels right. Red Raspberry(the leaves not the berry) work like a charm for me! However some others dont find it helps. When I am menstruating I basically brew it constantly!
Here are some other ideas
Chaste tree is a hormonal alterative, which means that it will either lower or increase hormones based on your need and get you on track. It can be taken every day for up to three months, then try going off and see how it goes. It is something that is often recommended specifically to people to get off b/c.
Cramp bark is supposed to be good for cramping, though I havent tried it yet myself. Im going to pick some up soon.
Cutting too much refined sugar and white flour also helps immensely!
Take calc magnesium and get excercise. Those are my best bits of advice.
I wouldnt jump on the endometriosis diagnosis(though I almost thought that about myself last night as I was wailing in agony with the worst menstrual pain ever, I blame the rediculous number of cinnammon hearts I had consumed several hours prior)
Hope she can find a non perscription solution! That b/c is trouble!

[cfiddlinmama]

Thank you so much for your advice. I passed the info on to her and she's excited to try it. I was doing research on Vitex and it sounds like such an awesome herb!