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Connecting the Dots: Health Problems, Hashimoto’s, and Hormonal Birth Control

Published on August 27, 2025

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I have always found it curious that many health-conscious women will pay more for meat and dairy products that promise “No Artificial Hormones,” but then don’t think twice about taking the powerful artificial hormones in birth control.

Based on observations from a recent work trip, I began wondering if this paradox could be just a strange quirk of human nature. I was working with a man who obsessed over everything he put in his body. He intently read nutrition labels to compare juices, perused the ingredients before purchasing a protein bar, and asked waiters at restaurants about their food preparation.

It is difficult to eat healthy when you are living on the road, and I was impressed by his commitment to doing so. He really took his health seriously. Then, one afternoon, he said he was going to take a break, picked up his laptop bag, and pulled out a pack of unfiltered Camels.

I wondered what kind of compartments must exist in his brain for this to make sense, and it brought my mind back to the women who make a concerted effort to avoid artificial hormones… except when they don’t.

The Perfect Example

I might have also wondered how my brain could be so de-compartmentalized that his smoking immediately triggered thoughts of birth control, but this isn’t about me. So, I’ll save that for the therapist.

Meanwhile, his dichotomy of action had piqued my interest, and I was unsure where my curiosity would lead me. Then, I met the perfect woman to help me take a deep dive into the topic.

Brandy Searcy has worked as a developmental scientist for pharmaceutical companies for over a decade. As the daughter and granddaughter of nurses, she grew up immersed in conversations centered around healthcare. So, pursuing a PhD in organic synthesis seemed almost a natural extension of her genetics and heritage.

Through her work, which has included forays into cancer research and pesticide development, she honed a keen understanding of endocrine disruptors. Her concern over xenoestrogens in health and beauty products led her to develop Rain Organica, a line of skin care products designed specifically for women looking to detox their lives.

I met Brandy when she invited me on her podcast to talk about my book.

Birth Control and the Compartmentalization Conundrum

After we finished recording, Brandy mentioned that she could not believe how long it took her to connect the dots and realize that so many of her problems were linked to hormonal birth control. This opened the door to a fascinating discussion.

As you might imagine, her family was deeply vested in Western medicine. So, when she began to battle acne at around the age of 14, her mother did what any loving mother would do. She drove her around the state of Georgia trying to find a dermatologist who would conjure up a magic potion to make her acne worries vanish.

After a few years and some bad experiences with Accutane, Brandy’s mindset began to shift. It was around the age of 20 that she decided that she would “treat my skin as an organ to be loved rather than as a battleground.”

Although she had identified the problems with Accutane, it would take another 20 years for her to recognize the role hormonal birth control was playing in her health struggles. Consequently, this would become the first of many milestones she would later identify as missed opportunities to connect the dots.

Living Both Sides of the Coin

“It’s almost like there were two of me. One side was touting this new, healthy approach to life, and the other side was completely ignoring the effects of hormonal birth control on my body.”

When Brandy reflects back on those days before the blinders came off, you can see clouds of guilt and maybe a hint of embarrassment cross her eyes. She says there were any number of events that should have been enough to make her see the light earlier. Like the time red flags and sirens went off in her head when her doctor suggested a form of birth control because the “hormones were localized.”

Looking back at it now, she laments, “If she (the doctor) thought hormones can be localized, why didn’t I question her wisdom on prescribing me birth control in the first place?”

Beyond the common misrepresentations by doctors, Brandy can pinpoint some very specific, significant events in her personal and professional life that she believes should have been enough for her to walk away from hormonal birth control.

Missed Warning Signs

“It’s mind-blowing to me that I couldn’t let myself connect the dots. How I couldn’t see it is beyond me.”

Brandy still feels overcome with dismay as she recounts the significant events, the missed warning signs. Here is her summary of those key events:

2008 – Right leg numbness – The doctor thought she might be experiencing transient ischemic attacks (TIA) caused by the synthetic estrogens in her birth control. He told her to stop taking it until they could identify the culprit. The issues turned out to be structural rather than a stroke, and she returned to The Pill without a second thought.

2012 – Lyme disease – Brandy became very ill. As they worked through the process of diagnosing her illness, the doctor told her to stop taking birth control for six months. During the course of testing, they learned that her ANA and CRP levels were high. Ultimately, she was diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease. Once again, feeling better, the diagnosis was taken as an exoneration of hormonal birth control. She forgot all about concern for her ANA and CRP levels, and started right back on The Pill.

2012 – Literal warning signs – That same year, she visited a facility that previously manufactured synthetic estrogens. As she walked through the plant, she noticed the bright red “Carcinogen” signs everywhere – on the walls, on the pipes – literally everywhere. Even as one of her co-workers told her this is where estrogens used to be made, she never connected the danger and all these literal warning signs to the same little pill she was taking every day.

2016 – No periods – Brandy was already experiencing gall sludge when her gynecologist recommended a different birth control formulation that, when taken continuously, would allow her to never have a period again, right up until menopause. She loved the idea of eliminating her period and didn’t even make the connection when signs of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis began almost immediately after switching to this brand.

2017 – Gallbladder disease – She had to have her gallbladder removed. While Brandy was still unaware of hormonal birth control’s link to gallbladder issues, she also had a family history of gallbladder disease that kept her from even considering The Pill’s role in her gallbladder’s demise.

2018 – Hashimoto’s diagnosis – After two years of tests, Brandy was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, yet another disease that has been linked to birth control use. This was the event that would finally open her eyes, but the realization still took a circuitous route as it wasn’t the diagnosis itself that helped her make the connection.

When Western medicine told this self-described type-A control freak that there was no cure, she began digging for herself and discovered a book on treating your thyroid using Ayurveda techniques.

Ayurveda is an alternative form of medicine originating from Asia, which focuses on the necessary balance of internal and external influences to maintain proper health. And, it provided the shift in mindset that finally caused Brandy to question birth control.

Looking back at everything now, Brandy says, “We are not made to live in a diseased state. We are made to be healthy, and if we aren’t healthy, it isn’t because our body is broken, it’s because we are putting something in that is making us not healthy.”

Seeing the Light

I asked what she might tell other young women to help them wake up to the dangers of The Pill, or at least give more thought to its potential risks. This led to another interesting rabbit hole as we discussed the various factors that prevent young women from truly contemplating the dangers. Here are some of the variables we discussed:

Lack of reproductive education – Young women aren’t taught about the phases of their cycle, nor how its ebbs and flows can actually help them monitor their health, nor are they educated on how their cycles may change over time.

In Brandy’s case, she had very heavy, irregular, and painful periods as a young girl. No one ever told her this was common when going through menarche. As a result, she said The Pill gave her a false sense of control. She had fully bought into a false narrative that periods should be embarrassing and that they serve no useful function. At some level, she believed that completely stopping her menstruation with potent chemicals might actually be better for her than respecting her body’s natural processes. This did not change even after two doctors had her stop hormonal birth control for health concerns.

Western medicine – We tend to give doctors an inordinate authority over our health decisions to the point of almost idolizing them. This is reinforced by a notion that they have taken the Hippocratic Oath, promising to first, do no harm. However, only slightly over half of all physicians today have taken the oath, and that percentage drops with each new graduating class.

The more entrenched a young woman’s faith in Western medicine the less likely she is to question birth control.

Addiction – Some women seem to develop a type of addiction to hormonal birth control. The mere suggestion that they should look for another option is enough to create severe anxiety.

Stockholm syndrome – Closely related, some women may take on a type of Stockholm syndrome that prevents them from connecting the dots. Stockholm syndrome is described as a coping mechanism that some victims of an abusive situation develop in which they actually grow fond of the abuser.

Brandy recalled, “In a lot of ways, if feels like I was in an abusive relationship, but I wasn’t able to see how abusive it was until I stepped away.”

Withdrawal – Beyond the addictive nature, quitting any synthetic steroid cold turkey can be hard on the system. There’s a reason doctors taper you off of prednisone and other steroids.

Many women experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop, and this is enough to drive them right back to The Pill.

Little support – Historically, there has been a lack of support for women coming off these potent synthetic hormones – some after decades of use. Even the medical professionals who prescribe the drug are woefully undertrained on dealing with the detoxification process necessary for a healthy transition off of The Pill. Actually, that is an understatement. Most doctors have not even contemplated the effects of coming off the synthetic steroids in birth control. They act is if you just stop and your body returns to normal.

When Brandy came off The Pill, she immediately began to see and feel changes in her body, including her first UTI, at the age of 40. This was the lightbulb moment when she realized how much impact the synthetic steroids had been having on her body. Despite having made it through 40 years with no UTIs, two of her doctors, who are still clearly wearing their birth control blinders, told her it sounded like she had poor hygiene habits. Somehow, in their eyes, I guess it took 40 years for those bad habits to catch up to her.

By the way, Brandy recently developed a course to help women through the transition off of hormonal birth control.

A Unique Formula

Clearly, there are lots of variables that can influence the way a woman perceives and judges birth control.

Every woman is different. Each has her own unique body chemistry. That is why a birth control formulation that seems harmless to one woman can be deadly for the next.

Brandy mused that the way women weigh their thoughts on The Pill is equally idiosyncratic. There is no one phrase or thought that will lead women to suddenly see the realities of hormonal birth control. Each woman has to hear the right message at the right time to help her properly weigh the benefits and risks for her situation. I say “properly” because the system is so stacked against women getting accurate information about this potent drug.

Brandy added this last thought related to one of the first big hurdles that women encounter – the overwhelming tendency to mitigate and downplay side effects. She advised, “The subtle symptoms are the first indicators. Don’t dismiss them because they seem insignificant. They are frequently pointing to something bigger.”

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We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter.

Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash.

This article was published originally May 15, 2023.

Summer’s Best Bargain: Free Vitamin D

by Susan Rex Ryan

Published on May 14, 2025

7855 views

The warmest season of the year is around the corner. Many of us are looking forward to school holidays, work vacations, and relaxing. And shopping often accompanies our summer fun. So take advantage of the best bargain of the season: better health – for free! That’s right, I am talking about sunshine: the light emitting from the fiery heart of our solar system. Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun provide us with an essential nutrient called vitamin D. Yes, this is the vitamin that not only strengthens our bones and muscles but may significantly protect us from a wide range of serious diseases including autoimmune disorders, cancer, contagious illnesses, diabetes, and heart disease, according to a plethora of credible medical studies from around the world.

Many people—across generations and geographical locations—suffer from low vitamin D levels from lifestyles that do not include unprotected sunbathing. Since the late 1980’s, the medical community has emphasized the need to “shun the sun” to avoid skin cancer. Consumers have embraced this advice by spending billions of dollars so they can slather chemical-laden lotions with exponentially increasing sun protection factors all over their bodies. This behavior has resulted in a vitamin D deficiency epidemic.

Moderate sun exposure is healthy for most individuals. Our bodies possess an inherent mechanism to process only the necessary intake of sun rays, about 20,000 international units of vitamin D. After our skin is exposed to direct sunlight under optimal conditions for about 20 minutes, its safety mechanism turns off the initial production of vitamin D. For many folks, it is then time to move to the shade or don additional protection to reduce the risk of sunburn.

Optimal conditions to enjoy summer’s vitamin D depend on a number of factors that we can, and in some cases, cannot control. These factors include:

Geographic location. The closer you are to the equator and the higher your altitude the better your opportunity to acquire vitamin D-rich sunlight.

Time of day. The window of sunlight between 10:00 in the morning and 2:00 in the afternoon is optimal. If your shadow is shorter than your height, you are in the potential vitamin D-producing time frame.

Sky clarity. An azure sky is highly preferable to cloud cover. UVB light is decreased by about 50 percent when penetrating clouds. Ozone pollution absorbs UVB rays before they reach your skin.

Skin. The less clothing, makeup, and sunscreen you wear, the better the odds that your skin can produce vitamin D. It also is important to understand that melanin, the pigment in your skin, absorbs UVB rays. The lighter your skin, the better chance you can make vitamin D more efficiently.

Age. Youth trumps older ages because the concentration of the vitamin D precursor in our skin, called 7-dehydrocholesterol, decreases with age.

Weight. Less weight means typically more vitamin D production from the sun. As vitamin D is fat-soluble, the body’s fat cells more rapidly absorb vitamin D, decreasing its availability to organs, tissues, and cells.

You may be thinking, “I live near sea level, far from the equator, in mostly cloudy conditions with cool summer temperatures; work full-time during the day; and am dark-skinned and overweight. How on earth (literally) can I get any measurable vitamin D from the sun?” Take advantage of sunny weather by enjoying an outdoor lunch break. Remove that hat, roll up your sleeves, and soak in the sun. Ten minutes of sun exposure is better than none.

Each individual’s options for absorbing nature’s gift of vitamin D may differ.* Fortunately, widely available sources of vitamin D including vitamin D3 supplements may be highly effective in raising your body’s D levels to protect you from a wide array of medical conditions. The information about, and benefits of, vitamin D could fill a book. In fact, I am so impressed with vitamin D’s health benefits that I recently published a book called Defend Your Life to encourage people to improve their health by taking vitamin D.

Happy summer, and happy health!

*Persons who have developed sarcoidosis, specific granulomatous diseases, and rare cancers may experience hypersensitivity to sunlight exposure.

Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay .

This article was published originally on July 2, 2019.

Vitamin D3 and Influenza

by Susan Rex Ryan

Published on October 7, 2024

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It’s that time of year again: Signs advertising flu shots dot the commercial landscape. Retail pharmacy stores conveniently sell flu inoculations while shopping. Flu-shot kiosks at airports are common. Pharmaceutical companies produce flu vaccines in nasal-spray form for younger people and high-dose flu shots for older folks. When I think about this ambitious marketing campaign, my reaction is the same: adequate vitamin D3 levels may protect us from influenza as effectively as flu vaccines.

The “flu” is a highly contagious, respiratory disease caused by a type (or strain) of influenza virus. Influenza A, the most common flu virus, usually prevails during the autumn and winter seasons when the least exposure to ultraviolet B sunlight occurs. Seasonal flu vaccines comprise a mixture of the most predictive influenza viruses. However, the effectiveness of flu immunization can be called into question due to the uncertainty about which flu strain will emerge during the season.

Activated vitamin D3 has a profound impact on the immune system. Vitamin D3’s anti-viral and anti-inflammatory functions may lower of the risk of contracting or dying from influenza. To strengthen the immune system, activated vitamin D3 produces two peptides called cathelicidin and defensin that combat viruses. John J. Cannell, M.D., founder and Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council, and colleagues published a paper in the British journal Epidemiology and Infections that proposed low vitamin D3 levels are why the flu occurs more often during the winter. They also suggested that adequate daily vitamin D3 supplementation may reduce influenza symptoms. Subsequently, Dr. Cannell led a team of researchers who further examined vitamin D3’s mechanisms of action on epidemic influenza. Published in the February 2008 issue of the Virology Journal, the researchers confirmed the association between vitamin D3 deficiency and the seasonality of influenza.

From December 2008 through March 2009, researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving over 300 Japanese schoolchildren. Children who took a daily 1,200 IU supplement of vitamin D3 benefited from up to a 60 percent reduction in the influenza A infection rate during the darkest months of the year. Four times as many children in the placebo group developed the flu compared to the vitamin D3 group. (Note: A daily dose of 1,200 IU is quite low compared to current recommendations of vitamin D experts.)

More than 186,000 persons died from the H1N1 “swine flu” (a strain of Influenza A) pandemic in 2009-10. Months after the initial outbreak of the virus, University of Virginia researchers published an article in the Journal of Environmental Pathology, Toxicology and Oncology strongly recommending that “all healthcare workers and patients be tested and treated for vitamin D deficiency to prevent” the spread of the H1N1 virus.

A 2012 article published in the journal Critical Reviews in Microbiology reviewed data from randomized, controlled clinical trials to examine the impact of vitamin D3 supplementation in infectious diseases including influenza. The Dutch scientists indicated that vitamin D3 supplementation may prevent or possibly treat influenza viruses but noted that the optimal daily dosage regimen of vitamin D3 has yet to be determined.

A study published in the September 27, 2012 issue of the European Journal of Nutrition examined laboratory results of the treatment of bronchial cells infected with influenza A virus, specifically the H1N1 strain, with vitamin D3. The Indian researchers found that vitamin D3 reduced the severity of H1N1influenza.

Sales of vitamin D3 supplements have dramatically increased over the past several years.However, for the first time in a decade, worldwide sales of influenza vaccines decreased over $4 billion in 2011, according to Kalorama Information, a healthcare market research publisher. Could vitamin D3 awareness and consumption have contributed to the decline in the flu vaccine markets? Given the research, some in the medical community believe that vitamin D3’s antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system may prevent influenza as well as potentially alleviate flu symptoms.

Image by Luisella Planeta LOVE PEACE 💛💙 from Pixabay.

This article was published originally on February 25, 2016.

Why Aren’t Women Tested for Factor V Leiden and Other Clotting Disorders?

by Kerry Gretchen

Published on August 26, 2024

22643 views

When I had a stroke at age 28, my doctors did some tests and found that I have a fairly common clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden. They told me that this, combined with birth control pills, are what caused me to have the cerebral venous thrombosis (stroke). It didn’t occur to me then to ask what Factor V Leiden actually was. Or to ask why I hadn’t been testing for inherited clotting disorders before I was put on medication that increased my risk for blood clots. These things didn’t occur to me until much later, after I learned to walk again.

I spent most of the first two years after my stroke getting on with my life. It wasn’t until I was searching for a topic for my thesis that I revisited what happened to me. I had no idea that birth control pills could be so dangerous and I certainly didn’t know that I could have an inherited genetic condition which would make them exponentially more dangerous for me. “How many women have the same condition?” I wondered. “Why don’t we test them before they are put on hormones?” These are some of the questions I sought to answer with my research.

What is Factor V Leiden?

Factor V Leiden (FVL) is a 20,000-year-old mutation common in the general population and a major genetic risk factor for thrombosis. It’s the most common genetic clotting disorder, accounting for around half of all cases. It’s most commonly found in Caucasians (3-8%).

Patients with Factor V Leiden can be either:

Heterozygous: inherited one mutated gene from a parent

or

Homozygous: inherited two mutated genes, one from each parent

What Does It Do?

As my hematologist described, FVL doesn’t cause blood clots but once activated, it dangerously accelerates clotting. Researchers aren’t clear on why some people with FVL activate and others don’t but there is almost always a precipitating factor—surgery, trauma, immobility, use of hormones, etc.

According to a review in Blood, the journal for the American Society of Hematology, women with heterozygous FVL who also use oral contraceptives have an estimated 30 to 50-fold increased risk of blood clots, while women with homozygous FVL have a several hundred-fold increased risk.

It is the most common genetic cause of primary and recurrent venous thromboembolism in women.

We know that taking estrogen can increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack in women. And estrogen, when taken by someone with FVL, can significantly increase the risk of blood clots. Whether women are taking synthetic estrogen in the form of oral contraceptives, or hormone replacement therapy or have increased concentrations of the endogenous estrogens due to pregnancy, they are at much greater risk of clotting.

FVL accounts for 20-50% of the venous thromboembolisms (VTE) that are pregnancy related. In the United States, VTE is the leading cause of maternal death. In addition to causing VTE in pregnant women, FVL has been linked to miscarriage and preeclampsia.

Perhaps the women most at risk for blood clots are those that have been placed on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A recent review of data from several studies found that women taking hormone replacement therapy were at an increased risk of blood clot and stroke. Worse yet, women with FVL who are also on HRT were 14-16 times more likely to have a VTE.

Despite these risks, women are not systematically tested for FVL before they are prescribed oral contraceptives, before or during pregnancy, or before commencing HRT.

What Women Know about Birth Control and Blood Clots

Part of my thesis research included a survey to assess what women understand about the risks of birth control pills and clotting disorders. Over 300 women who had taken birth control pills participated. What I found was that most women do not understand the side effects of hormonal birth control, nor are they familiar with the symptoms of a blood clot.

As for clotting disorders, nearly 60% of the women surveyed had no knowledge of these conditions. When asked whether they knew about clotting disorders BEFORE they took birth control pills that number increases considerably.

Over 80% of women were taking a medication without the knowledge that they could have an undiagnosed genetic condition that would make that medication exponentially more dangerous.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise give that this information is not found in advertisements for birth control pills, on non- profit websites about birth control pills and their risks, or on literature provided with the prescriptions.

Why Aren’t Women Tested for Clotting Disorders?

The most common reason I found in my research for not testing women were cost-benefit analyses measured in cost per prevention of one death.

Setting aside the moral argument that you cannot put a price on a human life, because clearly the government and corporations do just that. (It’s $8 million in case you were wondering.) The cost of taking care of taking care of victims of blood clots is not insignificant.

Each year thousands of women using hormonal contraceptives will develop blood clots. The average cost of a patient with pulmonary embolism (PE) is nearly $9,000 (for a three-day stay not including follow-up medication and subsequent testing).

A hospital stay as a stroke patient is over twice that at nearly $22,000 (not including continuing out-patient rehabilitation, medications, testing, etc.). As a stroke survivor, I can tell you that the bills don’t stop after you leave the hospital. I was incredibly lucky that I only needed a month of out-patient therapy. Most patients need considerably more and will require life-long medication and testing. It’s important to note that due to the increasing cost of healthcare, the figures in these studies (PEs from 2003-2010; strokes from 2006-2008) would be exponentially higher now.

I’m not a statistician but I can do some basic math and while I wasn’t able to find data for the United States (surprise, surprise), the health ministry in France recently conducted a study that showed that the birth control pill causes 2,500 blood clots a year and 20 deaths. The United States has 9.72 million women using the pill compared to France’s 4.27 million. This doesn’t include the patch, ring, injectable, or hormonal IUD, but for the sake of keeping things simple, let’s just use the pill. So we have over twice the pill-users as France, which means twice the blood clots (5,000) and twice the deaths (40). If we assume that half of the blood clots are PE and half are stroke, we come up with a whopping $77.5 million in hospital bills for these blood clots (not counting life-long treatment). Now adding the cost-of-life determined by the government (40 women times $8 million= $320 million) and we end up with nearly $400 million a year in damages caused by the pill. For the cost of only one year of damages, all 10 million women could have a one-time $40 blood test which would result in considerably fewer blood clots.

Furthermore, the research in my thesis shows that women would be willing to not only take these tests, but also to pay for them!

Of the 311 who answered the question, 82.3% (or 256) said they would be willing to take the test. Only 7.2% said no, with the other 10.6% “not sure.” More than 60% of respondents would be willing to pay for the test (up to $50).

In addition, the cost of a blood test is directly proportional to how frequently it is performed. An increase in testing will result in a decrease in the cost of testing.

Women Deserve Better

Putting aside the monetary costs for a moment, what about the emotional and physical toll for women who suffer these dangerous and debilitating blood clots? There is no excuse for women to suffer strokes, pulmonary embolisms, DVTs, multiple miscarriages, and still births because they have an undiagnosed clotting disorder.

That said, requiring a test before prescribing hormones to women would raise awareness of the dangers of these drugs and may reduce the overall number of women using them. Which leads one to wonder if the absence of testing for women is really just a public relations strategy.

Perhaps one of the most devastating cautionary tales of not testing for clotting disorders comes from Laura Femia Buccellato. Her daughter Theresa was 16 years old when she was killed from a blood clot caused by (undiagnosed) Factor V Leiden and birth control pills. Would Theresa be with us today if she had had a simple blood test? Would I have had a stroke? When we will demand better?

We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter.

Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay.

This article was first published in September 2016.

Diabetes: Another Problem With Hormonal Birth Control

by Kerry Gretchen

Published on July 12, 2024

6014 views

Diabetes is the 7^th leading cause of death in the United States according to the American Diabetes Association. Tens of millions of people have diabetes and are at increased risk for a whole host of other problems because of it. The estimated economic cost of diabetes is nearly $245 billion each year. BILLION! So shouldn’t we take a look at how to decrease these risks, lessen this economic burden, save lives?

I’ve done a lot of research on birth control pills, their side effects, and how those risks are communicated to women. My interest in the topic is both personal (I suffered a stroke from hormonal birth control at age 28) and professional. I’ve been reviewing the Nelson Pill hearings and what I’ve found is shocking. Beyond the obvious correlation between blood clots and hormonal birth control, even back in 1970 doctors and scientists knew that these medications affected, contributed to, and caused a myriad of health problems from weight gain to stroke. One of the most surprising to me, because I hadn’t come across it in any of my previous research, was the link between synthetic hormones and diabetes. Dr. Hugh J. Davis, the first doctor to testify at the Nelson Pill Hearings said the following (page 5930):

“A woman, for example, who has a history of diabetes or even a woman with a strong family history of diabetes is not an ideal candidate for using oral contraceptives… [they] produce changes in carbohydrate metabolism which tends to aggravate existing diabetes and can make it difficult to manage.”

Hormonal birth control elevates blood glucose levels, can increase blood pressure, increases triglycerides and cholesterol, and accelerates the hardening of the arteries, among other things. They knew this in 1970. But what about the research now? Well, if you’ve read any of my other articles it probably won’t surprise you that the current research is… wait for it… you guessed it… INCONCLUSIVE! Here’s a look at what I’ve found:

“Cardiovascular disease is a major concern, and for women with diabetes who have macrovascular or microvascular complications, nonhormonal methods are recommended. There is little evidence of best practice for the follow-up of women with diabetes prescribed hormonal contraception. It is generally agreed that blood pressure, weight, and body mass index measurements should be ascertained, and blood glucose levels and baseline lipid profiles assessed as relevant. Research on hormonal contraception has been carried out in healthy populations; more studies are needed in women with diabetes and women who have increased risks of cardiovascular disease.”

And:

“The four included randomised controlled trials in this systematic review provided insufficient evidence to assess whether progestogen-only and combined contraceptives differ from non-hormonal contraceptives in diabetes control, lipid metabolism and complications. Three of the four studies were of limited methodological quality, sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and described surrogate outcomes. Ideally, an adequately reported, high-quality randomised controlled trial analysing both intermediate outcomes (i.e. glucose and lipid metabolism) and true clinical endpoints (micro- and macrovascular disease) in users of combined, progestogen-only and non-hormonal contraceptives should be conducted.

Not enough evidence is available to prove that hormonal contraceptives do not influence glucose and fat metabolism in women with diabetes mellitus.”

For women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), this is particularly troubling. They are already at an increased risk for diabetes. “Researchers in Australia collected data from 6,000 women and found that those who had PCOS were three to five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who didn’t.” Yet the first treatment doctors usually prescribe for PCOS is birth control pills. It’s unclear whether the PCOS alone increases a woman’s risk or just that most women with PCOS are treated with hormones that make her more likely to develop diabetes.

It begs the question, why are we treating a woman for a condition that increases her risk for diabetes with a drug that increases her risk for diabetes?

Even if you don’t have PCOS, you are still at risk. A recent study showed that “women who used hormonal methods of birth control had higher odds for gestational diabetes than did women who used no contraception.” So using hormonal birth control may prevent you from getting pregnant but at the cost of making a future pregnancy more dangerous? It’s not just dangerous for pregnant women, however. Hormonal contraceptives seem to predispose women to diabetes across the lifespan. For example, another study found:

“The prevalence of diabetes was significantly higher in post-menopausal participants who had taken OCs (oral contraceptives) for more than 6 months than in those who had never taken OCs. The duration of OC use was also positively associated with the prevalence of diabetes. Furthermore, taking OCs for more than 6 months led to a significant increase in fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR in nondiabetic participants. Past use of OCs for more than 6 months led to a significant increase in the prevalence of diabetes in post-menopausal women, and increased IR in nondiabetic participants. These results suggested that the prolonged use of OCs at reproductive age may be an important risk factor for developing diabetes in post-menopausal women.”

This is further proof that taking hormonal birth control affects women for much longer than the duration they take it. A correlation between synthetic hormones and diabetes was evident to doctors and researchers back in 1970 and we’re still trying to understand those effects today. Dr. Hugh Davis testified (pg 5928) about hormonal birth control:

“While you are accomplishing your contraceptive objective you are producing very, very widespread and generalized changes.”

I’m starting to feel like a broken record here, but at what point are these risks not acceptable? And why do we still not fully understand these risks? The goal of the Nelson Pill Hearings was to determine if these medications were safe and they are clearly not. Over and over, experts testified and said the pill should not be taken off the market but that it should be studied more and replaced by something better as soon as possible. As we can see, that hasn’t happened. Women are still having to make the choice between convenient contraception and their health and safety. The risks involved with hormonal contraceptives are still being downplayed, skewed, and hidden. If a serious and potentially life-threatening condition like diabetes is not too high a price to pay to avoid pregnancy, what is? How about loss of libido? Mental health? Weight gain? Blood clots? Stroke? Loss of life? Dr. Davis also said (pg 5925):

“In using these agents (hormonal contraceptives), we are in fact embarked on a massive endocrinologic experiment with millions of healthy women.”

I couldn’t agree more. And the experiment continues.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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This article was published originally on August 29, 2016.

Share Your Hysterectomy Experience

by WS

Published on June 13, 2024

8979 views

The hysterectomy and oophorectomy industry continues to flourish. There are over 600,000 hysterectomies every year. The oophorectomy rate is about 70% of the hysterectomy rate, some performed at the time of hysterectomy and others as separate surgeries. About 90% of these surgeries are for benign conditions (elective). These are merely estimates based on samples of inpatient data from short-term, acute-care, nonfederal hospitals along with hysterectomy and oophorectomy outpatient percentage estimates. According to the aforementioned publication, the rate of outpatient (ambulatory) hysterectomies increased from 14% in 2000 to 70% in 2014. Outpatient oophorectomies increased from 57% to 84% over the same time period. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports only inpatient hysterectomies which is why hysterectomy rates are typically understated by the media. A 70% understatement is a gross misrepresentation and outpatient hysterectomies may now exceed 70%.

Hysterectomy is seen as panacea for a multitude of women’s health issues. Unfortunately, it is not, and yet, this perception that hysterectomy is a cure-all survives, largely because of false information from gynecologists, gynecologic oncologists, other medical professionals, hospitals, surgical centers, the media, and women who have had the surgery(ies).

The prevalence of hysterectomy and oophorectomy leads the public to mistakenly believe that a woman’s sex organs are disposable. In many cases, gynecologists fail to provide their patients with the necessary factual information to make an informed decision about these surgeries, leaving women and their partners to learn about the side effects after the fact. Some of the more commonly reported side effects include: bladder and bowel dysfunction, skeletal and figure changes, sexual dysfunction, emotional emptiness, and impaired ovarian function. Although some may believe these side effects are rare and thus rarely discussed pre-surgery, comments on these hysterectomy articles indicate they must be more common than many realize.

What makes these side effects even more troubling, is the fact these procedures are rarely needed. Women are coaxed into the surgery under the false pretense of cancer or pre-cancer or told it is their only or best option. Finally, many women’s organ(s) are removed despite having specifically told their surgeons that organ(s) should not be removed. Here is just one of those stories.

In light of the problems with hysterectomy, the HERS Foundation is collecting stories of post-hysterectomy problems. We are supporting that effort. If you would like to share your story, consider participating in the “In My Own Voice” project. To learn more, click here.

If you would like to share your story here on Hormones Matter, please contact us here.

Thank you in advance for sharing your hysterectomy experience.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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Vitamin D3 and Thyroid Health

by Susan Rex Ryan

Published on May 29, 2024

20818 views

The benefits of vitamin D3 garner a plethora of glowing press these days but little information has been reported about how this essential nutrient may be associated with thyroid disorders. An alarming number of Americans—over 25 million—suffer from thyroid disease. Women are four times more likely than men to develop a thyroid disorder. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located in your neck, regulates your metabolism and affects every cell in your body. When your thyroid is not working properly, your body becomes unbalanced, potentially causing symptoms including weight gain or loss and chronic fatigue as well as autoimmune disease and cancer. Let’s look at how vitamin D3 may affect thyroid health:

Thyroid Hormonal Balance

Vitamin D receptors (VDR) are present in the cells of the pituitary, the pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain that controls your thyroid. The pituitary produces a hormone called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that signals your thyroid gland to make thyroid hormone (T3 and T4). Thyroid hormone constantly circulates throughout your body, regulating metabolism. Either inadequate or excessive thyroid hormone can wreak havoc to your health, culminating in hypo- or hyperthyroidism. Understanding the regulating effects of VDR in our cells, I surmise that the amount of activated vitamin D3 in the pituitary’s VDR may be connected to the balance of thyroid hormone.

Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Adequate levels of vitamin D3 may protect the immune system from attacking itself. Low vitamin D3 levels have been linked to autoimmune thyroid diseases including Hashimoto’s and Graves’ thyroiditis.

Discovered one hundred years ago by a Japanese physician, Hashimoto’s disease is caused by abnormal blood cells and white blood cells constantly attacking and damaging the thyroid. About 95 per cent of Hashimoto’s disease patients are women. A study published in a 2011 issue of the journal Thyroid revealed that 92 per cent of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis cases had insufficient circulating vitamin D3 levels.

Ten times more likely to develop in women than men, Graves’ disease is caused by antibodies that overstimulate thyroid hormone production, causing hyperthyroidism. Researchers, who investigated Japanese female and male patients with Graves’ disease over a one-year period, found a high prevalence of woefully low circulating vitamin D3 in the female patients compared to the male subjects.

Thyroid Cancer

Incidences of thyroid cancer have doubled over the past four decades. The likelihood of women developing thyroid cancer is three times greater than for men. Activated vitamin D3 regulates cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and cell death. If these vital functions go awry, cancer may develop. Epidemiological studies indicate a link between vitamin D3 and thyroid cancer. Vitamin D researcher W.B. Grant, Ph.D. published a paper in a 2012 issue of the journal Anticancer Research that indicated an association between solar ultraviolet B, vitamin D3, and cancers including thyroid.

A relatively rare form of thyroid cancer—medullary thyroid cancer—originates in the thyroid C cells where a hormone called calcitonin is secreted. Calcitonin’s functions include stimulation of vitamin D3 production in the kidneys. The measurement of calcitonin is a diagnostic screening tool for medullary thyroid cancer. VDR are present in the thyroid C cells. Understanding the powerful effect of activated VDR on cell regulation, I hypothesize that activated VDR in the C cells may possibly prevent the development of medullary thyroid cancer.

In conclusion, recent medical literature suggests a connection between vitamin D3 and thyroid health. However, additional research is required to determine if thyroid dysfunction may cause vitamin D3 deficiency, or low vitamin D3 status may contribute to thyroid disorders.

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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

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The Truth About Salt

by Angela A Stanton, PhD

Published on May 20, 2024

20756 views

When we salt our food, we rarely think of salt as a crucial aspect of our physiology. In particular, we think it has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than taste and we certainly do not think of hormones. In this short post, I would like to clarify a few myths about salt and salt types and hint at their importance and hormonal connection.

The Myths of Designer Salts

Myth #1 sea salt versus table salt. There are hundreds of posts on the Internet about the benefits of sea salt over table salt. I would like everyone to know that there is only one salt on planet earth: sea salt. The fact that it may be called table salt simply suggests that some time ago it was clearly understood by all that all salt came from the sea. There was no need to place the word “sea” in front of salt; we all knew what it was. Somehow we have forgotten that salt comes from the sea. Now many designer salts have showed up with the word “sea” in front of the word salt and sell for much more than table salt. Don’t be fooled: all salts come from the sea! Preferences, of course, may mean you pick a designer salt over table salt, but I would like to make sure you know that in terms of salt, they are the same for the body.

You may ask: how can they be the same for the body if one contains all kinds of other elements as well as pure salt itself. The answer is very simple. In the body, salt molecules (NaCl) break down into ions (Na+ and Cl-) and only these two ions participate in what is called voltage activated sodium pumps (Na_v1.1-1.9) where 1.1 to 1.9 indicates that there are 9 such pumps and Na_v stands for voltage activated sodium pump. Thus, for the body only ions matter. Na+ is inside the cell and is positively charged. Cl- is outside the cell and is negatively charged. The two create the voltage necessary for the cell to function. Some of these pumps also have additional functions—such as sending pain message when a pump opens and does not close properly. The influx of Na+ and Cl- can cause the signal of pain to go off causing chronic pain. Much is yet to be understood by the function of salt but the one thing we already know: salt is NaCl and no additional organic matter matters.

Myth #2 refers to rock salt that comes from mountains like the Himalayas in various colors. They make beautiful lamps but in reality they are sea salts that have fossilized as the tectonic plates have shifted and lifted the Himalayans out from under the sea. Why are they pink or orange and very colorful in general? Because as the mountains were lifted, pressure increased on the salt deposits and the weight of the mountain pressing heat and metals through the salt created fossilized salt with various metals trapped in the salt itself. There is nothing wrong with eating fossilized rock salt except that by the nature of the fossilization process of high heat, pressure, and the many metals, a large percentage of these “minerals” entrapped in the salt are actually radioactive metals. Again, it is a taste question whether you prefer Himalayan or other salt but know what you are getting.

Myth #3 is Celtic and similar sea salts of various colors that are collected from clay pools and evaporated such that each sea salt crystal has little cavities of entrapped water with “minerals.” I see many lists of minerals for various sea salts but few of us actually consider where those minerals come from. I know we all love to eat sea food, fish, shellfish, and sea weeds as well. The mineral deposits in designer sea salts come from the debris of these sea animals, including their excrement and dead bodies. There is nothing wrong with eating fish poo and dead fish as long as you know that your choice of salt contains it. Some of these salts are proud to also include a bit of clay, and hence, the moisture must be kept else you will need a hammer and chisel to break the salt up. So, much of the charm about designer salts is trickery and harmless misinformation that takes advantage of those who are not aware.

The truth: salt, by chemical composition Sodium-Chloride (Na+, Cl-) is only these two elements combined, as discussed above. Our bodies use these chemicals only in ionic form. Salt is part of the baby’s amniotic fluid in our bodies (not Himalayan salt, and not various colored sea salts; just simple Na+ Cl-). This standard chemical element constitutes a very large part of the over 70% saline brine of our bodies. We are made of salt water. When we visit the emergency room with any illness, the most often used first step – the needle with a clear liquid dripped into our vein – is also saline water electrolyte. Electrolytes contain other elements to complete the full list of micro and macro nutrients of the 70% brine.

Other Minerals in Salt

What about the so called “minerals” that are in the designer salts? Do we need them?

Magnesium is a very important element that provides a key such that the cells can open at all given the proper electrical environment. Magnesium also provides crucial nutrient for the mitochondria (little bacteria in every single cell of our body that converts the food we eat to energy packets our cells can use). You get more magnesium out of a bite of food (just about any food) than from an entire box of designer salt.
Calcium is needed for high voltage channels where the neurotransmitters are released.
Potassium is needed to keep the balance of hydration in the cell and outside of the cell to ensure that the cell is not overly hydrated (potassium is a diuretic).
Phosphates. We also need phosphates and other elements and of course a ton of water, but the elements in designer salt sold as essential mineral are minuscule and meaningless.
Iodine. Another important factor is iodine. Designer salts do not contain iodine. In the US, the government has gone through great trouble placing iodine into our salt to eradicate goiter, a disease of the thyroid. Without adequate iodine our thyroid is not able to produce the right amount of hormone to keep our brain healthy. Recall also, in Japan after the nuclear plant released all that radiation, the first item sold out throughout the country was iodine. Iodine acts like a sponge, soaking up many toxins from our body to be able to eliminate them. Radioactivity is one of those things iodine can help clear from our bodies.

Salt and Hormones

So the question then is: what does salt have to do with our hormones? Does it matter? Indeed, it does. Those who have read the migraine series 3-part posts know that the most critical element in preventing and treating migraines is salt. Every single neuron in our brain has several voltage-gated sodium pumps (sodium-potassium pumps) to generate voltage. Without such voltage the neurons are not able to manufacture and release their neurotransmitters-hormones in the body. Thus, restricting salt in your diet retards the hormone manufacturing of your body. In previous articles, I showed how studies show that low salt diets are harmful even for those with preexisting heart conditions and hypertension. Salt does not increase blood pressure, provided that salt is consumed with sufficient amount of water, along with potassium and the other minerals and nutrients, I listed above.

Sodium retains water thereby hydrating the cells. Sodium chloride maintains the polarity differences between the inside and the outside of the cell membrane to control the electrical activity, which then open the pumps. Having enough salt in your brain makes the difference between having a headache/migraine or not. What if it also helps prevent other diseases of the brain? There are suggestions that fibromyalgia and neuropathy may be connected to one of the Na_v pumps. I wonder if other conditions such as bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and even depression could be, at least partly, caused by an inappropriate level of sodium in the brain?

Possible Role for Sodium – Potassium Pumps in Disease

Let’s investigate one of the voltage activated sodium pumps. The one we seem to know most about so far: Na_v1.7. According to recent research, this particular pump has a critical role in chronic pain dampening. Experiments on various poisonous animals—including the Chinese red-headed centipede and the snake black mamba—show that their venom seems to selectively choose this particular pump to dampen the pain associated with some types of chronic pain. The pain signals need not be located in any one particular location of the body, but are relayed by the brain as hormones release for the pain message. People with neuropathy, such as Type 2 Diabetes or those who have been been floxed (suffered an adverse reaction to a fluoroquinolone antibiotics) are very familiar with this pain. Nothing seems to help with this type of pain except a very few types of strong drugs of the brain, some (like Gabapentin) inhibit nearly all activities in the body in near-full-force. The drugs of the brain are systemic whereas the venom is capable of acting on only one sodium-potassium pump, the Nav1.7. Perhaps, in the future, this finding can be applied to reduce neuropathic pain without global nervous system dampening.

My Two Cents

I suspect most ailments of the central nervous system that include a hyper-sensitivity for pain will become a subject of sodium pump malfunction research. There are also indications that there is a switch in the connection of the peripheral nervous system to the spine, and thereby the central nervous system, where there should be a relay station to either inhibit or amplify the pain. Apparently, at this relay station the switch is flipped backwards and what should be inhibiting actually amplifies. Pain experienced from these crossed wires is called allodyna. I suspect we will be hearing much about this term in the future and how it connects to various sodium pump malfunctions that today we do not yet understand.

Sources:

Pain Scientific American December 2014; p:62-67

We Need Your Help

More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now.

Yes, I would like to support Hormones Matter.

Image from Pixabay.

This article was published originally on December 29, 2014.

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