What Is Wrong With Me?
Question
I have a situation that must be rare, but not very interesting, because I can’t find anything similar anywhere on the Internet.
I began taking birth control pills when I was 19 to help clear my acne. I am now barely 27, but I quit taking the pill ten months ago because it was obvious that it was causing benign tumors in my left breast. Obviously, I chose the potential acne over cancerous tumors, so I was confident I would be fine with my decision.
Unfortunately, every period I have experienced since quitting the pill has been worse than the one before. To give you perspective, I’ll try to tell you what I used to experience before I began taking an oral contraceptive. (By the way, I was raised in a religion aside from Catholicism and have since begun taking RCIA classes with my husband. I won’t deny that my inquiry into Catholicism swayed my belief that birth control pills were perfectly justifiable; with that said, I am not willing to take them again, but am also panicking because I am in pain and moody, which is affecting not only my daily life in the aggregate, but my marriage, which horrifies me).
Before I began taking the pill, I always experienced irregular periods. I only had/have my period for three days or less, and they could be anywhere from 28 days to 45 days apart. As a teenager, I was 100% sexually inactive, so I paid little attention to my cycle, only noting that I had a very light flow, very few PMS symptoms, and an extremely short shedding duration. I guess it didn’t matter at the time to trace my cycle because the prospect of bringing new life into the world was null.
Now, however, I am concerned. I stopped taking birth control pills ten months ago and have had increasingly painful periods since. My skin is oily and congested, my breasts are INCREDIBLY sore and tender for at least ten days before I start my period. I am irritable and moody – I have noticed an increase in my ferocity when I fight about anything with my poor husband since the first month I was off the pill – and it has only worsened with each month that passes. I have gained weight (about ten pounds a month)! The only reason I am not clinically obese at this point is that I panicked during the summer months and worked out to an extreme, causing me to crash into burnout when autumn came around. It’s just so volatile. I guess I exhibited this type of behavior as a teenager (when I was not on the pill); but, at the time (in my own mind), it was normal since I was supposedly a “teenager,” going through normal volatile changes.
Basically, I want to find out what is wrong with me. I have historically been an incredibly sleepy person, yet super driven and “type A” while growing up. The combo of being (i) overwhelmingly tired, yet (ii) full of ideas and the need to produce results has resulted in my believing that I am nothing better than a flake. My need to sleep in, but then work hard for 18 hours straight does not “jive” with anyone else’s work ethic and makes me feel very alone. The reason I mention it is that I feel so alone, but I can literally FEEL that it is connected with my hormones and their irregularity. My OB/GYN doesn’t listen to me; I think he thinks I’m crazy.
Am I? What am I missing? On a basic level, I can at least verify that my cycle is irregular, that I was more normal while I was on birth control, and that my husband notices the change in my personality (to the point that it will inevitably become cause for concern in our marriage). I’d like to point out that I dated my husband for five and a half years before we were married and that we’ve been married for two and a half years now. Basically, we’re weren’t “naive” to the person we were marrying. But – I am starting to wonder if my husband thinks he WAS naive to who I really am before we got married! My hormones have literally made me a demon! Sometimes I have to walk away and drive around in my car so that I don’t say something awful to him! I should mention that I am married to one of the best men I will ever know and am therefore grateful to be so lucky to live my life with someone I love dearly and admire immensely. Incredibly, I know my husband feels the same way in return (I am increasingly starting to feel guilty about it).
I just need some explanation. My OB/GYN doesn’t even try to help me. I have pleaded with him to explain my hormones or my cycle to me, but to no avail. Do my symptoms pinpoint something to you? I’m so desperate at this point; please help me. My cycles only get worse and I only find myself enjoying life less and less, topped off with the physical pain in my breasts and the obvious conflict with my husband.
Any advice? Anything I can do? Anything?
Please let me know.
Beth
Answer
Last Updated: February 6, 2022
Based on what you have described, I would think that your acne and irregular cycles in your teen years could be due to polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS). This is a condition that affects approximately 8% of reproductive aged women in the United States and it has a spectrum of disease. PCOS can be mild to severe and can start in the teen years.
Most teens get put on the pill to make their cycles regular and to treat acne and as it is thought that they just have immature systems rather than a disease process. The possible underlying PCOS is left undiagnosed until later. Unfortunately, PCOS is associated with infertility, high blood sugars, high blood pressure, and uterine cancer, among others. Incidentally, the pill is associated with high blood sugars, high blood pressure, is associated with various female cancers, and of course doesn’t help with infertility.
One of the consequences of PCOS is a low progesterone state. Progesterone is the primary female hormone of the second part of the cycle, that part after ovulation and prior to the next menstrual flow. Estrogen is the primary female hormone of the first part of the cycle, that part from menses to ovulation. Abnormal levels of these hormones and the others associated with menstrual cycles can greatly affect a woman’s cycle as well as how she feels. The symptoms that you are describing from these last ten months make me more suspicious that you are indeed suffering from PCOS and certainly premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Research through the Pope Paul VI Institute has demonstrated unequivocally that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is highly associated with low progesterone levels. There are certain criteria for PMS and the associated PMDD and these symptoms are experienced by women for at least one week prior to onset of menstrual flow. Additionally women get excellent results with replacement of human identical progesterone at the correct time of their cycle. This can only be done by learning how to chart your cycles with modern means of natural family planning or natural fertility care. Such charts afford a tremendous amount of medical information which can help to pinpoint underlying reproductive disease processes.
I would strongly urge you to let CANFP help you find a certified NFP teacher who can help you learn to chart the biological signs of your cycles. CANFP can also help you find a physician who has been trained to understand your charts and use targeted hormone assessment and replacement. Certainly, a good physician will also make sure that your symptoms are not part of another disease process as well.
I am quite confident that if you were to learn to chart your cycles and get an assessment by a trained physician that you and your husband would gain enormous insight and relief into your situation.
I hope that this helps you!
Gretchen V. Marsh, D.O.
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