Coming off the Pill,
the Patch, the Shot and Other Hormonal Contraceptives





Learning How to Restore Menstrual Cycle Health
and Endocrine Balance
after Stopping Use of Hormonal Contraceptives

by
Megan Lalonde HRHP, HT, BA
&
Geraldine Matus, HRHP, MA

A comprehensive, clinical-based resource to assist women transition back to fertility and menstruation after the use of hormonal contraception. The book explains the varied experiences women may have when they come off the pill and provides holistic and nutritional suggestions to support menstrual cycle health, including non-pharmaceutical approaches to managing difficult periods. Narratives from women who share their post-pill experiences are included.

Why A Book About Coming Off the Pill?

We see women everyday in our clinic who experience reproductive health problems after discontinuing the birth control pill or other forms of hormonal contraception. They report finding few, if any, resources to help them negotiate the physiological upheaval these hormones create in their bodies. They also report finding little support on or information for using non-hormonal forms of birth control. The intention of this book is to share with women some of those hard to find bits of information; information that we use in our clinical practices every day.

We thank filmmaker Giovanna Chesler for providing us with the final impetus to write this book, which has been in our hearts for a long time. Giovanna told us of the thousand of emails she receives from women who have seen her film Period: The End of Menstruation?(Chesler, 2006.) and who are looking for help to discontinue hormonal contraception or gets some of their questions answered. When Giovanna told us of this, we knew that it was time and promised her we would create a resource for those women reaching out to her. This book will serve those women who are unable to personally access our skills and knowledge.

Hormonal contraception is a multibillion dollar industry that impacts the lives of hundreds of millions of women everyday.  Marketing campaigns for hormonal contraception are aggressive. Birth control pills are portrayed as being fun, something strong and independent women use, a way to freedom, and safer to use than being pregnant. These portrayals diminish the profound physiological effects that hormonal contraception has on a woman’s body. These portrayals also belie some of the emotional impact hormonal birth control has on women. We have found that women have been poorly educated about the full truth of how birth control pills work and what that means for them. Commonly hormonal contraceptives are used “off label” for menstrual suppression, and to treat such health concerns as acne, and irregular, painful or heavy menstruation. Currently, there is a great deal of controversy about the use of hormonal contraceptives to suppress menstrual bleeding.

Megan Lalonde & Geraldine Matus