Menstrual Cessation

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Why would anyone want to have a period if that means heavy bleeding, clotting, and pain every month for 30 years? Well, menstruation and painful periods are two different subjects, but marketing is targeting menstruation as a problem in general.

A few years ago millions of menopausal women were warned to stop taking estrogen after the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study showed adverse effects of hormone replacement therapy outweighed the benefits because it put women at much greater risk for heart disease. In direct conflict with its earlier study, the WHI now says that hormone replacement therapy is good for your heart.

Confusion

How can women get it right? During her fertile years, a woman is told to take birth control pills (synthetic hormones) to prevent pregnancy . . . unless she has irregular periods.

If she has irregular periods, she’s told to take birth control pills to regulate her period, but too much estrogen can cause her to have painful periods.

In that case, she should take menstrual suppression drugs like Lybrel so she never has a period again.

But what about all the reasons you weren’t supposed to take birth control pills like blood clots and cancer?

The Role of Hormones

Synthetic hormones are made to mimic natural hormones. They do the job, but don’t have the same benefits.

For instance, natural progesterone gives protection against heart disease and cancer by forming metabolites that calm the brain and helps us sleep. Natural progesterone is also key in forming nitric oxide which helps blood flow to the heart.

Synthetic hormones do not convert into metabolites so there is no benefit to the brain or heart. Also, it is well documented that every synthetic progesterone increases risk of breast cancer. The risk compounds for every year of use.

Any synthetic progestin–birth control pills–will increase your risk of breast cancer. The younger a woman starts using a birth control pill, the more likely she’ll get breast cancer.

Another aspect of synthetic hormones is that they suppress all the natural sex hormones including estradiol–the natural estrogen your body makes which you need for brain function, bone function, cardiovascular health.

Menstruation is a sign of health, but there are many negative connotations about menstruation, and drug companies are marketing to these negative connotations. Menstrual suppression drugs such as Lybrel are marketed as lifestyle drugs.

When women stop menstruating before menopause, it’s usually a sign of illness such as a metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovaries, extreme stress, or over exercising.

If a woman is having problem periods, it’s usually a sign that her hormones are out of balance. A doctor can help with this issue by checking thyroid function. A thyroid deficiency will cause an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone causing heavy bleeding and discomfort.

Or, it may be a dietary issue–heavy sugars and starches can throw off hormones too. This often happens as a woman approaches menopause, but lately young women experience it as well due to the amount of endocrine disruptors in the environment and poor diet in general.

If you examine the research behind menstrual suppression drugs, you will find it mostly focuses on problem periods, PMS or dysmenorrhea, but there is little research on menstruation itself.

In marketing campaigns, menstruation is treated as a health problem that needs to be managed. Hormones/birth control pills are repurposed as a lifestyle drug and a means for women to opt out of having periods.

When women stop menstruating some of the problems they can experience are:

6x greater risk of blood clots
4x greater risk of dieing from a stroke
4x greater risk of heart attack
3x greater risk of migraine headache
2x greater risk of high blood pressure
2x greater risk of cancer (cervical, breast, endometrial)

But on the bright side, you won’t have a period.

References:

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance Can Help Save Your Life

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre-Menopause

No More Periods? The Risks of Menstrual Suppression and Other Cutting-Edge Issues About Hormones and Women’s Health