Does The Birth Control Pill Cause PCOS?
HORMONE EXPERT: Fertility doctor, Natalie Crawford, MD double board certified OBGYN and REI is tackling the myth about birth control and PCOS and infertility. There is currently a trend where people (non-physicians) are talking about post-birth control pill syndrome. This is not real. This is a made up thing to sell you products - supplements and cleanses and books and courses.
Answered in this video:
Does the pill cause infertility?
Does the pill cause PCOS?
What is PCOS?
How do you get PCOS?
How do you treat PCOS?
How does the pill work?
Misinformation hurts REAL people. I had a patient with anovulation/PCOS afraid to take the pill because of a popular anti-birth control pill influencer. She came to see me for infertility, no period for a year, and on her evaluation we found endometrial cancer. She now doesn’t have a uterus. PCOS is not a benign disease. But endometrial cancer in this context is 100% preventable.
Non-physician influencers are giving the anti-birth control pill agenda new life. This is not a new. This is a scare tactic. They want to sell you their post-birth control pill cleanse.
My DMs are flooded. You don’t want to take something that will hurt your chances of getting pregnant or cause PCOS or cause hormonal issues. I understand! And I know many of you have questions that were left unanswered. You have had too many doctors prescribe the pill without explaining why it may help or doing an evaluation. This needs to change.
But listening to a false narrative does not serve you.
Are there lifestyle options and supplements that may help PCOS? Yes.
Did the birth control pill cause your PCOS? No.
The combined oral contraceptive pill does not hurt your future fertility (extensively studied) and may actually improve fertility if taken long term (example: endometriosis). PCOS is a complex ovarian metabolic disease in which the normal hormonal signals from the brain are not interpreted appropriately at the ovary. This leads to irregular periods and anovulation (not a strong enough FSH signal), increase in androgen production (the LH to testosterone pathway is emphasized) resulting in acne, hair growth, and insulin resistance.
The pill prevents FSH/LH secretion from the brain - so you stop making the testosterone. It also increases SHBG at the liver – which binds more circulating testosterone and drops levels even more. It has the added benefit of giving you regular cycles and preventing endometrial CANCER. It can achieve multiple goals for the patients not TTC with PCOS. It does not induce PCOS (an ovarian disease). I am not advocating that you take the pill. It is just one option. But you should not be afraid of that option because of misinformation.