Jenny Swisher 0:05
Welcome to the SYNC your life podcast. I’m your host, Jenny Swisher, certified personal trainer, nutritionist hormone health expert and girl mom. I believe all women should be able to understand how our bodies are designed to feel. And I teach you how to sync your lifestyle to your cycle to reach maximum energy. You deserve to feel your best and this podcast is going to teach you how. Let’s dive in

Jenny Swisher 0:34
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Jenny Swisher 0:59
Welcome friends to this episode of the SYNC your life Podcast. Today we’re diving into the topic of IUDs intrauterine devices, the pros and cons of hormonal IUD options and the pros and cons of the copper IUD also known as the Paragard. I get this question often about oral contraceptives and IUDs. And what’s the best option out there so I figured there’s no better time than the present to dive into the information for you to dive into the differences and the options that are out there. As I’ve mentioned before on previous podcast episodes, 78% of women are using contraceptives for reasons other than birth control. Whether it’s acne or irregular periods, there’s a whole slew of reasons out there. For me it was migraine, for women to be using hormonal contraceptives. But for the women who are using it for birth control purposes, or who are using it to stave off their lengthy painful periods, or their irregular cycles, it may be worth a listen to hear the pros and cons of the many options out there on the market. So as always, I want to start with my disclaimer, I am not your doctor. So please, please, please always consult with your doctor when it comes to your unique situation. These decisions should not be taken lightly, and you need to know what’s best for you. It’s also worth noting that not all doctors take into consideration what I call root cause medicine. Sometimes they want to use oral contraceptives or IUDs to cover up a set of uncomfortable symptoms. Really, this is just because of a lack of knowledge. They don’t know what they don’t know and they don’t know how to get to the root cause. This is why I endorse a functional wellness journey with a functional medicine practitioner who can help you do the testing that you need to determine what’s causing your imbalances. So that being said, let’s dive into this subject. As always, I will point to any articles that I mentioned here on the show in the show notes so that you can go back and read them further for your own research. But just know that Dr. Lara Bryden, who is one of my many mentors in this space has two blog posts on these topics. I want to make sure you go to them that you swipe up that you click on those and you read them in more detail. There is a world of knowledge out there on the internet, you just have to be able to take the time to dive in. I know no one reads the paper inserts for birth control pills or IUDs. But maybe we should. I hope if nothing else you take away from this podcast, that education is the best thing, right? Like educating yourself stepping into your own power self advocating for yourself. Really that’s going to get you a long way. Did you know that at least three or four times a week I get asked by a woman? Why don’t I ovulate on oral contraceptives. So many women out there don’t realize that the purpose of oral contraceptives is to suppress ovulation. And as you’re going to learn in this podcast, or if you read Dr. Lara Brighton’s books or blogs, you’re going to learn that ovulation is really the main event of the menstrual cycle. We think about our periods being the main event, but really it’s ovulation. ovulation is how we make hormones as women. And most women don’t understand that birth control pills and in some cases, IUDs can be suppressing that ovulation from occurring. That’s the whole point. So this is the education that I’m talking about that we all deserve. It’s out there, you just have to be willing to be your own best advocate and find it. So let’s start first with talking about hormonal IUDs. One thing that you may not know is that hormonal IUDs differ greatly from hormonal birth control pills. Usually about a 10th of the hormone that’s found in birth control pills is found in hormonal IUDs. So they don’t always suppress ovulation from occurring. That’s very different from birth control pills. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you know that ovulation is the main event of menstrual cycle, and IUDs allow you to still ovulate even if it’s a hormonal IUD. So another benefit of hormonal IUDs is that they can also dramatically reduce menstrual flow and relieve pain and other symptoms of things like endometriosis. So the most commonly used hormonal IUDs out there on the market as of this recording are the Mirena IUD the Kaleena and the Skyla. According to Dr. Brighton, she says Unlike all other types of hormonal birth control, hormonal IUDs do not completely suppress ovulation, which is good because ovulation is how women make hormones. According to one study, Mirena suppresses ovulation and 85% of cycles during the first year, when the dose of the contraceptive drug is higher, and then 15% of cycles after that lower dose IUDs permit ovulation more of the time. When you compare the two hormonal IUDs on birth control pills IUDs include lower doses of contraceptives than pills do. As I mentioned. Another important thing to know is that hormonal IUDs are highly effective with less than a 1% failure rate when it comes to birth control. Once it’s been inserted, there’s no pills to take for three to five years depending on which option you choose. And they can relieve many symptoms of endometriosis. These are all great things. So what about the not so great thing, so we want to make sure we touch on both the pros and the cons? Well, according to Dr. bridon, hormonal IUDs release a contraceptive drug known as synthetic progesterone, which is not progesterone, and which according to new research affects the entire body, not just the uterus. Possible side effects of this include acne hair loss, and she goes on to describe anxiety, headaches, yeast infections, weight gain, etc. Interestingly, the copper IUD can also cause anxiety, which suggests that the side effect could result from something anatomical, such as an adverse vagal nerve response to the IUD or the string. Hormonal IUDs can cause ovarian cysts and about 5% of users. She goes on to talk about other things as well. Like I said, I’ll link it up in the show notes. But she says it can damage the vaginal microbiome. It can suppress ovulation for some of the time, it can cause irregular bleeding and spotting. And this is the kicker This is the question I get most often, insertion might be painful. But to clarify, she says IUD insertion is an in office procedure. It just takes a few minutes, it’s not surgery. And you’ll probably be instructed to take something like ibuprofen to ease the cramping. And after a couple of weeks, this tends to go away. So those are the main cons but like I said, I will link up the article so you can read more in depth and do your own research. So let’s also make sure that we touch on the non hormonal IUD option known as Paragard or the copper IUD? Well, the primary benefit of this one is that there’s absolutely zero synthetic hormone of any kind. It still fully allows you to ovulate, which yes, let’s say it again for the people in the back. ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle. And it’s how we make healthy hormones. It’s highly effective. It’s actually even slightly more effective than hormonal IUDs when it comes to failure rate, and fertility returns to normal as soon as it’s removed. So it turns out it is the most popular method of birth control around the world. So are there any negatives to the copper IUD? Well, there’s really just two. One is insurance doesn’t always cover it. And two, yep, you guessed it, insertion can be painful. At the time of this recording, I’ve had mixed reviews from my own clients, women who use hormonal or non hormonal IUDs. And I would say it’s about 5050 50% of the ones I know that are using the copper IUD so that it was painful to insert, but then it was gone after a week or two as far as pain, and the other 50% said they had no pain at all. So I really just think it depends on the person. It also has the potential to make your periods a bit heavier in the beginning, and it does double the chances of getting bacterial vaginosis it kind of changes that vaginal microbiome as we discussed, hormonal IUDs do as well. So these are just things worth mentioning if you’re weighing which option is best for you. So the bottom line is this, regardless of which option you choose, do your own research. First of all, let me ask you the question, are you using birth control for reasons other than birth control? If so, perhaps it’s time to dig a little bit deeper to get under the hood to do proper testing and to start that functional wellness journey. But if you are using it for birth control purposes, or if you have a legit medical need for oral contraceptives, or hormonal or non hormonal IUDs. Do your research, understand your options and the mechanisms of action for each option. Also make sure you know your long term risk benefit. I’m not going to go into it here because I’ve shared it before here on the podcast. But my birth control story is pretty unique. I was handed a package of low estrogen birth control pills at the age of 15. Soon after starting my own periods, and I was put on it for acne I was put on it for reasons other than birth control. And to this day, it’s one of my biggest regrets. It changed the trajectory of my life, from migraine headaches to infertility and so much more. If IUDs had been popular talk when I was a teen, I probably would have gone that route. But instead education on oral contraceptives is often overlooked and it still is today. Society tells teenage girls that it’s the thing to do birth control pills Is this the is the thing to do. Right. I can remember even when I was a high schooler, everybody sent their phone alarms when it was time to take their pill. But it doesn’t tell you exactly what you’re opting into. And it doesn’t give you what I like to call informed consent. So do your own research where you The inserts look up things online and know what the particular one you’re choosing could do to your body. Remember, at least three or four women a week asked me about ovulation. They don’t know what IUD they’re on. They don’t know what kind of pill they’re taking. They don’t realize that what they’re using is suppressing their ovulation from happening preventing them from cycle syncing. And to me, that’s a problem, you have to at least know what’s going on in your body. Hormone literacy is key. Understanding your unique body is key, along with root causes of any imbalances, which are unique to you. All of this is key to your overall health. So my encouragement for you today is to get in the know, listened back to this podcast, swipe up to click on various links of more research to dive into, but just know that you deserve this, right. It’s birth control is everyone’s individual choice. There is no right or wrong. As long as you know what you’re getting into as long as you know that it’s the best choice for you. So you deserve to feel good. Our daughters deserve to feel good and to have this education. And that’s why I put this podcast out there. It was about time that we had an episode dedicated to talking about IUDs. So I hope this is helpful for you share it out to all of your friends, people that you know might need to know this information as well. And thank you as always my friends for tuning in. Until next time, bye bye

Jenny Swisher 11:20
Thanks for listening to this episode of the SYNC your life podcast. Hope you found value from today’s episode. If you did, please share it out to your friends or leave a review. Remember your cycles are your superpower and by aligning with them, you can live your life with all the energy you need to be a mom, Wife, Daughter and friend to those you love. Until next time,