One of the question I’m asked the most above any other is, “How can I stop taking the Pill?”
How can I come off the pill safely,
how can I support my body in coming of the pill…?

Asking similar questions yourself, well this one’s for you darling!

Almost 4 years ago now “should I stop the pill?” was a question that had been racing on my mind for a few years, well before all the knowledge about the pill had surfaced and leaked through the inter web and had books written about it. During this time I was confused, frustrated and I didn’t want to continue taking something and putting it into my body that could potentially be creating harm to it.

It wasn’t until I came back from a health conference in the USA where I had learnt about the amount of chemicals and toxins that find their way into newly conceived babies that my eyes grew wind, mouth dropped to the floor and it just felt like now was the time. If I needed a message this was it, it was the time to stop taking the contraceptive pill.

Arriving back into Australia my very first morning at 7am (the time daily I use to take the pill religiously) I through all remaining pill tablets in the bin and I went completely cold turkey. I was also mid cycle, didn’t really know what I was doing to be honest and looking back on it stopping the pill like this wasn’t the healthiest thing I could of done for my body at the time.

My hormones went all over the place, as did my skin, my energy, my moods and my emotions. Talk about a tidal wave rollercoaster all rolled into one. It felt like an alien had taken over my body and I was just going along for the ride. And my partner at the time would agree to that!

The worst part of the experience however was that I lost my period for over 6 months. I began to not feel like a woman, becoming more and more extremely frustrated as well as very stressed.

Of course, naturally I don’t want any other woman to go through this either, hence why I’m sharing my story.

A message of support:
Given that I’m a coach and not a ‘doctor’, I can’t tell you what to do nor will I tell you what to do. Nor am I saying this is what will happen, or that what I did will work for you. Please note that all of our beautiful bodies, our environments and our lifestyles are so dramatically different and therefore there is no one way to do anything when it comes to our wellbeing. I share this story and the following points as a guide on what I would do today if I was to stop the pill now knowing what I know now.

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7 Supporting Tips to How I Came Off the Contraceptive Pill

I’m a big believe in that preparation is key and with this being said I’d get very well prepared, this is what I’d do:

1. Track your cycle

Begin tracking my cycle 2-3 cycles before I plan to stop taking the pill. The reason why I’d do this is that tracking your cycle connects you with your body and also highlights to you how you feel in different times of your cycle whether you’re on the pill or not on the pill. Tracking your cycle is for every women, bleeding or not bleeding. For me it’s also been life changing!

New to tracking your cycle? Here’s my Love Your Cycle tracker free along with how-to video email series here.
Even if you’re already tracking and only using an App to do so, I encourage you to start using a written tracker for a deeper self connect, it teaches you a greater understanding of your cycle. Wait and see!

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2. Get your Bloods Checked

Something I do religiously today and have since just before I came off the pill myself is have my blood tests done regularly. Covering at minimum hormones, liver, thyroid, and the regular nutrients a doctor would cover such as Magnesium, Vitamin B’s, Iron etc.

Why do I feel this is important, well it’s great to know what your blood says about your health. It’s why today I go every 6 months and get mine checked to find out what my blood is currently saying about your health regardless of how ‘healthy’ I feel. If I was coming off the pill I’d do this every 3 months for a period of 9-12 months just to see where my levels are at before I come off the pill, during coming off the pill and after stopping the pill. Many places you can bulk bill (here in Australia) so it can be cost effective way to learn more about your bodies health.

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Prepare to nutritionally support your body!

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3. Take the best quality Multivitamin and Fish Oil (mercury free) you can find!

This is something that took me a few years to find (6 years in fact), products that were the best quality and actually worked. No money gimmicks, just great science and super high quality products.

The pill can zap our body of nutrients, so ensuring that you have a supporting top up of nutrients from food as well as nutritional products is very beneficial in ensuring your body is getting the baseline of what it requires to support it’s self in rebalancing. Choose a multivitamin that includes zinc which is important for your woman’s health as well as a great skin support!

Fish Oils are great assistants in skin health, inflammation, aiding with digestion and great additional support for your endocrine system.

I use this Multivitamin, and this Fish Oil.  Need a Multivitamin with Iron, I use this one.

Additional to these a Probiotic can be amazing supporting the detox and digestion process too, this is my all time fav probiotic (the only one I’ve used that actually works).

*Side note: I’ve been using these products since the end of 2013 and I swear by them, I take them everyday, never miss and they were huge supports for me in coming off the pill. Have a question about what products would best support you can ask me here.

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4. Clean up your diet

Eating fresh, clean is the way to go always but especially when you’re preparing your body for a big change. I ensure I’m eating a balanced diet of food that comes from nature, that it’s loaded with lots of colour and that it meets my daily health principles I share in my 7 Principles to Simple Daily Health Free eBook and Audio class. Get it free here.

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5. Get good sleep

Sleep is sooooo very important for your entire endocrine system. Support yourself by getting to bed with enough time for a solid and content amount of sleep. How do you know how much is enough, you’ll feel it in your body at night or in the morning. If you’re tired it’s a good sign you could get more sleep! Rest up!

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6. Remove additional stress

Coming off the pill means that my body is detoxing and rebalancing so it’s important to know that any outside additional stress may just increase my internal stress. Such as relationship stress, work stress, adrenalin triggers, financial stress etc. Reducing and removing additional stress is a silent key that can often be missed, check in with yourself and what stress could you minimise?

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7. Ask for support!

Lastly, ask for support. Something that I did and encourage others to do is reach out for support. Doing so is a sign that you’re looking to grow, transform and restore to the best of your ability. I asked for support and it was the best thing ever. Support from my partner, from a friend who was my coach as well as blood test support from my doctor.

Also asking for support doesn’t mean you need to spend lots of money! Simply just ask.

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Now the famous question….

When’s the best time to stop the pill?

There is no straight answer to this, it’s individual and as there are MANY life factors that come into play. Fertility, my environment, my support systems, why I started on the pill in the first place, my lifestyle, how I nourish my body etc.

When it feels right I believe you’ll know, that’s what happened for me. By tracking my cycle it creates a deeper connection with your body and by doing so I became more in tune with what my body was asking for and I’ve seen this very same thing happen with my clients too over the past 4+ years.

Listen to your body, it will tell you when the time is right.

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Craving personalised guidance and support with your cycle, restoring and reclaiming a healthy flow?

Ask me how, I support women just like you individually to transitioning to a cleaner, balanced and deeper connected body by getting to know your menstrual cycle whether you’re on the pill, not menstruating or going through menopause.

Discover my 90-day Awaken coaching package, here and set up your Free cycle health discovery call with me here (via form).