Hey Dr Sue — Is Birth Control Messing With My Hormones?

If your birth control is hormonal, then it is having an impact on your hormones. I don’t know if I’d use the term “messing with,” but they definitely have an impact.

Hormonal methods, like the pill, the implant, the shot, the patch, the hormonal IUD (not the non-hormonal IUD), all impact your hormones.

The impact they have is based on which type you’re using. For example, the implant contains only progestin, no estrogen. Same for the hormonal IUDs like Mirena and Kyleena.

These are going to impact you a bit differently than something like the birth control pill might.

There are many birth control pills on the market, and they usually have a combination of progestin and estrogen. The levels of hormones in pills tend to be higher than in other methods. Also, because you have to take the pill every day, there’s going to be daily changes in your hormone level.

The minipill is progestin only. So while we’ll see daily fluctuations in hormone levels, the levels are lower than other birth control pills. As a side note, the minipill was FDA approved for sale over the counter in 2023. This means you don’t need a prescription to get it.

The impact of these hormones is how these methods work. They prevent your body from ovulating. If…