Question for Shelley

[anon]

Hi Shelley, I am doing a parasite cleanse with paragone, and I am on birth control (lowest possible hormone level) and I was wondering my birth control will be less effective because of it. Do herbs interfere with the pill? Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[shelley]

that is an EXcellent question as a matter of fact! Good for you for thinking of it.

Okay, a parasite cleanse will *sometimes* (rarely) change one's cycle, especially if you're cleansing the liver too, which the hormone pills may or may not prevent, I've seen it go both ways. AND because it puts your body into cleanse mode, it will change your mucus membranes a bit. You may notice thinner, more liquid vaginal discharge, OR thicker. If you notice thinner discharge, this could indicate that the cervix is not as thick, one of the things the Pill does to your body that makes it work as birth control.

BUT these changes are very very slight and I've never heard of anyone who was on birth control who got pregnant while cleansing. I do know of one or two people (golly, I wonder how their pregnancies are progressing???) who were able to finally get pregnant after doing all of the cleanses when they weren't able to before.

So just keep in touch with your body, and if you notice a lot of discharge or very different discharge than usual, use extra protection for awhile. If nothing changes, don't worry about it! Don't let being fully informed make you MORE nervous, okay?