Can You Take Royal Maca in Combination With Birth Control Pills?
Q & A with Viana Muller, Ph.D.Below is a recent exchange between one of our customers (Denise) and our co-founder, Dr. Viana Muller. Denise wanted to know if she could safely take Royal Maca ® with the birth control pills her doctor prescribed her. Please take particular note of Dr. Muller's last response in the exchange.
Hello,
I am 41 almost 42 and have had a long period of mood swings, sleep insomnia, and PMS problems. My women’s doctor prescribed me with birth control pills. I stopped them last cycle because my anger emotions seemed to be getting worse. That left me bleeding for about 3 weeks and in severe pain. I am now on them again and want to go through the whole 3-month cycle to see if they will help this time.
But, in the meantime, I found your product. I seem to feel that I am going through menopause. My mom went through it when she was 42 also. There seems to be no help out there though unless you are much older. I have not had hot flashes, but I have had a terrible time falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night along with the severe mood swings.
My question is if I can take the Royal Maca while I am taking the birth control pills? The pills I am taking are called Seasonique.
Thanks for the help!
Denise
Denise,
It is not advisable to combine your Seasonique with Royal Maca®. If you started a few days ago, you could stop the Seasonique and start the Royal Maca ® right away. It should be excellent for the symptoms you describe which are not unusual in perimenopause. However, if you have been taking the Seasonique for a few months, you will need to be off of the Seasonique for four weeks before you start the Royal Maca ®. Meanwhile, during those 4 weeks, you can take Royal Camu ®, 3 caps or 1/2 tsp. 3 times a day AWAY FROM FOOD. Which translates 1/2 hr. before eating or 2 hrs. after eating. This should give you pretty good support for the 4 weeks until you can switch over to using the Royal Maca ®.
If you weigh 115 lbs or less or are very sensitive, you will need to start the Royal Maca ® (after 4 wks) at a dosage of one capsule daily taken with breakfast. If you weigh more and not highly sensitive, then you can take the average 2 caps a day for a woman who still has a period. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to write back with them.
Best,
Viana Muller, Ph.D.
Whole World Botanicals
Thank you for your input. That sounds good!! I think I will wait to go onto Royal Maca and will take the Royal Camu as advised after I finish a whole 3 month packed of Seasonique because last time I stopped in the middle of the package I felt awful and was bleeding for 3 weeks. I did take 1/6 tsp. of Royal Maca this morning because I was so emotional this weekend and it made me feel good. So, once I finish the Seasonique it looks like I found something I can fall back on.
Does that sound like it would work? I just felt so bad when I stopped the Seasonique that I’m afraid to stop it again in the middle of the package. I’ve been taking Seasonique for 4 weeks and I have 8 left to go.
Thanks,
Denise
Hello again!
I was wondering if I can take the Royal Camu while I am on the birth control pills. Like I mentioned earlier when I stopped taking the pills the first time, it left me in a lot of pain and bleeding for an extended period of time. So am reluctant to stop again in fear I will have those same symptoms again. I appreciate your help!
Thanks,
Denise
Yes, you can. There is no conflict at all in this combination. The problem arises from combining Royal Maca® with estrogen, phytoestrogenic herbs, such as Black Cohosh, or isoflavones of soy, or even DHEA or pregnenolone–precursors of estrogen.
But if at some point you want to switch to Royal Maca®, you will need to either switch to progesterone-only birth control pills or to stop birth control pills altogether and wait for 4 weeks. If you do this, you can increase your dosage of Royal Camu® by taking 3 times a day — either 2 or 3 caps each time. Camu-Camu provides nutritional support for reproductive system health and provides some relief from hot flashes, according to many testimonials WWB has received.
V.M.
For more information on Maca root and our Royal Maca® botanicals, click here.
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