(NaturalHealth365)  Millions of women taking the popular contraceptive pill desogestrel have just received sobering news.  A comprehensive French study tracking over 90,000 women has revealed that prolonged use of this progestogen-only pill significantly increases the risk of developing brain tumors called intracranial meningiomas.

Published in The BMJ, this research followed 8,391 women who required surgery for brain tumors and compared them with 83,910 matched controls.  What they discovered should concern every woman taking hormonal contraception long-term.

Is your birth control on this list?

Before you think this doesn’t apply to you, check your pill pack.  While the exact desogestrel formulation studied (75µg progestogen-only) isn’t sold in the US, millions of American women take related medications:

Desogestrel-containing pills available in the US:

• Apri, Desogen, Ortho-Cept, Reclipsen, Solia, Velivet (combined with estrogen)
• Nexplanon implant (contains etonogestrel, desogestrel’s active form)

Important: US versions contain higher doses (150µg vs 75µg studied), which could mean brain tumor risks develop after shorter periods than the 5+ years found in this study.

Levonorgestrel products (showed NO increased risk): Plan B One-Step, Seasonale, Seasonique, Aviane, Alesse, Nordette, Triphasil, plus many generics.

The 5-year threshold that changes everything

The study revealed a disturbing pattern: increased brain tumor risk begins after just one year of continuous desogestrel use.

• No increased risk for short-term use (under one year)
• 32% higher risk for any prolonged use (over one year continuously)
• 70% higher risk for use exceeding five years
• 109% higher risk for seven or more years

The risk was statistically significant starting at five years, when it began climbing more dramatically.

Previous hormone use amplifies danger

Women who had previously used other high-risk progestogens faced 230% higher brain tumor risk when switching to desogestrel, suggesting cumulative, dangerous effects from different hormone exposures.

The study found that meningiomas linked to desogestrel use were predominantly located in the front and middle skull base areas, exactly where hormone-induced brain tumors typically develop.

The shocking numbers

It takes about 67,000 women taking desogestrel before one needs brain surgery.  Use it for more than five years?  That number drops to just 17,000 women.

These might sound like decent odds until you realize desogestrel dominates the market – accounting for 90% of progestogen-only pills in France and the UK, with usage exploding by 43% in France between 2018-2023.

Natural options your doctor may not mention

Smart women are jumping ship from synthetic hormones, especially knowing these pills aren’t just prescribed for birth control.  Doctors routinely prescribe desogestrel for endometriosis, PCOS, irregular periods, and perimenopausal symptoms.

For contraception, fertility awareness methods can be incredibly effective – no synthetic hormones, no brain tumor worries. For endometriosis, traditional herbs such as vitex, red clover, and turmeric are often recommended.  Anti-inflammatory nutrition and stress reduction often provide significant relief.

For PCOS and hormone balancing, consider a targeted nutrition approach that includes B6, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.  Many women find their cycles regulate beautifully with proper nutrition and blood sugar management.  For irregular periods, bioidentical progesterone and herbal support, including vitex and wild yam, can often help restore natural cycles.

For perimenopausal symptoms, lifestyle modifications including stress reduction, exercise, and traditional herbs often provide relief without synthetic hormone risks.

The hidden truth about lifetime hormone exposure

This study exposes something doctors barely discuss: your total lifetime hormone exposure matters more than any single prescription.  Every birth control pill, fertility treatment, and hormone replacement therapy adds to your cumulative risk.

Women switching between different synthetic hormones, thinking they’re being “careful,” may actually be compounding their dangers.

Why women are kept in the dark

Women get bombarded with blood clot warnings, but often never hear about brain tumor risks.  Why?  Blood clots happen quickly and obviously. Brain tumors develop slowly and silently over the years.

The contraceptive industry has mastered informed consent about immediate risks while staying quiet about long-term consequences that might not appear for decades.

The wake-up call

This research demands a complete rethinking of hormonal contraception.  Instead of treating each hormone like an isolated decision, we need to consider the cumulative impact across decades of use.

Your reproductive choices today are making deposits in your brain health account.  The question is: Are you making informed deposits or rolling the dice with your neurological future?

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You’ll discover proven natural strategies to protect yourself from pharmaceutical dangers, support your body’s natural balance, and dramatically reduce your cancer risk using safe, effective approaches that actually work.  Don’t wait until it’s too late to make informed decisions about your health – get the suppressed knowledge that could save your life.

Your brain deserves better than being a testing ground for long-term pharmaceutical experiments.

Sources for this article include:

BMJ.com
Medicalxpress.com