Reclaiming Your Cycle

Your Presenter

Paula Fortin

APRN, Family Nurse Practitioner

Direct Primary Care Lead

Paula is known for identifying root causes that other practitioners miss. Her functional medicine approach and genuine listening have earned her consistently…

About This Workshop

In this "Beyond the Pill" workshop, a Secoya Health family nurse practitioner and a compounding pharmacist discuss understanding the menstrual cycle, what happens to the body after stopping hormonal birth control, and how to recognize a healthy cycle. They describe the four phases of a cycle, common post-pill symptoms, and foundational lifestyle supports (nutrition, stress, movement, sleep, and circadian health). The conversation also covers the speakers' views on estrogen dominance, environmental xenoestrogens, compounded hormones, IUDs, and when to seek further care — with the speakers sharing their opinions and clinical experiences throughout.

What's Inside

1. 1Introductions & Workshop Overview
2. 2What the Workshop Will Cover
3. 3"Is This Normal?" — The Pill and Birth Control Beliefs
4. 4What Happens When You Stop the Pill — Timeline
5. 5Pheromones, Mood, and Mental Health Changes
6. 6The Four Phases of a Healthy Cycle
7. 7Healthy Cycle Signals & When to See a Provider
8. 8Common Post-Pill Symptoms
9. 9Four Foundational Pillars: Nutrition & Stress
10. 10Foundational Pillars: Movement & Sleep
11. 11Supportive Options, Personalization & Circadian Health
12. 12When to Seek Further Care & Key Reminders
13. 13Sex Education Gaps & Normalizing the Cycle
14. 14Xenoestrogens & Environmental Exposures
15. 15Q&A Begins & Transition to Open Discussion
16. 16Estrogen Dominance: Presentations & Symptoms
17. 17History of the Pill — The Speaker's Opinions
18. 18Personal Experience & Continuous Bleeding Suppression
19. 19Compounded Hormones & Low-Dose Naltrexone
20. 20Timing of Testing & Hormone Replacement Dosing
21. 21Q&A: Soy Foods, IUDs & the Mirena
22. 22"Abnormal Becomes Normal" & Industry Views
23. 23Participant Story & Closing Q&A

What You'll Take Away

• The presenters emphasize that many people are never taught what a healthy cycle looks like, and they frame the cycle as a 'window into health' rather than just something to manage with a pill.
• According to the speakers, a healthy cycle has four phases (menstrual, follicular, ovulation, luteal), with general benchmarks of roughly 21–35 day cycles, 2–7 day periods, and a luteal phase of about 10–16 days — and they stress ovulation, not just monthly bleeding, as important.
• The speakers describe a post-pill adjustment period: cycles may be irregular or absent initially, often returning around months two to three and stabilizing around three to six months, depending on factors like how long someone was on birth control, plus lifestyle, stress, nutrition, and sleep.
• They highlight four foundational supports — nutrition (with blood-sugar stability and adequate protein/fats), stress and nervous-system regulation, movement, and sleep — along with circadian health and light exposure as underappreciated tools.
• Reasons to seek further care, per the presenters, include severe pain disrupting daily life, no period for three months post-pill with a negative pregnancy test, possible thyroid issues, and significant mood changes.
• The speakers share strong personal opinions and anecdotes — about xenoestrogens, estrogen dominance, the history and risks of the pill, IUDs, and compounded hormones — which are their views and clinical impressions, not established medical fact.
• They recommend a personalized, test-guided approach (e.g., Dutch testing to distinguish estrogen dominance from low progesterone) and working with a compounding pharmacist and functional medicine team rather than self-treating or copying others.

Materials Included

• Reclaiming Your Cycle Handout

Downloadable after purchase, alongside the workshop.