The pill

[m_a_a]

I am on a combination pill, which I know is not ideal because it's putting a foreign substance in my body / it's not real hormones, but synthetic ones. Does this mean that if I were to test my hormone levels, it would show that I have no real estrogen or progesterone at all? Or are they just in hibernation mode? My understanding is that not having enough real hormones can cause harm, and that's why people take bioidentical hormones when they're older. But would having the right amount of real hormones in my body mean I'd have to go back to ovulating? I want to not have periods but also be healthy hormone-wise, but I don't know if that is possible?

[Lara]

As long as you're taking the pill, you are not making real hormones. This means exactly as you say: if you were to test your hormone levels, you would find almost no estradiol (estrogen) or progesterone. As soon as you stop the pill and start ovulating again, your estrogen and progesterone should go back to normal.

And you're correct that real hormones are good for health, which is why (for example) being on the pill (and therefore not making hormones) can be bad for bone health.

Finally, in answer to your question about how "to not have periods but also be healthy hormone-wise," the closest you can come to that is the hormonal IUD. See my blog post Do women need periods?

[m_a_a]

Thanks!