Hormones can get “out-of-whack” at any time in our life but the most common times are when puberty hits, right after the birth of a baby, the lovely 37-45 age range and then again when our menopause transition hits. So how do we navigate these periods of time and how do we get our hormones back on track?
Here is what hormone dis-regulation looks like:
Hot-flashes (these can occur at any age even to teenagers, waking up in the middle of the night all sweaty).
Anxiety -often times near a menstrual cycle
Frequent headaches
Mood swings
Excessive breast tenderness
Lots of acne
Exhaustion and fatigue
Trouble concentrating or completing tasks (called brain fog)
This can occur even from one menstrual cycle to the next one. I know I have experienced this where I have no symptoms then all of a sudden, I am getting acne “like a teenager” and feeling body anxiety right before the start of a menstrual flow. While it can cause a great deal of stress for my family as I go from amped anxiety to sad Eeyore crying over every sweet commercial out there; I simply don’t like how I feel. I want to figure out how to help myself and get my normal logical self back in action. So, I put my functional medicine knowledge to the test and here is how I treated myself… (Of course, Doctors are horrible patients and we must always remember to get a second opinion if symptoms don’t respond normally)
All supplements can be ordered on Wellevate: https://wellevate.me/jennifer-walker#/
or through our office.
Liver cleanse (the liver helps remove excess hormones whether they are xeno-estrogens or your internal hormones). Vital Nutrients Liver Support and Liver Support II.
Vitex/ Chaste Tree Berry – A berry that balances the estrogen progesterone ratio.
3,3 Diindolylmethane (DIM) – Removes excess estrogen when we have built up too much making our bodies estrogen dominant.
Evening primrose oil – This is the good oil DHA which has progesterone which is the most common low hormone due to plastics giving us extra estrogen, reduces anxiety and PMS symptoms.
Acupuncture to help my body re-regulate and get balanced.
So the bad news; after I have gotten my hormones balance, unfortunate events like California wild fires will throw it off again. Fires release lots of plastic into the air (Xeno-estrogens). Sometimes I don’t know what throws it off. When it happens, I will start with liver support cleanse herbs. If this isn’t strong enough I will employ the above protocol. If all of that doesn’t work, I will do Laboratory testing and go to another doctor(not myself). So, you may get your hormones balanced, but don’t be discouraged or surprised when it gets mis-aligned and you have to fix it all over again.
Comments