This month I wanted to tackle Hormone health… it is such a big part of our daily living and as we go through life, it presents many different stages and therefore symptoms to be understood and dealt with:
Puberty | Adolescence | Fertility | Conception | Pregnancy and birth | Post Birth
Perimenopause | Menopause | Post Menopause | …even Manopause!
Our endocrine system is a very important system, governed by our Pituitary gland.
Hormone levels change every minute of the day and night according to what the body needs and they are over or under released when we are stressed …it really is as simple as that!
We just forget this so often when it comes to hormonal imbalance, yet it is so important to know because we are generally living more busy and stressful lives than we may actually wish for.
There will be other causes to hormonal imbalance but I always feel we need to ask ourselves what our stress levels are like first as it can often be a key contributor.
Chemical hormones are so commonly used now to take control of our hormonal system and when it comes to re-establishing an imbalance… and as popular as they are, they are sadly NOT necessarily the best match for our individual bodies, as they are made out to be.
There is more emphasis on ‘bio-Identical’ hormone treatment but this is still not the ‘real thing’. They may relieve a condition/symptoms temporarily, but they may well not allow the body to get fully back in balance itself. So often I work with patients who are using or have been using them, where the balance returns to an unsatisfactory state down the line.
On top of this, there are now great opportunities for huge financial gain by the pharmaceutical companies to widen the choices for the medical profession to quickly prescribe them without careful enough monitoring or understanding of the likely side-effects on each patient as an individual. We have to question the reasons for continued increase of breast, cervical and ovarian cancer in particular as well as other hormone induced health conditions.
We are aware now of the occurring levels of unnatural hormones in our bodies from food, cleaning products, body wash and daily make-up/creams/lotions as well as from other environmental influences we so regularly come across. We are now in the 4th generation of contraceptive pill users and this causes a further disadvantage of hormonal imbalance as it lies within our water systems too… here are a couple of research pieces you might like to read
While there is acknowledgement and support for the need of protection for women, girls and babies from unwanted pregnancy… which the Contraceptive and Morning-after-pill brings much relief to, there is also so much increased understanding of the disagreeable side effects of chemical hormones… particularly in emotional imbalance, anxiety and depression. And as we come to know this, there continues to be such a lack of information and education on natural birth control options.
Some forms of contraceptive pill and the Mirena Coil stop a natural, monthly menstrual bleed… and yet a woman’s understanding of her health is often so grasped by the quality and actions of her ‘Menses’… it is a natural way of staying tuned in to one’s body and reproductive organ health on many levels. It is also a monthly opportunity for the body to expel toxins accruing in the system.
With rising levels of infertility there is also increased use of chemical hormone with IVF treatment.
As a result of the side effects from chemical hormones used over time, there is interestingly an increase in Perimenopause and Menopausal disharmonious symptoms, both mental and physical… and therefore an increase in the medical prescriptions of HRT and other chemical hormone therapy pharmaceuticals.
…We are in a pickle!
HOWEVER… THERE IS SOME POSITIVE NEWS:
Hormone balance is very well achieved using Homeopathy, as it is a system of natural medicine that gets the body to use its own knowledge and mechanisms to bring things back into balance… you may remember the word ‘Homeostasis’ from biology lessons! I so often find this word perfect to describe the way Homeopathy works…
Click here to take a peak at this definition.
Homeopathic remedies can help by kick-starting the body into healing and re-balancing naturally.
The journey may sometimes take a little while, but we look for the root cause and go back to that, in order that we can make a long-term and permanent re-balance wherever possible.
Homeopathy is gentle… another great asset we can be grateful for when, we may already know ourselves, the often harsh effects of chemical hormone treatment.
Not only are there some great remedies, but also Homeopathic detox methods which work particularly well where there is a clear history of (in homeopathic terminology) ‘NBWS’ (Never Been Well Since) The Pill or chemical hormone treatment.
One particular method I specialised in and like to use is the Human Chemistry approach devised by Dutch homeopath Ton Jansen… this gentle and effective Homeopathic method of clearing out the unnatural substances remaining in the body, that are causing harm, can be pivotal in bringing the body back into balance, including the hormonal system.
Click here to read a blog I wrote a little while ago, explaining more about this method.
Some of the well known hormone balancing remedies are:
Sepia, Folliculinum, Oophorinum, Agnus Castus, Pulsatilla, Carcinosin and Medorrhinum Americana.
I also find the Australian Bush flower essences great balancers: Adol for the teenagers/young adults and WomanEssence for women.
GET TO KNOW YOUR MENSTRUAL PATTERNS
Whether or not we have a period, we can still track a pattern of sorts and get to know hormonal activity and how it affects us as individuals… but when taking chemical hormones that interferes with our original and naturally spontaneous menstrual cycle, it becomes hard to really know what is what.
SO, find out as much as you can about more natural approaches… Ask questions and challenge what you are being told by nurses, doctors, menopause nurses, gynaecologists and Family planning services, when it comes to the safety of use of conventional hormone treatment.
Teach yourselves, your daughters, step daughters, god-daughters and nieces…
Yes, even if you are post menopausal, this can be useful if we are struggling with symptoms of what we might deep down know as menstrual symptoms we have had when we used to have our menstrual cycle. These symptoms should be understood and not ignored or just ‘put up with’ if they do not feel right to you… and the holistic work of Homeopathy can be magical!
Our womb is our ‘hold all’ for our feminine character, knowledge and wisdom… our intuition and part of our true gut feel emerges from here, so we need to be in tune with it.
Click here to read a recent blog where I explained this a little more.
As I so often say and have come to understand myself,
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
I therefore hope this has been a useful blog and invite you to pass it on to friends and family if you feel they may be struggling with their hormonal health.
You are always invited to get in touch if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, should you feel ‘out of balance’ or suffering yourself… or if you are reading this and just feel it is the right time to receive some homeopathic treatment from me.
Working pro-actively with a homeopath, particularly in a seasonal way, can be most beneficial.
I wish you a Happy and positive month ahead.
Warm Wishes,
Ali x
Ali Lomax
LCHE
R.Hom.Int