Hormonal Imbalances and Women’s Health
Being a woman definitely has its fair share of challenges, especially when it comes to hormonal balance!
Many women suffer from hormonal imbalances and do not have a regular, pain-free menstrual cycle, which can be made worse if it is ‘masked’ long-term with synthetic hormones (e.g. the oral contraceptive pill, Depo-provera injections or Implanon hormonal implants).
Most hormonal imbalances are caused by nutritional deficiencies, liver detoxification issues, obesity, blood sugar imbalances and stress/anxiety/depression. Therefore, although synthetic hormones may appear to regulate your cycle, they are not addressing the underlying cause and are merely covering up the real issue. This generally results in a re-emergence of symptoms, when the medication is ceased.
Menopause is also another area where natural support generally has the best and safest long-term results. Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT) uses synthetic hormones (no, they do not use natural or bio-identical oestrogen) to once again ‘mask’ your symptoms, while your body naturally adjusts to the next phase of life. These synthetic hormones are also not risk free with research providing evidence of increased risks of cancer in women taking HRT.
How we can help
At Wellness Vision we can help with all aspects of Women’s Health and Hormonal Imbalances including:
- Period and menstrual cycle imbalances – irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, absence of periods, cramping, skin breakouts, hair loss, excess hair, weight gain, fluid retention etc
- Stress / Anxiety / Depression – often these issues have a hormonal component and can make dramatic improvements when supported naturally
- Premenstral Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstral Dysphoric Dysorder (PMDD)
- Menopause – hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, vaginal dryness, skin issues, weight gain etc
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCO/PCOS)
- Endometriosis – growth of endometiral tissue within the abdominal cavity, which can cause extreme pain during menstruation often including changes in bowel function
- Fibroids – benign tumors in the uterine wall that can cause pain
- Recurrent Infections – thrush, cystitis, vaginal infections, mastitis, recurrent illness with menstrual cycle regularity
- Fertility Issues and pre-conception health care
Our Approach
Our functional medicine practitioner, Jasmin Polley, has extensive experience in women’s health and has helped thousands of women with hormonal imbalances, as this area has been her major focus over her career. She also has a strong passion for following the latest research in this area, being a women herself and understanding the massive impact that hormones can have on both your physical and mental well-being.
Jasmin believes that although there are patterns, no woman’s experience and symptoms are the same. She loves being both detective and practitioner to discover the underlying causes and fine-tune the treatment plan, until she has found the most suitable approach for the individual.
Jasmin practices holistically, so although she will focus on specific health areas to provide quick symptom relief, she is always aware that you can never treat an organ or condition without consideration for the entire mind and body. This is especially true for hormonal imbalances, as hormones in most cases have more than one target tissue and can therefore have a multitude of different actions throughout the body. Also, most hormonal testing does not detect subtle imbalances between your hormones. It is generally used to assess if you are actually ovulating or going into menopause; not if you are excesses or deficiencies in your hormones. They also do not assess your hormone metabolism & detoxification. This is important for supporting hormone-dependent conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, PMS, acne and even your risk of some familial chronic diseases.