
Women
and Hormone Balance
January/February 2005 | by Andrea Purcell, N.D.
Kimberly, a 46-year-old mother of five, complained that something
just wasn’t right. She was weepy, quick-tempered, having
irregular menses and no longer enjoying the company of her
friends and family. Kimberly came to my office questioning
whether her symptoms were really hormonal or “just in
her head”. She explained that conventional lab tests
had proven inconclusive, and that she did not want to resign
herself to taking antidepressant medication.
I explained
to Kimberly that symptoms are our body’s way of communicating
with us to let us know that something is out of balance. After
taking all of her symptoms into consideration, I put her on
a program specific to her individual needs. Kimberly's program
consisted of an individualized nutritional program, herbal
remedies to support her adrenal glands, and a homeopathic
remedy specific for her presentation.
After
three months, Kimberly was back interacting in her life and
had more energy than ever before, without the use of drugs
or surgery.
Many women
are just like Kimberly. Often a woman has some type of hormonal
or biochemical imbalance that is causing her to feel “not
quite right”. The problem arises when she just isn’t
sick enough to have an official diagnosis or disease that
can be measured by the conventional system.
Pre-disease
states are an area where natural medicine shines. Natural
remedies work well to prevent disease and restore balance
when a woman is in that “in between” phase of
not feeling good and still “appearing to be” healthy.
Every
day in every way, our hormones are assisting us in the way
we handle life. Hormones are involved in the stress response,
energy levels, mood stability, pre-menstrual symptoms, menopausal
symptoms, anxiety, depression, food cravings, weight management,
and even sleep. If you or a woman you know is or has experienced
a situation like Kimberly’s, natural medicine is a safe
and effective option.