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.