The human body is a complex inter working of trillions upon trillions of cells, that can be looked at as an orchestra all playing the same musical piece in tune if everything is in balance. If there is an imbalance, think of it as the same orchestra sections all playing their own musical pieces. The challenge becomes figuring out what is the primary piece to be played and how to get everyone on that same piece. Sometimes it is an easy task and other times it can be challenging and frustrating.
An example of the orchestra sections all playing different pieces is in the case of endometriosis. This occurs when the cells lining the uterus grow in other areas of the body, leading to pain, irregular bleeding and fertility issues. Uterus tissue is vital to help support a healthy pregnancy, however when it grows on other organs it can cause severe pain and discomfort before and during a period. Clinically, we still do not have a full understanding of what caused endometriosis.
What I have found clinically in supporting women who deal with endometriosis is that we need to get their hormones checked. My favorite way of looking at hormones is though saliva, as it gives me an idea of what is free and available for the body to use. The saliva test is often a month long process, to see how the hormones are controlling the female cycle and get an understanding of how they need to be balanced and supported throughout the month.
The next step is laying out the treatment plan of how we are going to support the hormones; this is where the art of natural medicine comes into play. Hormones need to be balanced on individual basis, some women need a biphasic tincture, which means in the first half of the cycle we need to support the estrogen production and in the second half of the cycle we need to focus on the progesterone levels. While other women need a single tincture with an additional tincture added in right before their period. The treatment plan is where the individuality of naturopathic medicine comes in, as there is no one size fits all model with treatment. Balancing the hormones can lessen the issues that many women with endometriosis have to deal with so that they can be out enjoying life all month long.