Last Month We Looked At Your Hormones. Now We'll Talk About Treatment.
A few weeks ago I talked about testing hormones, and now I want to take some time to talk about how I go about treating hormone imbalances. One of the many things I love about Naturopathic Medicine is that there is no one-size-fits-all model. Using the Naturopathic Principles and Therapeutic Order, we will treat our patients different as there are many ways of getting to the root cause of all disease. For me when it comes to hormone balancing I often start with using herbal tinctures to balance hormones. These herbs help support the body by increasing, decreasing, or balancing the hormones in a way where the body is still in control.
The herbs and body naturally know how to support and work with each other. Often when my patients are on a custom tincture, a combination of herbs, they feel as though each month gets better and better. Over the last three months working together, a patient told me she has seen so much change in her body, and that she was glad that she went this route because she was not getting the hormone support she needed before. In that particular patient's case, she was amazed at how much her period changed with the tincture.
I have an ever growing number of herbs that I seem to use on a daily basis with my patients, as much of my current work is hormone balance related. I have seen these herbs help women with hot flashes/peri-menopause symptoms, normal monthly cycles, decrease and regulate periods, along with balancing their life. Several of my patients have told me that their tincture makes them feel like themselves again. Something they have not felt in a long time.
Some of the herbs I use daily are vitex, dioscorea, taraxacum root, cimicifuga, angelica sinensis, avena, withania, and thyroid support. Each one of these herbs have their own affect on my patients, but it is the synergy of them together that gives the full benefits. Each day, I am in awe of these herbs as well as the herbalists before me that learned about them and taught us.
Another way that I will help with hormonal imbalances is through the use of Bioidentical Hormone Therapy (BHRT). I often will talk with my patients about this as an option when their levels are low, and they need to be brought up. In considering this as our option, we, patient and doctor, need to understand that they come with their own risks, and rewards. In doing the research there are less risks with BHRT than traditional hormone replacement, but there are still risks. So before I prescribe the hormones a detailed history of the patient and family need to be taken along with looking at detailed lab results.
There are often women that want hormones, and then there are the women who do not want anything to do with that treatment. As a doctor, I need to have an understanding of my patient’s feelings on hormones, and then work with them to figure out the best treatment options. There are often many ways of treating each patient anyhow. Sometimes we have to do a combination of herbs with hormones, and other times we only need one, or the other. This is where Naturopathic Medicine becomes an art, rather than just a science. I am truly honored to be a Naturopathic Doctor and to be able to help patients with their hormones and their health.
If you have any questions about whether or not herbs, or BHRT is for you then please contact me, or call me at (415) 912-9934, to setup a free 15 minute phone consultation. I look forward to hearing from you, and cannot wait to start a new doctor-patient relationship. Have a great week!