East/West Acupuncture and Wellness Center

Scottsdale, Arizona

Dasha Trebichavska, L.Ac.,RN, M.S.

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Hormone balancing can help conditions such as: 

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is effective but not for everybody. 

Be aware that not every woman needs hormone replacement therapy and therefore become dependent on the outside source of hormones for a prolonged period of time. The healthy body makes all the necessary hormones in the right amounts needed for the whole duration of woman's life.  Therefore, most women need to practice prevention and overall health maintenance to avoid hormone imbalance. If a sign of hormone imbalance is strong,  women may first consider treating her health issue with herbs, nutritional support, balanced diet, and exercise. Hormone replacement should come in a second place and last maximum 5 years.

What are hormones?

Hormones are chemical substances that possess regulatory effects on tissues in the body and are important for our feeling of well being. They are produced by tissues and endocrine glands like thyroid, ovaries, pancreas, adrenals, pituitary and are carried by blood to the target organs where they help regulate cellular functions. The two hormones primarily involved in women's health are estrogen and progesterone. Other hormones that play important role in woman's health are testosterone, thyroid, and insulin. 

If you decide to pursue natural hormone supplementation

Modern women are exposed to many environmental and lifestyle challenges that alter the function of their endocrine glands and therefore change the production of hormones. The overload of stress and chemicals in our environment and foods are the main contributors to today's epidemic of menopausal symptoms, PMS, cysts, fibroids, cancers, and other conditions. Both estrogen and progesterone  are out of balance in today's women and may need to be restored in proper ratio and in their natural forms. John Lee, MD, a pioneer in natural hormone replacement therapy has conducted many studies on natural HRT and showed the benefits of natural hormones on his patients. Dr. Lee claims that the level of estrogen is not  as important as is the ratio of estrogen to progesterone.  Women in western societies have a tendency to excess estrogen and lack of progesterone, and also have thyroid and insulin imbalance, all of which manifests as PMS, obesity, cysts and fibroids, heavy menstrual cycles, migraines, hot flashes, mood swings, breast and other cancers. 

The first step towards balancing your hormones is to change your diet and use herbal medicine to help you balance your endocrine system. If this approach fails, or your symptoms of hormone imbalance are severe, try to incorporate hormone therapy. Usually, topical creams can help restore mild hormonal imbalance and occasionally oral high doses of both hormones are needed to correct gynecological imbalance (in case of severe hot flashes, insomnia, sweating, irritability, miscarriages, etc.).  One has to be aware that long term studies of hormone replacement therapy have not been conducted and thus it is advisable to be on a conservative side when using hormones (including "natural" = bio-identical). The current suggested time limit on hormone use is 5 years.

What are bio-identical hormones?

Bio-identical hormones match the body's own hormones (have the same molecular structure); they are synthesized from a plant (yam or soy) and work in the body in the same way one's hormones do (wild yam is not bio-identical since the body has to synthesize it into a progesterone molecule). In addition, bio-identical hormones do not interfere with one's own hormone production. Women have to take a sufficient amount in order to feel the desirable effect. Premarin, Provera, Progestin, etc. are synthetic hormones prescribed by most doctors. These hormones mimic the function of natural progesterone and estrogen and often create undesirable side effects. 

Estrogen effects:

breast stimulation, salt and fluid retention, increased fat in the body, depression and headaches, interferes with thyroid hormone, increased blood clotting, decreases libido, impairs blood sugar control, increased risk of breast cancer, causes endometrial cancer, reduced oxygen levels in all cells, prevents loss of bone slightly

Progesterone effects:

protects against breast fibrocysts, natural diuretic, helps use fat for energy, natural anti-depressant, facilitates thyroid hormone utilization, normalizes blood clotting, restores libido, normalizes blood sugar levels, restores proper cell oxygen levels, prevents endometrial cancer, helps prevent breast cancer, stimulates boned bone building, necessary for survival of embryo, precursor of cortisone and sex hormones.

Self-test for hypothyroidism:

To take an armpit temperature you need: a glass or basal thermometer (available in drug stores). You will take your temperature the moment you wake up without getting up from your bed for 10 minutes (at least 4 mornings) and not when you feel sick or near the ovulatory phase of your (woman's cycle--the 12th day of a 28 day cycle). The temperature readings should be above 97.6 F to indicate normal thyroid function.

Hormone levels self-assessment: 

Thyroid (deficiency):

Tired                                                                Hair loss

Sad/depressed                                              Hair dry or brittle

Cold body temp.                                             Nails breaking or  brittle

Cold hands and feet                                       Aches/pains

Weight gain                                                      Low libido

Cannot lose weight                                         Heart palpitations

Memory lapses                                               Sleep disturbances

Forgetful                                                           Bone loss

High cholesterol                                              Decrease muscle mass

Difficult to concentrate                                   Thinning skin

Mood changes                                                Infertility problems

Swelling or puffy eyes of face                       Slowed reflexes

Low blood pressure                                       Constipation

Slow pulse rate                                               Thick tongue

Decreased sweating                                      Slow ankle reflex

Thyroid excess:

Rapid weight loss

Insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep

Unusual sweating

Always feeling hot

Bulging eyes

Erratic behavior

Anxiety

Irritability

Nervous

Panic attacks

Decreased concentration

Short attention span

Rapid heartbeat

Goiter

Tremors in fingers

Estrogen deficiency:                   

Memory lapses                       Night sweats                                     

Incontinence                            Heart palpitations                  

Tearful/ Depressed                Vaginal dryness

Bone loss                                Foggy thinking

Hot flashes                              Sleep disturbances

Estrogen excess:

Mood swings                                       Tender breasts

Water retention                                    Nervous

Irritable                                                  Anxious

Fibrocystic breasts                              Uterine fibroids

Weight gain in hips                              Bleeding changes

Headaches

Progesterone deficiency:                      Progesterone excess:

Hot flashes                                                        Sleepiness                                          

Night sweats                                                     Breast swelling/tenderness

Vaginal dryness                                                Decreased libido

Foggy thinking                                                  Candida infection                                            

Incontinence                                                      Mild depression                   

Tearful

Depressed

Sleep disturbances

Heart palpitations

Bone loss

Memory lapses

Andro gens (DHEA and Testosterone): 

Androgen Deficiency:                                Androgen Excess:

Low libido                                                        Excessive facial/body hair

Vaginal dryness                                              Loss of scalp hair

Foggy thinking                                                 Increased acne

Fatigue                                                             Oily skin

Aches/pains

Memory lapses

Incontinence

Depressed

Sleep disturbances                                                    

Cortisol:

Deficiency:                                                                                                                

Fatigue                                                       Excess:

Aches/pains                                               Sleep disturbances

Arthritis                                                        Bone loss/ Thinning skin

Sugar craving                                              Fatigue

Allergies                                                       Weight gain in waist

Chemical sensitivity                                    Loss of muscle mass

  Heart palpitations

 Stress

 Cold body temperature

Common Gynecological Issues Hormone Therapy Can Help:

Infertility:

is the inability to conceive children due to structural and/or functional blocks. Both men and women equally contribute to the infertility problem . The most frequent infertility cases are women that have unovulatory cycles and those who cannot produced high enough amount of progesterone to keep the fetus implanted in the uterus, which often leads to bleeding and miscarriage. Dr. Lee uses natural progesterone frequently to correct this one cause of infertility--high doses of progesterone can help a woman who habitually miscarried to maintain her pregnancy. The other hormone that is crucial for normal pregnancy is thyroid--even mild, sub-clinical hypothyroidism could hinder the process of getting pregnant--all T3, T4, TSH and TRH should get tested. 

Fibroids:

are solid lumps  of muscle and connective tissue, typically benign (non-cancerous) that grow in the uterus. Complications  result in hemorrhaging and/or miscarriage. Fibroids create problems for up to half of women that have them and they grow too big, they have to be surgically removed, they shrink after menopause (due to natural hormone decline). There is a strong evidence that fibroids have a genetic and hormonal connection. (dominant estrogen and or hormone damage on genetic level seem to a play role in development of fibroids). According to Dr. John Lee, the author of What Doctors May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer and other books, when treating small fibroids, one should consider keeping estrogen low, when treating large fibroids, both estrogen and progesterone should be kept as low as possible. Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture has shown good results for treatment of small size fibroids.

Ovarian cysts:

are fluid filled sacs that form on or in the ovaries. They often produce no symptoms, but if they get large, they may  create a sensation of pelvic pressure and fullness. If there are many small cysts in an ovary, the condition is called polycystic ovaries. Some of the signs are irregular menstrual cycle, pelvic pain, nausea, painful intercourse. The causes are a combination of hormonal imbalance (hypothyroidism, excess estrogen), dietary factors, genetic predisposition, cigarette smoking, etc.  According to Dr. John Lee, ovarian cysts result from a failed or disordered ovulation due to hormonal imbalances. Unless the cyst is malignant or too big which could lead to a rupture, there is no need for a surgical removal of the cyst. Regulating the menstrual cycle with acupuncture, herbs, and healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways of treating ovarian cysts.

Osteoporosis:

bone is a living tissue undergoing a cycle of bone resorption (bone loss) and bone building. The equilibrium between loss and gain has to maintain stable otherwise osteoporosis arise (a result of bone loss). Some of the causes of osteoporosis are: hormonal imbalance, poor calcium, vitamin D and mineral intake and absorption, hyperthyroidism, conventional drugs, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, alcohol, fluoride, environmental toxins, etc. In women, estrogen suppresses excessive bone loss and progesterone stimulates new bone formation, therefore these two hormones have to be in balance. Dr. Lee points out that it is the presence of progesterone that brings about the change in osteoporosis, thus advocating the use of natural progesterone for osteoporosis.

Libido (sex drive):

beginning around menopause or even earlier, women start experiencing decline in sex drive. It used to be that estrogen was the main hormone prescribed for this condition, but today research points to two other hormones that may play more important role: progesterone and testosterone. The ratio of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone again is very crucial for maintaining healthy libido and overall health. And both progesterone and testosterone have to be used in proper amounts since more hormones for libido improvement does not mean better.

Go to articles on PMS and menopause

Go to Pregnancy Care and Infertility

Treatment Modalities and Special Protocols

dasha@mindspring.com

Phone: 415-420-3750 Fax: 480-237-5436, Scottsdale
Last modified: April 02, 2008, copyright material