Are You at the end of your rope?

Maybe you feel bogged down with PMS, heavy periods, cramps, mood swings, bloating, migraines, depression or anxiety leaving you dreading “that time of the month.” Perhaps you are in your 30’s or 40’s and find yourself changing from a vibrant woman full of energy to a sleep-deprived zombie who’s gaining weight, snapping at loved ones, and struggling with hot flashes and irregular periods. Or, maybe you’re dealing with painful conditions such as endometriosis or PCOS, or having difficulty conceiving.

All of this can cause you to feel like your life’s spiraling out of control, your body’s abandoned you and leave you screaming: “WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?”

The answer may be two simple words: hormone imbalance.

Has your doctor given you treatments that aren't working

Hormone imbalance is actually very common among women, yet many doctors just offer ineffective lab tests and treatments that do nothing more than cover up the problem instead of fixing the cause. First, there are problems with standard lab tests. Your female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) are more like a roller coaster, with ups and downs, than a merry-go-round. And, standard lab tests only capture what’s going on hormonally at the moment. They tell us nothing about what your hormone levels were yesterday or what they’ll be tomorrow. They also typically fail to measure some very important things (more on that later).

Then, there are the treatments. Two of the most common ways doctors treat hormonal issues is to prescribe birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy. The issue is these methods do not treat the CAUSES of hormone imbalance, they only COVER UP THE PROBLEM, and, in some cases, actually make things WORSE. Take birth control pills, for example. Chances are you’ve either taken them or know women who have. But did you know these often prescribed pills can sometimes actually cause the body to no longer produce its own progesterone and/or estrogen? When a patient stops taking the pill, the body can “forget” how to work properly, creating a host of issues.

We see this all the time in women who are experiencing infertility, heavy cycles, cramping, migraines and other problems when coming off the pill. Hormone replacement therapy, even if it’s bio-identical, is also a bandage solution, adding more hormones to an already imbalanced body instead of addressing the ROOT CAUSES of the problem. We are seeing an increasing number of hysterectomies, endometriosis, female cancers, ablations and infertility than perhaps ever in history, and again, a lot of this is due to solutions that don’t address the real problem. And, that’s where we come in.

You see, your hormones are like a fire alarm – and that alarm is only going to sound if something is wrong. At Integrative Wellness Centers, we test for and treat the issues that are making the “fire alarm” go off in the first place – and standard lab tests won’t pick these issues up. In fact, they often aren’t even testing the real culprits causing your hormonal imbalance.

Your body is a complex network of organs and glands that communicate with one another using hormones. These hormones are intended to influence specific functions such as digestion, metabolism, appetite, sleep, activation of the immune system, and reproduction and tissue repair. For various reasons your organs and glands may become weak or damaged and overtime, and as that specific organ and hormone system spiral out of balance, your symptoms can worsen. This is why some people, regardless of their diet and exercise habits, feel lousy, while others do nothing at all and feel great.

Without addressing the root cause of these problems and merely treating the symptoms, your overall health will continue to decline and can lead to more and more medications. Our clinic specializes in ending this general decline by detecting which organs and glands are not functioning properly and “why”the organs and glands may not be functioning correctly, leading to your symptoms.

With Functional Medicine, we seek to identify the root cause of your imbalance and loss of normal system function. In other words, we discover the “why” of your suffering.  We help end the out of control spiral of your health condition.

When we address your unique reason of “why” your glands or organs are not working properly, your hormones become balanced and your body starts to heal itself!

Four Hormone Culprits

#1 The Adrenal Glands  (The Glands Responsible For Coping With Stress)

The adrenal glands are little glands that sit on top of your kidneys that are responsible for the “fight or flight” response. When the adrenal glands are over stimulated they tend to get out of balance and affect your sleep-wake cycle. It often feels as if it is hard to ‘turn off’ your thoughts. You may find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep despite the fact during the day you feel exhausted and want to sleep.

The adrenal glands are responsible for the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Research has shown that when the levels of this hormone are elevated it can cause weight gain in the midsection, leading to the dreaded “belly roll” of fat.

Swelling and rounding of the face, puffy eyes, and a double chin can develop because of adrenal dysfunction. An orange hue (almost appearing tan) of the face and very dark circles may also develop. When the adrenals are suspect it can also result in facial hair and swelling of the ankles.

It is common if you suffer from adrenal issues you will have anxiety and feelings of severe exhaustion. You may also be the type to rely on caffeine and sweets to get through the day, especially in the afternoon. Once the adrenals become exhausted, you will have difficulty waking up, concentrating, or even remembering simple tasks. To learn more about Adrenal Fatigue click here.

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