I have suffered from depression, insomnia, headaches, explosive anger, fatigue, menstrual cramps, mood swings, hair loss, low sex drive, and probably a few others I’m not thinking of. I can virtually guarantee if you are a woman over the age of 35, you have suffered from one or more of these symptoms of female hormonal imbalance at some time. If you’re going or have gone through menopause, you can add hot flashes and night sweats to that list. When I began the journey to take control of my health and no longer surrender it to Western medicine and prescription medications, getting my hormones under control was one of the first things I had to do.
Hormonal imbalance can occur any number of ways. They are produced by various organs in the body. These primarily include the ovaries, the thyroid and the adrenal glands. Imbalance can occur due to aging, extreme stress with very little or no self-care, poor diet, and even not getting enough sunlight. Hmm, while we can’t avoid aging (well, I sort of think we can but that’s another article), the others are all under our control.
So, the big question is, how do we get them back in balance? How do we regulate the hormones? How do we right the wrongs we have done to our body? As for my story, while I was once on multiple prescription medications including bioidentical hormones, I no longer use any prescription or over-the-counter medications and I am the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I sleep soundly 363 out of 365 nights a year (hey, I am a mom, I do get woken up in the middle of the night.) I haven’t suffered from the majority of the above symptoms in years. So, here is what worked for me or I personally know has worked for others:
- Get your hormone levels (I recommend estradiol, estrogen, progesterone, Vitamin D3, free and total testosterone, DHEA and a complete Thyroid panel at a minimum) tested by a doctor. It’s not something to mess around with so know what you’re dealing with before you start any sort of program.
- Eliminating sugar and anything that creates sugar in the body (carbohydrates) from your diet. The only sweetener I currently use is raw honey. Yes, this is a hard one, but sugar acts like a drug in the body. It causes mood swings as blood sugar goes up and down in response to its presence and subsequent absence. And you don’t even want me to get started on artificial sweeteners. They are neurotoxins. If you think you are being healthier by drinking diet sodas or eating anything with an artificial sweetener, you have been seriously duped by all the companies marketing those products.
- If hypothyroid is one of the conditions you are struggling with, consider using Endoflex, Ledum, Myrtle, Brain Power, Thyromin, or Multigreens from Young Living. I use Endoflex daily and Brain Power frequently. (All essential oil information can be found here.)
- Forgiveness is CRITICAL! Letting go of your anger, resentment, guilt and fear releases so much from your body.
- For insomnia, I recommend Peace and Calming, Lavender, RutaVaLa, Roman Chamomile and Valor. (All essential oil information can be found here.)
- Get out in the sun without sunscreen for 20 minutes a day. This provides D3 which actually is not a vitamin but is a crucial hormone gained from sunlight. Most people are vastly low on their D3 levels. Get tested regularly by your doctor and supplement with a high-quality D3 drop. It can take many months to increase your D3 levels so start now, especially before the winter flu season as D3 affects the immune system.
- For general PMS symptoms, there is nothing better than Dragon Time (hey, don’t tell me you haven’t breathed fire a time or two when you’re PMSing. And if you deny it, let me ask your husband or significant other and see what he/they say!). There is also SclarEssence, EndoFlex, and the MultiGreens. (All essential oil information can be found here.)
- Eat a balanced diet of organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables as well as grass-fed, pastured or wild-caught meats or fish. Diet can work miracles!!
- If you know your progesterone levels are low (common in pre- and post-menopause) or you have had a hysterectomy, Progessence Plus Serum would be my recommendation. Others to try would be Dragon Time, EndoGize, PD 80/20 and Prenolone Plus Body Cream. Individual oils that could be used are fennel, anise, clary sage and sage. (All essential oil information can be found here.)
- Take a good Calcium and Magnesium supplement. It’s important to take the magnesium along with the calcium.
- Take time every single day for you. I don’t care if it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours (if you should be so lucky), but no one else is going to make you the priority. So, do it! You will benefit and so will all of those who love you.
Balancing hormones is a very in-depth subject but using Young Living brand therapeutic grade essential oils, eating a very healthy diet, forgiveness, and most importantly listening to what my body is telling me, has taken me from being dependent on artificial medications to not needing any of them.
If you are local to the Austin, TX area, please make plans to attend the Meetup that Carol Willess of Legends Reflexology and I are holding next Thursday, July 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. We will be talking more in-depth about this exact topic.
Tell me about your experiences with your hormones and if you have questions, please ask away.