Hormone Balancing
Are You Suffering from a Hormonal Imbalance?
I'm unsure if its environment toxins, stress or a mosaic of things are causing the dramatic rise in hormonal imbalance. But, hormonal dysfunction is becoming epidemic. Whether a person has a sluggish thyroid gland, sex hormones which are askew or cortisol spiking in the middle of the night, these hormone dysfunctions cause a number of downstream problems.
The hormonal system is a series of interconnected feedback loops. When one hormone is off it causes a significant ripple effect in the system. I believe it is important to address the acute symptoms which the hormone imbalance is causing. However, rebalancing the hormones and finding the underlying cause is important to return the patient to health. Finally, giving the patient the tools to keep the hormones balanced is the end goal of treatment.
Thyroid
One of the most common lines I hear is “My thyroid labs are normal but I am fatigued and I don’t know what to do.” I believe what is missed here is a more in-depth look at your thyroid hormones. Are the underlying hormones low (T3 or/and T4) and your TSH is normal? Is there an autoimmune component to your thyroid function? Does the thyroid have enough nutrition to detoxify itself?
These are all questions that need to be answered before effective treatment for complicated thyroid problems can be resolved. Typically, thyroid problems and adrenal problems appear together. If your thyroid is underperforming, your adrenals typical kick in and pick up the slack. Over time, the adrenals get wiped out also. Many patients do not find resolution until both glands are treated in tandem.
Cortisol
Life is stressful for most people but it is particularly stressful in the Bay Area. Most people are carrying incredibly heavy loads with work, commuting, family and social lives. For some, this load causes significant problems with their stress hormone, cortisol.
Stress can cause your cortisol to spike at the wrong times, not to spike at all or to bottom out all day. Dysfunctional cortisol is a significant reason for many patient's fatigue and energy management problems. I test cortisol and its metabolites at different times of day to get a handle on what the cortisol levels are throughout the day. Then, I structure treatment plans to bring the cortisol back in balance. Once it has balanced out, the patient and I partner in finding a long term plan to keep cortisol balanced.
Female Sex Hormones
I see both women and men with sex hormone problems. Unfortunately, the environment, the food, and our medications tend to have a tremendous impact on women sex hormones. Women show up with a significant number of hormone problems. Heavy bleeding, premenstrual syndrome (bloating, food craves, breast tenderness and brain fog), fibroids, endometriosis, hot flashes and irregular bleeding to name a few.
Although the underlying problem is different in these issues, the starting place of treatment is the same. Nourish the hormonal system with specific nutrition. Stop the acute symptoms by assisting the liver in detoxifying the hormonal system. And, bind and remove the toxins the liver is putting out.
The second step is figuring out the underlying cause of these hormonal problems. Whether its dysfunctional hormonal signaling causing irregular menses, pelvic congestion causing fibroids or unbalanced hormones causing the premenstrual syndrome, I have a significant number of therapies which can feed the entire hormone system, which can target the hormone signaling pathways, which can have a direct effect on the hormone-producing glands.
I have treated hundreds of patients with thyroid dysfunction, ovarian dysfunction, HPA Axis dysfunction or hypothalamic dysfunction. I've had particularly successful with autoimmune hormone issues like Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Grave’s Disease, Addison’s Disease, and Autoimmune Blood Sugar Dysfunction.
Male Sex Hormones
Men typically show up with prostate concerns, libido dysfunction or erectile dysfunction. Most of these patients have some form of testosterone dysfunction. But, the first step is the same as for women. Nourish the hormonal system with specific nutrition. Stop the acute symptoms by assisting the liver in detoxifying the hormonal system. And, bind and remove the toxins the liver is putting out. Many patients resolve with just the first step.
The second step is to figure out the underlying reason for the symptoms. Whether it is the sex binding hormones are dysfunctional, the testis are not producing enough testosterone or too much testosterone is causing prostate enlargement, I have a significant number of therapies which can feed the entire hormonal system, can target the hormone signaling pathways, or can have a direct effect on the testis.