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Can anyone recommend a natural hormone balancing treatment?
Something to relieve tenderness, mood swings and water retention which seems to have become permanent.
Thanks.
In Reply to: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Ann on September 06, 2001 at 07:31:54:
Not an expert; I'll comment from personal experience. Also I'd recommend that you discuss use of herbs with an experienced practitioner or herbalist.
Dong Quai (Angelica Sinensis) would be appropriate if you are oestrogen deficient. In that case might Liquorice work for you too. Liquorice might help with the mood swings IF they are due to blood sugar problems.
Vitex Agnus Castus will be helpful if you are progesterone deficient, in which case the natural progesterone cream might help too.
It would be wise to establish first if you have a hormone deficiency/ dominance - and of which kind.
You named just a few symptoms, but those you mentioned might stem from different causes, not necessarily all hormonal. In order to get well, it won't be enough to take herbs. Appropriate diet and lifestyle change will be necessary.
Also, bear in mind that herb treatment takes some time before it works, it can take some months before improvement is noticed.
Hope this helps
Sonja
In Reply to: Re: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Sonja on September 06, 2001 at 11:11:07:
Read this page, it's long, but it's worth it. Or you can just skip down to the discussions on hormones and menopause (item #4). This is a woman who treats hormone imbalances with chinese herbs. I'm taking them now and starting to see results. There are also a number of people on this board who have seen results using chinese bitters and some of her other herbs.
In Reply to: Re: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by beth on September 06, 2001 at 16:04:36:
I happened to talk about this yesterday with a doctor from www.dcnutrition.com. He uses (and sells) Biotics Research products. He said with these products it's possible to restore exhausted adrenal glands within about one month. From a radio interview with Dr. Borkin, an endocrinologist, I learned that increased need for cortisol caused by chronic stress can disturb levels of some other hormones, mainly sex hormones, because they can be converted to the stress hormone.
Sonja's right -- you need to determine what is wrong with you. The easiest way to do that is a saliva test of stress hormones (cortisol and DHEA) and maybe some other hormones too. Based on the test's results you can be prescribed a specific safe and effective treatment.
Once you correct the imbalance, and during the restoring process too, correcting what has led you to this imbalance would be wise.
In Reply to: Re: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by beth on September 06, 2001 at 16:04:36:
Thanks. I've printed this out to study in detail. A lot of very good info.
Actually the dry lips and mouth and thirst are not symptoms of a weak Spleen, but Heat in the body. A weak Spleen by itself is more likely to result in less thirst or even an aversion to drinking. However, Liver Invading Stomach (and Spleen) can give the symptom of dry mouth and lips.
Any time Qi is blocked, Heat can result. This is called Excess Heat because Qi Stagnation is an Excess. (Any Qi Stagnation is too much.)
There also can be Deficiency Heat, aka Yin Deficiency. Yin cools and calms the body, and when there's not enough Yin, Heat arises.
One way to tell the difference between Excess and Deficiency is the thickness of the tongue coating. In Excess conditions, the tongue coating will tend to be thick and heavy. In Deficiency conditions it will be normal or thinner than normal or even absent (like in the case of Stomach Yin Deficiency).
However, one cannot always go by the tongue coating. It's common for people to have mixed Deficiency-Excess patterns. What usually shows up in the tongue coating is the imbalance which is the worst and/or the most recent. For example, the tongue coating will tend to be thicker several hours after a very heavy meal.
The reason that a weak Spleen is more likely to result in a decrease in thirst or even an aversion to drinking is because one of the roles of the Spleen Qi is to transform and transport fluids. If the Spleen is weak and cannot perform this function, Dampness accumulates, and one of the signs of Dampness is not feeling thirsty.
Note the part where she talks about"transfer of blood from portal to systemic circulation, activity of the liver's reticulo-endothelial system (kupffer cells) in the immune system." In TCM, one of the main functions of the Liver is to store the Blood. When a person is at rest, Blood is stored in the Liver. When the person is active, the Liver sends out the Blood to the muscles, sinews, etc. (The Spleen and Heart also play key roles in TCM in "controlling Blood". The Spleen, Kidneys, and Heart play the key roles in making Blood.
The TCM definition of Blood is a bit different from the Western concept of blood. The functions of Blood are to nourish, moisten, and provide a material matrix for Spirit/ mind. The latter is why Blood Deficiency can be linked to problems like insomnia, nervousness, etc. There's not enough Blood to root Spirit. Note where she talks about the connection between Liver Qi Stagnation and Blood Deficiency problems. Then consider this passage from the Bob Flaws book, Curing PMS Naturally with Chinese Medicine:
"It is the liver's job to regulate the amount of blood in circulation. It is the liver qi which performs this function. If the liver qi spreads freely, then the blood moves. If the liver ai becomes depressed and stagnant, then the blood will also eventually become depressed and static." (pp. 34-35)
Judy
In Reply to: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Ann on September 06, 2001 at 07:31:54:
You may want to get a copy of Curing PMS Naturally with Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws, Blue Poppy Press, IBSN 0-936185-85-6.
This books not only goes into herbs but also into acupressure and massage techniques to help the problems.
There are several different TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) patterns that can result in PMS symptoms. But Liver Qi Stagnation is common to most of them. (See beth's post for more details on liver problems and the link she provided.)
For toning up the system in general and increasing endurance, you may want to research the herb Shan Yao, aka Rx (root of) Dioscoreae Oppositae, aka Chinese wild yam. In TCM it's classified as a Qi tonic herb. The thing to watch out for when using Qi tonic herbs like wild yam, licorice, astragalus, ginseng, etc. is to make sure Qi Stagnation is not also present. If Qi Stagnation is present, that also has to be address with herbs or acupuncture/ acupressure or Qi Gong (Tai Ch'i) exercises that will get Qi moving. Otherwise, adding Qi tonic herbs and increasing Qi is like trying to force more water into a hose that is blocked. It creates more problems.
Judy
In Reply to: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Ann on September 06, 2001 at 07:31:54:
Dong Quai is said to regulate the hormones and Black Cohosh
is said to stimulate estrogen production. I gave the Quai
to a female hound who has had many irregular heats when
stressed and was spoting. I went with the Quai and she
stopped spoting and went through a normal length heat soon
after. She also has become more relaxed or mellow. Seems
like it did something.
VF
In Reply to: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Ann on September 06, 2001 at 07:31:54:
Hi, Ann.
Especially for a hormone imbalance (see the archives) any herbs that may help are STILL bandaids over the actual causes. NO ONE thinks that a hormone imbalance is a deficiency in any drug/herb. Herbs are safer and many times more effective but still they are basically drugs.
Let us know what you learn from the archives.
Walt
In Reply to: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by Ann on September 06, 2001 at 07:31:54:
Hi, Ann.
Especially for a hormone imbalance (see the archives) any herbs that may help are STILL bandaids over the actual causes. NO ONE thinks that a hormone imbalance is a deficiency in any drug/herb. Herbs are safer and many times more effective but still they are basically drugs.
Let us know what you learn from the archives.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Hormone balancing treatment- Dong quai or agnus castus? posted by R. on September 07, 2001 at 03:20:42:
Thank you all for the responses.
I've had hormone blood tests which showed excess progesterone (at all times of cycle) and elevated androstenedione. DHEAS was slightly elevated at one time and just in the range the second time.
I have been stressed for the last couple of years. First thing I noticed was unexplained crying fits, restlessness and then horrible acne which took over my face and my mental state as well.
I know Dr Stoll believes in having no treatment except for skilled relaxation, but I'm finding it difficult since I'm not sure I'm doing it correctly.
I can't watch my face getting scarred all over and say to myself "I'll give skilled relaxation a go for 1 year to see if it works and then spend the rest of my life with a scarred face".
I have to fix what is stressing me the most (Acne) first and then deal with the original cause of the problem.
In the mean time, I'm taking supplements (EFAs, vitamins, nerve tonic) and recently started Vitex agnus castus but maybe it's not the best idea if it intensifies the effect of progesterone.
The reason why i thought it might help was because it is said to have anti-androgenic properties which I thought would be helpful for acne.
Please let me know what you think.
I'm going to start a Chinese medicine treatment in 1.5 months with accupuncture etc.
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