How I'm Healing My Hormone Imbalance

Horrible PMS, adult acne, ovarian cysts--these don't have to be normal

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Some of you have followed along with my hormone imbalance journey on IGTV for the past few months but in case you haven't, I thought I'd share it all here too.

According to statistics about 80% of women have a hormone imbalance, and I am one of them.

Hormone imbalances can go unnoticed but part of it is because we think having intense Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is normal, we think adult acne is unexplainable, and we believe getting ovarian cysts is common. If 80% of us are experiencing all these things, of course we think it's normal and not red flags.

Why should we care about a hormone imbalance anyways?

When our hormones are imbalanced it's a sign that our body isn't operating how it should be. This can be caused by a variety of reasons such as your diet, your beauty products, your lifestyle habits, your birth control, a dysfunctional detox system, thyroid issues, etc.

For myself, I actually didn't have a doctor tell me I needed to get my hormones tested. In fact, when I asked my OBGYN if I could get them tested with a suspicion that they could be imbalanced, she told me not to worry about that unless I find out I can't get pregnant.

I felt frustrated because I didn't want to wait to find out I can't get pregnant due to a hormone imbalance. I wanted to get ahead of it and possibly prevent that scenario. I was also motivated to get my hormones tested because through my research I learned that it can significantly effect adult acne all over the body, can cause ovarian cysts, and increase PMS symptoms—all of which I had.

What I did

With a strong understanding that something was going on with my body I went to my naturopath doctor and asked about getting my hormones tested. He agreed that getting the test could be really helpful information and gave me a take home test.

I took the Dutch Test Complete which required me to pee on paper samples at certain times of the day, let them dry, then mail them to the company. There are a variety of ways to gather hormones such as through the blood, saliva, or urine. I was told urine is a great way to get accurate information on your hormones.

My results came back and showed I had too much estrogen in my body and not enough progesterone and androgens (testosterones).

My doctor shared that having more estrogen can be caused by beauty products. So many ingredients cause xenoestrogens which are imposter hormones and can disrupt the body. He also said that a larger cause can be that my detox system isn't functioning properly, so it's not releasing the estrogen like it should, causing it to stay in the body and be dominant.

He suggested that I increase my fiber intake to 50-100 grams a day, drink liver detox herbal tea (dandelion, milk thistle, and licorice root), and get a sweaty workout in 3-4 days a week. By doing all of these, it allows my detox system to function properly and release the excess estrogen.

He also provided me with several herbal supplements to help promote the balance of the rest of my hormones. I would love to share what those are exactly, but they're tailored to my body and yours may need a different regimen. What I will say though, is that these herbal supplements have been a game changer!! I never realized exactly how powerful herbs can be until taking these.

It's been over a month of consistently following my doctors diet, lifestyle, and wellness recommendations and I've already noticed a difference! When my first period came around I had ZERO PMS symptoms. I went from having intense symptoms to none—I was shook & relieved! In addition to eliminating my PMS, my skin has been clearing up!! My face is becoming the smoothest I've ever felt it and my back acne is significantly decreasing (I could cry). As for my ovarian cyst, I need to go back and get an ultra sound to make sure it's gone but I haven't felt the intense pain I did previously.

I feel like I'm finally getting my body to where it should be and I have so much respect for how it functions.

What you can do

If you want to get yours tested, I highly recommend speaking to a doctor first. And if the first doctor blows you off like mine did, go to another doctor 😉 Having a supportive doctor who knows hormones can help you better understand the results. I also highly recommend going to a naturopath doctor. You shouldn't have to get on synthetic hormones to heal the problem (how many of us have been told to get on birth control to help with cramps?!). There are natural ways to help your body heal itself.

That being said, you do have other resources if you want to go about it in a different way. You can purchase a hormone test package from Your Hormone Balance and they provide you with the test and different packages to purchase. They've also told me they do payment plans if you need (this isn't sponsored or affiliated. I just truly trust them & they've been a source of knowledge for me) https://www.yourhormonebalance.com/test-rebalance-2020

If you prefer to do a test and then take it to your doctor with questions you can outright purchase a test online such as https://www.everlywell.com/products/womens-health-test/ (again not affiliated).

Let's connect

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @brittbehealthy or email me at brittbehealthy@gmail.com. I've helped several women navigate what questions to ask their doctors and I love having these discussions.