Regardless of our culture’s recent fixation, women’s health encompasses so much more than pregnancy prevention and reproduction. Women’s bodies are both complex and harmonious. Moment to moment, female bodies are capable of keeping equilibrium through the unpredictability of our world. From emotional support and dietary enhancement, to sleep and circadian rhythm balance, we should always be looking at the full picture of women’s health when working with any imbalance – no matter how big or small. By using a naturopathic approach to women’s health, and specifically women with PCOS, we are able to address these complex imbalances.

How PCOS Manifests & Presents

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects around 1 in 10 women in the US and can take years to be accurately diagnosed. Often, PCOS symptoms are overlooked until a woman starts struggling with infertility and conception. In fact, many women deal with PCOS symptoms for over a decade before being appropriately treated, and sometimes even then, the approach is limited to prescriptions of hormonal birth control, estrogen agonist/antagonist drugs, and sometimes androgen (male hormone) blockers. Beyond the prescription of these drugs, there is much more to consider when addressing PCOS clinically.

Development of PCOS often goes like this: Shortly after a young woman begins menstruating, they may experience negative symptoms such as heavy/irregular cycles or acne as their hormones are regulating. If they seek medical support for these concerns, they are often prescribed hormonal birth control (pill, patch, IUD, etc) as a solution, which may only temporarily mask the initial concerns by forcibly managing estrogen levels. These women never truly had the opportunity to allow their bodies to naturally find hormonal balance before being prescribed birth control, and now have lost that insight by continuing to take birth control for many years. When the time comes to get off birth control, usually to begin conception, many of these women find they now have issues with infertility or may start presenting other symptoms of PCOS.

Common symptoms of PCOS include excess facial hair, balding or unusual hair loss, developing more muscle, irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation, infertility, fatigue, enlarged ovaries, and development of cysts on the ovaries. Anxiety and depression are also common accompanying symptoms. In addition, many PCOS cases begin with hyperinsulinemia (excess insulin circulating in the blood) and elevated levels of testosterone, androstenedione, and estrone. As insulin levels increase, androgen levels increase as well. Ultimately, women with PCOS may present with insulin resistance, an imbalance caused by those same increased levels of androgens. Thus, effective holistic treatment of PCOS includes focusing both on hormone balance and nutrition support to modulate insulin levels.

Hormone Dysregulation

Women’s hormones operate on a highly elaborate, harmonious feedback loop. Each moment of each day, these hormones are communicating throughout the body and with one another. Our reproductive system does not stand alone. It is directly responsive to our endocrine system, our lymphatic system, our immune system, our digestive system, and our nervous system. When one system is thrown off, it is likely that additional symptoms will begin presenting in other body systems. It’s important to remember that although you may initially seek hormone imbalance support, your naturopath may recognize that other body systems need support as well.

When we have a hormone dysregulation, symptoms can arise differently from person to person. In general, symptoms of hormone dysregulation can present as fatigue, irritability, painful or lack of menstrual cycles, acne, sudden body temperature fluctuations, infertility, excessive body hair, hair loss, skin tags, and change in skin color or texture. Each one of these symptoms, however, is not specific to hormone imbalance. This is why understanding the larger picture of your health story is so crucial.

The Naturopathic Approach

Your naturopathic doctor will be looking at your entire health picture, including family history, current diet, stress levels, medications and supplements, sleep, and your recall of symptoms and their timeline of presentation. In addition, your doctor may recommend a full hormone lab panel to tailor an individualized plan just for you. Even if you present with classic hormone imbalance symptoms, you can be confident that your naturopathic doctor will not limit their focus to hormones alone. In women’s health, hormones are only one piece of a larger, more complex puzzle. Hormone imbalances will be addressed through appropriate dietary and lifestyle adjustments, herbal and homeopathic supports, and education on the root cause of the imbalance. Other recommendations may include sleep hygiene, stress management practices, exercise suggestions, or biofeedback support. Just like PCOS does not develop overnight, rediscovering your balanced state of hormonal harmony will not happen immediately. Your naturopath is here to empower you to take control of your health and regain that balance.

Unfortunately, modern medicine’s approach to women’s health is often to treat patients through a quick fix of pills that may only provide temporary relief or can even make women feel worse. This is where you can feel confident about our holistic approach as a Naturopathic practice. We are focused on helping women understand and heal their bodies, as well as understand the work required to make lasting changes to their physical, mental, and spiritual balance.

If you’re struggling with hormone imbalances such as menstrual irregularity or PCOS, reach out to Richmond Natural Medicine here to schedule an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors. Together, we can establish a sustainable, personalized, and effective path to your inner harmony.

Read More: Beyond Balancing Hormones