Help is at hand…

Do you take your hormones seriously?

Many of my clients tell me that they find great support, help, advice and guidance from the web when experiencing many of the emotional and physical ups and downs that increased infertility, pregnancy anxiety, pregnancy loss and hormonal imbalance can bring.

I therefore felt that writing about these subjects, referring to ‘real’ experiences, or highlighting information can only prove to be beneficial and also, can reach so many – I often forget that when publishing posts etc, they reach all over the world and not just us, in the UK!

Some of the subjects I discuss are becoming increasingly highlighted in the media – assisted fertility procedures such as IVF for example, however, other areas such as disruptive hormonal imbalance in the form of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), severe Breast Tenderness (Mastalgia), and Menopause are less often written about and yet are so common amongst women.

I have become increasingly surprised and frustrated by how little we know about the hormonal workings of our bodies.  So little information is provided to teenagers experiencing puberty, ladies in their 20s struggling with hormonal fluctuations, couples in their 30s desperately seeking fertility support (although this area is changing dramatically), 40 somethings careering towards menopause etc, and yet hormonal balance is such an integral part of our health and well being!

Despite learning and researching keenly for the past few years I still feel completely inadequate in this area but I am genuinely driven by a thirst for more understanding and information.

I therefore write in an attempt to release the frustration, and impart as much knowledge as I may to my readers.  The purpose therefore is to provide a safe, nurturing informative environment for women experiencing the hormonal challenges that infertility, pregnancy, menopause and miscarriage can bring… Men also experience hormonal issues, share the fertility concerns, suffer the emotional distress of miscarriage and often feel at a loss to support their partners through the stress that these issues can bring.  My posts and my site are for them too!

Now for those of you who know me well, will know that I am not known to be a good sleeper.  In fact, I would describe myself as a ‘light sleeper’ – that is – going to bed, resting but rarely feeling that I ‘fall’ asleep – in fact the number of ‘real’ nights sleep is fairly rare for me.  Last year I did wonder if I had Insomnia?!  One definition is ‘habitual sleeplessness; inability to sleep’ – that kindof fits me…. but I assumed Insomniac’s were ‘up all night’ pacing, eating, reading or watching tv and just couldn’t sleep or rest?

Wikipedia’s version is “Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep as long as desired” - well, that seems to fit too – however I must say that the full definitions for Insomnia are much more complex.

Why am I interested in the quality of (or lack of) my sleep you might ask.  Well simply put, sleep is of course the time when the body replenishes its energy – I would say, on all levels, physical, emotional, mental and even perhaps spiritual – for rest is extremely important to well-being.

Getting enough quality sleep and the timing of that sleep is also important.  In Dr Christiane Northrup’s Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, she points out that “getting quality sleep prior to midnight appears to be more restorative to your adrenal glands (those that produce adrenalin and cortisol the stress hormones) than sleep that begins later in the night – even if you sleep late the next morning!  Alcohol impacts too, two drinks per evening can wipe out your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which is the sleep associated with dreaming – and she adds, why would you want to do this?”.

If we do not engage in the best quality of sleep and replenishment then we will encounter a level of stress, (probably subtle or mild initially), but longer periods of poor sleep will mean that the mind and body are not as alert as they could be and therefore any decisions, actions, ideas, plans, activities will be hampered by this stress.  I therefore felt it was time to understand my ‘light night-time status’ and conquer the problem.

Last year I did record my sleep to ascertain if I was really having difficulty.  I labelled each night as either poor (felt like I was permanently awake), okay (rested but still aware of the nights movements) or good (definitely fell into sleep at some point).  On the rare occasion I did record excellent (I actually have no idea what happened during the night and woke refreshed – result!!).  My findings were interesting and varied.  My sleep did improve for a while but gradually became disrupted again.

So with a fresh start to 2013 I have decided to have another go.  I have been introduced to a great app - Sleep Cycle* - it records your sleep pattern for the duration of the night, number of hours in bed, and calibrates whether it thinks you slept well or not?! – see the graphic below.

My plan is to monitor my sleep using this app* and to make changes, and therefore see what affect they have.  I am going to record this weeks sleep (week 1) as a normal week – a control week if you like, without making any changes.  Next week (week 2) I will incorporate all the usual sleep tips and recommendations such as going to bed at a set time, reading before bed, ensuring the bedroom is dark, not drinking stimulants before bed or eating too late etc and then will compare notes.  The following week (week 3) I intend to use Hypnotherapy as I suspect from the early part of last year, this had a significant affect on some of my improved nights.  I can then compare the weeks and see what I find!  I will, of course, keep you posted each week about my findings and hopefully my improvements!

For interest, this is what my first night of monitoring looks like!!

What is your sleep like?  Do you sleep really well? Or like a great number of my clients (and me), is your nights sleep broken, varied or disturbed?!

Why not join in with me and monitor your sleep cycles too!  If you have a smart phone, why not download an app to monitor your sleep cycle or simply not any changes in your diary.

* One issue I do have with the ‘app style’ of monitoring is that you have to place your mobile phone on your mattress, reasonably close to your head – they suggest that you keep the phone charging while you do this.  I’m afraid that I do have concerns about having mobile devices, or other electrical devices, close to your head/body for such a great length of time – especially on charge – as the surge of electricity may cause stress to the body and the phone may emit EMFs (electro-magnetic fields/currents).  However as the ‘test’ is for a short period of time I shall give it a go but I have to say, it is not something that I would recommend for longer than a spot of monitoring!

I read an article in The Times a while ago (‘Could Scientists really stop the menopause?’ by John Naish, 14th July) which spoke about two new techniques that could apparently halt and even reverse the menopause.  There are very good scientific and medical reasons for both treatments e.g. premature menopause brought on by cancer or other medical conditions, a revitalisation of the ovaries allowing for reproduction – sometimes science is truly amazing.

However I was shocked to read how these medical techniques can be potentially offered to create an extreme form of what they termed, ‘Lifestyle Surgery’ – designed to preserve fertility into the later years, and here I mean into our 50′s and to preserve a youthful appearance.

One technique which is already quite advanced is called ‘ovarian grafting’ – taking young healthy tissue from the ovaries, freezing it, and implanting it again when the ovaries need to be revived.  The other technique involves multiplying healthy stem cells from the ovaries (in a laboratory) and re-implanting them as revitalised ovarian cells.  Both techniques are clearly amazing and bring tremendous hope and benefit to young women who potentially can become infertile from their life saving cancer treatment, but should we really consider these invasive techniques in order to keep ourselves looking young?!

The article suggests that it is a question of ethics, suggesting that it is for society to decide!  Understandably staving off some of the affects of menopause or the possibility of taking HRT treatment may be seen to be a good thing…. but the risk of damage to the ovaries, together with the associated health risks of more mature women having higher levels of oestrogen in their systems (than nature intended) and the potential for breast and womb cancer surely should make us think twice, especially when cases of breast cancer seem to be increasing?!

How healthy is your abdomen?

Is it stress free and happy, or is there tension, tightness and restriction hiding in the nether regions?!!

The other day I gave a new client an ‘Amno Fu’ treatment (abdominal massage), and it reminded me to do the same as it’s a treatment thats definitely top of my list for sorting out ‘tummy tension’ which can ultimately lead to lower back pain and bloating.

It never ceases to amaze me that a pocket of tension is lurking in my pelvic area or that I’ve tied my tummy in knots.

How does it get there and Why? Well, the answer of course is varied, and probably depends on a number of factors.  As unique individuals we manifest our mental and emotional stress into our bodies, very differently.

For me, I get classic neck and shoulder tension, but with a nice dose of tummy tightness.  By the time I’ve realised, I’m suffering from sciatic pangs, sleeplessness, digestive issues, not to mention the hormonal bloating that can be uncomfortably present every month.

Then there is the energetic relationship – you could ask ‘what is it that is hard to digest’ or ‘what is difficult to let go of’ and, once in tune with my tum, I am sure that I could come up with several answers for you.

Lets not forget the emotional factor – I often feel ‘lighter’ after treatment, as if I’ve managed to release some emotion that was lurking in the depths – forgotten but not forgiving.

After her treatment my new client commented ….’I really do feel incredible… such a funny / nice feeling!’

Do you suffer from lower back ache or sciatic pain?  

Do you have fertility issues?  Or have you previously had a pelvic or gastric operation?  

Perhaps an Amno Fu treatment could help you? do have a look at my website for further details if you think it might.

I have always suffered from monthly ‘breast tenderness’ but like many women I was simply unaware that repeated breast pain or tenderness is a ‘real’ condition known medically as Mastalgia – it literally means ‘pain in the region of the breast’ and is divided into two types, Cyclical or Non-Cyclical.

Cyclical Mastalgia relates to the hormonal cycle and commonly occurs in the days prior to bleed or sometimes, around ovulation.  Breasts feel heavy, swollen, tender and uncomfortable.  Non-Cyclical Mastalgia is unrelated to the hormonal cycle and may affect one breast only where Cyclical Mastalgia usually affects both.  Symptoms are similar but also include discomfort around the ribs.

If you suffer any discomfort that is not part of your normal monthly cycle, or are concerned about Non-Cyclical Mastalgia, you must consult your GP immediately.

Breast pain/tenderness, as part of your cycle, is often dismissed as a hormonal symptom of no real concern.  However for many women, it can severely impact on their lifestyle.  The discomfort can be so severe that you can’t run or exercise (I even find running upstairs painful), touch or intimacy is out of the question, sleeping on your front is impossible and usually results in wearing a bra to bed for support.  Bra’s and tops don’t fit at this time and other symptoms are usually present such as feeling emotional/tearful for no reason.  The discomfort lasts from a few days to up to 7 – 10 days at a time.

But this is more common than we think.  According to the Maidstone Breast Clinic, between 50-70% of women suffer from breast pain at some point during their lifetime – see their website for more in-depth information.

So, what can you do about it?  Firstly, it is always important to seek medical advice if you have concerns about your symptoms.  Charting your discomfort frequencies and levels provides good evidence – use the Monthly Cycle Monitoring Chart to help monitor your symptoms.

Some evidence suggests that caffeine and fatty foods aggravate the condition – reducing or cutting these out of your diet may help to improve the problem but this is not always the case.  Taking Evening Primrose Oil is often recommended but apparently needs to be taken for 4 months before any improvement is seen, however this does not work for everyone.  Equally taking the Contraceptive Pill for some helps the problems and for others aggravates the problem.  Hormone Replacement Therapy can also cause breast pain.  There are some drugs that can be prescribed that may help but these of course must be discussed with your GP and are perhaps your last resort.

So it appears that this is a very individual issue, as of course, are hormones and our cycles which is perhaps why, we rarely discuss breast pain – however, there is a great deal of information available that you might find helpful rather than simply suffering every month or so.  Please use the Monthly Cycle Monitoring Chart to monitor your symptoms, arrange to see your GP if you have concerns, read up on Breast Pain to become more informed.  Such sites as the Maidstone Breast Clinic, Breast Cancer Care, London Breast Care Centre are all very informative.

Above all, please do not suffer in silence, ask for help, perhaps some of the advice available may alleviate your symptoms. 

Do comment on this blog if you suffer such discomfort.

Our bodies are wonderfully intrinsic and complex, yet we seemingly know little about them, we only find out how it works when it becomes broken or damaged or in need of repair.

From our teens to our 50s most women have the pleasure of experiencing a ‘monthly cycle’, but do we really appreciate and understand what this actually involves?

Many times during my working day I discuss the ups and downs of the monthly cycle… each time I am fascinated by how much or how little we appear to know.  Whilst the books and medics talk about a natural 28 day cycle,  this seems often far off the mark with ladies experiencing anything from 21 days to 47 +, or in several cases, erratic bleeds several months apart, to no bleed at all.

So, what are the facts?, what is the norm?, and why do we (in the holistic world) suggesting that ‘regular’ is best?…

The cycle divides into two halves or phases.  The first phase is the Follicular Phase and is governed by the release of various hormones but dominated by the release of Oestrogen which signifies ovulation (usually around day 10 – 14).  From ovulation onwards the cycle is called the Luteal phase and is governed or dominated by Progesterone.  This phase ends when Day 1 of full bleed commences (and therefore becomes Day 1 of the next cycle and thus the whole thing is repeated.  The purpose of the cycle is of course reproduction – i.e. the body prepares itself each month to produce an egg, to be fertilised by sperm, to implant and develop into an embryo.  If this does not occur, the cycle repeats again and again until finally the body naturally shifts away from reproduction, and gradually menopause occurs, signifying a shift into a non-reproductive state.

Generally speaking a lovely healthy cycle is considered to be 28 days – or a reasonable bracket of 26-30 days.  In a 28 day cycle it is generally thought that ovulation occurs at or around day 14, although I more often see it recorded as day 10/11.

A drug dominated cycle will behave differently depending on the purpose used, i.e. to prevent implantation or to stimulate ovulation (as in Clomid).

Cycles that fall short of the 26-30 days suggest an imbalance in hormonal health often caused by stress but equally by medical problems such as Polycystic Ovaries (PCO), fibroids, diabetes, thyroid imbalance, lifestyle (including diet etc).  The most common imbalance falls in the Follicular Phase and can often be rectified by change in lifestyle and reducing stress factors where possible.  However imbalance, particularly relating to progesterone levels can occur in the latter phase.

Therefore cycle length is a good indicator of health although it is possible to be outside the norm and still have regular cycles.  Other indicators are uncomfortable symptoms such as, bloating, pain or cramps, tender breasts, emotional outbursts, outbreak of spots, lower back pain, headaches, particularly migraines, sugar cravings to name a few….

… and then there is the bleed!  This can also be a good indicator of hormonal imbalance etc.  You should ideally start your bleed quite positively, by that I mean that your first signs of bleed should be immediate, i.e. there should be flow – a bit of spotting for a few days etc before it all gets going is not a good indicator of a healthy cycle.  Good bleeds start gently and then continue into full flow for several days (3-5).

We also know that in times of stress, both emotional and physical, our bleeds can stop altogether or become extremely heavy!  Wow, how incredible is that – stress can actually stop the bodies natural rhythm!!

So, ideally, a good cycle would be approximately 28 days ending with a few days of ‘easy’, pain free, bleed with very little experience of other symptoms.

But for those of us who experience irregularity and a roller-coaster of PMT issues…. its time to address our monthly health!!……

So Ladies, ask yourselves, how does your cycle behave?

Comment – “Complementary Therapists recommend that you should cut out caffeine altogether when trying to conceive as it can reduce your changes of fertility” (there is also some evidence to say that it can increase the risk of miscarriage).

The problem with this statement is that it is rather generalised and does not provide an explanation.  So where does this leave the ‘fertility’ argument? And why or how does it affect our endocrine system?..

Firstly caffeine is found in coffee, tea and chocolate – (the most common offenders), but it is also present in a greater number of products these days – including fizzy drinks, face and body products and cold/cough remedies.  As an ingredient it must be marked on the packaging – look out for this – you’ll be amazed at how many face creams, under eye creams and body products (especially those for firming and toning) contain caffeine.

Secondly the affect of caffeine in our system is not always obvious.  The obvious ones are feeling shaky, having an increased heart rate,  an inability to focus or concentrate and an inability to sleep.  The main mild reaction (often enjoyed) is that it stimulates us and gives us a bit more ‘get up and go’.. but the unseen reactions can be found in our monthly cycle (this is also true of sugar and alcohol).  If you were to temperature chart your cycle for a month where you consumed caffeine products versus a month without caffeine products, the result is likely, depending on the quantities consumed, to be significantly different i.e. the caffeine cycle appears more erratic and imbalanced with greater increase in irregularity and PMT/PMS symptoms.   Thus demonstrating the affect on the flow and health of the cycle and its potential impact on fertility.

So what does the caffeine do to the body?  In essence it stimulates (that’s the bit we like!) the adrenal glands – which are part of the complex hormonal system, the Endocrine System, and the body has to respond to rebalance the system again.  In short quantities or bursts of caffeine, the effect may be slight and have no real bearing on the system, but in larger quantities or to a more sensitive system, the effects can be great.  It is therefore dependent on the reaction of the individual.  In effect, it stresses the body and we know that stress is definitely an underlying problem in fertility.

So, do you give it up altogether or reduce it?  The general consensus appears to be that one cup of coffee per day is acceptable but additional cups or other caffeine in the form of chocolate and the products mentioned above will potentially impact on your hormonal cycle and, for that matter, on your health and well-being in general….

This is also relevant in Peri-menopause (the run up to Menopause) where the hormonal system is naturally changing and fluctuating and additional stimulation can cause more extreme reactions – but this, is another story, for another post!!

I treated a lady client recently and asked, ‘How long is your monthly cycle?’ She replied she wasn’t sure, but that she was regular!. “How do you know that you are regular?” I asked. She looked quizzical and replied, ‘Well I have a period every month, I think, and it seems regular’. ‘Do you suffer from any pre-menstrual symptoms or other problems?’ I asked – ‘no, not really’ she replied.

On further discussion, it transpired that she actually didn’t know her regularity, didn’t know the length of her bleed and actually suffered from several symptoms of pre-menstrual tension (PMT) about the third week in and, she is not alone!

Thus we seem to casually accept all hormonal upsets as completely normal! How often do we (and others around us) comment on an emotional outburst or painful cramps as ‘Oh its just the time of the month’ or ‘Its just my hormones’ as if these are perfectly normal statements and acceptable behavioural patterns.

Why do we brush over it, why do we think its normal, or acceptable?
Why do we assume that there is nothing we can do about it?

It seems completely bonkers to me, at age 47 and with approximately 32 years hormonal experience under my belt, that no one has really ever offered the whole hormonal explanation (apart from professionally I mean) despite experiencing various pill incompatibilities, a lumpectomy and the removal of an overly sized uterine fibroid some years ago!… Perhaps if they had, then I may have avoided the latter two!

So, why talk about them? Because they play a very major part in our well-being both physically and emotionally and they are ‘performing’, as it were, for some 40 years or so on our well-being ‘stage’!… time to take the final curtain methinks!

Menopause – What is it exactly?

Put simply, it is the natural ending of a women’s reproductive life.  It is a hormonal process and usually happens slowly, over a number of years around the late 40s to early 50s but early menopause is on the rise with women starting in their mid 30s. However although this is a natural process the symptoms and effects can, for some women, severely effect their day to day life and sense of well-being.

The 3 Stages

There are usually 3 stages; Peri-menopause, Menopause and Post-Menopause, although they may seem to overlap. During these stages your whole monthly cycle begins to change, bleeds become very irregular and finally they stop entirely. During this time you may experience hot flushes, anxiety, emotional episodes and weight gain to name a few of the major symptoms, and, all of which may make your day to day life unsettled.

For further information, please see my post How Therapy Can Help With Menopause or consider a Reflexology treatment which is great for menopausal relief.