Do you experience painful and/or heavy periods?
Unfortunately, this experience can be very debilitating and frustrating for women, and conventional treatment can be limited as well as taking many years to provide a diagnosis.
Conventional medicine usually offers bandaid solutions such as the OCP or Mirena (which have their place but are not resolving the underlying issues), or removal of tissue or organs including hysterectomy. While excision surgery can help, it’s common for symptoms to return at a later date.
If you’d like to understand which factors contribute to painful/heavy periods and other treatment options, please read on….
THREE UNDERLYING FACTORS
NUMBER 1
One of the major factors underlying painful and heavy periods is a hormone imbalance consisting of Estrogen dominance and Progesterone deficiency.
This type of imbalance may also contribute to other symptoms such as:
Fluid Retention
PMS
Anxiety
Fertility Issues
Fibroids and Cysts
This hormone imbalance can develop over time due to multiple reasons such as:
Ongoing use of medications including OCP, Mirena, Antibiotics, Corticosteroids
Ongoing stress
Alcohol use
Nutrient deficiencies
Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (found in fragrances, make up, skin care, plastics, pesticides)
Poor liver function
Gut bacteria imbalance (dysbiosis)
Insulin resistance
Genetic variants
You can assess your hormone balance through a blood, saliva or urine test, depending on your budget and the level of information you require.
NUMBER 2
Another factor that may contribute to painful periods is immune dysfunction.
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis share similarities, and are associated with an increased risk of auto immune conditions.
In simple terms this means your immune system has become confused and cell growth may become uncontrolled, or your own cells may be damaged leading to chronic inflammation and pain.
A large part of your immune system is located in your gut, so gut health also plays a large role here.
Your liver and gut bacteria are also involved in the metabolism and elimination of excess hormones, helping to keep your hormones in balance.
Again these imbalances and dysfunction can develop over time, due to similar reasons as mentioned above.
NUMBER 3
The third factor that may contribute to and exacerbate period pain is dietary. This reaction can be due to intolerance and increased inflammation.
The main trigger is A1 dairy products, especially drinking milk. Switching to A2 or goats/sheeps dairy may help, as this is generally less reactive and inflammatory.
If you experience painful periods, it may be worth experimenting with dairy, and eliminating A1 dairy for 2-3 months to see how you feel.
NATURAL TREATMENTS
As you can see there are commonly more than one factor that contributes to painful and heavy periods.
Getting your hormones tested can help determine which treatment will give you the quickest relief from your symptoms.
If you’re having to rely on pain killers every month, there’s likely natural treatment that can help reduce your symptoms and improve the underlying imbalances. This will also help reduce your risk of hormonal conditions later in life.
Some supplements that may help with period pain include:
Broccoli extract (Indole-3-Carbinol and DIM)
Chaste Tree
Turmeric
Magnesium
St Mary’s Thistle
Iodine and Iron (if deficient)
Gut and Immune support (pre/probiotics, zinc, vitamin A)
Dietary and Lifestyle such as minimising sugars, alcohol, dairy, stress management, using toxin free skin care.
It’s always best to get personalised testing and treatment when possible, as this will eliminate guesswork and give you the best results.
If you’re ready to reduce period pain book your consultation today :-)
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