Happy Hormones, Happy Life

Finding Balance Naturally

As women, we know our bodies better than anyone... but are we letting certain signs and symptoms go because we believe they are “normal?”

From the time I was a teenager on the verge of puberty, to now, a woman in her early twenties; I have always battled with acne. I always believed it was just part of growing up because I was never really educated about the hormonal changes that take place in our bodies to cause these effects.

When I became pregnant with my son in 2012 I was overjoyed and so excited to become a mom. Overall I had an amazing pregnancy but man oh man did I ever have terrible acne. I didn’t know enough about hormones at the time to realize the effect they can have on your body. When our hormones are out of whack they can cause SO many different symptoms, such as: acne, weight gain, chronic fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and so many more annoying and utterly horrible changes. If you don’t know anything about hormones, you could simply brush off these symptoms and never fix them. I was told by my doctor that after my pregnancy the symptoms I was having would gradually go away on their own... and low and behold about 3 years after my son was born my acne started to clear up... UNTIL, my son's father and I split up. A little while after this happened I met my (now) boyfriend. We had a conversation and decided that I needed to start taking birth control. I wasn’t overly excited about this because I never enjoyed the side effects from birth control before, but I decided what could be worse? A few mild side effects or another child that we weren’t ready for. So, off to the Dr. I went for a prescription. No exaggeration, after just ONE week of being on birth control my face broke out with huge under the skin cysts. They were so painful. It was so bad sometimes I couldn’t even smile because my jaw was so inflamed and sore. I was devastated! For anyone who’s ever struggled with acne you know how much of a hit it takes to your self imagine and your confidence. I decided right in that moment to stop taking it. My body was reacting poorly to this method of birth control for a reason.

Fast forward about 6 months later my acne still was not clearing up. To add to this I was having such a hard time getting motivated about anything. I was depressed and my anxiety was at an all time high. Even though I was being consistent in the gym and with my “diet” I was really struggling to lose my belly fat. I was having horrible mood swings. I could sleep for 12 hours and wake up absolutely miserable and have no energy. All around I just didn’t feel right. I started to do some research... and with what I was reading I found that I needed to have my hormones tested; so, I made an appointment with my doctor and we had some blood work done. After all these years and some terrible symptoms I have finally found what was causing all this chaos in my body.

For a woman my age I have very low estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. Also, my adrenals are a mess. My docotr has instructed me to take two herbal supplements; Adrenomend and progestomend for a duration of 4 months, at which point I will go back for more blood work and see where we’re at. Over the last 2 weeks I have already noticed a change in my sleeping patterns and my energy in the morning and my acne has diminished a great deal. I have also been eating a diet with minimal carbs. I eat more lean protein, fat and complex carbs. I do not consume processed food, grains or dairy. These changes are already making an impact on my health in such a good way.

I am excited to see how the next 4 months go, and I will definitely keep updating to share my journey to healing and balancing my body and hormones.

Happy hormones, happy life!