Naturopathic Approach to Women's Medicine and Hormone Balance

Our practice’s philosophy is to explore a woman’s health from all levels: physical, mental and emotional before drawing any kind of final conclusions.

Just because a woman has a hormonal problem does not mean that she requires a hormonal solution.

Natural Medicine and Holistic Health Care for Women

When we think about women’s health issues and medicine, we think about balance.

Often women’s health issues come down to the idea of balance. Are your hormones in balance? Is your life (work, home, stress, family, etc.) in balance? Is your emotional life in balance? Is your diet in balance?

When one thing is out of balance, the chain reaction can be extensive, leading to physical and emotional symptoms seemingly unrelated to the original imbalance yet vitally connected. Holistic medicine can restore overall balance and lead to a healthier body and life.

Our Personal Approach to Women’s Health and Alternative Medicine

We work with each woman as an individual. When we meet a new patient, we clear our mind of preconceived notions and see her as a unique individual, with a personal story, and a distinct set of issues that require an individualized, holistic health care solution. We don’t have “protocols” for various women’s health issues because each and every woman is different.

Naturopathic Doctors with a Heart for Women’s Medicine

Balance and Women's HealthDay after day, women seek the care of our naturopathic doctors due to hormone-related issues.

The conventional approach to many of these hormonal and women’s health issues is a hormonal solution. For younger women conventional medicine suggests the birth control pill; for older women hormone replacement therapy is considered the answer.

For many women, however, these replacement hormones simply suppress the body’s natural cycle and manipulate the body with artificial hormones; they do nothing to address why their symptoms are actually occurring, why the body’s natural hormonal balance is out of balance.

Explore Your Options With Naturopathic Medicine

Many women who seek our care are not comfortable being on these hormones, and are seeking a different approach. They wonder if there might be something more they could try.

As naturopathic doctors we look deeper and delve into what is causing your symptoms in the first place.

Regain Balance Inside and Out With Natural Holistic Medicine

Woman in NatureIn many women it’s a combination of factors that work together to throw hormones out of balance. This imbalance then leads to further imbalance in other body systems.

Our practice’s philosophy is to explore a woman’s health from all levels: physical, mental and emotional before drawing any kind of final conclusions. Just because a woman has a hormonal problem does not mean that she requires a hormonal solution.

Our naturopathic doctors offer women relief from menopausal symptoms and other health issues without hormone replacement therapy, natural or synthetic.

By restoring balance, you can feel better and prevent disease without irritating symptoms. This natural approach to women’s health issues increases overall quality of life and well-being.

Let Our Naturopathic Doctors Assist With the Following Women’s Health Conditions:

PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

Helping women with PCOS is a special passion of both Dr. Eric and Dr. Kristina at Lewis Family Natural Health. We have been fortunate to have helped many women with this complex condition.

At Lewis Family Natural Health, we don’t have a set protocol for PCOS. We work with each woman as an individual.

We know that this condition is very individualized as far as which symptoms a woman is experiencing and what underlying causes are contributing to her PCOS. We create customized, tailored plans for each of our PCOS patients that are constantly adapted and refined as her body responds and heals.

PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)

Individualized naturopathic therapies can work wonders to restore balance and sanity in women with PMS.

PMS Affects the Health of Many Women

PMS

PMS, or Premenstrual Syndrome, affects many menstruating women every month.  It can be very distressing for the woman suffering from PMS as well as for those around her.

Symptoms of PMS

There are over 200 symptoms associated with PMS, ranging from physical symptoms to out-of-control mood swings.  The most common symptoms are bloating, headaches, food cravings (CHOCOLATE!), uterine cramps, headaches, breast tenderness, mood swings, irritability, and depression. To be considered PMS, these symptoms get worse the week or two before a woman’s period, and improve soon after menstruation begins.

Naturopathic Medicine Can Help You Change the Way You Feel

Did you know if you suffer from severe PMS you don’t have to feel so badly? What so many women and their loved ones don’t realize is that PMS is not something to just suffer through, month after month.

The Many Causes of PMS

PMS is often a complex interplay of several factors that are unique for every woman.  The answer to the question, “What causes PMS?” is, “It depends.”

As naturopathic doctors with a specialty in women’s health, we see many women on a daily basis with this condition, and can say with confidence that every woman has a unique story, with individualized obstacles and holistic therapies that work best to restore balance and sanity to her world.

You Don’t Have to Suffer.  We Can Help.

Many of our PMS patients have come to us because they felt overwhelmed and are grateful to have help sorting out all the options. It is essential to develop an individualized, holistic health plan when dealing with a multi-faceted issue like PMS.

Individualized therapies such as homeopathy, herbal medicine, and dietary changes may work wonders to restore balance and sanity in women with PMS.

Menopause and Perimenopause

Regain Balance During Menopause and Perimenopause

You may have heard stories of women who go through menopause with ease.  No hot flashes, no distress, no mood swings.  Their periods just slowly stop happening and then they move on.  For these women the transition to menopause is a gentle, natural process that doesn’t cause distress.

Chances are, however, that if you are a woman in today’s fast-paced modern world that this has not been your experience with menopause and perimenopause.

When our lives are out of balance, it can throw off normal, natural functions leading to symptoms and discomfort.  Are your hormones in balance?  Is your life (work, home, stress, family, etc.) in balance?  Is your emotional life in balance?  Is your diet in balance?

When one thing is out of balance, the chain reaction can be extensive, leading to physical and emotional symptoms seemingly unrelated to the original imbalance yet vitally connected.  Naturopathic medicine can restore overall balance and lead to an easier transition to menopause and beyond.

Signs of Imbalance during Menopause

Whether you are still in Perimenopause (defined as the time leading up to menopause, which for some women can last as long as 5-10 years!) or fully in Menopause (which happens once you have gone for 12 consecutive months without a period), you may be experiencing symptoms including:

  • Hot flashes, night sweats
  • Vaginal dryness, painful sex, decreased libido
  • Mental, emotional, and memory changes
  • Weight gain
  • Insomnia and sleep disturbances
  • (Perimenopause) Changes in your menstrual cycles (previously regular cycles becoming heavier, lighter, more or less painful, more or less frequent, and often unpredictable)
  • Headaches

Our Naturopathic Approach to Menopause

The conventional approach to many of these hormonal changes is a hormonal solution and hormone replacement therapy is prescribed.  For many women, however, these replacement hormones simply suppress the body’s natural cycle and manipulate the body with artificial levels of hormones; they do nothing to address why their symptoms are actually occurring, why the body’s natural hormonal balance is out of balance.

As naturopathic doctors we see each and every one of these symptoms as important guides in helping us understand any underlying imbalances. These symptoms help guide us to appropriate natural therapies that are specifically chosen for you. Our goal is to help keep you balanced and symptom free as you enter into this new and exciting time during your life!

Our naturopathic doctors offer women relief from menopausal symptoms and other health issues without using hormone replacement therapy, natural or synthetic.  Synthetic hormones carry serious potential side effects—blood clots, heart disease and cancer.  Even natural hormone replacement therapy has risks, and we prefer to use a less invasive and safer approach in working with our patients.

Many women who seek our care are not comfortable being on these hormones, and are seeking a different, safer approach. 

Menstrual Problems:
Painful Periods, Heavy Periods, Irregular Periods

Menstruation is a normal process for women from puberty until menopause (and with breaks during pregnancy and nursing).  A normal menstrual cycle lasts from 28-32 days, with 3-7 days of bleeding that is not too heavy, not too light, and not painful.

Many women, however, find that this is not what their menstrual cycles are like at all!  Their periods may cause extreme pain and cramps, may last for longer than a week, may involve a heavy or clotted flow, may be very short or very light, and may arrive too early or too late.  Some women skip periods entirely, and others have no set pattern to know when to expect the start of their next period.

Painful or heavy menstruation

If you experience pain or heavy bleeding during your periods, it may be a sign of an underlying issue such as inflammation, hormonal imbalance, emotional stress, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, etc.

Once the cause is discovered a variety of natural therapeutics can be employed to relieve pain, and resolve the underlying condition.

Irregular periods

If your periods are not appearing predictably every 28-32 days, it may be due to a wide range of potential underlying imbalances including hormonal imbalance, hypothyroidism, anemia, emotional or physical stress, lack of ovulation (anovulation), or polycystic ovarian syndrome.  It may also be due to natural processes such as perimenopause, menopause, or pregnancy.

Natural therapies may be utilized to correct these underlying disorders.