My hormone journey is something I have kept to myself for quite a while. I’ve only shared with my closest friends and family in part because I was embarrassed and also because it has taken a long time to get straightened out. I’ll start by saying this, if you see anyone posting on the internet that you can follow their quick fix program or take their magical “hormone balancing” program or supplement, do NOT buy into that. Hormones are not a quick fix situation and most of those programs are written by people who are not qualified to do so. Everyone is so different there is just no way a one size fits all program or supplement can fix everyone. Not to mention, it takes a ton of time and work. It’s not something achievable in a few short weeks. You need a doctor who specializes in this area who can offer proper testing, protocol and prescribe the proper supplementation. You NEED to be under their care long term. I also want to add that what I am going to tell you here is MY personal journey. What I have been through is going to be different from you. The methods and protocol I have been prescribed and using may not be right for you. If you feel you may be in need of hormonal guidance, I urge you to reach out to a qualified doctor for testing and treatment. I’ll share my dr’s name below for anyone who is searching.
The very start of my hormonal imbalance journey began late fall of 2019, although I didn’t know it at the time. Overall, I was feeling good and really didn’t have any reason to believe anything was off. One evening I was home with my husband just relaxing and having dinner. Not too long after we had finished eating, I began to feel extremely dizzy and just not right. I first thought it was something I had for dinner, but my husband was totally ok, so I wasn’t quite sure. The dizziness intensified, my legs went numb, my heart was razing, I couldn’t make a complete sentence and I could hear a “humming” noise in my head. I thought I was having a stroke, aneurism, seizure, heart attack or all of it put together. I couldn’t think straight but I knew something was very wrong. My husband brought me to the ER where they ran tests but found nothing immediate except that my vitals were way off. The next thing I remember was waking up in a different hospital 2 hours away and having no recollection of how I got there. Upon further testing they discovered that my cortisol levels were completely bottomed out. They continued to monitor me, treat my symptoms and perform more tests. After 3-4 days of being there, I was released with a diagnosis of “undiagnosed reaction” to a possible food and “vertigo.” My cortisol had come back up so that was written off as though it never happened. I was told to just take it easy and see my regular physician if symptoms reoccur. Basically, they didn’t know what was happening or why and I was sent home. I spent the next year avoiding the foods that we thought could’ve potentially caused the issue and prayed I never had another episode like that ever again. (It was not caused by food☹)
Moving forward the following year, I was thankful to not have any more of those mystery episodes. However, I started to notice other symptoms. One of my symptoms was unexplained weight gain of 10lbs, which seemed to come on almost overnight. By unexplained, I mean I was very diligently tracking my food intake and working out very consistently 6 days a week. I was not veering off plan at all, yet the weight still appeared. (Now, I know some of you may think your weight gain is hormonal related, and it may be. But, before using that as an excuse, be sure you are being honest with yourself regarding your nutrition.) In addition to that, I was experiencing other symptoms too. An increase in water retention, increase in cellulite (often common with water retention), insomnia, hair loss, feeling anxious/nervous, breakouts, headaches, flushing, cold night sweats, stiff/achy joints and I felt cold all of the time. I did not feel like myself and I was so frustrated. I went to my doctor, and she informed me that what I was experiencing was “normal” as I am now over 40. She stated that these were likely symptoms of perimenopause, and it is expected at my age. Her suggestion was to eat less, exercise more, consider cutting carbs, try some over the counter supplements for menopausal women and not to worry about it. She ran a couple tests and told me everything was “normal.”
I just wasn’t buying that. For one, my cycles were still very regular without fail. And two, I just don’t buy the lies that women over 40 need to accept they will become frumpy and miserable. I don’t believe that lie at all! I will never believe the lie the world tells women that age equals weight gain and years of misery while going through “the change.” I do not believe that is Gods plan for us. And it’s NOT! Ladies, please don’t accept that myth!
So, moving forward to January of 2021 I decided to reach out to my friend who is an amazing functional medicine doctor who happens to specialize in women’s fertility/hormones. She agreed with me in that something was off and I needed to have some further testing done. She ran full hormone and metabolic panels on me. We discovered so many things that my other doctors did not. For one, I was not menopausal. What we did find was that my estrogen was extremely high. Like, dangerously high! My progesterone was low, DHEA was low, I was not ovulating (even though my cycles were regular), oxidative stress markers were high, DNA damage markers were high, cortisol was low(shocker), aromatase enzymes were overactive and my levels of B12 and D were off as well. Good news was that my testosterone, thyroid and melatonin levels were all good. And good news was that I now knew I wasn’t crazy, and this all totally explained the symptoms I was having! I was a mess. How this happened, I don’t know exactly. This is a great example of how we can do all the right things and yet something can still be off. This is why I am such a huge advocate of taking your health into your own hands. If you don’t feel right, don’t ignore it. Search out help until you get answers! If you aren’t comfortable with the answers you are given, get another opinion. Especially when it comes to hormones. This isn’t just about weight. Living with imbalanced hormones can cause so many other health issues including cancers, dementia, chronic pain, skin/hair issues, major digestion issues, heart problems, cognitive issues, joint problems…the list goes on and on.
What did I have to do to heal and repair these issues? Well, like I said above it is a very long process and not something fixable within just a few weeks. It takes many, many months of staying consistent to specific changes and supplementation. It takes staying consistent with following through with reoccurring testing to monitor and make changes along the way. For me, we retested my hormones every 6 months to monitor and make sure what we were doing was working and to determine if changes needed to be made. Some of the changes I had to make were lifestyle changes, exercise/activity changes, dietary changes and supplements. The biggest thing was we needed to destress my body. I needed to give myself some extra TLC. I was no longer going to be going to the gym pumping out grueling workouts. I was going to be replacing them with low intensity walking and a few lightweight workouts weekly. I was no longer going to be striving to lose those pesky 10lbs by tracking and measuring food to stay in a calorie deficit. I would be eating more to fuel my body strictly with nutrient dense foods only.
My supplement routine was prescribed by my functional dr and I adhered to it religiously. This changed a few times over the course of my healing as my labs or symptoms changed. (I’m not going to list them here as what I needed was very specific to me.) Within the first 6 months or so I noticed that I was feeling better. The flushing and insomnia had gone away. Soon the joint pain and hair loss diminished. Headaches eased. I did not weigh myself at all for the first 6-9 months or so as I knew it was going to fluctuate and my focus was strictly on fixing these issues. I knew that the weight would come off in time as I healed. As for nutrition, I focused on highly nutrient dense foods. This is exactly what I teach my clients already and wasn’t a big shock or change. What I did change was being diligent with making sure my blood sugar was very stable with my meals. I started eating 3 larger meals each day and this really made a difference in how I felt as well regarding energy levels. I used to have fluctuations with my blood sugar, and this has been completely gone for some time now. I did not cut carbs like the one doctor had suggested. In fact, I have increased them. I make sure that I am getting quality nutrients through my food by eating natural carbs(rice/potatoes/squash/oats), grassfed/organic meats, organic/raw dairy, lots of fruits, well cooked vegetables, pasture raised eggs, grassfed organic butter and wild caught fish. We are a family of avid hunters, so we always have fresh meats and we do raise our own beef as well. If you are able, I highly recommend. The quality of WHAT you are eating makes a huge difference in your health. I don’t eat much for processed foods but if I do have bread or pasta, I opt for sourdough or einkorn. I don’t cook with oils much at all anymore as I have started using organic bone broth for sautéing and roasting. If I do use oils, I use olive oil, coconut oil or on occasion avocado oil. I have completely taken all seed oils out of my diet such as vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil etc. I highly suggest taking these out of your diet as well. In addition to quality foods, I also make sure I am getting in enough minerals. Two easy ways I have done so is to add in Celtic salt and Trace mineral drops. Most of us can benefit from adding in minerals.
I’ve also become more aware of making sure that I am not exposing myself to hormone disrupting chemicals. While I knew this was important before, I wasn’t great about watching it. I’m not perfect in this area as it is very challenging to make sure everything is pure and perfect. But I do watch to make sure the soaps, cleansers and products I use are as non-toxic as I can find. Added fragrances and chemicals can really cause issues in our hormonal health.
So, to jump ahead and wrap this up I can say I’ve definitely come a long way! I’ve included a photo here of myself to show you how I have changed physically throughout this journey. I was hesitant to share is as it isn’t flattering. But I do feel that being real and honest with you ladies can help you to know that you are not alone and that you too can change the course! The first photo is where I was January 2021 and the other is August 2022. To summarize, as of April 2022 my hormones have been balanced and exactly where they need to be! ALL of my symptoms have gone away. I feel amazing! As for the weight, that 10lb gain has also gone away. I did not cut my nutrition back at all nor did I start training hard again. I simply followed what I needed to get my hormones back in check. I am now able to lift weights a bit heavier again, but I don’t go crazy. I walk every day and I weight train 3-4 days a week. The biggest change I have noticed in my physique was the reduction of inches as well as reduction in cellulite. I was quite inflamed due to the imbalances and now that it’s been resolved, my body has smoothed out so much. The water trapped under my skin has reduced greatly. In addition to the changes I’ve already mentioned, I also have been consistent with dry skin brushing, fascia massaging and lymphatic draining techniques. It’s common for women with high estrogen to have higher amounts of water retention and cellulite. Some is very normal, but high amounts or an immediate increase like I had was cause for concern. This has gotten so much better for me and you can even see the difference in my photos.
Now that I am in a good place, I am focusing on staying there! I will be repeating labs every 6 months probably for ever as I want to make sure everything stays where it should.
If you have read through all of this, I thank you! Haha! As I had said, I was hesitant to share. But I do think it’s important for women to understand that age doesn’t mean you should submit to weight gain, feeling crummy and thinking the only solution is to buy bigger clothing and take prescription hormone replacements. (NONE of my supplements were hormonal replacements. The supplements I was prescribed helped to heal the imbalances I was having. There are reasons for imbalances and HRT is not going to cure that. Focus on healing the root cause.)
Younger ladies-this can happen to you too! If you’re feeling off or having any symptoms that people tell you are “normal” such as cramping, extreme moods, hot flashes, irregular cycles, unexplained weight gain/loss, extreme bleeding/clotting etc., please reach out for help. This isn’t normal! Older ladies-while menopause will happen, it should be symptom free! If it’s not, please reach out for help.
If you have questions regarding my journey, I’m happy to answer!
My bottom line…hormonal imbalances are real! You don’t have to live with them though. I am so thankful for my functional doctor, Dr. Melissa Vandermissen for everything she has done for me!
I hope this helps someone to know you are not alone and there is hope. God did not design you to be miserable or to submit to weight gain or other undesirable symptoms. There is a root cause to these symptoms, and they are fixable!
Much love to you all~Denette