Hormones
The phrase "hormonal
imbalance" is thrown around so often that we tend
to blame everything on it! Infertility though, can have
a hormonal basis - certainly not MOST of the time, but
often enough that doctors do look at hormonal production
and balance as a possible factor.
Hormone insufficiency
can influence male fertility. True testosterone deficiency
is not that common, though there are many border line
cases which are undiagnosed, in which hormonal insufficiency,
combined with another factor, may be enough to tip the
scales.
The hormonal picture
for women is generally a little more complex. Because
it is cyclical, and the hormones change over the month,
there are more places where the process can break down.
And a deficiency in one hormone can either prevent ovulation,
or cause a failure of the ovum to implant. Female hormonal
balance is critical for conception to occur, and then
to sustain the pregnancy - principally during the period
before the placenta begins to produce support hormones.
One of the complicating
factors for female hormonal issues is that the production
of hormones is so dynamic during the process of ovulation,
conception, implantation, and pregnancy. One change
typically stimulates another change, which supports
growth until it stimulates another change, etc. When
something does not go right, the end result is that
the pregnancy is not sustained. Even when a doctor can
measure hormone levels and tell that they are not right,
it may be difficult to pinpoint just WHY they are not
right.
Hormonal production
is controlled by the Pituitary Gland - Mostly. Usually
a change in the body stimulates the pituitary gland
to release a stimulating hormone, so that another organ
in the body releases the appropriate hormone. Some hormones
have more than one stimulus though, so a hormone may
be produced sufficiently in one circumstance, but not
in another - as an example, my body does not release
oxytocin during labor, but it does release it while
I am nursing a baby.
It can be hard to detect
whether an apparent hormonal deficiency is actually
a deficiency or not!
The process can break
down with the initial stimulus - your body does not
produce a normal chemical response to a specific event
- for example, when a specific event occurs, the signal
to start the process never reaches the pituitary gland.
The pituitary gland
may not function correctly - either it does not pick
up the signals to go into action, or it fails to properly
respond to them. The pituitary gland does not directly
control everything hormonal, but it does control enough
that it is usually considered as a potential cause of
problems.
If the pituitary gland
does work correctly, and the proper stimulating hormone
is released, then that goes into your blood stream,
where it is picked up by the appropriate gland. That
gland then releases hormone in response to the chemical
signal. The gland may fail to pick up the signal, fail
to properly interpret it, or simply fail to produce
the hormone in question.
Sometimes the endocrine
glands work perfectly, but the organs which the hormones
are supposed to act on fail to produce the necessary
response. Again, this can be for a variety of reasons,
including chemical exposure, dietary insufficiency,
deficiency of OTHER hormones which have a negative affect
on a different gland, glandular damage, etc.
Whether you are being
treated by a doctor, or attempting to apply a home remedy,
the picture can be very complex. Since your hormones
interact with each other, and a lack of one can trigger
a lack of another, it can be hard to know where to start.
When using herbs to
address hormonal balance, you need to be very careful.
Test herbs one at a time - do not use combinations until
you know how you respond to each one! Usually one herb
will not cure the problem. Typically, you will need
to try a range of them, testing responses to each one.
It can take a month or two before you notice full effects.
Headaches, nausea, or other unpleasant side effects
will usually mean you should not take the herb in question.
Herbal remedies are
often labeled as something they are not. An herb which
mitigates the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance may be
listed as affecting that hormone when it in fact only
treats the symptoms. When you are talking about oily
hair or dry skin, that's not a problem. But when you
are talking about processes for which you cannot really
measure the full affect, the imprecise nature of herbal
remedies can make it difficult for you to narrow down
which herbs are likely to work.
I have no doubt of the
efficacy of some herbs to treat conditions that are
related to hormonal imbalances. But extreme caution,
and a great deal of patience is needed, to test them
individually until you know what the exact effect of
each one is, so you can assemble a selection that works
specifically for your body.
Be careful also in labeling
your problems as hormonal imbalances until you can be
fairly certain that it is actually what you are dealing
with. And then approach self-treatment very cautiously.
As always, start with a fresh, whole, and natural food
diet, to give your body the best possible chance of
correcting itself.
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