Life can be very hectic and demanding and women often find that they do not have the time or energy to cope with all the demands placed upon them. It’s important to not only look after your health but to also regularly take time out for yourself or else you can easily become out of tune.
Generally our hormonal system can take care of itself reasonably well until something comes along to upset it. That something can be for example stopping The Pill, a Miscarriage or Termination. Pregnancy and the time after can have our hormones racing all over the place.
As always when choosing remedies it’s the individual picture that’s important and remedies prescribed on the whole picture will have the deepest action. Many simple problems can be addressed with home prescribing however sometimes it is difficult to be objective about our circumstances or the problems are too complex to address and professional advice should be sought.
Breast Tenderness
Our breasts respond quickly to hormonal changes and any kind of pain or tenderness can often fill us with fear. If you have any worrying suspicions go straight to your doctor, although possibly no cause for concern, the sooner you have it checked out the better. Many changes and lumps in the breast are related to hormone changes. Tenderness before periods, glands in the breast can swell when fighting general infection and benign cysts or thickening of glandular tissue for no known reason are also common. The remedies most useful for uncomplicated breast tenderness before periods.
Calc carb: Tender, swollen and hot before menses.
Kali carb: Swollen and sensitive with stitching pains before menses.
Phytolacca: Hard, heavy and irritable breast tissue before and during menses.
Pulsatilla: Sore, aching and lumpy before menses.
Irregular Periods
The menstrual cycle is usually 28 days (counted from day 1 of a period to day 1 of the next period) however for some women it can be anywhere between 25 days and 35 days. It’s when our own regular cycle becomes very changeable that we need to look at what is disturbing the balance. There are number of reasons & causes of irregular periods which include stress, anaemia, hormonal imbalance, unbalanced diet, over work or too much exercise, polycystic ovaries, etc.
Calc phos: Too early and excessive especially in young women and girls. Delayed, scanty and protracted.
Nat mur: Irregular periods in women who are anaemic, sad and resentful.
Pulsatilla: Delayed, scanty and protracted periods in weepy girls with changeable moods. Lower abdominal cramping.
Sepia: Delayed periods in girls who are moody, sarcastic, irritable and indifferent. Dragging pains.
Ovulation Pain
This is usually experienced as sharp twinges felt at ovulation in the side that is releasing the egg.
For pain that affects the right ovary consider: Belladonna for sudden intense pain that comes and goes quickly.
Apis for burning stinging pain or Lycopodium if worse between 4 and 8 am and suffering constipation and wind.
Left sided ovarian pain could be Lachesis if tight clothing is intolerable or Colocynthis for pain that is so intense that it makes you bend double and apply firm pressure.
A feeling of bruised tenderness Arnica. Chamomilla is very irritable and intolerant to pain to the point that it can even make you cry out.
Pre Menstrual Syndrome
It can be helpful to modify the diet by reducing or eliminating dairy and caffeine (chocolate, cola & coffee) and red meat and consider supplements such as B6, B12, C, E, Selenium & Magnesium which is required by the liver to break down extra and inactive oestrogen.
Calc carb: PMS with breast tenderness.
Graphites: PMS with weight gain.
Lachesis: Worse for tight clothing, better when flow starts.
Lycopodium: PMS with despair, low self esteem and abdominal bloating.
Nat mur: PMS with fluid retention, sadness, irritability, wants to be alone.
Nux vomica: Irritable and quarrelsome. Craves sweet or fatty food, constipation, very irritable, in a rush about everything.
Pulsatilla: Changeable, moody and weepy. Tearful & moody, craves company & affection, better outdoors.
Sepia: Irritable, moody, sarcastic and wants to be left alone. Breast tenderness, fatigue, irritability, angry outbursts, complete indifference to loved ones.
Painful and/or Heavy Periods
As well as the indicated remedies it can help to reduce red meat & milk and increase fatty acids such as linseed & borage and Evening Primrose Oil.
Apis: Painful menses with severe ovarian pains and abdominal tenderness.
Belladonna: Intense bearing down pains that come and go suddenly, worse from jarring movement and drafts.
Bryonia: Pains much worse for movement, must lie still & hold abdomen.
Calc phos: Menstrual cramps with headache.
Calc carb: Menstrual cramps with breast tenderness. Menses too early, too profuse and lasts too long with cutting pains.
Chamomilla: Colicky, labour like pain with vomiting & diarrhoea, very angry.
China: Fatigue & exhaustion are marked accompanying symptoms.
Ipecac: Bright red blood accompanied by weakness, nausea & vomiting.
Lachesis: Colicky pain better once flow is established, black menstrual blood which is often thick & offensive. Emotionally sharp tongued, witty and jealous.
Lycopodium: Menstrual cramps with bloating, despair and low self esteem.
Mag phos: Cramping, labour-like pains in spasms. Heat & pressure relieve. This remedy works well dissolved in warm water and sipped.
Nat mur: Heavy and excessive loss, exhausted, tearful, miserable and wants to be by themselves.
Phosphorus: Fatigue and exhaustion are marked accompanying symptoms.
Pulsatilla: Cutting, tearing pains with nausea, headache, vomiting & tearfulness. Sad, weepy and irritable and with painful breasts.
Sepia: Bearing down feeling & low back pain with deep despair and indifference to loved ones. Periods early & heavy, pulling or dragging cramping pains, constipation, insatiable hunger, loss of libido. Dragging pains.
Puberty
During puberty hormone levels can be erratic and the resulting sense of instability very unsettling to young women. Choosing remedies based on the symptom picture can be excellent for calming and regulating hormones. The balance that this brings ensures a smooth transition into womanhood.
Pulsatilla: Weepy, despondent, changeable, cries at least thing, craves sympathy and attention, especially pre-menstrually.
Sepia: Moody, irritable, sarcastic and wants to be left alone.
Nat mur: Is closed, sad, resentful and tends to retain fluid.
Thrush
Reduce sugar & yeast-based foods, wear cotton underwear & avoid using scented soap & other commercial products in the vaginal area. A supplement of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, particularly after a course of antibiotics may help recolonise the flora in the gut. Garlic capsules, Evening Primrose Oil and Folic Acid can all assist a long term problem.
Pulsatilla: Creamy, bland or yellow/yellow-green discharge, often before period.
Sepia: Offensive discharge with marked vaginal & vulval itching.
Borax: Clear, thick discharge, like the white of an egg. Worse mid cycle.
Recurrent problems may indicate a deeper disturbance and benefit from the assistance of your homoeopath to prescribe a fundamental remedy as well as an individually tailored acute treatment program.
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