The Holistic Perspective: Hormonal Health & Fertility

In today's episode I'm talking with my old friend, Hannah, about living with PCOS and what it's like to manage chronic health issues over the years. We talk about transitioning from "skinny" or "lean PCOS" to overweight PCOS and the emotional processes we go through to deal with it. We talk about different types of hormone management and how we learned that what works for others doesn't necessarily work for everyone, and that sometimes you have to make mistakes to make progress. Even if that progress isn't what we originally planned for. Hannah talks about her journey with trying to conceive with irregular cycles, and her journey with dieting and intuitive eating. She leaves us with encouragement about our bodies and our health and how to embrace ourselves in unmet expectations.

Insulin resistance is a commonly misunderstood factor in PCOS. Today's episode is a recording from a live video I did in my Facebook support group to briefly discuss how insulin resistance is diagnosed, as well as offer natural alternatives for managing insulin resistance and blood glucose. 

In Today's episode I'm talking with Naturopath and Herbalist, Lydia Dorotich. Lydia works with women to help them find the root cause of all their symptoms. She works out of a clinic based in New Zealand but works with women worldwide virtually through Zoom. Today we discuss all about how stress impacts our body, our hormones, and ultimately our fertility. She has some great tips on how this can be managed, and is a wonderful option to consider if you're needing extra one on one support to work on your hormones or your body's response to stress. I absolutely love her perspective on working with the foundational factors to bring the body back into alignment before targeting specific symptoms and conditions. If you don't have a solid foundation, nothing else can help long-term.

Lydia Dorotich is a registered Naturopath, Medical Herbalist & Health Coach in New Zealand. She specialises in Women's health, Hormones and Fertility. Lydia works to find the root cause of women's symptoms and address these in order to get their health and hormones working in harmony again. She believes educating women about their bodies empowers them to take charge and know about the options and solutions available to them. Learning how to drive your body is key to getting the most out your your body, health and ultimately your enjoyment in life.

Today I'm talking about how hormonal birth control is used to "regulate" cycles and what it actually does, including the impact it has on our long term fertility.

Let's talk about 

• Non-contraceptive reasons hormonal birth control might be prescribed
• What happens in a natural cycle without birth control
• What happens in a cycle with birth control
• How hormonal birth control impacts long term fertility
• The first steps to getting off of hormonal birth control when you're ready

I feel that this conversation is not had enough and it's important for women to understand how birth control works so they can make a fully informed decision about whether it's a good fit for them or not.

On today's episode I'm talking to physical therapist, Catie Sanders. We talk about the differences between women's physical therapy and pelvic floor therapy, how physical therapy can benefit a woman throughout her life, how it helps pregnancy and postpartum specifically, and what signs may indicate the need to see a physical therapist.

Catie Sanders is a physical therapist in the Shenandoah Valley area who provides home based PT services to pregnant and postpartum moms. She treats a variety of symptoms, including incontinence, low back pain, diastasis recti, prolapse, and more. After beginning her training in women’s health working as an outpatient therapist and having 2 children (almost 3!) of her own, she began noticing how many pelvic floor issues arise during this shift to motherhood. It was out of this that Abide was born. In her off time, you can find Catie spending time outside with her husband, 2 daughters (and soon to be son), and dog. She also volunteers as a youth leader in the local church.

I hear stories every day from clients, from followers, and from women in health related Facebook groups about how their doctor actively prevented them from getting the help they need in one way or another.

I've experienced it myself. I moved 6 years ago and had a hard time finding a doctor that didn't want to just give me birth control for my PCOS and after a couple tries I just gave up. I recently decided to find a primary care physician and had a better experience than I expected.

It was kind of a wake up call, to be honest. Why do we just give up when we can't find the help we need? Why is it so common for doctors to be resistant to new ideas and alternative therapies? I hate that the medical world is like this. I hate that women have to suffer because of it.

So, in today's episode I talk a little bit about how you can advocate for yourself in your doctor's office and what you can do if you feel like you've been treated poorly by a doctor. I also talk about the resource I created in response to the questions I see everyday about finding a doctor that will HELP fertility, and not hurt it. (Remember, fertility isn't just about making babies).

Some of the most frequently asked questions about Fertility Awareness are answered in this Q&A session recorded from a live Intro to Fertility Awareness event. We talk about long cycles, charting for health, coming off of birth control, checking cervical mucus internally, and much more! 

Links for this episode:

What is Fertility Awareness? How effective is it for managing fertility? What can it tell me about my health and hormones?

I discuss all these questions and more in this episode!