* Discuss your situation with your physician. Work together to develop a comprehensive treatment plan. Follow it!

* If you smoke, quit.

* Practice stress management: many of the symptoms of PMS are unpredictable and emotionally draining. This can be very stressful and can exacerbate your condition.  Especially for those who are prone to Adrenal Issues which increase PMS symptoms.

* Regular exercise may reduce your risk of PMS altogether; exercising once you have symptoms (even though you may not feel like it) will reduce the symptoms you experience for that cycle; reduces stress and tension.

* Take a daily, non-prescription multi-vitamin; discuss any other supplement needs with your physician.  There are a variety of natural supplements that are highly effective in reducing PMS symptoms especially if chosen specifically for your body!

* Be sure to get an adequate daily intake of calcium (1,200 mg/day), Magnesium (400mg), and Vitamin D3 (2000 IU).

* Additional magnesium, vitamins E and B6, and carbohydrate supplements might also be helpful.

* Eat a well balanced diet; don’t skip meals.

* Reduce intake of caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar/sweets, salt, red meats, fatty foods.

* Enlist the support and understanding of friends and loved ones. Ask for understanding and help with tasks in advance to reduce stress and pressure

* Try to get regular, sufficient sleep.

* eat several small meals a day to minimize blood sugar fluctuations.

* increase time for activities that bring enjoyment

* Use a natural progesterone cream to balance out your hormones (talk with your health care provider about naturally balancing out your hormones).

If you’re looking for someone to work with who specializes in PMS, Perimenopause and Menopause whether your in the area or out of the area find out about our virtual appointments at http://www.drkingvirtual.com.  It is important to have a plan specific for your body, if you’re looking for someone who is completely natural who looks at the whole picture of foods, diet, herbs, natural remedies and natural hormones and bioidenticals then call Dr. King today for your own consultation to see what she can do for you.  Dr. King always offer a free phone consultation for anyone looking to do hormone balancing work to discuss your case and explain what our office can do for you and see if we’re a good fit.

Call today and begin an amazing journey to feeling amazing again!

(626) 799-0557

Email: skingdc@earthlink.net

The Hormone Connection: On average women tend to get by on less then 6 1/2 hours of sleep during the work week and 7 hours on weekends, often interrupted. Job stress, family stress, that “not enough hours in the day feeling” can contribute to a woman’s sleepless nights. But so can her hormonal fluctuations and changes. PMS, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause bring with them estrogen and progesterone fluctuations that can lead to increased wakefulness at night.

During the luteal phase of a women’s menstrual cycle, (days 14-24 after menses begins) as progesterone levels increase, sleep often comes easily. Then as progesterone declines, falling asleep can become more challenging. Progesterone, known as the calming hormone, is also believed to influence sleep during pregnancy. One of the most common complaints of my perimenopausal and menopausal patients is a change of sleep patterns. Studies have shown that between 50-60% of all perimenopausal and menopausal women have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night, with shortened periods of restful or deep sleep. This can be due to wildly fluctuating progesterone and estrogen levels as well as cortisol increase from overactive Adrenal Glands.

Most of us fall asleep when our body temperature is declining. As heat is lost through the skin, and the core body temperature declines, drowsiness increases. The hormonal changes that come with menopause affect the body’s temperature-regulating mechanisms, which could account for the increased sleep difficulty that comes with menopause and aging.

The Stress Zone: Chronic Insomnia increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Insomniacs with the highest degree of sleep disturbance secrete the highest amount of cortisol, particularly in the evening and nighttime hours when cortisol levels should be low. This means that insomniacs are producing stress hormone levels that actually prevent them from sleeping. They are suffering from sustained, round-the-clock activation of the body’s system for responding to stress. Continually living with stress of to little sleep can aggravate and intensify other medical conditions like high blood pressure, digestive disorders and weaken the body’s ability to fight off illness as well as cause increased weight gain. Also continually living with increased stress during the day can trigger this response as well causing Adrenal overload and cortisol overload preventing good sleep. (An important hormone we check during our Saliva Testing)

Natural Bioidentical Estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to improve sleep quality, facilitate sleep onset, and decrease nighttime restlessness and awakenings. Women taking bioidentical estrogen report feeling less tired in the morning and throughout the day. They also report that other symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, muscle aches, and mood swings are improved. Another reason to check your hormones levels and supplement is low estrogen levels are associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure in response to stress (which is why many women report anxiety and heart palpitations during perimenopause and menopause). Restoring estrogen with natural bioidentical formulas helps restore the body to a more youthful less stress state. Estrogen, Progesterone, Cortisol, DHEA, Testosterone, DHT and Melatonin all play a role with how the body balances throughout any given day and therefore all important hormones to test when the body is not feeling like yourself.

The relationship between hormones is synchronistic, and delicate. What effects one, can affect the others. When one hormone is out of balance the synchrony can be disrupted. It is important never to just supplement one hormone without a full comprehensive evaluation. At our office we offer a 2 hour one-on-one evaluation with the doctor with computerized technology to evaluate the total health and wellness of the body. To assess the hormones we offer Blood Analysis and Comprehensive Saliva Testing in combination with our 2 hour consultation or for those of you already working with me any follow up evaluation. We offer full panel testing of all hormones based on your body’s specific symptoms and needs. Many insurances cover both Blood and Saliva Testing and for those of you without insurance we have a special cash discounts for the Saliva Hormone Testing.

If you’d like further information please don’t hesitate to contact our office and stay tuned for more blog posts on hormones and balancing your body from the inside out. All my best for continued great health,
Dr. Stephanie King