"The greatest wealth is health."

                                                                                    -Virgil

Premenopause

Several years ago, about a year after the birth of my forth child, my periods suddenly stopped. I began to have hot flashes and night sweats. I was only 33 years old. Much too young to be going through menopause. Or was I?

I wasn’t willing to accept the idea that my reproductive life was about to end. I began to do some research. What I learned was that that having 3 babies within a five year period coupled with the continual breastfeeding had thrown my hormones totally out of balance. The symptoms that I was experiencing were most likely due to almost non-existent levels of progesterone.

Progesterone is a very important hormone. When a woman is having normal periods, her ovaries will produce progesterone about 2 weeks before her period is due (mid-cycle) and the cycle proceeds as expected. When the progesterone level is markedly decreased, a number of things can (and often do) occur. One or both ovaries may stop releasing eggs. This is becoming more and more common with many women in their 30’s. They are still having what appear to be “normal” menstrual cycles, but are now unable to conceive.

Other symptoms can include: fatigue, irritability, headaches, night sweats, depression, hot flashes, water retention, endometriosis, infertility, weight gain, uterine fibroids, low energy levels, unstable blood sugar and loss of sex drive.

I learned that I wasn’t in “true” menopause. That there was a way to naturally get my hormones back into balance. Using Dr. John Lee’s book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause as a guide, I began to tackle the problem.

Dr. Lee was a pioneer with the use of natural progesterone. I started to use natural progesterone cream twice a day, for a total amount of about ½ teaspoon daily. Dr.Lee recommends that premenopausal women use the cream for two weeks during their cycle, from day 12 to day 26. Stopping the cream usage on day 26 will usually result with a period on day 28.

Within several days of beginning the cream, my night sweats and hot flashes totally ceased. That month, I began to have normal periods again.

Continuing to follow Dr. Lee’s program for hormone balance, I also began to use certain herbs. Dong quai, an herb long used in Chinese medicine is used to tone the uterine muscles. It does not contain any hormones. Vitex (or Chasteberry) is used to stimulate and normalize hormonal functions. It is helpful for achieving hormonal balance. False Unicorn Root is used for infertility. It should not be used unless you are specifically trying to get pregnant.

By using the aforementioned natural Progesterone cream and herbs, I was able to get my hormones back in balance and give birth to my fifth and final child.