Women’s Health
It’s not easy being a woman. On a physiological level, our hormones perform a complicated dances routine throughout the month. We must produce new blood tissue every month to replace the menstrual losses. Our entire body can expands and shrinks for the needs of a fetus then to the needs of a newborn. Our breasts can produce the most perfect milk, with ever changing nutritional content, to suit the developmental needs of our child. Then one day the hormone dance stops and we adapt to a new life phase.
If all things are running smoothly, these changes amazing. Unfortunately, hormone imbalance happens quite often in modern society. It may be as common place as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It may be as painful as endometriosis or fibrocystic breast. It can be as complicated as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), prolactinemia, or infertility. It can also be as exhausting as the heavy bleeding that comes with fibroids, or the sleep disturbing hot flashes and night sweats. We have treated many different cases of hormone imbalance for over a decade at Bayview Naturopathic Wellness. Acupuncture, liver cleans, herbal medicine, and homeopathic drainage are very gentle but surprisingly fast acting.
Although a very beautiful natural process, some women do experience discomforts and ailments during their nine months of pregnancy. Morning sickness, skin itching, excessive varicose vein, back pain, gestational diabetes, and pre-eclampsia. Through combining conventional and naturopathic medical interventions early on, some cases of diabetes and pre-eclampsia can be managed. Dr. Shang also uses acupuncture, and Bowen therapy, to address many other pregnancy related health concerns.
On an emotional level, women bear the morality of the world. We are often the caregiver of the family, for the young and the old. Women are the lubricant that keeps everything running smoothly. But modern women are also bread winners, torn by the desire to achieve success professionally and the instinct to nurture our families. On top of it all, a woman’s physical appearance continues to be a source of external and internal judgements. With all that going on, it is no wonder that modern women are frequently prescribed antidepressants and are developing chronic degenerative diseases at an alarming rate.
It is too easy to label women as depressed or anxious and prescribe a pharmaceutical to cover it all up. Dr. Shang tries to help women become less overwhelmed, while correcting any adrenal exhaustion and/or thyroid deficiency that may be keeping them feeling sub-optimal.
