My Hormone Health Journey

My Back Story

I want to share a little bit about my journey and how it led me here. When I was

seventeen to eighteen years old, I had been in and out of the hospital and doctor’s offices

trying to figure out what was going on with my body. I was experiencing so much pain,

discomfort, and swelling in my abdomen that it made me look like I was six months pregnant. It was extremely frustrating for me to not be able to understand what was causing it and I wasn’t sure what my next steps should be.

Eventually during one of my visits with the doctor, it was discovered that I had ovarian

cysts that were the probable cause of the issues I’d been suffering. I must have been getting

them for some time and it wasn’t just one or two – there were several and they were rupturing. I was told that if the cysts didn’t go away on their own, they would need to be extracted. My gynecologist informed me that ovarian cysts are very common and some women are more prone to getting them than others.

In retrospect I wish I could tell you that this was the point at which I decided to take

matters in to my own hands and do my own research. I would have discovered that there was

a way to balance my hormones and prevent the cysts from occurring. Unfortunately that is not what happened and my struggles continued for several more years. My gynecologist informed me that the two non-surgical options for getting rid of the cysts were to either go on birth control or (thankfully she said this part in a jokingly way) become pregnant. And so without questioning, having complete confidence in the fact that my doctor undoubtedly knew best, I gave the go ahead. I was to skip the monthly placebo pills and jump right into my next pack and only give myself a break from them every few months. There were no warnings of any possible negative side effects this might have on me or my body.

I was eighteen at the time and decided giving myself a break every six months or so

should be fine. I continued this cycle for YEARS, letting months and months go by without

allowing my body to experience a normal cycle or have a period. Not long after this started, I

became very depressed. For months my days consisted of waking up at 2:00 am for work (I was a baker at the time), going to work, coming home around 11:00 am and immediately going back to bed. I had no motivation or drive for anything else and it was miserable. This continued for quite some time until I moved back home, and although that helped some, I was still far from feeling myself. Being used to the Bekah that was usually always easy to get along with, my family didn’t understand why I was acting the way I was or why things were so different.

Fast-forward a couple of years and I still was not feeling my normal self. FINALLY it hit

me – maybe this all has something to do with my birth control and not allowing myself to

experience my normal cycles. So I began taking the placebo pills each month thinking this

might solve the problem. I tried this for another year and a half and still found myself struggling with no change. It wasn’t until I happened upon a youtube video (of all things) where a girl was explaining what she had gone through and about how her journey with birth control and balancing her hormones evolved. After hearing what she had to say, I threw my birth control away and quit taking them completely. I expected to “BOOM!” – immediately feel my mood and outlook on life change for the better. This was not the case and still a couple months went by without getting a period. At this point I began to panic thinking that maybe I had a caused permanent damage to my body and possibly ruined my chances of ever being able to have kids! The thought crossed my mind that maybe I should go back to the gynecologist to find out what might be going on, but instead THIS time I decided to do my own research, watch some more videos, read some articles, and try to figure out how to balance things myself. I ended up changing my diet, learning how to specifically incorporate foods to help balance my hormones, changed up my workouts, and began to de-stress. (Living in Cali at the time this included a lot of walks and time spent outdoors.)

Getting My Period Back

In only a few weeks of eating foods specifically to balance my hormones, de-stressing,

and making my body a priority, I saw results! I don’t think anyone has ever been as excited as I was in that moment to be getting their period. (That’s probably not true, but it sure felt that way…) I felt like my body was finally back to doing what it was MEANT to do, and still to this day I feel that way each time. You never appreciate the natural functions your body performs until you’ve messed them up so badly that they don’t function anymore. After achieving this goal, allowing my body to do it’s thing and having my hormones in balance, it honestly felt like having a blindfold removed and understanding the past few years of my life. I would think to myself, “How is it possible to be this happy?!”, and although I appreciate so much that I am now able to see it, it still hurts thinking back and knowing that for that many years of my life I was unhappy and that all I needed to do was just listen to my body, make it a priority, and fuel it with the foods it needs. I’m not exaggerating when I say that looking back at this time in my life is like looking at a different person.

Sometime after my own experience with hormonal issues, I was having a conversation

with my Mom and she began telling me about how my little sister was going through a hard

time. She wasn’t her usual self, and was experiencing mood swings and depression and didn’t understand why. I explained what I had experienced and strongly suggested she go off of her birth control to see if that was the cause. As with my own experience, the change wasn’t immediate and I encouraged her to give it time, and sure enough, after a few weeks, she was back to feeling herself again and my Mom couldn’t believe what a change it was. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be able to help anyone else that might be going through the same things and help them change BEFORE years of their lives go by feeling unhappy. After doing some more research, I enrolled at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition and it’s one of the best choices I’ve ever made to equip myself with more knowledge and now be able to coach clients and help them not only with balancing hormones, but with balancing their lifestyles and nutrition in general.

Where I Now Stand on Birth Control

I’m not about to sit here and tell every woman in the world that they need to go off of

their birth control. (Definitely don’t want to be responsible for any unwanted pregnancies!) But what I will say is that especially if you’ve had any of the negative symptoms that I had, you may want to look into non-hormonal birth control and other options. I personally have chosen to not go back on birth control after my experiences, and I know some people may think this isn’t the smartest choice, but it is the choice that I made for myself. I tried several different kinds and the pill was just not for me. That obviously isn’t the case for everyone, but I know there are others that have gone through what I’ve gone through and should know that there are other options out there. There are alternatives that don’t include putting anything into your body that will cause these kinds of side effects.

I hope that in reading my story, it inspires you to never be afraid to ask questions and do your own research. I am in no way trying to suggest that doctors aren’t needed or don’t have our best interests at heart. There is a time and place for western medicine that will always be needed and without having access to doctors, I would never have known that ovarian cysts were the original cause of my problems. However, doctors are not trained to say, “Well let’s start with your diet and lifestyle and go from there.” It’s up to YOU to ask questions, do the research, and decide what it is your body needs.

Hormone health is a never-ending journey. The same goes for health in general. Along

my path I have realized that it’s not only about the food that I consume, but the way I live my

life as a whole. I’m talking career, spirituality, relationships – all of it. Mental health is key and

by balancing all of these things, you can live a much longer and more fulfilled life. I don’t want to just help change your diet and send you on your way. I want to help you change your lifestyle as a whole, and achieve the level of happiness we all deserve.