Painful Periods, PMS, PCOS, Migraines, etc.
Learn how you can go beyond symptom management and turn a turbulent cycle into a balanced one.
Usually these issues can be quickly managed by resolving the imbalance that is driving them, such estrogen dominance, progesterone insufficiency, nutrient insufficiency, and impaired gut health. These problems are not due to birth control deficiency, and birth control does not address the underlying causes, though it often does cause more problems.
The restorative, root cause FFNW approach using functional medicine and NaPro Technology leverages diet, sleep practices, streamlined supplement regimens, proper lab evaluation, properly timed and bioidentical hormones (if needed), and occasionally medications (employed to restore system function, not disable it - see below) and self-care practices to heal the underlying imbalance that is manifesting as PCOS, problem periods, PMS, migraines, acne, anxiety, etc.
​
In some cases, chronic severe pelvic pain or painful periods that not resolving with these measures need surgical evaluation. NaPro surgeons are extremely skilled at looking for and removing endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, and other problems that can cause these symptoms, while always working meticulously to preserve and protect fertility.
​
If you want to understand what might be causing your problems in these areas, and use restorative approaches that work with your physiology, the functional medicine and NaPro Technology approaches to reproductive wellness are for you!
Often, women are prescribed either hormonal contraceptives (i.e. "the pill" "the patch" "the ring" "the implant" or hormonal IUDs) to manage these kinds of problems.
However, their very mechanism of action is meant to disable normal endocrine communication and function; their mechanism of action is endocrinopathy. There is nothing restorative about hormonal contraceptives, and there is nothing they do (aside from impair the body's natural function as they suppress fertility), that natural hormones don't do better when properly dosed and timed. They also have many significant risks. They also do not address the underlying causes of these problems. They also, of course, are intended to impair fertility, which is a problem for women who have these issues and also want to build a family.
ENDOCRINOPATHY
en • doh • crin • o • path • y
"disease or abnormal function of the organs and glands in the body that regulate hormone function and metabolism."
You don't need to use agents meant to disable the delicate endocrine systems in your body in order heal them, and to resolve your troublesome symptoms.
Is your Vitamin D low?
Are your B vitamins depleted from current or previous use of hormonal contraceptives?
Is your ferritin (iron storage) low and contributing to fatigue, headaches, poor thyroid hormone production, and depression?
Are you developing autoimmune thyroiditis?
Is your insufficient sleep in a room with artificial light decreasing your natural hormone production?
Is your insulin abnormally high and driving inflammation, weight gain, and estrogen dominance (therefore fibroids, heavy and painful periods, worsening endometriosis, and more weight gain)?
Hormonal contraceptives are quick and easy to prescribe but will not answer or resolve any of these questions, and will often cause new problems, or allow the underlying pathology to rage on.
Why use artificial substitutes for the real thing? In NaPro Technology we use only bioidentitical (identical in chemical structure to what the body makes and recognizes) hormones, only when needed, and properly timed to the cycle. In functional medicine, the focus is always on first using lifestyle and nature's medicine to bring balance to the body's interconnected systems. And in both modalities, the goal is to heal underlying pathology and imbalance, not just manage symptoms.
I'm really grateful my heavy bleeding resolved
without any need for more aggressive measures. ~ AF
How do I get started?
Email office@functionalfertilitynw.com to schedule.
​
Functional medicine tools can be used from the very first visit, but in order to use NaPro, we first need 2-3 cycles of Creighton charting, which you can learn more about here. You can get started with Creighton charting prior to scheduling a medical visit; any NaPro medical or surgical provider will require you to have 2-3 cycles of Creighton charting, as it is the basis of all NaPro Technology care.
​
Creighton visits are educational, not medical, and are offered in the FFNW office through the nationally accredited FertilityCare Center: FertilityCare of the Palouse. There are also other experienced Creighton instructors who work virtually if your distance from Moscow makes virtual visits more feasible. You can also look to www.creightonmodel.org for more information and other FertilityCare centers.
​
Either or both modalities, functional medicine and NaPro Technology, can be used for these issues.
Pricing for functional medicine and NaPro Technology visits: $295/visit for first 3 visits; $225/visit thereafter. College student discount: all visits $200. Initial visits generally take 90 min; visits thereafter generally take 60-90 min. All pricing and discounts subject to change.
Regardless of how you choose to address your reproductive health concerns, it may be
helpful to review the following studies:
Exposure to oral contraceptives increases the risk for development of inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis of case-controlled and cohort studies
~ European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sept 2017​
"The use of OCP is associated with an increased risk for development of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in the genetically susceptible host. The total duration, dose of OCP exposure, and the risk for development of IBD need to be better characterized."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28542115
Hormonal contraception and the development of autoimmunity: A review of the literature
~ Linacre Quarterly, Aug 2017
"Based on this review, substantial evidence exists linking the use of combined oral contraceptives to a lower incidence of hyperthyroidism, an increase in multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and interstitial cystitis. "
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5592309/
​
​
Association of Hormonal Contraception With Depression
~ JAMA Psychiatry, Nov 2016
"Use of hormonal contraception, especially among adolescents, was associated with subsequent use of antidepressants and a first diagnosis of depression, suggesting depression as a potential adverse effect of hormonal contraceptive use."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27680324/
​
Association of Hormonal Contraception With Suicide Attempts and Suicides
~ American Journal of Psychiatry​, April 2018
"Use of hormonal contraception was positively associated with subsequent suicide attempt and suicide. Adolescent women experienced the highest relative risk."
​
Can hormonal birth control trigger depression?
~ Harvard Health Blog, Oct 2019
“The study of over a million Danish women over age 14, using hard data like diagnosis codes and
prescription records, strongly suggests that there is an increased risk of depression associated
with all types of hormonal contraception....
All forms of hormonal contraception were associated with an increased risk of developing depression, with higher risks associated with the progesterone-only forms, including the IUD. This risk was higher in teens ages 15 to 19, and especially for non-oral forms of birth control such as the ring, patch and IUD. That the IUD was particularly associated with depression in all age groups is especially significant, because traditionally, physicians have been taught that the IUD only acts locally and has no effects on the rest of the body. Clearly, this is not accurate."
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-hormonal-birth-control-trigger-depression-201610172517
​
​
~ New England Journal of Medicine, Nov 1990
"Oral contraceptive agents can induce substantial metabolic changes that resemble those seen in persons at increased risk for premature coronary heart disease."
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199011153232003
Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer
~ New England Journal of Medicine, December 7, 2017
"Conclusion: The risk of breast cancer was higher among women who currently or recently used contemporary hormonal contraceptives than among women who had never used hormonal contraceptives, and this risk increased with longer durations of use; however, absolute increases in risk were small. (Funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.)"
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1700732
​
​
*Often, with regard to the increased risk of breast cancer with hormonal contraceptives, it is pointed out that hormonal contraceptives may decrease the risk of some types of ovarian cancer. However, when one considers the high numbers of breast cancer cases vs. the much smaller numbers of ovarian cancer cases, the tradeoff cannot be considered equal.
​
The American Cancer Society estimates for ovarian cancer in the United States for 2022
are:
•About 19,880 women will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
•About 12,810 women will die from ovarian cancer.
​
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers. It is about 30% (or
1 in 3) of all new female cancers each year.
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2022 are:
•About 287,850new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
•About 51,400 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)will be diagnosed.
•About 43,250 women will die from breast cancer
Breast Cancer:
"Women who were currently using oral contraceptives had a 24% increase in risk that did not
increase with the duration of use."
Cervical cancer:
"Women who have used oral contraceptives for 5 or more years have a higher risk of cervical
cancer than women who have never used oral contraceptives. The longer a woman uses oral contraceptives, the
greater the increase in her risk of cervical cancer. One study found a 10% increased risk for less than 5 years of use,
a 60% increased risk with 5–9 years of use, and a doubling of the risk with 10 or more years of use. However,
the risk of cervical cancer has been found to decline over time after women stop using oral contraceptives."
​