2022: All Things Hormonal
The Itasca team has many exciting changes planned for 2022, including:
· Flat rates for new and return patient appointments
· Billing & on-line payment through ChARM
· A membership program
· A virtual hormone detox program
· A hormone patient package which will include salivary and urinary hormone tests, several appointments with Dr. Oppitz, and a couple health coaching sessions with Jaclyn
· Weekly emails
· Weekly blogs
· Frequent social media posts
Unfortunately, all these developments will not be rolled out on Monday January 3rd; instead they will be created over the course of the year and we will notify you via email, social media, and blogs as the projects are completed and ready for implementation. Which brings me back to my title for blog #1: all things hormonal. Most of my patients have 2 underlying issues: hormone imbalance and gut dysfunction so I will devote 2022 to the many faces of hormone imbalance and in 2023 I will shift my focus toward optimizing GI (gastrointestinal) function.
When I say hormones, I assume many of you automatically think of things like hot flashes/night sweats, low libido, PMS, menopause etc OR maybe you think sex hormones, specifically estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. The endocrine (fancy word for hormones) system consists of your ovaries/testicles, adrenal glands, thyroid gland, and the inside part of the pancreas which produces insulin (yet another hormone). All four of these organs are inter-connected so when one system is out of balance, it directly impacts the function of the other endocrine organs. I anticipate that over the course of the year I will write an article that may pertain to whatever issue you might be struggling with even if you are not a woman or you are a woman but are not currently dealing with menstrual or menopausal problems!
Let me share an example with you of how hormone imbalance may negatively impact your immune function. Recently I was acutely ill with what I suspect was a case of viral bronchitis (I did a total of 3 Covid tests last week, all of which were negative). I cancelled my Christmas celebration plans with family and stayed home to rest, embrace self-care, eat nourishing food, and maintain my sleep schedule. Typically, when I get sick, I am only mildly sick for a couple of days and am generally not sick enough to miss work (the last time I recall cancelling patients due to illness was in 2005 when I had influenza A). Not only was I sick enough to cancel patients last week, but I have also been sick for 14 days now. Despite doing all the right things like taking all sorts of nutraceuticals, homeopathics, medicinal teas, foul-tasting tinctures, daily saunas, mustard packs, avoiding sugar and inflammatory food my illness lingered. I strongly suspect I am experiencing lowered immune function due to a high level on ongoing chronic stress which started when my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer spring 2019; although the stresses have changed since then they have not really let up and I can recall many times in the past 2.5 years where I felt like a deer in the headlights or like I was run over by a Mack truck. “Doctor heal thyself” you might be thinking to yourself right now and coincidentally I am currently doing a lengthy urinary hormone collection called Dutch Cycle Mapping so I can identify what is happening with both my adrenal and ovarian function (did I forget to mention that I am also experiencing perimenopausal fun???) to avoid a recurrence or relapse of another illness and to help me become more resilient with stress adaptation. The moral of this personal story is that adrenal dysfunction can impede your body’s ability to recover from an acute illness in a timely manner; a sign of a healthy immune system is an infection that lasts less than 7 days. If you are experiencing illnesses that last more than 7 days, have more than 2 acute illnesses per year, or every illness goes to your chest there is a very good chance that you have some degree of adrenal fatigue.
My 2022 intention is to provide informative narratives to help you go from crazed to calm with compassion, creativity, and clarity. I have already brainstormed many blog topics for 2022 but I am open to any additional suggestions; if you have a general hormonal topic you are yearning to learn more about, please email me at oppitz@arvig.net. If you would like more individualized attention, I do offer complimentary discovery calls for prospective new patients so we can determine if I am the right fit for your current healthcare needs; please call Jaclyn at 218.237.2312 to schedule.
Please tune in next week to learn more about my preferences for which lab tests to run to evaluate each hormonal system (ovary/testicle, thyroid, adrenal, pancreas).
-Rachel Oppitz, ND
