The conversation around women’s hormonal health is shifting. A new generation of women are openly discussing what their mothers and grandmothers were told to “just deal with.”
Local holistic nutritionists say this cultural change is empowering women to advocate for themselves and manage the ever-changing hormonal cycles that impact issues like perimenopause and menopause.
Christina Worth opened her holistic health hub called “The Owl and The Moon” in Burk’s Falls this year. Her goal was to create a space for women to share their stories, find community, and feel safe in doing so.
“It’s hard to open up and share what we’re going through,” said Worth. “We might be afraid of being ostracized or made fun of, but it’s important for us to share our stories regardless of what reaction they get from who we’re sharing them with.”
It’s about breaking down the barriers and normalizing the conversations around menstrual health, she said, adding many women feel like their health-care providers often overlook their symptoms when it comes to asking about perimenopause and menopause.
“Most of my clients are female and going through hormonal changes and they don’t feel like they’re being recognized,” said Worth, who went back to school to become a holistic nutritionist after experiencing her own health and hormonal issues.
“They are turning to lifestyle changes, they are changing what they eat, turning towards naturopaths as opposed to MDs … and seeing what other ways they can help,” she added. Worth noted that she didn’t want to badmouth the traditional medical community, because, diagnostically, they supported her on her own journey.
“But I think that the one-size-fits-all solution for everybody doesn’t work because all of our bodies are different,” she said. “And what might be the answer for you isn’t going to be the answer for me.”
Worth’s The Owl and The Moon hosts workshops centred around different modalities of healing beyond just nutrition. One such workshop, Healthy Hormones, was held for women in perimenopause and menopause on Aug. 13.
It was hosted by holistic nutritionist Tania Heinemann, who notes that the majority of research done for women is up until age 35. Women seem to be forgotten about after their “child-bearing years”, when it comes to research, she said.
“We don’t make up a big component of any research, so we have health-care providers that are not well trained,” Heinemann said, adding most women are being either misdiagnosed or they’re being offered selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
There is a time and a place for an SSRI, but the majority of women are being offered them and not having the root causes, such as potential hormone irregularities, investigated, she said.
The health care provider shortage in Ontario and a lack of resources are impacting women’s ability to find care in perimenopause and menopause, Heinemann said.
“Right now, it’s a special time where you’re having a group of women who are well-educated, they are aware of things and they are not happy with the status quo and they are saying, ‘No, that’s not good enough for me,” Heinemann said.
“When there’s a lack of health care, people are taking (matters) into their own hands. They’re using Google, they’re using ChatGPT and they’re turning to alternative medicine.”
Women who attended Heinemann’s workshop on Aug. 13 said they had been misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, neuropathy and fibromyalgia before their hormones were even considered.
Other women said they were told they were too young, despite being in their 40s. Others said that they had been told just to deal with it.
Heinemann said the biggest misconception around the menopausal transition is the nature of the kinds of symptoms.
Symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can extend beyond hot flashes and irregular periods. They can also include frozen shoulder, random joint pain, and hormonal migraines, she said, adding that the hormonal shifts can also cause mood disturbances and exacerbated ADHD symptoms.
“It’s a very layered thing,” she said.
So if you don’t have a health-care provider, how can you begin to look for solutions if you suspect your hormones are changing?
Both Worth and Heinemann said self-advocacy is key.
“Find someone that you feel is seeing you and listens to what you’re going through,” said Worth, further suggesting that women should educate themselves on different ways of healing their bodies.
“The other thing I really want (women) to focus on is mental health and stress – those are things I don’t think get enough attention for hormonal health as well.”
Heinemann recommended educating oneself on hormonal health, and mentioned there are a lot of female medical practitioners who have taken to social media to reach more women who might be struggling.
She also mentioned online health-care options and nurse practitioners as a potential solution for referrals and testing for those who may not have a family doctor.
“I just want women to push for more, push and find those people to listen to you,” she said.
Sarah Cooke is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with NorthBayNipissing.com. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.
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