Hehehe. I know the title above is catchy, Right?! Well, it is what it is. I decided to get my periods back!
"What is she talking about?!"
Ok, I am talking about what most people don't talk about (especially on social media platforms) - My sexual health and I intend using my steemit blog henceforth to talk about or educate on Sexual and reproductive health related issues and how to handle or take care of them using my self as an example or rather guinea pig. Lols
""Is she pregnant?"" - I Wish (In Other words-No)
"Ok. So What's wrong with you?" - Nothing. Fertile-Me!
So I will introduce the hashtag Fertile-me for my blog post on fertility related issues and today I am going to talk about -
As the name suggests Hormonal imbalance is a disease condition (I choose not call it a disease please!) where the hormones of a body system are not in the right or normal ranges as scientifically determined (using blood samples for a Hormone Profile test). Although some diseases can cause hormonal imbalance.(Ref)
Hormones are generally chemical substances produced by the body's endocrine system or glands and transported by the circulatory system (or blood) to body parts where such chemicals are needed and they are responsible for a lot of good in our body and affect every organ or cell in the body(Ref); that is they are essential for our body's well being,
The most affected part of the body when there is hormonal imbalance is the reproductive system. In fact, most of the signs and symptoms are experienced more with areas of the reproductive system, although this imbalance can affect other body systems. (Ref)
The word endocrine is a combination word gotten from two Greek words "endo," meaning within, and "crinis," meaning to secrete,
The endocrine system consists of glands that produce hormones that regulate growth and development, metabolism, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, mood, and many other things.
The endocrine system is made up of the pituitary gland, parathyroid glands, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas, testicles (in males) and ovaries (in females). (Ref)
Oh well because it is important! Lolz
To me it is important to know factors that can cause hormone imbalance (although some either naturally have no reason or caused by genetics) and possibly avoid or manage them better.
Aging
some changes occur because of damage to cells during the aging process and genetically programmed cellular changes. These changes may alter hormone production and secretion, metabolism (how quickly do hormones break down and leave the body), levels of hormones circulating in blood, target cell or target tissue response to hormones, rhythms in the body like the menstrual cycle
For instance, increase in age is thought to be related to the development of type II diabetes, especially in people who might be at risk for this disorder. The aging process affects almost every gland. With increasing age, the pituitary gland can become smaller and may not work like it used to. For example, production of growth hormone might decrease and aging effects are noticed in women during menopause as the ovaries stop making estrogen and progesterone and no longer have a store of eggs. (Ref)
Diseases and Conditions
Chronic diseases and other conditions may affect the functionality of the endocrine system in several ways. After hormones produce their effects at their target organs, they are metabolised (broken down) into inactive molecules. The liver and kidneys are the main organs that break down hormones. The ability of the body to break down hormones may be decreased in people with chronic liver, heart or kidney diseases. (Ref)
Stress
Mental or Physical stressors can trigger a stress response. The stress response is quite complex and can have influence on the heart, liver, kidney and endocrine system function. Lots f factors can trigger the stress response, but physical stressors are the chief culprits. Some medically important factors that cause stress responses are:
Trauma
Surgical procedures
Severe illness, diseases or infection
Intense cold or heat
Allergic reactions
Other types of stress factors include emotional, social, or economic. (Ref)
Environmental Factors
This can be caused by an environmental endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) which is a substance outside of the body that may interfere with the normal functions of the endocrine system. Some EDCs imitate natural hormone binding at the target cell receptor (Binding occurs when a hormone attaches to a cell receptor, a part of the cell designed to respond to that particular hormone) thus blocking normal hormone binding and preventing effects of the natural hormones. Some other EDCs can directly interfere with the production, release, transport, storage or elimination of natural hormones in the body. This can greatly affect the function of certain body systems.
EDCs can affect people in many other ways like disrupted sexual development, decreased fertility, birth defects, reduced immune response, neurological and behavioural changes, including reduced ability to handle stress. (Ref)
Genetics
The endocrine system can be affected by genes. Genes are hereditary information passed from parent to child. Genes are contained in chromosomes. The normal number of chromosomes is 23 pairs (46). Sometimes missing, extra or damaged chromosomes can result in diseases or conditions that can affect hormone production or function. (Ref)
"So how can I help any of these?" - Well Stay Tuned to Fertile-Me for more...
OK, OK back to me getting my periods back!
I was diagnosed of having Hormonal imbalance almost 16 years ago when I noticed my menses were quite irregular (Story for another day). So I asked the doctor What can I do about it? He said "Don't worry about it till you get married we can fix it then" . I really did not fret much about it, although I tried a few times to self medicate. Obviously that did not work out well.
The truth is I should have sought for correction of my hormones earlier instead of waiting for when I need to have babies as the doctor Insinuated. So during a hurtful argument with Mr. X I frantically started searching for holistic approach for correction of hormonal imbalance (As I have tried taking synthetic hormonal injections from medical doctors but could not give me quick answers) and I found out about Acupuncture. So Mr. X very much refused to help me with money for such treatments as he considered it "My Problem"
I Thought we were married? - Obviously to him we weren't
Where did the part "...and the two shall become one flesh " go?
So Thanks alot to Steemit and the Steemit community who keep upvoting my post and thus helping me pay for my acupuncture bills, I can now turn my story from pain to gain, from shame to fame. He left me for bad but Steemit found me for good! Thank you so much for all your upvotes, I see you all. God bless.
Here is a picture and videos of me at my Acupuncture centre
I swear I was dozing off seconds after the needles were inserted. So Relaxing!
I will keep you all updated in my progress to correcting my hormones and we could all learn from it. Please feel free to contribute or share your stories concerning fertility and stuffs like that in the comment section.
