This month’s case study is ‘Jackie’ — who came to the Clinic because of severe PMS …

Jackie’s story:

My life had been ruled by my periods for the last ten years. Every month I would have debilitating PMS which lasted for 6 days before my period. Not only was this ruining my life, it was affecting my relationship. It was like flicking a switch — one minute I was my usual happy go lucky self and the next I was depressed, moody and even suicidal (this I was dealing with through a psychotherapist).

Although my husband was so supportive and understanding, I knew it wasn’t fair to continue living like this as I was so angry towards him during this premenstrual phase. Aside from PMS, I had been diagnosed with endometriosis and would experience painful, heavy periods. On top of this I was getting thrush every month and having to resort to using pessaries and cream to treat it. So, at the age of 39 I decided enough was enough and I had to do something about it! My diet had always been fairly good with no caffeine and very little sugar but this obviously wasn’t enough.

A friend of mine had found a book in the library called ‘Overcoming PMS The Natural Way‘ by Dr Marilyn Glenville and told me to read it! I did and it was like reading a story about me. It made me realise that there were other people out there suffering each month and that I wasn’t totally on my own suffering.

I decided that I needed some professional help with this rather than trying to tackle it by myself so I phoned the Clinic. I spoke to a receptionist at the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic who talked me through the consultation process. She explained that my first appointment would be one hour and this would give me the opportunity to discuss my health issues with the nutritionist who would then put together a programme for me incorporating diet, vitamins and minerals and herbs where appropriate.

The next day I received a Nutrition Questionnaire which I had to complete and send back prior to my first appointment. This was very in-depth and enabled me to write down everything that I thought would be useful. This felt like a first step in the right direction and it really motivated me ready for my first meeting with the nutritionist.

I visited the Tunbridge Wells clinic and saw a practitioner who actually made me feel like a human being and took my PMS seriously, rather than my experience of doctors who just wanted to give me the Pill or stick me on an anti-depressant when I actually wasn’t depressed 3 weeks out of the month!

We talked about my symptoms and how the PMS made me feel which in itself was very reassuring. The nutritionist recommended that I perform a test called a Female Hormone Profile, which would give me a lot more insight into the state of my hormones rather than using ‘guess work.’

The nutritionist made some changes to my diet, which was actually generally good but her main observation was I didn’t eat enough protein. I was recommended to eat more oily fish, eggs, pulses, nuts and seeds and tofu. At this stage she only recommended a very basic supplement programme which incorporated magnesium, the B vitamins and a good essential fatty acid. She didn’t recommend any herbs at this stage because she explained how this would then not give me a true picture of my hormone levels when doing the test.

A couple of days after my first appointment I received the ‘kit’ for performing the Female Hormone Profile. It was great because it was a saliva test which made a change from the numerous blood tests I had had over the years. This test involved collecting twelve saliva samples throughout one month. At the end of the month all samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results were back in time for my follow up consultation. The practitioner explained how efficient saliva is in measuring hormones and gives a much broader picture rather than a blood test which is just one moment in time.

At my second appointment the practitioner explained my test results and it made so much sense as to why I had been suffering for so long. My hormones were in a complete mess with erratic oestrogen and progesterone levels before my period. Because I had performed this test, it enabled the nutritionist to tailor my supplement programme further by adding hormone balancing herbs. She modified my programme and asked to see me again in 8 weeks, giving me two menstrual cycles to assess how I was responding to the nutrition.

The nutritionist explained the relationship between my female hormones oestrogen and progesterone and my blood sugar levels. This was one area of my diet that certainly needed more attention. I was told that protein helps to regulate blood sugar and is especially important for boosting the brain chemical serotonin which can be low in women suffering with PMS. I was asked to keep a detailed food and symptom diary until my next appointment to keep me focused on ensuring I was eating protein with each meal and snack. This really helped to keep me on track.

The difference was quite amazing even within the first 4 weeks of taking the herbs. My mood was more stable and my days of suffering had reduced from 6 to just half a day before my period. I felt like a human being again and could actually get on with my life rather than having to plan everything around my period. The most striking change for me was not feeling suicidal. My husband was so amazed at how different I was and he no longer had to keep his distance from me the week before my period!

My periods have also improved and are now more manageable which is brilliant and I no longer get thrush. All I can say is how life changing this has been for me and I just wish I had found out about the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic sooner.

My Comments:

Jackie’s story shows just how debilitating PMS can be yet so many women still just continue suffering and feel that they are alone. It also shows how effective nutrition can be in balancing hormones and improving menstrual problems like PMS and painful/heavy periods. Many women just suppress their symptoms with drugs, but once they come off them, their symptoms return and are often even more severe.

This case study also shows how useful it can be to test before taking specific herbs because the advice can be more tailored rather than using a blanket approach. The Female Hormone Profile was good for Jackie because she could see exactly what was happening to her hormones throughout her menstrual cycle, rather than just being told she had an hormone imbalance without really seeing or understanding.

Jackie has her life and relationship back and continues to be symptom free.

If you are interested in doing The Female Hormone Profile, please click here.

We all know the importance of maintaining a healthy weight for our body size and shape. After all, maintaining a healthy weight can help us to keep our heart pumping, our blood pressure regulated, and our bones and joints pain free. But did you know that weight also plays a significant role in fertility?

If you are overweight or underweight, your body may be having trouble regulating its natural cycle. Your body needs to be of the right weight in order to produce the appropriate amount of hormones to regulate ovulation and menstruation.

If you are overweight or underweight, your body can start to experience problems with these natural fertility cycles, impacting your ability to become pregnant. In fact, more than 12% of all infertility patients suffer from weight-related infertility.

Women who are underweight are at risk of compromising their fertility cycle. If you have less than 22% body fat, your body will not receive enough oestrogen and ovulation could stop.

Many women already know that if they become too thin, their periods stop, which means they are not ovulating and therefore cannot become pregnant. Women with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are often extremely underweight, but a huge number of women in the UK are constant dieters and may keep their weight just on the limit of being healthy. Also, many of the diets that they follow are not adequate and can result in low dietary intakes of essential nutrients for a healthy reproductive cycle and therefore fertility and pregnancy.

Evidence has also recently emerged about reduced fertility in overweight women. It appears the risk of infertility increases with the degree of obesity: in other words, the greater the weight, the bigger the problem.

One Australian study showed that when overweight infertile women successfully followed a weight loss and exercise programme for six months, their periods returned and most went on to have healthy babies. This is because women who are overweight tend to have a higher percentage of fat on their bodies and as fat cells produce oestrogen, some overweight women produce levels of oestrogen that are far too high. This can negatively influence menstruation and ovulation, making it difficult to become pregnant.

Studies have also shown that being significantly overweight may also affect how well women respond to certain fertility treatments, such as IVF.

It is not only being the right body weight that is critical for fertility, the amount of body fat you have is just as important. In normal adult women, fat comprises about 28 per cent of body weight and, if it drops below 22 per cent, then ovulation will stop.

Women with an average or above average body weight or who exercise very rigorously may have a lower body fat and a higher muscle content, which may lead to their periods becoming irregular or stopping altogether. Sensible advice for these women would be to reduce their exercise until their body fat returns to the normal range. Many gyms have simple devices that can check your body fat level.

If you are concerned that your weight may be affecting your fertility, don’t be tempted to lose weight quickly. A slow and steady approach, no more than 1 or 2 lbs a week, has more lasting effects. Make sure your diet contains all the nutrients you need but with fewer calories and you can do this by limiting consumption of saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates and including more fruits, vegetables and legumes into your diet.

You should also exercise to boost your metabolism so that you can eat plenty of health boosting nutrients and still lose weight. Getting all the nutrients you need is crucial for you and your baby to be, so as well as additional folic acid, which you should be taking anyway, consider taking a multi-vitamin and mineral designed for fertility (see Resources, page 41).

A healthy body weight is crucial for optimum fertility. But before you step reluctantly on the scales again, here’s something to bear in mind: Your ideal weight for fertility is probably heavier than you think and as far as your fertility is concerned you can be too thin. So if you do need to gain weight eat plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, oily fish and nuts and seeds.

You may be tempted to eat sweets and fatty foods to bump up your calorie intake but try to resist. They are just ’empty calories’. These food choices will fill you up but they won’t give your body the nutrients you and your future baby need to thrive. When it comes to weight and your fertility, as in all things, it is all a question of healthy balance. You shouldn’t be too heavy or too thin but somewhere in between.

The key to planning and creating healthy meals on a limited budget is good forward planning and solid nutritional knowledge.

1. Always do a shopping list: Shopping without a sense of what you need — and don’t need — opens you up to all manner of temptation, and most of those tempting foods are not nutritious. In addition, picking up all those extra items can easily blow your food budget and leave you without the funds to plan those healthy, nutritious meals. A good trick is to keep a note pad near the table or refrigerator. Having the notepad within easy reach makes it easy to keep track of the foods you need to stock up on.
2. Never shop when you are hungry: The old advice to never shop when you are hungry is definitely true. Shopping when you are hungry is a sure way to give in to temptation, bust the food budget, and stock up on all the wrong foods.
3. Replace meat with pulses: Eating less meat and more beans and lentils is a good way to save money on your food budget while still getting the protein you and your family need. Eliminating meat also reduces your saturated fat intake. Try experimenting with some vegetarian recipes for interesting ways to use these non-meat alternatives.
4. Stock up on staples: One trick is to keep the refrigerator and the pantry well stocked with staple foods. Essential staple foods, such as wholemeal flour, rice, and pasta may often be on special offer. Stocking up on these essentials when prices are low is a great way to stretch any food budget. Keeping a good supply of staples on hand will avoid unnecessary trips to the shops. When staples such as bread, wholemeal flour, peanut butter, tinned organic beans, tinned organic tomatoes etc. are on offer be sure to stock up.
5. Stock up on fruits and veggies: Fruit and vegetables (excluding exotic / imported ones) are surprisingly cheap. An average piece of fruit costs less than most bars of chocolate or a bag of crisps — and provides more in the way of nourishment for fewer calories. Always best to choose fresh fruit and vegetables in season, not only are they cheaper they will also be most flavoursome and at their best. Markets also tend to be cheaper than supermarkets. Alternatively opt for supermarket branded tinned or frozen fruit and vegetables.