What Your Hormones Have Been Trying to Tell You
For more than 27 years I have sat with women who were told their blood tests were “normal” while their bodies were quietly crying out for help.
Painful periods
Heavy bleeding
Night sweats
Infertility
Exhaustion
Mood changes
Weight gain
Fibroids
Endometriosis
PMOS (Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, previously known as PCOS)
So many women are handed the Pill, told to “wait and see,” or made to believe their suffering is simply part of being female.
It is not.
The body is intelligent. Symptoms are not random mistakes. They are messages.
And herbal medicine has always understood this.
Hormones Do Not Work Alone
One of the biggest misunderstandings in modern medicine is the idea that hormones operate independently.
They do not.
Your hormones are influenced by:
- liver function,
- gut bacteria,
- inflammation,
- stress hormones,
- mineral balance,
- blood sugar,
- environmental toxins,
- sleep,
- trauma,
- and the nervous system.
This is why simply “replacing hormones” often fails to address the deeper picture.
A woman with painful periods may not merely have a hormone problem. She may have:
- sluggish liver clearance of oestrogen,
- intestinal dysbiosis,
- chronic inflammation,
- poor circulation,
- mineral depletion,
- adrenal exhaustion,
- or unresolved infection.
The body is always interconnected.
PCOS is Now Known as PMOS
Many researchers now believe the term Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is outdated because it focuses too heavily on the ovaries while ignoring the deeper metabolic and inflammatory drivers behind the condition.
Some experts have proposed broader names that reflect the syndrome’s connection to insulin resistance, metabolism, reproductive hormones, and inflammation. So it is now called Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS)
Why does this matter?
Because many women with so-called PCOS:
- do not actually have ovarian cysts,
- struggle more with insulin dysfunction than ovarian disease,
- and often present with systemic inflammatory symptoms affecting the entire body.
In herbal medicine we have always looked beyond the ovaries alone.
We ask:
- What is driving the hormonal disruption?
- What is the liver doing?
- How is the gut functioning?
- Is inflammation present?
- Is the nervous system burnt out?
Endometriosis: More Than “Bad Period Pain”
One of the most heartbreaking conditions I see is endometriosis.
Women are often dismissed for years before diagnosis.
Yet emerging research is beginning to explore something herbalists have suspected for a long time — that inflammation, immune dysfunction, gut imbalance, and bacterial involvement may all contribute to the condition in some women.
This does not mean bacteria are the sole cause of endometriosis. It is a complex disease with many factors:
- immune dysregulation,
- inflammatory pathways,
- altered microbiome balance,
- excess oestrogen activity,
- environmental toxins,
- genetics,
- and stress responses.
But the gut and pelvic microbiome appear to play a larger role than previously understood.
This is why many women improve when treatment includes:
- anti-inflammatory herbs,
- digestive repair,
- microbiome support,
- liver support,
- nervous system restoration,
- and circulatory herbs.
The Forgotten Role of the Liver
The liver is one of the great conductors of female hormonal health.
When the liver becomes overloaded, sluggish, inflamed, or congested, excess oestrogen may not be cleared efficiently.
This can contribute to:
- fibroids,
- heavy bleeding,
- breast tenderness,
- PMS,
- headaches,
- irritability,
- and fluid retention.
In herbal medicine we often support the liver gently using herbs such as:
- dandelion root,
- milk thistle,
- bupleurum,
- turmeric,
- globe artichoke,
- schisandra,
- and yellow dock.
Not because the liver is “bad,” but because modern life places enormous pressure on detoxification pathways.
Alcohol, plastics, stress hormones, processed food, medications, pesticides, poor sleep, and chronic inflammation all increase the body’s workload.
Fibroids and Flooding
Heavy bleeding — what many women call “flooding” — is incredibly common and should never be ignored.
Women are frequently told:
“Your iron is low because you bleed heavily.”
But the more important question is:
“Why are you bleeding heavily in the first place?”
Fibroids, excess oestrogen stimulation, inflammation, poor uterine tone, thyroid dysfunction, and stress hormones can all contribute.
Herbal medicine may help support the body using:
- uterine tonics,
- circulatory herbs,
- astringent herbs,
- iron-rich nutritive herbs,
- anti-inflammatory plants,
- and liver support.
Depending on the woman, herbs traditionally used may include:
- shepherd’s purse,
- yarrow,
- raspberry leaf,
- nettle,
- cinnamon,
- cramp bark,
- and chaste tree.
Chaste Tree: One of the Great Women’s Herbs
Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) remains one of the most important herbs in hormonal medicine.
Rather than containing hormones itself, it works through communication with the pituitary gland — the “master gland” of the endocrine system.
Traditionally it has been used to support:
- PMS,
- irregular cycles,
- hormonal acne,
- breast tenderness,
- low progesterone states,
- mood changes,
- and fertility support.
It is not an overnight herb. It works gradually and intelligently with the body over time.
Fertility Is About More Than Ovaries
True fertility support is about creating an environment where the body feels safe enough to conceive.
This includes:
- stable blood sugar,
- mineral sufficiency,
- reduced inflammation,
- healthy cervical mucus,
- adequate progesterone,
- balanced stress hormones,
- good circulation,
- and emotional wellbeing.
Many women trying to conceive are exhausted long before pregnancy even begins.
Herbal medicine traditionally aims to nourish, rather than force, the reproductive system.
Night Sweats, Anxiety and Zizyphus
One of my favourite herbs for women who are exhausted, anxious, overheated, and waking at 3am drenched in sweat is Zizyphus.
Used traditionally in Chinese herbal medicine, Zizyphus may help calm the nervous system and support restorative sleep.
Women in perimenopause often describe:
- racing thoughts,
- heart palpitations,
- sweating,
- irritability,
- insomnia,
- and emotional overwhelm.
Sometimes the nervous system requires just as much support as the hormones themselves.
There’s nothing more rewarding for me than assisting a woman to re-balance her hormones and feel like herself again. If any of the previous sounds like you, then I am right here ready to help. Miriam Young