The Pregnancy That Wasn't, and Natural Ways to Boost Estrogen.

Phantom Pregnancy. Ever heard of it?  No? Don't feel bad, neither had I.  After I had Baby B, my hormones were all wonky and I had HORRIBLE Postpartum Depression.  I should have known that my hormones would not go back to normal all on their own.

7 months later, I am still having amenorreah, which is the absence of menstruation, which is not uncommon for mommas who are exclusively breastfeeding.  And since I have a history of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), menstruation is always irregular and a pain in my ass as is.

Well, we had a scare.  I started showing signs of being knocked up again.  Smells that were sending me racing to the bathroom.  Dry heaving, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, backaches, swollen feet, weight gain, even craving tacos and coffee again.  4 pregnancy tests later, we were scratching our heads in confusion.  How is this possible that they are all coming up negative?  So, after looking up CNM (Certified Nurse Midwives) in our area, off I went for a blood test and hopefully an ultrasound to try and get the yay or nay that Baby #2 was on the way.


Imagine my surprise when the ultrasound showed absolutely nothing.  Not even a smidgen. As the Nurse Midwife explained to me that because my body had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome for so long, it naturally had suppressed estrogen, and that breastfeeding was suppressing both my progesterone and estrogen even further which is what happens to our bodies during pregnancy.  Hence, the feelings and symptoms of pregnancy that I was experiencing.

 Even though we weren't really hoping to be pregnant so soon, it was still a let down to know that I wasn't pregnant.  Almost the same as I felt when I realized I'd had a miscarriage, really.  Then, I was so frustrated and angry with my body, that it couldn't even sustain life, and instead was giving me all this misinformation that was making feel sick and so tired I couldn't keep up with my son when he really needed me to.

The CNM went on to prescribe me antibiotics to help with the bacteria that was also thinning out my uterine lining, and some estrogen cream.  He had offered the option of Birth Control pills as an option for boosting my estrogen, however I have found the pill to make me quite ill, and very emotional when I first start it.  Combine that with postpartum depression, and a huge move, and it has the very real potential to be a recipe for disaster.  The cream however, was an outrageous price even with our insurance, so I did what I normally do and started hunting around for natural alternatives to the pharmaceutical prescription.

After hunting around for awhile, I found many herbs and supplements that will help balance the hormone system in the body.  Although I had to be careful, since a few of them such as Black Cohosh and Parsley will decrease milk supply if you are nursing.

Wild yam cream was one of the first hits for regulating estrogen and progesterone.  Both including more yams into your diet, as well as using a cream is supposed to help with the effects of menopause, PMS, and general hormone health.

Next on the list, was red raspberry leaves.  Either in tea form, or in supplements.  The red raspberry helps strengthen the uterus during pregnancy, and so obviously it would help my thinking uterine walls, making sex much more comfortable, as well as helping with hormonal balance.  Most PMS teas that you find will have red raspberry in them somewhere.

After that is an Auervedyic-type supplement by Irwin Naturals, for menstrual and hormonal relief and balance. Although they are softgels, they are definitely horse pills, so make sure to have water on hand to wash them down!

Finally, my beloved Supermom multivitamins by Beeyoutiful!  I started taking these as a way to help with my diabetes, and simply kept taking them throughout pregnancy and after.  While I went down to 1 per day for awhile due to Baby B having a sensitive tummy and reflux, now that he's doing better, I will be upping to the full dosage of 2 per day for maxim results. And, after visiting the site, I noticed they now have a Super Lady formula as well!  After I'm done breastfeeding, I will be switching over to those bad boys!

Another natural supplement for hormonal balance is Evening Primrose Oil.  I used that stuff while trying to kickstart my labour which you can read about here, and lo and behold, it has another use so I didn't waste money and only use a small portion of it. 

And as always, diet diet diet.  Adding in dark leafy greens, minimizing processed and refined foods and sugar, yams, and lean protiens are the way to go for any kind of optimal health, especially for hormonal balance.

Although not an extensive list by any means, these are what I have found to really help me. After just a week, I'm already feeling more energy.  For more information you can click Here for information on nutrition, and Here for more information on supplements and herbs to help with hormonal balance.