~ This was written by a recent attendee of our End Hormone Havoc Seminar. We thank “Jane” for sharing her experience with us.
Hormone Replacement Therapy has Been Controversial
Hormone replacement therapy for women has been a controversial topic ever since the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative study (WHI), which was halted in 2002. This was a government run study that found an increased risk of stroke, heart disease and breast cancer in women taking a combination of estrogen and progestin. Once that news came out, back came a large population of sleepless, irritable women suffering from hot flashes, depression, weight gain, night sweats and a host of other symptoms as they abandoned their hormones.
Fast forward to 2018
Now we have much more knowledge about hormones and how they work in the body as well as how to keep them in balance. Back in the day, the hormones prescribed were synthetic, making the drug manufacturers big money. These were the ones used in the WHI studies. Doctors with limited hormone training and knowledge just prescribed an increase in these synthetic hormones, not really understanding how they needed to be balanced in a ratio that is not a one size fits all model. Since hormone therapy is very individualized, it is important to find a practitioner who has devoted their life to educating themselves and surrounding themselves with experts in the field. I found that person in Randi Mann, WHNP-BC, NCMP, Women’s Health and Hormone Expert at Wise Woman Wellness in De Pere.
I had been interested in learning as much as possible about what can happen when hormones are out of whack and what can be done to correct the problem. I’m grateful that Wise Women Wellness offers educational seminars to do just that. I was very happy to know that because they want to accommodate as many women as possible, they have varied times offered: evenings for people who work during the day and early mornings for people who don’t. Since I had a day off, I chose a morning session called End Hormone Havoc — Stay Sane, Slim and Sexy.
The Day of the Seminar
When I arrived at Wise Woman Wellness the morning of the class, I was warmly greeted and given an informational folder with lots of handouts; a thyroid, PMS and female hormone quiz; and a brief questionnaire asking what I was most interested in hearing about that day. Randi Mann was the speaker and she gathered the forms and went through them to address those topics from everyone who attended. It felt very personal and individualized — just like the topics themselves. It was interesting to me that there was such a variety of issues each woman in the class wanted to cover. It was personal to them, and Randi understood this. She truly valued every question. Within 10 minutes of the start of the seminar, I knew I had chosen the right person to help me and everyone else in the room. She had so much information to share with us, used great visual aids and referenced the most recent studies and journals who had published them. I also appreciated that she shared her personal story about her journey through life and how she needed help starting in her mid-30s and how it changed in each season of her life.
She Was Talking About ME!
It’s funny, as she was describing herself and the stages she went through, it could have been me she was talking about. I’m guessing most women would have felt the same way. I walked a similar path, and it was refreshing to know that she actually walked the walk as a woman who went through the same issues we all do. I never felt like I was being lectured to while Randi explained things, and I hung on to every word she spoke. She was engaging and would take the time to repeat and clarify subject matter if someone didn’t understand the first time through.
Functional Medicine Approach
Wise Woman Wellness takes a functional medicine approach, confirming that lifestyle medicine is the best medicine. They take into consideration toxins, infections, proper nourishment, food sensitivities, sleep, stress and activity levels. Sometimes, though, as with the thyroid and hormones, a person needs additional help whether it is through supplements or bioidentical hormones. Her goal is to get her patients back to their optimal physiological hormone balance. To me, those are words that mean “to feel amazing again.” Again, no person is the same so everything they do is tailored to the individual person’s unique needs.
It would be absolutely impossible to write about all of the information I learned at the End Hormone Havoc — Stay Sane, Slim and Sexy seminar. I encourage you to go experience the class for yourself. You have absolutely nothing to lose and so much to gain from learning about how thyroid and hormone imbalances can affect many areas of your life.
After all, education is power and who better to give you the tools you need to be healthy than a knowledgeable expert like Randi Mann!
