Guest Blog – How Acupuncture Fixed My period

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Ritual Medicine

Read a guest blog by Kyla from The Sacred Essentials.

This is likely a blog just for the women…. Sorry guys I’ll see you on the next post. We’re talking menstrual cycle, symptoms, imbalances and working towards balancing it all out.

Bloating, fatigue, irritability, hair loss, palpitations, mood swings, problems with blood sugar, trouble concentrating, infertility, migraines….

Think of your hormones like a cake recipe… MMMMmm CAKE…

Too little or too much of any one ingredient will muck up the whole recipe. If our hormones are out of balance, our whole system will be put out of whack, and this causes legitimate problems. I am not a hormonal specialist but what I DO know is that the stats are HIGH for women living with an imbalance and men you aren’t off the hook either.
Stress, poor nutrition, poor sleeping habits, all contribute to balancing or creating imbalance with our hormonal system.

HORMONAL IMBALANCE SYMPTOMS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN

Fatigue

Increased sensitivity to cold or heat

Constipation or more frequent bowel movements

Unexplained weight loss (sometimes sudden)

Increased or decreased heart rate

Muscle weakness

Frequent urination

Increased thirst

Muscle aches, tenderness, and stiffness

Pain, stiffness, or swelling in your joints

Thinning hair or fine, brittle hair

Increased hunger

Depression

Decreased sex drive

Nervousness, anxiety, or irritability

Blurred vision

A fatty hump between the shoulders

Rounded face

Purple or pink stretch marks

Weight gain

Dry skin

Puffy face

HORMONAL IMBALANCE – SYMPTOMS FOR WOMEN

heavy or irregular period
missed periods or stopped periods
hirsutism or excessive hair on the face, chin, or other parts of the body
acne on the face, chest, or upper back
thinning hair or hair loss
weight gain or trouble losing weight
darkening of skin, especially along neck creases, in the groin, and underneath breasts
skin tags
vaginal dryness
vaginal atrophy
night sweats
pain during sex

OKAY, ONTO THE TOPIC AT HAND…. MY PERIOD STRUGGLES AND HOW I FIXED IT

I had a period of time where I just didn’t get a period. I might maybe get one every 4-6 months for a day or two, and then nothing for ages.

I had been on birth control from the age of 15, originally to ease my

S U P E R S E V E R E abdominal cramping. I KNOW some of you relate to this…it’s unexplainable for anyone who has not experienced the level of pain a menstrual cramp can provide.

Fast forward 15 years, I took a break from birth control, it felt kind of gross to have hormones that weren’t naturally mine being brought into my body and I just wanted to NOT have to take a damn pill everyday.

I stopped and began the process of loosing my period, getting it for a day and losing it again, getting it short term a few months later and so on …

I ended up back on a few years later to regulate my cycle again as per my doctor.

It felt not right, yet again, as I came into my mid 30’s it was time I removed this foreign substance and worked at this from a more holistic approach.

I met Stef a year ago.

It wasn’t until this summer that we dove into talking about my cycle and the struggles that surround it.

I am 36 years old. My cycle is consistently INCONSISTENT. When it DOES show up it comes with pretty nasty cramping on day one, often to the point of not being able to get out of bed. As a self employed person this is a big deal. HECK as an adult, with any responsibility, this is a big deal.

My period also, as of the age 33-34 brought along with it a MIGRAINE. If you’ve had the pleasure of a migraine you know once again you likely are bed ridden, in the dark, feeling like you might throw up at any point… for hours.

SO…. Stef.

We put together a protocol… I mean SHE put together a protocol, we agreed to a THREE MONTH program of two accupuncture sessions a week ( which is basically two guaranteed mini nap and meditation opportunities) moving through 3 cycles.

Now keeping in mind my period would sometimes just not come at all, I was overjoyed when after 3 weeks together of twice weekly sessions

I GOT MY PERIOD!!!!!!

Now it came with cramps and a migraine…. B U T

Month two, I had NO MIGRAINE and only minor cramps for only a few hours.

A N D

Month three…. you guys, I had NO MIGRAINE and NO CRAMPS….

THIS IS HUGE… THIS IS NIGHT AND DAY….. This means I can function … and not only function but function OPTIMALLY. I can work, create, run errands, be present, live my life…

I continue now to see Stef just once every 2 weeks, which I absolutely love.

LOOK, I KNOW I AM NOT ALONE WITH HORMONAL IMBALANCES, and I can only imagine you’re tired of it too.

If you haven’t yet tried working with an acupuncturist , one who specializes in female hormones, what do you have to lose?

I would love to hear from you, and connect on this… we need to be talking more openly about what we all live with on a daily basis…

We’re in this together xoxo

P.S If you live in Victoria and want to connect with Stef you can find her on the IG @ritual.medicine , or @focushealthclinic OR www.ritual-medicine.com

Managing stress to balance hormones

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Emotional Health and Wellbeing Lifestyle Menstrual Cycle Reproductive Health Ritual Medicine

The bodies response to stress

Human bodies were designed to very effectively address stressful situations. The fight or flight response was a lifesaving mechanism back in the day.

Nowadays the body can feel the stress of a busy work week, a challenging coworker, traffic when you are late, but it cannot differentiate that your life is not on the line. So, not recognizing the distinction, pumps out all the same chemicals and hormones that it would if you were in fact, in a life or death situation.

The hormone cascade during a stress response

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland (both in the brain) are talking to each other and telling each other what to be doing when stress happens. They send signals down to the adrenal glands (sitting on top of the kidneys) to release a specific cascade of stress hormones.

Think adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline boosts blood pressure and heart rate.

Cortisol sends glucose to your muscles so you can outrun danger.

When the body is in a constant state of stress, with elevated or unregulated adrenaline and cortisol levels, the perpetual state of ‘on alert’ can wreak havoc on your hormones.

If you read the previous blog post on blood sugar levels, you will know that mismanaged blood sugar is a stressor that can cause this effect in the body (see how its all related).

Over prolonged periods of time, this may lead to something that is called adrenal fatigue. This I often see in overworked people, CEO’s, single parents, or anyone in a longterm state of stress.

A few ways to manage stress in the body

As you have learned, there are internal stressors in the body, like unregulated blood sugar levels; and there are external stressors on the body, like job stress, traffic, finances etc.

As you would have read in previous blog posts, there are a few simple steps to help manage stress, although they may not always be easy.

Get enough sleep. This is wear your body rests, repairs, and manages inflammation.

Manage blood sugar levels

Exercise regularly – high intensity or low impact will depend on your bodies needs and current symptoms

Meditation or flow state – even 1-2 minutes of meditation per day can be impactful. If meditation doesn’t feel right, find an activity that allows you to be focused, present and playful.

For a more comprehensive program to help your body manage stress, get in touch for a virtual or in person consultation.

Call 1-778-400-6360 to book.

stress and hormones

Acupuncture During Pregnancy

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Pregnancy Support Reproductive Health Ritual Medicine

Is Acupuncture during pregnancy safe?

Pregnancy is a transformational and exciting time in a new families life. It can bring so many different emotions and symptoms with it. From joy, anticipation, fear and worry, to nausea, fatigue, physical discomfort and more.

The first and most common question we get is “is acupuncture safe during pregnancy?”.

The answer is YES, absolutely.

By working with a trained and licensed care provider, and someone who specializes in pregnancy care, you are in good hands during your pregnancy.

With all the poking and prodding that comes along with pregnancy, getting stuck with needles voluntarily probably seems like the last thing you’d want to do. But when it comes to banishing some pregnancy woes, many moms-to-be sing the praises of acupuncture.

A few of the benefits of acupuncture during pregnancy:

Acupuncture eases nausea

Pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting are common among women, particularly in the first and second trimesters. Acupuncture helps to ease the severity of these symptoms and support the body.

Acupuncture relieves pain

Women experience discomfort in all stages of their pregnancy, whether it’s pelvic pain, hip pain, lower back pain or ligament pain. Acupuncture is a safe, natural and effective way to improves these complaints.

Acupuncture reduces stress

Stress can have a negative impact on the pregnant body and the development of your baby. Acupuncture helps to calm the nervous system and reduce stress in the body which is beneficial to both mum and babe.

What can acupuncture during pregnancy treat?

During pregnancy, acupuncture has been shown to effectively treat the following conditions :

Miscarriage prevention
Morning sickness (nausea and vomiting)
Fatigue
Pregnancy induced hypertension
Breech and posterior positions
Edema (fluid retention)
Constipation
Acid reflux
Sinusitis
Hemorrhoids
Pain
Induction
Cervical Ripening

Stefanie Miska is a Dr. TCM, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist with a practice focus on reproductive care. Call 1 778 400 6360 to schedule a consult.

Preconception Care – Trimester Zero

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Infertility Lifestyle Pregnancy Support Reproductive Health

Planning ahead for the important things in life

We all know the importance of planning ahead for those big, life changing decisions. Like buying a new house, planning a wedding, preparing for your next vacation, yet often times we don’t spend very much time at all, planning for one of life’s biggest journeys – parenthood, and more specifically – getting pregnant. This is called preconception care.

Have you ever considered that most folks spend more time planning their wedding than they do planning to conceive?

Research confirms that the growth cycle of both sperm and eggs is approximately 90 days. So that means, if getting pregnant is something you are wanting or planning for in the near future, taking steps at least 3 months in advance to make sure you and your partner are healthy, is super important.

What is preconception care?

Preconception care is defined as:

a set of interventions that aim to identify and modify medical, behavioral, and social risks to a woman’s health or pregnancy outcome through prevention and management.

These 3 months prior to conception are considered Trimester Zero. An integral part of the pregnancy journey.

What you should be doing to prepare for pregnancy

Some things to include during trimester zero:

A good prenatal supplement
Family doctor or Naturopathic Doctor check up with lab/blood work
Regular acupuncture treatments
Limiting stress or incorporating mindfulness technique like meditation or gentle walks in nature

When you received regular acupuncture treatments in preparation for conception, some of the benefits include:

More relaxed
Stress management
Increased blood flow to the reproductive organs
Balanced hormones
Improved egg quality

Many things impact our health and ability to conceive

When I work with patients who are trying to get pregnant there are many important factors that come into play. Having support from your health care team is one of those integral factors.

We know how influential the external environment and lifestyle can be for your overall health, and the health of your eggs and unborn children. Your genetic material is influenced by these factors so taking pro active steps for you and future baby is essential!

Schedule your consult for preconception care by calling 1 778 400 6360.

Mittelschmerz – How to tell if you are ovulating

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Endometriosis Menstrual Cycle PCOS Reproductive Health

Ovulation Marker #4 – Mittelschmerz

The previous three blog posts have highlighted proven methods of detecting ovulation. The bonus marker for detecting ovulation is mittelschmerz, a German word that means ‘ middle pain’.

While this marker isn’t an accurate (a.k.a official) marker for ovulation, many women experience mittelschmerz around ovulation.

Defining the word

Mittelschmerz: Pain due to ovulation that usually occurs at the midpoint between the menstrual periods. From the German mittel, meaning ‘middle,’ and schmerz, meaning ‘pain.’

Ovulation pain may occur because that follicular growth stretches your ovary before the egg’s release. It might also happen when the cyst actually ruptures, letting loose the egg along with some cystic fluid or blood, which can irritate the lining of your abdomen.

Mittelschmerz pain usually lasts a few minutes to a few hours, but it may continue for as long as a day or two.

How to know if you are experiencing mittelschmerz

While most describe it as a slight pinching sensation, you may experience pain that is:

On one side of your lower abdomen
Dull and cramp-like
Sharp and sudden
Accompanied by mild vaginal bleeding or discharge
Rarely, severe

Mittelschmerz pain occurs on the side of the ovary that’s releasing an egg (ovulating). The pain may switch sides every other month, or you may feel pain on the same side for several months.

Keep track of your menstrual cycle for several months and note when you feel lower abdominal pain. If it occurs midcycle and goes away without treatment, it’s most likely mittelschmerz.

If you have been keeping track of your other signs of ovulation, BBT, cervical mucus, and position of the cervix, and know you are around ovulation, then mittelschmerz is an added tell, or sign, that ovulation is occurring.

I hope you enjoyed this added bonus marker!

Book your consult by calling 1 778 400 6360 or if you are not local, we can connect virtually by booking your 15 minute here.

Come say “hi” on Facebook

Stay up to date on Instagram

mittelschmerz

Cervical Mucus – How to tell if you are ovulating

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Infertility Menstrual Cycle Pregnancy Support Reproductive Health

Ovulation key marker #2 – Cervical Mucus

One of the key markers of ovulation is cervical mucus. You have likely noticed it before, whether you knew it was linked to ovulation or not.

But … what is cervical mucus?

The hormones that control your menstrual cycle, they also make your cervix produce mucus. Thats the gooey stuff on your cervix that comes out of your vagina as discharge.

Your cervical mucus changes in colour, texture, and amount during your menstrual cycle, and especially around ovulation.

Cervical Mucous (also known as CM) increases at ovulation due to the increase in estrogen levels. This helps to create a hospitable environment for sperm.

Cervical fluid can be divided into two categories, peak and non-peak mucous. While both are considered fertile mucous, peak mucous is the well known, stretchy, egg white consistency.

Cervical mucous plays an important role in helping sperm survive longer in the vagina and helping them to move upward to connect with the waiting egg for conception.

Sperm can survive in the vagina for up to 5 days. Knowing when you are ovulating, by observing cervical fluid, can be an integral part of achieving or avoiding pregnancy.

You have likely noticed an increase in discharge around mid cycle, which you can tell by the slippery consistency when you wipe after going to the bathroom, some in your underwear or an overall feeling of increased wetness or lubrication.

Cervical mucus is 100% normal

In Toni Weschler’s book ‘Taking Charge of your Fertility’, she highlights a story about a women who was convinced she was having reoccurring infections every month and would continue to visit her doctor asking for antibiotics. What she did not realize, was that the increase in discharge, which happened monthly, is completely normal, and actually a really healthy part of the menstrual cycle.

Some things to look out for, which may require a check in with your doctor, is discharge that is foul smelling, green or thick yellow.

How to check for cervical mucus

There are three ways you can check your cervical mucous

Wipe the opening of your vagina before your pee with toilet paper, check the colour and feel of the mucous
Look at the colour and texture in your underwear
Put clean fingers into you vagina, and then check the colour and texture of the mucous with your fingers

Book your consult by calling 1 778 400 6360 or if you are not local, we can connect virtually by booking your 15 minute here.

Come say “hi” on Facebook

Stay up to date on Instagram

Cervical Mucus

How to tell if you are ovulating – Tracking your temperature BBT

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Endometriosis Infertility Lifestyle Menstrual Cycle PCOS Pregnancy Support Reproductive Health

Ovulation Marker #1 – Tracking your BBT

Tracking your basal body temperature, abbreviated as BBT, is one of the main, and most common ways to track ovulation.

Taking your BBT, involves taking your temperature at roughly the same time every morning before getting out of bed. This includes logging your results, either by paper chart, or one of the handy apps you can download on your phone, to keep track of daily measurements and patterns

How to track your BBT

In order to do so, you will need a thermometer that goes to 2 decimal points, for example 36.68C or 97.68F. This makes it easier to notice temperature shifts, which is what you are looking for.

After ovulation, a hormone called progesterone, is released from the same follicle that the egg came from. This release of progesterone creates a slight temperature increase in the body. This is how we know ovulation has occurred, by tracking BBT.

For example, if you are taking your temperature throughout your entire cycle (which is required to get an accurate reading) your temperature will be lower for the first half, and higher for the second half.

Understanding your menstrual cycle

If you are unsure about the different phases of the menstrual cycle, their duration and what’s happening, I encourage you to go back and read the previous posts:

Menstrual cycle simple explained

If a person has, say, a 28 day cycle (let me clarify though, a ‘normal’ cycle is anything between 21-35 days) from day 1 (first day of bleed) to day 14 (ovulation), body temperature would be roughly 2 tenths of a degree cooler than from day 15 to when bleeding starts again.

*If pregnancy occurs, progesterone levels continue to rise (throughout pregnancy) and therefor body temperature continues to rise and will not drop again at day 28.

You can purchase a BBT at any drug store, or easily off amazon. While you can get more fancy versions, it is not necessary, and you can easily get started with a thermometer for $20.

Apps to use when you start tracking your BBT

Some apps to check out are:

Kindara
Daisy
Natural Cycles
Clue
Period Tracker

It is important to remember, that in order to get accurate readings, you must take your temperature after 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, at roughly the same time every morning, and certain things like drinking alcohol, staying up late, or illness will effect your body temperature.

If you need help with charting your cycle or learning to read your BBT, book your consult by calling 1 778 400 6360 or if you are not local, we can connect virtually by booking your 15 minute here.

Come say “hi” on Facebook

Stay up to date on Instagram

Tracking your BBT

The Importance of Ovulation (and its markers) for Women’s Health

by Stefanie Miska, Acupuncturist Victoria Infertility Menstrual Cycle PCOS Pregnancy Support Reproductive Health

A key marker for overall health

One of the key markers of a healthy menstrual cycle is ovulation, to catch yourself up on exactly what is happening during ovulation, check back to the original blog post here.

In addition to being paramount in conception, ovulation is ALSO important for the health of, your bones, cardiovascular system, and your overall endocrine (hormonal) system.

After reading the blog post ‘The ovulation phase of the menstrual cycle’ , you now know what is happening in your body, the next question is … how can you tell if you have ovulated?

How to tell if you have ovulated

There are three key markers (plus a bonus one) to help you tell if your body is ovulating, and if so, when it is.

The four markers of ovulation are :

The top three are markers, that if use correctly, are very accurate ovulation predictors.

One of the things I always educate my patients on is the importance of presence over prediction. While most often, the cycle tracking apps we have on our phones, or when we are planning ahead as to when we can expect our next period – it is usually based on past cycles and using that old data to predict what will happen and when, during this upcoming cycle.

Your whole menstrual cycle, and especially ovulation and your period, is a report card of the last few weeks, or months, of your life. There are many factors that may change the duration of one or more of the phases of your menstrual cycle, and tuning into that is more important than what date you ovulated last cycle.

Disruptors of healthy ovulation

Things that may disrupt regular cycle patterning are:

Travelling
Changing time zones
Daylight savings
Stress (this includes good stress like planning a wedding or going on vacation)
Lack of nutrition / change in diet
Illness

Observing ovulation during your cycle is important for understanding your body and your overall health.

It is an easy way to keep track of how your hormones, your physical and emotional body are doing.

Book your consult by calling 1 778 400 6360 or if you are not local, we can connect virtually by booking your 15 minute here.

Come say “hi” on Facebook

Stay up to date on Instagram

importance of ovulation