Dr. Nicole Sundene
"Are hemorrhoids caused by hormone imbalance?"
Hemorrhoids "do not happen" to any women because we are all perfect, so I will just leave this hemorrhoid information here for nobody. 😉
Okay all jokes aside, women generally have much worse hemorrhoids than men due to pregnancy and monthly hormone imbalance. Women are also scared to ask me how to fix this simple issue, and should never hesitate to ask their doctor for help. Just think of us as auto mechanics for your body. Doctors just like to "fix parts." So the part may be embarrassing to you, but it is just another day at the office for your doctor.
The majority of women filling out my paperwork state they have hemorrhoids, generally from pregnancy that never go away. Since women often ask me about this and many have thyroid disease, I wanted to mention the connection between hormones and hemorrhoids. More women also have thyroid disease. This particular hormone condition hypothyroidism or Hashimotos can also cause constipation and bloating that can contribute to forming hemorrhoids. We must treat the constipation to alleviate the hemorrhoids. Constipation also can occur with PMS, Perimenopause, PCOS, and Menopause.
Is that a picture of an ancient medieval torture device? Is the herbal medicine worse than hemorrhoids?
No, it is simply a horse chestnut seed. Don't worry, the outer spiky hull is not used in Naturopathy!
For women the inner nut or seed of Aesculus hippocastanum is a fabulous cure for hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Hemorrhoids are just varicose veins as well, so if you tend to have constipated, coupled with a weak veinous system, you might benefit from this herb.
The active constituent aescin has an astringent property that serves to tighten up loose leaky veins. It is also anti-edematous, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, anti-exudative, and decreases capillary permeability.
Check with your naturopathic doctor before taking this herb as there are potential drug-herb interactions and this herb should not be used by those on anti-coagulants as the coumarin properties may theoretically interact with blood thinning medications.
Any time there is bleeding or pain down there you should go to your doctor immediately as it could be indicative of colon or rectal cancer, and when caught early enough is highly treatable. Also do not make any herbal medicine preparations from wild plants unless you are 100% certain of the species for safety purposes. The colon cancer screenings have been changed to starting at age 45, so before using herbal medicine see your GI Doctor, or Gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy to insure it is not cancer or pre-cancerous polyps we need to worry about.
Horsechestnut should absolutely not be used by children or pregnant women, anyone with a chronic health condition should check with their doctor before using any herbal medicine.
Dose: A tincture (1:5 in 40%) can be used, the standard dose is 1-4ml in a little bit of water three times daily. To make an herbal infusion pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of dried seed and allow to steep 15 minutes, strain and drink three times daily or apply with cotton balls to the affected area (best when applied cold so keep your witch hazel or horse chestnut solutions in the fridge). You can also try a 16% standardized aescin extract in capsules. Daily dose should equate to 50mg of aescin taken two to three times daily (so the entire capsule weight will most likely be 300 to 900 mg to receive the 50mg of aescin from the 16% standardized extract). Most of my hemorrhoid patients take 2 caps twice daily.
Although horse chestnut is wonderful for strengthening veins, just utilizing it alone is not going to fully address the problem. Straining with bowel movements because of a dry hardened stool lacking fiber, water, and probiotics are the ultimate causes of hemorrhoids. Basically everyone in America has hemorrhoids at some point because of the crappy white refined foods diet that we eat.
You can always apply the standard preparation H, or an herbal hemorrhoid cream with astringents such as witch hazel in it. Keep the area clean and take some stool softeners until it is healed so you don’t continue to rupture it back open, or feel like you are pooping razor blades.
Eat dark pigmented berries to ensure a strong healthy vasculature. Add a cup of frozen blueberries daily to the diet as well as citrus foods to heal blood vessels. When symptomatic do alternating sitz baths to tonify the vessels of the pelvic region.
For prevention be sure to not get constipated!
Try drinking a glass of warm water every morning when you wake up to give the intestines a bath. The heat from the water tends to relax the smooth muscle of the bowel and train your body to have a bowel movement each morning. For short term relief you can try magnesium 400-800mg but keep in mind that it is simply a short-term osmotic cure for diarrhea, it is not treating the cause.
Be sure to eat plenty of fiber, drink a gallon of water daily, and MOVE your body. Your digestive tract responds to movement. Sitting around all day will result in a sluggish bowel. Humans were not designed for sitting all day and it creates stagnation in our pelvis. Include foods in the diet that encourage bowel movements such as celery, pears, flaxseeds, apples, prunes, oatmeal and other whole grains.
Try a “High Fiber Breakfast” which consists of a bowl of oatmeal with 3 tablespoons of FRESHLY ground flaxseeds, a handful of raw walnuts, half a chopped apple pears, blackberries, blueberries (not bananas as they cause constipation) along with yogurt and cinnamon for flavor and garnish. Or eat this as a bed time snack to insure a normal bowel movement in the morning.
You may also benefit from taking some probiotics to help bulk up the stool, as a third of the weight of our stool comes from the bacteria in our digestive tract. If you have taken antibiotics in the past, your bowel flora may be compromised. I like HMF intensive, Megasporebiotic, and Klaire's probiotic you can pick up on my discount vitamin page. Rotat the different brands around each month to create a diverse amount of flora in your microbiome!
Please keep in mind your Naturopathic Doctor has heard EVERYTHING and simply just wants to help you with your constipation and hemorrhoids so you can feel fabulous again!
Need my help simply visit my SCHEDULE page. I would be happy to help!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Hormones actually picked me many years ago! Did you know I was serendipitously selected by life to become a Holistic Hormone Doctor 23 years ago? Be it God, kismet, fate or dumb Luck, my old neighbor in Issaquah, Washington chased me down one rainy morning when she saw I worked at our neighborhood medical clinic and offered me a job working for her Hormone Doctor. She said there was an immediate opening, better pay and it sounded much less stressful than the busy Family Medicine and Dermatology clinic I worked at for 20 Docs rooming 100 + patients per day. Of course I took the job!
Little did I know this would be the #1 experience that would shape my future career as a Women’s Health Doctor and I was put in very special training with a genius Female Hormone Specialist that was a Pharmacologist and Internist. Working for the Hormone Doctor every day was a wonderland of fun for me! I left the office giddy with joy every day! The biochemistry nerd in me really enjoyed the hormone and hormone lab lessons on her specialties of Menopause, Perimenopause, Osteoporosis and Chronic Pain. She also taught me everything I know about autoimmune testing and hormones.
The Female Hormone Specialist also taught me a lot about chronic pain testing for women with Fibromyalgia. It is difficult to find a doctor to take you seriously when you are in severe pain, or struggling with bizarre autoimmune disease symptoms… but she did this with tremendous compassion, kindness and brilliant detective work. Fibro patients need a multitude of proper tests conducted to determine the cause of the pain which requires multiple specialists working together or someone with enough knowledge in Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Neurology, Nutrition and Infectious Disease such as Dr. Panitch.
Thankfully Dr. Panitch taught me a great deal about Menopause, Perimenopause and Osteoporosis, at the same time I also worked for 3 Dermatologists. While I loved helping them with their skin surgeries we would often see patients with chronic skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis and MRSA struggle to get better. When I asked the Hormone Doctor about these patients she explained how a lot of chronic disease skin issues are actually hormone problems in disguise. Which makes a lot of sense when we see women get dry skin with menopause or thyroid disease, and oily skin with PCOS, Perimenopause and PMS. “Until we treat the cause of the Hormone Imbalance topical agents will continue to fail” is the take home message from my acne rant that prefaces the latest Natural Medicine research for Acne on my latest blog about “Hormonal Acne."
The #1 clue a symptom is related to hormone imbalance is fluctuation. Women who have fluctuating symptoms throughout the month or that begin with menopause, pregnancy or postpartum should be aware of how hormones can adversely impact their skin. There is way more to acne than just testosterone. Estrogen and progesterone are often to blame as well as many other hormones.
To properly balance hormones we need to use natural medicine to treat the root cause of the hormone imbalance. While we sometimes need bioidentical hormones or thyroid hormones, oftentimes from a Functional Medicine standpoint the cause of the hormone imbalance is something we address with herbs. Patients that like to drink tea, take herbal capsules, tinctures or supplements and improve their nutrition are perfect candidates for Naturopathy.
Patients that do not like those above things should stick with their MD's as it is difficult for me to help them as a Naturopath when they can't take herbs or make nutritional changes specific to what their body needs. Women are very unique as I discuss further in my Snowflake blog.
Today I wanted to share a picture of my favorite room, the "Herb Room" and remind you to drink more iced herbal tea to stay hydrated in the heat.
Teas are perfect for those of us in the Arizona heat that need to be taking in more water. I love to use ginger, mint and licorice which all contain powerful antioxidants and can help mask the flavor of herbs used for medicine. Patients can enjoy their herbal medicine tea iced for a refreshing change. Simply make your tea as normal, refrigerate and serve over ice!
If you need my help testing and balancing your hormones, or have not been feeling good and want to get to the "Root Cause," simply pop over to my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Specialist in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
THANK YOU neighbors for voting me “Best Medical Professional of 2023” on Nextdoor!?
This was an awesome email to receive today. Helping women feel AMAZING by solving complex hormone, gynecology, and bladder issues have always been my passion. Those that know me well, know that I also always enjoy a good challenge. I appreciate your votes as a favorite and the referrals I receive from my MD and Naturopathic colleagues on complex women’s health and hormone matters.
One of my greatest joys in life is getting to watch women transform into their BEST version of themselves by testing and perfecting their hormones, nutrition, micronutrients, and macronutrients. This can be very rewarding work.
Reading natural medicine research studies and providing women with the latest Women’s Health news on my blog is also one of my favorite free time activities. Reading, blogging, and drinking herbal tea are my favorite things to do.
So, I am happy to hear my educational posts have helped many women that I have never even met! Many women in our Phoenix/Scottsdale neighborhood also do not have the opportunity to see a women’s health doctor, and I love receiving messages about how my natural remedies have benefited them and changed their lives.
Thank you for making me a favorite and to everyone that shares my natural Women’s Health tips from my blog on their own social media. I love seeing my male friends sharing women’s health tips and also supporting women! Women should not have to be embarrassed or suffer in silence with hormone imbalance, chronic bladder, and gynecological matters.
Times of hormone imbalance in a woman’s life such as Hormonal Weight Gain, Perimenopause, Menopause, Hormonal Acne, PCOS, and PMS can be very challenging without the right education and labs. Visit my blog for important information I think every woman should know as a Women’s Health Doc:
www.ScottsdaleNaturopathic.com/blog
All of my most important tips for women to know are 100% free to read and share with your girlfriends.
If you need my help solving your women’s health issue simply visit my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic Women’s Health Visit!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Scottsdale Naturopathic Hormones
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Nicole Sundene
HORMONES CAUSE SWEATING?
Hormonal sweating can be caused by a variety of different types of hormone imbalance we will discuss today. Sweating is actually a very complicated symptom to diagnose, requires proper hormone testing, is multifactorial, and typically hormonal. Unfortunately more than just one hormone can be to blame when women are suddenly sweating. This is why working with a skilled Naturopathic Hormone Doctor is imperative to get to the "Root Cause," of the sweating.
Oftentimes I sadly see new patients that hand me a report saying "My doctor already checked all my hormones." Only to find they have been tested for menopause at age 25, or they just checked a TSH which is about as helpful as mammogramming one breast and assuming the other breast containing breast cancer is totally fine. If you are expecting your Family Doctor, Dermatologist, Endocrinologist, or OBgyn to problem solve excessive sweating, their solutions will be botox, birth control pills, or a toxic high dose of aluminum deodorant or "Prescription Strength Deodorant."
IS PRESCRIPTION STRENGTH DEODORANT SAFE?
Prescription strength aluminum deodorant is not just pure poison in my mind, but it truly fails women when they have full body sweats. Women cannot coat their entire bodies and faces with aluminum, this is not just ridiculous but dangerous. Plus the amount of aluminum in regular deodorant is nasty enough and I would personally never use prescription strength deodorant when aluminum toxicity is associated with Alzheimers and other conditions such as muscle weakness, bone pain, multiple nonhealing fractures, alteration in mental status, and premature osteoporosis.
Therefore addressing the root cause of the sweating and treating it with a natural approach is imperative for long term health. Plus the body is inherently wise and sends memo's that something is not right in a form we will listen to as women. No woman wants to be seen sweating! Oftentimes for women the body knows we are somewhat vain and demonstrates the hormone imbalance with acne, hair loss, and sweating. Three symptoms most women will not ignore!
Menopause is generally the first thought women have when they are too hot or sweating more than normal. However this can occur with perimenopause, thyroid, Hashimotos, adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, diabetes, and insulin resistance. Therefore we will need a hormone report that is around five pages to properly address and resolve hormonal sweating.
HOW TO DETERMINE IF SWEATING IS HORMONAL
First of all we need to determine the type of sweating. Is it a classic hot flash that starts on your head, face, and chest? Once that has started it is normal to feel hot all over the body and experience excessive sweating in the private areas and bottom.
As estrogen drops in menopause the brain struggles to properly regulate the body's thermostat. Once the memo is received to cool the body down vasodilation occurs and blood flow increases to release heat. As the body overshoots this by overworking, the opposite reaction then happens and women feel cold and chilled. In the menopause episode of "The Cosby Show" the mom is going through hot flashes and keeps putting her head in the freezer. When the head, face, and chest are too hot, think hot flashes with sweating.
ARMPIT SWEATING IS DIFFERENT THAN HOT FLASHES
Armpit sweating oftentimes begins in a woman's 20's or 30's and can be an initial sign of perimenopause as the body is struggling to stay as cool as it normally can. So my first question when I have a new patient complaining of embarrassing sweating is "Is it just excessive armpit sweating or full body sweats?" I also want to know how often the sweating occurs and if anything is triggering the episodes like stress, meals, hunger, or emotions. These are the questions I will need answers to in order to diagnose and naturally treat the cause of the sweating.
HOW TO TRACK CAUSES OF SWEATING
What time of day does the sweating occur? Do you have chills after sweating? Do you feel overheated while sweating? Does body temperature actually increase when sweating?
Does the sweating occur after meals or if it has been a long time since you have had a meal? This can indicate a Food Allergy or Hypoglycemia.
Are you under excessive stress? Cortisol stress hormone can be tested and is also a classic cause of sweating. Neurotransmitter testing can be conducted to look at high catecholamines like epinephrine and norepinephrine that also cause sweating with a stress response. Herbal medicine can help balance cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinphrine to reduce sweating.
Full body hot flashes that come and go without any other menopausal symptoms may be an indication of an underlying infection. The immune system is trying to make a fever to clear the infection. I recommend keeping a thermometer on hand to see if there is a spike to normal temperature when the sweating occurs.
Armpit sweating? This is usually from high cortisol, high catecholamines, high estrogen, PCOS, and/or insulin resistance.
Treating the insulin resistance with Naturopathy generally makes the sweating go away.
Without a proper diagnosis it is very difficult to clear up hormonal sweating. Most MD’s will have no other solution but to just give you a super strong aluminum deodorant that is “prescription strength,” which I am personally not a fan of considering the toxicity issues with aluminum with just a regular dose of over the counter deodorant. Applying toxic aluminum at high doses to your skin is not the permanent answer to sweating, nor is botoxing the nerves to your armpits. When Dermatologists botox sweat gland nerves the sweating can just pop up somewhere else other than the armpits, oftentimes the sweating then moves to the face, vagina, or bottom. So all of these prescription sweating remedies are all just slapping a band-aid on top of the problem and the body will find a new way to send a message that something is not right. Kind of like when we put our hand over a screaming toddler’s mouth.
We can temporarily silence a toddler like this, but without listening and understanding their problem they will likely just scream louder and louder or act out in another way and maybe even kick or hit us.
Regardless of the cause of the sweating, this is an important symptom we should not ignore as it may be indicating a much greater issue such as Cancer, Diabetes or other endocrine disorders such as hyperthyroidism.
Until we are working together and have the “Root Cause” of the sweating diagnosed and treated, I recommend avoiding spicy foods, sugar, excess carbohydrates above 150g daily, caffeine <200mg or less per day, and increasing the cooling foods on my Hot Flash blog.
Need my help testing and treating excessive hormonal sweating? I would be happy to help! Helping women feel confident in their skin is one of my favorite joys of practicing Naturopathic Hormones and Dermatology. Simply visit my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
By Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD and Rob Newbound, RN
Bladder Problems and bladder pain, frequent urination, and UTI's or Urinary Tract Infections always flare up badly in the fall in my Women's Health practice. This is why after twenty five years running urinalysis tests on women, I always label October as "Bladder Infection Month."
Why do more bladder problems and infections happen in the fall?
From a Chinese Medicine perspective bladder problems occur when we are moving from a time of high heat to lower temperature and women drink less water than they were drinking during the summer months. Keeping the bladder and kidneys hydrated and flushed out with the correct amount of water can prevent bladder problems from seasonal changes. Most women need around 60-80 oz of water daily plus 8 oz per "vice" or serving of caffeine, alcohol, or 15 minutes of exercise.
Drinking too much water can irritate the kidneys and make bladder problems seem worse. In this scenario I hear women say "The water runs right through me," indicating to me it is more likely the early warning signs of a kidney problem and less of a bladder problem. Especially since I usually see women for bladder problems after they have already been worked up by a Urologist, had a cystoscopy which is a microscopic camera the doctor uses to examine the lining of your bladder and take a biopsy of it to determine if the bladder is inflamed and bleeding. Working closely with a Urologist helps me understand the exact diagnosis, as well as if it will be a condition I am confident I can resolve with Naturopathic Medicine.
All women with recurrent bladder problems should first visit a Urologist to insure nothing serious like bladder cancer is going on, and that this is a "Irritable Bladder," or "Overactive Bladder," or "Interstitial Cystitis," or Recurrent UTI problem for me to manage.
Bladder problems in Women's Health are all about prevention. So today I am sharing my #1 Naturopathic herbal bladder tip to keep your bladder healthy. Keep in mind, if you have interstitial cystitis, a common bladder problem referred to as "Irritable Bladder" the tannins in cranberry and blueberry fruit I am discussing today may actually inflame your bladder! So not every herb is good for every bladder situation. This is why working with a skilled Women's Health Bladder Specialist (such as myself 😉 that understands the proper use of herbal medicine and Natural remedies for the bladder. I also do not recommend combing any medications with bladder herbs without first discussing them with a Naturopathic Doctor as that can be dangerous since many bladder herbs and bladder formulas contain demulcent herbs that can block the absorption of medications. Causing the medication to not work. So we don't want to fix your bladder problem, only to cause your High Blood Pressure pill to stop working!
The other issue with herbs for bladder problems, is that some of them actually interfere with each other! This almost never happens in herbal medicine, but pH is critical for proper bladder health. Many herbs that are helpful for bladder problems work by altering the pH of the urine, causing it to become more acidic, like cranberry, which can negate the effects of other bladder infection herbs! So if you are not improving on my bladder problem basics there is something more complex going on that requires my help, please visit my SCHEDULE page so we can get a tight regime in place. Usually my bladder patients need 1-2 appointments to get a system down for them that works for their bladder.
I digress, back to bladder problems, as we move from a high level of hydration during summer to a lesser amount of hydration in the fall women naturally develop more bladder infections. Especially those wearing pantyhose and tight pants that are not breathable and therefore further irritates the vagina, bladder, and urethra causing bladder infections, yeast infections, bladder problems, and vaginal infections.
Women who suffer from recurrent bladder infections are already diligent about wiping front to back, drinking plenty of water, and peeing after sexual intercourse. Although antibiotics may be necessary once a full blown infection starts, prevention as with just about anything is key. Many herbs for bladder infections are known to be helpful, but I prefer to use foods as medicines whenever possible.
Most women know that cranberry juice is good for bladder infections. E. coli, the bacteria that causes most bladder infections is unable to adhere to the lining of the bladder thanks to cranberry. What most people don’t know is that there is not a therapeutic cranberry juice out there that really tastes that good! If you are drinking a “delicious” glass of cranberry juice every day then you are probably not doing much to prevent a bladder infection.
When shopping for cranberry juice, be sure to read the label and purchase only 100% pure cranberry juice. A juice loaded with grape juice, apple juice or heaven forbid high fructose corn syrup is simply not going to be effective, and may worsen bladder problems. Because blueberry juice is also beneficial to the bladder you can make cranberry juice more palatable by drinking a blend of equal parts. You can also experiment with different herbal teas and make an herbal ice tea with juice.
Although these pure berry juices are a bit more expensive than their artificial counterparts they are worth their weight in gold for bladder problems not just for their preventative properties but also because of their anti-oxidant value. Berries are a great part of an anti-aging program. So when you are drinking your daily juice to prevent bladder infections you are also doing a great service to your cardiovascular system and general health!
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” ~ Chinese Proverb
Here is more research about cranberries and bladder infections by my friend Rod Newbound that is a Registered Nurse and wanted to collab with me on his favorite UTI and anti-aging fruit:
Although it’s been known for several years that cranberries can prevent urinary tract infections, up until now, the exact mechanism has remained a mystery. But in a newly published study, scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute say they’ve discovered the secret.
They found that virulent bacteria, like the kind that create urinary tract infections, have hair-like projections called fimbriae that attach to the wall of the bladder. Their studies showed that even low concentrations of cranberry juice created a thermodynamic energy shield that keeps these nasty creatures from getting a foothold.
No Harm To Friendly Bacteria
Because the good bacteria don’t have these fimbriae, they aren’t affected. This is important, because our bodies have billions of good bacteria that provide protection from such gut wrenching disease organisms like Clostridium difficile.
Unpublished work also shows cranberry juice has potent effects on disease-causing bacteria, but that the effect is temporary. This suggests that in order to have continuous protection; you will need to consume some form of cranberry regularly – perhaps daily.
Cranberries, a Superfood You Should Enjoy Year Round
How to Get Your Cranberries Without Terrorizing Your Body With High Calorie Sugars
Action Plan: Add more cranberries to your weekly diet for bladder problems and prevention. Try them in salads, muffins, pancakes, breads, cheese spreads, on peanut butter sandwiches, etc. You can find unsweetened cranberry juice at some health food stores. Mix it with 1/4 cup blueberry juice and 1-3 packets of stevia to reduce the tartness. Or dilute it with 3/4 cup of water, add 1-2 packets of stevia for every 1/4 cup of cranberry juice.
I also like to make the Celestial Seasonings fruit teas iced and add about 25% cranberry per batch of iced tea. Estimate 1-2 packs of stevia per cup if you like your drink to taste sweet. Adding a splash of agave syrup can help reduce the bitterness of the stevia when drinking cranberry juice for UTI prevention and bladder problems.
Thank you to Rod Newbound a 58 year old Registered Nurse who teaches his patients how to live longer using natural medicine anti-aging tips for collaborating with me on all of this amazing cranberry research!
Need help with bladder problems, bladder pain, frequent UTI, or bladder prevention? I would be happy to help. Simply visit my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit.
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Hormonal Acne and Eczema were frustrating problems I personally battled twenty five years ago. No matter what I tried, the acne and eczema would never fully go away. My skin continued to worsen, until I learned about the importance of balanced Female Hormones, Nutrition, and Naturopathic Medicine for acne and eczema in Naturopathic school. I finally was empowered to discover the diet and lifestyle that works best for my hormonal, sensitive, skin type and treat the hormone imbalance. I then began to learn how to test for and treat and treat the different types of hormone imbalance that cause acne with natural medicine as I walk women through the nutrition process in my "Hormonal Acne Diet Program."
I still remember the day my Naturopathic Dermatology professor explained the link between acne and hormones, nutrition, the microbiome and the skin and everything I was battling made perfect sense! The light bulb went off and I followed the instructions the Naturopathic Doctor mapped out and received amazing RESULTS!
My hormonally triggered allergic itchy inflamed skin was suddenly less sensitive to allergens and chemicals. While I am still chemically sensitive and food sensitive to this day, balancing my hormones and nutrition has greatly improved my skin. I am now less reactive to foods and chemicals in general thanks to Naturopathy!
As my skin improved I was finally able to quit using all the different prescription creams and antibiotics the Dermatologist was prescribing for my acne, hives, eczema, and allergies. I was truly shocked and amazed I could finally manage my annoying itchy painful skin symptoms. I no longer needed to take antibiotics or use steroid creams. My skin was no longer itchy or painful. I worked for three Dermatologists for eight years and nothing they prescribed ever gave me a lasting result. My skin was hooked on prescription drugs! At one point I had four different prescriptions I regularly had to apply. It was horrible!
HOLISTIC ACNE AND DERMATOLOGY TREATMENTS REQUIRE WE TREAT THE ROOT CAUSE!
Nothing brings me greater JOY today as a Naturopathic Doctor but to see my patients heal their skin by treating the ROOT CAUSE. I would like to take a few minutes to explain what this process entails so that patients know whether or not they will be able to follow the recommendations of their Holistic Dermatologist.
If you are tired of relying on expensive Dermatology creams and prescription medicines... and open to making some diet and lifestyle changes, you are the #1 perfect type of patient for me to help! If you are not open to making diet changes, I will not be able to help you. I have struggled to make the changes to, I understand it takes time for some of us, but if you are not open on working towards the new diet with me then I will likely not get a good outcome by enrolling you in to my Holistic Dermatology practice in Scottsdale. I never want to waste anyone's time or money when there are plenty of patients that seek the valuable women's health and hormone care I provide, and desperately need my Alternative Dermatology services to solve their mysterious dermatology condition. Sometimes women are stuck on a certain style of diet that is completely wrong for their skin or are so busy googling skin remedies they cannot focus on doing what I need them to do. While my process is simple and time tested to provide amazing results it does not work when the patient does not follow what I say to do. It's really that simple!
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH HORMONAL ACNE OR HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY VIA TELEMEDICINE?
I am often asked this question several times per day. YES! Whether you need a Holistic Dermatologist in Arizona or whether you need to work via Telemedicine I am able to help patients with most skin conditions that are wiling to change their diet and take supplements. Simply snap photos of your skin condition and send them to me if you are unable to come in or do not live in Arizona. I can still help you over the phone via Telemedicine, I just cannot prescribe any hormones. In the event I discover you would need a hormone prescribed for your skin condition, I would make a recommendation you can take for your local Family Doctor. Itchy or painful Hormonal Skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis are my favorite conditions to help women with.
I would be happy to help you with any acne, cystic acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, scalp psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis, hives or itchy skin! Please consider giving Naturopathic Medicine a try! It is works very well for patients that are SERIOUS about addressing the ROOT CAUSE of their acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, hives and itchy skin.
HOW DOES HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY WORK WITH NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE?
Please keep in mind my Holistic Dermatology treatments are focused on treating the ROOT CAUSE of your skin problem and while I will prescribe natural remedies to apply to your skin... that is just "Slapping a Band-aid" on your dermatology complaint and it is not going to provide a lasting result. When we don't listen to the symptoms and understand why they are there the body just continues to scream louder and louder with the symptoms somewhat like an angry toddler when you cover your hand over their mouth to make them stop screaming. We all know when we remove our hand they will generally just scream louder and louder until they are "heard" and "understood."
When patients come to see me as their Holistic Dermatologist and they think I am going to just prescribe them some magical root from the Rain forest to cure their hormonal skin condition then we sometimes cannot realistically get a good result with Naturopathic Dermatology because that is not how it works. Incorrect nutrition causes imbalanced hormones especially Female Hormones and it is impossible for me to correct the hormone imbalance without the use of bioidentical hormones when the patient refuses to change their nutrition and work to a more Naturopathic Diet and lifestyle that helps them live itch free in their skin again. I struggle to make diet changes but know that the reward of feeling good in my skin is far greater than eating a few things that make me sick. My own personal triggers I have found are not even foods I enjoy eating but foods I thought were "Health Foods" and was eating them regularly to be healthy. So imagine my shock when I realize that these foods were creating eczema, psoriasis and inflammation in my skin?
The problem with your outside is on the inside. When I teach my new Dermatology patients their new diet for "their body," many choose to never return to their old way of eating because they feel so much better on the fuel that is correct for their body. Imagine having your skin improve AND feeling better, thinner and more energetic? That is what my Naturopathic diet for my skin does for me.... My weight is actually 25 pounds less than in my twenties when I had acne! I weighed 165 pounds when I was graduating college in 1999, and now easily maintain my weight at 140. So the benefits of thinking in a holistic manner for your skin are far greater than just improving your skin!
I only want patients to enroll in to my practice that will be my next Dermatology success story. I can confidently say after practicing Holistic Dermatology for over fifteen years that patients that are willing to follow my instructions will get better with their skin condition and those that are not on the same page as me and won't follow my instructions just don't get better. Many new patients erroneously feel we should be applying only topical treatments or are stuck in an allopathic naturopathic medicine model that treats each symptom with an herb rather than treating the underlying cause of the symptoms with an herb. When we give a patient an herbal medicine, vitamin or supplement for their skin symptom we are "Slapping a band-aid" on the skin problem in the exact same way that steroids and antibiotics do not address the underlying cause. In Naturopathy "Tolle Causom" is one of our most important healing principals because the patient WILL NEVER EVER EVER GET BETTER....Until we treat the cause!
In my fifteen years of experience successfully treating dermatology patients that is what all of my success stories have in common. They trust me to investigate the underlying cause of their itchy skin and they trust me to implement a plan that will address treating the root cause of their skin problems. Please do not take away my "Joy of fixing your skin" if you know you won't be able to change your diet to whatever I say you need to eat and remember to take your supplements as prescribed.
Holistic Dermatology is very complex and when hormone driven, is never usually what the patient thinks or suspects.... which is why it is difficult for me to help patients in Holistic Dermatology that do not understand this key concept and are not committed to finding and treating the underlying cause of their skin condition with natural medicine.
DO NATURAL TREATMENTS WORK FOR ACNE?
I know you all want me to prescribe herbs to apply to your skin and I will. I promise we will also do this. I promise we will still use 100% natural eczema treatments, natural acne treatments and natural treatments for psoriasis. However, I also promise that if you treat the hormone imbalance you will not need to continue to apply natural or prescription topical products. To me as a "Holistic Dermatologist" that is the ultimate goal... I want my patients to not have to apply anything to their skin. I know what a vicious frustrating loop that is and wasted years of my life fruitlessly applying things to my skin when ultimately the problem with my skin was brewing on the insides and I needed to treat my skin from within.
WHO WILL BE SUCCESSFUL WITH HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY?
If you are able to precisely follow my directions, then I am able to help you with your Dermatology condition. I do not treat patients with skin cancer or provide minor surgery in my office. You would need to see an MD Dermatologist for skin cancer and have it properly removed.
IS HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY SAFE FOR MY CHILD?
This is a top question we get every day. Can you help my teen daughter with her hormones and acne? Is it safe? As a mom myself, I can say with great confidence that Naturopathic Medicine is by far safer and better for your child than prescription drugs. Why would we want to put your undeveloped teen daughter on birth control pills or antibiotics? First of all birth control pills are causing osteoporosis from inhibiting female hormones needed for bone formation as well as other developmental markers.
Birth control pills do not fix the problem, they mask it. They also do not work when the hormone imbalance is not caused by female hormones and is originating elsewhere in the endocrine system.
Naturopathy is safe, effective and provides lasting solutions for children with itchy skin and acne. Pediatric Dermatology has been a passion of mine for years and it usually is about the child's diet and something wrong with the inside. Giving your child steroids, accutane or antibiotics is not good for their overall health and completely unnecessary if they are a good patient. Accutane can cause liver damage and suicidal thoughts.
WHAT TEENAGERS CANNOT BE HELPED WITH HORMONAL ACNE?
If your child has hormonal acne and you do not think they will make diet changes or remember to take supplements and you are not capable of enforcing this there is also little sense for parents to waste their time and money with Naturopathy. Although it can be helpful we will not see a result with chronic skin problems until we treat the ROOT CAUSE and heal the skin from the inside out. Generally children are my most compliant Dermatology patients because it makes complete sense to them that what they eat impacts their skin. They want to feel good in their skin. Many teen girls are my best acne patients because they feel such saddening shame with their skin.
Teens can also be stubborn though, so lets make sure they are on board with working with me! 😉
HORMONAL ACNE DIET AND NUTRITION
The most common causes of hormonal acne I see in my practice are from female hormone imbalance and insulin resistance. My "Hormonal Acne Diet Program" works to address both of these issues. We must treat the skin at it's Root Cause with the right nutrition and correct foods. I also help guide you through the process of eliminating and testing trigger foods that are starred for a reason in my program. As many triggers are very individualized and certain skin triggers that affect me, may not impact you.
Therefore my diet program will help give your skin a break from these trigger foods so that you can test them after being off them to see if this causes an acne flare within 1-7 days of eating the trigger food.
HOW DO YOU HELP PATIENTS AS AN ACNE DOCTOR?
With my Complete Naturopathic "Hormonal Acne Diet Program" and Telemedicine or In clinic hormone testing to determine the cause of the hormone imbalance impacting the skin we can work together to improve hormonal acne. Since I rarely prescribe medicine or hormone for acne, this is an easy thing for me to work with you on if you are not in Arizona. I do help patients out of state conduct hormone testing.
I am a living breathing success story for treating hormonal acne, eczema and psoriasis with natural medicine and nutrition. If you truly want lasting solutions then I believe in my heart that Naturopathic Medicine is the only answer! The only way out of hormonal acne is through my hormone testing process and "Hormonal Acne Diet" program. If you are not making significant progress with my program, then you definitely need to sign up to work with me so we can figure out why.
I would be happy to help you feel good in your skin again! Simply visit my SCHEDULE page and lets get working towards perfect skin before you end up with permanent scarring like I have!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
“Should thyroid patients take iodine?”
Thyroid treatment is complicated. Taking hormones, iodine, and seaweed at the same time are not always a good holistic thyroid mix, so that is a great question, for me to answer today for women with hypothyroidism.
Oftentimes my Naturopathic patients are either ingesting zero iodine and have low levels as they cook with sea salt that is not iodized, or they are overdosing on iodine for their thyroid, and taking way too much of it to the point they are hyperthyroid, sweaty, angry, and having diarrhea and other abnormal movements from their nervous system.
I will admit over the years, I have had to manage what I call a "Thyroid Hormone Train Wreck" from patients starting iodine at the same time as their Armour thyroid without telling me. While it is good to read about your new thyroid condition, combining thyroid herbs and nutrients that have a synergistic effect with your thyroid hormone without first telling your hormone doctor at an appointment that you plan to do this is likely more dangerous than helpful.
I describe this to my patients that are not low in iodine as the hormonal equivalent of throwing a match on a pool of gasoline. As a women’s health doctor I have seen many women go into a dangerous hyperthyroid storm from doing this, so please be careful with iodine if you take thyroid hormone!
Nonetheless, the thyroid does need iodine to function. This is why women should look for iodized sea salt and buy that, and not just use pink Himalayan salt, or regular sea salt as it will lack adequate iodine. Generally using iodized sea salt is all my low iodine patients need to do to.
While I understand some patients do not want to take any hormone at all, and that is why they seek me out. That is also not always realistic for every patient, thyroid "medicine" is not a drug, it is a hormone that is natural and the body is failing to make it which is causing a myriad of symptoms. All of these symptoms generally result in my patients being on MULTIPLE DRUGS without proper thyroid hormones. I often see women on high blood pressure pills, cholesterol statins, diuretics, laxatives, hair loss drugs, and psychiatric drugs for depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Taking a bunch of drugs and anti-depressants is a much higher price to pay in my opinion than simply having thyroid hormones properly adjusted.
Therefore when I see mild thyroid deficiency symptoms I think “Let’s use natural supplements to correct this.” But when I see more severe deficiency combined with a myriad of annoying thyroid symptoms, perimenopause, or menopause I begin to think of just giving some thyroid hormone gland or NDT “Natural Dessicated Thyroid,” rather than waste time trying to replete nutrients. high
While iodine, zinc, tyrosine and b-vitamins are needed to make thyroid hormone, I do not recommend ever adding these things in without first checking with your holistic hormone doctor as it will generally result in symptoms of hyperthyroidism, and cause the dose of the thyroid hormone your doctor has prescribed to become too high. This can be seen with anxiety, nervousness, sweating, jitteriness, palpitations, chest pain, high blood pressure, rage, and agitation.
The better thing to do is to either start with these nutrients in mild thyroid deficiency symptoms and labs, or to look at adding them in after thyroid hormone has been properly adjusted and then further test and adjust it after that.
While women in Scottsdale often beg me to crank their thyroid hormone up to the “fat burning max” too much thyroid hormone feels worse than taking too little. Depressed, forgetful and tired is far better than angry and wired.
Keep in mind for patients with a history of hyperthyroidism or "high thyroid" from Grave's Disease and Hashimoto's that have had their thyroid radiated or removed taking these nutrients generally is not very beneficial, other than to insure they are not deficient in them, and that other systems that convert thyroid from stores to active hormones such as in the liver are supported with the nutrients needed for this conversion process from T4 to T3. Light in the form of 10,000 lux daily from the outdoors and physical exercise are also needed for this conversion.
If you do choose to try iodine for your thyroid, I recommend eating organic seaweed as the best source. The seaweed my puppy is trying to eat at the beach in my Instagram video, was before the San Diego oil spill, so please consider the health of the water where your seaweed grows when harvesting seaweed in the wild, and ensure you are leaving enough for the wild life that requires it to live!
Most commercially sold organic seaweed is grown in controlled tanks and ponds due to the amount of plastic, heavy metals and toxins in our ocean water. So that is what I look for when I buy seaweed, certified organic only!
Need help with testing or treating your thyroid? Simply visit my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic Hormone visit! I would be happy to help!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Specialist in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Thyroid hormones impact a variety of roles in the body. Right before my thyroid went into hypothyroidism or low thyroid function, I was suffering from a variety of bizarre symptoms as I tell in my tale of "Why I Became a Naturopathic Doctor."
What happened a few years after all the sudden onset skin problems, allergies, depression, ADHD, and stomach aches was my start of taking thyroid hormone. First I was put on synthetic levothyroxine which was only somewhat beneficial for energy, but I was still tired and it did not fix my skin, hair, or aid with weight loss.
Next I saw a Naturopathic Hormone Doctor and started the better Armour thyroid and began to feel back to "normal." This is when many of the symptoms went away for good. My body was not happy because my thyroid level was too low. This is a genetic condition that runs on both sides of my family. Some thyroid patients need hormones, and some do not and just need nutritional or herbal support.
However, I do not believe in waiting until official hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's has occurred and my patient is forty pounds overweight with cystic acne boils all over their face to begin treatment, as this makes zero sense to me as a bioidentical hormone doc.
With mild symptoms as listed below we can use natural vitamins, supplements, and herbs, and natural thyroid gland. Most women feel better on natural thyroid gland, or NDT "Natural Dessicated Thyroid," yet few doctors want to deal with prescribing it because it IS annoying for them to have to conduct hormone labs twice a year to monitor it, and prescribing levothyroxine only requires one test per year.
While everyone knows that hypothyroidism causes fatigue, hair loss, and weight gain, my patients are often shocked to realize a lot of the medications they are taking is a result of their thyroid being sub-optimally dosed. So today I want to review less common symptoms of hypothyroidism that can occur from lack of proper thyroid medication management, thyroid deficiency, borderline hypothyroidism, and un-diagnosed hypothyroidism.
Many women actually already have all of these symptoms and truly do have hypothyroidism yet their Family Doctor checks just their TSH (a third of a minimal thyroid panel) and tells them their thyroid is fine. Meanwhile, after I have checked the remainder of the missing minimal thyroid test panel I find deficient or completely missing actual thyroid hormones. If you have the below symptoms this is not okay! If you are just getting this as a routine screening a TSH is fine with your check up. But it is not sufficient in my opinion to decipher if your hormone levels are actually sufficient.
Ladies, please look at your labs and if your doctor is just checking your TSH, they are doing you a grave disservice! This is a sign the doctor barely understands the basics about hormones and you should just stop asking them to manage your hormones. Visit my schedule page, and make an appointment with me immediately so we can conduct proper hormone testing, especially important if you are undiagnosed with a cluster of the below symptoms.
Just checking TSH is eighties medicine that should be drop kicked out to pasture with prescribing women synthetic “Horsey Hormones” prescribed in the nineties for hot flashes.
This is not modern preventive medicine in Women's Health. We have better natural things!
First of all spot testing just one hormone when a woman has hormonal symptoms is like mammogramming one breast, looking in one ear, and one eye and assuming the other half is fine. Women are complicated and need a complete female hormone panel with their thyroid. TSH should be used only as a screening tool, as it is actually testing the brain’s messenger, TSH to check what the thyroid.
This is as grossly unhelpful and inaccurate as testing FSH, to determine what a woman's estrogen levels are. FSH is a message the brain sends down to the ovaries to make more hormones. This would be considered completely stupid for me to do by any doctor I have ever worked with in the past twenty years. MD or ND. So why is everyone obsessed with this minimalist TSH testing and synthetic thyroid hormones? Why and ew?
The truth is that most MD's do not want to deal with natural hormones and have been brainwashed against them in the eighties, when they were told they are dangerous by the synthroid rep, despite my hearing time and time again from women that they feel better on natural thyroid hormones verses synthetic synthroid or levothyroxine.
Synthetic hormones and lack of proper thyroid testing is failing women at a rate faster than I can work to keep up with, so I am writing this blog and I ask that you please share this with your girlfriends that need to know so women can be educated up front about the following symptoms that indicate you may have low thyroid function, hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's or suboptimal thyroid dosing from T4 monotherapy aka Levothyroxine.
These symptoms are likely to erupt in the forties and fifties with perimenopause and menopause as female hormones suppress thyroid function when too high or too low.
Symptoms of Low Thyroid or Hypothyroidism:
Getting thyroid hormone dosed correctly is imperative in Women’s Health, especially in my patients that are menopausal , perimenopausal, or have PCOS, Insulin Resistance, or PMS as very few doctors understand the interconnection of adrenal, thyroid and female hormones that occurs at menopause, and oftentimes I hear women “just don’t feel right” until I get the entire “Spider Web” of interconnected hormones corrected.
Need my help testing hormones and correcting thyroid function? That is one of my favorite things to do as a Female Hormone Specialist and thyroid patient myself. Getting this perfected is the most important way to feel energetic and happy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Specialist in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
HORMONE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING
Please visit our SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a NATUROPATHIC visit or Hormone Check Up!
NEW PATIENT SCHEDULING
Dr. Sundene is only accepting new Female patients with hormone, thyroid, endocrine, women's health, bladder, chronic pain, mental health, or dermatology conditions. Women with these hormone or chronic disease conditions can Book Online. Please ensure your NEW PATIENT PAPERWORK is submitted at least 48 hours prior to your appointment for the doctor to review prior to meeting you!
Labs and relevant imaging can be faxed to us at (480) 409-2644 by calling your lab, or by calling your doctor's office and requesting the tests, not the notes are sent to Dr. Sundene. Please do not send your labs by text message as this is not secure.
For assistance with scheduling your Naturopathic Hormone visit or for questions if Naturopathy can be helpful for your specific health chronic health condition if it is not listed as the doctor's specialty, please call (480) 837-0900.
HORMONE REFILLS
We always refill your bioidentical hormones until you are legally due for a lab and follow-up visit. Please check with your pharmacy first before submitting refill requests. If you need a 30 day courtesy refill of your hormones to ensure your labs are accurate, please submit the REFILL REQUEST form. We need our patients taking the hormones regularly without disruption for at least two weeks prior to the testing for it to be accurate.
The refill form is legally required for all hormone lab requests outside of a scheduled visit. Please be sure to notify the doctor via texting her office cell phone (not voicemail) once you have completed the form. Once she has sent your BHRT hormone prescriptions to your pharmacy via eprescribe she will text back a confirmation. For hormones at Walgreens, CVS, Fry's, etc we recommend using their apps to confirm the prescription has been received and is being processed to save time waiting on hold. If the prescription is not in your pharmacy app within a few hours, please call your pharmacy first before texting the doctor. All refills require 2-5 business days to be processed.
HORMONE LAB SLIPS AND PROCEDURES
To request a hormone lab slip please fill out this form: HORMONE LAB SLIP.
All hormone testing lab slips are given directly to the patient at their appointment, or via a portal email. We never send your lab slip to the lab. Please ensure you are at the correct lab that is contracted with your insurance company. While some companies do not care which lab you are at, some policies may deny 100% of your charges should you be at the wrong lab. Labcorp is our preferred lab, due to fewer errors and wait times than Sonora Quest.
HORMONE TESTING PROCEDURES AND COMMON QUESTIONS
Hormone patients should check in at the lab no later than 8 am. Hormones must be tested while the patient is fully hydrated with water but fasting (no food, caffeine, or AM hormones) during days 21-23 of the menstrual cycle unless otherwise stated on your lab slip. PM hormones should be taken the night prior.
Please do not get your hormones checked when you are not on the hormones consistently the two weeks prior to testing, or if you have accidentally taken any AM hormones as this will cause erroneous hormone labs and potential hormone safety issues.
Our hormone lab results take a minimum of 3 weeks to become final. We recommend you wait for the doctor to inform you the labs are final and correct before scheduling a follow up to avoid multiple appointments.
For more information on hormones and Hormone Testing, please visit our Bioidentical Hormone page.
HORMONE SUPPLEMENTS: VITAMIN + HERBAL MEDICINE REFILLS
Our clinic uses Fullscript for all prescription grade supplements, vitamins, and herbal medicines the doctor needs to balance your hormones. Once you have set up your account, you can continue to order the supplements and refill them as needed. Patients do not need a prescription to order prescription grade supplements, and we need you to continue taking the supplements to ensure the treatment plan continues to work once the patient's symptoms are resolved.
While we recommend every patient has an annual hormone check up, this is optional for patients that have resolved their symptoms of hormone imbalance.
HOW OFTEN DO I NEED A HORMONE APPOINTMENT?
Patients should plan to be seen monthly until their symptoms improve. Generally Naturopathic Hormone Doctors need to work with patients monthly until they have improved and then every 3-6 months after that. We do recommend an annual hormone check up to ensure women's hormones are optimal and not just "In the normal range."
Existing patients can request a lab slip at any point if they are concerned their hormones are not correct.
Visit notes with the doctor may be required to get your hormones covered per your plan.
HOW LONG UNTIL MY HORMONE LABS ARE FINAL?
Please allow two to three weeks for our hormone specialty testing to be complete before scheduling your follow up appointment after having your female hormones tested. The Total Estrogen test generally takes 3 full weeks. The lab will say often say "2-3 days" but that is not the case for hormone specialty tests.
To receive service from our Naturopathic Doctor, please book a visit on our SCHEDULE page or call (480) 837-0900 for assistance. We must see you annually to legally provide any hormones, advice, or medications per Arizona state hormone prescribing laws on thyroid hormones, and female hormones.
For more information on how thyroid, adrenal, and female hormones are covered per insurance please visit our Naturopathic Hormone Testing page.
Dr. Nicole Sundene
PCOS patients with imbalanced hormones should probably throw some pomegranate juice along with apples, aloe, ginger, curcumin, and cinnamon in their “PCOS Smoothie” recipe. The research is pretty consistent that pomegranate is beneficial for women with PCOS! As well as many of the other symptoms that impact women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Recent research also demonstrates pomegranate is effective against Chronic Fatigue, Poor Memory, Poor Concentration, Weight Loss, High Cortisol Stress Hormone, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, Aging Skin, Hyperpigmentation, Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Liver Disease, Fatty Liver: NAFLD, Heartburn, Bloating, High Cholesterol and Triglycerides which women with PCOS often struggle with. Pomegranate also protects against skin damage from UVB rays, helps with Stroke Recovery, and provided an anti-inflammatory benefit during hospitalization for a viral infection. [1-27]
PCOS, MENOPAUSE, HORMONES + POMEGRANATE
Pomegranate is not just for women with PCOS, but also for menopausal women. The researchers made me laugh out loud when they concluded pomegranate “significantly ameliorates the irritating symptoms of menopause.” I had to laugh at the description of "Irritating Symptoms" and had to wonder if the researchers were male or female. Because most women with menopause would describe their symptoms as far more disruptive than "irritating." Irritating symptoms are when we miss a few hours of sleep, or feel tired, sad or blah or blue for a few hours.
I listen to my menopause patients complain about symptoms that are far beyond irritating every day at work. They are severely fatigued from lack of sleep, they have brain fog and poor concentration, they are angry, irritable, over heated, on edge from feeling uncertain when the next hot flash will hit, or if they are going to be able to find a bathroom every thirty minutes because now they constantly have to pee all the time thanks to their new menopausal bladder.
Menopausal and perimenopausal women have Insomnia, and are waking up with night sweats because they are sweating and feel like they are internally boiling to death which then causes a horrible chronic Insomnia and they cannot sleep past 1-3am, and just start their day now at 2am! Or they cannot sleep at all and the insomnia is causing chronic fatigue and depression they never had before.
They are exhausted from lack of sleep, and the hormone shifts have now caused hypothyroidism or low thyroid function. Heavy bleeding in perimenopause prior to menopause also can leave many patients with severe anemia. Which is why women should have their iron levels and thyroid checked along with their female hormones.
Meanwhile the new hormone imbalance is causing Weight Gain, Anxiety, Depression, Bladder issues, Blood Pressure Issues, and Chronic Yeast Infections that they never had before. Most of my patients would actually describe their symptoms as "Moderately to severely disruptive to their quality of life."
Furthermore, I don't think women as a societal whole should tolerate having their menopausal symptoms minimized by researchers. Other doctors will then believe from reading conclusions of this type of research that menopausal symptoms are simply a little bit "irritating" or "annoying" when they actually can be life altering for many women and lead to divorce if not addressed properly. Losing your family to divorce, and splitting up children is beyond "irritating." Many menopausal women come to me in the midst of a divorce, separated, or just at wit's end with their partners. Menopausal hormone changes have caused both a lack of libido, and a lack of compassion from their partner as to what they are going through.
I have actually saved several marriages by sending a woman home with a set of horribly abnormal hormone labs I have scribbled all over and marked up with pen like an English teacher. The husband looks at the labs and sighs with relief that there is something wrong, that this situation is temporary, and his wife can be fixed. Then instead of fighting, the couple works as a team to help the wife get through this challenging time. Many husbands have learned to just quietly leave, go golfing, go to the gym, go on a walk and just give women time and space to deal with their hormone imbalance. Many women come back in tears and thank me for saving their marriage.
Women with menopausal hormone imbalance can end up divorced during this time in their lives because the symptoms are disruptive to their mental health, disrupting their sleep, causing them to feel fatigued and irritable, all while also causing low libido, which is now causing marital strain that never existed before... However, I will leave it up to the women to decide if their symptoms are life altering or simply irritating and am overall grateful to any researchers conducting research for women's health... So I will digress from my rant.... In another study pomegranate also improved women’s menopausal hot flashes, libido and quality of life. [12,15]
So pomegranate is officially the most perfect Herbal Medicine hormone food in my mind as it is providing fertility support to women of reproductive age, improves PCOS by lowering testosterone that can cause Hormonal Acne and infertility, and also is hormone modulating with estrogen and testosterone for women as they transition to perimenopause, and eventually menopause. Whether hormones are too high or too low pomegranate works to correct Hormone Imbalance!
So there you have it ladies, a pomegranate a day keeps the women’s health doctor away!
Basically pomegranate is a one stop shop women's health supplement that not only regulates female hormones but provides a myriad of other super food benefits. In my Instagram video, you can see how the groups of seeds somewhat look like eggs budding from our ovaries!
RED OR WHITE POMEGRANATE FOR HORMONES?
Being from Seattle, the first time I was walking down the street in Scottsdale and saw a pomegranate tree naturally growing I will admit, I actually stopped and freaked out as a Naturopathic Doctor and had to pick one and take a bunch of pictures!
So, if you live in Phoenix, you can grow your own pomegranates! If you do buy a pomegranate tree, buy a red pomegranate tree. As there are generally more flavonoids in deeply pigmented fruits than white ones.
I believe the red pomegranates are most likely more medicinal than the white ones, as it is the flavonoids that is the medicine here and those same flavonoids are much lower in white wine versus red wine. So it is safe to assume until proven otherwise we should eat the red pomegranates for the best benefits.
If research proves me wrong... I will let you know!
However, if we are intending to use pomegranate flavonoids for weight loss, and lipid metabolism, the red pomegranates were studied. Another study on pomegranates and fat metabolism concluded, “Short-term consumption of dietary doses of Pomegranate Juice exerts beneficial effects and affects lipid metabolism in overweight patients with dyslipidemia.” [17]
In another recent PCOS hormone study conducted in June 2023, they found testosterone levels were lowered for women with PCOS. Researchers concluded, “Serum testosterone levels were significantly decreased in overweight and obese women with PCOS who supplemented with concentrated pomegranate.” [2]
I found this very interesting as a Women’s Health Doctor because most of the research done on Pomegranate is for men's cardiovascular health, and "AMS" Aging Male Symptoms such as male erectile dysfunction. Interestingly my male patients with low tesosterone seem to find the most benefit from the Testosterone boosting formula “Testosterzone” by Progressive Labs in Fullscript, comprised of mainly pomegranate, along with ashwagandha, astaxanthin, and phosphitdyl serine.
Researchers found pomegranate beneficial for testosterone in men as it was modulating androgen production in prostate cancer patients, and was also helpful against AMS or “Aging Male Symptoms" when combined with chocolate! So my patients should be buying their husband’s some chocolate covered pomegranate seeds for Valentine’s Day! [9]
Another hormone study with pomegranate looked at cortisol, thyroid, and blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2 Diabetes and concluded that pomegranate improved blood sugar, lowered the stress hormone, cortisol in both men and women, but did not impact thyroid levels. This is good news for my diabetic patients that have been told to never ever ever drink juice…the exception to the rule is pomegranate juice! [21]
Okay back to Women’s Health….
My experience using pomegranate to boost testosterone in men leads me to hypothesize that pomegranate does not always raise testosterone, nor does it lower testosterone, it is likely more of a hormone “modulator” to the male and female reproductive system as was concluded in the prostate study. So whether testosterone is too low or too high, eating pomegranates, taking a pomegranate supplement or drinking pomegranate juice will likely help even things out.
IS POMEGRANATE JUICE SAFE?
Pomegranate juice is the only time I allow my patients to have fruit juice! I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong and there is a research study combined chokeberry, cranberry, and pomegranate juice versus placebo, and concluded:
"Beneficial effects on lipid metabolism by reduced energy intake, modulation of biomarkers such as Phosphodiesterase activity and improved DNA integrity associated with Pomegranate consumption.” [4]
So in layman’s terms that means that pomegranate is anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, improves immune function, cholesterol metabolism, relaxes arteries, helping to open them up and increase blood flow, which is the primary mechanism as to why it helps lower high blood pressure and has been touted as a treatment for male erectile dysfunction for years.
BUT... every rule was made to be broken? Right? ?
Pomegranate juice for Women’s Health and Hormones is pretty much the ONLY TIME you will ever see me prescribing juice to my patients. Pure blueberry, blackberry, and cranberry are also the exceptions. As I generally think we should be eating the whole fruit or whole pomegranate seeds to get the fiber along with the sugar.
But I know many of you love to drink juice or add it to your smoothies and recipes, so as long as it is a pure form of Pomegranate juice then it can be used. Only 4-8 oz of juice is needed to receive medicinal properties which is nice to know for hormone patients as it can be one of the most expensive juices out there, just as Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice!
But because Pomegranate is such a tremendous anti-inflammatory, hormone balancing agent I wanted to share some of the exciting Dermatology studies I stumbled upon. Women should not only drink pomegranate juice for their hormones, but also for glowing skin, perfect hormones, and decreased weight and inflammation.
POMEGRANATE FOR DERMATOLOGY: ANTI-AGING, DARK PIGMENTATION + COLLAGEN
In an eight week Dermatology research study on skin aging and pomegranate, researchers concluded that pomegranate, “improved the moisture, brightness, elasticity, and collagen density of the skin of most subjects,” and improved the “moisture, brightness, elasticity, spots, UV spots, and collagen density of skin.” [15]
So this is great news because when I tell my patients that something I need to have them take for their hormone imbalance is actually anti-aging and will plump their collagen, smooth their wrinkles, and help fight dark spots…they suddenly become a million times more compliant with following their treatment plan!
Also for my patients that frequently sunburn or have history of skin cancer, we can increase Pomegranate in their diet to add an extra layer of protection against UVB rays (of course in Arizona and most areas you will still need to use a nontoxic sunscreen, like the Alba 50 SPF spray is my favorite since it gives your skin an added shine, goes on clear, smells like coconuts and is coral reef safe.)
Women can safely use Pomegranate juice to help balance female hormones. Everyone knows I ban juice as a mom and am very anti juice because of the high fructose corn syrup. I believe children should be fed fruit and not fruit juice, as the juice is generally missing the fiber.
But pomegranate juice, blackberry juice, and blueberry juice are exceptions to that rule because they contain one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet, “proanthocyanidins” that help reduce inflammation, reduce chronic pain, reduce blood pressure, protect the skin from UVB radiation, and are generally anti-aging.
So there is the vanity...er... Dermatology motivation to stay consistent with pomegranate as medicine! 😉
Pomegranate helps our skin, helps balance hormones for Hormonal Acne and other female hormone conditions such as PMS, PCOS, Perimenopause, Diabetes, Estrogen Dominance, and Menopause.
In Herbal Medicine, pomegranate is a key reproductive herb that aids hormone balance, detoxification, reduces inflammation which then reduces insulin resistance and estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance is the enemy of women because it is the very hormone imbalance we experience every month with PMS or Premenstrual Syndrome.
So when I tell women in perimenopause that it is basically now "Permanent PMS," unless we use herbal medicine to reduce the estrogen dominance, speed up liver detox pathways to eliminate this estrogen, address constipation that also causes estrogen dominance, and add a light progesterone cream or pill in a Bioidentical Hormone or BHRT form....women will feel much better!
Estrogen Dominance causes women to feel bloated, angry, agitated, annoyed, depressed, anxious, can be responsible for panic attacks, headaches, migraines, fibroids, high blood pressure, blood clots, endometriosis, crying, and severe chronic fatigue when estrogen is elevated. PCOS is oftentimes the culprit of estrogen dominance.
Did you know women have three forms of estrogen? Estradiol, the one your doctor frequently tests for is not the only estrogen and can cause the hormone test to be erroneously wrong. This is the medical equivalent of mammogramming one breast to assume the other breast is just fine.
Estradiol, estrone, and Total Estrogen should be tracked for women with symptoms of hormone imbalance. If the amount of estradiol and estrone do not closely mimic the Total Estrogen, then this is a common sign the woman is suffering from excess of Xenoestrogens from beauty products.
This is where shampoos, makeup, creams, and lotions with pthalates and parabens can actually screw up hormones and help to cause hormonal acne, and other disease of estrogen dominance.
Pomegranate juice and seeds primarily work via potent antioxidants to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is shown in multiple research studies to increase estrogen dominance and is therefore the "Elephant in the Room," many times causing women to have PCOS, Insulin Resistance, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Autoimmunity, Perimenopause, and the infamous PMS.
We need to work on both cleaning up the diet, AND cleaning up beauty products. If the beauty product is allowed per European guidelines, that is one of the easiest ways to know that it is clean. Or if it is made with certified organic ingredients. You have to be careful though, because just one of the ingredients can be organic and above that seal it says "With Organic Lavender," and the lavender is the only organic ingredient.
POMEGRANATE FOR BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART + CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
The pomegranate, when transformed into juice, does some amazing things for the body, and in particular, the cardiovascular system.
First and foremost it has been shown to lower blood pressure, and inhibit the formation of plaque along artery walls (aka atherosclerosis). Not only has it been shown to inhibit new plaque formation, but it also can reverse the atherosclerosis that has already occurred!
This last result is pretty amazing. Patients drank pomegranate juice daily, and then a Doppler ultrasound of the carotid artery showed up to a 30% decrease in the thickness of the artery. Patients who did not take the pomegranate juice showed a 9% increase in the thickness of their carotid arteries. [27]
Pomegranate has also been shown to help diabetic patients lower their LDL and total cholesterol, while having no significant effect on their blood glucose levels. Yep, you read that right, a juice that does not significantly increase blood glucose levels, but actually works to improve them!
You can find the juice at most supermarkets and health food stores. However, make sure it is 100% pomegranate juice with no added sweeteners or other types of juice as they will only add calories and reduce the positive effects you have just been reading about!
My favorite is of course the Pomwonderful brand. I have been a fan of Pomwonderful ever since it came out many years ago when they mailed me a case of it and I started reading pomegranate research.
I love that the juice is 100% pure pomegranate with no added sweeteners. Some of my patients find the flavor a bit too tart so I recommend they mix it with half of the PomBlueberry juice, or add stevia and dilute it with water. To make my fun non-alcoholic "Happy Hour Pom Pom" just add 1-2 packets of stevia to your pomegranate juice and then top off with lime or plain club soda (not tonic water as that is poison for PCOS.) If you add the club soda first you can float the pomegranate juice on top for a pretty effect.
Pomegranate is delicious in your PCOS Smoothie Recipe, or I add a few splashes to each cup of herbal tea I drink to give it a pleasant flavor and fun color.
So please enjoy the only juice I allow women to drink as a hormone doctor! ?
If you need my help with hormone imbalance, PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, or other Women’s Health matters simply give us a call or visit my SCHEDULE page to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit! I would be happy to help.
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
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