Hormones are chemical signals used by the body to create an effect. The effects of hormones range from the speed of your metabolism, to the speed that minerals can be taken out of or put into your bones. Hormones can change your mental focus, your ability to tolerate stress and are in control of storing food as fat or using it as energy. Every time you get angry, become tired, laugh, cry, wake up, feel hungry or fall asleep your body is responding to hormones. That’s because hormone levels can impact virtually every major system and organ in your body.
Usually an imbalance in the normal hormone messaging system of your body is a problem with the gland or organ that produces the hormone. If this occurs, dramatic changes in your sense of well being will be noticed.
Blood tests for hormones are not always accurate for identifying a problem and this can make diagnosing functional hormone changes tricky. Dr. Shaw specializes in working with the functional changes in your body to correct the cause of the symptoms and remove the presence of abnormal hormone responses.
In working with a Functional Medicine, Certified Clinical Nutritionist you will hear the word “functional” quite a bit. What we are referring to is that not all problems show up in your blood work, and there may be a more subtle change in your system that is not bad enough to raise the red flags for your medical doctor. Hormones are a perfect example:
If Dr. Shaw is treating a female patient for menstrual related symptoms and an average menstrual cycle is 28 days long, how can a blood test on one of those 28 days give him any insight into where the problem is coming from? It can’t, a blood test on one day of a cycle is giving 1/28th of the puzzle. In stead, a hormone profile is used to collect saliva samples every other day of the cycle and a graph can be generated to chart where the dramatic hormone shift is occurring and correction of the problem can begin from there.
In the last five years there has been extensive advancement in the observation of how exposure to certain toxins and infections can change hormone levels. Exposure to Mold, certain forms of bacterial sinus infections like MARCoNS and undiagnosed Lyme disease can actually lower sex hormone production. All of the signs and symptoms of Testosterone Deficiency, or PMS/PMDD occur but the source of the problem is an infection or toxin. This makes the diagnosis and treatment of hormone imbalances very tricky in-deed. Working with a properly trained and certified Functional Medicine, Clinical Nutritionist is imperative to address these deep levels of compromise to your physiology.
It is important to note that when your medical history and health related goals are explored, your consultations are held directly with Dr. Shaw, not an untrained individual, a staff member, a questionnaire or a computer program. You will not be signing up for a “program” and paying money up front for services not yet rendered. Your health care journey in our office is unique to your specific needs.
Dr. Shaw looks forward to working with you to identify your hormone system challenges.— Dr. Conan Shaw Functional Medicine, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Pittsburgh PA