A Naturopathy case and HRT
By Clare Badrick
Brenda came to me out of desperation, she felt awful. At
50 Brenda felt more like 80, and could barely hold down
her part time job as a secretary. She felt very emotional
and tearful much of the time and couldn’t concentrate
well at work. She hadn’t been able to sleep well at
night for years, often not getting to sleep till 3 or 4
in the morning, and then waking several times before morning.
Her legs felt extremely cold and restless most of the time
but this was particularly noticeable in bed at night and
was part of the reason she couldn’t sleep. She needed
to have on pyjamas, cover the duvet with blankets and use
a hot water bottle just to get her legs to feel at all warm.
Although on her upper body she would have hot sweats! She
was also prone to getting cramp in her calves.
During the clinical examination I also found that Brenda
had a high blood pressure. Brenda had been on HRT for about
2 years, and her symptoms had begun to develop slowly over
that time - she was considering taking herself of it.
I explained to Brenda that many of the symptoms she was
suffering from could be due to the fact that her hormonal
system was not balanced; it also seemed likely that she
was suffering from some nutritional deficiencies in particular
magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral for all cells
of the body; it helps muscle to contract and relax and is
vital for circulation. We also discussed her job and the
fact that she was not happy there – which was a major
stress to her.
By the end of the consultation Brenda realised she had
some decisions to make. She phoned me a few days later to
say that she had decided to come off HRT, I sent her a multi-vitamin
and mineral and a product containing plant phyto sterols.
Phytosterols are naturally occurring substances in plants
that are similar to oestrogen in humans. They can dramatically
help in certain hormonal conditions and can be useful when
people want to come off HRT.
When I saw Brenda a few weeks later she was much happier.
She had changed her job and was enjoying her new job much
more. She had stopped HRT and was taking the two supplements.
Her legs were already a lot better, she was also finding
that she could get to sleep a lot easier and was also able
to get back to sleep if she woke up. The cramp in her calves
was less frequent. She felt a lot less emotional and tearful
and generally much more in control of her life and happier.
When I checked her blood pressure it was still raised.
We then did some tests to check her nutrient levels and
her circulation. These confirmed that her magnesium levels
were indeed very low, as were a few other nutrients. However,
there were only very mild problems with her circulatory
system that would not account for her symptoms. We added
in some specific nutrients such as the magnesium that we
knew she needed in more significant amounts than a multivitamin
would supply. I also gave Brenda some herbs to take, these
were to help her relax and sleep.
When I saw Brenda a few months later she felt good. She
could sleep well at night without extra blankets and was
only occasionally getting hot flushes. She no longer felt
at all emotional or tearful and was quite happy in herself
and was enjoying her new job. The only problems she still
had left was occasionally waking up at night for a short
time, her legs would sometimes feel a little restless and
she still had a few hot flushes. At this point I decided
to take Brenda off the phyto-oestrogen supplement and help
her body to detoxify. Sometimes it is necessary to support
the body through changes before doing a detoxification procedure.
I felt Brenda was now ready. Detoxification helps the body
because it clears out all types of toxins, in Brenda’s
case we wanted to help her body to clear excess hormones.
Detoxification is a very powerful tool in Naturopathy, but
it must not be undertaken lightly. There needs to be the
correct preparation, sometimes for months before hand, and
there needs to be the correct supervision and monitoring
during the detoxification period. The ‘detox’
itself can last anywhere from 1 day to several months and
can take many different forms. They all involve some dietary
changes, and some even require going without food for a
short time. I tend to favour adjusting the diet to a more
healthful one and then using herbs and complex homeopathy
to help to draw the toxins out of the body and assist elimination
of them.
Brenda cleaned up her diet so that she was only eating
healthful foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds,
grains, pulses and just a little meat. She cut down on her
coffee and tea consumption and drank more water. We used
some complex homeopathic products to assist her body to
detoxify properly.
When I saw Brenda the following month – all her night
sweats had stopped completely and she had had a period for
the first time since coming off HRT. When I checked her
blood pressure it was normal for the first time. She was
now sleeping through the night and felt better than she
had for years.
About the Author
Clare Badrick
My interest in naturopathic medicine began as a teenager.
I had extremely bad acne and no periods. I knew instinctively
that the two were connected, although my G.P didn’t
seem to agree. Dissatisfied I began reading about vitamins
and minerals and started experimenting on myself. I studied
Business and Marketing for my first degree, when I qualified
I started working as a Marketing Manager for an Aromatherapy
company where I learned all about the essential oils and
also qualified in Reflexology. I started to use the oils
for my hormonal problems and had a great deal of success.
I decided I was really a lot more interested in natural
medicine than in marketing and looked around for a course.
Initially I thought of studying nutrition on it’s
own but when I found Naturopathy, a combination of nutrition,
hands on work, detoxification and hydrotherapy - I knew
it was for me. I qualified with a first class degree in
Osteopathy and Naturopathy in 1996. Since then my passion
for Naturopathy has lead me to become Chairperson of the
Education Standing Committee for the General Council and
Register of Naturopaths (the GCRN is the governing body
for Naturopathy). I have continued to study virtually every
aspect of Naturopathic practice – currently including
Medical Herbalism and Complex Homeopathy. Over the next
few years I hope to see Naturopathy develop onto the central
core of all alternative and complementary medical practice.
I practice at The Holistic Centre,
The Barn, Wiggins Yard,
Godalming,
Surrey. GU7 1HL.
Tel: 01483 418103.
The rest of my time is spent working for the GCRN, studying
herbs and writing articles.
