I’ve been with the same OB/GYN for about 12 years. He delivered all three of my precious girls, and I have loved being under his care during my childbearing years. We totally “got” his sense of humor, and he saved my life with my first child. I developed Preeclampsia at 36 weeks, and HipChick was delivered by emergency C-Section right before my organs were to become compromised.
After my first child, I spiraled into severe anxiety disorder (sort of resembling PTSD) and he helped me get back on my feet. I have a special bond with that man, and my husband does too.
But over the last several years, I have wondered about my anxiety issue, and whether there could be another way to deal with it, aside from psychotropic pharmaceuticals. Some of my symptoms seemed to mirror hormonal imbalance, but I could never really get anywhere with the standard medical practice. I’ve been getting a little weary of being dependent on strong drugs, IF I didn’t need to be. Let me be clear that I think medicines for depression and anxiety are wonderful, and needed! But if I had hormonal imbalance, maybe I could reduce my dosage or come off the meds completely.
Many of my friends go to a local Certified Nurse Midwife for their OB/GYN needs, and I remember when I first met her at an expo. I told her I was thinking of coming to see her, described some of my symptoms, and she immediately speculated that it may be low progesterone levels. She even described several symptoms that I hadn’t shared with her, such as cloudy thinking, short term memory issues, lack of focus.
So it has taken me almost a year… but when my prescription was almost expired, I figured I better make an appointment- bite the bullet- or just decide to stay with my original practice. I went to see the midwife today, and it was an incredible visit! It was like she intuitively knew what I was experiencing. Maybe because she’s also a woman. I have only had two OB/GYN doctors in my life, both men.
Or maybe it’s because she is open to other ideas than just prescribing drugs to treat symptoms. Whatever it was, it felt great… like I had some hope that I may be able to overcome the issues I’ve been struggling with for the last 9 years.
She started me out with some natural Progesterone spray, applied in a certain way each day, and I’m going back in two months to talk about the meds. Apparently, the meds I’m on are so strong and the withdrawal is horrible, so I may have to replace it with another before tapering off the second drug. Wow!
But I still feel like I’m cheating on my former doctor! It’s just weird to change such a huge part of my life, and I want him to know how much I appreciate him, ya know?
Anyway, I will keep you updated on how the new treatment works. Have you had experiences with hormonal imbalance? Have you switched doctors to get a different perspective on an issue? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
I will be awaiting your next post on how things are progressing. I have been dealing with PMDD and I suspect a hormonal imbalance and have been trying to treat it naturally. I have heard good things about progesterone in those cases. I am a bit anti meds.
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I wanted to add they have their place and a value, but not for me.
.-= Julia´s last blog ..Wordy Wednesday =-.
I will let you know Julia!
A consistent diet rich in whole foods: fruits, vegetables, & whole grains plus regular exercise completely turned my hormonal imbalances around! Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food. . . . Hippocrates. I really think he knew what he was talking about.
I know we talked a little bit earlier…
I still think it’s great you are trying something different! I have had MANY doctors in my time, and the interesting thing was, none of them were against me changing my methods, especially getting off of the drugs. They were actually FOR it… EVEN the doctor that prescribed me most of my medications that my body literally became addicted to!
I hope you can one day get to the weaning off process…
I’m with you, i’m not against meds by any means, but there’s a lot of clarity of mind that is restored when replacing the drugs with natural supplements if possible!
Good luck, Sarah!
I have lots of faith in this midwife! I hope she can help you! I’m not a big, green, crunchy mama (chemicals are my FRIEND), but I think sometimes docs prescribe things to get a patient *under control*, rather than *well*, especially where psychiatric problems are concerned.
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I felt the same way when I left my OBGYN to go to this same CNM that you are talking about. That’s been several years now, and lets just say I wouldn’t trade her for nothing! Oh how I love her to death, I feel that she takes her time with you and it’s so worth it to me. Too if it hadn’t been for her I would have never known that I had PCOS and would have never had Chandler as she was the one that sent me to see Dr. Thatcher in Johnson City. Since he passed away she has referred me to a new endocrinologist in Hickory that I really like as well and I hope to get more much needed answers from.
Hope everything works out for you!!
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I switched, but it was easy because we moved. I would have had a hard time were we still in nashville. I LOVED my OB after he delivered Libbie–HOWEVER, I had every intervention in the book during her birth except a c-section. I am hoping having a midwife will encourage me to have a more natural delivery this time around. I also knew I wanted to switch to a woman. As much as I loved my OB, there were times I just felt we couldn’t quite connect because, well, he hadn’t bore a child!
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I used a midwife for M’s birth and a DR for L’s birth. L’s birth was so traumatic with her blue and cord around neck.. not breathing that I know a DR needed to be there (Well heck whole room of DR’s were in there) but M’s birth I thought went so awesome… very relaxing and peaceful. I just love how a midwife thinks things through and not always want to medicate you for everything. They like using natural practices.
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I think what you’re doing is very smart, looking into other options and getting another opinion! I know how you feel, though. I don’t think I have a hormonal imbalance but I have been on progesterone as a natural treatment for my endometriosis (I HATE the pill, which is what they usually use – it messed up my hormone balance). I’m pregnant again now so off it but I’ll get back on after the baby is born. I’m so glad I tried the other alternative, though. After three years of torture I got off the pill and onto progesterone and it changed everything! Sometimes I think some people don’t handle medications as well as others. You have to figure out what works for you. 🙂
I really wish my doctor would have been open to it, sooner. I’m so glad you found a non-pill solution, I hated being on the pill as well. I also think this experience makes me more apt to try alternative/natural solutions to other issues, too.
I had an OBGYN for my first two children and a Midwife for my second two children. Having the midwife was a wonderful experience! I too have had severe anxiety over the years, especially postpartum. I has on Rx meds to manage it and wondered if there wasn’t something more natural that I could do to relieve my symptoms. I found a Dr after many months of researching and searching and finally found one that knows a LOT about bio-identical hormones. I weaned my self off the meds…did have weird side effects, but got through it. After a year of trying to balance my hormones with progesterone and testosterone, I am back on the Rx meds. I am not telling this to discourage you, but encourage you to accept whatever works for your mental health. In the end it is worth me being on what works, so that I can be a healthy mom. I have a post on my blog about a little of my experince with anxiety if you are interested. I wish you luck in finding what works for you! http://nomorenoless-emwhitmer.blogspot.com/2010/11/ashamed-no-more.html
[…] a year ago I wrote about my switch from my MD to a Nurse Midwife. I’ve been managing a general anxiety disorder ever since I had my first child in a traumatic […]