Fertility Hormones: which to test + what they all mean

Blood work is a valuable tool to quantify hormone levels and fertility markers, which together give insight as to how our ovaries are functioning and the quality of the eggs they contain. If you are currently trying to conceive or thinking about getting pregnant in the next few years, testing your hormones can give you a lot of helpful information that will assist you in making informed decisions about your family planning.

If you’re new to learning about these hormones then all the abbreviations and numbers are enough to leave you feeling dizzy, but I’m going to explain what they mean for your health and fertility, and let you know exactly how you can test them yourself.

Fertility, Hormonal ImbalancesJacqueline GabardyFebruary 28, 2019AMH, FSH, hormones, blood work, fertility, infertility, ovarian reserve

Foods for Hot Flashes

Hot flashes suck, it’s hard to understand if you’ve never experienced one before. They can stop you in your tracks or send you running home for a change of dry clothes. If you’ve been dealing with hot flashes, whether from menopause or other hormonal imbalances, then you’re probably desperate to find something that works.

Luckily you’re in the right place, because I treat them all the time, in people of all ages. In many cases diet and herbs can majorly improve hot flashes and hormonal imbalances if you know what to look for, I’ll explain how!

Hormonal Imbalances, Food + NutritionJacqueline GabardyNovember 15, 2018hot flashes, yin deficiency, menopause

Period Problems? How to Deal

Does your period suck? Well then we should talk, because I hated my period for a very long time, and now me and my period are friends. We can hang once a month when she comes to town and it doesn't destroy my whole damn life.

My journey of healing my cycle is what made me so passionate to learn all the ways Chinese medicine can help those who menstruate, and to share this knowledge with anyone who will listen. I believe it's our birthright to have a period that’s manageable, if not enjoyable. And honestly? It’s really not as complicated as it's all made out to be.

Depending on why your periods or cycles suck, whether they are painful, emotional, or totally irregular, I’ll walk you through exactly what you can do to feel better each month.

Natural Ways to Boost Milk Supply

If you are currently breastfeeding and experiencing difficulty, that situation can range from frustrating to devastating. Luckily, there are lots of natural options that can improve your supply and make breastfeeding a lot easier. From diet and herbs, to acupuncture and lactation consultations, I’ll break down exactly what’s what and how to boost your supply in no time.

Women's HealthJacqueline GabardyOctober 25, 2018postpartum, breastmilk, breastfeeding

How to Make an Herbal Sitz Bath

If you don’t know already, a sitz bath is a bath you can sit in, so it’s typically used for healing the perineum, anal area, and vulva. It can clean, soothe, and reduce inflammation or irritation of these areas in cases of hemorrhoids, perineal swelling, irritation or the anus or vulva, general uterine health, and postpartum recovery.

You can do a simple sitz bath with plain water, or some people add epsom salt, sea salt, and/or essential oils. I tend to prefer using brewed herbs to boost healing and gain the benefits of whichever botanicals are used.

If you’ve never used a sitz bath before there can be a bit of a learning curve to getting it right, especially when adding herbs into the mix, but it’s actually not that complicated. I’ll explain exactly how.

Herbal MedicineJacqueline GabardyOctober 11, 2018hemorrhoids, perineal healing, postpartum, sitz bath, herbs

What is the Fertile Window?

I always joke with my patients about the myths of ovulation, one of the main ones being - “today is the day, we’ve got to have sex right NOW!” There’s an episode of Friends with Monica and Chandler that comes to mind.

In reality, that’s not really how it works. Many people are surprised to find out that sperm can survive for up to 5 days in the female body during the fertile window. And because fertilization happens within 24 hours of ovulation, the full fertile window is actually 7 days long.

Let’s talk about how to figure out when your fertile window starts and ends.

My Favorite Cycle Charting Apps

Most of my patients opt to chart their cycle with cycle charting apps, whether they are just keeping track of when their period starts and ends, or they’re going all out and charting basal body temperature and taking ovulation tests.

Apps can be a simple way to keep track of cycle data, carry it with you wherever you go, and in some cases these apps can even play a crucial role in helping to determine when ovulation happens, when the fertile window starts and ends, and other common patterns that may be effecting your period or fertility. I’m going to walk you through some of my favorite cycle charting apps and why each may be a good fit for you.

Cycle Health, FertilityJacqueline GabardySeptember 26, 2018cycle charting, BBT charting, ovulation, apps

Herbs for Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people turn to herbal medicine. Both because herbal remedies can provide fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals and a milder effect on the body. But I find the topic is often oversimplified.

We can't simply use herbs symptomatically for anxiety, it's important to have a full understanding of what the herbs do, how they work in the body, as well as who they work best for. So I'm going to explain how sedative, adpatogenic, and nervine herbs work to improve anxiety, which herbs to look for, and who they're most appropriate for.

Herbal MedicineJacqueline GabardySeptember 3, 2018anxiety, adaptogen, nervine, sedative

Pain During Sex - WTF?!?

The medical term is dyspareunia, which means difficulty, discomfort, or pain during intercourse. It's a condition I see quite frequently in my clinic and while many people who experience this symptom cross their fingers and hope it will go away on its own, that's not the reality for everyone.

As confusing and frustrating as dealing with painful sex can sometimes be, I find there are only so many causes. If we work our way through the list we can typically get to the bottom of what's actually going on. In many cases I've seen my patients find relief and actually heal from experiencing pain during sex, I'll explain how.

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