What to Do

If estrogen-dominance symptoms are present use, some natural progesterone cream*  

For functional ovarian cyst, take a liver-supporting and detoxifying herbal formula that  includes some or all of the following herbs: Bupleurum, milk thistle (Silybum Maranum), barberry or goldenseal, burdock root, yellow dock,  dandelion root.

For functional ovarian cysts, take an ovary-healing herbal formula that includes some or all of the following herbs:  burdock root, cramp bark (Viburnum opulus), licorice root, dandelion root, Vitex, red raspberry.  Take a good multivitamin-mineral daily.

What to Do to Restore Ovulation
 

What to Avoid
 

Your ovaries are very active glands.  Many women can feel it when the ovulate; they say if feels like a pinching or slight cramping sensation in the area of the ovary, which is below and to either side of the navel.  It could easily be mistaken for a case of gas or indigestion.  Becoming aware of when you ovulate is a wonderful way to become more aware of your body and its cycles.

Awareness of your ovaries will also give you fertility awareness.  You’ll find that wen you ovulate your vaginal mucus will change, first becoming more profuse or “wet,” and then also becoming more clear, slippery, and stretchy, almost like raw egg whites.

One of the ways to tell if you are ovulating is to take your temperature under your armpit as soon as you wake up in the morning, starting on the last day of your menstral period.  You’ll find that when you ovulate your temperature will go up as much as one degree.

You can also buy a device that is essentially a minimicroscope and look at your vaginal mucus.  When you ovulate your vaginal mucus will create a distinct ferning pattern that you can easily see.  When you aren’t ovulating the mucus will appear normal.  (See the Resources section).

Strictly speaking, you are only fertile for about seventy-two hours each cycle.  Considering that sperm may live up to seventy-two hours after being inseminated into the vagina, it is theoretically possible that conception can occur from sperm arriving two to three days prior to actual ovulation.  Thus, the opportunity for conception may extend over a six-day period each month.  Women who are aware of their ovulation through the methods described above can use that as a form of birth control, which is 98% effective when used conscientiously.

As a premenopausal woman who is not necessarily ovulating every month, you can also use your awareness to know when you are not ovulating.  Some premenopausal women know they haven’t ovulated because that’s the only time they need it.  This is a beautiful and balanced us of body awareness and conscious hormone balancing.  Not every woman is that tuned in, but if you are, use it to your advantage with your hormone balance program.

We hope that as women begin to value their reproductive organs, including their ovaries, physicians will follow their lead.  Throughout your life, your ovaries are a precious source of energy and hormone production that works in much greater harmony with the rest of your body than any hormone replacement program every could.

* See chapter 16 for details on how to use natural progesterone cream. * Excerpt from What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause by Dr. John R. Lee, MD., et al