One of the many benefits of publishing a magazine about healthy living is that I learn at least one new thing a month that winds up changing my life for the better. Such is the case with hormone pellet therapy—you may have heard it called “bio-identical hormone therapy”—which is the focus of our local article on page 22.

Thank goodness for Natural Awakenings. That’s where I first read about pellet therapy, a safer alternative to traditional hormone therapy. You can read the details in this month’s article, but essentially the hormones are placed as pellets under the skin rather than taken as an oral medication. While the pellets are made in a lab, they have the same chemical structure as natural hormones, and the delivery system mimics the body’s natural hormone delivery process, so there’s less risk of harmful side effects than with the oral medications. 

As you’ll read in the article, hormone imbalance can happen to anyone at any age. But the classic sufferer is the menopausal woman. I know—she’s been the subject of many punch lines. But when that woman was suddenly me, it was no laughing matter. From insomnia to mood swings, I had most of the typical symptoms. At one point, my mother kindly reminded me that, back in the day, they placed women in my state in the “nuthouse.”

Given what I do for a living, I obviously place a lot of faith in natural remedies. Therefore, I tackled my symptoms head-on by accelerating my natural care plan for menopause, with a vegan diet, exercises, supplements, creams and a lot of meditation and hypnosis, all of which were very beneficial. But despite years of researching the issue and trying new approaches, my symptoms continued to worsen, interfering with my ability to work and enjoy life and my husband.

Of the many symptoms I experienced, the most debilitating was severe heat rashes on my face and décolletage. When I had a flare-up, I could not leave the house. I lived in a bag of ice cubes, like the bubble boy. Acupuncture helped tremendously, but within days of a treatment, the problem would be back. I sought treatment from an allergist and a dermatologist too, but still, the outbreaks continued—for two years. I read about other women my age who’d had similar experiences: they’d committed to healthy lifestyles but still suffered from crazy rashes. I was shocked when I read a Mayo Clinic study indicating that more women were experiencing menopause symptoms into their 70s and 80s.

I gave in and got the pellets. Days later, I had my life back.

As publisher of Natural Awakenings, I consider it my most important mission to help others feel good. That’s the primary reason I’m so passionate about our publication. I’m committed to providing my readers with any good information they can use to improve their quality of life, whether it’s about all-natural remedies, remedies that complement western medicine, or medical remedies designed to align with how our bodies naturally work.

As a wise woman once told me, “You can't fix everything with a bran muffin.”

 Here's to feeling good again,

Daralyn Chase