Chinese Medicine and Cortisol
It’s been really interesting looking at the Comprehensive Hormone Testing I’ve been doing over the last 12 months. There are many similarities in hormone imbalances amongst women trying to conceive. The most obvious one is not estrogen or progesterone imbalance but a cortisol imbalance.
Cortisol is often called the body’s stress hormone. It’s produced by the adrenal glands and plays an essential role in helping us wake up in the morning, regulate blood sugar, manage inflammation and respond to short term stress.
In healthy rhythms, cortisol rises in the morning and gradually falls throughout the day.
Persistently high cortisol can affect fertility by:
- Suppressing reproductive hormones
- Lead to irregular ovulation or anovulation
- Contribute to low progesterone
- Affect thyroid function
- Increase inflammation and insulin resistance
The body prioritises survival over reproduction, so supporting healthy cortisol levels is really important in infertility. Unfortunately fertility treatments also add stress to an already over exerted system.
This is where acupuncture can help as a non medical, non supplement, supportive treatment to support cortisol and help you fall pregnant.
There’s not a direct collerelation of Cortisol in Chinese Medicine. This is because cortisol and the symptoms of cortisol dysregulation are across multiple organ systems.
But Chinese Medicine does have a few key concepts to help help diagnose and treat the body when cortisol is being poorly regulated.
The Kidney System
Cortisol relates most closely to the Kidney System. This system governs survival, source (genetic) energy and long term resilience. Chronic stress may deplete Kidney Yin, Yang or Jing and present with premature ovarian failure, poor iVF outcomes, burnout, fatigue, changes to blood pressure, anxiety, sleep disturbances, poor progesterone production and fertility challenges.
The Liver System
This system ensures smooth flow of energy through the body. I it in charge of emotional adaptability. Acute stress can obstruct free flow and chronic stress can increase heat and shows in symptoms like irritability, digestive issues, delayed ovulation, painful periods, breast tenderness and sleep disturbances.
The Heart System
Anxiety, racing thoughts, insomnia, headaches, fatigue are all disharmonies of the Heart System and also cortisol imbalance.
You can have one organ system affected or all three and at times you’ll have a shift between them all depending on diet and lifestyle factors as well as hormones and increased or decreased stress factors.
By supporting Kidney, Liver and Heart systems, we can support the body’s response to stress rather than being stuck in overdrive or exhaustion.
Luckily, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can work to support these organ systems and help regulate your cortisol and support health and fertility.
There are also lots of home self care things you can do to support cortisol regulation. It’s not just about the odd massage or facial. It’s also boundaries, rest, exercise, breath work, saying no to things you don’t want to do, managing finances better, managing time better, eating well and looking after your mental health. It’s a daily practice of support to maintain the effects of treatment.
If you’d like to understand more about your cortisol metabolism as a part of understanding your infertility, please get in touch – hello@paigewatersacupuncture.com.au.
Kindest,
Paige
