Learn the 'why' behind Balanced Thistle, why I do what I do, and how a scientist at heart curated a fascination with acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

Let’s talk BBT (basal body temperature) and how to know when you are ovulating - one of the first things to check for any fertility challenges.

There is so much more to your feminine cycle than that one week where you bleed. In fact, your hormones and body are doing some serious work behind the scenes all month long, and the more you know about your cycle and how it affects your mood, energy, sex drive, and productivity, the more you can use this knowledge to harness your best energy and stop feeling like you are on a hamster wheel of constant exhaustion or burnout.

Dear women with debilitating menstrual pain.

We see you!

Often, when doctors cannot figure out what is wrong, it can feel very invalidating to be in extreme pain every month and not know why. While having painful menstruation is certainly all too common, too many of us have been told it’s just a “normal” part of being a woman and to suck it up and take an ibuprofen or naproxen. These medications can be beneficial for some women or even help you get to school or work on a bad day, but they are often like slapping a band-aid on a deeper issue. Quick fixes may aid temporary relief, but there is no such thing as a sustainable quick fix for chronic health issues and pain.

Summertime is on its way, and in Chinese medicine while Spring is all about new growth, Summer is about flourishing and reaping the benefits of new growth. Nature exemplifies this when flowers bloom and vegetables and fruits are harvested in abundance. Being the hottest time of the year, summer is also known in Chinese medicine as the most “yang” time of year. What we call “yang” in Chinese medicine can be described as intangible activity and the driving force behind growth. It allows things to move, grow, and provides warmth.

Pregnancy is a unique period of time in a woman’s life and even if it’s not her first baby, often times the experience from pregnancy to pregnancy is quite different. One of the things we encounter in clinic that can be disheartening is when our mama’s express to us that they feel lost, confused, or unsupported by their medical team. Of course this isn’t always the case, but it isn’t uncommon for a mama to express gratitude for the prenatal support we’re able to offer because she simply felt she wasn’t given this level of guidance elsewhere.

Taking birth control for period pain or other menstrual and hormonal issues is about as ubiquitous as taking tums for a stomach ache. It is commonly prescribed not just to prevent contraception, but often for irregular cycles, painful menstruation, heavy bleeding, migraines, and even acne. While many women are told to take birth control to “regulate their cycle and/or hormones” this is a common misconception and a bit of a misleading statement.

We thought it was time to talk about some of the issues that women face with menstruation, whether or not they’re trying to conceive. Two of the most common menstrual disorders that acupuncturists treat around the globe include Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (known as PCOS). One of the important things to note as a clinician and patient when it comes to these two conditions is that they are very, very different.

How often do you hold in what you would really like to say? This all affects our jaw muscles. When tense, these effects have a trickling effect. It may cause headaches, neck tension, trouble eating and or sleeping. These are just a few. It houses many unseen imbalances; visually, it holds stagnation in the skin and prohibits proper lymphatic movement. The trickle-down effect is the muscles in the neck carry the burden and literally can pull down our face and change the shape.

Today, we’re going to take a small glimpse into just one of the contributors to that long list of possibilities: Autoimmune disease. These disorders can certainly play a role in reproductive issues and may especially play a role in unexplained cases of infertility and recurrent miscarriages.