PMS + PMDD.
Not just 'part of being a woman.' The cycle-driven mood swings, pain, and energy crashes are signals that the estrogen-progesterone balance is off.
The cycle is information.
PMS is the late-luteal symptom pattern that hits in the one to two weeks before menstruation — the bloating, the mood swings, the cramps, the cravings, the exhaustion. PMDD is the more severe, mood-driven version that disrupts daily life. Both are downstream of the estrogen-to-progesterone ratio and how those hormones are metabolized.
For most women, the story has been the same since their teens: every doctor calls it 'just PMS' and reaches for a birth control prescription. But birth control doesn't fix PMS — it covers it up. Your body stays imbalanced underneath; you just can't feel it because synthetic hormones are overriding your natural cycle. The moment you stop, everything comes roaring back.
Functional medicine takes a different approach. We test your actual hormone levels and metabolites with the DUTCH panel, then look at your gut health, your nutrient status, and your cortisol rhythm. When we fix what's actually broken, most women see real improvement within 2 to 3 cycles — without adding a prescription.
Does this sound familiar?
Balance the ratio.
It's not in your head — it's in your hormones
Every month, a week or two before your period, it starts: the bloating, the mood swings, the cramps that sideline you, the cravings, the exhaustion. If your calendar practically has a countdown to when these symptoms hit, that predictable pattern is itself the biggest clue that your hormones are out of balance.
The pattern isn't random and it isn't a character flaw. It tracks the luteal phase, when progesterone should rise to balance estrogen. When that ratio is off — or when estrogen isn't being cleared properly — the symptoms follow like clockwork.
Why birth control isn't the answer
Birth control is the standard prescription for PMS, but it works by suppressing your natural cycle and replacing it with synthetic hormones. It can quiet the symptoms, but it doesn't correct the underlying imbalance — and it can't tell you what that imbalance was.
That's why symptoms so often return, sometimes worse, when the pill is stopped. Our goal is the opposite: get your own hormones working properly so your cycle stops running your life, with or without a prescription.
The gut-hormone connection
One of the most overlooked drivers of PMS lives in the gut. An enzyme called beta-glucuronidase recycles estrogen; when the microbiome is imbalanced, that enzyme gets overactive and pushes too much estrogen back into circulation.
That excess estrogen relative to progesterone — estrogen dominance — is a common root cause of breast tenderness, heavy flow, and mood symptoms. Fixing the gut often fixes the cycle, which is why our protocols address digestion and estrogen clearance alongside the hormones themselves.
What to expect from the process
We start by mapping your hormones and metabolites at the correct cycle phase, then build a protocol around what the testing actually shows — nutrients, gut and liver support, and lifestyle timing.
Most women feel meaningful change within 2 to 3 cycles, and we retest at roughly 90 days to confirm the lab numbers match how you feel. The aim isn't to manage symptoms forever — it's to correct the imbalance so the pattern eases for good.
Questions, answered.
Track the cycle. Fix the cause.
A 30-minute consult to map your hormone pattern and build a cycle-supportive protocol.
Book a cycle consult