Over-Prescribed and Under-Informed: You May Have Been Misdiagnosed!
If you were prescribed anti-depressants would you take them? Would you accept the diagnosis and try to move on with your life? I’m sure you’re thinking “of course I would!” The answer seems so straightforward, but the truth is that it’s not. Sara Gottfried is a woman who knows this all too well.
In her thirties Gottfried was suffering from what she calls the “ 4 ‘F’s’ – frazzled, frumpy, fat, and you can imagine the fourth ‘F’.” When she made the decision to change these things, she found herself prescribed with anti-depressants. While some women may have seen this as a welcome answer to their problems, Gottfried would not accept her diagnoses. Gottfried is a Harvard trained M.D., a yoga instructor and nationally recognized, board-certified gynecologist. For such a health-oriented person, this diagnosis was not welcomed. She was already feeling like “burnt toast” and antidepressants were not going to help. Many of the side effects of antidepressants are issues that Gottfried was already dealing with. Did she really want to exacerbate what she was already feeling, such as a decreased sex drive and weight gain, plus add symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia or fatigue, dizziness and a slew of other issues? She stared at her Prozac prescription contemplating her choices and thought to herself “I don’t think the answer is antidepressants. In fact, they only are effective if you have major depression and that’s the minority of people who take them.” Because of this she chose to search for something else, a different and better answer.
The truth is that Gottfried’s story is far too common these days. “We live in a culture that is obsessed with using prescription drugs as an answer to health,” Gottfried warned. One in four women across the age ranges is taking a drug for mental health, and one in seven men are doing the same. When you look specifically at women between 40 and 55 you find that one in four women are on an antidepressant and most of these women have a hormone imbalance and just don’t know it. Half of these women , or 50%, have high cortisol, 20% have low thyroid and they are treating these issues with the wrong methods. If we think about the time between 40 and 55 in a woman’s life what is she going through? Do you think this is a more depressing time for all of these women or do you think it’s more likely that they are simply experiencing the hormone sabotage which is menopause? The answer seems so clear when we think of it this way but for some reason we have found ourselves more likely to believe the diagnoses than the idea that it could be a lot more simple than having a mental illness. Gottfried, like so many other women, found herself prescribed with an antidepressant but instead of taking her prescription, she found herself a cure.
The Hormone Cure is not only the title of Gottfried’s life changing book, but also the way that women can actually fix their problems, not just treat them. With The Hormone Cure we are addressing the cause, not just the symptom. For women there are three hormones which, when out of whack, can lead to feeling Gottfried’s Four “F’s.” Gottfried calls them her “Hormonal Charlie’s Angels.” These hormones are Cortisol, Estrogen and Thyroid. These hormones are “little hinges that swing big doors.” Having any of these hormones too high or too low can cause a barrage of symptoms including:
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A fried hippocampus (which regulates emotions and memory consolidation)
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Increased risk of Alzheimer’s
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Increased risk of diabetes
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The storing of belly fat
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Low sex drive
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Low energy
By getting these three hormones into the perfect zone that Gottfried calls the “goldilocks spot” you’ll be reversing all of these symptoms. By reaching this “goldilocks spot” you will:
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Keep a young and clearer mind
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Lose weight
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Regain your sex drive
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Have better orgasms
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Increase productivity
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Restored sleep
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Increase your energy
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Feel happier
Are you with me now? Of course you are! Those sound like some amazing rewards for finding your “goldilocks spot!” Now the next question; how do you find out what’s out of whack? Dr. Gottfried has created a hormone quiz specifically for women to help them see which hormones they need to focus on. This quiz will change your life!
Find it here: http://thehormonecurebook.com/quiz/
Why should we as women be so focused on this issue? Women across all age ranges are outnumbering men as takers of antidepressants. We’re being prescribed younger and younger and we’re not the ones who are profiting, it’s the pharmaceutical companies. Instead of investing in pills, we need to invest in our health. Not only will The Hormone Cure change the way you think about your health, but it will also let you take your health into your own hands. Gottfried took her health into her own hands the day she decided not to take the Prozac and to find the real cure for her issues. Now she’s giving you the chance to do the same. With Gottfried’s method you’ll be eating better, exercising less and enjoying life more. With The Hormone Cure you’ll still be popping pills, but these aren’t filled with chemicals, they’re filled with supplements. Instead of suppressing your body, you’ll be fueling it.
The Hormone Cure is here because “feeling moody, asexual, tapped out, dried up, stressed out, and sleep deprived” is not a symptom of being a female. In her book Gottfried combines natural therapies, rigorous scientific testing and her questionnaire to help you follow an individualized plan that will change your life in a much more positive way than a bottle of Prozac will. Gottfried’s book is part of our Ultimate Sweepstakes from Women Who Run It on Facebook. Not only are we giving away an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite with Gottfried’s book on it, but it is also filled with five other books by amazing and inspiring authors.
Enter Now: https://womenwhorunit.wpengine.com/Ultimate
Taylor Brown
Taylor Brown is an Associate Editor at Goddess Connections for the Women Who Run It E-Mag. She graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Studies. She is a resident of Toronto and she has a passion for exploring topics on health and fitness, and enjoys writing stories about women’s issues. She also enjoys writing about business and how to build a career. When she is not working for Women Who Run It you can find her exploring Toronto, going for jogs, or simply enjoying life as a strong, empowered woman who runs it. Her goal is to share stories that help women of all walks of life take control of their lives and create balance with ease.