Holistic health center Centro Holistico shows us how traditional Chinese treatment could treat your hormonal imbalance
Earlier this year, I went on an unexpected roller coaster ride with my hormones. I always thought I lived a well-balanced life, but when I started to bleed outside my period, a trip to the ob-gyn revealed that stress, late nights and occasionally indulging in too much sugar led to my hormonal imbalance.
The doctors told me not to fret—going on the pill for 3 months would help regulate my period, and true to their claim, it did. What I did not expect, however, were its physical and mental side effects: nausea, weight gain, and once I got off the pill, the fact that I had turned into an emotional wreck that cried over things, both good and bad, that normally wouldn’t be a big deal. I cried when I arrived home, frustrated with work. I cried when I admitted to myself I loved the person I was dating, and then later on when he first said it to me. I cried over being exhausted about crying so often. It was after experiencing all this that I thought to myself: Could there be a healthier way of balancing out your hormones, especially when it affects so much women?
In perfect timing, a visit to Centro Holistico made me realize that there were other ways to ease these symptoms. The health and wellness center prides themselves on providing patients with a holistic approach to health. “When you come in for a holistic medical consultation, we don’t just ask for your symptoms and send you home with medications for the symptoms,” starts Dr. Candy Drilon-Dalman, one of the center’s founders. “We look into the different aspects of your lifestyle that affect your overall health: diet, physical activity, work environment, living conditions and more. Our approach is very personalized because each person’s lifestyle is different.” Popular treatments include IV Nutrient Therapy, colon cleanse, and lastly, the ancient Chinese treatment that acupuncture, which was recommended to me.
Before you start with your acupuncture treatment, a doctor sits down with you for a chat, which showed to me how personalized the treatment was. Dr. Candy’s holistic approach quizzed me on my lifestyle, family history, and recent symptoms I had been experiencing. “If your cortisol levels are high or if you have been chronically stressed for a while, then your hormones will be chronically imbalanced,” she told me. She also discussed that other factors, such as nutrition and sleep were important. “Sleep earlier. That’s one thing you can do to balance out your hormones,” I was told when I disclosed my not-so-great sleeping habits.
Finally, it was time for my treatment. Thin needles were placed on key channels of energy on my body, which is said to stimulate certain organs. I found needles on my stomach, my legs, and on my head for my sleeping issues. I was then told to relax for around 40 minutes, which was easy considering how painless I realized acupuncture actually was. You soon leave Centro Holistico feeling refreshed, feeling quite distant from the chronically stressed individual you were moments ago.
I kid you not—that week, I slept like a baby, feeling sleepy before 11 AM. Since then, I had taken multiple trips to have acupuncture at Centro Holistico. While my condition might not have improved overnight, it is the small things that you suddenly notice. My period now comes on the dot every month and I am a lot less moodier. Of course, there are a few things I have to still work on when it comes to my lifestyle, but the beauty in holistic treatments such as acupuncture is that you realize how the tiniest factors come into play.
“We are not alternative medicine doctors,” says Dr. Candy. “We practice Integrative Medicine, wherein we combine our Western or traditional medicinal knowledge with the alternative or contemporary forms of medicine. We work with their existing attending physicians.”
Centro Holistico Integrative Health and Wellness Center can be found at 2/F CommerCenter Alabang, Commerce Ave. corner Filinvest Ave and East Asia Drive, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, and at 2/F The Retail Row, The Grove by Rockwell, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave (C5), Pasig City. To schedule a consultation, call (02) 828-8863 for Alabang or (02) 477-4574 for The Grove.
Visit www.centroholisticoph.com for more information. Like Centro Holistico on Facebook www.facebook.com/centroholistico.ph and follow @centroholistico on Instagram for updates and promos.
