Hormone Balance at Every Stage of a Woman’s Life
8th Sense’s hormone care looks at hormones in context, gut health, liver function, metabolism and lifestyle, offering personalised, body-identical hormone therapy rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Hormones influence far more than the menstrual cycle. They affect mood, sleep, energy, metabolism, body composition, cognition, sexual health, bone health, cardiovascular health, and healthy ageing.
At 8th Sense Aesthetic Clinic, we take an evidence-based Functional Medicine approach to hormone health. Rather than treating an isolated hormone result or following a standard protocol, we evaluate the interconnected systems that influence hormone production, transport, signalling, metabolism, and elimination.
We support women through every stage of hormonal health—from PMS, PMDD, PMOS (formerly PCOS), irregular periods, and luteal-phase dysfunction to endometriosis, hormone-related infertility, fibroids, perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal health.
Hormones Do Not Work in Isolation
Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA are part of a much larger endocrine network. Their effects depend on interactions with other hormones and multiple physiological systems, including:
- Insulin
- Thyroid hormones
- Cortisol and stress signalling
- Metabolic pathways
- Inflammatory pathways
- Hormone metabolism and elimination
- Gut health
- Nutritional status
- Environmental exposures
For example, metabolic dysfunction can influence ovarian function, insulin resistance can increase androgen production, thyroid dysfunction can disrupt menstrual cycles, and changes in ovarian hormones can affect sleep, metabolism, and body composition.
The body functions as an interconnected network—not as a collection of isolated hormones.
Endocrine Disruptors and Hormone Signalling
Hormonal health depends not only on how much hormone is circulating, but also on how effectively tissues respond to hormonal signals.
Certain environmental chemicals are known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because they can interfere with normal endocrine function. Depending on the specific chemical and level of exposure, endocrine disruptors may influence: hormone production, transport, hormone metabolism, receptors functioning and hormone signalling.
A Functional Medicine approach considers relevant environmental exposures where clinically appropriate.
Your Hormones. Your Biology. Your Personalised Treatment.
Hormone therapy is not one-size-fits-all.
Hormonal symptoms often have multiple contributing factors. Before considering hormone replacement, we assess your overall health and identify factors that may influence hormone production, signalling, metabolism, and elimination.
Depending on your individual circumstances, assessment may include:
- Metabolic health and insulin resistance
- Thyroid function
- Nutritional status
- Inflammation
- Liver health and hormone metabolism
- Gastrointestinal health and the gut microbiome
- Cardiovascular and metabolic risk
- Blood pressure and lipid profile
- Bone health
- Sleep and stress
- Environmental exposures and endocrine disruptors
- Medications and supplements
- Menstrual cycle patterns and ovulation
We do not simply treat the hormone—we investigate the biological environment in which the hormone is working.
We Look at Hormone Metabolism—Not Just Hormone Levels
“Is my estrogen high or low?” This is only one part of the picture. We also ask:“ How is my body processing, transforming, and eliminating hormones?”
Hormones undergo multiple physiological processes including production, conversion, metabolism, conjugation, and elimination.
Where clinically appropriate, we may utilise urinary hormone metabolite testing alongside relevant detoxification (Dutch test), gastrointestinal, metabolic, and conventional biomarkers to better understand hormone metabolism.
This may help us explore:
- How hormones are being metabolised
- How effectively hormone metabolites are eliminated
- Whether environmental exposures may affect hormone signalling
- How different hormones interact within the endocrine network
All testing is selected according to the clinical question and interpreted alongside conventional laboratory investigations and the complete clinical picture.
Evidence-Based Functional Medicine
Our approach does not replace conventional medicine with alternative medicine.
Instead, it integrates evidence-based medical care, current scientific research, and Functional Medicine principles while considering the interconnected factors that influence hormonal health.
We aim to understand:
- What is happening with your hormones—and why?
- What is contributing to the hormonal imbalance?
- What can be modified?
- When hormone therapy is appropriate, what is the safest and most effective approach?
Our goal is not to create “perfect” hormone numbers. Our goal is to improve health, symptoms, physiological function, and quality of life while maintaining an appropriate safety profile.
FAQ
Functional Medicine hormone care combines conventional medical assessment with a systems-based approach, considering hormones alongside metabolism, nutrition, gastrointestinal health, sleep, stress, inflammation, and relevant environmental factors.
Yes. PMS, PMDD, PMOS (PCOS), irregular periods, luteal-phase dysfunction, hormone-related infertility, endometriosis, and fibroids can all occur during the reproductive years.
Luteal-phase dysfunction refers to inadequate or inconsistent ovulation and/or insufficient progesterone production during the luteal phase. Assessment considers menstrual history and evidence of ovulation rather than relying on a single progesterone result alone.
“Estrogen dominance” is not a formal medical diagnosis. It is a commonly used clinical term describing symptoms associated with a relative imbalance between estrogen and progesterone, rather than simply elevated estrogen levels. We investigate the broader hormonal, metabolic, and clinical picture before making treatment decisions.
Yes. PMOS requires an evidence-based medical diagnosis. Functional Medicine complements conventional care by investigating insulin resistance, metabolic health, nutrition, inflammation, sleep, gut health, and other modifiable factors.
*Disclaimer: Treatment results will vary on a patient to patient basis. No guarantees can be made.
