PMS is common. It is not normal.
Feeling like a different person for a week each month is your body asking for support, not a personality trait, not just your hormones. There's almost always an addressable driver.
Acycleyoucanlivewith.
Painful periods, week-long PMS, irregular cycles. These are signals, not features. Most respond to clear, targeted care.
“Your cycle is a monthly report card. Read it well and most of what's wrong becomes solvable.”
The standard answer for PMS, painful periods, or irregular cycles is the pill. That's a real tool, but it silences the signal rather than asking what the signal means. I'd rather understand what's going on first, and use the pill (or not) by choice.
Whether it's heavy bleeding, mood swings that wreck the week before your period, cramping that puts you in bed, or cycles that never quite settle, there's almost always a clear pattern underneath. Most patterns respond well to the right inputs.
What matters here.
Pain has a cause
Painful periods point to inflammation, prostaglandin balance, estrogen metabolism, or in some cases endometriosis. Each has a different path. Finding the right one matters.
Your cycle tells the truth
Irregular, missing, or short cycles are diagnostic. They tell us about ovulation, thyroid, insulin, and how your stress system is treating your reproductive system.
How I think about pms & cycle support.
What's likely going on
Estrogen-to-progesterone imbalance is the most common pattern, driven by stress, sluggish liver detox, or a few years of lifestyle wear. Inflammation and low magnesium drive cramping. Blood sugar swings amplify mood symptoms. PCOS and thyroid issues show up here too. The diagnosis matters because the treatment changes.
How I assess
Cycle-timed hormone panel (day 19–22 for progesterone), full thyroid, fasting insulin, inflammation markers, and key nutrients. Symptom mapping across a cycle so I see the pattern, not a snapshot. If endometriosis or fibroids are on the table, I coordinate imaging.
What treatment looks like
Targeted nutrients, magnesium, B6, omega-3s, and others matched to your case. Herbal medicine to support progesterone or modulate estrogen metabolism. Inflammation work. Where you and I agree it's the right call: bioidentical progesterone in the second half of the cycle. The pill stays a tool, used with eyes open.
Considered.
Tested.
Re‑tested.
Cycles take time to respond. Three cycles is a fair test. We track symptoms, retest where it matters, and adjust until the week before your period doesn't cost you a week of your life.
Therapies I'd likely use
You’re probably wondering.
01
Will I have to come off the pill?
Not necessarily. The pill is a valid tool for some women. I'll ask what you want from it, what it's doing well, and what it's masking. Then we decide together.
02
How fast can I expect changes?
Most women notice something by the first cycle. By cycle three, there should be a clear shift we can both see. If not, we change the plan.
03
Could this be endometriosis?
Possibly. Pain that's debilitating, doesn't respond to standard care, or comes with painful intercourse or bowel symptoms during your period warrants a closer look. I'll work it up properly.
04
Why Dr. Rigobert Kefferputz?
I treat the totality of the person: body, mind, and spirit as one interconnected system. Naturopathic medicine gives me a wide toolbox: clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture, IV therapy, somatic approaches, and more. I don't apply protocols; I look for the pattern underneath your symptoms and build care that fits your specific life.
