Women’s Health
Today many women are looking beyond conventional medicine alone to keep themselves well by optimizing their health, preventing illness and treating acute and chronic conditions naturally. Here at the Harley Street IBS and Autoimmune clinic, we have a passion for helping women of all ages to address health issues and achieve optimum vitality. Our goal is to encourage and guide women, assisting in empowering them to be their own best example of health and wellness.
Women are becoming aware that most modern maladies are caused by prolonged exposure to a combination of negative lifestyles and environmental factors, including junk food and malnutrition, pesticides, antibiotics, microwaves and chemical pollution of food, water, air and chronic stress. These have system wide effects on organs, hormones, and the immune system.
Conventional medicine, with its focus on diagnosis and treatment of disease, has the side effect of turning everything into a “condition” that needs treatment. Many patients we see have been told that there are no options for treatment besides a particular prescription or surgery. From our 15 years of experience, we know there are many more options for women to address their health issues, and to learn how to keep their body in balance.
We work with creative approaches to problems that may maximize your immune system, decrease systemic inflammation, or subdue autoimmunity. Our approach often improves health as a whole, while decreasing symptoms of the original problem. We use natural and non-patentable therapies that focus on optimizing health, preventing illness and promoting wellness. These are fast becoming the optimal choice for millions of women across the globe.
Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
Not a single cranberry in sight…..
By the time a patient comes to the our Harley Street Clinic, they will have drunk their body weight in cranberry juice and visited a whole host of GPs, urologists and other experts in the field of human ‘plumbing’. Most patients will have been given course after course of antibiotics to keep those symptoms, associated with recurrent cystitis, under control.
Symptoms such as:
- A constant urge to urinate, sometimes during the night as well
- Frequent urination
- Discomfort in the lower abdomen
- Urine showing presence of blood or ‘cloudy’
- A flare of symptoms after sex
It is an exhausting and painful condition where the individual has to constantly plan ahead to ensure they have access to a lavatory wherever they go. In fact many patients find they are unable to work and cannot even leave the house due to the very nature of this debilitating condition.
Here at the Harley Street Recurrent Cystitis Clinic, we feel it wholly unacceptable for any man or woman to have their quality of life impacted in this way. And, whilst antibiotics have their uses, all the patients who come to the clinic explain that, despite taking the antibiotics, the cystitis still comes back. Some patients are given frequent short courses of antibiotics as a ‘preventative’ measure to ensure they do not get cystitis following sexual intercourse. Other patients are given long courses of antibiotics ranging from 6-24 months for UTI treatment and to keep the cystitis at bay. Yet, despite these methods of treatment, the cystitis still comes back.
The Harley Street Recurrent Cystitis Clinic is empathetic to the patients’ wishes of wanting a more natural and a long term solution to recurrent Cystitis. The Clinic does not use antibiotics, only licensed Natural Medicine. A full case history of the patient is taken to help gain a clear and full understanding of why the cystitis persists. The initial consultation is one hour in length and will indicate which non-invasive diagnostic medical tests the patient needs in order to diagnose the extent of the imbalance in their body, which is causing the cystitis.
Natural medicine, which is licensed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and the EU, is then given to the patient addressing the imbalance which the medical test results highlight. Each prescription is prepared and dispensed to meet the unique needs of each patient. Our patients find that this natural and gentle approach works better than a one-size-fits-all approach. Patients need to be committed to the treatment plan for at least 6 months. Whilst improvements in their condition are usually experienced early on, regaining balance requires time. Most patients coming to the clinic have been suffering from the condition for many years so find that the 6 months or more is not a great deal of time in the scheme of things.
The treatment also naturally addresses systemic thrush (Candida); a hugely uncomfortable and usually persistent condition often associated with the use of antibiotics.
Read testimonials for the successful treatment for Recurrent Cystitis and Interstitial Cystitis.
If you would like treatment for recurrent Cystitis and a natural approach to break the vicious cycle of antibiotic therapy
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentPCOS Treatment
In the PCOS treatment, we aim to bring the whole body back into balance, which naturally addresses the symptoms. We use non-invasive diagnostic medical testing, where necessary, and natural medicine, which is licensed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and the EU. Each prescription is then prepared and dispensed to meet your unique needs. Our patients find that this natural and gentle approach works best in the long-term management and treatment for polycystic ovaries (PCOS).
This natural approach also usually works well for treating any gut issues (IBS symptoms), which are so often associated with PCOS.
Many of our patients had previously been told they had to live with the common symptoms of PCOS such as:
- irregular periods or no periods at all
- difficulty getting pregnant (because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulate)
- excessive hair growth (hirsutism) – usually on the face, chest, back or
- buttockspcos treatment
- weight gain
- thinning hair and hair loss from the head
- oily skin or acne
However, at My Harley Street PCOS Clinic we look to significantly reduce and potentially eliminate these symptoms entirely. We believe that no woman should have to suffer unnecessarily with PCOS and, each year, this busy clinic is delighted to welcome and help a significant number of women suffering from PCOS.
See a testimonial regarding this treatment here.
If you would like to book an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentInterstitial Cystitis (IC)
(IC) or Painful Bladder Syndrome affects many hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, who are told that there is no cure and they must live with it. It affects both women and men. Patients that leading London Consultant Medical Herbalist Deborah Grant meets have often been on an exhausting route visiting GPs, urologists and gynaecologists with little success. They feel that the orthodox treatment for Interstitial Cystitis (IC) seems to be purely symptomatic and unable to address the underlying cause of this very debilitating and painful condition. interstitial cystitis
What is Interstitial Cystitis?
Interstitial Cystitis is a very uncomfortable and stressful disorder, which is characterized by chronic urinary urgency (feeling the need to urinate immediately) and frequency (frequent urination) with or without abdominal pain. Symptoms may vary among individuals and may [Interstitial Cystitis Treatment] even vary in the same person. Many people have to live their life around their bladder because of the unpleasant symptoms. The word “cystitis” refers to inflammation of the bladder. In contrast to bacterial cystitis, which results from a bladder infection, no infection has been identified in people with Interstitial Cystitis.
About 90 percent of patients with this condition are women and the average age of onset is 40, though people of any age can be affected. Women with this condition are more likely to have had frequent urinary tract infections and to have had previous gynaecological surgery than women without IC.
The condition has been classified into two forms, ulcerative and non-ulcerative, depending on the presence or absence of ulcerations in the bladder lining. Ulcerations in the bladder wall are known as Hunner’s ulcers. The ulcerative type of interstitial cystitis is found in less than 10% of cases. Scarring of the bladder wall may occur as a result of inflammation, leading to a decrease in bladder capacity.
What is the cause of Interstitial Cystitis or IC?
Orthodox medical science does not know exactly what causes this condition. Most researchers believe that it represents a spectrum of disorders rather than one single disease. One area of research has focused on the layer that coats the lining of the bladder Contacted the glycocalyx. This consists mainly of substances Contacted mucins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). This layer normally protects the bladder wall from toxic effects of urine. Researchers have found that this protective layer of the bladder is “leaky” in about 70% of interstitial cystitis patients. There is a hypothesis that this may allow substances in urine to pass into the bladder wall where they might trigger IC.
Potassium is one substance that may be involved in damage to the bladder wall. Researchers have isolated a substance known as antiproliferative factor (APF) that appears to block the normal growth of cells that make up the lining of the bladder. APF has been identified almost exclusively in the urine of people suffering with IC. Research is underway to clarify the potential role of APF in the development of IC.
Other theories about the cause of IC are that it is a form of autoimmune disorder or that infection with an unidentified organism may be producing the damage to the bladder and the accompanying symptoms.
What are the signs and symptoms of Interstitial Cystitis or IC?
The symptoms vary greatly from one person to another but have some similarities to those of a urinary tract infection. They include:
- Decreased bladder capacity
- An urgent need to urinate frequently both day and night
- Feelings of pressure, pain, and tenderness around the bladder, pelvis, and perineum (the area between the anus and vagina or anus and scrotum) which may increase as the bladder fills and decrease as it empties
- Painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia)
- Discomfort or pain in the penis and scrotum
- In women, symptoms usually worsen around the time of their period
- Stress may also worsen the symptoms
The symptoms usually have a slow onset, and urinary frequency is the most common early symptom. As IC progresses over a few years, cycles of painful flares and remissions occur. Pain may be mild or so severe that it is debilitating. Symptoms can also vary from day to day.
How is IC diagnosed?
Because the symptoms of IC are similar to those of other disorders of the urinary system and because there is no definitive test to identify it, doctors must exclude other conditions before making a diagnosis of IC. Among the disorders to be excluded are urinary tract or vaginal infections, bladder cancer, bladder inflammation or infection caused by radiation to the abdomen, eosinophilic and tuberculous cystitis, kidney stones, endometriosis, neurological disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infection with small numbers of bacteria, and, in men, chronic bacterial and non-bacterial prostatitis.
The Natural Treatment For Interstitial Cystitis or IC
The natural treatment for Painful Bladder Syndrome or Interstitial Cystitis (IC) does not work for everyone but many patients have experienced the benefits of this approach. Everyone is so different and may, therefore, react differently to natural medicine. The aim of the treatment is not only to alleviate the symptoms but to find any underlying issues, which may be fueling the IC. By taking a very detailed history, there is a better understanding of the pathology of each patient’s IC. In this way the underlying issues can be diagnosed and addressed. Every patient’s experience of IC is different and must be treated accordingly rather than with a one-size-fits-all approach. At The Harley Street IBS Clinic, we treat the whole person and not just the symptoms.
IC is indeed a very complex and debilitating condition. The chronic inflammation in the bladder and its repair is the most challenging part of the body to treat as it is always in constant use. The complexity of this illness dictates that treatment is given in stages, addressing both the underlying weaknesses in the body and the symptoms. The treatment for IC takes both trust and dedication to achieving a good clinical outcome.
For patients, who live abroad or in the UK but a long distance from the clinic, we are happy to do follow up consultations by telephone or on Skype.
The stress and depression that this condition often causes is also treated, which again usually leads to less pain and better control of symptoms. Patients report that they feel calmer, with their mood better than before. Every patient responds differently to the natural treatment for IC. Some patients may react relatively quickly to the treatment for Painful Bladder Syndrome or IC, whilst others may take longer. It is therefore impossible to estimate how long treatment will take. It can often take around at least two years to rebalance the body and sometimes longer. Patients do suffer setbacks from time to time and this may be brought on by stressful situations in their life. When this happens, the prescription can be modified to give the patient more support. Patients report that this flexibility in the treatment is extremely beneficial and they say that they feel so much better than they ever did on the orthodox treatment.
There are no quick fixes with this natural approach to treatment for Painful Bladder Syndrome or IC. Some patients have reported pain reduction of 75% after one year of treatment and 85% after 15 months. If you would like to try this natural approach to treatment for Painful Bladder Syndrome or Interstial Cystitis (IC), Contact for an appointment.
See a testimonial regarding this treatment here.
If you would like to make an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentMenopause Treatment
A Natural Alternative to HRT
Harley Street Clinic provides a safe, natural alternative to HRT. Each prescription is formulated to meet each patient’s unique needs. Natural Medicine has become a popular, safe and effective alternative for women with debilitating menopausal symptoms, particularly in the light of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study of 2002, which suggested that health risks may exceed benefits during prolonged hormone replacement therapy (HRT).menopause treatment
The effect of the initial publications of the WHI resulted in a decline in HRT use of around 50% in the UK. Recent research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA, one of the world’s foremost medical research centres, states that “the study of alternative therapies for menopause symptoms is a rewarding and important area deserving of further inquiry”. The NHS is also listing several herbs in their leaflet on alternative therapies for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
Harley Street Clinic has successfully treated many women, who come to for help in alleviating uncomfortable and debilitating menopausal symptoms. In most cases it is easy to get significant results in a relatively short period of time. Most patients are feeling considerably better by the time of their first follow-up consultation, which is usually four weeks after the initial menopause treatmentconsultation.
If you would like a natural approach to menopausal symptoms
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentMigraine Treatment
The misery of migraine….
Those of you who suffer from migraine will know of the incapacitating and unbearable pounding of the head, visual disturbances, nausea, heightened sensitivity to light, sounds and smells; which, quite literally, stop you from going about your normal everyday life. Curtains are drawn, lights are switched off and it is with a mixture of darkness, rest, water and drugs, which gradually conquer the pain. A migraine attack can last for anything from 4 to 72 hours before sufferers can once again venture out and carry on with their business, not knowing when the next migraine will strike.migraine treatment
It is therefore surprising, being such a debilitating condition, which costs UK businesses a staggering £2.25 billion each year in loss of working days, that appointments with standard doctors usually last a matter of minutes to address a relatively complex condition. In the UK alone, the number of people who suffer with migraines is more than the number of those with diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined.
We do not accept that migraines should be ‘managed’ as part of someone’s normal life – we pride ourselves in identifying the root cause of the migraine and work with the patient to eliminate migraines entirely. The new patient will have a full hour initial consultation where an extensive patient history is taken. There are so many triggers for migraines so it requires an in-depth understanding of the patient to know their own personal ‘trigger’ and what, in turn, may be causing the trigger. We find that this approach to Migraine treatment works far better than a one size fits all approach.
We then use non-invasive diagnostic medical testing to investigate and determine the clear root cause of the Migraines. e.g. whether it is hormonal, a food intolerance, an immune system issue, a nervous system issue – to name but a few. Natural medicine, which is licensed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and the EU is then given to the patient addressing the imbalance which the test results highlight. Each prescription is prepared and dispensed to meet the unique needs of each patient. Our patients find that this natural and gentle approach works best in the long-term treatment for migraine.
This holistic approach also usually works well for treating any gut issues (IBS symptoms) which are so often associated with Migraine. Hence many of these related symptoms also dissipate or disappear too as the body is brought back to its equilibrium.
If you would like to make an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentEndometriosis Treatment
Endometriosis: a condition which usually responds remarkably well to a natural approach Endometriosis is a surprisingly common gynaecological condition; it is estimated that around 1.5 – 2 million women in the UK have endometriosis. It is a condition where cells, similar to those in the lining of the uterus, are found elsewhere in the body.
The most classic symptoms of endometriosis are:
- Painful and heavy periods
- Painful sex
- Infertility
- Bowel and bladder symptoms
- Lethargy
Some women experience other symptoms in addition to those listed above whilst other women experience no symptoms at all. Despite the fact that so many women in the UK suffer from endometriosis, there is still no proven cause for the condition in orthodiox medicine. However, that does not mean to say that it cannot be treated successfully. Our treatment for endometriosis is tailored to the individual.
The Harley Street Endometriosis Clinic welcomes women with any amount of endometriosis and aims to treat the condition regardless of the site(s) of the endometrial deposits. In all cases of endometriosis treated at the clinic, imbalances within each patient’s body have been found, by way of thorough, non-intrusive medical testing. The imbalance(s) can relate to immune function, to hormone regulation, to the nervous system, to name but a few.endometriosis treatment
Natural medicine, which is licensed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and the EU is given to the patient in the treatment for endometriosis, addressing their specific imbalance(s). Each prescription is prepared and dispensed to meet the unique needs of each patient. In all cases of endometriosis treatment at the clinic, women have suffered from the condition for many years, having experienced little or no respite from the pain via other treatment plans sought elsewhere. However, following the natural and tailor-made treatment, it has been observed that the symptoms of endometriosis either significantly improve or vanish completely.
In addition, many women wishing to start a family have come to the clinic, having been told that there is little chance of them being able to conceive. endometriosis treatment
This Functional Medicine approach also usually works well for treating any gut issues or IBS symptoms which are so often associated with Endometriosis; hence many of these related symptoms also dissipate or disappear too as the body is brought back to its equilibrium. We appreciate that endometriosis can leave a woman feeling, understandably, anxious and depressed so their tailor-made prescription will ensure their adrenal function is gently supported to quickly help the patient feel calmer and back to their normal self.
If you would like to make an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentAmenorrhea Treatment
No periods or Amenorrhea affects a significant percentage of the female population. Women coming to Harley Street Amenorrhea Clinic are, more often than not, potentially fertile. For some patients, following the relevant tests, it is purely a case of low oestrogen levels which are preventing menstruation from occurring. Natural medicine can naturally increase the body’s production of oestrogen and is prescribed in accordance with each patient’s requirements.amenorrhea treatment
Lifestyle is also reviewed and addressed as several lifestyle factors can interfere with menstruation e.g. stress, weight loss, excessive exercise, overall energy levels, diet and allergies – to name but a few. Again, natural medicine and/or non-invasive testing can address any of these issues in the Amenorrhea treatment.
Hormone contraceptives interfere with the body’s regulation of hormones and some women find that they need a natural ‘kick-start’ to the menstruation process following prolonged use of the oral contraceptive pill. A more natural approach is requested, in particular, by patients who are considering pregnancy.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) can be another cause of amenorrhea. Not all patients who come through the clinic doors have been previously diagnosed with PCOS but their test results will quickly indicate whether they have PCOS or not. Natural medicine is very effective at managing PCOS and there is a dedicated My Harley Street PCOS Clinic specifiContacty for these patients.amenorrhea treatment
We use non-invasive diagnostic medical testing to investigate and determine the clear root cause of the patient’s amenorrhea. Natural medicine, which is licensed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and the EU, is then given to the patient for the Amennorhea treatment, addressing the imbalance which the test results highlight. Each prescription is prepared and dispensed to meet the unique needs of each patient. Our patients find that this natural and gentle approach works better than a one size fits all approach using synthetic hormones.
At the clinic, we understand that this is a stressful condition, which can seriously impact a woman’s self-esteem and leave them feeling anxious and incomplete, especially if they have a desire to reproduce. This is also taken into account when the prescription is prepared in order to address and reduce any anxiety, which could also be contributing to the individual’s condition.
If you would like to make an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointmentPMS
Premenstrual syndrome PMS is a group of changes that can affect women on many levels. They can be physical, emotional, or behavioural. The changes come 1 to 2 weeks before your period.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has a wide variety of signs and symptoms, including mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability and depression. It’s estimated that as many as 3 of every 4 menstruating women have experienced some form of premenstrual syndrome.
Symptoms tend to recur in a predictable pattern. But the physical and emotional changes women experience with premenstrual syndrome may vary from just slightly noticeable, to intense and very detrimental to wellbeing.
For some, the physical pain and emotional stress are severe enough to affect their daily lives.
There are lots of ways to manage PMS and improve it. At the Harley Street IBS and Auto Immune Clinic we look into the root causes of any PMS symptoms. This can range from mineral balance and nutritional status testing, allergy testing, gut function testing, hormone tracking and an assessment of how the brain and nervous system are coping with stress. We seek to address the underlying imbalance to resolve the uncomfortable symptoms long term.
If you would like to make an appointment
Contact Deborah’s Medical Secretary for an appointment