I wish I knew that managing my hormones was the foundation to my physical and mental health. It would have prevented me from blindly taking birth control for 7 years.
Today, more than ever, wellness is at the forefront of societal discussions. From mental health to physical well-being, women are making significant strides in bringing about change, introducing innovative solutions, and setting new standards. Despite facing unique challenges, they break barriers, inspire communities, and are reshaping the very definition of health and wellness. In this series called women in wellness we are talking to women doctors, nurses, nutritionists, therapists, fitness trainers, researchers, health experts, coaches, and other wellness professionals to share their stories and insights. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Ami Patel.
Dr. Ami is a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS) and a licensed clinical pharmacist specializing in women’s hormone health, internal medicine and preventative healthcare. Due to her own journey and struggles with PCOS, she is passionate about empowering women to take control of their hormone health, which she believes is the foundation to live a limitless life. As a Holistic Hormones Pharmacist, she provides consulting services to those with PCOS who want to conceive or freeze their eggs.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Iwas struggling with irregular periods and acne for a few years and was seeking answers to what could be the cause. The first doctor told me, “It’s just stress, it will get better” but it didn’t. A second doctor told me, “just take birth control for 3 months to ‘reset’ your cycle” which did not work either. A third doctor finally diagnosed me with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and told me “here’s birth control, it will ‘regulate’ your cycle and improve your acne!”
Despite finishing pharmacy school at the time myself, I didn’t learn anything about PCOS and hardly anything about what birth control really does. I blindly followed this provider’s advice for 7 years until I started to see my PCOS symptoms coming back. I started to get acne again, hair loss, difficulty losing weight, mood swings and seasonal depression. When I went to the Western health care system again expressing my concerns that the birth control pill is not helping anymore, I was told by multiple doctors “why do you want to come off of it if you do not want to get pregnant right now?”
After finally finding a doctor to support my decision, I came off birth control and started implementing lifestyle changes to manage my PCOS. Seeing misinformation as a pharmacist on social media, wanting to break the stigma around PCOS as well as a desire to raise awareness, I started sharing my journey and information about PCOS on social media through Instagram and YouTube.
My experience, challenges and struggles drive my passion to empower women to take control of their hormone health, which I believe is the foundation to live a limitless life.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
Through my previous stories I shared, the common theme is that my concerns were dismissed and I was not getting the support I needed. Despite being a pharmacist who works in the Western healthcare system, I still struggled to advocate for myself and began to even question what I thought was best for my body and my PCOS.
The main lesson and take away is that only you know what is best for you and your body. It is okay to get a second and third opinion, including seeking help from providers outside the Western healthcare system.
Only you can be your biggest advocate and don’t let anyone make you question your gut feeling and intuition.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
On my journey to manage my own hormone health and PCOS, I made several mistakes! One was that I tried too many things at once and the second was that I was taking way too many supplements! I went gluten-free, dairy-free, cut back on my cultural foods, sugar and gave up caffeine — all at once! I became miserable! It all became overwhelming and impossible to manage. I knew I couldn’t keep up with this my whole life. Things were improving but I did not know what helped the most. The lesson I learned was to make small changes that I could maintain and was happy with making. I learned how to enjoy my cultural foods and desserts in moderation and in a way that still supported my hormones. I learned that supplements were only helpful in addition to an improved lifestyle and that also meant I did not need so many supplements. Ultimately it goes back to remembering that PCOS is a lifelong condition that impacts us all differently and to make changes that we can sustain.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
My philosophy is “balance your hormones and live limitlessly” because without your health you cannot be the best version of yourself. Our health starts at our hormones. The work I do allows women to gain control of their health and their lives which allows them to become the best daughter, sister, partner, friend, mom and whatever they want to be! It allows them the energy, creativity, and confidence to live their fullest life! Imagine the positive impact women can have on the world if we were all living our happiest and healthiest lives!
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
I am glad you asked for 5! Because with my holistic approach I focus on 5 areas of wellness, this includes focusing on not just nutrition and exercise but also sleep, stress and mindset!
With nutrition, I support my clients with eating balanced meals which include protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and fiber. Focus on what you can add into your meal instead of focusing on what to eliminate to prevent feeling restricted. Focusing on adding in these different aspects will automatically decrease processed and sugary foods.
For movement, I say that the best exercise is the one you enjoy doing while giving your body some variety and rest! Movement can become part of your lifestyle and daily routine when you enjoy it instead of it feeling like a chore.
For sleep management, I bring to my clients’ attention that you can do everything right with your diet and exercise regimen but if you are sleeping less than 6 hours a day or have poor quality sleep then that also has a negative impact on your hormone health! Quality and quantity of sleep are so important. My best tip here is to keep your phone outside the bedroom and get a real alarm clock for an alarm, this prevents mindless doom scrolling that throws off our sleep routines.
For stress management, I remind my clients to incorporate more of the things that brought them joy as a child as a way to reduce stress whether it was playing sports, getting out in nature, doing art or playing an instrument.
Lastly, mindset ties everything together because it’s our mindset that helps us stay consistent and accountable with our actions which lets us see the results we are looking for. We, especially women, tend to be really self-critical. One tip I have for improving our mindset in changing our inner dialogue and talking to ourselves like we would a loved one. That means on our health journey, motivating ourselves but also giving ourselves grace.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love for women to understand their menstrual cycles and live in a way that supports their hormones so their hormones and body can support them back. Our current society has taught us to hate our periods and just take birth control to shut it down, however it is actually our superpower. Our menstrual cycles are a report card of our health and impact everything from our mood, creativity, energy levels and long-term health. Now imagine the positive impact that would happen in the world if all women were feeling their best and giving their best to everything they do, without sacrificing their well-being.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- I wish I knew that managing my hormones was the foundation to my physical and mental health. It would have prevented me from blindly taking birth control for 7 years.
- I wish I knew that managing my hormone health is a lifelong journey because instead of focusing on perfection and short-term results, I would have started slower and in a more sustainable way of making lifestyle changes.
- I wish I knew that this process isn’t meant to be miserable but instead can actually be enjoyable because I do not want to feel like I am battling with my body everyday but instead I am supporting my body and it is supporting me.
- I wish I knew that self-care wasn’t selfish. Prioritizing my hormone health and mental health is all a form of self-care because this would have prevented me from my health below other people’s needs.
- I wish I knew to trust my intuition and get the right help sooner. I wish I knew I did not have to go on this journey alone because it would have made it less isolating and having the right support system would help me not only reach my goals sooner but would support my emotional and mental wellbeing.
What I love now is that I get to help my clients understand these lessons so they don’t have to learn them the hard way by experiencing them themselves.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
All of these topics are important to me but one that is the dearest is mental health. Additionally, our hormone health has a big impact on our mental health. Having a hormone imbalance can contribute to lower levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin which can contribute to increased likelihood of anxiety and depression. It’s a double edged sword because hormone imbalance and PCOS can lead to symptoms like acne, hair loss, difficulty losing weight and unwanted facial hair growth which can have a negative impact on an individual’s mental health because it can lead to feelings of low self-esteem and low self-confidence. Personally, when my PCOS was unmanaged I struggled with anxiety, seasonal depression, mood swings, and an eating disorder. It was only after I learned to manage my PCOS did my mental health improve and this is another reason why I am so passionate in supporting others to improve their PCOS and hormone health.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
The best way is to connect with me on Instagram at holistic.hormones.pharmacist.
I also have free content through my podcast called the Holistic Hormones Podcast which you can also view on YouTube.
My website has information about other free resources like masterclasses, joining my email list as well as information to get personalized support. My website is www.dramipharmacist.com
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
