Between Heatwaves and Hormones
Updates on my health journey, SIBO surprises, and the joy of dancing by the Thames
Hello friends! It seems I (unintentionally) took the month of June off Substack. Life has sort of run away with me between my ongoing health journey, my current work contract, and, well… adulting.
I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere have been enjoying summer so far. Here in London, it’s been blisteringly hot (for London, that is — yes, I’m an Aussie-raised beach babe complaining about the heat in the UK 😆).
We’ve had two heatwaves already, with a third hitting us yet again this week. London flats were really not built for hot weather. While my sun-drenched top-floor flat is lovely in winter, it becomes pretty unbearable during summer heatwaves.
But I have discovered a sleep hack for the heat: an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel brought to bed. Seriously… a total game-changer in the absence of air con (though a good quality fan also goes a long way).
Of course this heat hasn’t stopped me from my regular sauna + cold plunge routine. Three times a week and still going strong. 💪🏼🔥🧊
But I digress.
So what has been happening in my world?
My health journey with uterine fibroids continues. I’m now two cycles into my herbal medicine protocol and have recently finished my latest bleed (cycle day 9 today).
My first bleed whilst on the herbal tinctures was just as heavy as before, which was a little disheartening.
But I stayed patient, taking my herbs consistently twice a day. And now, after my second cycle, things seem to be slightly improving!
The flow was still heavy, but that intense bleeding only lasted one day this time — whereas it had crept up to two days in previous months. I also only had one night of flooding instead of two.
Even more promising: my energy levels post-bleed feel a lot better. I haven’t experienced the crushing fatigue, low mood, or exercise intolerance that had become a regular pattern in the week or two after my period. I take this to mean I haven’t lost quite as much blood as usual.
I also just did my latest iron and full blood count blood test, and there are finally improvements! 😃
Yes, I’m still anaemic, but I finally feel like I’m on the right path. I’ve got my iron supplementation dialled in, my blood markers are improving, and most importantly, my symptoms are improving.
So this all feels… encouraging. Things are shifting!
Daily Hormone Testing
Something new I’ve started experimenting with is daily hormone testing using the Mira Fertility Monitor. This clever bit of tech is the only at-home device that gives you quantitative readings of your hormones (FSH, LH, oestrogen, and progesterone) through daily urine samples — offering a much more detailed picture than traditional snapshot testing.
If this is something you’re interested in trying, I have a 15% off a one-time purchase discount code: 2FLOWR15.
I also have an extra special 30% off exclusively for any clients of mine who want to use Mira testing as part of our work together.
I’ve tested two full cycles so far, and it’s been fascinating to see my day-to-day hormonal fluctuations in real time.
Here’s a few things I’ve learned:
My hormone levels are indeed quite low. This is the third time a test has shown low levels, but what makes Mira different is that I can now see the whole story. Rather than just one-day snapshots, I get the full cycle picture, I can see the real time hormone fluctuations throughout my cycle and assess whether a single blood test is truly an accurate picture or a one-off anomaly.
It’s been eye-opening to correlate data with symptoms. I have been tracking how my low oestrogen days coincide with brain fog and low motivation — something I’d long suspected but can now observe in real-time data.
One surprise: my progesterone levels weren’t quite as healthy as I had thought. Past blood tests (and even my DUTCH test) showed great levels on “day 21”, but with Mira I can see that one day doesn’t reflect the entire luteal phase. While there are brief progesterone peaks, they’re not sustained in the way you’d expect from a healthy luteal phase. As a result, I’ve decided to start using bio-identical progesterone to support my naturally waning levels.
That single progesterone high could be misleading if we only tested that day! I can see that my body is starting to struggle with ovulation. I was able to track when I ovulated through my LH spike, cross-checking with basal body temperature and cervical mucus (yep these methods are accurate). But interestingly, Mira missed the LH spike in my second cycle because it was so small. Luckily, I’ve tracked my cycle for years using BBT and cervical mucus patterns and knew that I had, so I was able to correct that in the app. The algorithm also learns and gets better at detecting your particular hormone patterns over time.
But one small question has been bugging me — whose hormone ranges am I comparing against? Mira’s healthy user ranges are based on its wider database, but as someone of Chinese heritage, I am curious how representative these reference ranges are for me?
According to Mira’s ranges, my oestrogen is skirting the bottom 10% of users. But the limited research I’ve found suggests that certain East Asian populations (like Chinese women) seem to have lower oestrogen levels than Western counterparts.
If that’s true, then my “low” may not be that abnormal for someone of my ethnicity. I think this matters — especially when we’re making decisions about things like HRT (as I am currently).
I definitely have more questions than answers at this stage — and I’d love to see Mira publish more data on ethnic differences (if that’s something they collect).
This has been a powerful reminder that while testing is incredibly helpful, symptoms matter just as much. As does context and the bigger picture.
With my iron levels improving, and my uterine fibroids still very much present, I’ve decided to hold off on oestrogen therapy for the moment.
The Bloat Is Back! 🎈
With the wins inevitably come the setbacks. In this case, it’s a resurgence of gut issues: the dreaded belly bloat.
It appears I’ve developed a case of SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).
What is SIBO you ask? It is when bacteria that are supposed to stay in the large intestine start growing in the small intestine, where they don’t belong, leading to bloating (the main symptom), gas, and digestive issues after eating.
Sounds a lot like IBS right? Well apparently multiple studies show that up to 60–84% of IBS patients actually have SIBO.
And no, this has not been fun. After certain meals, I quite literally look 4–5 months pregnant. 😭
I’ve taken zero photos of my bloated belly this time, mostly because, honestly, I really don’t like how it looks (yup, I’m not impervious to body image issues!)
The bloating happens in SIBO because the excess bacteria in the small intestine ferment certain carbs too early in digestion, producing gas that causes distention and discomfort. Common trigger foods include onions, garlic, apples, watermelon, and anything high in sugar or fermentable fibres like beans or wheat.
Once I figured out what was going on, I got a plan together. I’m back on a six-week gut reset protocol — antimicrobial supplements plus a temporary avoidance of known triggers (similar to the one I followed in 2023).
Annoyingly, I think I might have triggered this flare-up myself. I’d been trying to replenish my gut with probiotics — but in hindsight, that probably made things worse. This is exactly why probiotics can backfire if you don’t fully understand what’s going on in your gut.
So, in summary, what am I doing? I’m continuing with my foundations.
Prioritising protein and whole foods at every meal, while reducing known trigger foods where possible, and making the effort to sit down to eat (not at my desk!) That said, I’m also listening to my body and not forcing food when I’m not hungry — which sometimes means a smoothie or bone broth will do just fine.
Supporting my detox pathways with regular sauna and cold plunges, body brushing, herbal tinctures (like nettle, dandelion and milk thistle), and staying well hydrated.
Moving my body in ways that feel good. I’ve started sneaking in short resistance training sessions (just 15–20 minutes) before sauna time — and I’m dancing regularly again, thanks to improved iron levels and energy!
Doing my best to get enough sleep (even if that’s easier said than done in this heat).
Letting go of perfection. Sometimes “good enough” really is enough. I’m making space for joy, curiosity, fun, pleasure, play — and embracing a little more mess and magic in the process.
In other news…
I actually started writing this on cycle day 6, but mid way through, I was interrupted by an emergency with my cat Miss Ella.
She suddenly collapsed, lost control of her bladder, lying on her side panting, her mouth open and tongue out. It was the scariest and most stressful experience I’ve ever had with her — I honestly thought she was dying and I could barely think or speak on the phone. We rushed her to the emergency animal hospital at 11pm and thankfully she was able to recover and is still with us (at the ripe age of 18.5 years).
I also watched In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar-Wai last weekend for the first time (IYKYK 🥺) as part of my 10 year anniversary celebration with my partner.
So yeh, it’s been an emotional week.
But today is Friday and this summer my Friday’s have been all about outdoor salsa dancing by the Thames river. 💃
I will leave you with this snippet of pure joy from my summer of 2025 so far. I cannot think of a better way to spend a warm summers eve. Or a better way to shake off a week of anxious worrying and heavy emotions.
Wishing you all a lovely, summery weekend. For those in London - enjoy the weather (and stay cool)!
Lots of love
ps. Breaking news: Off the back of an editorial I wrote for them, I am in the process of planning my first in-person menstrual cycle awareness & hormone health workshop for creatives which is going to be held in September at the Create Define Release headquarters.