It sounds like an exaggeration, but I’m writing this from my desk with a profound sense of relief at the fact that one cup of red raspberry leaf infusion has managed to slow my bleeding down to a manageable level. It feels like this plant saved my life today.
Warning: This post is going to be about menstruation, so if you’re not comfortable reading about that, best scroll away now.
I found out last year that as a side effect of having half my thyroid gland removed and being forced to take thyroid hormones (NP Thyroid in case you are wondering), not only have I had to deal with wild hormone fluctuations causing everything from hair loss to PLMD to anemia, I have also within the last year developed Adenomyosis.
This condition is basically the opposite of Endometriosis; instead of the tissue thickening on the outside of the uterus (causing much pain and inflammation as the body tries to dislodge it), during Adenomyosis the uterine lining builds up excessively inside and in the muscle walls of the uterus, causing extremely heavy periods that can last anywhere from 7 days to two months.
Unfortunately for me, this is coming at a time where I’m also hitting the age for perimenopause, which means that my estrogen levels are dropping naturally and only adding to the wildly fluctuating hormone imbalance inside my body. I have gone as long as 4 months with no period, followed by the longest (which is now) about 4 weeks and going.
I’ve talked with my doctor and am going through the slow process of having everything inside me checked out: an ultrasound of my uterus, a biopsy to rule out cancer, a consultation with a surgeon about having a Uterine Ablation procedure done. The American healthcare system takes time to go through this process, and there’s no guarantee that an ablation will cure the problem.
At this point, I’m willing to try anything. This morning I couldn’t be away from the bathroom for more than ten minutes together without changing things out down there. And I’ve felt lightheaded all day (losing a pint of blood will do that!) and huge clots of blood have come out just in the last few hours.
Here’s where Herbalism comes to the rescue:
I made myself a strong mug of red raspberry leaf tea (infusion) and let it sit for nearly two hours while I ate my breakfast. After I was finished, I drank the tea in about 5 minutes. Thankfully, I had remembered to harvest some leaves last week and I had some dried leaves from my own plants to make a cup. But do not feel bad if you need to buy some!
Any raspberry leaf will work for this tea; they all share the same astringent and uterine-toning properties. I have picked wild black-capped raspberry leaves (which are super thorny), red raspberry leaves from my garden, and golden raspberry leaves. Do not confuse this with Blackberry leaves, though. Blackberry leaves are also astringent but don’t have the same affinity for toning the uterus as raspberry.
Raspberry leaf tea has helped women for centuries in both Native American medicinal culture and Western Herbalism cultures alike. It is normally given to pregnant women throughout pregnancy but mainly in the final trimester to help tone the uterus (much like partridge berry) and has been proven in many studies to help make childbirth an easier process for the mother.
One of the bonuses of drinking raspberry leaf tea is that it’s also very nutritive: It is rich in vitamins and minerals including potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, vitamins B, C, and E. It contains bioflavonoids that tone the circulatory system, tannins that remove harmful invaders from the body, antioxidants, and fragerine alkaloids that work with other constituents to tone and relax pelvic and uterine muscles. [Source]
A slight drawback to the tea is that it is very drying. If you have a dry constitution you may want to combine a moistening herb such as a small amount of licorice root, marshmallow leaves, or perhaps evening primrose with the raspberry.
A favorite woman’s hormone-balancing herbal tea recipe of mine is below.
After drinking just one cup of raspberry leaf infusion, my bleeding let up within about 20 minutes. It’s still coming, but much more slowly and without pain or panic. And just fyi, I love this Tea Infuser Mug
I wish I could offer you raspberry leaf tea from my Shop, but alas, I didn’t harvest enough this year and with winter on its way I don’t expect I’ll have enough for myself either. I will likely be playing with blending all kinds of herbs together over this winter to get my hormone levels back to normal (I’m looking at you, Red Clover!)
I’m going to keep a batch of dried raspberry leaves in my arsenal for as long as I have to deal with this condition. If you are a woman with a uterus, or help women in some way, I highly recommend you keep some on hand too.
Whether you are a woman yourself, have a daughter, or are someone hoping to help others, I hope this information has helped you. I talk about other remedies for hormone imbalances (for both men an women) inside my new book Think Like an Herbalist.
You can also learn how to blend your own teas and other herbal preparations inside my Remedies From Nature online herbal medicine making class.
Note: a few of the links above are affiliate links, through which I receive a small commission if you buy from them. Thank you!