Alpha…did you see my thread about oat straw, have you tried it?
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I would be more inclined to think your fatigue is coming from having your ovaries being shut down for 7 years.
I would read the book Ksman recommended and tailor your own dosage of estrogen and progesterone without shutting you down.
[/quote]
ok will do, thanks.
They are bioidentical hormones! oestradiol and natural progesterone, wouldn’t take it otherwise, i hated contraceptives! Thanks for all the other info, will look into it… The fatigue is worse off the HRT, not sleeping well a lot of the time probably doesn’t help, prob just mild stress.
I would love to stay on the oestrogen, it really helps me. So perhaps the prog cream would work, he did offer me it i think, but i was worried i wouldn’t be able to measure the dose as accurately.
What lesson did you learn? Not to trust doctors?! 
[/quote]
To trust myself.
If my instincts are telling me it doesn’t make sense I have an aggressive form of endometriosis and that I would have known if I had a cyst the size of a grapefruit growing inside me ( and I told the doctors that ) then don’t take a drug to treat a disease I don’t see how I could possibly have.
I failed myself.
I also learned not to inject anything into my body that will shut down my ovaries/pituitary or that will stay in my system for more than 12 hours.
Having said all that I was burning with fever for 2 months and many nights woke up and fell asleep in hospital thinking I would not be waking up again.
I was told I might die if I didn’t take the injection to regress the cyst.
The doctors were worried about operating me whilst I was still having such high fever.
Having told you all that to say please trust yourself.
I would suggest you get the courage to take control of our body and look at the hormonal replacement treatment through creams as a safer and more controllable way to treat your symptoms because it means:
- You are in control and can up or down the dosage DAILY.
- The hormone is in your system for not more than 12 hours ( for progesterone at least ).
- You are working with your own production and not shutting it down to replace for a “controlled” dosage.
These seemingly “controlled” dosages from the patch are not natural to a female’s system.
It is not the way nature intended. I personally would question whether this form of “control” means “safety”.
Bear in mind also that “being in control” and “being controlled” has different psychological effects specially to the female system: I would look into the psychological implications of that for you.
Of course I completely understand and agree that if you are low in estrogen and experience a drop naturally that you will be more sensitive to it then I would, for example, and that is when the cream could be your best weapon because you are only supplementing it at the time of the month when you need it.
Adding more estrogen and progesterone, even if bio identical, that you do not produce naturally will have what effect on your uterus and breast tissue by the time you are 40 or 45?
If you are genetically built to be low estrogen is it wise to have a patch to pump estrogen continuously for years on end and add progesterone on top of that when you don’t know if your uterine and breast tissue will change considerably and affect you adversely in future?
That is what I would ask myself.
And I personally would feel safer and in control if I, not a doctor, could administer a short life dosage into my system because I am the only know who knows what my body is telling me.
Trust your instincts.
My heart has failed me but my instinct have always been right.
Learn to discern heart ( feeling ) decisions and gut ( instinct ) decisions.
That was my greatest lesson.
OTC creams aren’t regulated thought therefore the amount of oest/prog might vary in them?
I would rather try natural route, i’m getting more moody/withdrawn tho… which i hate.
Have you tried this for fibroids?
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
OTC creams aren’t regulated thought therefore the amount of oest/prog might vary in them?
I would rather try natural route, i’m getting more moody/withdrawn tho… which i hate.
Have you tried this for fibroids?[/quote]
No. If I did not have access to progesterone injections and no other way to take higher concentrations of progesterone then I would use the cream - absolutely.
I would have absolutely no reservations using an OTC cream because they are not regulated. The worst that can happen with the OTC is that they will not work - all you lose is your money and your hope. There is no lasting damage I know for women who have done this. I do however know and I am one of the women who have been seriously damaged by all the “regulated” and doctor controlled HRT.
I am not trying to influence you to do against what is safe for you - I am merely sharing my experience and limited knowledge.
The OTC creams have very low concentrations and therefore I would only use them if I had nothing else or if I were your age and was planing to use hormone replacement long term and if my condition was not severe enough.
I have in fact used progesterone cream at the age of 38. It did not bother me to know how much I was taking because I measured according to what my body was telling me.
If you are still producing your natural hormones there is no way to measure how much you are taking because your own production is changing everyday.
That is why you “measure” according to your well being.
Another way to “measure” or assess damage is to have an ultrasound and measure the thickness of your endometrium before you embark on HRT. ( I am hoping your doctors have done this before they gave you this patch? ) then measure it regularly at 3 month intervals to see the effect your HRT is having in your lining and check for tumors.
And blood tests that also include progesterone.
The book explains all this.
Personally I think the creams are too weak. But if your well being is greatly diminished and diet has not helped - a cream that may or may not work and will not harm would be worth trying, in my opinion.
I was asking if you’d tried nettle tea for fibroids, i found a link that said it was very good for lots of women problems and fibroids.
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
I was asking if you’d tried nettle tea for fibroids, i found a link that said it was very good for lots of women problems and fibroids. [/quote]
No I haven’t.
I have never had any hormonal problems until after shutting down my pituitary.
The fibroids developed for the first time in the past 6 months.
I have ultrasounds regularly.
I want to see if the progesterone/masteron treatment resolves it first.
Good luck with it. No they haven’t done any measurements on my womb. I had an ultrasound once. Think it pissed my insurance company off (i was private then) as they informed me PMS wasn’t a real health condition and they weren’t going to pay for any more treatment. They were wrong though, it’s a recognised syndrome under UK government law. I cancelled my health insurance in retaliation as get better treatment under NHS anyway, they pay for my treatment.
I’ll let you know how i get on with my appointment. Good luck with your fibroids I bought some nettle tea 
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
Good luck with it. No they haven’t done any measurements on my womb. I had an ultrasound once. Think it pissed my insurance company off (i was private then) as they informed me PMS wasn’t a real health condition and they weren’t going to pay for any more treatment. They were wrong though, it’s a recognised syndrome under UK government law. I cancelled my health insurance in retaliation as get better treatment under NHS anyway, they pay for my treatment.
I’ll let you know how i get on with my appointment. Good luck with your fibroids I bought some nettle tea :D[/quote]
Good for you for canceling your insurance.
I am glad you rejected them.
I am doing the iodine treatment of 12.5 mg iodine a day for a week ( my husband wants to reduce it to 5 days or do 6 mg for two weeks ).
And I am doing it with this added so as to avoid GI tract issues:
I will probably add the nettle tea in future but right now I am taking so many things…it just makes me feel psychologically crippled.
Thank you for reminding me of it: my naturopath doctor in London did recommend that also.
I would ask to have a trans vaginal ultra sound to measure your lining.
Tell the doctor you are worried about excess estrogen from the implant, specially since you never had your progesterone levels checked ( I still can’t believe this ) and you are worried about the balance not having been right all those years.
Let me know how you get on.
Edit: I forgot to mention Spirulina ( you probably know about this already ).
I bought the powder today to see if it helps with energy levels.
Yeah i’ve tried Spirulina, didn’t work for me. Good luck tho.
I used to like Rhodiola Rosea and find that ‘wakes me up’.
Alpha:
I found this link a few weeks ago and think it’s very accurate for me!
She’s written a book also:
28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals About Your Love Life, Moods and Potential,
[quote]Alpha F wrote:
I will probably add the nettle tea in future but right now I am taking so many things…it just makes me feel psychologically crippled.
Thank you for reminding me of it: my naturopath doctor in London did recommend that also.
[/quote]
I know the feeling… although i’m feeling quite excited about my new vitamin regime! Which will last until it doesn’t work 
I think mucuna pruriens and Maca sound quite promising though and i’ve found a Raw food site that sells them cheap yay
Also found this website
My reading list is horrendous now…
Alpha - if i take the raw Maca powder, how do i cook it/take it?
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
Alpha - if i take the raw Maca powder, how do i cook it/take it?[/quote]
I have the raw Maca and a tea spoon is 5 grams.
I put it on a drink with protein powder and the Powerdrive supplement they sell at this site.
If you drink tea I would put it in the tea ( some caffeine might enhance the feeling you get from the Maca which for me was a stronger heart beat. )
[quote]Wileykit wrote:
Also found this website
My reading list is horrendous now… [/quote]
I noticed that the studies on Maca were done on males and post menopausal women.
yeah bit annoying!
Actually it was mucuna pruriens i’m not sure you can take without cooking it? It’s a bean so toxic without cooking? Maybe i’ll ask the company who sell it though…
[quote]KSman wrote:
Still need your body temperatures!
iron absorption include caffeinated beverages, eggs, milk and bran.
Iron in food or pills interferes with zinc absorption and supplemental iron can aggravate zinc deficiency. The recommended daily allowance for zinc (RDA) is based on the assumption that forty per cent of the zinc that is swallowed is absorbed into the body. Actually, zinc absorption is only seventeen to thirty-five per cent and depends upon what is eaten along with zinc. Starch and fiber interfere with zinc absorption, as do calcium and iron. Lack of stomach acid, which may be caused by infection or acid-lowering drugs, also interferes with zinc absorption. Zinc deficiency is common in Africa and Asia, where people consume large quantities of milk, which is high in calcium and low in zinc, and of starches and fibres which inter-fere with zinc absorption. Zinc deficiency profoundly depresses immunity and administering iron to a zinc-deficient person is extremely risky. Not only does iron stimulate bacterial growth, but, by aggravat-ing zinc deficiency, it weakens the immune system of the person being supplemented.
Iron should not be taken as part of a multivitamin or multimineral preparation. Iron interferes with the absorption of the essen-tial minerals zinc, manganese and molybdenum; it destroys vitamin E; its own absorption is blocked by calcium and magnesium. Iron is best absorbed after a meal, with a small quantity of vitamin C (between one hundred and five hundred milligrams).
“”"
And vice versa
[/quote]
Hi KSMan,
I finally remembered to take my body temperature before getting up. It is 98.24 F (36.8 degrees). Should be noted that progesterone raises overall body temperature, even on the days i’m not taking it though and i’ll have to wait another 6 months at least before i can stop taking the awful stuff!!
Im taking the sea kelp supplement anyway.
Could you just confirm whether taking the Solgar female tablets which contain the RDA of iron is a good or bad idea? Did you say the iron in the tablets will stop the zinc in the tablets being absorbed? Or is that only if the iron is at higher doses than RDA?
I found this which answered my question. Low doses of iron with a meal, will not affect zinc absorption, phew:
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/115/3/411.full.pdf
[quote]Alpha F wrote:
ha! what a small world - that is the clinic she told she found 2 days ago and it is NHS and she has made an appointment:
[/quote]
Hey Alpha F,
Sorry i disappeared for a while! How are you? And how did your friend get on at the menopause clinic? They are very nice doctors, very patient at being questioned a lot!! I was back there on Tuesday! They said i could take low oestrogen but my migraines are still bad so i dont want to. Altho they are slightly better since i stopped nurofen and taking a triptan instead. So im charting the pattern to discuss with him next time, altho he’s not an expert on migraines but if there is a hormonal pattern, i’m going to make him an expert
I think they gave me too much testosterone this time tho although i feel ok so far 
I wasn’t going to have any but he persuaded me i should, im easily influenced when im tired and they are nice! They said my level was 3.3 last time but got up to 8 just after the implant was inserted!! Eek. The normal range for women is about 0.7-2.7. Hope they haven’t turned me into a man!!!
Anyway update: I took Solgar Female, vitamin D etc for 3-6 months and felt good on it. But then my doc found my B12 was over 1000 and he told me to stop taking it. And couldn’t find many vitamin pills that contained a normal RDA of vit B12, except a B complex from Superdrug, so i’m taking that and B6 and vitamin D just now.
Magnesium totally cured my insomnia, not sure if i mentioned that before. And i had a mineral level test done privately recently and they found my magnesium was borderline/just under normal range (even after taking magnesium citrate for 2 years!!!). So i bought some Better You magnesium oil and taking that too.
My iron levels got up to 27 but is probably still low. I eat meat twice a week now but still feel tired all the time. Still suspect adrenals or possibly thyroid? So i revisited this thread to read up on KSMan’s iodine info.
Also been charting my temperatures now that i’m off progesterone. But so far my cycle is very erratic, long then short. And so i havent’ got consistent results yet, i dont think.
Will post temperatures in next post.
Oh i tried the Maca root luteally also, and really like it. I think it gave me lots more energy. Probably coz so nutritious. I plan to see a dietician also as want to vomit a lot lately which could be gastroperasis caused by Gliberts/progesterone/migraines/all 3!!! arrrgh Have to eat smaller portions now.
I might also read this now i’m off the hormones, but does it focus on the creams? I asked Dr Panay about the oestrogen cream and he said i would have to take progesterone with this too as it is a clinical dose. I could take the lower dose oestrogens like you said though and might try that.
Natural Hormone Balance for Women by Uzzi Reiss, MD/OB-GYN.