Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Starting bio-identical hormones...

Hey everyone.  It's been awhile since I've updated where I am at...and my one year anniversary of having the Mirena removed is in a week--Sept. 2nd to be exact.

With the help of Dr. J.....and a WHOLE lot of patience, I can say that I am remarkably better than I was even six months ago.  I remember, all too well, that feeling of "I'm either going to lose my mind or die, and I just don't know which one is going to hit first."  Overall, I feel pretty good most of the time  (For those who need a reminder of what all of my symptoms were at the beginning, they are listed in one of my first posts).

 As of now, the only symptoms that remain are as follows:

--I never regained the vision that I lost in my right eye.  I actually went to see an Opthomologist a week ago, and I am considered "legally blind" in that eye now.  Thanks, Mirena.  However, she didn't see any physical damage to the eye, so she believes that it could be due to the hormonal damage...which gives me hope that maybe--one day--I can get that vision back again.  Yes, it has been a year since removal, but one can hope, right?

--I still have some bad days during two different times of each month:  one is right as my period is over, and the other time is during ovulation.  It is nothing like it once was, but I do find that my mood is definitely affected.  I just find myself feeling angry for no reason, and that "disconnected/detached" feeling returns. At its worst, I also get dizzy and my vision worsens even more. I hate that feeling like you've been drugged.  That's what it feels like to me--like someone slipped something in my drink.  Super annoying.  It used to scare me, but now it doesn't (only because I've been doing it for so long now that I know that it is coming and that it will go away eventually).  I am looking forward to that going away, though, because it is so hard to do anything on those days.  Everything just seems so much more difficult to do.

--I have sporadic days where my body aches SO MUCH.  My joints hurt...sheesh--it feels like my BONES hurt.  I literally have to sit on my bed upstairs for a minute after walking up the stairs because my legs hurt so much just from walking up ten stairs.  There doesn't seem to be much of a rhyme or reason to it.  Somes days I hurt a lot...some days, I only ache a little.  I swear, that stupid thing gave me Osteoporosis or something. 

Those are the only things that I notice now--at one year post.  Compared to where I was just four months ago, I am beyond grateful.  However, I have made the decision to begin taking bio-identical (oral) hormones to see if I can knock out these last symptoms.  According to Dr. J., our cells have hormone receptor sites on them, and ours could be still so "clogged" by the synthetic hormones, that we need to "flush them out" a bit with some natural hormones.  Since my body is still not figuring out the whole hormonal thing, I think that it is time to try this.  The detoxes put me to about 90%.  I think that, in order to me to get this all behind me, I need to try this to "kick start" and clean out my hormonal junk.  Dr. J. says that the goal here is that I will not have to stay on these long term.  The goal is simply to "clean out" my hormonal recepter sites so that my body's hormones have a greater chance of working themselves out.  Since I am at a full year post, I think it is time that I try.

The hormones that I am on are PROGON B (Oral) and PHYTO B (Oral).  Dr. J. says that oral is much better for us than the cream--I'll let him come on here and explain that...I can't.  The Progon B is natural progesterone, and the Phyto B is natural estrogen.  They are both from a company called
Bezwecken.

At first, I was bummed that I have come this far--only to take hormonal help now...so close to what I hoped was the "finish line" of all of this, but Dr. J. explained that this is in no way "giving up".  I have healed so much, but apparently, there is just a certain amount of my hormones that were damaged beyond what the detox itself could repair.  These hormones will, God willing, move my systems back up to where they should be...and give them the strength to eventually work on their own.  Who knows, maybe I will even get some of my vision back. 

Yesterday was day one of the hormones for me. Tomorrow is my 35th birthday.  I'm determined that this is going to be my year.  I think about how much better I am today than I was on my 34th birthday (I remember that I almost didn't go out that evening because I was having back-to-back anxiety attacks that day that I couldn't pull myself out of), and I am so thankful.  I pray that this last step is what will put me back to completely healed. 

I promise to keep you all updated!  Huge hugs to you all. 

Keep fighting for your health!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Posting Comments

Hey everyone, I got a message from a woman that informed me she was unable to post comments on this blog. I am so sorry! I had no idea!

I went in to my settings and changed some things around, so--hopefully--you can now.

Please comment! We can all learn from each other!

Dr. J. on detoxification

Here is a post from Dr. J. regarding detoxification. After your Mirena removal, this is the first thing that you should do. I've already done two detoxes. Trust me....it is a lot of supplements, but it is sooooooooo worth it. Here is the post. Keep fighting for your health, ladies. We'll get there.
______________________


Basically detoxification is happening all of the time in your body. The process is 100% dependent on the proper nutrients for the biochemistry to work right. When we have an excess of toxins in our body and a deficiency in the nutrients to process them out, these toxins back up and are stored in our tissues and wreak havoc with our physiology. For example, xenohormones, which are environmental chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body((from plastics, makeup, pesticides, herbicides (which are on nonorganic food), pharmaceutical hormones, etc.)) are one of the things that can put you into estrogen dominance, symptoms of this are imbalances in menstruation, anxiety, anger, mood swings, agitation, depression, cravings, little red dots on your skin (cherry hemangiomas), facial hair growth(peach fuzz) and a ton of other symptoms. Just google estrogen dominance symptoms. This is but one example of excess toxins (in this case xenoestrogens) building up in the body. The toxic load has overwhelmed the detox mechanisms and lots of weird symptoms result. The main detox mechanism is called the Cytochrome P450 enzyme system, the main detox organ is the liver. There are two phases. Phase I is the oxidation,reduction, hydrolysis, hydration, dehalogenation step, this produces reactive oxygen intermediates referred to a primary metabolites, that are actually more toxic than the initial molecule. Phase II is the Sulfation, methylation, glucuronidation steps of the primary metabolite formed in Phase I. This makes them water soluble to then be excreted in the bile through the gut, and in the urine via the kidneys. You don’t need to know all of the biochemistry of this, all you need to know is that both of these steps are 100% dependent on nutrients, and without the nutrients it will not work, and a toxic load builds up in your system causing all kinds of weird seemingly unrelated symptoms. The detox products we use are from Standard Process (a whole food nutrition company), Cruciferous Complete, SP Cleanse, Folic acid B12, B6 niacinimide, Gastrofiber, and SP Complete. You can read about them on http://www.StandardProcess.com.
It is a very complex system, but at the same time quite simple. How many times one needs to do a detox depends on how much toxic load there is. I compare symptoms of before and after, and just use common sense.

You can email me with questions
DrJNutrition@gmail.com

Hope this helps

Dr J

Dr. J on Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

Dr. J. will occasionally post on CureZone to answer questions and post helpful information. I was so excited when he said yes when I asked him to. This post is an answer that he gave to a woman who is convinced that her Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis is the result of her Mirena. The symptoms began immediately after insertion. It wouldn't surprise me...I still deal with chronic lower back issues ever since insertion, and I have some days throughout the month where my joints and bones hurt so much that I have to sit down after walking up my stairs because my legs hurt so bad. I had NONE of these issues until after the Mirena was inserted. The horrible lower back pain was one of my very first symptoms. Anyway.....here is his response. I hope it helps you out!
___________________________
RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease. All autoimmune diseases are from what is called unmethylated DNA
Whatever damage the mirena did to your system it affected the cell membranes and nuclear membranes of your cells(the membrane holds the stuff inside the cell, then the nuclear membrane holds the nucleus of the cell and its contents, DNA) When the DNA leaks out of the cells your body attacks it because it is not supposed to be there. This is your immune system turning on you. What has to be done is to get your liver to methylate the DNA and detox it out of your system, and this is done in Phase I and II stages of detox and is accomplished with cruciferous vegetables concentrated in a pill. Also needed is the build up of your cellular membranes and this is done with oils, Tuna oil, cod liver oil, Black currant seed oil, wheat germ oil, evening primrose oil. I am attaching a list of what is good to eat to help your liver detox. If you have questions about what nutrition to take, just email me
Hope this helps

Dr. J.
,

PHASE II FOOD PLAN FOR
BALANCING BODY CHEMISTRY


MEAT FISH FOWL EGGS FRUITS VEGETABLES
(No Limit on Serving Size)
VEGETABLES
3% or less carbs
Asparagus
Bamboo Shoots
Bean Sprouts
Beet Greens
Bok Choy Greens Broccoli
Cabbages Cauliflower Celerv
Chards
Chicorv
Collard Greens Cucumber
Endive
Escarole
Garlic
Kate
Kolrabi
Lettuces
Mushrooms
Mustard Greens Parsley
Radishes
Raw Cob Com
Salad Greens Sauerkraut
Spinach
String Beans Summer Squashes Turnip Greens Watercress
Yellow Squash Zucchini Squash




 FOODS EATEN CLOSEST TO THEIR RAW STATE HAVE THE BEST DIGESTIVE ENZYME ABILITY.
 TAKE FLUIDS MORE THAN ONE HOUR BEFORE OR MORE THAN TWO HOURS AFTER MEALS.
 LIMIT FLUID INTAKE WITH MEALS TO NO MORE THAN 4 OZ
 NO PROCESSED GRAINS, WHITE FLOUR, SUGAR, SUGAR SUBSTITUTES.
DESSERT
Plain Gelatin only
BEVERAGES
Beef Tea
Bouillon - Beef, Chicken Herbal (Decaffeinated) Teas Filtered or Spring Water
Red Wine only (3 glasses max)

VEGETABLES
6% or less carbs
Bell Peppers
Bok Choy Stems
Chives
Eggplant
Green Beans
Green Onions
Okra Olives
Pickles
Pimento
Rhubarb
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Water Chestnuts
Yams

VEGETABES
12 - 21%carbs
On Limited Basis
(Onlv 2 -3 X/ wk)
Celeriac
Chickpeas
Cooked Com
Grains, Sprouted
Horseradish
Jerus. Artichokes
Kidnev Beans
Lima Beans
Lentils
Parsnips
Peas
Popcorn
Potatoes
Seeds, Sprouted
Soybeans
Sunflower Seeds

MISCELLANEOUS
In LimitedAmounts
Butter
Caviar
Cottage Cheese
Dressing - Oil / Cider Vinegar only Jerky
Kefir (liquid yogurt)
Milk,
Nuts, (except Peanuts)
Oils - Vegetable, Olive (no Canola) preferably cold-pressed

VEGETABLES
7- 9% carbs
Acorn Squash Artichokes
Avocado
Beets
Brussel Sprouts Butternut
Squash
Carrots
Jicama
Leeks
Onion
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Turnips
Winter
Squashes

Fruits
In Limited Quantity
On Limited Basis
(Snacks only)
Apples
Berries
Grapes
Papaya
Pears
Prunes, Fresh


More help from Dr. J.

Here is another post written up by Dr. J. regarding hormonal health. I hope it gives you health and hope.
__________________________
HPA axis/Hormones
To start balancing out hormones we first have to look at the Hypothalamus/Pituitary/Adrenal axis (HPA). This is the master controller in the brain conrolling the symphony of hormones in the body. People with the HPA not functioning properly are disconnected, detached, walled off, feel like they are in a cave (bad memory, foggy thinking, fear/anxiety, feel crazy). When the HPA is working optimally you feel connected to the world, present, and full of life. This is the starting point with hormones and we do this with whole food products from Standard Process (Whole food nutrition company). The products are Hypothalmex, Hypothalamus PMG, Symplex F, Black Currant Seed Oil, and Tuna Omega 3 oil. The oils are the source of essential fats (essential means your body can not make them, they have to be ingested) so your body has the raw materials to make proper hormone. The body can not make it out of nowhere, if you do not ingest it, it can’t make it. The other products are to help the HPA to come back online and reboot so it can properly reconnect and coordinate the symphony of hormones. The HPA literally is the mind/body connection, from immune, nerve, and endocrine cells all talking with each other through cytokines, hormones, & neurotransmitters creating the biochemical background for spiritual, emotional, mental and physical states of being. Everything starts here, if it is not working right, nothing else does either.

Email me with your questions at DrJNutrition@Gmail.com

Hope this helps

Doc J


A message from Dr. J.

I have been so blessed to have finally found a doctor who not only believed me about all of this...but he is truly on a mission to get me healthy again. He has agreed to anonymously post help on here periodically, and I hope that it also helps all of you. He has a contact email at the end of his message here. He is will to help any of you as much as he can. If you have questions, you can email him directly, or please consider posting your question as a comment on here so that everyone who reads it can also learn and follow along.

With that being said, here is the first post from "Dr. J.":
______________________
This is Dr J, I was first introduced to the Mirena in Novemver 2010 when proudmomma came to my office. She had an incredible list of symptoms she presented with of which you can read on her blog MyLifeAfterMirena. Basically she was at her wits end and grasping for some answers and solutions to her nightmare. One of her biggest problems was that no doctors believed her, her tests came back normal, except silicone, which she had to demand to be tested for, and that there was nothing that medicine could do for her except give her crazy pills. Knowing the laws of physiology, health and disease have some basic premises. Health is a balance of nutrition to toxicity. More toxicity in the body without the nutrition to process it =symptoms and disease. Decreasing the toxic load and increasing the required nutrition =resistance and health. For whatever reason the Mirena malfunctioned in ProudMomma dumping its load of synthetic Progestins and other toxins into her system. This caused a toxic overload and a complete overwhelming of her bodies ability to process the poisons. Thus her body manifested dozens of new symptoms as a result of not handling the poison.
Our bodies are 100% dependent on nutrients to function, all hormones, detoxification pathways, neurotransmitters, enzymes, etc ALL depend on nutrients. So to get her body back to functioning better, we had to nourish it. We started with a Detoxification program to allow her body to start eliminating the toxins from her body. The liver needs Cruciferous vegetables and lots of other nutrients for Phase I and Phase II detox. Then focused on balancing her hormones from a natural standpoint. In the brain is the Hypothalamus and Pituitary. They pretty much run the show. We gave her nutrition to support these to return to normalcy. The products were what is on her blog, Hypothalamex, Hypothalamus PMG, Symplex F, Tuna omega oil, Black Currant Seed Oil,. These nutrients help to bring the HPA axis back on line(HPA is Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal axis). All hormones are controlled by the HPA axis and when it is not working right you feel disconnected and detached from life, in a fog. Then we started to support individual glands, (Adrenals which are energy, blood sugar, inflammation)(Thyroid which is tissue growth and maintenance and heat production, Two thyroid hormones are T4 and T3, T4 is tissue repair and growth and is depenent on iodine, T3 is for temperature and heat and requires selenium to be converted from T4 to T3, of which 75% happens in the liver which was overwhelmed by the poisons.(Which means you have no energy) Then was ovary and uterus support, then we went on to mineral replacement. Our minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) etc are our buffering mechanisms to acids put in the body, symptoms of mineral depletion are anxiety, inflammation(you hurt) and intensity(emotional and mad and don't know why) Also needed is to go to a low carb diet void of all starches, bread, rice, pasta, beans, potatoes, pasta. Eating these foods causes more hormone imbalances in the body of which is estrogen dominance, and since the Mirena reduced all of the natural Progesterones in the body you are in a state of estrogen dominance and eating starchy foods just contributes to it more.
Basically the women suffering from the Mirena side effects have been poisoned. We have to get the poison out, support the detoxification pathways, support normal hormone function in the brain and each organ or gland that produces them. Replenish mineral stores, build up nutritional reserves, which reduces inflammation in the body. Eat a low starch/low carb diet to help balance hormones, and eventually if needed to give bioidentical sublingual hormones from a company called Bezweken, never ever get on medical hormones if possible. Also only use nutrients from the company Standard Process. Most other companies are synthetic nutrition which is toxic to your system and induces more disease.
I am here to help you.
I believe you.
You are not alone.
You can contact me by email DRJNutrition@gmail.com
Then we can talk by phone.
I hope this has all helped some.

DR J