Hi Ladies,
Well, just when we think we are home free, something rears its ugly head.
Night sweats started again so my GYN told me to double my dosage of Estrogen. Well, it worked, I am no longer having night sweats. It's really strange how our hormones change so quickly. I have also begun taking a vitamin supplement through Nutra Metrix. It is a 3 oz. drink I take every morning before I eat or drink anything else and it has been made into a cocktail for me specifically based on my DNA for health. I had to do a swab and send it to a lab and then they let me know what minerals and vitamins I was lacking.
I began taking only half of the dosage to start and now I am taking the amount suggested for morning. I am not taking the supplement at night because I want to increase slowly. Any supplement you take should be approved by your doctor.
Lilia
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Doing Great!
An Insight to Menopause
by Dr. Don Colbert An Insight to Menopause
http://www.drcolbert.com/cont_articles.php?view=full&artcat=2&aid=140
If you are a woman in your late 40’s or early 50’s you may already be familiar with the term menopause. Sometimes labeled by women who have gone through this as “The Change” or “Change in Life”. Of course this is a normal part of a woman’s life and should not be cause for alarm. The changes in years leading up to the last few periods for a woman can bring on the onset of hot flashes. This is called the menopausal transition which is not menopause itself. This transition occurs when the hormones produced by the ovaries, progesterone and estrogen begin to fluctuate. Most of the time these changes start to occur in her forties without any symptoms. Some notable changes are thickening waist and vaginal dryness. The mechanics behind this is mainly due to the atrophy of the ovaries. The changes that most women see can last several years and 12 months until the last period. Usually once 12 months has passed without a cycle, a woman is considered to have gone through menopause and is now post-menopausal.
For women going through this change it can be like roller skating while juggling bowling pins. Not easy. The average age of menopause is 51. But of course there are highs and lows on either side of the curve. In order to fully understand if you may be going through menopause it would be a good idea to visit your gynecologist to get a physical exam and have lab work completed to test levels of hormones. Women who have gone through certain procedures like a hysterectomy may have stopped production of the hormones already. This has been noted after procedures and tests for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. In other procedures like a bilateral oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries), stops periods usually right away. But if the uterus is still present and one ovary remains, menstrual cycles usually continue. These procedures have been labeled before as “surgical menopause”. At times before the age of 40, a woman may experience symptoms like menopause and stop having cycles. This may be due to some forms of radiation treatment, certain medications or what is classified as “autoimmune” functions. Some reports have shown that women around the age of 40 reported what is named pre-mature menopause. But they also reported returning normal cycles thereafter. This is mainly due to women ovaries not producing hormones regularly. There have even been pregnancies reported after such an event. This may be known to some as primary ovarian insufficiency. In essence this would not be the same as menopause and should be discussed with a physician to determine the extent of what differences in hormones are occurring.
by Dr. Don Colbert An Insight to Menopause
http://www.drcolbert.com/cont_articles.php?view=full&artcat=2&aid=140
If you are a woman in your late 40’s or early 50’s you may already be familiar with the term menopause. Sometimes labeled by women who have gone through this as “The Change” or “Change in Life”. Of course this is a normal part of a woman’s life and should not be cause for alarm. The changes in years leading up to the last few periods for a woman can bring on the onset of hot flashes. This is called the menopausal transition which is not menopause itself. This transition occurs when the hormones produced by the ovaries, progesterone and estrogen begin to fluctuate. Most of the time these changes start to occur in her forties without any symptoms. Some notable changes are thickening waist and vaginal dryness. The mechanics behind this is mainly due to the atrophy of the ovaries. The changes that most women see can last several years and 12 months until the last period. Usually once 12 months has passed without a cycle, a woman is considered to have gone through menopause and is now post-menopausal.
For women going through this change it can be like roller skating while juggling bowling pins. Not easy. The average age of menopause is 51. But of course there are highs and lows on either side of the curve. In order to fully understand if you may be going through menopause it would be a good idea to visit your gynecologist to get a physical exam and have lab work completed to test levels of hormones. Women who have gone through certain procedures like a hysterectomy may have stopped production of the hormones already. This has been noted after procedures and tests for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. In other procedures like a bilateral oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries), stops periods usually right away. But if the uterus is still present and one ovary remains, menstrual cycles usually continue. These procedures have been labeled before as “surgical menopause”. At times before the age of 40, a woman may experience symptoms like menopause and stop having cycles. This may be due to some forms of radiation treatment, certain medications or what is classified as “autoimmune” functions. Some reports have shown that women around the age of 40 reported what is named pre-mature menopause. But they also reported returning normal cycles thereafter. This is mainly due to women ovaries not producing hormones regularly. There have even been pregnancies reported after such an event. This may be known to some as primary ovarian insufficiency. In essence this would not be the same as menopause and should be discussed with a physician to determine the extent of what differences in hormones are occurring.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Yoga and Hormone Therapy
Good Morning Ladies,
I started hormone therapy on Monday night of this week and already I'm sleeping and feeling better. As you all know, this has been almost a 2 year journey since I started this blog.
Menopause can be a very traumatic experience in our life and our family's lives. This is because it affects everyone we come in contact with to an extent. Our attitudes, feelings, emotions, and illness during this transition in life are affected all the time if we are not in a good place.
About 6 weeks ago, I felt so horrible that I thought my body was ageing daily by a high rate of speed. I decided after I saw my spine doctor ( I have been diagnosed with scoliosis) that I should fight what my bones are trying to do to me. He informed me that because I was in menopause now that my curvature changed by .5%. For me that was a scary thing to hear. That meant I was now at 30% curvature. This 5% change happened in one year. Once someone is at 35% back surgery is highly recommended. This meant I only had .5% more to go.
So, I prayed and decided that I needed to do something about it. After I saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love I felt a new kind of courage welling up inside of me. I knew that if Liz could find her balance after what she went through in her divorce by seeking God then Yoga was for me too. She talks about Yoga in her book in detail. She shares that Yoga is designed to help us get in contact with our God. My God of choice is Jesus.
As I started to think about this process of Yoga and faith I decided to do a search on the internet about Yoga and scoliosis. Sure enough, I found a book that promised I would find relief and could actually move my spine to correct my curvature. Yep! That's what happened to this woman, a doctor, who wrote the book. Back Care Basics: A Doctor's Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief by Mary Pullig Schatz, B.K.S. Iyengar and William Connor (May 1992).
I decided to find a Yoga teacher in my area and to my surprise she was only 5 minutes from me in Fairfield, California and she was very interested in helping me achieve wellness and a straight spine. The class is every Saturday for 1 1/2 hours and I can tell you that I have never experienced so much good pain in my life. When I'm done, I feel like a new woman. I feel like I have just taken a drink of living water. Not only have I met some great ladies and men but I finally feel like I'm not letting my body make decisions for me any longer. Plus, I lost 15 pounds and it also encouraged me to start eating better.
My OB decided that I needed a blood test to check my hormone levels again since I had not had a period in 6 months. The results were conclusive and showed I was definitely in menopause for good. She set up an appointment to discuss hormone therapy and some alternatives to what I had already tried (creams) from online doctors that swear it will help my hormone levels, hot flashes, weight gain, and a myriad of other things. However, once I got the news about my spine I knew I could not take this approach any longer. Plus, my thyroid was starting to overact again. According to the experts, this is all symbiotic.
Therefore, my doctor prescribed the lowest dose of progesterone and estrogen. You cannot take one without the other. Plus, they must be taken at the same time every day and not on an empty stomach. So I am taking the following:
ESTRADIOL 0.5 MG TABLET
MEDROXYPROGESTERONE 2.5 MG TABLET
PREMARIN 0.625 MG/G CREAM
The premarin cream is for a dry vagina. My husband and I enjoy intercourse but with the dryness and tightness I am experiencing, we needed some help. She also recommended that I use this cream as long as I want to continue having sex. She also recommended Astrolube..can't wait to try it :)
Needless to say, I have taken my pills for 2 nights now and I feel good already. I did have a mild headache both mornings but they went away on their own after I got up.
I'm excited to share this information with all of you and pray and hope you don't give up. Remember, this is something all of us women go through....and that's the great thing, we go THROUGH, we don't stay there if we don't want to.
God bless you,
Lilia
I started hormone therapy on Monday night of this week and already I'm sleeping and feeling better. As you all know, this has been almost a 2 year journey since I started this blog.
Menopause can be a very traumatic experience in our life and our family's lives. This is because it affects everyone we come in contact with to an extent. Our attitudes, feelings, emotions, and illness during this transition in life are affected all the time if we are not in a good place.
About 6 weeks ago, I felt so horrible that I thought my body was ageing daily by a high rate of speed. I decided after I saw my spine doctor ( I have been diagnosed with scoliosis) that I should fight what my bones are trying to do to me. He informed me that because I was in menopause now that my curvature changed by .5%. For me that was a scary thing to hear. That meant I was now at 30% curvature. This 5% change happened in one year. Once someone is at 35% back surgery is highly recommended. This meant I only had .5% more to go.
So, I prayed and decided that I needed to do something about it. After I saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love I felt a new kind of courage welling up inside of me. I knew that if Liz could find her balance after what she went through in her divorce by seeking God then Yoga was for me too. She talks about Yoga in her book in detail. She shares that Yoga is designed to help us get in contact with our God. My God of choice is Jesus.
As I started to think about this process of Yoga and faith I decided to do a search on the internet about Yoga and scoliosis. Sure enough, I found a book that promised I would find relief and could actually move my spine to correct my curvature. Yep! That's what happened to this woman, a doctor, who wrote the book. Back Care Basics: A Doctor's Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief by Mary Pullig Schatz, B.K.S. Iyengar and William Connor (May 1992).
I decided to find a Yoga teacher in my area and to my surprise she was only 5 minutes from me in Fairfield, California and she was very interested in helping me achieve wellness and a straight spine. The class is every Saturday for 1 1/2 hours and I can tell you that I have never experienced so much good pain in my life. When I'm done, I feel like a new woman. I feel like I have just taken a drink of living water. Not only have I met some great ladies and men but I finally feel like I'm not letting my body make decisions for me any longer. Plus, I lost 15 pounds and it also encouraged me to start eating better.
My OB decided that I needed a blood test to check my hormone levels again since I had not had a period in 6 months. The results were conclusive and showed I was definitely in menopause for good. She set up an appointment to discuss hormone therapy and some alternatives to what I had already tried (creams) from online doctors that swear it will help my hormone levels, hot flashes, weight gain, and a myriad of other things. However, once I got the news about my spine I knew I could not take this approach any longer. Plus, my thyroid was starting to overact again. According to the experts, this is all symbiotic.
Therefore, my doctor prescribed the lowest dose of progesterone and estrogen. You cannot take one without the other. Plus, they must be taken at the same time every day and not on an empty stomach. So I am taking the following:
ESTRADIOL 0.5 MG TABLET
MEDROXYPROGESTERONE 2.5 MG TABLET
PREMARIN 0.625 MG/G CREAM
The premarin cream is for a dry vagina. My husband and I enjoy intercourse but with the dryness and tightness I am experiencing, we needed some help. She also recommended that I use this cream as long as I want to continue having sex. She also recommended Astrolube..can't wait to try it :)
Needless to say, I have taken my pills for 2 nights now and I feel good already. I did have a mild headache both mornings but they went away on their own after I got up.
I'm excited to share this information with all of you and pray and hope you don't give up. Remember, this is something all of us women go through....and that's the great thing, we go THROUGH, we don't stay there if we don't want to.
God bless you,
Lilia
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Home Free
Hi Ladies,
Well, its been since November that I had a period and three months before that. My gynecologist says that I'm officially in menopause. She ordered the blood test that checks my hormone levels and the level showed 51, normal is very low. I have an appointment to see her on March 7th but I'm feeling fantastic! I was starting to get hot flashes in the middle of the night which would wake me up, which also triggered insomnia but I decided to use my hormone cream again and it worked! I only wake up once to go to the bathroom and no more hot flashes. I am no longer having mood swings and no longer craving chocolate. I have also added 1 8 oz glass of soy milk in my daily diet and am eating more nuts, mainly almonds. I have also started Yoga. I have found this to be the best thing I've done yet.
I have Scoliosis which is at a 30% curvature of my lower spine. My spine doctor says he has to operate at 35%. However, he doesn't necessarily believe I will ever reach that point. He said that the curvature changed by 5% in one year due to the menopause. He feels that since I'm doing well that it will hold there and not get any worse if I take care of myself. Hence, Yoga! I also purchased this book called "Back Care Basics" by Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D. She discusses in her book how our bodies are able to heal and reverse a curvature if we do the correct Yoga positions.
Once I heard this, I couldn't wait! I have had 2 classes and am already feeling better. So, if you find that menopause has changed your posture, it's time to start that Yoga class you've been putting off.
Happy stretching!
Namaste.
Lilia
Well, its been since November that I had a period and three months before that. My gynecologist says that I'm officially in menopause. She ordered the blood test that checks my hormone levels and the level showed 51, normal is very low. I have an appointment to see her on March 7th but I'm feeling fantastic! I was starting to get hot flashes in the middle of the night which would wake me up, which also triggered insomnia but I decided to use my hormone cream again and it worked! I only wake up once to go to the bathroom and no more hot flashes. I am no longer having mood swings and no longer craving chocolate. I have also added 1 8 oz glass of soy milk in my daily diet and am eating more nuts, mainly almonds. I have also started Yoga. I have found this to be the best thing I've done yet.
I have Scoliosis which is at a 30% curvature of my lower spine. My spine doctor says he has to operate at 35%. However, he doesn't necessarily believe I will ever reach that point. He said that the curvature changed by 5% in one year due to the menopause. He feels that since I'm doing well that it will hold there and not get any worse if I take care of myself. Hence, Yoga! I also purchased this book called "Back Care Basics" by Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D. She discusses in her book how our bodies are able to heal and reverse a curvature if we do the correct Yoga positions.
Once I heard this, I couldn't wait! I have had 2 classes and am already feeling better. So, if you find that menopause has changed your posture, it's time to start that Yoga class you've been putting off.
Happy stretching!
Namaste.
Lilia
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