Re: Interesting conversation

[Guest guest]

Hi Bindi,

Sorry to hear of your setback. That has to be so frustrating! I

too have tested low in testosterone and have Stage 1 adrenal

fatigue. Mercola's doc put me on pregnenlone and DHEA because he

said the two work synergistically and so DHEA alone is not as

beneficial. One thing he warned about the DHEA is not to take more

than 50 mg per day as it leads to masculinization. I was on it for

a couple months but went off because my voice was becoming deeper.

This is the brand I took:

http://www.biomatrixone.com/hormone_support.html

My chiro said that one should never be on DHEA for longer than a

month and that you can cycle with it and reintroduce it

periodically. Mercola's doc didn't have much to say about that one

way or the other. I may consider going back on it but not right now

as I'm starting Field Control Therapy next week to remove mercury

and fungi.

I notice the same symtpoms are worse the week before and during my

period too. Thanks for looking into all this for us and keeping us

posted on what you find out! I also wanted to ask you about your

experience w/ ashwaganda since it's supposed to support the thyroid

and adrenals. How much do you take and where do you get it?

Thanks and hope you feel better soon. Love, PH

>

> Dear Ladies,

> Had a conversation with Patty via email and she encouraged me to

post about it here. I was worried about scaring some of the ladies

who are in the early stages of recovery from implants, but Patty

suggested that talking about it here might be a good way to keep the

dialogue going about BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES, which I, and some of

you all, may need.

>

> I have been having a bit of a downturn with my health. I seemed to

have been improving slowly and steadily for about two years after

explant (I am two and a half years post-explant now). At some point

I seemed to have reached a plateau, and now recently some of my old

symptoms have crept back-- brain fog, short-term memory problems,

vertigo, muscle weakness and fatigue. One thing I notice is a marked

change for the worse around a week before my period begins and

during the days am bleeding.

>

> Interesting that Patty just mentioned bio-identical hormones,

because my doc, who is a practical, open-minded fellow, suggested I

try them. He thinks perimenopause might be stirring up my symptoms.

My cycles are getting shorter-- they're now 26 days. I am 45. He

also suggested taking YAZ, the birth control pill, as a last resort--

it does contain some estrogen. He said many women with difficult

PMS during perimeno find it helpful.

>

> I've been looking for solid research on bio-identical hormones and

haven't found a whole lot out there. Most of what has been published

in the med journals is on synthetic hormones. One thing I have found

is a direct connection with adrenal insufficiency and low

testosterone (both which I have, according to the saliva hormone

panel I did), and supplementing with DHEA seems to help. Interesting.

>

> I am on the path now to find out more, will report back with any

helpful info.

> Yours,

> Bindi

>

[Guest guest]

Hi PH,

Interesting what your chiro said about DHEA. I've read that 50 mg/day is a therapeutic dose for a person with low testosterone, but I haven't found anything that says one should only take it for a month at a time. One study I read said that negative symptoms return once one stops. Does your chiro have any good studies to reference to support his stance?

I would expect that the voice changes you experienced was due to increased testosterone, since DHEA is a testosterone percursor. Hopefully you ain't growing a beard!

Funny you mentioned ashwaganda. I stopped taking my herbs a few months ago-- I got busy and fell out of the habit. I am going to get back on them again and see if I can get back in the saddle a bit. I get my powdered herbs from www.mountainmoseherbs.com. They sell organic herbs whenever possible, and their quality is excellent. I've used them for years, they have an excellent selection and they are very down-to-earth.

Bindi

[Guest guest]

Ph,

I get organic ashwaganda at my health food store.

Love

In a message dated 4/24/2008 3:38:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, perfecthealth68@... writes:

Hi Bindi,Sorry to hear of your setback. That has to be so frustrating! I too have tested low in testosterone and have Stage 1 adrenal fatigue. Mercola's doc put me on pregnenlone and DHEA because he said the two work synergistically and so DHEA alone is not as beneficial. One thing he warned about the DHEA is not to take more than 50 mg per day as it leads to masculinization. I was on it for a couple months but went off because my voice was becoming deeper.This is the brand I took: http://www.biomatrixone.com/hormone_support.html My chiro said that one should never be on DHEA for longer than a month and that you can cycle with it and reintroduce it periodically. Mercola's doc didn't have much to say about that one way or the other. I may consider going back on it but not right now as I'm starting Field Control Therapy next week to remove mercury and fungi. I notice the same symtpoms are worse the week before and during my period too. Thanks for looking into all this for us and keeping us posted on what you find out! I also wanted to ask you about your experience w/ ashwaganda since it's supposed to support the thyroid and adrenals. How much do you take and where do you get it?Thanks and hope you feel better soon. Love, PH >> Dear Ladies,> Had a conversation with Patty via email and she encouraged me to post about it here. I was worried about scaring some of the ladies who are in the early stages of recovery from implants, but Patty suggested that talking about it here might be a good way to keep the dialogue going about BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES, which I, and some of you all, may need.> > I have been having a bit of a downturn with my health. I seemed to have been improving slowly and steadily for about two years after explant (I am two and a half years post-explant now). At some point I seemed to have reached a plateau, and now recently some of my old symptoms have crept back-- brain fog, short-term memory problems, vertigo, muscle weakness and fatigue. One thing I notice is a marked change for the worse around a week before my period begins and during the days am bleeding.> > Interesting that Patty just mentioned bio-identical hormones, because my doc, who is a practical, open-minded fellow, suggested I try them. He thinks perimenopause might be stirring up my symptoms. My cycles are getting shorter-- they're now 26 days. I am 45. He also suggested taking YAZ, the birth control pill, as a last resort--it does contain some estrogen. He said many women with difficult PMS during perimeno find it helpful. > > I've been looking for solid research on bio-identical hormones and haven't found a whole lot out there. Most of what has been published in the med journals is on synthetic hormones. One thing I have found is a direct connection with adrenal insufficiency and low testosterone (both which I have, according to the saliva hormone panel I did), and supplementing with DHEA seems to help. Interesting.> > I am on the path now to find out more, will report back with any helpful info. > Yours, > Bindi> Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car listings at AOL Autos.

[Guest guest]

Hi Bindi,

It's so hard figuring all this out! For me, I actually felt mildly

better while taking DHEA. Then I felt worse. Going off of it, I

felt the best I had in 10 months. In fact, it was the first time I

really noticed some improvement. Mercola's doc said that DHEA and

pregnenelone act as precursors to all the other hormones and " trick "

the brain into producing them. He said you don't want to take them

long-term at all but didn't seem opposed to me taking them for a few

months. I didn't ask my chiro about studies to back up the cycling

because at that point I didn't want anything to do with the

DHEA...like you said, I was afraid of growing a beard!

You've really got me wondering though if the brain fog is adrenal

related if it came back once you stopped the ashwaganda.

I've been reading a lot about those with candida (I know you don't

put much stock into the candida theory). I question it as well from

time to time, but what I'm seeing is that many who claim they have

systemic candida and recover, end up having setbacks w/ symptoms

exactly like you describe. Once they start eating a lot of sugar

and fruits, their symptoms return. When I've read about adrenal

fatigue, in multiple places I've seen " AVOID/LIMIT FRUIT AND SUGAR

AS THEY WEAKEN ADRENALS " . I'm not saying you have candida or eat too

much fruit or sugar, but what I'm saying is maybe our symptoms are

more adrenal-related than we realize and that supporting them is key

to reducing the brain fog, vertigo, etc.

Yet, maybe I just blew that theory out of the water since when I

went off DHEA for adrenal support I actually felt a little better!

Who knows...I just want this darn brain fog to go away once and for

all. If you figure it out, let us know:) Love, PH

>

> Hi PH,

>

> Interesting what your chiro said about DHEA. I've read that 50

mg/day is a therapeutic dose for a person with low testosterone, but

I haven't found anything that says one should only take it for a

month at a time. One study I read said that negative symptoms return

once one stops. Does your chiro have any good studies to reference

to support his stance?

>

> I would expect that the voice changes you experienced was due to

increased testosterone, since DHEA is a testosterone percursor.

Hopefully you ain't growing a beard!

>

> Funny you mentioned ashwaganda. I stopped taking my herbs a few

months ago-- I got busy and fell out of the habit. I am going to get

back on them again and see if I can get back in the saddle a bit. I

get my powdered herbs from www.mountainmoseherbs.com. They sell

organic herbs whenever possible, and their quality is excellent.

I've used them for years, they have an excellent selection and they

are very down-to-earth.

>

> Bindi

>

[Guest guest]

PH,

Wow, that's really perplexing that you stopped DHEA and then felt better. Hmm.

I definitely think my adrenals are a big part of what's going on. My hormone panel points to adrenal insuffiency-- I make almost no cortisol in the morning, and then my poor little adrenals try and try to squeeze some out and it spikes a little at mid-day and then crashes again, then goes up at an odd time at night when I should be sleeping. My testosterone is low, as is common with adrenal insufficiency. Makes perfect sense to me, because I feel worse in the morning, better at night. Also, when I first got sick with implants, the only blood test that showed abnormal out of the dozens I took was my cortisol level-- at that time it was through the roof. I had all the symptoms of cortisol overload-- heart palpitations, sweats, rushes of adrenaline and panic-- but nobody made the connection that my adrenals were out of whack.

I did show an overgrowth of (vaginal) Candida at last my PAP. I also had a weird yeasty rash around my privates at the time as well. I took caprylic acid for a bit, but the rash wouldn't budge. I tried all sorts of prescribed creams but nothing helped. Then I used a salve I had made from St. 's Wort flowers and other herbs and it knocked that yeasty rash right out. I don't know what to think about systemic candida. I just haven't found enough solid evidence to convince me that it is a real condition.

I'm pretty sure my issues are endocrine-related. What seems to aggravate them is stress-- physcial, emotional, any kind of strain. I am going back on the adaptogenic herbs-- ashawaganda, rhodiola rosea, maca, reishi, shitake-- and see if I can get myself out of the weeds again. They really seemed to help me before, and then I got all cocky, thinking I disn't need them anymore. I guess I still do! I'm checking into cordyceps and bio-identical hormones as well.

How are you feeling, PH? Are you having any other symptoms besides brain fog? What has been helping you?

This implants illness thing really takes a lot of work, doesn't it?

xo

Bindi