Re: Update from Bindi

September 7, 2008

Hey Bindi,

Thanks for the update and report on your recent experiences. I am

glad you are sharing this info....very valuable for all!

What your doc said makes sense. I never had that crash, so I can't

relate, but I hope you do feel better very soon. It's been awhile,

hasn't it?

The fact that you could feel so good on the hormones is telling....it

says to me that it was THE answer to feeling good for you. I mean,

was there anything else you've done that made you feel that good?

So, hormones still seem to be key.

Now if you can just find that right balance to feel good all the

time, it would be great. Hormones are so complex, and I'm not sure

that anyone has them fully figured out, but your experience showed

that they play a huge part.

I wonder what would happen if you were " drunk on them " all the time,

or if that is even possible?

Hopefully your doctor can figure it all out.

Patty

>

> Hi Peeps,

> I am hoping this finds everyone well, or at least on the way to

> wellness.

>

> I just wanted to uptdate y'all on my recent visit with my

alternative

> health practitioner, Layna Berman, in case my experience helps

> anyone. The last I'd posted was about how she put me on a protocol

of

> natural hormones, including Armour thyroid, DHEA, bioidentical

> estrogen and progesterone. For three weeks I had a glorious

honeymoon

> where I felt pretty close to fantastic. Then I crashed, big time.

>

> My recent consult with her was enlightening. She explained to me

why

> I felt so good for three week and then crashed. Mind you, I am

> paraphrasing her words here. She said that when your endocrine

system

> is not functioning properly and making the hormones the body needs,

> the hormone receptors become very sensitive to any hormones that

> might be available. When you add a bunch of new hormones to the

> bloodstream, the body becomes almost " drunk " on them, before it

> adjusts. That is why you feel so good.

>

> I have crawled out from the crash but still feel pretty lousy.

Layna

> had me increase the dose slightly of the estrogen and thyroid but

so

> far I have not felt any improvement.

>

> I have been trying to stick with the paleo diet. I did cheat a few

> times and felt crappy. I think I might be sensitive to wheat and

> dairy and just didn't know it. I've lived with a certain amount of

> bloating ever since I got sick from implants but it just became

> background noise like everything else I was tolerating. Layna also

> told me that often people with chronic illness caused by a toxic

> trigger can develop food allergies but they can also heal to the

> point that those foods can be okay again. Not everyone, but some.

> Layna said that the only way to know for sure if I have developed

an

> allergy is to stay off the possible culprits for at least three

weeks

> and then introduce them one at a time.

>

> That Syclovir powder was also bad news, for me anyway. It made me

> really sick. My digestion is still messed up from that stuff. Layna

> totally disses the systemic candida theory. She says that a lot of

> alternative docs manipulate people by telling them they have a

fungal

> overgrowth without any basing it on any sort of proof. It's funny,

> though, because she promotes a diet very close to the candida one.

> The difference is that on the paleo diet one can eat fruit,

potatoes,

> yams, some grains (brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, oats), some beans

> (lentils), occasionally sweets like honey and agave. It's a little

> easier than the straight candida diet. I can't seem to stop losing

> weight no matter how much I eat. I am getting pretty skinny. I also

> am so bored with eating, cooking, and food in general since

starting

> this diet.

>

> I am seriously thinking of switching to an ayurvedic diet, which is

> dependent on one's constitutional dosha, but I am going to stick

this

> paleo thing out for a month and see how it goes. On an ayurvedic

diet

> one can eat dairy, rice, legumes.

>

> At any rate, I think it is extremely important that one eat as many

> fruits and vegies as one can. So many studies have come out

showing

> how powerful plant foods are. Did you hear about the recent study

> with black raspberries? Supposedly they stop the expression of

cancer

> genes. I am skeptical of diets that trash fruit. Of course one

> doesn't want to go overboard and pig out on it, but no fruit? So

many

> important vitamins and minerals are found in fruit.

>

> I wish I could report that I'd found the holy grail of health with

> hormones, but so far I don't think I have. I made the mistake of

> jumping the gun a while back and hollering from the mountaintops

how

> how hormones were the best thing since, I don't know, tampons or

> something, and after badgering everyone who would listen to try

them,

> I was knocked back down to earth. Oh well.

>

> I'll y'all let you know if anything changes.

>

> xo

> Bindi

>

September 7, 2008

Just wanted to mention something also on the food allergies idea for

those who might suspect a new allergy in your life. I believe that

when we become ill from implants we do have the potential to have

developed new allergies that we would never suspect. I developed an

allergy to chocolate and I have also tested positive for gluten

sensitivity.

Here's what happened with the chocolate allergy. It was an IgG

allergy, not an IgE. The difference is that one is permanent, and the

other is temporary. With an IgG allergy, I was told to avoid the

culprit for a year. I am quite certain that three weeks is not long

enough to get rid of any antibodies in your bloodstream. I've heard

it takes at least 2 months to clear it out of your system after

you've stopped eating the offending substance. (I think that was on

Dr. Weil's site). In any case, what I experienced was after a year

of avoiding chocolate, I was able to eat it again, though my desire

for it was greatly diminished.

I also had a problem with cashews.

Many women with implants have ended up with new food allergies, some

with many, some with few, but they are there nonetheless. The most

common allergic reactions are to wheat, milk or dairy, eggs, and nuts.

It's helpful to go on a diet free of those items you suspect to be

troublesome for several months and see how you feel. If you feel

better, you have your answer. A test is helpful for quick answers,

but also more expensive. The cheap test is to just avoid it, and

reintroduce it to find out if you feel like crap. You can have a

reaction anywhere from a few hours to a few days after eating it.