Re: A few questions from a beginner, discussion btw and Andy

[Guest guest]

>

>

> >

> >

<snip>

>

> >and considering that my menstrual cycles are now so short (only

> > 22 days) that my bleeding begins before conception and implantation could

occur,

>

> You don't understand the dynamics AT ALL.

>

> You can get pregnant just fine. The fertile period is about 14 days before

your

menstrual

> flow starts. The problem is in the FIRST half of the cycle being short, not

the second

half.

> The second half of the cycle is almost like clockwork in all women, it is the

first half that

> varies a lot.

>

-------------------Actually, Andy, I do understand the dynamics. The fertile

period

begins with the end of the dry period ( no cervical mucus or dry cervical mucus)

that

immediately follows the end of bleeding. As soon as there is fertile cervical

mucus, which

occurs from 5-7 days before ovulation, that is the fertile period of the cycle.

The most

fertile period of the cylce is PRIOR to ovulation, since the fertile cervical

mucus is the

optimal mode for keeping sperm alive for up to 3-5 days while it stays there

waiting for

the arrival of the egg (which lives 24 hours at the longest). After ovulation,

there is

generally only one day of fertile cervical mucus, but usually there is no more

fertile cervical

mucus after ovulation--a woman's secretions become dry right after ovulation,

usually.

This is the case with me. Right after the end of bleeding, the dry period lasts

about 7 days.

Then cervical mucus is cottage-cheese in consistancy (this is not fertile

mucus), then it

becomes wet and slightly creamy, but breaking easily (not very fertile) , and

then it

becomes clear and egg-white in consistency, dangling very long (several inches)

without

breaking--and THIS is fertile cervical mucus. This is the stuff that lasts for

3-5 days. This

is the stuff that, for me has been blood-red for the past year or more since

regaining my

cylces after weaning my daughter, while before having my daughter, it was always

clear, as

it normally should be.

> >it is

> > quite apparent to me that pregnancy is pretty much impossible for a women

like me

> with

> > no hormones,

>

> I know ones with very similar situations who got pregnant just fine the first

time they

tried.

---------------Don't you think I've " been there, done that? " I mentioned this in

my

emails from February that you responded to this week. Before buying your book,

my

husband and I had already been trying to conceive for over a year without

success. We

always timed " intimacy " optimally--going for it the most during my most fertile

times. By

taking my basal body temperature religiously every morning for most months in

the past

year and a half, I have alwasy known WHEN I ovulated and IF I ovulated.

Therefore, I can

tell you down to the day, for pretty much any month in 2007 and 2008, exactly

when I

ovulated. If I ovulate, then get my period only 5 or 6 days later, that means

my Luteal

phase (the second half of my cycle) is too short. This is how it is with

me--always. I

ovulate on day 14 or day 15, like clockwork. But after that, my period comes far

too soon.

>

> >and being hypoadrenal is probably the most effective form of birth control,

>

> Nope.

>

> Adrenal hormones aren't what regulate pregnancy, the female sex hormones do.

Since

> you cycle regularly those are working adequately to let you get pregnant.

----------------I know that. But Progesterone is the precursor to Cortisol. I

surmise

that I am very, very low in Progesterone, judging by my very sort luteal phase,

as recent

anovulation. If I'm deficient in progesterone, then doesn't it make sense that

I'm also

deficient in Cortisol? In fact, Dr. says in his book that using Natural

Progesterone

Cream can help the body produce a little more cortisol. My hypoadrenal symptoms

are

coinciding with all this. I'm infertile (low progesterone), and hypoadrenal (low

cortisol,

which is definitely not helped at all by being low progesterone).

---------------Please tell me whether Dr. Lam (drlam.com--sorry, I mistakenly

said

" Dr. Lee " in the last message) is correct in the following quote from his

extensive article

on Adrenal Fatigue. This article is linked on Dean's adreanal page that I got

from this

webgroup. Dr. Lam says: " The adrenal cortex is also responsible for producing

all sex

hormones, although in small amounts. One exception is DHEA, a weak androgenic

hormone that is made in large amounts in both sexes. DHEA, together with

testosterone

and estrogen, are made from pregnenolone, which in turn comes from cholesterol .

.. . . in

Adrenal Exhaustion, Despite rising ACTH, the adrenals are no longer able to keep

up the

increased demand for cortisol production. .. . . Total cortisol output is

therefore reduced,

and DHEA falls far below average. The nighttime cortisol level is usually

reduced as the

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis " crash " and the body is unable to maintain

homeostasis. SEVERE SEX HORMONE IMBALANCES (ESTROGEN, PROGESTERONE, AND

ANDROGENS) ARE COMMON AND A PRECURSOR TO ADRENAL FAILURE. "

----------------My period has been AS SHORT AS 22 days long, but it is by no

means

regular. It has never been the same number of days long as the previous cycle.

I'd say

average, it is 25 days, though. But again, it varies every month. What does NOT

vary is that

I ovulate on day 14 or 15, usually day 14 (except for the last 2 cycles, wherein

my

temperatures did not have the thermal shift followed by a sustained higher

temperature

above the coverline, indicating I did NOT ovulate at all during the last two

cycles, which is

a totally new development). Trust me--I've studied fertility obsessively for a

long time

now, trying to get to the bottom of my menstrual irregularities and the reason

we are

infertile.

>

> > since it is basically rendering me about as reproductive as I was before

puberty!

>

> No, they're rendering you as libidinous as you were before puberty, but you

are still

having

> menstrual flow and thus very likely are still as fertile as other adult women.

------------------Sorry, but if I were as fertile as other adult women, then why

have

my husband and I been trying vigorously since January 2007 (when my ovulatory

cylces

returned post-weaning), with no conception?! Yes, it could be him, but

considering my

luteal phase defect I described above, I don't appear to be making enought

Progesterone

to sustain a luteal phase of the proper length (Progesterone is the predominant

and

required hormone of the Luteal Phase of the cycle--post ovulation, which keeps

the

uterine lining intact supposedly 10-14 days to allow time for conception and

implantation). Again, my luteal phase has always been too short, and I know this

because I

always know exactly when I ovulate, if I ovulate.

>

> > But from

> > your book I surmise that this is ultimately due to pituitary insufficiency,

right?

>

___-------------------On page 114 of AI, you said that one of the clues that

something is wrong with the pituitary is " women having menstrual cycles without

ovulation " (that's me for the past 2 cycles) " and low-end LH and FSH surges.

Irregular

menstrual cycles or cycles of unusual length or shortness " (that's me since

January 2007).

> No, that is not correct. Especially since your cycle is regular, if short.

________________I addressed the matter of regularity above. Since my

>

> > I couldn't get my endocrinologist to do an ACTH stress test on me. We'll

see this

> > Thursday if my Osteopathic Doctor will do an ACTH stress test on me. I'm

convinced

> that,

> > as long as my adrenals are out of whack, which is reallly my pituitary out

of whack (my

> > endo. DID do a corisol stimulation test on me, and that came back fine, just

like your

> book

> > said it would), I probably can't get pregnant any more than my 8 year old

neice could

> get

> > pregnant.

>

> Many women in your situation do become pregnant. It is quite possible and not

unlikely.

>

> > In addition to the fact that my cycles have been impossibly short for a

long time

> > now, I stopped ovulating last month.

>

> How do you know that?

-----------------Every woman who has ever had some difficulty conceiving sooner

or

later educates herself on what it takes to learn the optimaly timing for

intercourse, thus

the most fertile time. AS I said above, I know this because of taking my basal

body

temperatures--a very clear indicator, when done correctly, and I have done it

correctly, of

the hormone shift from Estrogen dominance pre-ovulation to Progesterone

dominance,

and thus a large and sustained increase in temperature once ovulation has

occured. This

way, a woman who is either trying to conceive, or trying to avoid, my know if

she's

ovulated, and about when it occurred. So since my cycles showed now thermal

shift for

the past two cycles, just a continual zig-zag without going above the coverline,

I DO know

that I did not ovulate. Go on some " trying to conceive " websites to learn more

about this.

>

> > So do you see what I'm saying? Why bother with

> > birth control when my body thinks I'm pre-pubescent?

>

> Your body does NOT think you're prepubescent. If it did you would have no

menstrual

> cycles and all your pubic and underarm hair would fall out.

------------The " pre-pubescent " comment was not meant to be taken literally. It

was

meant tongue-in-cheek. It was my facetious way of reinforcing the point that I

can read

all my body's signals and recognize that I don't have enough Progesterone to

conceive.

So, you see, I'm saying that my pituitary is the problem, and my hypoadrenal

symptoms

are one result, and my lack of sufficient progesterone to sustain a full-length

menstrual

cycle or conceive, are also other results of the problem in the pituitary (and,

I guess, the

hypothalamus, as well).

>

> > I'm telling you this not as a

> > hypothetical, or a theory I have like some scientist making up hypotheses--I

know my

> > cycles are no longer fertile, as evidenced by the changes I described above.

> >

> > I do expect to regain my fertility through completing your protocol, though.

In fact,

my

> > infertility is the thing that lead me to look into amalgam illness in the

first place.

What I

> > do think is important for me to consider is that my hypopituitarism,

hypoadrenalism,

> and

> > therefore, my

>

> not so sure about this.

>

> fertility, are bound to get straightened out after a certain amount of mercury

> > has been chelated out --and I have no way of knowing exactly at what stage

in the

> > chelation process that will occur.

>

> THIS is correct.

>

> > For that reason, I appreciate your warnings; because it is irrelevant to me

in my girlish

> > state right now, but it will certainly be relevant after a certain amount of

chelation. I

> must

> > take that seriously, I know, because I certainly want my future children to

have every

> > opportunity to live in a toxin-free womb (which, again, is my very reason

for

embarking

> > on this chelation journey). I will definitely be paying close attention to

how my cycles

> may

> > change as I go through the DMSA/ALA rounds. That is a matter for me to pray

about

> and

> > discuss with my husband.

>

> Yes. Please do that. You have to make your decision your way, I hope the

information

> above helps you make a good one.

>

> > I am curious to read any thoughts you may have about my reply above. Thanks

again!

> >

> > Abrenica

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Andy--

One other thing.

You said: " Adrenal hormones aren't what regulate pregnancy, the female sex

hormones

do. "

However, on page 34 of AI, you indicate in the diagram with the dotted line that

there ARE

female sex hormones that are made by the adrenal gland: Progesterone, which is

basically

THE pregnancy hormone. Without sufficient Progesterone, a woman cannot acheive

pregnancy, because her luteal phase will be cut short before implantation. I am

almost

certain this is happening with me.

You indicate on that page that Pregnenolone is made in the adrenal gland.

Pregnenolone

leads to DHEA, which leads to other sex hormones.

So it appears from page 34 of your book, that the adrenal glands do make

pregnancy

possible.

[Guest guest]

Andy--

I was looking for this quote earlier and couldn't find it, so that's why it's

trailing in another

reply. Sorry.

Dr. Lam said in his adrenal fatigue article: " The adrenal glands contribute

about 35

percent of female hormones pre-menopausal and almost 50 percent

post-menopausally.

Furthermore, without the proper functioning of the adrenal glands, pregnancy

cannot

occur. "

Please take not of that last sentence. Without proper functioning of the adrenal

glands,

pregnancy cannot occur.

I believe this is the ultimate cause of my infertility from January 2007 up

until now.

Abrenica

From a previous post:

Often with adrenal impairment androgens go UP while other things go down.

> Pregnancy will probably be impossible for me as long

> as I am hypoadrenal.

Don't count on it.

>Dr. Lee's website says that (where he describes hypoadrenalism), and

> your book implies that,

They imply a PROBABILITY which is far less than 100%.

There is some fairly significant probability you can conceive just fine.