natural girls
Comments
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Vivre! Goodness!!! I am blushing!!!! LOL
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When I whined about discontinuing the vaginal estrogen cream I had been using, my oncologist suggested an E Ring. At the time I did not ask further questions about it because I had other more pressing decisions to make. However, now that I am finished with chemo, I plan to ask about that. Also have been wondering why my gyn has not suggested it. Anyway.....worth checking out what an E Ring is and how it might be very helpful. Patti
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Are we talking about lack of vaginal lubrication or about thinning/atrophy of vaginal tissues where intercourse is painful? Or both?
Anybody using estriol cream intravaginally? I always wondered how the estriol doesn't tranfer to your sexual partner. Do we have any amateur gynecologists here who could answer that?
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chelev, spring ~ You might want to try the Evista brand of lubricant (available in health food stores or from a naturapathic doc, etc.). It's very natural (they also make a natural estrogen) and doesn't burn.
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i am hootin and hollerin, vivre you are funny. yes try the coconut oil...it works LOL. for everything!
I used natural progesterone cr. for 8-9 years and yes it does the WOW, great mojo...but my doc told me no on continued use. when i was diagnosed...i think the brand i used may have had some synthetics in it....I read shortly before i was diagnosed with BC that the company had gotten in trouble for not documenting their procedure/ingredients in their books....now you can't even research the company.
my sister has faithfully used nat. progest cream for 10 years post diagnosis of stage 2, been in remission...I got her hooked and thought it would help me in prevention...she just told me a few weeks ago that the brand she had been using no longer was available.
a note on the left side rads. my rad onc told me that the rads would not affect my heart. but now i think it may have. I have pain in my left arm that is relieved by asprin....and i also remember that during rads my esophagus felt like it was burning too. it does bother me to think that there is a one for all treatment.
rads affect everyone differently, some burn some have on difficulties, some have tissue necrosis...it reminds me of how medicine affect each person defferently.
girls I have been on 400mg CoQ10 for about a year, and did lower my dose around Christmasfor about a month..then I noticed "bb" sized areas on my good breast that stayed...when I went back to the 400mg in Feb-March the BB's gradually went away....now though I have had to stop for a few days. I noticed that when i have a bleeding injury that i have a hard time stop bleeding.
to all a good night and bleesed week!
Amber
I will try to add the CoQ10 back in a few days though
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I was using the estrace cream vaginally for both dryness and atrophy. Maybe that's what the E Ring is for....atrophy.
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I will look up that cream in my health food store this weekend- I am talking dryness and atrophy, because at 46, I've been in surgical menopause since 1997. Way too young to have that happen!!!
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I am wary of some of these over the counter mixtures. If you have a compounding pharmacy, get them to make it up for you. My phamacist has studied this extensively and makes a mixture of BHRT that is pure and he uses aloe, nothing else. I am too wary of products at health food stores. If anyone wants to PM me, I will give you my pharmacy's name. I think they do mail order.
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How does one know if it is dryness or atrophy, or both? It just hurts like the dickens, is all I know. Especially to start. At some point I think things must loosen up, but sheesh, still not like it used to be.
I'm going to just tough it out until the new Ost. doc I am seeing gets enough info to inform me what my options are. I hear you Vivre.
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Hi ladies, you are all so intelligent, Ive been a lurker here for a while. I was hoping that some of you could help me understand this. Before I started chemo, I rarely ate my fruits. I just never got into it, maybe I didn't crave sugar or something. Now that Im on chemo all I want is fruit. Watermelon and plums. I can't get enough of them. This has me worried. I also have a serving of yogurt daily, one day I had five servings of yogurt bc I just craved the hell out of it.
Is this my bodies response to the chemo in a. the cancer craving the sugar or b. the body needing the vitamins bc of the chemo. The week of chemo is the worst in terms of fruit cravings. I know this is probably an impossible question and Im working on finding an excellent nutritionist who is un-biased towards medical vs alternative.
Thanks so much in advance for any insight.
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PS, really fruit has many antioxidants....and it is natural unlike table sugar and other sugars in processed food....and chemo is hard on the body....so any nourishment you can give is good. maybe you can slip some veges in as well. and what kind of yogurt are you craving. organic is best....and look at the label for sugar content, add the natural fruit, blueberries etc in the unsweetened yougurt.
some fruits like grapefruit are estrogenic....but my rad onc. told me moderation is the key, I was eating a lot of grapefruits and juicing them then I read how they increased estrogen levels....Oh well live and learn.
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Hi ladies. Just wanted to comment on the rads discussion- my tumor was also on my left and I asked about the risk of damage to my heart and/or lungs. After hearing all the info, I felt comfortable with the plan they constructed--they had a map they could actually show me where the rays would hit. A tiny corner of my lung would be hit but not my heart. They are so much better than they were about being able to direct the rays and shield certain areas. They also can time the ray with your breathing so that they "shoot" when the heart is down and away farther from the area.
I also looked into the prone position--loved that idea!!--but the cancer center where I went had just gotten the table-top board and though we tried to make it work, they weren't happy with their ability to control it as much as the 'old way'.
I am really surprised Deni, that your rad onc didn't know how to not get your heart!! I guess it really does vary per institution. I probably should have looked into another center that was doing the prone position but liked the integration of all the drs at one place.0 -
Allie-my rad oncologist (who I only saw for a consultation because I never went through with the radiation therapy, assured me that everything would be fine with my heart and lungs. She showed me an MRI image that they took of me in a prone position. The tumor was very close to my heart and I was not comfortable with doing the rads - even though the rad onc claimed it would be fine. I saw another doc, who is an oncologist and started out as a radiologist. He is the one who told me that I should have been warned about the dangers of radiation therapy. He said that no matter how the angle the beam, there is still residual radiation that affects at least a 1 inch area around where the beam hit. For me, that would be a direct hit on my heart. So, I was glad that I followed my instincts and didn't go through with it.
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Chelev, good to hear that somebody else besides me also got their Mojo back! Yet you still have the vaginal dryness. Maybe the tamoxifen will help you with that.
Spring, I believe you also asked something about this as well. I find that it (tamoxifen) gives me frequent vaginal discharge, so dryness is not an issue for me at all. When I first started having effects of perimenopause about 2 yrs ago, I had vaginal dryness, decreased sensations in the sexual dept., and hot flashes. Phytoestrogen capsules recommended by my Gyn helped wonderfully with all 3 problems, but I stopped them a few months after starting, when I got my BC diagnosis. After starting tamoxifen in November, I started to lose the Mojo completely, all the desire and the ability to have any results vanished and sex became such a chore, and I started to feel performance anxiety over the whole thing. And my husband wasn't happy about it either. The only good thing was that most of the time, I no longer had the vaginal dryness. So, while there was no pain involved, there was no enjoyment either.
Recently, I started yoga and took a 6 week tamoxibreak, and have also noticed that my moods have been pretty stable for several months now. Very rarely do I feel weepy and I used to feel that PMS depressed mood coming on even after I stopped getting periods. My last one was in March. The week that I went back on the tamoxifen (2 wks ago), I noticed my sensations/sexual response coming back to what it used to be. So I'm not sure what to attribute that to. The tamoxibreak? The yoga? The fish oil that I recently started taking? Or have I passed perimenopause with all the hormonal fluctuations and just gotten naturally into a more balanced state? Whatever it is, I'll take it!
I too had tried many over the counter lubricants and stimulating gels. None of them helped with the problem and I agree with you guys that the stimulating gels burned more than anything. I think it's because they all have menthol as one of the ingredients.
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I'm surprised by the many comments re rads and doctors saying there's no danger to your heart or lungs. I had a bumpy ride into rads. They had to do that setup ritual twice because the first form they made for me sprung a leak and didn't hold its shape. Then I had to evacuate for Rita. All that stress makes my recollections vague from that time, but I distinctly remember being given a piece of paper that I had to sign before they would proceed with treatments.
It was a list of the potential side effects of radiation treatments. It was a lengthy list too! The only things I remember are increased risk of heart attack/heart disease and increased susceptibility to ribs getting broken. And I'm pretty sure I was given that piece of paperwork after I've donned the flimsy gown and sitting in the waiting room for my first treatment. I remember thinking, what good is it to survive cancer if I end up with a heart attack on top of everything else? I remember 'drift' being mentioned frequently, which is the rads that stray from the intended target area.
I started walking every day after finishing rads, and I'm still at it years later. Remembering that rads put me at risk for a heart attack is a huge motivator in keeping with the practice, although I've been slacking off lately. It's been 96 degrees or hotter for 50 consecutive days where I live. Boy howdy, it's hot even by texas standards
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Glad to see such an increase in news articles regarding the importance of D3. It makes me feel so good popping my IUs every day.
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Deni63--yes I would have been concerned if it had been close to my heart too. Yikes--hopefully it didn't zap mine. I guess I felt more inclined to have the rads also b/c mine was multi-focal (the surgeon found a tiny second tumor while removing the first one) so I wanted to kill anything else that was in there. I guess I could have had a mast instead but didn't know about the second one until after surgery. It's a crap shoot pretty much! (unfortunately)
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Hello everyone, just checking in. Gotta keep up on all the info all you smart ladies keep dishing out!
I have had the same results with Tamoxifen that Rose had. Before I began taking it, sex was horribly painful - no amount of KY helped. But the discharge caused by the Tamox did the trick and now, no problem!
Spring - how did you find your great doc? I would love to find someone to help me with my supplements and maybe regulate my hormones in a natural way.
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Hi girls, I am new to the board. I had a bilateral in Dec '08 I am on arimidex and want off. If I am in the right forum please give me some guidance. Thanksw Marjorie
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Hello again!.
Today I had my first colonscopy. It came clear and the next one is in 5 years. Next week my first app with my gyno since tx. On the 11 full blood test for pre-op and on the 18 I have the surgery ( prophy - right boob comes out). I am not taking any supplements yet but I eat my daily nuts cocktail - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews and dark chocolate ( 70% cocoa). I don't have any white flour products in my house only whole grains. I eat a lot of avocado, olive oil, fruits, veggies, etc. Don't like sweets too much and I use sugar only in my coffee ( unbleached, unrefined, organic). I still have my glass of red wine ( most of the time organic and/or French).
My love life had improved after chemo but I am very dry. I am curios if I am meno now. My last period was in sept 08. ( Interesting enough I was supposed to have it the day I was scheduled for the mastectomy, but it never came). So after some research I start using Intimate Organics and it works for me. The product is free of PARABAN, GLYCERINE, DEA and is PURE VEGAN: http://www.intimateorganics.com
Also, I found today this article:
Tamoxifen Reported to Cause Aggressive Cancer Tumors
http://www.naturalnews.com/026931_cancer_Tamoxifen_brst_cancer.html
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Vivre (or anyone else who knows the answer), can I ask for some help? I thought I remembered you posting about cherries and gout at one point. I have a friend dealing with gout that just isn't getting better and they keep throwing more meds at him. Anyone have any info or suggestions?
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Kmmd-Yes my husband has had bouts of gout. It flares up whenever he eats lots of meat and imbibes. He is not a big drinker but when he does, he pays. Anyway, I plied him with cherry juice, dried cherries, etc because it is supposed to really help. I also made him drink lots of water, and work out, to sweat out the toxins. I am hoping to get a far infared sauna this winter so he can detox regularly. You can pm me if you want info on that. I was also reading on the iodine group that iodine helps with gout, but I do not know much about this. It is something to look into. Maybe anom can weigh in. Keep in mind that natural choices, like diet and exercise are not quick fixes. Men often lose patience because they expect immediate results like with drugs. The best thing to to try the natural solutions and then stick with them to avoid future flare ups. Gout can recur constantly and get worse if allowed to fester. My husband has not had any recurrances since I started pushing the natural choices. As I said, I can't wait to get him to do the regular sauna detox. I may even let him "celebrate" around the holidays as long as he sweats out the alcohol the next day.(one should never sauna when drinking, it will really dehydrate).
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Munchy-Hope you will find a doctor who will help you balance everything naturally. As that article Simvog shows, there is more information coming out about the dangers of tamox. It just does not warrant the risk if you as me.
Marjorie-You are definitely in the right place. Read through this thread for lots of great info. Also check out the iodine thread. Let us know if we can help!
As far as rads go, I just hope everyone will look at all the risks and weigh the benefits before just blinding doing it like I did. I still wish I had skipped rads, but that is water under the bridge. That new prone position sounds promising. One of the things that has always bothered me was the effect rads had on the rest of my breast. My thermographys show that my radiated breast was still a bit hot, over a year later, and I had a hard knot at the site of my lumpectomy where they did a rad "boost". But I am overjoyed that iodine seems to finally be changing all this. My breasts have softened, my scar is almost disappearing and the hard lump is vanishing since I started the iodine 3 months ago. It has made such a hugh difference! No more breast pain either. I think this stuff is a miracle. It took me a long time to come around to the whole iodine concept but I am so glad I finally did. For those of you who have not looked into it, please check out the info and the links on the iodine thread and start reading about all it can do to prevent bc. I am really looking forward to my next therm because I think all the "hot spots" will finally be gone. I can feel it. I am so glad to finally feel that I have gotten rid of all that radiation in my body.
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HI,
Where does someone get transfor factor?
thanks
rita
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vivre--I am really interested in the iodine making your breast tissue softer...wonder how that works? I need to read more on iodine before jumping in. I have read some but it sounds involved and I worry about upsetting a natural balance...I just don't know much about it.
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I can't remember if I posted some of my results of taking iodine here or not. I too have a softer, less lumpy breast, and I didn't ever think it was lumpy in the first place until it wasn't anymore. I also have scar tissue that is diminishing, finally, four years post surgery. I also had a tender lymph node that isn't tender anymore. My below normal body temp has increased from 97.6 to 98.
Allie, it's probably very safe to say that what you have now is not a natural balance. Our day to day lives are laden with chemicals at every turn. Iodine in particular is chemically similar to chlorine, flourine, and bromine. Most people are deficient in iodine to begin with, and coupled with our bodies carrying around the other 'ines' that are toxic, supplementing with iodine is beneficial time and again when you read the accounts of people who take it. To complicate things further, information on iodine is contradictory when you read a variety of sources. A good place to start is www.naturalthyroidchoices.com and then subscribe to the iodine yahoo group.
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Althea, will a family doctor test your iodine levels and tell you what to do as far as supplementing, or is it ok to supplement like a suggested recommended dose?
Amber
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PS73 and kmmd I've pm'd you re your recent posts. souad.0
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thank you for the great information, I really appreciate it
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Hi Squad thanks for the PM. I love watermelon like nothing else in this world, it is so quenching! I need to drink more water but it tastes like shit lately so Ive been making a concoction of decaf green tea w/ raw honey and spearmint leaves and juiced whatever fruit I have on hand - this week cherries. yum
Regarding tamoxifen, I read a very freakish article promoting indole as an alternative to tamoxifen stating that while tamoxifen helps ER positive, it also promotes cancer in ER negative (now Im borderline at 25%ER). However, like Allie, I don't know enough info on it yet as well as I personally don't feel that there is strong enough clinical evidence for me to ditch tamoxifen and go on this. With that said, I would very much like to ditch tamoxifen and am searching for an alternative. It is promosing to me since I found another article about the indole and it states that indole-3 Carbinol aka 13C, was used with tamoxifen in 1999 to control estrogen-responsive breast cancer (kind of like the ER positive being controlled by taxofien and the 13C keeping the ER negative cancer at bay)- and I found it thru the sloan kettering site upon further investigation of this indole theraoy. Here is the link. http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/59/6/1244 however it is not being done today as far as I know. The huge bummer in this is that there is a disclaimer that if you are exposed to any carcinogens, it may increase your susseptibility to disease. Now it's merely impossible to keep yourself devoid of all carcinogens in todays world if you ask me. But, its worth the read and I would love feedback on since you all are closer to the natural forms of therapy. If nothing else, eat your crucifuriuos veggies.
Thanks for all the informaiton. I am now on the search for a great naturopath/compounder in NJ!
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