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Post by Karen on Aug 28, 2010 9:10:26 GMT -5
I've been reading up on the Life Extension Foundation (The Life Extension Revolution by Philip Lee Miller & the Life Extension Foundation). Don't let the name fool you - it's an approach to medicine that involves getting to the root of issues within our bodies that can cause disease, and treating them both as a preventative measure and as a reactive measure. My new doc follows this approach and has been spot on with me so far. Here's a link to providers: www.lef.org/Health-Wellness/InnovativeDoctors/ There's also a stickied thread in this board about natural vs. alternative medicine, and I tried to put a lot of info there about what to look for and how to find a different doc. Give it a look, see if you can find anyone in your area that jumps out at you. Doesn't mean you need to see them asap, but at least gives you some resources to look into in the future.
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Post by uncomfortable on Aug 28, 2010 10:08:53 GMT -5
Thanks Karen! That sounds interesting, I am going to look into it!
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Post by Heather on Nov 1, 2010 0:58:20 GMT -5
I found a Naturopath in my area. I haven't spoken to anyone about him yet, but I plan to ask the ladies at the health food store if he is good. I really want to go see him, as I'm ready for doctors to quit telling me/acting like there is nothing they can do. How much should I expect my first visit to be (including all the treatments he sends me home with)? He is covered by my insurance, but I have no idea if the treatments will be. Thanks!
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Post by Karen on Nov 1, 2010 6:36:23 GMT -5
Ooh, good luck! As for the cost, it varies widely. Best to ask when you make your initial appointment! Some may give you a ton of things to start at once, some may have you gradually start on supplements so the cost is spread out as well.
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Post by Heather on Nov 15, 2010 17:13:15 GMT -5
I went to Dr. Hollis for the first time today. He took a detailed health history, we talked about what I eat, he took my pulse on both sides, blood pressure, listened to my heart and stomach. He also pressed on my stomach and it hurt SO BAD in some places. He thinks that may actually be intestinal instead of endo related. He says I have adrenal problems, blood stagnation, hypoglycemia, possibly hemorrhoids and thyroid stuff. He is testing me for Celiac's and food allergies. He gave me two supplements to take: Ease Pearls 4 in the morning, and Moon Pearls 4 in the evening. He said I can just cut out a multi altogether as long as I eat right. He is also going to give me a Ca-Mg complex, but he had to reorder and they haven't come in yet. I'm really excited, he said he has had a lot of success with endo and he seems optimistic about being able to help me. I also told him I'd love to get off of all the synthetic drugs I'm on (or most, if all is not possible), so eventually we will work on that. I start taking the supplements tonight, so keep your fingers crossed for me!
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Post by Karen on Nov 15, 2010 18:51:05 GMT -5
Woo hoo! I'm on supplements adrenal support and it has been, by far, the HUGEST improvement on my energy levels. Had to tweak them a bit, but now that I'm on 2 different kinds and adjusted my doses, I feel absolutely wonderful. My point is, I'm glad he's looking into all this stuff! FYI - hypoglycemia is often linked into adrenal issues, and I've also read that it's best to address adrenal issues before thyroid.
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Post by Heather on Nov 23, 2010 1:32:37 GMT -5
It has now been a week since I saw the naturopath. He has me on 4 Ease Pearls in the morning, 4 Moon Pearls in the evening, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar before bed, 2 tbsp ground flax seeds, and this Cal-Mag-Zinc-Phos-D3 powder that tastes like orange juice. I'm also supposed to be taking cod liver oil, but haven't gotten it yet, and doing hydrotherapy.
I don't want to jinx myself, but since the day after I started, I have been feeling better. The most pain I get is a little gas pain. My daily pain is not usually bad anyway, normally no more than a 2. Sex pain is the worst--and still there. Hopefully the sex pain will go away with continuation of treatment. One thing though--hydrotherapy SUCKS. I have to ask him why I'm doing that, but he wants me to turn the shower on cold and stand in it for 30 seconds at the end of my shower. It hurts so bad I can barely breathe, and I definitely can't tolerate 30 seconds of it. More like 10. I'm trying though.
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Post by chicagogal2 on Nov 23, 2010 6:53:33 GMT -5
Brrrr = I'm cold just reading this, standing there for 30 seconds - torture! I hate being cold. It's very cold in chicago today, heated seats will definately be on in the car for the drive in.
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Post by Karen on Nov 23, 2010 7:31:44 GMT -5
Oooh, I couldn't do the cold showers AT ALL! I'm always cold, that chilled me to the bone just reading it! But fingers crossed on the rest! I know some people get really encouraged when the day to day gets better but they throw in the towel when they hit a rough spot. Just keep in mind that it's possible that you might, but that if you're feeling better overall, not to get discouraged. It sounds like the last few days has been really encouraging, that's awesome!!!
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Post by pretty on Feb 10, 2011 16:19:16 GMT -5
well, I had my first naturopath appt today, here's what we're up to: He gave me 4 tests to do. 1 is a saliva hormone test, 2 is a adrenal health test, 3 is a fasting blood sugar test, and last is a stool test. the hormone saliva test doesn't start until the first day of my next period but the other 3 I can start now...
He is going to determine the state of my adrenal gland, progesterone (ovaries) and thyroid and then we'll work on adjusting them. For now he is glad I am on the endo diet, and we'll work on adjusting the diet to be even more endo-friendly since he also wants me to look at the blood type diet for my type which is A -. One major thing right away is getting away from white rice and chicken. Chicken, it seems, is not that great....
He listened to me about my low temps and got me a basal thermometer and asked me to temp 3 times a day and record the average instead of just the waking temp. Also I will be looking at cervical mucus from now on to get a better idea if I am ovulating or not. Also the saliva test will tell us for sure.
He recommended saunas followed by cold showers 3x in a row as a further way to get estrogens out of my body. he recommended cold water on the ovaries after a sauna too lol. I confirmed that he meant from the outside lol...
Also he recommended castor oil packs as a further way to help my body heal from the surgery. he said that some things like the sugar cravings, gas, and etc could be residual side effects of the antibiotics they give after major surgeries. Also said that the horrible reactions I've had to alcohol in the last few months probably have something to do with my liver still going through the anesthetics from surgery too.
He is a small man looks kind of like a skater. he is about my age maybe a little older. Absolutely no personality but very intelligent and easy to talk to. I liked that he had no personality lol. Anyhow wanted to post this so I can remember it later.... here's to natural treatments, and healing...
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Post by redwood on Feb 10, 2011 17:07:36 GMT -5
Well, that sounds like a good first appointment, pretty. I just emailed my naturopath as I have had a lot more pain this period than in months, after I changed my strength of progesterone to 100mg days 6-13 and 200mg rest of the month. So she recommended to go back to 200mg the whole time as higher seemed to be better for me.
Anyway, what's bad about chicken? I was planning on eliminating all meat from my diet (since I can't get that moose and elk anymore) for a while, except salmon. But I had one chicken breast left in the freezer (it was non-medicated and free range). I made a chicken soup with organic veggies and chicken broth and had that on tuesday and left-overs on wednesday for lunch. It seemed my pain increased after eating it. Not sure if that was a coincidence or not. But it's interesting that your NP mentioned that chicken isn't good. I was wondering why.
Interesting about the saunas and cold showers. But that makes sense. I wonder if bikram yoga (hot yoga) would be good then too. although I don't know about the cold shower afterward. brrr. I just started doing bikram yoga again this week (haven't done it in 9 years - just regular yoga) and wondered if it might be good to get rid of toxins. I am doing it mainly for a shoulder injury, but if it helped my endo too, that would be a plus.
My NP also said that rosemary is good for helping eliminate estrogens. Have any of you heard of that before? She recommended making a daily rosemary tea.
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Post by Karen on Feb 10, 2011 18:08:05 GMT -5
Oooh, Pretty, I'm so excited for you! And I'm so stoked that he's doing an adrenal test for you, too!!! Is he a MD of sorts (meaning does he have prescribing powers)? Fingers crossed you are able to make some changes that will benefit you. Feel free to start your very own progress thread in the general or natural board if you'd prefer. For me, it helps to have a running log of what adjustments were made and when.
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Post by pretty on Feb 10, 2011 20:27:38 GMT -5
hey red, the no chicken has to do with my blood type (A) and the enzymes in blood. For A's, we should be vegetarians as we don't have the right enzymes to digest meats. This makes so much sense to me. I did an atkins type diet years ago, and although I did lose weight, I felt awful and heavy and tired the whole dang time. Thanks Karen, I will do that to keep track! he does have prescription powers and also uses the bioidentical hormones... He told me today that 90 % of his business is with women's hormones, apparently that's a big deal hooray! also, he has lots of experience with endo. We'll see how he does!
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Post by Karen on Feb 10, 2011 20:57:09 GMT -5
he does have prescription powers and also uses the bioidentical hormones... He told me today that 90 % of his business is with women's hormones, apparently that's a big deal hooray! also, he has lots of experience with endo. Yay yay yay!!!
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Post by redwood on Feb 10, 2011 23:36:38 GMT -5
so no meat at all then? no moose and elk? I have A positive blood. Hmmmm, none of my NP's ever mentioned this. I don't eat much meat anyway though. And for now, I was cutting it out entirely except for fish.
Let us know if he ends up prescribing you some progesterone. I'm curious what form of it he will propose (cream troche or oral).
Good luck!
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