Re: Anyone else trying alternative medicine treatments? to T
From: andrea (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue Jul 24 16:53:27 2007
T,
Hi there!
Wow, finally someone besides me taking bio-identical progesterone!
Wasn't it the BEST you ever felt after taking it? I wish there were more
of us on here who have been helped by it, so other women would see that
they DO have a choice other than synthetics or Lupron. You mentioned
you've had some negative side effects though from it. What are they? I
have never had any. Just a little drowsiness, but I take it before
bedtime anyway. Taking progesterone also made my chronic yeast
infections go away! I literally spent a fortune on that damn Monistat
and it never worked! Please share more of your story with me about it.
Thanks so much!
--
Andrea
At Tue, 24 Jul 2007, T wrote:
>
>Hi, I have tried several alternative therapies for endometriosis and
>have had luck with dietary changes to manage pain, and exercise,
>especially yoga and meditation, to help me keep my head on straight. My
>endometriomas kept growing however, and I have had to have two
>laparoscopic surgeries and one ovary removed. Six months ago, I started
>taking bio-identical progesterone, which resulted in the shrinking of my
>endometriomas. Other positive side effects have been a decrease in
>pain, fat (not weight) loss, regaining control over my emotions and
>thought processes, return of my memory (or at least how I remember
>it...), and more energy!!! The negative side effects have been a bit of
>a mess (I use the vaginal suppository form of the perscription) and a
>return of my libido (not sure what to do with it anymore...).
>
>Please note that bioidentical progesterone is NOT the same as a
>synthetic progestin or the creams that you can find in the health food
>stores. This progesterone can only be obtained by perscription and is
>available through compounding pharmacies in the US and Canada. Many
>doctors may not be willing to perscribe this, as it is still viewed as
>an alternative therapy and is mostly used to treat postmenopausal
>symptoms. Try the following web searches for information "compounding
>pharmacy" and "natural progesterone, endometriosis". As with everything
>on the web, try to make sure that the source of your information is
>reliable. There are a couple of doctors, one in California and one in
>Toronto, who specialize in bioidentical hormone treatment and have a lot
>of information on their websites. Your best bet may be to find a
>compounding pharmacy nearest you and give them a call.
>
>I did a fair bit of research before I started this course of treatment
>and have concluded that (for me) this was the lowest risk alternative of
>all the drug treatments I could try. I should note that the first month
>or two of treatment were interesting, and some symptoms got worse before
>things leveled out and the endometriomas started shrinking. I am now
>taking a supressive dose of the progesterone in the hope that the
>endometriomas disappear completely. Here's hoping that I can avoid
>further surgery...
>
>Best of luck with your search for an alternative.
>
>At Mon, 23 Jul 2007, Kelly wrote:
>>
>>I also have stage four endo with my last laparoscopy and removal of
>>implants on the 12th March. I was diagnosed back in 2002 and had my
>>first surgery at the end of 2004. Pain has always been a huge issue for
>>me as well as mid cycle bleeding.
>>An increase in distressing symptoms led to the recent surgery. Two
>>weeks post surgery I was dissapointed to find that the pain was
>>becomming more pronounced. I bought a book on dietary changes to
>>improve endometriosis symptoms and put the ideas into practice. I have
>>found that by eating the foods recommended and avoiding the
>>inflammatory/problem foods I am free of constant pain. My specialist
>>has decided not to put me back on the heavy duty hormonal drugs like
>>Synarel, Duphaston and Dimetriose (which I had been on previously) as I
>>seem to be getting reasonable suppression. The principles with diet are
>>commonsense and although I miss some foods, I do not miss the pain. My
>>specialist seems confident that I will need further surgery, but I hope
>>to prove him wrong!
>>There are definately other remedies worth trying. They may not all work
>>for you, but are worth a try to combat the disease.
>>
>>At Wed, 18 Jul 2007, Becca wrote:
>>>
>>>On May 3rd I had my official diagnosis of stage four endo with a
>>>laproscopic surgery. I tried Lupron shots earlier in the year before
>>>relenting to a surgery. I firmly didn't want to go back to the hormones
>>>after my surgery. My surgeon is so-so. Since my surgery, I've had the
>>>most horrible pains and feel exhausted most of the time. My sweet
>>>husband found me this forum to read so that I wouldn't feel like i am
>>>the only one going through this disease.
>>>Why do we do have to do these surgeries? I'm scared that I will need
>>>more of them as I read the forums. Although, I've been dealing with my
>>>lower abdominal pain for the last 5 years, I still have managed better
>>>than before my surgery. I just wanted a diagnosis. Now that I have
>>>one, I can't seem to regain my energy.
>>>Now I am trying a chinese herbal formula and doing acupuncture but my
>>>surgeon is scaring me that I would need a more complicated surgery
>>>(saying that they'd have to use a bladder bag?) if I don't go back on
>>>some type of hormone treatment, Lupron or birth control pills.
>>>Has anyone here ever felt better by not going on the traditional hormone
>>>treatments?
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