April 3, 2005

I don't have much to report, really.

The good news items include the fact that I'm ovulating, or did a few days ago.

The other item is that I went on a cross country trip all by myself. I went off to visit with some friends and then did some business in Manhattan for a few days and returned. I did lots and lots of walking, at least six miles on some days. And my complaint after that was a blistered heel. Perfectly normal complaints after walking in the rain in new shoes.

I carried my own luggage, went to meetings, walked, skipped, slept in strange beds and it was all perfectly normal. I was beat when I got back, but I'm guessing that was the excitement of the trip and the strange schedules I was keeping. I knew that it was going to take a while, but other than keeping this diary and being active posting on the hystersisters site, I'm not sure I'd think about my hysterectomy much anymore.

I need to get off my butt and set my next gyno appointment. I'm due for my annual pap in May, but I'd like to do it in the next few weeks, as May is kind of hectic.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:47 PM

April 5, 2005

Following up on the news that women with hysterectomy are 26% more likely to have cardiovascular disease, I figure it's a good idea to keep an eye on things.

Simple Blood Test May Help To Predict Cardiovascular Risk In Older Women - this study showed that white blood cell levels in post-menopausal women may indicate heart disease because of atherosclerosis.

Women in the fourth quartile (highest WBC) had a doubled risk for coronary heart disease death compared with women in the first quartile (lowest WBC), after statistical adjustment for other risk factors, the researchers found. "Women in the upper quartile … also had a 40 percent higher risk for nonfatal myocardial infarction [heart attack] a 46 percent higher risk for stroke, and 50 percent higher risk for total mortality," the authors write. "In multivariable models adjusting for C-reactive protein, the WBC count was an independent predictor of coronary heart disease risk, comparable in magnitude to C-reactive protein (CRP)."

New 30 second Bone Density Test - here's a new, non-invasive and instantaneous way to find out your bone density. Maybe someday it'll be as easy for your doctor to check your bone density as it is to check your blood pressure.

Fight Osteoporosis - Stock up on B12 - speaking of osteoporosis, there's some cool news that keeping up your B12 can help keep your bones strong. There's also new info that compounds found in onions can also keep your bone density.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:33 PM

April 12, 2005

I've been using progesterone cream on and off for about two years.

Dr. Lee wrote a book (I've mentioned it before) called What Your Doctor May Not Have Told You About Pre-Menopause. In it he talks about estrogen dominance and how supplementing your progesterone can counteract too much estrogen. Some symptoms include: "Aging Acceleration, Allergies, Autoimmune Disorders, Bloating, Breast Tenderness, Decreased Sex Drive, Depression, Fat Gain, Fatigue, Fibrocystic Breasts, Foggy Thinking, Gallbladder Disease, Headaches, Hypoglycemia, Increased Blood Clotting, Increased Risk of Strokes, Infertility, Irritability, Lupus Erythematosus, Memory Loss, Miscarriage, Premenopausal Bone Loss, PMS, Thyroid Dysfunction, Thyroiditis, Uterine Cancer, Uterine Fibroids, Water Retention."

Okay, that's a big list and if you have anything on there more serious than water retention or breast tenderness, please talk to a reproductive endocrinologist who specializes in bio-identical hormones. For the rest of us who might just be a little grumpy or have trouble with irregular cycles, you might want to do some reading about progesterone supplements.

I just started up again a few months after surgery but I changed my regimen recently.

Because of my vaginal dryness problem (not enough lubrication for comfortable intercourse), I've added some phytoestrogens in.

Here's what I'm using (there are others, this is just what I've found): Arbonne PhytoProlief. It's listed as a recommended product on Dr. Lee's website. It comes in a 2.5 ounce pump bottle (so it always dispenses the same 1/4 teaspoon treatment) and retails for $30. I signed up with Arbonne as a consultant so that I could get a discount (I don't sell to anyone else, just myself) so that costs about $20 a year in order to save 35% off everything (good deal, eh?). Honestly, it's one of the most cost effective products I've found.

I use it from time of ovulation until my "period". Only once a day (I only need a little boost). Basically when using progesterone cream, you just apply a metered dose to an area of the body where you have thin skin. I cycle between applying it directly to my breasts (which can get sore during my pre-menstural cycle), tummy, inside of my legs and inside of my arms. The breasts get cycled in a little more often than the other spots, because that's where I figure I need a boost when they're sort, but applying in one place consistently can cause progesterone to build up on those tissues and not be released to where it needs to go.

I really think it's working. Well, it's hard to tell what is because of the hysterectomy and what is because of the balancing cream, but my face is in my better condition and my acne I used to get on my back is nearly gone.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 3:45 PM

April 14, 2005

A new article that I saw today shows that there's a statistical link between hypertension (high blood pressure) and fibroids.

"Hypertensive women were 24 percent more likely to develop clinically symptomatic fibroids than non-hypertensive women, and the risk increased with duration of hypertension," Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett, of the Harvard School of Public Health told Reuters Health.

The reason I'm mentioning it is that there was that huge report recently that said that hysterectomy raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Sometimes I wonder if it's the things that lead to cardiovascular disease are the same ones that cause the trouble that leads to hysterectomies in so may of these women. This link between fibroids and high blood pressure may point us in that direction.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 8:59 PM

I mentioned about six months ago that there were promising new screening tests on their way for ovarian cancer.

These are non-invasive blood tests that screen for markers of cancer.

Now Australia's Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre at The Royal Women's Hospital is unveiling Ovplex, a cancer marker assay. Catching it early is the key. Read more here.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:08 PM

April 19, 2005

This is what it used to be like.

I'd ovulate. Then about ten days later I'd start to spot. A little fresh blood for a day. I'd wear a pantyliner. This was usually a Tuesday.

For the rest of the week I'd continue to spot, but it would be old, brown blood.

Then, Saturday morning, usually around 10 AM (yes, I was that regular), my period would start.

It would start with a vengance. I would need for the next three days, a tampon every two hours (sometimes every hour on Mondays) along with a backup pad. I'd pass small clots, not firm ones, but loose clots about the size of a finger several times a day.

Overnight I'd use a tampon and an "overnight" super maxi pad. I was so happy when someone invented those wings pads, they saved me more underwear. For those overnights I'd also wear shorts over my underwear - because they'd keep the pad in place and were an extra layer of protection.

I'd usually have to get up sometime around 4AM to change the pad and tampon, then go back to sleep until 7AM.

Then on Tuesday, my period would just about stop. It's odd, but it would. I would wear a pad, but only need one that day. Then later in the evening it would start up again.

The blood would then become less red and more maroon. Clots would be a bit firmer and more distinct, though usually pretty small.

The moderate flow would continue until the following Sunday. Then it would taper off and I'd switch to a pantyliner.

The black discharge then continues for three more days.

And that was how it was for the past 15 years. Pretty much since I went off the pill. It was like that before I went on the pill too.

Now, bad periods ran in my family, so I just considered it normal. I'm guessing there are lots of women that have periods like that. I don't think it can be blamed on my fibroids either, as I don't think I had them fifteen years ago.

I never had cramps, I never really felt bad during my period except for maybe the last year I'd get a backache that usually felt better with some calcium and a little ibuprofen or tylenol. I was anemic or at least had low iron for the last three years before surgery as well, my diet was no different, so I'm guessing it was the bleeding was worse and I didn't really notice.

These things just kind of creep up on us and we don't notice. I'll tell you, I really don't miss them. I'm still finding supplies all over the place. Suitcases, purses, desk drawers, it's amazing how much I socked away just in case. Seems every time I think I've found them all, I find some more.

Someday, I'm sure I'll try to remember what they were like, and at least I've written it down now, while it wasn't to far in the distant past.

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 8:43 PM | Comments (2)

April 24, 2005

This weekend I spent both days working in the yard. Hours and hours of hard, backaching working.

Here's the good news, I hurt everywhere except for my belly. My glutes, my arms, my back, the insides of my thighs, everything hurts from all the lifting and squatting and yanking. But even though I was hefting around mulch and piles of weeds, my belly does not hurt and it's not swollen.

Here's to recovery! And here's to a pretty yard!

Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:32 PM