Apr
21
2010
Did you know the average American consumes 26 to 135 pounds of refined sugar a year? It is no wonder we are a nation riddled with disease.
Refined Sugar depresses the immune system.
Sugar’s major problem is that it raises the insulin level and inhibits the release of growth hormones. This depresses the immune system. Excessive Insulin also promotes the storage of fat. Eating sugar can produce rapid weight gain and increase triglyceride levels, causing cardiovascular disease. Eating sugar is like an open invitation to the onset of disease.
Sugar is addicting. Have you ever notice when you give into a sugar craving that you seem to want more and more for days on end? I find myself getting into these cycles when holidays come around. I think, “I haven’t had any sweets for awhile what will a couple of cookies harm?” But then I can’t seem to stop eating them. Sometimes it takes a week to get off the sugar go round. My best defense from this cycle is to get back into the gym, nothing like seeing that it takes an hour on the elliptical to burn off that 300 calorie candy bar to make you not want to eat one.
Want to know just how bad sugar is for you? Here is a list of all the bad things refined sugar does: (scroll to the bottom of the page) http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm
So why do we have sugar cravings anyway?
It could be an emotional issue. Did your family gatherings as a child center on sweets? Sometimes we can relate sweets to a time in our past ‘when everything was right with the world’ a ‘feel good’ time like a family gathering that was special to us and deserts were a yummy part of that feeling. So now as adults when we feel stressed we desire to go back to that calm time and the taste of sweetness puts us back there.
But there can also be a physical reason we crave sweets, such as low serotonin levels. This is quite common in menopausal women. Serotonin is a brain chemical that makes you feel content and happy. Sugar may increase the absorption of tryptophan, an amino acid, which the body uses to make serotonin. This means that eating something sweet may make you feel happy and avoiding sweets may make you feel crabby. That is why many women who have been on antidepressant medications and get off of them may crave sweets, the medication worked by keeping serotonin levels high, as your level drops, you crave sweets.
Do yourself a favor and buy a supplement like tryptophan or 5HTP, and if low Serotonin levels are the problem, your cravings should subside. You may also want to supplement your diet with Chromium Picolinate; a mineral that studies have shown may reduce carbohydrate cravings.
Here is a video on how to break the sugar habit.
But let’s get real; we all want a treat every now and then.
How can we enjoy our sweets and not overdo it? First keep in mind that not all sugar is bad. Basically anything ending in “ose” on an ingredient label such as, sucrose, fructose, and glucose plus corn syrup has had its natural goodness removed, the end result is a product that severely inhibits the immune system and compromises the body in many ways. Stay away from these bad sugars as much as you can. Read the labels of processed foods you buy, you’ll be surprised how many have these types of sugars in them.
I have been buying a certain brand of yogurt for years. I had thought I had read the label but took another look the other day. It had high fructose corn syrup. Something I never would buy if I had been paying attention. I found another yogurt that has plan sugar and I found it actually tasted better. An even better choice would be plan yogurt and add my own fresh fruit. But at least for now I switched to a lesser evil. Best rule of thumb is opting for products with the most natural ingredients you can find. Many organic cookies use pure cane juice or fruit juice as the sweetener much better than any processed sugars. It will still cure your sweet craving but won’t put you into the sugar cycle.
Did you know that some sugars can actually be GOOD for you?
Here is an interesting note from one of my favorite health letters. You can read the whole article here: http://wrightnewsletter.com/2007/09/20/sugar-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
“A sugar cane extract called ‘policosanol’ is an excellent alternative to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. It also appears to be effective at lowering triglyceride levels.
Another sugar cane extract that does the body good is D-mannose, which is naturally found in cranberry juice and is often used to treat E.coli, the common cause of most bladder infections.
Xylitol is also on the list of helpful simple sugars. One of my colleagues reports a 93 percent reduction in ear and sinus infections in his patients who use an intranasal spray made from xylitol. In another form, xylitol can actually prevent tooth decay, and some manufacturers have even added it to breath mints and chewing gum.
Then there are polysaccharides, which are simple sugars that combine in metabolic “chains” and cause immune cells to be more active and vigilant against bacteria and other germs. Echinacea, a well-known immune-boosting herb, is a rich source of polysaccharides.”
Don’t use Artificial Sweeteners.
I won’t get into it now but artificial sweeteners are not the answer. It will take a whole other post to tell you why. Lets just say they are not natural to your body and have been linked to cancer and Alzheimers, Plus they have found that your body still reacts as if they are refined sugars so the cravings are still there which actually causes you to eat more carbs thus causing weight gain. Just don’t do it. Honestly you are better off just eating sugar than using these.
So I hope you have learned something by this post. Get off the sugar go round, you’ll feel better and live healthier if you do.
Apr
6
2010
Yes Men can have estrogen dominance! Does it mean they will weep at movies, or grow breast? Probably not, but it can create many health problems and most likely will be misdiagnosed by a doctor. The problem men have is their Doctor most likely won’t ever check their hormones. But even women, especially women can have too much estrogen. If you took the pill most your life or have been on Premarin. There is a good chance you have estrogen dominance. You could also be at a higher risk for certain cancers. The even bigger problem now is even our children are at risk.
How can this happen you may ask? The main problem lies in our food and water supplies. Both beef and chickens are injected with hormones to speed up their growth to get them to the market quicker. This practice has not only affected our meat supply, but our ground water and our health.
Have you ever noticed how it seems kids are getting bigger and bigger these days? Many thirteen year old boys now have facial hair and are already six feet tall. Young girls are starting their cycles as young as 9 years old. It is all related to the hormones in our food supply, it does the same thing to our kids that it does to the animals we give it too, it makes them grow up before their time.
Do you drink out of plastic water bottles? Do you then refill them and use them over and over again? Perhaps one sits in the hot car all day while you go into work. If so you are consuming chemicals with estrogen properties.
Studies have indicated that most water bottles contain trace amount of Bis-phenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical that interferes with the body’s natural hormonal messaging system and that repeated re-use increases the chance that chemicals will leak out of the plastic over time.
BPA has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. Most experts agree that the amount of BPA that could leach into food and drinks through normal handling is probably very small, but there are concerns about the cumulative effect of small doses.
Even water bottles that are BPA free such as plastic #1 may be safe for one-time use, but reuse should be avoided because studies indicate they may leach DEHP—another probable human carcinogen. The FDA issued a health warning advising the public that DEHP could leech out of PVC and pose a health risk in certain high risk groups. Specifically, there are concerns pertaining to the effects on the development of the male reproductive system.
I’m not going to get into the health symptoms of Estrogen dominance on this post you can read about them here: http://www.personalliberty.com/health-concerns/the-effects-of-estrogen-dominance-for-women-and-men/ but before you start checking off of the list, if this concerns you get your hormones tested. Many of the symptoms listed both myself and my husband had, but we were not Estrogen dominant, so don’t panic even if you are all you need to be balance your hormones, something easily done with bio-identical hormones.
For now here are some things you can do to prevent estrogen dominance and better health. Get yourself a stainless steel or a glass bottle to use for water. Where I live we are blessed with pure water, so my whole family drinks out of glass bottles we saved when we bought some beverage from a store. We keep a shelf full of chilled water in glass bottles with screw on caps. When we head out the door we grab one. They are easy to sterilize in the dishwasher and it’s no big deal if one gets left in the hot sun for days. Don’t be talked into an aluminum bottle. Aluminum is very bad for you and has been linked to Alzheimer’s.
Be aware of where your meat comes from. When you can, buy organic meats, not only will you be doing your family a favor you will find that organic meat taste 10 times better. Buy Organic milk. Especially for kids. My boys are 9 and 10; they never drink milk unless it is organic. Yes they are the smallest kids in the class and I do feel bad thinking they may be the only kids in their class that don’t go through puberty until age 14 or so. But at least I know they will outlive their classmates twelve fold.
Avoid cooking in plastic containers. Invest in some glass or ceramic dishes, especially for the microwave. Heating plastic is just inviting a chemical party to your body. Avoid it at all cost. Even if you buy those ready made dinners transfer them to a glass container before heating.
Well I hope you learned something I will talk more about hormones and how they effect you in future post.
Mar
9
2010
So what is Perimenopause anyway and how do you know you are beginning it?
First off there is no real set age that menopause begins. The average is 51 but I went through mine beginning at age 46. It used to be that you could base your time by your mothers, but many of our mothers had hysterectomies so we don’t have any idea. That and the many factors of modern life, such as not having kids, have thrown our factors out the window.
Evidence seems to point to the fact that those of us who are childless will have a more difficult time going through it. In the past women started having children soon after puberty on through their 40′s. Menopause symptoms were basically unheard of in our grandmother’s generation. Even those of you who bore only two children should prepare for the onset of menopause, and believe me some of it is no fun at all.
My Story
For me it started with hot flashes. They were not too bad, sort of feels like when you take too much B3, a bit of a flush of heat. It was winter when I had my first few, a week or so apart, and I thought. Gee if this is all there is then piece of cake, I can handle this. Then summer came, and the night sweats begin. Used to be I was always cold, now I’m throwing the sheets off and cranking the AC. Except for the lack of sleep, I again thought no big deal.
I also had a few missed periods and times of memory loss. At the time, I was not aware of the cause of my memory and energy levels dropping. I could not remember simple things and I felt like I was in a fog all the time. I was so tired just going through the regular routine of a day exhausted me. I thought it was the normal toll of motherhood (I adopted) and did not associate it with menopause. After all I was too young to be going through that.
Another 6 months or so passed and the sleeplessness was taking its toll on my body. My immune system started to act up, I was getting skin infections, and I was put on strong antibiotics three times, throwing my system into a tail spin. By now my adrenal glands were haywire, I was beginning to experience anxiety, something I have not ever had, I had heart palpitations and I’d pace the floor at 3 am wondering of I should wake my husband up to take me to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack.
At first I thought it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics so I went back to the Doctor, we change the antibiotics, with no improvement. He gave me a small script of Lorazepam (like a Valium) and I could at least get through the night without feeling like I wanted to jump out of the nearest window.
It was at this point I began my search to try and understand what was going on with me. My health both mental and physical was declining and I was too young to be going into menopause, or so I thought.
What are the Symptoms?
The most common symptom of early menopause is a change in your menstrual cycle. It can be heavier or lighter or you may skip a month or two. Then there are hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings, depression, night sweats, memory and concentration problems, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, and vaginal dryness.
As your hormones fluctuate it is perfectly normal to feel tense and irritable, even crying for no reason at all is very common. The reason for this is estrogen and progesterone affect chemicals in the brain that control sleep, pain perception, and a wide variety of emotions, diminishing your ability to cope with problems you normally handle with ease.
YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!!! DON”T RUN FOR THE ANTIDEPRESSANTS! AND IF YOUR DOCTER SAYS THAT IS THE ONLY ANSWER: RUN DON”T WALK TO THE NEARIST EXIT!
There is a better way to control what is happening to you and the sooner you address the problem the less severe your symptoms will be.
It is in my opinion that once you start noticing the symptoms of menopause that you should find a doctor you trust that is educated about and will prescribe Bio Identical Hormones. But what to do until you get that appointment or get your blood work back?
NOTICE: Do keep in mind some of these remedies’ below may effect your blood work results so I recommend not taking them for at least 3 days prior your blood work appointment. Also be reasonable don’t go crazy and try eight things at once obviously stay away from things you may have allergic reactions to, you are the only one who truly knows your body and what it can tolerate.
I’m going to tell you about some natural remedies for hot flashes since this are usually the first symptom of menopause, if you are just at the beginning stages. These remedies may be all you need for awhile and you can get on with your life right away.
On doing a search of what has helped many women resolve hot flashes this is what I have found. Do keep in mind that usually Hot Flashes are signs of a drop in estrogen and many of these hot flash remedies’ will work for other premenopausal symptoms as well.
Please for your health look for Organic products. Especially using Soy, as the process to make it can be extremely toxic if not done organically.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Mix 2 tablespoons ACV, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 6 oz of warm water. Drink Morning and Evening.
Blackstrap molasses: 2 teaspoons a day
GABA: as written in the previous article, ‘Depression is Big Business’ GABA Supplement was vital for me during my transition.
Soy I found organic soy milk did wonders for my hot flashes and headaches I often got before my period when my estrogen levels dropped.
Vitamin E. 1000IU a day. Many women found just adding this supplement helped ease their symptoms.
Wild Yam Wild yam has been know for and used for years as a natural replacement for estrogen, although many studies claim it does not work some women swear by it. It also is a natural cholesterol lowering plant so it certainly can not hurt to try it.
Other herbal remedies’: plants that cool the system, such as chickweed, elder and violet; plants that nourish or increase oxygen utilization in the liver, such as dong quai, dandelion, Ho Shou Wu (polygonum multiflorum) and yellow dock; and plants rich in phytosterols, such as black cohosh.
I want to hear from you: If you try these remedies please log in and tell others how these remedies did or did not work for you. We need to help each other in these times when many in the health field will just cast us aside. Please pay it forward and help other women out there in need. So many will not speak up and suffer in silence. It’s time to break the silence.
Mar
3
2010
Cellular Link to Positive Thinking and our Health
Ok today I want to talk about something that is so very important for healing yourselves. But I am trying to decide the best way to approach this without sounding preachy to some and just plan whacked to others.
When women (or men for that matter) are dealing with health issues whether mental or physical. We have to ask ourselves, where does it come from? Science is discovering that illness begins at a cellular level, and like I discussed in the previous post, an imbalance occurs in our cells and thus creates disease. How it manifest itself solely depends on many factors; perhaps environmental, or a place where past injury has occurred, or maybe even in a location in the body that feels heavy for some emotional reason, the heart, the reproductive system, the lungs or throat if we feel emotionally smothered for instance.
Some of you may now be thinking “Hogwash” our emotions have nothing to do with physical illness. I beg to differ. Have you ever heard of Dr Masaru Emoto? He revealed to the world the power of water’s vibration. The photographs of water droplets and their reactions to different environments and emotions is nothing more than incredible. You can see some of his work here: water crystals .
In a nutshell what he discovered is that water crystals react to kind words by becoming things of beauty. And given such things as pollution, heavy metal music, negative words and so forth, water crystals fall apart and look diseased. He also has illustrated that diseased water droplets can recover with kind words or prayer.
The fact that our bodies are close to 60% of water, doesn’t make sense that we too react to our environment? So now what to do with this information? How many times a day do you allow your emotions to take you over? Do you lose it when your child spills his milk? Do you lash out at your spouse when they do or say something that upsets you? Every time we react to a situation in a less than loving way we are setting ourselves up for imbalance. If we are already imbalanced, and most of us are, we are setting ourselves up for disease. After all, disease stands for the Dis Ease we have about something.
So WHY do we do this? Why is it some people can seem to go through life happy and fulfilled while we wallow in self pity? HOW we got here is not important, it’s what we do to get back to good that counts.
First and for most we have to remind ourselves of and believe in our own self worth. YOU DESERVE THE BEST! YOU ARE WORTHY! YOU ARE LOVED! And you don’t need anyone else but yourself to remember this. Just by vocalizing these three phrases can start you back down the path good health. But that is not all you must do. You MUST stop the negative thoughts about yourself. “I can’t do this” “I’m so stupid” “No one could love me” On the cellular level your body hears you, and it will comply. If you insist on being negative you will set up your body to receive that negativity and manifest it in a physical way. The science is there to back it up!
You also need to be aware of those in your life that also put you down and spew negative remarks your way. This may be harder to avoid because you can not control what others say or do but you can try and control how you react or deal with it. If it is a “friend’ I suggest finding new friends who respect you for who you are, if it is a spouse well then you have to decide is it worth staying in the relationship? This is something that has to be weighed carefully and only you can find YOUR answer.
In the meantime you also have to look within yourself and ask yourself WHY you feel this way. Is it something from your past, someone that told you, you were unworthy? Is it your religious belief or lack there of?
We all are worthy of love and I have my own spiritual beliefs that I will talk about in another post sometime. But for those who don’t have a spiritual side (I believe we all do, some just don’t recognize it as such) Here are some practical things to do to lift your spirits:
Exercise! I know… the dreaded word…. now this does not mean you have to run our and join a gym, but you do need to get moving. A brisk walk in nature, gardening, riding a bike… anything to get you out moving will help your mood and be uplifting. Physically you open your lungs and bring fresh oxygen to the brain, this replenishes your cells energy patterns and will affect your overall health. Even if you walk for only five minutes.
If you find yourself in a heated discussion. Leave! Get outside and breathe you’ll be surprised how quickly it will sooth you. We are of the earth and being closer to nature is physically healing to our bodies; don’t deny yourself this easy recharging technique.
Eat Healthy Natural Foods! How many of you go straight for the ice cream or chips when you are depressed? So called ‘Comfort Foods’ are only feeding your temporary dislike for yourself. It’s like saying, “No one loves me so why love myself.? I’ll show them I’ll give them exactly what they want.”
DO NOT GIVE AWAY YOUR POWER! Don’t feed into the negative energy you or someone else has provided for you. Instead of ice cream eat a piece of fruit or yogurt. You want something crunchy? Try natural popcorn ( not the whole ‘family size’ bag. You’ll find a small bag can be as satisfying.) Roasted nuts are even a better choice.
And finally
HAVE FUN!
I had a very special friend of mine once told me. “In life you have two choices you can either go through it kicking and screaming or laughing and dancing. I choose to laugh and dance.”
YOU MUST HAVE FUN, whether it is doing a puzzle, painting, singing a song or sledding with your kids. You must take time to enjoy the little things in life. To laugh and to play like a child, so many of us have that missing in our life and we feel dead inside without it. HAVE FUN! Take time for yourself, if you have to block out time on your schedule do it! Actually mark it “FUN TIME” Your soul down to your cellular level will thank you for it! YOU ARE WORTH IT!
If you just do these 3 things and tell yourself outloud ”I DESERVE THE BEST! I AM WORTHY! I AM LOVED!’ You will feel better and you will start to heal yourself both mentally and physically. It is a step towards well being. Won’t you walk with me?
For those of you who feel so compelled follow this link and read Woo and the Room of Lessons . It may be what you have been looking for.
Feb
18
2010
Depression is big business there is no doubt about it. All you have to do is turn on the TV to see hundreds of ads trying to convince you that not only are you depressed but you will stay that way if you don’t take their drugs.
Now granted, in this economy, there are millions of reasons to be depressed, but when depression is long term and debilitating to the point you can no longer function, you should do something about it. But before you run to your doctor and request some drug they will want you to stay on for life and can be hazardous to your long term health, consider WHY you are depressed in the first place.
Let’s think about this.
What is depression?
A depressive condition can have these symptoms: decreased energy, general negativity, and an overall sense of dissatisfaction and hopelessness that pervades most, if not all, areas of life.
What causes long term depression?
We all get depressed from time to time but what is it that makes it a serious health issue? There are many factors that can cause depression some including: Stressful life events, severe or chronic illness, medication side-effects, biological factors, co-occurrence of depression and anxiety, substance abuse, addictions, and family history.
So what do ALL these things have in common?
They disrupt your body’s chemical makeup. Our body is an amazing organism. It is designed to endure all types of attacks and rebound with no harm, no foul. But in these modern times our bodies are bombarded with man made chemicals and substances that were never meant to occur in nature, add the stress of modern living and it is no wonder our bodies are riddled with disease.
Our bodies, as great as they are, just can’t keep up with the onslaught of abuse they are expected to endure. This creates a chemical imbalance which can present itself in many ways, from depression to cancer and everything in between. By restoring that balance we can protect and sometime even cure our aliments.
The problem with pharmaceutical antidepressants is that they are synthetic. They are not natural to our system and it just doesn’t make any sense to address a chemical imbalance with more chemicals that may relieve some of the symptoms we are suffering from, but does not address the underlying CAUSE of those symptoms.
Now let’s look at anti depressant medicines such as Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro and Zoloft also called Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)…and what they do.
According to Wikipedia SSRI’s “Increase the extracellular level of the neurotransmitter serotonin by inhibiting its reuptake into the presynaptic cell, increasing the level of serotonin available to bind to the postsynaptic receptor. They have varying degrees of selectivity for the other monoamine transporters, with pure SSRIs having only weak affinity for the noradrenaline and dopamine transporter.”
Whew! I’m getting depressed just trying to understand what that means. Let’s try and put it in Layman’s terms.
Basically you have a hormone in your body called Serotonin that is made from the amino acid Tryptophan.(You know the same thing that is in Turkey and makes you tired after Thanksgiving dinner) Serotonin transmits nerve signals between nerve cells. Changes in the serotonin levels in the brain can alter your mood. What anti depressant meds in the SSRI category do is block the reabsorbtion of Serotonin to allow more Serotonin in your blood to be available. Doctors believe this increased support of nerve cells lowers glutamate (another amino acid) sensitivity, providing protection against glutamate overwhelming and exciting key brain areas related to anxiety and depression.
Okay confusing I know but stick with me here for a moment. Here we are again messing with nature blocking a natural amino acid our body creates to perhaps increase the effectiveness of another natural substance, Serotonin. Now I’m no rocket scientist, I’m not even a doctor, but don’t you think Nature knows better than we do about what we need and don’t need? You have to ask yourself. Could taking anti depressants add to your imbalance instead of improve it?
Here’s the thing. If you are depressed or have anxiety to the point that you are seeking medical help then all you want is immediate relief. If you take SSRI’s it takes weeks for it to start working and you can’t stop cold turkey either. Most likely you will be expected to be on them for at least a year. And before you do that PLEASE look up the side effects of these drugs.
If you are a woman over 40 or if younger recently had a baby, most likely this is a hormone issue not a mental one. And the ONLY thing that is going to help you long term is Bio Identical Hormone Replacement. But in the meantime here are some things to try.
Serotonin is released during sleep. If you are not getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night then start here. YOU MUST HAVE SLEEP FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH! If you are having trouble sleeping then try the supplement Melatonin. 3 mg is the recommended dose but many women find they need more, start with 3mg and build up to no more than 10 mg.
Try a supplement of Tryptophan (or 5-HTP). Tryptophan is the least abundant amino acid found in foods. It is the precursor of the sleep-inducing neurotransmitter serotonin. It also has relaxing and calming effects. Your imbalance could simply be a lack of this essential amino acid. Due to the fact that the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin within the brain is dependent on the availability of this amino acid, supplementing with Tryptophan before going to bed may produce good results in relieving insomnia and bringing your system back into balance.
Another amino acid which helped me greatly during my year of healing is GABA Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid. A GABA deficiency can directly impact a person’s ability to handle day to day or long term stress. The calming chemical in the brain, GABA induces relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, and increases alertness. One of the four key neurotransmitters, GABA also keeps all the other neurotransmitters in check.
This last one GABA saved my life although I was already starting Bio Identical Hormones. Depending on how bad off you are, it can takes months to start balancing your hormones to the point you feel better. I ignored the symptoms of Perimenopause until I was to the point of wanting to kill someone. I was so imbalanced that I could no longer function at all. I tired Melatonin, Tryptophan and 5-HTP and they did take the edge off but I didn’t start feeling right until I took GABA. These all affect your brain a little differently. It was the Gaba I feel I was lacking. Either that or it balanced the rest for me. All I know is for the first time in months I slept through the night, I could “talk’ to my children not yell. And I was no longer in a fog. There is much much more to getting back to good than these three supplements but while you wait to find out just what your underlying issues are they can help bring some normalcy back into your life without drugging yourself into oblivion.
Keep checking back or Join my feed for more updates on menopause and your health.
Please note that it is extremely important to obtain an accurate diagnosis before trying to find a cure. Many diseases and conditions share common symptoms: if you treat yourself for the wrong illness or a specific symptom of a complex disease, you may delay legitimate treatment of a serious underlying problem. In other words, the greatest danger in self-treatment may be self-diagnosis. If you do not know what you really have, you can not treat it!
Oct
25
2009
Any woman out there over 45 knows what I’m talking about; it creeps up on you slowly. At first it may be just waking up in the middle of the night to pee and then you can’t fall back to sleep. Or with me it was always my cat that wakes me up. Then you lie there watching the clock tick 3am 4am, 5am passes and you finally give up and start your day. A day or two of this is not so bad you drag yourself through the day thinking surly tonight I’ll get caught back up on my sleep. But then the same thing happens and next thing you know months have passed and you feel a good night sleep will never happen again.
Sleep deprivation is a very bad thing. Heart problems, weight issues, stress, and even car accidents have all been associated with inadequate and/or irregular sleep habits. And a woman nearing menopause knows that sleep is a precious commodity that she just can’t seem to cash in on. To me no sleep was the 2nd worse symptom of menopause. Anxiety was the worst, and night sweats and hot flashes run a close the third. But not being able to sleep…it messes your whole system up.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 40 percent of menopausal women have sleep problems caused by hot flashes. But I believe at least 80% of us suffer from lack of sleep whether the hot flashes have started or not. Why? Because it is not just the female hormones that decline with age, all hormones do.
Melatonin is the main hormone associated with sleep. With adequate melatonin you sleep soundly and deeply. You dream, you wake up rested in the morning. This hormone is secreted from the pineal gland located in the brain that governs the sleep/wake cycle. Melatonin is important in regulating other hormone release and immune responses. Without it other systems in your body breaks down and causes you to age.
So those of you with very little menopausal symptoms may find that 3 mg of melatonin a night will be all you need to get your life back on track. It is easy to find at almost any health food store and it is inexpensive. I do recommend you buy a good name brand of any supplement you use. I find that capsules or sprays are more effective than hard to digest pills. I suggest you start slow you can try as little as 1mg and build up to as much as 10 mgs. I will warn you though most people have very vivid dreams with melatonin and if you have a lot of unresolved things going on in your life your dreams may not be so pleasant.
Before I started getting my hormones back in rebalance, I took melatonin nightly and it worked like a charm. Now after a year on BHRT I no longer need it nightly and may take it once every couple of weeks or so. But it is an inexpensive healthy way to gain back at least some of your sanity. If however you have tried it and it is not working for you there are other things you can try to help you get the sleep you need.
- Try Black Cohosh
Hot Flashes and night sweats come on due to declining Estrogen and progesterone so if you are not ready to supplement those hormones try herbs like Black cohosh, a perennial plant that is a member of the buttercup family. It has also been used to treat hot flashes for years with no ill effects. Soy products also have an estrogen like quality that will help ease your symptoms and may help you sleep just Please I beg of you to make sure you ONLY use Organic products of soy, the processes used on soy that are not can be harmful to your health. IT must say Organic on the label, natural is NOT organic, don’t be fooled.
- Maintain a regular bedtime schedule
Going to bed at the same time every night can improve your sleep. Establishing regular bed and wake times helps your body to cycle properly. You need at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night, give up “Desperate House Wives” if you must; lest you become desperate yourself. Improve the sleep environment. The Better Sleep Council recommends that the bedroom be dark, cool, and quiet. Also, women should sleep on mattresses that provide superior comfort and the right support — a mattress that’s been in use for years may need to be replaced.
- Exercising regularly but not right before sleep
“Exercise may help to ease sleep problems, as long as it is performed early in the day.” morning exercise could help set circadian rhythms, or the bodies’ internal clock, which in turn regulates sleep-inducing hormones such as melatonin. Lower levels of estrogen may cause sleep problems among older women, either directly, or indirectly. A lack of estrogen can cause sleep-disturbing hot flashes and night sweats. Exercise may help ease some of these symptoms.
- Avoiding excessive caffeine
Especially if you are suffering from anxiety you will need to eliminate all caffeine from your diet at least for a while. I gave up a 30 year two cup of coffee habit for over six months but once on hormones I found I can revisit my coffee habit with no ill effects. Do what you must do to feel good… you will overcome your caffeine addiction and be a better person for it.
- Avoiding naps during the day, which can prevent you from sleeping well at night
Like we modern women have time to nap. But if you do try and go without them you’ll sleep better at night.
Well I hope that will help give you some relief, if you are reading this at 3 am then know you NEED relief. As the days pass I’ll write more about over the counter supplements that will help with menopause symptoms and will be leading up to the wonderful world of Bio Identical hormones. Some women say the BHRT’s don’t work for them. My question is are they seeing the right Doctor doing the right test? Or am I one of the lucky ones who has found the answers to youth and wellness for myself. Only YOU know what is right for your body…just know you no longer have to suffer… there are ways through this and together we will awaken the world to the fact that aging women are viable and deserving of a healthy happy life.
Oct
20
2009
Oct. 20, 2009
Ok so I took a week off from posting. It turns out that yes I can still party like I am 19 but it takes me much longer to recover. I also discovered, as I pretty much blew off my maintenance the week after and did what I liked, that as with everything there are consequences. It sure was nice to let loose, but with that freedom, of no real diet or exercise for the week, I lost so much. This morning for instance, I have one of my headaches, the thing that has plagued me for years has returned. That and a small skin eruption that I too had thought was a thing of the past. One week of weakness, a cookie here, wheat bread there, and all hell brakes loose as my body declares “WHAT HAPPENED TO TAKING CARE OF ME?”
God it’s like a nagging spouse that won’t quit. My body revolts and I have no choice but to listen. So today I’m back on track. The thing is I want to feel good. I want to have the energy with no headaches, no outbreaks. But a week? Give me a frickin break! I often wonder had I not been so abusive in my past would I be any better off? I mean I thank God. I have no cancer. No real illnesses’ to speak of, but these pesky reminders of my past keep nagging me to stay the course.
I guess I am lucky; so many women have it worse. At least I no longer deal with the night sweats and sleepless nights. That has been resolved, thanks to bio identical hormones, something I will get into with much more depth later on. In fact if it wasn’t for those, I would not even have the energy to write this. They have literally saved my life. And they can be the answer to millions of women who are now suffering the effects of menopause. But what I am discovering is they are only part of the answer. The fact is with aging you just can’t ignore the signs of self-abuse. Our bodies are miraculous miracles that truly can heal themselves but like beating a dead horse if you keep beating it it’s …well ….. still dead.
We have choices. We can give up our health and die slow miserable deaths or we can pick ourselves up off the bathroom floor where we have been wallowing in self pity and do something about it. The choice is ours. What are you going to choose?
Oct
8
2009
So today I am preparing to go out-of-town for yet another milestone, my 30th High school reunion. I hated high school. I was not one of the popular girls and that was ok with me. In fact if it weren’t for Facebook and coming across other ‘normal people’ I went to school with, I wouldn’t even bother going, but now many of us have reconnected and people who would have never gone to these things are going. Three of my girlfriends and I are leaving our husbands behind, renting a room together, and I think we will create a slumber party atmosphere as we pig out on cookies and popcorn and catch up on 30 years of our lives apart.
Wow 30 years! If you had asked me at 17 what I’d be doing 30 years from now, I probably would have suspected I’d be dead. And honestly with the lifestyle of my teens and early 20′s, I probably should be. When you are that age you don’t think of the consequences of your actions. I try every day to instill that thought into my two boys. If I had known that little fact 30 years ago I may have done things differently, but then again probably not.
Ah youth, something so easy to take advantage of and yet so fleeting. What I’d give for a wrinkle free face, a tight ass, and a flat stomach. And the energy, my god what I’d trade for that energy! I truly think the heavens got this aging thing all wrong, we should start old and grow young, like Benjamin Button. What good is the knowledge of 50 years when you no longer have the energy to do anything with that knowledge? It’s sucks!
I think back to that time especially my early 20′s and how I abused my body. It was one never ending party. Yep I was a party girl, up all night trying pretty much everything that came my way. I was living the high life, literally. Never sleeping, drinking ,drugs, you name it, most likely I tried it. It’s a wonder I came out whole on the other side…or did I? Flash Forward about 25 years and I find out I am hypo-thyroid, now on thyroid medicine for life. Forward another 4 and I had reached full blown adrenal fatigue. I couldn’t hardly get out of bed, I started having major skin infections, and then the anxiety set in, sleepless nights of worry and panic, maybe I was going mental. Life as I knew it had ended. I was a mess.
Now some of this is natural aging it happens to every woman, but I can’t help but think had I taken better care of myself, I may had been able to have kids, (my boys are adopted) my transition into menopause would have been easier, and I think much later. I mean menopause at 46? What’s wrong with that picture? But my body came to a screeching halt> My very cells screamed… NO MORE ABUSE! TAKE CARE OF US OR WE>>>YOU>>>WILL DIE!
Let me tell you I listened. It’s only been one year since that protest and I must say I feel better than I have in probably 15 years and I’m getting better everyday. I may never have that flat stomach of 25, but by god I’m getting close. And my energy is returning too. And believe it or not, this weekend I will be that party girl once again, within the limits of wisdom of course.
So how did I come about this transition? Stay tuned and I’ll tell you how.
Oct
6
2009
Here I sit a year over the time I intended to start this blog trying still to get going. I look at the changes I have made in the past year, in order to heal myself where my Doctors have failed. As I sip on my miso soup, full of vegetables I didn’t even know existed a year ago, I can’t help but wonder. Is it all in vain? Am I destined to be old before my time? Or is this road to self discovery a path I was intended to take, to help the women of the world to finally speak up and speak out about their silent suffering? To save countless women after me the detriment of menopause and aging, to heal ourselves where the medical world has deceived us. I do feel it is time that we, as women, need to demand what is rightfully ours. Our health, our mental well being, and our place on the throne.
That is what this blog and my website www.womenhealyourselves.com is going to be about. A place to open a dialog between women, their problems, their solutions to those problems that we all face. You may not have hit that wall yet, but you will. We all do. Many of your friends already have yet you will know nothing about it. Why? Because we don’t talk about it. We suffer in silence, until now. Come along on a journey of self discovery with me and let’s see where it leads.