wanna get it right this time II -- visiting the chiropractor

I haven't been to the chiropractor for nearly a year, so I'm due for a tuneup and my back is telling me that.

But I am also wondering, can getting your pelvis in alignment help with fertility? Certainly seems to me like it should, if nothing else to ensure good blood flow down there and that organs aren't being squished.

Sometimes my ideas aren't so crazy, because it seems that others have had the same idea.
Check out these links:
http://www.chiro.org/research/FULL/Fighting_Infertility_At_The_Chiropractor.htm
http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRACTS/Infertility.shtml
http://fertility.amuchbetterway.com/trying-to-conceive-visit-chiropractor/

Worth a try, and as I said my back hurts I would be going anyway!

What about chiropractic and fibroids? This site says: Chiropractic helps to regulate the nervous and to restore normal function of joints, muscles, tissues, and organs. Chiropractic care plays an important supportive role for other treatment strategies for fibroids.

Also on this page a woman tells the story of how she was able to shrink her fibroid, with chiropractic as one of the modalities she used. (Many of the others also match things discussed in this blog)

wanna get it right this time I -- more exercise!

"Wanna get it right this time" is the chorus of one of my favorite songs, Complicated, from the one of my favorite albums, Liquid White Light, by one of my favorite bands, Poi Dog Pondering.

In the Groundhog Day mode (see previous post) of trying each cycle to do more and do better so as to eventually reach my goal, I'm making this song my mental theme.

So get ready for a series of posts over the next few days that show what I am doing differently this time!

Number one, I need to exercise more. For stress relief, because it's good for fibroid shrinking, because it's good for fertility, and also because I'm looking a bit flabby. (Too much work and too much time sitting at my desk). So I've decided to up my exercise to 1.5 hours today. Usually two of the following: an hour of yoga with my husband in the morning, a brisk walk outside, and doing one of my exercise tapes. Sometimes with some hula hooping thrown in.

This week I'm trying out some of the of belly dancing DVD's I had purchased but not used yet. They are OK but none is really perfect. The Basic Dance session from Discover Bellydance I used to like when I was just learning belly dance years ago, but now was too slow and boring for me. I got several of the Belly Dance Fitness for Weight Loss by Rania. They are kind of an odd combination of aerobics and belly dance. The Hip Drop Hip Hopwas my favorite even though it's not really hip hop. The Pure Sweat one that I did today was just ok. None were as good as Bollywood Booty, my current favorite.

soy summary

I've written before about soy, and the issues for fibroid shrinkers. This article by an acupuncturist is an excellent summary of the topic.

gene variant related to fibroids discovered

A new study has discovered a gene variant that is related to the risk of developing fibroids.

This confirms some of what has been discussed in this blog before, about genetic factors being part of what causes fibroids.

I don't know why someone would want to be tested for this gene though -- it's not as if western science currently has anything to tell us about what to do if we are found to have a genetic disposition. Why don't they spend some of this research money to look for a preventative and a cure?

Evils of Tampons 2 (and toilet paper!)

My ever-thrifty husband went to the store and came back with a massive bargain-size package of toilet paper. It was from the regular grocery store, so was a typical national brand, Charmin or Northern or whatever.

I got really annoyed with him and told him it didn't do any good to get cheap toilet paper if it was not the "good" kind I normally get at Whole Foods. His response was "what's wrong with this one?" So I went to the internet to take a look.

Well, did I get an education. Turns out that "regular" toilet paper, as well as tampons and sanitary pads, are white because they are bleached with chlorine. And the chlorine leads to a byproduct of dioxin, which is a toxin. This page discusses a possible fibroid-dioxin link, and dioxin has been linked in studies to endometriosis in women and low sperm counts in men. The latter relvation persuaded my husband that my choice in toilet paperwas indeed better! And for tampons and sanitary pads, I only get non-chlorine options.

The chlorine-laden dishwasher detergent left over from hubby's batchelor pad was jettisoned too! Watch out for those household cleaning products, lots of chlorine there...

This page gives an excellent overview of chlorine and dioxin issues. So does this one. And if you are interested in further reading, there is even a book on this scary topic, Pandora's" Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy.

Evils of Tampons 1

Today my acupuncturist was out of town and there was a substitute. We were discussing my period and she asked if I used tampons. When I said yes she told me that I should keep in mind that in Chinese medicine they believe that tampons are a cause of stagnation because they inhibit the downward flow of blood. So that if I can go with pads, that's better.

Well, with my heavy periods on the worst days there is no way I could do without a tampon, but on many days it would be ok. And as readers of this blog know, in the view of Chinese medicine fibroids are caused by, guess what, stagnation! So, sounds like tampons are not a good idea for us fibroid shrinkers!

Here are a couple of sites that talk about tampons from a Chinese medicine perspective.
http://www.womanmedicine.com/resources/interviewPeiFenYan.htm
http://www.the-fertility-acupuncturist.com/chinese-fertility-chart.html

Groundhog Day

Does that movie poster bring back any memories? And boy Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell look young...

So why did I put this up here? Because lately all I can think of is that TTC is a lot like that movie Groundhog Day. For those of you who didn't see the movie (and I recommend you do as it's one of my absolute favorites), Bill Murray's character lives the same day over and over again, each time giving him the opportunity to do things differently, and hopefully better.

So, not having gotten pregnant this month, time to push the restart button and get geared up for this month. So I'm thinking about what I can do differently and better.

I have a couple of new things I am going to add into the mix, which I'll tell you about in the next couple of weeks as I work on them. Also going to somehow try to spend more time on some of the emotional work stuff, and more time on exercising. A tall order given how busy I am at work right now, but will make it happen!

One of the new items this month is a new homeopathic, Ruta Graveolens. This came up as the remedy my body wanted, and such a strong dose (1M) that my practitioner wouldn't give it to me when it came up 2 weeks ago since I might be pregnant, she would only do it in the 1st half of the cycle. It works on the uterus, and my practioner thinks it could give the fibroids a big push to help them start dissolving again. I did some research and it's not normally thought of as being a remedy for fibroids, but does seem to get mentioned a lot as helping with brain tumors. It's also supposed to help with eyestrain and sore back/hips which I have. Ten teeny tiny pills per day, took my first dose today.

for subscribers

I just got a note from feedburner that there was some issue with my feed. For those of you who subscribe, you might need to re-subscribe. Sorry for the inconvenience.

study on fibroid growth rates

This interesting study looked at fibroid growth rates. Typical growth rate was 9% every 6 months, but in 7% of cases they shrunk more than 20%. Unfortunately they don't seem to give any info about what might have been different about those 7%. Also interesting data about growth rate differences in white and black women.

more scary information on hormone disruptors

This blog post has a link to a new report that details the different types of hormone disruptors and how they can lead to fibroids, infertility, and other female health problems. Very scary! More evidence on why fibroid shrinkers need to eat organic and avoid exposure to these chemicals, but at the same time says that some of the damage is done when we are youngsters and our parts are developing...

visualizations and affirmations

Just got a very nice comment on my progress report post, wondering if I had used visualizations and affirmations.
Thought I would answer in detail here. Indeed, I am working on this kind of thing right now, as I think this is one of the stones I have not yet unturned.

My house is full of handmade affirmation cards that I have made and tucked in places I will see frequently, like light switches. Some are based on suggestions from the fertility hypnotherapist I went to, and some from the book You Can Heal Your Life that I am reading right now, as well as the charming Power Thought Cards card deck by the same author.

However, I didn't make an affirmation card specifically targeting the fibroids, DUH! Thanks so much to the commenter for suggesting it. I just made one that says "My uterus is beautiful and smooth, perfectly shaped. It's the perfect safe place for a baby to grow." and have put it near my desk.

The commenter also mentioned the work on Creative Visualizationby Shakti Gawain. That looks fascinating and I will have to add to my reading list.

I love getting everyone's comments, thanks so much!

About visualizations, I will share one that I made a year ago at the time of my diagnosis. I imagined my liver as an actual janitor in my body, but as a kind of flawed character, a blues singer type who hits the bottle a bit too hard. So my initial visualizations focused on helping him get himself cleaned up, so that he could then work on getting the fibroids out of my uterus, which is what I was trying to do on the physical level with the detoxing. I haven't been checking in with him so often as my liver seems to be much better, but maybe I should be...

I think visualizations must work, based on the experience of a friend. She had breast cancer and was given 15% chance to live. She did visualizations intensively (in addition to chemo and lots of Chinese herbs). Over 10 years later she is in remission and doing great!

Finally, I have a coach that I started working with a year ago when I got my grim fibroid diagnosis, and she is very talented with leading meditations and creating visualizations. We are working on a really exciting special project related to visualization, that I will share with you very soon, stay tuned!

shrinking "stubborn" fibroids

Found this interesting page that talks about some solutions for shrinking "stubborn" fibroids -- including cayenne pepper, hot/cold showers to increase circulation, and a superfood supplement.

basil coated tilapia

I love pesto but most versions contain a lot of cheese, a no-no for fibroid shrinkers. I found this version, called "basil paste" that doesn't have any cheese. I find the flavor is more purely basil than other pestos, probably because it is mostly basil!

I used it to create a fabulous dinner the other night. Got some tilapia fillets, put them in a baking dish, smeared the basil paste over them, and cooked at about 375 for about 15 minutes. Delicious, easy, and no guilt!

water fasting, estrogen dominance, and xenoestrogens

I was looking for something else when I found this interesting page. It describes how a woman shrunk her fibroid by doing a water fast. Also has a very clear discussion of estrogen dominance and xenoestrogens. Worth looking at.

status report / pregnancy the best cure for fibroids?

Had two appointments today, one an ultrasound with my gyn and then saw my acupuncturist.

The ultrasound showed that my fibroids are the same size they were as of the last ultrasound, in October.

Obviously I was disappointed that I didn't have further shrinking. I discussed this with my acupuncturist, who confirmed what I had been thinking. Since the fall, our #1 focus has been on gearing my body up for pregnancy, with fibroid management priority #2. Even if you look at the herbal formulas I have been taking, they address the fibroids kind of indirectly, but are not the bring-out-the-big-guns-hit-them-hard kind of herbs I had been doing this summer when I saw better shrinkage results.

The reason is, trying to bust up fibroids aggressively with heavy duty herbal firepower is just not compatible with trying to get pregnant. Given my age, we got to the point where we had to say "the fibroids are a lot better than they were in December 07, and while it would be nice if they were gone completely, they are small enough now that it's not unreasonable to pursue pregnancy." If I were younger, I would have preferred to take more time especially devoted to fibroid shrinking, but unfortunately at 44 I just don't have that luxury. I wish that I had known everything I do now about which herbs and other things to do to shrink fibroids when I was originally diagnosed with them -- which is why I am writing this blog to hopefully help others.

The good news is that all that my gyn has been doing to juice my body up for pregnancy has not caused the fibroids to grow.

My acupuncturist then told me that what she thinks is needed for fibroid shrinkage is to clear any remaining emotional issues that might be contributing to them. And indeed, that has been on my list to do some more work on -- lately I have been more focused on the diet, exercise, energetic/chakra work, and meditation. (Longtime readers of this blog may remember I did a lot of emotional related work a year ago, but time for that went by the wayside once I got engaged...now time to get back to that!) I have several tools that I am going to use to work on this, will share my progress with you.

My acupuncturist then told me she has had clients whose fibroids shrunk after they got pregnant. I asked her about this, because on the fibroid listserv I'm on I've read all sorts of stories of women whose fibroids grew wildly when they got pregnant. So I always thought that pregnancy made fibroids grow. My acupuncturist felt in part that's because of the fact that many pregnant women, in her words, "eat a lot of junk, like scarfing donuts." She also said that the women who she's worked with whose fibroids shrunk during pregancy had already done a lot of holistic work, and she continued working with them on the same issues during pregnancy. Also she said that some of the emotional issues women with fibroids have are related to pregnancy, and getting pregnant helps to resolve them.

Her closing comment was "I think pregnancy is the best cure for fibroids." A rather unorthodox view, but a hopeful one, so thought I would share it.

fragrance for fibroids? Aveda Chakra 2 spray

The other day I was reading a magazine and saw an ad for a series of chakra themed fragrance sprays from Aveda. They have one for each chakra. I immediately thought that I should get the one for chakra 2 -- as readers of this blog will know, that is the chakra related to fibroids.

I picked some up yesterday. It's based on Ayurvedic principles and contains sandalwood, orange, and geranium. The fragrance is exotic and throughout the day I felt compelled to keep smelling the spray I had put on my wrist. Today I had my acupuncturist check it for me on her machine, and the value for me was sky-high.

So, here's something that smells nice that supposedly can help contribute to balancing the chakra that is related to fibroids. It certainly can't hurt!

fibroid shrinking true story in the Huffington Post

I was surprised to find an article on fibroids in The Huffington Post. In this article, the author tells the story of a friend who succeeded in shrinking her fibroids by changing her diet. Changes that came as a result of the author's research, not anything that her gyn was able to tell her.

mixed review on Gurgevich hypnosis CD for fibroids

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been exploring the topic of hypnosis, and thought no better way to do so than get the Steven Gurgevich CD for healing fibroids with hypnosis.

I tried it several times, and each time I fell into deep hypnosis or sleep. It certainly was a lot more effective at doing this than the hypnotist I went to see. Afterwards I felt incredibly cleansed and relaxed, almost as if I had taken some sort of drug it was that strong. However, because it made me so deeply relaxed while listening to it, I wasn't sure exactly what it said.

This morning after waking early I tried it again. However between the heater starting to blow and my husband's alarm going off early, I didn't fall into hypnosis, so I got to listen to what he says in the whole thing. Most of it I approved of.

I particularly liked how he used various synonyms for "go away" such as dissolve, etc. all in a row, I found that soothing. He has you visualize a shaman healing your fibroids. He talks a lot about the power of your mind to make the fibroids go away, by changing your thinking and energy patterns.

However, there is one section that bothered me a lot. He brought up the idea I have seen before, that fibroids are due to stymied creativity. As part of that he mentioned some of the things that might "quash" one's creativity, and that included motherhood. This part of the text was obviously aimed at women who had become mothers and allowed their caring for others to interfere with being creative and doing what they would like in that area of their life. However, this is not my situation at all, as I have not had children and used my 20s and 30s to be prolifically creative in my work life -- starting my own company, writing a bunch of books, etc. And I certainly am not keen on any suggestion that becoming a mother will interfere with my creativity. I don't think that idea is helpful for promoting my fertility. I prefer to think of having a baby as another flowering of my creativity, and that having a child in my life will open me up to even more types of creativity.

Thus, I am putting this CD in the back of my drawer, for the day in the future when I have had my baby, and if I still have fibroids at that point.

I think this CD would be great for someone who has already had children and is not wanting any more. But if your goal is getting rid of fibroids for the purpose of enhancing your fertility, I would not recommend this CD.