 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
Foundation Staff
.
| Joined: | Sat Jul 10th, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17283 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 21:39 |
|
Birth control
If there is any chance that you might become pregnant, it is important that you investigate methods of birth control.
See Can a pregnant woman be on the Marshall Protocol?
The MP can change hormonal levels and correct infertility as one perimenopausal women (much to her surprise) found out a couple years ago.  Your doctor should not be surprised that you want to avoid a 'menopausal pregnancy'.
The role of birth control medication is to alter your hormones in a manner which will minimize the risk of pregnancy.
Our recommendation is to use the lowest dose of medication that is effective. See Why should I avoid hormone supplementation?
Most birth control meds are synthetic estrogen and progestin. In general, any concentration under 1 milligram is not likely to displace any of the key immune hormones from their target receptors.
Consult your doctor regarding the form of birth control that is most appropriate for you.
Members experiences
-It was suggested to me increasing Benicar in preparation for my period - last time I did it it worked a treat.. decreased cramps & symptoms (which are usually increased around my period) by about 50%. I went to Q4H a day before and kept it up til day 3 of my period.~Nat
-I used Ortho-lo because I started to get frequent spotting between periods and bad menstrual cramps at random times. It didn't seem to be working right. I switched to NuvaRing, a ring inserted each month and it's been great. No spotting, no cramps whatsoever, the lightest period I have ever had. I'm very happy with it and it SEEMS to be working quite well. It is a possibility that the reason the Ortho-lo wasn't working right had less to do with the MP and more with the low level hormones just not having enough effect. So of course i can't guarantee if NuvaRing is preventing pregnancy, but it seems to be working correctly. ~Ames
-I was able to actually discuss all my options over the phone with a NP/Midwife from my HMO and she was very helpful. She carefully went over all the options with me. I am going ahead with the NuvaRing prescription with an awareness that it is not an optimal solution, but considering all the options it seems to be the best choice for me personally at this time. ~Joyful
-The decision to use the NuvaRing for birth control has really worked out for me. Before starting with it I was having 60-80 days between cycles with really heavy bleeding. I know my whole system was struggling to send the right hormonal signals to all the right places. Now, with the use of the Benicar (and a little hormonal help from the NuvaRing) my cycles are regular, manageable and reasonable. ~Joyful
-I'm 54 years old and haven't had a period in two years and then had one in February. I am getting symptoms off and on of an impending cycle. Good thing I had my tubes tied years ago. ~JudyBeauty
|
Foundation Staff
.
| Joined: | Sat Jul 10th, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17283 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 21:41 |
|
[HRTfilelink]
HRT
Many symptoms attributed to hormonal imbalance are actually due to immunopathology. Before you assume that you need HRT (hormone replacement therapy) be sure to try the suggestions in My immune system reaction is too strong. What should I do?
Our recommendation is to use HRT at the lowest effective dose only as needed for intolerable symptoms unrelieved by management of the MP meds (as above). Reports suggest that a bio-identical product is preferable.
It impossible to know for sure what effect using HRT has on the recovery process but sometimes compromises must be made in order to be comfortable enough to stay on the MP and make any progress.
Members experiences
I use low dose transdermal natural progesterone cream for two weeks of the month to help ( and yes, it really does) with perimenopausal symptoms and high estrogen levels. I use it for about three weeks of each cycle and am off for about two weeks. It has aided tremendously with my ultra painful breasts pre- menstrually and also seems to have stopped the intermittent spotting and ovarian pains.
I am using bioidentical progesterone cream (6% in vanishing cream), which is made up in a compounding pharmacy here in Toronto. I use 1/4 tsp of the cream, rubbed into any unhairy part of the body, twice a day. I try and rotate where I use it, but apparently it is good to use on the face, the hands, the boobs, abdomen, thighs, neck and feet. Cost for a jar which lasts me about three months, is $42, which includes the dispensing fee. Not covered, though, by private insurance in my case, but the relief it gives, is well worth going out for one less meal!
I was concerned about the transdermal cream interacting with my MP meds, but when I was off it ( and suffering like crazy from painful breasts), my herxes were no different to being on it and I could cope better without added pain/dsicomfort. Off the cream, I started to have spotting and estrogen domiance showed in my uterine biospy, on it, all that has settled down and periods are easier, more regular and without pain. I am definitely going to stay on it for the short- term, at least. I use it for three weeks of each cycle and have one or two off during my period, or if it is late, I just take myself off it after three weeks.
The way I see it for myself, is that my body obvioulsy needs the natural HRT to be balanced the way it should be. If the natural progesterone cream gives me the relief it does, surely it must mean that my body was lacking it and by balancing things out, hopefully the MP is doing its job even better. ~Kas
............................................................................................................
I used a bioidentical topical hormone cream for several years which worked great for my menopause symptoms. But when Dr Marshall's molecular modeling work showed that there could be competition between these hormones and benicar for the VDR, I decided to wean off the cream. This was no fun at all! But I'm glad I did it. ~Carol
.......................................................................................................
My hot flashes came back again when i went on the MP, so i think it's a readjustment of hormones thing. ~Claudia
.......................................................................................................
I, too, found that when I started the MP my 'peri-menopausal' symptoms increased. I guess I just thought it was the hormone readjustment too. I have had the insomnia but the mino also makes me tired...so, I finally decided to take the mino with my midnight dose of beni. It seems to be decreasing my tiredness during the day and I haven't had the insomnia as badly. My family tell me I'm 'slightly' less iritable! ~Suzanne
I just began having menopausal symptoms. They were quite distinct and different from my immunopathology symptoms and the worst to deal with were not the hot flashes per se, but mood and sleep disturbances.
I began some bi est bioidentical hormones and some oral progesterone and they take care of the worst symptoms (I still get slight warm spells, but they don't get bad). The hormones did not affect my immmunopathology symptoms at all. I have enough experience with both to know the difference.
I find that if I were to not use the hormones, I would have had to slow my progress on the MP because I could tolerate less immunopathology reactions if I also had to tolerate the menopausal symptoms.
I am keeping the hormone use at the minimum to deal with intolerable symptoms, as the FAQ advises.
I feel confident that when I get healthier on the MP, I will no longer need the hormones due to better overall health and endocrine functioning.
I'm using a cream with 2 forms of estrogen, (bi est -- with estradiol and estriol) and oral natural progesterone. I get it from University Compounding Pharmacy in San Diego (800-985-8065). Another source for the natural
"bioidentical" hormones (which some think have less risk of causing breast cancer and other side effects) is Women's International Pharmacy and there are some other online sites that sell natural bioidentical hormones if you want to look at various places online. Progestins usually refer to the synthetic progesterone and some think they pose more risk than the natural progesterone.
More research is needed as to what level of risk there is from the bioidentical hormones, but I feel, for myself, that it is probably better to go with the bioidentical hormones, if I must use them. And I hope I can avoid them later, when the MP improves my health further. There are no guarantees regarding them being better than the synthetics, which have been linked to a number of negative effects, like cancer.
I am currently getting by with 1/4 tsp. of the bi est cream and experimenting with 50 to 100 mg or the progesterone daily. The 1/4 tsp bi est gives 1 mg estradiol (E2) and 4 mg estriol. The estradiol is the most potent part with regard to hot flashes and sleep disturbances, apparently. My prescription allows for it to be used twice daily, but once daily seems to be enough to get rid of the worst of the symptoms -- I may experiment with using 1/8 tsp to see if that will be enough.
The natural hormones are rather expensive, but if you hunt around online you may find less expensive sources. ~Joyce Waterhouse
Note: The comparable doses of bio-identical estrogens and progesterone are higher than the synthetic forms.
|
Foundation Staff
.
| Joined: | Sat Jul 10th, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17283 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 21:47 |
|
[birthcontrollink]
Minocycline and contraceptives
Patients are cautioned that minocycline can interfere with some birth control's contraceptive ability. The doses of minocycline on the MP are much smaller than usually used, although longer, but the warning might still apply.
See Patient Education - Minocycline
Talk to you doctor about the need for another contraceptive method, if that is part of the reason you are taking it.
You may not want to take a chance on relying on the pill alone for birth control on the MP even though the mino doses are low and pulsed. If there is any uncertainty, please err on the side of caution. Last edited on Wed Aug 13th, 2008 04:37 by Foundation Staff
|
Foundation Staff
.
| Joined: | Sat Jul 10th, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17283 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 22:11 |
|
[BirthControlHRTfilelink]
Suggested reading
Natural Hormone Balance for Women by Dr. Uzzi Reiss, M.D.
Bio-identical HRT information and compounded medications can be found at http://www.womensinternational.com
"I have been reading a book by Dr. John R. Lee regarding menopause and hormone testing, in particular on bioidentical hormones. You can see his web site and list of books at: http://www.johnleemd.com . It seems reasonable to me that bioidentical hormones (identical in molecular structure to our own body's hormones) would be safer and more effective than synthetic progestins and horse-derived estrogens that have been studied most intensively. The synthetic, non-bioidentical ones are those that were linked to cancer and heart disease and other problems in the Women's Health Initiative study.
Of course, opponents of the bioidentical hormones say that it has not been proven that they are any safer than the synthetic ones. I have been reading some of Dr. Lee's book and it does seem that there is evidence the bioidentical hormones are safer and more effective, but probably not enough evidence to be really certain. One would need another one of those several year long, very large studies to really know.
One thing his book lists that I think is interesting is symptoms of excess progesterone. One of the symptoms he mentions is Candida overgrowth. I remember years ago, I experienced Candida problems when I added progesterone. Of course, the right amount of progesterone can be very helpful -- but it is interesting to know some of the signs of too much (he lists: lethargy, edema, Candida, bloating, lowered libido, mild depression and symptoms of estrogen deficiency -- he says too much can downregulate estrogen receptors)." ~Joyce Waterhouse
See Why should I avoid hormone supplementation?
|
Foundation Staff
.
| Joined: | Sat Jul 10th, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17283 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 22:14 |
|
[HormoneFilelink]
Dr Trevor Marshall
Pathogens may affect changes in hormones
Paul Ewald has just published a new paper where he says PMS symptoms may well arise from pathogens.
"Premenstrual syndrome: an evolutionary perspective on its causes and treatment"
http://tinyurl.com/2klw4d
I have been playing with a similar concept in my mind for some time. What causes the changes in hormones that lead to menopause? What causes aging? Well, the simple answer is mutations in one's genes. The problem with that answer is that the mutations, well, most of them anyway, are likely to be due to the Th1 pathogen load that every person carries with them through life.
This (eminent) scientist believes that "this transition in your life" may be not necessarily be dictated by the genes you were born with, but by the pathogens which mutate those genes. I tend to agree with him. There is little doubt the Th1 pathogens have evolved with Homo sapiens as a form of 'flora.' This current surge in chronic disease is the result of a number of changes to our lifestyle in the 20th century. which have allowed the pathogens to overcome the immune system more easily, and get the upper hand.
This science is very difficult to comprehend, especially if you already have lots of pragma deeply ingrained as "knowledge." Point is, we are on the cusp of a sea-change in "knowledge," and much of that you now hold as inviolate will change over the next half-century.
|
Current time is 22:20 | |
|
|
|
|
