The first time I felt the stabbing sensation of a burst cyst I was only twenty-one years old. The pain nearly dropped me to my knees. Having no clue what could have caused such a thing, and being so young and naïve, I simply dismissed it, as at the time I had far more important matters to think about—like what I was going to wear at the dance club that Friday night.
But any girl who is familiar with burst cysts can tell you that in the event of a bad one, it’s not something you are likely to forget. Nor is it fun trying to explain to others why you’re suddenly on the floor in the fetal position holding your girly parts.
Fibroids and Genetics
My mother had told me the story of when my grandmother had given birth to my uncle. She’d said that when doctors had delivered all twelve pounds of him via C-section, that they had also discovered an enormous fibroid tumor in her uterus that was nearly the same size as him! And they had ‘delivered’ the tumor along with the baby. I knew there was at least some truth to this story, but I’d never guessed that I would one day suffer with the same issues. It would take me many more years to gain even an inkling of how serious of a state my girly parts had fallen into.
In my mid-twenties I began to experience the occasional bout of stabbing pains in my nether regions that was so intense that I had to be careful not to laugh, cough, or sneeze for fear of this paralyzing pain; I could scarcely even walk to the bathroom during the 2-3 days it would take for this condition to pass, much less go to school or work. At this point I still did not know what the problem was.
Finding a Solution for Pain and Heavy Bleeding
In my late twenties I had gotten to the point where I was bleeding so heavily during my menstrual cycle that it had eventually become constant, with no breaks in between. In addition, the pain had become unbearable. I’d always had a fear of becoming addicted to heavy drugs, so I was loath to take any heavy pain meds; and over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen did little to help me, so my suffering was acute.
My mother—being ‘old school’ as they say—advised me to drink blackberry brandy to quell the pain. She explained how back in the day, women would drink the pungent liquor during particularly difficult stretches of menstrual cramps. Alcohol was another thing I’d tried to steer clear of, but one day I had gone beyond desperation and decided to take her advice. She was right, I felt no more pain…because I ended up drunk and passed out on the floor!
Obviously drinking myself into oblivion every day was not an option either, but what could be done? I was quickly running out of sick time at work, and it was agonizingly humiliating to have to explain to my bosses that I had to leave work because I had bled through my clothes…again. If only I’d had the option of putting my desk in one of the restroom stalls, so that I might have gotten some work done whilst continuing to bleed profusely.
Two separate friends of mine (who did not know one another) had referred me to one gynecologist, so I just knew that he must have been a good doctor (which turned out not to be the case). I began seeing this doctor, and for a couple of years he would check all my girly parts and refill my prescription for birth control pills. He said the pills would help regulate my cycle, and that the pain would subside.
As my cycle continued non-stop, and the pain progressed, I went back again and again to this doctor, during which time he would simply switch me to a different brand of birth control and send me on my way.
To my great dismay, my weight steadily increased throughout my late teens and twenties; I slowly began to lose hair from the top of my head; my acne was out of control; my menstrual flow was unrelenting; and the pain only worsened.
Diagnosed with PCOS and Fibroids
Around this time I happened to meet a woman who worked across the hall from me in a different department. She told me she had struggled with something called PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I had never heard of this condition, but the symptoms she’d listed sounded disconcertingly familiar. After she informed me that many women suffer with PCOS, but few were aware of it, I decided that I would have my gynecologist check me for it.
But one day, when I was looking particularly pale to my coworkers as I lumbered around in a zombie-like daze, two of them insisted I allow them to drive me to the emergency room. Apparently, after losing a ludicrous amount of blood, my normally light brown skin resembled more of a ghastly shade of grey. So after several hours of going back and forth with my colleagues over whether or not I should go to the ER, they won the argument.
At the hospital, I described to the doctors and nurses the health history of my girly parts and the horrific pain I was experiencing. They gave me a simple ultrasound and discovered a fibroid tumor that was so large it was taking up my entire uterus!
I saw my gynecologist after this and he confirmed that I did, indeed, have an enormous fibroid tumor. And then he notified me that the way the tumor was situated prevented him from doing surgery without having to destroy my uterus. He gave me two choices: to either have my uterus removed, (also known as a partial hysterectomy) which would also remove any possibility of me ever having children and send me into an early menopause; or I could try a drug that was still in its testing phase, in hopes that in many months down the line it could possibly shrink the tumor, but that one side effect would be that it would send me into an early menopause, which would, again, remove the possibility of me having children.
At hearing this, I was thinking what most any twenty-nine-year-old would be thinking: ‘What kind of crap choices are these!’ After I assured my gyno that I would be doing neither, he finally did the only good thing he had ever done for me, and that was to refer me to another doctor.
I don’t know whether he felt ashamed that an ER doctor had been the one to give me a simple ultrasound that determined that I’d had a fibroid tumor in my uterus, or that he didn’t want me to sue him; or perhaps he had some other motivation. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for some new insight into my problem. The two doctors had emailed back and forth—the new doctor asserting that he could remove the fibroid tumor while leaving my uterus intact.
And he did just that—after which time I informed him that he was going to be my new gynecologist. He refused, as etiquette demanded that doctors not steal one another’s patients. But I did not listen to him, and went directly to his receptionist to make my subsequent appointment with him anyway.
At my next appointment I was surprised to find that he actually sat down and looked me in the eye, and listened intently to what I’d had to say—unlike what my previous gynecologist had done. I was used to being ushered quickly in and out, and then charged accordingly.
This new doctor seemed to care, and when I asked him about PCOS, he told me that I was exhibiting many of the symptoms associated with the condition—including hair loss; an inability to lose weight; darkening of various areas of my skin; skin tags; fatigue. He then gave my girly parts a closer inspection and found that I did, indeed, have cysts on my ovaries.
So not only was I predisposed to fibroid tumors, but ovarian cysts as well. After learning this, I was hoping not to have the last of the ‘big three’ girly parts issues—endometriosis. Thankfully, it was just the two. However, having both challenges has made it difficult to know which way to go when searching for causes and solutions.
After my surgery, and after having acquired a more competent doctor, my health improved…for a while anyway. I will share with you in the last part of this story where my journey has led me, and explain how important it is for us not to depend solely on doctors to keep track of our health, but to do our own research.
How Stress Can Lead to PCOS and Fibroids
After undergoing surgery to remove the fibroid tumor from my uterus, I was rejuvenated. I regained strength, and my body was no longer sluggish. My bosses were happy because I stopped missing work; I even made some new friends and started dating again.
Life went on. I received an outstanding promotion at my office; I bought my dream house at the top of a hill; and I had a steady boyfriend who worked in the same office. But all that glitters isn’t gold—as they say—and soon the stresses of life seemed to attack me from all sides.
My incredible house lost its value when the economy took a dive in 2007-2008; I had a rude awakening when I learned that promotions often come with massive amounts of pressure, strain, and turmoil; and my boyfriend went completely mad and threatened to chop me up and hide the pieces where no one could find them. This last bit ended up as front-page news for all the world to see—including family, friends, coworkers; and I was forced to short sale my beloved dream home since I was now upside-down on my irrationally high mortgage.
I was beyond embarrassed; I was exceedingly horrified. And I had no idea that one tiny, little five-letter word, (stress) could wreak such havoc on one’s body. A word of advice my mother had given me when I was still in my youth rang in my ears: “Don’t be like me; don’t let stress ruin your health.”
Even though her words had resonated with me from the moment she’d said them, I had still managed to fall into the very pit she’d warned me about. Most women—especially young ones—are not aware that stress plays a HUGE role in health issues surrounding their girly parts.
My skin was breaking out like I was still in my teens; my hair began to fall out; I struggled to think clearly; I was so tired that I had to drag myself out of bed every day; and my weight had reached outer limits, and no matter what I seemed to do, it became unreasonably difficult to lose weight.
I was oblivious to the fact that the emotional turmoil I was facing was related to the issues taking place in my body. (If you’re looking for ideas to de-stress, please read ‘29 Ways to Combat Stress’).
Although the majority of the stressful situations were resolved at one point or another, the stress had taken its toll, and I was still left with a body that was failing, and continued to spiral downhill since I had no idea how to fix it. But soon I began to look around and notice the increasing number of young people whose health was in disrepair, and it was staggering.
Causes of PCOS, Fibroids, and Many Other Ailments
After doing some research I learned that my generation—Generation X—is the first generation that will not outlive the previous generation; meaning that the overall lifespan of Generation X will be shorter than that of the Baby Boomers! I can only presume that the Millennials and subsequent generations will have it even worse.
This should cause all of us to stop what we are doing and pay attention! We should be asking, “What is causing people to become less healthy than they were before?” I was going to give the actual name of a particular corporation, but I decided that it might be wise not to mention names so as not to bring attention to myself from said corporation, causing them to come after me and possibly cut through the brake lines of my car.
So I’ll simply put it like this: If one was to do an online search they might find information on this corporation—we will call them ‘Corp M’—that began around 1901. The information one might find might say something about agricultural biotechnology, herbicides, or genetically engineered crops.
I could write an entire book on Corp M, but in short, just know that this corporation is responsible for much of the chemicals that have been added to our environment for decades. These chemicals are in our food, our household goods, our air, our water, and our soil! Please do your due diligence and learn the truth. I will leave it at that.
With my newfound awareness, I went in search of other useful information, and gleaned much more insight from the vast stores of knowledge that the internet provided to help me on my journey. It was discouraging, to say the least, to have continued health problems after having sought professional medical advice—after which time some of my health issues had even worsened.
As my research continued, I was appalled to learn the truth about the pharmaceutical industry, and how some medical research organizations have shady dealings within the food industry. What are they really about? Money. Yep—if people are healthy, the pharmaceutical companies and medical research organizations don’t get paid. Those running the food industry are no better, as they put the cheapest and most toxic ingredients in the food, because their bottom line is also—wait for it…money! This is another topic that I could write an entire book about.
There is one drug in particular that I believe has affected my life worse than any other: Birth Control Pills. You know the old saying—‘If I only knew then what I know now.’ Well I am telling you right now what I wish someone would have told me: Stay away from birth control pills!
The birth control pill’s job is to disrupt communication between the brain and the ovaries, which causes ovulation to cease (The Cause of PCOS, n.d.). ‘Post-pill PCOS’—a term coined by Dr. Lara Briden, a naturopathic doctor and author of ‘The Period Repair Manual’—is when a woman stops taking the pill, yet the communication between her brain and ovaries never resumes like it’s supposed to (The Cause of PCOS, n.d.).
Millions of young women begin taking birth control pills after being advised to do so by their physicians. They do so completely unaware of the damage they’re doing to their bodies, and how much suffering their futures hold because of it.
Another little bonus piece of information I ran across: with all the time and money doctors spend in medical school, they only receive a mere couple of weeks training in nutrition. It’s true. Horrified? So was I. But don’t be angry at doctors—they are simply doing what they’ve been trained to do, and most are not aware that people can heal themselves with nutrition, (real nutrition—not what we’ve been told is nutrition).
Did you know that diabetes can be reversed? So can Alzheimer’s—as well as many other diseases! For anyone who finds this hard to believe—look it up; there are plenty of testimonies to prove it. If you do discover that your doctor was aware of this, and still only cared about lining their own pockets, then it’s okay to get mad!
On the most recent leg of my journey I encountered a woman in Sprouts while shopping for healthier food options. She was like the golden goose that kept blessing me with golden eggs. This woman—God bless her—was a wealth of information, and let me in on something the vast majority of the public does not know about: Estrogen Dominance.
What is estrogen dominance? It is a condition in which a person’s estrogen levels are out of balance with—and generally exceeding—that of their other sexual hormones; in women this would be progesterone, and in men it would be testosterone.
That’s it in a nutshell, although the real meaning is somewhat more involved. The term ‘estrogen dominance’ may be a bit misleading, as it implies there is simply one issue to be solved, which generally isn’t the case (Pick, 2018). More often than not, there are numerous causes, including stress, and xenoestrogens (Pick, 2018).
Estrogen dominance has become a very serious problem in many parts of the world—particularly in the U.S. and places like Western Europe (Pick, 2018). One huge contributor of this problem is xenoestrogens, which are xenohormones that mimic estrogen. Because so many of these counterfeit hormones (man-made chemicals) have infiltrated our households, there are millions suffering with estrogen dominance, and they aren’t even aware of it. Here is a short list of health issues that estrogen dominance could be the direct cause of:
Women’s Health Problems Caused by Estrogen Dominance:
Uterine Fibroids
PCOS
Breast cancer
Infertility
Endometriosis
Uterine Cancer
This list is not comprehensive as there are simply too many to list. Also, I have only listed some problems specifically associated with girly parts. There are many other problems that estrogen dominance causes—even in men—some of whom have had the misfortune of enduring the trauma of having man breasts.
Where have these estrogen-mimicking chemicals (xenoestrogens) been hiding? Here is a list of just some of the places where xenoestrogens hide:
Sources of Xenoestrogens:
Hygiene Products
BPA Linings of plastic containers & canned foods
Medications
Most meat and dairy
Tap Water
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Food additives
Household products
Pesticides & herbicides
Vehicle exhaust fumes
Dry cleaning products
For a more comprehensive list, and to find out more about Estrogen Dominance please read ‘What is Estrogen Dominance?’
Armed with all this knowledge, I began to focus mainly on three aspects—the three aspects that were affecting me most: food, water, and products being used in my home. I was not a drinker or a smoker, I wasn’t on any medications, and I rarely dry cleaned clothing, so I knew that what I was ingesting, and products I used on a daily basis had been the main cause of my health being compromised, and that it was imperative to make some drastic changes.
When Fibroids Grow Back
A few years ago my menstrual cycle, again, began to get very heavy. Seven days became ten days; ten days turned into three weeks. Soon I was back to bleeding again daily and non-stop. I had been here before, so I already knew what it was: Another fibroid tumor.
During some parts of the month it became difficult to leave the house for risk of a spectacularly embarrassing accident. I went through loads of tampons, and diaper-sized pads, and let’s be honest ladies—that stuff is expensive! So I invested in one of those menstrual cups.
After researching menstrual cups I chose the Ruby cup, because not only is it one of the more quality cups, with good reviews, but for every cup that is purchased, the Ruby company will donate a cup to a girl who does not have access to menstrual products.
This Ruby cup also has measurements along the side, so for the first time in my life, I was able to calculate exactly how much blood I was losing. Now keep in mind, on average, normal monthly blood loss for a menstruating woman should be between forty and sixty milliliters. My blood loss was…are you ready? About three thousand milliliters per month.
Yeah. Needless to say, I constantly felt fatigued; I had brain fog; I lost a lot of sleep. And now that I had reached my early forties, I had acquired even more health problems—including high blood pressure; swollen feet and ankles; back and joint pain; and it had become even more difficult to lose weight than ever before.
Over the years I had tried diet after diet—low carb, no carb, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, blood-type, low-glycemic, diet pills… I tried exercise program after exercise program—weights, cardio, dance, walking, biking, swimming, and I even did P90X and worked out to the point of throwing up. I did all of this to no avail.
Learning How to Heal Myself
A few years ago my body had gotten to a place where I thought there was a pretty good chance I was on my way out. My quality of life was critically low. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I didn’t believe in suicide, so instead I began to pray for God to just come and get me. Obviously He chose to leave me here. So after talking it over with my late husband, and not knowing what else to do, I decided to go see a doctor. Obviously I’d made this decision in desperation, knowing that doctors had failed me in this area so many other times.
Upon stepping on that malicious and evil scale at the doctor’s office, and seeing the total, I CRIED. If only the floor would have swallowed me up. Then the doctor proceeded to tell me that since I’m anemic, surgery would be far more dangerous than it would have been under normal circumstances, and that I’d have to see a specialist. For a moment I thought of how nice it would be to simply not wake up from surgery. But I listened as the doctor explained her plan to set up an appointment for me to see the specialist…and then I walked out of the appointment in complete despair.
What did everyone see when they looked at me? A big blob of lazy woman who ate too much and never exercised? What did my late husband see? Well, I knew what I saw when I looked in the mirror, and more importantly, I knew what I felt, and it was no way for anyone to live.
Upon returning home, I’d made a decision. I would cancel the appointment with the specialist. I was not going to go through another surgery. And I again told God that I was ready to go, and that if He didn’t want to come get me, then He would have to help a sister out! I pointed out to God that I wasn’t any good to Him anyway in the state I was in, and prayed for some healing. I was still secretly hoping God would choose to take me home, but alas, He chose to leave me on earth yet again.
Once again I went into search mode, combing the internet for the right information. I found one of those sites where there’s a community of women going through similar health issues. I scrolled until I found a comment made by one young woman who had problems in her girly parts similar to mine, who professed to have healed herself. I was surprised to read so many other women arguing with her and telling her that she couldn’t possibly be healed.
Ladies, admit it—sometimes we are so unkind to one another. I felt differently than these other women, as I was on a mission. I scrolled down, desperate and hoping that this young woman had shared how she had healed herself—even with these hateful women that didn’t want to hear it. To my great pleasure, she had shared.
In upcoming blogs I will share with you all I have learned, and the results of all the changes I’ve made. God bless you on your journey to health and wholeness. Don’t just live, but thrive.
~Spring Dalton
Sources:
Pick, M., Msn, & Np. (2018, May 22). Estrogen Dominance - Is It Real? Retrieved May 3, 2019, from https://www.marcellepick.com/estrogen-dominance-real/
The Cause of PCOS: What Is Causing Yours And Why You Need To Know. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2019, from https://thepcosnutritionist.com/resources/cause-of-pcos/
Disclaimer: The information in this newsletter does not substitute or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always consult with a physician or health-care professional if you ever have concerns or questions about your health. The use of any information found in this newsletter or any of the content within Ketovore with Spring is solely at your own risk.
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