Fibroid Summit

I'm in Washington, DC for the Howard University Fibroid Summit.  The Summit is March 29 - 30, 2012, and being presented by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  In the days to follow, I'll do a post recapping the topics and take-aways presented.


Be well.

March Madness 2012? No, March Menstruation 2012.

What is this month's period like?  As I sit here at my desk and think about the start of it, which was on Sunday, one word comes to mind - Exhausting.  This period has made me so fatigued; more so than my toughest workout with my trainer.


I've been too tired to get up on time for work and too tired to go and do something after work.  It's been fatigue to the extreme.  Well, maybe not extreme, but....  When I got home from work yesterday, I got in the massaging recliner and fell asleep.  After about an hour or less nap, I had enough energy to do a few things. 


In addition to the exhaustion, my flow has been heavy.  (This is somewhat surprising with all of the raw and cooked veggies I've been eating as well as the fruit.  Perhaps the bread is the culprit.  Bread?)  However,  I haven't had to take any pain killers.  I experienced like a mild stomachache, but no cramping, which is great.


Anyway, as I said earlier, after my nap I had some energy.  So I made 6 pints of a green smoothie using coconut juice, pineapples, a banana, flax seed oil, chard (I usually use kale) and some crushed ice.  Tastes great!


For dinner, I some cooked swiss chard, spinach and kamut noodles.  But not before I had some chocolate cake and raspberry sorbet.  The cake was gluten and dairy free and all natural.  Yes, me telling you this is supposed to make you think, "Oh, so this makes it okay."  You know, I have some gluten-free english muffins in the freezer.  Gluten-free bread is still bread!  Gluten-free, dairy-free cake is still "sweets" and  I guess I wanted some points for this with the added emphasis that it's "all natural."


Here's the deal - I'm trying not to be radical or over zealous here.  I think probably having a small amount of these things once or twice a month and not around the time of my period would have been better.  But I'm wondering if the bread earlier and the "treats" during my period affects my flow?  I dunno, I should probably let fruits be my "sweets / treats."


Here are some things that I'm adding a little at a time to my eating either since my last post or perhaps I just didn't mention it before

• aloe vera juice
• wheat grass
• spirulina
• quinoa (actually, I use to eat this all the time, so now I've gotten back to it)
• parsley
• cilantro

Also, I've started drinking some celery juice (well, I guess it's really not the celery's juice -I'm drinking the pulp and everything).  According to one of the the hungry for change recommendations, I added an apple, lemon juice, cucumber and parsley to the celery "juice."   It's actually pretty good and good for you.

What foods , juices or other healthy eating habits have you incorporated into to your lifestyle?


Be. Well.

A Correct Diagnosis? (Entry #5)

(Excerpt taken from document of previous experiences)

My gi doctor did a colonoscopy on me. I already had one colonoscopy performed just 3 years prior by another gi doctor who found a polyp. However, the first gi doctor did not want to do another check because he said I was too young to have polyps or any problems. I thought too myself “if I’m too young, then what about the fact that he found one?” my second gi doctor wanted to check for himself.

He found no polyps, but my colon and rectum were definitely showing spasms throughout. I contacted my regular gynecologist regarding my pain and what the emergency room doctor had said about me having endometriosis. She said “oh, what do emergency room doctors know?” but she did think it was important to at least check out. So she referred me to another gynecologist .

I went for my appointment and I laid out everything that had happened to me and all that I had been through. I told him that I only had pain from ibs when my period was on. He stopped me before I could go on with the rest of my saga and said to his assistant that he had just lectured his students on ibs and how ibs pain would not just show up during one’s menstrual cycle. I went on with my story and he examined me and diagnosed me with endometriosis. I am scheduled to have a procedure in November for final diagnosis and removal of excess tissue.

I’m not going to say yet that I was mis-diagnosed. That would probably be unfair. I’ll wait until after the surgery and see how my periods go. However, the diagnosis of endometriosis sure does make a whole lot more sense to me than this ibs.

Why didn’t my regular ob/gyn diagnosis me with this endo? I see her every year.

Why didn’t my regular ob/gyn refer my to another gyn first instead of to the gi doctor and urologist?

Why did I have to go through this ordeal for over a year?

Hungry for Change

So in an earlier post I shared with you that I believed my chronic condition(s) or dis-eases could be resolved through what I eat, how I move (physical activity/exercise) and my thoughts (positive thoughts, letting go of past hurts, etc.).  Well, check out this documentary that you can see for free up through the end of this month.


http://www.hungryforchange.tv/online-premiere


These film makers and experts are not saying anything that Djehuty Ma'at-ra of Dherbs (see various articles) or evidently Queen Afua have been talking about for some time now.  Just a different package or delivery of the information.

I've been reading and listening to information on Djehuty's website for several years now.  He also has videos out on YouTube as well.  Queen Afua I just recently found out about at a women's empowerment conference as I was chatting with some ladies from the DC/MD area. 
So, what do you think about the film?

Pee, Poop, Pass Out.... (Entry # 4)

So, I told you earlier that the GI doctor told me I had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)....


(Taken from previous document of experiences)


Did I tell you?  With these IBS / period episodes, I slept very little, didn't want to eat, took many hot baths for relief and so I could urinate (yes, I urinated in my bath water and soaked in it), stayed on the heating pad, lost weight (the only plus) and looked like crap.  I spent my time between the bed, in the tub, on the toilet or sprawled out on the floor in pain.  The pain involved feeling like I had to have a bowel movement, going to the toilet and then straining and not being able to go and squeezing out urine instead.  So of course you know this meant I developed internal and eternal hemorrhoids on top of everything else. (Hooray!)  I would squat on the bathroom floor, in the bathtub or in a foot tub to try to get whatever was inside of me out and get some relief from the pain.


September, I found myself back in the emergency room.  I just drove myself because it would have taken friends too long to get to me and it was five something in the morning.  Thankfully the hospital is right around the corner from me.  I just prayed I didn't run off the road or hit someone or something.  Again, the hospital staff was great.  I got a shot of Demerol and life was good.  The emergency room doctor and I talked and he said that it sounded like I had endometriosis (endo what what?) and that I should see my gynecologist. [Hadn't I been seeing my GYN who sent me to a GI and a urologist?]  He prescribed me Percoset and instructed me to only take half a pill because this medicine is so addictive.


Well, by the time I was ready to leave the hospital, my parents had driven in from North Carolina to take me back to my place around the corner.  We went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for the Percoset because I was in pain.  I had forgotten that the doctor told me to take half a pill.  While still at the drug store, my Dad also got me some water so I could go ahead and take the medicine.  I took one pill.  An hour and a half later, I was still in pain so I called the pharmacist and explained my situation and was instructed to take 2 Percoset.  I did and that was perfect.


I was finally without pain and able to sleep.  The next days were fine.  I was just tired / exhausted from the ordeal.

The Pain that Lay in Wait/Anxiety of the Pain to Come....My Story (Entry # 3)

Entry taken from previous document of my experiences


The month of August was a great month. I went on vacation to Long Beach, California and had the time of my life at the Long Beach Jazz Festival.  I felt wonderful and free.  Of course since my episode in Canada, I knew I couldn’t plan vacations and trips like normal people.  I did know I couldn’t be on vacation when my period was about to come on or was on because these were the only times that I (at this point) suffered from the pain of "ibs."  

I think I planned my trip to California about 3 -4 weeks before going.  Again, I say that I felt wonderful and free, because truly I hadn’t felt that way for a while.  With work, I was traveling all of the time it seemed and my body was just plain tired.

Going through the type of periods that I had, left me exhausted much of the time.  Well, like I said, August was a great month, until…. until I got back from my trip.  Although I should have been sick before I returned from my trip, thankfully, I was spared.  Maybe my symptoms didn’t kick in because I was so relaxed, I don’t know.  But when they did kick in, Oh. My. God!  


I was sick in pain for about 7 or 8 days.  I missed a week of work.  When I did try to go in because I thought I was feeling better, after about 2 hours, I soon found out that was a big mistake.  Getting home from work, I was in excruciating pain.  


I went to the hospital that week.  The hospital staff was great!  Love them!  I don’t know exactly what they did, but they made me feel better.  I was only there for maybe four or five hours, but I was finally able to get some sleep - some rest.


Are you experiencing or have you ever experienced this type of debilitating pain? Do you know of someone who's experiencing this type of debilitating pain?

One little, two little, three little meds to take....My Story (Entry # 2)

Entry taken from previous document of my experiences


So like I said earlier, my gyn advised that I see a gastroenterologist (GI) and a urologist.  My urologist did not find anything and offered no suggestions regarding the cause of my pain.  However, in the first and next few visits to the GI, this is how things went....

The GI doctor diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS - spasms in my colon and rectum).  I was told that I suffered from general anxiety disorder which was the cause of the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  I was put on Paxil CR for my anxiety and Vioxx for my pain.  My GI doctor said that seeing a decrease in the pain would take some time since it took some time for my colon to get all messed up and twisted up like this. 

I’m now into the middle of 2004 and I’m still in pain.  I mentioned to my GI doctor the commercials I’d been seeing on TV about IBS with constipation and for the prescription Zelnorm.  He agreed that I could try this.  So now I’m taking Paxil CR, Vioxx and Zelnorm for my IBS.  I had to get off Paxil CR because of the night sweats and it was breaking off and thinning my hair.  I’ve still got to look good, right?  


My GI doctor went on to switch me from Paxil CR to Lexapro. What next?


What meds did you/do you take for your pain?  Were you mis-diagnosed for something else when your pain was from endo or fibroids?