June 15, 2008
Watching and Waiting All Up To a Hysterectomy
When you have fibroids, there is a phase in which nothing seems to happen. The doctors tell you to “watch and wait” as if something fantastic and wonderful is going happen in the meantime. They don’t give you any therapy, because it is a known fact that dropping the levels of estrogen reduces fibroids, and in some cases, under the right circumstances, the fibroids may stop growing on their own. In this line of reasoning, this “dropping the levels of estrogen” is the problematic part. If it happens in your body in a natural way, perhaps because you already are in perimenopause and the onset of the menopause is just around the corner, then indeed watching and waiting, i.e. doing nothing, can set you free from fibroids. But what if you are 37 and there is no perimenopause in sight? Well, there are options and some of them are really just a roundabout way to the dreaded hysterectomy.
Your doctor may reach for a hormonal therapy which will induce a temporary menopause. The fibroids do stop to grow and you get hot flashes, dry vagina and all sorts of negative aspects of a true menopause. Once the hormonal therapy stops, the fibroids usually return with a vengeance. In western medicine, nothing else is to “help you” so the good doctor spread his hands, hangs up his shoulders and tell you about the imminent hysterectomy. You struggle and succumb after a while, and then tell everyone how it was the best thing you ever did in your entire life, how you do not know why it took you so long to decide and so on, ad nauseam and ad infinitum.
That whole situation is researched and statistically processed, so it is a realistic scenario to which “watching and waiting” is leading you to.
A gringa in New Orleans has a good post on seven reasons why she wouldn’t like to have a hysterectomy. Here is my comment on her blog:
I run a site on how to avoid hysterectomy. I can only aplaude your willingness to try something else than the western medicine and their ultimate chopping solution known as the hysterectomy.
Anything under the sun needs food to grow, and your fibroids are no exception. The food which helps fibroids to grow are your emotions. There must be some emotional leakage in your life so fixing that will make a platform for all other alternative techniques to heal you.
In terms of physiology, the emotional leakage is known as “oestrogen dominance”. Fibroids come about because the estrogen receptors are stimulated too much, regardless of your periods and usual hormonal flows. So make your emotional peace and that will be the start of healing.
What would be your reasons to not have a hysterectomy? Make a list of abstract reasons and then make a parallel list of actions you would undertake to actually avoid the hysterectomy.
See the start of the main article of this site, How To Avoid Hysterectomy, for further information about hysterectomy and methods and techniques to either cure it or to switch to a lesser, non-invasive uterus-preserving kinds of surgery.
Filed under Alternative Medicine, Hormones, Hysterectomy, Uterine Fibroids by Dusko Savic
At the Imperfect Complainer blog, we find a story of Flicka, a woman who first got pregnant and then lost her baby after a few months. She now attends a doctor and was given the following advice:
– to stop doing the D&Cs, which were uncomfortable and painful,
– to go in for a chemo therapy, or
– to go all the way down and have a hysterectomy.
Here is my comment to this situation:
Doctors deal with patients, ie with people that have some discomfort, pain, illness etc. It is all too easy to screw up and make patient feel and behave much worse instead of much better. Doctors would like us to believe that they are omnipotent, as if when they wear their official white wardrobes they become powerful wizards, be all, end all, cure all. In reality, they are just humans willing to help and they might have some ready to use knowledge that patients find welcome.
So far so good, you go to a doctor, he or she tells you what to do, and that often helps. But what about those cases when doctors cannot help, or worse, when the things they suggest and do make everything worse on their own!? That is why doctors work within procedures: each problem you throw at them, they respond through a set of fairly rigids official procedures. It is this word official that is the problem here.
What is official and how do doctors learn about what is official? Official is what some body or committee of doctors says it is official. That is, they get together, two or three doctors that are at the foremost of the research tell others what should be done and how, and a new procedure is born. Each practicing doctor is then responsible not for healing a patient but <b>for applying the right procedure in the proper way</b>. There is a huge difference between healing or curing and applying a proper procedure and that what this comment is all about.
In the above post, the doctor suggested three separate things, none of which is aimed at curing or healing or advancing the health of the patient. He or she is bound by the available procedures for the patient’s situation, but if none of the procedures is going to work, then what — he doesn’t really care! He has done everything he could according to the trade he is in, but how will that help the patient to have a child, in this case? The doctor is legally covered and he can even be sympathetic to the patient, wishing her every good in the world, but he still is bound by his chosen profession.
The senseless D&Cs really should have been stopped, or at least a hysteroscopy should have been performed, in which the doctor can actually see something inside the uterus. There are videos on YouTube ( Hysteroscopy Of Intramural Fibroids Video and Operative Hysteroscopy For Intrauterine Adhesions Video) so everybody can see what it looks like.
The chemo therapy as it is called here is not a chemo therapy in the sense of someone having cancer and then applying a chemo therapy, here it is a hormonal therapy aimed at resolving the symptoms. Finally, the most horrible idea is to have a hysterectomy because there will never be babies after that. But all this is leading to a hysterectomy, the situation that this doctor is leading his patient to has even been statistically researched, and the conclusion was that hysterectomy was inevitable when “everything” was tried, including the hormonal treatment.
We are all too ready to believe everything the good doctor says, but in this case and in all cases such as this, there is a lot to try and do inbetween the symptoms and final solution, i.e. hysterectomy. There is homeopathy, there is Reiki, Su Jok, acupuncture, enzyme mixtures, herbal remedies, crystal therapy… as well as many others, none of which is in the domain of our good doctor because the official medicine didn’t approve any of them.
I wish your friend all the best, and especially not only to get well but to have that baby finally. Life with a baby of your own is what life on this planet is all about.
Sincerely, Dusko Savic
medical astrologer
Filed under Energy Healing, Herbal Remedies, Homeopathy, Hormones, Hysterectomy, Medical Astrology, Video by Dusko Savic
June 10, 2008
The Best Post on Hysterectomy!?
Here is the best post on hysterectomy that I’ve seen in a long time of 3+ years that I am involved with this site.
Filed under Hysterectomy, Hysterectomy News by Dusko Savic
If you have to prepare for hysterectomy, there is plenty of advice on the Internet, and you might even want to invest into a paper book on the subject. In the comment to a post from someone who is in this situation, I have outlined two other possibilities for getting better sooner:
I see you are having a scheduled hysterectomy. As with any surgery, it pays to prepare up front. The most practical advice is to take Rescue Remedy a week or two before the surgery, and several days immediately after the surgery. It will help both with fear from surgery and with waking up from anesthesia.
Another practical advice would be to get initiated into Reiki or that somebody near you get initiated, so that you have regular access to Reiki treatments. That will considerably speed up the recovery and lessen or very soon eliminate the pains.
The fastest way to get Reiki is from my Energy Pack page on this site, and Rescue Remedy should be readily available from any online or offline store.
Filed under Hysterectomy, Reiki by Dusko Savic
June 9, 2008
IUD and Hysterectomy
Have you scheduled a hysterectomy because of an ubearable pain in your uterus? If you have an IUD, Intrauterine Device, you might want to think twice over the matter.
An Intrauterine Device (IUD) is inserted into the cervix and into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. It is not noticeable during the intercourse and can last from 1 up to 10 years. The role of an IUD is to change the lining of the uterus and fallopian tubes, changing the way eggs and sperm move so that fertilization does not occur. Several problems that an IUD can bring are heavier menstrual bleeding, piercing or perforation of the uterine wall, any vaginal infection can result in permanent infertility and so on.
Here is one blog post, by Sockpuppet, in which she says
I had made up my mind at the end of last year that I was in too much pain to continue dealing with my endometriosis. Went to my dr. discussed options and had decided to have a hysterectomy. (much to my drs. disappointment) A couple of weeks went by, I started talking to women going through the same pain and stress. I read up on hysterectomies and then I started reading up on IUDs. Alot of information is out there about IUDs and alot of it came back to the IUD actually causing my pain. I made another decision. Let’s take the IUD out, see if the pain changes. If it doesn’t then okay, if it does then we’ll see. I went in told my dr what I wanted to do, he agreed. It was as though he literally pulled the pain away from my body when he took out the IUD!! I had been in such life altering pain before that… to the point that I had to force myself to function, or to get out of bed. It was a nightmare.
She then switched to the pill and cancelled the hysterectomy. A happy ending and not a happy hysterectomy! Congratulations!
In the rest of the post she wonders whether to have one more baby or not. Here is my comment to the entire post:
Thank you for this post. I have a site on how to avoid hysterectomy and here you are, changing the state of the things, taking the IUD out, and cancelling the hysterectomy in consequence! Bravo! Now you have a chance to have a second baby!
BTW, having a second baby is more work, but it’s not really double the work you already do for one child. Think of it as of a gift to Lulu. If you do have a second baby, she will have a sibling for life:
another birthday party each year,
mutual support for life,
someone to play with and be angry at…
I don’t believe the state of the economy has anything to do with having babies. After all, now we live better than our parents, but that did not stop them from having you and me.
Wishing you all the best, and
Sincerely, Dusko Savic
So what about you? Would you have one more child if you did not have a hysterectomy?
Filed under Endometriosis, Heavy Menstrual Bleeding, Hysterectomy, IUD, Uterus by Dusko Savic
June 8, 2008
CA-125 Ovarian Cancer Test
Can you have cancer of ovaries if you do not have ovaries? Perhaps, your ovaries were taken out during a hysterectomy and you think you are safe? Then read this post:
Signs of Ovarian Cancer (Even in the Absence of Ovaries)
The authour advocates that you should perform a yearly CA-125 ovarian cancer test, which should be even paid by your insurance (if you live in the USA, that is).
Maybe you should. Or you can ask a medical astrologer to see whether the period for cancer is really due.
Filed under Energy Healing, Links and resources, Medical Astrology, Uterus by Dusko Savic
Uterine artery embolization is a relatively non-invasive procedure to stop the blood supply to the existing uterine fibroids in order to eliminate them. It involves a catheter through the artery and lasts for about an hour, but after the procedure, the uterus is intact. The fibroids do not have blood to feed them, so they disappear. But is it really a better solution than the hysterectomy, given that the symptomatic uterine fibroids may return within a year or two, and that with hysterectomy they cannot return because the uterus isn’t there any more?
Here’s a comparative study, with the full name of
Uterine artery embolisation or hysterectomy for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids: a cost-utility analysis of the HOPEFUL study
by Wu, O. and Briggs, A.H. and Dutton, S. and Hirst, A. and Maresh, M. and Nicholson, A. and McPherson, K. (2007), and published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 114(11):pp. 1352-1362.
They wanted to see which procedure should be favourized from the standpoint of UK NHS. There were 649 women who underwent UAE (Uterine Artery Embolisation) and were followed for the 8.6 years in average, while there were 459 women with hysterectomy, which were followed for up to 4.6 in average.
Two main measures were the Costs of procedures and complications, and Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) UAE had the lower cost, £2536 versus £3282, small reduction in quality of life (8.203 versus 8.241 QALYs) when compared with hysterectomy. However, when the quality of life associated with the conservation of the uterus was incorporated in the model, UAE was shown to be the dominant strategy—lower costs and greater QALYs.
The result of the study is that simply more women should be allowed to UAE instead of going directly to hysterectomy. This is especially important if the woman wants to preserve her uterus.
The abstract of the Uterine Artery Embolisation or Hysterectomy For the Treatment of Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids study is published by the University of Glasgow.
Filed under Hysterectomy, Hysterectomy News, Laparoscopy, Reiki, Uterine Artery Embolization, Uterine Fibroids, Uterus by Dusko Savic
June 3, 2008
PMDD Alternative Medicine Therapy
PMDD Alternative Medicine Therapy is a combination of alternative therapies that might help with PMDD, Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Depression. Here is an example of how a woman with PMDD actually feels like.
PMDD is similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but differs from it in severity. She is anxious, full of anger, there is depression as well. Irritability runs amok. The symptoms surface between ovulation and menstruation, and disappear within a few days after the onset of the bleeding. The main symptoms may consist of the following:
- feelings of sadness or despair, or possibly suicidal thoughts
- feelings of tension or anxiety
- panic attacks
- mood swings, crying
- lasting irritability or anger, increased interpersonal conflicts
- disinterest in daily activities and relationships
- trouble thinking or focusing
- tiredness or low energy
- food cravings or binge eating
- having trouble sleeping
- feeling out of control
- physical symptoms, such as bloating, heart palpitations, breast tenderness, headaches, and joint or muscle pain
Five or more of these symptoms may indicate PMDD. Symptoms occur during the week before the menstrual cycle and disappear within a few days after the onset of the bleeding.
No wonder women with PMDD start wanting to have a hysterectomy, thinking it will erase the pain.
PMDD Alternative Medicine Therapy
In the USA, PMDD is recognized as a disease, while in other parts of the world, that simply isn’t so. Nevertheless, PMDD should be treated and there are several alternative medicine disciplines that might land a hand here. From homeopathy, Cimicifuga Racemosa, Black Cohosh, comes to mind, because it links severe menstrual disorder with the idea of suicide. From Bach Flower Remedies, one might think of
Cherry Plum, to stop from suicidal actions,
Mimulus from being fearful when “that time of the month” starts approaching,
Impatiens to regulate pain,
Gorse to finally find some new way of healing.
Mustard and Gentian are also a must to relieve depression.
Reiki would be excellent here, as anybody can apply it and it will alleviate the pain at first, and then work towards the general healing. If you apply Reiki towards an affirmation such as
I want to find the best way to cure my PMDD
new doors be start to open to you. The consequence of giving Reiki to such an affirmation is that new methods of healing may enter your life, so even if Reiki would lead to homeopathy or something else, it would still be acceptable!
So, there you go! If you suffer from PMDD, please try out this PMDD Alternative Medicine Therapy and let us know the results through the comments on this page.
Filed under Heavy Menstrual Bleeding, Homeopathy, Hysterectomy, Reiki, Women's Health by Dusko Savic
