truth seeker
The Living Force
That must be terrible to go through! I'm sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time, Gimpy and hope everything will go well. Please let us know how it goes!Gimpy said:
Paleo Women/Diet and Menstruation
- Thread starter truth seeker
- Start date
truth seeker said:That must be terrible to go through! I'm sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time, Gimpy and hope everything will go well. Please let us know how it goes!Gimpy said:
:( I'm also very sorry to hear that Gimpy! Hope it gets better soon!
anothermagyar
Dagobah Resident
Oxajil said:truth seeker said:That must be terrible to go through! I'm sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time, Gimpy and hope everything will go well. Please let us know how it goes!Gimpy said:
:( I'm also very sorry to hear that Gimpy! Hope it gets better soon!
I third that Gimpy and take care!
Hopefully everything is all right!!!
I haven't had anything as prolonged as this, but I can weigh in based on a few scares I've had in the past, after trouble with fibroids. With very heavy periods I became severely anemic. If you don't supplement you get in more trouble after each cycle; my doc told me to supplement with iron but I discovered that B complex (especially b12, folic acid, b6) was also really important.
I found that when flow was likely to be strong, it was critical to avoid blood-thinning foods.
Not sure this list is true for everyone, but for me the foods-to-avoid during that 'special' time were #1 Alcohol with pigments like red wine or whiskey (which would literally cause surges within an hour), #2 Coffee/black tea/green tea and #3 Blue/red fruits like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, beets. These foods were like taking a handful of aspirin, just a disaster. I'd still see the effects of these foods more than 24 hours after eating them, especially berries and teas.
I also found that 'styptic' herbs/fruits like chamomile and especially lemon juice (generously squeezed fresh in water or herb tea) can be incredibly helpful.
Not sure this advice is helpful in your case Gimpy, but I hope you feel better and everything will resolve soon!
Oh, do I ever feel for you! I had a period like that 1 1/2 years ago. Mine lasted for 16 days. I felt so drained, and anytime I exerted myself, I felt like I was going to faint. It was really awful. I am happy to report it has not happened again. It happened right after I started the paleo diet - don't know if it has any connection.
Since then my periods had been almost pain free (before the diet, I would have terrible craps for a day or two), and now I haven't had one for about 2 months. I am 50, and maybe I am going through the change. :) I do have some night sweats which aren't all that bad. I just whip off the blankets for awhile, and put them back on when I get cold.
Hope you feel better soon.
Since then my periods had been almost pain free (before the diet, I would have terrible craps for a day or two), and now I haven't had one for about 2 months. I am 50, and maybe I am going through the change. :) I do have some night sweats which aren't all that bad. I just whip off the blankets for awhile, and put them back on when I get cold.
Hope you feel better soon.
Gimpy
The Living Force
Thanks for the encouragement folks. It helps a lot.
I've been craving beets with salt, which is a brand new kind of craving. Specifically orange beets. Do those even exist?
Our local organic shop carries red beet juice. I've avoided it for possible GMO contamination, and for the reason that its a juice, and I don't know what else has been dumped in it. I do drink many varieties of tea, and not noticed any worsening in drinking it.
I gave up fruit a long time back, so that's not an issue either.
The recent blood work from the doctor tested for everything: vitamin B12, D3, kidney function, liver function, FHS (menopause sign), cholesterol (which remains perfect, to his consternation, HA), potassium, sodium, calcium, and a few others.
I'm still waiting to receive copies of these reports, the nurse called me yesterday to let me know that everything is 'in the normal range', with the exception of D3, which is 'almost not there at all.' (It was a relief that this is not menopause, though it does make me give a stink eye on all the emotional crud going on.)
I've taken up to 15,000 IU of D3 a day for a few years. That didn't change until December of 2012 when I went deeper into Ketosis, and that much made me so tired I slept all the time. Since then, its been restricted to what is in the rest of the supplements I take, which ends up being about 1-2,000 IU a day.
Research online shows that low D3 can cause depression or other mental problems to worsen. MS patients need a lot more D3 than other people, and low D3 can definitely rile that up. It could explain a host of other symptoms that are going on, with the exception of the prolonged menstruation.
What I don't understand is how the D3 can be that bad when I'm taking so much of it? It makes me wonder if my liver is as healthy as the tests show...I do know that D3 is metabolized by the liver and is linked to fat digestion. I do take enzymes and was going to add milk thistle back in. (I have to be careful with that, because I'm allergic to the plant.)
The regular doctor wants me to take 5,000 IU a day for 3 months, then reduce it to 2,000 IU ever after. I'd rather find out why what I was taking isn't doing what its supposed to.
The OB/GYN I just saw is having me in for a sonogram this week, in preparation for an Ablation. She was not happy with the condition I'm in, and said if there were no polyps or other potential complications, she'd go ahead with the procedure.
In the mean time, I'm taking 5,000 IU of D3 in a liquid form, adding in more fish oils and E, and letting it knock me out as it will.
I've been craving beets with salt, which is a brand new kind of craving. Specifically orange beets. Do those even exist?
Our local organic shop carries red beet juice. I've avoided it for possible GMO contamination, and for the reason that its a juice, and I don't know what else has been dumped in it. I do drink many varieties of tea, and not noticed any worsening in drinking it. I gave up fruit a long time back, so that's not an issue either.
The recent blood work from the doctor tested for everything: vitamin B12, D3, kidney function, liver function, FHS (menopause sign), cholesterol (which remains perfect, to his consternation, HA), potassium, sodium, calcium, and a few others.
I'm still waiting to receive copies of these reports, the nurse called me yesterday to let me know that everything is 'in the normal range', with the exception of D3, which is 'almost not there at all.' (It was a relief that this is not menopause, though it does make me give a stink eye on all the emotional crud going on.)
I've taken up to 15,000 IU of D3 a day for a few years. That didn't change until December of 2012 when I went deeper into Ketosis, and that much made me so tired I slept all the time. Since then, its been restricted to what is in the rest of the supplements I take, which ends up being about 1-2,000 IU a day.
Research online shows that low D3 can cause depression or other mental problems to worsen. MS patients need a lot more D3 than other people, and low D3 can definitely rile that up. It could explain a host of other symptoms that are going on, with the exception of the prolonged menstruation.
What I don't understand is how the D3 can be that bad when I'm taking so much of it? It makes me wonder if my liver is as healthy as the tests show...I do know that D3 is metabolized by the liver and is linked to fat digestion. I do take enzymes and was going to add milk thistle back in. (I have to be careful with that, because I'm allergic to the plant.)
The regular doctor wants me to take 5,000 IU a day for 3 months, then reduce it to 2,000 IU ever after. I'd rather find out why what I was taking isn't doing what its supposed to.
The OB/GYN I just saw is having me in for a sonogram this week, in preparation for an Ablation. She was not happy with the condition I'm in, and said if there were no polyps or other potential complications, she'd go ahead with the procedure.
In the mean time, I'm taking 5,000 IU of D3 in a liquid form, adding in more fish oils and E, and letting it knock me out as it will.
anka
The Living Force
Gimpy said:
Hope i do not interrupt the talk in a sacred female space but this thing just put a bug in my head. I also enjoy bacon, having a luxury of choice between boiled and smoked b. in the local organic butcher shop. However, the smoked one is VERY salty and i am pretty sure the salt is not Himalayan (rather an ordinary refined salt and since salt can't be classified organic for obvious reason, they are allowed to use it in organic meat) which brings me to a question, when Gimpy says she relied for a time more on bacon, does anyone else have any experience with any undesired side effects of using primarily bacon in diet? Could that salt be an issue?
May you be all right soon, Gimpy :)
Hi Gimpy,
Have you looked at your levels of vitamin K with respect to your D3 intake? Apparently it's important to have a balance between these two substances in order for them to have the best effect. Here's some stuff I found on the net. I'm sure there's stuff on the forum too, but the search function doesn't recognize a single letter like "K". They tend to focus on calcium and bone health. Mercola of course has a bias for his products, but you can ignore that.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/26/the-delicate-dance-between-vitamins-d-and-k.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/16/vitamin-k2.aspx
From the article:
" IMPORTANT: If You Take Vitamin D, You Need K2
This is a really crucial point: If you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2.
"There are so many people on the vitamin-D-mega-dose bandwagon, taking more and more of vitamin D. And it could absolutely be causing harm if you are lacking the K2 to complete the job to get the calcium where it's supposed to be," Rheaume-Bleue warns.
"We don't see symptoms of vitamin D toxicity very often. But when we do, those symptoms are inappropriate calcification. That's the symptom of vitamin D toxicity. And it is actually a lack of vitamin K2 that can cause that..."
While the ideal or optimal ratios between vitamin D and vitamin K2 have yet to be elucidated, Rheume-Bleue suggests that for every 1,000 IU's of vitamin D you take, you may benefit from about 100 micrograms of K2, and perhaps as much as 150-200 micrograms (mcg).
The latest vitamin D dosing recommendations, which call for about 8,000 IU's of vitamin D3 per day if you're an adult, means you'd need in the neighborhood of 800 to 1,000 micrograms (0.8 to 1 milligram/mg) of vitamin K2.
"My earlier recommendation was not taking into account people who were doing high dose of vitamin D supplementation," Rheaume-Bleue says. "That's where it gets a little bit more technical. It seems that for the average person, around 200 to 280 micrograms will activate your K2 proteins and do a lot of good for your bones and your heart. If you're taking high levels of vitamin D... then I would recommend taking more K2."
The good news is that vitamin K2 has no toxicity. No toxic effects have ever been demonstrated in the medical literature.
"The reason why K2 doesn't have potential toxic effect is that all vitamin K2 does is activate K2 proteins. It will activate all the K2 proteins it finds. And if they're all activated and you take extra K2, it simply won't do that. That's why we don't see a potential for toxicity the way we do with vitamin A or D," she says.
Happy searching!
Have you looked at your levels of vitamin K with respect to your D3 intake? Apparently it's important to have a balance between these two substances in order for them to have the best effect. Here's some stuff I found on the net. I'm sure there's stuff on the forum too, but the search function doesn't recognize a single letter like "K". They tend to focus on calcium and bone health. Mercola of course has a bias for his products, but you can ignore that.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/26/the-delicate-dance-between-vitamins-d-and-k.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/16/vitamin-k2.aspx
From the article:
" IMPORTANT: If You Take Vitamin D, You Need K2
This is a really crucial point: If you opt for oral vitamin D, you need to also consume in your food or take supplemental vitamin K2.
"There are so many people on the vitamin-D-mega-dose bandwagon, taking more and more of vitamin D. And it could absolutely be causing harm if you are lacking the K2 to complete the job to get the calcium where it's supposed to be," Rheaume-Bleue warns.
"We don't see symptoms of vitamin D toxicity very often. But when we do, those symptoms are inappropriate calcification. That's the symptom of vitamin D toxicity. And it is actually a lack of vitamin K2 that can cause that..."
While the ideal or optimal ratios between vitamin D and vitamin K2 have yet to be elucidated, Rheume-Bleue suggests that for every 1,000 IU's of vitamin D you take, you may benefit from about 100 micrograms of K2, and perhaps as much as 150-200 micrograms (mcg).
The latest vitamin D dosing recommendations, which call for about 8,000 IU's of vitamin D3 per day if you're an adult, means you'd need in the neighborhood of 800 to 1,000 micrograms (0.8 to 1 milligram/mg) of vitamin K2.
"My earlier recommendation was not taking into account people who were doing high dose of vitamin D supplementation," Rheaume-Bleue says. "That's where it gets a little bit more technical. It seems that for the average person, around 200 to 280 micrograms will activate your K2 proteins and do a lot of good for your bones and your heart. If you're taking high levels of vitamin D... then I would recommend taking more K2."
The good news is that vitamin K2 has no toxicity. No toxic effects have ever been demonstrated in the medical literature.
"The reason why K2 doesn't have potential toxic effect is that all vitamin K2 does is activate K2 proteins. It will activate all the K2 proteins it finds. And if they're all activated and you take extra K2, it simply won't do that. That's why we don't see a potential for toxicity the way we do with vitamin A or D," she says.
Happy searching!
Gimpy
The Living Force
Was looking over the Vitamin K yesterday, and am thinking of this one:
http://www.iherb.com/Life-Extension-Low-Dose-Vitamin-K2-45-mcg-90-Softgels/15291
The softgels seem to have warnings about taking them with bleeding problems, so I may find another one. The Now brand seems to be the cheapest solution so far.
http://www.iherb.com/Life-Extension-Low-Dose-Vitamin-K2-45-mcg-90-Softgels/15291
The softgels seem to have warnings about taking them with bleeding problems, so I may find another one. The Now brand seems to be the cheapest solution so far.
Here's an article posted by the Winston Price Foundation on Vit K2 with lots of info on the need of K2 in our diets, as well as the natural food sources that contain it. It seems that a good quality butter might be one of the better sources:
On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved
http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2
Since you are out shopping for supplements, if you can afford it, this seems to be a good brand here in liquid form:
http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterOil/index.cfm
This product also contains cod liver oil with the good butter, which combines vitamins A & D along with K2, who work well together as Herondancer mentioned:
http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm
We ordered it and took it for a while, and the taste is fine IMO.
On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved
http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2
Since you are out shopping for supplements, if you can afford it, this seems to be a good brand here in liquid form:
http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterOil/index.cfm
This product also contains cod liver oil with the good butter, which combines vitamins A & D along with K2, who work well together as Herondancer mentioned:
http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm
We ordered it and took it for a while, and the taste is fine IMO.
Gimpy
The Living Force
Alana said:
Thank you.
The blood work paper trail came back, and its very confusing. I'm still trying to suss it out. According to the data, the D3 is insufficient, not as bad as the nurse said it was....and there are other results that don't look right to me, but I'm not sure what they mean yet.
I'm wondering if its all down to my liver not being able to metabolize fats well, even after months of working on it? It seems years of having to take meds for x,y and z condition has done a number on several systems?
Its frustrating.
Interesting that, in this context, the 'K' in vitamin K stands for 'Koagulation'. According to Wikipedia the original study identified K deficiency in poultry with hemorrage and bleeding, and that 'these defects could not be restored by adding purified cholesterol to the diet.'
In my anemic, depleted state I started looking up every nutritionally dense food I could get my hands on. I remember reading somewhere that K, D, and A can act synergistically, and it is important to get enough of each, so that the other can be absorbed (or created)? Since they are fat soluble, they are best eaten together with fatty foods or with a meal. Also interesting that bacteria can convert K1 to K2 or K2 to K3...which gets to the fermented food question; can eating fermented foods/having a healthy gut help with vitamin absorption, particularly harder-to-find ones like vitamin K?
In my hunt to increase vitamin K (and A) I wound up with kale or collards cooked in bacon fat, foie gras (pate is amazing when you are anemic), parmesano reggiano or aged gouda (dairy, I know) and barley miso (soy, I know) and grass fed butter. Unfortunately grass fed butters seem to vary so much in K that they are not a reliable source, but the deeper orange color, the better.
This article talks a little about the difference between K1 and K2, looks like there is a difference in terms of deficiency symptoms but there are still a lot of unknowns. The link to reproductive organs (in this case, prostate) is interesting. _http://chriskresser.com/vitamin-k2-the-missing-nutrient
In my anemic, depleted state I started looking up every nutritionally dense food I could get my hands on. I remember reading somewhere that K, D, and A can act synergistically, and it is important to get enough of each, so that the other can be absorbed (or created)? Since they are fat soluble, they are best eaten together with fatty foods or with a meal. Also interesting that bacteria can convert K1 to K2 or K2 to K3...which gets to the fermented food question; can eating fermented foods/having a healthy gut help with vitamin absorption, particularly harder-to-find ones like vitamin K?
In my hunt to increase vitamin K (and A) I wound up with kale or collards cooked in bacon fat, foie gras (pate is amazing when you are anemic), parmesano reggiano or aged gouda (dairy, I know) and barley miso (soy, I know) and grass fed butter. Unfortunately grass fed butters seem to vary so much in K that they are not a reliable source, but the deeper orange color, the better.
This article talks a little about the difference between K1 and K2, looks like there is a difference in terms of deficiency symptoms but there are still a lot of unknowns. The link to reproductive organs (in this case, prostate) is interesting. _http://chriskresser.com/vitamin-k2-the-missing-nutrient
Thank you Herondancer for this information; I also did not figure out why I also have pain again (from a couple of months, while at the beginning of the paleo diet, I was not painful anymore - I am on KD from this last August).
So, maybe I should try K2 with the D3 I usually took again from some weeks. I had stopped it on September, but and because of this terrible pain leaving me exhausted each month (even if the frequency come more around 35 days than 28 days now, which is already better, btw), I had to search something, and for now, it was not very effective.
And I am sorry Gimpy for the pain you are experimented here, and I really hope you will be able to figure out a solution.
So, maybe I should try K2 with the D3 I usually took again from some weeks. I had stopped it on September, but and because of this terrible pain leaving me exhausted each month (even if the frequency come more around 35 days than 28 days now, which is already better, btw), I had to search something, and for now, it was not very effective.
And I am sorry Gimpy for the pain you are experimented here, and I really hope you will be able to figure out a solution.
Thank you for all the info given here!
It has been a great thread to read!
After some months of carbs restriction, my period didn't come this month. I have an 18 days delay now. I went to the doctor to do an ecography and everything is normal according to him, so I guess everything is Ok. I will do some tests just to check how's everything going.
I'm feeling mild pain as if my period is going to come soon... so maybe my cycle is just getting longer...
BTW... I hope you get better Gimpy!
It has been a great thread to read!
After some months of carbs restriction, my period didn't come this month. I have an 18 days delay now. I went to the doctor to do an ecography and everything is normal according to him, so I guess everything is Ok. I will do some tests just to check how's everything going.
I'm feeling mild pain as if my period is going to come soon... so maybe my cycle is just getting longer...
BTW... I hope you get better Gimpy!
