Uterine Fibroids: An Unforgetable Journey

First and foremost, I'd like to apologize in advance for the lengthiness of this 2 part series. My hopes are not that you are overwhelmed, but that you first find the emotional support and assurance that there are answers and people who've experienced and conquered your similar situation.

This part (part 1) is better served to those who do not yet know the particulars of this condition (Uterine Fibroids) and it's underlying and secondary symptoms. Additionally, if you find that you need extra moral and emotional support and a little background education, then Part 1 is for you.

However, if you're well versed on your condition and would like to get right to the practical solutions feel free to skip to Part 2 - "Uterine Fibroids: Solutions". Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to view my story on my personal experience with Uterine Fibroids.



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In this article I will address the research that I've put into dealing with this issue and the solutions that I've applied in order to finally overcome it. Also, clicking on the title (link) will take you to a list of very helpful solutions that will aid you on your way to finally being free of fibroids.

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UTERINE FIBROIDS: AN UNFORGETABLE JOURNEY

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The first time I had ever heard of a fibroid was when I was 19 years old and went for my first Gyno visit. I can barely remember what the fuss was that lead to the insistance of an ultrasound, but there I was drinking so much water (in order to get a good ultra sound reading) that I felt sick. The doctor told my mother that it was a fibroid and that many people have them, they don't really interfere with preganancy unless they are way larger than the one that was found and that I should wait and give it time. "Wait and give it time"... Wow time for what? Time for it to grow? Time for it to rob me of a normal life? Well that's exactly what waiting did. That was 18 years ago. From that time until 2008, I had to deal with increasing menstrual pain and bleeding (Menorrhagia). These were only the symptoms that I equated with the fibroids since these seemed easily related. However, I have come now to understand the following also as potential symptoms of fibroids:

• pain and painful periods,
• pressure,
• anemia,
• bladder irritation, frequent urination,
• indigestion,
• heavy or irregular bleeding, (sometimes bleeding between periods)
• constipation,
• sexual pain,
• hemorroids,
• depression, irritability,
• infertility and pregnancy complications

When the menstrual pain got so unbearable or the bleeding so profuse, it would often cause my absense from work, social or spiritual time. I would often find myself doubled over in pain or not able to go too far from a bathroom. By the end of 2007 early 2008, the bleeding was so profuse that I had to sleep with a bath towel for a mentrual cloth and at one point the flow was like a periodically opened faucet. (no JOKE!). I was irritable, depressed about my condition and a bit afraid because I had now become severly anemic and had fainted while out shopping on two different occassions. With each period came a terror that I could not explain because the blood loss had caused my hair to become brittle, my skin had paled considerably and I couldn't take 5 steps without loosing my breath. I could hear my heartbeat pounding even as I only lay on the bed. I knew if this kept up, I was not going to last. I'm grateful that fertility was not a concern for me, otherwise it would have exacerbated my already dreadful experience.

In 2003, I had an experience in which I had let go of a particular part of my life which I feel contributed heavily to the mental state that lead to fibroid growth: Fear/guilt/stress. After much observance, contemplation and introspection. I had decided that religion had been a vicious cycle for me. It seemed too coincidental that I had grown up with a preacher dad and an evangelical mother and was constantly tormented by guilt, (thus feeling afraid) which would explain why my cortisol levels (stress hormones) were so high causing the hormonal balance that lead to the estrogen dominance which helped my fibroids to grow. Additionally, this constant stress tired out my adrenals as well.

Incidentally, after I left home in 1998, I had joined a different religious establishment that was 10 times worse... NO WONDER my fibroids increased in number, placement and size in the uterus. This is my personal observation and what has resonated with my experience. This may not be the same for everyone.

I am not a Medical Doctor. I do not claim to cure or diagnose any illness, ailment or disease. However, I am a Certified Herbalist and an avid researcher by nature and as a natural progressive to that, I seek to correct the wrongs, imbalances, or incorrect parts of an "equation" to get to the desired result. So, my experience was a culmination of 18 years of data compilation.

I noticed in 2003 when I finally let go of the religious establishment, my thinking began to clear and to change. My body began to respond a little more. This free time left me alone with my thoughts so that I could hear my body intelligence and respond with right action. Around this time, I began going to the beach more, staying in the sun, resting more, meditating more, spending that extra time for "Self Care" like hot bubble baths, reading, light music, walks, journalling, etc.

THESE things propelled me into a more balanced state of mind. This is the first assault against any illness. Disease is just that: Dis Ease. And it starts first in the spiritual/mental realm - in the mind - Long held thoughts of discourse, troubling emotions and the like soon wear the body down. I had to learn this in order to rid myself of this problem for good.

Along the way I googled massive amounts of research on solutions for profuse menstrual bleeding as this was becoming more and more obvious that the situation was a bit more advance than I was ready to handle on my own. I had been raised with herbs and homeopathy never having visited the hospital until my late adulthood. I had taken herbs for granted and had not thought much about their healing powers until this point.

I had the opportunity of going on a cruise in 2005, on which I got tons of sun - in particular the one stop called, "Isla Margarita" (Venezuela) really powered my solar cells. Five degrees from the equator and 4-5 hours of nothing but pure sun.... WOW, I came back and everyone told me that I looked like a totally different person. I felt completely different. But nothing prepared me for what the power of the sun was doing to me. A few months later, after having changed from using commercial menstrual products to the Moon Cup silicone menstrual cup and Glad Rags natural menstrual cloths, I noticed that my period pain had all but ceased. However, I was still dealing with a heavy flow.

About October of 2007, I had gone to change my Moon Cup and noticed a pertrusion that I had never felt before. I knew something was very different but due to my particular work/healthcare issue, I was not ready to address it until February 2008. Up until that time, the bleeding was so copious that I really should have died. Due to years of heavy bleeding, I had become severely anemic. I went to get Iron shots and was told that my RBC count was so low that they were shocked that I was even able to stand up. In January 2008, I thought it would be my final night on earth as nothing that I was taking would stop the copious amount of flow.

It was February of 2008 when I had gone in for an exam with a doctor who actually seemed to care. Before then it seemed that female gynos were cold and disconnected to a large degree. This could have just been my opinion except for the fact that this opinion has been validated so many times by others since I've opened up about it. This callousness in part is what attributed to (in my opinion) what I call overlooking the obvious. I am grateful however for this experience as it has taught me that true care can only come from oneself, because no one knows your body like you. Herbs, natural healing techniques and lifestyles can clue you in a lot faster to what your body needs and is telling you.

During my Feb 2008 gyno visit the doctor immediately sent me to the emergency room citing that I had an "Aborting Myoma"... Yes, one of my fibroids had detached from the wall of the uterus and was trying to discard itself from my body! Wow, what amazing news especially as all of the UltraSound techs at the hospital stated that this was very rare. I must have been doing something right. Looking back now, I know exactly what it was and I had continued doing such things until I reached my current level of health. (These things I will detail at the end of this article as well as in part 2 ) . This aborting Myoma had contributed to the upsurge in bleeding and was such an acute and serious situation in which the only suitable solution was surgery. I had bled enough and it wasn't promised that I'd live through the next menstruation.

The surgery was a success, but left me with a lot of questions and intense desire to study how I could have corrected this situation over time, had I not followed the advice to "Wait and give it time".

Here is a chart showing the many different types of uterine fibroids, where they appear in the uterus and by what names they are identified:

Fibroids also draw nourishment from "arterial fingers" branches of artery that come to surround it and nourish it, this also explains why my blood loss seemed unending. I could never figure out how a organ the size of a fist or slightly smaller/larger, could produce that much blood if menstruating was only a thin, inner lining of this organ. After my research it became apparrent. See the illustration below to understand the relationship of the "arterial fingers" to the fibroids, now imaging each fibroid having its own "connection". This is when supplying your blood flow with the right things to fight back, can make all the difference.

There are many "Traditional/allopathic" ways to deal with fibroids. If you are interested in them, you can CLICK HERE to learn more.


Here are several reasons why the allopathic way was not acceptable for me:

1. Using anything synthetic or unatural alters the natural biology, chemistry and bio-reactions of my body
2. Everything in my body has a specific function given by nature and by the Creator, and because everything has it's function, caution should be taken and every avenue persued before removing something that you can not place back exactly as nature had.
3. Herbs have an intelligence that far outweighs that of known modern medical research (which is nothing but a blip on the timeline of human history).
4. I believe that our bodies were made of the "dust of the ground" and therefore herbs which also derive from that source resonate with our natural health harmony.
5. It is so much healthier to get in tune with your own body rhythms, timetables, and balances in order to be directed to the most beneficial and more harmless solution.
6. Most herbs will NOT cause an adverse reaction
7. Because you do not remove a uterus, you can always retain your birthing capabilities (in most cases, even if the diagnosis was infertility).
8. Inserting certain embolization pellets into the body made me unaware where they would end up if they were to "drift". I was specifically concerned about them ending up in the arterial walls of the heart.

These are my opinions why I gravitated to handling this issue in a natural manner after the surgery. Here are the changes that I had learned. These helped me finally overcome my multiple fibroids and breast cysts.

1. Drink lots of water (filtered spring is best)
2. Get lots of sun
3. Relax and Destress
4. Journaling, Meditation or talking to a trusted person
5. Baths (The ancients had it right - this is natures greatest way to heal the mind and body)
   [bathing opens pores in order to utilize the skin as an avenue for natural detoxing/elimination, also naturally cleanses the reproductive canal and relaxes the mind and body]
6. Change diet - Organic foods, more greens, less process and white devalued foods like crackers, white rice, white flour. No dairy!! This causes mucous and hinder your elimination process while giving the fibroids more junk to feed from the blood stream.
7. Fresh air and exercise - even low impact exercise such as walking, hiking, or Tai Chi does wonders to clear mind and get blood flowing
8. Do cleanses (colon cleanse, Liver cleanse (to help regulate estrogen dominance), Female Reproductive cleanse, electric greens cell food cleanse) The more times you cleanse the purer you are making your blood. The fibroids will have no choice but to deal with stronger blood that actually fights it. Also cleansing will free up your bogged down organs so that they can operate together as a team in ridding the body of the conditions (hormonal imbalance) and unhealthing things in the system.
9. Change harmful products like commercial tampons, pads, douches, etc. these are heavily processed with chemicals and these chemicals have been found to create a byproduct in the body called Xyto-estrogens. These fool the body into thinking that it is an estrogen, when the body already has estrogens.
10. Change laundry detergent to organic and dryer sheets should be discontinued. (yes, these make a huge difference in your body's ability to fight fibroids)
11. Herbal organic Raspberry Tea leaves does wonders to tone and strengthen the uterus and hormones
12. NEVER use microwave, especially for paper plates, cups, plastics or styrophome. These create a byproduct that is detrimental to the body.
13. ENYMES, ENZYMES, ENZYMES - this helps break down the material that the fibroid is made of and also breaks down the food that you eat allowing the body to better absorb the nutrients
14. AMINO ACIDS, INDOLE-3, CITRIS BIOFLAVANOIDS, CARATONOIDS - all great to add to your regimin to stave bleeding.
15. Shephard's purse tincture has saved my life on a few occassions and even allowed me to be able to resume duties that I would not have otherwise been able to leave the house to do. Shephard's purse is great for hemmoraging of the uterus and taken 3 times a day, daily will significantly bring down the bleeding by the 4th day.
16. Progesterone Cream or Oil to balance Progesterone to Estrogen - this will also stabilize moods - in many cases bringing up the mood quite a bit.
17. Try to decrease the intake of red meats and make sure that ANY MEAT you purchase is free of HORMONES!!!
18. get water filters for both kitchen sink and bathroom shower.
19. Eat more leafy greens and veggies.
20. Learn your cycle and see what works best for you.

The fibroid that was removed was said to be 10CM the size of a lemon. I had others but according to the ultra sound they were much, much smaller. After my surgery I got to work using herbs and cleansing, I gradually changed household cleaning and personal products so that I started seeing a lightening in my menstruation (we have no idea how many toxins affect us). The most promising relief came for me after I started using the enzymes. I had already done a series of cleanses, enjoyed plenty of "Self Care", changed diet to an extent, but after adding the enzymed (at the time the suggested dose was 7 capsules 3 x per day) I noticed a huge difference in the way my abdomen felt both by touch and inwardly. I littereally noticed the shrinkage of both the fibroids (and one prominent breast cyst in particular) in a matter of months!

The continued cleanses helped me flush out the extra estrogen and toxins. The enzymes helped me utilize the nutrients and made going to the bathroom regular (This is also a huge contributing factor in Endometriosis). All of these things freed my blood for the nutrients of the herbs and enzymes which went to work very quickly on the remaining fibroids. The most interesting thing was when I found that the cysts in my breast were decreasing at a rapid pace, as well, and in fact one that was easily felt had dissipated and has now been gone for quite some time. I keep the regimin now (slightly modified to a lesser degree), as a means for maintenance and because I feel so much better now with this regimen than without it.

Be sure to see the second part to this Article which spells out the solutions, regemin and products that I have found and have brought me wonderful healing, along this journey. PART 2 - "Uterine Fibroids: Solutions"



- Happy Healing,



From: The Noble Herbalist