TCM stands for Traditional Chinese Medicine.
It includes herbal therapy, from the traditional brewing of herbs, to the current powder form of herbs that I take (just mix the prescribed powder herbs with warm water), to the use of acupuncture, moxibustion (I'll talk more about this in another post) etc.
I've been seeing TCM doctor since 2007, always the recommended doctor by someone who claimed that the doctor is really good.
The medicine ranged from ready made medicine, to prescribed medication.
The diagnosis I receive are usually:
- The womb is cold/ chilled
- Bad blood circulation
- Weak "Chi" & "Blood"
Symptoms are usually:
- Cold feeling at the womb area
- Hand and feet always cold, and feels cold very easily (even in aircon room)
- Out of breath easily
- Giddy easily
- And of course the monthly super pain + clots
After changing 4 doctors, I was really disheartened, and was looking at websites in China and Taiwan, for experienced doctors and even was prepared to fly there for treatment.
In 2014, my husband got to know the name of a reputable TCM doctor, attached to a reputable TCM clinic in Singapore.
I researched the few doctors in the same clinic, and saw there is a visiting physician from a reputable hospital in China, and she would visit Singapore every 3 weeks and stay here for 1 week.
From the reviews I read, she was experienced in Adeno and there were really good reviews.
So I went to her monthly, and saw her for over 1 year.
Apart from the mixed herbal powder prescription, I was told to brew this really HORRIBLE herb daily to drink twice a day.
This herbal concoction is so smelly, I felt as if I was brewing a witch brew.
And even the staff who packed the herbs for me commented "this prescription seems to be very awful to take in".
Anyway, the main purpose of her prescription was to reduce the Endo, and swelling.
After the 9 months of stimulated menopause (after my 2nd operation), right 1 week before my menses, my leg started swelling to the size of an elephant leg.
I had the shock of my life, and was told by Gyn that it's due to the swelling of the uterus and the only option I had was to go through hysterectomy to get rid of the root of the problem.
My TCM doctor was still in China, and the next day, I sought the help of the TCM doctor that my husband initially wanted me to see.
She did acupuncture for me, and VIOLA the elephant leg was gone the next day.
From then on, I've been seeing her since, for close to 1 year now.
From 2014, I started seeing another Gyn for alternative treatment options (I'm not ready for hysterectomy and want to have a baby).
I shared the treatment from the Gyn with my TCM doctor, and she adjusts her prescription each time according to my body condition and the treatment I received.
So far, with the western treatment (which I will share separately) + TCM, I think my condition improved tremendously.
From looking 5 months pregnant, now I don't mense (except when there is a lapse in the injection timing), no pain (even during the injection lapse when mense did happen, the pain was bearable and not excruciating), and now with the exercise, I think I look the slimmest in years...
There is still hope at the end of the tunnel, though the tunnel is dark and long, but if you are not ready for hysterectomy, don't give up hope!
~Good luck & good health~
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Estrogen Dominance, why me?
I have a family history where the female in the family line have Endo problem, but I think it was worst for me.
My mom and aunt had hysterectomy done, and I have another aunt with Endo problem as well, so maybe genes play a part?
Now, after such a long journey, I felt that eating and living really makes a whole load of difference.
Looking back at the habits I had when I was a kid, here's what I think I did wrong
Diet wise (THE WRONG STUFF)
- Ate loads of sweets and chocolate
- Picky and eating little vegetables & fruits
- Eating a lot of left over food ( my mom loves to cook extra, and warm up via steaming for lunch the next day)
- Ate loads of fast food (deep fried food + processed food), deep fried chicken wing
- Ate loads of soy milk + soy bean curd (when my estrogen level is already high, this is bad)
- It's an Asian thing, but I loved to eat braised pig intestines, braised duck neck, braised duck brain . It sounds really yucky but it's really flavorful....
I only found out when I was older, that for poultry, the neck is the place where the growth hormones are injected into the poultry, so that is REALLY BAD. And I stopped those stuff.
~High estrogen intake, little estrogen blockers~
The Living Part (THE WRONG STUFF)
- No regular exercise, and do not take part in sports (High fat in body results in higher estrogen level!! Yikes)
(The only exercise I got was the weekly hour mandated by the school)
- Sleepy only at 2am or 3am daily (screwing up the body clock)
- My mom was into aromatherapy and claimed that the Rose scent will help to balance out the hormones (without actually knowing what she was talking about I think), so in my teens, I used a lot of that.
Don't take me wrong, I still SUPER LOVE nice and sweet smelling stuff, but just that now thinking back, I should be skeptical when people tell me "this will balance your hormones, take it, it will end your montly pain", and do a little more research on how exactly it will affect me.
So, i think all these add on to my already existing condition of already high estrogen condition and resulted in my having a huge Endo Cyst off 13cm when i was 27.
You can imagine with that and Adeno, how large my uterus was.....
Here's a link from Youtube, shared by a friend, which explains really well the relationship between Estrogen, Progesterone etc.
Hope it will make you understand our hormonal imbalance better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ridjjxg4k
~Good luck & good health~
My mom and aunt had hysterectomy done, and I have another aunt with Endo problem as well, so maybe genes play a part?
Now, after such a long journey, I felt that eating and living really makes a whole load of difference.
Looking back at the habits I had when I was a kid, here's what I think I did wrong
Diet wise (THE WRONG STUFF)
- Ate loads of sweets and chocolate
- Picky and eating little vegetables & fruits
- Eating a lot of left over food ( my mom loves to cook extra, and warm up via steaming for lunch the next day)
- Ate loads of fast food (deep fried food + processed food), deep fried chicken wing
- Ate loads of soy milk + soy bean curd (when my estrogen level is already high, this is bad)
- It's an Asian thing, but I loved to eat braised pig intestines, braised duck neck, braised duck brain . It sounds really yucky but it's really flavorful....
I only found out when I was older, that for poultry, the neck is the place where the growth hormones are injected into the poultry, so that is REALLY BAD. And I stopped those stuff.
~High estrogen intake, little estrogen blockers~
The Living Part (THE WRONG STUFF)
- No regular exercise, and do not take part in sports (High fat in body results in higher estrogen level!! Yikes)
(The only exercise I got was the weekly hour mandated by the school)
- Sleepy only at 2am or 3am daily (screwing up the body clock)
- My mom was into aromatherapy and claimed that the Rose scent will help to balance out the hormones (without actually knowing what she was talking about I think), so in my teens, I used a lot of that.
Don't take me wrong, I still SUPER LOVE nice and sweet smelling stuff, but just that now thinking back, I should be skeptical when people tell me "this will balance your hormones, take it, it will end your montly pain", and do a little more research on how exactly it will affect me.
So, i think all these add on to my already existing condition of already high estrogen condition and resulted in my having a huge Endo Cyst off 13cm when i was 27.
You can imagine with that and Adeno, how large my uterus was.....
Here's a link from Youtube, shared by a friend, which explains really well the relationship between Estrogen, Progesterone etc.
Hope it will make you understand our hormonal imbalance better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ridjjxg4k
~Good luck & good health~
Monday, November 23, 2015
The Diet Change
The diet change was probably the most difficult thing i went through in the journey.
From "I eat everything", I went to a stage where "lemme check if I can eat that!"
I wanted to remove estrogen intake as much as possible....
So here's a list of what I don't take; the "NO NO LIST" :
- No fried food
- No fast food/ processed food (sausages, ham etc)
- No chocolate, sweets, dessert, ice cream
- No cold drinks/ soft drinks
- No soy
- No coffee
- No spicy food (curry, chilli etc)
- No beef, no lamb, no duck
- No alcohol
- No pumpkin, potato, cucumber, eggplant, papaya...
- No dairy products
- No pasta
- No chick peas
- Less seafood or non if possible (crab, prawn, cuttlefish, mussels etc)
Well, the first few months was the most painful, as there were so many things that I restricted myself from eating, and I was so angry all the time with the diet change & hormonal changes (from the injection that stimulate menopause)
End up, I realized it's much easier to list down what I can eat:
- Steam/ fry food only
- Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot
- Green leafy vegetables
- Eggs
- Honeydew, grapes, strawberry, pear, orange, Kiwi, blueberry, apricot
- Fish (especially salmon)
- Pork (sparingly)
- Chicken (No chicken wing)
- Ginger Tea, Green Tea
- Almond Milk for calcium
During the initial stage, I was having steam minced meat with rice/ fish noodle soup almost everyday, as I got so angry/ frustrated thinking about what I could eat ( we didn't cook much then)
Things got better now after 2 years.
I spoke to my current doctors (both Gyn and TCM), and they advised me not to cut down too much on food, since I'm already on the injection.
I should be focusing on getting the proper nutrients, and having healthy/ organic food instead.
Thus, I have loosened up a bit on my diet, but the food in the "No No" list, I kept most of it in that list..
There are many confusing sites on the internet, where I have seem some pages quoting Apple as rich in estrogen.
So far from what I read, Apples are rich in Phytoestrogen (plant estrogen). The hormone stimulating effect is much weaker and can have a self regulatory effect if eaten together with the natural estrogen blockers.
But the website (written by a doctor) did mention if there are problems with estrogen dominance, it would be advisable to omit or limit these plant estrogen rich food.
- The examples of rich plant estrogen food: Soy, chick peas, apple, plum, tomato, cherry, carrot, eggplant, sweet potato, wheat, barley, beer, rice etc
- Diary & Beef contain man-made estrogen that have been mixed into the cow feed... if possible, opt for organic fed pork/ beef etc?
- Estrogen blockers: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, tumeric, passionflower etc
I guess it's not possible to not exclude all the food that has plant estrogen, at least for Asian context, it's really hard not to take rice.
Especially for the fact that you will still need estrogen, and can't block it out completely.
So, I think so long as you keep in mind what you eat, and minimize, it should be fine.
It's just that my case was so serious, and I wanted to see results fast, that I took such a drastic change.
So I guess Moderate is the key, and to take more of the blockers!
From "I eat everything", I went to a stage where "lemme check if I can eat that!"
I wanted to remove estrogen intake as much as possible....
So here's a list of what I don't take; the "NO NO LIST" :
- No fried food
- No fast food/ processed food (sausages, ham etc)
- No chocolate, sweets, dessert, ice cream
- No cold drinks/ soft drinks
- No soy
- No coffee
- No spicy food (curry, chilli etc)
- No beef, no lamb, no duck
- No alcohol
- No pumpkin, potato, cucumber, eggplant, papaya...
- No dairy products
- No pasta
- No chick peas
- Less seafood or non if possible (crab, prawn, cuttlefish, mussels etc)
Well, the first few months was the most painful, as there were so many things that I restricted myself from eating, and I was so angry all the time with the diet change & hormonal changes (from the injection that stimulate menopause)
End up, I realized it's much easier to list down what I can eat:
- Steam/ fry food only
- Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot
- Green leafy vegetables
- Eggs
- Honeydew, grapes, strawberry, pear, orange, Kiwi, blueberry, apricot
- Fish (especially salmon)
- Pork (sparingly)
- Chicken (No chicken wing)
- Ginger Tea, Green Tea
- Almond Milk for calcium
During the initial stage, I was having steam minced meat with rice/ fish noodle soup almost everyday, as I got so angry/ frustrated thinking about what I could eat ( we didn't cook much then)
Things got better now after 2 years.
I spoke to my current doctors (both Gyn and TCM), and they advised me not to cut down too much on food, since I'm already on the injection.
I should be focusing on getting the proper nutrients, and having healthy/ organic food instead.
Thus, I have loosened up a bit on my diet, but the food in the "No No" list, I kept most of it in that list..
There are many confusing sites on the internet, where I have seem some pages quoting Apple as rich in estrogen.
So far from what I read, Apples are rich in Phytoestrogen (plant estrogen). The hormone stimulating effect is much weaker and can have a self regulatory effect if eaten together with the natural estrogen blockers.
But the website (written by a doctor) did mention if there are problems with estrogen dominance, it would be advisable to omit or limit these plant estrogen rich food.
- The examples of rich plant estrogen food: Soy, chick peas, apple, plum, tomato, cherry, carrot, eggplant, sweet potato, wheat, barley, beer, rice etc
- Diary & Beef contain man-made estrogen that have been mixed into the cow feed... if possible, opt for organic fed pork/ beef etc?
- Estrogen blockers: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, tumeric, passionflower etc
I guess it's not possible to not exclude all the food that has plant estrogen, at least for Asian context, it's really hard not to take rice.
Especially for the fact that you will still need estrogen, and can't block it out completely.
So, I think so long as you keep in mind what you eat, and minimize, it should be fine.
It's just that my case was so serious, and I wanted to see results fast, that I took such a drastic change.
So I guess Moderate is the key, and to take more of the blockers!
My treatment Journey
Since my diagnosis at age 27, I've been searching for all kinds of herbs that would seem to help the condition, and thus started my long journey of TCM treatment.
I've tried so many different TCM Doctors, whom were all recommended by various people to be really good doctors, but were not able to help me.
The pain did seem to lessen slightly, but the nothing significant.
Up until 2013, (age 33), where I was told that I wasn't able to get pregnant due to the condition has worsened, and I went through another surgery.
But I was told that when the doctor cut me open, the Adeno was so severe that the adhesion were all over the Endo, and he could not remove the Endo at all.
After the wound of the surgery healed, I was put on yet another 9 months of stimulated menopause.
To control the growth, but it only resulted in more heat flushes....
After this 2nd surgery, I was determined not to go through another surgery for this sickness, and started to really do something about it.
1) I totally changed my diet
2) I changed all the daily things use (cosmetics, detergent etc) to exclude paraben
3) Look for a new doctor that can help
4) Look for new TCM doctor that can help
5) Exercise
And up to today, 2 years since I did the above stuff, I'm much better, and I'll share more about that...
Hope by sharing, I can help you too~
~Good luck & good health~
I've tried so many different TCM Doctors, whom were all recommended by various people to be really good doctors, but were not able to help me.
The pain did seem to lessen slightly, but the nothing significant.
Up until 2013, (age 33), where I was told that I wasn't able to get pregnant due to the condition has worsened, and I went through another surgery.
But I was told that when the doctor cut me open, the Adeno was so severe that the adhesion were all over the Endo, and he could not remove the Endo at all.
After the wound of the surgery healed, I was put on yet another 9 months of stimulated menopause.
To control the growth, but it only resulted in more heat flushes....
After this 2nd surgery, I was determined not to go through another surgery for this sickness, and started to really do something about it.
1) I totally changed my diet
2) I changed all the daily things use (cosmetics, detergent etc) to exclude paraben
3) Look for a new doctor that can help
4) Look for new TCM doctor that can help
5) Exercise
And up to today, 2 years since I did the above stuff, I'm much better, and I'll share more about that...
Hope by sharing, I can help you too~
~Good luck & good health~
My diagnosis~
I am a Chinese, born and raised in Singapore.
Here's a snapshot of my diagnosis journey:
Age 15: I started horrible cramps and when was told by the doctor my womb was just screaming for a baby, and just told me to exercise more..
Mid 20s: Since my mid 20s, I started having clumps and clots monthly, alongside the horrible pain that would put me in bed for 2 straight days.
Because of the previous diagnosis, I just took on more and more painkillers, moving to painkillers of stronger power to tackle the pain...
There was once the pain was so bad, my whole body went numb and I couldn't walk, and was rushed to a 24hr clinic in the middle of the night for painkiller shots
Age 27: I was diagnosed with Endometriosis & Adenomyosis.
Went for a Laparoscopy to remove cysts, and was recommended to get pregnant immediately (which I could not at that point in time)
Doctor stressed Endometriosis as my main concern, and dismissed Adenomyosis.
Had hormonal shots to stimulate menopause to control the growth of Endo...
So no menses for 9 mths, but along side with continuous heat flushes.... just like menopause.
I started my long treatment of this chronic disease through various TCM doctors...
Age 33 & 34: Tried to get pregnant, and was told my condition got worse.
Went through another surgery, only was told that the adhesion was so bad, the doctor could not remove the Endo.
Took another 9 months of injection of menopause stimulation.....
Leg swelled to the size of elephant leg, and was told that it was due to the swelling pressing on something in my leg.
Can only be resolved by hysterectomy.
But was saved by a TCM, which I'll describe more in later.
Found another doctor in Singapore, and was given another type of injection, but this time with no side effects, and till now, all looking good~
Here's a snapshot of my diagnosis journey:
Age 15: I started horrible cramps and when was told by the doctor my womb was just screaming for a baby, and just told me to exercise more..
Mid 20s: Since my mid 20s, I started having clumps and clots monthly, alongside the horrible pain that would put me in bed for 2 straight days.
Because of the previous diagnosis, I just took on more and more painkillers, moving to painkillers of stronger power to tackle the pain...
There was once the pain was so bad, my whole body went numb and I couldn't walk, and was rushed to a 24hr clinic in the middle of the night for painkiller shots
Age 27: I was diagnosed with Endometriosis & Adenomyosis.
Went for a Laparoscopy to remove cysts, and was recommended to get pregnant immediately (which I could not at that point in time)
Doctor stressed Endometriosis as my main concern, and dismissed Adenomyosis.
Had hormonal shots to stimulate menopause to control the growth of Endo...
So no menses for 9 mths, but along side with continuous heat flushes.... just like menopause.
I started my long treatment of this chronic disease through various TCM doctors...
Age 33 & 34: Tried to get pregnant, and was told my condition got worse.
Went through another surgery, only was told that the adhesion was so bad, the doctor could not remove the Endo.
Took another 9 months of injection of menopause stimulation.....
Leg swelled to the size of elephant leg, and was told that it was due to the swelling pressing on something in my leg.
Can only be resolved by hysterectomy.
But was saved by a TCM, which I'll describe more in later.
Found another doctor in Singapore, and was given another type of injection, but this time with no side effects, and till now, all looking good~
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