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Fibroids? PCOS? No one ever told me what the cysts are so I don't know how to treat them.

by Sherri Britton
(Carbon, IN)

I never dilated even when induced on the 3rd day of regular contractions. This has always concerned me. This then resulted in a c-section, 14 ago, and another for my second child 12 yrs ago. (Breastfed 1st for 1yr-ending after 1mo of pregnancy w my second child, 2nd for 1mo.) I was under terrible stress since my oldest never slept thru the night for 5 years, because we have learned recently she was lactose intolerant even tho Dr. as a baby said it was because I was spoiling her..it will take me a while to forgive this. Since my second child my periods were only every other month for approximately 2 yrs. I assumed stress but went to my ob/gyn who said not a real big deal but did ultrasound and found some small fibroids...she did D&C. When she quickly reviewed what she took out she said they were not really what you call fibroids but were some kind of fibroid-type cysts nothing to worry about (in a casual way that said she had no idea what they were but not cancer). It wasn't long before periods got regular again. Then back to heavy like before having kids and gradually heavier. Yea. Around this time i started taking antidepressants. About 4 yrs later began getting small clots regularly in period. Then at work on weekend nearly went to ER because of debilitating pain that started in right side. But dealt w pain til subsided after several minutes because ER is so expensive. Monday got in to my nurse practitioner who immediately ordered me to have ultrasound and blood work. Ultrasound showed cysts rupturing all over UTERUS and ovaries. Looked like waterfalls coming off of them. One was especially large. I was not bleeding at any point during all this. The tech couldn't say much but was seeming to hold back small amount of surprise by the number of cysts. She calmed me (I wasn't that upset, more intrigued) by telling me it isn't the worst thing she has seen but seemed just as curious as I was. I went back to RNP later in week who told me it didn't look like anything to be worried about but that I had cyst rupturing that certainly can cause severe pain. I was on cymbalta for anxiety/depression that I now can see was mostly from lack of sleep. She told me a side effect from this is cysts on female organs. (Wasnt on antidepressants when had D&C yrs earlier... ???) She switched me to Zoloft and put me on the pill which i couldn't tolerate (headaches, zero energy, breakthru bleeding w more cramps). I quickly stopped the pill. The problem now is years later I am sure i still have cysts and the clots have now become constant thru each period often the size of golf ball or egg that I know are coming because I have horrible cramps in the exact same way I had contractions. I know I need to have a gynecologist or endocrinologists help but I can not afford it. Now that I'm reading about progesterone I feel sure it has something to do with all this but I can't put it all together to know what to do to start. How much? How often? Is it the right thing at all?
These are boring details of my life that may have no bearing on the problem but in case they do I didn't want to leave out anything. Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments for Fibroids? PCOS? No one ever told me what the cysts are so I don't know how to treat them.

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Dec 01, 2012
 Fibroids? PCOS? No one ever told me what the cysts are so I don't know how to treat them
by: Wray

Hi Sherri The 'boring' details are not boring, they are what I need, as often a pattern emerges. It does with you, it seems you are really short of progesterone and vitamin D, and have excess oestrogen. We do have a page on Ovarian Cysts you could look through. Chocolate cysts on the ovaries, sometimes called endometrial cysts, are found in women who have Endometriosis. So the uterine cysts could be she meant you had endo, see here. Endo can cause severe debilitating pain and sometimes heavy bleeding. Fibroids can cause heavy bleeding, but there is no reference to any pain involved, unless they become really large and it's more one of discomfort. Both endo and fibroids are caused by oxidative stress, large amounts of antioxidants are needed. Please have a vitamin D test done, it's vital for every cell to function normally. One major role it has is to stop cells proliferating, so whether you have endo, fibroids or 'fibroid cysts', you need it. It also helps sleep and depression too. Oestrogen is a mitogen, causing cells to proliferate. So it exacerbates endo, cysts and fibroids and causes the lining of the uterus to build up, leading to heavy bleeding. We do have a page on Menstruation which goes through the cycle, and what to do about any problem. Progesterone is essential as it suppresses excess oestrogen, it also inhibits mitosis, so stops cells proliferating. Our so called 'period pains' are nothing more than labour pains, so you are right, contractions is a far better term. They are caused by a great number of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, prostaglandins and of course oestrogen. One of the many roles progesterone plays in pregnancy is to keep the uterus 'quiet', i.e. it suppresses all these bio-chemicals until term, when levels drop or it withdraws. This is the exact same mechanism at the end of our monthly cycle, it's progesterone withdrawal which allows all those bio-chemicals to work. The lower progesterone drops, the higher the oestrogen, the worse the symptoms. Although I normally recommend 100-200mg/day progesterone, I feel in your case you'll probably need 400mg/day. I've found using high amounts initially it helps over come any symptoms far quicker than low amounts, which often make matters worse. Continued below
Dec 01, 2012
 Fibroids? PCOS? No one ever told me what the cysts are so I don't know how to treat them Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Sherri But please have a vitamin D test done, as a lack of it reduces the benefits of progesterone. Plus many women have found by getting their level high, persistent symptoms resolve, in spite of very high progesterone, see here. As vitamin D is cheaper than progesterone, it makes sense to see what your level is. Vitamin D does help pain too, and heavy bleeding. But I would ask you to consider taking at least 2000mg/day NAC (N-acetyl cystiene) and 2000mg/day taurine too. The NAC inhibits the MMPs which cause the lining to breakdown. And taurine is low in dysfunctional uterine bleeding, see here. For more info on vitamin D levels, test kits etc see the Vitamin D Council, GrassrootsHealth and Birmingham Hospital. Blood levels should be 70-100ng/ml (175-250nmol/L) and not the 30ng/ml (75nmol/L) most labs and doctors regard as adequate. The minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day, although recent research indicates it should be 10,000iu's per day, see here. Take care Wray
Dec 01, 2012
 Iodine?
by: Sherri

Thank you for your response! I will get my vit d tested. I have been taking about 4000 iu most days a week for several weeks already, hoping it would help the depression that gets worse every yr from the time change when it seems to be dark so much of the time. (It's funny cuz I really like dark, cozy places & winter but after all the outdoor time in the sun in summer, my mind has been flipping out almost immediately after time change the last few years.) I do have another question I forgot about. Do you think iodine is something I should check into? Is there a safe way to take it amountwise without messing w another test? I had thyroid tested a few yrs ago and they told me it was on the low? side (cant remember if high or low but it was on one side or the other) but still was in normal range. Since then I have had overwhelming cold moments almost anytime it gets below 70 degrees. The pain in my hands and feet and bones all over is so bad. Feels like my bones could break they r so stiff and froze. I get grouchy and my husband thinks I've lost my mind because he's comfortable. Oh and i have raynauds?syndrome, where the tips of toes look dead white and go completely numb. Only way to warm them is to get in hot shower. Then if it gets above 75 I break an awful sweat very easily! It's crazy! And drives me crazy! I read vit b12 could help but I'm taking tons (8000%) sublingually and it doesn't seem to help much.
Dec 02, 2012
 Iodine?
by: Wray

Hi Sherri Please come back to me when you get the vitamin D results, I'd be most interested to hear. A study published in May this year indicates a lack of vitamin D could be one cause of Raynaud's, see here. Another study from Sept this year suggests the aggregating of platelets could be another. As vitamin D stops platelets aggregating, see here, here, here and here, in all probability it's a lack of this, rather a fault of the platelets themselves. Progesterone also stops platelets aggregating which of course leads to clots, see here and here. Vitamin D does help pain too, see here, here, here, here and here. The Raynaud's, together with the 'cysts' and the depression, all point to a lack of vitamin D and progesterone, plus excess oestrogen. This is an excitatory, inflammatory hormone, which often causes pain and increases clotting. Oestrogen also lowers the temp of the body, it slows the thyroid, whereas progesterone increases temps slightly. Iodine is generally low in most of us now. An easy way to find out if the level is low is to get a tincture of iodine. Put 3 drops anywhere on the inner arm, rubbing them in with the dropper. If the patch fades in a few hours it means there's a deficiency. Continue applying it until the patch takes days to fade, or take the drops. Alternatively have a blood test. Take care Wray

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