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Hi Ladies, hope you’re all doing well. Well, I’m having a difficult week and I just need some words of wisdom. My urethra has been aching for about 1 week especially after I pee and today I feel increased urgency. I’ve also been spotting for over 8 days and this concerns me so much. I’m due to get my period but it’s not happening. Just spotting. It has been a few months that my cycle has shortened to about 16 to 18 days. I’m really worried that something serious is happening with my ovaries. Has anyone else experienced this? It’s just constant fear that I’m falling apart. I do have many good days but when it hits usually during ovulation and before my period it’s extremely painful. My hormones are going crazy! I just don’t get much of a break in between periods. I would truly appreciate it if anyone would have some insight on what’s going on me.
Thanks
Hi ... just wanted to say my
Hi ... just wanted to say my friend was getting her period every 2 weeks (and feeling completely drained from low iron) and it turned out to be a cyst that was causing it. I know uterine polyps can cause this too. Then again it could just be your hormones are upside down too ... I'm guessing you aren't on any kind of chemical birth control if you're in treatment but did you come off of birth control recently before? That could cause spotting too.
Megan
So sorry you are having a
So sorry you are having a rough time! Always scary when your body starts acting outside of your normal! Early in treatment I used to only spot, no real cycle, but would be months apart, and my pain would always and still go up around my cycle, but this has improved as of late! Have you had any ovary pain, always had regular cycles prior, etc.? I have PCOS, so my spotting, ovarian cysts rupturing/pain, and abnormal cycles definitely were linked to that! Sorry, don't have much advice, but I hope the pain eases and your period will finally start! Thinking of you!
Thank you so much for your
Thank you so much for your replies. About a year ago this happened to me and I had an ultrasound done which did not give me any answers. Everything was fine. Then IC came into my life and it was happening more frequently. Lately, it has been every month. I was always very regular and never had any issues with my period except for it being very heavy. Now things have become so unpredictable and i'm hoping that this process will just bring me back to who I was but healthier. There are so many things to deal with and I struggle with all of it because I don't know what is happening to me. I have no answers and this scares me.
Hi Sandmor!
Hi Sandmor!
I'm sorry you're expriencing this. Are there tests you can do to figure out if this is anything serious? I feel like it's wonderful that we have the support on this page, but sometimes I do think it's important to get the tests necessary to verify what's going on... if not only for piece of mind. When I was reading your post I was thinking, this girl is scared right now and her emotions are being affected by her fear... ANYONE would react or feel this way. It's how I react half the time with IC and any new symptom.
BUT, there is only so much you can do. Right now I think what is causing the greatest problem is your fear of what is going on and not knowing. So, maybe you can't pop a magic pill and stop the pain, but I feel like there ARE things tests/exams that you can do to at least eliminate possibilities or confirm them. If you have a cyst or some other problem then that doesn't help the pain, but it at least explains what's going on and there is an appropriate behavior or protocol to follow after it so that you don't feel so powerless or helpless. You can adjust to that appropriately and know that you are doing what needs to be done to control the situation.
If nothing is found, you can have that sigh of relief knowing that you have time to figure this out (even though it's AWFUL AND PAINFUL AND UNFAIR!!!).
This is how I would rationalize this situation for myself, because I think my reaction would be very similar to yours and I have had to step back and ask myself what I can control and what I can't , and attack what I can, and let go of what I can't... pain and all UGH!
Please feel better soon!
So much love, support, and healthy thoughts for you. No matter what this is, it can be dealt with, I am certain of that!
Hannah
Hi Sandi
Hi Sandi
About two months into treatment I had periods that were two weeks apart. Dr. Brizman reassured me that this can happen in treatment, and it is one of the ways/opportunities that the body has to eliminate toxins. She has seen it a lot and she said specifically that with her patients that had this, it did not result in any health consequences related to the pelvic organs. She took time during our consult to emphasize this, even though at the time I was not particularly concerned about it.
I am so sorry about your urethral pain. Do you usually have an increase before your period? What does Dr. Brizman say? I know it must be die off. What a painful way to have it tho!!! Could she give you something for it? I had some painfull die off around my rectum, in the lymph nodes, and I have had it off and on. Once it was particularly bad, so she gave me goldenseal for a few days and it really helped reduce inflammation I guess? I hope you contact her about it!!
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
It's becoming a trend with me
It's becoming a trend with me. I get an increase in urethral pain at about 16 days into my cycle, followed by spotting for a couple of days and then a heavy period for 2 more mays. This has been consistant for at least 4 of my last 5 periods. I did speak to Dr. B about it and she said to wait a few months and if doesn't regulate itself to go see the gyno. I'm due for my yearly check-up but I wanted to wait a little before going through that awful examination. I don't know about all of you but it's always painful. My last pap test was also irregular and I don't want to go through all that stress.
Dr. B. has tweeked my probiotic a little but I feel as though if I don't regulate what's going on with my cycle it will continue to happen. This is a pattern with me and not just an occasional thing. Could it be my urethra is bleeding? I read somewhere that a decrease in estrogen can thin out the urethra causing it to burn and bleed (vaginal atrophy). I'm wondering if this is what's happening. I'm scared and I know I use that word in all of my posts but I can't help it. Fear is probably my biggest enemy. I fear everything about this disease and I can't control it.
If I knew for sure this was die off I honestly would not care about the pain and I'd have peace of mind. Not knowing makes me think of all the negative possibilities. Thank-you all for your much needed support.
Sandi I wanted to bring up
Sandi I wanted to bring up several things: The first is cycle/hormone regulation with chinese medicine. This is one of the primary things that are addressed, through time, with chinese medicine. It can be a slow process. I think Dr. B is pretty confident that you will start to regulate, and is suggesting seeing a gyn in a few months if you dont. But I think things will improve for you. I would just try to look at it in 4 month chunks. Also, notice the other things that are improving. When Ally (and other patient I have been talking with) was doing some work on other parts of her body, she did not have a period at all. Chinese medicine also can address PCOS, and other cycle imbalances. I think the body has to do things in a certain order, or one or two things at a time. Perhaps your body is working on liver stuff right now, for example, or something else. The stronger you get, the more Dr. B will be tweaking your protocol to bring in what herbal/supplement support your body needs to do its full healing. but it is drops in a bucket at times...
I know you said you had the urethra symptoms before you were in treatment with Dr. Brizman. In Bruce Fife's book, he discusses how sometimes symptoms during health crisis, and symptoms during a healing crisis can be the same, but they do not have the same function. One is a reaction to a dis-ease in the body, the other is a cleansing reaction because you are now taking care of your body and giving it what it needs in terms of nutrition and herbs/probiotics. This is not to discount your concerns, nor to suggest that you should not look further into it at some point if you think it is necessary, but I wanted to remind you of the distiction give in Bruce Fife's book, which I think is a valid one.
When estrogen came up as a concern for me as a possible cause I my IC, my urogynocologis ruled it out immediately upon physical examination. You can look at the health of the vaginal tissues that you can see (This is how my urogyn assessed the health of those tissues for possible estrogen loss. And I am sure you know you can get your hormone bloodwork done. Both of these are not invasive.
When I started with Dr. Brizman, I was, according to my gynocologist, in full blown perimenopause at age 43. I had night sweats, mood swings, irritabiltiy, short cycles (3 weeks), fatigue, low libido, etc...I was put on bio-identical hormones. They seemed to help quite a bit, but the progesterone was probably feeding my yeast. Now I am off ALL of the hormones and most all of the symptoms are completely resolved. I hope and pray that as I go through menopause, Dr. Brizman can help me with the transition, without having to take hormone therapy, as many Chinese Medicine doctors have been doing successfully for women over countless generations.
Finally, for me to get a handle on my negative thinking and the churning bad thoughts about my imbalance, I am really finding that doing the releasing techniques, using the Sedona Method has been really helpful for me. The best introduction to it, is the two hour class available on their home page. It is under $50 and is available to download as soon as you purchase it. It has really helped me in many ways in recent weeks when I am getting stuck in my thinking and letting my worries run my day.
Look in the mirror and tell yourself every day that you are healing. Even if you don't believe it. The mind is very suggestable. Look how open it is to your suggestions about various worries! The same is true for positive suggestions... :)
Love and healing,
xoxo
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
Mimi, I can't thank-you
Mimi, I can't thank-you enough! You are really incredible. Your time, knowledge and advice has been really helpful.
Lots of love and health from your Canadian friend!
O my god, isn't she
O my god, isn't she incredible? Mimi always makes me feel better :)
Love you guys. I am mostly
Love you guys. I am mostly just channeling Dr. Brizman ;)
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.