Hormones and Essential Oils

Ok, the following is a webinar that was monumental in helping me understand where all of my problems started!  I mentioned this webinar back in April and I can't believe it's taken me so long to post!  I had some questions about hormones this last weekend while teaching some oil classes and I refered several people to this very webinar.  It talks a lot about menopause, but almost anyone that has hormone problems have symptoms of menopause and it is often cause by the same hormonal fluxes.  So, I am posting the first and second part of these hormone webinars....enjoy and happy learning!  Even if you are not interested at all in the oil/supplement parts of these webinar, the information included in the webinars on hormones are invaluable!!!!

Hormones and Essential Oils Part 1



Hormones and Essential Oils Part 2

I have a new regime!

My regime changes quite often as I find new things that work better for me, as my tumor shrinks or when I quit nursing, or when I (hopefully) get pregnant again!

I have now started to cycle so I am dropping Basil (finally...I hated that stuff, not fun to burp it up all day!!!)  Hopefully the Clary Sage kicks in full force soon!  I have also started taking some vitamins for Pre-Natal care...These vitamins are awesome though and have helped me in dozens of ways so far (energy, soreness, neck incapacity, stress reduction)!  I can't wait for my hopeful future baby to start soaking in them as well :)

Frankincense (antitumor):  2-3 drops internally (under my tongue) 3-4  times a day. Rub it on my forehead and onto my feet a couple times a day.

Balance Blend (balancing hormones and anxiety): Rub on my feet before I go to bed at night.

Clary Sage (treats infertility): Take 3-4 drops in a capsule day and night.

Every week I will be taking a different oil that will help keep me from plateauing with my levels and tumor.  They are:

Wild Orange, Clove, Lavender, Sandlewood, Patchouli, and grapefruit.  I will write about each as I start taking them.

Life Long Vitality Pack (Vitamins):  I take these as recommended on the package.

As needed:

Citrus Bliss Blend (Stress/anxiety reducer) or Whisper Blend (Stress/anxiety reducer plus hormone balancer):  Diffuse several times a day or wear it where I can smell it!

Macroprolactinemia no to be confused with macroprolactinoma

I received an very interesting and informative email the other day from my tumor friend Erika :)  I asked her if I could post it because I thought it was fascinating and I think EVERYONE should be aware of this...I have edited her email a little (with her permission) just to take out some of the personal stuff.  Here it is:

"I wanted to let you know about some really, really interesting info I found out from my endocrinologist at last night's appointment. (If you already know this info, stop reading at any point! It was completely new to me and I don't remember reading about it on your blog anywhere, so I have a feeling it may be new to you too).

 

My doctor is having me tested for Macroprolactinemia, which sounds so similar to "macroprolactinoma" but is very different. Basically, it means that some people have raised prolactin due to a tumor, let's say, and so they will test positive on prolactin tests. However, someone with macroprolactinemia also has an enzyme naturally present in their blood which acts as an antibody against the prolactin. It's kind of like how your immune system defends against illness - macroprolactinemia defends against prolactin's negative side effects. Apparently the test for macroprolactinemia has been used in tests for years but it's only been available to the public more recently (not sure exactly how long). Once this is confirmed in a person, it means that future MRIs and observation aren't really needed because the prolactin is balanced out by the macroprolacinemia, naturally. Some reports showed that of people with high prolactin tests, 22% also have macroprolactinemia, and now doctors are saying more people should be tested for this. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it until last night!"

 

Has anyone else heard of this and does anyone know where to find info on it?  I've done some basic googling but have yet to find out much.  I'm still looking into it and will post more when I know more!  Please share if you can!

This may be Too Much Info(TMI)...so if you are afraid of the word PERIOD (not . ) you ought to skip this one

Wow, that was a long title, but I though the guys out there should be warned (and maybe some of the girls too).  I figure that most of you know quite a bit about me, so why not just spill some more....so here we go.  So, as you all know, I have been anxiously awaiting "Aunt Flo" or as my mom calls it "George".  Anyway, she came!  So, her goes my timeline and my anxieties and my thoughts....feedback is encouraged!

I went off cabergoline almost a month ago and was sorta bummed that my period hadn't shown up.  So, i had heard from one of my friends that my body probably needed a good cleanse followed my a good probiotic.  So, I went ahead and started a cleanse called GX assist that I got from doTERRA.  It's basically a natural antibiotic made from essential oils that gave my innards a good scrub.  Two days later I STARTED OVULATING!!!  It was amazing!!!( After the GX assist I did use PB assist which ith is a probiotic that replenishes the good stuff.) Needless to say, I was tickled.  Then less then a week later came Aunt Flo.  (This was about a week ago).  Isn't it supposed to take longer????  It's been years since I cycled, but I thought it should take about 2 weeks...right?  Anyway, I got super anxious and worried that maybe something else is wrong with me....maybe a progesterone deficiency???  So, once I was done feeling happy/worried/anxious/thinking worst case scenarios I thought back on the timeline and decided that if the cleanse is what jump started me then I am probably just fine.  I really think that my cycle started due to the cleanse and NOT due to a build up in estrogen.  Therefore, I would not have as much progesterone in my system and my period would start much sooner than normal.  Does this make sense to anyone but me or am I just making stuff up to make myself feel better???   Any thoughts???

So, I don't want anyone to think I am complaining because I am not....I am SUPER EXCITED to be "fertile" again and I hope that baby # 2 is in the near future.....wish me luck :)

Purity, Testing and Potency of essential oils

So, I've been meaning to address this for awhile, but recently I have had some emails and comments regarding this so I thought I would hit it hard!  These three thing go together beautifully and I will try to explain fairly well :) I did not know how important this was when I first started using oils, but I have been learning a lot about it lately, so I am excited to pass it on.  I will also list additional books and resources at the end to help aid in learning about these things!!!  This may seem very boring, but please read as it is very important!!!

Purity

Purity is huge with essential oils!  It is the most important thing when choosing a brand or company to buy from.  If an oil is 100% pure it means has no synthetics, fillers, chemicals and residual pesticides.  It must have all of it's proper constituents, be grown in it's native habitat and be harvested at the proper time in it's life cycle and season.  There are many many things that can affect an oils purity and therefore how well it works.  Unfortunately there are many oils that claim to be 100% pure therapeutic grade, but are actually 100% synthetic.  Or they may have fillers, or chemicals and/or pesticides that have absorbed into the plant.  Any of those things can cause major problems (allergic reactions, poisoning and etc.) if someone uses them and especially if they use them internally!  How do you know if the oils you are using are truly pure or just claim to be.  Well, it's not easy :)  I have recently learned that smelling and visual examination are not good ways to tell as an oil can be 100% synthetic and smell really really good or look really really good!  The best way is testing.

Testing


There are several tests that oils need to go through to make sure they are really truly 100% therapeutic grade!  The first and most common test is the gas chromatograph (GCT).  Most companies actually do this test which is good, but not enough.  This test determines quantity of compounds but not there origin.  It cannot tell if the compounds are synthetic or natural and it does not test for fillers, pesticides and stuff like that.

The next test is far less common.  It is called the Mass Spectrometry (MST) test.  This test is very expensive and so most companies do not do it.  I know of only 2 companies that do this test and of those two companies only 1 that does it on EVERY batch using an third party to run this test.  The MST takes the results of the the GCT and breaks it down even further.  It can tell if the compounds are natural or synthetic and if there is anything in the oils that shouldn't be!  This test is a must to determine the purity of an oil.

Other tests include Infrared Spectroscopy, NIR FT Raman Microspectroscopy and Heavy Metals Testing.  I won't go into details on them, but they are also tests that are done for purity purposes.

If you want to know if a company does these tests, call them or email them.  I have called or emails a dozen companies and most of the time they beat around the bush or don't respond.  Personally I use doTERRA.  They are the only company I know of that do ALL of those tests on EVERY batch and if they don't pass with flying colors they are shipped back.  I would love to know if any of you know of any other company that does any or all of those tests besides the GCT....I love doTERRA, but I would like to know of any other...just to compare :)

doTERRA actully puts supplement labels on their oils that are ok to take internally.  Plus they say right on them "For aromatic, topical or dietary use" if they can be used for those things.  They have been tested and found pure enough that they can do that!  IF YOUR OILS DO NOT HAVE SUPPLEMENT LABELS ON THEM DO NOT TAKE THEM INTERNALLY!  Here are some pics I just took of my lavender oil :) My Frankincense also has supplement labels as do my clove, orange and all of the other ones I mentioned in my regime (except for Balance) I hope you all can see them ok!  Click on them to enlarge.

 

Sorry if they look kinda weird!  I turned the pics on their side so they would be easy to read!!!  

Potency

Here are a few quick facts.  So, if an oil is really truly pure it is extremely potent.  Because of that you can use less to get the same effect as if you used an oil of lesser quality.  Essential Oils are 50-70 times more potent than dried herbs.  One drop of the peppermint oil I use is roughly equivalent to 26 cups of peppermint tea.  Thats super potent people!  Price point is important to people, so I thought the potency was an important thing to include.  Even though the extra testing means pricier oils, they go a lot further and you will have better results.  Not to mention your chances of negative reactions are greatly decreased.

Additional Resources


Most of my resources are doTERRA specific as far as the oils go, but the other info (such as on purity and testing) that is also found in these resources is pretty global info.

Modern Essentials: A Contemporary Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Essential Oils


Has so much info on oils, their compounds and constituents and how to use them for hundreds and hundreds of conditions.  Lots of footnotes backing up the things they are used for.

   'Frankincense—Essential Oil Library Volume 1' by Dr. David Hill



This book  has so much info on Frankincense in general but also on purity, testing, quality and method of distillation.  Dr. Hill is an MD that is also one of the leading experts on oils.


Everything Essential Website


Just check it out!  Tons and tons of info.

Quick update

I've been on vacation and teaching classes, so I have not been able to post my lastest and greatest.....I had another appt. with my endo.  I got my latest blood results a few weeks ago.  My prolactin is down to 6.7!  The lab technician called me personally to tell me to come back in for a retest!  The initial results were 7.9 and she thought it was wrong "because prolactin levels do not fall that fast!"  The retest results were 6.7 two days later :) I am very happy with these results and hope that my "Aunt Flo" visits soon.  I am currently off cabergoline and plan on maintaining with frankincense and some vitamin supplements I have recently started on!  Wish me luck!  Anyway, I will post more soon and I will post another oil of the week...or month if I keep going like I have been!  Sorry for slacking and a special thanks to those that were willing the share their experience with me via blog and email and even phone!  It always boosts my spirits and strength to hear from others and their experiences...good and bad.  So many of you are so strong and keep going even when things are so hard.  Thanks for sharing even when it is hard.  Thank you thank you thank you!

Share :)

This is gonna be a short post because everyone always hears from me.  I want to hear from you!  I want to know if any of you have had success with your natural stuff, if so, what do you use and how much?  What is your story?  There are people from all over the world that read this blog and I would love some feedback and to know other experiences!!!  If you are too shy to post, feel free to email me :)  I won't share, but I would love to learn from and hear from you!  My email is hyperprolactinoma@gmail.com

Some of you do post, but I cannot view your blog or profile...if you don't want 

me to that is fine, but I'd love to get to know some of you better :)  

(does that sound scary or what!)

P.S.  I would love some good healthy recipes too if you have any to share!!!  

No refined sugar, or milk and whole grains are good!