Good morning, Lyn!
After reading your latest e-mail, I knew I had to reply to you! You are so right on – women have to do the research and start standing up for themselves in their doctors’ offices! How do we encourage these women to let them know they are right, the research is right, and their doctors are just wrong? I did my research before I found out about the Cottage. I remember reading Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled? by Dr. Shames and wondering how I could ever find a place around Xenia that did that type of diagnosis. Close to a year after reading that book, I came across the article in the DDN about the opening of the Cottage, and I felt so relieved! I made my appointment, then took the saliva test. Fortunately for me, I was searching for a new gynecologist at about the same time.I went to one of the doctors that was recommended to me by one of the women from the cottage. I made two appointments: one for my regularcheck-up and tests and one for bio-identical conference. He sent my prescription for progesterone to The Medicine Shoppe, I picked up my first prescription at the Cottage where you and (I think) Sandra went over everything! I have lost 60 pounds since November of 2009. Mind you, it didn’t drop off. I have worked very hard to get it off (and keep it from coming back!), but I have the energy to exercise. Lyn, I’ve told you my story time and again, how I had no energy, couldn’t sleep, had so many pains in my joints that I was convinced I was looking at using a cane to walk around for the rest of my life. No more! I feel so strong and so healthy! I still have lots of weight to lose, but I have energy, motivation, and the clearness of mind to look forward and enjoy life. Even better, I look forward to challenging myself and being a participant, not someone who sits on the sidelines! I did not get a “halt!” message from my doctor. But as a daughter of a woman who died of an initially undetected cancer, I am not afraid to question a doctor’s prescription and diagnosis. I know my body, I do my research. If a doctor ever tried to prescribe a “one size fits all” synthetic hormone for me, he would get such an earful. And, depending on the outcome of that discussion, he would probably lose me as a patient. How do we empower these women, Lyn? This Life we get, it’s only one to a customer… no do-overs. And, it ain’t over until that last breath is drawn. I shudder when I see these women backing down to their mis-informed doctors (and I sincerely hope they are only mis-informed; the alternative angers me so much). I know this works! Within days of taking the progesterone, I was sleeping through the night, staying focused during the day. I never hit that wall that you and Sandra warned me about; perhaps my levels were so low that even the wall felt better than pre-bioidentical hormone days. (I won’t even start about the idea of a doctor blatantly prescribing an anti-depressant… quite frankly, that pisses me off!) My 52nd birthday was yesterday. I feel the strongest I’ve felt since my early twenties. Lyn, I won’t eat synthetic food (have started to be very picky about what I put in my mouth – fresh, out of the box food), why would I use synthetic hormones, especially since the bio-identical hormones are safer, better, and compounded just for me. Yes, I am important! Yes, I deserve this! Every woman is important! Every woman deserves this! And bio-identicals are not expensive, so there is no excuse there. Women need to realize that. Women need to understand they are not second class citizens. Women need to become partners in their health care! I know I’m “preaching to the choir”, Lyn. But I had to answer you today… I just did! On a side note: I apologize for not keeping in touch. I had a bad winter: the health of my 96-year-old grandfather started declining in January, and I lost him in March. Yes, I said 96! And until the very end, he was in really good health and of a very sharp and sound mind. I aspire to live like he did. But, it was a very emotionally draining time for me and the family. I did get through it. Before my new regime, I don’t know if I would have. But I did. Also, I still have not sold my novel. But I started a second one. Even if I don’t sell any novels, I am fulfilling a goal of being a writer. I am doing. I am being. Thank you for helping me rediscover my life!
Take care
