Boudicca experiements

Field Reports & Anecdotal Experience Women's Journals
41

I have come to the conclusion that I am having post-op depression. I have had it before, but never have had such a very big operation before, so it seems to be hitting much harder. When combined with chronic back pain from overuse (since my abs weren’t workin’), and the surgical menopause, I been just downright bitchy and I know it.

On my recent working vacay, my lit agent got me set up with a MT from a world-class spa. The MT came over to my friend’s house with a portable table and all of the oils and butters they use at the spa, and worked on me for nearly two hours! (Only charged me for one, thank heavens.) Crown to toe. It was bliss. I sounded like a mixing bowl full of Rice Krispies and milk, and afterward my whole body changed. Before, I had started the “invalid shuffle,” you know, the barely-move-the-feet shuffle that old people do; I couldn’t stand up straight, couldn’t sit and stand easily. Couldn’t even sleep all night comfortably. And wasn’t sure I could lie on my stomach on that massage table, let alone stand enough pressure applied to do any good.

But now I stand upright, I stride out (even with a bit of back porch swing!), I sleep through the night, sometimes even on my stomach. So physically I’m much more comfortable. I still have the physical fx of the sudden menopause, but I’m not in severe chronic pain anymore. (Thank You, God.)

Unfortunately I’m still inclined to depression. I have anxiety disorder, which predisposes me to depression by burning up the neurotransmitters at a fast rate, and I’m medicated for that. Still and all, there it is. My doctor has considered additional meds, but 1) I don’t want the side fx, 2) the depression comes and goes. Some days I’m fine.

Today I wasn’t. For various reasons, which I won’t go into here. (100F temps ain’t helpin’ tho.)

So today I decided to try some mones. I didn’t want to waste a bunch, but I tried a shot of IS right under my nose, as it were, to the top of my sternum. Took a little while - wasn’t instant - but after a bit I did get to feeling a little more upbeat. And that was after being waaaaaay down. I suppose an open necked shirt rather than a standard T might’ve helped a bit. I’ll have to remember that next time.

I need to figure out how to minimize usage and maximize fx, here…

42

BTW, I forgot to mention that the convention in town was the one where I was supposed to be on at least one panel with my writing mentor. He pulled out due to schedule conflicts before the convention even started. :frowning: More, I found out that he hadn’t recommended me for the convention; the head of the track scheduling had heard of me and invited me. :frowning::frowning:

Have heard nothing out of mentor since. :frowning::frowning::frowning:

So. On to today.

Hubby had to work out in the heat today (entertainment job) and so I wasn’t expecting too much tonight. But he called midafternoon to say he was being taken good care of and if I wanted to go out tonight we could. So I was ready when he got home. I’d already self-fx applied a spritz of IS this morning, and while getting ready, applied 2 more, plus 2 IS/b, and I think 2 P83. I’d also gotten a new set of jewelry - whiskey quartz necklace and earrings - very pretty. So I got all ready and he came home just as I was finishing up. I couldn’t get the necklace on because the clasp was small and I’ve let my fingernails grow out a bit, so I got him to put it on for me. This meant that he was well within my mone cloud. He got it on and I left him to sit and cool off - by that time he’d already peeled out of a soggy shirt.

Shortly thereafter he fetched a fresh shirt from the laundry, ironed it himself, and freshened up, whereupon we were ready to go out to our favorite Chinese buffet.

Very solicitous waitress wanted to refill our drinks before they were 1/3 gone, lol.

After, we did a little shopping at a dept. store (hubby was quite agreeable to it, which surprised me, because I figured he’d be a lot more tired after being on his feet in the heat all afternoon). Then we came home and chilled.

Still no more game in the marriage than there was, but part of that is due to our having differing sleep cycles. He’s a bit of an earlybird in the last couple years, whereas I’m a night owl.

And dang my insomnia has come back. But it’s because I’m having (presumably hormone-related) body temp adjustment problems.

I got a question (ok, questions) for somebody. My reading on the forum indicates that naturally low hormone production leads to, or at least correlates with, low mone production. (At least that’s what the guys say. Dunno about the gals, hence the following.) Since the surgeons yanked my female plumbing cuz of the cyst, I’m in menopause now. How is THAT affecting my natural mone production? Do I need to be wearing more mones because of that? Is that why the self-fx are rather pronounced in me?

43

Frankly it can make any mix sensual. I wear it everywhere and anywhere.

It can bring out certain nuances to other mixes.

For instance I notice when I use it with IH people the flirtatious innuendos increase. People will say things and look at you like they cant believe that just came out of there mouths. Its a hoot.

With copulins or Isex (I still have bottles of the original with cops added) men especially will try to impress you with there manliness. While ISex and cops is sexual it ups the anti and turns it into a fun seduction of sorts. Its hard to describe but its like a perfectly choreographed dance.

I helps put away inhibitions and self doubts. P86 is more visual. People report they think like they look better or sexier when using it but P83 covers more of your senses. You feel sexy, seductive, alluring and your body moves with that feeling. Its really neat. I notice men have much the same reaction but being men they express that feeling different then women. They peacock, show off, flirt, tease and approach seduction in a masculine way.

P83 is one I have a lot of because I dont want to be without it. I can be happy with 4 mixes IH Ishine copulins and P83 and never need another pheromone. Definitely get a big bottle.

Yay, one step at a time and you will get there. I know it seems like its taking forever but before you know it a lot of those issues from the surgery will be a thing fo the past. In the mean time pamper yourself, be kind to yourself. You have been though alot and you deserve it.

I go with my girlfriends about 3 or 4 times a year up to Omega in Rhinebeck NY for the women’s power weekends. I took a lot of workshops there before the economy went south to. Its great. I dont know where you live but I know they have spas like this all over the place. I got a body tuning there that was just heavenly. It wasn’t that expensive either.

Yes its true even for women. I find with certain mones I can wear more then the younger girls probably because being in my 40’s its beginning to decline. Especially with things like copulins or EST.

Also I wanted to mention to you to check out this site

Women to Women — Changing women’s health — naturally

http://www.womentowomen.com/womens-stories/default.aspx?wsid=menopause

I love Marcelle Pick, she is brilliant. She has so much great info for women’s health and approaches it mind body and spirit. She has a article about insomnia and menopause in that second link that could help. Plus her books are fabulous and she go’s into a lot more detail. Nothing against men doctors but its good to have access to a female practitioner who knows womens issues inside and out and how we feel. She has a office up in Yarmouth which is about 4 hours from me but was worth the trip. You can call them to but she offers so much info on the site and especially in the books you probably can get a lot of benefit just from that.

Tisha

44

I already have a supplement that has all of the phytohormonal ingredients in it; I had been taking it at 1/2 dose to make it last longer, then gave up when it wasn’t doing enough. But the online test at that site indicated my symptoms and condition were SEVERE. So I am going to start taking it at full dose and maybe for awhile dose and a half. (But being herbs, I’ll work up to it cuz I have IBS.) We will see what happens. I also need to find the price of the supplement on the page you recommended so I can compare prices. It may be the one on your site is cheaper. I’ve got enough of what I have for a couple months, though. I just need to USE it and see what happens. Ditto for my vitamin supplements.

Interestingly I was recently introduced to drinking lemon water. Not that recipe with maple syrup and cayenne - just plain lemon juice and water. I find I like it with a LOT of lemon juice in it. And it has calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus in it! A natural supplement, with electrolytic replenishment! (And concurrent decrease in skeletal muscle cramps.)

What mones should I wear more of? I have IS, IS/b, IH, and P83. Something else I should get to punch things up? More IS/b? I usually hit everything (except IH) at 2-3 sprays. I’m willing to go more if need be and order bigger bottles.

By the by, I’ve read that people on the forum are saving their to-go bottles and refilling them from their big bottles. Is that good? Is it easy? And does it mess with the seals on the bottles? (i.e. make 'em not spray good because of the lack of proper seal)

I can tell it’s time for me to go back and get a massage. I live in Alabama, but in an area that’s very metropolitan so I have access to some good MTs and some spas. Being able to afford it is a somewhat different proposition. I’m working with a personal trainer, partly for the additional motivation and partly to ensure my form is good and somewhat for additional creativity in workouts. It’s helping but yeah it’s slow. But then it took 3 years to pack on 4 pregnancies’ worth of baby fat, so it isn’t gonna come off fast. (And no, I couldn’t get it to come off while the cyst was growing. No matter what I did, and I was busting A in the gym.)

Big bottle will be my next order.:slight_smile: Along with anything else you think is recommended for the menopausal bit. :wink:

45

Also it’s become my daily routine to hit my chest with one good shot of IS when I’m getting dressed each day, even if I don’t put on any other fragrance. :slight_smile: Makes me feel better.

46

I know this is not mone-related, but my trainer and I both noticed two things today at the gym.

  1. my recovery rate on those elliptical trainer intervals is shortening - I’m recovering faster. I think my pulse rate is also not going as high for a given level of effort, but it’s hard to prove on the data chart she’s keeping.

  2. my “mushroom,” as my husband calls the bagged-out flesh of my belly, IS GETTING SMALLER! :smiley:

The other good thing is that I know from all the EKGs last year (2 surgeries, pre-op tests, ICU post-op, etc.) that my heart was in good shape. My tolerance for the interval training and the recovery rate (as well as the ability to go up to 80-90% of max rate pretty readily) is indication of excellent cardiovascular health. I also recently had occasion to have my eye dr. photo my retinas. He informed me that the optic arteries came directly off the carotid arteries in the throat, and I guess the veins drain into the jugulars. And that the retina is the only place in the human body where a direct picture can be taken of the vascular health. He also informed me (and I could see for myself) that every single blood vessel was clean, clear, and smooth. He said that was an excellent indication of overall cardiovascular health.

And today in the gym we actually dared to use the oblique resistance machine to work my obliques - we’d hesitated to do that before on account of my scar. We wanted to give it time to get strong. Felt good.

Yesterday I went clothing shopping. I wanted to find a good sports bra among other things. Unfortunately no cigar; I actually seem to be between cup sizes at the mo, so finding a good fit with good support wasn’t possible, and I refuse to wear the uniboob bras. (Ladies, you know what I’m talking about.) But I was wearing a t-shirt and bootcut jeans, and I caught a glimpse in the mirror. Yes, my torso is still too thick. But after all the beach walking and stuff I did on my vacation last month, my legs looked fantastic in those jeans. The flare of my thigh coming up from a slender knee was the same size as the flare of the bootleg going down from my knee; it was a very nice look. I was pleased.

So I’m getting there. This makes me really happy overall.

I also ordered a spray bottle of A314. Looking forward to getting it. :smiley:

47

I’m sure you’ve looked into it, but FWIW I thought I had bad knees (joints). A friend (who manages the supplement department in a food co-op) suggested Magnesium for the sore muscles I had – knee aches went away as well. Seems it was the tiny attenuator muscles.

Also, my ASS of an arthroscopic surgeon (the type of guy that thinks an MRI is too “New Age”) suggested methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)/glucoasmine/hyaluronic acid (HA)/collagen/chondroitin compound to help replenish the cartilage he removed. (I did quite a bit of my own research at the time.) It seemed to work; my wrist doesn’t make grating noises or hurt any more.

And turmeric (fresh, grows as a rhizome like ginger) was reputed by many co-op customers to help with joints.

48

At one point in time, I was working in a factory and the damage (repetitive strain) to my hands :open_mouth: left me incapable of using cutlery, let alone doing anything else. My naturopath gave me Manganese - worked wonders. Don’t know if that helps.

49

Oh, there’s no doubt. I already had surgery on one knee, and the doctor said it was “a train wreck” in there. (His words.) He had to clean out all the shreds of cartilage and resurface bone to make it work a LITTLE better. I am bone on bone in both knees.

I have tried magnesium and it just makes me sick and sets off my IBS, even with food. Have a great big bottle nearly full around here someplace.

Can’t take glucosamine & chondroitin. Upsets tum. Do not know why. Makes me nauseated. Haven’t tried MSM or HA or collagen.

Suggest you find different surgeon. :wink::roll_eyes:

Am allergic to turmeric - tried that. Fills my mouth with those little mouth ulcers, and judging by gut reaction, those sores go all the way through the digestive tract. I can’t even use steak sauces (like Heinz 57) that have it in it.

Have not tried manganese.

I’m pathetic, aren’t I? :frowning:

50

Yikes. No, you’re not pathetic!
I thought I had a gluten issue – turns out it’s all those funny shortenings and tropical oils most pastries and spreads use instead of butter and olive oil. And just “refined” flour of any sort without whole grain in there too. (Seriously, those “gluten free” things make me feel just as awful.) And, MSG, and nitr- and sulf-ites/ates. So I can’t eat almost any conventional foods. That makes me look like a “picky” eater. :frowning: When in reality, I’m just not a junk-food slut like so many people. I’d rather eat loads of veggies, fruit, dairy, lean proteins, and whole grains anyway. :smiley: You know, real food. (This country has some some serious food issues–I think many people just don’t realize this “food” makes them feel badly. I didn’t until I quit it.)

Anyway, we all have our various diets. Junksters disparage the health-conscious. The vegan or vegetarian look down on the omnivores. I know I disagree with those lifestyles for anything but health reasons. Even properly done vegetarianism makes me feel lethargic, and most of the veg don’t look very healthy. I just try for “self-health-conscious,” and explain that it’s for that reason when anyone starts to proselytize. Hard to tell someone to go poison themselves in the name of health, I guess. :stuck_out_tongue:

51

Actually I’m feeling really icky today - have for the last 2 days. Upset tum & general digestive upset and tired and lethargic and still got the $#@!!! sinus infection. Have been on a low carb diet for awhile now and may have eaten too many carbs on Sunday at a friend’s house.

Or it may be sinus drainage from the infection hosing things.

Or I may need to supplement my acidophilus after all the workouts in this heat.

Or I may have eaten too spicy food.

Or, on and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseam (literally).

I did not go to the gym and I am still sitting here in my pajamas, which shows you how yucky I feel. Haven’t even bothered putting on any Shine.

52

awww, gentle hugs
I use Amazon.com: Xlear Natural Nasal Spray with Xylitol, 1.5 fl oz (Pack of 1) : Health & Household Xlear for allergies and sinus-stuff. I was able to give up my steroid nasal spray that only sorta helped.

So…go “work out” – a languorous swim, a leisurely walk in a shaded lane or park, something you think will make you feel better in one way or another. You can do it; make me proud! :stuck_out_tongue:

(I don’t know why the Banner treatment for the link, but I can’t seem to fix it.)

53

Right now I’m trying to figure out what to put in my tum that won’t cause me to upchuck. Temps are in the 90s; I may try going for a walk after it cools down some tonight.

54

My preference for hot days and upset stomach is a smoothee made with a cup of plain low-fat yogurt, a half-cup (by volume, added after the liquids) frozen fruit (a blend of raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mango is my favorite), half a banana, and a splash of orange juice. Frosty, soothing, balanced snack. :wink:

Edit:
Or the “B.R.A.T” diet – bananas, rice, applesauce, dry Toast and black Tea.

55

Great. Nausea - sometimes mimicking morning sickness in timing, which mine seems to, as it decreases as the day goes on - is a not-uncommon menopause symptom.

Good thing is that it responds well to progesterone cream, which I think I got some of. Maybe a bedtime slather of that will help me feel better the next morning. Might even help my scar if I rub it into that…?

Meh. Why am I not surprised?

Oh a positive note, I made myself get up and get dressed, and added a spritz of Shine into the mix, which seemed to help a bit.

56

Oh geez somebody shoot me now. My mom got all bent out of shape about some stuff my nephew posted to her FB page and now Mom, my sister, and my nephew are all on the outs and my sister called up crying, and my nephew is beside himself upset and when I tried to explain to Mom SHE started crying and then Daddy started fussing so I hung up and hubby is gone tonight on a gig and I’m about ready to have a herd of longhorns. :frowning:

And I just realized my editor would have a conniption at that run-on sentence…:roll_eyes:

Somebody stop the world. I wanna get off.

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NOT at all! I’m intolerant to:

tropical fruit, it has an enzyme that wreaks havoc on my system - try growing up with that affliction undiagnosed in Australia. :frowning::open_mouth:
yeast - try finding a loaf of yeast free bread in this country, that’s larger than a baguette and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg! Not to mention jars of cooking sauces, white wine has similar
egg albumen - oh, lets see, quiche, omelettes, potato salad do you even realise how many things have egg in them?!
seafood - again try growing up in Oz with that one.

There’s more, but it’s boring. With a hardcore Celtic line like yours, it’s not surprising to me.
When all else fails try acupuncture.

58

Yams and sweet potato are great for hormonal imbalances - baked in foil but I just ran them through a juicer.
Horseradish and garlic capsules for sinus, sinus infections, etc.
My home town has the same geographic and development issues as LA. SO after decades of data: 80% of people who live there develop sinus problems. I only ever had 3 in my life and they were major cases that left me incapable of proper daily function for a couple of weeks.
The last one, I took horseradish and garlic caps and it got killed in approx 5 days. At least, that was when I felt kinda normal, again.

59

For sinus infections I generally use saline nasal spray, tea tree oil swabbed inside each nostril right before I lie down at night, and guaifenisen (hot pepper extract commonly known as Mucinex or Robitussin). I used the saline spray nearly 3 hrs ago and the burning finally went away about 30 mins ago. I don’t think I’m using the tea tree oil tonight! :open_mouth:

And yeah, where I live has a similar, but smaller, layout as LA. The Cherokee word for the area meant “Bad Air,” so even before industrialization of any sort, the air quality was poor here in the summertime.

I used to have an acupuncturist but they did a buncha road widening where his office was, reworking an intersection, and it’s not there anymore. Dunno where he went.

Wonder how many carbs are in a cup of yam juice?

I wonder where I put my juicer…?

I’ve been known to make a kind of garlic tincture with garlic powder and apple cider vinegar heated in the microwave and then allowed to sit and steep for a bit until it’s cool enough to drink. Yes it’s a pucker-maker, but it does kill off junk. Me and horseradish don’t get along so well, although I’ll eat tiny bits bc I love it.

The biggest intolerance problems I have are with foods that you wouldn’t think of. I have had tons of allergy tests and I’m only allergic to certain molds (including penicillium), dust, and dust mites. But I can’t drink anything carbonated bc my IBS of a gut doesn’t know what to do with the quantities of CO2 in sodas and beer. I can’t drink OJ or grapefruit juice bc they ferment in my gut and produce CO2 and stuff; see “anything carbonated.” BUT I CAN drink lemonade and limeade without the fermentation happening. Also cranberry juice. Other juices I have to watch out for. Taking acidophilus regularly helps. Mind, yogurt won’t cut it - there isn’t enough of the culture in it to properly saturate my innards. Members of the cabbage family can be iffy. Salads I can eat most times, but sometimes it rebels on me. Melon is supposed to be hard to digest but I can, no prob. Berries are a different story. shakes head

Like you, I can go on and on. But it’s mostly a case of “does it irritate or overstretch the gut?” If it does, it’s out. If not, I can eat it. Tomatoes and turmeric are the only things I know that make my mucosal lining break out - and I’m not sure about tomato. I think it might be tomato products THAT CONTAIN TURMERIC. Some seem completely benign.

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It still amazes me that with all the food issues in the hi tech industrialised world; they’re STILL genetically modifying food. :open_mouth::open_mouth::open_mouth:

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should; especially with the stuff we ingest. However, the higher yoga practices include flossing the nasal passages; which, apparently, works wonders.