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Queenfluff, thanks! Pineapple didn’t work for me when I tried it.
Since menstruation is a detox mechanism it makes sense that it would get heavier after going raw. There are just more toxins leaving the body in all ways, not just during menstruation. I suppose after a while it will get better. I hope, for the sake of those of us trying to become more ‘clean’!
Queenfluff {{{{hugs}}}}}. I know, I know…Im almost at the point too where Im wondering what the heck is going on if eating a clean diet doesn’t improve my period. But Im giving it a year or two before I decide what to do next.
I do believe that this is a much more complicated issue than I first thought. But I refuse to believe that it is irreparable. Im 35 and (as strange as this sounds) it would make me so happy if I could have some pleasant periods before I hit menopause which is probably less than 10 years away for me. The only time Ive ever had uneventful periods was when I was on the pill. When I started menstruating at 10 years old it was extremely painful and then added to that was nausea and vomiting. All that stopped with the pill but I think it increased my probability of developing fibroids and messing up my hormones, which it did. But you know, this didnt happen overnight, so I can’t expect to be healed overnight either. I’ll keep you posted on any improvements!
I had a very painful period before my raw journey began. Now I have been on and off for 5 years and realized that if I really behave I have almost no discomfort at all. For me the best is to stick to 80/10/10 diet as close as possible – low fat, only whole stuff (no oils, no juices, no salt, no soy), lot of fruit and greens, some veggies, little nuts, seeds and avos. I do not use dehydrated stuff only rarely as a special treat. I still use some spices, ginger, hot peppers, garlic and onion. Find the tipe of raw diet which is best for you stick to it and after some time you will see changes. Somtimes things have to get even worse before they get better.
Hi Grasshopper, I find that the more healthy fats I eat, the more body fat I lose. When I try to eat less fat it seems my body holds onto it for dear life, lol.
So I’ve tried low fat, less dehydated stuff (in fact for the first few months on raw I had no dehydrator)
Yes, Im still looking for the best raw diet for my needs.
I REALLY hope things will get better pretty soon.
Thanks!
UPDATE
I’m on day 2 another month gone by. My period has been reduced by one half in terms of flow and I literally have not had ANY CRAMPS!!
What I did differently this month was switch to dried herbs (taken in tea form) and took 9 Vitalzym per day. Now, judging from today, I took the tea about every 3 hours and felt absolutely no pain, in fact I felt INCREDIBLE! However I felt very slight cramping around 6pm because I hadn’t taken the herbal tea for about 4 hours. I drank some at that point and the slight cramps went away within 5-10 minutes. In case anyone is curious I made ‘sun tea’ out of the following dried herbs, purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs:
Vitex (chasteberry), Lady’s Mantle, Shepherd’s Purse, Partridgeberry, Yarrow
A couple months ago I did some research on remedies for heavy painful menstruation and found this concoction on a naturopath’s website. I did buy the herbs in tincture form and that’s what I took last month which did have some positive impact, but compared to this month with the dried herbal version, the tinctures were not worth it.
In analyzing what has had the most impact (vitalzym or dried herbs), I’d say the dried herb remedy wins hands down!! I say this because when I didn’t take it for more than a couple hours I felt very slight cramping and that it went away after I drank the tea! I do think Vitalzym is having a positive impact as well, but I think I will ‘wean’ myself off it gradually, ie, this month I’ll take 6/day instead of 9/day.
If anyone has any questions about this, I’ll be happy to answer. I know a few people responded to this thread who also have difficult menstruation even on a high raw diet.
Thanks for everyone’s help!!
Hi Moth, how do you feel about not having had a period since June?
I stopped eating avocado for a couple months when the weather started warming up back in May/June, no such luck for me :(
If you don’t have fibroids, I think different rules apply. Fat intake or lack thereof hasn’t had an impact for me.
So what is it about avocados that you think make a difference? Is it simply the fat? Im not sure because good fats don’t translate into body fat. Also, funny thing is, avocados are known to be good for female reproductive health.
Im starting to realize that there is no one, single ‘remedy’ for everyone. Each woman needs to pay attention to her body, her diet, her life and figure out how to heal herself.
BTW, just out of curiosity, do you eat any fat?
Oh, and do you know if you ovulate? If so, that’s fantastic!
Bannana, the only stress I have in my life is deciding whether to continue or end an LD relationship. He’s a great guy (he’s a very spiritual guy and is raw too!) but seems to be a commitment-phobe. We took a 3 week break in August and I felt like a weight was lifted. Other than this, I am in the middle of interviews to make a move very soon (not sure where I’ll end up) But other than this my life is pretty stress-free, no kids, parents are doing well (my mom is raw too! :). So stress is not HUGE for me, ya know? Oh, I just remembered that the period after the 3 weeks break-up was horrendous, so maybe you have a point Bannana! But when will I ever have ‘no stress’? That’s just not the way life works.
Randommara, sorry to hear you have such terrible periods. I also had nausea and vomiting when I was a teenager, it was HORRIBLE.
I originally researched which herbs were recommended to take and found a recipe online. (if I find the site again I’ll post a link) That recipe included the herbs I mentioned before, using about a dropper full of each tincture.
But as I mentioned Ive had MUCH more success with the dried herbs. I bought each herb in 4 oz. portions from Mountain Rose Herbs. All I did was literally put about 1/4 cup of each herb in a container and shake it up, lol. So, I guess you could say I am taking them in equal parts. Then I put about 6 TB of the mixed herbs in a 20 oz. glass bottle and added room-temperature distilled water. I let it sit by my sunny window for about 8 hours and then put it in the refrigerator. The tea is strong, but not overly so. Anyone making this tea could adjust it to taste. BTW, I think all the dried herbs at MRH are organic! And another thing, when I was at work on friday I used hot water to make the tea throughout the day. I knew my period was about to come so I upped my dosage to four times a day, and I have to say it worked amazingly!
Randommara, I would recommend you try this tea. Let us know how it works, Im curious.
You know, thinking back to my childhood and teen years in Jamaica, we ate avocados ALL the time. Most people have trees growing on their property, and it’s available for a good portion of the year. I don’t remember it having any impact on my period or anyone else’s. But I grew up on the stuff so I don’t think that’s it for me.
I know this is definitely due to my fibroids, which I have determined developed because I threw my hormones out of wack by going on BCP’s, and of course couple that with a SAD diet filled with lots of candy and starchy food.
And thanks Moth!
Update: After 2 years of being raw and using various supplements to try to help my difficult menstruation, I decided to try cayenne pepper powder during my last period (just finished after 3 days!). I took the day off of work because I woke up on day 2 with horrible cramping, bloating and pain. I was AMAZED to find that after the first dose on day 2 (1/2 t. with 2 cups of water) my heavy period slowed to a light flow. Also, the cramping and bloating disappeared just as suddenly.
I took the same dose every 4 hours for the rest of the day. I didn't take any of the solution overnight and my flow was a little heavier again in the morning, but slowed down once again during day 3 with the same level of dosage. And this was just with the ordinary organic cayenne pepper in my kitchen, which has a pretty low level of capsicum, the element that provides such wonderful benefits. I have ordered a higher quality tincture (Dr. Schulze) and powder to use regularly from now on. I'll save the 'ordinary' one for cooking. :)
I am ECSTATIC that I continued to look for a solution. What's weird is that in all my prior research I never read that cayenne pepper was such an amazing herb with so many healing properties including the ability to halt hemorrhage immediately. I had no idea that it can and has halted heart attacks, nose bleeds, serious bleeding wounds, cured candida, etc. I'm amazed!!
I just wanted to update this for anyone who is going through the same thing I have been going through for the last 10 years with fibroids and heavy periods!!