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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!!
I haven’t had a period since June.
Hi Moth, how do you feel about not having had a period since June?
I feel pretty good. :-)
It’s such a relief. I used to suffer from very painful and emotionally devestating periods.
Now I feel great. And my last period in June happened after I ate avocado (which I haven’t eaten since) – and was extremely light.
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!
Wow Ceasarea! Please tell us more about your tea. Do you have a recipe for your tea with amounts and time? I don’t think I have fibroids but I have an appt in Nov for a check. I do have horrible periods with constant pain, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea. I took a couple of tinctures last month and had a noticeable improvement but I still couldn’t function for 4 days. So I’d love to try your remedy!
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.
Ceasarea,
I don’t usually consume raw fats – in fact my period issues began to ease and then vanished altogether when I went first fruitarian, and then turned to the low-fat style of raw vegan – 811. At first I was concerned by the lack of periods, but now I believe it is okay, as I still feel wonderful. I believe there is just something in the avocado that makes my menstruation begin, because nuts and seeds don’t seem to jumpstart my moon blood like avocado does. I sometimes go a long time without eating much fat at all, however I ate a lot of nuts and seeds a few weeks ago and because of the avocado experience I expected my period to begin, but it never did. That was about a month ago. I used to have my period right around the same time as my girlfriend did, but I don’t anymore – I don’t even get PMS, which is a huge blessing for me.
PMS used to destroy me each month – I would get it very very bad, to the point of being suicidal and psychotic – even after going RAW. It would last for about a week, and then go away, leaving me feeling like, “WTF just happened?!” When I lowered my raw fats all symptoms of menstruation including PMS and bleeding vanished. Then when I ate that avo, the DAY LATER, I started bleeding, lightly – no other symptoms. I decided not to eat any more avo and see what happened – and I haven’t had a period since, and it’s been several months.
I’m not sure how to check for ovulation or not. I am curious about that.
Also, good luck to you, Ceasarea!
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!
Dear Moth,
I’m a little concerned – you look pretty young (also, young pretty!) but it’s not a sign of health for your periods to just stop when you’re young. Much as I can sympathize with wanting them to STOP! (My friend Jen in her early menopause, & intermittent periods, used to scream ” I don’t want menoPAUSE, I want menoCEASE!!! I want this to be OVER!”).
Most of us who are female can sympathize with that sentiment. But if you’re not within the normal age range of menopause, as good as it might be to have your periods stop. it might be a sign of malnutrition – and if your periods start when you eat fats (avocados, as you described), then that might be an indication you’re malnourished. And if fats start your period, it might be a suggestion your body needs more fats to function as it should.
Healing of very bad, painful periods was one of the unexpected benefits for me of going raw six years ago, (tho I never had PMS,) – and I went raw for different & more pressing reasons. Tho an energy surge happened pretty quickly, the healing of my major health crisis & all the unexpected healing took over a year, And I won’t go into all that now,it’s a long story, but I’ll post it on my profile at some point.
- I don’t know how long you’ve been raw, or just how young you are.But I’m hoping you don’t narrow your diet so much as to starve yourself out of having a normal female period, as much as you might dread the occurance, with the attendant problems & pain. In my experience, the healthier you get, the more normal & problem-free your periods become, and I went from YEARS of pain-killers during menstruation to utterly pain-free, to nothing-but-an-annoying-pad. From prescription pain-killers to drug & pain-FREE.
I hope you’re not offended – I’m just concerned. And if you’re not having periods, you’re most likely not ovulating, tho that’s not a certainty until you’ve stopped having periods for over a year, and only then – if your within the age-range of menopause.
So…Moth – Even tho you feel good, not having periods as a young woman is most likely a cause of concern. Please let us know how you’re doing – you’re awesome, Moth, I really appreciate your contributions, your intelligence, warmth & your gentle honesty. Please take care of yourself, and I hope you can check this out with a doctor, and keep us posted on how you’re doing.
Take care, dear…
Yeah that’s what I was wondering…where in the cycle is it being interrupted. If there is still ovulation then it is possible that the a ceasing of menstruation could be perfectly fine, maybe even ideal? I have heard that if we are clean and toxin free that there is no need to menstruate. If we are still ovulating and get pregnant, then I wouldn’t be concerned. But isn’t there only one way to test if you’re still ovulating yet not having periods? lol…
If she eats an avocado and then the next day she menstruates then maybe it’s just a coincidence as if you Must menstruate if you ovulated two weeks prior, then the whole chain reaction started 14 days prior anyway. I just don’t know if that’s the case.
Ceaserea – You are right, we will always end up with stress sometimes, but there is a Lot you can avoid as well. People get caught up in the rat race, fill their plates with errands, traffic…all that little stuff adds up to a low level of chronic stress, that you might accept as normal. True, you may genuinely be fairly laid back and coasting along…and then it might be other things. But yes, there you go, you broke up…horrible period…you’ll notice over time that it never fails. ;)
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!!