Archive for Testing
Stand Up, Speak Out & Take Control
Posted by: | CommentsMost of what I have learned in life came from my experiences with hormones, hormonal imbalance and the “healthcare system”. You know the book “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned In Kindergarten”. My book could be “Everything I Needed To Know I Learned From Hormones.”
How I Know For Sure.
I have been a patient, I have worked with physicians, I have taught physicians, I have learned from physicians and physicians have been my clients. I have worked with pharmacists, for pharmacists, learned from pharmacists and pharmacists have been my clients. I have trained with whom I consider the best in the field of mind/body/spirit medicine. Most importantly, I have worked with women, young girls and the men that love them and I have learned from them.
What I Know For Sure
It is written for hormones but it can be applied to any health issue.
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You have to be in charge of your healthcare. It isn’t up to your physician or healthcare practitioner. It is up to YOU. If you are not in charge you will get treated but it may not be in your best interest.
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Trust Your Gut. When you know (and you do) that something isn’t right this is your intuition telling you to do something about it. You may not know exactly what it is but you know enough to know that what has been done or not done isn’t right. This is your hormones talking to you. Pay attention and take action.
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Ask Yourself Questions. When did this start? What am I experiencing that is not normal for me? What do I want? What do I need? What am I willing to do? What am I willing to pay?
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Don’t Accept Lame (Stuck In The Box) Responses: “We don’t typically do anything until you have had 3 miscarriages.” “ Oh yeah? Where did that come from?” “You are too young for it to be your hormones.” “You need an antidepressant not hormones.” “There is no need to test your hormones.”
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NEXT! If your physician doesn’t listen to you and is stuck in doing (SOS) you say next. Sometimes this can be the hardest step especially if you like your physician, you have been going to him/her for a long time, he/she delivered your children and you have gotten great care up until now. This can change when it comes to a hormonal issue. But and that’s a big but when it comes to hormonal issues they are stuck in a traditional mindset that will not serve you at this time.
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Choose Your Healthcare Practitioner Wisely. What do they know about hormones? What are their beliefs about hormonal treatment? Do they base it on age or symptoms? How long have they been working with new approaches to hormone therapy? Where did they get their training? Do you know other women that have been to him/her?
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Ask for what you want. If you want additional tests or want to try another approach tell them!
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Don’t Let Insurance Dictate Your Healthcare. This can be a tough one but your health is worth it. Going through training as a surgical technician at the age of 18, I got this message loud and clear. I learned doctors don’t know it all, they are human and like us they make mistakes. It is worth it to get the best. It’s still not foolproof but it helps.
An Example:
When I was faced with hip surgery as a result of too much prednisone (synthetic cortisol) a component of a not so good fertility treatment plan, my family physician was going to send me to an orthopedic clinic based on where I lived and who was in my insurance plan. I said, “Oh no, I want the best.” That decision-Standing Up, Speaking Out and Taking Control saved me from having a total hip replacement in my 30’s. The surgeon did a “new procedure” that has prolonged a hip replacement for 20 years. Plus, it has saved me physically, mentally, emotionally and financially because I would have needed additional replacements every 10 years. I paid on that bill for a long time but it was worth it. -
Get Support. When I started on this hormonal journey having someone that had been there and done that to support me through the process would have made life a lot easier.
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My coaching programs and Club HORMONZ™ are based on those wishes, needs and desires. They are designed for YOU to Stand Up, Speak Out and Take Control of your hormones, your health, your life.
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It’s Your Body. It’s Your Life. If you don’t take care of it nobody else will or can.
With Passion,
Roz
©2009 Rosalyn Adams
Want To Use This Article In Your Ezine or Web Site? You can as long as you include this complete blurb with it. Rosalyn Adams publishes the Hormonzine bi-weekly.
Rosalyn Adams is the owner and founder of Hormone Lady Enterprises®, LLC, a company devoted to redefining hormones, hormone therapy and healthcare. She provides RHT (Real Hormone Therapy) for the mind, body and soul through individual coaching, teleclasses, products and resources. It’s all about Livin’, Luvin’ and Feelin’ GOOD! www.hormonz.com
Lab Testing
Posted by: | CommentsLab Testing: Another Opportunity For You To Change The View
In my 30’s when I was blindly going through my infertility fiasco, I didn’t think to ask about my test results or how they used them to determine my course of treatment. Why didn’t I do this? I don’t know except my brain along with the rest of my body was in a tsunami due to the prednisone and massive doses of hormones I was taking. It’s not like I hadn’t already experienced other health issues that had taught me to ask questions and be an active participant. I guess I still needed more training to earn the title, the Hormone Lady.
Heck, all I could think about was food 24/7. If you have been on prednisone (synthetic cortisone) or experienced extreme stress you know what I mean. I could have eaten the cardboard box along with all the Wheat Thins I ate everyday.
AFTER the effects of all this craziness, which resulted in hip surgery among many other complications, I decided to request my records and see if I could glean a few answers for myself on why all these treatments didn’t work. How brilliant? What a novel idea?
The receptionist hemmed and hawed when I asked to have all of my records mailed to me. This was not a good sign or maybe it was a good sign to get involved. After weeks of not receiving my records, I drove 2 hours to get them in person. It was time to be an active participant. Ha, Ha, Ha.
Much to my surprise, I discovered the artificial insemination treatments had been done when the tests clearly showed my antinuclear antibodies were back up to the higher levels. This was the proposed reason I couldn’t get pregnant and the reason for being on prednisone.
To make a long story short the prednisone wasn’t working except for testing my self-esteem with a moon shaped face, 45 pounds of excess fat and getting me primed for hip surgery. And the extreme amount of hormones being pumped through my body were no match for the high level of antibodies.
The bottom line-the artificial inseminations were useless treatments. With a name like that how could they work? The whole experience was artificial!
The Test Result: A Real lesson on being an active participant BEFORE and DURING your treatment. If you don’t take charge somebody else will!!!
Roz’s Lab Testing Tips:
Get involved. Participate in the testing decisions. If your practitioner doesn’t recommend testing -you recommend it. I have done this for years. If they didn’t put what I wanted on the script I added it myself (after I left the office of course).
Age Is Not The Issue. Many times physicians won’t test your hormones if you aren’t in the age category they think you should be (whatever that’s supposed to be). Insist you want it done no matter how old you are. In fact, the younger you are the better. Then you will have a baseline to go by throughout your lifetime.
Get a full panel of hormones tested. A basic panel should include Estradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone, DHEA and Cortisol. Ideally, a thyroid panel should also be included. For thyroid you would start out with TSH, Free T3, Free T4, TPO (thyroid peroxidase) and thyroid antibody. Check out the HORMONZ profiles.
Always get a copy of your test results. It is your information. How will you know what is going on if you don’t see it yourself?
Get Your Results BEFORE you see your healthcare practitioner or definitely before treatment.
Read Your Results. It isn’t rocket science. Look at your results. Look at the ranges. Where are you in the range?
Just because the results are “in the range” doesn’t mean it is normal for you.
If the range was 1-10 and your results are 1 or 10 this is a big difference.
If there isn’t an L for low or H for high next to a result many practitioners skim right over it. Your results are considered “normal”.
Ask Questions. If you don’t understand what the results mean ask.
If your results are considered “normal” and you have all the symptoms of hormone imbalance most likely you do have hormone imbalance.
Know your body. What is “normal” for you?
Learn to trust your gut. If you know something is wrong most likely it is. Be persistent.
It’s your body. It’s your life. Only you know how you feel.
Take Care of YOU,
Roz
NO, YOU’RE NOT Going Crazy!
Posted by: | CommentsYou Say
I feel like I am going crazy.
Who is that person in my body?
I could kill somebody and not think twice about it.
Did those words come out of my mouth?
If he says that to me one more time I’m going to rip his head off.
Where are my keys?
Sex, Are you kidding me?
They Say
“Mommy you are so mean”.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“ You need to chill out, Mom.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You need to get some help.”
“Is it that time of the month?”
“Did you take your pills?”
You Do
Run yourself ragged taking care of everyone else
Scream at your kids then you feel guilty.
Cry for no reason
Wake up between 2-4 a.m. even though your children are sleeping
Have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning
Exercise and eat well and still can’t lose weight
Take antidepressants, but you are still depressed
You Are Not Alone !
These are some of the statements I hear everyday. If this sounds familiar it could be your hormones. “Hormones”? “Are you kidding me”? “I am not that old”. You’re right. And guess what? It’s not an “old” issue. It doesn’t matter if you are 14, 21, 28, 35, 42….hormones are a part of you from conception to death.
The Reality.
The problem is most people don’t have a clue what hormones really are and what they really do. When hormones are mentioned people think hot flashes and night sweats or a pill you take when you get old to keep those things under control. WRONG.
The REAL Definition of Hormones.
They are chemical messengers that tell ALL of your cells and organs what to do. Now that’s a big deal. This means they affect EVERYTHING from your head to your toes. So your neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, gynecological, urological, musculoskeletal, skin, hair, eyes, teeth, nails, bones, joints,…. Now, you get the picture?
Hormones affect our Life AND Life Affects Our Hormones!
Thoughts, Feelings, Beliefs, Pregnancy, Birth, Puberty, Menstruation, Miscarriage
Relationships-Partners, Children, Parents, Siblings, Employers, Coworkers Unfulfilling Work, Food, Alcohol, Caffeine, Illness, Surgery, Trauma, Loss, Death, Divorce,
Separation, Moving, Building, Remodeling AND the most important- Neglected Passion or Creativity.
What Can You Do?
Testing
If you really want to prove to yourself and to everyone around you that you are not crazy, have your hormones tested. When you get a copy of your results, put them in a frame on your kitchen wall for everybody to see you really do have a reason for your behavior.
Time Out
30 minutes in a quiet space. Okay, 10 minutes. This may be in your car or maybe in your closet. No children, no animals, no men. Write on a piece of paper. Before I was married and/or before I had children I used to love to…. Then Do It!
Supplement
Your life with whatever it is you so love to do that when you do it you lose sense of time (That’s PASSION); good food; exercise you enjoy and hormones if you need them
Get Help
In putting the pieces together so you can enjoy your life again.
If you are too tired, too depressed, too anxious or just don’t care to figure it all out. Go to www.hormonz.com and get control of your life. You’ll be glad you did.
Rosalyn Adams, M.Ed.
The Hormone Lady
www.hormonz.com
