Hello all, The Real Nella sends her greetings, along with me. She has been enjoying her morning yoga routine lately. 😹😹
I shared a few weeks ago that I decided to see a naturopath. I found a nearby doc who happens to be the son of the Integrative/Metabolic Cardiologist I mentioned in an earlier post - Dr. Stephen Sinatra. He's worked with many AF patients over the years, so I was curious.
He ordered several tests and we recently chatted about the results. His focus is to see what underlying issues might contribute to AF.
All the basic bloodwork was fine, with normal level of CoQ10, normal thyroid.
But my estrogen was way, way low and he has seen this kind of imbalance trigger AF. He recommended that I try Maca, an adaptogen. It's not a direct hormone replacement, but balances the hormones and provides energy. Like everything else, it's trial and error, but so far I've been amazed by the results. I started taking MacaPause , which I bought from the integrative pharmacy right across the street. I had online chatted with the company that makes it, which was helpful . (femmenessence.com/femmeness...
It certainly has affected my mood and energy level. I'm still sorting out the dosage, since it seems to contribute to insomnia, but overall, it's another nice boost to quality of life in that I spend more time not really thinking about my heart and just feel much better. We'll see how it unfolds!
The other issue that I never would've thought of is that I tested for an active Epstein-Barr virus. Apparently, like 95% of people have this, but it's not usually active. My level was the highest he's ever seen. My immune system has been fired up trying to fight it. I've been taking herbal anti-virals, which I'm guessing have helped to keep it at bay somewhat. In a few weeks, I'll probably go through the protocol to heal it. We're working on one thing at a time, since the healing of this virus could be uncomfortable.
By the way, I decided not to get the EXA Test that I shared about in my other post on Magnesium. This tests for micronutrients at the cellular level and is supposed to be more accurate than blood tests.
After a few attempts to work with the lab, including moving mountains to get my insurance to reimburse them quite generously, I gave up cause it was just too stressful to deal with them. I encountered one of those "screamer" kind of docs when I called at the crack of dawn, in the midst of scraping the floor of my mouth, trying to get the test right, to ask for help.
Though actually comical now, it was a shock so early in the morning to talk to the doc I got on the phone. She literally would not stop talking! When I asked her to please listen, that I needed to ask her a question, she yelled, "I AM LISTENING!! You are a bad person and I am kind!" among other choice words. 😂😂😂
Guess I didn't need that test after all!
Wondering if anyone else out there has had similar issues with low estrogen. Since most of us females with AF may well be post-menopausal, it sure would make sense to test us for this in conjunction with AF treatments. None of my docs ever mentioned it.
Thank you Nella for post...Just read up on Maca and l see it's grown in the mountains of Peru...Sounds just what l need to get my mojo back so have just placed an order...
Carol..
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Wow! Let me know how it goes. Customer support seems to be pretty good, in case you have questions. They said to take it an hour apart from medications.
I’ve mainly been happy and relieved by this initial period of noticing improvements-and I should say that I’m probably really unusual cause I’m so sensitive. I’ve also had flashes of being infuriated by the things cardio/EPs have said, like that AF is completely random, and just wondering why on earth they are so ignorant about these fairly simple interventions.
I hope more of them open their minds!
Keep me posted. I’d also enjoy hearing from others who are trying these kinds of approaches.
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Thanks for this introduction and for sharing...Will keep you updated...cx
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Speaking of other supplements, etc that we often don't get informed about I have recently read about a proteolytic enzyme called serrapeptase.
I have gathered quite a bit of info and since it is 1:30 AM here I will start a new thread on the subject tomorrow. Will share more info but basically it is collected from silkworms and helps them break out of their cocoons. It has been used for years in Japan and helps our bodies break down excess fibrin that makes us stiff as we age.
There are pros and cons but there are Big Pharma products that seem much more dangerous.
Going to bed. Will start a post tomorrow. Goodnight.
Thanks Irina, I notice Robert Redfern's company Good Health Naturally heavily promotes Serrapeptase for various issues. I will do a bit more research as my ferritin levels are up and I am too stiff for my age of 65.
Will be really interested in that - I was curious in that in spite of being extremely active, I have gradually become stiffer with age but hadn't bothered to find out why.
Very interesting, I use Maca and had similar results. I am currently taking anti-virals - again! - and find that I have so much more energy for a few weeks after - then I get a pathogen of some sort and I’m back on the merry go round.
I can't believe I hadn't heard of Maca till now. If I were in charge of the cardio world, I'd have them include the hormone blood test for all the women when diagnosed with AF. How hard would that be, really? My goodness, such a profound improvement to quality of life with a simple supplement.
I don't know this organization, but have a person who will order this for me from Evergreen. I know that they have practitioners they work with in England. You have to buy their products through a practitioner. Good stuff! It must be helping somehow, if EBV is so active.
I was just looking into the support that Femmenessence offers, which is quite impressive. It would be wonderful if all supplements offered this kind of support. They seem to really want to help us find the right dosage. I hope you have good results!
I appreciate your support. It's nice to have this place to share about the good and the bad and be understood. Oh my, that woman 😂 😂... "It's DOCTOR Silver to you...we usually talk to doctors, not PATIENTS...(insert disdain). " Very childish. So glad to be finished with those people!
Please keep me posted. 😻
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Maybe she could use some Maca!
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🤣😂🤣😹 Maybe I’ll ship a case to the lab as a thank you gift... She actually did tell me I’m a bad person in the same breath as telling me how kind she is. That was my favorite 😂
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Some healthcare providers continue to amaze me. I have some stories about 'Toddler Surgeons' and their tantrums that would keep you laughing all night if they weren't so bizarre and unprofessional.
Fortunately these crazy caregivers are few and far between.
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The office manager had already proven to be a piece of work.
I spent 3 hrs wrangling with insurance, finally getting a sane manager who agreed to pay $700 for the test, put it in writing, no co-pay, which was a miracle. Definitely more than they’d ever usually get from insurance!
I’m telling the office manager that she needs to follow specific instructions to file the claim so they’ll get paid. I worked out a special deal for them; she tells me, “No, can’t do that, I follow the rules.”🤔
I’m incredulous about this & then she gets really mad at me and yells at me.
She tells me to send the instructions to the manager, who I discover the next day is the nasty lady who answered the phone when I called for help. 😹😹
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It's frustrating to deal with some of these offices. I really don't know how they keep their jobs. For a long time we could trust that our insurance was handled correctly by the office person who files. But lately I've noticed I have to get involved again unless I want to be responsible for what they should pay.
Between medicare and my secondary insurance my premiums are almost $300.00 a month and my med copays are much higher this year. Some drugs have been reclassified into a higher copay category. It's expensive to be sick.
Check the link up above. Doc’s recommendation, really good support, it seems.
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Sorry. I just did right after I wrote my request. Sometimes I do things a$%-backwards!
Hi Nella. This is very interesting and helpful. About women with low estrogen possibly being more susceptible to AF to me it makes perfect sense.
It's been known for years that premenopausal women still making estrogen have some built-in guards against heart disease. And post-menopausal women who can take replacement hormones also have a better level of protection.
But many of us have been told we can't take hormones if we have had certain types of female cancer. I had a hysterectomy for uterine cancer in 1999. All went well but with the type of cancer I had and also with women who have had breast cancer the tissue, when sent to the lab, is tested to see if our cancer is tied in with hormones. If the test (sorry I don't remember the name) comes back positive we are told never to take replacement hormones.
I think it would be interesting to develop a questionnaire to learn how many women with AF fit in this category. It would be useful information for younger women. Also I would be interested to know if the idea of no hormone replacement for our group is still valid. And if there is any new research to the contrary.
Also does replacement with Maca which is an adaptogen carry the same risk as artificial hormones made by Big Pharma?
My sense tells me that since I already have permanent AF with pacemaker what harm would it do to try it.
Most women I know who take replacement hormones look and feel better as they age. And have more energy.
My sister who is 71 has taken hormones for years. You would have to rip her pills out of her hand. Can Maca be obtained without a prescription? and how do you sort out your dose? PM if you like.
I just re-read your post and your comment about none of your docs ever suggesting anything that might help you. Were most of them males? At the risk of being cynical I can't help but guess if anything would help them maintain their testosterone levels as they got older they would be on it like white on rice!
PS Nella is beautiful. I am definitely a cat lady.
Thanks for an eye-opening post. irina
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My naturopath suggested either Maca or HRT, but since Maca is an adaptogen, which works differently than HRT, I wanted to start with it.
Maca is natural. It’s a root that grows in Peru and does all kinds of amazing healing things.
Just what I need has literally been right across the street all along, in my handy integrative pharmacy with the manager who has an encyclopedic knowledge of their products.
No need for prescription. They include info on dosage and phone number to call for support.
My understanding is that bio-identical hormones are safe. I read up on it at Dr. Christianne Northrup’s site. Will send a link tomorrow since I’m on my phone now.
I’ve seen 2 EPs & 1 cardio- all male- who are basically nice human beings, but I am really unimpressed with how narrow-minded they are.
My impression is that my current EP is in the business of doing ablations, first and foremost, rather than any kind of focus on helping me heal. He told me, “I got pills and procedures, that’s it.”
It’s not rocket science to figure out that the heart is affected by other systems in the body! They just dismiss anything outside of their very narrow focus.
I’ll be sharing my test results & naturopath follow up with my “lady” cardio this week. She’s been open-minded about the supplements so far.
Interesting Nella. For the boys, I researched some while back that dropping testosterone can also cause AF. I would have tried taking Test. supplement but it had it's complications, so I left that one.
I had mine at 45 and had HRT for five years (until the natural age for menopause). I then had 20 years of hot flushes, so much so if I was ironing I would drip on to the floor. I remember a young hairdresser remarking in amazement 'What is happening to your head - it's burning!'
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