Still need damiana??

[Shaz]

Hi all,

I've been on BO/SP since last October, and this cycle I had period pains on about Day 14 but no actual spotting. I'm also tired most of the time, even though I'm trying to get extra sleep.

I'm wondering if I'm getting too high on estrogen/too low on progesterone. I've been taking damiana Day 15 onwards. If I'm getting too low on progesterone, do I still need the damiana??

Re results, I'm still looking fuller than I did before I started, but can't tell if this is still increasing, or whether I just have water retention that will go away when I stop the BO.

I'm sore nearly all of the time, but don't actually get "tingles" as many have described on this board.

I promised myself I would give this a full 6 months before giving up, so I'm sticking to that. But, I'm getting tired and depressed of it all - literally!

[mominator]

Awwwweeeee! BE is the most frustrating thing I have EVER done Shaz, but then you know that. *hugs*

The tiredness....I am sure you are checking your temps. I went through a tremendous bout with that last summer, and it ended up being my thyroid.

Another thought...have you done a "liver" cleanse. A sluggish liver can most certainly cause fatique. Fawn has a few suggestions for a good liver cleanse. You don't have to be on break to do this either. I have seen a lot of commercials that include milk thistle or dandelion in their product.

Bust of Luck!

[warriorqueen]

Hi Shaz,
I posted under a new thread before reading this (hadn't realised you were considering or already trying damiana). You may be tired because of extra estrogen in your system. As Momi said, a liver cleanse could be good (Fawn's site has good info for that). And watch your temps - I think my temps were affected slightly by BO and you can feel tired as a result. Have u tried L-Tyrosine / kelp?

You could try tweaking your routine, taking one capsule less of BO to balance out your estrogen/prog. I'm thinking out loud here, but maybe you could also increase your damiana/oregano slightly with the aim of suppressing prog. so that whatever estrogen in your system can be more efficiently sourced by your breast receptors. This is just my odd idea based on my experience taking BO with damiana/oregano: I'd take BO with a protein snack then, about 1 to 1 and a 1/2 hours later, take damiana/oregano/SP. It was only after taking the herbs that I felt tingles. The BO alone wasn't enough for tingles which, in my case, equals 'growth'.

This soreness sounds good though. Everyone responds differently - or maybe just uses different language to describe what they're feeling (itchies, tingling, soreness). I've felt all this during periods of growth.

Also, I think that if you've experienced any growth and kept it throughout taking BO there's a good chance it's not purely water retention. Most women experience size loss to some extent when coming off BE (around 0,50 inches in some cases). But it sounds as though you're responding quite well to the BO.


Sorry to hear you're so tired. I know the feeling! Not to mention the hole in my wallet!
Good luck and let us know how you get on.

WQ

[fawnmarie]

If you've been at this since October AND using damiana every luteal, I would definitely recommend:

1. Take one cycle off damiana - you should get SOME progesterone every couple of months - for about 100 different reasons. You may even consider adding it during the luteal every three months (though it's one more thing to buy) - but you cycle completely off the damiana every once in a while - how frequently depends on hormonal profile and age.

2. DO start checking your temps. Take three times a day, for three days, average out. If you average out under 97, then you should definitely check the thyroid situation.

Let us know what you find.

Fawn

[Shaz]

Thanks for these replies - I've got some useful things to try here.

I just took my temp (haven't done for a while) and it is just over 99 which I think is good. But that's only one reading, so I'll keep checking.

Thanks again.