Hormone Imbalance

[Wolf]

It has become clear to me over the past few years that my hormones are completely out of whack.  I have several issues pointing towards hormone imbalances, but the biggest one I just found out about is that I have fibroids.  My periods have always been painful, heavy, long, and irregular ever since I first started getting them, but over time the pain has slowly gotten worse and worse over the years. Another symptom of hormone imbalance is the acne around my chin and jawline, as well as shoulders, back, and chest, which I haven't been able to get rid of no matter what I eat.  I also now get hyperpigmentation, which I never got as a kid, or even a teenager.  Most of it comes from the acne, but a couple years ago I got some melasma on my forehead that was never there before.  All of these things just keep telling me my hormones are completely out of whack and getting worse! 

I have never taken or used any sort of birth control ever in my life.  I never want to, because my hormones are already messed up enough that I don't want to mess them up further with hormone drugs.  Instead, I am abstinent and a virgin, which is probably the biggest contributing factor to my fibroids at least, the "disease of nuns," but that's not something I'm going to change.  If I get married, then maybe I can have a baby(that I want), but I'm unsure if that will happen.  I've always had acne my whole life, but from when I first started a raw paleo diet, most of it has improved but never went away completely.  My periods also became regular, and while on raw paleo they weren't always as bad.  But I've had a lot of trouble sticking to raw, I now swing a lot on my diet and I don't really eat fully raw anymore as I don't really like cold beef, and it's difficult for me to find good offal.  I usually sear my beef slightly, so it's still super rare or raw in the middle.  I do like raw fish though, as long as it doesn't taste fishy whatsoever (fresh/sashimi) and can eat it cold.  Every once in a while I break and eat some junk, but usually not very often.  I do consume a lot of raw dairy consistently.  But since I'm not consistent with eating raw/paleo/carnivore/healthy/whatever, I still do get some problems.  My periods remain regular now, but are more painful than ever.  My acne is sporadic mostly, with the hormonal jawline/back/shoulder acne being the most stubborn that won't go away no matter what.  The melasma on my forehead has very slowly been going away, or at least hasn't gotten worse.  I did go onto WAI diet a little while back, but even though I was almost 100% raw my symptoms didn't improve.  I also went full carnivore slightly cooked for a little while and no improvement.  I think this hormone problem is something far too advanced to be fixed easily by diet alone.

I originally though I had too much testosterone that was causing my acne, so I looked into what I could do to lower it.  I drank a whole bunch of spearmint tea at the time, with slight improvements but never fixing it so eventually I stopped.  I mentioned to my doctor that because of my acne and period problems I think I might have hormone issues.. he said he didn't think so, but I insisted so he requested a blood test.  WELL, when I got the results I found out that idiot doctor requested THYROID HORMONE PANEL, not sex hormones!!!  So I have no blood tests to tell me what my hormone levels actually are.  Once I found out I had fibroids though, I looked it up and found out it's usually because of excess estrogen.  I then looked up what can block/get rid of estrogen and started taking vitex/chasteberry, nettle, and maca root powder mixed with raw honey.  This seems to have greatly improved my hormonal acne as I did not get any for about a month until now.  My last period was also greatly improved, with barely any pain and much lighter.  However, my next period is coming up and I can feel some small cystic acne developing near my chin, my hyperpigmentation/melasma hasn't improved, and I'm not sure how painful/heavy this period is going to be compared to last time, which might have been a fluke since I do get a less-painful period every once in a while.

Mainly what I want to know is, if anyone is experienced with hormones that knows any other herbs that can help my specific situation, how I can know when to take which herbs, or how I can tell which hormones are out of whack and when?  I don't want to take TOO much estrogen blockers and end up becoming more manly or something!  I did pause on taking the chasteberry and nettle once my last period ended, (still took maca-honey every day though) and started taking it again immediately after ovulation this cycle, trying to fit with the normal rise and fall of estrogen during the cycle.  But I have no idea what I'm doing, or if I should continue with the nettle, if I should start drinking more green tea and/or spearmint tea, or avoid the teas, or stop the herbs, or how to tell if I'm doing too much or too little!  I'm still afraid of throwing my hormones even worse out of whack than they already are..

Long story short, if anyone has advice on herbs that can help specifically with the combined issues of:
-fibroids
-hormonal acne
-hyperpigmentation scars
-melasma
-painful, heavy, and long periods

as well as advice on how to tell which hormones are out of balance and which herbs to take when for best hormone balancing, or curing of fibroids/hormonal acne, that would be wonderful..

[sabertooth]

The best way I have found for balancing hormones and I believe it applies equally to both men and women, is to eat a balance of unadulterated and pure male and female raw animal flesh. I've dabbled with herbals and have experimented with many of the herbs you have mentioned, and although there have been temporary and interesting effects, I do not think of these things as a long term solution.

Perhaps you could explain in greater detail your current diet? I know in the past you were eating a number of different foods that may not be ideal for hormone balancing? Dairy for example can be a huge issue for many people.

[Wolf]

I've tried eliminating dairy and nothing changed.. Also sometimes it can be hard to tell what affects me because I never really get any sort of immediate reactions to any foods I eat, even pure junk food, just I will eat something and maybe the next day, maybe a couple days later I get breakouts.  I mainly eat the dairy as my best source of raw fats.  I always always crave fat, and if I do not get enough fat I will go crazy and eat literally anything fatty even if it's pizza or fast food or whatever, so no matter what diet I do I have to make sure I get enough fat.  Raw dairy is just the easiest and most accessible healthy fat I can find, I love it, and I don't find consuming it to cause me more problems nor eliminating it to reduce any problems.

My usual diet lately at least when I'm eating good is raw grass-fed cow milk and cheese, lightly seared grass-fed steaks of the cheapest cuts I can get (usually boneless short ribs or london broil or some sort of roast) and always try to get the fattiest cuts they have, sometimes sunny side-up free-range chicken eggs (with the yolks as raw as possible), and sometimes bone broth.  Sometimes I will drop the raw yolks into the bone broth instead after it's cooled enough to drink, but not often.  I will also eat fruits sometimes if I see ones I like or crave ones, or raw honey.  And then I usually do drink a little coffee in the morning which has some sugar because I have fatigue problems, and coffee helps.  When I do eat junk I mostly try to go for stuff that isn't too bad, like with limited/normal ingredients.  I still avoid grains and soys and processed foods as much as possible.  I love chocolate though which is so hard to find soy-free chocolate, but I haven't had a chocolate bar in a few weeks at least now.  Oh, sometimes I have rotisserie chicken and if I'm lucky it will still have the kidneys intact and I eat those even though it's all cooked and maybe not the healthiest chicken, but the kidneys are delicious.. and I mean I basically eat everything but the bones, and even the bones I crack open and try to eat as much marrow as possible. 

But then like, a little while back.. well actually, before all the Covid stuff happened, I was on a WAI diet for a little while, maybe a couple months which basically eliminated everything I normally eat like steak (my FAVOURITE food) or coffee or dairy or chocolate or anything like that.  I stuck to it well and only ate raw fish, raw egg yolks, fruits, and olive oil.  And yet nothing much changed, my skin got a little softer but it didn't clear up.  I had slightly less fatigue, but I was still tired.  I still had hyperpigmentation issues.  I still had heavy, painful periods.  I probably still had my fibroids too, but I don't know since I only recently found out about them.

After WAI I tried full carnivore which was me eating ONLY the raw milk/cheese, lightly seared steaks, eggs, and bone broths.  It was still the same, my skin NEVER clears.  My periods are NEVER NOT heavy and painful. 

I've tried changing my diet a million times already.  I've tried eliminating every certain food from my diet to see if it helped and it never does.  The ONLY diet I haven't tried all this time is Vegan, and considering how much I hate veggies and grains, if I did try to go vegan I'd basically just be fruitarian and I already know that's not gonna help.  Even when I very first found out about raw paleo and I found this forum, and I first ate raw meat coming from a SAD diet.  I only ate 100% raw, I ate raw meat and even liver and bone marrow(I drove really far to get them), even then my skin never completely cleared up and my periods were still heavy and painful, though less painful.  It's just so frustrating and disheartening that even when I eat as good as I can I still have problems, or it's like, things go great at first and then slowly get worse again.  Like my body goes into shock when I first start a new diet and my problems lessen and I think I'm doing great, then after a week my body gets used to it and all of my problems come back again and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  I just wish I could be a normal fricken human being and eat normal food and have normal skin and not feel like I'm dying when I have my periods and not be so damn tired all the damn time. 

[sabertooth]

It takes at least three weeks to clear out any possible irritations due to Dairy, and perhaps even longer to readapt to other primary sources of animal fat.

If the eggs and chicken you eat are fed soy and non organic grains, that could also be a concern regarding hormone balance.

Cooked meat is always a big no-no from a raw paleo perspective.

Finding quality meat can be a problem, but for optimal results on a raw paleo diet it is crucial. Try www.localharvest.org or other local farm organizations to find better quality foods.

There are also other factors involved, and I also recommend drinking fresh spring water not stored in plastics. No other sugary beverages, and avoid all other possible plastic contaminants  and hormone disrupting chemicals. Sun bathing is also a great option for skin and hormone issues, as is red light therapy( though quality devices are expensive). A good amount of physical activity is also recommended.

Caffeine and sugar is also a problematic habit, and the temporary energy boost comes at a cost of greater adrenal fatigue. There is a certain synergy of addiction between dairy, caffeine and sugar, that becomes very difficult to break free from. There are good caffeine free substitutes that actual are good for hormone balance. Chaga is a good tonic drink by itself or can also be blended with chicory, and dandelion root. For extra energy I will sometimes chew on a ginseng root. Caffeine containing herbs have always caused me problems.

If you are into herbs, the primary one that has been used for ages, to ease menstrual distress is cannabis edibles.

[Wolf]

It takes at least three weeks to clear out any possible irritations due to Dairy, and perhaps even longer to readapt to other primary sources of animal fat.

I was on WAI for at least a couple months, with absolutely no dairy and no change.

If the eggs and chicken you eat are fed soy and non organic grains, that could also be a concern regarding hormone balance.

I don't always eat eggs, sometimes I go weeks without eating them and then sometimes I'll eat them for a couple weeks.  When I do eat eggs, I always only get organic free-range eggs.  Eggs or no eggs doesn't make a difference.

Cooked meat is always a big no-no from a raw paleo perspective.

I know this but I don't really like cold beef.  I sear it as little as possible, and I did eat raw beef previously with minimal differences.

Finding quality meat can be a problem, but for optimal results on a raw paleo diet it is crucial. Try www.localharvest.org or other local farm organizations to find better quality foods.

I've already seen that website and unless I want to drive several hours away every week to get slightly higher quality foods, which is impractical and wastes a lot of gas and money.  I still only buy grass-fed beef no matter what.

There are also other factors involved, and I also recommend drinking fresh spring water not stored in plastics. No other sugary beverages, and avoid all other possible plastic contaminants  and hormone disrupting chemicals. Sun bathing is also a great option for skin and hormone issues, as is red light therapy( though quality devices are expensive). A good amount of physical activity is also recommended.

I don't drink anything else besides water, milk, coffee, or tea(and I rarely drink tea), and coffee is the only thing I add anything to.  Plastic is about the only thing that's pretty much impossible for me to avoid, but I avoid it as much as I can and definitely stay away from heated plastic.  I'm outside at work and get a little sun, and also walk around a lot for work.  But my fatigue and breathing problems keeps me from getting a lot of exercise most of the time.

Caffeine and sugar is also a problematic habit, and the temporary energy boost comes at a cost of greater adrenal fatigue. There is a certain synergy of addiction between dairy, caffeine and sugar, that becomes very difficult to break free from. There are good caffeine free substitutes that actual are good for hormone balance. Chaga is a good tonic drink by itself or can also be blended with chicory, and dandelion root. For extra energy I will sometimes chew on a ginseng root. Caffeine containing herbs have always caused me problems.

I only even started drinking coffee because my fatigue never goes away, I never used to drink it.  I just got tired of being tired all the time so I started drinking it more recently so that I don't always have to feel so damn tired all the time, especially when I'm driving to work or working.  I don't drink a lot of it all the time, and I've gone without it, like for months when I was on WAI, and it doesn't make a difference.  I could try Chaga if I can find it, I've never heard of it before though.

If you are into herbs, the primary one that has been used for ages, to ease menstrual distress is cannabis edibles.

I won't take anything that has to do with cannabis.

[sabertooth]

I enjoy Chaga and recommend it to others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmUZdgUMA8

Depending on the circumstances in some cases it can take years to regenerate the glands, and restore balance. I know from experience that dairy is problematic, and so are sub quality eggs and chicken. Two months may not even be enough time to reset the gut biome, especially when transitioning between different types of extreme diets. It takes time to adapt even under good conditions, and it takes intuition to know when adaptation to certain foods isn't possible.

I have struggled sometimes for months at a time when I couldn't find decent quality Grass-fed meat. Not all grassfed is created equal, and even some certified grassfed beef isnt good and makes me feel off if I eat it. Mixing cooked and uncooked foods would foul up my microbiome for long periods of time. Fruit was also problematic and would mess up my digestion. Instead I used coconut butter for years a low glycemic carb and prebiotic fiber before becoming semi intolerant(perhaps the quality of the brand was an issue). For the last year Ive been using a different brand of dried coconut chips as a carb without issue.

It seems like you have already tried about everything, and everybody here is very different from each other, so there may be a limit to advice people could give. My only other thought would be to try an intermittent water fast to see how you feel, then reintroduce foods with extreme caution and try to develop the instinct and intuition needed to guide your choices moving forward.

[Wolf]

My biggest problem is, like I said, it can be hard to tell what affects me because I never really get any sort of immediate reactions to any foods I eat, even pure junk food, just I will eat something and maybe the next day, maybe a couple days later I get breakouts.  That's pretty much my ONLY indication that I'm doing something wrong, and is very difficult to tell if it's caused by what I'm eating or my cycle or stress or maybe I touched my face too much or who knows what else that might have made me break out. 

Sure maybe if I eat pizza for a couple days I'll notice I'm more tired than usual, but just eating it once, or just eating one slice one time, doesn't make a difference to me.  I don't feel any different than if I eat my normal steak and eggs every day.  Heck, I ate a piece of cheesecake last night and I feel great right now.  Sometimes I'll eat fast food once and then my skin clears up the next couple days.  There's no possible way I can tell a difference between one grass-fed steak and another slightly higher quality grass-fed steak, because I don't even feel different if we go to a restaurant and I eat an overcooked grain-fed steak(I always ask them for extra-rare or blue-rare but they don't always serve it that raw). 

Anyways, the MAIN reason I even made this thread was to know if anyone knows HOW to tell WHICH hormones I'm having problems with, like maybe cystic chin acne means too much testosterone, or feeling more tired than usual means too much estrogen, or stuff like that.  I got a big cyst on my chin so I've decided to stop with all the stuff I was taking, no more vitex, nettle, maca, or honey at all until it goes away.  I don't actually get cysts too often anymore unless I do something that really messes me up, like last time I got one was when I was wearing a plastic respirator mask to work every day (I thought it was rubber or silicone or something, not plastic so I messed up) and the time before that was when I tried taking flaxseed oil to help my hormones, which I knew wasn't a good idea but I've been desperate to find a fix and hoped it might help anyways.  Well, I learned my lesson and I'll never touch seed oils again!  It looks like I'll just have to ask the doctor for an actual hormone test and see where I'm actually at and hope I can try to fix it without messing everything up again.

[Wolf]

I enjoy Chaga and recommend it to others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEmUZdgUMA8

I just watched this video but I don't even know where the nearest forest is, let alone a birch forest and even if I could find one, it'd probably be several hours from me at least since I don't live in a foresty area, so there's pretty much no possibility of me harvesting my own chaga.. that leaves trying to find a good enough source of it like the guy in the video said and I'm not sure I'll be able to find that either, I'd have to check my stores that I usually go to and see if they have chaga at all, let alone anything that looks like a good  wild-harvested source.

[sabertooth]

Yeah Kentucky is to far south for good chaga, so I always order mine.
https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Canadian-Chaga-Chunks-Pound/dp/B07G9N2YVJ/ref=sxin_10_ac_d_rm?ac_md=3-3-Y2hhZ2EgY2h1bmtz-ac_d_rm&cv_ct_cx=chaga&dchild=1&keywords=chaga&pd_rd_i=B07G9N2YVJ&pd_rd_r=385da902-fb83-47e7-8702-05d115d927aa&pd_rd_w=lTwcW&pd_rd_wg=wzU8f&pf_rd_p=b0625ac1-ea22-4a1c-8206-57129b08e075&pf_rd_r=HMSN1EPTRG5PPW79A0VY&psc=1&qid=1622650457&sr=1-4-12d4272d-8adb-4121-8624-135149aa9081

[smokeyquartz]

@Wolf

I sympathize; I'm kind of in the same boat as you. 

My period/skin has been messed up for a while, but I was on birth control for about 17 years (for dysmenorrhea).  So, I have a different history.

Just some things to consider: I know you are focused on it being a hormonal problem, but in my case/experience, the circulatory system is also involved.  You mention heavy, painful periods.... does your menstrual blood have a lot of clotted blood in it? What color is the blood (is it always bright red, or is it a very dark almost maroon or brown color?)  Do you have varicose veins?  These are all evidence of circulatory problems.  The fibroids - I just had a thought that that is also stagnancy because the hormones that are being made by your ovaries are not being circulated throughout your system - they are being built up/stored inside your uterine fibroids.

The inability to tell which foods are affecting you is, I think, evidence of a slow/stagnant digestive system as well. 

The theme here is stagnation - stagnant blood, stagnant digestion, stagnant lymph.    The fatigue you feel is also evidence of this stagnancy, and the caffeine is a crutch for you to "push" past it. 

Unfortunately, I don't think getting a test from any western MD to tell you exactly which hormone is out of wack is going to be helpful.  If anything does come up, they will simply recommend birth control or progesterone for you in order to "fix" it.  They are not trained to heal people, only to "maintain care" of sick people with pharmaceuticals/surgeries.

If you have access to Aajonus's teachings, I would read up on his solutions for a sluggish circulatory/lymph system.  I don't have access or I would look it up for you myself...

[joejac]

Hello Wolf
1. THE KEY TO HEALTH: Saturated Fat> Cholesterol> Hormones> Energy> Exercise> Muscles
2. AND REMINERALIZE WITH SEAWATER!: Go up the consumption gradually until reaching 250 cc when waking up and 250 cc at night daily for life,  until reaching half a liter of seawater if the body manages to tolerate it well, if not, mix the 1/2 litter seawater with 1,5 liter of natural spring water and a lemon and drink it through the day, this is isotonic seawater. Gradually is the key plus real organic raw food.
And check my response to needtoheal in this post:
https://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/index.php?topic=13740.msg149236#msg149236
3. Herbs have to be used wisely all might have adverse effects if used wrong, do not make teas, do not heat them, use the juice low speed masticator extractor, and be very, very careful with the extract doses and test minimum quantities, not all bodies have the same response. I would try steps 1 and 2 first, for a long period of time, and ensure the quality of your food, water, air, environment, and sleep.
Greetings and Health