Firebreathing

Not sure if I am doing it right but it makes my tummy ache.

I *think* the reason is that you don't want blood flowing the wrong way. that and to let the uterus do its job. its a pretty powerful exercise and it really works the uterus, I remember when I was pp, every time I'd try to do the firebreathing I'd start bleeding again. might be similar when you have your period, give all those tiny blood vessels time to heal over before stressing them out.

just my thoughts

Also, the book says you shouldn't do firebreathing if you have ulcers or hypertension. Anyone know why? What effect would it have on an ulcer? (Of course, having POP might be stressful enough to CAUSE hypertension, lol).

What if you have an undiagnosed ulcer? I suspect I have something like that, but to get it diagnosed would mean a tube down my throat, which I don't fancy having done.

Beejay

Hi Granolamom

I was looking for stuff about endometriosis the other day and discovered that one of the possible suspects for endometriosis is indeed menstrual material, ie endometrium scraps, which may get out of the uterus backwards, ie up the fallopian tubes and into ther pelvic cavity, during menstruation. Once there, presumably they strike roots like a plant cutting, in the surface of other tissue and extend their lives and create misery for the woman for the rest of her reproductive life. This strikes me as being both extremely scary in a science fiction sense, and absolutely ludicrous, as they would be dead tissue without a blood supply once their capilliary blood supply broke down and the endometrium came free from the uterine wall. However, what would I know?? I'm not even a doctor! Who knows, it may be true? But I couldn't find any authorititative proof, so I guess it is just a theory. Or else I just didn't look in the right place. Or else it is just another wayout theory created by a couple of stoner doctors after hours.

Cheers

Louise

yeah, louise, I've read the same things and I agree, it has a sci-fi sound to it. I honestly have no idea if its possible or not (couldn't there be some uterine cells in the mix? don't wayward cells sometimes take up residence where they don't belong?) or what really causes endometriosis. I've heard that some women with endometriosis have utering tissue all over ther abdominal cavity. It does seem far fetched that there is anything a person can do to cause that to happen. personally, I don't want to find out! and practically speaking, I just plain want the blood/residue OUT when I'm menstruating, don't want it flowing back IN towards the uterus, whether it can do damage there or not. as far as finding proof.....well, I wouldn't hold my breath. its written in medical books, so it must be true - right? if only.

anyway, I think my uterus is busy enough ridding itself of extra lining without firebreathing, so I take a few days off every month. no biggie.

Actually, ladies, it's so.

My mother had it, my aunt, and so did both of my neighbors. It can be very bad, and horribly painful. It's true the endometria do leave the uterus and attach all over the abdomen causing bleeding and cramping from stem to stern. I've heard it attaching to the liver, the aorta, the kidneys, the intestines, etc. My neighbor had a several hour surgery to remove her uterus, and the doctor had to pick the endometrium off just about every one of her organs.

My mother lost her uterus to endometriosis, but my other neighbor went on birth control pills and saved hers. Having a baby early can help. Once a woman is about 30, the scar tissue is so bad, there is little hope for a pregnancy. It's a nightmare disease.

Dr. Judy

Hi Judy

I don't doubt that it is endometrium growing where it is not supposed to be, or that it is a disease straight from hell for sufferers. What I question is how it gets to grow on other surfaces. The fact that there is little, if any agreement and lots of theories says to me that doctors don't really have any proof for any of the theories, and that it could be just another one of those things that has entered the realm of fact (medical textbooks) for no good reason, just like historically the uterus was blamed for hysteria (same root word) which is a load of twaddle. Lucky they found out about that error!
A scary story like that could very well send women for hysterectomies unnecessarily, because they are just plain scared of something they have been told rightly or wrongly will happen if their uterus remains, because they are menstruating backwards. It could be a load of old Bull, or it could be fact, but I don't think anybody has proved it. It could get there any old way. All sorts of weird things happen in the first few weeks of life.

Anyway, this is a bit off topic, but the possibility of reverse menstruation being something to avoid is probably a sensible reason for not firebreathing during menstruation, pregnancy or lochia. I wouldn't be increasing my risk of getting endometriosis for anything. Come to think of it, the uterus is shedding stuff all the time. Why pick on menstruation. It is, as pointed out by Gmom and you, uterine cells that generate endometrium, not endometrium itself, or is it?

Cheers

Louise

Louise,

I think the thing that convinces women to have surgery is the pain. It's just godawful painful and bloody and could be dangerous if left untreated. Why it grows outside the uterus isn't as important as the fact that it does unless someone is doing research to stop it.

I don't think you can get endometriosis at your age. I think it's more or less a late twenties gig.

As for the hysteria - I know my mood swings during menopause were hysterical. When you stand with a box cutter at your throat because your hormones are wacko, it's probably hysteria, and not an hysteria brought on by outside sources.

Judy

Dear Judy, Your thoughts and graphic sharing on the subject of "Crazypause"
has had me looking at the extreme, bizarre and seemingly irrational behaviour of my Mother
from a more compassionate angle. Like maybe there's something wrong on a chemical/
hormonal level ? Instead of her just being evil. Something else that slowly clicked -and I'm not sure,
but I didn't think it was your story. Anti-dep. drugs and their frightening effects on the hormone household ?
I know she's been on several intermittently & for a number (5+) years now. She's 64 and has been in
Menopause for some 10 yrs, but I feel her Mental Health has been in a gradual slide ever since.

I don't know why I'm posting this, unless it's just an attempt to sort my thoughts.
And I so want to find some tangible excuse for my Mother "being Done with me",
that doesn't involve her just being a hateful woman. Or me being unworthy. Ouch.
The Monkey-wrench in this theory is I am the sole recipient. Just me, not my brother.
Zelda

Hi Judy

I know this a terrible disease. I was researching it not because I thought I had it, but because a woman I know has has recently had a hysterectomy which I subsequently found out was endometriosis-related. Her recuperation was long, like 5 weeks before she could leave the city and come home, but she is home now so I can catch up with her soon. I was trying to find out the relationship between endometriosis and hysterectomy. I certainly know a lot more now than I did previously, but it still seems to be medically such a mysterious disease. And hysterectomy (and presumably ovary removal and lifelong HRT) is one of the treatments of last resort, so I wondered what the others were.

Mmm, pain is a wonderful motivator, ask anyone who interviews spying suspects. Don't do there.

Cheers

Louise

The wrong anti-d's can have a very negative affect on our mood. Sometimes the very thing they were prescribed for becomes worse. I suffered from ante-natal depression (which I now know was PTSD) and was prescribed anti-d's and within days of taking them I felt out of control. I started feeling euphoric and it was unsettling as I knew it was not right and then I came crashing down with a big hard thump pacing the floor, crying uncontrollably and just feeling like I was going to die. I knew it was the medication but was told to keep going with it, I ignored this and stopped immediately settling back into my depressed anxious state without the drastic mood swings. I changed meds and the next ones did lift the depression but the anxiety and panic remained and I believe that these conditions need therapy and hard work from yourself rather than medication.

I am certainly not against anti-d's by any means as depression is a serious illness, I was nearly admitted to a psychiatric ward many years ago with a very bad spell of depression and the tablets turned my life around.

I am not saying this is the case with your mother but medication can alter ones state of mind and you hear stories that many many years ago when women suffered the effects of menopause they were considered crazy and instead of being medicated or helped with hormones were probably just locked away. Why she is like this with only you and not your brother is a mystery. Sometimes the ones that get the brunt of all the negativity are seen as the ones who can handle it. My sister has always treated my mum and dad VERY differently. She has a different level of respect for each of them and my dad always gets the brunt of her sharp tongue as do I. I stopped speaking to her for about 6 months and had no intention of patching things up but it was breaking my mothers heart so I gave in. Now today I am seen as the soft pathetic one who never bites back at her comments but for me its keeping the peace. I don't want the upset and arguments so I don't bother. It does anger me that no-one confronts her and lets her get away with it but they are probably of the same mind as me, its just not worth it. We don't know who she takes after as no-one else in the family is like that.

Like they say we can choose our friends but we cannot choose our family.

I hope you get what I am trying to say here.

Anita

Zelda,

Was your mom always like that to you or did she suddenly change toward you when she went through menopause? Crazypause can make you feel differently about those around you. And after it abates, you feel still differently about those around you. The negativity in your life seems to overwhelm you and make the proverbial mountains out of molehills. All those things that bothered you are now supersized and fill your plate.

Right now I'm re-evaluating everything and finding my old self. But I liked my old self. Maybe your mom didn't like her old self. Crazypause is preceded by a couple of years of winding down, hot flashes, mood swings and new aches and pains, and a ceasing of menstruation for about a year. Then the actual "pause" is supposed to last 9 months. Then it's supposed to be over. My pause lasted 2.5 years, so it's different for everyone.

My mother went through surgical menopause at 34. She was on hormones for over 50 years. I was a newborn when she had this surgery, so I'm not a good judge. And my mother always liked my brother better than me.

Hormones might be your key, however, and it's worth thinking about. It's tough when your mom starts to hate you. My mother always hated me.

Some women are just not maternal.

Judy