Primal Journal - Siobhan page 234

[Siobhan]

Went for a very good swim. All the usual errands. This is what I brought home:

3-lb. pork shoulder
ground beef
mussels
scallops
cod
coconut milk
mushrooms
scallions
cilantro
parsley

Forgot eggs and garlic. I ate the last egg before I left this morning. I have a little bit of garlic but not enough. Shoot!

Am feeling quite anxious about my friends's jobless state. One of them had severe depression when he lost his job five years ago, and he is probably more emotionally fragile now.

Have not had a hot flash today that I am aware of.

[tomi]

After spending yet another night tossing and turning and waking up with hot flashes, I caved and bought a herbal remedy with black cohosh and evening primrose oil. I have to try something. These hot flashes are making me miserable, mostly at night. It's not just the hot flash. It's that within a few minutes I feel very, very cold and can't get warm again. Finally I do, fall asleep only to wake up hot again. This can't continue. It's horrible. I will give it a shot. The bottle has enough for 2 months. I will stick with it for that long unless I get some nasty side effect. Two months should be enough to tell if it works at all.

Honey I'm right there with you! I've been suffering through the night sweats for 2 years!!! Finally I got some Black Cohosh and EPO too! I just started a few days ago. I'm taking a high dose to start, hoping it will build up in my system faster. The night sweats were coming every 90 minutes all night! Burning hot and sweating - changing to freezing cold! It sucks! I'm also taking Dong Quai cuz soon as the periods stopped my libido tanked! I mean ---- flat-line, dead to the world, don't touch me! My pour, pour husband has been deprived of "lovin" for so long! What used to be a 2-3 times a week event has been a once every 6 weeks event - only cuz I know he's REALLY needing it! I feel like a huge part of me died when I lost my sex drive. I'm SOOOO hoping the DQ helps it return to me! UGH!

Like I said its only been a few days, but I do think the night sweats are already easing up a bit. I'm taking the max dose as suggested on the bottle - but that dose is much higher than my doc suggested. Research says there is no established dose for EPO, and no documented side effects. I'm taking 1500 mg TID of the EPO, and 565 mg TID Dong Quai, and 540 mg TID Black Cohosh.

Let me know if its helping you. I started a thread discussing this topic....... menapausal stuff..... hot flashes. Theres a good discussion going on.

[Siobhan]

I'm taking Estrotone by New Chapter - contains EPO 200 mg, schizandra 160 mg, ginger 50 mg, black cohosh 40 mg, chaste tree 40 mg, and rosemary 10 mg. I'm being more conscious of my body position, cutting way back on wine, watching my fruit intake, and doubling down my efforts to eliminate sugar. The last threenthings I should be doing anyway. I'll go check you your thread right away - got to get all of the ideas, and maybe down the line I can add some valuable information. And yep, my libido is in the tank, although since I don't have a partner maybe this is just as well. Having been led around for most of my life by my sex drive, I'm not sure I want to reawaken it. (TMI TMI TMI)

Just consumed the mussels - I made Mark's coconut lime recipe from a couple of weeks ago. Really good. I made a lot of the sauce so that I can use it for other things. I only bought 12 mussels. They were good but sandy, despite my rinsing them several times, scrubbing, removing beards, etc. At one time this would have totally turned me off and I wouldn't have eaten them, but now it doesn't bother me. I figure I am consuming needed trace nutrients. The sauce is very good and after the mussels I mixed up some with some good bone broth and that was excellent. I will probably have the cod with the sauce also, maybe tonight. The pork is in the oven, slow cooking away. Smells divine.

[Pedidoc]

Forgot to tell you I also scored a bag of Meyer lemons for $1.50.

[JudyCr]

One more reason to give up sugar: it causes wrinkles.
Have you heard that sugar causes wrinkles? Well you heard right. | Professional Nutrition Services | Centre for Optimum Health

[Siobhan]

If life gives you lemons, make sure they are Meyer Lemons!

Doing well with all my goals today. No sugar. Half a cup of berries. Everything else is meat or veg or fish. Have not had a hot flash.

[Siobhan]

Made the carnitas, just finishing in the oven right now. Ate some ground beef. Missed the egg, it makes it so much more tender. Had some of the pork. Basically I gnawed on the bones. Delicious. Making a cup of licorice tea.

I am happy to report that I am not smelly any more. The nasty smell that was plaguing me has disappeared. Awfully glad about that.

[Coll]

I bought a pork shoulder so that I can make the carnitas today! Sounds like you have a good plan with cutting out the sugar, alcohol etc. I hope that you can get the nasty private summers under control!!!

[Siobhan]

Well. So far I have succeeded in worsening my hot flashes. Last night I spent the first three hours of sleep waking every half hour drenched in sweat. Miserable. I finally gave up and read for awhile. When I went back to sleep, though, I slept very well for about five hours. I have not had one yet today. I know this is going to take a while but it is a bit discouraging. Although in reading this over, I may be exaggerating in saying I have worsened them. But those who have suffered from these know what it is like to wake repeatedly with these private summers! (I like that, Coll!)

Having reduced my carbs, I woke up completely unhungry. Did an 18-hr IF with a fasted workout, although not a vigorous one. I got to the pool early today only to find it had just been closed. Too much chlorine. A woman in the locker room was in a tizzy about how to burn some calories and get exercise. I listened to her in some puzzlement and once again realized that I have really changed. I honestly don't think about such things. I just like to swim and be in the water. The therapy pool, a small pool with very warm water, was open. I went in there for the first time. Swimming is not really possible, but I swooshed around underwater and worked on my breathhold. I am very buoyant - too buoyant in fact. I can float very easily with very little effort, so I did a lot of that too, propelling myself around with easy kicks. Worked on my dolphin kick. The time passed very quickly, half an hour gone before I knew it. It is really good to have these occasional reminders of what's what.

The used bookstore opened today! It was mobbed! Guess there was some pent-up demand there. I scored the books I have been looking at in the window for a week. A beautiful coffee table book about past Met Opera productions. A cat book, well...two cat books...okay...THREE cat books.

Came home, fried up some carnitas, then made a space in the middle and fried an egg. (Picked up eggs on the way home. Never want to run out of eggs again.) Ate it with a tapioca bread. While I was eating I was thinking it was the finest meal in the world. Yeah, it was good. You could say it was good!

Weighed myself this morning. Haven't weighed in awhile. 132 lbs. Very happy with that!

[tomi]

You've done so good keeping the weight off and staying primal! You have to be feeling quite accomplished and pleased with the changes you made in your life and diet! I hope to be right where you are by the end of the year. I'd like the weight to be gone by the end of the summer and I'd like to still be holding steady at my goal weight by the end of the year!

Its very encouraging to read your journal!