Environmental Estrogens

I gathered these links about environmental estrogens (xenestrogens) some time ago. I saw an online discussion about precocious puberty but realized that I didn't have anything up to share. Hope these are helpful for you. They are pertinent for fibroid treatment, infertility and cancer/precancerous diet clean-up as well.

Are Plastic Bowls and Plastic Wraps Microwave Safe?

The perils of plastic: your cling wrap could be leaching chemicals

Is It Unhealthy To Reuse A Plastic Water Bottle? [this is from way before the recent concerns raised about BPA]

That plastic water bottle's taste

Our Stolen Future -- companion website to the book that raises concerns about environmental contaminants and our health

Pew Charitable Trusts - Environmental Health
The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act: Protecting the Most Vulnerable

Xenoestrogens the cause of Cervical Dysplasia

PMS Induced Mastalgia

Oh yeah, it's that time of the month -- time for sore breasts. My breasts have been killing me and I've been so freaking bloated during my LP that it is not even funny. I haven't been able to get to acu due to travelling out of town but I do have a massage scheduled for this Thursday afternoon. Yesterday morning I took a look back at my blog posts about PMS, estrogen and the like and came across my info about elevated estrogen, prolactin and then vitex to treat the same. I decided that I had to try something as I was just about to DIE or burst or something like that. I took 10 drops in a glass of water and by the time I got to work I was like crazy get-out-of-town peeing. It was like my body randomly decided to drop all that water -- well actually it felt more like the vitex coaxed it out of me. My breasts are still sore but not nearly as bad and my belly doesn't look like a balloon (though I swear my ankle are looking a little bloated still). I think I'm going to keep trying the vitex for a few days more to see if it takes my edge off.

So here's my question to you all, if I've had my prolactin checked and it has been fine then why does it seem like that might be the problem? I've also got that weird headache back, like right between my frontal lobes. I keep getting it during my LP, since January. What the heck is wrong with me and my stupid hormones! The problem is that I don't feel like any of my docs will really listen to me and if they give me a med it will likely be something really nasty. Grrrrr.

I have been feeling bit less painful today thankfully. Maybe I'm onto something.

Here are some links about breast pain, cyclic mastalgia specifically, that you might find interesting.

Cyclic Mastalgia

Painful Breasts

Severity of Mastalgia in Relation to Milk Duct Dilatation

Toremifen May Be Helpful for Mastalgia

Info about Vitex for PMS/mastalgia

DIM Plus for PMS? (and more about estrogen excretion)

On one of the discussion groups about healing fibroids naturally I learned about this dietary supplement called DIM Plus which was supposed to help your body rid itself of excess estrogen. Evidently some of the cancer circles were talking about it. I bought some a while back and tried it for a week or so, no side effects that I could see but since I was doing chinese herbs and trying to get pregnant and you aren't meant to take it if you are pregnant I didn't continue using it.

Well, with my breasts sore as ever for the second luteal phase in a row, I decided finally yesterday to take one capsule to see if it would help. Forget just about the fertility stuff for a minute and know that for me, feeling bad PMS symptoms mean that my body is still lined up for more fibroids -- something I really don't want. The recommended dose is 2 capsules but I took just the one, and then coincidence or not my breast pain receded. They are still sensitive and full and fibrocystic but not just aching me outright now. Was it possibly the DIM Plus?

Here's the link to the product page on the manufacturer's site:

DIM Plus by Nature's Way

Estrogen Metabolism and the Diet-Cancer Connection: Rationale for Assessing the Ratio of Urinary Hydroxylated Estrogen Metabolites (PDF)

Hormone Balance - Hormonal Health (about DIM)

Physiological Functions of Phytonutrients (PDF - info about DIM starts on p.9)

Foods for Cancer Prevention

Estrogen Dominance Syndrome

Nutritional Factors in Menstrual Pain and Premenstrual Syndrome

Liver Detoxification Pathways

Estrogen's Two-Way Street

Premenstrual Syndrome Types -- I mighta have posted this link elsewhere in this blog, but it might be helpful to you in this context so here it is.


It makes me think, why is it that many doctors don't consider things a problem until they might kill you? Why do I have to live with hormonal imbalance and cyclic breast pain for years. Pooh on them. And honestly I've tried the no caffeine, no dairy, no meat, no alcohol approaches and they didn't help me. No chocolate, well that's not really an option and my acu told me that with Spleen Qi deficiency it was a common craving. Like pica (craving and eating clay and ice and stuff) I guess but better.

Menstrual Irregularities

Here's a page which illustrates/explains different types of menstrual irregularities:

http://www.femalehealthmadesimple.com/FileTwelveFinal.html

"Any woman of childbearing age who has missed more than two consecutive periods -- but was not pregnant -- needs to investigate it and possibly have her period induced. Preventing the development of hyperplasia is the reason."
From: Endometrial Hyperplasia, WebMD

"Excessive estrogen stimulation can lead to significant increases in uterine lining thickness. The tissue becomes hyperplastic or atypically hyperplastic . It may become cancerous."

(and)

"Inadequate ovulation may cause excessive, irregular, or frequent menses recurring less than every 3 weeks. Inadequate ovulation leads to an excess of estrogen, which stimulates growth of the menstrual lining, and a decreased level of progesterone - which normally would be present in levels that would adequately thin the menstrual lining and prevent excess or irregular bleeding."
From: Dr Decker, Heavy Menstrual Cycles Management Options

"We like to see a lining of at least 8mm in thickness when measured by ultrasound at the time of maximal thickness during the cycle (see above ultrasound images of an 11.5 mm lining). There is some ongoing debate as to "how thin is too thin", as well as to "how thick is too thick". In general, 8-13 mm is good, less than 6 is potentially a problem, and greater than 15 or so could possibly reduce chances for a successful pregnancy."
From: Uterine problems causing infertility or miscarriage

Why we have bleeding problems... Links/References

At the beginning of the year I posted some links about dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) and one list member (on the fibroid group) asked if I would look into why women tend to have flooding first thing in the morning. Most of you probably know this phenomena whether or not you have DUB -- its when you are sound asleep and suddenly awaken because a big gush of blood is coming out all at once and you run to the bathroom if you can though sometimes you wake up too late and the sheets, your underwear and your nightclothes all need washing.

I wish I had a hematologist to confer with but doctors tend to keep to themselves or just don't overlap with my software oriented social network. I've got a few references here some mechanical and some physiological to causes for bleeding. Since excess estrogen/low progesterone is one theory of part of the cause of fibroids it is interesting to see that the same conditions also set the stage for bleeding problems. Also, I couldn't find references to early morning menstrual bleeding but there was a reference to there being early morning changes in the blood which might be related, at least in action.

"Most very heavy menstrual bleeding does not mean that a woman is shedding substantially more endometrium. The endometrial slough is determined by the size of the uterus and the hormonally induced endometrial thickness. The uterus has large blood vessels that come through the myometrium to feed and supply the endometrium. Really heavy bleeding occurs when the uterine muscle cannot do its job of contracting around these vessels. This is important because after the endometrium is passed out, the basilis layer may be very thin, which could expose the raw muscle surface. This means that the large
vessels can pump blood directly into the uterine cavity if the muscle cannot contract well."
http://www.centerforendo.com/news/adenomyosis/adenomyosis.htm

"what frequently happens when excessive amounts of estrogen are secreted. Parts of the endometrium outgrow their blood supply and are discarded but not simultaneously. While the one part recovers another part is discarded and the bleeding continue for prolonged periods. In the illustrations the bleeding might decrease while the one area heals before the the other area starts bleeding."

"Fibroids usually cause excessive cyclic bleeding. The amount of blood loss is increased and /or the duration of the bleeding is increased. The mechanism is probably due to enlargement of the womb, thus increasing the surface area of the endometrium."
http://www.femalehealthmadesimple.com/FileTwelveFinal.html

"The plasminogen (fibrinolytic) system (Figure 1 ) comprises an inactive proenzyme, plasminogen, that can be converted to the active enzyme, plasmin, that degrades fibrin and that activates matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which in turn degrade extracellular matrix(ECM)"
"There is a clear correlation between the circadian variation in the time of onset of myocardial infarction, with the highest incidence at about 8 a.m., and the circadian rhythm of plasma PAI-1 activity, which is also highest early in the morning."
http://www.asheducationbook.org/cgi/content/full/2001/1/1

"PGE2 --> vasodilation; PGF2a --> vasoconstriction; progesterone is necessary to increase ararchidonic acid, the precursor to PGF2a. With decreased progesterone there is a decreased PGF2a/PGE2 ratio. Since vasoconstriction is promoted by PGF2a, which is less abundant due to the decrease in progesterone, vasodilation results thereby promoting AUB [Abnormal Uterine Bleeding]"
http://www.unmc.edu/Olson/PowerPoint/36 (no longer available)

Interesting facts about estrogens

Estrogen, that is too much estrogen without enough progesterone to counterbalance it, is theorized to cause disease such as fibroids and endometriosis. Here's a complilation of information about estrogens.

"over 30 different forms of estrogen have been described; the most common forms tested are estrone [E1], estradiol [estradiol-17 beta,E2], and estriol [E3]"
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/estrogen/glance.html

"The majority (over 90 percent) of the estrogen present in a pre-menopausal woman's body is made in the ovaries. A smaller additional quantity of estrogen is produced by the adrenal glands and peripheral tissues such as fat, liver, and kidneys by converting androgens to estrogens. Estrogen hormones are also formed in the placenta during pregnancy."
http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/Estrogen.asp

"Increasing FSH levels during the late luteal phase leads to an increase in the number of FSH receptors and ultimately to an increase in estradiol secretion by granulosa cells."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female3/female3.htm

"Estradiol-17b (E2), a steroid hormone, is the most active estrogen in the body. In circulation, E2 is primarily bound to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)."
http://www.dpcweb.com/medical/reproductive_endocrinology/estradiol.html

"Estriol is produced predominantly in the liver as a metabolite of estrone and estradiol."
Is Estriol Safer Than Estradiol?

"For the first 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, estrone originates primarily from maternal sources such as the ovaries, adrenals, or peripheral conversion (57). Later, the placenta secretes increasing quantities of estrone from the conversion of circulating maternal and fetal DHEAS. The placenta continues to be the major source of circulating estrone for the remainder of the pregnancy (53). Estrone concentrations are less than 0.1 ng/mL during the follicular phase and may reach a maximum of 0.3 ng/mL during the luteal phase of a normal menstrual cycle. Following conception, estrone concentrations remain within the luteal phase range through weeks 6-10 of gestation(54). Subsequently there is a gradual increase to a wide range of 2-30 ng/ml at term (53,54,57) (Figures 6 and 8)."
http://www.endotext.org/female/female13/female13.htm

Estrogen Dominance Syndrome
by Ronald Hoffman, M.D.
Conscious Choice, September 1999

What I've learned so far

I thought I would share some of what I've learned over the past year from various doctors including a naturopath. This may differ from what you've been told and I'm just a regular old person so you should definately talk to your doctor about any treatments options you might like to pursue.

Fibroids are spongy tissue that change size with the levels of your hormones in your cycle. They respond particularly much to estrogen, they aren't as sure about progesterone. Un-opposed estrogen in your body, that is estrogen that is not matched with a comparable level of progesterone, is believed to be a factor. Pain is caused partially by prostaglandins which fluctuate during the month as well; ibuprofen may be taken preventatively to help manage prostaglandin production but it isn't good for your liver.

Your liver is a key organ in balancing your hormones. This organ filters out excess hormones from your system and packs them up for excretion through the bowels. Constipation and sluggish bowel movements mean that your body isn't able to efficiently expel waste from the system; you should be having a bowel movement at least once a day otherwise this is you. What is worse is that in your intestines the body will reabsorb the excess hormones back into the system causing a build-up and making your liver work double-time. Many women have problems with constipation and progesterone during the second half of our cycle (post ovulation) is partially to blame.

Small dietary changes can really help your liver out; I tried these things suggested by my naturopathic doctor and my fibroid did not grow at all during the next 8 months.

* Drink at least 6 glasses of water each day
* Increase your consumption of foods that help detoxify your liver:
green leafy vegetable (chard, collard greens, spinach, etc.), garlic,
onions, artichokes, lemons
* Decrease your consumption of refined sugars (this can increase your body's production of stress hormones which might be linked)
* Eat organic foods only
* Decrease your consumption of meat
* Increase your consumption of fish to 2-3 times a week

I was taking vitamins and herbal supplements and used castor oil packs for about a month (they are a pain but they sure help you slow down and take a break before bed. I also greatly reduced the amount of stress in my life and increased the amount of exercise I was doing. I read about progesterone supplementation but my naturopath said that doing that would actually compromise my body's ability to produce progesterone on its own; instead she wanted to help coax my body back into balance. After about 6 months of treatment my cycle had changed. I no longer have PMS for 2 weeks out of every month and even my allergies have subsided. I'm amazed.

I have a 6cm intramural fibroid and the doctors have told me that you can't have a fibroid as large as I do without a major distortion of the uterus (an x-ray in June revealed that my uterus is wrapped around the fibroid to the right). Women who have one large fibroid tend to not get addition fibroids, women with multiple fibroids tend to get re-growth. I'm scheduled for an abdominal myomectomy at the beginning of October.

My younger sister just had an abdominal myomectomy this past March for multiple fibroids, she even had one pressing on a major artery at the back to the abdomen that doctors shrugged off for year as pain "in her head" without doing any diagnostics on her. She was on birth control pills (BCP) for the past 10 years at least, on "continuous cycling". I was never on BCP and I only have one fibroid. We've learned that our mother had a fibroid when she was in her 40s but was able to wait it out until menopause and our great grandmother had one the size of a "cantaloupe" and needed emergency surgery.

I hope this is helpful for you.