Since you asked (okay well I don’t know if you did or not but I’m assuming you asked), I’m doing better thanks.  Cramps have subsided.  AF is still here.  I’m nursing a big headache, but I’ll be okay.  I just chowed down on some Advil, and I’m having dinner with a friend later.  I’m in better spirits.

So AF means a new cycle.  What’s new with this cycle?

• I’m adding organic nettles and organic turmeric to my diet to try to balance out my hormones a little better.  If you want to read about nettles you can do so here and turmeric here.  I’m mostly interested in turmeric for its anti-oxidant properties as well as hormone balance.  While I think I’m good on the estrogen front, I think my progesterone is still a bit low.  It needs to go up !  Meanwhile, here is a fantastic recipe for golden milk.
• Last cycle I started drinking smoothies to get some pineapple core and goji berries in me.  This cycle I am continuing with the smoothies.  I recently read that goji berries are best before and during Ov, so I’ll change that this cycle.  I’m loving the daily smoothies by the way.  Not only can I be creative and try new delicious combos, they make it so much easier to choke down all my pills every morning.  I hope to add avocado into my daily smoothies.  Finding good avocados is a bit of a crap shoot in Japan.
• To help during the LP, I’m adding cinnamon, both in supplement and powder form (organic of course).  Last cycle at the end of my LP, I started making a sleepytime milk consisting of almond milk, cinnamon, honey and nutmeg.  I slept like a baby!
• I’m loving essential oils!  I use clary sage, geranium, and lavender all organic placed in organic grapeseed oil as the carrier oil.  I have no idea if it is helping with fertility or not but I have had foot pain for some 6 months or so, and the oils really have helped with that.
• I totally gave up on seed cycling.  Truthfully I didn’t last much more than a week in the follicular phase.  I really hate flax seeds.  Even ground up I can’t stand them.  Also, I’m convinced they’re bugs packaged as “seeds”.
• While we’re on the subject of giving up, I gave up that nasty liquid calcium.  I’d rather choke down horse pills than drink chalk.
• I’m continuing the daily glass of grapefruit juice.  It really helped increase my CM.
• After AF leaves the building, I’m starting Women’s Best Friend.  I don’t have the energy to type everything about this miracle herb mix, so you can read about it here if you’d like.  In a nutshell, I’m attempting to raise progesterone and clear up any nastyness that might be lurking in my internal lady parts.  Basically, I want to do all I can to avoid taking vitex because I don’t want to mess with the mechanisms of my cycle because I think it’s operating just fine except for the low progesterone.

Gosh, I think that’s it.  I hope I didn’t leave anything out.  If I did, I’m certain I can blog about it later.  Let’s hop this cycle #5 is the one!  (On a side note: 4 is an unlucky number in Japan as it shares the same sound as the word “die”, so maybe 4 was not meant to be.  Go 5!)

Princess Serenity