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