Some of my favorite links:
Mike (my husband)
Double Whoa! Two weeks without posting!My apologies for those who stop in regularly.
I guess one of the side effects of someone who isn't 'regular' is the lack of attachment to other forms of routine... (OK, so maybe that is a cop-out. But sometimes I just don't wanna speak).Moving on...
Did you ever get lost in the encyclopedia - yes I mean the actual real books that many of us grew up with, not the online virtual thang. I used to get lost in it all of the time. My mom would come looking for me 'cause I was too quiet! Well, I still have that pattern of research. I will start with a particular subject and get sidetracked by all of the tangential stuff! Now it happens when I search online, or at the library (I can get lost in the stacks very very easily!).
In my quest to find information about the links between hormones and digestion, I have gotten sidetracked by all sorts of stuff. In the end, though, it all adds to my knowledge base on the subject.Since I am convinced I am embarking on the long journey toward the end of my menses (this is sad and not sad, and only women will understand why), I have been researching the premenopausal literature. Lo and Behold! Many women will become IBSers during this phase of their lives! At least that is what the literature says. I am inclined to believe that most of those women were IBSers of varying degrees prior to onset of 'the change' but they weren't aware they had a problem.
[Many of us grow up with IBS, not knowing that elimination can be different because no one talks about healthy elimination, therefore we have no way to share/discuss/compare our difficulties with others who might be normal].
So, I am reading books like "What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Perimenopause", by Dr. John Lee, and "The Change" by Germaine Greer (this is an excellent examination of the physical, emotional and spiritual changes that women go through. I highly recommend it.). I have also read several practical manuals about the physiology of our hormonal systems.
I have learned many interesting things, one of which is that men and women have exactly the same hormones, just in different mixes. Men have estrogen too. And Women have testosterone and androgens. Progesterone is a key hormone for both sexes, and it is one of the precursors for the synthesis of the estrogens. There are three components to the estrogen hormones, estriol, estrone, estradiol. They vary in intensity and action, but all are gazillion times more potent than progesterone. This is important b/c it is the natural balance of the estrogen:progesterone (and the other) hormones that regulate everything from sex drive to digestion!HA! There's the link. The so-called 'sex' hormones are infinitely more complex than that. They are manufactured at many places throughout our bodies and can easily be disturbed by things like pollutants, toxics, stress, foods and their additives, including pesticides, sugars, petroleum products ... you get the picture?
Eat organic! Try to reduce the stress in your life! Live without a gazillion unnecessary gadgets and junk! ETC. ETC.Anyway, these 'sex' hormones are so much more complex that the sex part is almost an aside. They rule almost all other processes, and researchers are still learning new stuff, particularly since 'womens' issues have begun to be researched. Hmmmmm.
I will expound more on this stuff later, I promise.
I have to go to work now.
posted by LST 12/8/2000 06:25:39 AM