[sfem]

Anyways, even though my TSH was high, my doctor refused to put me on thyroid meds, so I started taking nascent iodine to help keep it under control...and by some miracle it seems to have worked. So, since I seem pretty healthy now I have resumed NBE after 3 months off.

I started off taking estradiol, but that made one of my toes slightly numb after about a week....so I'm back to the PM extract for now.

I took some pics, but not going to post any of them unless they grow past the point they were at last time lol

Very interesting toe comment. I have a fair bit of trouble with my 3 middle toes and into the balls of my feet. I have gout but haven't had a flareup in several years. But I regularly get numbness to the point of pain in the ends of my middle toes. It can wake me from a sound sleep it gets so bad. I use custom orthotics for mechanical issues in my feet but they don't have much effect on this aspect of it. My doctor is mystified. The only thing that seems to help (not sure because it can be hard to isolate a single possible cause) is taking extra multivitamins and a ton of vitamin C (my idea to try that). I wonder if there is any connection to the PM. My doctor is one who thinks herbs are mumbo-jumbo so there is no help from that angle. I have been on PM for more than 3 years now, off and on. Anybody else with pain or numbness in their toes and taking PM or synthetic estradiol?

[SarahSchilling]

It was the big toe on my right foot, and it wasn't totally numb...just a little bit, almost under the nail if that makes any sense. The toe looked completely normal, and I've never had any foot problems before.

Anyways, about a week after I stopped taking estradiol, it went back to normal. Now, after a few weeks of PM extract, it has started to go slightly numb again, on and off. Not nearly as bad as before though. I wear very loose shoes, and nothing else has changed for me rather than the PM/estradiol intake....so I feel pretty certain it's the culprit. But hey, it beats the hell outta shortness of breath! hahaha

Just wish I knew if it was something to be worried about or not...but much like your doctor, mine doesn't want to hear anything about any herbs. I listed PM and SP the last time I saw him and he asked,"Have you been taking anything?", to which I replied, "Yes, Purella Mirifica and Saw Palmetto, I wrote both down there." He responded,"Any precription drugs?", as if those were the only substances that could impact one's body.

LOL, fucking doctors.

[Destiny]

One thing I would say to this and I am no doctor is numbness of the toes and/or legs is usually associated with poor circulation to the lower half of the body. Could be caused by many things. PM is noted for increasing blood flow so it wouldn't stand to reason that it is to blame, unless your heart is working harder than it normally does to account for the extra blood flow. In which case it could be a very serious problem. Numbness can also be attributed to nerves. I wonder since a lot of people seem to say that PM starts to work first on their feet(soft skin, etc) if this could be a side effect of having too much PM down there. It makes since with gravity and such that blood flows easier into your legs and feet than it does out of them. So an over abundance of PM maybe getting absorbed in your feet. Not sure if inversion would help but maybe try sitting with legs elevated to see if that helps relieve the numbness. Again I am not a doctor just some things I have read or heard over the years. Hope it's nothing serious for either of you two. Good Luck!

[MonikaT]

I have diabetic neuropathy so my legs are numb from the knees down. My hands are also fairly numb. The weird thing is this can be very painful, and sometimes I get pains in my feet that wake me up. Since this is nerve pain, taking analgesics or NSAIDS doesn't really do much. I have found that taking the amino acid L-Tryptophan at bed time does help. I stumbled on this by accident years ago. I was desperate for a good night's sleep. I hadn't slept well in weeks. I was also weaning off an antidepressant, and every time we lowered the dose, I went through days of pain in my feet. Knowing that tryptophan can aid sleep, I think I took 1000 mg. The pain subsided. The next day, I did some research and learned that raising serotonin levels can increase pain tolerance. I knew tryptophan raises serotonin in the brain which aids sleep, but I didn't know serotonin played a role in pain tolerance.

[julieTG]

Try a herb called 5htp also
Raises serotonin

J

[ab101bab]

could be bad circulation or could be a symptom of deep vein thrombosis blood clots are caused from heightened estrogen as well as to much calcium not enough magnesium. i learned that today lol

[MonikaT]

Try a herb called 5htp also
Raises serotonin

J

5htp is not an herb. It is a metabolite of L-Tryptophan, and everything I've read says it doesn't easily cross the blood-brain barrier which is necessary for raising serotonin levels. I prefer to stick with what I know will work. 5htp became the replacement for tryptophan when tryptophan was banned so we'd all be forced to take SSRIs for mood disorders. Tryptophan works, and it doesn't carry all the weight gain and loss of libido, etc. that SSRIs do which is why big pharma needed it off the market and the FDA obliged.

[julieTG]

can assure you 5 htp is a herb,

5-Hydroxytryptophan, more commonly known as 5-HTP, is derived from the amino acid l-tryptophan. In the body 5-HTP is converted into the brain chemical messenger serotonin. The 5-HTP used in Healthspan’s 5-HTP 100mg is sourced exclusively from the seeds of the West African Griffonia simplicifolia tree, the only natural source available.[/align]

[AnnieBL]

I find this thread interesting since I have had a lot of trouble with my legs and feet. I first went to my then doctor because of a bad split on my shin which refused to heal and turned into an ulcer, and subsequently had smaller ulcers on several of my toes. He was convinced that it was a result of type 2 diabetes, in spite of the fact that my blood sugar levels said otherwise. He sent me to a first specialist who checked out my arterial blood flow to my legs (OK) and then more or less said he could do nothing for me, but suggested that I should wear stronger pressure socks, only available here by prescription which he didn't provide,. Next he sent me to a wound healing specialist who diagnosed CVI and told me simply to continue wearing the strong pressure socks (available much cheaper and without prescription from the US) and apply petroleum jelly to the ulcers twice a day and keep the covered by non-stick dressings. This worked! When I went back to him after a few weeks, his comment was "So you believed me". Unfortunately the pressure socks don't work on the toes, but I found that horse chestnut works wonders in boosting the effect of the socks and my feet are now in much better shape. Basically the CVI causes edema, which weakens the skin and hinders healing, but also produces paraesthesia which greatly exaggerates the sensation and pain of injury, paradoxically with a degree of numbness, and tightness and/or pins and needles. I still have to be very careful with footwear since the slightest rub or irregularity is very uncomfortable.

If you have poor circulation in your arms and legs, then it is quite likely due to CVI (chronic venous insufficiency), which may make you more prone to side effects from drugs or supplements as well as the other symptoms discussed in this thread.

[MonikaT]

can assure you 5 htp is a herb,

5-Hydroxytryptophan, more commonly known as 5-HTP, is derived from the amino acid l-tryptophan. In the body 5-HTP is converted into the brain chemical messenger serotonin. The 5-HTP used in Healthspan’s 5-HTP 100mg is sourced exclusively from the seeds of the West African Griffonia simplicifolia tree, the only natural source available.[/align]

I stand corrected. I've never investigated 5-htp because I've always read how it doesn't pass into the brain readily. I suppose by the same standard, we can call all amino acids on the market herbals because I think Ajinomoto (and all the other producers) use mushrooms to produce them. Although aspirin is made in the laboratory these days, originally it was extracted from the bark of the white willow so I guess that made aspirin an herbal, too, back in the day.