[twinklepose]

Hi all, I know I don't post as much on here as maybe I should, but my NBE journey has just reached an abrupt halt and I thought I'd better tell you why.

I started taking PM about eight months ago and have since topped it up with reishi mushroom and white peony.

I had a few ocular migraines when I started but they soon stopped, I began budding and all was fine. I've had a tiny bit of growth, though nothing to write home about.

Anyway, about a week ago, I started suffering with pain in my left calf. I put it down to a simple calf strain - I do a fair amount of cycling.

But, over the weekend, the pain got worse and worse and my calf and ankle swelled up like a balloon.

On Sunday, I decided to go to the walk-in centre and get it checked out. This led to a trip to A&E (ER to you Americans) and then another appointment at the hospital's medical assessment unit the following day.

The doctors were saying I had all the signs of DVT - but they couldn't understand why (I'm fit and active, early 40s, no family history, etc).

Anyway, an ultrasound scan followed and this confirmed I had (have) a blood clot in my thigh. Yeah, above the knee - not great.

And so I begin a six-month course of injections and pills to blast the clot and to thin my blood. I must also wear a surgical stocking for two years.

I had a chest X-ray, which was clear, thank heavens. DVT can lead to pulmonary embolism, which basically kills you.

And I have to see a haemotologist to have a series of blood tests to find out the cause.

But I reckon I already know the cause. A quick Google of "deep vein thrombosis" and "estrogen" throws up a whole world of information linking the two. Don't take my word for it - do it.

So, yeah, my NBE journey is over permanently. I just wondered if anyone else here had suffered DVT - and I really wanted to say be very, VERY careful what you wish for.

I thought going down the herbal route would be safe as houses, compared to taking synthetics - but it appears not. I have a long time before this is all out of my system and, even then, I'm at greater risk of it happening again. It could have killed me. Please, PLEASE be careful.

[Lotus]

Twinkle,

Thank you for sharing the very serious news. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

Please keep in touch.

[The First Aria]

Of course, I agree with Lotus TP. God speed on your FULL recovery.

[twinklepose]

Thank you, ladies. Still in a world of pain and will be until the warfarin begins to take hold after about three weeks.

Please be careful out there. xx

[Huggy]

Hi Twinkle

Read your post and I just had to reply. What a scary experience! Thank goodness you had the sense to get it checked and not try to brave it out.

But thank you SO MUCH for posting your experience. A salient reminder and warning that these are powerful substances we are playing with here. They may be "safer" than full blown HRT but that doesn't mean they are free from risk. Something we should ALL keep in mind and make sure we understand the risks we are taking and know the possible side effects so we know what to look out for.

May I ask please? What dosages were you taking?

Please take care, get well and be safe.

Huggy.

[paul]

I wish you the best in your recovery.

With causes of DVT in mind, this may be a coincidence that you were taking PM at the time. Regardless of the cause, I agree that we need to be careful when using PM or other estrogenic compounds.

A friend of mine - an avid cyclist and racer - developed a DVT in his calf while flying from Honolulu to Wash DC. He is not on any estrogenic compounds as far as I know. His DVT did seem to be related to his flight, and was a bit surprising considering that he is so fit.

Paul