[Rascherry]

Hi there,

Just wondering if anybody else has suffered severe headaches after starting on herbs?

I`m only two days into my program and since I started have had terrible migraines which I very seldom get otherwise.
I`m on hops and fennel capsules at the mooment.

Rascherry

[chmclover]

That's strange, even young children are allowed fennel and as for hops it's so commonplace. If it caused migraines wouldn't beer drinkers have the same problem?

[T-belle]

The fennel could be affecting your blood sugar, maybe? I know the fenugreek capsules were affecting my blood sugar and causing headaches until I added fennel in combination with it. That stopped the headaches.

[itsjust4fun91]

Anytime you take herbs that adjust your estrogen, you risk certain symptoms until you can figure out what is a good balance for your body type. Here is a site you should read over since you now know you are prone to migraines. It list the different phytoestrogen herbs that trigger them in some women. Both fennel and hops are on the list.

http://www.migraine101.com/phyto.htm

I think much research should be done on any herb you decide to take into your body. There are many things that might surprise you about an herb that is fine for one person to take and not for another. A good example is fenugreek. Most people don't know that it is in the peanut family, so if someone has peanut allergy then they should probably avoid it just to be safe.

Fenugreek is also a good example of how an herb can work two different ways for two different women. For some people it is great at treating migraines, but in others it can trigger them. It all comes down to your own personal body chemisties and hormone balances as to which herb is going ot do what for you.

The same goes with birth control pills also. There are so many different ones with different levels of hormones. One might work well for you, but another might cause massive migraines for you.

We are always always expeirmenting when we decide to take anything new into our body, whether it is something like herbs or something our doctor has suggested--either way it's a gamble most times.

I hope you can get it settled soon. As a migraine sufferer myself, I understand yor pain. Mine are my red alert that my estrogen is too high. thankfully as long as it's level, I'm headache free.

Good luck, Mel

[crystalelle]

When I took Natural Push Up SS it was hop base too. My migraine got worst and I constantly have ulcers around my mouth and white circles on my tongue. My mum told me the white circles is due to my liver, is working very hard she is a nurse by the way.

The beauty consultant that sold me the product told me to drink a lot of water 2.5-3 litters a day to cool down the body and also take soy milk for the protein to build up the breast. I stick to everything they advice me to do but the pills didn't work on me. Maybe my breast is a bit stubborn. My breast feel hard when my period is near but when it is over it go back to the same size which is flat.

Now I am on BB and in 2nd day of it. My left breast kept twitching since morning and my right one occasionally.

Good luck with your NBE~~

[Rascherry]

Thanks for your replies,
I`m dissapointed because I don`t know what this might mean for my herbal BE program now. I chose those particular two herbs for their potency but ironically that seems to be working against me.
Maybe I was taking too much--I`ve cut back my dosages a bit now. I`m taking two capsules of hops and two capsules of fennel a day now, rather than three of each. I was taking both capsules togther, but now Im taking them at seperate times. Took my hops a few hours ago and have a headache again...so Im thinking hops is the culprit-Im not a beer drinker so maybe my body isnt used to it. Should I continue on with the herbs, I mean are the migraines likely to clear up by themselves or should I stop taking them?

Here`s a question that just came to me though. Phytoestrogens work like normal estradial , only weaker. They bind to estrogen receptos and produce estrogen-like effects, right? But it seems they also compete with your natural estrogen to do this-so if you have a phytoestrogen winning over a more potent natural estrogen to bind to a recepter, it follows that the phytoestrogen is going to have a much weaker estrognic effect on the body, thereby actually reducing the estrogenic effects in the body.......am I making sense? I`m feeling very disheartened now.

Rascherry.

[crystalelle]

Since your body is new to hops why don't you reduce your dosage to even smaller ones like once a day instead of twice, 1/2 - 1 pill per intake or even smaller. When your body is more use to it then perhaps only then you should take two. This advise is from the beauty consultant when I was on hops many years back and I develop both migraine and mouth ulcers. Give your body few weeks to get use the dosage then only increase the dosage.

In Chinese medicine when a person have migraine due to certain food it is very likely your body is heaty. The heat builds up from the liver when it process the food or pills you take. I would also advise you to take coconut water and green tea regularly as this is able to reduce the migraine but if you prefer the more convenient way then prescribe migraine pills will help. I however prefer the conventional method as I don't like the idea of taking too many types of medical pills. Coconut water and green tea work good for me.

Aside of that you should remember taking concentrated herbs means your liver will be likely to work very hard so detoxification with milk thistle is require maybe once every few months.

Don't get discourage there are many different method of NBE out there. I tried 3 methods (2 different herbs) so far and it didn't work for me now I am on my fourth method. No 1 shoe size for all remember that. There is bound to be 1 method that suits you.

Happy growing~~

[Jemma]

I recently tried taking PM for NBE and also experienced severe headaches, also a little nausea. I was taking a lower dose than recommended by the company I bought it from, but I decided to send it back for a refund anyway. Besides, I kind of agree with what you mentioned about plant estrogens being weaker than our bodies' natural estrogen. I read something to that affect on the BB website, and I am thinking about trying their product, as it doesn't use plant estrogens.

[Emma C]

Here`s a question that just came to me though. Phytoestrogens work like normal estradial , only weaker. They bind to estrogen receptos and produce estrogen-like effects, right? But it seems they also compete with your natural estrogen to do this-so if you have a phytoestrogen winning over a more potent natural estrogen to bind to a recepter, it follows that the phytoestrogen is going to have a much weaker estrognic effect on the body, thereby actually reducing the estrogenic effects in the body.......am I making sense? I`m feeling very disheartened now.

Your theory is correct, but only when you have excess estrogen in the first place. If you don't have excess estrogen the competition you talk about is unable to take place. That's why these herbs have long been regarded as balancing the system, as they compete with estrogen when you have excess estrogen, thereby lowering estrogenic activity, and they supplement estrogen when you don't have enough of it, thereby increasing estrogenic activity.