Participants: Amy Wellard, Cherie Lon Fernandez
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000440
|
00:34 Welcome to "Wonderfully Made"
00:36 We're talking about "vibrant womanhood" 00:38 And today, with me on the show Dr. Cherie Lou Fernandez 00:42 Welcome Dr. Cherie Lou... Thank you 00:44 Your host today is Amy Wellard 00:46 from the Wildwood Lifestyle Center, 00:48 and we're going to be talking about a condition that is 00:50 NOT a life-threatening condition but can cause 00:53 a lot of pain and discomfort and that is fibroids. 00:56 Dr. Cherie Lou, I understand that up to 80% of women 00:59 age between 30 and 50 are actually suffering from fibroids 01:04 It's a common thing. 01:06 And it's very common in black Caribbeans 01:08 more than any other racial group. Yes 01:11 What exactly are fibroids? 01:14 Well first of all, there's good news! 01:18 It is a BENIGN tumor. 01:20 Fibroids are very, very common; 01:23 the most common pelvic tumor but they ARE benign. 01:28 They hardly invade the surrounding tissues... 01:31 They don't invade the surrounding tissues, 01:33 and do not cause death - directly cause death. 01:38 BUT, if you were in menopause and you already had a fibroid 01:44 that wasn't operated on. 01:45 Let's say you didn't have it operated on, 01:48 and you didn't know you had it, 01:49 but you had the fibroid when you went into menopause. 01:52 As you grow older, as in 60, 70 years old, 01:55 there's a point .03-to-.05-to-.07 chance 02:02 that you can develop malignancy from the existing fibroid. 02:07 So what you're saying is it's a very, very low risk. 02:10 Okay, so what is the cause of these fibroids? 02:13 Okay, fibroids are benign tumors of the smooth muscles. 02:19 You can find smooth muscles all over your body - 02:22 your blood vessels, the lining of your esophagus, 02:25 the lining of your gut. 02:27 But the biggest bunch of smooth muscles you could probably say 02:31 is in your uterus... 02:33 And there are a lot of receptors to estrogen in your uterus, 02:41 and it is genetic, you know. 02:43 Whether you have a lot of receptors or your receptors 02:47 are very receptive or sensitive - you would say, 02:52 it is genetic. 02:54 This propensity is genetic, 02:55 and so if you have an increased level of estrogen, 02:58 and you have the genetic propensity, 03:01 you would develop the tumors of the smooth muscles. 03:04 So would that indicate that ladies that have never 03:07 had babies are at a greater risk of fibroids 03:10 because they tend to have a high level of estrogen? 03:13 Yes it is - a uterus that has been deprived 03:20 of a baby will console itself in a fibroid. 03:23 I'm sorry to say that but it is true. 03:26 It's because they have high levels 03:29 of estrogen never resting... always having the estrogen. 03:33 But on the other hand, it's a blessing for women 03:36 that have had children. Yes 03:39 The more children you've had 03:41 the less likely you are to have fibroids... Yes 03:43 Yes that's true - more children, less fibroids. 03:45 Okay, so what are the other reasons a person 03:47 could possibly be at greater risk for having fibroids? 03:53 Well when you're not pregnant, you develop fibroids. 03:57 It's stress... I mean it's not stress, sorry. 03:59 Your hormones are high, so then you develop... 04:03 there's a risk between not getting pregnant 04:05 and having fibroids BUT when you finally 04:08 get yourself pregnant, if ever you have this 04:11 propensity to develop a fibroid, 04:13 this fibroid will grow FAST, REALLY FAST! 04:17 Change in hormones also can make fibroids grow 04:20 along with pregnancy. 04:22 Okay, so it's possible to be 04:24 pregnant AND have a fibroid. Yes 04:27 And you would have a difficulty 04:29 like when I had a patient with fibroids... 04:31 Where is the uterus here, you see... 04:33 Because you feel something that's different from 04:35 the uterus you don't know. 04:37 You might have a uterus of 3 months - 04:40 a baby of 3 months, but your uterus is 5 months 04:43 because of the mass. 04:46 And she suddenly has pain from necrosis of the fibroid 04:50 because the blood supply cannot supply the fibroid. 04:53 Is that life-threatening for the baby? 04:55 It could be life-threatening for BOTH the baby and the mother. 04:58 So if a lady in pregnancy does experience sudden abdominal pain 05:04 ...that doesn't feel like perhaps the normal 05:06 stretching of the uterus, what should she do? 05:08 She should seek counsel right away 05:10 because it could mean the loss of the baby 05:14 and/or even her life. 05:16 Is it worth that thing but of course any pain in 05:18 pregnancy you have to go seek counsel. 05:21 It's not normal to have this pain in pregnancy. 05:24 Now I heard there was a connection between 05:27 oral contraceptives and fibroid risk... 05:30 Yes! Especially oral contraceptives that are high 05:33 in estrogen. 05:35 You know, there are different kinds; 05:36 you have high dose, medium dose and low dose. 05:39 It's the high dose oral contraceptives 05:42 that are very, very closely linked to the 05:45 development of fibroids. 05:49 And would that also correlate to ladies 05:51 that are overweight - they would have a greater 05:53 tendency to be getting fibroids. 05:56 Yes also because, again, if you're overweight 05:59 your fat produces endogenous estrogen. 06:03 The fat produces more estrogen, 06:05 so then you make yourself prone to developing fibroids. 06:10 And what other factors in our lifestyle 06:12 can make us more likely to get them besides the excess weight? 06:17 Stress can make you prone to developing fibroids 06:21 because it makes you anovulatory. 06:23 Hypertension is associated with the production 06:27 or the development... 06:28 Even hypertension is associated with the formation 06:32 or the development of fibroids, 06:34 and of course, bad nutrition - so all these things. 06:38 So how would I know if I have a fibroid? 06:43 Can I be without symptoms for a long time? 06:45 Majority of patients with fibroid have NO manifestations. 06:50 Oh I had a patient who came to me 06:52 like she's full-term pregnancy, 06:55 and she didn't know she was pregnant because 06:57 she was rather of the big size and they thought that she 07:02 was just becoming overweight, gaining more fat around 07:08 the abdominal area. 07:09 But really, it was a fibroid as big as a 5-gallon bucket 07:15 You see these paint buckets, the 5-gallon ones, 07:19 her fibroid was even bigger than that. 07:22 It could not enter the 5- gallon bucket. Amazing! 07:24 And she was pregnant at the same time? 07:26 No-no-no, she didn't know she had it. 07:29 She was asymptomatic. 07:31 So the majority of fibroids have no manifestations. 07:37 Right, so often the doctor will discover it when 07:41 doing an ultrasound for a baby. Yes, probably so 07:43 Okay, but some ladies are experiencing bleeding, 07:46 and is that because of the situation of the fibroid 07:48 ...exactly where it is in the uterus that can cause bleeding. 07:51 Yes, the most common manifestation probably 07:57 that would alarm a lady would be bleeding. 08:01 We are afraid to be bleeding beyond what we bleed regularly. 08:05 And, that's about a third of cases - they bleed, 08:09 and it's something that sometimes ladies would 08:13 have to have blood transfusions. 08:15 And it is a specific type of fibroid that locates itself 08:20 in the lining of the uterus so that it affects the lining 08:25 so when you have menses, the fibroid is there, 08:28 and you bleed more profusely. 08:31 So then, a lot of women may even have their uterus taken out 08:35 ...even with a fibroid as big as a marble, 08:38 depending on where it is located you might bleed profusely. 08:43 And obviously, if you are bleeding in-between menses, 08:45 then that indicates that there is something going on. 08:48 So we do encourage you, if you are experiencing 08:50 those symptoms at all, do go and see a physician 08:53 and find out what that is because any kind of 08:55 menstruating-like bleeding in-between the period 09:00 does indicate the need to see a physician. Yes 09:03 So how does fibroids affect our chances of conceiving? 09:10 If I want to conceive a baby and I have fibroids, 09:13 could it possibly limit my chances? 09:15 Yes - because if it were inside the uterus, 09:20 you see how the sperm have to swim past it... 09:23 sometimes it really blocks the passage of sperm 09:26 or sometimes it grabs or it supplants the 09:31 implantation site of blood supply and causing inflammation 09:38 around the area of implantation... 09:40 so that you may even have a fertilization - 09:45 you might have a viable fertilized egg, 09:51 but it cannot implant itself because there's something 09:53 there that is causing problems. 09:56 So that's one thing that it could do... 09:59 That's the way it works to make infertility come about. 10:03 So what's the best thing to do to treat fibroids 10:07 once we know that they are there, 10:09 and very often, the doctor won't know it's there 10:11 until you're several months into pregnancy. 10:13 Will the doctor try to treat 10:15 the fibroid while the lady is pregnant? 10:18 While she's pregnant? Yes 10:20 If it doesn't cause any problem, 10:22 the doctor will not touch the fibroid. 10:25 But if the fibroid is necrotic already, it's dead inside, 10:30 and it will cause toxic problems with your patient, 10:35 then may EVEN opt to take the fibroid out 10:39 because then you would not only lose your baby, 10:42 but you would even lose your mom... 10:43 so you just have to run the risk of which is 10:47 more important... but of course we want to keep the baby. 10:49 I've done that! 10:51 When I had a REALLY necrotic... you could tell by ultrasound 10:55 that your fibroid is going into necrosis and how much 10:59 necrosis there is by sonography. 11:02 I really had to take the thing out but the Lord is gracious 11:05 ...You ask for His help and you do this 11:07 Even to make the decisions, you have to ask Him to 11:10 help you... I decided anyway, 11:12 and I took this out. 11:13 We were able to keep the baby and the mom was okay. 11:17 Of course, we delivered by C-section 11:20 because we had made a big scar on the uterus. 11:24 But both the mother and the baby were well and that's 11:25 the main thing... Yes, praise the Lord, yes! 11:27 It's not an easy task to do that ... it's not really that easy. 11:33 So if she's not pregnant and she's got fibroids, 11:36 what treatment would you recommend if we're 11:38 going to look at natural approaches? 11:40 Okay well, many times they have pain; 11:46 you have to take into consideration 11:48 that your patient has pain; 11:50 you treat and help support her 11:55 with symptomatic and supportive therapy for the pain 11:59 so that she is able to deal with this... 12:02 But taking care of the symptoms and the signs 12:06 and support your lady would not let this disappear. 12:11 I can tell you my specific experience with fibroids. 12:16 I had several fibroids the size around 2-3 cm; 3 of them, 12:26 and I can tell you... this is funny - it's not funny but 12:31 but it's funny-funny - oh, you know what I mean! 12:32 When I would eat properly, 12:36 meaning I would deliberately become a vegetarian, 12:41 and I would juice myself, morning and lunch. 12:46 I would be able to SHRINK my fibroids. 12:49 I'm not telling this to just pull your leg, Amy 12:52 I did scans on it, I PROVED... before and after. 12:57 So then - it disappeared the first time. 12:59 I thought then, Okay, I'm fine, 13:01 I don't have the fibroids anymore. 13:02 And so I went back and ate my chicken, my cheese, 13:05 and my whatever - you know. I enjoyed myself 13:09 And it came BACK with a vengeance much BIGGER 13:12 than it was before! Really? 13:14 And I said, "Oh Lord, I'm so sorry" 13:15 And I started my vegetarian diet again, my exercise, 13:19 and everything and I juiced and it DISAPPEARED again! 13:23 So to me, it's not coincidence. 13:27 When you work on it, your body will take care of you. 13:30 So fibroids is not really that hard to care for, 13:34 it's just you just make up your mind - you work on it. 13:37 Okay, so the healthy diet is REALLY what 13:39 made the difference for you. Very important - yes 13:41 And going back to the less healthy diet made it come back 13:44 with SUCH a vengeance, very aggressive growth... 13:47 because perhaps increased estrogen in your body 13:50 the results of the chicken and processed foods. 13:52 So let's really hit on the diet... 13:54 This is the key point for everybody 13:56 who is struggling with fibroids, especially painful ones. 13:59 WHAT is the optimal diet? 14:00 We're talking plant-based vegetarian, 14:02 lots of green vegetables, anything specific besides that? 14:07 When you hit the problem, you have to know the reason why. 14:12 So there are 2 things that you have to take 14:14 into serious consideration... 14:16 How to bring your estrogen back into balance. 14:21 Your estrogen is going wild so you have to take that 14:24 into consideration... 14:26 Or, how are you supposed to eliminate the 14:30 extra estrogen that you have which you can do using diet. 14:35 So you cut down on your fats 14:39 so that you don't have extra fats. 14:41 You eat a lot of grains which has a lot of fiber, 14:45 which has the right kinds of carbohydrates, 14:49 your vegetables with magnesium with calcium, with manganese, 14:53 and all the rest of the other minerals that are 14:55 important for your liver and your ovaries, 14:59 and your adrenals to be able to work the best way they could 15:04 to bring back your hormones to normal, 15:07 and also to eliminate the extra estrogen 15:11 that you have in your body. 15:12 So it's - hit this, your ovaries your adrenals and your liver... 15:16 These are the 3 important organs you have to care for 15:19 with your diet in order to help shrink the fibroids you have. 15:25 And so what you're saying is that the ANIMAL-based diet, 15:28 which is the typical American diet - the standard diet, 15:30 is actually feeding the fibroids and the processed foods... 15:36 I mean, even if I take vegetables from a can, 15:38 that's not going to give me the benefit as taking it fresh. 15:40 It needs to be fresh, the grains need to be the whole grains; 15:43 whole grain rice and whole grain pasta and so on. 15:46 Now is there any other way we can increase 15:48 this expulsion of estrogen besides the diet? 15:52 For example - exercise What does that do? 15:54 Everything has to do by walking after eating, 15:59 you enhance all your digestive organs 16:03 inducing your liver to do its work. 16:05 OH - very important... At nighttime, when you 16:08 go to bed, is about the time when your liver is 16:11 starting to wrap up everything that you put 16:13 in your body the whole day. 16:15 So you have to take care NOT to give extra food 16:19 to your liver at night... 16:21 So that instead of it working on the food that you gave it, 16:24 it will work on the detoxifying and cleaning your body of 16:27 the extra whatever you have 16:29 put in your body throughout the day. 16:31 So a light-light supper would be friendly to your liver, 16:35 and would help eliminate your extra estrogen. 16:40 Now you mentioned that you did juicing... 16:42 Could you tell us a little more about that; 16:44 what you juiced and where you got those vegetables from. 16:48 Oh, I used organic because when you do organic juicing, 16:54 you CONCENTRATE all the nutrients you have there. 16:59 If there was pesticides, you CONCENTRATE it as well, 17:03 and you drink that. 17:04 So as much as possible, get your certified organic juice 17:08 Fruit juice in the morning, different kinds of fruit, 17:10 and vegetables - not always the same vegetables 17:13 from day-to-day, not always the same fruit from day-to-day 17:16 because she will get tired of drinking this thing... 17:19 Three vegetables today, another tomorrow and another 17:22 so you don't fatigue! 17:23 Okay - sounds good and so that your appetite is still satisfied 17:27 while you're treating yourself. 17:28 But not only juicing... you EAT a balanced diet, 17:31 and you juice on top of it because you get 17:34 the real nutrients you need, the vitamins and the minerals. 17:37 Okay, absolutely. 17:38 And hydrotherapy, I know, can be very helpful 17:41 for abdominopelvic pain. 17:43 Yes, especially PRIOR to the menses. 17:48 You could do, again, the cold sitz for 15 seconds... 17:54 Okay, I want make sure it's seconds not... 17:56 you would freeze your butt... 18:00 It's ice cold 15 seconds of cold sitz. 18:03 It shrinks the blood vessels towards your uterus 18:07 so that it deprives the fibroid of blood supply. 18:11 Could we just sit in a cold bathtub 18:13 or does it need to be a tub that just isolates 18:15 the pelvic area as we sit in it. You could... 18:18 You could - actually as long as you have this are covered, 18:22 but if it were 15 seconds of ice cold, you wouldn't want 18:25 your whole body in the tub - that's why you have a tub. 18:29 Okay, as long as you cover up to the naval, 18:31 and down to the thighs. Yes 18:33 Okay wonderful, and then after that - that's it, 18:35 you just do that just prior to menses? 18:37 Prior to menses - about a week before EVERY DAY! 18:41 Obviously that's going to be the BEST - the natural approach. 18:45 There's no side effects from 18:47 any medications. No side effects for sure. 18:49 But is there any medical approach that sometimes 18:51 needs to be resorted to perhaps? 18:53 Oh, the medical comes in... you know it's hormones 18:57 They give you hormones and many really opt not to take hormones. 19:02 And the REAL, the ONLY complete management 19:07 for fibroids is surgery, and not everybody wants 19:11 to go under the knife... 19:13 And besides, a lot of operations sometimes are uncalled for, 19:18 but it happens that you have 19:22 surgeries because it's the easiest way - the quickest way, 19:26 but not necessarily the best way. 19:29 And sometimes even a hysterectomy with 19:32 complete removal of the uterus takes place. 19:35 Would there be any recommendation 19:36 you would have about that and maintaining the ovaries... 19:39 Yes, before even in a medical practice, gynecological practice 19:45 ...They said it used to be when you turn 40, 19:48 you get uterus, you get ovaries. 19:51 So when you take out the uterus, 19:53 you have to take out the ovaries at 40... 19:55 But then it moved up, women caught up, 19:58 and said, "I don't want the surgical menopause so early" 20:01 So then now we are giving this informed consent 20:05 to the patients whether they choose to 20:07 have their ovaries still or have their ovaries taken out. 20:11 You can have an informed consent so that you know 20:15 how to deal - you don't necessarily have to 20:17 take your ovaries out. 20:18 And keeping the ovaries, of course, is ideal 20:21 because then you can have the hormones 20:22 still being produced. You still have your hormones. 20:24 Now Dr. Cherie Lou, you've been practicing for many years 20:27 in the Philippines - you have many different experiences 20:30 that have been very fascinating in my conversations with you. 20:32 I've enjoyed it very much. 20:34 Please tell us some of your experiences with fibroids - 20:36 to give our viewers hope if they're suffering with this. 20:38 I'll bring you closer... you might say that's too far 20:42 in the Philippines... I bring you one closer here 20:44 to us in the United States. 20:45 Two years ago, after I had given my talk on fibroids 20:49 in Wildwood during the natural remedies seminar, 20:52 a lady came to me and had said that she had fibroids 20:56 and she also had an ovarian mass. 20:59 and that was in June, 2 years ago. 21:02 She came to me and she said that she was scheduled for 21:05 operation in September. 21:09 She was supposed to have her operation in September. 21:11 And she said, "Can I do something about this 21:13 because I have fibroids?" 21:15 I said, "How big are your fibroids?" 21:16 She said, "They are less than 6 cm. " 21:19 Now, you have prognosis much better if your fibroids 21:22 are less than 6 cm. 21:25 She said they were less than 6 cm. 21:27 So I said, "You have to exercise; 21:29 you have to eat properly as in SERIOUSLY eat properly; 21:33 CHANGE your diet RADICALLY, do juicing, exercise, 21:37 sleep early, be temperate, 21:41 open your windows - have the best air that you can 21:44 have in your house and all the natural remedies I told her. 21:47 You know what? 21:49 She was doing this REALLY, REALLY RELIGIOUSLY. 21:52 In August, she went back to her doctor for all the final tests 21:58 to prepare her for her September operation. 22:02 Her doctor was on her for a long time trying to look for 22:05 these fibroids - they WEREN'T THERE ANYMORE! Wonderful! 22:09 And that was only 2 months, July and August. Really? 22:13 September - normal - She has been clear since. 22:16 That's really AMAZING! 22:17 So what you're saying is it really works. 22:21 It works! You've proven it! 22:22 And that's just one of many... Over and over 22:25 Praise God... So what special word would you give to 22:29 some of our ladies that may be wanting to get pregnant 22:32 but are having problems with fibroids? 22:34 Would you recommend that they 22:36 just go ahead and try to conceive, 22:37 or that they should deal with the fibroids first? 22:40 I think that they should deal with the fibroids first. 22:45 Fibroids can compete with the pregnancy, you know? 22:48 And it can affect the outcome of your pregnancy. 22:52 You're already trying to get pregnant, 22:54 and when you get pregnant and you lose your baby 22:56 because of the fibroid, that's going to be hard. 23:00 So if you can just deal with one problem at a time, 23:03 that's probably wiser. 23:06 Deal with one problem at a time. 23:09 If you cannot really deal with it - 23:11 ...your clock is clicking, ticking down and time is 23:16 so short, well - maybe you could try. 23:20 But I'd rather just have one problem at a time. 23:25 It gives you better coping with that yes. 23:30 And for the ladies that do opt for surgery 23:32 or that need to have surgery, 23:34 what kind of postoperative care would you add 23:37 in addition to the lifestyle measures you've told us? 23:39 Oh if ever you really decide to operated on, 23:42 and there is no other way because there is 23:44 always a place for surgery... 23:46 It's not that - we were saying, 23:48 No - don't go to your doctor for surgery... 23:50 That's wrong - don't get me wrong. 23:52 That is NOT the case. 23:53 There are REALLY times when 23:55 you do need to operate on your patient. 23:58 But surgery for fibroids is not an emergency. 24:01 So if it is a big fibroid, you have to take care 24:05 ...surgery is not easy! 24:08 Postoperative recovery is not easy. 24:12 I went through the knife twice and it's a painful thing 24:18 not only physically but even emotionally. 24:21 And so, she has to take care of her body to 24:24 REALLY be healthy so that she can bounce back fast - you know? 24:29 And when you're operated on, as soon as you are given 24:32 the permission to walk, if you can run... run! 24:35 I mean, activity right after operation makes your 24:40 intestines move faster, your recovery will be faster, 24:43 your voiding will be faster, 24:45 your bowels will start working faster... 24:48 All in all, you will have a better recovery, 24:52 a better chance of not developing 24:54 complications from the operation... 24:56 And then don't slack off. 24:57 That's the key, right? Don't slack off! 25:02 Whenever we get any breakthrough, 25:04 it's so tempting to think... Well let me just try, 25:06 like yourself - Let me just have a bit of chicken, 25:08 or a little bit of cheese. 25:09 It is so human to do that. 25:12 The body will respond right away... Exactly! 25:15 And God has given us the promise 25:16 that I'd like to share with our viewers - in Deuteronomy 7:12-13 25:21 It says that - "If you diligently hearken, 25:24 so consistently, hearken to these principles, 25:27 then the Lord will bless you and multiply you, 25:31 and bless the fruit of your womb. " 25:33 And so, we can take that promise if we know that we are 25:36 following all the good lifestyle 25:37 advice that you've given us today... thank you so much. 25:40 Are there any other testimonies 25:41 that you can inspire us with today? 25:43 Fibroids that seemed life-threatening perhaps 25:47 to a mother or baby? 25:48 Yes, for fibroids that are life-threatening 25:53 to the mom and the baby? 25:55 I've had several, you know, and it is something that 26:01 you wouldn't want to experience. 26:04 That's why I'm saying when you are dealing with 26:09 fibroids and you want a baby, deal with one problem first 26:12 because it is difficult to go through it... nobody. 26:15 It's like a horror thing for the doctor to have a patient 26:19 with a fibroid that's going into necrosis, 26:22 and a precious baby in the womb. Oh yes, absolutely! 26:26 You really wouldn't want that. 26:29 Oh and operations recklessly done... 26:35 So I would say maybe it would be really better to 26:37 ask the Lord to guide you to find a godly doctor 26:42 to guide you through your preoperation, 26:45 your operation and your post operation 26:48 because even if you keep your ovaries... 26:51 Even if you keep your ovaries after the operation, 26:55 sometimes when you take out the uterus, the ovary - 26:57 what do you call this when it SYMPATHIZES. Really? 27:04 Yes. The atrophy of the ovaries AFTER hysterectomy or 27:08 just removal of the uterus alone - the ovaries also 27:12 start to atrophy... it's like they were taken out. 27:16 So that it's scary to do a hysterectomy... 27:18 That's why the natural way is so much friendlier. 27:24 It's God's way and His way HAS to be the most healthful 27:27 with the LEAST side effects 27:28 even if it takes a little bit longer 27:30 than perhaps using surgery or medication. 27:33 So to summarize about fibroids, basically we're talking 27:36 ...healthy eating, healthy exercise, 27:38 healthy living, healthy you, 27:40 and the body should take care of the fibroids by itself. 27:43 Thank you so much, Dr. Cherie Lou, 27:45 for being with us today. It's a pleasure. 27:47 And for those of you at home that have been with us, 27:49 we pray that the Lord will really bless you with 27:51 this information and that you might be able to help 27:53 many other people as well. 27:55 And remember, the Lord made you Wonderfully and Fearfully, 27:59 and He promised that He will take care of you 28:03 as you cooperate with His health laws. |
Revised 2014-12-17