Karmic Nectar

Over the next month I experienced not only more hair loss, but the estrogen and progesterone Dr. Bloem had put me on had made my breasts swell immediately and made it impossible to sleep on my stomach as they were so incredibly sore I was in tears. He had put me on the Wiley Protocol – a dosing schedule that T.S. Wiley developed. T.S. Wiley is a medical writer/researcher. Here is a description of the Wiley Protocol that is taken from her website:

“T.S. Wiley created The Wiley Protocol®, a patent pending delivery system consisting of bio-identical estradiol and progesterone in topical cream preparations dosed to mimic the natural hormones produced by a twenty year-old woman. The creams and their amounts vary throughout the 28 day cycle to mimic the hormone levels of youth. The Protocol is the only bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) that has ever been developed under the scrutiny of a practicing oncologist.”

I called Dr. Bloem’s office on June 12th, and spoke to him to tell him how sore I was and that I was still losing hair more than ever. He told me to adjust the dosing of my hormones. I also asked him about the DHEA I was taking – “Should I take more?”, “Should I take less?” He didn’t really have any answers to my questions and was looking up the effects of DHEA in a book while he was on the phone with me. I got off the phone with him after half an hour with no real answers to my questions and received a bill later for $150 for that phone call….

Right around the same time I started seeing Dr. Bloem a friend of mine suggested I go to see an accupuncturist she saw last year. His name was Dr. Ming. He was the first clinical consultant on acupuncture to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was a White House Commissioner for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy, appointed by President Bill Clinton from 2001-2002. And his office was 15 minutes from my house. I had read about accupuncture on the internet and its healing effects on the body. I made my first appointment for Friday, June 19th.

I loved Dr. Ming as soon as I met him. We first met in his office and went over the new patient form that I filled out. I explained why I was there and what I hoped to gain (hair) from my sessions with him. He smiled at me and told me I needed to calm down. He was tall and warm and had an energy that made me want to hug him like a grandfather. He guessed that I was a stressed out person who never stopped – someone who filled every waking hour checking off things on my to-do list. He had me pegged. Right on. I started crying. I was a woman on the verge. I lived every day with a head full of tears lurking just below the surface and anything (and I mean anything) triggered their release.

He explained that in order to experience the full benefits of accupunture I would need to come to him for a minimum of 15 sessions spaced pretty close together. He brought me into the room where I layed on my side with my back facing him. He inserted the needles in various points on my lower back, ankles, ears and hands. He explained that these points corresponded to the adrenal system and organs in my body. He told me to relax and covered me with a blanket because I told him I was freezing (I am always cold). He turned off the lights and told me to push the button on the wall next to me if I needed anything and that he would be back in 25 minutes. How was I going to lay like this for 25 minutes? My mind started racing…. And then I was asleep within minutes.

He knocked lightly, came in and turned on the lights. I could have slept for hours. He asked me how I felt. Squinting from the sudden light after my delicious nap, I smiled and told him I felt incredibly relaxed. He said that was normal and that I would continue to experience the benefits of today’s session for the rest of the day. I paid for my session (which was not covered by insurance- and not cheap) and made appointments for the following Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of the next week.

I did notice my energy changing. I was calmer, slower and started sleeping a lot better. I stopped taking Ambien every night to help me fall asleep. I continued to take my iodoral and get vitamin B12 shots from my primary care physician (I had been getting B12 shots every few weeks since February because I read on the Internet that it would help with hair loss). I also was on vitamin D supplements because Dr. Bloem had determined from a blood test he gave me that I had suboptimal levels. I continued to get my blood tested every couple weeks to determine how all of this was affecting my DHEA levels. They were all over the board. I couldn’t figure out how to regulate the amount of DHEA I was taking so that it would put me at consistent levels and frankly I didn’t know what levels I should be at because no matter what dosage I took my hair was still falling out!