Functional Cysts Found in the Ovaries

Women are born with something like 300,000 to 400,000 eggs. Once a month, one or more of these eggs develop to maturity by the complex mechanism of hormones regulated by the pituitary gland, and these eggs develop within a cyst, called a follicle cyst or a follicular cyst. These follicular cysts are, because they're a function, if you will, of the normal mechanism of the cascade of events that cause the ovulation process - their called functional cysts. Functional cysts are a couple of types. The first one is that the follicular cyst develops about mid-cycle. When the ovulation occurs, that cyst opens up. It releases the egg, and those cysts go away. Those cysts never get very large - mainly a couple of centimeters, as a general rule. They can become bigger.

The second part of the cycle is where the cyst was, a second type of cyst develops, that is called a corpus luteum cyst. This second phase of the menstrual cycle can be associated with a cyst forming where you actually have a fluid-filled corpus luteum cyst. Now, these can be quite large - more than a couple of centimeters. As a rule, they are not. And then, depending on whether or not conception occurs, this cyst will continue to develop and grow to some slight increase in size or there may not be a cyst with it. However, if there is, it's usually a few centimeters, maybe four, five centimeters maximum, as a general rule. The corpus luteum cyst has as a much larger, richer blood supply, and actually can be seen to have blood vessels by the naked eye if you were to look at one. That's going to be important also.

Now, these two types of functional cysts are again are, again, as we said, functional. They're going to occur, most of the time in a woman's lifetime, if she's ovulating, and that's why I said earlier, almost every woman has had cysts. New York Obstetrician Gynecologist Christopher Freville reckons most women just don't realize it and they are usually pain free. You wouldn't know - if you were ovulating, most of the time you wouldn't know you had a cyst. You might feel the ovulation process as a pain for a lot of reasons, usually associated with the egg moving down the fallopian tube. But, it's not really a function of the cyst itself.

Now, there are other types. So we've got these two types of functional cysts - the follicular cyst and the corpus luteum cyst. There are also other types of cysts. These are the non-functional, but they're benign, non-cancerous cysts. One type of cyst is called an endometrioma. Endometriosis is a condition - that's rather not uncommon - that can develop in women where the tissue from the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, gets into places it shouldn't be. And it can cause a lot of problems. For instance, the mechanism by how this happens - it could be that the endometrium is naturally there in these spots at the time of development of the fetus, or it could be that the uterine contractions at the time of the period actually force endometrium up through the tubes, and it sort of sprays into the abdomen.

Any rate, these endometriosis implants sometimes can attach to the ovary, and it can form like a little growth. These cysts can be rather painful, and endometriosis can be painful. And it's one cause of certain infertility, which causes a lot of women to seek work-up, treatment, tests, and at the end of the day, if there is endometriosis, these endometriosis implants can be treated by various combination of either surgery, pills.

But, the key for this discussion is the endometriosis when it's in the ovary can then grow just like the endometrium of the uterus, so that you are almost, in essence, are having a period on your ovary. And that mechanism can cause bleeding, and that endometriosis can actually be trapped in a cyst called an endometrioma. And these endometriomas kind of bleed. They stop, and they can go on for months, maybe longer. And the blood that accumulates with the blood inside the endometrioma has a dark look. In fact, it's a dark blood look. It's often called a chocolate cyst cause of the look - like chocolate.
About this Author

Karen LeBlanc discusses many womens health issues including ovarian cysts. Visit her site to learn more about her ovarian cysts advice

Steps to Unblocking Your Fallopian Tubes

I'm a kinesiologirt who has developed a 7-step process for unblocking blocked fallopian tubes, and helping women to get pregnant in the shortest time possible. I've had great success with my own private clients, and I'd like to share with you how I helped these women to get pregnant, and how you can overcome tubal infertility without surgery.

Step 1: Herbal Tampons & Herbal Douches

The key step in the process involves using herbal tampons to introduce a powerful herbal decoction to the reproductive organs and the fallopian tubes. The herbs in the tampons are designed to kill any infections left in the fallopian tubes, break up adhesions and scar tissues, and soothe swollen tissues.

The herbal tampons are used every night after menstruation and before ovulation, and the douche is used in the morning to cleanse the reproductive organs of any debris loosened up by the herbal tampons.

Step 2: Herbal Capsules For Blocked Fallopian Tubes

Step 2 involves taking a blend of herbs that strengthen the actions of the herbal tampons. This herbal blend is 100% organic, and is designed to help the immune system fight off infections that can block the tubes, as well as increase the fertility and boost the sex drive.

All of my clients who want to get pregnant with blocked fallopian tubes take herbal capsules 3 times a day, in addition to the herbal tampons.

Step 2: Chinese Fertility Massage

The fertility massage helps to open up the reproductive organs, as it can break up adhesions, soften scar tissue and improve the health of the fallopian tubes and uterus.

For best results, I ask my clients to perform this massage while wearing the herbal tampon.

Step 4: Fertility Yoga

The fertility yoga positions my clients practice help to overcome tubal fertility as they stretch the organs, and indirectly soften scar tissue. Some of the yoga positions are designed to increase the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the pituitary gland (which governs the reproductive hormones), while other positions help the reproductive organs.

To increase the effectiveness of the herbal tampons, my clients perform the yoga every morning, before taking the tampon out.

Step 5: Total Body Cleansing For Fertility

The body cleansing for fertility program helps the body to get rid of toxins that damage the fertility, or cause the reproductive organs to become inflamed or infected.

It includes a colon cleanse, liver cleanse, kidney cleanse, heavy metal cleanse, and a parasite cleanse. All of these cleanses support the liver in recycling old hormones and maintaining the balance of hormones, and they can prevent conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS, and PID, which can affect the fertility.

Another benefit of the body cleanse is that it can double the effectiveness of any herbal remedy you take. This means you will shorten the time it takes you to get pregnant by approximately 50% - if you decide to carry out this important step.

Step 6: Stress Management & Relaxation

It's important to manage your stress levels while trying to conceive, as stress can prevent you from getting pregnant. This is because when you're stressed, you release a hormone called cortisol, which can affect the balance of other hormones in the body (such as estrogen and progesterone).

When you're stressed, you're more likely to experience spasms in the fallopian tubes, or any other part of the reproductive organs, which can prevent sperm from reaching the egg, or it can prevent successful implantation.

The fastest way to manage stress is by listening to an audio CD, which puts your brain into a relaxation state. Once the brain waves have slowed down, the body will relax and be more conducive to conception.

Step 7: Nutritional Optimization

One of the fastest ways to boost the fertility is by changing the diet. I find that my clients get the best results by increasing their intake of raw fruits and vegetables to 9 portions a day. Eating fruits and vegetables in their raw form helps you to access the nutrients in the foods, increases your intake of antioxidants and alkalizes the body.

Antioxidants can help reverse the effects of free radicals and make the reproductive organs younger and healthier. They have also been proven to improve egg quality. To get the maximum amount of antioxidants in your daily intake, I recommend mixing an antioxidant into your juice every morning.

Alkalizing foods help to neutralize excessively acidic cervical mucus, which can be very hostile to sperm, and prevent conception. These foods also support your detoxification, as they create an internal environment in which bacteria and viruses cannot survive. The best way to eat a large quantity of nutrient dense foods is with an alkaline mix, which an contain a number of superfood fruits and vegetables, and can be available in a form that can be added to juice, water or smoothies.
About this Author

Do the 7 steps for unblocking fallopian tubes work? The answer is yes - in the past 12 months, I have had success rates of 73%, and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shenzhen Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong, China, where doctors were achieving 82.22% success rates using a similar process. I'd like to share with you my success stories on helping women to get pregnant with blocked fallopian tubes [http://blocked-fallopian-tubes.com/unblock/], which is available on my website: [http://blocked-fallopian-tubes.com/unblock/]

Uterus Location During Pregnancy

When pregnancy occurs the cervix rises up and becomes soft, the opening will remain close. The expanding uterus will then require more room and will achieve the extra space by moving into the abdominal cavity, rising up above the belly button. As the months goes by and specially towards the end of pregnancy, the abdomen will cause sleeping problems to some women, because it it so large, and it may be pushing the bladder, some women may also experience frequent urination.

When delivery time approaches, the baby's head drops into the pelvis, and it will cause more sleeping problems. In a normal pregnancy is typically found that by week 20 the uterus has risen above the belly button, or 20 cm above the pubic bone. In rare instances uterine fibroids during pregnancy may contribute to an unusual uterine position, and causing the baby's position to change as well. By the end of pregnancy week 37 the uterus is to the lower edge of the rib cage.

This complications are rare, and most time present themselves when the fibroids grow too large in the uterine cavity during pregnancy. Other uterine changes during pregnancy are; the amount of vaginal discharge increases, breast also enlarge and during the beginning of the pregnancy hurt, the nipple color and size changes, the woman's heart also increases work loud, and the enlarge uterus makes it difficult for the blood to go back down to the legs.

The woman's pregnant look is due to her enlarged uterus which urges the navel to bulge. An average fetus is about 20 inches long and weighs about seven pounds. The uterine changes during pregnancy are phenomenal, by the time pregnancy time is complete, the uterine full size is 36 cm, the depth is 22 cm, it's width24 cm, weighs 1000 grams, and it's thickness is about 0.5 cm. This is due to the fact that the uterus has to be able to accommodate a seven pound fetus.

Adopting new sleeping postures, and staying off your feet during the last part of your pregnancy may help with back problems and sleeping problems. Once pregnancy has been achieved, the fun of it will come with all the knowledge you will achieve about the physical changes of your body and the growth of your baby and uterus. This part of a pregnancy has been immortalized in every mother's pregnancy journal.

Biggest Killer of Women Above 50 Years

it be breast cancer or even lung cancer? It sure is some of the most feared diseases a women can think of, but is it the biggest killer of women above 50 years old?

Surprisingly research and statistics reveals that cancer is not the culprit in this case, no heart disease takes the credit for this one. We often think of ourselves as being invulnerable to heart attacks and strokes, but if you are a woman in the menopausal stage of your life, then now is the time to pay attention.

According to research, women sure has a very definable advantage over men in terms of heart diseases, but we sure catch up very quickly and by the age of 65 have the same risk of having a heart attack, stroke or any other coronary disease as men do. Shockingly by this age, us women has a greater risk of dying from it.

As the physiological working and differences between men and women's hearts are only being studied now, it has became clear that these differences are literally killing us.We discuss the reasons:

1. Women's symptoms are different

A women can never be sick as they have to always be ready for the husband, the children and for themselves, thus they sometimes might feel a bit "under the weather" and can easily mistake these as normal aging or just being exhausted. Many times cardiac disease is being missed as a women's symptoms of cardiomyopathy is different and more subtle. They might have the classic symptoms which are known by the dooming chest pain and the all known pain down the left arm, but not always as they can sometimes have minimal discomfort and no chest pain at all. Women will usually notice the following when there is an underlying heart disease:

    * Profound fatigue
    * Difficulty breathing
    * Feeling dizzy
    * Nausea
    * Vomiting
    * Having an impending feeling of doom
    * Profuse sweating
    * Pain or discomfort in the neck, shoulder blade or upper back
    * Burning abdominal pain


2. Treatment and response to treatment
When a women has been diagnosed with a heart disease or having a heart attack, they are treated with different medication as men. When women are treated for cardiac disease, the medication used may not work as effective with women as with men. It has been found that some anticoagulants just works better for men than women.

3. Diagnosing heart diseases
Normal testing procedures like the treadmill, stress test and angiography that are usually used to diagnose heart diseases are not helpful at all to diagnose women's heart disease. An angiogram is used to determine the health of blood vessels, but in women a vessel that has a significant plaque lining will show up clear and thus give false information. This happens when the plaque lining has not yet intruded into the vessel.

4. Women "tough it out"
No one ever want to admit that they are having a heart attack and usually try to convince themselves if they have symptoms of a heart attack that it is probably just indigestion or heartburn. Women has the tendency to minimize the discomfort of a cardiac pain and will thus wait long before admitting that they are having a heart attack and need medical assistance.

Women also have a higher tolerance for cardiac pain and will thus not experience it as agonising as men. This might sound all well, but it's not as it might mean that women with chest pain will not be treated as aggresively as in the case with men.

REDUCE YOUR RISK NOW!!

Although you can not control your age, gender and family history, there are many other factors that you can control in order to reduce your risk of getting heart diseases. You can surely change your lifestyle and your social behaviour. Making the right lifestyle changes can decrease your risk of heart disease by as much as 50% within 10 years. Here are some of the most important changes:

1. Stay on top of your health
It is extremely important to get yearly checkups in order to identify potential threats and problems. It is very important to have your blood pressure checked and to do a cholesterol screen. It is also very important should you suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure to monitor it closely and keep it within normal limits. This will help your body to cope with all the stresses and to have a more healthy lifestyle and ultimately live longer.

2. Stop smoking!
Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health and it is very hard on your body. This is even worse for women than for men, but we won't tell them that else they think they have reason to continue smoking. Statistics shows that women that smokes has a much higher risk of heart disease much sooner than those that don't smoke.

3. Diet and exercise
I know it's that ugly word again.... diet!! If it was easy then all of us would be thin and fit, but it's not. Moving around more and getting used to a low fat diet are both things that can easily be controlled and managed and it will add years to your life.

4. Dont's stress, be happy
Stress and depression are quite tough on your heart and have adverse effects on your life. Always try to reduce your stress and enjoy a healthy lifestyle as this will ease some of the pressure on your heart.

5. Take aspirin
Aspirin can be very good to reduce the load on your heart, but should only be taken after a consultation with your practitioner. Aspirin can also be a very deadly medication during a stroke as it is an anticoagulant and will cause the sufferer to have continuous bleeding. Always consult your practitioner before using any new or long term medication.

6. Never forget your roots
It is always advisable to know what diseases were prominent in your family history. Knowing this can help you and your physician to plan the best treatmant and lifestyle based on your risk factor. Prevention is better than cure did my mom always use to say, and I am sticking to it.

7. Education, education and education
Educating yourself on any subject is the best weapon to fight anything. Always read about your health and the stages of your life in order to know what to be careful of, what to prevent and what is normal and what not. This way you will immediately notice if something is abnormal. When you have learned about it, spread the word and warn all your family and friends, they will thank you for it and you might save their life. Let's help each other stay healthy.

And now, repeat after me: I am IRREPLACEABLE!! Now believe it and live like you mean it.
About this Author

Menopause4u.com is the one stop resource for all your queries and a source of information on menopause. Learn about the signs and symptoms, why they manifest and how they will affect you. Learn how to cure it safe and naturally and get the e-book "Navigating Menopause for Highly Sensitive Women" - at no cost while stock last. Visit our website on ==>

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Women's Heart Attack Symptoms

Women often experience new or different physical symptoms as long as a month or more before experiencing their heart attacks. These symptoms are often different from men's. In addition to the usual symptoms experienced by both sexes, women can experience abdominal discomfort or indigestion and maybe a burning sensation in the chest or upper abdomen. Their symptoms are also usually more subtle. Women experience chest pain occur less frequently than do men. Doctors have to be careful to make sure they do not miss a woman's signs during the office examination. Because women's symptoms are often misdiagnosed, they are far less likely to be treated with aspirin, beta-blockers, and other heart-attack prevention medications. This places them at greater risk due to a lost of time to seek medical attention. Knowing these symptoms creates an awareness for physicians and the public alike.

These symptoms include:

    * Slight discomfort in the chest
    * Uncomfortable pressure
    * Shortness of breath
    * Unusual fatigue
    * Cold sweat
    * Nausea
    * Dizziness
    * Fainting
    * Pain below the left shoulder blade
    * Back pain
    * Tingling in the jaw, elbow, arm or throat
    * Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck, jaw or arms

Less common signs in women:

    * Atypical chest pain
    * Stomach or abdominal pain
    * Unexplained weakness
    * Fatigue
    * Anxiety Palpitations
    * Cold sweat or paleness

Both women and men may have "classic" chest discomfort, pressure or tightening that grips the chest and spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms. However, women can also experience: abdominal discomfort/indigestion burning sensation in the chest or upper abdomen. Women's symptoms tend to be less obvious than men's. Women's symptoms include a burning pain or heavy pressure in the chest instead of the vice-like pressure which many men get.

Heart disease remains the number one reason for death in both men and women. Because many women don't even know that they have heart disease, it's important to know the early warning signs and when it's time to see your doctor. Heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of more than half a million women each year in the United States. Heart disease sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Heart attacks, or myocardial infractions (MI), are the most dramatic manifestation of cardio vascular disease. MI's will affect approximately 345,000 American women this year. These symptoms are your body's way of telling you trouble is coming. Women push through their routines for hours or days, using antacids and over the counter pain relievers to mask MI symptoms. Women tend to report more nausea, indigestion, fatigue and pain that affects the chest, neck, jaw, shoulders and upper back. Women present themselves with nontraditional symptoms of stroke 62% of the time - much more frequently than men. Women are more likely to report pain as a symptom of their stroke, including chest pain, and sudden face or limb pain. Women may experience hiccups and heart palpitations during a stroke, which are more rare in their male counterparts. Women are also more likely to die from their heart attack. Women under 50 who were hospitalized for heart attacks were twice as likely to die from their heart attack than men. Women need and should pursue aggressive diagnostics for heart attack symptoms.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is accomplished via an electrocardiogram which details distinctive changes. Indigestion or a "panic attack" is a common diagnosis. A stress test can make a diagnosis that you have blocked arteries. In the past women have been overlooked when it came to the diagnosis, detection, and treatment of heart disease that resulted in negative health outcomes. Today, women no longer have to accept these inequalities. General knowledge of women's signs of heart attack can be effective in overcoming past misdiagnosis of women.

Procedures

Women get less of the recommended medicines and procedures than men and can take longer to get them. Women are much more likely than men to die within a year of having an attack. Women do not seem to do as well as men after taking clot busting drugs or undergoing certain heart related medical procedures. While more women than men die of heart disease, women undergo fewer cardiac surgical procedures. A recent discovery is that women's hearts and capillaries tend to be smaller than men's. This has lead to a redesigning of catheters and devices used in angioplasty and other procedures to meet women's needs.

Summary

Symptoms which are most common in women include fatigue, sleep disturbance and difficulty breathing, including shortness of breath, discomfort in shoulder blades, dizziness, nausea and painful indigestion. Heart attack symptoms follow a common pattern. Symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath seem to be less common in women. Symptoms can be relieved with bed rest and by keeping well hydrated. Symptoms of a coronary, on the other hand, include severe pain in the chest and elsewhere in the upper torso, shortness of breath, nausea, and death. Early recognition of these signs will improve the chances of a woman surviving the heart attack. In the long run, there has to be improvement in the early diagnosis of heart disease in women.
About this Author

Bobby Gill is a survivor of a heart attack on Christmas night 2007 and now writes original articles about his experiences and self study of heart disease. He has wide-ranging experience in many national organizations in the Federal Government as a computer specialist, database administrator and computer scientist. His current work is in Configuration Management involving the release management of corporate software. This article is copyrighted by Bobby Gill. It can be reprinted freely online as long as the entire article and this resource box are included. Read up on heart disease and help to protect yourself by reading about heart attack symptoms here! You are invited to share heart related experiences at my blog [http://bwgill.blogspot.com/]

Blocked Fallopian Tubes and Tubes Tied - Why and How to Reverse

It's heartbreaking to learn you have blocked fallopian tubes. I see it from questions on yahoo answers and wikianswers as well as other sites across the web. Other women who have had their tubes tied do so to create blockage on purpose. What these two different groups have in common in this article is the desire to have a child even though they face blocked fallopian tubes.

The first group above have a problem that is usually caused by some disease like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). In fact, PID is the most common cause of blocked fallopian tubes. When the tubes are blocked, the egg cannot make the journey down the tubes to the uterus.

If they are only partially blocked, it is possible the sperm can make it to the egg and fertilize it. In this condition, if the egg cannot make the journey to the uterus, you will have an ectopic pregnancy. If not caught early enough, you will end up losing the fallopian tube or even develop life-threatening conditions.

A previous ectopic pregnancy may even be the cause of your tubal blockage at this point. Other possible conditions that could have caused the blocked*tubes are an uterine infection, abdominal surgery, surgery on your fallopian tubes, a sexually transmitted disease (which can also be the cause of PID), or even endometriosis.

Whatever the cause, blocked fallopian tubes is a diagnosis you will have to get from your doctor. He will confirm it with a special type of x-ray called hysterosalpingogram. You will see it called HSG in many places.

The second group above is made up of women who purposely had their tubes tied. Usually this is because one partner (or both) in the relationship thinks they have enough children.

However, the CDC tells us that about 25% of the women who have had their tubes tied change their minds and wish to have a pregnancy after tubal ligation. That's almost a million women each year who change their minds, usually due to some change in their situation like divorce and remarriage.

So what are these women in both groups to do? While some in the first group might try to find herbal concoctions to help do away with their blockage, if the cause of the blockage left behind scarring, then herbs or natural alternatives most likely won't help. That's when you have to look at two other alternatives for a pregnancy: IVF or tubal reversal.

As there have been several other articles written about these two alternatives, I won't go into the comparison here. It will be necessary for you to read and learn and then make the decision that is best for you. However, you now know that neither "naturally" blocked fallopian tubes nor having your tubes tied on purpose is a reason to not have a child. One of the alternatives will be best for you and your situation.
About this Author

To learn more about tubal reversal as an option for either having had your tubes tied or for naturally blocked fallopian tubes, please visit the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center website at tubal-reversal.net. You will find a huge resource to help you with your questions about tubal ligation reversal.