Has anybody tried reversing dysplasia through diet/ alternative medicine

• By Pirkar
• Posted September 29, 2008 at 7:37 am
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Hi,
I think you have an excellent idea to make lifestyle changes (eat well, excerice, don't stress, sleep well etc), however, I am not sure about taking supplements.
It is often claimed that diindolylmethane can prevent cancer, and diindolylmethane is currently being studied for such use. However, some studies have shown conflicting results, and there is some concern that diindolylmethane could actually stimulate the growth of cancer cells. (http://cancer.emedtv.com/diindolylmethane/diindolylmethane.html)

I wonder how safe it is to take (herbal or not) supplements if it is not 100% known that they may stimulate cancer cells or perhaps dyplasia?

I think most specialists believe that if you eat well, you should not need any supplements. You may need them only for short periods in case of emergency situations (like after main surgery, after radiation etc). Anyways, I would recommend to talk to doctor before taking any herbal or chemical supplements.

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• By flowershoplady
• Posted September 29, 2008 at 8:45 pm
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hello, Y. i wish you the best in clearing the active hpv infection and the dysplasia without a leep. i had vain1 (vaginal dysplasia....i had this after having recurring cervical dysplasia, and many surgeries, including a hysterectomy), and though the vain1 persisted for a year, it was gone after a year. and, yes, i had to have biopsies during the watch and wait period, but i think that's so much better than having another surgical procedure. there have been clinical trials that have shown that DIM helps to clear hpv infections, and there's more info available on www.dimfaq.com and they recommend taking the supplements to mirror the clinical trials. i didn't take supplements, but i increased my diet of kale and brussel sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables which contain DIM. i also made significant efforts to reduce stress in my life. i'll never know whether the changes i made had an impact or whether the dysplasia would have cleared on its own.....but i have to say that the lower stress levels persist, and i do enjoy these changes. i should also add that my doctor, a gyn/oncologist, recommended a watch and wait for this mild dysplasia, and i was closely followed during this time period.

you also may want to consider doing whatever you can to keep away inflammation (such as the cervicitis) and infection in your vagina/cervix, and those steps may include avoiding use of tampons and other irritants such as soaps, etc. with fragrance/dyes.

i'm sorry that the biopsies were so painful for you. i've found them painful as well, but the doctor can do things to help reduce that pain, at least some of the time. they can use a local numbing anesthetic, and the initial injection may hurt, but then you're numb for the biopsies. i think there also may be topical solutions that can have a numbing effect. the use of these anesthetic type solutions depends upon the location of the biopsies. you also may want to take advil prior to the appointment, about 45 minutes or so before, and this helps to reduce the cramping. another option may be to take an anti-anxiety medication which can help you feel more relaxed during the procedure and that can sometimes reduce the pain level as well. so, please discuss this with your doctor to see what you can do to reduce the pain level!

have you discussed a watch and wait mode with your doctor? perhaps checking back in 3 to 6 months? what is his or her recommendation?

let us know what you decide to do....and please don't hesitate to ask, share, or even just vent!

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• By Curing_CIN3_onmyown
• Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:02 am
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Yes! Yes and YES! People can usually clear up CIN 1 and CIN 2 stages on their own from all the research I've done - Here is one story that is inspiring and this girl did it all through diet and supplements check out: http://buellerskitchen.com/?p=65

I am currently curing CIN 3 and CIS on my own through diet and positive emotions - a great book to start with is YOU CAN HEAL YOURSELF by Louise Hay - great book! I refused my doctors advice to do LEEP or CONE or any of the above - especially after reading all of the horrible stories of women who have gone through it and it keeps coming back - treat the cause and you'll cure yourself and it won’t come back!

I'm currently on an alkaline diet - we are all acidic from our American diet - once a person is alkaline you can cure just about anything! No disease can live in an alkaline body - our body tries to maintain an alkaline body any way it can by taking from our bones, etc because we are depleting ourselves and therefore our body breaks down.

I've read from tons of research that this could be a deficiency of folic acid and it is suggested that you begin taking 4mg of it per day along with beta carotene – A,C,E and a good Multi-vitamin. I also take Omega 3-6-9 and a D vitamin.

You’ll have to do more research on the alkaline diet here is a good web site to start if you’re interested: http://acidalkalinediet.com/forum/

Best of luck to you! It will be ok.

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• By satya
• Posted September 30, 2008 at 8:12 pm
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I have been hpv positive for about 6 years now, with two LEEPS and 5 colpo/biopsies "under my belt". I've tried the supplements (folic acid, CO Q10) the diets (I've always eaten really well, anyway) meditation, directed meditation. Right now I'm doing a course of acupuncture - which if nothing else has had a miraculous effect on my hotflashes. We'll see in November when I go in for my next pap/hpv test. It's been a long haul, but hope springs eternal!

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• By riccia
• Posted October 2, 2008 at 11:46 am
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Hey Y,

I've had cervical dysplasia for 4 years now (I actually have an appointment at 4pm today). My stomach is turning just thinking about it.

But I found, as my other doctors have told me, to try and stay as healthy as possible, to keep my immune system in tip-top shape. Make sure you take vitamins, eat well, get plenty of exercise (if not to just relieve some stress) and most importantly get enough sleep. Typical common sense stuff.

I've been seeing a masotherapist for a few years now. The man is great! He also does Reiki, which clears up the chakra points. I told him that I had HPV and of the different procedures I had been through, and he made sure to concentrate on the 2nd chakra, which controls the reproductive organs. The next appointment I had, the pap came back as negative (after the last 2 didn't). Now, if you believe it or not, I was still skeptical if the reiki actually helped, but I'll take a negative pap any day! He also recommended to take a powder supplement called Emergen-C (which you can find at any drug store). It's a Vitamin C packed powder that you simply add to your water. You can drink 2-4 a day, and it helps boost your immune system. I've been taking it over 2 months now and have come out unscathed from 2 viruses that ran rampant in my office.

You'll find that a lot of people ask for prayers and thoughts...and I truly believe it helps. I hope you can find something to help you as well, maybe meditation, yoga or a good gym.

Take care, and you will be in my prayers and thoughts.

Melissa

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• By Y
• Posted October 5, 2008 at 8:41 am
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Thanks for all of the answers and support, everyone! I talked to my doctor about it. I faxed her some of the info about DIM and from http://www.mothernature.com/Library/bookshelf/Books/10/46.cfm.
I was kind of annoyed by her response since she lectured me about how the info she gave me was verified and she uses articles from peer-reviewed journals. The DIM info I sent her was not from a journal but it had many references from journals. The info from Mother Nature did not list any references but the research has pointed to a link between poor nutrition and progression of cervical dysplasia. So I am disappointed that she reacted as though I sent her stuff from some quack who was just making stuff up. Perhaps it's time to find a new doctor!

She did say she was ok waiting another 3 months to see if it reverses and then doing a repeat pap but not any longer than that. I am trying to find a gyn oncologist but they are not listing in my health plan's physician directory. Funnily enough, they do have opthalmologists listed under the gyn category!

Curing_CIN3_onmyown, I had heard about alkaline diets being beneficial for preventing osteoporosis also but I'd never tried it. Thanks for the links!

Riccia, I will go buy some Emergen-C today.

Thanks again everyone! I hope we will all have the best outcome.

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• By flowershoplady
• Posted October 5, 2008 at 3:22 pm
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hello, Y. sorry to hear that your doctor wasn't supportive of your research....many of us don't have access to all the medical journals, but there has been quite a bit of science based research from major hospitals and universities on what does and doesn't help to clear hpv infections. the DIM research was done in clinical trials and has been published.

i would encourage you to think about finding another gynecologist whom you like more, find more supportive, more open to talking with you (vs. at you). and, hopefully giving your body a chance to heal itself over time will result in the mild dysplasia regressing and the cervicitis healing. it sounds like you have been taking steps to make some changes, and i think it takes a bit of time for our bodies to respond.

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• By TallahasseeLass
• Posted October 9, 2008 at 12:41 am
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Hello,
I'm glad to see others are interested in taking a holistic approach to fighting HPV, too.
I had an abnormal pap in May, and stopped smoking, started taking DIM, Vitex herbal extract, Host Defense mushroom complex and eating as close as possible to the "HPV diet" http://www.ehow.com/how_2132031_use-diet-prevent-hpv.html, http://www.king5.com/health/stories/NW_052108HEK_hpv_diet_LJ.16b1ee10.html
My biopsy came back good - no high grade lesion. The doctor was dubious so another biopsy was scheduled.
Unfortunately, i had a relapse in smoking, let my diet and vitamin routine go to the wayside also and my next biopsy was CIN 3 with glandular...stuff.

Today i got my 2nd opinion and instead of believing that my lifestyle changes had a direct result on the first positive biopsy result, she chalked it up to an error. All she had to do was look at CIN 3 and it was LEEP city. I've had one LEEP, so I'm not looking forward to another.

Here's some interesting research on the anti-viral drug artemisinin and HPV: http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17313436

and here's some detailed and researched info about treatment of RRP (HPV of the respiratory tract)with Gardisil and Artemisinin:
http://www.rrpwebsite.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/category.display/category_ID /273/

I've had 2 shots of gardisil(getting the last in december) and will try the artemisinin/artesenuate along with DHA, tiny bit of raw garlic(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8389276) applied topically. I'm waiting til January to get another biopsy, but i will be going back to my diet and will keep in touch :)

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• By corellin
• Posted October 9, 2008 at 3:11 am
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I would be cautious about relying solely on diet/nutrition for reversing dysplasia. We know that HPV16 & 18 are more aggressive than the others and seem less impacted by the immune system. I think it would be interesting to see some studies where people infected with 16/18 are broken out from people with other high risk HPV types to see whether folate, beta carotene, etc. still seem to make a difference in reversing dysplasia for those impacted with 16/18. The benefit of a LEEP procedure is that it actually surgically removes the HPV that surrounds the dysplasia, reduces viral load and gives your body a better chance to fight off any remaining HPV infection. I would definitely try to resolve a low grade infection on my own and maybe even CIN2 if it was confined to a small spot, but when I had 1 & 2 covering four quadrants of my cervix, I felt that I needed the surgical intervention. My paps have so far been fine and the HPV tests are coming back negative. I do wish, though, that I'd started seeing a naturopath when first diagnosed with LSIL and tried the nutritional/lifestyle interventions before the infection had gotten so out of hand.

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• By Amanda0922
• Posted November 15, 2008 at 9:25 pm
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Using diet to teat hpv is a GREAT idea. I say this because reversing dysplasia and clearing hpv all depends on your immune system. So what's good for the immune system?
eating healthy
exercise
adequate rest
minimal stress
avoiding alcohol
avoiding smoking

So what else can we do? I certainly opted for supplements. Online research has found these to be helpful in treating hpv:
vitamin c
cranberry
flaxseed
indole-3-carbinol
garlic
folic acid
turmeric/curcumin
probiotics/acidophilus

A friend tipped me off to Valacore, which is supposedly an antiviral specifically designed for hpv. I just ordered mine a couple days ago so I'm not taking it yet. You can check it out at:
http://www.valacore.com/
Be sure to read the ingredients. I don't know if it will work, but it can't hurt to try, right?

This same friend of mine also tipped me off to vaccinations to jump-start the immune system. I never get a flu vaccination, but after this tip, I decided to get one this year. I'm looking into any other vaccinations I can get.

I also put some new restrictions on my diet about a month and a half ago. I avoid sugar and foods that contain large amounts of sugar. Chocolate, candy, soda, malted cereals etc. I have stopped drinking coffee after 8 years (I love love LOVE coffee) and have opted for tea instead. I have stopped using artificial sweetener and have started using stevia to sweeten tea. You can find it at the health food store. Also, I've been trying to incorporate 2 or 3 pieces of raw broccoli into lunch and dinner every day.

If anyone comes across any interesting supplements/diet changes that may be good for clearing hpv, feel free to send me the link or an email! :)

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• By tam1
• Posted November 17, 2008 at 11:58 am
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From my understanding the valacore is for HPV types 6 & 11 (external warts) not cervical dysplasia. Does anyone find it strange they can develop antiviral drugs for external warts but not for the cancer causing strains such as 16 and 18? So doctors instead rely on surgeries for women with cervical dysplasia 'hoping' there will be no recurrence. Give me a break.

I'm also currently taking the Emergen-C, calcium, magnesium and doing reiki therapy sessions all of this recommended by my therapist who does reiki and nutritional counseling. I go back to my oncologist in December and he wants me to make a decision on a hysterectomy. It's going to be my decision not his.

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• By autumnleaves
• Posted November 17, 2008 at 1:12 pm
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Hi I'm new here, flowershoplady introduced me to this site and I thank her,, find it very interesting. I too am a victim of HPV. I've been through it all and ended up having a hysterectomy last year. I'm still testing positive for HPV and one normal pap, but the last pap I had 3 months ago was abnormal...had to have the colposcopy. Well, anyway now I'm elimating stress ( well trying) and eating all thoughs cruciferous foods. My question is...Can men eating healthy and minimalizing stress, doing everything were trying to do to improve our immune systems, elimate the HPV from their bodies? Since their is no test for men, how do they know they have it and so on? Can some one check out this web site www.hcmionline.com and let me know if I should look into this, thanks.

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• By flowershoplady
• Posted November 17, 2008 at 7:10 pm
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hi, autumnleaves. welcome to this very warm and supportive community. :) there's no standard test for men to know whether or not their hpv infection is active - it's a definite missing link to us all being healthier! and, though i've not seen any studies, i would think that the same things that help women clear hpv infections should help men to clear hpv infections as well. as for the health care ministry website, i would caution looking into it very carefully; i just looked at it briefly, and the program is very (very!!!) expensive, the founder is not a medical doctor, and just remember that when something seems too good to be true, it often isn't true.

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