Latest / Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh / Unwelcome Uterine Guests

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Unwelcome Uterine Guests · Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh

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Hello, and welcome to another episode of Chatting with the Experts where I
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speak with phenomenal women from Africa, from the Caribbean, and in the diaspora.
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These women share my mission, which is to educate, empower,
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and encourage women globally.
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Our topic today is very interesting, and it's all about Unwelcome Uterine Guests.
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My guest, who will join me in a second, says, "Do you know what uterine fibroids
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are?" And she says they are the unwelcome uterine guests, and that although
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they are non-malignant tumors, they can create havoc to a woman's quality
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of life when they are symptomatic So she is a seasoned healthcare leader.
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She's an advanced practice nurse and a doctor of health administration
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with over 20 years of experience in clinical care, healthcare leadership,
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advocacy, and organizational wellness.
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Her expertise includes women's health, healthcare leadership, advocacy,
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conflict resolution, and system level wellness with special recognition
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for her work around uterine fibroids.
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And with that, I welcome Dr. Cheryl Okoli to Chatting with the Experts.
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Thank you very much.
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Thank you for having me.
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I appreciate it.
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Absolutely.
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You say that uterine fibroids are unwelcome guests
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Of course, that's obvious But that's you know, that's one of
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the things you specialize in.
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Tell me more about that.
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What are fibroids?
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Yes, very good question.
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So I don't know if any of you remember a movie called Gremlins from years ago.
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These were very naughty creatures that would run around people's homes, and they
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were very mischievous and very naughty.
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I liken uterine fibroids to those.
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So what are they?
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They are non-malignant tumors.
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So think of them as growths in the uterus of a woman.
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So right there, uterine fibroids are only found in women because
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only women have uteruses.
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Think of them as non-malignant, so they're non-cancerous tumors,
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growths in your uterus, and they can be of different sizes.
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They could be as small as a pea.
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So if you think of a green pea that you eat.
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They could be microscopic, size of a pea, to as big as a watermelon in some women.
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Yeah.
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And they just take habitation.
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They're squatters, if you will, in a woman's uterus.
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So the normal uterus shouldn't have any growths like that.
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But sometimes, due to different factors that the research is still not very
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clear on why they occur, but one of the consensus is that it has to do
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with estrogen dominance, which means basically there's lots of estrogen,
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which is one of the female hormones, circulating the women's uterus, and that
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leads to the growth of uterine fibroids.
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Yeah.
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So-
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But the key is they're not cancerous
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Okay, so that's reassuring because lots of women, many times they're worried.
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"Is this cancerous? Am I gonna die? What's gonna happen?"
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And so that leads me to my next question.
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Who is susceptible to that, a- and why?
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Yeah.
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Excellent question.
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So who is susceptible?
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So to begin with, uterine fibroids can occur in any woman, young
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lady, who's of childbearing age.
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That's the key.
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Any woman of childbearing age is susceptible, regardless of your age,
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your ethnic background or your race, as long as you're of childbearing age.
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And what do I mean by that?
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You've had a menarche.
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Menarche means your first menstruation.
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That is the mark a woman has reached childbearing age is when
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she has her menstruation, right?
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The first menstruation is called the menarche, okay?
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So any woman that's reached menarche is susceptible.
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Now, however, we have found based on the research that women that are
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chocolate hue, that I like to say, or darker or lighter, but have more melanin
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than normal, are more susceptible.
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And the question is why is that?
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Again, research is studying much more about this, but one thing we've noticed
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is that especially, I'll use the word black, as much as I love to say the word
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chocolate hue, I'll use the word black.
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Black women are more susceptible than all the other races.
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As an example, by the age of 30, let's see, by the age of 35
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years, 60% of African American women will have uterine fibroids.
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And by the age of fif- Wow.
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Sorry, by age of 35, 60% would have had it.
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By the age of 50, about 80%.
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Wow.
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Now, if we were to compare that with Caucasians, the statistics
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is a little bit different.
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So by age 35 for Caucasians, only 40% will have uterine fibroids.
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And for them, by age 50 years old, 70%.
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So compare that.
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Those of African descent, 60% by 35.
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Wow.
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80% by 50%.
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And the only, the other thing too is that it's more severe, in
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terms of the symptoms are more severe in those of African origin.
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Wow.
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When they do have symptomatic uterine fibroids.
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So let's backtrack a bit.
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I mentioned any woman of childbearing age is susceptible.
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You might have fibroids, but not be symptomatic.
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Okay.
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So sometimes people have what's called an incidental finding, which
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means, let's say, perchance they had an ultrasound for, let's say, pelvic
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pain, or they're trying to get pregnant or, and then they find the fibroids.
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So that's called an incidental finding, meaning it wasn't, they
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weren't experiencing any symptoms.
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They didn't have an issue.
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They just happened to be going for something else,
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and then they found fibroids.
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That's called incidental finding, okay?
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So if it's an incidental finding, usually-
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They may not be symptomatic.
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So what do I mean by symptomatic?
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Some people that have symptoms, usually the biggest sign, unbeknownst
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to them, is the heavy bleeding.
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So that's called menorrhagia.
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So they might think, "Oh. Oh, I just, I'm just a heavy bleeder. My mom has
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always been a heavy bleeders, hence I'm a heavy bleeder," not knowing that
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it could be fibroids causing that.
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Okay?
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And when I say heavy bleeder, so let's use tampons and sanitary pads, for
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instance, during your menstruation.
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So for some, we know that the first few days, or at least the
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first day, is usually light.
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The second or third day are usually heavy.
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So if you're using up to like, six overnight pads per
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day, that's a heavy bleeding.
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That's not normal, as an example.
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If you notice that you're beginning to plan your life around your
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periods, you're always worried, "Am I gonna stain my clothes?
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Am I gonna soil my clothes?" That's a big sign that, okay, you're
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bleeding so much that you're worried you're gonna stain your clothes.
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Now, I mentioned one of the biggest symptoms are the heavy bleeding.
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There could be the excessive pelvic pain.
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Now, don't get me wrong, most women during their menstrual periods have
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cramps, but there are some that have debilitating pain to the point
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that they're in fetal position.
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They can't function.
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Now, when you're in that position that you're in such pain that in fetal
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position you have to miss work, you really do need to start investigating
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to find out what the cause is.
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So the gold standard is usually an ultrasound.
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Some use an MRI to detect if someone has uterine fibroids, and
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sometimes they might find out they might have endometriosis, okay?
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So sometimes endometriosis and fibroids go hand-in-hand, but sometimes they do not.
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Fibroids can be on their owns, okay?
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So that's one thing I know the general public wonder, "Oh my goodness," so I'm
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confused, endometriosis with fibroids, which are two different conditions.
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But uterine fibroids, again, when you're having symptoms like heavy bleeding,
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excessive pain, you begin to notice bulk.
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What I mean by bulk, pressure in your lower abdomen.
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You begin to notice you might look a little bit pregnant.
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People are like, "Are you pregnant? Oh, you've gained weight. Look at your
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stomach." And you know you haven't gained weight, as in you're eating normally, but
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then your stomach has begin to protrude.
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These are telltale signs something a little bit untoward is going on.
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It's not just your regular bloating, okay?
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Because if they're big, depending on their sizes, it can add to the pounds when
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you step on that weighing scale, okay?
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So your question, who is susceptible, just to recap, any woman of childbearing age.
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In terms of risk factors, the research shows that people that
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have more melanin than usual, so aka those of African descents.
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And also, believe it or not, you may not be just of African descent,
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you might just have more melanin, so you could say, South Asian.
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And also the research is showing less vitamin D, people who have
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less vitamin D are more susceptible.
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Now, here's the double whammy.
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You and I, and those that are darker than us, as much as vitamin D when
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we are out in the sun rays, we are always like, "Oh, we need some rays.
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You need those vitamin D from the sun to protect us from skin cancer."
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But our darker skin acts as an armor to prevent us from absorbing, and
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that is why people of African region, black people, have low vitamin D.
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And that's why they need to supplement dietarily or with supplements.
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Good.
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Let me-
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Good thing, because, we tend to think, because we have darker
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skin we're protected from the sun rays, the- Skin cancer.
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the harmful sun rays, and we never think about but that's also preventing
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us from absorbing the vitamin D.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Good point.
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Okay.
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Yes.
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Sorry, I interrupted you there.
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No, that's okay.
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No, absolutely.
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You're right.
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So I wanna put this in perspective too.
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So in South Asia, the Middle East for instance, the Muslim
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world, where they wear abayas.
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What's that effect?
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They're not absorbing any vitamin D. It's not because of their skin, but
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because they're having this clothing-
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They're covered
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… that prevents them, so they're deplete in vitamin D too.
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They have to supplement.
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Okay?
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yeah, a study was done.
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They're like, "Why are these people so low in vitamin D?" And it was because of this
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protective clothing they're wearing, okay?
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So yeah, I'll pause there for now.
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Good.
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Okay, women, with more melanin are more susceptible to the fibroids.
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I'm looking at my notes, that's why I'm looking to the side.
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Yes, that's okay.
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Okay.
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And also because it's been noticed that, they also are deficient in
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vitamin D. So a quick question.
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So would women, like in the Middle East, also, has studies shown that
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they also are more susceptible to fibroids, or not necessarily?
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Or is it just the correlation-
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The low vitamin-
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… with the vitamin D. That's it.
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Good question.
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I have not seen any research about that correlation, but definitely the low
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vitamin D part because of the protective clothing that's preventing them from…
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Yeah, but that's a very good question.
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I have not looked into that yet.
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But good question.
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Good question.
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Okay.
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And another thing, though, on that note, another thing, piece
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of research is there's a gene called the fumarate hydratase.
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It's an enzyme that helps with the uptake of oxygen and all of that.
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They find that women who are, have a mutation in this gene are also
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susceptible to uterine fibroids as well.
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One study showed that as well.
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Yeah.
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Can you spell this gene?
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Fumarate.
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Sure.
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Fumarate, F-U-M-A-R-A-T-E.
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Fumarate.
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Hydratase, H-Y-D-R-A-T-A-S-E
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gene.
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Okay.
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So fumarate hydratase gene.
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It's an enzyme.
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Yeah, so a mutation in this gene, yes.
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Okay.
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So yeah, but more, the biggest one that we can focus on and
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prevent is the vitamin D depletion-
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Wow
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… that we can tackle at least.
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Genes you can't really manipulate per se, right?
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But at least vitamin D, the nutrition deficiency we can tackle.
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Yes.
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So now being that studies or research is showing that, we of African descent have
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a higher percentage of daughters and pass that gene, these are some things that
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need to be, the younger generation need to be aware of, in terms of having probably
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from an early age, our daughters or young girls need to be, start taking vitamin D
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very early and I guess probably screening for this, gene mutation so that, they'll
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be aware- that this is a possibility.
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Absolutely.
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Now let's take that back.
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I like your way of thinking, and I agree 100%.
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I actually came up with a proposal for early screening, not so
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much for the gene, but to screen for uterine fibroids earlier.
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Because if it's somebody of childbearing age, so we're talking about young
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ones as little as 12, 13, 14, right?
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Because again, like I said, they might be experiencing a heavy bleeding, and heavy
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bleeding leads to anemia, iron deficiency-
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… which would affect their energy levels, fatigue, and untreated
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anemia can lead to heart issues.
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So that, so one of the signs of heart issues would be tachycardia,
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so your heart is racing.
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They might be like, "Oh, Mom, I don't know what's going on, but my heart
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is beating so fast." If it's come to that shows how anemic they are.
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Okay?
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Because iron, hemoglobin helps carry oxygen circulated to all of our
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tissues and cells of the body, okay?
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So some of the symptoms, I actually have an acronym to help people remember
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the symptoms of uterine fibroids.
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So let's talk about just fibroids and the acronym.
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F, fatigue.
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Okay.
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I, iron deficiency.
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B, bleeding excessively.
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R, I have that for restrooms visit because that's not the case for everyone, but
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depending on the size of the fibroids and where they're located, if it's
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bigger, it can press on your bladder.
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And what would that do?
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Make you go to the restrooms more often- Restrooms.
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… to avoid, right?
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And then O, now I have overweight, but it doesn't necessarily mean if
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you have fibroids you're overweight, but that's just a clue to remember,
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like I mentioned earlier, you might be increasing in weight.
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Yeah.
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And then research does show that women with higher BMI-
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tend to have uterine fibroids.
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There's a correlation there as well.
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So that's why one of the interventions is try and lose some weight, and of course
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with other dietary control as well.
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And then I, infertility issues.
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So going back to what I said, sometimes it could be an incidental finding, and that's
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how they're diagnosed with fibroids.
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So some women might be go- let's say they might be trying to be pregnant and
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they're like, "I can't get pregnant. I'm not fertile." And they have an ultrasound,
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and lo and behold, they find the fibroids.
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So that's called an incidental finding.
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They were trying to get pregnant, and yes.
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And that also happens because one thing people need to…
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Sorry, let me finish the acronym here and then I'll teach a little bit more.
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And then D, depression.
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I'm not saying everyone that has uterine fibroids will have depression,
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but that could be some symptoms.
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Because again, think about it.
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If you have to plan your life all around your menstrual days because
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you're a heavy bleeder, you're like, "Okay, am I gonna soil my clothes?
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Should I have an, should I have an extra set of clothing?" "I'm missing
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work because I am number one, either tired or I'm in so much pain that I
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have to miss some days in work." For women that are married, it might lead
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to, intimate issues with their partner.
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so all this can cause some depressive symptoms.
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And then the S, I always add S for fibroids, stressors.
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The stressors that come with all of what I just mentioned.
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And the research shows, again, as compared to the African Americans as compared to
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the Caucasians, their quality of life is decreased in all aspects I mentioned.
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In terms of sick time, it was increased.
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There was a study, a fibroid growth study and a few other studies that were
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done in terms of, work absenteeism, they have higher absenteeism, not
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like going to work or absent from work and not feeling very well.
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Soiling of clothing, and the list goes on.
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There's so much.
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I can actually… Yes, let me…
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Yeah, so there's a study by Fortin et al. Fortin is the
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group of one of the researchers.
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They showed missed work was increased in African Americans, decreased
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quality of life with family and friends, with their significant other.
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They were self-conscious about their weight.
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There was a physical impact on their life.
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They were tired, depression, and the soiling part I
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mentioned about their clothing.
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Yeah?
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Wow.
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So yeah, so that's what I meant by if they are symptomatic, they can create havoc
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on a woman's quality of life, and that's why they're so unwelcome touring guests.
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Like those gremlins I mentioned in the movie, running around people's house
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creating havoc, uterine fibroids.
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But one thing I need to mention, yes, I just remembered, that's really crucial,
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the position of the fibroids matter.
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Think of, let's think of this analogy.
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Imagine blowing up a balloon, and this balloon has two linings.
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It's like a double-layer balloon.
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Let's put it that way.
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You blow it up and then turn it upside down.
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So the part you'll be blowing, think of that as a vagina, and the top
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portion represents the uterus, okay?
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Now, fibroids can grow on top of the uterus, so aka on top of that balloon.
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Those are called subserosal fibroids.
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They can grow inside that double layer, so think of that, the intramuscular layer.
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And they could be inside the cavity, okay?
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The reason why I mentioned that is the position of where the fibroids are
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matter and determines the treatment one seeks and receives, and also determines
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the ability to have children or not.
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So here's a test question for you to make sure you're getting this.
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All right.
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If a woman is trying to have a baby, and she has fibroids in all three
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layers I mentioned, which layer will be more risky to affect her fertility?
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Which position?
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I'm as- I'm assuming if it's inside the, the uterus itself.
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Inside the uterus itself, particularly the endometrial layer-
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Yeah.
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Because that's where the egg would implant.
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Plant, yeah.
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Yes, so it'd be competing with the implantation of the egg.
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That's what-
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Yes
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… I assume.
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Exactly.
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But nevertheless, even if it's inside the layer, the multiple layers, that
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could grow bigger and still shift, again, competing with the baby
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when the baby is, or the zygote, let's say the zygote is implanted.
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It could be competing for space as well.
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So the least rather risky is the subserosal on top.
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Yes.
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It's for fertility.
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But still it might still cause her-
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Pain or
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discomfort
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… discomfort.
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And discomfort, yes.
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Okay.
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Yes, and again, they just don't sit like that.
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Some of them sit on the stem.
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It's called pedunculated.
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So imagine, a leaf on a tree.
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You know how s- leaves have stems attached to a branch?
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Yes.
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So fibroids could have a, quote-unquote, "branch" attached to them.
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And those are ca- that's called pedunculated.
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Oh,
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is that right?
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And when the pain comes, when it twists-
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… that would cause pain to the woman, and sometimes fibroids
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outgrow their blood supply.
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And when something outgrows its blood supply, it starts dying.
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That causes necrosis, and that causes pain.
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Right.
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So do you see why I said they're so unwelcome?
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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Ooh.
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As I told you, time… This is so interesting.
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We've already spoke for 20 minutes, but I'm hearing about all these symptoms and
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what can happen, but there's hope, right?
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There are treatments.
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There is
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hope, yes.
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There is hope.
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Light at the end of the tunnel.
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Yes.
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Thank you, Jesus.
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Okay.
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Yes.
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So what are the treatments?
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Because-
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Excellent question
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… ooh, I'm already feeling the pain just thinking of so many women I know.
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And, I've also had a guest come on and say one other thing that possibly
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contributes to a lot of women of African descent having fibroids
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is the things we do with our hair.
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Our hair tends to be different from all other races, and we put a lot of chemicals
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in our hair, on our scalp-… that's being absorbed into our endocrine system-… and
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that is interfering with so many things.
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So that's, but that's a topic for another show.
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No, but that's a good point.
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But that's a good point.
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Let me tie it into your answer of what's the treatment, what's the hope.
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So l- let's start with what you just mentioned.
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So I mentioned earlier what the consensus as to the etiology, as
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it's, as to what causes fibroids, is the estrogen dominance.
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Okay?
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So you could have estrogen from the external environment coming to your body,
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so those are called xeno, as in X-E-N-O, xenoestrogens, and that's where the whole
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chemicals things comes in, the antibiotics in our, and hormones in our meat and food.
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These are all xenoestrogens, foreign estrogens coming into our body.
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And, yes, if you're already susceptible and have extra estrogen circulating
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your body and you add this extra foreign estrogens, talk about the dominance which
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is like a bump more or less going up.
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I'm exaggerating a little bit, but that just contributes to the influx, right?
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So that's the correlation between the chemicals, the hormones in our food,
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and how it's like, stop doing those things, especially if you're susceptible.
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When I say susceptible, family history, that's what I mean by susceptible.
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African descent, because not all African, people of African descent have fibroids.
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Absolutely.
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But there usually is a family history, right?
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And, again, right?
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So now treatments, let's start with medical now.
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So with medical treatment, believe it or not, there's a technique, or rather
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an intervention called watch and wait, which literally means watch the fibroids.
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Are they growing bigger?
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Are they interfering to her quality of life?
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So remember how I said some people might have fibroids and may not know?
24:28
They're not symptomatic.
24:29
It's not affecting their quality of life.
24:30
So that's the watch and wait.
24:32
Okay.
24:32
And the watch and wait has to do with are they increasing in size,
24:35
how much pain, how is it affecting the quality of life of the woman?
24:38
So that means you can just let them be and watch and wait.
24:41
There's also medications that, like for example Lupron.
24:45
So what that would do, they would shrink the fibroids, but the side effects is it
24:51
propels the woman into early menopause because it decreases the estrogen.
24:56
And that's called what?
24:57
Lupron?
24:58
Lupron.
24:58
Okay.
24:58
L-U-P-R-O-N.
25:00
Okay.
25:01
Gonadotropin antagonist kinda drug family.
25:05
Yes.
25:05
So and the medical treatments, medications, again, pain control, right?
25:11
Medications to treat the pain, iron supplements to treat anemia.
25:16
That's kinda like the medical approach.
25:17
And then you have the surgical approach.
25:19
So surgery, for me, when I'm educating and consulting with women, my first question
25:24
to them, if they're of childbearing age, "Do you wanna have children?" Because that
25:28
answer determines, think of an algorithm.
25:31
If you wanna have kids, it determines the surgical approach you might wanna take.
25:35
There's some surgical approach are more invasive than others.
25:38
The least invasive is some … One of the least invasive procedures is called
25:43
a UAE, not United Arab Emirates, no.
25:46
Uterine Artery Embolization.
25:49
Or Uterine Fibroid Embolization.
25:51
So the point is foreign material is injected through the femoral artery
25:57
to basically block the supply of blood vessels, blood flow to the
26:02
fibroids, and basically shrinking it.
26:05
That's an outpatient procedure.
26:07
Within a week, the woman should be back to her regular work.
26:10
So that's non-invasive.
26:11
And it's a procedure that's non-invasive.
26:13
Okay.
26:14
One of the non-invasive, yes.
26:15
Okay?
26:16
And then there's also something called, magnetic resonance functional ultrasound.
26:21
So think of it as in you're in a machine like an MRI.
26:26
And a map of the uterus is done to target the fibroids, and then
26:31
ultrasound beams, like laser beams, quote-unquote, to zap the fibroids.
26:37
Again, that's non-invasive because they're not cutting into you and all of that.
26:41
And then the most invasive, of course, is when you're having a laparotomy,
26:45
when they cut open the uterus.
26:49
… to have what's called a myomectomy.
26:52
Myo means removal of the fibroids surgically.
26:55
So you have cut the woman, midline incision usually.
27:00
But you also have the laparoscopic technique, which
27:02
is like- Okay … three holes.
27:04
Yes.
27:05
Yeah, I like to say like video game, not as invasive as a laparotomy.
27:10
Laparotomy means to cut open the abdomen, not as invasive as that.
27:13
And sometimes there's a laparoscopic and vaginal assisted.
27:17
So they start at the top with a laparoscopic, so three incisions, and
27:21
then go from the uterus, the vagina, to remove whatever they need to remove.
27:26
And there's the hysterectomy, which is the most invasive.
27:29
Once you remove a woman's uterus, that means she can't have kids.
27:33
No children, right?
27:34
Yeah.
27:35
So I always like to ask a woman, "What are your fertility goals?"
27:41
Now, with the UAE, not much research has been done to show how it will affect
27:47
a woman's fertility moving forward.
27:50
But the myomectomy, just removal of the fibroids surgically, has a good
27:57
rate for a woman to get pregnant.
27:59
But the drawback is, number one, is a few things.
28:03
The recovery time is longer, weeks.
28:06
We're talking about weeks, maybe up to six weeks minimum.
28:09
It's more expensive, and sadly, the fibroids can grow back with a myomectomy
28:15
So I'm stop you there.
28:16
The UAE, is that the newest?
28:19
Is it a newer technology?
28:20
I won't say it's the, I won't say it's the newest, but it's, it can be
28:24
classified as one of the newer techniques.
28:27
Okay.
28:28
A radiologist interventionist does that on an outpatient.
28:32
Yeah, not many people know about that, right?
28:33
Because most people when they think about fibroids, they think of
28:35
myomectomy or hysterectomy, right?
28:37
Yeah.
28:37
Yeah.
28:38
But no, that's not the case.
28:39
And one thing I forgot to mention really quickly, going back to the medical
28:42
treatments, a group of researchers, one set in Italy and another set, I can't
28:47
remember where this other gentleman is, but he's of Arab background, they came
28:52
up with this cocktail, if you will.
28:55
Now, remember how we talked about vitamin D?
28:57
So they talked about a cocktail of a combination of EGCG,
29:01
it's an extract of green tea-
29:04
EGCG
29:04
… mixed with… Yes.
29:07
Okay.
29:07
So that is basically an extract of green tea.
29:11
It's a green tea extract, one of the polyphenols, and that basically
29:15
helps reduce the inflammation and, inflammation in the fibroids and uterus.
29:21
So a combination of ECG and high dose vitamin D for a certain period
29:27
of time helps shrink the fibroids.
29:32
So if, for example, the Italian group, what they had recommended, I'm just
29:36
gonna read to make sure I get it correct.
29:38
They recommended a combination of 300 milligrams of EGCG plus vitamin B6, 10
29:46
milligrams, plus vitamin D, 50 nanograms a day for 90 days, and then they saw these
29:54
results that the fibroids did shrink.
29:57
So again, I always recommend go back to your main practitioner,
30:02
be it a physician, gynecologist.
30:05
Some of them are not open into this alternative therapies like this,
30:09
like what I just mentioned to you.
30:10
Some may not be open to that, but the research shows that
30:12
there has been benefits for sure.
30:14
So the studies on that, how well know, because you said some physicians
30:18
are not open to it and others.
30:20
So how for the, in the mainstream medicine, let's say conventional-
30:24
Yes
30:25
… medicine, this is not really in the conventional medicine stream.
30:30
It depends.
30:31
Okay.
30:31
Why I say it depends on the physician, number one, what year
30:34
they graduated and how they practice.
30:37
Okay.
30:37
Some of them practice what's called integrated medicine.
30:40
Right.
30:41
Where they will practice the conventional and non-conventional,
30:44
those who are more likely to be open.
30:46
But even those who are more leaning towards the conventional- It comes
30:51
to a point when they see the agony their patients are going through,
30:54
they're like, "You know what? What you just mentioned, there's no harm."
30:58
Let's try it.
30:58
" Go ahead, give it a try."
30:59
Yeah.
31:00
Yeah.
31:01
As long as there's no other contra indicators based on your
31:03
health history, there's no harm.
31:07
And you mentioned there were two sets of researchers, Italians
31:11
and some from the Middle East.
31:13
Yeah, the second guy, he was a doctor… Let's see if I can remember his name.
31:18
Dr. Alhendi.
31:20
Alhendi.
31:21
Alhen- yes.
31:22
Just his name sounds Middle Eastern.
31:24
I can't remember if he was actually based in the Middle East, or he
31:26
might be abroad but just happened to be part of this research group.
31:29
But they're just two separate studies.
31:32
The Dr. Alhendi, yeah, I believe I actually met him
31:34
on a talk once actually, yes.
31:38
Yes.
31:39
This is so interesting.
31:41
Yeah.
31:41
So Dr. Alhendi's, his concoction was 5,000 international units of vitamin D-
31:49
… plus EGCG 800 milligrams per day
31:54
And with, the, I'm so excited 'cause this is so interesting.
31:59
I love things like this.
32:00
Those, those who have actually been tested who have used it, the women
32:04
who have been on these studies, their feedback, their results have been good?
32:10
Positive.
32:10
So improved positive of life, yes.
32:13
Okay.
32:15
And again, the one, the Italian study- Yeah … I read the
32:19
report and the conclusion.
32:20
Yes, they definitely reported better quality of life and
32:23
decrease in their symptoms.
32:25
Okay.
32:25
things like bleeding was one of them if I remem- if I, my
32:28
memory serves me correctly.
32:30
But I can share the article with you if you want later.
32:32
Yes, we can share it with those who have attended.
32:34
And we can also, when we, publish it on my website, we can put it on the website.
32:39
Oh my gosh, this has been so good.
32:41
But we've been talking for over 30 minutes, and so I wanna give those
32:44
who have joined us an opportunity to ask you more questions on this
32:48
amazing, all these, I've taken so much notes, Dr. Cheryl Okoli.
32:53
but let's stop for now because even though we could talk for the whole, for
32:57
another hour, and we wanna give people- yeah … a chance to ask you questions.
33:00
But for those who are listening online who haven't had a chance to join us and,
33:04
for the interactive Q&A, if they wanna get in touch with you, how can they find you?
33:10
Yeah.
33:10
You can find me on LinkedIn, just, with my name.
33:15
Okay.
33:15
Ms. Paula, I'm sure will share the link with you.
33:17
I certainly will.
33:17
So just my name, but my middle name, so Dr. Cheryl Stella C. Okoli.
33:22
That's how I am on LinkedIn.
33:24
Okay.
33:25
And feel free to visit my website, www.shalomeagleswings.care.
33:32
Why?
33:32
Because I do care for you.
33:34
And yeah, I'm happy to help out in terms of private consultations if you need.
33:39
From an educational component, I provide workshops as well to group of
33:43
women because 30 minutes is not enough.
33:46
So yeah.
33:48
This has been so good.
33:50
I have taken notes upon notes.
33:53
And for those of you who just listened to all the information that Dr.
33:59
Cheryl Okoli has shared, if you'd like to be a guest like she has been,
34:04
please reach out to me on my website, which is chattingwiththeexperts.com.
34:09
I'm also on LinkedIn as Paula Okonneh, that's my profile, or my business
34:14
page, which is Chatting With Experts.
34:16
I have an Instagram page.
34:18
My handle there is @chat_experts_podcast.
34:24
I'm also on Facebook.
34:26
My business page there is Chatting With The Experts.
34:28
I'd love for you to follow me there.
34:32
And please subscribe to my YouTube channel, where you will find this
34:37
particular episode there, as well as all the other fantastic, and I don't wanna
34:43
use the word amazing because it's, I use that all the time, but indeed these women
34:47
are amazing, women experts who have been sharing with all of you the outstanding
34:55
information that they are the experts on.
34:59
So thank you, Dr. Cheryl Okoli, for this.
35:04
Such interesting and such wonderful information on these unwelcome guests.
35:10
And now let's open up the floor to those who have joined us so they can
35:12
ask you even more questions than I have.
35:15
And of course, you have to come back on, because as you said, 30 minutes is
35:19
not enough to share all what you know.
35:21
You've been hiding this from me.
35:22
Thank you.
35:23
You're welcome.
35:24
Because we didn't even talk about lifestyle and dietary practices.
35:27
Yes.
35:27
So yeah, there's to be taught in the future-
35:30
Yes
35:30
… if need be.
35:31
You have to come back.
35:32
Now this is public knowledge, you gotta come, we have to do a part two.
35:37
Thank you.
35:38
Thank you.