LIFE & HEALTH UPDATE | Healing Naturally, Palace Tour & London Life | Lydia Millen

Never usually post, but just sharing my peony story. My grandmother had a peony in her front garden. After she passed and when her home was sold, my mother dug up her peony and brought it home to plant in her garden. Mom already had a lush peony in her front garden. Grandma's peony lived in the back garden. It never really grew like the one in the front. It always used to struggle a little. Mainly due to my brother not paying attention with the mower. I can hear my mother's voice now. "Watch my peony." And while the words were still floating in the air, half the plant was instantly chopped by the blades. When our parents passed and the home was sold, my sister dug up grandma's peony. She didn't plant it in the ground. She put her in a pot. Grandma's peony is still going strong, three homes later and a few different pots. My sister is in England. I live in the US. But every year she sends me a photo of Grandma's peony when she comes into bloom.

Hi Lydia, I'm Josette, a Certified Holistic Health Coach. I reversed an advanced autoimmune diagnosis naturally years ago, and that journey shaped everything I now do with the women who come to me. I work with the body as a whole system: the nervous system, hormones, gut, mast cells, and the deeper patterns underneath it all. I wanted to reach out because what you're describing, symptoms that intensify around your cycle, has a name and a clear path forward. It's often called cyclical MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome that flares with hormonal shifts), and at 38, you're in a window where many women first notice it because estrogen and progesterone are starting to fluctuate more dramatically. Here's what's actually happening. Mast cells, the immune cells responsible for histamine release, have estrogen receptors. When estrogen rises (around ovulation and again in the late luteal phase), mast cells release more histamine. At the same time, estrogen suppresses DAO, the enzyme that breaks histamine down. So you end up with more histamine being produced and less being cleared, right when progesterone (the natural mast cell stabilizer) is also dropping. That's why the days before your period can feel like a full-body inflammatory storm with migraines, anxiety, bloating, skin reactivity, insomnia, heavy or painful periods, and food sensitivities that seem to come and go. The testing I'd want to look at includes plasma histamine and serum tryptase to see mast cell activity, DAO enzyme levels, a full hormone panel covering estrogen, progesterone, and the estrogen metabolites (the DUTCH test is excellent here because it shows how you're clearing estrogen), comprehensive stool testing to assess the gut and the estrobolome (the bacteria that metabolize estrogen), a thyroid panel, cortisol rhythm, and inflammatory markers. A mold and mycotoxin panel is also worth considering, since mold is one of the biggest hidden mast cell triggers. The holistic work itself moves on several layers at once. Cycle-timed nutrition is foundational, a low-histamine, anti-inflammatory approach that intensifies in your luteal phase when your body needs the most support. Alongside that we use targeted mast cell stabilizers like quercetin, vitamin C, luteolin, nettle, and DAO support before meals. We support estrogen detoxification with DIM, calcium-d-glucarate, sulforaphane, methylation cofactors, and the gut work that helps your body actually clear estrogen instead of recirculating it. We support progesterone through nutrition and stress regulation, and where appropriate, through a conversation with a hormonally literate practitioner about bioidentical progesterone in the luteal phase. We work the nervous system directly with vagal tone practices, breath, and movement, because mast cells are wired into the autonomic nervous system and sympathetic dominance keeps them primed. And underneath all of it, we investigate root causes: gut healing, hidden infections, mold exposure, and liver support. The goal is never to manage symptoms forever. It's to bring the whole system back into coherence so your cycle becomes something you barely notice instead of something that runs your month. I'd love to hear what you're experiencing in more detail and map out where to start. Warmly, Josette www.Josettet.com

Your unexplained symptoms really point to breast implant illness that can harm our immune system. Please get it checked out by a specialist that primarily focuses on implant illness and explant surgery. In the meantime, get a breast ultrasound to bring to your appointment if you go down that route. Wishing you well!

The scented candles in your house and the perfumes you wear are just toxins, even essential oil based are not healthy for our bodies.

If you aren’t well, maybe you shouldn’t be taking supplements until you know where you are, healthwise

I heard Josie’s voice. How funny.

Oh my goodness, what a surprise to be featured on my favorite weekly vlog this week. I'm so happy you love the painting I sent! Thank you so much for the shoutout. Your beautiful photographs of the English Countryside are so inspiring to me...I wish I could paint them all! Thank you for bringing so much beauty & joy to the internet. Sending love from across the pond!

You should definitely check your thyroid. Don't take supplements until you get your blood tests back.

I’ve been a registered nurse for nearly 20 years.. and from that lens plus my own from being a 47 year old woman it sounds inflammation related, like immune response related to hormonal shifts. I hear you on the holistic approach but once you’ve optimized your lifestyle it’s time for traditional medicine. It could be something as simple as getting on a birth control pill to help keep your hormones from swinging as much. I can tell you that when I got into my late 30s my body was much more reactive to hormonal shifts. When I was 45 I started on HRT and it’s been life changing. There’s no need to suffer unnecessarily.

My red light mask has transformed my skin as well after multiple roaccutane courses. I recommend them to EVERYONE.😂 I’m also using a neck one on a herniated disc and praying like anything it works some magic. ❤

You should always be proud and very grateful for where you come from! You wouldn’t be who you are without your past! And we are created to evolve and grow and learn all our lives!🙏🏼❤️

MCAS, Histamine response during hormonal changes.

Iv followed you ever since you lived down the road from me in Croxley! It’s wonderful to have followed this journey of change alongside you and to now see a more ‘authentic you’, loving nature and the joy that the world gives us. You’ve inspired me become that authentic version of me. Gone are the expensive designer bags, shoes etc that we thought we had to own to be noticed. We can still enjoy lovely clothes and accessories but they are not the main stay of our world anymore, nature is. If you’re doing Q&As as you go along can I pop this question to you. Where do you see yourself at age 50, do you believe you would by then have achieved all your goals and are then sitting back and enjoying them?

Wishing you so much good vibes on your health journey!! I know I’m just talking about me here but I used to think everything under the sun was wrong with me but it was all caused by stress and my ocd. Hives, aching limbs, exhaustion, tummy issues, acne. Obviously not trying to diagnose you but with anything but we just underestimate how much our bodies are affected by chronic stress and long term anxiety. I had therapy and the right meds for me and not only has my heath improved but I don’t spend all day thinking about it! As I said just sharing my experience, health is such a wide issue with so many people trying to sell you this cure and this test. Take care of yourself, follow drs advice ( although it can be frustrating when they don’t listen) and understand that mental heath and your body are linked much more than is sometimes considered ❤❤ sorry if this advice comes wrong - genuinely wishing you health and strength

That dress!! OMG it’s STUNNING. Hat is gorgeous too. And the shoes are perfect for walking on grass Well done. That young artist!!! AMAZING TALENT!!! And also, the lady who sent the painting of your walk…..so sweet and so talented. Lovely vlog as always, Lydia.

44:56 You have earned everything you have and you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. At the end of your life, you won’t remember all the naysayers, and they won’t be in the room with you. Your loved ones and your happy memories will be, though, so listen to your heart and do what makes it sing. That’s a life well lived.

Lydia, I have PMDD also. I have the same exact symptoms each month. Your immune system gets suppressed when your hormones change rapidly. I found that I was getting thrush every month. This is a candida overgrowth in your throat. It is often caused by stress or bad diet which can also lead to immune system dip. Sometimes it will just cause a sore throat. Sometimes it will get bad enough where you get white patches or blisters on your throat/mouth. This is a low level fungal infection that can cause sore throat but also fatigue and feeling ill. Your immune system is trying to fight it off! We all have candida naturally in our skin, mouth and vagina. But when your immune system dips it can become out of control. Yogurt and kefir will help. Garlic and oil of oregano will help. Stopping alcohol and sugar while you have the thrush will really help. This could also be partly due to a histamine reaction during PMS which can also cause itchy skin and a general sense of being irritable/frazzled/confused. Try a non-drowsy antihistamine. It should help. Also sunlight/vitamin D. Getting more sunlight before the week I usually experience PMS really made a difference to me.

You're a bonny lass inside and out. Your personal journey is what makes you so relatable. You deserve every minute of your success. x

I am certainly grateful to my younger self for going for those walks, at every lunch at work. I see quite a difference between me and my other 70’s friends.

To anyone with perioral dermatitis please try a toothpaste without fluoride!! I healed mine after struggling for months when I switched to that. Never going back, don't break out as much. It's such a small change it is worth a try!