something to think about...

I'm working on a piece for a woman's health publication and in the midst of writing my notes I came across something interesting.


While writing the word "antibiotic" I stopped and looked at it...that word, for a moment. And of course back in grade school science class we were taught the word biotic refers to life forms or all things pertaining to life.


Just to make sure that hadn't changed, I checked wikipedia:

"Biotic means relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms. Biotic is a living component of a community; for example organisms, such as plants and animals. Biotic may also refer to: Life, the condition of living organisms."

ANTI-biotic. 

ANTI-life.

Yep, that's about as simple as it gets. 

Allow me to introduce:

The shit machines.

Now, I mean that in the most endearing way, really I do. I LOVE my animals and everything about them but OH HOLY HELL I don't think it's possible for them to crap anymore than they do. 

While I was listening attentively to a conference call (where others just LOOOOOVE to hear themselves squawk) I decided to have some fun with my calculator and figure out how many poops I've cleaned up between the two of these blessed beasts.

And here's the result:

So let's say on average Wrigley poops two times a day. This is pretty conservative because at times he can poop 3 times on one walk but I'm going to keep it simple with just a 2 poop average per day.

So that's 730 poops a year, and he's been around 5 years and 3 months bringing his grand poop total to: 3830 poops that I (or the husband) have schlepped around in baggies or tossed out with scoopers. 

And then...Chumley.

This cat can easily pinch off  3-5 logs a day but some of his turds are little nuggets so I won't count those and stick with an average of 3 times a day for this bomb dropper.

That's 1095 poops a year, he's been around 16 years, 7 months bringing his poop count to 18,780.

Add the two together and we have a whopping total of...

(ok I feel like there needs to be a drum roll here so just imagine one in your mind for the moment)

DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...

a whopping total of....

22,610 POOPS!!!

AND COUNTING!

Ok so now can you understand why I call them the shit machines!?!? Feeling really sorry for landfills at the moment. 

Wrigley makes a new friend

this is...

The BEST deodorant of all times.

And, it sells for $12 at Nordstrom yet is $18 everywhere else. It lasts forever, has a subtle light Cashmere Mist scent and makes you feel good. That's really all I have to say.

(I'm just distracting myself from the tornadoes that continue to obliterate our country. Parents searching for children, people buried and injured, animals too. It's just...too much.)

Aha moment of the day...

Toxic people need to stay the hell out of my energy field. No more patience, tolerance or enabling the behavior. Kindly spread your dysfunction elsewhere. I'm done.

Someone's feeling better!

Ouch!

Know why? Because I got sunscreen in my eyeball.

But guess what? I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!

because...

I GOT SUNSCREEN IN MY EYEBALL!!

(which, for those who may be slow, translates to: it's sunny enough to actually wear sunscreen.)

Test photo from phone

feeling gratitude

(from my facebook post but it feels good to share on here too)

In the past month, I can count on only ONE hand how many times I've had stomach issues. This has not happened in close to 3 years. Every day, there was pain and every time I took medication to "help" the pain, I was only worsening my condition. Up until a month ago, I pretty much gave up trying and was ready to accept the fact this is just how it has to be. I am grateful to my friend Kendra, who did not allow me to give up and I'm also grateful for my new doctor here in West Seattle who is on the ball with treatment as well as lifestyle/diet modifications. For once it is sooooo nice to be able to eat a meal in a restaurant and actually finish it without bolting to the bathroom or worse yet, throwing up before you make it in there. I never knew I could actually feel this good again and every day I wake up I think "Again? I feel good? I am so lucky!!"  So, no matter when our world ends, for all of humanity or for each of us individually, I just wanted to share my gratitude to my friends and family who have been supportive throughout this process. Feeling very blessed and it feels good to express it on here. Thanks for letting me.

plan of attack

What I'm taking to combat the yeasties:

AM
-Drink a tall glass of filtered water (it's supposed to be warm but that makes me gag so it's refrigerated.)
-Drink one cup of detox tea
-Slowly sip a protein shake with added fiber (I have vanilla or chocolate flavors and can add blueberries, strawberries or blackberries to the mix.)

while sipping the shake I also take:
-2  Ultra flora plus DF probiotics, each capsule contains 15 billion live organisms (lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium lactis)
-1 or 2 digestive enzymes (Gastri-Gest is the the kind my doctor gave me. It's vegetarian and BPA and Phthalate free, whatever that means and you take this after you've eaten about half of your meal/shake and then slowly finish the rest)
-2  Caprylic Plus Acid tablets which is what is supposed to kill the yeast. (and this is what gives off some weird side effects)

LUNCH
same as above except no Caprylic Acid tablets.

PM
Same as AM routine but can eat a restricted meal of certain veggies, fish, chicken or meat (once a week) and brown rice or quinoa.

Just for comparisons sake my previous doctor had recommended some over the counter probiotics which contained 1.5 billion live organisms and I was taking that only once daily with a meal. (When I remembered.) On average in order for the probiotics to be effective the dosage is typically between 1 to 10 billion units a day. I am now taking 90 billion units a day because I have ZERO healthy bacteria in my system.

Before this protocol can be started it is very important to cut out ALL dairy, sugar, wheat, alcohol, caffeine, all those things I mentioned in an earlier post and maintain a very limited diet for at least 2 weeks before you start to treat the candida. And then once you start taking the pills and capsules you need to maintain that diet throughout the duration of treatment. As little as one glass of wine can set you back to square one in the early stages of treatment. And when I asked why the hell isn't surgery an option to remove it all from the gut for immediate relief!?! The answer is simple. After surgery you need to take antibiotics to prevent or treat possible infections. And antibiotics will bring the candida right back into your system, just as fast as it was removed.

Also here is a very in depth look at the function of our colons and how they are often overlooked as just the "sewer pipe" of our digestive system.

Journey to the Center of your Colon

The article is a bit lengthy but I urge you to read through it all, you'd be surprised to see just how many conditions are tied to an imbalance in our colons and also learn that the average person can have up to 20 pounds of rotted sludge imbedded in the lining of their colons. Don't read this while eating (unless you're trying to lose your appetite.)

Ok, that's all I have for now.

Stay well and feel good!!!

dinner time rants

If you're going to spray the microwave door with WD-40, then don't come crying to me when your dinner tastes like...WD-40!!!

When dinner is ready I will say, "Dinner is ready." with a smile in my voice once and only once. I won't continue to repeat this 3 or 4 or 15 more times because if someone chooses to ignore the sweet call that their dinner (made with love and tenderness) is in fact hot and ready to be eaten then it's not my problem when it goes cold...and limp (think steamed sugar snapped peas.)

I do appreciate the effort that is made to come on the first dinner call however, stopping along the way to check a knick on the baseboard and then looking for spackle or putty or whatever the flip you need to fix it THAT VERY SECOND kind of throws the whole "well, I got up right after you said it was ready" argument out the window, don't ya think????

I'm a real treat to be around these day. 

Can't you tell???

3 weeks: dairy, gluten, caffeine, alcohol and (refined) sugar free

afternoon update:
My eyes have not stopped tearing all day. It looks like I'm crying non stop. Wondering if immunity is lowered, causing reactions to environmental allergens that may not have had an effect before. As I'm typing this tears are falling on the keyboard. Also learned that the fatigue symptoms (falling asleep while sitting up) are the body's way of shutting down to avoid feeling the extent of the toxicity as the yeast dies off. So while that's a good thing, it's not necessarily the best side effect to have unless you can spend the day sleeping! I wonder if this is what narcolepsy feels like. Drinking my energy booster drink as well as lots and lots of water to flush all these toxins out!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I was doing really well but today I'm having some weird stuff going on. I'm taking probiotics and digestive enzymes 3 x's a day as well as Caprylic acid twice daily. Apparently reactions to the diet and the treatment is normal as the disgusting yeast cells die off but right now it's none too pleasant. Stomach blew up like a balloon (which is not the unusual part) but I'm EXHAUSTED. While sitting in my office chair I fell asleep holding the phone as I was about to make a call. And my eyes and nose are watering non stop. Not mucus-y stuff just lots of drippage. And I'm freezing- hands, arms, legs, feet, everything is cold to the touch. Originally I was supposed to be done with the cleanse at the end of this month but my doctor has advised that I stick with it another 5 weeks especially while taking the acid pills. That was a punch to the gut but in the long run if that's what has to happen to kill these yeasty sons of bitches I will do it. But I am CRAVING sugar so bad right now. I may or may not have poured a stevia packet onto a teaspoon and slammed that sucker down.

On positive note I am able to have organic decaf coffee beans that are swiss water processed only and thankfully there are a few coffee shops close by who carry those beans. I'm on my second cup today and now that I think of it, maybe that's partly why I'm having some weird reaction right now. I haven't had coffee, even decaf in weeks so maybe my stomach is reacting to the acid or something. Who the flip knows. I was really doing great with all this because I was feeling so much better and I understand that it's going to get worse before all is said and done and it can take YEARS for all this crap to get out of the system so realistically I know there will be days like this but it just sucks when you have to be so regimented about every single thing you put in your mouth and then as a result you still end up feeling like a train wreck.

Just needed to vent about this. I think I'll go sniff a Snicker's bar now.

Coconut Oil

I'm in love with coconut oil. I started using it a few days ago and am hooked. It is great for cooking because it contains acids that kill bacteria and viruses by breaking down their cell walls which is imperative for healing candida. You can also scoop and eat a spoonful of it a few times a day to put healthy fats back into your body. And?? It's the best skin moisturizer especially for dry hands, cracked heals and elbows. It even says you can use it as conditioner which smells sooo good, not too coconuty, just a light nutty aroma. I just put some on my lips and am sitting here licking it off because it tastes good too! Kind of like butter but with just a hint of coconut.

You can get it at any health food store or natural products grocer. Prices range from about $7 for a small jar up to $25 for larger. I found the jar above on sale for $9 marked down from $16 at Super Supplements. A little goes a long way so it's definitely a great investment.

Here are some more health benefits.

update for those suffering from redundant colon/digestive issues

So it appears I have some more answers regarding my digestive wars.

In addition to the lovely colon issues, I've also developed candida, aka a yeast takeover.

I won't go into all the specifics right now because I'm still in the process of figuring out the best approach for treatment. I will say, a medical doctor did not diagnose this. It was through the help of a nutritionist friend of mine as well as a naturopath that finally shed light on what has been wreaking havoc on my insides and making my digestive life hell. The one GOOD thing is that I do not have any symptoms outside of the gut (in regards to yeast overgrowth). I have only had one yeast infection *down there* and that was years ago in college. I also don't have skin disorders or athlete's foot (as far as I know?) but I did have a yuck toe a while back so who knows if that's related. But, in addition to the gut, I have a host of other symptoms that are not pretty and I was going out of my mind trying to manage them. It finally became unbearable.

And are you ready for the best part? I have probably been susceptible to this most of my adult life based on my history with antibiotics in the past, (was on them ALL THE TIME in college for strep throat until I finally got my tonsils out) and that is a huge contributing factor to candida growth. However, my body was able to fight it off naturally. It wasn't until moving here that this shit (or yeast) hit the fan and spiraled out of control. And here's one reason why...

"Vitamin D is another nutrient that is essential to healing. The majority of people today are deficient in Vitamin D. The best way to get Vitmain D is through exposure to the sun. Our skin uses the rays from the sun to manufacture Vitamin D. 

Most of us work during the day so we are not able to get adequate sun exposure. A fair-skinned Caucasian needs 30 minutes of exposure on half of their body per day in the summer. In the winter, the time needed is increased. The darker your skin tone, the more exposure you need.

The artificial form of Vitamin D added to milk and other foods does not have the same beneficial effects as natural Vitamin D. If you cannot get adequate sun exposure, then you need to supplement with a natural Vitamin D product. I recommend a Vitamin D Spray"

This information above is from this site and while I pop vitamin d pills like candy, it's still not enough. Plus I am cold, like not just "oh I'm a little chilly", I mean my hands and feet and face are ice cold to the touch. In order to help fight the candida attacking the body your body temperature needs to be regulated. I think the reason it has been so bad these past couple months is that we are still coming off a cold, wet winter (moldy environments are really bad for candida) and that is just what it needs to take over. Now people may look at me crazy (this has happened) because I have literally raced home when I see a glimmer of the sun appear and strip down half naked and stand in the rays in my bedroom with the door open. I've been doing this even in the winter months when it's cold, even before I knew about the candida. It's as if my body was telling me GET IN THAT SUN NOW. So hopefully, once it warms up and we have more consistent sunshine (fingers crossed?) that my symptoms will be somewhat alleviated for a while.

I'm also pretty sure this is why I'm still struggling with the adjustments of moving here.  It's been very challenging at times, affecting me physically and mentally and after feeling "off" for so long, I felt defeated and was ready to accept this is just how it's got to be. I am sooooo grateful for those who wouldn't let me give in to this and kept pushing me even though I was being a stubborn beast. And I won't be going back to my medical doctor anytime soon. 

Just wanted to pass this along to others who may be trying to figure out what is going on with their own stomach issues. Candida can also lead to a variety of other medical conditions (ADD/ADHD, depression, eye problems, eczema, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and cancer and typically the doctors are treating only those, before discovering the root cause. As I'm still figuring this out, I'll be avoiding all dairy, sugar, gluten and alcohol because it's been 8 days since I've had any and the results are already very positive. Oh and vinegar is another one to avoid. Learned that the hard way after having a little basalmic vinegar on a very bland salad. And one more thing, in an earlier post I mentioned how I would have horrible nausea after drinking the Almond Milk by Silk, and that was because it was reacting to the existing stuff in my gut. Before throwing it out, I waited a few more days and tried it again and was able to tolerate it. The nausea has greatly subsided but as the candida die off there are a host of other side effects. And that's what brings me to the now, trying to manage the best course of action to treat this with the least amount of side effects. 

With the support of dear friends, family as well as folks with the knowledge behind this, I'm hopeful to get this under control and start feeling healthy again. And once that happens I know I'll come to embrace everything about living here (fingers crossed again!) I love EVERYTHING else about being here! I really do. 

And if anyone has any questions please feel free to let me know. I only hope by posting this, that others may be able to benefit if they are struggling from something unknown too.

Don't give up!