I love General Conference so much.
While everyone else is snoring through the talks, I'm taking notes and hanging on every word. I spent 17 years of my life not hearing the counsel and messages of peace from the Lord through His prophet and apostles, so I appreciate every moment.
Here's a shocker....my kids don't love conference. We don't want it to be a punishment, so we don't require them to sit and listen. But it's always my goal to have activities/treats/traditions so that it wi ll become something that they look forward to and eventually love.
I think this year I have found via Pinterest, my best idea yet.
I bought Sicily a little tent on sale at Target. She is very excited about playing in her tent. I'm thinking it can be her conference tent, where she can play while we listen.
But this is the best...I'm making speaker bags, one for each apostle or member of the first presidency. When that person speaks, they get to open the bag and share the treat. Some examples:
EyRING pops
Dieter's doughnuts
Christofferson's Krispies (RK treats)
Possibly a little irreverent but a mom's gotta do what she's gotta do.
As for me, I always prepare for Conference by praying and posing questions beforehand, but this year I'm getting specific based on a post I read by Al Fox Carraway. WRITE down your questions.
I ALWAYS get answers during General Conference. ALWAYS.
I am going to post my questions before Conference because I'm so sure the answers are going to be there, that afterwards I'll be able to see it visibly as evidence that this method works.
Read on if you dare....It's an anxious and troubled place inside my mind at times.
-When you have a big crossroads kind of decision to make and want to do the Lord's will - you research, pray, fast, go to the temple and do your part but still get no answers...what is that about? Out of all people, aren't those of us who are working hard to know the Lord's will the ones who deserve answers the most?
-So then because you don't get any answers, you just act and choose what you want and what you think is best. And you feel the spirit confirm that it's a good choice and feel really good about it, and you get really excited about that decision but then it ends up being a dead end.....how do you not feel jaded, toyed with, or lose confidence in your ability to participate in the revelatory process? Why would Heavenly Father do that?
-What do you do with bad feelings when you don't want them, but they are there anyway and you can't let them go. People always say to give them to the Savior, but HOW do you do that? If you WANT to forgive, and pray to forgive, why doesn't it happen? Then you feel terrible for having hard feelings even though you're trying not to. You need the Spirit and want the Spirit, but can't feel Him because you're so troubled with these bad feelings that you can't make stop. What do you do with yourself until they go away?
-Why do hard times/blessings always seem to come in big bursts...like when it rains it pours?
-We are supposed to "Be still". How do we do that?
-How can I better endure persecution? Chastisement?
-When you prayerfully act and do something you think is good, and the Spirit doesn't give you any warnings, but then people react badly to that good thing you did....what is that about?
-How do you turn the other cheek when others falsely attack your character? Isn't your character and integrity something that you should defend? Especially when your livelihood and ability to do good in your community depends on others trusting your character. What is the Christ like thing to do in that situation?
-I need inspiration for teaching kids about self control, how to help them strengthen this?
-I've had thoughts about agency - If Heavenly Father won't compromise our agency for anything then why don't we have agency or the choice over when we die or when we are born? Or did we.....you know, before?
Shouldn't we be able to choose when we die in situations where dying would be the compassionate thing to do? I know I didn't articulate that very well.
- We aren't supposed to have pride or try to "keep up with the Joneses", or put stock in THINGS, but we are also counseled to make our homes lovely places and like the temple. How do we feel good about buying new things to make our homes beautiful without feeling bad or guilty that we're being prideful for having nice things? How do we find that balance?
Where do I want to be in my life? Where does Heavenly Father want me to be? What does He want me to be doing?
That is all.
Try the experiment for yourselves! Write down your questions beforehand and you will be amazed at how many of the speakers are inspired with answers JUST FOR YOU. From a loving, merciful Heavenly Father and Savior. Enjoy Conference y'all!
Friday, September 30, 2016
Thursday, September 29, 2016
My Health Journey
Why am I always sharing stuff?
Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself the same thing. It seems I've always got something new to write about or tell others about, or do classes about. What compels me to do this?
Most of you know my spiritual journey. If you don't, you can read about it in previous posts. I used to be a not so great person. I wasn't even close to living to my potential. I didn't know God or the Savior.
Yet, they saw fit to intervene on my behalf. Through the Savior I've grown, I've overcome lots of yucky things, but most importantly I've enjoyed and am enjoying happiness and blessings beyond comprehension.
I have to thank Them. I have to give back. I have given myself over to them, and I want to follow the Spirit in all things. Its just that simple. And the more I do that, the bigger the blessings and the more profound the joy. It's a never ending circle of indebtedness that I'm grateful to be a part of.
So on to my physical health journey.
This is for me.
I have to actually write it all down to keep track of everything, but am also choosing to share in the hopes someone else might find their own inspiration through my trials.
I had gestational diabetes with Carter, my third child. He was almost 10 lbs at birth, and the pregnancy was really hard on me. Carrying around such a big kid and being a mother to two other little ones was hard on my body and it started to fall apart.
I had gallbladder "sludge" and attacks during and after my pregnancy with Carter and so it was recommended that I have my gallbladder removed.
At the same time, I started having back "episodes". I would be doing something simple and then end up flat on my back unable to move. The solution was always muscle relaxers which made me loopy and large doses of ibuprofen until it went away.
My doctor gave me xrays and determined that I had a bulging disk and said I should try physical therapy.
My first day of physical therapy was excrutiating. The stretched me out on a machine and then snapped me back together and when I did, my legs went numb. I have no idea what happened but I went out of that office in worse shape than when I went in. I gradually gained mobility, but I could never move the way I wanted, and every night my legs would go numb and I couldn't sleep. Sometimes just my right leg, sometimes both. I started to become desperate to find some relief.
First chiropractor: Dr. S.
Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that. So I got a second opinion.
Second chiropractor: Dr. W
Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that. So I got a third opinion.
Third chiropractor: Dr. D. Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that.
All chiropractor visits would provide temporary relief, but nothing permanent and it was expensive. So I decided to take the dr. route. My doctor ordered an MRI and confirmed that I had a bulging disk in my back and recommended physical therapy. (ha...ha...hahaha) I told her about some of my other emerging symptoms:
I couldn't think! It was like I was trying to think through sludge. She said this is called brain fog.
I had random buzzing in the muscles inside my body, like a cell phone was going off inside of me.
I would have chest pain and think I was having a heart attack, the first time this happened I went to the emergency clinic and they told me it was a panic attack. The panic attacks were terrible...like a living hell.
I had pain all over, especially when it was cold. My joints would hurt immensely. But consistently I felt like hot pokers were on my legs.
I had intestinal issues, bouts of diarrhea and then constipation. She said it was IBS.
I would get a sinus headache over my right eye every afternoon. If I didn't take ibuprofen then it would turn into a migraine and I'd be down for the rest of the day.
My doctor gave me more muscle relaxers and 800 mg ibuprofen and referred me to a neruologist.
Neurologist: Dr. S.
Listened to my symptoms, did a bunch of tests and then told me he was certain I had symptoms. I fit the profile perfectly as a white female in her early 30's. My back problems were something he usually only saw in obese people, not someone with my small frame.
He ordered a brain scan. I prepared myself for a life of battling MS and dying in a wheelchair. The brain scan came back clean. No lesions. He was stumped.
With the leg numbness, he needed to determine if I had any nerve damage so I had an EMG. If you've never had an EMG, it's a special kind of torture where they stick a long needle into different muscles and shock you with electricity, then record how your muscles react. PAIN PAIN PAIN.
No nerve damage. He said when people like me have symptoms that can't be explained, they have no choice but to call it fibromyalgia. He told me to try an orthopedist for my back.
Orthopedist: Dr. V
Gave me a bunch of exercises and told me to try a decompression table every day where you hang upside down. I said they were too expensive so he said to try hanging from the monkey bars every day. I did those exercises religiously and they actually did help some, but not enough so I then tried...
Physiologist: Dr. H
He recommended cortizone shots in my spine. So I had the procedure done where they numb up your back and then do basically an epidural and inject cortizone. I had high hopes that it would work, but it didn't. Frustrated, I asked the physiologist what I should try next.
He said I should try a chiropractor.
Fourth chiropractor: Dr. R.
Gave me some new insight. He said that I actually had arthritis in my spine, and that my other symptoms may be inflammatory related.
Around this time, in addition to my other physical struggles I began to lose mobility in my hips, and had extreme pain in my hip sockets. I couldn't sit indian style at preschool....I mean physically could not do it. It was really scary for me...what was happening to me? My body seemed to be breaking down and I couldn't do anything to help it or stop it.
Orthopedic Specialist: Dr. B.
Another MRI of my hip showed that I had femoral acetabular impingement. My femur was deformed in how it fit into my hip socket, causing pain and inflammation and probably will eventually result in needing a hip replacement.
More ibuprofen. At this point, I had been taking so much ibuprofen that I got an ulcer. The doctor prescribed me omneprazole, an acid blocker to help the ulcer heal. I would later battle another ulcer after that one.
Physically, I was a mess. Since I really couldn't move or do anything...I spent a lot of time working on strengthening myself physically and growing closer to the Lord. I felt at that point that I had done all I could possibly do within my ability to get better, and that I had the faith that the Lord would heal me. So I asked my husband for a priesthood blessing, fully expecting to be healed after doing all I could do.
This is what the Lord told me in the blessing:
-My Heavenly Father is aware of me
- I will be guided to the foods I should and should not eat, diet changes, to the vitamins, minerals that my body needs to heal itself.
-It may take more time, but I will be healed.
What???? That was not what I wanted to hear! I didn't want to change my diet! That was going to be even more WORK and I was already burned out from trying to get better. Why can't you just heal me???
After I had my temper tantrum, I prayerfully began to read, research, talk to people, and let the Spirit guide me as to what to do.
Craniosacral therapy - Glenna at my chiropractors clinic introduced me to energy work and natural healing techniques. It started me on the right path.
Naturopath - I found an inexpensive naturopath and was re-introduced to muscle testing. I had known all of this stuff before, but because we were on a budget I had stuck to things that insurance would cover. By this point, John had graduated and we had the money for me to start spending more on natural health.
We began to tackle my symptoms one by one, and my body would tell me what supplements it needed for the symptoms I had.
I also got into essential oils because I could no longer take pain pills, my stomach was wrecked. And I was also now allergic to antibiotics because of all of the sinus infections I was getting. I tried using essential oils to tackle one of my biggest and most painful problems: varicose veins. Particularly those in my groin area which were impossibly painful. I tried trace minerals...all kinds of supplements but nothing ever worked.
I was beginning to manage a lot of my mystery symptoms and still had ups and downs. After a routine checkup my care provider suggested I try antidepressants to help with my IBS symptoms and also my panic attacks and anxiety symptoms. She prescribed me fluoxetine (generic for prozac) and my naturopath confirmed through muscle testing that my body needs it. That completely took away my anxiety issues, and allowed my body to calm down. It was a huge step forward.
I began taking supplements and eating foods that decreased inflammation, which helped a lot with the fibromyalgia symptoms. I began eating the Dr. Oz diet. All whole grains, limiting the processed foods. The weirdest thing happened, once I switched over to all whole wheat, I got even sicker.
After waking up one morning with vertigo, I went to see an:
Ear Nose and Throat Specialist - Dr. M
He said my sinuses were totally inflamed and that was causing the vertigo. I told him about my headaches and he did some allergy testing. I can't even tell you my surprise when I got the call from the nurse: You are allergic to wheat. It's not uncommon for a wheat allergy to cause sinus issues.
What???
"Do you have digestive issues as well?"
It was now all beginning to make sense.
I remember driving by the gluten free store in Layton all the time and thinking "Sucks to be them!" I could never live without bread! Giving up gluten was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I think Heavenly Father knew how stupid I am and that I would have to be so very desperate and sick and burned out that I would try ANYTHING to get better.
SO many symptoms improved after going gluten free. Now that my pain was under control, I began to exercise again. After I gave up the gluten, the extra weight melted off of me.
As I continued to seek the Lord's will for me and my little family, I began to have many promptings that we had another little spirit in heaven that was waiting to be a part of our family. So believing the blessing that I would eventually be healed, and with a lot of my issues getting better we went off of birth control, leaving it to the Lord. It actually took me a long time to get pregnant, but as soon as the stick turned pink, I miscarried.
Meanwhile I started having painful stomach spasms, and felt like I had a bladder infection. I went in to the clinic three times thinking I had a UTI and finally was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis. Basically, the lining of the bladder gets irritated and you feel burning and like you have to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME. I was having muscle buzzing again and random muscle twitching that left me exhausted.
What???? My body was falling apart again. I thought the Lord said I would be healed? Why am I not getting better? If I'm supposed to have another baby, why can't I get pregnant?
The stomach spasms were so painful, I couldn't take any medicine and could hardly eat anything. I was referred to a gastroenterologist.
Gastroenterologist: suggested a stomach scope. It was done by Dr. P at McKay Dee.
They couldn't find anything except irritation and scar tissue damage in my stomach but nothing that would be causing the spasms. One of the nurses said that she thought I had biliary diskinesia, which basically is a backflow of the bile that should be coming from your gallbladder but when it's taken out, it gets stuck in your liver. No cure except surgery, and Dr. P told me that surgery was invasive, and often caused even more problems. That it would be something I'd have to live with.
Dr. P. is also a D.O. so I could talk to him about natural health things. I told him about all of my symptoms, my back, interstitial cystitis, in addition to the stomach things. He said they were all symptoms of Central Nervous System issues. My central nervous system was freaking out. If I could figure out how to support my CNS then it might help my symptoms improve.
Back to the naturopath. I also have amazing chiropractors: Dr. B and Dr. L. They do muscle testing and know a lot about natural health. Dr. L. taught me about my ileo secal valve in my intestines. When I eat foods such as caffeine or chocolate, it opens when it's supposed to stay closed. When it opens, waste from the large intestines backs up into the small intestines, causing inflammation. Particularly to the back....in the exact spot where my back hurt. He showed me how to close it myself. I stayed away from chocolate (SO HARD!) and caffeine and began managing my back and stomach pain after 9 years.
I got pregnant again, but immediately lost it. My naturopath helped me figure out that my thyroid was shot. I began taking thyroid natural supplements and my other symptoms disappeared. I was finally managing my health and feeling pretty good, but still had brain fog and low energy.
It was around this time that Chloe got sick, and a friend brought over a can of zeal because she had been able to get off of her anti-depressants. Chloe couldn't handle the taste, so I decided to try it. I was intrigued by the 30 day challenge money-back guarantee, and also noticed that a lot of the ingredients were not only things I was trying to put into my diet every day, but also a lot of the supplements, and it was gluten free.
At first, I got a cold. My friend told me about detoxing and I knew it was true. In the past, anytime I have done a juice cleanse, gone off sugar, processed foods, or done a detox I always get a cold. It's my body's way of detoxing. That was actually a good sign to me. I kept drinking it every day but was busy with Chloe's treatment and didn't pay much attention to whether or not it was working. I didn't notice that I was gaining almost super-human strength in order to homeschool my kids, and also get Chloe through that difficult time, plus still teach piano, preschool and run a household.
We went out of town for the weekend and I was so tired! I felt horrible and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. When I got home I thought, "I forgot to take my Zeal when I was out of town. Could it be that the zeal makes me feel better?" So I experimented and sure enough, when I took the zeal, I had a clear mind, energy, no pain, no digestive issues, my varicose veins don't hurt anymore, no aches and pains in joints, normal periods, no interstitial cystitis, no stomach spasms, no sinus headaches or migraines. I finally began to maintain a healthy weight. And I didn't get tired in the afternoon like I usually did.
When I didn't take the zeal, the symptoms came back. I looked at all of the supplements and medications I was taking that sporadically worked and added up the monthly costs, then compared it to the monthly cost of zeal. It was a no brainer! I can take all of that stuff and spend all of that money and have it work sometimes, or I can drink one zeal a day and that takes care of ALL of my symptoms. I feel good all the time.
Sometimes when I am hiking or swimming with my kids, or doing things I could not do over these past 10 years because of my health problems, I want to cry just thinking about how grateful I am that Heavenly Father kept his promise in the blessing and did guide me to the things that would help my body heal itself. I feel like I have a second chance at life.
I remember a bunch of ladies asking me to join their walking group and I had to turn them down because of my health problems. I felt so sorry for myself, like I was handicapped. I resigned that I should just be grateful to be alive but also mourned the loss of really LIVING life and the loss of a once very active lifestyle.
Now, I can do anything I want to do. I exercise every day. I walked 25+ miles on Pioneer trek and turned around to do Girls Camp for a week and I felt great, had lots of energy. I believe that I have been guided to Zeal, that the creators are inspired, and it has changed my life.
PLEASE try it. Give the 30 day challenge a try. If it doesn't work, you have nothing to lose but if it can help just one person like it helped me, then I have done my job.
I wish for everyone to feel as good as I do. I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has helped me, guided me, and loved me and I'm determined to pay it forward.
Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself the same thing. It seems I've always got something new to write about or tell others about, or do classes about. What compels me to do this?
Most of you know my spiritual journey. If you don't, you can read about it in previous posts. I used to be a not so great person. I wasn't even close to living to my potential. I didn't know God or the Savior.
Yet, they saw fit to intervene on my behalf. Through the Savior I've grown, I've overcome lots of yucky things, but most importantly I've enjoyed and am enjoying happiness and blessings beyond comprehension.
I have to thank Them. I have to give back. I have given myself over to them, and I want to follow the Spirit in all things. Its just that simple. And the more I do that, the bigger the blessings and the more profound the joy. It's a never ending circle of indebtedness that I'm grateful to be a part of.
So on to my physical health journey.
This is for me.
I have to actually write it all down to keep track of everything, but am also choosing to share in the hopes someone else might find their own inspiration through my trials.
I had gestational diabetes with Carter, my third child. He was almost 10 lbs at birth, and the pregnancy was really hard on me. Carrying around such a big kid and being a mother to two other little ones was hard on my body and it started to fall apart.
I had gallbladder "sludge" and attacks during and after my pregnancy with Carter and so it was recommended that I have my gallbladder removed.
At the same time, I started having back "episodes". I would be doing something simple and then end up flat on my back unable to move. The solution was always muscle relaxers which made me loopy and large doses of ibuprofen until it went away.
My doctor gave me xrays and determined that I had a bulging disk and said I should try physical therapy.
My first day of physical therapy was excrutiating. The stretched me out on a machine and then snapped me back together and when I did, my legs went numb. I have no idea what happened but I went out of that office in worse shape than when I went in. I gradually gained mobility, but I could never move the way I wanted, and every night my legs would go numb and I couldn't sleep. Sometimes just my right leg, sometimes both. I started to become desperate to find some relief.
First chiropractor: Dr. S.
Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that. So I got a second opinion.
Second chiropractor: Dr. W
Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that. So I got a third opinion.
Third chiropractor: Dr. D. Confirmed that I was in bad shape. Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that.
All chiropractor visits would provide temporary relief, but nothing permanent and it was expensive. So I decided to take the dr. route. My doctor ordered an MRI and confirmed that I had a bulging disk in my back and recommended physical therapy. (ha...ha...hahaha) I told her about some of my other emerging symptoms:
I couldn't think! It was like I was trying to think through sludge. She said this is called brain fog.
I had random buzzing in the muscles inside my body, like a cell phone was going off inside of me.
I would have chest pain and think I was having a heart attack, the first time this happened I went to the emergency clinic and they told me it was a panic attack. The panic attacks were terrible...like a living hell.
I had pain all over, especially when it was cold. My joints would hurt immensely. But consistently I felt like hot pokers were on my legs.
I had intestinal issues, bouts of diarrhea and then constipation. She said it was IBS.
I would get a sinus headache over my right eye every afternoon. If I didn't take ibuprofen then it would turn into a migraine and I'd be down for the rest of the day.
My doctor gave me more muscle relaxers and 800 mg ibuprofen and referred me to a neruologist.
Neurologist: Dr. S.
Listened to my symptoms, did a bunch of tests and then told me he was certain I had symptoms. I fit the profile perfectly as a white female in her early 30's. My back problems were something he usually only saw in obese people, not someone with my small frame.
He ordered a brain scan. I prepared myself for a life of battling MS and dying in a wheelchair. The brain scan came back clean. No lesions. He was stumped.
With the leg numbness, he needed to determine if I had any nerve damage so I had an EMG. If you've never had an EMG, it's a special kind of torture where they stick a long needle into different muscles and shock you with electricity, then record how your muscles react. PAIN PAIN PAIN.
No nerve damage. He said when people like me have symptoms that can't be explained, they have no choice but to call it fibromyalgia. He told me to try an orthopedist for my back.
Orthopedist: Dr. V
Gave me a bunch of exercises and told me to try a decompression table every day where you hang upside down. I said they were too expensive so he said to try hanging from the monkey bars every day. I did those exercises religiously and they actually did help some, but not enough so I then tried...
Physiologist: Dr. H
He recommended cortizone shots in my spine. So I had the procedure done where they numb up your back and then do basically an epidural and inject cortizone. I had high hopes that it would work, but it didn't. Frustrated, I asked the physiologist what I should try next.
He said I should try a chiropractor.
Fourth chiropractor: Dr. R.
Gave me some new insight. He said that I actually had arthritis in my spine, and that my other symptoms may be inflammatory related.
Around this time, in addition to my other physical struggles I began to lose mobility in my hips, and had extreme pain in my hip sockets. I couldn't sit indian style at preschool....I mean physically could not do it. It was really scary for me...what was happening to me? My body seemed to be breaking down and I couldn't do anything to help it or stop it.
Orthopedic Specialist: Dr. B.
Another MRI of my hip showed that I had femoral acetabular impingement. My femur was deformed in how it fit into my hip socket, causing pain and inflammation and probably will eventually result in needing a hip replacement.
More ibuprofen. At this point, I had been taking so much ibuprofen that I got an ulcer. The doctor prescribed me omneprazole, an acid blocker to help the ulcer heal. I would later battle another ulcer after that one.
Physically, I was a mess. Since I really couldn't move or do anything...I spent a lot of time working on strengthening myself physically and growing closer to the Lord. I felt at that point that I had done all I could possibly do within my ability to get better, and that I had the faith that the Lord would heal me. So I asked my husband for a priesthood blessing, fully expecting to be healed after doing all I could do.
This is what the Lord told me in the blessing:
-My Heavenly Father is aware of me
- I will be guided to the foods I should and should not eat, diet changes, to the vitamins, minerals that my body needs to heal itself.
-It may take more time, but I will be healed.
What???? That was not what I wanted to hear! I didn't want to change my diet! That was going to be even more WORK and I was already burned out from trying to get better. Why can't you just heal me???
After I had my temper tantrum, I prayerfully began to read, research, talk to people, and let the Spirit guide me as to what to do.
Craniosacral therapy - Glenna at my chiropractors clinic introduced me to energy work and natural healing techniques. It started me on the right path.
Naturopath - I found an inexpensive naturopath and was re-introduced to muscle testing. I had known all of this stuff before, but because we were on a budget I had stuck to things that insurance would cover. By this point, John had graduated and we had the money for me to start spending more on natural health.
We began to tackle my symptoms one by one, and my body would tell me what supplements it needed for the symptoms I had.
I also got into essential oils because I could no longer take pain pills, my stomach was wrecked. And I was also now allergic to antibiotics because of all of the sinus infections I was getting. I tried using essential oils to tackle one of my biggest and most painful problems: varicose veins. Particularly those in my groin area which were impossibly painful. I tried trace minerals...all kinds of supplements but nothing ever worked.
I was beginning to manage a lot of my mystery symptoms and still had ups and downs. After a routine checkup my care provider suggested I try antidepressants to help with my IBS symptoms and also my panic attacks and anxiety symptoms. She prescribed me fluoxetine (generic for prozac) and my naturopath confirmed through muscle testing that my body needs it. That completely took away my anxiety issues, and allowed my body to calm down. It was a huge step forward.
I began taking supplements and eating foods that decreased inflammation, which helped a lot with the fibromyalgia symptoms. I began eating the Dr. Oz diet. All whole grains, limiting the processed foods. The weirdest thing happened, once I switched over to all whole wheat, I got even sicker.
After waking up one morning with vertigo, I went to see an:
Ear Nose and Throat Specialist - Dr. M
He said my sinuses were totally inflamed and that was causing the vertigo. I told him about my headaches and he did some allergy testing. I can't even tell you my surprise when I got the call from the nurse: You are allergic to wheat. It's not uncommon for a wheat allergy to cause sinus issues.
What???
"Do you have digestive issues as well?"
It was now all beginning to make sense.
I remember driving by the gluten free store in Layton all the time and thinking "Sucks to be them!" I could never live without bread! Giving up gluten was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I think Heavenly Father knew how stupid I am and that I would have to be so very desperate and sick and burned out that I would try ANYTHING to get better.
SO many symptoms improved after going gluten free. Now that my pain was under control, I began to exercise again. After I gave up the gluten, the extra weight melted off of me.
As I continued to seek the Lord's will for me and my little family, I began to have many promptings that we had another little spirit in heaven that was waiting to be a part of our family. So believing the blessing that I would eventually be healed, and with a lot of my issues getting better we went off of birth control, leaving it to the Lord. It actually took me a long time to get pregnant, but as soon as the stick turned pink, I miscarried.
Meanwhile I started having painful stomach spasms, and felt like I had a bladder infection. I went in to the clinic three times thinking I had a UTI and finally was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis. Basically, the lining of the bladder gets irritated and you feel burning and like you have to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME. I was having muscle buzzing again and random muscle twitching that left me exhausted.
What???? My body was falling apart again. I thought the Lord said I would be healed? Why am I not getting better? If I'm supposed to have another baby, why can't I get pregnant?
The stomach spasms were so painful, I couldn't take any medicine and could hardly eat anything. I was referred to a gastroenterologist.
Gastroenterologist: suggested a stomach scope. It was done by Dr. P at McKay Dee.
They couldn't find anything except irritation and scar tissue damage in my stomach but nothing that would be causing the spasms. One of the nurses said that she thought I had biliary diskinesia, which basically is a backflow of the bile that should be coming from your gallbladder but when it's taken out, it gets stuck in your liver. No cure except surgery, and Dr. P told me that surgery was invasive, and often caused even more problems. That it would be something I'd have to live with.
Dr. P. is also a D.O. so I could talk to him about natural health things. I told him about all of my symptoms, my back, interstitial cystitis, in addition to the stomach things. He said they were all symptoms of Central Nervous System issues. My central nervous system was freaking out. If I could figure out how to support my CNS then it might help my symptoms improve.
Back to the naturopath. I also have amazing chiropractors: Dr. B and Dr. L. They do muscle testing and know a lot about natural health. Dr. L. taught me about my ileo secal valve in my intestines. When I eat foods such as caffeine or chocolate, it opens when it's supposed to stay closed. When it opens, waste from the large intestines backs up into the small intestines, causing inflammation. Particularly to the back....in the exact spot where my back hurt. He showed me how to close it myself. I stayed away from chocolate (SO HARD!) and caffeine and began managing my back and stomach pain after 9 years.
I got pregnant again, but immediately lost it. My naturopath helped me figure out that my thyroid was shot. I began taking thyroid natural supplements and my other symptoms disappeared. I was finally managing my health and feeling pretty good, but still had brain fog and low energy.
It was around this time that Chloe got sick, and a friend brought over a can of zeal because she had been able to get off of her anti-depressants. Chloe couldn't handle the taste, so I decided to try it. I was intrigued by the 30 day challenge money-back guarantee, and also noticed that a lot of the ingredients were not only things I was trying to put into my diet every day, but also a lot of the supplements, and it was gluten free.
At first, I got a cold. My friend told me about detoxing and I knew it was true. In the past, anytime I have done a juice cleanse, gone off sugar, processed foods, or done a detox I always get a cold. It's my body's way of detoxing. That was actually a good sign to me. I kept drinking it every day but was busy with Chloe's treatment and didn't pay much attention to whether or not it was working. I didn't notice that I was gaining almost super-human strength in order to homeschool my kids, and also get Chloe through that difficult time, plus still teach piano, preschool and run a household.
We went out of town for the weekend and I was so tired! I felt horrible and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. When I got home I thought, "I forgot to take my Zeal when I was out of town. Could it be that the zeal makes me feel better?" So I experimented and sure enough, when I took the zeal, I had a clear mind, energy, no pain, no digestive issues, my varicose veins don't hurt anymore, no aches and pains in joints, normal periods, no interstitial cystitis, no stomach spasms, no sinus headaches or migraines. I finally began to maintain a healthy weight. And I didn't get tired in the afternoon like I usually did.
When I didn't take the zeal, the symptoms came back. I looked at all of the supplements and medications I was taking that sporadically worked and added up the monthly costs, then compared it to the monthly cost of zeal. It was a no brainer! I can take all of that stuff and spend all of that money and have it work sometimes, or I can drink one zeal a day and that takes care of ALL of my symptoms. I feel good all the time.
Sometimes when I am hiking or swimming with my kids, or doing things I could not do over these past 10 years because of my health problems, I want to cry just thinking about how grateful I am that Heavenly Father kept his promise in the blessing and did guide me to the things that would help my body heal itself. I feel like I have a second chance at life.
I remember a bunch of ladies asking me to join their walking group and I had to turn them down because of my health problems. I felt so sorry for myself, like I was handicapped. I resigned that I should just be grateful to be alive but also mourned the loss of really LIVING life and the loss of a once very active lifestyle.
Now, I can do anything I want to do. I exercise every day. I walked 25+ miles on Pioneer trek and turned around to do Girls Camp for a week and I felt great, had lots of energy. I believe that I have been guided to Zeal, that the creators are inspired, and it has changed my life.
PLEASE try it. Give the 30 day challenge a try. If it doesn't work, you have nothing to lose but if it can help just one person like it helped me, then I have done my job.
I wish for everyone to feel as good as I do. I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has helped me, guided me, and loved me and I'm determined to pay it forward.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
I Must Remember This Forever and ever
I am copying this straight from Al Fox Carraway's blog:
I hope with all of my might that she doesn't mind
or that I'm not stealing any intellectual property by sharing.
This is a direct answer to what I am currently going through
and I NEED to remember it!
God Doesn’t Always Tell Us What Is Right
God doesn’t always tell us what is right.
Annoying, right?
How difficult it is sometimes to move forward with decision making because of this.
Especially when you want so badly just to follow His will for you, but you aren’t exactly sure what His will is. Although we can receive from God all the time very specific answers that are very clear, there are also times when we just can’t figure it out.
How can we discern between our thoughts from the spirit?
We are told that all good things come from God, and if it’s good then we are to go for it. But what if it just seems good to you but it’s not good in His eyes? But what if there’s more than 1 good option to choose from? What then?
How can we know what is best rather than what one is just good.
And I don’t about you, but knowing that there is sometimes more than 1 bestthing to choose from doesn’t always give me comfort, but more anxiety moving forward. (Is your head spinning yet just thinking about all this? Mine is).
I know I don’t want something if God doesn’t want it for me—yet, how many prayers I’ve spent asking Heavenly Father to just tell me what He wants me to do so I can do it and still feel like I’m going in circles. Do you know how much time I’ve spent wasting and waiting and worrying, feeling stuck because I felt like I couldn’t understand a clear answer with what to do? And the more time I spent thinking about one decision over the other— battling with thoughts and fears and blessings on each choice—the more confused I became and the harder it got.
God doesn’t always tell us what is right.
But it is a promise to us from Him that He will always tell us what is not right. (If we follow and listen is a different story)
This is my secret weapon to decision making:
Instead of going in circles of what to decide and causing stress and anxiety and passing time, I just pick. I just pick something and move forward with it. Then, pray and tell Him what you decided. Tell Him if it’s wrong to stop you. That’s it.
Too simple? Maybe. But it works.every.time.
D&C 9:8 is a legit promise that real life works. “You must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings.”
If we move forward with something that is not right, we are promised He will tell us. And How? Several ways— lack of comfort and peace. Negative feelings, (remember, everything good thing comes from God, even feelings). Opportunities will not appear. Doors close. Nothing seems to fall in to place.
(*Note: Opposition can come with things that are right, but to differentiate, peace & comfort can always be felt even during trials in those right times).
(*Note: Opposition can come with things that are right, but to differentiate, peace & comfort can always be felt even during trials in those right times).
Just recently while still living in Arizona I got offered a new job back in Utah. It was an incredible opportunity in too many ways where it would be incredibly silly to turn down. But I didn’t want it. I wanted to stay in Arizona. But I needed to decide and decide quickly to let them know. I didn’t have time to ask Heavenly Father what I should do and risk it being a situation where my thoughts are confusing and blurred with the spirit. So I just picked. I chose to decline the job. I told Heavenly Father that’s what I decided and if it’s wrong, please stop me. And stop me before 9 am tomorrow morning when I’d send my email declining the offer.
I woke up at 5 am and I couldn’t go back to sleep for the life of me. My mind was racing. I was completely overwhelmed knowing that I did need to take that job and that it was right. So here we are.
(Or that one time we decided to buy a house. We felt good enough about it to move forward with finding a realtor and seeing several houses, but then nothing felt right. We couldn’t find a house that we liked. Things slowed down. Doors started closing. No progress was made regardless of our good intentions and efforts. Only to find ourselves on our most exciting and favorite adventure in a completely different state a month and a half later that was right and guided in too many ways to count).
Regardless of the situation, prayer is crucial. That’s the most important step. It’s mandatory to following His will for you. Because it’s not just about picking what we want to do and asking for His help with it. It’s about doing what He asks of us and receiving those blessings and help and comfort to follow through. This is just a quicker way to pass the confusion and keep moving forward on the path that He has for us that leads to the greater things in life. Because we have to act and keep moving so there is something for God to help us with.
His promises are a reality, not just wishful thinking. To experiment with and act and do, not just think about to bring us comfort. Alma 56:46 says, “Behold, our God is with us, and He will not suffer that we should fall. Then let us go forth!” And I want to echo that. Go forth! Fear not. Embrace the unexpected knowing who is guiding you. You are in the best hands.
Forget not that YOU have a God. You have a God and He is yours! Yours to keep. Yours to turn to, always. A God whose sole purpose is to help you succeed. Forget not that you have a God, never does He leave you. But is always there to guide, direct, to warn, and to give you the best ever created. Not just in the eternities, but here—daily, in mortality.
This is real. Heavenly Father is real. He’s as real as your heart beating.right.now.
And this exact second, God is mindful of you.
And the second after that.
And all the seconds after that.
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