More than I Bargained For

I know I promised an update with the coke and oil cleanse.... I have been contemplating how to put it delicately. Delicately? Well, if I am going to keep it delicate, I must keep it brief...

I am passing stones; tiny sand like particles... even still!

I drank 48 ounces of water with 4 drops of lemon and 4 drops of grapefruit YL essential oils before bed the night before... when I woke up, I had an explosive bowel movement. I didn't feel sick, in fact, I felt great!!

I drank the soda between 8:30-10:30am, then didn't eat anything other than the oil and water mixture til 3:00pm when I had a cup of soup... I just wasn't hungry. Drinking all that soda was nasty... so I kept drinking the water and oil with the intent of flushing the soda out of my body. At 7:00pm I passed more than stones... I don't know how, why or when... in fact, I didn't know THAT could come out of THAT... pretty sure I need to take a sample to the doc and talk with him about my discovery.

Yesterday, I ate less than usual, but continued to drink lots of water with the oils... and I passed more of what alarmed me the night before... Got way more than I bargained for with that cleanse... not sure if it was the coke, the oils or a combination... but something got something moving...

I am grateful I decided to do this cleanse.... knowledge is power!!

Read More

Kidney Stone, Coke and Oil

My breakfast this morning consists of:

12 cans of coke

1 bunch of aspargus

distilled water

Burp!!

This is what I am doing this morning... Dissolving Kidney Stone with Coke for those of you who know me well, know I haven't drank pop in 12 years!! (this is not fun, burp!!)

I am going to follow it up with a 30 day cleanse with Young Living Lemon and Grapefruit Essential Oils. In fact, last night I took 4 drops of each to pave the way for this mornings yummy recipe (sarcasm)... and let me just say, "I know something cleansed from the urinary track."

For those of you who don't know this: I have had chronic kidney stones since last February and you can read more here here and here .

Oh, and I also have a bottle of Eucalyptus Blue Oil on hand just in case this gets painful. And you can read how that is significant to this whole adventure here.

Bottoms Up!!

Read More

Psst... Guess What??

I have a new love interest...

Yup, It's true and it all started this past summer.

I was passing another kidney stone while at Mamapalooza Columbus. I had taken Percocet the night before with no relief. After a sleepless night, I told hubby (as a committee coordinator) I was going to the festival regardless of the pain or not… besides being up and moving was the best way to get this stone to pass naturally.

At the festival, the stone caused a constant dull pain with moments of sharp jabs. I walked around with my hand on my side… I think 2 people (including a MD) asked if I was pregnant. (**shakes head**) The MD advised me how to clean up my diet to prevent more stones, but that wasn’t going to rid the pain I had in the moment.

I happened to stop at the essential oils booth and was talking about autism (Of course!). I found out they had an autism protocol… completely skeptical, I kindly took some info and walked on. However, If you know me, you know that I am inquisitive… so as the day went on I went back to this booth numerous times to ask questions about this “autism protocol”.

Finally, early afternoon, the girl at the booth asked if I was okay… I nonchalantly said, “You don’t happen to have anything for kidney stone pain, do you?” She gave me a smile and said, “Let’s find out.” She pulled out this huge reference guide to Young Living’s Essential Oils and was flipping through the pages…

“Here try this… Eucalyptus Blue.”

I put 1 drop where my pain was, talked to her briefly some more about the business side of the company… and moved on. About 15 minutes later I was chatting with another vendor who complimented me on how good I smelled… I chuckled and pointed to the oils booth and said, “It is an oil from their booth. Apparently Eucalyptus is supposed to help with kidney stone pain………Holy Shit… My pain is completely gone!!” Why is this so amazing... read this, this and this about my chronic kidney stones.

TRUE STORY!!

… and that is how I found out about Young Living’s Medical Grade Essential Oils.

Since then I have tried other oils with amazingly similar results.

Eucalyptus Blue… 1 drop continues to eliminate the pain the comes with my chronic kidney stones. However, this weekend I applied some with olive oil on my daughter’s chest and back and within minutes her croupy cough subsided and she was sound asleep for the first time in 2 weeks.

Thieves… Said to have anti-viral, antiseptic properties... Weber State University (Ogden, UT – 1997) studies showed anti-bacterial effectiveness against airborne microorganisms. Like I said, my daughter has been pretty sick for the past 2 weeks; fever, croupy cough, aches, pains, ear ache, etc. After 3 applications of thieves on her feet, she was up and walking about… slowly, but was up nonetheless. Oh, and this morning I ran out of laundry soap… we already had those magnets you can put in your washer, so I used those with a drop of the Thieves oil and ‘wa-la’… clean nice smelling clothes without the use of harsh chemicals. Have to love it!!

Peppermint… We have used for indigestion, muscle pain after falling on the ice, and for mental alertness.

Lavender… 1 drop on a cotton ball put in our daughter’s bedroom and she is asleep within 30 minutes. This is our ASD child that has had chronic sleep issues since birth!! We have also used this one for muscle aches and ear aches.

Peace and Calming… 1 drop on a cotton ball in the Master Bedroom melts away the stress of the day for myself and hubby. Have also used this over the liver (Blue Tansy is said to cleanse the liver.)

Valor… A few drops mixed with olive oil rubbed along the spine is fantastic… they don’t call it a chiropractor in a bottle for nothing… love love love this one. I have also used this one for grounding myself before reiki sessions and for self-confidence building for myself and children.

So, these are the testimonies I have so far in my own household… I plan to document more on this blog as we explore more. In fact, I am so excited about the outcomes that I have signed up to be a distributor… but be sure that that isn’t because I am looking for a quick buck… this product line is exceptional and meets my standards and ethics.

Oh, and about that autism protocol… I haven’t done anything with it yet, but am still looking into it. One of my concerns was that Sahara doesn’t like to get wet (sensory issues), but I have found that putting the oil on a cotton ball or on her feet works well. I am going to a class this week to hear a mom talk about what oils she used successfully with her ASD child… I will let you know what I find out on another post.

In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more visit http://www.youngliving.com . If you decide you would like to place an order, would you be so kindly to reference my number 1183617

Read More

Wi Active Challenge: Day 5

One of the reasons I was concerned about trying the Wi-Active again is because... last time I got to Day 4 I ended up in the ER and laid up for 7 weeks with kidney stones.

Now you might ask, "What does Wi-Active have to do with kidney stones?"

On Day 4 there happens to be a lot of jumping. I had this thought that perhaps that jiggled the stones loose the last time. Well, last night laying in bed... sure enough my left kidney started to throb. I knew that pain; it is one you cannot associate with anything else; kidney stones. I laid there and did Reiki on my kidneys while breathing through the pain... it wasn't as intense as February's episode so I was able to fall asleep.

When I got up this morning I still had a twinge, but it wasn't bad... I figured I would drink lots of water and hope that one of the remaining 16 stones would soon dislodge and pass with ease. I looked at the Wi.... DAY 5!!

Yes, that is right, I went ahead and did my workout. Why? I figured it could help this process and my over all health goal is important to me. So onward I ventured into jumping, running and boxing....

Okay, maybe not the brightest idea... I believe the stone is big and it is stuck trying to get out of the kidney; the more I exercised the more intense the pain.

Unfortunately, I had to reschedule my rare dinner date tonight with two good friends but am optimistic that the stone will pass soon. In the mean time, I am drinking tons of water and have located the left over percocet from the last episode just in case.

Day 5... Burned 137 calories.

Read More

Alterna Mom's Wi-Active Challenge: The Why and Day 1-3

BECOME MORE PROACTIVE IN YOUR PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL, AND FINANCIAL HEALTH AND THAT OF YOUR CHILDREN!

That is my Alterna-Mom motto! I have to humbly say that if Alterna-Mom's Blog is about promoting health and well-being on all levels of our existence, then she needs to heed her own advise.

I have insisted that my habitual tiredness and dark circles are from sleepless nights of worry about my children and obsessing over the details I orchestrate in my mind's eye on how to move forward on helping my daughter diagnosed with autism to become more functional, safe and communicative while advocating for her rights, needs and education. (Not to mention the advocacy I do for my other child as well... raising kids mindfully takes time, energy and planning.) However, I recently took my own blood sugar levels and the results scared me. I swayed between a consistent 123 and 236 during a week of testing.

My Mom was diagnosed with diabetes at about the same age I am now, 40. She controlled it with diet at first, then the pill and finally insulin shots. This past Spring the diabetes finally claimed her leg after an intense year of surgeries, heart attacks and gangrene. I knew at this precise moment in time that I needed to become more proactive in my own health, but somehow we use life as a convenient excuse to resume our old habits.

I have understood that I was already predisposed to diabetes not only via paternal and maternal history, but through evidence of gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. However, I believe that the power of our minds, meditation and prayer can trump genetics. Maybe I am not so lucky or maybe I have caught it early enough... fate is always yet to be determined.

I am not one to run to the doctor, yet I know that there is a time and place like I explained HERE. I also am keenly aware that intention alone cannot alter reality. We must be proactive and make healthy decisions especially if we are going to stay around to see our children grow and spoil our grandchildren. I have always insisted that we must take care of ourselves before we take care of our children and loved ones. In order to be more present for them we must tend to our needs.

Perhaps the culmination of the sugar levels, my mom's fate and my recent kidney stone episode has pushed me just enough to heed my own advise. So, I bought primarily fresh fruits and vegetables at my bi-weekly shopping trip Friday night, then came home and pulled out the Wi-Active.

I decided to take the 30 day challenge... easy enough right? Somehow committing to a challenge seemed easier than randomly using this devise. So, I set parameters including my weight... ouch!! I weigh what I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant with my oldest child. That alone should have prompted me to do this a long time ago.

HOLY MOLY.... Can running in place for 90 seconds really make me that out of breath... I can't help but wonder if that is still evidence of my smoking days. So, I use this as a teachable moment, "Girls, see what happens when you smoke?"

My eldest replies, "You don't smoke Mom!"

"Well, thanks to you (I quit with my first pregnancy) I don't, but I am certain that that is why I am so winded."

She says, "Really !?!?," I am not sure if her response is from the disbelief that her anti-smoking mother actually smoked once upon a time or if she is amazed at the honesty that I unconditionally offer them.

I have decided to document here my progress. Although this is a public venue, I think that it 1) will keep me honest and encourage me to continue through the first 30 days and 2) maybe it will motivate someone else to become more proactive in their health...

Day 1 It would have been easy to quit; it kicked my butt!! I was panting and resting in between sets. But my daughters were watching and encouraging me to finish... Did I ever tell you that my kids rock!?!

My muscles hurt... I wanted to sit down and throw in the towel... but I pushed through the whole workout. I have to admit, I was proud of myself... it would have been easier to listen to the million reasons why I shouldn't do this... How can I find the time? How can I find the energy? How much will it cost? Who will watch the kids? I need to save my energy for the kids. I need to get this done or that finished...

I burned 121 calories! That made me walk away from the donut later that day... all of that work equated to 1/3 of the donut!! Wow, that really put things into perspective.

Day 2 It was a more intense workout (and longer), but I was amazed at how much easier the track was in just 24 hours... really!! I still huffed and puffed, but I had better focus and was better able to push through the pain. That in and of itself amazed me.

I burned 151 calories yesterday... again, I was reminded of how much effort it takes to burn off those in between empty-caloried snacks.

It is Day 3 and I am grateful it is the day to rest... my legs were wobbly coming downstairs this morning. However, does a mother really have any days to rest? It is interesting on the Wi-Active it asks you to log your other activities with time and intensity. That includes playing with the kids, yard work, house work, walking etc. I presume I am not doing too bad already because I really do do a lot... maybe it is the cardio I am missing though.

There is no challenge today, so we have planned to start prepping the yard-sale stuff.... that is a work out! But I think later we will do some yoga - my muscles feel like they could use some good stretching.

I think this is good for me... on many levels. Plus, Emily has decided to partake in the challenge... so we are doing this together. Sahara was annoyed the first day... she thought we were going to play golf or fishing (her favorite Wi games), but yesterday she did a couple of the exercises with us... too cute... this may be a fun summer activity for the 3 of us.

Read More

Kidney Stone Update...

The CAT scan revealed I had a total of 18 kidney stones.

5 on the right side, ranging 2-4 millimeters.

13 on the left ranging side, 2-8 millimeters.

They blasted the 6 & 8 millimeter ones on the left with sound waves... I have been passing gravel since Ground Hog’s Day.

The remaining ones have to be passed ‘naturally’. Tonight I am in severe pain and am pretty sure that I am passing one of the larger ones on the right. All I can do is drink water since the remaining stones are all 4 millimeters or less. But, do not let that size mislead you... it hurts.

I am perplexed as to how I got so many, and am darn annoyed with how much water I have to drink. All I can do is drink, send Reiki, and try to stay active... activity helps move them. However, tonight I choose to park it on the couch.

Read More