Being Your Own Advocate

As for the psychiatrist, I think he was overworked. He was one of the few psychiatrists in the city that still accepted insurance so I'm sure people were knocking down his door. I do think he was knowledgeable about his field. But in retrospect, do I think he was really getting to know his patients in order to provide a proper diagnosis? Absolutely not.

One of the diagnoses he gave me was for a mental illness that is usually initially diagnosed to someone in their teens!! Not in their late 30s.

Was he really listening when I would call his office regarding the side effects of the medications he had given me? Absolutely not.

So my advice to all of you, if you have any doubts about your doctor or the medication he/she has prescribed, you must trust your intuition and judgement. You are the ONLY person who will look after you. You are the only advocate you have. And this applies if you are a parent as well. You are the only advocate your child has. Do what is best for you/them no matter the cost.

Since the incident that year, I have become even more focused on health, both mine and my boys'. I have tried various diets (not for weight loss, for health) and have learned something from each of them. Most recently, I have begun using and selling Pure Herbs products. They are mostly liquid herbs that I take or give to my boys for various reasons, just about any health issue you can imagine. They have improved our health considerably in a very short amount of time. I'm learning to use them to build our immune systems, get rid of viruses (pretty important now that school is starting) before they can really kick in, and clear our digestive system. I have also been the recipient of one Reiki treatment and experienced a noticeable change in my health after receiving it. So much so that I am going to be trained to provide it as well. I will explain more about Reiki in another post.

After quitting the psychotropic medications, I did take an anti-depressant medication for a short time. I also began using bio-identical hormones as my estrogen and progesterone levels were "off." However, just in the last month or two, since cutting out all processed foods, soy, sugar, grains, and most carbs, beginning the use of the herbs, and receiving the Reiki treatment, I have been able to discontinue the use of the prescription anti-depressant and the hormones. My energy levels are out of this world, I no longer require 9+ hours of sleep each night, I have regained "most" of my patience (hey, I do still have a 2-year old!), and I'm feeling much more like the "me" I was several years ago.

Don't be intimidated by all the changes I have made. This has been a true journey for me and my children. I have had to make changes in our lives one small step at a time. Has it been difficult? You had better believe it. Do people close to me roll their eyes because they think I am just "out there" and that I'm harming my children by cheating them out of Twinkies and Cheetos? Yes, they do. But I have seen the health changes in me and my children. I know what a difference it will make in our health in the long run.

My children and I will have a marked decrease in our chances for diabetes and cancer, our allergies, once severe, will be gone, and barring any accidents, we will likely live longer than most people around us. So if being my own advocate means I get to be around to enjoy my children (and hopefully grandchildren) for a long, long time, then the challenges are worth it to me.

What about you? I would love to hear how you have advocated for yourself or your children. Please share a story for me and the others out there. Every story has the potential to change a life.

A New Journey

I'm finally home. Yes, that's right, HOME! More on that later. :)

Five years ago, I started a journey--a journey into motherhood. When my first son was born and around the age of 2 weeks, started crying non-stop, had painful gas, wanted to nurse non-stop, would only sleep in his car seat or on me, would wake up the instant you laid him down, and often would only calm to the sound of the vacuum cleaner, my brand-new mother's intuition told me something was wrong. But the highly-recommended pediatrician and her staff told me it was "colic" and I just had to deal with it. So, I did, but let me tell you it was not easy. I spent many a night/early morning walking him up and down the sidewalk in his stroller to try to get him to stop crying, driving around at 3 a.m. with the radio tuned to static or driving and cursing the stop lights or drivers in front of me because if we stopped the vehicle, he started crying. As long as he was moving, he was happy. The incessant crying finally stopped around 4 months of age but sleep was an issue for him for quite a while and well, let's just say there are still issues we're dealing with. "Everyone" told us that colic only happens in one out of 4 kids so when we decided to try for another, we were confident that it wouldn't happen to us again.

Can you guess? Yes, not only did it happen again, it was WORSE, much worse when my 2nd son was born 2 1/2 years after the first. However, this time we had a pediatrician that said, "If Mom is calling this much, tell her to bring him in." He diagnosed him with Milk and Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI) and GERD (severe reflux) and told me that if I wanted to continue to nurse, I would have to eliminate every single trace of milk and soy from my diet. So, I did, but it wasn't enough. He was intolerant of much more than just dairy and soy and was eventually diagnosed with Multiple Food Protein Intolerances (MFPI). After several months of misery for my son and me, I finally made the very difficult decision to try hypo-allergenic formula. We tried three high-dollar formulas before finding one he could tolerate.

By this time, I had been reading mountains of information about diet and what a difference it can make in your health. One turning point came when I read the book Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth. It really opened my eyes to a biomedical approach to living. Based upon what I'd read, I very quickly began a strict gluten- and dairy-free diet and put my oldest son on the diet as well. Gluten includes wheat, barley and rye. After just a few months on the diet, I was able to completely eliminate the daily asthma medication I had been taking for 15 years. I credit the diet with eliminating my son's hypercalciuria condition affecting his kidneys. He also was on prescription medication and was able to stop it after being on the diet for several months. He no longer has any trouble with his kidneys. My youngest son, now 2 1/2 years old, still cannot tolerate pasteurized/homogenized dairy, wheat gluten and various other foods.

What about you? Why do you eat the way you do? Have there been any major events that have changed your health or has it been a gradual change?

I will continue in the next few posts to detail my journey home and I hope that you will join me for the ride.

Julie