Healthy Me

I should have posted this sooner. I've lost ten pounds after switching my thyroid medication. After a couple of years of being so frustrated with my weight, my thyroid, and the doctors, I changed my medication myself. That's one goal down, two more weight goals to go.

I've also found a new doctor and have my first appointment in a month. In the interim, I am feeling better emotionally on the natural desiccated thyroid medication (over Synthroid) and the weight loss is awesome! I am hoping the doctor will switch me to Naturethroid next month (I'm on Thyroid-S right now).

What do medical doctors have against doctors some consider "alternative" (like chiropractors)? If it isn't the "stick a drug down their throat for the pharmaceutical company" routine, they don't think it's right or safe? I've seen it with my former Endocrinologist who wouldn't do anything but synthetic medication when there were natural treatments that had been around for 100 years that worked for people.

Today my daughter came home and told me that her best friend's pediatrician told her that chiropractors (who her best friend has been seeing for a pinched nerve) give strokes to children. I was thinking about taking my daughter to a chiropractor for her back pain (from a fall) so I looked it up. There is a big debate between chiropractors and neurologists about the risk of stroke with a chiropractic neck adjustment.

From what I found here:

“Even if neck adjustments cause strokes (and no one can say for sure that they do) the risk is low— 1 per 100,000 chiropractic patients who receive multiple adjustments,” says chiropractor William Lauretti, an assistant professor at New York Chiropractic College, and a spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association.

I have some good and bad news. The good news is that the weight I lost after switching my thyroid medications is still holding. One milestone reached! The bad news is that it's been at a stand still. I'm going to give it a little push to reach my next milestone. For this past month, I'm still losing hair and am cold more often than not so I will increase my thyroid medication slightly.

I've broken the weight loss into smaller milestones to keep me encouraged. My next milestone is the next ten pounds. Once I reach that, I'll have the last weight milestone to do.

Maybe I'll be planning wedding favors for our vow renewal after all! I refuse to spend money on a dress and party until I feel better. The weight has been a big issue in terms of self-image the last few years but it is one I hope to conquer! I'd love to say my vows again in a way that we both would love!

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are changing their guidelines for women for all those embarrassing tests women don't like to get but must. Here's the rundown:

• Pap smears every two years instead of annually (surprising given the HPV rates in this country).
• Routine paps at age 21. They used to say within three years of sexual intercourse. Now it's age 21. (I'll still take my daughters when they becomes sexually active for exams and paps, whatever age that is.)
• If you are 30 and over and have three consecutive clear pap tests, you can wait three years for your next one.
• If you have HIV or cervical abnormalities, you might need more frequent screening (ya think?).

I wonder if that means insurance will stop covering them annually now?

I caught today on Rachael Ray's show part of a segment about the 400-calorie fix for losing weight. No, it's not JUST 400 calories a day. It is 400 calorie meals four times a day. Big difference there. The segment said that women should only have about 1600 calories a day. That sounds about right I think.

We are living in a society where everything is super-sized so that may not seem like very much but seriously, portions are way too big anymore. Between all the pharmaceuticals in our system with side effects like weight gain, busy schedules that don't leave a lot of time for exercise, and large portions, it's no wonder obesity is as bad as it is in the U.S. A.

I'm sure many doctors wouldn't want to hear about the fact that the obesity that causes health problems for so many may be caused by the pharmaceutical drugs doctors prescribe to them but that's the way it goes. It's a vicious cycle. I'm not a doctor. I don't go to work in a lab coat with all this medical schooling behind me but my instincts tell me Big Pharma bottom line has too much influence on our doctor's treatment plans and I don't like that.

A small study is indicating that being on the pill may help your asthma. Fluctuating hormones may make asthma worse so when they are stabilized with an oral contraceptive, you might see relief. However, the risk of stroke increases, you will probably gain weight (with the health problems that go along with that) and might increase your risk of cancer.

Darned if you do and darned if you don't.

This study only included 17 women though so I wouldn't take it too seriously just yet.

John Stamos talked about this today on The View: Project Cuddle

It didn't take long for it to start burning up the 'net so if you are interested, there's the link for you.

My daughter has been having a lot of headaches and dizzy spells this week. She doesn't have a fever. I'm thinking either sinus infection or dehydration (they practice cheerleading for two hours a day and I doubt she's drinking enough water). I kept her home from school today so she could rest. If they keep up, she'll have to go see her pediatrician.

Since school started, I've had a couple respiratory infections and the flu. On Monday, I came down with a stomach bug - you know the symptoms: vomiting, chills, feeling miserable. By the worst of it, it hurt to inhale too. That was the most worrisome part to me. It was pretty miserable. My two oldest kids also had it but they just had vomiting and then they bounced back and were fine. I'm not sure why it hit me harder.

So "healthy me" hasn't been so healthy lately! At least it doesn't seem like it was H1N1, more like a seasonal flu. I'm taking vitamins, washing regularly...why do I keep getting sick? Maybe I should go to the doctor and get a check-up. Of course, that would mean having to find a doctor to begin with since I don't want to go back to the one I was using. I want a doctor who listens. I don't think because doctors wear lab coats that they're always right. My family doctor was more like a robot, only willing to go with the status quo instead of thinking for herself (and listening to what I was saying about how I felt).

Save me from teenage hormonal upheavals, tones of voice that say "you're stupid and I'm not listening to you" when your child speaks to you, and kids who think they know more than you do. Was I this bad when I was a teenager? Is there a family guide book that can save me from hormones and attitude?

My oldest will be a teenager really soon and she's been showing the signs of it more and more this past year. Since school started, oh boy have the signs hit me over the head. That tone of voice teens use on you is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I go from zero to irritated it 1.3 seconds!

Since stress is bad for my thyroid and adrenals, I need to learn to manage stress because I doubt it is going to get any easier for the next...14 years. Oh.my.gosh!

My eyes are highly sensitive to light. I can remember being about 11 - 12 years old and all of a sudden, the light was excruciating on my eyes. I couldn't open them. There was no reason that I knew of that I had tears running down my face and needed to call out for help. My father came to see what was wrong and gave me the oddest look as I stood there crying - like I was crazy. He didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't open them; it hurt so much. That sensitivity never went away. Every once in awhile, it happens to me just like that. It's bad when I'm driving and that happens so I always have sunglasses available to wear to cut the glare. I've seen it referred to as photophobia but I've never gone to a doctor for a diagnosis.

With winter coming, a lot of people don't think about what effect the sun can still have on you. For me personally, I still have to wear sunglasses during the winter months because the glare off the snow literally hurts my eyes. It makes it heard to see to drive with tears pouring from them. Polarized Sunglasses are designed to cut that glare from the snow (water, grass, and asphalt too). Sunglasses are a good investment. They protect the inner eye from sun damage. Plus they protect the skin around your eye - if you're squinting all the time, you'll get wrinkles!

If you get the flu vaccine, and then get the flu from the vaccine, it is supposed to be a milder form. What happens if the other people in your household couldn't or wouldn't get the vaccine and they catch this flu from you...their experience will NOT be the milder form correct?

Preliminary research in Canada is pointing in that direction. This needs to be validated still. To read the article, click here.

The FDA took a smack at Dr. Weil's knuckles last week, issuing him a warning letter about selling supplements that claim to support the immune system and that have "antiviral and immunity-enhancing properties".

Apparently, the FDA doesn't want him saying on his web site that certain herbs can help ward off colds and flu. It appears as if they only want Big Pharma to make the money with their drugs instead.

Big Pharma and our government really need to get out of bed with each other!

I found this article, 14 Ways to Prevent Swine Flu, and thought I'd share it with you. I knew a few of these:

• Optimize Vitamin D levels (there's a difference between being optimized and taking the recommended levels which is true for other things as well (such as treating thyroid disease).
• Lower stress levels (SO important).
• Get the right amount of sleep and exercise.
• Wash hands frequently (and not with antibacterial soap).

There's more though. Here's the link so you can check it out!

It's the question on a lot of people's minds right now.

The government has a web site out called Flu.gov. You can get answers to your questions, find out about prevention and treatment as well as find out where to find vaccines if you want to risk getting a virus injected into your body.

I've decided not to get the vaccine. I've never received a flu vaccine and don't intend to start now, even though I am in the higher risk category because of my asthma. My lack of trust in Big Pharma and the government is a huge roadblock.

I am on the road to ridding my body of some unnatural substances (synthetic thyroid hormones and fluoride to start). Pesticides and hormones need to be a next step.

If I had a green thumb, which I don't, I'd invest in some grow lights and start my own mini indoor greenhouse for organic herbs. That's how worried I am about some of the toxic substances we ingest (pesticides on our vegetables and fruits and hormones in our meat and dairy come to mind). It'd be great to have my own garden, knowing exactly where the food came from and how it was grown! I can't keep plants alive to save my life (or theirs apparently). I'd have to hire a gardener, which will never happen (being broke would prevent that).

I started this blog with the idea that it would track my journey into getting healthier. I wasn't getting very far with it! How frustrating.

I do feel like I am on the right track with treating my thyroid by educating myself because many family doctors or endocrinologists really don't know how to treat it other than to throw a synthetic pill at it. Well, one pill doesn't fit all and I wish they'd realize that! So, that is one positive step.

I've lost several pounds and even with that female stuff and bloating, not too bad! The scale reflects that so I will have to remember that maybe it's not a good time to step on the scale at those times so I don't get discouraged - - no point in taking one step forward and two back.

Trying to lose weight through managing my thyroid is the way I plan to work through this goal of mine but it doesn't stop me from being curious about other ideas, like dieting, when I feel like it's going so slow. I read a little about the Kevin Trudeau Weight Loss program, which involves a natural hormone called HCG. I'm all about the "natural" hormones right now so this caught my attention. I may have to look into it more if I can't get my thyroid stabilized soon.

Yippee! I've lost 7.5 pounds at the last weigh-in the other day on the new thyroid medication! I'm working towards another 20 pounds lost and then I will start to think about setting a date to renew our vows in the next year or so. I didn't want to look "thick" for the ceremony (or the party afterwards). We didn't have any pre-parties the first time around so maybe we should go all out and plan that too with bridal shower favors and all! That might be pushing it too much but I might still wear white! OK, maybe cream. Well, it depends on what color the dress is when I find the perfect dress!

I turn 38 tomorrow. 38!!!! Do you realize how close that is to the big 4-0? I do!

My oldest daughter doesn't help my anxiety over getting closer to 40. Here's a story every mom will just love:

When I was helping her with her algebra recently, I was flipping
through her algebra book and she looked at my hands and said, "You hands are getting really wrinkly."

Then there was a pause as she realized what she'd just said then a
quick, "...or they're just really dry."

There have been more news reports of girls suffering side effects from the vaccine (convulsions, nausea, brain damage, etc.) from the vaccine being given to girls in school in the UK (cervarix). This isn't any different than the side effects suffered by girls in the U.S.A. over the gardasil vaccine, but our media doesn't seem to be picking it up enough to bring it mainstream. Our media is no longer an objective news outlet so that's no big surprise thought it is a disappointment.

When the hell are they going to take this crap off the market?

More reports:

• Natural News
• Telegraph
• Daily Mail

I've refused the cervical cancer vaccine for my girls and I will continue to refuse it. I don't care what they mandate for it. Nobody can force me to allow anybody to give this to my girls. The pediatrician brings it up at every well-visit and I refuse it every time.

Woo hoo! Seven pounds have come off since I switched my thyroid medication! Yeah!!

A 14-year-old child has died from the Cervarix vaccine (for HPV) across the pond, in Coventry. According to one mother of a child who also attends that school and received round one (of three) of this vaccine:

'It's all very, very worrying. We feel like our children are being treated like guinea pigs.

'I wasn't keen on my daughter having it in the first place but the school seemed insistent.'

There's no way in hell a school, or any official, would force me to give my child a vaccine I wasn't confident in.


I've written a lot about the risks of the Gardasil vaccine (go to my search box in the right border and put in "gardasil" or go to my categories/labels and click on "gardasil") and why I refuse to give it to my children. They are risking side effects, and death, for something that can be prevented with the use of a condom. I'm not willing to take that risk or trust that the government and the pharmaceutical companies only have my children's best interests at heart. I think they have their bank accounts as their primary interest!



Here's a picture of Natalie. She could be your child's best friend, your niece, your own child. Parents need to do the research and if they have any doubts, no matter what pressure they are getting, don't do it!

If you like contests, Medelita (leader in nursing scrubs, lab coat, and clinician scrubs) has an opportunity for you! You can win a $50 AMEX gift card by entering their contest. So check out their web site and enter for a chance to win. The contest ends September 30, 2009 by 9:30 p.m. PST.

We can all use the extra money right now. I know I could!

I've heard that magnetic jewelry is supposed to be healthy for you but I don't know why. Me being the nerd that I am looked it up after my four-year-old picked out a magnetic bracelet at our county fair last weekend (it's stuck to my refrigerator right now with all the other magnets).

I looked it up at Herbal Remedies and here is what I found:

"Magnetic energy increases the blood flow to the area, increasing circulation, thus speeding healing and reducing pain and inflammation. Magnets come in various forms for applications to different parts of the body."

I wonder if a bracelet would help my husband's pain through his forearm and hand from work. I don't think he'd wear one though. He'd wear a mens ring but that wouldn't be where he has pain and inflammation so a magnetic ring wouldn't work...he'd likely prefer titanium! Heck, so would I! My preference would be one that has diamonds in it. I wouldn't care about using it for pain and inflammation. I'm just a diamond girl!

My husband and I completed our testing for glaucoma the way our eye doctor wanted us to. We have to go back in six months for a pressure test and then in another year to repeat all of the testing to see if anything has changed from the tests they just finished up with. That would be indicative of glaucoma but the chances are very small and the doctor didn't seem that concerned. We feel, and the doctor seems to think it is likely, that the way our optic nerve looks (similar to the start of glaucoma) is just the way we were made. Our son also has the same look to his optic nerve. Even though both mom and dad have it, which seems to indicate it is hereditary and not glaucoma, he will still be tested just to be sure.

The testing wasn't exactly pleasant. I tend to be a baby and do not like having my eyes dilated but all the touching of instruments to my eye, even though they used anesthetic, was creepy and I didn't like it. It also left my eye a little sore once their eye drops wore off. It was only for that day though so it was manageable. I guess I can put up with lab coats making my eyes feel creepy in a year if it means I won't have to do it again for a few years after that.

I am trying to reduce the amount of stress in my life. Over the past couple of years, I've made some great strides by removing toxic relationships from my life. It's helped reduce the stress a lot. When I find myself being sucked back into somebody else's emotional vampirism, I find I can quickly disengage myself easier than I used to. I need all the energy I have to raise my four kids. I don't have a whole lot extra to spend on problems people continuously create for themselves.

Being a parent comes with its own set of stresses.

• There are the activities. When you have four children, if they all pick one extra-curricular activity, it's 1-2 nights (at least) a week for each of them...times four! They definitely keep my busy.
• There are behavioral expectations (manners, respect, etc.). We all know how well kids follow those on their own!
• There are the food struggles (my kids are not big on vegetables) and homework time.
• There are medical appointments and an occasional trip to the Emergency Room.
• Then there is just finding some time for me to decompress.

How do you keep it all together? I know there are days when I don't think I'm doing a very good job of it and those are the days when my husband reminds me that we have good kids (who occasionally give us a hard time over minor things). We have certainly seen a lot worse out in public, children doing things that our children would never think of doing to us like tantrums in children who are way too old to be throwing tantrums in public.

We don't have a written family constitution for our children, though we do have condensed rules posted. I think we're doing OK but none of our kids are teenagers yet. Our oldest is almost there and we are seeing glimmers of what is to come. It's not going to be pretty. I feel like we're on the verge of a whole new set of rules that nobody has told us about yet on how to handle teenagers full-time.

Even though the kids are back in school, we must not forget that the sun is still hot and can cause damage. We went to a football game this past weekend and ended up fried. I have stripes on my feet from my sandals! I won't even get into the sunburn on my eyes other than to say I should have grabbed my husband's Men's Sunglasses from the car. I never thought about it.

I need to take more care of my health. The temporary discomfort aside, too much sun can cause major skin damage. I try to avoid that because I am really pale but it totally slipped my mind this time. I don't want to end up with skin cancer on my nose or shoulders from too much sun!

Everybody needs the sun for Vitamin D. 10-15 minutes of daily sun exposure is all it takes to get the D you need. I certainly didn't need three hours unprotected!

I recently fired my endocrinologist and am in the process of finding a new doctor. I have a new thyroid medication on order and am hopeful for the first time in a long time that I am on the right track on taking care of the goiter and nodules on my thyroid. I haven't felt hopeful in a long time.

In addition to the nodules and goiter, I am hoping another result of getting my hormone levels stabilized will be weight loss. It's a hope anyway.

I've looked at a lot of diets from all the more commonly known ones, Dr. Simeons Diet, and more. I believe that my hormones are playing a huge part in it and once I get those optimized, my fingers are crossed that I'll drop at least one size, maybe two!

100 kids have been vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine in a pediatric study that began last week. There are actually five other locations that are testing this vaccine on children for a total of 650 kids in the study.

The buzz is that it might take two vaccines for a child to develop immunity to H1N1 (Swine Flu).

There is no way in hell I would volunteer my children to take part in any study to test this vaccine. I think it would be irresponsible of me to make this decision and risk my child's health to make them guinea pigs.

The scare tactics a couple years ago for our children was MRSA. Now it's the swine flu when there is no guarantee that this vaccine would even work since the nature of a virus is to mutate. Children aren't guinea pigs!!

Read about it here.

Didn't we learn anything from all the damage the Gardasil vaccine has done yet? Put Gardasil in my search engine on this blog and see what you come up with.

I am a year overdue to have my eyes checked so as part of the "getting healthy" kick that I tend to flip flop on, I scheduled appointments next week for the entire family - six in one day. Crazy huh?

I take my kids every year but I skipped myself last year because I didn't want to put out the money for frames for myself so I skipped the exam entirely (bad). Adults can usually go every two years unless there are problems with the eyes. Since my vision is bad, I go every year. I'd like to look at a pair of prescription Women's Sunglasses too while I'm there but I'll probably just get the lens' that darken in the sun instead. The American Optometric Association says that you should wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV rays.

The appointments are made and once done, I can cross another "healthy me" item off my "to do" list!

The entire family had our eye exams yesterday. There were a ton of surprises for everybody, except my youngest child.

For my husband, he found out he had 11 pieces of steel in his eye that he couldn't feel. Usually when he gets slivers of steel in his eye, he feels it (it hurts a lot). This time, he didn't feel them. They also found that he should be tested for glaucoma (because of how the back of his eye looked...may be just the way he was made but they want to test to make sure). He went to an eye specialist right away to take care of his problems. They dug around in both of his eyes and removed all the steel. At least he didn't need to go to the hospital to have it done. I'd rather go to an eye doctor than go through the stress of a hospital visit. I don't know about you but I'm not anxious to see medical scrubs any sooner than I have to. Sounds fun for him, eh?

For myself, they also want me tested for glaucoma since the back of my eye gave the appearance that it could be (or again, it could be just the way I was made). I get that test next week.

My oldest daughter had her tear ducts clogged so she gets eye drops, warm wash cloths, and eye massages. Should clear up in a couple weeks.

For my son, he also had dry eyes due to clogged ducts so he got his own eye drops. He is also getting tested for glaucoma because of the way the back of his eye looks. By this point, we figure it was just the way we were made because all three of us couldn't have developed glaucoma in the last year! He gets tested in a couple weeks.

My my middle daughter, she has a hard time focusing when she goes from looking long distance to up close. I have exercises I have to do with her. If it's not corrected with them, she might need glasses in the future to help.

My youngest daughter's eye exam was fine. They think she has a wonderful disposition for a four-year-old. When the eye doctor asked her if he could call her "smiley" because she smiled so much, she told him, "No."

The poll, are you happy with your health, has been removed and a new one added. I should have made the voting period for that poll longer so I made a new one:) Please vote!

I've started taking vitamins with Iron in them to raise my ferritin levels a little bit. I also need to get some good Iodine, which I've read will help shrink the nodules in my neck (as long as I don't overdue it and throw myself into hyperthyroidism).

I'm wondering if I should be taking supplements for the digestive system (the good bacterias...like eating yogurt but for people who don't like yogurt like me). I also have green tea supplements that I need to read up on. Do I need Vitamin E? Not sure. I know my Vitamin D was a little on the low side so I need to raise that too. With my fair skin, I don't go out in the sun often so I either need to do that or supplement. I also have Omega-3 but I need to find smaller ones. They're like horse pills and it got stuck at the top of my throat and I felt like I had heartburn for hours afterward the day before yesterday. Omega-3 is really good for you. It's also supposed to be very helpful for kids with ADHD from all we've researched. I know when I'd give it to my stepson during his visits, we saw a noticeable improvement in his ADHD behavior.

This month, we have a flurry of activity at different doctors scheduled for the family. I have appointments with a new endocrinologist, my family doctor, and a gynecologist. My husband has to see our family doctor for tests and to check his arm for pain he's been having. My kids all have check-ups scheduled. We also all have eye doctor appointments.

We schedule like this because my husband's employer requires certain doctor's visits and tests every year and they have a deadline that it has to be done by. While it is a pain, it is best for our health to have preventative visits. Though by the time these are all done, I am going to be SO glad not to see anymore lab coats for a long time! My kids aren't looking forward to them because two of them are due for vaccinations. Even though they are older, they still dread the needle pokes. I can't blame them. I do as well.

I never thought about it before. I am horrible at golf. I've had private lessons, had my own set of ladies golf clubs, and belonged to a golf club. I could not hit that ball to save my life! It was very embarrassing.

A lot of people think of golf as a lazier sport. It doesn't have the constant movement of sports like swimming or basketball (or the aggression of football). People dress up to hit a little ball around the golf course. So how is it exercise?

According to this article, you walk up to five miles if you play 18 holes (that means you have to leave the golf cart behind!). You use a large muscle group every time you swing (I didn't realize that all those times I missed the ball and had to swing again, that it was actually GOOD for me). Finally, it's a stress reliever for some to be outdoors. Golf courses are kept up nice so the setting is definitely pretty.

That makes me think a little differently about golf. It won't make my swing any better though.

With the dangers of skin cancer due to the sun's damaging rays, I have always avoided the sun. Plus, I burn right away. That can't be a good thing so I just decided years ago to avoid it. It leaves me pasty white all year long. Who wants to be pasty 24/7, 365 days a year so I wanted to see what the Mayo Clinic had to say about sunless tanning.

According to them, sunless tanning products, such as Sunless Tanning Spray, are safe alternatives. The only risk I could find is inhaling or getting it in your eyes. This can be avoided if you close your eyes and hold your breath.

A tip for those who choose to do this: Exfoliate first for more even color. Women should shave beforehand as well.

Well, I've been on the 48-hour "hollywood diet" for 24 hours now and I quit. You're supposed to lose up to 10 pounds on it supposedly. I thought I'd see if their claims were right. Here's where I'm at:

• I've had a headache the entire time from hunger I would guess since I always get a headache when I'm hungry.
• I've lost one pound. If I had lost more than that, I might put up with the hunger and headaches for another 24 hours but for one pound? I don't think so Joe!

I am getting ready to eat dinner - REAL FOOD soon. I can't wait. I'm so hungry I feel nauseous.

More information on Gardasil from an attorney's web site.

I scheduled my 12 year old daughter's well-check for next week. While I was scheduling it on the phone, the woman making the appointment tried her best to get me to agree to the Gardasil vaccine. When I told her I wasn't interested, she told me they'd give me paperwork for it so I could review it. I advised her that I had researched it quite a bit and would NOT allow my daughter to have this vaccine. She eventually shut up but I wouldn't doubt if I get a "push" from them at her appointment next week.

I couldn't find Grade B syrup yet for the cleanse drink so today I tried it without. Ick! Lemon juice, cayenne pepper and water are just NASTY. Perhaps I should have waited to find the syrup first to sweeten up the drink! Blech!

I was reading in my First for Women magazine about a cleanse that uses lemon juice, Grade B maple syrup, and cayenne pepper in water. According to the article, it is helpful for weight loss. It seems like a detox type of thing. I googled it and kept coming up with something called Master Cleanse except their program included more in it. It seems like this article I read was a part of a bigger program.

Has anybody used the lemon/syrup/pepper in water to lose weight? What were you results? Were there bad side effects?

I've started swimming twice a week as exercise. No results yet since I've only gone twice but I was surprised. I didn't realize swimming was such a workout until I had been swimming for awhile yesterday. I could feel it in my legs and it's definitely a cardio workout. The first time I didn't feel it because I was taking care of my four-year-old at the same time so the workout was limited. Yesterday I definitely felt it.

It's been years since I've been swimming. I'm not too comfortable yet in a public pool in a bathing suit but I'm doing it anyway.

My sister was telling me about a workout program called P90. I saw an infomercial on television the other day about P90X. It seems like a popular program. It also looks intense!

Part of feeling healthy is having a sense of self-worth, whether you tie that into how you parent, how well you do your job, your current health, amount of wealth you have, other factors, or all of the above, I think how you view yourself definitely impacts your health with too much stress being a negative factor.

With the economy the way it is, money has certainly been a major stressor for more families than ever that we can remember in our lifetime I think. I have found ways to supplement our income for our needs as well as our wants by working from home. It helps take care of the extras or when the hours just aren't there.

My stress reliever is my horse but I need a well-behaved horse for it to remain a great stress reliever for me. For her training, I designed and maintain the web site for the horse rescue that our trainer runs in exchange for her horse training. It works out great as we both get the benefits we want for our own particular needs. It feels good to know that I'm helping the rescue too and having a web presence certainly helps them.

If you are looking for a web presence for your business or personal needs, have you checked out Click Consulting for web site design orange county? They offer web development, tech training and tech support.

There has been no change lately medically speaking or in my weight. It's been a depressing few months.

Over the last week, I've been trying to get my wedding ring off. It was SO tight and I was afraid if I didn't get it off soon, especially with the hot summer months coming and the water weight that would result, I'd have to have it cut off. After unsuccessfully trying soap and lotions to try to work it off this last week, I was able to get it off yesterday by soaking in a hot bath (makes me pruny...removes moisture from my body) and then using mineral oil to work it off. I actually thought I was supposed to use cold instead of hot but a hot bath always made me feel dehydrated so I figured I'd give it a try. I was relieved to get it off but it was bittersweet - I love wearing my wedding ring set.

If I want to wear them again, I need to lose some of this weight. It's driving me crazy that my weight rises when I don't eat a lot. Summer clothes depress me. When I try on those cute, flirty tops now that are stylish, I look like I'm pregnant instead because of the extra weight around my middle.

Oh well, at least I saved my wedding ring set from having to be cut when I figured out how to finally remove my tight ring.

Test from phone

We are all familiar with sunburn you get on your skin - the red, painful, blistery feeling your skin gets after you've overdone it without protection in the sun. Did you know you can have sunburned eyes if you don't wear the appropriate protection for your eyes as well?

Symptoms of sunburned eyes, according to the Mayo Clinic, is burning, pain, and a gritty feeling. Sun can damage the retina and lens of your eye. This can lead to cataracts.

To prevent sun damage to your eyes, you should avoid the sun during the hottest hours of the day (10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) and wear sunglasses that block most of the UV light. They make a lot of really nice styles of women's, children's, and Mens Sunglasses. Pick a pair that fits close to your face. Wraparounds are a great choice because they block the sun at all angles.

Stress can wreak havoc on a body. My immune system has gone all wonky (as my thyroid disease and asthma shows) and I have TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) from clenching my jaw during times of stress. It's acting up something awful right now after the recent troubles of trying to figure out visitation with my stepkids and getting my stepson's grades in the mail from his school. I'm going to end up needing jaw surgery if this keeps up.

I definitely need to come up with some stress relievers to let all of this go. Bubble baths usually work. Lighting some candles, like a Wood Wick Candle, turning off the lights and soaking in a hot tub (ignoring the knocks at the door from my kids) usually works but it is 92 degrees here right now. Who wants to soak in a hot, or even warm, tub? Not me.

I definitely need to come up with something else because I was serious about the jaw surgery. Once the cartilage is worn to nothing, that's what I was told would be needed to fix it and I hear it's one of those surgeries that is especially bad.

I think one thing that everybody knows is that too much sun can cause damage to your skin. Too much sun can make your skin look harsh and make you look older than you are. That still doesn't keep people from overdoing it under the sun's rays without taking proper safety precautions, which I just don't get!

I burn pretty much as soon as the sun kisses my skin so I avoid the sun as much as possible. My skin fries and then it freckles. I really don't need the help with skin freckles from the sun so it's another reason to avoid it.

However, I don't enjoy looking pale or being called "ghost" (my childhood nickname from my older brother). I found one option to consider if I don't want to be lily white anymore. Spray Tanning!

I have to avoid the sun and I want to avoid skin damage and all it entails so it's nice to know there are other options.

I recently had a biopsy done on my thyroid, searching for cancer in the nodules on my thyroid. The biopsy was done on May 18 but my doctor's nurse wouldn't call me back with the results despite several phone calls and emails to her office the last week or so of May. So, I called the hospital and they told me that the results had been sent to my doctor electronically on May 20th (but they couldn't give them to me)! I did finally get my results from my doctor's office on June 1st. I can't believe they had them that long and didn't call me, knowing how much I wanted assurance that they were negative. I didn't want to assume no news was good news because I haven't been happy with this doctor for awhile and didn't trust the "no news is good news" mantra where they are concerned.

In this case, no news was good news but I am still going to find a new doctor. When I don't trust my doctor or the care she is giving, it is definitely time to find a new doctor. Just because they wear a lab coat doesn't mean they should treat a patient like that. I want to find a doctor who I feel like listens to me and doesn't see me as a lab result. I want a good doctor-patient relationship. I think it is in my best interest's to feel confident in my doctor's care. For tips on good doctor-patient communication, click here.

That's what I heard this morning from my four year old daughter when she came up behind me in a hurry to get somewhere else and I was in her way.

"Move your butt, big butt!"

Then a split second hesitation when she realized who she was talking to and then, "Sorry, Mom!"

The expression on her face when she realized what she'd said and who she'd said it to was "oh damn am I in trouble now". In another mood, I might have cried but her expression was too funny and I had to laugh. Kids are honest and my butt is bigger than it used to be.

Next week, my husband and I get on a regular fitness schedule. We have made arrangements for the kids at the YMCA (youngest in the play room with a sitter and oldest three going to swim with the lifeguard) while we work out.

I really hope this helps get some of this weight off. I can't stand it!!

The biopsy on my thyroid came back negative. That was a relief to get those results. My next step is finding a good doctor to manage my thyroid disease. I have had little luck with that since moving here three years ago.

I got my ultrasound results back on the nodules on my thyroid. Several are now solid so I get the great pleasure of having a biopsy done in my neck. Woo hoo! Not.

Anyway, I wrote about it here. No point in repeating myself.

I have a new blog. Since my thyroid disease had been such a problem for me for eight years, I've decided to devote a blog to not only my problems with it but as a way to post information that I come across that may be helpful as well.

Check out my new blog:

I just had my thyroid tests done again. I got the results and the doctor's letter in the mail today saying my results were "normal" and I have been holding back tears for the last hour. I don't FEEL normal. I feel like crap.

Their lab is using the old recommendations for TSH. The old recommendations were 0.35 to 5.5 ulU/ML. The 2003 recommendations from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is 0.3 to 3.04. My results were 3.70. I'm within "normal" for the old range but high for the newest recommended range. Why are doctors using the old range?

My thyroxine was 5.2 (recommended normal range is 4.9 to 10.9 UG/DL). My T3, Free was 2.80 (recommended normal range is 2.3 - 4.2 PG/ML). So, I am at the low end of the "normal" range.

I hate that word "NORMAL" when I don't feel NORMAL. If my doctor would use the newest recommendation for TSH, and treat accordingly, would I feel "normal" again? If I wasn't at the low end of "normal" for my thyroxine and T3, would I feel "normal" again?

I want to cry. I want to be me again. I don't want swiss cheese for memory. I don't want to be so overweight. I want a doctor who will listen to me and not just look at the lab results, which aren't even up to date, and say I am fine. I AM NOT FINE!!!

My cholesterol, which was always great before, has changed as well (gee, if they were treating my thryoid right, would that have happened?). According to my doctor, my bad cholesterol was a little high and my good a little low.

People have the misconception that people who are overweight can't or won't control their eating. They probably imagine overweight people pigging out with more than the "normal" amount of food (damn do I really hate that word "normal" right now). For some, that may be true. For others, like me, I don't eat a lot. It's medical and that makes it worse for me because I feel helpless in being able to do anything about it. Especially when my own doctor won't use up-to-date recommendations so my thyroid is being treated correctly. I hear that is a problem with a lot of thyroid patients. Why won't doctors, and the labs they use, start using the newest recommendations for TSH? People shouldn't have to go years feeling like hell. If I was pigging out and making myself fat, then it'd be my own darn fault. I just want to find a doctor who I can trust. I wish more naturopaths took insurance because I think I'd have better luck getting a doctor who cared.

Every parent of a daughter should view this video. In fact, every parent of a son should as well since they are talking about giving boys this vaccine too.

I did some belly dancing today! I love belly dancing. Now if I was any good at it, I'd like it better. It'll be good exercise though.

I've been keeping up with my "steps" everyday with a pedometer...seeing how active I am against the chart they gave us at my son's fitness meetings last month. Mine gives steps or miles walked depending on what I set it for. I can also set goals and it'll tell me how close I am to meeting my goal. I've been faithful with using the pedometer everyday...until yesterday.

Yesterday we worked outside all morning - my most active day since getting the pedometer. Guess what? I forgot to put it on for the first time. Geez! All that activity and all I have to show for it are sore shoulders from digging and carrying...no steps.

Oh well...there are more important things going on in the world than the fact that I forgot my pedometer. I heard North Korea launched that missile. Other countries, including ours, will puff out their chests over it and went to the U.N. Problem for me is I really don't think the U.N. has any authority anymore. Is this going to be another stressor for me added on top of everything else - the economy, the wars, the stepkids, my health, and my weight or is it going to disappear quickly and be forgotten about until the next time North Korea flexes a little muscle? We shall see.

OH.MY.GAWD!! We went out shopping a little bit ago and I grabbed a few pair of shorts, go into the dressing room to try them on, and freak way the heck out. I couldn't believe my thighs this year. They didn't look like that last year! I know the lighting is horrible in stores and my legs are ghostly white but still! I thought about crying, didn't, but I did put the shorts back on the rack. I bought two pair of capri pants instead. I came out and told my husband I wasn't getting into shorts this year until after we started exercising at the gym with the membership we just bought and I lost some weight. My husband says, "You don't look any different to me." He sees me everyday so he wouldn't notice. It's not often that I look at myself full-length (don't have a full-length mirror). Boy was I shocked (and disgusted).

I wish I'd had a decent camera to take a pic of what I looked like under the garish lights. Would've been great incentive to get rid of all the extra that was never there before. *shiver* I think the image is burned into my brain though so I shouldn't need the picture. I think I need bleach for my eyes.

I bought a pedometer. During the "Power Up" lectures at the YMCA, they gave us a sheet that told us our activity levels according to how many steps we take per day. I figured for $5, it's worth it to see just how active (or lazy) I am.

We are also signing up for a family membership at the YMCA. It's on special right now for $28/month. The price of that alone, to take the kids swimming a few times per month for a family activity together, is worth it (plus now they can have swim lessons and all the other kid activities they have). Add to that their fitness center and gym, yippee! It's a pretty nice YMCA so I can't wait until we get all the paperwork filled out and submitted. In the interim, we have a free 30-day family membership there.

The day before yesterday, my husband and I went walking with our youngest. He ended up carrying her through more than half the walk. I wish he could've carried me towards the end. I was so tired. I had a charlie horse in my leg yesterday...must've been in shock from lack of exercise, lol.

Something to make me feel better after a local salon cut my hair wrong, I got out the scissors this morning and fixed my hair a little bit so I am happier with it now.

I must've been in the hair cutting mood after cutting off all my husband's hair the other day when I went to town on mine this morning. I think he got tired of me asking him when he was going to get a haircut so he asked me to cut his. My 12 year old daughter is blaming me for her dad cutting off his hair (it was getting longer than mine). When the kids went to school, and we had some free time together alone, it was like being with the man I'd met all those years ago. Woo Hoo! We burned up some calories, lol.

For the past two weeks, I've been attending health seminars at our local YMCA with my 4th grader on eating right and fitness. The kids play in the gym with a fitness trainer while the parents sit in on lectures by pediatricians and dietitians on how to feed our children (and ourselves) right and the importance of exercise. After our lecture, we go into the gym and exercise with our kids. Last week, we ran around playing dodge ball in the gym with our 4th graders.

I'm drinking the Acai juice (not sure if it really works for weight loss but it does have antioxidants) and just bought an antioxidant supplement. I've upped my fiber intake too.

The pedometer I just received doesn't work (*sigh*) but I want to get another. Spring is coming so I want start walking.

If you haven't done so yet, you should check out and sign the petition to get President Obama to start an investigation into the Gardasil vaccine.

I think most of us have heard that NutraSweet is bad for you and that it has caused tumors in the lab rats it was tested on. I don't think people pay that much attention to it though. I found some more information on it and what it may do to you. Here it is.

If you want to add your name to the petition to President Obama and Congress, letting them know you want an investigation into the deaths and adverse reactions that are being ignored by the health field and creator of the vaccine, Gardasil, you can add your name and voice to these families' voices. The louder we get, the better we will be heard.

There is going to be an Internet forum that a 17-year-old and her mother will be participating in to discuss the serious reactions the child suffered after she received the Gardasil vaccine. It is a segment on KRFC FM Public Radio in Fort Collins, Colorado but you are supposed to be able to access it via the Internet on Monday at 8:00 p.m.

There is also more information being published about the lack of honesty towards parents. I think it is unprofessional, possibly criminal, not to inform parents of the adverse reactions to this vaccine. When my pediatrician suggested I give it to my daughter, she never told me about any adverse reactions. I am glad that I declined it at that time to do my own research before making the decision NOT to vaccinate with Gardasil.

I hit the five pound weight loss today...yippee!!

5 Down, 20 More to Go. Oh my.

According to Merck, the makers of the vaccine, Gardasil, these are the ingredients of the Gardasil vaccine:


"GARDASIL
[Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] 9883609 3
The ingredients are proteins of HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18, amorphous aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, yeast protein, sodium chloride, L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sodium borate, and water for injection.

Manufactured and Distributed by: MERCK & CO., Inc.
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889, USA
Issued December 2008"

I thought I would look up some of these ingredients because I have no idea what they are. Here is what I found:

SODIUM BORATE:

According to Wikipedia, it is: "Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.
Borax has a wide variety of uses. It is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. It is also used to make buffer solutions in biochemistry, as a fire retardant, as an anti-fungal compound for fiberglass, as an insecticide, as a flux in metallurgy, and as a precursor for other boron compounds."

According to the Health Guide at How Stuff Works: "Sodium borate is the main ingredient in boric acid. (Powdered boric acid is often used to kill cockroaches.)

Sodium borate poisoning can be acute or chronic. Acute, accidental sodium borate poisoning usually occurs when someone swallows powdered roach-killing products that contain the chemical.

Poisoning may also occur in those who are repeatedly exposed to sodium borate. In the past, boric acid was used to disinfect and treat wounds. Patients who received such treatment over and over again got sick, and some died. Because boric acid is now known to be a dangerous poison, it is no longer commonly used in medical preparations. However, boric acid is contained in some vaginal suppositories used for yeast infections, although this is NOT a standard treatment."

OK, these words stand out to me for sodium borate: fire retardant, roach-killing, dangerous poison. Remember, sodium borate is in the Gardasil vaccine. Has anybody looked into if this ingredient could be a contributing factor in the adverse reactions reported around the world to this vaccine?


L-HISTIDINE:

According to About.com: "Histidinemia is an inherited metabolic disorder in which there is a deficiency of the enzyme histidase, which is necessary for the breakdown of the amino acid histidine. Without histidase, histidine builds up in the blood and urine."

So, if you have this metabolic disorder, what happens if you add L-Histidine from this vaccine into your body, which can't metabolize it? Is it a problem or not?

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and stopped in the vitamin aisle to look for Lil Critters Omega-3 Gummy Fish that my kids love (it's the only one I've found that they actually like). I saw something new in the aisle called Voots. The box said it has three servings of fruit and vegetables in each two tart serving. I figured I'd give it a try since my kids gag just looking at vegetables. I found this online about them:

I finished reading Thyroid Solution: A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression & Regaining Your Emotional & Physical Health. It had some good points in it but I am glad I didn't buy it since there is a newer copy out called The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program for Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health which I would rather have on my bookshelf.

I'll go on with some important notes that I made on the rest of the book (to see my notes from the beginning of this book, click here):

• After your thyroid levels are brought within normal range, you still should exercise and eat right. I need to do this more myself.

• Thyroid & Sexual Health: Hypothyroidism can lead to lack of interest in sex, which may decline a bit or vanish completely. If you have never been tested for thyroid imbalance and are exhibiting loss of interest and your gynecologist can't figure it out, have your blood drawn. It's as simple as that to rule out your thyroid being the problem in the bedroom. I am thankful this hasn't been a problem for me or maybe because I was a bit oversexed to begin with, it just brought me down to a more normal sex drive, lol. If you have the opposite problem - a raging libido - could be hyperthyroid. Get a blood test! Dr. Arem suggests that if you are still having problems after your hypothyroidism is fixed, to consider a T4/T3 combination (which can also help with persistent depression).

• Your Thyroid & Infertility/Miscarriage: Having an overactive or underactive thyroid can make it hard to conceive and it may be overlooked. The book talks of couples going through years of infertility treatments (and debt) only to find out it was as simple as a blood test to check thyroid levels! This was a big one for us. Despite having four kids, three out of those four children were difficult to conceive. It took about a year for our first child to be conceived. It took over a year for my son to be conceived. My third child was conceived the first month after we decided to try for a third child (during a big fight with my husband's sister...husband was being loving and consoling me and voila! A baby!) It was after this third child that I developed thyroid disease though I do wonder if my thyroid levels had been off just enough prior to diagnosis to cause problems conceiving my oldest two children. After diagnosis, it took almost two years for my last child to be conceived...the doctor was getting ready to give me infertility treatments when I finally got pregnant before he was to do that.

Merck is trying to get their controversial vaccine, Gardasil, approved for males age 9 to 26. I haven't heard if they've done that yet. I'll be watching and waiting to see.

Merck estimates making 1.6 billion off of this drug this year. Boy, imagine their profits if they get it approved for boys too.

There are too many questions regarding this vaccine. I believe that if parents read all the reports on adverse reactions and deaths, they would think twice about giving this to their child. I know when our pediatrician asked me about it, I could have said "yes", trusting that she knew what was best without knowing much about the drug. I told her, "No, I need to research it a bit first because I'm not too familiar with it." That was a couple years ago. My daughter just turned twelve so I am sure there will be another push from her pediatrician to get the vaccine.

Risk her health and life on a vaccine, whose adverse reactions are being ignored by the makers and government, to prevent what a condom could prevent? I don't think so. The CDC and FDA have received these reports, however, they feel the benefits outweigh the risks. I am sure the parents of one of the dead children wouldn't agree with that! One less, one less doesn't only mean one less risk for cervical cancer. For some families, it means one less child when their child dies after receiving this vaccine.

If you would like to read more about Gardasil's adverse reactions from families who have had them and lost children to them, use my google search in the sidebar. Search "gardasil" and it will bring up all my gardasil posts with links for you to research yourself. Don't believe me, but don't blindly believe doctors who get kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies either. It's your job as a parent to research everything fully before making your decision, whichever way you decide.

I am not against all vaccines in general. I just don't think this vaccine should be on the market yet. It's not safe enough yet.

Wouldn't that be nice?

According to a study found here, cleaning the house is risky for women with asthma. Here is what HealthDay News says:

SATURDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Housecleaning products may pose a threat to women with asthma, U.S. researchers say.

During a 12-week study, they compared cleaning-related health effects in women who did and did not have asthma and found a higher number of lower respiratory tract symptoms among the asthmatic women.

Dr. Jonathon A. Bernstein, of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and colleagues found that "women in both groups exhibited increased upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms in response to cleaning agents rated mild in toxicity, suggesting a subtle but potentially clinically relevant health effect of long-term, low-level chemical exposures."

The researchers recommended "that women with asthma should be routinely interviewed as to whether they clean their home and cautioned about the potential respiratory health effects of these activities."

The study was published in the January issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Asthma affects about 20 million people in the United States. Death rates from the disease are higher among women than men. In many homes, women are the primary cleaners.

Authors of the study concluded that "longer, prospective studies of nonprofessional household cleaners are needed to determine whether there is an association between household cleaning agent exposure and the development of asthma."

Yes! Another pound gone! I seriously think it has to do with my thyroid. I ran out of my prescribed thyroid medication and my doctor was late in getting my renewal sent in. So, I was taking my old thyroid meds for a couple days (had them in the cabinet still) until my prescription was refilled which it was a few days ago. I don't know if it was the mixture of them (I've heard that many people use two different types of thyroid meds as it works the best in maintaining normal levels of thyroid hormone in their system), or what, but I've dropped three pounds this week.

I am not sure how my family doctor would feel about it. I don't think she has that much experience with it to tell you the truth, but I couldn't go several days without any thyroid hormone at all. I get sick when I've missed pills for a couple days.

I am definitely going to talk to her about adding a different type of thyroid pill to my current treatment. I've heard a drug called Cytomel (for T3) is used, along with the more standard thyroid treatment, for hypothyroid individuals with success. I am going to ask her about it. Wouldn't it be nice if after almost eight years, the right combination was found that actually made me feel like I wasn't in a brain fog most of the time and that reduced the size of the nodules/goiter in my neck!

Another pound and some change bit the dust. It feels nice to be able to take that calorie counter at the top of my blog down two pounds! Wish it did tenths or halves of a pound cause I've dropped more than two but less than three and I want to show it on my counter, lol.

I've been writing about the Gardasil vaccine on my other blogs for awhile. Now that I have a health blog, I am going to start putting it here since it involves the health and safety of our children.

If you read my previous post, you know I am against this vaccine. Reports continue to come out on this vaccine and I am going to continue to share them here, hoping that it will help somebody or save somebody's child from horrible adverse reactions or death. Until they investigate this vaccine more fully and change it to where it is no longer a threat to our children or remove it from the market, I am going to continue to do so.

Here are some more recent reports:

• Wichita Teen Says She's Dying From the Vaccine (see her video here)
• Gardasil Recalled in Spain After Two Girls Fall Ill
• Vaccine Awakening
• Beautifil Jessica Ericzon, "Died as a Guinea Pig for Gardasil"

I don't have any experience with serious weight loss. As a kid, I was always a string bean. After having each child, until my last one that is, I was able to lose the weight without too much effort. After my third child, I developed thyroid disease slowing my metabolism. After the birth of my fourth child over three years ago, the weight stopped coming off. After 3-1/2 years, I still have it.

Now, my goal is 25 pounds and if I get really motivated, I may go for another 5-7 pounds after that but it's not totally necessary. I'll be happy with 25. So what is the point of this post?

The point is, am I going to lose my "chest" with the weight? I've had four kids, nursed one of them for a few months and nursed my fourth child for two years. Are they going to head south if I take off this weight? I kind of like having a little more up top, ya know? I don't want to look like flattened sunny side up eggs when this is all done.

Does anybody have any personal experience with weight loss, nursing, and the final consequences after both are completed?

I was able to take a pound off my weight loss ticker above! Celebrate!! I am so glad it didn't go up...that's all it has been doing lately so I was pleasantly surprised to see it down a bit more than a pound today!

I have found a very informative web site for your thyroid ills. Check out Stop the Thyroid Madness!!

It has a wealth of information on it for people new to their thyroid diagnosis or for those of us who've had it for many years and still struggle with the symptoms and doctors who won't listen.

I am supposed to be losing weight (see the weight ticker at the top of my blog?) but it's not happened. I've gained weight -about five pounds. Now, I have stayed pretty much consistent with my weight for the last couple years. I'm not eating MORE. Why am I gaining weight?

I am pretty sure it is my thyroid. My (men, shut your eyes for a minute) menstrual cycles are almost non-existent the last few months which is the exact opposite of the super heavy, seem to last forever periods I was used to the past few years. They're there, but barely. My skin feels horrible. My memory is worse...might as well be diagnosed senile at this point.

So, I contacted an endocrinologist to make an appointment. I haven't had one since we moved here almost three years ago. Our family doctor has been managing the meds. I was advised they won't schedule me an appointment without a referral from my family doc. OK, whatever. I call my family doctor and am advised my family doctor will look over my request and if SHE agrees to it, she'll write the referral. I will tell you right now that if she DOESN'T agree to send me to an Endocrinologist, I will find a new family doctor to get that referral. With Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Hypothyroidism, goiter, and nodules and still having symptoms...I need an Endocrinologist. I knew this when we moved here but we live in the boonies and they are all a drive away so I was hoping the local family doc was enough. It's not because my symptoms are returning.

Then what does my husband do? Brings me my favorite donuts this morning. This was after he brought some home two days ago. He asked me if I was going to eat any of them that he bought for me. I asked him if he wanted me to be 200 pounds? I already weigh more than he does now! His response was "more of me to love." Yeah...he says that now. I haven't eaten any of the donuts...had a salad for lunch:)

I have wrote several posts in the past about adverse reactions to kids after receiving Gardasil. Since I recently started this health blog, I think it is important that this receive its own category on my health blog.

In addition to everything I've wrote about it before on my other blogs (please read that here), I have come across new information.

According to this article:

"Comparing serious adverse event reports to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) following Gardasil (HPV) and another vaccine for meningococcal (Menactra), the National Vaccine Information Center (www.NVIC.org) found that there are three to 30 times more serious health problems and deaths reported to VAERS after Gardasil vaccination. As reported by CBS News, the longtime vaccine safety watchdog group is calling for action, including an investigation by the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and the U.S. Congress into the fast-tracked licensure and government recommendation that all young girls and women get Gardasil vaccine.

“Merck only studied the vaccine in fewer than 1200 girls under age 16 and most of the serious health problems and deaths in the pre-licensure clinical trials were written off as a 'coincidence,'” said NVIC co-founder and president, Barbara Loe Fisher. “If the new Administration and Congress want to make government recommended health care safer, more effective and less expensive, a good place to start is by looking into the human and economic costs of Gardasil vaccine.”

From this same article, some information on a couple of the deaths:

"A 15-year old gymnast, cheerleader and honor roll student in Kansas has been diagnosed with Gardasil vaccine-related brain inflammation after receiving three Gardasil shots. Her first symptoms included muscle and joint weakness and pain, numbness and tingling in her hands and feet, severe headaches excessive fatigue, rash, dizziness, and loss of concentration after the first shot. After the second and third shots she began losing her hair and developed seizures, bouts of paralysis, mini-strokes, partial loss of vision, and severe chest pain, memory and speech loss.

A 21-year old Maryland artist, athlete and honor roll college student died suddenly without explanation in June 2008 after her third Gardasil shot. She is one of the 29 Gardasil death reports in VAERS. "


According to a news article from The News Record on February 8, 2009:

"...all women had received it prior to their deaths. Some of the deaths were linked to blood clots, seizures and heart failure, which are side effects of the vaccine.

The CDC also reported that Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disorder that causes muscle weakness, has resulted from the vaccine.

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration encourage users to report all side effects to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and as of June 30, 2008, the FDA had received 9,749 “adverse events” reports after the injection of Gardasil."


According to a CBS News report on Feb. 6, 2009:

"If I'd have known, we never would have gotten the shot," said Emily Tarsell, whose daughter, Chris, died three weeks after her third Gardasil shot. She was one of the 29 fatalities reported in two years. "And she'd be here to hug."

Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the NVIC, said: "Now we know from this report that there are more reactions and deaths associated with Gardasil than with another vaccine given in the same age group. It's irresponsible not to take action."

Merck, the FDA and CDC question the value of the new analysis, say they continue to review the data, Gardasil remains safe and effective, and its benefits outweigh the risks."

I think trusting my daughters' health to the FDA and CDC over this vaccine would be one of the worst things I could do for my girls. There is obviously a problem here and they are not doing enough about it. Risking serious harm or death because government agencies say they are safe...yeah, because the government has done so well with everything else! I will hand them condoms before I'll give them this vaccine!

If you haven't done so yet, check out all my other information on Gardasil here.