GMO in the Va-jay-jay

Gentlemen, you may want to turn the other way.

Ladies...listen up!

It’s that time of the month again, and we are going to talk about periods…and some things you may have never thought of!

Over the last few years my own cycles had grown more and more onerous. Worsening PMS, killer migraines, and mind blowing cramps. Cramps that felt like someone was wringing my uterus out like a sponge, with clots to match. One thing that I did notice unfailingly made my cramps worse was using tampons. Now, I felt there was no other alternative, because frankly, I feel that wearing a pad is kind of gross. But, oh the agony!

So I experimented a bit – and time after time, the tampons made it worse. Certain brands seemed to be worse than others (for example the off brand Walmart variety).

Then I came across a post of Facebook (where else?) regarding what the cotton in our tampons might contain nowadays.

Among the most common pesticides used on cotton are aldicarb, parathion, and methamidopho, which the World Health Organization cites as the most acutely hazardous to human health. According to the Organic Trade Association, "Aldicarb, cotton's second best selling insecticide and most acutely poisonous to humans, can kill a man with just one drop absorbed through the skin, yet it is still used in 25 countries and the US, where 16 states have reported it in their groundwater."

http://naturallysavvy.com/care/conventional-cotton-tampons-and-pesticides

A woman will use as many as 17,000 tampons in her lifetime. Many are made out of a cotton and rayon blend, which must be bleached to get that clean white sterile look. While the EPA banned a more harmful bleaching process back in 1998, current elemental "chlorine-free" bleaching processes using chlorine dioxide still produce, albeit less, dioxins.

Dioxins include a range of chemicals including polychlorinated dibenzo dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzo furans (PCDFs) and the now banned, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). 

http://naturallysavvy.com/Care/dioxins-the-facts-about-this-toxin-in-tampons-and-sanitary-pads

Dioxin and other similar pollutants act like estrogen in the female body…could it be that this is what I was experiencing – heavier more painful periods as a result of an estrogen dominance like picture?

Then there is the controversy over Bt Cotton (Monsanto is even finding it’s way up our vaginas!)

Bt cotton requires more pesticide sprayings than indigenous cotton—MANY times more. Bt cotton has created new resistant pests,⁸ and to control these, farmers must use 13 times more pesticides⁹ than they were using prior to its introduction

http://www.voltairenet.org/Why-Are-Indian-Farmers-Committing

Then there is just the plain ol’ environmental thing:

If every woman of menstruating age replaced one 16-count package of regular absorbency conventional cotton tampons with our organic cotton tampons, we could prevent 17,000 lbs of pesticides from polluting our rivers, lakes and streams.

• If every woman of menstruating age replaced one 16-count package of super absorbency conventional cotton tampons with our organic cotton tampons, we could prevent 21,000 lbs of pesticides from polluting our rivers, lakes and streams.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debbie-robins/women-beware-know-the-pos_b_619187.html

So, with all that info in hand I went to Whole Foods to purchase a Diva Cup. After having a heart attack over the $37 price tag, I pulled up my big girl panties and bought one.

After a few hours of awkwardness, I couldn’t feel a thing. No leaks. No panicking that I forgot to buy tampons or put one in my purse. And NO CRAMPS!

I tried to discuss my miraculous discovery with my daughters…to summarize, the response was essentially: “Ewwwww!!! Mom you are so weird and gross!”

Well that might be, but…no more pesticides and GMO fibers in my pussness (borrowed term from my mother) and…

NO CRAMPS!

Gotta love it! 

About HFME - The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

About HFME - The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

Well, if there is any Reality in Medicine, this is it...Wish I would have found it sooner...

I don't have "rheumatoid arthritis" or "chronic fatigue syndrome"...I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis...101% sure of it...and it IS autoimmune, it IS mitochondrial dysfunction, and very much related to illness and VACCINES.

Now I must face the reality of finding physicians in the US, preferably within short driving distance, who can help me heal myself...

I will post more on this topic periodically for those who are interested.

About HFME - The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

About HFME - The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

Well, if there is any Reality in Medicine, this is it...Wish I would have found it sooner...

I don't have "rheumatoid arthritis" or "chronic fatigue syndrome"...I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis...101% sure of it...and it IS autoimmune, it IS mitochondrial dysfunction, and very much related to illness and VACCINES.

Now I must face the reality of finding physicians in the US, preferably within short driving distance, who can help me heal myself...

I will post more on this topic periodically for those who are interested.

An Unhappy Consequence of Happy Pills

"Some SSRIs Tied to Heart Rhythm Problems"

So reads the headline from my MedPage Today email update.

Ahhhh...the treatment of depression is one of my favorite topics in light of my knowledge surrounding nutrient deficiencies, especially Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D. These pills are handed out like virtual medical candy through all age groups, both in the office and at the hospital. 

My particular concern with this is how many criticially ill and chronically debilitated are started on antidepressants of all sorts. Citalopram and Lexapro have been used much in recent years, especially for the elderly. I will admit, I have not read any studies, just have noted it has become more "popular" in review of patient medlists, and is generally available on hospital formularies. I suspect it has something to do with pharmaceutical companies providing "deals" to Medicare and Medicaid, but that is also one of my completely biased opinions with no ground in research, but based on what I have seen before. (I invite you to investigate and let me know if I am right or wrong - I simply don't have the time...)

Many families request that grandma or grandpa be started on "something", to help with their "motivation" or "appetite", in complete oblivion that there are substantial side effects to any medication that is added to their regimen. Insurance companies frown upon testing for nutrient deficiencies, and often simply won't pay for an inexpensive nutritional supplement (that potentially addresses multiple health issues), in favor of paying for an "approved" pharmaceutical product that is much more expensive. Those same insurance companies then happily pay even more out when grandma or grandpa have their cardiac arrhythmias and need yet a few more medications to counter that, in addition to the extensive (and sometimes invasive) testing that goes along with the "work up" of a new problem. 

Physicians often do not have the time to comb through medication lists to identify potential triggers of new cardiac complications (or even worse, lack the knowledge to do so) and thus just treat the new symptom as an unfortunate complication of a patient's age or other medical conditions...with another pill that likely has as many or more risk factors. I have seen a number of hospitalized patients present with or develop new onset arrhythmias and QT prolongation - and it only took about 30 minutes of my time with the first patient I saw, to find out that SSRIs, among other things, can cause this. The information is neatly nestled in the drug information packaging, and readily available to any practitioner should they desire to look. 

The link to the full article in the British Medical Journal:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/upload/2013/1/29/bmj.f288.full.pdf

I think we all know deep in our hearts that throwing antidepressants around callously is not going to make anyone "happier"...there is usually a good biological or psychological reason for someone's "depression"...

Let's take a little time to uncover that reason and treat IT instead...

New randomized controlled trial says, vitamin D prevents and delays multiple sclerosis | Vitamin D Council Blog

New randomized controlled trial says, vitamin D prevents and delays multiple sclerosis | Vitamin D Council Blog

http://news.yahoo.com/nurses-fired-refusing-flu-shot-224637902--abc-news-health.html

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN...




Nurses Fired for Refusing Flu Shot

By SYDNEY LUPKIN | ABC News – Thu, Jan 3, 2013


Enlarge Photo


ABC News - Nurses Fired for Refusing Flu Shot (ABC News)



An Indiana hospital has fired eight employees, including at least three veteran nurses, after they refused mandatory flushots, stirring up controversy over which should come first: employee rights or patient safety. The hospital imposed mandatory vaccines, responding to rising concerns about the spread of influenza.

Ethel Hoover wore all black on her last day of work as a nurse in the critical care unit at Indiana University Health Goshen Hospital. She said she was in "mourning" because she would have been at the hospital 22 years in February, and she's only called out of work four or five times in her whole career , she said.

"This is my body. I have a right to refuse the flu vaccine," Hoover, 61, told ABCNews.com. "For 21 years, I have religiously not taken the flu vaccine, and now you're telling me that I believe in it."

More than 15,100 flu cases have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionsince Sept. 30, including 16 pediatric deaths. Indiana's flu activity level is considered high, according to the CDC, which last month announced that the flu season came a month earlier than usual.

When Hoover first heard about the mandate, she said she didn't realize officials would take it so seriously. She said she filed two medical exemptions, a religious exemption and two appeals, but they were all denied. The Dec. 15 flu shot deadline came and went. Hoover's last day of employment was Dec. 21.

Fellow nurse Kacy Davis said she and her colleagues were "horrified" over Hoover's firing, calling her their "go-to" nurse and a "preceptor."

"It was a good place to work," Hoover said. "We've worked together all these years. We're like a family."

The hospital said in a statement that it implemented the mandate to promote patient safety based on recommendations from the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It announced the mandate in September. Of the hospital's 26,000 employees statewide, 95 percent complied. That means 1,300 employees did not comply, but only eight were fired.

"IU Health's top priority is the health and wellbeing of our patients," said hospital spokeswoman Whitney Ertel. "Participation in the annual Influenza Patient Safety Program is a condition of employment with IU Health for the health and safety of the patients that we serve, and is therefore required."

The CDC recommends flu shots for everyone older than six months of age. Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., said hospital patients are especially vulnerable to flu complications because their bodies are already weakened.

"I cannot think of a reason for any health care professional to decline influenza immunization that's valid," said Schaffner, a former president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, adding that people with egg allergies may have to avoid the flu shot to prevent anaphylactic shock, but even that hurdle has been remedied. The Food and Drug Administration approved an egg-free vaccine in November.

Schaffner said invalid excuses to avoid the shot include being afraid of needles and simply promising to stay home when they're sick. Patients now have the option of a vaccine nasal spray if they want to avoid needles. And since flu victims become contagious before they start to feel sick, they can get patients sick even if they stay home when they have symptoms.

Over the last several years, hospitals have been moving toward mandatory vaccinations because many only have 60 percent vaccination rates, Schaffner said. He is leading an effort for a similar mandate at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Nurses in particular tend to be the most reluctant to get vaccinated among health care workers, Schaffner said, citing his opinion.

"There seems to be a persistent myth that you can get flu from a flu vaccine among nurses," he said. "They subject themselves to more influenza by not being immunized, and they certainly do not participate in putting patient safety first."

In October 2011, Vanderbilt broke the world record for number of vaccines administered in an eight-hour period in an event called Flulapalooza. From 6:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., they vaccinated 12,647 people. By that evening, more than 14,000 people had been vaccinated, and there were no severe adverse reactions, he said.

But still, Alan Phillips, who represented several nurses at the hospital, says his clients had the right to refuse their flu shots under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination of employees. Religion is legally broad under the First Amendment, so it could include any strongly held belief, he said, adding that the belief flu shots are bad should suffice.

"If your personal beliefs are religious in nature, then they are a protected belief," Phillips said.

Phillips, who is based out of North Carolina, has made a name for himself fighting for employees' rights to get out of mandated flu shots, but he has never needed to go to court. Although he usually handles a couple dozen health care workers per year, he had 150 this fall in 25 states.

Dr. Damon Raskin, an internist with his own practice in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, said hospitals should mandate flu vaccines as a matter of public safety. The flu can lead to complications like pneumonia and death, said Raskin, who is also affiliated with the Cliffside Malibu Addiction Rehabilitation Center.

"I think if the health care worker has some problem with religious faith then perhaps during flu season, they shouldn't do that job," Raskin said, suggesting that the worker do something administrative instead during flu season. "It's not fair to the patient. The people who are most at risk are in the hospital.

"The Worst Flu Season Ever"

Such was the headline for a newsbit that I saw this morning. The program went on to say how a growing number of people were sick with influenza that was worse than years prior.

It occurred to me that this was a curious event, given increased number of vaccines given, especially since many hospitals and other health care venues are "mandating" vaccination. I thought of my coworkers at my own place of employment who have been afflicted over the past 2 months (Nov and Dec) with a "cold" that has them down for several weeks and a "stomach flu" lasting up to a week, and dropping even the most robust healthy adult. In fact I dare say I am the only one at my place of employment who has not suffered from either malady, while those around me sneezed and coughed and quietly retreated to vomit.

More influenza vaccines given than ever, increased incidence of influenza with more serious symptoms than usual, and increased numbers of other viral illnesses causing significant school and work absenteeism. 

I posted something to that effect on Facebook today and I felt I had to share one of the responses I got:

"... it is interesting and what I find SO interesting is these people who all got the "flu" shot {Flumist} around me ended up with the flu WTF? Like actually tested + for influenza. What is even better is I was exposed in a small room with someone who tested + for influenza I stayed overnight in that room yet me the "stupid" unvaccinated person never got it. I took precautions and loaded up with vitamin c. And i was talking with the allergy specialist at UW yesterday about vaccines and "K" has made me really wonder what we are doing to our kids. I mean he is my only without vaccines and he is my only who has not had pneumonia, multiple ear infections, RSV, or whooping cough. My vaccinated children are so sickly and my non vaccinated one is pretty healthy. All 4 kids brought home to the same home, fed the same way, with the same dog in the home, yet the only difference is the lack of shots injected into my baby..."

(emphasis added)

So as the "fight" heats up, I beg that everyone really examine what is going on, forget the fear being driven into you by the media and pharmaceutical companies (the same entities driving the fear into doctors, nurses, and public health officials), and think logically about what is occurring around you.