Back on Track..

Since my last post a lot has changed in my life: I'm working (no longer a student), I live an another province, moved twice, sharing a home with my brother and his great Dane, got a new cat.. you get the picture. A lot has changed.

Bobby on the left..the Dane that stole my heart. Dogs are amazing creatures, they always trust their body and what they feel.

More importantly over the past year-ish I have learned a lot about myself and realized I have so much more to learn. Who knew I could be so interesting? haha

This past week I have read the book "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You" by Deepak Chopra and this really sparked as Oprah would say an "Ah Ha" moment... I don't trust my body!?

How did this happen? More importantly when did this happen?

With some reflecting and journal writing I believe it began when I was a child and over time continued to develop and worsen as I developed a hyperthyroid and pituitary adenoma. Why is this so important? Well my friends, it continues to get more interesting. I could not quite understand why I continuously sabotaged my clean, green and healthy living. For a few weeks I will eat so healthy and organic, I will up the exercise..oh feeling good baby. Then BAM, ice cream, bag of chips..gym? what is that kind of life style, for weeks or in my current situation for a month. The fat come back the very next day..and my new favourite Tina Fay term "crotch biscuits" (wobbly triangles on one's inner thigh). Then I feel like crap..start the self defeating thoughts..you know as the cherry on top.
So I pondered, why would I continuously do this? I like the healthy food, I like the feeling of exercising (especially when I'm finished) and emotionally I'm rocking!

Well I think this is a two part answer:

1) I realized that I am placing all my hopes on a healing in this lifestyle switch.."if I eat vegan, exercise then I'll be cured!" Then the subconscious doubt (that I just discovered) sets in, "what if this doesn't work and you don't heal? Then what?". Past subconscious solution: I better stop living healthy because if it doesn't work I'm screwed.

Then the cycle would continue and it has for two years. 

2) I then realized if I only thought the the physical (healthy life style, exercise) would heal me. I completely forgot the mental aspect. Yes, I started meditating and I have been fairly good with it the past two months but I didn't look at my beliefs until Deepak brought it to the light. 

If I do everything in my physical power to change my body yes it will change. If I do everything physically to heal my body will it heal? Most likely not in my case. So how can I begin to trust my body? Well I will focus on all the positives of course and I now understand that my body is faithful to me, my body is like a dear friend who is always listening. So if I change what I am saying it will change my body, my chemistry and I will heal. 

Now that I am writing this I realize several more things: I wasn't eating and exercising only to heal myself, I wanted to lose weight too. This might not seem negative on the surface but to heal and for healthy plans to work you need to accept them at a spiritual level and then the universe will support you. I was wanting to live this lifestyle at the level of the ego, no wonder it wouldn't stick. In all honesty I feel that if I had of kept the healthy lifestyle for a few months then healed..I would have went back to the sugars, dairy and processed foods. WOW! A revelation is happening right now. haha

I truly believe that everything that appears in our lives is a spiritual lesson and even if we don't believe it we do have the strength to learn and develop from it. You just have to be open and try new things beyond your comfort zone.

Deepak says to solve a problem you have to move to a higher consciousness to solve it. By George..I think I finally made some progress after two years. I also learned that I have to learn to accept not having control. Eating healthy and exercising may not heal the tumour, would that be so bad? I would still feel a lot better. 

So one of my goals is to write on this blog as a motivator to keep me accountable and to help anyone else who may be interested in reading my ramblings. 

Do you have any beliefs that affect your daily health habits? 

Do you have any tips on trusting your body? 

Thanks for stopping by,

Angie

My master glad is kinda bossy

So for any of the people who may be interested in this blog because of my prolactinoma, I guess I should talk about it a little. The pituitary gland is a little pea sized glad at the base of your brain and it is often referred to as the "Master glad". Although is is in you skull, right behind your eyes. It isn't really classified as a part of the "brain" but as an endocrine gland. Endocrine glads secrete hormones that are chemical messengers that keep our body in balance.

My pituitary glad has a little hitchhiker (8mm) tumor that is pushing on the cells that produce prolactin. Prolactin is a pregnancy hormone that is released during pregnancy and it allows the mother to breast feed. It also stops you from menstruating and it can make it difficult to loose weight. You need that fat for the bebe. A normal range for prolactin
is 4-30 ng/ml. When I was first diagnosed mine was 70 something, then it went up to 80 something then it would go up and down but relatively staying within the same range. The highest it went was 110 ng/ml. Although, mine is pretty high I still feel fortunate as I have heard that some people's levels go up into the high hundreds and even thousands.

Once I was diagnosed the team of doctors decided that since my levels weren't too too high and I wasn't experiencing any side effects that we would wait and watch. So every six months I go to the neurologist and endocrinologist and get everything checked out. Only once a year I get an MRI though. So every time I get my brain scanned the tumor wouldn't change and we would continue to wait.

I strongly believe that I am going to be tumor free someday. I am going to get an MRI and they won't find anything. When this is going to happen I am not sure...it just will when the time is right.

My biggest fear during this whole process was that I would have to take medication as I read all the blogs and posts where people suffered due to medication side effects. During my last visit in January my fear came true.. the doctor passed me a prescription and told me to start taking the pills asap. I thought that I had my mind made up and drugs were out but I didn't say anything to the doctors and I took the prescription.

Now anyone that knows me knows that I like to be well informed so I did research. Yes, I did the google search but I scoured the medical journals and real scientific data. What I found was that the drug that I was prescribed could potentially cause a long list of side effects included but not limited to nausea, othrostatic hypo tension (a favorite in pharm class), dizziness, blah blah blah and heart valve problems! I read the heart valve problems and was freaked out! I continued my research and trying to remain objective.

Once I had all the information I made a pros and cons list. If I take the drug there is a slight correlation with valve damage or I can have my hormones out of wack and get heart disease, osteoporosis, weight gain, be infertile as well as all the emotional aspects that come with hormones.

So I bit the bullet and I have been on the drug for two months. I have no side effects! Although the first few weeks I had a dry mouth like no ones business and the bowels were a little slow. After a month I became a real woman again! After 3 years of not having periods!! I think I am loosing my gut, which I could NEVER loose. Bye bye baby hormones see you again when I need you!

So when I get back to mainland I am getting my hormone levels tested and I feel that they will be in the normal range. I am also getting a MRI to see if the hitchhiker is shrinking. I think he/she is. So I guess that is enough babble for now. If you have any questions message or e-mail me angemacisaac@hotmail.com and I'll get back to you.

Overall, I feel blessed because if I was going to get a brain tumor I by far got the best kind! Here is a great video that gives a quick overview of pituitary tumors.





I love this video haha

The Cove

Today I just finished watching a documentary called "The Cove" and I was shocked just as I sure you will be. Did you ever think about where that cute little dolphin came from at Sea World or the countless kissing dolphins at Caribbean resorts? Well this documentary reveals the shocking truth! Thousands of dolphins are trapped, sold and those not sold are slaughtered for their flesh  and are sold as "whale meat". I really recommend that you educate yourself on this topic by watching this documentary and no longer support Sea World, or tourist attractions that showcase dolphins or any other marine animals. Here is a PSA about this issue.


This issue is not just important for the dolphins but for the countless people that are eating this toxic meat every day. Mercury is a poison to the nervous system and it can cause brain damage as well as other serious health issues.




Before a issue can be solved we must first know the issue exists. It is a great documentary and there are many things that you can do to get involved as there is an on-line community. This link http://www.thecovemovie.com/ allows you to watch the movie free of charge as well as explore the shop, and get involved (I signed an online petition). I am unsure of how the earth quake effected this particular area of Japan. I do hope that as the country is rebuilding they will also eliminate the slaughtering of thousands of innocent dolphins. Sending love and light to the people and dolphins of Japan.

Fresh Pits and breath

The business of smelling good is big bucks. Over the past few years I have tried a range of natural deodorants including: Tom's, salt stone, home made concoction I bought at White Lotus and Dr. Mist! Tom and I didn't get along so well so we had to stop hanging out, the homemade deodorant I bought from the white Lotus was great, it smelled like Terry's Chocolate Oranges! Mmmmmm The last time I went to buy some the White Lotus was sold out so I bought Dr. Mist and I fell in love!

Dr. Mist is a Canadian product that was featured on Dragon's Den. It is an all natural product (no nasty aluminum) that keeps you smelling fresh and it doesn't stain clothes. I know when I used conventional deodorant I would always have caked on deodorant on the insides of my shirts. So at White Lotus Dr. Mist retails for $11.99. I have been using it everyday for the past month and it feels like there is enough in the bottle to last me until I get back to the mainland.
http://www.drmist.ca/

Fresh breath! Did you ever wonder why there is a warning label on tooth paste saying "do not swallow"? It may have something to do with the fact that it is a chemical party. I was kind of hesitant in buying natural toothpaste because it is so expensive and I would read the ingredients of the natural brands and they would still have some chemicals (waste of money). I eventually found a brand that is chemical free. Desert Essence. I'm not going to lie there was a transition period..for the first week the stuff sickened me. Now, I don't mind it at all. I would describe the taste as a flower pooping in your mouth.  Here is a link of the product. I purchased it at the Superstore and it was on sale for approximately $7.00. Quite a bit more expensive then the regular toothpaste but it is a big tube and I would rather pay more then put industrial grade cleaner in my mouth.

Here is a video reviewing Dr. Mist and another tooth paste Dr. Ken's. The video gives a great overview on why these natural products are beneficial and like I always say I just love videos.

Enjoy!

A Peaceful Mantra

I took this picture the other morning on my way to work. Nature's beautiful art.  I am so thankful I have the eyes to see such beauty everyday.

May I feel protected and safe.

May I feel contented and pleased.

May my physical body support me with strength.

May my life unfold smoothly with ease.

-Author Unknown



I LOVE Kris Carr!

Just wanted the world to know that I love Kris Carr! Kris is a woman that inspires me to live a healthy life and take care of my "bod pod". She is funny, humbling and one smart cookie! I have ordered her book "Crazy Sexy Diet" and DVD "Crazy Sexy Cancer" and patiently awaiting their arrival (I will blog on both when I read/watch). Side note: I also ordered "The China Study", "Thrive diet", "The MS diet" and "Adopting a Racing Greyhound" haha I am going to get a greyhound someday! Excited!
So take a few minutes, put your feet up and watch these quick clips of Kris! Ohh she has  a blog http://crazysexylife.com/  and has also developed an on-line community (which I am proud to say I am a member of) http://my.crazysexylife.com/.

Bloom & Flower

Spring is a time of growth and change, the flowers bloom and the birds begin to sing. Meanwhile, most people just cross their fingers and close their eyes waiting for the first sign of summer. This spring I am embracing the change that comes with the season and I am doing some personal growth myself. I have finally fully committed with the Vegan lifestyle, it took me awhile to get to this point but the universe kept sending me signs that I could no longer ignore (I'm a true believer of the secret).


#1) a couple of weeks ago I turned the TV on and there was a program on about diet and health and the gentleman Dr. Neil Barnard was speaking about the health benefits of a animal free diet (vegan). Dr. Barnard is also author of the book "21 day weightlosss Kickstart".



Dr. Neil Barnard



#2) Last week a couple of my friends came to visit me in Port Aux Basques. During their visit I ate foods that I haven't ate in months! Lots of cheese, white pasta, mini eggs by the hundreds (I'm serious!), ice cream, cookies, gravy and I'm sad to say even some chicken. Well it didn't take long for my body to refute the fact that I trashed it. After the first day of eating these foods I became gassy, then I became fatigued. I felt really tired and had to take a nap! I hardly ever nap. After my friends left I suffered..I had a headache for three days, my face broke out with acne, I was exhausted but couldn't sleep well and I felt chilled. It took me 5 days of eating a vegan diet filled with fresh veggies and fruit before I had my usual energy levels back and 5 days until I could sleep a whole night without waking up every few hours.

#3) I checked my e-mail after my friends left and I had an invitation to the 21 day vegan challenge headed by Dr. Barnard. If this isn't a sign that I was looking for, I don't know what would be. So what is the 21 day Vegan challenge you ask? Well is pure genius if you ask me. You sign up and everyday you get an e-mail with a 21 day vegan meal plan, recipes included, a celebrity message of encouragement (e.g Brendan Blazier, Kris, Carr, Alicia Sliverstone etc.), helpful videos and an on-line community of support! So I signed up and the rest is history! On a side note if I can eat vegan living in Port Aux Basques, NL then I no longer have excuses.

So this spring I encourage you to bloom and grow. Find that something that you were always wanting to do or try and just live in alignment with your hopes and wishes. The best of luck to you all.


Angie