Medications

Elsa, continued

Liz James · January 5, 2018 ·

My world has come to a standstill…..at least it feels that way. I take my hat off to all those mamas who have (human) babies. The 24/7 is real….. even more real when you’ve got one with a health problem.

Elsa’s entry into the world, while received happily by us has been fraught with issues. The last two days, we’ve been unraveling the problem(s) that have plagued her.

Elsa’s problem #1: Hypothermia at birth: Although we live in north Texas, believe it or not, it can get dang cold here. It’s a different kind of cold than up north where it’s drier. Here…. it can be bone chilling in the winter time. We found her within 30 minutes of her birth, but she was already half frozen even in that short amount of time. Despite our efforts of heat lamps, warming pad, time indoors in front of the fire with us, we could not keep her warm.
Elsa’s problem #2: Low blood glucose: It appeared that because she was so cold, she wasn’t eating. Not eating was causing a dangerous drop in blood glucose. Between this and the hypothermia, we were setting ourselves up for losing her.
Elsa’s problem #3: Pneumonia: Babies are so very tender, especially ones born under such dangerous conditions. For whatever reason, I’ve found that calves and foals can be particularly tender at any time of the year. The vet heard rattling in her lungs, and her oxygen saturation came back at 72%. That is not conducive for living long, as eventually organs will begin shutting down.

Once we found out she had pneumonia, we upped our game. Frankly, the vet, rather gently attempted to talk me out of saving her, simply by telling me her chances of survival were slim. That news came Wednesday. Today is Friday, and baby girl is doing better. She has been on a round of two antibiotics, and spent about 48 hours in our bathtub. Because we wanted to do everything we could to support proper lung function and boost her immune system, we’ve been diffusing therapeutic grade Frankincense, Copaiba, and Lemon around the clock. Our bathroom became an aroma tent for her. Two days of tube feeding…. and then we tried to teach her to nurse again, with very little success. We were all disappointed. Honey, (her mama) was THRILLED to have her back this morning after two days of absence. Honey’s mourning was heart wrenching. She went into a depressed mood, and didn’t even call for her baby. It was as if she knew she was dead. This picture isn’t so great, but neither one of them would stand still for a photo op.

Tube feeding is time consuming, but so is keeping a calf in the house….Keeping the house clean is a chore all it’s own. I’ve done load after load of towels and blankets. Little girl has proven that both her bladder and her bowels are functioning… this is GREAT news, as it means her organs are working. Her blood oxygen saturation level yesterday afternoon confirmed that….. it had risen to 95%. Because she is so tiny, she needs food every 2-3 hours. Feed. Clean. Repeat.

Honey, Elsa’s mama, can’t be forgotten in all of this…. she has a bag full of milk at any given time, and has pined for her baby. Throughout all of this, Honey has been a trooper. She is young, and has never been milked before…. so, on top of missing her baby, she had a crash course in getting to know me intimately while I milked. You can’t just walk up and start milking a cow. It actually takes time, trust, and a learning curve on the cow’s part. So this… milking….. has to also be added into the equation. Thankfully, because of scheduling at work, I was given a window of 7 days in a row off (Thank you Jesus!)…. but by next Wednesday, I’ll have to come up with a longer term plan.

This brings me to Elsa’s Problem #4: Last night in the wee hours of the morning as I was placing the tube down her throat for yet another feeding, I felt something odd on the roof of her mouth. No wonder the poor thing can’t suckle well…… she has a cleft palate! After feeding her, I promptly did a little research…. what are our options?…..are we looking at surgery, is death the only option…. what’s next? Surprisingly, I found a small group of farmers and ranchers who have successfully raised cleft palate calves. It appears that if you can get past the initial suckling problems (ie: get creative with feeding), they can actually grow up and thrive. I also found that this particular congenital defect is almost always due to ingesting a plant in the lupine family during a certain time of pregnancy. You know I’m going to be stalking those fields in the spring with the intent of destroying that offending plant.

Today is Friday. Technically, she should be dead by now. I won’t say she’s thriving, but I do believe she is at least 85% better than she was on Wednesday. But the “window”, according to the vet, is still 3 days away.

Y’all keep praying for her. She is a cutie, and she’s worth fighting for!

Hugs and love, Liz

Grateful for the Little Things

Liz James · December 18, 2017 ·

One of my most favorite things about wintertime is grapefruit! I was prepping my breakfast this morning and I felt a surge of gratitude that I could eat something that I loved so much. I know…. it probably sounds weird. But way back when…. about 20 years ago, grapefruit suddenly landed on my ‘no no’ food list. That list became a very significant part of my life for about 12 years.

I think I was 33 when I started having peeing problems (sorry if that’s TMI!… just being real here). I simply felt like I had to pee all. the. time…… but especially at night. There were nights I probably got up 8-9 times to go to the bathroom. Doctors ruled out infection and said I simply had an overactive bladder. How does this even happen? I mean, how does one simply ‘acquire’ an overactive bladder? I wasn’t that old…. and had never had any children (both risk factors). We tried a few medications to limit the frequent trips. Pharmaceutical fail. The side effects of dry eyes, dry mouth, blurred vision, and dizziness and drowsiness were not a good trade off for the minor decrease in the number of trips to the bathroom at night. Just when I was approaching my wit’s end, I went to another doctor who finally gave me a definitive diagnosis: Interstitial Cystitis.

If you’ve never heard of IC, here is a short clip from the TV talk show, Drs as a way of explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mzAQgQaauM

IC is a beast. I was relatively fortunate…. and only had the urge to pee with ungodly frequency. Many other women have IC much worse, and the urge is accompanied by pain. The medications used are modestly effective at best, and have an impressive list of side effects. Daily self catheterization, surgical procedures, and even cystectomy (bladder removal) are also treatment plan options. My doctor was ahead of her time 2 decades ago. She recommended that I start a very restrictive diet as a means of helping control the urge to pee. I literally began the diet with a menu that consisted of 4 foods…… slowly adding one food at a time back into my life. Looking back, I realize that as awful as this diagnosis may sound, it was thru this that I was given the gift of culinary discernment and the ability to read even minute clues within my body based on how my bladder reacted to what I had eaten earlier in the day.

Here’s a sampling of my crazy ‘no no’ list: most citrus (except blood oranges, which are lower in acid and seemed to be okay for me), pineapple fresh or canned (but it’s ok to eat pineapple if I am actually in the country of origin), onions, peanut butter that had hydrogenated oils (natural was ok), food with dyes, fried foods, spicy food, tomatoes (unless they were yellow… also lower in acid), coffee, many over the counter medications…. the list went on….. but the biggie: processed foods. Those were like a lightning bolt to my bladder.

I learned that getting dehydrated definitely made things worse (and so I became a dedicated water drinker…. another blessing in disguise). I also learned that stress made an awful companion to a temperamental bladder, and have learned ways to mitigate stress. It was many years later that I actually learned I had inadvertently joined the ranks of 1 in 5 adults….. I had an autoimmune disorder.

I talk about this from time to time with people. Our bodies are like buckets and toxins drip slowly into that bucket on a daily basis from the moment we wake up til the time our head hits the pillow at night. And then, if you are an air freshener girl or guy (like I was), you’re lucky enough to be adding those toxins to your body even while you sleep. (Throw those plug-ins away and get yourself a diffuser and some toxin free oils… I promise you, your home and office space will smell awesome, AND you’ll be deriving therapeutic benefits instead of being slowly poisoned to death). Once that toxin bucket is filled and begins overflowing, well that’s when the trouble really starts…. and you get diagnosed with something fun like IC, or a host of other autoimmune disorders. Which autoimmune disorder you get usually depends on which part of your body is the weakest. In my case, it was my bladder.

My diagnosis of IC set my future in motion in ways I’m ever grateful for. IC became my dietary enforcer. I mean, who wants to eat something that will make them pee every 30 minutes ad infinitum? I also came to realize that being surrounded by chemicals (even basic skin care products) didn’t help the situation at all, so we began switching to nontoxic alternatives. My toxin bucket was clearly full and overflowing given the evidence my bladder had coughed up. It was a slow process…. this detoxing our lives….. and I’m not going to lie….it’s still an ongoing process. We are picky about where we eat (is the food freshly prepared, and preferably organic?), and we are picky about what we are willing to expose ourselves to. Do I fail? Oh yes. I’m not anywhere near perfect. I still have a hard time resisting Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (the peanut butter in them are of the devil as far as my bladder is concerned). But falling off the wagon will nearly always guarantee me the need to pee often and with urgency…so it’s usually not worth it.

I’m not saying it will work for everyone with an autoimmune disorder, but think about this…… If one in five of us are so sensitive to toxins that our bodies begin revolting in whatever unique manner it chooses to…….. why in the world wouldn’t you want to minimize the exposure to those toxins simply so that your life would be less complicated, less painful, and even less embarrassing? (I’ve had some truly embarrassing moments. Trust me.)

Fast forward to 3 years ago. The cleaner my personal environment got, and the more balanced my body became with essential nutrients, the calmer my bladder became. Just like a pesky sibling, I know exactly how to rile my bladder up and can do it in a New York minute, but why would I? Most of the time, when I do suffer with IC these days, it’s because I did something stupid. I got dehydrated. I got careless with food. I allowed myself to become stressed out.

Today, my bladder is a fairly normal organ. Yes, I still have IC and I probably always will. But I have healed considerably. I still have a ‘no no’ list of foods that will set my bladder off, but take a look at it now: processed foods (anything with a chemical component) and coffee. My bladder….. sensitive little creature that it is, can usually even tell the difference between what is organic and what is not. And really…. you gotta respect that in an organ :).

Grapefruit…. it’s what’s for breakfast! I am grateful indeed.

Hugs and love~ Liz

(Some of) The Science Behind Essential Oils

Liz James · October 30, 2017 ·

The inner science nerd comes out in me on a fairly regular basis. While I am most at home on our farm, I have said for decades that I could have been a professional full time student (if finances were no object). I think that is one of the things that initially drew me to pharmacy…. there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new at work. It is also one of the things I find so attractive about health and wellness in general. Every pebble you turn over reveals a boulder of information just waiting to be learned and absorbed. If you are a life science junkie (like me), you can lose yourself for hours (if not days) reading studies in Pubmed.gov. Finding this website several years ago was the game changer and light bulb moment for me. It was almost as if I had tumbled down a rabbit hole like Alice, and discovered a whole world that I had vaguely heard about but assumed must be inferior to ‘what I knew‘ from pharmacy school.

Big Pharma subsidizes the education of health professionals in the United States. They take the little fledgling professionals and give them their kool-aid and pat their egos. Well done young Dr/ Pharmacist/ Nurse/ ___________ (fill in the blank). Even today, when I read pharmacy continuing education courses on Natural Medicine, I can barely bear to read them. (Again, subsidized). I can earn 1-2 CE credit hours to learn that alternative medicine really is ‘minimally effective’ at best and/or ‘sham medicine’ at worst. It took me about 15 years post pharmacy school to deprogram my mind and begin thinking for myself. Now, with every new drug or new class of drugs, I listen to what Big Pharma says, and then I dig a little deeper to find the whole truth… not the sugar coated version. Ever wonder why those advertisements speak nice and slowly about the unicorns and puppies the drugs promise, and then speak auctioneer fast (or use 4pt font) to reveal some (but definitely not all) of the possible side effects? Me too.

After I quit drinking the kool-aid (now realizing that said kool-aid is full of high fructose corn syrup and red dye #3), and came to my senses, I simply can’t get enough of what alternative health options has to offer. Yes, there is and always will be a time and a place for modern medicine….. but there is also a time and a place for alternative health options. It behooves us all to be open to both.

If you venture in to Pubmed.gov and begin researching, take note of how many studies revealing the benefits of alternative therapies come from outside the United States. University scholars and scientists from all over the world are digging deeply into holistic care and coming up with astounding truths (with far far far fewer side effects than their pharmaceutical counterparts). The United States is slow on the uptake here. Why? Big Pharma doesn’t benefit from holistic care. Repair and restoration does not always have to come with a pharmaceutical pricetag or health consequence. Frequently, repair and restoration comes in the form of self care and simply understanding how we tick and why we do what we do or our bodies do what they do. Learning how to support our bodies instead of propping them up with pharmaceuticals. It’s a learning curve for sure… and the first step is to look at who is offering up those kool-aid cocktails.

Which brings me back to the original topic of this post. Elizabeth Erickson is a neuroscientist with a focus on applied cognition. Our brains can be our best friend, but they can also be our worst enemy. Tonight (Monday, Oct 30th), Elizabeth will discuss some very basic concepts for you to wrap your mind around. This is a free event, and even if you cannot attend the live class due to a scheduling conflict, I’d encourage you to make some time to watch it in the 24 hours it will be available for viewing. Come with an open mind and be prepared to learn. I will be there too…. learning and gleaning… one of my favorite things to do!

Sleep Week – day 4

Liz James · July 5, 2017 ·

Good morning sunshine! I hope you all woke up refreshed. This morning, I wanted to talk a little about melatonin.

Melatonin isn’t just for sleep. Small daily doses may also support our thyroid function and healthy estrogen levels (in women aged 42-62 years).

I find it so interesting that ‘natural night time light colors’… think campfires, moonlight or fireflies are acceptable to our bodies, while unnatural (ie:manmade) lighting colors are disruptive. God certainly knew what he was doing

Too much of a good thing isn’t always a good thing…High doses of melatonin supplementation can actually cause the reverse effect and aggravate good sleep.

Thank goodness Young Living knows this (those smarty pants!), and have given us ImmuPro and SleepEssence*.

Immupro is an excellent immune system supporting supplement. Melatonin alone also supports the immune system (in proper amounts of course). This is one of the reasons it is an ingredient in ImmuPro…. while it does aid in sleep, it also does so much more! Remember, healing occurs greatest while we sleep.But did you also know that if our bodies are not producing enough melatonin (see the graphic above) due to even the briefest exposure to light at night or due to aging then our thymus gland begins to atrophy. And if our thymus isn’t functioning properly…. that is bad news indeed! A shriveled up thymus means that a key component of your immune system has been compromised.

Approximately 9 million people in the USA take prescription sleeping pills regularly. Meds like Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata (etc) are only approved by the FDA for short term use, and yet, doctors prescribe them like night time candy. I know this because they are some of the fastest moving drugs in our pharmacy.

There are significant (and sometimes long term ) side effects of prescripton sleep aids… especially when taken regularly.

Drowsy daytime driving
Depression (yes, they can both cause and augment it)
Increase the risk of infection (by 44%)
Increased risk of falls (especially a problem in the elderly)
Erratic behavior (both night and daytime)

This is why it’s so important to uncover the root cause of sleepless nights, and address that, instead of the ‘band-aid’ solution in the form of a sleeping pill.

I do not take ImmuPro or SleepEssence nightly, but I do keep at least one of these on hand…. and use them when I struggle with sleepless nights. The nice thing about these products is that you can take them occasionally, or regularly if needed without fear of addiction or side effects.

As I’ve posted throughout the week, if today’s discussed products interest you, You can have a wholesale membership with Young Living for a once a year purchase of $100 (they throw in a free oil for stress too!) and then have access to ALL their products at wholesale pricing (24% off retail prices). You can order whatever you’d like with no minimum. Places like SAM’S and Costco charge a higher annual fee, and you get nothing but access to their buildings…. so this is a pretty great deal. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me. (If you choose to sign up with a membership…. regardless of the type, I’ll send you a 400+ page hardcopy reference manual and other resources to get you started).

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Sleep Week – day 3

Liz James · July 3, 2017 ·

Deficiencies. Sometimes our bodies don’t produce enough, and other times, we just don’t consume enough. The only way (aside from supplementation) we can receive minerals like Magnesium or Potassium is thru the plants we consume, and to a much lesser extent, meat from animals who have eaten plants. Additionally, our bodies give us the ability to synthesize D, but D can come from a non-vegan diet as well.

Current farming practices have overworked the soil and synthetic fertilizers bind minerals. Both practices prevent the transfer of minerals to the plants. Since the 1970’s, the mineral content of plants we eat has diminished greatly (50-70%). Growing your own food with organic (ex: cow poop!) fertilizer will help, but supplementation has become a growing necessity. This is exactly why we’ve chosen to garden and use our own compost….. and choose very specific seeds.

Not all Magnesium is created equal. Some forms are not absorbed well. Highly absorbable forms of magnesium include citrate & glycinate ( Thankfully YL uses both forms).

Not all vitamin D is created equal either …..D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol). Studies indicate that vitamin D2 is much less potent and has a shorter duration of action than D3. Young Living uses D3 in their formulations.

Thank goodness they know this and incorporate the good stuff into their formulations. (Believe me, I see what’s available out there in pharmacy land!)

What are the chances you are deficient in any (or all) of these? Deficiencies abound in the good ol’ US of A. Despite the wealth of our nation, we are sorely lacking in many nutrients.

80% of us are lacking in Magnesium

75% of us are lacking in Vitamin D

98% of us are lacking in Potassium

Give yourself a high five if you thought you might be deficient. Now go do something about it !… and work towards that 7 hours of golden sleep.

Supplementing is so helpful to keep us above that wellness line. All three deficiencies can cause many more body system dysfunctions than just missed sleep. God made a finely tuned machine when He designed us. If someone finds they are significantly deficient, there are prescription strength D, Pot, (and non prescription, but high strength Mag) available…if you need concentrated help with magnesium, make sure you opt for glycinate and/or malate forms (higher doses can cause diarrhea, and these are less apt to do that, while still being highly bioavailable).