As many of you know Dave has been off work while he heals from the complications of surgery. That means money is tighter than usual and the reality of it is money is tight for most of us in this weak economy. That is why I love iherb!

With having genetic enherited chronic health problems I really need special dietary supplements. I need special foods like cereal that does not contain added iron. Herbs, vitamins and special chemical free shampoos, soaps, groceries and cleaners. At the local health food store these items are too expensive making them unobtainable for me.

Yesterday I bought $70 worth of groceries and speciality health items but with all the discounts my total came to $40! They do not jack up prices to give you the illusion of money savings, I’ve been doing this for decades I know what items sell for. Shipping is FREE when you buy $40 worth of items. I like that! They also have many small free items to add to your order and a wealth of research materials available online through their site.

I’m not going to lie to you, if you use my referral code VOL873 I will get an additional discount on my purchase, but if you know me, you know I would never try to sell you anything or take advantage of you in any way. If you havent tried iherb yet, please at least visit them. If you have health problems explore natural alternatives.

When you use my code VOL873 you will save an additional $5.00 off your first order! Write it down and make sure you use it when checking out, it’s only good on your first order. I’ve been shopping with them for several years now and have never had a problem with security.

$5.00 Coupon Code VOL873

Check em out! www.iherb.com

The bed; When I am able to change the sheets I layer many sheets at one time. Since we have dogs and I’m too ill to bathe them, my sheets need changing a lot. When it’s time to change the sheets I simply peel off the top, viola, there’s a fresh sheet. I avoid using top sheets because they just add to the workload. I use a comfortable blanket and it gets washed whether there is a top sheet or not anyways because of the dogs. But you could just as easily layer them with top sheets. As long as there is no moisture to deal with it works well.

Lets be honest, at some point we are too fatigued to brush our teeth. If laundered correctly a washrag sprinkled with witch hazel and q-tips will help. Massage teeth and gums in a downward motion on top teeth, upwards motion from bottom teeth and clean the tongue. Q-tips dipped in a little witch hazel can get the crevices. Should do this both before and after flossing, something else you can do from bed without help from anyone. It may sound gross but it’s better than not brushing at all.

Clothing; I don’t wear pajamas, if I did I’d be in them all the time. It’s not feasible to change clothes twice a day for some people, the laundry alone would pile up. You’ve heard of pajama pants? I’ve been doing that for years. I buy comfortable cotton or linen pants and capris and comfortable natural fiber tops. If I haven’t made it to shower or change, if someone comes over or I need an emergency trip to the hospital I’m in real clothes.

Bathing; good old witch hazel and wash rags. If too weak to take a shower or bath you can pour witch hazel on rags and massage everything you can reach with it from bed. Hair isn’t as easy but I do use a witch hazel washrag and massage my head with it. There are numerous spray or dry shampoos on the market. I tried a spray shampoo in the hospital once and it was nice.

I follow with MSM lotion to heal and moisturize the skin.

If you have any tips please add them!

The frequent stirrings in my chest are a reminder that my life is slowly coming to an end. Who knew of all the diagnoses I have had that it would be a simple inherited genetic iron problem that would take my life, that is the stealth attack of hemochromatosis also spelled haemochromatosis in the UK.

The only treatment for it is quite medieval to say the least. We are bled, that’s right, one pint at a time. I’ve had more therapeutic phlebotomies than I can count. A therapeutic phlebotomy is the term used for when they take our blood. It is supposed to remove the iron that can kill us. The only problem is to take enough blood out to keep iron levels low it also takes every other important element in blood and leaves you feeling dehydrated and dragging. Well it did me anyways.

Let this be a lesson to you who has been diagnosed, take care of yourself. know your ferritin numbers and keep them low. I tried my best but I never had an advocate or someone who was there to help me. It has not been easy. Maybe had I done better at my phlebotomies my heart would not be choking to death on iron right now. I’m only 51, really wanted more time.

It started with chest pressure and fluttering. One cardiologist found some mild problems, slightly thickening of the mitral valve and an arrhythmia that usually can be treated with a pacemaker. But it didn’t explain the growing pressure. Having lupus pleurisy is common so I figured it was a bad bout of pleurisy, until I ended up in the ER. I had a  TIA , a pre-stroke without evidence of any blood clot.

I slowly lost lucidity, lost feeling in my body. By the time we got to the hospital I was out cold and could not move my body. They ran every test they could, heart should have been ok. They put me on Plavix a blood thinner in case the blood had undetectably ”clumped” in my brain.

When the doctors looked sheepishly at me and said; “Hemochromatosis can damage the heart” I knew the truth. After recovering I did my research and this is how it happens, heart fluttering and weakness. Tic tok. Patients usually go fast by the time they get to this point.

At first I was not ready to go. I felt that I needed more time to be a better mother and grandmother. Lord knows I was a sorely lacking in those areas. I was worried about my husband, having Asperger’s he can’t read people well and I’ve been able to help him.  But I had to come to peace with it and trust that everyone would be ok without me. They’d have to be. Ultimately, I surrendered it to God because there’s a point in your life that you realize you have no choice in the matter.

Sometimes when I’m laying down heart fluttering and feeling weak it’s almost as if I see a bright gold light. I’m not afraid. I will pass, cross over to the other side. I’ve always lived close to the other side. As an empath, we feel and understand how some things work over there. However we can’t begin to know the awesome glory of God that we will experience. When the flesh is gone the spirit will be set free and be able to see the Creator.

In the first chapter of Jeremiah God was speaking to the prophet. He said roughly; I knew you before you were born. Did we all chose to come? Did we chose who would be our parents? We start out without any memory of this pre-human time. There’s more that we don’t know about God than we do.

God is love, light, the other side is a world of vibrations, travel at the speed of thought, and Jesus, the physical manifestation of God the Creator. There are spirit creatures that we will be surprised to meet and people who’ve gone before us. People that loved us but could not cross the barrier of the laws of physics, the physical manifestation of matter.

We are here for a distinct  purpose, we just have no memory of it when we get here. I hope I fulfilled mine. What a crazy unusual life I have had.

]]> http://lupieayah.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/on-death/feed/ 2 lupieayah 106 http://lupieayah.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/on-being-an-empath-2/ http://lupieayah.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/on-being-an-empath-2/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:40:05 +0000 LupieAyah http://lupieayah.wordpress.com/?p=272 ]]> An empath does not always have the ability to not feel 100% of what another person is feeling especially if that person is a friend or loved one. We are tuned into their station, connected by that relationship via the love. Sometimes it is even difficult to discern the difference between their feelings and our own.

Sometimes we have to climb up to the top of the mountain alone to bring psychic and emotional distance between us. This is often percieved as aloof or uncaring when just the opposite is true. We care and feel too much.

A natural born empath will never be at peace if they must constantly be around energetic drama and crowds. We need a quiet mind, a quiet place and a calm heart to thrive.

Can you find me?

If you are not an empath, you will have a hard time understanding what it is like to be a natural-born empath but for those who are curious, I’m going to describe a few things. I’ll start with how being an empath affects social networking sites like Twitter. In order to survive as an empath, I have to live a fairly secluded lifestyle close to the calm of nature. If not I will pick up people’s thoughts feelings and emotions on a constant basis. It is like being a human radio picking up waves of thoughts and emotions.

The Way Twitter Works

Twitter users can live around the world, it doesn’t matter, a sensitive empath will feel them. Each person is like a radio station on a global radio. When people are honest, authentic, and there to share their lives, the station comes in clear. When someone is fake, lies, or has ulterior motives no matter how many people they are fooling, I will know. I’ll know because they are a station that cannot be tuned in without static. The static will get on my nerves until I have no choice but to unfollow them. I can’t control the static, can’t turn it down without distancing myself from that station.

Often, if it someone I really like, I’ll double-check, do a little research, check their story. 99% of the time my instincts are correct, the station is out of tune, and they are not being honest. Then I’m faced with a dilemma, do I confront them? Tell anyone? Usually, no. It’s not my drama it is theirs. Maybe sometimes people need to believe a lie, I don’t know. I can’t maintain a meaningful relationship with someone who is lying to me.

Sometimes people are not stable enough to handle being faced with the reality of their lies, they will only continue to lie. It’s easier for all if I just walk away. Please don’t think that if I have un-followed you it is because I think you are fake, we may simply have nothing in common.

A man needs to know he is; loved, needed, successful and cherished. If all he ever hears is how he is not doing something right, he’s not going to be happy. He’s going to feel like a failure. Can’t we instead count all the things good about our husbands? Can we think about him and his needs as more important than our own? Sure we can! But why you may ask.

Because when we live a life of unconditional love and self sacrifice our husband’s heart will be moved. Let me tell you ladies, when you truly have a man’s heart, you have all of him. Isn’t that what you really want? A man who lives to make you happy? A man who through sickness and in health, richer or poorer will stand beside you faithfully?

Part of living a life of unconditional love is manifest by accepting and loving our husbands for who they are, not for who we want them to be. Are you angry or feeling like he is not good enough because he is not earning as much as you want him to? Does he not dress or talk the way you want him to? We can choose to love our husbands just the way they are. Women as nurturers are the best in this partnership to begin marital healing by manifesting unconditional love. Who wants to hang out with a bitter partner?

When a man has a problem with say alcohol or pornography addiction, we can accept them they way they are while learning to set loving solid boundaries for them so we do not become enablers or co-dependent. If we can master unconditional love, it often will be the strength he needs to overcome any obstacles to living a healthy productive life.

Men do not think like we do, period. Don’t expect them too. A neuro-typical man thinks in boxes, compartmentalized. He needs to go from one box, finish that before going into the next box. A woman can have many boxes open at one time and know exactly what is what. He is not motivated by the same things women are. Your husband is not required to think like a woman.

We can choose to either bless or curse our loved ones. We either speak words that lift up and encourage, or bitter words that tear down and discourage. If we are talking to our husbands and the “you” comes up, it needs to be a positive statement, i.e. “You are wonderful.”

Never talk about your husband behind his back. Unless he is physically or psychologically abusive, keep his fallibilities to yourself. Don’t run and call your mama or best friend if he hurts your feelings. Marital disagreements stay between you two, your counselor, Pastor or Rabbi.

Be a complete woman. Don’t live your life in such a way that your happiness depends on your husband. Find your own happiness and joy. Know who you are inside. Take care of yourself and all your needs. Be an independent woman that is not married because she needs to be with a man, but because she chooses to share her joy with a man.

Turmeric is very anti-inflammatory. According to Nutrition Data turmeric’s anti-inflammatory factor comes in at 1523 per tbsp. Garlic powder comes in at a whopping 2573! I tbsp of Ground Ginger scores 1447. For a little kick add Cayenne that scores 1481.

My goal is to have a total of at least 500 as far as eating anti-inflammatory foods. This way I can ease off on anti-inflammatory drugs.

Fry your spices in a medium pan in some pure olive oil to release their fragrance but you don’t have to, you can add them at anytime. Experiment! Try sprinkling turmeric, curry, garam masala,  garlic and less liberally; cayenne. Foods come out delicious and a beautiful reddish color.
Don’t be afraid, give it a try, adding spices to my dishes also makes me feel fuller after eating less!

1 large or 2 small bunches of cilantro. Grab bottom and top with both hands and twist off stems. Wash in fine wire mesh colander.

1 qt veggie broth

4 lg cloves fresh garlic or more if you love garlic

Your favorite fresh or dried chili

1 TB cumin

Blend above in blender with 2 cups of the veggie broth until liquefied. Turn off.

Add: 1 small onion to blender quartered.

1 red bell pepper in large chucks

Pulse blender to chop them up.

Add rest of broth to pot with contents of blender. Add favorite veggies to pot. Yucca is good along with corn on the cob segments. Exotic purple & yellow potatoes are also good when available. Grate some banana or other hard squash to add a distinct richness. For an authentic twist add a dark beer last. They eat this traditionally made with lamb and sprinkled with fresh cancha pop, pop corn made with a large hominy size corn. I’ve seen this at the local health food store under the name “Glad Corn”

Simmer on low until veggies are done. Add the beer 5 minutes before turning off heat, alcohol will be cooked off.

Blah blah disclaimer: consult with your physician before trying these at home.

1. Breathing. Sounds like an automatic function right? With lupus it’s not always so easy. We get numerous pulmonary illnesses and pleurisy that makes breathing itself painful. When we do not breath correctly our oxygen levels go down and oxygen is vital to repair the damage lupus does. So here’s what helps me, turn off the noise; TV, radio and inner dialog. Take a deep slow breath in until it fills up the diaphram, slowly controlling it let it out and count 1. Do it again count 2 on the exhale, again 3 on the exhale and 4. Then start all over again on 1. 1234 1234

2. Music. If you play an instrument, play it at least 15 minutes everyday. Otherwise listen to music, sing to music. This helps reset the brain and get you out of the pain cycle.

3. Don’t be a victim of lupus. Acknowledge you are suffering, cry out to God, tell whoever will listen, then let it go. Try not to give it anymore power. Words are power, thoughts are power. You must believe you are whole just as you are and capable of living a fulfilling life. Accept the fact that no one but fellow lupies are going to fully understand.

4. Count your blessings everyday. Literally go over in your mind all the good things in your life. Focus on those good things.

5. Leave your body behind and reach out to others to ease their suffering in any way possible. Even if it is to pray for them. Shift your thoughts from yourself to them, from within to without.