What a week!  My bosses from Vancouver were in  Toronto this week for a trade show.  On Monday I picked them up from airport, drove to Convention Centre and set up booth, and then to hotel downtown and stayed the night.  I shared a room with one of our other staff members and slept maybe 2 hours all night.  Then on my feet all day in the booth and did a presentation to 200 people (love this).  Out for dinner with the bosses and then a 1.5 hour drive home.  

The next morning I was finally seeing the new local gastro doctor and was very impressed.  He feels that my right abdominal pain has nothing to do with my bowels and that it is abdominal wall pain which is likely due to my surgery.  He is getting all my old records and feels that checking out my bowels is not necessary but will do an endoscopy to check my stomach in May.  Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done - just a chronic pain issue and he advised not to do sit ups and crunches when exercising.  I am relieved that no surgery or further bowel issues are indicated.

Then drove 1.5 hours to downtown Toronto, picked up bosses, drove an hour to prospect, met, then drove them back to their hotel in rush hour traffic and then 2 hours of driving home.  Did it all again yesterday but this time dropped them at the airport instead.  I am free!  But unfortunately am suffering from a severe Lupus flare due to the strain.  I have a massage this morning but not sure if it will help when I am in this state and need to drive to a prospect for meetings again this afternoon.  There is no way I could do this regularly.  I fly out to Vancouver Sunday for a week and so hope I can manage.  My company doesn't know of my health issues and not sure I'll be able to hide it any longer.  More stress!

For those of you who don't know, I am an ulcerative colitis survivor who had my colon perforate 16 years ago and then had a J-pouch (rectum sewed out of my small bowel) created and my entire large bowel removed.  A huge success!  Just recently I started being treated for Lupus.  My rheumatologist is in Toronto (I live about 1.5 hours away) and was alarmed at my iron deficient anemia and sent a letter to my GP last April telling him to arrange for a complete GI work up to ensure I was not bleeding internally - a letter I did not know about.  My GP chose to ignore it and a couple of times mentioned his concern for my anemia - no offer of tests or even a suggestion of iron pills.

Well the anemia got worse and I started complaining.  I had to ask him to test my stools for blood (negative).  I started iron pills on my own  .I started getting pains and bloating in my intestines (no diarrhea).  My GP kept insisting it had something to do with my pouch and put me on heavy duty antibiotics.  No change.  He talked about getting me into my surgeon at Mt. Sinai but all he did was talk.    In the summer I was talking to my rheumatologist who asked in an exhasperated tone as to what is going on with the GI work up he indicated needed doing?  He couldn't treat me any further until he could rule out internal bleeding.  I got a copy of the letter and went back to my GP.  He reluctantly ordered a HIDA scan (negative) and agreed to arranging a referral to the surgeon to get the GI work up done.

The local gastro doc he tried has never responded in all these months.  I did get an appointment with my surgeon at Mt. Sinai for today (a 3 month wait).  I was sent info on bowel prep and did my fasting/clear fluids yesterday and today.  Not easy for someone who is hypoglycemic.  My husband took a paid day off work to take me to Toronto for the test.

We got there for the 1:00 appointment.  The nurse took me to a room which I knew was not used for procedures.  I mentioned that I was having an edoscopy and pouch scope done with sedation today.  She said they didn't have that planned and asked if I had done the prep which I said yes.  She had me undress and said she'd talk to the doctor.  I sat in that room half naked and freezing for an hour and a half until the nurse came back, told me to dress and moved me to the procedure room.

The doctor came in and we discussed my issues.  She pointed out that I'd put on some weight since she'd last seen me and we chuckled over that being a result of being healthy due to her surgery.  She went ahead and gave me the pouch scope (I screamed) without sedation and announced it healthy.  She said she'd write a note to my rheumatologist and GP and advise them that they could arrange the endoscopy locally.  Apparently that was beneath her being a colorectal surgeon and all!

I am so mad!  I now have to wait probably a few more months to get this done!  And today the intestinal issues were acutally bothering me.  I was worried that since they coincide with my Lupus flares that it wouldn't be active when I had it checked out but no luck having that done today.  Man am I frustrated.  I just want someone to tell me I'm not bleeding internally and let me know if this is related to Lupus and treat me for it.  I am good at dealing with things when I know what it is but get very scared of the unknown.

After my appointment went for a lousy hamburg and fries I was so hungry.  Took over 2 and half hours to get home from Toronto in rush hour.  Got wine and chips and dip.  Tonight I am self medicating...

I got this in an email and thought I'd share it.  I realized a few years ago that any artificial sweeteners made me feel sick and caused headaches.  This could be why.

SWEET POISON!
A MUST READ!

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick.
She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around.  
Walking was a major chore.
It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.

By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications.  
The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her.
She was in so much pain, and so sick she just knew she was dying.

She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.

She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to  Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.

On March 19 I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS.
I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda?
She told me that she did.  
As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment.

I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda!
I e-mailed her article my friend, a lawyer, had sent.
My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk!  
The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but, she sure felt a lot better.

She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home..

Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed!
He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind.
In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda...and literally dying a slow and miserable death.

When she got to  Florida March 22, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning!
She is well on her way to a complete recovery.
And she is walking!
No wheelchair!

This article saved her life.
If it says 'SUGAR FREE' on the label;
DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on 'ASPARTAME,' marketed as 'Nutra Sweet,' 'Equal,' and  Spoonful.'

In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the  United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.
It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant.
I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.
I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous:
When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis.. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants.
The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.

Many people were being diagnosed in error.  
Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!

Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers.  

The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit.
He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.
We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.

In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.

This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia.
During a lecture, I said,
'If you are using ASPARTAME (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains, numbness in your legs,
Cramps,
Vertigo,
Dizziness,
Headaches,
Tinnitus,
Joint pain,
Unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!'
People were jumping up during the lecture saying,
'I have some of these symptoms..
Is it reversible?'

Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels!
Many products are fortified with it!  
This is a serious problem.
Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice; a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!  

Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates..  

It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs.  
Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily to preserve 'tissue specimens.'

Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!

Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period.

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics.
We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame.  
The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control.
Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.

Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE.
Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage,
Seizures,
Depression,
Manic depression,
Panic attacks,
Uncontrollable anger and rage.

Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well.
Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.

So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs' (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed.
Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place!  

Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.'

It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.

Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy.
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners.  

There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.'

Herein lies the problem:
There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included in 100 different products and strong objection was made co ncerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done.
The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.

Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED!
There are now over 5,000 products on the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced.  
Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.'

I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.

And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes   Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?

This has been recently exposed in the New York Times.
These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products.

Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants.  

The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms.

The bill was killed.

It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're informed now!

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!

I am so darn proud of my son in so many ways.  I always thought those warm and fuzzy parenting feelings would disappear when he was grown (he will soon be 24) but not so.  You go through those years of fighting with him to do his homework and his chores, and dealing with the lying, car incidents, lack of initiative and shared custody issues, and then they amaze you.

When he was 20 he became severely ill with ulcerative colitis - a gift from his mother.  He actually listened and did as I say and not as I did.  He is taking fantastic care of himself - aggressive treatment, eating extremely healthy, working out, and reducing stress.  He is in remission, gaining weight, and feeling wonderful.  I did not give my disease that willpower and dedication.  I am so proud and happy that he will have a healthier life than me.

I really feel like I missed out when I divorced when he was 9 and had to do shared custody with one week on and one week off.  He did not do well in that environment and life just felt so temporary.  I was often afraid to discipline him or create waves for fear of losing him to his father.  He ended up becoming very close to his new stepfather and at 16 asked to live with us full time.  I was ecstatic.  This allowed us to follow our dream of buying a country property so he could experience that while living with us.  He bloomed once he was living in one place and started at a new school and made wonderful friends.  When it came time for college he didn't want to go away as he was enjoying his feeling of belonging and permanence.  Good for us in saving money too!

When we sold our farm he moved in with his then girlfriend and over the next couple of years lived on his own or with friends.  Last March he asked to move back so he could save money.  He contributes room and board and my husband and I are so pleased to have him here with us.  He has thanked us for all we've done for him, he is generous with his time and assistance, and we are so impressed that he has grown so mature and intelligent (we were worried for a while) and share so many interesting discussions.  He enjoys my cooking and wants to learn all his favourite recipes so he can continue to eat healthy and processed food free.

When he went to college he took the 3 year Architecture Construction Engineering Technology diploma program.  With this course he could work in construction, estimating, building inspection, etc.  He took a job with the company he had done his co-op with which specializes in framing, drywalling and ceilings.  He learned the business from the ground up.  He has been with them for 3 years and is the youngest and newest employee.  Lately he started running his own jobs and yesterday his bosses offered him a promotion.  The main boss is in the process of passing the company on to one of his long standing employees as he and his wife want to move to Africa to do volunteer work.  The new boss does not have the education that my son has and is not interested in doing the estimating and bidding on jobs.  They are wanting Greg to come on do that with a raise, still work some on the job sites, and eventually move into a salary and management role.  Greg has been getting bored but was wary to move on due to the economy and the fact that they have treated him so well here and that they care about the quality of the work they do.  He is grinning from ear to ear that he will have this opportunity to grow.  

I am so so proud of him.  He has become the man I always dreamed he would.  Now if he could just find a nice girl...