Healthy 2016~

   I do apologize as its been a while since I last updated. I'm taking this blog in a slightly different direction for a while. I really want to become a much more healthy person this year. Its become my goal, not just because I need to for health reasons (touch on that in a bit), but because I now have a son who I want to role model for. Having kids changes your world!!! For the better!

I mean, how could you not fall in love with that smile?! 

   Now onto the health issues, this is going to get personal!! When I became pregnant with such a cutie as you have seen above, I started getting these midnight pains in my right side that felt as though my liver was going to explode. I thought it could be just bad heart burn as it helped to sit up and burp. As the pregnancy progressed the pain became more extreme as Joseph grew inside of me and pushed my organs all over the place. I had an "attack" about once or twice every other month. The last few "attacks" left me so helpless that I'd have to sit straight up with a cold washcloth on my body and a fan pointed right on as me as the sweat rolled down my skin. 

    Being a nurse and interested in the human body I began to do some research. I came to realize that it was not heartburn at all but gallbladder attacks. For those of you who don't know what the gallbladder is; its a small pear shaped organ that sits in between the two lobes of your liver and holds bile and processes fats. When one has a gallbladder attack the gallbladder pulses and radiates pain onto the liver and even up to your right shoulder. 

    After Joseph was born the attacks became worse, even to the point of being up for 8 to 9 hours in the night with vomiting. They started becoming more frequent too. Almost every night and I couldn't go a week without one. I didn't know what to do. I sought help from my regular doctor and she scheduled an ultrasound for me and lo and behold I have gallstones! So when I was having an attack the gallbladder was trying to push a stone out of the bile duct and that's what caused so much pain. 

   You can call me crazy for putting up with the pain for so long and not seeking medical attention because it can become fatal if the gallbladder bursts causing your body to become septic. However I know what signs to look for, such as jaundice, yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. 

  Anyway, in order for me to avoid the excruciating pain of an "attack" I had to watch what I ate. I've made small changes to my diet. I started eating more salads, snacking less, including more veggies in every meal, cooking more rice and eating less. Gallstones are made up of hardened cholesterol from fat. I cut out beef and pork and stuck to chicken and fish. I had to have protein because I'm breastfeeding. Less dairy, less gluten and more steamed vegetables and fresh fruit. I don't eat out as much and I try and avoid desserts. Cravings are harder though, who doesn't want a big bacon burger smothered in cheese with french fries and a  chocolate milk shake? Not, saying I want that, not anymore. I've been living with these "attacks" for a year now and haven't had one for over a month!!!!! Last time was right after Christmas. 

   I've been doing ongoing research on herbs/medications to take and more diet changes to prevent/get rid of gallstones. I came across a book called: The Amazing Gallbladder and Liver Flush by Andreas Moritz. I borrowed it from the library system and eagerly began reading it. It talked about how gallstones AND liver stones can affect almost every system of the body and how to cleanse your body of them. I have decided to try it!!

   And that's what this big long post is really all about. My experience and Levi's (my husband) doing this flush! Just because you haven't had a gallbladder attack doesn't mean you don't have stones. Your body was born to compensate! Mine couldn't handle pregnancy and stones at the same time and that's why I've become aware of them. Don't worry if you're not having gallbladder attacks you shouldn't have to take action, unless you want too. I'm taking action because pain and love are great motivators. Levi is doing it with me because he loves me and is curious about how this works. 

Each day or every other day I will be posting an update of how our flush is going. Today is day one. 

Thank you for joining us on this journey to becoming a healthier family!