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Welcome To The World Oliver Lee | Your Birth Story

June 7, 2018

Today marks one month since Oliver Lee entered this world. I am not quite sure how that happened but I am so grateful for every single moment (even the hard ones) with him. It is amazing how someone so little can change your entire world. For 10 months, you prepare for the moment you get to meet your baby. But honestly, nothing will prepare you for that moment. And those hours (or days) leading up to it make that moment so so worth it.

I knew from the second I got pregnant that I wanted an all natural, unmedicated birth. From my past experiences with surgeries (there have been 9 since 2008), medication and my body don’t go well together. In fact, drugs tend to never work and I always have adverse reactions to them. So an epidural was not in my birth plan. While many warned me about the pain of natural childbirth, I knew deep down that my body could withstand it. Mind over matter right? I spoke with friends who had gone all natural, I read Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and I hired a doula. The more I researched and spoke with Brittany (my doula) of Frederick Moms and Doulas, the more empowered I felt that this was something I could do.

So are you ready for the birth story? Here we go…

At my 36 week appointment I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I thought this was definitely a sign that I was going to go into labor early. I laugh at this thought now. At my 37 week appointment, there was no change. Still no change at my 38 week appointment. I had been having a lot of cramping during this week and some contractions here and there but nothing was progressing and I was getting super discouraged. If you know me, you know I am a planner. I want to know when things are going to happen and how everything is going to go down. This made the end of pregnancy really hard for me. It was a true test of patience and I had a lot more patience to be tested.

I was doing everything possible to kickstart this labor: chiropractor, acupuncture, walking (even walking with one foot on a curb and one down because I had heard this could help), eating pineapple, taking primrose oil, ingesting Young Living’s Clary Sage Essential Oil. Everyone says that baby will come when he/she is ready and I now realize that is in fact 110% true, but I needed to try everything because I was just so done.

On May 3rd, at my 39 week appointment, I had my membranes swept and this seemed to help things progress as I lost my mucous plug over the next 3 days. On Sunday night (5/6), I started having contractions that for the first time were timeable. They were about 10 minutes apart throughout the night. I woke up on Monday morning and my contractions had stopped. I headed to my chiropractor and got adjusted. My right hip was completely out of alignment so once he popped that back in place, I thought maybe things would start progressing again. Nothing all day. Monday evening, my contractions started again. They were 7-8 minutes apart throughout the night. I was supposed to go to acupuncture on Tuesday morning but in the middle of the night I emailed her to tell her I was having contractions and thought labor was impending. However, I was tricked yet again…I woke up Tuesday morning and my contractions had stopped. Nothing all day except for a few cramps here and there. Tuesday evening, my contractions started again. They were 8-9 minutes apart throughout the night. I woke up on Wednesday, so exhausted, 40 weeks pregnant and no baby.

Prodromal labor. It is truly the most frustrating thing – both mentally and physically. It is so rough but the only thing that was getting me through the contractions and sleepless nights that weren’t progressing to anything was the fact that Brittany had said most people who have prodromal labor have fast births. Could this be the silver lining of prodromal labor? One could only hope.

I was continuing to do all.the.things to try and get this baby out of me but he wasn’t hearing my eviction notice all too well. Brittany told me that birth was a marathon so I needed to rest as much as I could. Given the fact that I hadn’t been sleeping for days because of my nightly contractions, I really tried to rest all day on Wednesday. Wednesday night the contractions came back. I was so exhausted by timing that I just didn’t even attempt to time them. This baby was never going to come out of me.

I woke up on Thursday morning still pregnant but ready for my 40 week appointment. Josh came with me to my appointment, as I had an ultrasound scheduled for 9:30am. All looked well and that was a relief. I told Josh that he didn’t have to wait for my appointment with the doctor because it was just a routine check and I would call him after. They took my blood pressure and it was slightly elevated. I got checked and I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced. I asked for another sweep because the word induction at 41 weeks was brought up and that was definitely not in my birth plan. After the sweep, I started feeling some serious cramping. The doctor left and returned and told me to lay back and try to relax, they wanted to check my blood pressure again. While it went down slightly, she was a little concerned by it so wanted me to go to labor and delivery triage to be monitored. I immediately texted Josh, who of course felt bad for leaving me and offered to come back to the hospital. I told him everything would be fine and I would keep him posted.

After checking in at triage and waiting for a little bit, I went back to a room and got hooked up to monitors, had my blood drawn and started feeling contractions. After snooping at the monitor, I noticed that my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. The on call doctor came in and asked if I was feeling the contractions and I said yes, but they were tolerable. She told me that my blood pressure was completely normal and all the blood work came back normal so they were going to discharge me. It was 12:30pm and I was starving. I drove myself to Balducci’s Market to get some lunch.

I got home around 1:30pm and ate my lunch. Roxie was crying to go outside so I took her for a quick walk. When I came back inside, I got on the birth ball and started rocking back and forth. It was 2:58pm and Josh called me to tell me he was coming home and asked if I wanted him to stop to pick up coffee. Two minutes later, while still on the phone with him and on the ball, I heard this POP noise, almost like a rubber band snapping. And a gush of water flooded my yoga pants. It was crazy.

Me: OMG, my water just broke.
Josh: Seriously? OMG, he is coming. Should I still stop and get us coffee?
Me: Ummm no, I think you should come home!

I went upstairs to change my wet clothes and called Brittany. At this point my contractions were definitely getting stronger. Brittany stayed on the phone with me to time a few of them. I remember her saying “ok, they are pretty much on top of each other. Do you want to continue laboring at home for a bit longer or do you want to leave now?” My response was: “let’s go. But do you have your camera?” When I think about this I laugh. Only a photographer in labor would ask a photographer if she had her camera packed. Oh yes friends, my doula was also my birth photographer (Brittany DeFrehn Photography)!

Josh walked through the door and I told him to grab our bags, we were leaving! We put Roxie in the crate and I texted our dog walker who was going to doggy sit for her. The car ride to the hospital seemed to take forever (less than 20 minutes). There is no comfortable position in a car when you are in labor. When we got to the hospital, everyone was moving at snail speed. On the labor and delivery floor, while waiting for Brittany and to head back to triage, I paced back and forth and then ended up in the middle of the waiting room on my birth ball moving back and forth with each contraction. You lose all sense of caring about anything.

Finally at 4:30pm we went back into a triage room and I was so happy to see the same nurse from earlier who allowed us to break the rules and let both Josh and Brittany come back into the tiny triage room. I was also happy to see the same on call doctor who I really liked (and had seen a few times during my pregnancy). They checked me and I was 4cm dilated. Contractions were strong and back to back. My water kept gushing and bloody show had arrived. Things were getting super real. Brittany applied Clary Sage to my ankles and that started ramping things up even more.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth story Around 5:45pm, I was wheeled to a labor and delivery room. Fun fact: this was the same room that Brittany had delivered one of her babies in. That was definitely a good sign.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyI was squatting, rocking back and forth on the ball, holding onto the bed, hopping onto the bed and leaning on the back of it, just trying to find a position to get me through these back to back contractions.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyBrittany coached me through every contraction. She applied counter pressure to my back. She doused me in Peace & Calming Essential Oil. The nurse said it was the best smelling labor and delivery room she had been in. birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyThere were no breaks between contractions and I remember looking at the clock thinking I don’t know how much longer I can do this. Josh kept reassuring me that I was doing great. I remember looking at Brittany and saying I don’t know how much longer I can do this and that’s when she said: “remember what I told you. When you tell me you can’t do it any longer, I promise you are close.” I got checked again and was a 9.

The worst feeling was me wanting to push and them telling me I couldn’t because I wasn’t fully dilated. Another bad feeling was me hearing that baby’s heart rate was dropping. All I could think of was they were going to wheel me in for a c-section. The nurse (who I loved) was very concerned about this. The doctor was less concerned. However, they did feel that I should get some fluids to not put baby in distress so I complied (but I will tell you, I made sure they weren’t giving me drugs). Unfortunately I had been poked and prodded all day (you should have seen one of my bruises) and my veins weren’t cooperating so it took multiple people to get the IV in.

I asked to be checked again and I was a 9 1/2. About 5 minutes later I made one noise and the nurse told my doctor to check me, she knew I was a 10. And hallelujah I was. I had gone from 4cm to 10cm in 4 1/2 hours. I was ready to push. Let me tell you, pushing is HARD! While it was such a relief to actually be able to push and know that I was one step closer to meeting baby, it was exhausting. I would push for 3 rounds of 10 seconds and each and then rest. I kept asking if I was making progress and the response was “we can see the head but then it retracts.” All that work for the head to just go back in – what a bummer. Finally, after about 50 minutes, my doctor told me to reach down and feel the head and that was by far the biggest motivating moment. I can do this. He is almost here. A few more pushes and I felt that Ring of Fire (oh my word that is real and really painful) and then…

At 10:01pm, Oliver entered the world. 7lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long.

They immediately put him on me and this image says it all.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyAfter 7 hours of natural unmedicated labor (YES, I DID IT!!!), he was here and absolutely perfect! I delivered the placenta and Josh cut the cord after it finished pulsating.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyUnfortunately I had a second degree tear in two places. Getting stitched up with only lidocaine that didn’t take in all the places was not fun at all. Like I know I had just birthed a baby which was way more painful, but that fish hook and stitching was awful. The only thing that got me through was holding Ollie the entire time.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storyBrittany continued documenting our first moments as a family of three.

birth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth storybirth, birth photography, natural birth, labor, baby, pregnancy, birth story

She helped me breastfeed for the first time and then I told her to go home! I am truly forever thankful for her. With her help, I was able to have the birth I had hoped for. Without a doubt, hiring her as my doula was the best decision I made.

Around 1:45am, we were finally transferred to a private room. I didn’t sleep at all. The adrenaline and hormones kept me wide awake and I couldn’t stop staring at the bassinet beside me.

Welcome to the world Oliver Lee, you are so loved and I am so thankful I get to be your Mama.

Leave a Comment · Labels: Essential Oils, Lifestyle, Oliver, Personal, Wellness Tagged: babies, birth, Birth Photography, Documentary Photography, Doula, Holy Cross Hospital, Life, motherhood, Natural, natural birth, Photography, pregnancy, Wellness

Healed in Health | Natural Remedies when Modern Medicine Fails

February 27, 2017

I remember the exact moment that would change my health history for the next 3.5+ years. It was May 25th 2013 and it was one golf swing on the 9th hole. Right after my tee shot, I felt this immediate sharp knife pain in my back that radiated down my leg into my big toe. I felt tingling and numbness and knew this wasn’t a good sign. So I of course started googling all the things that could have happened and came up with the self diagnosis of a bulged, perhaps herniated disc. I drove myself home (less than 4 minutes) and laid on the couch thinking to myself: here comes another serious injury. You see, I was born hypermobile which basically means double-jointedness. All of my joints stretch further than normal making me more prone to injury. My body is completely elastic. So this golf swing on anyone without this syndrome would have been a normal golf swing. For me, it was the golf swing that turned into my health saga, which I am about to share. It is long, I am warning you. But…I promise there is a happy ending.

After the pain became consistently worse, I went to see a specialist at NYU Hospital, who prescribed me with anti-inflammatories and physical therapy for three weeks. Up next: an MRI, which showed a minimal bulged disc. So the next step was a cortisone injection which did take the numbness away from my big toe but the pain was still radiating in my back. I waited and waited, as the doctors suggested, and still no relief. Another cortisone injection was their answer and yet, there was no relief after that either. They told me time. After two months of time, I went for a second opinion and their response was more physical therapy, muscle relaxers and time. I started doing some of my own research (I am known for this) and decided to try some alternative types of therapy, since modern medicine wasn’t helping at the moment. I first started with acupuncture but did not have any relief. Someone had suggested dry needling, which is a form of therapy that uses a needle to penetrate the skin. In doing this, it stimulates myofascial trigger points, muscular and connective tissues in hopes of managing neuromusculoskeletal pain. After my fourth session, the pain in my back subsided but suddenly I had groin pain. I was in tears when the needles were going into my groin area and the doctor felt I should go see a doctor about my pain. This seemed to be an issue that had not been addressed.

So the doctors visits and tests started. I saw 7 doctors including: my GP, a general surgeon, two orthopedists, my gynecologist, an endocrinologist and a gastroenterologist. They ordered multiple x-rays, an ultrasound, a catscan and an MRI. Prescriptions were written for multiple drugs ranging from Lyrica to Flexeril, Skelaxin, Naproxen, the list goes on and on, many of which I couldn’t even pronounce. No one was exactly sure why I was in the pain I was in so I was just going from doctor to doctor, searching for answers. I ended up at the University of Maryland in the care of someone who still didn’t have an exact answer but believed I had a sports hernia, which is a tear to the oblique abdominal muscles. This injury is typical among males and college or professional level athletes, so it was kind of a long shot but it was the “only” educated guess as to why I had this groin pain. On October 27th, 2013, I was scheduled for an “exploratory” surgery. Post operation, I finally had a diagnosis: Athletic Pubalgia (aka sports hernia). Now that my case was solved and was surgically fixed, I would finally be on the mend. However, that was not the case. I was going to physical therapy, I was doing everything the doctor recommended, yet I was still in the exact SAME pain. I kept waiting and waiting for the relief that the surgeon said I was going to have and it just wasn’t happening.

After going back to the surgeon in December, she felt that there was most likely an issue with the repair so recommended a second surgery to re-repair the hernia and suggested cutting the round ligament to relieve some of the pressure in my groin. 6 days prior to my surgery she was put on maternity bed rest, but her colleague had just done this surgery on a female with a similar history to me and it was a success. So I put my faith in this surgeon and felt confident that he could help. On January 19th, 2014 I went in for my second surgery. All went well. I thought I would finally be on the mend. However, I was still in the EXACT SAME PAIN. I was a medical mystery. No one could figure it out. This surgeon was baffled. My physical therapist was baffled. No one understood, especially me. I was in chronic pain 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The nerve pain in my groin was debilitating. I couldn’t exercise, I wasn’t sleeping, I couldn’t sit or drive or walk without pain. I tried to remain positive and basically put on a happy front. Inside I was just so tired of being in this pain. I was at my dermatologist one day and I was sharing my saga and she told me I had to go see THE nerve guy in Towson, Maryland. I was SO over going to get another opinion and having to share my story and filling out more paperwork and paying more out of pocket costs, but I was desperate for answers.

Off I went to see Dr. Dellon at the Lee Dellon Institute. He felt that all of my pain was nerve related and if he operated on me he would remove the genitofemoral and ilioinguinal nerves and release the lateral femoral cutaneous nerves. Lots of medical jargon right?! I became used to all of these names. This surgery had fixed thousands of patients and studies were written on it. In fact, he was the only surgeon who really did this. I put my faith in him. On April 2nd, 2014, he operated on me, prescribed me water therapy and said my pain would go away. Two months after this operation I still had the exact same pain. He said this can happen (of course, I am always “the case”) and recommended going back in. He would do a neurolysis of the obturator nerve and a fasciotomy of the abductor muscles. Before being cut a fourth time, I decided to seek another opinion and went to an Orthopedist in Fairfax. I started doing some research and noticed that many articles were saying that people with groin pain sometimes have hip pain so I thought maybe it is about time someone look at my hip! So they did a hip MRI arthrogram and they found a small tear in my hip labrum. The labrum is a rim of soft tissue that surrounds the acetabulum, which is your hip socket. He said he could scope me but he didn’t think this would solve my groin pain. I remember getting into my car and called my Dad and just started crying. I was so frustrated: why didn’t anyone have answers?

He said ok, you’re coming to New York. So off I went to Hospital for Special Surgery to see the hip guru, Dr. Coleman. He took a catscan and told me that I had dysplasia and hip impingement, which is a condition that creates abnormal wear and tear between the ball and socket of the hip joint. He wanted to do another hip MRI because his equipment/tech was premiere. So I had another arthrogram and he called to tell me that I had a significant labrum tear which he believed was causing a lot of my groin pain as well as some hip pain. He believed that there was something else probably going on with my groin so wanted me to see the #1 groin doctor in Philly, Dr. Meyers.  They worked together closely and twice a month operated simultaneously on patients. Patients who have hip pain typically have groin pain as well so off I went to Philly to meet with this guy. He did another pelvic MRI (if I counted the number of these I have had, it is scary). After reading my scans, here was my diagnosis: I had shredded all of my adductors which had pulled away from my pelvic bone. He believed the sports hernia was not repaired properly and I had a lot of scar tissue that was causing some pain as well. It was decided that I would have a combo surgery: first I would have a hip scope to fix the hip impingement and labrum tear and then Meyers would go in and fix the groin issues.

On January 9th, 2015 I had my 4th surgery, which was a success (I had heard that far too many times). Turns out my hip was a lot worse than the scans showed: I also had two bone spurs and the labrum tear was much larger than anticipated. My groin was pretty much a nightmare internally but everything was fixed properly. I remember looking at my hip and groin and thinking a truck had run over it. I couldn’t move anything. It felt like I would never ever be able to walk. I just kept thinking: “why me.” The pain was unbearable and I was immune to pain killers. Vicodin, Percocet, oxycodone, nothing was working so they decided to put me on a drug called dilaudid. I remember waking up in my hotel room (I was staying in Philly for 9 days of intense rehab) and told my stepmom that they had cut off both of my legs. I couldn’t feel anything and my eyes were practically rolled back into my head. She said: “ok, you’re not taking this drug.” I was basically hallucinating and on a serious trip. And this intense drug wasn’t even taking the pain away.

I would go to rehab at the facility 2x a day and then in between those sessions I would have my leg and hip in a contraption along with a constant icing machine to try and take the swelling down. This was actually the only time my pain subsided to bearable and I thought I might just have to permanently be on ice for the rest of my life. I was on crutches for about 7 weeks and was at home, depressed that I still wasn’t finding the relief that everyone promised I would. Time they told me. Every month I would drive to Philly for my check up and my progress report was: I am still having this nerve pain. They tried more minimally invasive procedures, including a major round of steroid injections in late April. They over injected me and I couldn’t walk. I had driven to Philly alone and almost had to spend the night there by myself. I waited 5 hours until I regained feeling in my thigh, leg and foot and was able to drive home. That weekend I noticed a lot of swelling in my face. On Mother’s Day, I ended up at urgent care with what they thought was an abscess in my upper tooth. They told me to follow up at the dentist who then sent me to the oral surgeon. I was put on antibiotics. 7 days later I started getting puffy everywhere. I was unrecognizable. People were wondering what was wrong with me and asked Josh if I was ok. Suddenly the puffiness turned to 25 pounds of weight gain. I questioned the doctors and they said “possible weight gain” was a side effect of steroids. They said it would last 6-8 weeks. My adrenal glands could not handle the amount of steroid injections into my hip and groin. I couldn’t fit into anything, I was physically and emotionally unhappy and it was just yet another side effect that didn’t even change my course of pain. Time would help they kept saying. The steroids stayed in my body for 9 months and there was no sign of them leaving. It wasn’t until I went on a serious detox that the steroids left my body.

So I had the injections in April and clearly the only thing I got from those was 25 pounds of weight. Finally in June they felt that it was enough time to do an exploratory surgery. They wanted to cut me open for a 5th time just to take a look around. They truly weren’t sure why I was still in so much pain. Every single doctor seemed baffled by my case. I guess I was an anomaly. However, there was no way they were just going to cut me open in hopes of trying to figure out what was wrong. With more tears, I called my Dad and he decided that I should talk to one of my old wrist surgeons who was really connected in NYC and would ask around. He sent me to a doctor in NYC who specializes in hips, who believed that this wasn’t a hip issue so referred me (oh these referrals) to a hernia specialist. He looked at my MRI’s and saw THREE hernia’s just on the MRI. These were not sports hernias, regular ones, which 4 previous surgeons missed. I just couldn’t fathom this. How could all of these doctors miss these?! He said it happens a lot and this was the most frustrating part. Could this be my health ticket and the cause of all of this pain? He believed so.

He would do this surgery laparoscopically and would make sure that he would look over everything! You see, this surgeon was the first surgeon to notice that the hernia’s were SO deep that there was no way any of the other open surgeries could have seen these. So I thought to myself: the Philly guys just wanted to cut me open again and they would have missed these completely?! On November 30th 2015, I was scheduled for surgery #5 in NYC and would stay with my parents for recovery. Surgery went well – he couldn’t believe what he saw! He said I had 3 massive hernia’s and a nerve completely entrapped in one of them (hence all the nerve pain). This time I had mesh put in two places to secure the hernia’s. He said it was WAY worse when he got in than expected and had an ah-ha moment and fully believed that this was all the cause of my pain. I had heard doctors say this many many times, but I truly believed this sweet man.

With this surgery, I couldn’t do much because I had to let the mesh adhere and everything heal internally so no physical therapy or movement. I laid in bed for two weeks. Again, wondering why me but hopeful that this was my turning of the corner. Time passed, I still had the exact same pain. I felt it failed and I just remember crying and crying. Everyone said: “you can’t possibly have another surgery,” “maybe you’ll just have to live with this pain.” I tried to remain hopeful and found a physical therapist in NY that fully believed changing my walk and strengthening all of my muscles around the injury areas was the ticket to feeling better. So I trusted her and did whatever she said. I was still having the same pain so I went back to the surgeon who injected the area with lidocaine (no more steroids for me ever) to try and calm the nerves. That didn’t really help. I did months and months of physical therapy hopeful that it would help. Well, I still had constant pain. I hated talking about it so everyone thought I was doing so much better. It was just a really good front.

Nothing had worked and I had been through so much physically, emotionally and financially (over $65,000 – yes, I was in medical debt) that I just couldn’t bare talking about it. What could I say and what could anyone else say that would make it better? I just wanted to be pain free. But that didn’t seem like it would ever happen. It had been over 6 months of recovery from my 5th surgery, in my mind plenty of healing time. Yet the pain was the exact same pain that I had in 2013. How could this be, I basically screamed this!

June 2016 rolled around and I went to Young Living Convention. Since May of 2014, I had been using lots of oils and supplements but hadn’t noticed any change. I wasn’t giving up hope. I became friends with Ashley Westfall, one of my amazing uplines with Young Living. We got to talking and she learned of my medical saga over lunch. I told her I was experiencing chronic pain and had been through 5 surgeries with no relief. She had asked if I had spoken to Dr. Jim Bob Haggerton, a chiropractor in Texas. For the last 9 months I had been following him on FB, Instagram and YouTube. He is a huge wellness advocate and is basically a genius when it comes to the body. I said I hadn’t and she said that he did phone consults. I was at the point where I would try anything. Heck, I even contemplated flying to Texas! It would take me a few more months to pull the trigger on this phone call, but finally I did. I was getting married in September and just felt I wanted to wait until after the wedding to be put on whatever regimen he recommended. So the week after the wedding I had a call with him. I had written him a massive email with all of my history because frankly, my health history could be a novel (as you can see).

Most consults are 30 min and this sweet man spent 75 min on the phone with me. He didn’t look at scans, move my body, look at numbers, I mean it was all just a conversation. Here was his diagnosis: my back was probably herniated at L5/S1 and my sacrum is the cause of pain. Without resetting my tailbone (sacrum), therapy won’t matter. Since I have had a ton of damage to my joints and the scar tissue, this may have given me chronic pain. Even though the nerves are affected, this is not a nerve injury. This is a scar tissue injury with inflammation build up and it won’t heal unless I do work to the area. He told me what supplements I needed to take, what oils to use (he is a YL distributor so uses them to support his health and wellness) and told me to find a chiropractor, but not just anyone. It had to be a Gonstead specialist. I would honestly do anything he recommended and that is exactly what I did. But first I had to research the type of chiropractic care he recommended.

The Gonstead Chiropractic approach uses a variety of tools to detect the presence of spinal dysfunction, which results in pinching or compressing of the nerves that run through a particular area. “These compressed nerves often become inflamed and impede the proper transmission of impulses to the section of the body controlled by these nerves. A seemingly endless list of ailments and pain may be brought about by these subluxations.” By applying the Gonstead adjustment to the back, the pressure is removed from the nerve while joint function is restored. More importantly, nerve function is restored, and the path of that specific nerve is then again sending and receiving the “electrical” impulses as it should and ultimately, health is restored.

Chiro’s orders: I was to see him two times a week. Jim Bob couldn’t guarantee that I would be pain free. He said having gone through so much, my body would probably never be out of the woods but if I saw 10-20% relief that would be huge. He thought it could take months or even a year, but to be patient (which is what everyone said but I truly believed this guy this time). So here was his protocol he put me on:

-Fish Oils: I don’t eat fish. I can’t stand the taste, texture or smell so I needed a supplement that I would not burp up and that wouldn’t smell or taste like fish. Jim Bob pointed me to Innate Choice and I found them here. No burps, I am a happy camper! I take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 in the evening.

Note: all of the supplements listed below are from Young Living.

-Sulfurzyme: This supplement combines wolfberry with MSM, a naturally occurring organic form of dietary sulfur needed by our bodies every day to maintain the structure of proteins, protect cells and cell membranes, replenish the connections between cells, and preserve the molecular framework of connective tissue. MSM also supports the immune system, the liver, circulation, and proper intestinal function and works to scavenge free radicals. I take 2 of these in the morning.

-Ningxia: This is an antioxidant packed drink from Young Living. Antioxidants are like super Ninjas that support your cells! It contains whole Ningxia wolf berry puree which is a super blend of blueberry, aronia, cherry, pomegranate, and plum juices, natural stevia extract, grape seed extract, pure vanilla extract, and orange, yuzu, lemon and tangerine essential oils. The essential oils in Ningxia Red are seven times more pure, packed with 93% d-limonene and aid in the maintaining of the body’s normal cellular function. 1 serving of NingXia Red was found to be the equivalent of 7.5 mixed servings of fruits & vegetables. I take 2 ounces in the morning.

-MultiGreens: This is a nutritious chlorophyll formula designed to boost vitality by working with the glandular, nervous, and circulatory systems. MultiGreens is made with spirulina, alfalfa sprouts, barley grass, bee pollen, eleuthero, Pacific kelp, and therapeutic-grade essential oils. I take 3 capsules in the morning.

-Super Cal: When you don’t have enough calcium, your muscles can’t relax. This is a calcium and magnesium supplement. Calcium is essential to the health of bones, teeth, and muscles, and it also plays an essential role in blood clotting, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, and many cellular functions. Magnesium activates more than 300 enzymes in the body and, with calcium, affects nerve and muscle functions. This combination also includes potassium as well as zinc, which is an important mineral in many body functions. I take 2 capsules in the morning.

-AgilEase: This is a joint health supplement that enables greater mobility and flexibility through the reduction of inflammation. I take 2 capsules in the morning. Young Living, Dana Rose Lee Blog, Supplements, Ningxia Red, Health, Systems, Pain Free, Daily, Regimen, Self Care, Wellness, Thankful, Natural, Pain Free

I made a roller with Frankincense, Lemongrass and Copaiba and rolled these 3 oils right on my groin multiple times a day.  Young Living, Dana Rose Lee Blog, Supplements, Ningxia Red, Health, Systems, Pain Free, Daily, Regimen, Self Care, Wellness, Thankful, Natural, Toxin Free

Dr. Jim Bob found me a Gonstead doctor in Arlington named Dr. Whitlow. There aren’t many who practice this type of chiropractic care. He did a thorough examination and agreed completely with what Jim Bob had mentioned. The craziest thing he said is this is not a groin injury. Somehow along the way, the focus went from the back to the groin but the pain I was experiencing was because of my sacrum which was completely shifted. The nerves around the sacrum were so inflamed and pressing on other nerves and all of these wrapped around my side and led into my groin and they were the reason I was having the groin pain. But the groin pain was solely from my back injury. Lightbulb.

I have taken all of my YL supplements, have been seeing my chiropractor since October and I want to shout it from the rooftops that my pain has decreased by more than 10%, by more than 20%. More like 80%. I am  not completely pain free but for the first time in 3 years, I can enjoy life without debilitating pain. I have been hiking, walking miles, sleeping comfortably and…on Saturday I hit golf balls for the first time in FOREVER without groin pain!!!

It has been an incredibly painful journey. I would never ever wish this type of pain, the doctors after doctors, the procedures after procedures on anyone. And add in the uncertainty of why I was in the pain I was in, this journey has been never-ending. It has been a learning experience for sure. I am forever thankful for my sweet friend Ashley who urged me to speak to Jim Bob. And thankful for Jim Bob who laid the foundation for what I needed to do. I owe so much of my decreased pain to Dr. Whitlow. This man has spent hours looking at my body as a whole. He examines the full body X-rays before every session and then measures my nerve activity. He is one of the most compassionate medical professionals, checking in on me via text and phone calls. Truly, he cares. I am not just another name on a long list of daily patients.

I so wish I had the knowledge and the resources I have now with alternative medicine three years ago. Yes I had tried acupuncture, laser therapy, physical therapy, dry needling and clearly everything else under the sun, but I just didn’t have the right protocol with everything. While I can’t backtrack and change my course of health history, I hope my journey can show others that out of trials and tribulations, many years and many uncertainties, keep seeking answers and alternatives. I have so many scars, both physically and mentally, from what I have been through. But those have only made me stronger. I still have a ways to go before my body is healed, but my how far I have come!

If you are going through health uncertainties or are in chronic pain, I am here for you! It is a hard place to be in. NO one can quite understand it unless you have personal experience. I hope this story can inspire you to keep searching for answers, especially with alternative therapies. For far too long, I placed my health in the hands of medical professionals. I believed that they had all of the answers and had faith that they knew what they were doing. That they held my best interests in their skilled hands. Unfortunately that was not the case. If you made it to the end, thank you for reading this. If writing this post helps one person, all my trials and tribulations would be worth it. So there you are. Almost 4 years later, my health case is cracked and I think things can only get better from here. No more surgeries, no more drugs, only alternative therapies that actually work! Young Living Oils, Young Living Supplements and Gonstead Chiropractic therapy have decreased my chronic pain immensely.

Leave a Comment · Labels: Essential Oils, Lifestyle, Personal, Wellness Tagged: Alternative Medicine, Chiropractor, Dana Rose Lee Blog, Healing, Health, Health Journey, Lifestlye, Medical, Medicine, Non-traditional medicine, Pain, Pain Free, Supplements, Toxin Free, Wellness, Young Living

Why Young Living Is The World Leader In Essential Oils

December 21, 2016

Many people ask Why Young Living is the world leader in essential oils. The #1 defining factor is their unmatched commitment to producing a pure, unadulterated oil through the proprietary process they call Seed to Seal®. Young Living’s devotion to creating a highly therapeutic product means every step is detailed and controlled. If something in the production process doesn’t meet their standards, they get rid of it and start again. I stand by a company that truly cares . Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Promise, Commitment

Let me walk you through this process so you can see what makes Young Living so special.Young Living Essential Oils, Seed To Seal, Essential Oils, Health, Wellness, Lifestyle

STEP 1 | Seed

Powerful essential oils come from seeds and plants that are verified for their potential to produce high-quality essential oils.

STEP 2 | Cultivate

Young Living has farms around the world that are dedicated to perfecting their responsible and sustainable growing and harvesting methods.

Step 3 | Distill

Young Living is an innovator in essential oil distillation. They combine ancient and modern techniques for distilling and use a gentle, proprietary technique for steam extracting. Cold pressing and resin tapping methods are for select oils.

Step 4 | Test

Young Living never accepts diluted, cut or adulterated oils. To guarantee consistent quality, the oils are put to the test in Young Living’s own internal labs and in third-party facilities. This is to ensure that they meet stringent specifications, exceed international standards and contain the optimal levels of natural bioactive compounds.

Step 5 | Seal

Young Living completes the Seed to Seal process in its 107,000-square-foot facility in Spanish Fork, Utah. They use state of the art equipment to carefully bottle each essential oil up into protective amber glasses. Then off they go worldwide! The vast majority of essential oils on the market today are only suitable for cosmetics and perfumes. It is important to me to know that the apples I eat are free from pesticides and other unnecessary chemicals. It is doubly important that the essential oils I use to support my health and wellness will do just that without introducing any additives, synthetics or other toxins into my bodies.

Young Living is more expensive than other brands you can find at Whole Foods, Amazon and other local stores. However, you get what you pay for. Most of the other oils are cheap imitations, full of synthetics. You will find that the word “organic” is on plenty of these bottles. Unfortunately, an essential oil can have an organic and “pure” label as long as there is no less than 5% of it actually being pure. This means that the remaining 95% of the bottle can be full of additives, fillers and synthetics.

A simple way to test the purity of your essential oils is to do a freezer test. Place your bottle in the freezer for 4-5 hours. If any part of the oil freezes, it most likely contains synthetics and/or other compounds. A friend of mine tested Young Living’s Lemongrass essential oil against the brands shown below a few days ago using this freezer method. After 5 hours, the Young Living oil was the same while all the other oils were frozen. This wasn’t shocking because Young Living’s Seed to Seal promise is something I truly believe in. 15193439_1191391804285468_1066517065897675330_n

Another problem that occurs when you purchase a cheaper oil is many of these oils have an expiration date. You will never find an expiration date on any of Young Living’s bottles because they don’t expire. If you see an old bottle of YL’s essential oil in Grandma’s cabinet, you can open it up and realize that it smells exactly the same as the bottle you recently purchased. Pure oils don’t expire.

Young Living produces superior high-quality pure oils, which makes them the leader in essential oils. I have watched their Seed to Seal® process take place at The Mona Farm in Utah. I hope to eventually visit all of the farms shown below. Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, UtahYoung Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Idaho Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, IdahoYoung Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Canada Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Croatia Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Ecuador Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, France Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils, Farms, Seed to Seal, Oman

Leave a Comment · Labels: Essential Oils, Lifestyle, Wellness Tagged: Essential Oils, Farms, Health, Lifestyle, Natural, Pure, Seed to Seal, Wellness, Young Living Essential Oils

My Lifestyle Journey With Young Living Essential Oils

November 30, 2016

My lifestyle journey with Young Living Essential Oils began on May 25th, 2014. I had noticed essential oils popping up everywhere, they were taking over Facebook. Even though Young Living as a company has been around for over 20 years, they weren’t taking the world by storm until pretty recently. After seeing post after post, I decided to do some research on Essential Oils. In case you didn’t know, I am an expert researcher (aka snooper), so I read a number of articles before hopping on this journey. I wanted to know the what since I already had my why.

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL OILS

Now, you might be wondering what on earth essential oils actually are. They are the aromatic, volatile liquids distilled from plants. The oil comes from the roots, seeds, shrub, flowers, leaves and trees and bring health and healing to the body. While I was never good at chemistry, I can tell you that the chemistry is extremely complex and may consist of hundreds of different and unique chemical compounds. Because of the complexity, essential oils are so powerful that they are able to reach every part of our bodies on a cellular level. The fragrance of the oils work on the limbic system in the brain, which stores emotions. This can help relax and clear the mind, as well as release emotional trauma. They can have profound physiological and psychological effects.

Here is a fabulous graphic of all the things Young Living Essential Oils can do for you – wowza, right?!

My Lifestyle Journey With Young Living Essential Oils, YL, Body, Health, Wellness, Plants, Lifestyle, Young Living Essential Oils

WHY I BEGAN MY LIFESTYLE JOURNEY WITH YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS

In December 2009, my Mom passed away of a non-smokers lung cancer having never smoked a cigarette in her life. The type of cancer she had was extremely rare – 1% of lung cancer patients are diagnosed with it. She attributed her streak of bad luck to art chemicals, as she was an extremely talented artist. Here is one of my favorite pieces she did. It hangs in my living room so I can look at it every single day! All of the words are hand stamped and the open hand and box were custom stamps that she made herself too. Her talent amazed me.

Gods Boxes, Artist, Creative, Talented, Artwork, Mom, Young Living Essential Oils , My Lifestyle Journey With Young Living Essential Oils

 

She also thought households products might have had an influence on her health. Unfortunately we will never know the exact cause. However, it prompted me to want to rid my home of as many chemicals as possible. I was on a mission to lead a more healthy lifestyle. Losing a parent is a huge wakeup call but loosing a Mom who is your best friend makes things a million times harder. I wanted to ensure that 30 years down the road, my children wouldn’t have to experience what I went through.

And that my friends is how my lifestyle journey with Young Living Essential Oils began! Stay tuned for my next post on WHY I CHOSE YOUNG LIVING…

Leave a Comment · Labels: Essential Oils, Lifestyle, Personal, Wellness Tagged: Health, Journey, Life, Lifestyle, Story, Wellness, Why, Young Living, Young Living Essential Oils

Hello there! I'm Dana. A wife, a mama to one adorable boy and one crazy Vizsla. I am an essential oil lover who is passionate about living and sharing the natural life. And I enjoy being behind the lens of a camera.

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