I went MIA, I'm sorrynotsorry

Hey there Bombshells, long time no talk! I'd apologize but I'm not really sorry. Before you get indignant on me, hear me out. My health stuff had to come first, it just had to, you understand.
It's been a whirlwind of doctors appointments and health challenges of late. Bouts of fatigue intermixed with the monthly endometriosis super happy fun time, and well, I just had to put the blog down for a minute.

I'm happy to say it's been mostly good news. Tests for any autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis came back negative, but it's confirmed my thyroid disease is, in fact, autoimmune. So that's sucky. Turns out, the fun part of autoimmune diseases is they tend to run in packs. So, like, once you get one you get a few others because ain't no party like an autoimmune party – evidently. I have some weird autoimmune thing going on with the skin on my legs which meant I had to have all this stuff frozen off and I have to wear pants for a month, but that's no big deal, and we have to keep watching me for rheumatoid arthritis because it runs in my family, but I'm relatively healthy NOW, and that's really the most important thing.

In light of all the good news, I decided to celebrate at Disneyland! EVERY SINGLE MONTH! Okay, not really every single month, but close. One of the perks to living in Southern California is the close proximity to The Happiest Place on Earth. For me, Disneyland really is the Happiest Place on Earth. You may be wondering how this fits in with my goal of chemical free living but it isn't as bad as you think. I'll be writing about my time there and how I make the world's most popular theme park fit in with my lifestyle.

Lots of fun and happy things to come, my friends. So glad you're all along for the ride!

On Health and Being Whole

I have a confession. I've been putting off seeing any more doctors. For anything.

It's terrible, I know. I have to take care of myself so I can take care of my kids blah blah blah.

I know.

The thing is, this health stuff isn't textbook illnesses that are easy to diagnose. Knowing what I'm up against, having been down the road of "you're just a tired new mom" and "take some vitamins" and all the other ways doctors show they aren't listening, I'm have some serious trepidation about . Right now, I've chosen to start at the rheumatologist. Since my ANA test came back positive at the end of last year, my doctor and I have decided I should start at the rheum to rule out diseases like Hashimoto's Disease before I go to an endocrinologist to tackle my thyroid problems. It could be my Meniere's Disease setting off the ANA. Hashimoto's could be the culprit in this never ending pit of thyroid disfunction. Or I could have something else altogether. As much as I'd like to avoid it, I have my first appointment next week.

I was just thinking I was doing really well, too. You see, the body aches have all but disappeared. After some basic allergy testing, we found that I'm not allergic to soy, or wheat, or eggs, and definitely don't have Celiac's – if there was an opposite of Celiac's, I would have that – and maybe I'm a little allergic to cow's milk but we had already done a trial and cow's milk wasn't the cause of the body aches. So, using my amazing reasoning skills (HA HA) I decided to cut out peppers and chillies. I've always been allergic to bell peppers so I thought maybe my body was getting fed up with me eating jalapeños, habaneros, and dried chilies with such reckless abandon. It. Was. Heartbreaking. I love spicy food. But I did it, I gave it up, and so far so good. No body aches. Whaaahoooo!

But then reality hit me. I had a two week span of mild, yet highly annoying, vertigo. And my afternoons have absolutely sucked. I mean SUCKED in ALL CAPS. The three-to-five o'clock hours are filled with such intense fatigue, I am sometimes brought to tears, but more often brought to an afternoon cup of coffee. And two months ago I started having night sweats not unlike those I had postpartum. Are they endo related, thyroid related, peri-menopause related (geez, I hope not since I'm only 37), I have no idea! And Monday, just three days ago, after 20 years of never realizing I had the disease, after 20 years of never having pain outside of my period, the endometriosis hurt. It hurt bad, Bombshells. Leg-shaking, breath-holding, trouble driving pain.

So, I'm starting with the rheum because I miss being healthy. I miss being whole. This onslaught of health issues, it's left me bewildered and scared. Though, to be perfectly honest, I haven't actually processed any of this…still. Yet. But I want to be whole. And if they have to cut parts out of me to make me whole, I need to process that. But I'm not there yet. I'm working on it. Eventually, I'll be whole.

Shift Happened and I was there! - A pictorial

Shiftcon was amazing. Truth be told, it was a little hard to come back to the "real world" after being surrounded by people who are so in tune with the food movement and living a cleaner-greener life. From the amazing organic and non-GMO breakfasts and keynote speakers to the fabulous shindigs at night, it felt like living a glimpse of what the world can be like when we finally get the food supply cleaned up.

I'm going to give you a few snapshots of my time there, because if I gave you a play-by-play this would be a ridiculously long post.  Consider this a pictorial of my attendance at the history-making first Shiftcon.

When I first arrived I was immediately greeted by a soothing cup of tea from Traditional Medicinals tea. And let me tell you, after Los Angeles afternoon traffic a cup of chamomile was exactly what I needed. I also took a "hippie chick" picture with a flower wreath. I'd never worn a flower wreath before, as I'm more of a red lipstick kinda gal, but I tried!

And after visiting with Traditional Medicinals, I got to catch up with my favorite and most coveted brand, Naturepedic. On my "to buy" list in the next six month is a new mattress for my son and a new mattress for myself (him first, of course). I've already made it clear to my husband that this is the ONLY mattress I will accept. Organic, non-toxic, and crazy comfortable. This WILL be in my home soon, mark my words. Here's my non-sleepy selfie. 

There was a fantastic reception in the evening where I found a bunch of my friends and colleagues. We had delicious, organic, non-GMO foods and drinks mixed with kombucha! It doesn't count if it's kombucha, right? Kidding. I kept it to one drink because my dearest friend Coco at Vida Coco and I were taking sunrise yoga in the morning. Let me tell you, this was about the worst time for me to have my period. Alas, I didn't have a choice in that. So, I worked my behind off in yoga the next morning, at 6:30AM to be exact, and then did my best to go on about my day. The savior of my morning was Organic Valley Organic Fuel with 26 grams of protein. I was worried as me and protein drinks have a rather contentious relationship, as in, they set my stomach on fire. I was ridiculously happy to find that the Organic Valley protein shakes not only taste fantastic but they didn't hurt my tummy one bit! 

Our keynote speaker that morning was Robyn O'Brien and holy cow did she break it down for us. Robyn is the reason I ended up a Food Warrior, her TED Talk changed my life (Before that I was only opposed to Monsanto for economic and patent law reasons). Luckily I got to tell her than in person after breakfast, and she also took a picture with me. Then it was off to the panels! 

The endo, though, was pretty much ruining everything. Boiron was there, and did their best to help me find comfort by graciously supplying me with these three homeopathic remedies, but the pain was too much to bear. 

So, I put myself to bed. I missed a panel, but sometimes your well-being has to take precedence (I'm still working on that life lesson, Bombshells. The endo is forcing me to gain a better understanding.)

The next day, I regrouped and made it to the breakfast and all the panels. Best of all, I got to meet and learn more about all the brands at Shiftcon. Like Health-Ade kombucha. I'm still new to the world of kombucha, but I really WANT to like it. The people from Health-Ade were so nice and actually let me try every single flavor they made. My favorite was the plum, but truth be told, they were all good. Try as I might, I couldn't convince my husband to start brewing our own kombucha at home, so I'll settle for buying more Health-Ade.

Most exciting for me, though, was getting to meet Organic Pastures, on of the the raw milk dairies here in California. I spent all this time thinking raw milk was illegal here and was so thrilled to find out it is, in fact, legal.  They sent me home with milk and cheese and lots of information to share with you all, so look forward to a post on raw milk in the near future.













And my most favorite piece of swag from Shiftcon, the piece de resistance, is this unbelievably hilarious shirt from Stonyfield Organic. Really, it doesn't get any better than this.



In the end, as much as it is about sponsors, it's also about knowledge. There were many panels in which learned so much. From obesogens (which you'll also be getting a post on soon) to food waste, it was both enlightening and heavy to conquer these topics, and I can't wait to share everything I learned with all of you.

We've got our work cut out for us, Bomshells. But we can do it. The tide is turning. People want cleaner, safer lives. We will fight until we get them.

Degrees of Difference

Hey Bombshells,

I'm exhausted, but I'll try to make this update as informative as possible. I thought that I was superwoman, evidently, and tacked on a huge appointment with an endo specialist at the end of an amazing weekend visiting one of my very best friends. We Just Dance-d, we coffee-d, we slept, we  winery-ed, and we movie-d to our hearts' content. But Monday afternoon I sat in a very plush office and awaited the very specialized expertise of a very knowledgeable doctor and spent three hours learning, in his opinion, what I am up against.

His diagnosis was one hundred eighty degrees different from what the last doctor gave me. Truth be told, he almost missed it. And as he stood next to the exam table explaining to me what he thought was wrong, a lightbulb went off, as they say, and he actually went back and redid his exam before delivering the rather heavy news. He believes I do not, in fact, have andenomyosis, but that I do have a very seriously advanced case of endometriosis.

I couldn't help but laugh, really, as he said to me, "I was nice to meet you, Abigail. You are a very unusual case." I smirked and replied, "What's new." Because really, I'm like a medical anomaly. My hypothyroidism defies "typical" lab work and conventional diagnosis. I have Meniere's Disease, which is a ridiculously debilitating inner ear disorder which randomly, and without warning, makes life into the world's worst tilt-a-whirl ride. And now, I have an "usual case" of endometriosis that a doctor, who is world-renowned in his ability, whom people come to see FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, almost missed.

Yay me.

Kinda.

Not really.

Immediately, I was reminded of Glennon Doyle Melton at Momastery and her post in which she shared the experience of her doctor calling to inform her of her Lyme Disease and the accompanying rare and life threatening parasite destroying her body. She makes reference, completely in jest, to being "special" and that's why God chooses her for these challenges. I have to say, I completely agree.

I am special.

The end outcome is somewhat hazy. And depending on which procedures I choose, I'm weighing the possibility of needing surgery again down the road or losing my ability to carry a child ever again. Surgery is a necessity if I want to increase my quality of life. Very expensive surgery. Which means while I am eager to feel better, my decision making will be financially prudent and not a knee-jerk reaction. I will be seeking the opinion of one more doctor before I start moving forward on anything.

I'd love to hear from other Endo Warriors out there. I'm new to all of this. I'm all about absorbing and receiving right now. Share your story. Too many of us have been silent for too many years. We need to speak up. We need to eradicate the shame and embarrassment associated with female reproductive health.