So far I have posted my experiments with products, not being sure how they will affect me and, of course, being ever so skeptical that they might even work. However, tonight, as we all get ready for bed, I thought I would write about one oil that has been incredibly helpful to me over the past year. I often have a very hard time falling asleep and/or staying asleep. One way I have dealt with this is to get up and eat foods with a high sugar content. As the sugar burns and wears off, I would experience a sugar crash which would make me very tired. HOWEVER, this is not healthy, nor recommended and I have always felt ill afterwards. Not to mention, it is not something that is on my God food plan.....that is a whole other post and a whole other story. Feel free to ask if you want to know more.
But, I digress. Back to the sleepless nights. I really wanted to find another way to fight these nights so I could sleep. I consulted a friend of mine and she highly suggested I try an oil blend called Past Tense. It came in a cute little roll on bottle....it was worth a shot.
Next to peppermint, which is growing on me and quickly becoming a go to for my tummy issues as well as relieving muscle aches, it has been a favorite oil. I quickly got past my skepticism when I discovered that when I roll it on my neck and shoulders and rub it in, take a good long couple of wiffs, and pull the covers up over my head......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It puts me to sleep. Complete dream land and blessed rest. I loved it because it worked better than my sugar crash remedy, and unlike over the counter sleeping aides or Nyquil and Ibuprofen (yeah Ibuprofen makes me drowsy), it did not take me a whole day to recover from taking it. I woke up feeling like I had actually slept.
Why do I share this with you tonight? Well, as I was getting ready for bed, I thought maybe there are some others who suffer from restless, sleepless nights and maybe someone might benefit from my experience....maybe it could help someone else also get a good nights sleep.
Try it for yourself and see if it helps you like it has helped me and let me know what you think.
Sweet Dreams to you all,
The Skeptic
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
The Skeptic, Her Husband, and Peppermint Oil
Yesterday I texted my friend. I told her I had done my homework. I placed my initial order for DoTerra Vitamins and Terrazymes as well as some Slim and Sassy.....Goodness knows I could use a bit more slim and maybe a little sassy too! I had opened up my personal website and had started this blog to document the journey. She thought I was on the ball and made one more suggestion....to use the oils I currently had on hand and use them on my family to see what happens. My initial thought?
"Ya, whatever. Not gonna do it. I will just wait to see what happens with the vitamins and terrazymes and go from there."
Fast forward a few hours to lunch time when my husband came home from work for a bit of food. He told me his back was hurting again. Not uncommon for him. He has chronic back pain. I thought of the peppermint oil, which I have from an order sometime last year, and remembered that I had heard alleviates muscle pain. I asked him if he would like for me to rub some on his back. He was not overly excited, although his excitement and non excitement often look the same to me. ;) Needless to say, he decided that maybe bedtime would be a better time to apply and left to go back to work.
Fast forward several more hours to bed time. My stomach had been upset most of the day yesterday. As in, pain on the right side of my abdomen. I felt sluggish, grumpy, swollen and was having major hemorrhoid problems (sorry, I guess I should worn you that my physical issues are not always pretty, but if I am going to document this journey, I need to be honest about the issues). I was pretty grumpy about it all yesterday. About an hour or so before turning out the lights, I decided to take some peppermint. I had also heard it was good for stomach upset. What could it hurt? I went out to the kitchen, filled a glass with water, dropped one drip of peppermint oil into the water and chugged it down. Uh, yeah. It isn't entirely tasty and I discovered it burns ones lips. But, oh well. I was willing to see what would happen.
I went back to knitting and watching tv with the family. And a few minutes in, cause I like to give things due amount of time to work, I noticed my stomach pain was still there. So much for peppermint oil working. I was ready to throw it out as one more attempt to use oils that have not worked for me. However, within about 20-30 minutes, I realized the pain on the right side of my abdomen seemed to have gone and that my stomach seemed to have relaxed. Hmmm.....maybe there is something to this thing after all? Maybe. It was enough to peak my interest to try this experiment again the next time I have stomach pain. I felt pleasantly surprised, though I think I will be on the look out for capsules or something to put the oil in for consumption since the sensation of my lips being on fire is not something I would like to experience again :)
Now, on to my dear husband. Around the same time, he made some smart remark about how I had not rubbed oil on his back yet. (Don't worry, it wasn't mean. Sarcasm is his middle name and it has brought a lot of laughter to our marriage.) I was a little surprised he remembered, but sure, I was willing to oblige him. I prefaced the back rub with reminding him that the oil will not cure his back, but might alleviate the pain, much like taking some ibuprofen, tylonal, or advil. He showed me right where the pain was the greatest and I anointed :) his back with oil, rubbing it in well to the afflicted area. I told him it might burn a bit, but both of us agreed, that "burn" on an achy muscle resembles the burn of an Icy/Hot pack and is quite welcoming. Awhile later, a little afraid to ask but curious all the same, I asked how his back was feeling. He said, it still hurt, but not as bad. It seemed to have helped a little. I asked if it helped enough that he would use it again to help buffer the pain he often feels. He said, "yeah, maybe", which translate to yes, I believe :) His yes was confirmed, when a short time later he said, "you might want to rub that on my neck and shoulders as well." :)
The conclusion and verdict to last nights experiment is this: While I don't want to make any fast and hard claims about the health benefits of peppermint oil nor would I be able to explain why it helped my stomach or why it helped Rob's back, I would say, I was pleasantly surprised to find my stomach pain was gone and that my husband seemed to be relieved a bit from his back pain. It was a good enough experience, that the next time I have tummy pain and Rob has back pain, I would definitely try it again.
I am curious to know what others have experienced when they have used peppermint oil. What did you use it for and what were your results? If you have never tried it then maybe you could join me in the petri dish, try it once, and let me know what you think. What verdict and conclusion would you give?
"Ya, whatever. Not gonna do it. I will just wait to see what happens with the vitamins and terrazymes and go from there."
Fast forward a few hours to lunch time when my husband came home from work for a bit of food. He told me his back was hurting again. Not uncommon for him. He has chronic back pain. I thought of the peppermint oil, which I have from an order sometime last year, and remembered that I had heard alleviates muscle pain. I asked him if he would like for me to rub some on his back. He was not overly excited, although his excitement and non excitement often look the same to me. ;) Needless to say, he decided that maybe bedtime would be a better time to apply and left to go back to work.
Fast forward several more hours to bed time. My stomach had been upset most of the day yesterday. As in, pain on the right side of my abdomen. I felt sluggish, grumpy, swollen and was having major hemorrhoid problems (sorry, I guess I should worn you that my physical issues are not always pretty, but if I am going to document this journey, I need to be honest about the issues). I was pretty grumpy about it all yesterday. About an hour or so before turning out the lights, I decided to take some peppermint. I had also heard it was good for stomach upset. What could it hurt? I went out to the kitchen, filled a glass with water, dropped one drip of peppermint oil into the water and chugged it down. Uh, yeah. It isn't entirely tasty and I discovered it burns ones lips. But, oh well. I was willing to see what would happen.
I went back to knitting and watching tv with the family. And a few minutes in, cause I like to give things due amount of time to work, I noticed my stomach pain was still there. So much for peppermint oil working. I was ready to throw it out as one more attempt to use oils that have not worked for me. However, within about 20-30 minutes, I realized the pain on the right side of my abdomen seemed to have gone and that my stomach seemed to have relaxed. Hmmm.....maybe there is something to this thing after all? Maybe. It was enough to peak my interest to try this experiment again the next time I have stomach pain. I felt pleasantly surprised, though I think I will be on the look out for capsules or something to put the oil in for consumption since the sensation of my lips being on fire is not something I would like to experience again :)
Now, on to my dear husband. Around the same time, he made some smart remark about how I had not rubbed oil on his back yet. (Don't worry, it wasn't mean. Sarcasm is his middle name and it has brought a lot of laughter to our marriage.) I was a little surprised he remembered, but sure, I was willing to oblige him. I prefaced the back rub with reminding him that the oil will not cure his back, but might alleviate the pain, much like taking some ibuprofen, tylonal, or advil. He showed me right where the pain was the greatest and I anointed :) his back with oil, rubbing it in well to the afflicted area. I told him it might burn a bit, but both of us agreed, that "burn" on an achy muscle resembles the burn of an Icy/Hot pack and is quite welcoming. Awhile later, a little afraid to ask but curious all the same, I asked how his back was feeling. He said, it still hurt, but not as bad. It seemed to have helped a little. I asked if it helped enough that he would use it again to help buffer the pain he often feels. He said, "yeah, maybe", which translate to yes, I believe :) His yes was confirmed, when a short time later he said, "you might want to rub that on my neck and shoulders as well." :)
The conclusion and verdict to last nights experiment is this: While I don't want to make any fast and hard claims about the health benefits of peppermint oil nor would I be able to explain why it helped my stomach or why it helped Rob's back, I would say, I was pleasantly surprised to find my stomach pain was gone and that my husband seemed to be relieved a bit from his back pain. It was a good enough experience, that the next time I have tummy pain and Rob has back pain, I would definitely try it again.
I am curious to know what others have experienced when they have used peppermint oil. What did you use it for and what were your results? If you have never tried it then maybe you could join me in the petri dish, try it once, and let me know what you think. What verdict and conclusion would you give?
Thursday, January 8, 2015
The Skeptic
Yep, so I am going to do something I said I would NEVER do. I am a skeptic at heart and when it comes to my health and taking supplements and things, I am even a bigger skeptic. I think if I were to pick someone to relate to well, it would be doubting Thomas....yep that is me.
However, due to the encouragement of a friend, I decided to try just one more supplement company to see if it would help with some of the health issue I have. I have tried EVERYTHING, I'm not going to name what I have tried and has not worked, because that is not fair to those companies or to the people that have benefited from their products. But, believe me when I say, I have tried just about everything with no satisfactory luck.
So, this blog is dedicated to my journey....maybe it will be a short lived month....maybe it will turn into something. I don't know, but I am dedicating myself, for a month, to take these products and see if they help.
What do I suffer from, you might ask? Well, I suffer from the normal mom-of-three ailments. You know, I'm always tired, a little lazy when I can get away with it, and am gaining back part of the 60 pounds I lost about 6 years ago simply from that lazy thing and from an often fast paced life that doesn't allow for eating healthy.
Secondly, I have a genetic disorder called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1. In short, it affects the endocrine system and makes it difficult for my body to properly absorb calcium. Because of this, it can cause calcium build up in other areas of my body causing tumors. Gastronomes are also common. There is a lot more involved with it, but that is kind of a quick over view from what I understand about it. I often deal with tummy issues, food sensitivies, painful leg cramps, and unexplained body aches all of which are up for debate about whether they are symptoms of MENS. My doctor says they are not, but the people suffering from MENS (some of the comments I have read from others with the same diagnosis) say they are.
In order to help counter these symptoms, I am to drink a lot of water to flush out my system from extra calcium (I think), exercise to strengthen my bones to fight off osteoporosis due to the hard time my body has absorbing calcium, eat right (whole foods, dairy free, and gluten free have been the most effective for me, but eating like that on a daily basis has proven to be rather difficult), and take Vitamin D, Calcium, and Magnesium. The vitamin supplements, which I get from Meijer, have been the most effective for me so far.
Long story short? Because of the encouragement of a friend last year, I started one more supplement. DoTerra Oils. Here is where the skeptic comes out. I tried them. I had two oils that I found helpful. One was Digestzen which I took for about a month. It helped a lot with my digestive issues, but stopped taking them because I ran out and didn't want to order more cause of the cost. The other oil I found helpful is called PastTense and, when I rub it on my back and shoulders; it helps me to fall asleep on sleepless nights. However, the other oils I have tried, I was not overly impressed with. I thought my friend might be a bit of a loon (sorry friend, but I know if you read this you will understand and laugh at that statement) :) and I went on with my life.
Out of deep concern for me and not wanting to me get left behind in my friends endeavor to pursue optimal health for herself and others, she encouraged me once again to get a bit more involved with the company. Reluctantly, but slightly curious and hopeful, with a bit of an eye roll and a lot of skepticism I made the decision to order yet one more set of products. I thought if I was going to try one more thing, I would try their vitamin supplements and digestive aid. After all, one month of a lot of vitamins can't hurt me, and who knows, maybe they will help.
So, out of deep skepticism I am going to start taking the supplements, stop taking my added Calcium and Magnesium vitamins...... (the vitamin D I have to continue taking as there are not enough IU's in the new vitamins and I cannot be vitamin D deficient when I go in for blood work to check my calcium levels, because they will not consider the calcium levels and parathyroid levels legit if my vitamin D is low).... and start on these supplements and see what happens. I can only hope they help with the fatigue, the weight gain, the laziness, the leg cramps, the tummy issue, calcium absorption.....but we will see.
If you like, feel free to follow me as I take this little journey. I am not selling anything. I hate sales. Ask my friends, they will tell you I would more likely give something away then sell something. I am simply starting a little journey that I will document in case it might help others. I will do my best to post any results that I encounter. If you are already an oil lover and would like to know more or maybe you are just curious about the company, feel free to visit my website http://www.mydoterra.com/melodywilson/ and ask me any questions you may have. (Why do I have a website if I am not selling anything? Good question. It comes a long with what I signed up for and it has good information and blogs attached to it that might be helpful during this experiment and might be interesting for you as well.) I do not know much, but I do know people who can tell you more and also teach informative classes on this subject, none of which I have been to due to my eye rolls and skepticism. :)
I am very curious to see what will happen to me. I hope that it works and if it does that I can share this journey with others that might be suffering from health issues. But if it doesn't, no lose either. Consider me the guinea pig or the experiment in the petri dish for you to observe.
Here goes nothing :)
However, due to the encouragement of a friend, I decided to try just one more supplement company to see if it would help with some of the health issue I have. I have tried EVERYTHING, I'm not going to name what I have tried and has not worked, because that is not fair to those companies or to the people that have benefited from their products. But, believe me when I say, I have tried just about everything with no satisfactory luck.
So, this blog is dedicated to my journey....maybe it will be a short lived month....maybe it will turn into something. I don't know, but I am dedicating myself, for a month, to take these products and see if they help.
What do I suffer from, you might ask? Well, I suffer from the normal mom-of-three ailments. You know, I'm always tired, a little lazy when I can get away with it, and am gaining back part of the 60 pounds I lost about 6 years ago simply from that lazy thing and from an often fast paced life that doesn't allow for eating healthy.
Secondly, I have a genetic disorder called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1. In short, it affects the endocrine system and makes it difficult for my body to properly absorb calcium. Because of this, it can cause calcium build up in other areas of my body causing tumors. Gastronomes are also common. There is a lot more involved with it, but that is kind of a quick over view from what I understand about it. I often deal with tummy issues, food sensitivies, painful leg cramps, and unexplained body aches all of which are up for debate about whether they are symptoms of MENS. My doctor says they are not, but the people suffering from MENS (some of the comments I have read from others with the same diagnosis) say they are.
In order to help counter these symptoms, I am to drink a lot of water to flush out my system from extra calcium (I think), exercise to strengthen my bones to fight off osteoporosis due to the hard time my body has absorbing calcium, eat right (whole foods, dairy free, and gluten free have been the most effective for me, but eating like that on a daily basis has proven to be rather difficult), and take Vitamin D, Calcium, and Magnesium. The vitamin supplements, which I get from Meijer, have been the most effective for me so far.
Long story short? Because of the encouragement of a friend last year, I started one more supplement. DoTerra Oils. Here is where the skeptic comes out. I tried them. I had two oils that I found helpful. One was Digestzen which I took for about a month. It helped a lot with my digestive issues, but stopped taking them because I ran out and didn't want to order more cause of the cost. The other oil I found helpful is called PastTense and, when I rub it on my back and shoulders; it helps me to fall asleep on sleepless nights. However, the other oils I have tried, I was not overly impressed with. I thought my friend might be a bit of a loon (sorry friend, but I know if you read this you will understand and laugh at that statement) :) and I went on with my life.
Out of deep concern for me and not wanting to me get left behind in my friends endeavor to pursue optimal health for herself and others, she encouraged me once again to get a bit more involved with the company. Reluctantly, but slightly curious and hopeful, with a bit of an eye roll and a lot of skepticism I made the decision to order yet one more set of products. I thought if I was going to try one more thing, I would try their vitamin supplements and digestive aid. After all, one month of a lot of vitamins can't hurt me, and who knows, maybe they will help.
So, out of deep skepticism I am going to start taking the supplements, stop taking my added Calcium and Magnesium vitamins...... (the vitamin D I have to continue taking as there are not enough IU's in the new vitamins and I cannot be vitamin D deficient when I go in for blood work to check my calcium levels, because they will not consider the calcium levels and parathyroid levels legit if my vitamin D is low).... and start on these supplements and see what happens. I can only hope they help with the fatigue, the weight gain, the laziness, the leg cramps, the tummy issue, calcium absorption.....but we will see.
If you like, feel free to follow me as I take this little journey. I am not selling anything. I hate sales. Ask my friends, they will tell you I would more likely give something away then sell something. I am simply starting a little journey that I will document in case it might help others. I will do my best to post any results that I encounter. If you are already an oil lover and would like to know more or maybe you are just curious about the company, feel free to visit my website http://www.mydoterra.com/melodywilson/ and ask me any questions you may have. (Why do I have a website if I am not selling anything? Good question. It comes a long with what I signed up for and it has good information and blogs attached to it that might be helpful during this experiment and might be interesting for you as well.) I do not know much, but I do know people who can tell you more and also teach informative classes on this subject, none of which I have been to due to my eye rolls and skepticism. :)
I am very curious to see what will happen to me. I hope that it works and if it does that I can share this journey with others that might be suffering from health issues. But if it doesn't, no lose either. Consider me the guinea pig or the experiment in the petri dish for you to observe.
Here goes nothing :)
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