Recently, I had an MRI with gadolinium-based contrast dye. Gadolinium is a heavy metal and even a small amount is toxic to humans. Therefore, to use the gadolinium as contrast dye, it is bound to other molecules, which facilitate its travel through the bloodstream without causing harm (usually). The contrast dye has a black box warning label from the FDA, which is the strongest warning issued. This means that there is potential to cause serious harm. The majority of the gadolinium is removed from the body within the first 24 hours, mostly via the kidneys. It's important to drink as much water as you can during that first 24 hours, maybe even 48 hours, to eliminate the contrast dye from the kidneys quickly. My MRI was at 9:00 PM so I even set my alarm that night to wake up every couple of hours to drink water and go to the bathroom. Some people who have severe kidney disease may be unable to eliminate the gadolinium quickly enough, leading to a debilitating disease called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), which causes severe swelling and tightening of the skin, connective tissues, muscles, and internal organs. Here is a picture of someone with NSF: It's an extremely rare occasion that someone develops NSF, and it only happens in those with kidney disease. However, I recommend making sure that your doctor checks your kidney function (creatinine blood test) before you have an MRI with contrast dye. Any good doctor will. Even if your kidney function is fine and you have no adverse reactions after the MRI, still know that small amounts of gadolinium probably remain in your body, and could cause health issues in the future. Remember, gadolinium is a heavy metal, and heavy metal toxicity in the brain is often associated with neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's. I strive for a pure body so I'm doing everything I can to remove the Gadolinium from my body. My naturopath prescribed me EDTA, which is an oral chelating agent. I take it every other day for a month. After completing the course of EDTA I will take a different chelating agent for a week and then take a test to make sure I got most of it out.
2017 Update: Some of you have asked if the chelation worked to clear my body of gadolinium. I don't know. I haven't tested again. The test is expensive!
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I'm sorry I haven't posted lately; I haven't been well. Many weird things have been going on with my body. It began with sharp pain that traveled all over my abdominal area. One moment it would be in my lower abdomen, and the next moment it would be in my upper abdomen, and then in my side, and then in the middle. My nurse-midwife (I'm not pregnant I just prefer a nurse-midwife to an OBGYN) ordered an ultrasound of my girl organs and everything checked out fine there. The next day I experienced pain in the back of my legs, lightheadedness, and a bubble popping sensation in my legs. I thought I might have a blood clot so I went to the ER and everything checked out fine. I made an appointment to see my primary care physician, but he wouldn't be able to see me for five more days. I waited it out but things got worse. I developed severe back pain, leg pain all over, headache, neck pain, temporary loss of coordination in my hands, graying vision, pins and needles sensations all over my body, shooting pains from head to toe, and temporary numbness in my hands, feet, legs, and abdomen. I was completely bedridden for two days. I finally went to see my doctor and he wanted to do a MRI of my brain, since I had the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. After the MRI the radiology technician gave me a CD of my brain images so I went home and looked at them right away. I saw bright white spots on my brain, which I knew were characteristic of MS. I cried and cried and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and asked other people to pray that I didn't have MS. When I got the call from the nurse who said that my MRI was normal I didn't know how to feel. I was glad I didn't have MS, but I still wanted to know what was wrong with me. I immediately got down on my knees and thanked God for the good report and asked that He would continue to heal me. I'm still trying to figure it out. I am getting better each day. My leg pain is gone and back pain is lessening. I believe a lot of my improvement has to do with resting and learning to trust God instead of worrying. I have a tendency to work myself to exhaustion, stress, and worry. I am learning contentment. The next step is to see a neurologist so please keep me in your prayers. Whether the doctor or I figure out what's going wrong, or God miraculously heals me, I don't care. I just want complete healing! In the past week I have learned so much about MS. I now have an immense amount of sympathy for those dealing with such an awful disease. I feel like I have a responsibility now to advocate for them, because I can relate to and understand both the physical and emotional distress that accompanies this disease. During this episode my mom and I did a lot of research on a newly identified condition that many people with MS and other neurological disorders have, called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), which is stenosis of the jugular and azygos veins that carry blood to and from the brain. In people with CCSVI blood does not drain out of the brain properly and toxins build up in the brain. These toxins are believed to be iron or other heavy metal deposits. There is a new procedure to widen the veins, but it is met with resistance from the FDA and medical community. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that MS medications are big bucks for the medical community and drug companies. If you know someone who has MS chances are their neurologist has not told them about CCSVI. So please tell whoever you know about it. The more people learn about it, the more pressure the medical community will feel. Not everyone with MS has CCSVI, and therefore not all MS victims are candidates for the procedure, but almost all patients who do in fact have CCSVI see drastic improvement after the procedure. I also want to reiterate that this procedure is not only for people with MS, but also for those with similar neurological symptoms, and even for some people with cardiovascular issues, such as postural tachycardia. There is even some literature suggesting that it may one day be a treatment method for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Here are some videos of people with MS before and after the "liberation procedure." We make our own laundry detergent using a few simple ingredients. We love it because not only does it do a great job of getting our clothes clean, but it also saves us money, and we aren't exposed to harsh laundry detergent chemicals every day. Give it a try! First, you will need three simple ingredients, which cost us about $8 at Wal-mart: borax, washing soda, and one bar of Fels Naptha soap. You can find all of these in the laundry aisle. You will also need a five gallon bucket. Grate the bar of soap and put it in a pot on the stove. I know you may be tempted to eat it, as it looks like grated cheese, but don't. Mix with four cups of water and heat it (stirring constantly) until the soap melts. Fill a five gallon bucket half full with hot water. Add the melted soap, one cup of washing soda, and half a cup of borax. Stir until the powder is dissolved and then fill the bucket to the top with more hot water. Stir it some more, put the lid on the bucket, and then let it sit all day or overnight to thicken. You can then fill an old laundry detergent bottle half full with the detergent you just made, and fill it the rest of the way with water. You now have ten gallons of laundry detergent and depending on your family size it could last you a very long time! I use one cup per load. It doesn't suds like normal detergent so the first time I used it I thought, there's no way this is going to work. But it did!
Doctors usually tell parents the benefits of vaccines, but neglect to inform them of the dangers. In this post I will go through each of the vaccines that babies and children receive, and tell you why some parents choose to decline the vaccine. Let's begin with the one that is given just minutes after birth. Hepatitis B- Hepatitis B is a virus that can cause liver damage, failure, and cancer. It can be transmitted sexually, through an IV drug needle, or by getting a tattoo with a needle that isn't sterilized. Many parents feel that this vaccine is unnecessary for newborns, since they do not engage in such risky behavior. Hepatitis B is transmitted the same way as HIV, so it is possible that a child who lives with a Hepatitis B carrier could eventually contract the disease. Doctors recommend this vaccine for all newborns because it can be passed from mother to baby. However, many parents who do not themselves have Hepatitis B feel that this vaccine is unnecessary for their newborn. It could come with serious vaccine reactions, such as lupus, worsening of neurological disorders, asthma, paralysis, seizures, rapid heart rate, and anaphylaxis. Many parents choose to delay this vaccine for a few years, or until the teenage years, when sex, drugs, and tattoos could become an issue. But it is important to know that teenagers experience fewer complications with the disease. Ninety-five percent of Hep B cases in teens and adults pass within one month without lasting symptoms, as the immune system fights it off. This vaccine contains aluminum and formaldehyde. Look into what each of these ingredients does once inside the body, before deciding to give this vaccine to your child. Polio- We've all seen pictures of crippled polio victims, which scares us. We don't want our kids to become crippled. Unfortunately, doctors rarely tell parents that wild polio has been eradicated from the U.S. since 1979. However, there have been 145 cases of polio caused by the oral live polio vaccine. The oral live polio vaccine has now been replaced with a killed polio vaccine which does not allow the vaccine to spread the virus. Polio does exist in India and some parts of Africa so if you plan on traveling to these areas this may be an important vaccine for you. But even then, most polio cases go unnoticed, without any symptoms. Some experience cold-like symptoms but never know they have polio. Only one in 250 people infected with polio experience muscle weakness or paralysis. In 2002 the journal Lancet published an article stating that there was compelling evidence that contaminated polio vaccine was responsible for up to half of the 55,000 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases that were occurring each year. The vaccine was contaminated by SV40, which is a cancer-causing monkey virus, and the vaccine manufacturers knew it! With the rise of overall disease in our country, it makes me wonder what other diseases vaccines are causing. Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis- This is a three-in-one vaccine, called DTaP. Diphtheria and tetanus can both be serious diseases. Fortunately, both are extremely rare, with diphtheria being basically non-existent in the United States. Pertussis (Whooping Cough) is usually the reason why parents choose to get this vaccine for their children. If you've ever seen a child with pertussis having a coughing fit you know that it is scary. However, the pertussis component of the DTaP is not very effective. Do you remember the 2010 pertussis outbreak in California? Pharmaceutical companies, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the American Medical Association (AMA) wanted everyone to believe that the outbreak was due to unvaccinated children. But in fact, 81% of those who were stricken with the disease were completely vaccinated, and another 11% had received at least one shot. In addition to being ineffective, this vaccine is one of the most reactive. The most common reaction is a rash or swelling at the injection site, which can sometimes cause swelling of the entire arm. Doctors shrug this off and say, "it's a common reaction." But if there is a reaction on the outside, there is probably a reaction at the cellular level that we are unaware of. There is also convincing evidence that the pertussis component of the vaccine is linked to asthma and allergies. Many parents feel that they'd rather not risk a reaction from this vaccine, since it is not very effective anyway. Rotavirus- This is an intestinal virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting, similar to the stomach flu. In most cases it simply causes loose stools for a few days. Most of us had it as infants and all that is usually needed to recover is good nutrition, fluids, and rest. In severe cases it can lead to dehydration. In addition to the mildness of the disease, another reason why parents choose to forgo this vaccine is because of the controversial ingredients, such as polysorbate 80, monkey kidney cells, fetal cow blood, and pig virus contaminants. A practicing pediatrician once told me that this vaccine is an elaborate money-making scam. HIB & Pneumococcal- These are separate vaccines but I put them together because they are both known as "meningitis vaccines." HIB and Pneumococcal are both bacterial diseases that live within our nose and throat region. Usually it poses no harm, and we go about our lives without realizing we are carrying diseases around. The problem with the HIB & Pneumococcal vaccines is that there is this process called serotype replacement. This is when we vaccinate for one strain of a bacterial disease, and then another strain of those same bacteria or completely different bacteria take its place in the nose or throat. Then we need a vaccine for this new disease, and so on. There is no way to eliminate all diseases. Pharmaceutical companies love this. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella- This is another three-in-one vaccine, called the MMR. Measles causes fever, rash, runny nose, and cough. It lasts for about a week and then all is well again. Occasionally, as with any illness, there can be complications. Mumps can cause fever and swelling of the salivary glands. In most cases it goes unnoticed because it will simply present itself as a sore throat or cold. There are only 25 mumps cases per year, most mild. Rubella is a mild viral illness which lasts for three days and usually presents with a low-grade fever, swollen glands, rash, and fatigue. The reason why this vaccine is given is to prevent congenital rubella syndrome in babies. Congenital rubella syndrome occurs when a pregnant woman contracts rubella in her first trimester. Her unborn baby is at risk for birth defects or miscarriage. Therefore, doctors recommend vaccinating children for rubella in order to protect their teachers and other pregnant women with whom they may come into contact. I believe that parents should be informed of this, so that they can decide if they would like to risk their child's well-being "for the greater good." From 2001 to 2004, four Congenital Rubella cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The MMR has been in the spotlight for many years now, due to the growing number of parents who have told similar stories of the MMR causing autism in their children. As much as the American Medical Association denies the link, there is mounting scientific evidence that their stories are valid. This vaccine also contains controversial ingredients, one of which is aborted baby cells. Flu- We're all familiar with this one. We are bombarded with influenza vaccine advertising every fall. One year, my son's friend received his flu vaccine and contracted the flu (from the vaccine), and then passed it to my children. This is called vaccine shedding. Live virus vaccines, such as the flu vaccine given to young children, shed. Therefore, these three children caught the flu from the vaccine itself. The flu vaccine also contains mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde. The combination of the three is believed by many scientists to cause Alzheimer's disease. And, a recent study found that the flu vaccine actually doesn't prevent the flu. You can read about it here. Varicella (Chickenpox) - Many parents believe that the chickenpox vaccine is excessive since most of us had chickenpox and got over it. But the upcoming generation of parents who have themselves been vaccinated against chickenpox will not be familiar with it. Many parents will be afraid that their child will contract the dreaded disease, much like parents my age are afraid of measles. The vaccine is not very effective, but if we would just let our children get chickenpox, they would have lifelong immunity. Because of the chickenpox vaccine, we are now seeing an epidemic of shingles in adults. You can read about it here. HPV- This vaccine is recommended at age 11, when some girls become sexually active. It is highly reactive, and as of 2012, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received reports of thousands and thousands of adverse events. 517 of these were life-threatening, and 119 resulted in death. I will allow the vaccine victims in this video to share their personal stories. You have options! You could follow the full vaccination schedule recommended by the CDC, you could spread out or delay vaccines, or you could decline them. Dr. Bob Sears offers an alternative vaccine schedule that is intended for parents who plan to get all the vaccines for their child but want to slow down and spread out the schedule. This can be found in his book, The Vaccine Book. Whatever your decision is, make sure that you feel good about it. If you don't vaccinate you should be willing to accept the fact that your child could contract a serious illness that could have been prevented by vaccination. And if you do vaccinate, you should be willing to accept the fact that your child may experience a serious vaccine reaction. Do your research, pray, make a decision, and stop worrying. Also make sure that you understand your reasons well enough to be able to educate your pediatrician. I recommend finding a pediatrician who is supportive of your right to choose a vaccine schedule that you feel is appropriate for your child. Dr. Sears has compiled a list of vaccine friendly doctors, but they are few and far between. We drive 35 minutes to see our pediatrician, even though there are tons within five minutes of our home. It's totally worth it. Vaccines are a personal issue that should be weighed carefully, based on the uniqueness of your children. During my first pregnancy I spent my free time researching vaccines and I came up with a protocol that I feel is best for my kids. I understand that other parents may perform the same amount of research and come to a different decision, based on that same information. Let's be respectful of one another please! |