Jan 31, 2012

Pray For RJ

Thanks for the help putting things into perspective. After talking to my think tank, we have decided to revamp my dosing schedule. Now we're looking at 3 days of high doses, twice a day. Then I'll have four days off. On the days off, the first day will be high doses of curcumin & piperine, then twenty minutes later I'll do a power packed smoothie with upland cress, and daikon radish. About three hours later I'll do another smoothie - same kind. A few hours after that I'll take a bunch of shark liver oil. Then on the next three days I'll start off with the upland cress each morning, and eat the regular healthy diet per usual. It's going to be much easier to know that Monday - Wednesday is high doses, Thursday is curcumin-ITCs-shark liver oil, Friday - Sunday is ITC shake in the AM and regular healthy food for the rest of the day.

I'm a creature of habit, and this schedule makes me happy. It feels manageable. I shouldn't admit this, but even when I go to the hospital for MRIs, I always go back to the same bathroom stalls. Weird huh.

Enough about me. I just hopped on Facebook, and I saw something that broke my heart. Please take a look. This little boy is fighting a neuroblastoma. Horrible, horrible stuff. This poor sweet little child is so strong to go through these horrible procedures. This just breaks my heart:

Photo taken on 1/22/12
         
Photo taken on 1/27/12

Here is a link to the website where you can donate if you have the means: DONATE FOR RJ

To help share the story on Facebook, here the link: RJ "Tough Guy" Kaufman - Kickin' Cancer's Butt 1 Day At A Time

For the record, I don't know this family, I was just so touched by RJ's story. Please help me pray for him, and support him in any way you can. I can't imagine having to go through this as his mother. 

Ok, gotta go. I've got my first official volunteering day at the retirement community. I'm starting off by painting fingernails, then heading to the memory center where I get to help with sittercise. We're doing group exercise from a sitting position. I'm so excited! 

Jan 30, 2012

Am I A Binger?

Aaaaaaaarrrgh. I'm a bad, bad girl. I think it has to do with my blood sugar levels. I'm going to blame it on that. This is my routine, I'm sure you've already heard it before, but here it goes: 4 days on high doses, twice a day. I wake up in the morning and fiddle around until I take my pills at about 8:30 - 9:00 am, then I wait three to four hours before I can eat. So....I can eat at around noon or 1:00 pm. Then, I stop eating at 4:00 pm and take the second dosing at 8:30 - 9:00 pm. That only leaves about three to four hours of time to eat. I get full so quickly that I can't even eat that much. I do that for four days then I have six days off. During the high doses I need to avoid my healthy smoothies and high antioxidant foods (they clean out free radicals which I need to help my herbs attach to the cancer cells). By day three I'm starving and craving everything from my delicious green drinks to sourdough, burritos, ice cream, wine, and artisan cheese. Ugh...my body just talks and talks to me telling me all the delicious foods that it needs, IT NEEDS, it says. On day 5, the first day I can eat normal foods, I crave eggs on toast, or a turkey sandwich (totally gross), or a burger (yuck). I crave crazy foods that I never normally eat...well, except for the eggs on toast - that's a special treat about once a month.

On Friday Danny and I ate Mexican, on Saturday I ate a lamb burger, yesterday I ate a burrito. What is wrong with me?!?! I can't seem to stop myself. Eek - am I binger?!? That's so embarrassing.

The first phase, after the October MRI, was so easy. I do well with consistency. It was easy to take my my pills each night. I could drink my green smoothies each morning, and make sure I was done eating at 4:00 pm. Each day was the same, very simple to implement. I like things that I don't have to think about, easy rules that always apply. This whole 4 days high dose, and 6 days off is very difficult to deal with. It probably sounds really easy, I mean, it sounds easy as I type it, but I promise you it is definitely not easy. I believe my blood sugar levels are fighting me. My body loves the green drinks, and for those four days it is tough to avoid them. I feel like my head is constantly spinning, always trying to figure out what I can have or what I need to avoid. It changes so much. On the 6 days off I'm supposed to eat high doses of special sprouts, maitake mushroom supplements, turmeric supplements, ginger drops, shark liver oil, and it's all so confusing. This protocol is, in my opinion, cutting edge. There are no distinct rules other than the whole antioxidant thing, and knowing when to stop eating so that pills will digest properly.

I need rules. Aaaaaaaaaah. AAAAAAAAAH.

I did manage to drink three different fresh pressed juices, full of veggies and fruits over the weekend. That should help counter act the bad food choices that I've made. Sometimes I feel completely crazy. This is one of those times. How can I cheat so badly with my food choices? I don't know. I understand that the bad food feeds little Hermie, but sometimes my body overrides my mind. I now can completely understand people in my position who just flat out don't want to change their lifestyle even though it may save their life. It's hard. It's so effing hard sometimes. When it's sunny outside, I want to walk over to Dukes with Danny and sit on the patio with a glass of white wine and a cheese burger. Or just the wine.

This morning, trying to completely jump start my digestion and apologize to my poor confused body, I made my most powerful smoothie yet. It's completely random, but it was surprisingly good! Be careful though, make sure you're hungry. The below list will make 2.5 tall glasses of goodness.

1 bushel of upland cress (roots removed)
1/2 bushel of cilantro
1 English cucumber (ends chopped off)
1 apple (core removed)
3 carrots (ends chopped off)
1 banana (peeled)
1 inch fresh ginger root (peeled)
1 inch diakon radish, skin and all



I'm sorry for complaining this entire post. It will not always be this hard. I truly believe it's my crazy fluctuating blood sugar level. That has to be it. Somehow it feels better to blame it on something.