The Flu Shot: Hashimoto's and the flu vaccination

Hashi Warriors and the Flu Vaccine

Stay healthy this flu season

by amping up your immune system

with energy movement

   Much debate happens every year on whether people should or need to get the year's influenza vaccination. Quite frankly, the whole issue of vaccinations is a touchy subject in the states  among folks...a topic for another time - I have strong feelings on the side of NOT vaccinating, but that is not today's topic.
Is the flu shot necessary....does it help...will this miracle shot  save your life? Are you in the Center for Disease Control's categories of those who "probably" should not get the influenza vaccination? A really good resource on this topic is Dr. Kirk Gair who has written a few books on the subject and who started his quest to learn all he can because the information saved his wife from the devastating affects of  a Thyroid Storm. Click on his link to see what he has to say about Hashimoto's and the flu shot.
   If you are like me, whenever I received the influenza vaccination, I battled illnesses the rest of the season. I documented and have proof that demonstrated I would have one cold or virus run into another, I would catch lots of viruses and minor flus I came into contact with....it seemed to bog my immune system down. Now there is scientific evidence that supports my personal claims. Or rather, if my Hashimoto's is in hyper drive and very active, it has been found to be detrimental and is more like poking the bear living inside me...and I'm not the only one!
   According to the Holter Medical Group, "Although it is unclear exactly why some patients with these health conditions have complications(to the influenza vaccine), there are a few possible explanations. It could be related to mitochondrial dysfunction, which many of these patients have. It could also be directly related to the immune response elicited by the vaccine. One physician who has treated over 2,000 Hashimoto’s patients reports that 80% of his patients have infection with the Epstein Barr virus in their history. This is thought to play a role in the onset or exacerbation of the condition for many Hashimoto’s patients.Interestingly, there is some evidence that Influenza B may also be involved as an initiating factor. Even if it is not directly related, it affects the same part of the immune system as Epstein Barr. This also happens to be the part of the immune system that attacks the thyroid in autoimmune thyroid conditions."
   While I'm no physician or doctor, or nurse or practitioner, I am one heck of a researcher and I am an award winning journalist! In America, it's a little bit tougher to find out certain kinds of information (hot topics like vaccines or abortion that have a lot of money into the outcomes) but it is out there in small doses and under pages of professionals finally being able to piece the puzzle together.  I encourage you to look into these website addresses to look into this topic for yourself :)

Knowledge is personal power on your quest for good health! And the more we share, the more we can do what is best for each one of us and not be one of the "herd".

http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/5949/145399/fibromyalgia/
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12428064

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12428064

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18240111

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/04/zinc-garlic-vitamin-d.aspx

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/04/zinc-garlic-vitamin-d.aspx

So if you follow my blog, you'll know how natural I attempt to be. I limit chemicals entering my body via by the food and drink or by environmental exposure and skin products. I strive to limit my chemical exposure and I firmly believe this alone helped to calm my Hashimoto's down when it was in a whirlwind.

   So how do I avoid the flu? The flu is air borne and knowing this information is half the battle! In our home, we spray essential oils in the air, we use the old pan of water and essential oils and boil that down into the air. We have hand sanitizer right by the front door when we get home from a social event, and we use it! We eat organic, healthy foods from all the food groups (even the gluten free family members). Eating processed food or food with preservatives is limited. We boost ourselves with vitamin C and echinacea, we consume elderberry and overall try to get quality sleep and quality exercise....and we laugh a lot.

Our Family.....

has fun and laughs :)

Just being happy is another trick to fostering a good immune system. We incorporate energy work, like Reiki, or Yoga, into our every day lives. Our body's energy systems need movement within them to function properly.

I hope I've helped you find some resources to help you learn and get another step into recovery for you or your loved ones Hashimoto's or other autoimmune condition!
Blessings!

Our rainbow girl being ME :)

My first SIGNATURE COLLECTION went live!

   Yes friends from around the globe...my art has taken on WORLDWIDE status!

My Designer Label

I have finally  hit the mainstream! It wasn't expected, I wasn't strolling down that avenue really---it just happened!!! My first official SIGNATURE COLLECTION of bags and women's accessories went live last night at around 8:00 p.m. MST. Preorder my designs and VIDA will make them!

PLEASE CHECK IT OUT HERE!
Enjoy 15% off your purchase using code Welcome15
OR
Enjoy $50 off your purchase of $250+ using code Welcome50
Expires in just 7 Days, on 12/07/16.

  
   I am beyond  thrilled ---maybe over the moon--- to share with you my latest collection on VIDA!
This collection represents some of my best artwork from over the past two years and is very authentic to who I am as an artist. I'm really proud today to share this work with you. It includes selections from my canvas artistry to my photographic elemental collection.
  I'm really excited to collaborate with VIDA for this collection. VIDA is a new kind of fashion ecommerce company that connects artists like me all over the world with producers to bring our work to life. For every product sold, VIDA hopes to provide the gift of literacy to the makers they work with. I'm very proud to be in partnership with this company! A percentage of every sale goes to an artist like myself, to the manufacturer and also to the employees in the small facilities they work with to provide the skills for them to learn to read, write and do basic math. Many of these employees are women.  To learn more about VIDA's story, click this link.

I hope this post find you and yours well as we in the Northern Hemisphere close in on the Winter Solstice bringing the promise of the light and those of you in the Southern Hemisphere with thoughts of the romantic longer evenings ahead of you.

BLESSINGS!

Celtic Reiki and me: Treehugger deluxe edition

   Yesterday was a big day...I was completing the LAST double (double serving shift) at the Firehouse Brewery, also remembering the thousands of people who lost their lives on 9/11 in the USA fifteen years earlier, but I also completed my attunement for Reiki Level 2 Practitioner in Celtic reiki.

....also I felt our Wee Baby Ness move around all day! It's always a surprise to feel your little moving about in there at first. It started with a faint internal poke, then again. An hour later, yup, I felt the sensation again. It's official---I'm manifesting and growing the mighty Thor at 14 weeks LOL! I've been feeling our little one all day today too. There's no denying our excitement as we are in the second trimester!

   What is Celtic reiki? I sure hadn't heard of it and I'm in the Reiki business. As soon as I stumbled upon it, I knew it was exactly what I needed to be into. This form of reiki differs a little from traditional reiki in attunement so as well as knowledge of meridians in the body for body work, it also utilizes other energies to accomplish healing.  I am of Viking ancestry...there's no denying it, I am always drawn to that root. I've always had a healthy relationship with trees and plants, even as a child. My parents would remark about my "green thumb". After reading about how I would be attuned to the vibrations of the trees and plants, I knew.  This was what I've been looking for! 

Practitioners of Celtic reiki, also known as Bio-energy healing, believe that the power of the universal life force can be enhanced by calling upon additional energy forms that are connected to the earth and things of the natural world. Combinations of different life form vibrations, like in trees and plants, will make a healing or goal manifestation session most effective. In essence, we believe we are ALL connected.

   There are three distinct types of healing energies: earth derives energies, the second is manifestation  energies and the third is master healing energies. A Celtic reiki session usually last up to an hour and utilizes the placing of hands that will trigger a deep state of relaxation.

   Celtic reiki can be used in healing as well as goal manifestation. These are achieved through meditation practices. These meditation practices can encourage an energy flow in such a way that a person's goals are realized on the physical plane. 

   I will be achieving my Master in Celtic Reiki soon and will be bringing that to the Black Hills area. In this day and age, folks need all the help they can get with their day to day lives. 

Still hesitantly excited...and 10 weeks pregnant!

   We are in our tenth week of pregnancy....let me say that again! WE ARE IN OUR TENTH WEEK OF PREGNANCY! It really has flown by! Since I've last written, we've had our first in-person doctor visit complete with ten vials of blood and an ultrasound.

   The ultrasound....I knew we would be getting one but I didn't tell Clayton until we got there. That is very scary for couples that have experienced miscarriage. The last two ultrasounds I saw was first our deceased baby and then the next was an image of an empty womb. A sight you are supposed to be relieved to see, showing that everything had passed and I would be recovering, but that is not what you want to see at all deep in your heart of hearts. I would've given my existence to save that baby. Our ultrasound tech was perfect and was very very compassionate to our case. She was with us through it all before. We began, both of us not really looking at the projection on the television. "OK...see? ....See that little flickering right here? That's your baby's heart and it is flickering strong! Here is the head and here is the rump....now that we can all breath in here, I'm going to get started with my tests, OK?" She had her perfect bedside manner, as usual.

   After we were alone, I admitted that right before the test, I felt panic. My body hadn't changed much and I was twinged with fear of the empty womb. Clayton admitted he felt the same...we are so much alike at times. That moment of the flickering heart, the baby became real for him.

Our baby's flicker of a heart. Our chances of miscarriage statistically have dropped to  two  percent.

We've been in that two percent before....hold your breath!

   The rest of the appointment was full of completing my charts and scheduling upcoming appointments, urine samples and blood sampling. I was anxious for the bloodwork, this was going to be the marker on whether to truly get excited or not....
   About a week later, all of my test came in and the fated call blew up my phone. "Cristina? This is _______ OBGYN. I have your test results and we have a couple of things to talk about."....my heart truly sank. This is how those previous phone calls have been that ended in miscarriage. I mumbled alright. "First off, your TSH is great so we aren't doing anything with your dosage at this time. It is 0.2 and that's right where we want it. Secondly, you do not have an immunity to Rubella, so you will need an immunization after you have your baby in the hospital, okay?" I smiled and said, "Woo hoo! Thank you so much!!"
WHAT A RELIEF! I scooted upstairs to let Clayton know the news and we wore secret smiles the rest of the day!

   As the days have progressed, my bloating is up and down, mood is up and down and the cravings combined with nausea...ranch corn chips with chocolate milk, peppers upon peppers with blue cheese, gluten free bagels with cream cheese, spoons of peanut butter and beef...OH THE BEEF!
   Now all of our children know and that is a relief. It is difficult to keep such an exciting, scary and adventurous secret! They were great and not too scared. It's scary watching mom get sick and having her struggle. It's hard being the sibling of a baby taken too soon---you don't get to have fun memories with them, you get an injured mom and dad, sadness, worry that your mom and dad will never be the same, (and they never are the same---everyone in the house is changed from this hard realization that some things aren't always rosy) and then there is the anger. Anger that this happened to your family. It's hard being that sibling. And many people don't even think about the children involved in those families. Those kids are being strong and waiting for their world, their parents, to not be broken in a million pieces, and some parents never recover. For us, as a couple, we got stronger. We've gone through the deaths of children and somehow lived to tell about it. We are shining after the storm. And our kids are simply beautifully amazing.
  To keep our lives as stress free as possible, we are keeping a lid on things still. We still aren't out of the woods yet, despite the large beams of light upon us, and we just want to keep our lives as routine as possible. Our stress levels depends on it! A lingering question for me is whether my Hashimoto's antibodies will remain inactive. That's key for our success as well and it is beyond my control besides taking my selenium supplement and staying away from my identified triggers like gluten and stress. I am developing my Reiki practice daily and the meditation is invaluable to me. I am writing this blog as we go as a record for others like us....gathering every speck of courage on this journey called Hashimoto's and Hypothyroidism.

Here's me and my Mini Cooper! My husband rebuilt the engine for me!

   With the cooler weather heading our way and the holidays coming up, we will have some decisions to make about public appearances and my possible exposure to Rubella. After the journey we've been on, we won't be taking that lightly. We do not want the chance of causing birth defects in our unborn little. I personally plan on avoiding areas where the chance of exposure is great and this includes family gatherings like weddings and birthday parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

10 weeks pregnant!

Reiki: power up!

     My healing Hashimoto's  journey has led me on some wild paths, some terrible journeys, some silver-ladened cobblestone corridors and some dark places sprinkled with blazing embers. I've learned so much about myself and ...and I am a champion because of it.
  

      My healing journey has expanded my mind, challenged me and my team to think off of the page, to really make me get acquainted with myself. I turned to art again to unlock any feelings or doubt or fear, I found the Eastern side of life. Yup, I did. What exactly does that mean? It simply means that the Western world may not have the answers I've been looking for....we are, after all, connected to the entire world, the universe, which incidentally seems to be far more vast that our little Western technological equipment could see!

    I really turned to yoga for a great exercise during flare times and it always had some wonderful benefits (like quieting my mind) and the philosophies taught are solid building blocks to a better you. The use of my massage therapy has also been a staple of keeping my inflammation in check as well as the amazing thing simple touch can do....which brings me to my latest and changing thing I've ever done. On June 30, 2016, I was attuned and am a Reiki I practitioner. In simple speak, I can channel the universal healing energy through my hands. This healing technique has been 'handed' (ha-see what I did there?) down from the dawn of time, this ancient healing method is life changing.

   During my Reiki I certification process, I spent hours on meditation and focusing on the chakra system of the body. What are chakras? Chakras are energy centers in the body that govern certain systems. Sometimes, when people go through tramatic events or focus too deeply on negative energies, chakras can become "blocked" or less open, making the person behave

certain ways or become ill with specific illnesses. This way of thinking makes sense to me. I've seen and felt Reiki.  During my attunement process, I completed also a series of paintings thst focuses on keeping chakras open. It helped me keep focused on my Reiki journey.
   If you would like to know more about this ancient healing technique, please do not hesitate to get a hold of me by commenting or emailing me! I'd love to be a part of your journey and help you get centered again. Look into finding practitioners in your corner of this world.

"Crown enlightened"

"Solar Plexus"

   My journey to the ancient healing techniques of Reiki has changed me forever. It was spiritual, it was healing, it was unWestern, it was destined. My life has become richer in so many aspects and not only does it help me, it helps my family, it helps my pets, I have helped people over distance. We are all connected.
Namasté  

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