My Story...

THE GLORY OF GOD IS INTELLIGENCE.

IT SHOULD BE OUR DESIRE TO LAY THE FOUNDATION
FOR INCREASED MENTAL POWER
& NOT DO ANYTHING TO WEAKEN IT.
WHEN WE GIVE WAY TO WEAKNESS
OF THE FLESH BY TAKING INTO OUR SYSTEMS
THINGS THAT ARE NOT GOOD FOR OUR BODIES,
WE ARE DEPRIVING OURSELVES
OF EARTHLY AS WELL AS ETERNAL BLESSINGS.

IF WE IGNORE SUCH A SIMPLE LAW
THAT GOD HIMSELF HAS SAID ANY OF US
CAN OBEY, THEN HOW CAN WE EXPECT
TO BE ABLE TO KEEP ANY HIGHER LAW
AND ATTAIN EXALTATION?
(George Albert Smith)

Even if you don't feel like reading my whole entire boring personal story, which is a short book...  (but I hope you will) - If I can convince you to do anything else...  Just watch the video at the bottom of this page.  Please.

I'm coming out of my comfort zone here.  But I know that there are many other people who suffer or have suffered with some or all of the things that I have, & after years of just feeling sorry for myself, I am finally ready to help others.  That person may be you, or it may be someone else.  If a thousand people read this, but it only helps ONE, then I did what I needed to do.

So, here we go...

I got tired of doctors not knowing what was wrong.  I got tired of them giving me endless prescription drugs that DID NOT WORK.  I got tired of going to the emergency room over & over for a digestive disorder that was originally caused by my anxiety & then got worse after surgery.  I got tired of thinking I was going to live the rest of my life as a miserable person but not wanting others to know... so I did my best to hide it.

How?  I smiled.  :)

But inside, I somewhat hated my life.

In 1992, I married an amazing man. I had my 4 sweet little babies over the following 12 years.  My Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, & my family were what kept me going.  Somehow, I found the strength to continue on & have faith that... in the end... everything would be ok.  Some day, I would feel well again.

I love to create.  So I kept myself busy by keeping my mind busy.  I scrapbooked, sewed, quilted, painted, glued, organized, cooked, decorated & re-decorated, started 3 of my own businesses doing creative things, & did whatever I could to enjoy life.

So just what was wrong with me?

I had depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) & anxiety most of my life.  I also suffered with allergies & asthma, severe digestive disorders, OCD & other related conditions, weight gain of 50 pounds (after my 3rd & 4th pregnancies), chronic exhaustion & low to no energy, dizziness, heart palpitations, severe headaches which started in 2008, heavy irregular & long menstrual cycles often lasting more than 8 days, daily acid reflux, carpal tunnel syndrome, ovarian & other cysts, severe insomnia (since I was a small child), restless leg syndrome, low thyroid, & near constant neck & shoulder pain (from stress).  In 2010 I also had a huge swollen dark spot on my leg that looked like MRSA.  I was told it was probably a staph infection.  Antibiotics reduced the size & the pain after some time, but it never went away.  (We later found out it was probably a strep related condition that's very difficult to get rid of).

I had oral surgery in elementary school.  I also had surgery in high school for a large cyst in my lower back.  At age 30 I had surgery (which left me with a 4 inch vertical scar down the middle of my belly) for a 2nd major intestinal obstruction that almost left me with a colostomy. 

My amazing surgeon - who I should have never even had to visit in the first place - was determined to do everything in his power to save me from that misery.  I am truly grateful to him for working hard to avoid that colostomy, especially at such a young age.

Since my surgery, I've been in the emergency room & admitted to the hospital NINE times due to more obstructions.  The last time (Sept. 2008) they said if I had one more attack, I would have to have surgery again, & I would definitely be left with a colostomy.

Over the past 18 years, I've been to multiple doctors who after much unsuccessful testing & medicating, eventually sent me to psychologists in attempt to figure out WHAT THE HECK WAS WRONG WITH ME.

I've been on the following medications (that I can remember off the top of my head) since the year after I had my first baby.   These are in addition to countless antibiotics & pain killers from illnesses & surgeries:

Zyrtec (allergies)
Flovent (athsma)
5 different Birth Control Pills (not only for birth control, but for other "symptoms")
Xyprexa (an anti-psychotic, which I never EVER needed!)
Wellbutrin (depression & anxiety)
Abilify (depression & anxiety - made my insides literally shake!)
Prozac (depression - made the depression worse)
Paxil (depression - left me with debilitating headaches)
Zoloft (depression / PTSD)
Levothyroxine (thyroid)
Ambien (insomnia)
Zanax (anxiety)
Valium (anxiety)
Ranitidine (acid reflux) 

Out of the blue, I came across a website that was the beginning of changing my life. 

I'd been googling food storage (one of my slight passions) - I learned of a very talented gal named Anitra Kerr, from Utah, who owns 'Simply Living Smart'.  I took her classes & learned how to put together a food storage program using healthier foods.  I learned about whole grains, sprouting, homemade mixes, beans, dehydrating, & TONS more.  I learned more about helping my family become healthier.

I learned about self sufficiency, preparedness, & how to take care of my family in times of emergency & unemployment (which we experienced after the loss of 2 family businesses in 2004).

Although I was already an organizing fanatic, I learned even more about getting my home (& kitchen) organized & simplifying my life.  I was hooked!  After much prayer & countless blessings, I knew this was the very beginning of a new life for me (& my family). 

I knew it was time to change.  No one else could do it for me.  The "specialists" & doctors were just not able to help me truly heal.  All they were able to do was give me prescription drugs to cover up the symptoms.  But I needed to get to the root or cause of why I had these health problems.   

I had to take control.  I was a wife & a mother.  I had children to raise - that my Father in Heaven trusted me with!  I was responsible for them.  I was blessed with mortal life here on this beautiful earth, & there was a reason.  I had a life to live, and I was going to live it.  And I became determined to live it the way Heavenly Father INTENDED for me to live it.  That started with my body - my mind - & my spirit.  My very own living temple.

Since Anitra's training I have read books, done online research, & taken even more classes.  I've gone on to learn about whole foods (REAL food actually recognized by Mother Nature), the air we breathe, water, the sacredness of the body, natural healing through herbs & essential oils (& even the fascinating subject of the body's dna, & cells, & energy in relation to our mind, spirit, the earth, & the universe).  I'm taking courses on whole foods nutrition & healing from a former neurosurgeon - a giant of a humble man named Don Tolman, who lives in Park City, Utah.  He's traveled the world & dedicated his life for over 40 years to finding out about, living, & teaching what our ancient ancestors knew about health.  REAL health.  The AMAZING part of what he teaches about food & nutrition is that even though he's not LDS, what he teaches fits almost exactly with the Word of Wisdom - (My true passion!)

Because of the things I have learned & begun to implement into my life, I have finally... after all these years... been able to almost completely heal.  The headaches are almost gone, acid reflux is gone, heart palpitations no longer exist, thyroid problems are gone, restless leg syndrome hardly ever happens, my energy has increased, I sleep better than I have ever slept in my life, there have been NO intestinal attacks since 2008.  Allergies & asthma are very rare, I don't get cysts anymore, carpal tunnel is rare, OCD is much less, depression is gone, & anxiety has much improved.  That "MRSA / staph/strep" area on my leg is mostly gone.  As far as my weight goes...  Well, see below :)

(Feeling even more vulnerable!)
2005 Photo
Me -hiding behind my smile- (175 lbs)
& my husband (over 190 lbs)

at a trade show for our former LDS store
standing with the beautiful Miss Utah
* * * * *


2011 Photo
Me with my family on Christmas Eve


Me & my hubby, a bit tired after a long busy day :)
March 2012


Not bragging - Just showing you that it CAN BE DONE.
Forget the fad diets & weight loss pills.  Just eat real food!

Ok...  Now for the rest:
I took myself off ALL of the above medications, & my whole family is now completely MEDICATION FREE - (4 of us were on continuous meds) - The only drug I needed help with getting off of & couldn't finish myself was Zoloft... (which I was finally able to get rid of on January 8, 2012).

I was having horrible "side effects" - headaches, extreme dizziness in my eyes with a strange electrical buzzing sensation, anxiety, & returning depression.  I tried 3 different times over several years to wean off with the help of doctors.  I could not do it.  It was HORRIBLE.

I have been on Zoloft for almost 18 years.  At one point, a psychiatrist put me on a whopping 300 mg!  At the beginning of this past summer (2012)... I decided I'd had enough.

I took myself from 150 mg - to 100 mg - to 50 mg over the course of 2 months.  It was so hard.  I was miserable.  But I did it anyway.  I was sick and tired of being medicated, especially since it was no longer helping me.  I had to deal all those years with the "side effects" of being on the medication in the first place.  I had lost who I was & I lost the ability to really truly FEEL.  I became indifferent.  I became numb.  My sensitivity to the spirit had even diminished.  Yes, it DOES affect your ability to feel & recognize the Holy Ghost.  (This, I did not realize until after I stopped being medicated.)
Truly, there ARE NO "SIDE" EFFECTS to medication & prescription drugs.

THERE ARE JUST EFFECTS.

Every person reacts differently to medications.  And every time you are put on a medication, you are being experimented on.  No one knows what the effect will be until after you've taken it.  That is an experiment.

(Read here, what Brigham Young himself had to say about experiments on my "quotes" page)

I decided it was time to stop using drugs & meds to cover up my symptoms.  I wanted to HEAL!

Don't get me wrong.  Doctors work miracles every day.  They care about us & want to help.  I'm not against using them if needed.  But we've come to learn how to take care of our own health, we're continually learning to improve our knowledge of self sufficiency in physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health.  We no longer need prescription drugs or medications. 

What if we could all be healthy enough that we would only have to visit a doctor literally "in case of emergency".  What if !?   

Let me just tell you...  It is an AMAZING feeling to now be 'Health Reliant'!  

My new motto is this:  

"I will no longer use any remedy which has more side effects than that which it remedies."

After 18 years of unsuccessful healing, I decided to take a leap of faith.  I had heard about natural healing before, but I was clueless.  After many many prayers for help in finding a way to heal, I was introduced to a well known Naturopathic Physician.  What did I have to lose? 

Through herbs, essential oils, hormone balancing, energy release, cranial sacral therapy & other means, she reduced the Zoloft dose from 50 mg. to 25 mg. in just over a month.  Within 3 months, I was down to only 12.5 mg.  Almost impossible to do on your own.

The last 25 mg is the most difficult part to come off of.  I had very little dizziness & buzzing in my eyes, (a common effect of weaning off SSRI's) no headaches, and no returning depression.  The only thing I noticed was that my anxiety was a bit heightened.  But even that reduced over time..

***The final (& I believe most important) part of making it possible to come off of my medication so easily was my family's change in nutrition.  Truly & completely following the Word of Wisdom - like I never had before...  Making the commitment to honor my body & nourish it with good whole foods that our Father in Heaven provided for us.

(Jan. 2012) - After making sure everything was balanced, including my hormones & nutrient levels which were WAY imbalanced at the start, I was 100% completely OFF Zoloft for good.  Honestly, I was a little scared.  Only because I don't really remember life without Zoloft.  BUT I was SO excited.  I came further in 5 months, than I'd come my entire life.  And I am now happy and MEDICATION FREE!!!

Those of you who knew our family previously, know that we were "the sick family".  We were at the doctor ALL the time for strep, ear infections, flu, bronchitis, you name it.  We were at the doctor over & over & over.  The past few years 2 of my children have had to "appeal" their days missed at school, just to get credit, because they missed so much from being sick.

With the exception of one daughter who had physical therapy on her knees earlier this year (which is definitely a natural form of healing) & my son who had a minor surgery (which was an anatomical issue that could not be fixed by natural means) - We have not been to the doctor since 2010!  :)


Wait. I take that back  :)  I had strep throat at the beginning of 2011, & the Augmentin that I was put on didn't work & made me puke..  I threw out the Augmentin & started taking capsules of Oil of Oregano 5 times/day.  In 2 days, I started feeling better.  In 3 days, ALL of the white spots on my throat & the 103 fever were gone.  WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS!

My husband & son both got flu a few weeks after my strep.  I took 'prevention' steps with essential oils for me & my daughters, & NONE of us caught the flu from them.  My son ended up with a 105 fever, but within a couple of hours - (because of essential oils) his temperature went down, & I did not have to take him in to the doctor.  We get rid of colds within 2-3 days, & we hardly ever get sick anymore. This is because of the way we now eat - as well as natural prevention.

In Feb. 2012, I found a good sized lump that pretty much freaked me out.  I knew I had to go to the doctor, because a friend of mine had recently had a double mastectomy, & I was scared!  But I decided to talk to my Naturopath first... just to see what her opinion was.  She simply said, "Ok, Jenn.  Put 100% pure tea tree oil on it twice a day, & it should go away."  (Really?  That simple?)  So that's what I did.  After a week...  It started to shrink.  Today, it is gone. 

Natural healing works.  NUTRITION IS WHERE IT STARTS.

Food from Heavenly Father heals. (Water, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, herbs, seeds, raw nuts, clean dairy, etc... keep your body healthy.)

Your body was created to heal itself.  The nature of the human body is to BE healthy!

My children are learning.  They are embracing & beginning to love REAL food.  It's a process. I didn't want them to hate me & rebel, so I took it slowly.  (They caught on faster than I anticipated).

What have we done so far?

In our own home - we got rid of refined / processed / enriched foods including white sugar, white salt, white flour, white rice, white pasta, and almost all boxed & packaged foods from the grocery store - especially those with artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, GMO's & long lists of ingredients even the smartest of scholars can't pronounce.

I make almost everything we eat from scratch.  (Yes it is work.  It takes longer.  But God told Adam & Eve they would eat by the sweat of their brow.  Work is a good thing! - And by organizing & simplifying, I have more time to do this...)

I've thrown out & am still throwing out cleaning/household/bath & body products that contain harmful chemicals & toxins.

We now eat whole foods, we've cut out most meat - No, we're not vegetarian.  We do still eat some meat  :)  We fill ourselves with fruits, vegetables, sprouts, green smoothies, raw nuts, beans, real clean dairy & eggs, whole grains, natural sweeteners, Himalayan & sea salt, etc. etc. etc.

Our tastes buds have changed!  We don't have carb & sugar cravings like we used too.  Even my kids feel "yucky" after eating very much sugar or junk food.  They ask for smoothies & healthy food all the time.  What parent doesn't want to hear that!?  We went to a family party recently & after 2 bites of cake, my 7 year old son said to his cousin, "Ya want this?  It's making me sick."  :)

WE HAVE DECIDED THAT WE WILL SPEND MORE ON FOODS & PRODUCTS THAT WILL NOT HARM US.

Why?  Because in the long run, it will be much much cheaper than medical bills, and we will be much healthier.  We will feel good.  We will have energy.  We will be honoring our bodies by treating them naturally, the way Heavenly Father wants us too.  We will not be at the doctor multiple times a year. We will feel good... & by following the Word of Wisdom, we will be more sensitive to receiving guidance from the Spirit. 

Have you ever noticed?  - The Word of Wisdom talks more about what TO DO than what NOT TO DO.  It gives more instruction on good nutrition than it does on the bad stuff!  We - as a whole - are not following the do's...  For me personally, it's become a higher law that I am now more than ready to follow.  And I'm eager to continue to receive more & more blessings, knowledge, & treasures as I work even harder to follow His law.

My family is healthier now than we have ever been.  It's not perfect.  It's a progression.  We're still learning.  But it really has become a testimony to ALL of us.  Through teaching my children, they will teach their children & their children & so on...  I wish everyone could know & hope eventually everyone will know the difference it makes in life.  It can literally change generations.

My favorite scripture used to be:
"And if thou shouldst be cast into the apit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the bdeep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to chedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of dhell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee eexperience, and shall be for thy good."

My 2 favorite scriptures are now:
"Men are, that they might have joy."
 and:

 10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
 11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with aprudence and bthanksgiving.
 12 Yea, aflesh also of bbeasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used csparingly;
 13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be aused, only in times of winter, or of cold, or bfamine.
 14 All agrain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
 15 And athese hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
 16 All grain is good for the afood of man; as also the bfruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
 17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
 18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, ashall receive bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones;
 19 And shall afind bwisdom and great ctreasures of dknowledge, even hidden treasures;
 20 And shall arun and not be bweary, and shall walk and not faint.
 21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the adestroying angel shall bpass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

The Word Of Wisdom = A Principle With A Promise.  

That is my story, and that is why. 

 **********  **********  **********
Now, after reading my short novel, if you can spend just 17 little minutes of your time to watch this video...  You'll be glad you did.  Just another testimony of the blessing of healthy food.

If you or someone you know suffers from ANY kind of disease, sickness, condition, is overweight, or just wants to 'feel better' - There is probably not a better video to view.  

This lady is a doctor - who now speaks to audiences everywhere. 
She had severe MS
.  
She cured herself.  
With food.


1 comment:

Please keep it positive, informative, helpful, & family friendly! In other words... HAPPY, & PG :)