Dr Robert Lustig – Sugar The Bitter Truth

I came across Dr Lustig for the first time on Youtube on November 1 2011. I was flabbergasted when I watched Sugar The Bitter Truth and I learned that high fructose corn syrup and sugar in general was directly related to Fatty Liver Disease and causing us all to be addicted to foods with it. I emailed him the next day and told him about my 15 year old daughter and the issues she had with her liver, extreme vertigo, fainting and insomnia. I researched him online a bit and found that he was a pediatric endocrinologist for 32 years. In that time, he had watched the obesity and metabolic syndrome rates climb, first to the level of epidemic , and now the rates in other countries qualify this as a pandemic. Worse yet, these problems are occurring in infants and toddlers, who clearly cannot be guilty of character flaws. He was the man I had been waiting for since 2008. The one who could help me understand my daughter who had been sick since the age of 11.

He replied to my email and I recall being in tears as he told me that he was performing liver transplants on kids younger than my daughter with NAFLD. He told me kids as young as 2 were showing up with their livers already filling with fat cells. This email and that video changed something in me. I became very passionate about making sure every parent understood that sugar is poisoning their kids. I would tell them my daughters story and beg them not to let their children live on processed foods.

I found out the next year that our children will be the first generation that will live shorter lives than us and that is NOT OK with me. I don’t care if you want to saddle me as a 44 year old obese woman with a liver disease that could kill me but you cannot have our children. This craziness has to stop.

Doctors in general do not understand the serious nature of fatty liver disease. They do not yet understand how it changes from NAFLD to NASH to Cirrohsis but it is happening very quickly and I have seen 10 people die due to that speed and not having the chance to get a new liver. The youngest was 30 years old.

So when I see that Dr Lustig is starting a Responsible Food Mission I signed up immediately This is critical for our future and the future of our children. If things don’t change in the way we manufacture foods soon I will see people dying in my liver support group at younger and younger ages.

So I am calling you to action.

1. Go to youtube and watch Sugar the Bitter Truth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

2. Go to http://www.responsiblefoods.org/ and register for his mailing list and call to action we need to support him!

3. Buy his book Fat Chance. Trust me this is the man to believe no matter what else is being fed to your mouths and ears from corporations and lobbyists.

We need to do this together!

Join us on Twitter at @fattyliverhelp

Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fattyliversupport/

and join our new website at http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

Fatty Liver Disease and Sleep issues

Many members of my support group on facebook complain of insomnia. it is clearly a symptom and can also be a cause of Fatty liver disease. The sad truth is that our livers heal over night. So if we are not getting to the REM level of sleep then the liver is not healing.

Fatty Liver Disease

There are two types of fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic and alcohol-induced. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a condition where there is an accumulation of fat in the liver even if you do not drink alcohol or drink only a little. This type of fatty liver disease is common, and often has no complications or symptoms. However, it can cause scarring and inflammation in your liver. Alcohol-induced fatty liver is also an accumulation of too much fat in the liver. It is the most common type of alcohol-induced liver disorder. This causes your liver to enlarge, which may lead to discomfort on the upper right side of your abdomen.

Sleep disturbances like insomnia are common among people with liver disease. However, excessive sleeping, called hypersomnia, is also common for liver disease patients. Often, people alternate between insomnia and hypersomnia, which contributes to general fatigue. The exact reason for these sleep disturbances is unclear. It is possible that liver disease causes alterations in how the body makes melatonin, which is a substance that helps you sleep. Smoking, drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages can contribute to sleeping problems too, as can some medications. Prednisone, interferon, ribavirin and propanolol are all associated with insomnia.

Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is a diseased liver that is severely scarred. One of the causes of cirrhosis is nonalcoholic steatohepatits, which is the more severe type of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. Other causes include chronic hepatitis B or C and longstanding abuse of alcohol. The liver damage from cirrhosis can can disrupt the brain’s chemical pathways, which alters sleep patterns. “The American Journal of Gastroenterology” reported in May 2008 that the antihistamine hydroxyzine restored normal sleep patterns in a study involving cirrhosis patients suffering from insomnia.

Sleep Apnea

Another sleep issue that fatty liver sufferers can have is obstructive sleep apnea. Many people with obstructive sleep apnea are obese, which puts them at risk for fatty liver. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where your breathing stops and starts repeatedly while sleeping. Both insomnia and hypersomnia are signs of obstructive sleep apnea. A study in “Hepatology” journal published in June 2005 found that of the 163 patients with obstructive sleep apnea in the study, there was a significantly higher percentage of fatty liver disease in the most severe cases.

Insomnia is characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. If you have insomnia, then you likely do not feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning. This is common among people with fatty liver disease. Insomnia can have many causes, from anxiety to poor sleeping habits, but fatty liver disease is also a possible cause.

Sleep is as important to your health as a healthy diet and regular exercise are. Whatever your reason for sleep loss, insomnia affects people both mentally and physically. The impact can be cumulative, with chronic insomnia likely to precede depression, anxiety, internal organ or chronic pain disorders. Additionally, lack of sleep slows your problem-solving skills and may cause someone to take unnecessary risks.

Variations on sleeplessness include problems falling asleep, maintaining sleep or experiencing non-restorative sleep. Because sleep rejuvenates the psyche and immune system, insomnia affects energy level, mood and overall health. The result of poor sleep is fatigue, which always perpetuates chronic illness. Long-term sleep deprivation increases the severity of chronic disease, including all kinds of liver disease.

When it comes to liver disease, the following are popular culprits for insomnia:

· Stress or Anxiety – Concerns about your health may keep your mind overly active, making relaxation and therefore a restful sleep difficult.

· Sleep Apnea – Affecting over 12 million Americans, obstructive sleep apnea interrupts the sleep cycle, resulting in poor quality sleep and fatigue. Additionally, French researchers have discovered that sleep apnea is a significant risk factor for fatty liver disease.

· Interferon Treatment – Interferon medication is the favored medical treatment for viral Hepatitis B and C. Although temporary, insomnia is a common side effect of interferon therapy.

· Cirrhosis – In people who have cirrhosis of the liver, histamine levels in the brain are often altered. In the brain, histamine regulates the sleep-wake cycle, so if levels of this chemical get out of balance, so do the person’s sleep patterns.

· Related Illnesses – Patients with liver disease often suffer from other related illnesses, including type-2 diabetes, obesity and hypertension – all of which can have insomnia as a symptom.

If a person’s sleep cycle is interrupted, the deepest, most restorative stages of sleep are never reached and the person will feel fatigued. By controlling the stages of sleep in your brain, some chemicals slow down brain waves, helping you fall asleep, while others stimulate brain waves, causing you to dream and wake. Alcohol disrupts these normal actions, ultimately hindering the quality of your sleep.

Conquering Insomnia : here are seven suggestions to encourage sound sleep:

1. Establish a sleep routine, retiring and rising at the same time each day.

2. Maintain an environment conducive to sleep by keeping your bedroom dark, quiet and cool.

3. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and big meals in the evening.

4. Try relaxing before bedtime with a warm bath or other soothing evening ritual.

5. Because fatigue typically causes restless sleep, break an unhealthy sleep cycle. Proven to increase energy levels by up to 40 percent without stimulants, try supplementing with to ensure adequate energy levels during the day for exercise and then restful sleep at night.

6. Do not have a visible bedroom clock. “Clock watching” often intensifies insomnia. Turn the clock face away from you or put it in a drawer.

Follow us on Twitter @Fattyliverhelp.

Join our private support group on facebook where you can discuss openly without others on your friends list seeing it

http://www.facebook.fattyliversupport.com

Visit our Website where patients help patients! .

http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

A balanced approach to reversing fatty liver disease

My daughter Megan was diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease in 2008. In the Ontario medical system we have seen the worst of what is offered. She has had doctors tell her to her face that her symptoms were all in her head. When doctors do not easily identify an illness you get to see the worst of who they are professionally. They get flustered, frustrated, impatient and can easily take it out on the patient. The number of times a doctor has talked to Megan in a condescending voice implying she is causing her illnesses is disturbing. Very rarely do you find a doctor who will treat her with respect and be on her side.

The focus of that 5 year journey based on what doctors said was always food related. They never gave concrete advice about what to eat, they would just say low fat. This was not easy to accept. How could all the low fat, diet foods that the companies I trusted be making my daughter so sick? But over that time I did find that processed foods do hurt her. I did learn not to trust the companies selling the food.

I didn’t focus on the alternate options in the health care sector, That was a sector i didn;t understand, I had never been exposed to anything other than massage and chiropractors.

I blindly trusted doctors who put Megan on birth control pills which likely created the 10 month of extreme vertigo. Why would doctors prescribe drugs that are going to cause other health issues? and why would they do that to a child?

I reached my breaking point after Megan spent a week at the Hospital for Sick Children, I was so thankful that Megan was FINALLY being seen by the best kids doctors! I love that hospital it was all I ever wanted for Megan. But that hospital did nothing for Megan. They were the ones who put her on anti depressants, they were ones that were pushing that she had psychological issues creating her illnesses. They broke my heart. They were not supposed to give up on kids and here they were..writing her off as a mental case. She was 13 years old. How dare you?!!

Now I do also keenly know that mental stress can create medical symptoms in the body. This completely depends on your bodies coping mechanisms and if this is what is causing your illnesses then please by all means talk to a professional and find your answers. This was not the answer for Megan.

After that experience I did not know where to turn. I was approached by a friend who was selling supplements and she was certain that the supplements would fix Megan. At this point I had nothing to lose so I took the chance on the supplements. The supplements did nothing for Megan , no changes in any symptoms. This was disappointing and hurt financially too.

I felt so defeated, I could not turn to doctors, I could not trust the corporations making our foods, I could not trust the drug companies. How would I help my child?

I tripped over an ad for a personal coach who was offering free advice and looking for someone to build marketing around. I decided to contact Brandon Krieger and take the step.

I did not know how important Brandon would become to Megan and I. I did not know he would help me research and find solid answers for Megan but thats what happened.

Brandon is a Holistic Coach, focussing on the whole person not just medical symptoms. The focus quickly moved away from my health and it was clear my biggest challenge was trying to help my daughter. He reached out to resources all around the world to get advice from health advocates and leaders in nutrition to create a specific diet for Megan which would be kind to her liver. All foods were from the ground, the animals and the water and nothing was processed. Megan hated this but she started to feel better.

Brandon introduced us to an Osteopath who determined that Megan’s uterus was twisted which explained her uncontrollable menstrual cycle. He found that she had blockages in her brain stem and others that would impact her hormones. He found her liver was not processing clearly.

Brandon and others researched the birth control pill Megan was on and we determined it could certainly cause the extreme vertigo. Megan was moved to another pill and we waited.

We changed her diet, we added exercise, we added Osteopathy. Megan started to feel better, She was able to get past the extreme vertigo. The answers were in the natural world for Megan not the medical community.

So that is the reason I am passionate about igniting a passion in you to take your health into your own hands, Listen to your body signals, do not blindly trust doctors, corporations or supplements. It is Never a 1 solution problem to fix. You need balance, Food , Exercise, Spiritual, Mental. You need to consider alternate therapies , you need to share your stories to find others who have travelled a similar path. You may have found an answer that someone else hasn’t considered.

I don’t expect everyone to walk away from here and change their life overnight. I don’t expect anyone to take every piece of information shared and use it. I want you to make 1 change to improve your health , just 1. Remove pop, Start taking walks, see a chiropractor, talk to a professional about your anxieties, learn to meditate, take a yoga class.

Find what works for you and make small changes that you can live with. If you listen to your body you will start noticing clues and you can determine if the changes are positive.

Those changes can easily make you feel worse initially. But give it 6 weeks. If after 6 weeks you are still feeling worse. STOP doing what you are doing! Find another option. Do not give up on yourself!

This is my story and why I am passionate…I hope I can help you find some natural solutions to symptoms.

If you have Fatty Liver Disease come check out our new support website http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/
Michelle Clermont

My daughter Megan’s story

If you haven’t known me for more than 4 years you are not aware of the incredible challenges that my 16 year old daughter has been through.

She got sick in 2008 with pneumonia, that was followed up with mono, this essentially destroyed grade 6 for her

She got sick in 2009 with extreme menstrual bleeding and fatty liver disease essentially making grade 7 a right off.

She got sick in 2010 with extreme vertigo and spent 10 months in a wheelchair. She almost attended no days of school in grade 8.

Doctors, and family members did not hide that they thought this was all in her head and that she was just trying to avoid school .

Her self esteem was as low as it could be with people calling her a liar and thinking she wanted to be sick

She was put through to grade 9 without completing any real schooling in grade 8. Megan was certain they had given up on her too.

Megan got healthy in June 2010. A ton of work with my holistic coach Brandon Krieger , osteopath Jason B, and Megan hated the extreme healthy foods that she was forced to eat.

But in the end , nothing any doctor has done for her made any difference. Osteopath and holistic eating did the trick.

She entered grade 9 and we ensured her first semester was light. She took applied french, academic math, drama and art. No one had any expectations and honestly I worried she would get sick again in September.

She insisted on getting help from my Aunt Pat all through the summer,she wanted to be prepared for grade 9 math and megan worked extremely hard. It helped that my aunt believed in her and slowly but surely Megan’s confidence was rebuilding.

Megan worked hard on homework, she asked to see my aunt whenever she felt insecure about a math concept. My aunt constantly told her she was doing well and that all Megan needed to do was to take the time to read the question properly before she started working on it. Mistakes she was making were small ones all related back to not reading the question correctly.

Grade 10 started in London Ontario and Megan was only able to manage a month before colds and flu’s started attacking her and she doesn’t heal from those for 2 -3 weeks. She had to once again move to home schooling and online learning. She worked hard and did very well in the credits she was able to accomplish.

Megan struggled so much over these years with low self esteem and no hope for her future. She was terrified that she would be unable to be a functional adult and unable to ever have a normal life. She got so upset about how far behind she was in school. That was so heart breaking for me to hear said she couldn’t hear me yet.

Fast forward to Spring 2012 and I got asked to be a food revolution ambassador for Jamie Oliver. I needed to create a one day event. Megan was in singing lessons and enjoying them. I decided to have the Britown Music school perform during the kids event and i challenged Megan to Sing a song she was learning. She sang her heart out and life started to change!

My daughter Megan actually started flourished! She decided that she wants to be a lawyer, she wants to be accepted to the best schools for University. Her plan is to become a big part of her high school when she returns in September. This is huge for her, she was not in school last year due to her health and lack of sleep. She is fighting back and I could not be prouder of Megan! She is saying Screw you to her health issues and insisting on having the best life she can. She is volunteering for the Anti bullying coalition, she wants to fight for civil rights and her big goal now is to work at United Nations. I am her biggest cheerleader and I will be cheering for her all the way to the top!

Fall 2012 and Megan started Grade 11 with a very positive attitude and got involved in choir, a play, social justice committee, and on and on. Her grades were amazing and she was well liked by all her teachers. She got to participate in WE DAY in Toronto and that just inspired her more.

January 2013 Such a sad change Megan fell down 12 stairs and broke a toe. This would be a simple thing for other people but because megan doesn’t heal it took 3 months to even start healing. Once again stuck at home doing courses online. Once again feeling defeated.

She has another issue somewhere in her body that ensures she doesn’t heal for ages. I will take the xrays from this broken foot and ask to see a specialist to start looking into her lack of healing.

You are an incredibly smart girl with a great support system in my aunt pat, Grandpa Stan and your brother and me! You will continue to shine you will continue to flourish and I am incredibly proud of my baby girl! You prove everyone wrong and you rock and your life will shine no matter what health issue tries to take you out!!

Guest Post – Connie Kaye – Routine Liver Function Tests

I have heard of fatty liver disease a million times in my medical transcription and editing work. The first time I ever really thought much about it was when the nurse called me after having routine blood work done at the free clinic. “Your liver tests seem to be a little elevated so we need you to come in and have more blood work.” I am sure the first thing most people do when they hear that something is not right is panic. I am no exception. Especially when they say, “Oh, don’t worry.” Any time you hear, “Don’t worry,” what is the first thing you do?! Panic button!! I had to literally force myself to calm down. Then I remembered a little about fatty liver from reports I had transcribed and did a little research. It did not seem so bad at first. The further down I dug, the more I realized how little I knew about how complicated fatty liver disease can be.

In my own case, I was feeling extremely fatigued when I first went in for my exam, exhausted in fact, and I had been having problems with my kidneys and thyroid. After doing my usual CBC, urine and thyroid tests and adjusting my thyroid and taking care of the urinary tract infections, the doc referred me to a urologist and nephrologist. Nothing “serious” was found. I even had a cystoscopy and ultrasound of just my kidneys. The only thing they found was a urinary stricture, which he opened up during the procedure. I was placed on a low-dose preventative antibiotic for a year, and the nephrologist told me I needed to control my blood pressure.

At some point, a complete comprehensive panel found my liver function tests were elevated. By that time I was having pain under my ribs, urinary retention, and sick as all get out. My first thought was, “What does that mean?”

So today I am going to talk about routine liver function tests that you should be having, at every annual exam, as they are related to the liver. If more people had a comprehensive metabolic panel, liver disease would be caught much earlier. Many people have no symptoms of fatty liver, so it isn’t caught until it is found by accident, either by lab work, ultrasound, or MRI. Early diagnosis is key to reversal.

So you go to the doctor for a check up and a few things stand out. Maybe you weigh too much and your blood pressure is elevated. These are risk factors for liver disease. The doctor will take your history and see what other problems you may have or in your family history. Make sure you talk to the doctor about the lab work and insist on the comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP). These are the liver function tests that will initially alert your doctor if something may possibly be going on with your liver.

The ALT or alanine transaminase is all about metabolising protein. This test is specific to the liver, so when your liver is damaged these levels increase. It doesn’t tell you why your liver isn’t working. It may not be fatty liver. It may be medication you are taking. It is the first step in the process of a diagnosis and reversal.

AST or aspartate transaminase is all about metabolising alanine. When your liver is damaged or diseased it also increases.

ALP or alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme in the liver, bile ducts and bone. Elevation in this could mean liver damage or disease, such as a blockage in your bile duct or a bone disease.

Your liver has several proteins that protect your liver. One of these is albumin. If your albumin or total protein is too low, you may have a problem with damage or disease in your liver.

When your red blood cells break down, as normally happens, bilirubin is born. If your liver can not clean the bilirubin out, you become jaundiced and this may indicate liver damage or disease.

I am not going to give normals here because every lab is different and ranges may be different. I encourage you to get a copy of your blood test. In fact, get a copy of every test that you have ever had or will have, every procedure, and every note in your clinic chart. They will usually have the normal ranges for the labs right on them. If you have abnormalities in any of these tests, please talk to your doctor (if they have not already talked to you). Try not to panic but be diligent to get to the bottom of it. The doctor should try to rule out anything else that could be causing abnormalities. In my case I already knew I had high cholesterol, and I was on a statin. We had already reduced it to a low dose because I was getting muscle aches and cramps. When he saw my ALT was elevated he took me off the statin altogether and started me on something else that was safer for the liver. He also gave me some diet tips and exercise advice and set me up for some more tests. Until next time…. work on making your liver smile!

~ConnieKaye~

Tip: Your liver smiles when you avoid foods containing high fructose corn syrup.

Body Care Products and your Liver

http://suite101.com/article/toxic-skin-care-ingredients-a45792 – Which common chemicals are dangerous

http://voices.yahoo.com/body-lotion-damage-liver-dry-skin-884017.html?cat=69- How lotions are impacting your liver and alternates to body lotions.

I have known and basically ignored that not only does Alcohol, food, medications impact our livers negatively but so do products we put on our body. I have ignored it because well I had already made my teenage daughter miserable by getting rid of any FUN foods. She loves Bath and Body Work products, the scents make her feel pretty and make her happy. I was not prepared to tell my daughter that now you can ‘t have these products due to your liver!

But reality is that the perfumes and chemicals in all body care products are soaked in through your skin and are sent to your liver to process. Things as simple as Deoderant can cause incredible damage to your body. As an adult with sensitive skin I know that many cosmetics will dry my face out, cause rashes and pimples. I know that using facial cleansing wipes can sting my face. If that is what it is doing on the outer layer of my skin I can only imagine what the liver and other organs are feeling.

I have asked my friend Lisa Smith Morgan who runs a holistic spa to manage this page and share information with you about alternate products and products to avoid. There are ways to make most of these products in your home with simple household products. Her Spa is Serenity on the Humber http://serenityonthehumber.com/. This will be on our new website : http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

I can’t possibly be an expert in every area that impacts the liver, there is no way that the patients that are contributing to this website can possibly have every skill needed to help Liver patients. So I will bring in people I trust and get their knowledge to you so that you can protect your liver and be gentle to yourself!

Welcome to Lisa Smith Morgan!

Erin Krenzler’s story of HELLP and how she has overcome it

Guest blog Erin Krenzler

Yesterday the most amazing thing happened to me… I wish that I could not only tell you all about it… but I wish that you all could feel the feeling that I feel right now!

For the past 8 years I have battled numerous random major metabolic related health issues that have made the quality of my life poor at times and prevented me from doing many things that I wanted to do. I had to quit my job as a medical laboratory assistant in 2010 and I had to stop attending college after putting almost 3 years into working on my nursing degree… all due to my health.

One week after our baby Ryleigh was born just a year and a half ago… after months and months of terrible sickness and pain they discovered that my liver and spleen were enlarged. I was shortly thereafter diagnosed with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (an advanced form of fatty liver disease). I was 24 years old. Liver disease was the tip of my ice burg… I feared the fact that if I didn’t figure out what was wrong and if I did not fix it… I would not be around as long as I would like. My family has been ridden with metabolic disease, diabetes, heart disease, and death at an early age.

I sat there… holding my brand new baby… knowing that there are two little girls in this world that depend on me… one of them depends on me completely. If something were to happen to me god only knows what would happen to miss Brave Mykayla… but I sure knew I didn’t want to find this out. I can’t even describe how sad it felt to me to know that I had a condition that could potentially cause me liver failure and/or death… and in the period of 5-10 years in some cases! On top of the kidney issues I have had since the age of 17. I slipped into a state of mind where I was worried, sad, fearful, but determined to find another option besides failure. That was not an option. My mind constantly pondered thoughts… and I spent hours and hours researching and reading each and everything I could.

I refused to go back to a physician after I was diagnosed… because I had felt so ignored and abandoned for so long that honestly I felt as if I could do a better job myself with the test results I had on hand… the knowledge I have from my medical assisting degree… and the years I spent researching and working in the medical field…. Like I said… I slipped into a state of mind. I learned everything I could find to learn about genetics, metabolic syndrome, mitochondrial function, metabolic diseases, cannabis, the truth about food, livers, immune systems, insulin resistance, diabetes, fat build up on body organs, etc. The amount I have learned continues to blow my mind when I think about how all of these things function together to make our bodies work… I took the information that I was learning about and implemented it to my life. I began healing my bodies deficiency’s… supplementing with a combination of antioxidants, herbs, roots, supplements and amino acids based on my symptoms and long term problems. I made sure to develop a combination that focused on increasing mitochondrial function and repairing and cleansing the liver. I also made huge diet changes. Most people think that they could not eat the way I do… but I have to… my life depends on it. I plan on sharing more on my diet in this blog… just haven’t had a whole lot of time lately.

I wasn’t going to physician’s for check ups… but I began to slowly drop pounds without even trying! I did not even have to exercise any more than I did before. I knew my choices were working <3 I was healing myself! I slowly began feeling better… and the pain went from excruciating to an annoying constant tenderness.

In January of this year I decided it was time to go back to the doctors (after 14 months)… to ensure the changes I was making were helping me as much as I thought they were… also I wanted to make sure that the constant tenderness (that I thought was my liver) was nothing majorly wrong. She ran a bunch of blood work and referred me to an actual Hepatologist *liver doctor*… yesterday I had my appointment with the liver doctor… and I got the most amazing news ever!

I HAVE HEALED MY LIVER DISEASE 100 PERCENT!!!

The pain I have been feeling is scar tissue build up on a nerve that they accidentally hit when doing my liver biopsy… its not even my liver at all… actually it is a nerve that runs by my last rib! I feel that this pain will be tolerable knowing its nothing major at all… and not a major body organ hurting!

I never understood why I developed this condition when the first doctor diagnosed me with it. I did not fit the classic description of the diagnosis….and the liver disease itself came on rapidly during my pregnancy. Through the research I did I suspected it to be related to my families genetic metabolic problems and not knowing the correct way to care for myself. The liver specialist confirmed this. I am genetically predisposed to insulin resistance and diabetes. During my pregnancy with Ryleigh I developed HELLP syndrome that the doctors failed to diagnose… this initiated the problems in my liver and caused the massive swelling and inflammation that generally occur over a long period of time in an average adult.

I have lost a total of 46 pounds since the day they discovered my liver enlargement! The day I was diagnosed I didn't even consider myself that large… I never in a million years thought I could lose 46 pounds… and to top that off… I surely never thought that losing that much weight would be so easy and not require much of anything except learning the truth about what foods you should eat and what foods you should not!

I knew in my heart the entire time I was learning… and the entire time I have been learning to live a new life style… that one day I would hear that I was all better… I honestly did not expect it to be this soon! I cannot even begin to put into words how this feels!

I feel like yesterday I was given the gift of LIFE <3

I feel like I have a fighting chance to see my babies grow old… to hold my own grand babies… To help my children through their teenage lives and adulthood. I now have a new found assurance that things like this will be a part of my future.

I thank god that he put me on this mission years and years ago… It has been a journey of ups and downs… frustration… sadness… fear… anger… helplessness… braveness… strength… courage… love… and so much more. This mission taught me the key to living a long life… If I would have been in my 40's or 50's when I discovered my insulin resistance and fatty liver the doctor said it would be so much harder to lose the weight along with reversing the damage that had been done to my liver. I feel blessed that I had the unfortunate happening occur so early.

I am 25 years old… I am very young… I have a very long life ahead of me that will be filled with good health, family, love, success, and lots and lots of good times!!!

This is the first time since I was 17 years old that I can officially say "I am free of chronic disease"!!! As you can tell if I could stand on top of the world right now and scream out how happy I am… I totally would!!!

NEVER EVER EVER GIVE UP HOPE <3

Thank you cannabis… for helping control my metabolic syndrome… thank you for getting me through my pregnancy when all the physicians lacked compassion….thank you for allowing me to control all my pain without any need for medication… thank you for making me hungry enough to eat the food that I once thought tasted like poo (because I used to be addicted to high fructose corn syrup like most of the people in our country… food without it doesn't taste as good until you have gone without it a while)… Thank you for being an essential antioxidant to my body… thank you for helping me create a homeostasis in my body in order to reverse my disease… THANK YOU CANNABIS!

Until next time my friends…