Growing evidence of childhood fatty liver disease

I am seeing a number of studies and proof to support something I have known since 2008. Our kids are in serious trouble for their futures if they live on processed foods, soda pop and sauces coating anything natural. Finding those kids out there is a challenge. We have about 6 children in my fatty liver disease support group on Facebook ranging from age 2 – 18.  This is 2 girls and 4  boys which is not by any means a predictor.

Doctors DO NOT look for liver disease as a rule. They are NOT taught to look for the disease. They will blame the pancreas, gallbladder, IBS, Celiac Disease, Diabetes before they would even pay attention to elevated liver enzymes.  As a Parent you need to pay attention to your child’s symptoms and NOT be too quick to blindly trust the doctor.  Demand a blood test for your child. review the levels for AST and ALT and ask your doctor what the safe levels are for enzymes. As for an Ultrasound of the stomach.  If the liver has fatty deposits they will be shown in this test.  Ask for genetic testing they are now proving there are genetic links to fatty liver disease. I am not saying every child has a problem with their livers but I would bet my life at this point far more do then are being diagnosed. Studies say between 3 – 13% of kids have fatty liver disease. I suspect its closer to the 25-30% that is happening in adults.

These kids generally have homes where both parents are working. There are few home cooked meals because parents are stressed out and running between all the soccer, dance, skating, hockey, baseball games that kids are involved with. Or because they can’t get their kids away from the video games and their kids are picky eaters who will ONLY eat hamburgers, chicken nuggets , macaroni or other standard processed or junk foods.

The very sad reality is that these products are created by companies who know and love the fact that people get addicted to their products. If your kid eats it once and it has high fructose corn syrup in it there is no message to the brain to tell them that they are full. and there is no balancing of the sugars. This creates a fatty cell in the liver and your child becomes addicted to those products.

So when they are eventually diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease or Diabetes or other metabolic disorders you will find you have a child who is trying to sneak foods, or find ways to drive you nuts until you give in. The problem is that they are actually ADDICTED to these products its like they are coming out of alcoholism or drug addiction. Everything in their body is telling them they NEED those foods.  You essentially need to accept that your child is in withdrawl

You have to be strong and fight for your child. This disease can and does lead to liver failure. Doctors and researchers have no understanding about this disease right now. They are all fighting to find the answers but we are dealing with it TODAY and don’t have time to wait for them. I am aware of 2 men in their 30′s who died of liver failure due to fatty liver disease. Neither of them were alcoholics or drug addicts. They were only in  their 30′s. I suspect you want your child to experience life longer than that!

This generation of children are the first generation which will live shorter lives. This is directly related to processed foods and additives and genetically modified foods. Our body’s DO not know how to process these chemicals. Our poor children do not stand a chance in this world of Monsanto versus humans.

If your child is dealing with chronic illness that doesn’t get better. Try getting rid of sugar! Getting rid of junk food, do they start to feel better? You will find after 3- 6 weeks of not eating those things or drinking sugary beverages they will feel healthier!

Parents please pay attention and do not go blindly into dealings with doctors. Get the right tests, keep all test results…you need to take this into your control for your kids sake!

Arbonne Body Care and Cosmetics – Fundraising for MetoWe Camp!

I have been lucky enough to try Arbonne products thanks to numerous amazing ladies I am connected with on social media. Arbonne_® products are vegan-certified: their formulas are never tested on animals and do not contain animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products. Due to the growth in Metabolic disease and Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease this is very important to me and to those I care for. The chemicals being added by other companies are hurting our bodies in a toxic world.

To read about the products go to http://www.arbonne.ca/products/index.asp

To read about the company go to https://www.arbonne.ca/company/manifesto.asp

Megan wants to attend A Social Innovation for Change Camp this summer. This camp offers an amazing leadership opportunity that will be able to help Megan bring back to our community through volunteer work and other humanitarian efforts. Megan will be working with industry professionals to help her learn ways to create tangible changes. To learn more about this camp go to Me to We’s website.

http://www.metowe.com/motivation-leadership/take-action-camp/ontario-take-action-academy/#social-innovation-for-change-fostering-creative-and-innovative-ideas-for-positive-social-influence

Megan is 16 years old and a junior at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School The opportunity to attend this camp would mean the world to her as she looks towards a career in human rights law after fighting for 6 years with a chronic illness called Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease that left me in various states of extreme sickness throughout that time. She has impressed Investor’s Group enough so that they have given her a bursary to  cover some of the costs, but with me as a single mother she need help to raise the remaining funds. Human Rights are a huge passion for her and she will  make a difference in both the local and international community.

Janet Auty-Carlisle is a great friend that I have not had the pleasure of meeting in person but I have known on Social Media for a good 5 years. Whenever there has been an opportunity to support Megan and I in that time she has always stepped up and been wonderful.

Now she is offering to give Megan a nice percentage of all sales in May for Arbonne products purchased online with Janet’s Sales ID.

So if you want to help Megan and you want to help your body by using non toxic products go to

https://www.arbonne.ca/shop_online/shopOnline.asp

Orders can be placed in North America, United Kingdom and Australia. You will need to enter the 9 digit id 115726215 to get the fundraising donation to Megan.

Thank you in advance from your liver and from Megan!

 

Austin’s Story – 14 year old with Fatty Liver Disease – Guest Post Cat Case

My Sons Journey to Diagnosis of Liver Disease

By C. Case©

At age 14 my son was diagnosed with Liver Disease. From the time he was born up until this diagnoses, I just knew something was very wrong with my son. He was born weighing 7 lbs 1. oz  after 8 weeks old his weight tripled and he was constantly hungry, and either had constipation or diarrhea. By age 3 he weighed 70 lbs. By age 6 he lost the weight as he also was diagnosed with ADHD and was on medication.

As an infant and toddler he ate fast and so much he threw up everything that just went in him, and I mean projectile vomiting. He also had digestive problems we went through so many different diagnosis it was spinning my head.  We went from formula allergies to wheat and lactose intolerance. My son had severe gastric reflux and he does have burn scars on his throat from it. My son started to get severe diarrhea, where I took him to the emergency room and they kept telling me it was just the stomach flu. I was like okay and went with the doctors order, but it just continued on.

My son started gaining back that weight even being on the medication for ADHD at age 8  He has had a gastroenterologist that he has been seeing since an infant on and off. It has been about 3 years since he has been back to see him as he ruled my sons problem to a wheat sensitivity, lactose intolerance and severe IBS. He has had a colonoscopy and endoscope and age 9. I was getting concerned as my son has put on a great amount of weight by age 11, he is now 14 and is 5’8 and weighs over 200 lbs. At first I though maybe diabetes since that runs in both sides of our family, but his sugar lever was elevated but not that much, then I am thinking he has an eating disorder, that was not it either, then I am thinking heart issue possibly? His heart is fine as well.

My son in the past three years has missed so much school from either vomiting uncontrollably to a severe case of diarrhea or constipation and cramps. He put on over 80 lbs since this time last year. He also has migraines associated with the above mentioned . He still has episodes of vomiting and having diarrhea or severe constipation and this year he was complaining about cramps and pains under his rib cage on his right side. If he ran in P.E. He could not go far as the pain and cramps became unbearable.  His disposition was always irritable, and just plain mean when he was having flare ups.

I took my son to the doctor last month for a check up as he was having bad migraines, and diarrhea, the doctor run a blood panel on him and his liver enzymes came back elevated, we waited to 2 weeks to go back and have it redone and it came back elevated ever more. She sent him for an ultrasound just last week and within 45 minutes, my doctors office calls and tells me the news that he has Liver Disease as in a NAFL and to lower his calorie intake and certain carbohydrates and for him to get out an exercise if possible and to stay away from certain foods. His Cholesterol is also high its at 245. Apparently his liver is not breaking down any of the fats in his system for some reason and is just sitting there,. I am surprised that his PCP did recommend him to see his gastroenterolgist or a hepatologist. So I will contact his Gastrenetologist for further assessments on the issue.

So for now my son is on a low fat, low carbohydrate diet, he is drinking a lot of water and is off soft drinks and he is making good choices in school for lunches.

 

Join our group on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/fattyliversupport/

Follow us on Twitter @fattyliverhelp

And join our website with patients helping patients at http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

Marina’s Story – 14 Year old NAFLD patient

I met and started talking to Darlene who is Marina’s grandmother after she found my blogs about my daughter Megan. I have asked her to share the story of her grand daughter Marina.

It was Nov 1. 2012. Marina woke up for school and said her stomach hurt her. She generally never gets up at 5 am and for her to wake me up that early, I knew it must hurt her very badly because she is not a complainer.
She showed me where it hurt and it was like the top right side of her abdomen. She started getting ready for school and she was still in a lot of pain..so much so that I took her to the urgent care clinic instead of waiting to call her family doctor’s office. At the clinic ,they took Marina right back and drew blood, after examining her and with her being in so much pain, they reviewed the blood work wnich showed her (* white blood count was way off) they actually called an ambulance to transport her to Children’s Hospital.

When we got to the hospital…they hooked up an IV…started drawing blood and she was in so much pain she was crying. They did a CT scan and a Sonogram and took her right to the ICU. Her blood pressure sky rocketed..her blood count was way off…and she couldn’t stop crying about the pain. I was trying to act calm on the outside to keep Marina calm, but I was so worried …thinking…let this be her appendix so it will be solved quickly!

That would have been to good to be true. They call in the Gastroentologist and we were told the scan results were in and she had pancreaticitis. Marina just had to stay for a few days in the hospital …keeping a good eye on her in the ICU. No food to give her pancreas a rest with just an IV and lots of pain medication. So, I could breath again… she stopped crying cause the pain medications were working.They brought a portable toilet for her to pee in because she was hooked up to monitors.She was dealing with nausea but didn’t throw up…her blood pressure was high but they said it was due to the pain. To me, she looked so uncomfortable from the pain the whole thing,then she goes pee and what the heck her urine was brown like coffee. I almost passed out but I am still acting calm on the outside..she was groggy and I calmly asked the nurse why is her urine that color? Oh that’s ok, its just that her pancreas is inflamed and it needs to rest. Ok they are the medical experts… so for the next 24 hrs..she continued to feel nausea she was still getting the iv so she could let her pancreas rest, still urinating brown ,blood pressure high but a little lower with drugs,she did not sleep much and I didn’t sleep at all.

So 24 hrs go by and the doctors came in to make their rounds. I asked all kinds of questions…like what caused this what can be done why is her blood pressure so high…why is her urine so brown…they answered all my questions and said her pancreas got infected…they don’t know how…these things happen… no med for it just no food to rest it and the pee is brown because the pancreas and liver work together and the red blood cells are coming out in her urine because the liver is not working correctly because of the pancreas being swollen…its fine.

So two more days went by and she still was on pain medications but it was hurting less everyday…her blood pressure was returning to normal and her pee was a light brown….so they moved her to a regular room and had her start in liquids… they gave her soda POP…with sugar in it…coke, pepsi,ginger ale, they gave her pudding, ice cream, jello and these are medically trained doctors?. So I not knowing they were poisoning her liver, I was so happy Marina was holding it down. So after a day of sugar galore, her face started turning red,then purplish. Again I was calm on the outside falling apart on the inside. I Go and tell the nurse and they see her blood pressure rocket, her pain was coming back. They rush her back to the ICU. What’ going on?? I go to an empty room to call my daughter long distance to tell her help!. I was so weak inside my daughter (marinas aunt) and my son in law and my daughters best friend get on their computers they are searching reading, looking, talking, trying to save Marina.

I am sitting in marinas ICU room when a nurse…now this is extremely important to remember..THIS NURSE who was taking care of marina that shift…commented to me…who by the way NOT ONE DR. OR SPECIALIST SAID A WORD ABOUT to me…her liver enzymes are so high. So I freak out inside what? her liver enzymes are so high I am thinking no doctor or specialist said that to me!!! As far as they were concerned it was all only about her pancreas So now back home they start thinking maybe its not her pancreas maybe her liver is causing her pancreas to be sick!

Now keep that comment from my daughter’s friend in your mind along with what the nurse said about marinas enzymes
So I see my precious grand daughter is getting so sick again after she started getting better!

I go to the room where marina can’t hear the desperation in my voice and tell my daughter listen to this a nurse just said to me wow her liver enzymes are so high. I said why would she be concerned about that,all along the doctors and other nurses were saying to me…no its her pancreas, the other organs are just helping with her pancreas. So my daughter says mom let me talk to her doctor. And I took my phone and went and found Marina’s doctor and told her to please explain to my daughter about marinas health… 20 min the doctor hands me back the phone and my daughter says to me MOM..WHY ARE YOU TELLING US COMMENTS MADE BY A NURSE…GETTING EVERYONE WORRIED THAT MARINAS SO SICK..HER DOCTOR SAID HER LIVER IS FINE she just needs to rest her pancreas everything is fine!

so I am numb am half happy, half thinking no she is back in the ICU, I am in a mind set of total confusion. I’m thinking about what the nurse said and I have marinas mom stay with her and I went to a computer, typed in liver and Fructose in Google searched fructose, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, every thing I typed in about liver..dark urine pain. I start seeing all this about children…fructose ,liver, dark urine and I’m like what??. So I send all these links to to my family. My son-in-law said get Marina out of that hospital something is not right!

marina was so sick when she came here they didn’t put anything in her body meaning no sugar because they wanted her pancreas to rest and it was working her blood pressure went down her blood count was getting better her urine was lightening with every pee. Then since she was getting better they took her out of ICU and gave her all liquids and soft food high fructose pudding high sugar jello, sugar in chocolate milk The comment stood out in my mind….maybe its her liver that’s making her pancreas sick I said I am taking her home…The doctors said you can’t, no said marinas mom! I said OH YES I CAN I AM HER LEGAL GUARDIAN I took her home and put her on a strict no sugar diet and my family and I read everything about fructose sugar liver and by the next week when they did blood work…wow….was her body getting better not much pain at all pee turning yellow not brown no nausea, sleeping good Since then we have been very on top of marina walking for exercise..every day she has to walk… he set her up with drinking watered down cider vinegar every other day….and on the other days she drinks a spice with water… turmeric. Every label is now read for hidden ways of saying sugar!

Marina is an honor role student and is doing very well since we took her health into our own hands! Doctors are not taught enough about this disease and they don’t look for it and assume its other things. We blindly trust doctors with our lives and sometimes you just need to listen to common sense. If the sugar brought all symptoms back then there is something to consider getting rid of for your body!

This disease is hitting kids as young as 2.

Do not ignore it, if 1 in 3 north Americans has liver disease someone you love is dealing with it before it starts showing nasty symptoms like this.

Join our group on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/fattyliversupport/

Follow us on Twitter @fattyliverhelp

And join our website with patients helping patients at http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

What Cooking Oils do you use? are they SAFE?

Cooking oil safety, there are so many that are making us sick! We have been tricked by so many corporations telling us things are heart healthy and good for our bodies and things to avoid that are blatant lies. This is another shocking reality that most of us have no idea about. Please read this article and then throw out any seed oils or veggie oils and all margarines! …buy coconut oils and real butter! use olive oil to mix in AFTER cooking not during cooking. Lots to learn in this article. I have to get rid of Canola oil in my house and look into getting something to replace it. I will have to stop using olive oil to cook as well. I already avoid Margarine like the plague! Its all plastics nothing is really natural in that! When will corporate america start caring about our health versus just the bottom line!

This journey into learning about Fatty liver disease has shown me such a scary side of corporate america!

http://authoritynutrition.com/are-vegetable-and-seed-oils-bad/

Join us on Facebook for a private group to discuss dealing with this disease!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/fattyliversupport/

Follow us on Twitter to keep up with the findings that are published! @fattyliverhelp

Join our website and register on our forums at http://www.reversefattyliverdisease.com/

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.