The Hemp Connection [Search results for miracles] 

We’re now in the thick of the holiday season, and we’re socializing, eating too much of the wrong things, and talking about gratitude and miracles. At Thanksgiving, in particular, we gave thanks for the year’s blessings. Our loved ones, homes, jobs, and perhaps our health were on the list. For me, this has been a dramatic and miraculous year, when it comes to health.

In August, I was accidentally infected with pasteurella as a result of the bacteria entering my hand through some broken skin while I was pilling my cat. Although I cleaned it and put antibacterial ointment on it, a large purplish black welt quickly formed on my finger, followed by heat, redness, and streaking up to the knuckles, which are classic signs of infection. By the time I reached the emergency room, the streaking had gone to my elbow. This was a terrifyingly quick-moving infection that was threatening to go systemic. The only possible treatment was antibiotics, and lots of them — immediately.

Now, I am loathe to resort to antibiotics unless they’re absolutely necessary – but it did occur to me that I could actually lose my hand, arm, or life – which is exactly what would have happened a hundred years ago. I surrendered to four types of IV antibiotics, a six-day hospital stay, and emergency surgery to save the function of my right index finger. Although my hospital stay was fraught with complications, I am eternally grateful for the miracle of Western medicine and its powerful antibiotics. I have faced other extreme infections in my life, but this was the most serious I’ve ever dealt with. I really do feel it’s a miracle I’m alive.

However, it’s not just these big drama moments in our lives that are miracles. Every moment, I’m a miracle, and so are you. We survive trauma, abuse, bad upbringings, alcoholism and other forms of addiction, PCOS, incompatible spouses, cancer, sick children, and elderly relatives with dementia. We work, we care for ourselves and others, and we do what we can in spite of often seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We struggle through challenging courses in school, minor or major health crises, mental illness, financial downturn, and intense disappointments. We get through the day when it seems as if the day will never end. We restrain our tempers, our tongues, and our appetites. We drive ourselves forward, making giant strides on some days, or crawling on our knees on other days. We survive. We try to thrive.

Instead of lamenting your weight, the size of your thighs, the incredibly annoying behavior of your ADHD child, the way your husband never brings you flowers, your highly imperfect boss, or the fact that you’ve got this damn thing called PCOS, I wonder what it would be like if you instead asked yourself, “How am I a miracle today?” The shift will be powerful. You’ll appreciate yourself more, and love yourself a little more easily. Your self-esteem will soar, when you realize precisely how miraculous you are, right here, in this moment, and always.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

OK, I watched the interview. I've also been talking to women seeking infertility treatment for going on 10 years. I've heard the same story coming from Atlanta, Columbus, and Sacramento. In that time, I've also worked to create a program that serves as an alternative for those who could benefit. I think I've got enough observations under my belt to contribute an informed opinion about what goes on in the incredibly emotional, expensive, and at times, dangerous, world of reproductive endocrinology.

First and foremost, the fact that we can create babies in so many ways other than the one Mother Nature originally designed…is pretty much a miracle. It is a gift that we as medical professionals can provide this help. That's right, it's a gift. We should accept it with humility and treat it with respect. I never forget that. Every single time I have a new appointment, in person or on the phone, I pause to say a prayer,"God, your will, not mine." I take this work that seriously.

There are some incredible practitioners out there who do their work with respect and humility. However, because infertility treatment is, much of the time, not a medical issue that insurance will pay for…it is a huge money maker for those who practice it. Which means it also attracts individuals with reasons other than altruism for being in the business.

And it is those practitioners who, unfortunately, have pushed the science of reproductive endocrinology ahead much more quickly than those with a conscience have been able to formulate and communicate appropriate codes of ethics by which that science would best be used.

Let's look at how the dynamic develops.

1. You've got a woman who believes she's 100% normal in the reproductive department, who assumes that when the time comes, she'll marry, have children, and happily continue the cycle of life. She may go to the doctor for a routine physical or go because she's not been able to conceive after 6 months of trying. She's told she may have trouble having children. She may be told that she may not be able to have children. Or…as many of my own clients have shared, she may be told that there is no way she will have children without paying thousands of dollars to the man in front of her to make it happen. She has been told that, instead of creating a life with her significant other, in a loving and intimate environment, she must consent to an expensive, invasive, very sterile, and potentially humiliating procedure which can leave her feeling more like a laboratory rat than a beautiful woman and loving-mother-in-the-works. And the person who will be making this happen is not only not someone who loves her, but someone who's going to hand her a huge invoice at the end of the encounter.

2. The combination of desperation on one side of the room and greed on the other…is highly likely to not play out in a way that prioritizes honesty and integrity.

3. A very high percentage of the women I encounter in this work are intelligent and high achieving; everything they've ever wanted in life, from an education, a career, a home of their own, has been attainable with focus and hard work. So being told that one of life's most basic functions, fertility, may not be yours for the taking, becomes one of the most frustrating, confining, maddening, esteem-assaulting things they've ever been forced to ask to accept. The only thing left to throw at the situation is…you guessed it…money.

4. And because this population is so high-achieving and intelligent, they often have that money. Money that can pay for procedures they may not necessarily need. But that they are highly likely to spend because their desperation is being viewed as a profit center for the person sitting on the stool next to their examination table.

5. It just goes downhill from there. On almost a daily basis at this point, I have a conversation with someone who's been through this wringer who finds this blog, who wants help and has been so brainwashed into believing that her problem is so bad that only tens of thousands of dollars and a person with a certain diploma on the wall can fix it. Even when we put solutions and testimonials and support on this blog, completely for free, the sales job these women have been given is so complete and so convincing, dozens and dozens and dozens of women do not even give any other kindler, gentler, less invasive and dangerous option an iota of consideration. So they empty out their bank accounts. Sometimes they get a baby. Sometimes they don't.

When I do my PCOS trainings, I always invite women with the syndrome to come in and share their stories to those who want to help women who have this diagnosis. I do it because I want those who have no experience with the infertility world to understand just how much anxiety and depression their future clients have. They need to understand just how much compassion we owe them when they come to us for help.

Sometimes I sit and listen to the spiels these women have been given about what they must do (which invariably includes making a monthly payment on their physician's mountain home) in order to have a family. And I wonder why this guy bothered spending all the money to get a medical degree when he could simply have left high school and made much bigger fortune selling used cars at the parking lot down the street.

I reiterate, I have had the good fortune of meeting and working with many kind, compassionate, intelligent, and ethical reproductive endocrinologists. I am happy to support their work and the miracles they have been given the talents and power to create.

But I also have a lot of trouble with physicians who forget that they are not God. They are not even one step away from God. They're preying on insecurity and desperation that risks the lives of the women asking for help and the babies who didn't even ask to be part of the situation.

I'm not at all happy to hear this story coming out of California. But…maybe the fact that this happened will encourage more scrutiny of the entire reproductive industry as a whole. Maybe we'll finally work on a code of ethics to protect all of the lives involved. Those who do this work for the right reason deserve to shine and be rewarded. And those who would be better off selling Yugos…can be nudged into the polyester suits and those dusty, moldy offices on America's seediest of car lots.

PCOS can be devastating in so many ways, but it doesn't have to dictate life. In the midst of such an endocrine storm there can be hope and healing. I shared my story before of being a Registered Dietitian with PCOS. My struggle is not unlike others. I suffered through infertility and miscarriage which lead to severe depression; but by God's grace I overcame it. My sincere wish is to offer you a different perspective on PCOS, one with hope.

I see it time and time again with my patients. Women diagnosed with PCOS and their obsession to have a baby. It overtakes them. It overtook me. The desire and yearning to have a child envelopes one to the point where it controls life. If you've been through this, you understand what I am describing. Stress becomes a constant companion. You become crazed with counting days, planning relations at the exact time, to obsessing over blood levels. Shouldn't this whole baby-making-thing be fun?! I was so consumed with getting pregnant that my lifestyle became my roadblock to fertility. The stress was too much. I reached a point of total exhaustion, physically, emotionall, physically and financially. I was literally spent. Have you reached that wall? It was not until I came to the point of accepting my current status, that I was able to see things more clearly.

Our first son came miraculously. When you are told you will never conceive on your own, hope seems to disappear. But the great thing about hope is that it never dies. I conceived the old fashion way but had a pregnancy laden with complications. From gestational diabetes, to preterm labor, to my c-section incision reopening, and failure to breastfeed, I pretty much had most of the textbook complications. Thankfully, our son was born perfectly healthy and is turning 5 in a few days. Of course, the yearning for another child came shortly after and again the"wait" began.

I could feel the old obsession rearing its ugly head and I desperately did not want to live like that again. Miraculously, I met Monika Woolsey and the PCOS puzzle pieces fell into place. I changed my focus and began to dedicate myself to a healthier lifestyle. I purposed in my heart to become healthier so that when that perfect time came again, I was prepared to give my baby the best possible environment to grow in. Omega 3's are gifts from Heaven! My regimen became one of fish oil supplements, healthier way of eating and truly taking time to"smell the roses". I looked at exercise differently. I enjoyed doing it and it paid off! I lost 40 pounds and kept it off. A little over a year later, surprise! I found out I was pregnant; another miracle. Our second son is due in mid August and this pregnancy has been much healthier.

There is no quick fix or magic pill to guarentee a child. However, hold onto hope. There is always hope. My children are miracles. My oldest son because of being told I would never conceive on my own. I trust in a greater physician and He saw fit to bless me with a baby. My youngest son because we weren't sure if my husband could father any more children after having a kidney transplant in 2005. Again, God had different plans. Perhaps a perspective adjustment might be all you need. Never give up hope, it endures.

Marie Mariano RD, LDN, CDE
Hannah's Heart Ministries
p.o. box 3304
Boardman, OH 44513
hannahsheartministries@hotmail.com
330-717-5345

I was just on a website for a local naturopathic physician who specializes in women's health and reproduction. She is well known in our area for her success with challenging conception situations. I love to refer to this particular naturopath because she is so skilled and compassionate.

I'm pasting some excerpts from her testimonials page.

"It was hard to hear from the MD's that I would not have a baby unless it was in-vitro…"

"I was told I was facing early menopause and may need an egg donor to conceive a child. When faced with paying more than $14,000 out of pocket per IVF attempt, which offered a 20% success rate and no guarantees, enough was enough."

"My reproductive endocrinologist told me I had little or no chance of conceiving a child. He told me if I wanted to try to conceive with my eggs, we should do IVF immediately, even though we had less than 10% chance of success."

These are all women who became pregnant when they decided to not listen to that advice and seek help elsewhere.

I hear these stories too. Sometimes I have a very hard time with the reproductive industry, despite the miracles they've created, because they often seem to prey on the desperation that can develop when a baby isn't easily created. They can make you feel like the problem is that something is wrong with YOU.

In many cases, the real problem to the doctor is that you're not giving him/her your money quickly enough!

What other service would you be willing to spend so much money for with so little guarantee of success?

I am so excited about what inCYST is learning and the success stories we've been able to be a part of. But what I'm still trying to understand is the psychology of the infertile woman. I offer classes for $15 apiece. That's about the cost of a copayment. That's a smoking deal compared to an in vitro procedure. Sometimes I even do them free of charge. But women I invite, often politely tell me, thanks but no thanks, I've made an appointment with my fertility doctor. I'll try that first.

One woman recently shared that even though she paid for the class and didn't show, she decided to go through in vitro. She ended up having to quit her job, because she could not manage the stress of the treatment along with her work responsibilities. She's pregnant, now, which is the good news. But she's financially challenged, to the point where she's asking me for free help. I'm not sure if that is success or not? And at that point, whose responsibility it should be that a $15 resource has become too expensive?

If you have two choices for earning money, one being interest in a bank account and the other being money won playing blackjack in Las Vegas…and you politely tell the banker thanks but no thanks, I'll bring you my Vegas winnings and I'll earn interest on that…and you lose your shirt in Vegas…do you think the bank is going to give you money to put in a savings account? Probably not. You have to make good decisions in advance.

It seems to me that the most important time a nutritional tuneup should be considered is precisely WHEN you've decided to invest in IVF. If it were me, I'd want to be absolutely sure that the environment I am giving my physician to work with when being paid to help me, is the healthiest, most balanced, most receptive to successful conception and pregnancy. What better preparation for success could you offer your reproductive system than nutritional health?

I know there is a huge difference between what you'll get in an inCYST consultation vs. what a physician provides. We're definitely going to ask you to make some changes. We're here to support, to encourage, and to point you to ways to make the new changes livable. Unlike a physician's visit, where most of the hard work is done by the doctor, we will ask YOU to do some things. We don't believe anything is wrong with you. We believe that life on planet Earth has its stresses, but if you learn how to manage them, hormones cooperate. Very simple.

We're not an"either-or" kind of choice, at all. We are not the only answer out there, and we are not ever going to eliminate the reproductive endocrinology industry. In fact, I think there are a lot of opportunities, when working together, for us to help increase some of those dismal percentages I quoted so the doctors have higher success rates as well!

Just a note, a friend just e-mailed me to tell me that this very topic was featured on the Today Show today. I Googled the website for the Fertile Soul, the program featured in their segment. Even their fees are high--as much as $12,500 for a couple to attend. I want to reassure anyone coming to this blog looking for help, I want to help people, and I do need to pay my bills, too, but our program is not about depleting anyone financially. Our one day couples spa program is only $350.

It just seems to me like when you have a choice between paying several hundred dollars and several thousand dollars, and you're seeing indications that the least expensive option may actually work, that you'd start low and work up the pay scale, if and only if needed.

I'd love it if this post inspires you to think differently. Sometimes medicine works and sometimes it creates miracles. But sometimes medicine has its limits. Why not try an inCYST provider or class or retreat and see if it gets you going in the right direction?

I am expecting:) Love that fish oil! I am only about 6 weeks but am ecstatic — --Thank you so much I really appreciate your help.

--I am sky high right now

---the non-ovulating mother of soon to be 3:) Love those miracles --or in this case fish oil

Note from Monika: When I count back, this success story apparently happened within 10 days/2 weeks of our consultation.

I have had a handful of inquiries in the last week about an inCYST fertility consultation. I thought I would lay out, honestly, what it is we do and what we do not do, in order that you know exactly what it is you are contacting us for when you do, and to prevent disappointment by hoping we might be something we are not.

1. We do not make babies. We are not fertility clinics. If what you are looking for, is someone to give you a baby, a fertility clinic is where you should be asking for help.

2. We DO, if there is anything about your lifestyle that has the potential to interfere with fertility…be it sleep, nutrition, activity, stress management…have a strong ability to identify what it is and to help you replace the behavior in question with a more fertility-friendly option.

3. We DO assume that you are willing to make changes in your behavior and that this is an active partnership. We cannot live those lifestyle changes for you. We cannot become pregnant for you.

4. We DO NOT consider ourselves to be an"either — or" issue, in competition with the fertility industry. In fact, I am quite surprised at how few of our fans do not invest in a proactive inCYST consultation on deciding to go with IVF. If anything, we can help to be sure you are in the absolute best physical and mental condition to be in upon engaging in a physically and mentally challenging procedure. Just as an Olympic athlete would want to be nutritionally and physically ready for the big event, we believe partnering with us is good insurance that all of the money and stress you are about to encounter is worth the investment.

5. We DO NOT believe that there is a high success rate among women who do have lifestyle issues interfering with their fertility, who believe they can bypass the effort and inconvenience of changing that lifestyle with a medical procedure. You cannot fool Mother Nature.

6. We DO NOT provide false hope. That would be cruel.

7. We DO NOT pressure potential clients. Women with infertility are stressed enough as it is.

8. We DO NOT hang our celebrity clients out on a shingle as marketing tools. Celebrities need their privacy too.

9. We DO believe enough in what we do to be willing to work to create a research foundation to pursue our findings in a scientific fashion.

10. We have seen miracles, but we do not promise them.

We'd like to think we have a whole lot to offer you, but we won't chase it down. That is because the clients most likely to succeed with our program are not the ones we have to chase down and convince of our value. It's the ones who already believe in us.

We hope that this describes you, but if it is not, we respect the differences and truly wish you the best.

In my part of the world, winter is citrus time. The trees in my neighborhood are loaded down with grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, limes, and lemons…to the point where people give them away because they simply cannot use them all.

Family and friends have filled an entire shelf of my refrigerator with lemons, which of all of the above, is the hardest to use in large quantities.

So I started Googling to see what I could do with lemon juice. Turns out, it is really great for skin! It is especially helpful for acne scars and helping to fade discolored skin. It's high in glycolic acid, which is a key ingredient in many facial peel products.

I've simply been putting the lemon juice on my skin for about an hour in the morning…a few times, after reading more, I've even gone to sleep with it still on my face. You'll feel a tingle at first, and it's best to keep it away from your eyes.

I've been doing this for about two weeks and am noticing a healthier glow to my skin and even a little bit of reduction of fine lines. I'm not promising miracles, and I don't think it's going to completely erase the marks of time, but I do feel it's doing something invigorating on several different levels.

For those of you whose PCOS has affected your skin's appearance, it's another inexpensive and simple tool for you to have to help you feel and look better.