Green Coffee Bean Extract

Hi Ladies,
OK, I purchased the Green Coffee Bean Extract capsules that Dr. Oz and everyone is buzzing about and I'm on my 3rd day!  Yes, I have more energy. No, I have not lost any weight.  However, it's only day 3 and I did eat pie ala mode last night at Mel's Diner.  It states that you don't have to change how you eat to lose the weight so we shall see.  Tune in later to see my weight loss results.  I weigh 175 today! I will also check my blood pressure and post those results too. Normally, I'm low but this last year I have been borderline range. Today 130/92 P. 78

Stay posted.
Lilia

Cysts?

At my annual check up my doc was concerned about a little bleeding and pain I was experiencing so she ordered an ultra sound. They found that I have a small cyst.  So two months later, she ordered another ultra sound and its still there but small.  She said that if the bleeding continues then I have to call her. So far, no more bleeding but pain every once in a while when my menstrual cycle would have normally been occurring. 

Once I had a cyst that was so painful I had to pull over on the freeway and call my husband because I couldn't drive anymore.  He called an ambulance because I was wailing with pain on the side of the road. Funny to talk about it now because that day I was on my way to an interview for a teaching position in American Canyon. 

Obviously I never made the interview but thankfully my husband called and explained so they gave me another shot at it and hired me. LOL

I'm not working there anymore but I thought it was a funny story to share.  Those cysts can be extremely painful when they burst so be careful!  Pull over if you can't stand the pain no matter what!

Have a great day!

Balance Sheets and Balance Pad

Good Morning!

OK, I have been sleeping on these new sheets and pad from the Sleep Number Store for about 2 weeks now and they have helped but not completely :(  I still wake up warm like before and need to uncover myself for a while, then I get cold and have to cover up again. This happens a couple times a night.

What I have discovered recently though is that when I use my Badger Massage Body oil with olive oil, castor and jojoba oils, and Ruby extracts with Rose Hip, Rosemary, Lavender, and Bergamot to name a few it really helps me sleep through the warm spats. The oil is supposed to be a sleep enhancer...give it a try, I love it!  Hopefully, someone special will rub it on your back.

Let me know how you like the sheets and the oil.  Only bad thing is that you have to wash your sheets more often due to the oil that rubs off on them.

Have a great day!

Balance Sheets and Pad from the Sleep Number Store

Well ladies, I finally received my $200 sheets and $300 mattress pad from the Sleep Number store and they claim they are supposed to reduce the heat I feel while sleeping. The thread count and the material (from bamboo) apparently is the best!  Well for that much money, I thought I would be in heaven and no longer feel any warmth from my feather bed whatsoever.  However, I'm still getting a little warm at night so the pad and sheets aren't kicking in hard enough to cool me completely but there is a definite difference.  I ordered the sand color and they are beautiful and fit amazingly well with room to spare, which is never the case with Eastern King beds.  They look very expensive and feel really great!

Sweet dreams!

http://www.sleepnumber.com/eng/categories/sleep-number-pillows-bedding?charac=Shop%20by%20Solution&characValue=Temperature%20Balancing

Feathers Make Me Hot!

Good Morning Ladies,

My bed has a feather topper. I have realized that these feathers are adding to my hot flashes.  They warm me up and that is the last thing I need during menopause.  In the middle of the night, I wake up from being too hot and have to go to a guest bed to cool down.  It's the sheets silly! It took me a little while to figure it out but there is a solution.

The Sleep Number store has these cooling sheets and they help by balancing the temp we need.  I'm sure there are other stores that sell these too so start surfing!

http://www.sleepnumber.com/eng/products/sleep-numberpillows-bedding/sheets/regulates-temperature/sleep_number_in_balance_sheets?inbalanceshts

 Sleep Number® In Balance™ Sheets: Sleep Hot or Cold?
Our In Balance™ bedding, made with Outlast® material, features proven temperature balancing technology to absorb excess heat. You’ll stay comfortable all night long, for more restorative sleep. Our In Balance™ sheets are 50% cotton and 50% Outlast® Adaptive Comfort®* Viscose fiber. In Balance™ material is part of the fabric and its temperature balancing benefits will never wash out or wear out. SmartFit™ and Logic™ Label system takes the guesswork out of where to start making your bed. Extra-deep pocket fits mattresses up to 18 inches. Made in China of domestic and imported materials.

Happy Sleeping!

Lilia

Environmental or not?

Hi Ladies,

OK, we are back from vacation and the hot flashes are back too!  I am convinced that the beach weather is so different than the weather up in northern California that it must contribute to the hot flashes.  I'm going to do some research to see who else feels this way.  Any thoughts?

Lilia

What, no hot flashes?

Hi Ladies,

OK, I don't get it?  We are on vacation in Oceanside and the weather is perfect and I haven't had one hot flash!  So my question is to all of you? Are hot flashes partly environmental?  I would have to say, "Yes", they are!  In Northern California I have hot flashes daily pretty much, but for a week on vacation in Southern California I haven't.  I can only attribute it to the weather, the bed that has no feather top, and exercise.

If any of you have experienced this phenomenon, please post your comments.

Thanks,
Lilia

Real Water

Is the water you are drinking actually harming you?

Did you know that most of the water you drink every day may actually be damaging your health? And it’s not just plain water, how about juice, tea, coffee, soda? You see, nearly everything we drink has water as its’ foundation. And, this also includes you! Your body is over 70% water. So doesn’t it make sense, that you drink water and use water based products that help improve your health instead of harm it? Of course it does.

Here’s the situation. Most water and water-based products we drink and use have two very common problems. First, the water has been damaged. Before it gets to you, it has traveled through pipes, filtration devices, and various systems. During these travels, it has been stripped of electrons (-). The result is water that is positive (+) ionized. Second, the water is very acid.

What does drinking high pH water do to our health?

Among the people who question the validity of alkaline water, the biggest question is, “What happens to the alkaline water once it reaches the stomach, which is highly acidic?” People who have some knowledge of the human body, including medical doctors, ask this question. Let us answer that question once and for all to erase any doubts about the health benefits of alkaline water. In order to digest food and kill the kinds of bacteria and viruses that come with the food, the inside of our stomach is acidic. The stomach pH value is maintained at around 4. When we eat food and drink water, especially alkaline water, the pH value inside of the stomach goes up. When this happens, there is a feedback mechanism in our stomach to detect this and commands the stomach wall to secrete more hydrochloric acid into the stomach to bring the pH value back to 4. So the stomach becomes acidic again. When we drink more alkaline water, more hydrochloric acid is secreted to maintain the stomach pH value. It seems like a losing battle.

 http://www.drinkrealwater.com/why-real-water/what-is-ph/

Sleepless Nights

Good Morning Ladies,

Well its 4 am and I'm wide awake. I woke up with a migraine and a hot flash. So, I thought I was at the tail end of this menopause thing but it seems something has set it off again. I've been back on the hormones for a while now so its not that. What can it be?  Most likely, like many of you, I can read my body pretty well when I really listen.  I have not been eating as healthy as I would like which I know adds the weight, water retention, and the constipation.  When we are dehydrated, our bodies are telling us something by giving us warning signs. What I know from research is that eating right affects all of the above which is why I'm having more hot flashes than normal.

When I was recuperating from foot surgery at the beginning of the year, I was eating a balanced diet and losing weight while on Nutri System.  Now that I'm off and able to get around my eating habits have changed. My portions are getting a little larger and I'm not eating enough times throughout the day.  Hence, a few pounds have come back on and bowel movements changed. These issues can affect my whole body which affects my sleeping and menopausal symptoms.

When we retain water, our blood pressure goes up which lends itself to feeling warmer.  When we eat too much sugar our metabolism slows and we can get headaches, migraines even like I did this morning. Yesterday, I ate too much sugar.  Thankfully, I ate enough roughage so I had a good BM this morning already, but drinking enough water is also extremely important during this time.

I found out while having a massage in Laguna a few months ago from the masseuse that the kind of water we drink also plays a part on our health. Ph balanced water is a new thing for me. Did any of you know there was such a thing?  I didn't!  However, since then, I only buy Ph balanced water now. Mainly, I purchase Real Water.  This water is delicious and you gotta try it!  Ph balanced water detoxes our bodies and puts us back into stasis.  We need this with all we are exposed to during the day and all that we put into our bodies.  When we drink water that is not Ph balanced we are only putting in more toxins and adding to our poor health.

Check out  http://www.drinkrealwater.com/why-real-water/  and find out more.  I couldn't find the water up in the bay area so I had to order it and my cases came UPS but it wasn't cheap so finally I found it at Raley's in Brentwood..thank God!

Drink up!
Lilia

Hormones Again!

Hi Ladies,

Well, I finally decided that I need to go back on the hormones because the hot flashes were horrible!  Waking up 3 to 4 times a night isn't fun.  Since I have been back on them (about 2 weeks), I am sleeping much better and only waking up once a night.  I was starting to get cramps again as well but since the hormones, they have dissipated.  However, the cramps are most likely from the cyst on my ovary because I haven't menstruated for over 2 years now.

Has any one out there experienced cysts on her ovaries? I go back for my second ultra sound the end of August.

If it is still there, I don't know what happens next.

Any idea?

Thanks,
Lilia

Hot Flashes Again??

OK, what's going on? Is the cyst causing hot flashes? I am having hot flashes on and off all day and night again so I went back on the hormones.  I'm sleeping better and not so emotional so I guess I still need them.

Lilia

Cysts?

Good Morning Ladies:

Yesterday I went for an ultrasound. You know the one where the tech has to rub that jelly over your abdomen to see inside and the one where they have to stick a probe in your vagina to see what's going on.  Yeah!  A lot of fun...Not!

Well, my doctor prescribed it because I had a little bit of bleeding out of the blue a couple weeks back. I was on hormones as you all know and I decided to stop taking them cold turkey (which is NOT recommended)!  I didn't know this.  Anyway, I had been having trouble sleeping again so I though it was the hormones.  Once I started feeling like maybe I should not have stopped due to some pressure I felt in my ovaries I took them again. However, the next morning I had an excruciating headache and discontinued them again.

So, my doc asks me if I'm still having hot flashes and I said "no", so she said I don't need them then.  Well, now I am having some hot flashes but they aren't bad.  However, she did decide that due to a random night of blood that I should have an ultrasound to rule out any problems i.e. uterus lining issues which would require a biopsy. 

Well, what they did find was a cyst on my right ovary so now I have to go back in 2 months to see if it went away on its own or stayed the same.  So I will let you all know how it goes soon enough.

Until then....

Lilia

Hot Flashes are Back

Good Morning Ladies,

I know its been a while since I last posted but I have been in a PhD program.  I have finally finished my course work and am also recovering from foot surgery. I also moved and am looking for a new teaching job.  I also recently finished a documentary and based off of one of my books.  Needless to say, I have been a little preoccupied. But I finally realized that I needed to share about my hot flashed coming back after all this time.

After we purchased a new king size bed last year, I started having hot flashes again.  I didn't put the two together until I realized that when I slept in other beds I didn't have the same problem of feeling really warm in bed while sleeping.  If you guessed we have a feather bed, you are correct!  This bed although extremely comfortable is the culprit of my hot flashes.  Now what?  This beautiful bed cost us a little over a thousand dollars so I'm not about to get rid of it and my husband loves it.

So, I deal with it. I sleep in almost nothing. Once I get into bed with pj's and get warm, everything comes off.  This isn't good if I have to go to the bathroom at 3 in the morning, which I always do.  So what is a girl to do you might ask?  I deal with it and freeze for a couple minutes then race back to bed for warmth.

I think eventually I will have to give up the bed but for now, the hormone pills aren't keeping the night hot flashes away.  Word of advice:  don't but a feather bed!

Lilia