I had a visit the other evening from a most amazing lady, a relative of my husband.

I hadn't seen her for over ten years, and she is now 75 years young. Last time I saw her, she was seriously overweight, pasty looking, and was thinking about moving, because the stairs in her house were too difficult for her. But then, a few years ago, she went to the doctor, and was told she was "pre-diabetic". She was devastated, cried and cried - nothing was more terrifying to her than diabetes, especially since her brother died from complications of that horrible disease.

So she changed her life. No, she didn't go raw or anything, but she began a program of strictly following the diabetic diet, cut out all the bad stuff, and started walking. Just those changes have transformed her. Her hair is a shiny healthy gray, her eyes sparkle, her body is strong and supple (she lost a lot of weight, not sure how much). What an inspiration to spend time with her, even her personality has sprung into a new and positive place.

Conversely, my husband's sister emailed me about six months ago that her doctor had declared her to be "pre-diabetic". She didn't seem at all alarmed by it, just very accepting. She is in her fifties, and the doctor calmly told her that it is quite common for women her age with several years of being overweight to have this. He said it would be wise for her to keep coming in and getting checked and they would monitor whether it got worse. (which is probably exactly what will happen.) Oh yeah, besides being overweight, she has to take a bunch of drugs, both for her high cholesterol and also her high blood pressure.

HOLY SMOKES, I THINK I NEED A PILL OR SOMETHING TO CALM MYSELF DOWN WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS!!!!

In my opinion, anyone who is diagnosed with "pre-diabetes", obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol or any of the other warning signs that our bodies give us is just so very lucky. They know something really bad could be coming in their future, and they have a chance to do something about it. What I would give to have known in advance that I was going to get cancer - by the time I knew what was happening, it was a done deal! (and of course, to also know what exactly I was doing wrong, so I could fix it, which I still don't know)

That is also why I find all the people on this board to be so very inspiring. Here are people who go one step better. Instead of waiting to find out that there is something seriously wrong, all of you are taking charge and seeking to obtain the best health possible. And those who have had health challenges are getting better - it's so great to hear about all the improvements people are experiencing. WOW! Thank you so much for letting me be part of such a wonderful positive group!

Seriously, this is bigger than you realize. Your doctor doesn' t have an interest in keeping you healthy. You are only profitable to him/her if you are good and sick. My post cancer medical care was to hand me a couple of sheets of paper about following a healthy diet, and to have me get tested for recurrences every year. That's not prevention! That's not going to keep me well! If those tests come back positive, I will have probably reached the point beyond which I can survive. Kind of late to start worrying about it then!

Sorry to sound emotional, but it is so distressing to me how many people I know who just take no responsibility for their health. People who take better care of their cars than their own bodies. And the whole medical world seems to be completely illogical to me most of the time, no wonder people are confused.

Whew, now I feel better, good to get that out of my system! (big, giant cleansing breath!)

Hope you all have a great day!

Sapphire

Lovely post! Thanks for sharing.

"Your doctor doesn' t have an interest in keeping you healthy."

May I add - Nor understanding how to do it.

Gosia


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this is wonderful Sapphire-a wonderful story.I am so glad your hubbys relative is experiencing glowing health.so wonderful.you know on my hubbys side-everyone lives long.My hubbys grandma's brother was in his 90's walking miles everyday to go down to the local convience store to flirt with all the young gals.He also every week would make his own health bread.He had been a vegetarian forever.My hubbys granny passed away in her 96th yr-or was she 98?well anyway-then my husbands mom and dad are amazing.In there mid 80's=they have kept there weigh down and they have all there marbles-no drinking or smoking or meat eating.They go out and exercise and well-they are simply amazing.Unlike my family.My grandma had diabetes and she did die in her 80's but lots of heart attacks(her first one at 38 yrs old).Her son had his first heart attack at 34.my mom died at 52.my dad had his first first triple by-pass at 49 and then died at 59.all so young and alot of ill health all thru-out.I can always compare these families and draw upon the wisdom for us to do better,the knowledge is out here now.i would want to choose life/and not choose the bad stuff like smoking,drinking,meat eating and junk foods and no exercise and medications and at the hands of dr.s although my dr. did save me by finally mentioning my weight was off the scale.i am so grateful to her for this.taylor

Yeah, Sapphire, hats off to you for being open to an inspiring person, and feeding off her energy. And I also say thanks for sharing.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

Truly an inspiring post. I believe in the power of change and transformation and that lady is a wonderful example. It all really just starts with your attitude about it and the intention to transform your life.

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great, inspiring story. this site is great to be a part of. everyone has been very encouraging. thanks

rawgosia Wrote:

> "Your doctor doesn' t have an interest in keeping
> you healthy."

Mine does. He thinks my diet is fab! Sounds like
some people need to find another doctor.

> May I add - Nor understanding how to do it.

Let me just remind people: most will not have
the discipline or desire to follow what they
perceive to be a drastic diet. That's why doctors
still prescribe pills. Most of them probably know
that diet works. But they also know that most
people fail to adhere to healthy diets. Instead
of blaming the doctors, blame the people. In general:

We don't have a diabesity epidemic because of
doctors or pills. People don't get CHD because
of doctors or pills.

In almost every case these problems are self-inflicted.
Remove the self-inflicted bad behaviors, and the problems
rectify.

A lot of cancer is self-inflicted also, but it's much
more difficult to show this convincingly and also much
more difficult, if not impossible, to correct.

arugula Wrote:

"We don't have a diabesity epidemic because of doctors or pills. People don't get CHD because of doctors or pills.

In almost every case these problems are self-inflicted. Remove the elf-inflicted bad behaviors, and the problems rectify."


I completely agree with this...

Arugula, I think Rawgosia was just quoting me. But that wasn't really meant as a criticism. Doctors need to be extremely well informed about every kind of illness and injury that might ever come their way. The amount of knowledge they must amass to do their job properly is mindboggling to most people (especially me!). I have nothing but respect for what they do.

That being said, there is not such a strong component in their training dealing with prevention, or what is the best way to deal with someone who is not yet sick, but simply wishes to optimize their health. And for the most part, they are hesitant to recommend the proactive approach to resolving health issues.

A perfect example is the "acid reflux/respiratory" problems that my husband suffers. They have given him every kind of drug they can think of (he can't get through a night without using his puffer), even done a couple of surgical procedures on him. Then one day, I saw a guy on TV who had suffered the same thing, but lost his excess weight, got in shape, and it all went away. So I asked my doctor why this wouldn't work for my husband (he could stand to lose a bit as well). He replied that it would. My problem with this whole scenario, is that in all the months and years, nobody EVER told this to my husband! True, he's not likely to follow through, but at least give him the option! Same with my sister-in-law, mentioned above - surely, being "pre-diabetic", there must be some things that could have been recommended to her to improve the situation beyond just trying to monitor it. THAT's the part I find frustrating, even when they do have the knowledge, they seem to be reluctant to communicate it properly.

When I go in for my physical every year, they do a bunch of blood tests, but it is up to me to figure out the questions I want asked - no information is ever volunteered, and no tests are run except the ones they always run (and I'm not clear exactly what those tests are, because they won't discuss that with me. All I know is that I am not anemic, and my liver enzymes are still ok) My doctor has no clue what my blood type is, or my cholesterol number, he doesn't see the point. He has never asked me about my diet. He has basically told me to just relax - if they find anything wrong, they will tell me.

When I was dealing with the cancer agency, and told them I had consulted a homeopath, the doctor looked like she had to bite her lip really hard to hold herself back from laughing at me. And when I told my GP I had consulted a naturopath, he crossed his fingers in my face like I was a vampire that needed to be repelled. There isn't much respect between the different professions. And changing doctors isn't an option here as in many places in Canada - most doctors have all the patients they can handle, and refuse to take more on. According to a friend of mine, who is a surgical nurse and knows all the local doctors, I have one of the better ones, so where would I go anyway.

So many surgical procedures have been performed on me, and I have not been given the knowledge of how badly they could impact me later. It is like getting lied to, you give your consent for something based on one set of information, but later on, you find out that if you would have known the truth, you would absolutely have proceeded differently. But now it is too late, you just have to deal with it. And don't ever be fooled by any medical drugs - they ALL have side effects - that's a tough lesson also.

I know I caused my own cancer. I just don't have a clue what I did wrong. Maybe I am still doing it every single day. It can drive a person crazy, I would change anything if only I could just figure out what to change. But it may be environmental. I have had seven friends diagnosed with breast cancer in the last five years - only one over the age of 50. Two of them were health and fitness instructors, who would have thought. My neighbor just finished treatments for colon cancer, and one of the dads I know from school is dealing with prostate cancer - he is 35. It's scary. Its so prevalent.

I so very much admire you (as well as several others in the group). I appreciate all your posts, you give so much really great information, and always well thought out. Thank you.

Best wishes,
Sapphire

Last summer I went to my OBGYN with a lot of symptoms. I told her I always have a yeast infection, thrush, I am always tired, my periods are off the charts heavy and I have milk in my left boob left over from breastfeeding which I had quit months before. She said she wanted to test for cancer and AIDS. I let her but I was really wanting to find out what my problem was and not what it was not. In the meantime my neice told me to look into raw. When I did I inadvertently discovered I had Candida. When I went back to my doc I told her I thought I had Candida and she said she doesn't know about that and I should see an internalist. She also said my $1000, invasive tests for AIDS and cancer came back negative but still wanted me to see a surgeon. How could an OBGYN not have anything to say about something that causes chronic vaginal yeast infections???

When I was in my late 20's my invalid father lived with me. He had had a stroke and was suffering with Parkinsons disease. I did everything my father asked me to do for him which included everything the doctors said. I learned a lot about doctors during that period. I truly believe most think they are doing the best that can be done. I know for a fact that my father's neurologist thought he was doing the best for him but had no interest in hearing what he was really doing to my father. I am positive that the pills he was giving my dad had him so anxious it caused him to have a heart attack and die. All the while I had been telling this doc what was going to happen. He blew me off like a lowely peasant. That alone was enough to make me fume.

After educating myself on childhood vaccinations I will never trust any proffessional that tells me they are good for me or my child. We are taught to believe what doctors tell us, that they know more or are even that they may be more intelligent. It is simply a lie. The truth is they are as stupid and screwed up and unhealthy as any other people on the planet. We have to educate ourselves and pray we never have to put our lives in the hands of strangers whose best isn't always best or even good. I know some older people will never change their "god like" image of docs but I will never, ever be drawn down to that belief with them.

Pakd4fun - I know, it is so frustrating. I think I probably had candida for many years, but there never seemed to be any real answers, no matter what I did (and at the time, I had no idea what was wrong). BUT, I think that this is one example of a person's body screaming that something is very wrong, and needs to be corrected. Its unbelievable that the entire medical profession doesn't seem to even recognize this as real! But I suppose it doesn't fit the mindset of supressing all the symptoms while not addressing the real problem, whatever that may be.

I remember my father in law struggling with his arthritis. His hands were so gnarled, he could barely hold his cup of tea. They had him on whatever arthritis drugs his doctor recommended, and he was not interested in any other approach - clearly, the doctor was an expert, who knew exactly what needed to be done. Then one day, my husband's brother stopped by his house, to find him dead of a heart attack. All this happened just when those arthritis drugs were getting in all the headlines for causing people to suddenly drop dead from heart attacks. But, the family spoke to the doctor, and he said he felt it was probably not connected. I can't believe they all accept this - but I am only the daughter in law, so I do my best to shut up and respect everybody else's wishes. It won't bring him back anyway.

These days, my doctor is encouraging me to do something that I find to be totally strange and maybe even bordering on insanity! It seems, that my option for reconstruction after mastectomy is to have them cut into my belly (from hip to hip), cut out approximately half of my abdominal muscles, and move (stretch) them up into the chest, to use that as the raw material to fashion me a new breast. Afterwards, I can expect about a year to recover, pain beyond my worst imaginings, and to be permanently at risk for things like hernia in my tummy area. I can't change my weight too much, up or down, for the rest of my life because it will cause problems, and there is a chance that the discomfort will never go away. And, much to my amazement, this procedure is done to women all the time - in fact, if I decide to go ahead, the waiting list is 18 months long!! Nobody seems to be able to tell me what the long term effects will be to my abdominal area, and in the end, the new breast won't even look a whole lot like the original. Most shocking of all, is that they are so surprised that I am hesitant to jump right onto this fabulous opportunity! Just unbelievable!

Well, enough whining and griping for one day, I try not to be so negative, but once in a while reality takes a little bite out of me! In most things, I have to say, my life is exactly what I want it to be. True, I have had some big health challenges, but there is a lot to be grateful for as well. Besides, as every mom (or dad) on this board will appreciate, I am so thankful that if my family had to get hit with a big health issue, it's so good that it hit me. I don't know if I am strong enough to have dealt with anything like this if it had been my husband or one of my kids. I think I would have probably fallen apart!

Hope you have a great day!
Sapphire

Sapphire-

I don't want to overstep here but please tall me you are not going to do that surgery. Your poor body has already been through so much.

When you wrote me before about your daughter leaving I was busy but had wanted to send some words of encouragement to you. I will now. I cannot imagine how tough it is to have your baby go away like that but what a terrific oppertunity for her. Kuddos to you for allowing her to experience life in such a way. I tell my daughter her siblings and I will be going to college with her . Dad can send the money.

Cool wolf dog!!!!

No surgery!!!
Kise'

well-i went to the dr. cause i had fibroids and bad periods and i thank the lord for all the info avaiable on the computer so we can protect our selfs.This male dr. told me i needed a hysterectomy.another reason was i had too tick of a uterus. i had never heard of this.I had read and found out before your time of the month,your uterus does get thicker. i told them it was before my period.well they said no matter-it should not be that thick.they were very sure i had cancer.i told the dr. i had read on the computer that after menopause the fibroids shrink.and i would prefer to wait things out.his exact words to me were"we should give you a hyterctomy and slap and estrogen patch on u. i was so amazed at these brazen words. i never went back.they had all these thrumped up things-the cancer,the fribroids and the thickened uterus to get me to pay for the dr.s new sports car or a trip to europe.i then found out-no cancer and surprise!! my uterus went down to normal.so yep! i am pretty leary.my other dr. did not even know there is an operation that is invasive and you can attack each fibroid.she also was "rip it out".so amazing.but i on the other hand thank my female dr. for putting me on a diet.finally.she is a tiny woman and she could of nailed me so many times for my weight and she was i guess waiting it out to see what was happening.i owe her alot.taylor(sapphire-i did not know they did this kind of sugery.sounds horrid)

Taylor, see if you can track down a book called "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" by Christina Northrup (hope I got the name right). I read it a few years ago, and had tears running down my face, thinking about the things we go through, and how we are conditioned to lose touch with our own selves. Every time a woman experiences the slightest problem, the doctors seem to want to cut her open and remove all the parts, even if it is completely irrelevant! Anything to shut us up. (And, I wouldn't be surprised if your raw diet helps with those fibroids, seems to me they can be caused by too much estrogen in the system, and when you get away from meat and dairy you are taking in far fewer hormones)

That tram flap procedure is standard - go ahead and google it if you want, it is what all women have to decide in this situation. I'm not really inclined. My husband finds me irresistable no matter what I look like, and I haven't lost any friends over my slight deformity. Also, I haven't worn a bra for years - feels great! (Besides, when I am old and retired and bored, I might just decide to be the first senior citizen, one-boob female body builder, and how will I ever get my six-pack abs I don't have any abs left! LOL!)

pakd4fun - My daughter has been staying in touch with me over the computer, and we even get to use the web-cam, so it's almost as good as in person. The other kids don't miss her much, she's the family shrieker - constantly yelling at everyone, so it's awfully quiet around here these days, haha! She is loving her new school, and everyone has been very positive - they love the "odd" way she speaks French. And, she got there just in time for an amazing cold spell, I think she said it was minus 35 degrees (C) with the wind chill a couple of nights ago! She's never experienced anything like it before! Also, she joined a choir, so she is keeping up with her singing, much to my delight! I know this will be a wonderful adventure for her.

Have a great day!
Sapphire