Sleep Apnea

This summer was an experience for all my family. Let me start off by saying my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and has many other problems such as limited mobility. My mother had been making loud noises and snoring while she slept for many years, but it was only once I started sleeping next to her every night (because she has trouble getting out of bed on her own) that I noticed how bad it really was.

I decided to ask my chiropractor his thoughts on the matter (by the way he is the best chiro on the universe) he put a pulse oximeter on her finger and found her oxygen a bit low. My family and I noticed she began to be more and more confused and wanted to sleep all the time. I decided to have her tested for sleep apnea. I went private because I was able to schedule a test the same week. If she were to have it done through Medicare, in a hospital, the wait was a year, minimum. She had time to die before getting to the bottom of it. She was going down very rapidly. I love my mom and would do anything to keep her alive. Finally her score was so high, she stopped breathing 59 times an hour, grasping for air. My family and I were in shock. We quickly got her a sleep apnea machine and she started to improve. Imagine, your brain not getting enough oxygen and your heart was working so hard, that it was a matter of time before your body was to shutdown.

It was thanks to my Dr. Jean Luc Flipo, my chiropractor, Micheline, my naturopath’s secretary, and Mariola Livernoche, my naturopath that I was able to really help my mom. Mariola saved me when I was at my worst with all my food intolerances and way of life and Dr. Flipo helped me with my migraines from 15 years ago. If I hadn’t seen them, I would have been in terrible shape and on so many prescription drugs by now. (Pills are a life savior only in severe cases) I don't do anything before consulting my team, as I like to call them. They sure know their stuff.

Sleep apnea affects more people than I thought, anyone from a young adult to a body builder. It is my suggestion to keep a pulse oximeter in your house and use it on your family, just to see what your oxygen level is and make sure there are no problems. They are not expensive and can be easily purchased online, either on amazon or eBay.

Cheers to better living

Jacqueline

Fall/Winter Skincare Solutions

Now that summer is almost over you may want to change skincare for the fall/winter.  Two devices that cleanse your skin very well are the Clarasonic that you can use with your own cleanser every night and once a week or once a month you can use the crystal lift machine to do microdermabrasion in your own home.  These make your skin super soft and a perfect canvas to apply your make-up. What's great about this is, you decide what and when you want to do it and there is no going to pricy salons and paying their outrageous prices. We are in an era that we do what we want to look good. The clarasonic, you can buy it on the shopping channel or at Sephora. For the crystal lift machine, you can go to www.crystalift.com

Facial Machines & Creams

My face machine picks

For women out there who want to look amazing without paying the big bucks, I will tell you all about my favourite machines. You can use them from the convenience of your own home at the time you want.

1) Suzanne Somers’ Face Master with conductive solution. 

I cannot live without this machine. I use it every morning before my make-up; it’s like getting a workout at the gym but for your face. Your make-up goes on smoother and your eyes as well as jaw line start lifting. For women who have had a facelift, it just maintains everything. I use Suzanne Somers Organics Aqua Peptide Firming Eye Gel around the eyes in combination with her Organics Lip Wrinkle Cream around the mouth for lines on top of the lips. I then put the Face Master on feathering mode and the cream is absorbed much better into the skin. As we age, gravity sets in, especially over 45 years of age so this machine perfect to maintain the face. I use it everyday for half an hour to see great results but if that's too much for you, you can use it three to four times a week for twenty minutes each time.

You can get this machine at suzannesomers.com

2) The DermaWand

I start by putting my favorite cream then pass the DermaWand over and this targets large pores, fine lines and wrinkles. I use it in the area that bothers me more like the lines on top of the lips after I’ve applied Suzanne Somers Organics Lip Wrinkle Cream. You can use it around the eyes, on the forehead and even on your laugh lines. It’s also used to keep your face from collapsing. When I want a fast fix before an event, I use this machine and follow it up with the Face Master to really see the effect. It all depends on the time you have, but if I were you, I would try my best to make the time. If you do nothing about the way you look, you will age a great deal sooner. The more you use it, the softer your face will be. It has a different smell than most, the reasoning behind this is that its stimulating collagen on your skin with thermal energy. This helps reverse the signs of aging as much as possible!

You can get this machine at www.dermawand.com

3) The Nono Glow

This one should be used on a regular basis to make your creams sink in better as well as give you a better glow. You must use it regularly to see results. It has advanced light and heat energy technology. Slightly different from the DermaWand because it gives a lifting effect where as the Nono Glow gives a great glow and helps speed up the process to get rid of a pimple. Therefore what machine you want depends on what you want to target.

You can get this machine at www.howtonono.com

4) Laser FX

This machine is a little similar to the Nono Glow because they both make the creams sink in. This machine gives slight heat to the skin where as the Nono Glow gives hot and cold sensations to the skin. The laser FX has red light therapy and goes two to three millimeters underneath the skin, below the epidermis. It works the collagen inside out. This one too makes your creams sink in better. It’s a matter of choice. You either get this one or the Nono Glow.

You can get this machine at www.silkn.com

 My picks on what creams to use in conjunction with the machines listed previously

1)   Suzanne Somers

As mentioned earlier, Organics Lip Wrinkle Cream, Organics Aqua Peptide Firming Eye Gel and Organics Anti-Aging Eye Cream.

2)   Caudalie

Premiere Cru The Cream targets all the signs of aging. A little pricy, but you don’t need to purchase anything else. Although their eye cream is amazing, you can even use this one around the eyes, which works just as well. I use this with the DermaWand and the Nono Glow.

If lines above the lips are bothering you, their Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye and Lip Cream smooth’s them out as well.

3)   Bite Beauty

For my lips, I love their Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub and their Agave Lip Mask. I put them on at night before bed and my lips are extremely smooth the next morning. Your lips will look more soft and full. 

Final Thoughts 

Both Caudalie and Bite Beauty can be bought in store at Sephora if you don’t want to pay extra for shipping. 

Steer away from products that claim to give you instant results. You want to use products that are long term. The chemicals they use in instant ones are very bad because they disrupt a woman’s hormones, especially if you are in perimenopause or menopause, which is 35 years and on now a days.

You don’t have to be a movie star to get these treatments. You can do them in the convenience of your own home and at a fraction of the price. I give you the best of what I use so you don’t have to break your head like I did. I try to find the safest ingredients and yet still the most effective products. Women now want to look the best they can and why not? You only live once and who’s to say you can’t start at fifty?

Eating Healthy is Key!

I am presently in Palm Beach, Florida taking care of my mother who has memory problems. My life has changed a great deal and my priorities are much different now. Here I am alone, with hardly any help and I feel very stressed. I know my hormones will have to be adjusted as soon as I get back to Montreal. When your stress level changes, so do your hormone needs; the odd migraine, the nausea, the anxiety. What stress will do to you! Luckily, I have a beautiful, supportive family (husband and daughter and daughter's wonderful boyfriend) to keep me strong.

When I walked into a pharmacy, here in Palm Beach, I noticed the over the counter medicines were countless. The pharmacies are geared to treat the symptoms with pills, liquids and pharmaceuticals, but not to get to the root of the problem. The pain reliever section was restocked continually. The GI stomach section was full of remedies, WOW! All these make your body acidic, craving for more. These problems come from foods we are intolerant to and people don't even know it!

Americans are eating double portions and so much fried foods. I was taking my mother out everyday and I got sick with migraines and stomach issues even watching what I ate at restaurants. I finally fasted for two days with minimal organic fruit and my symptoms went away I appreciate my own foods; ripe red organic tomatoes, green avocadoes, organic green apples, ripe lemons (makes your body alkaline), organic blueberries and organic olive oil. I bring them everywhere I go. I will never eat commercially packed food in a box. My hair and skin are so different when I eat that way. What we put in our bodies will result in our health even later in life. The hospitals would get relief and not be overloaded, if we took care of ourselves. There are choices in life (as my husband always told me) you decide, if you want to eat toxic food or eat a whole array of beautifully colored and healthy organic (if you can).

The one thing I learned, is that if you buy produce that is not organic, wash them in a bowl with one teaspoon or one tablespoon (depending on amount) of baking soda to clean the pesticides off them in a bowl for at least 15 minutes (more is better).

Cheers to a healthier future, for all of us.

Stay Away from Pills, Pills and more Pills!

            In November, I went with my husband to see Suzanne Somers in Ottawa for a seminar with Nutrichem Compounding Pharmacy (if I lived in Ottawa, this is where I would go). Their supplements are of superior quality and they make powders especially geared for your needs .The man to go see would be Kent MacLeod.  I called him a scientist because that is the way he thinks and he is amazing.  He will probably give you a body chemistry balance test and if symptoms are more severe, hormonal therapy.  His secretary Laura is fantastic and she will set you up with your needs.  Their phone number is (613) 721-3669.

            Back to the seminar, it is valuable information that Suzanne writes in all her books.  She looked amazing as usual and she felt great!  I think hormones are the issue for so many women in menopause and perimenopause.  They create terrible symptoms, which lead women to blow up at their husbands and children.  Like Suzanne says, "itchy, bitchy, sweaty, sleepy, bloated, forgetful and all dried up.” There they are the seven dwarfs of menopause.  Bioidentical hormones take it all away with the right dose.  Not synthetic ones.  

            So many marriages fail.  I had every symptom and my husband stood right beside me and said, by 50, you will have it all figured out.  He is my strength.  I love him a great deal.  If I only knew my migraines before, during and after my period, were all related to an estrogen problem.  I was so stressed with migraines all the time.  I lived years of torture with this, getting all drugged up.  The pain I had before my period, lead me to think, I had endometriosis.  Throwing up and in bed for 2 days. My doctor did not believe me until I went into full-blown menopause and after tests, told me it was endometriosis. Too much estrogen is carcinogenic and no progesterone.  What a nightmare!  I was so lucky, I did not have cancer.  I took pills to kill the pain of migraines, kill the pain of period cramps and even pills not to bloat before my period.  What a disaster!  Pills! Pills! Pills! I was doing it to myself what a vicious circle.  As I said in my first blog, narrow down the reason why you get migraines.  Mine were mostly hormonal.  Now I only get them once in a while, when I am really stressed.  Before, I would have 20 or 25 migraines a month.  You can imagine how crazy my hormones were and all I did was mask it.  I didn't make the connection.  Now, I watch every symptom and just have to adjust my bioidentical hormones.

            The biggest gift, I can give myself is to feel great and treat my body with tender loving care.  We are not machines and even machines break down too.  Our bodies are precious and if we take good care, the reward is there.  It is fun to bring in the New Year with good health and a positive outlook on life, as I never did before.  Stress will make you age and calm will keep you young.

Most of my healing was done by my naturopath, Mariola Livernoche. She believed in me, when I didn’t.  I have been to many naturopaths, but she is the best of the best.  She has a solution to every health issue.  If you are strict and go by what she says, you will see results.  She loves her work and her passion is amazing.  Her secretary, Micheline, makes sure you get all the info you need and works with Mariola to get you on the right track.  This is the kind of team you want to help you in all your health issues.  Her phone number is (514) 381 - 6756 and she works Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday from 1pm to 5pm. She has all the necessary tests available to get to the root of your problem.  Believe me, it is worth the expense, to have a life free of suffering and full of pleasure and hope!

What a beautiful way, to bring in the New Year

Jacqueline

On Suzanne Somer's Blog

Check it out, Suzanne Somers has me on her Blog: blog.suzannesomers.com/?p=176