Stop buying food made in China

I received another email today about products made in China, once again advising us all to look at labels and buy Canadian, or at the very least North American products.  I admit I don't often look at where something is made in the grocery store, I read the nutrition labels isn't that enough?

I promise myself I will start looking a little bit more, here are a few quotes from that email (I did not write this, and don't know the author so I have no proof that it is all true)

• Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy. If it says 'Made in China ' or 'PRC' (Product of Republic of China) - and that now includes Hong Kong, simply choose another product; or none at all
• ALL "HIGH LINER" AND MOST OTHER FROZEN FISH PRODUCTS COME FROM CHINA
  OR INDONESIA . THE PACKAGE MAY SAY "PACIFIC SALMON" ON THE FRONT, BUT
  LOOK FOR THE SMALL PRINT. MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS COME FROM FISH FARMS
  IN THE ORIENT AND THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS ON WHAT IS FED TO THESE FISH.
• Buy only local honey, much honey is shipped in huge containers from
  China and re-packed here. 
• Cold-FX is grown and packed in China and isFull of fecal bacteria. 
• Watch out for packages which state "prepared for", "packed
  By" or "imported by". 

In Our house we do not buy a lot of canned food, and never need to buy frozen fish, but I swear by cold Fx....(yes apparently I may be the only one who thinks it works, but when I feel the first signs of a cold, I take some cold fx and I don't get a cold.)

I did a google search for info on Cold FX, there are alot of experts who say there is no proof that this stuff works, and this article below, that confirms the powder inside the capsules comes from china, and is sent to canada for packaging.  Yes, there has been some contamination in that factory.......Yuck!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/01/13/health-cold-fx.html

I guess I will stop wasting my money on cold FX.  :(

Now I am also wondering where that smelly bed I just bought was made?

Buying a new bed

A couple weeks ago we decided we needed a new bed, the mattress was about 6 years old, maybe more?  Surely a mattress should last longer than that, they all have at least 10 year warranties don't they?  Ours was kind of sagging everywhere except the middle, and my spouse has been complaining of a sore back for a while now, so let's go shopping for a mattress.............

I know from previous experience, it is hard to choose a mattress you like, and even harder when 2 of you have to like it.  The short time you spend lying on a mattress in the store does not always indicate how it is going to feel when you get that bed in your home.  But the stores all seem to have a long test period so you can exchange the bed if it doesn't work for you.

• Sleep country, gives you 2 months to try your mattress
• The Brick, gives you 6 months to try your mattress

We started shopping at the Brick (not cause of that above mentioned 6 months, we learned that later) They had a big sale on Sealy Beds, all 50% off.  So we met a nice informative salesperson, he had us trying out all kinds of beds, told us to pick 2 we liked best and lie on each for 10 minutes.  

There are so many types of mattresses, and different foam, gel foam, coils, individually wrapped coils, .......can't we just have a simple mattress?  The short answer was no, all this new stuff has been proven to provide better back support.  (proven by who I wonder....)

We did end up spending a lot of time in the store, we tried,

• Temperpedic beds, which were quite weird, very hard at first until you sink into your body shape, and then really hard to roll out of that hole.  Apparently people who have these beds, love them (after they get used to them) and they last 20 years.  $3000.00 (Now I am thinking about when I was helping my parents move, My sister and I dropped my parents mattress on the floor, and this cloud of dust rose up, eww.....later I asked my Mom how old that bed was....."probably 30 years" she said....eewww, the bed did go to the dump by the way)  So do I want a bed to get 20 years old....Not really
• 3 types of Sealy crown jewel mattress, in varying thicknesses, the biggest had to be 18- 20" thick (so you would need custom made bedding.....no thanks)
• A really comfy Trump bed, but it was $3000.00 and apparently never goes on sale....too pricey

We finally settled on a Sealy Crown Jewel Wellington Square, $1649.00 + tax, and we negotiated free delivery.  It was firm and plush, but not the firmest or the plushest (that one was the really thick one, too soft for me and I needed a ladder to get on it.......really stupid if you ask me) The one we picked was 4" thicker than our old mattress, and that is more than I wanted.

So we had our bed delivered a week ago, 

• it is not at all plush or the least bit soft anywhere,
• it has a weird smell, like stinky foam?  I don't like the smell but maybe it's a new mattress thing, and it will go away in a few days.......nope still stinks!  
• in 7 days it feels a tiny bit softer, but not at all like the one we tried in the show room.  
• my back aches every morning, and I do not look forward to going to bed at night.  
• our bed is now so high, we will have to raise up our head board, and the duvet cover is too small, 
• the sheets just fit, so there.... I found one positive!

So back to The Brick we go, we lied on the showroom model again, it really was much softer and more comfortable than the one we have at home.  

• We double checked the model with the salesman, yes we have the right one.  
• He advises us that we need to give it more time, it will soften up with time, the one in the show room is 6 weeks old.  
• He will have a Sealy representative contact us about the weird smell, he says that no one else has complained about that.
• He convinced us to give the mattress another week, (even though I don't want to) and promised "they would make everything right"  told us several stories of other customers who were very happy after they gave their mattress more time.

I don't remember having to get used to a new mattress like this ever before, I am again wondering who proved all this new foam, gel foam, wrapped coil stuff is better than what we used to have.

Where does the time go?

Wow, I am not doing a very good job of keeping up with this blog am I?  Where does the time go, it is May 22nd already!

I was thinking today it would be interesting to know how many times in a week or a month do I ask myself, or someone else, "where does the time go?, what happened to the month of March?"
Am I asking this more because I am getting older? or did time pass this fast when I was a teenager too?  (wish I had a better memory, think that is disappearing with the time)

I am going to do a little research,
let me know how many times you notice yourself saying "where did the time go"  or is it just me?

Risk and Oil Pipelines

I am sure you have heard of the pipeline proposal's for transporting oil through British Columbia, either in the North from Alberta to Kitmat, or the twining of the pipeline that ends in Burnaby.  There is also an ongoing controversy of tanker ships traveling up and down our coast line.

My immediate response to all of that was to ask why we have to ship our oil anywhere, why can't we just keep it for ourselves? lower gas prices would be nice!   I am also stuck with that "Not in my backyard" attitude.  I don't want to see tankers coming under the Lionsgate bridge, or even risk an oil spill near our beautiful Stanley Park, or anywhere on our beautiful BC coast line for that matter!

So I signed this petition,
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/700/743/331/help-stop-the-expansion-of-tanker-traffic-in-vancouver/


Then I read this article,
No oil, please. We're far too pretty for that

• Did you know that the Port of Vancouver is our largest employer?
• How do you think we get out oil now?  (It is ferried or shipped or Barged)
• Could you live without oil? (are you willing to give up your car?)
• Building our own refinery is prohibitively expensive (and think of the protests), and not necessary because the existing refineries in North America are running below capacity.
• Oil has transited through Vancouver by pipeline and tanker since the 1950's (no oil spills in 72 years, pretty good record)

After reading that article, and a few others about the benefits of risk in our lives, I would like to take my name of that above mentioned petition.  

I am able to lead a very nice life, living off my investments, many of which are in shares of Energy producing companies.  I have chosen my risk, (I prefer the lowest one possible) in my investments and in my life.  I am not one to even think of bunging jumping, or hang gliding, never even tried zip lining, cause I don't like that kind of risk. (or maybe it's heights or falling?)  

What I am trying to say is that everything you do in a day has risks, getting in your car, walking across the street, writing a blog.....if you were to live life risk free what kind of life would it be.  I also understand how insurance works, if a risk is too high, it cannot be insured.  If the risk is low the cost of the insurance is low, and vice versa.

Yes oil spills are catastrophic, but I agree with Gregor Robertson, make sure all the risks are insured, so we don't have to shy away from growth, unless you are willing to give up your car and go back to horse and buggy times!

Timeline (mostly for my benefit)

So Let's recap:

•  April 9th I started feeling sick in Mexico
• April 10th we got Home
• April 14th My spouse and I went to separate Medical clinics to get some tests done
• April 19th my tests were all normal
• April 20th  spouse's test show positive for Blastocystis Homins
• April 21st, I go back to his clinic to be retested, given medication to take right away
• April 23rd my family doctor says stop taking that medication, too dangerous, wait for test results
• I did feel better for about 4 days even after stopping that medication, the runs and cramps were back by April 27th
• April 26, 27,30th & May 1st, I made calls to the clinic for the test results, they had not been received?  Seemed strange......made an appointment to see my family Dr. For May 2nd.  Also tried returning a missed call on my phone, April 27th,  from a "Hilltop medical"  I had not been to a place with that name, and there was no message, but I was curious.  Turned out to be the office of the doctor I saw on April 21st at Peninsula Medical clinic, and low and behold, he has my test results.......but they can't give them to me.....they did agree to send them to my doctor....who I would be seeing tomorrow, so that will work.
• A few hours later, I received another call from Hilltop medical advising that they had a prescription for me to pick up.  The girl I had talked to earlier had shown my results to a Dr. who advised that I if I was still having symptoms, to get this prescription filled for ciprofloxacin (antibiotic to kill bacteria, used for treatment of many things including travellers diarrhea)
• I was very happy to get such good service for one thing (thinking that would not have happened at my Dr.'s office) and although it was not the same medication my spouse had, it was acknowledgement of something, I guess it is always possible we picked up a different bug?
• I cancelled my Dr.'s appt for May 2nd.
• To my surprise, the next morning my Dr.'s office called to say they had a prescription for me to pick up, they had just received my positive test results, I needed some ciprofloxacin......(Well I am sorry for thinking badly of them earlier)
• Oh yeah on April 30th I got a letter in the mail from my family Dr's office advising my appointment with the GI specialist had been booked for March 13, 2013.     (How handy, only a year to wait)  I am really hoping to be either cured by this prescription I am on now, or to have solved all my digestive problems, long before Mar 13, 2013!
• We really need more Specialist Doctors in B.C.!
• I am a fairly healthy person normally, but so far I have had to wait 8 months for an MRI, 8 months to see a dermatologist, and now a year for a G.I.  I hope people who are really sick, with heart disease or cancer get better treatment!

Arrive Alive!

I am writing this down to remind myself to never book another appointment near 8:30 AM on a school day when you have to drive by a few schools!

I drove near a high school this morning @ 8:25AM, not in a school zone but a few blocks away.....I was so shocked,
What has happened to you parents that drive your kids to school?

•  I was honked at for not turning left when the person behind thought I should have.....of course I would have turned if it was safe to do so....so I waved at them, (maybe it was someone I knew?)  and I turned when it was safe to, they honked again (didn't recognize them)
• That car behind me made a speedy turn, right behind me and then turned off to cut through a park's parking lot heading toward a school.
• At the next intersection, 1/2 a block from the school, I was again waiting to turn left (at a light this time), when my light turned green, 3 cars went thru the red light turning left from the other direction....not one on a yellow, but 3 on a red???  They all have kids in their cars, and are obviously late for school, maybe you should leave your home earlier and arrive on time and alive!

I was on the way to an appointment and realized there were 2 other schools on my usual route, so I changed my route, and I was late, but alive.

I know I drove my kids to school for years, but I have either forgotten the chaos or it has gotten much worse!  I do remember hearing that most speeding tickets given out in school zones were to the parents of kids at that school.  What a great example to set!

While we are on the topic of bad driving, it really makes me crazy when you are backing out of a parking spot, you have looked in all directions, your car is more than half way out of the spot and someone either walks right behind your car, or drives around you.  Yes the majority of the responsibility is on the driver who is reversing, but pedestrians have to an onus to look at what is happening around them , and drivers who are passing any vehicle, can only pass when safe to do so!  It's a parking lot people, slow down and watch what is happening around you!

I have more pet peeves about lousy drivers, but that is enough to make me feel better today!

Blastocystis Hominis

I know I already told you about my vacation to Mexico a couple weeks ago, and I think I mentioned that my spouse and I both were not feeling well at the end of that trip.   Well it turns out to be more than my regular digestive problems, I knew it had to be because I had a lot more gas, and a serious case of the runs the 6th day of our vacation.  After being home for 5 days we both went to local clinics to be checked for Montezuma's because we just were not feeling any better.

My spouse went to one clinic on his way to work, and I went to another one later in the day.  Neither one of us thought it really mattered which clinic you go to, just try to find one with a short line (I didn't it took 2 hours to see a doctor).  

We both came home with lab requisitions, for what looked like the same tests, but we had different sample vials to put them in, strange but we followed the directions and dropped off the samples together at the same lab the next day.  (you notice I am not giving you the details of the samples or the tests cause you really don't want to know!)

I called the clinic I went to 5 days later, and was told my tests were all normal, but I was still not feeling any better.  So I made an appointment to see my family doctor, the earliest one was Monday, 4 days away.  I also called a dietitian, as I wanted to investigate that fructose intolerance or find any solution to my digestive problems!  The dietitian, said to make sure I am taking probiotics and Omega 3's and to see my doctor first to rule out any other bowel diseases.

They next day (Friday), my spouse was called by his clinic to say his tests were positive and to come back to see a doctor.  But he was feeling better by then, and I wasn't?  Turns out he has a parasite:

"Blastocystosis 

(Blastocystis Infection) 

What is Blastocystosis? 

Blastocystosis (BLAST-oh-sis-TOS-is) is an illness caused by a microscopic parasite, 

Blastocystis (also known as Blastocystis hominis). Once a person or animal has been 

infected with Blastocystis, the parasite lives in the intestine and is passed in feces. Because 

the parasite is protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the 

environment for long periods in some cases. 

During the past 2 decades, Blastocystis infection has become recognized as a common 

cause of waterborne disease in humans in the United States. Blastocystis can be found 

worldwide and within every region of the United States. 

Blastocystis 'hominis' infection can cause a variety of intestinal signs or symptoms, which include

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Gas or flatulence
• Greasy stools that tend to float
• Upset stomach or nausea

Patients also report fatigue, skin rashes, and joint pain.  Some people with Blastocystis 'hominis'infection have severe symptoms, while others have no symptoms at all.  In this class of disease, researchers have found that people with more severe symptoms may be infected with more virulent types of microbes, and also may have a genetic makeup which causes the microbe to produce more severe illness.

How long after infection do symptoms appear?

That is difficult to say.  In animal studies, symptoms of Blastocystosis appear within two weeks after becoming infected.  In humans, some people may have few symptoms when initially infected, but the symptoms may become worse over a period of months or years.

How long will symptoms last?

In some patients, Blastocystosis is an acute illness, meaning that symptoms will last for a short time (several weeks).  In other patients, the disease may become chronic, and symptoms will last indefinitely.  Researchers are working to understand why some infections produce chronic illness, while others clear on their own."

So now I have to wonder why my test showed nothing?  I decided not to wait for my doctor's appointment on Monday, and went to the same clinic as my spouse.  The nice doctor there, gave me the kit to be retested, but in the mean time he told me to start taking the antibiotics right away.  Strangely the prescription he gave me was for "metronidazole", 

and the one my spouse got was for "Sulfatrim/trimethoprim".......why?   

I googled the medications and they are 2 of the 3 antibiotics used to treat this parasite.  As usual there are many websites about this parasite and it's treatment.  The more I read the more I wish I hadn't.  The medication I am taking, doesn't always work, depends on the person, not only that, it tasted awful, worse than awful, it is hard to put it on your tongue without gagging, and then my mouth tastes like metal, nothing I eat or drink will take that taste away, and of course the pill my spouse is taking doesn't do that! (is it just me, or are you starting to feel my frustration!)  Also of note, the pill my spouse is taking is mentioned on one website as 84% effective, much better than the pill I have, but on other sites, all antibiotics have a possibility of not working.

"What can be done for patients when treatments don't work?  Many patients report improvement with elaborate exclusion diets, which usually include avoiding sugar, coffee, tea, soda, frut, wheat, rice, corn, red meat, processed foods, breakfast cereals, and high carbohydrate foods.  Because there is extensive overlap between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patinets, and Blastocystis patients, treatments to reduce the symptoms of IBS may be effective in Blastocystis infection."

Now this is sounding more like me, maybe I have had this parasite for years? (I am hoping it wasn't me that gave it to my spouse, but I really was quite sick in Mexico, and he got it first!)

So back to the doctor I go, I see my family doctor, tell her the story, I am hoping to change medications to the one my spouse has to get rid of this awful metal taste.  She says I shouldn't be taking any antibiotics until I have a positive test!  She also says that the pill my spouse it taking is the wrong one, and then goes into the dangers of taking antibiotics, including the high risk of getting "C diff" (I'll let you look that up.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile)  This is even worse and I should not risk taking a medication I might not need.

So what about my problems then, what else can I do?  Have we ruled out all other bowel diseases?  She reluctantly referred me to a G.I. specialist, but warned me there is only one in our area, so it will be a long wait.  In the mean time we wait for the 2nd lab results.

On the positive side, just being on that antibiotic for 36 hours, made my tummy feel better, stopped the runs and some of the gas, but still all I can taste is metal!

When we first started researching this parasite, we found this website of one person's struggle to get rid it.  http://blastocystis-relief.com/blog/  It is interesting, but he did not use medications, and is selling a book, so I dismissed the site, but maybe I will have to go the natural route with a dietitian.