On love, life and toxins

My older sister has a couple of blood clots in her brain. Well, not really "in" the brain, but in a couple of veins that run along the superficial areas of the brain--or so I've been told. One vein, behind her left ear, is completely blocked. Another vein, running the length of her head from front to back, is 80% blocked. She's in pain, and therefore on pain medications. And she has blood clots in her brain and therefore is in the hospital on a cocktail of blood thinners. One week down, and there's no change in the clots. Stubborn, just like her. There is no clear indication when something might change--for better or worse--and so she waits. The family waits. Friends wait.

Any kind of life-threatening condition is likely to transform a person. My sister is no different. Forced to be still and take help from others, she has discovered the love people have for her and maybe found a little bit more love for herself. Family and friends come together to pray. Those who can, visit; those who can't send flowers and cards. Everyone shares stories about their own experiences. We all feel vulnerable and wonder: "if it can happen to her, it could happen to me..." We think: "What would I do if..." We make a note to hug our kids more, to thank our parents, to say I Love You, and to be grateful for the things we take for granted. And we ask, "How?"

I'll tell you how. Hormones. Especially the fake ones we consume--knowingly or unknowingly--that manipulate our bodies. 10 years ago, my mother spent several weeks in the hospital because of painful and dangerous blood clots in her legs that were finally attributed to the Hormone Replacement Therapy she had been taking for menopause. This is no surprise now, as the therapy has been deemed too dangerous for most women for that very reason. My sister hadn't been on HRT, but she had been on birth control for many, many years--most recently the patch. This is the same product used by millions of women every day to control periods and prevent pregnancy. The same product that when you listen to the advertisements rather than watch the happy pictures on the screen; or when you read the product insert that lists contraindications and side effects, warns that blood clots are a risk factor for taking hormones--especially for women over 35.

When I talked to my sister last night--the first time since her admission to the hospital--she expressed concern for her daughter, our younger sister and other family members who might be using birth control and could be similarly affected because of genetic predisposition. The benefits no longer outweigh the harm. Her diagnonsis of Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis and the attributed cause--birth control pills--is not a guess or supposition. All the doctors working on her case agree: her life-threatening blood clots are caused by hormones.

Now my sister talks about her need to avoid food and products that mimic estrogen and could exacerbate her condition. Even natural foods like soy, coffee, and sunflower seeds can increase estrogen. But there are less "natural" and even more pervasive things to worry about: Bisphenol-A (BPA) which has been in the news a lot lately, parabens used in personal care products, pesticides and herbicides, PCBs and PBDEs (flame retardants used in furniture) are all KNOWN estrogen mimickers or hormone disruptors. It makes you think even more about the milk you drink (laced with rGBH) and the meat you eat (laden with growth hormones and antibiotics). We get this shit everywhere--in everything we eat, drink, and touch. And we wonder why so many people are sick and crazy.

The more you dig into the problem of persistent hormones in our environment and bodies, the easier it is to see the connection to girls reaching puberty at 10, women being unable to conceive, obesity, and increased rates of and severity of depression and anger. They're all linked to and controlled by hormones.


My sister sits in a hospital bed waiting for blood clots to slowly break down. There's not much else she can do. In the meantime, she's spreading the word about the very real risks of birth control and learning ways to limit her exposure to the hormones that are causing so many problems. I figured I'd do the same. Rather than send a vase of flowers, I'm going to plant some seeds. Help me out, won't you?

Check out this website for some good basic information on estrogen in everyday products.
http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/chemfoodhert.html