All posts by Carrie Tucker

Is Sleep Apnea Robbing You of Restful Sleep and Destroying Your Health?

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Your family will probably notice your sleep issue before you do.

If your family is worried, you should be.

If you live alone, you may not be aware that you stop breathing while you sleep.

Do you feel tired all the time?

Do you fall asleep easily during the day?

 

Sleep apnea victims often fall asleep while standing up or driving.

To avoid serious injury or death, time is of the essence.Is sleep apnea robbing you of restful sleep and destroying your health?

Beyond these obvious signs of sleep apnea, the condition may go unnoticed and untreated.

Over the 10 years that I spent advocating for patients that I suspected had sleep apnea, the length of time that it took for those patients to schedule a sleep study, and to get those results read by a doctor shocked and alarmed me.

Often patients have to schedule a second sleep study after the first one shows they have DANGEROUS sleep apnea just to evaluate which equipment would treat the condition best!  MONTHS go by before ANY treatment is provided on a routine basis.

WHY are patients waiting for many months to a year for treatment of dangerous sleep apnea!

The only thing that makes this care cost effective is if the patient dies in their sleep before they accumulate too very many medical bills!

What is the motivation to ignore a potentially fatal illness?

Ignorance keeps many of these people from having any type of evaluation for MANY years before their doctor finally starts asking questions.  More often than not, the doctor asking the questions is an emergency or critical care doctor wondering why you fell asleep in the middle of your day.

Caregivers in rural areas are more likely to miss sleep apnea just because they don’t see it very often.

BUT, many times patients are SENT HOME without sleep apnea equipment EVEN WHEN sleep apnea has been documented DURING their hospitalization!

WHY?!

 

What’s WRONG with this picture?

Come on now!  Why is this issue not causing more alarm?

You can’t put all the blame on overwhelmed physicians.  I think we should hold the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology accountable as well.

A joint statement from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology  called for large-scale studies to determine the mechanism for the link between sleep apnea, and the increased risk for dying from cardiovascular disease.

Come on now.  They acknowledge that “de-saturation of blood oxygen levels is a stressor”.

Talk about an understatement!

Dangerously low blood oxygen levels are extremely harmful and potentially fatal!

Every time you stop breathing your oxygen level falls and your carbon dioxide level climbs causing a very harmful shift in your acid/base balance.

Sleep apnea effectively fries your body with acidity.  (Check out the ruler, your pH drops when you stop breathing!)

Why would they advise further research instead of treating the extremely dangerous condition that has already been identified?

 

DO SOMETHING to get the help you need TODAY.

Why is the American Heart Association choosing to fund further research instead of spending those dollars on solutions for the individual?

After all, the lead researcher, Terry Young, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said,

“In epidemiology you rarely get such strong, robust findings. This strong association between sleep apnea and increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular risk was striking.”

Enough endless spending on research.  Finances and Science are only valuable resources when put to good use.

The Obesity Epidemic Will Make Sleep Apnea

MORE Prevalent in the Near Future. 

Weight gain is also a side effect of sleep apnea. 

The time to evaluate and act is NOW!

Your life is in danger every time you sleep!

Have this discussion with your doctor!

Lose Weight and Utilize Home Oxygen

LIVE!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter

Is Passion a Solution For Depression?

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Light at the end of the tunnel

Do you live with depression?

Looking for a light at the end of the tunnel?

Losing someone special or major life transitions can cause you to experience depression.

Do you ever feel depressed but you don’t know why? 

I’ve heard many of my clients say “I’m just depressed.”

Is “Clinical Depression” when you stop looking for the reason why you feel down, or when you stop hoping to feel better?

Is it the feeling that you are falling in a bottomless hole?

No matter what the cause, there are simple solutions for depression.

FIRST, it helps to recognize depression.

Physical AND emotional pain are sometimes the first indicators of depression.

I left depression behind years ago!  I did it by recognizing it early and taking action to counter act what I knew what coming!

I tried drugging my depression just to relieve the pain!

Side effects were the reason I decided to leave psychotropics alone for medicating pain.

My doctors explanation for why psychiatric drugs worked to medicate my pain made no sense to me, so he couldn’t talk me into putting up with the side effects!

I’m very glad!

I found solutions to my pain but they didn’t come in a pill bottle!

 

Do you feel comfortable drugging your pain OR your depression?

It’s certainly a personal decision to drug your symptoms, but you should know what you are risking.

The drug inserts you get, are not nearly so alarming as the drug information that is available to your physician.

The side effects of anti depressant drugs are worrisome to say the least.

For the aging patient with compromised health, they could be deadly.

Pain medication increase your risk of heart failure and interfere with your healing process.

They have their place, but they are potentially very harmful!

 

It is best to give your attention to natural therapies, and consistent basic self care before risking these drugs. 

Three side effects you should be very aware of while drugging depression or pain with psychotropic medication:

  • INCREASE in moody-dark behavior.
  • Dizzy spells shortly after medicating.(Devastating falls can be life altering.)
  • Patients complained of thick, hard to expel mucous only days after starting these drugs.

 

Sometimes the trouble these drugs are causing are chalked up as part of some other disease process.

Let me tell you about a chronic lunger I used to care for.

I took care of a patient for many years who was drowning in depression.

Her business partner had left her with a debt what was eating up her entire retirement income.

“It is my responsibility”, she said.

Ka iwi was living on noodles, hotdogs, and coffee.  She couldn’t breathe, and she couldn’t afford her electric bill if she used her home oxygen machine.

She was extremely hard to deal with, and was so combative that she probably only heard half of what I said my first visit to her home.

I bluntly told her that she wouldn’t last long living like that, and she better do something to change it.

She confided in me and told me the whole story.  I encouraged her to swallow her pride and humble herself to bankruptcy if that is what it took.

“After all, you won’t live long enough to pay that debt at this rate, anyway”, I said.

“What do you want to do with the time you have left?”

“Do you have any other passions that might be worth living for?”

“Do you WANT to live?”

(If you think Ka iwi is better off dead than walking away from debt that was killing her, then we will have to agree to disagree!)

Ka iwi never told me how she resolved her financial issues, but I watched her regain her spark almost overnight. 

She bought several ukuleles and now teaches the ancient Hawaiian culture to kids in her community.

She is passionate about life again.

The kids are blessed to have her in their lives, passing along what her elders taught to her.

The drugs made it MUCH harder to breathe and she didn’t need to drug her depression if she shared her passion for ukulele!

Hoping to pick up a few natural anti depressant tips to fuel your passion?

  Good old fashioned SUNSHINE will lift your spirits!
  Smiling is serious medicine for the blues.
  Laughter is the very best medicine for more than just depression!
  Explore old interests.
  Discover new interests.

Passion can shine a light so bright that all signs of depression fade into the shadows!

Passion most definitely has been the solution to depression for many talented people.

Find your talents and share them with the world.  You may find that there is still passion sleeping within you.

Your passion could be the light at the end of your tunnel of depression.

As the “Life Breath Coach” I teach  BLESS the Action Plan:

B- BREATH

Discover how your breathing makes you sick and what you can do about it.

L- LOVE

Learn how to navigate life from your heart space.  Love really is the answer.

E- EAT

Become aware of the poison in the US food supply and find our why it is so hard to nourish your health with food.

Food really is your medicine IF it has not been polluted and altered with genetic modification.

S- SIT

Sit in quiet stillness everyday.

All of your answers are within you.

S- SPEAK

Sacred Breathing will help you find your passion and give your Voice strength.

Your passion will get you out there sharing your story!

 

Will Yours Be the Next BLESSed Life?

Become a member of the “Life Breath Club” today!

Click on the link below to learn more about member benefits.

Life Breath Club Member Benefits

This is a private membership to protect your medical privacy.

It’s FREE!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter


 

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Caregiver, When Is Death a Valid Choice?

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Caregiver, when is death a valid choice?UPDATE 12/28/2012

Do you ever ask yourself when is it okay to choose death?

That may sound like a ridiculous question.

However, when you are dealing with chronic illness in the elderly population the answer is, whenever the patient chooses it.

As a caregiver that can be difficult to accept.

Difficult it may be, but beyond your care and nurturing, your patient’s health and wellness is beyond your control.

You can offer care and advice, but it is up to your patient to choose life … or not.

Many patients feel that their disease has eliminated the opportunity to choose hope and they are tired of suffering.

Sometimes the pain is so obvious that the family prays for an end to the suffering right along with them.

Though, it can be difficult sometimes to see how much pain someone else is in.  You can’t walk a mile in their shoes.

If suffering isn’t obvious, it may be very difficult for you to accept that a loved one has given up!

You likely won’t give up on them even if they give up on themselves!

The good news is that there are LOTS of simple ways to ease pain and discomfort.

You can do a lot for your loved one!  When their pain level subsides a bit, they may find a little leftover hope to help themselves!

The answer is not drugs!

 

The most respectful thing you can offer a loved one is the right to die with dignity.

Unfortunately, that could take months to years, and the only thing you can do, is offer your care.  Privacy is something to take very seriously. If you can honor their space and keep them comfortable, you are doing all you can.

Educate yourself so that you will know what they need, but leave the decisions up to them as much as possible. If that means drugging their pain, that is their choice.  What you can offer is the idea that there are solutions available.

Let them know “death is a valid choice”!  

It might be enough to shake them up and make them realize that they are making a choice. 

AND that they can choose differently.

 

Supplemental oxygen will help alleviate pain. 

Though, if you have to force it on the patient it likely won’t benefit them as much as the fight will hurt them!

Encourage your loved one to use oxygen to keep them more comfortable, but if they refuse, be gentle with them AND yourself, and allow them that choice.

They will need to help themselves because you just can’t do that for them.

 

Using oxygen through the night will make a HUGE difference! 

This is a great way to convince them that supplemental oxygen is worth the effort and irritation.

If you meet a lot of resistance to your encouragement to use utilize supplemental oxygen at bed time, try starting oxygen when they get up in the middle of the night to urinate.

At 3am their oxygen level is probably at it’s lowest point, due to fluid creeping into their lungs while they are horizontal.

If you can get them to comply with night time use, they should benefit noticeably from the effort very quickly.  Journal their feelings for them because you may need to convince them that it is helping even when it is obvious!

Sometimes feeling better can motivate further change.  Your loved one may choose to do more to help themselves when they notice it is making a difference!

Encourage supplemental oxygen with activity next, though realize that public use of oxygen is usually resisted due to pride and convenience.

Just enhancing sleep and activity with supplemental oxygen is a great place to start!  If you can get them to do that much, bring them to the “Life Breath Club” and let the “Life Breath Coach” talk them into taking another simple action to help themselves.  They will turn the corner one step at a time!

 

As the “Life Breath Coach” I teach an Action Plan I call BLESS.

It works like gang busters to cause healing for the individual that radiates out into their community.

B – Breathe

Learn how your breathing makes you sick and what you can do about it.

L – Love

Learn how to navigate life from your heart space.  Love really IS the answer.

E – Eat

Discover why it is more difficult to nurture your health with food than it use to be.

S – Sit

It is difficult to cultivate Stillness in this day and age, but it is an important key to your healing.

  • Seek Quiet Stillness
  • Invite Natures Healing Power
  • Take Time To Connect

S – Speak

Sacred Breathing will create miraculous healing and give your Voice strength.

Use your Voice to tell your story to give others hope to heal!

Heal Your Heart

Embrace Change

Lift Spirits To Raise Hope

Put People First

Strong communities have the power to heal heart disease.  It’s a scientific fact that nurturing communities WILL prevent heart disease and stop the epidemic of heart failure that the world is facing today.  The studies were done in the 1960s that prove it!  It’s up to each of us to create strong nurturing communities.

Will Yours Be the Next BLESSed Life?  Will Yours Be the Next BLESSed Community?

 

Become a member of the “Life Breath Club” today!

Click on the link below to learn more about member benefits.

Life Breath Club Member Benefits

This is a private membership to protect your medical privacy.

It’s FREE!

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Club

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS-  Most importantly, take care of yourself!

You will be a much better caregiver and have more to offer, if you nurture yourself.

 

PPS– Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter

 

 

 

 

 

Definition Of Happiness: Did You Know That Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness Depend On Your Breath?

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Definition of happiness

What’s your definition of happiness?

Did You Know That Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness Depend On Your Breathing?

In fact science tells us that your breathing will determine the length and quality of your life!

Count your breathes per minute.  Is it under 10/minute?  You might want to have someone else count, since as soon as you put your focus on your breathing you alter it.

Lung volume is a primary marker for how long you will live, but breathing efficiently is much more than taking a deep breath.

Bad breathing habits erode healthy breathing without you even noticing.

Past the mid twenties the average person loses 9–25% of their lung capacity per decade!

When I started teaching rehabilitation, I thought that the cause of this decline in lung function was from “couch potato syndrome”.  You know, from not moving enough.

Inactivity sure has a lot to do with disease, but I saw folks who were always working and pushing themselves too hard!

They weren’t lazy, but they had rapid-shallow-breathing and they just couldn’t seem to catch their breath!

Do you know why these hard working folks suffered the same shallow breathing that couch potatoes do? Continue reading Definition Of Happiness: Did You Know That Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness Depend On Your Breath? →

Exercise With Oxygen Can Help You Kick Ass In the World, Got Oxygen?

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Electron shell diagram of oxygen

Feeling like there is lead in your shoes?

Whether you just want more energy or you are bed ridden wanting to have a life again, exercise with oxygen can benefit you.

Let me tell you about Mr. K, one very charismatic patient I used to care for.

Mr. K used to ‘bout kill himself on his exercise bike.  I’m telling you!  I had to beg the guy to stop.

“Please, don’t harm yourself while I’m here!  At least wait until I leave to fall down dead!”

He was a bit offended by my remarks.  I really didn’t think he would listen to a thing I said.  I was so surprised when the next time I saw him, he was my biggest fan!

“You were right, sistah!” he said.  “Now I just take it easy and watch tv with plenty oxygen, it’s easy, I can go and go!  I don’t feel tired anymore.  I always thought I had to push myself.  Now I see that slow and steady wins the race, as long as I use plenty oxygen.”

Mr. K would have made even more progress, if he wasn’t so damned proud.  He needed oxygen whenever he walked any distance.  I’m sure the Wal Mart parking lot must have been an effort.  I used to see him in there, gasping for air and leaning on his cart.

“Where the hell is your oxygen, Mr. K?”

Of course, the answer, “In the car, I’ll be alright!”

Dog gone it, he would have been with us longer if he would have recognized his needs, used portable oxygen, and got past his pride.

I encourage you, don’t be proud, LIVE and love your life.

You don’t have to be sick like Mr. K to benefit from Exercise With Oxygen Therapy. 

A few minutes of activity everyday can really benefit you, IF you are well oxygenated.

It WILL rock your world and give you the kick start you need without harmful stimulants.

Exercise with oxygen therapy can benefit absolutely anyone!

  •   improve your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to your cells, muscles, tissues, organs and organ systems
  •   helps protect eyes from loss of field of vision and impaired focus and during the early stage of cataracts and glaucoma
  •   helps treat chest pain, correct arrhythmias and supports cardiac rehabilitation
  •   helps reduce edema (fluid accumulation in lower extremities and abdomen)
  •   improves circulation disorders, dizziness of old age, senile diabetes
  •   effective therapy for hypertension
  •   general acceleration of any rehabilitation program, lasting increase in physical performance capacity
  •   defense stimulation (immune system stimulation)

Exercise with oxygen is especially helpful after classical cancer treatments that use radiation and chemotherapy.

Heart Failure Solutions has a trusted source for home oxygen machines, with or without a prescription.

Click on the link below and look into getting your own magic oxygen box.

Got Oxygen?

 

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

“The Life Breath Coach”

Heart Failure Solutions

 

PS–Remember everyday:

  • Relax and Release tension
  • Exhale Slowly
  • Be active in a way that adds Joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter

Will Your Life Improve If You Use Oxygen For a Few Minutes a Day?

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Can you use oxygen for only a few minutes each day and improve your health?

Yes. AND NO!

Oxygen can be a huge benefit to you if you use it while engaged in activity for 15-60 minutes a day.

It’s also hugely beneficial if you use it while sleeping.

HOWEVER, if your oxygen level is below 92% at any time during your day or night …

Every occurrence of low oxygen level is HARMFUL!

That means that if you don’t use oxygen WHEN you need it, then using oxygen for a few minutes a day WILL NOT help you!

If you know that your oxygen level tends to run low, then you should use oxygen all day and night.

The way to improve your oxygen level…

AND the quality of your life …

Is to bathe your cells in oxygen!

Even if you don’t have low oxygen levels, you will reap great rewards from using supplemental oxygen while challenging yourself … IF you respect your limits!

 

Dr. Manfred von Ardenne is a German researcher with a LOT to say about EWOT Continue reading Will Your Life Improve If You Use Oxygen For a Few Minutes a Day? →