I first talked about biofeedback on my blog back in October. It’s been a lifesaver for me the past year. And I’ve had so many conversations with people about it since then, I figured it was worth posting on here again. This is an updated version of my previous post.
After reading, you’ll see what a huge cheerleader I am for this technology. If you have ANY sort of health concerns or conditions, I would absolutely encourage you to check into it. It’s meant a lot to me, and now several of my friends are seeing the benefit as well.
I wanted to let you all in on a secret that should be shared with the world: biofeedback. I’ve done this at least half a dozen times now. The first time I did it was about two years ago to fix my gluten sensitivity (it worked, by the way). I started gain last fall because of all my health issues the past few months. (mono, kidney infection and gallbladder removal. It was a rough 2012.)
Anyway, I would love for those of you who have any kind of health issues (or simply are interested) to consider going. I plan to start going every year like a physical. After reading, you’ll probably think it sounds like magic, or too good to be true, but of course, I’ve seen it work on myself—more than once.
If you don’t live here, you can find biofeedback all over the country but they may each work a little differently. I go to Atlanta Medical Institute in Buckhead.
Here are some of the things I’ve already asked about with a few of my friends and family in mind:
Gallstones
Kidney stones/issues
Eczema
Food allergies
Indoor/outdoor allergies
Stroke
Autism
Diabetes
Depression and mood disorders
Fertility issues
Detox/cleanse
Liver issues
Heart disease
Hormones
Children’s issues (safe for kids/babies)
The process:
Sit in a recliner. While sitting in the recliner, she puts sensors on your wrists, forehead and ankles. These measure the electrical flow of energy in your body and look for problems. While monitoring on a computer screen, she looks for emotional, environmental, internal and physical issues. So, it’s kind of like seeing a bunch of different doctors all at one time, and in a much friendlier environment. Depending on how long of a session you book, this could be anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour. If you opt for a long session, the second hour she uses the biofeedback to help correct the energy blockages in your body. The first part is just for diagnosing. You can barely feel it. Then, if you tacked on the ionic foot bath, which I’ve done three times, you put your feet in a container of water with a little machine that sends ionic particles through the bath. This process pulls toxins out of your body through your feet. The water turns different colors depending on what its pulling out. It’s crazy. (I’ve even seen parasites in my water—yuck!)She always sees more than I ever tell her. She can see what emotions your struggling with as well as foods, environmental stressors and physical issues. I had told her about the mono, kidney infection and gallbladder. She also frequently asks about things I don’t bring up such as tooth pain or lower back pain or sleeping issues, etc. She could see how shot my immune system was, vitamin/mineral deficiencies and major lack of energy. And unlike my regular doc, she could explain why I had headaches when the weather changed for the past year or so. (Turns out it was when my gallbladder became swollen and sensitive to humidity, and that was the result. Since I’ve had the surgery, I haven’t had the weather headaches!)
The cost:
The long process I’ve done twice (outlined above) is $250. If you have to do follow-up sessions they are usually the one-hour sessions at $75, I believe. And then, depending on what she finds, you’ll have nutritional supplements as well. I took home six things supplements last time and it cost around $120. I’ve have to do multiple follow-ups to get my immune system back online since it was completely shot, and there are more supplements to complement the biofeedback each time. Usually the rounds of supplements are about 30-60 days, from my experience.
A lot of people ask about insurance, of course. Currently, I have an FSA card through Blue Cross Blue Shield. My primary care doctor can’t do anything medically for the immune system issues and mono, so she’s been very supportive. So, I pay for my biofeedback and supplements with my FSA card and then email my doctor what I had done/purchased. She then writes me a perscription which justifies the charge to BCBS. I fax that in, and that session is taken care of. I have to do that each time. It’s a hassle, yes, but the folks at Atlanta Medical Institute are super helpful in getting me receipts, and it’s important to me to have it paid for with my FSA card and not out-of-pocket each time. Why not? It’s money I’ve already set aside.
I know it sounds expensive, and maybe time consuming, and it is, for those of us without a lot of extra funds or who can’t get insurance to cover it. However, my only regret is not going back to her earlier so I could’ve possibly avoided some of these issues, or shortened the length of them. Several hundred could’ve saved several thousand, when I include the gallbladder surgery. And also I’d rather be on supplements for a while then all kinds of Rx meds, short or long-term.
I really do think this would benefit so many people. I can’t understand why more people don’t know about it! She had an answer for everything I threw at her. I know the process sounds a little crazy, though. I’d be skeptical if it hadn’t worked for me. For those of you who are not into the homeopathic thing, I’d encourage you give this a try if what you are doing now isn’t working or is only managing your issue and not curing.
The lady who does my biofeedback here locally has some really remarkable/amazing/unbelievable stories of how biofeedback can help others, both personally and first-hand as well as stories she’s heard. I named all kinds of afflictions and she had a biofeedback answer or story for them all.Quick story:
She did biofeedback on her brother, even though he was resistant. His heart area showed a lot of issues during her session, and she told him he need to go to a specialist right away. He told her he was feeling fine and put it off. She bugged him and he finally went to his general doc, who said he was fine. She kept telling him to see a specialist. So, he finally did, and was admitted to the hospital right away with a 95% heart blockage! He was a heart attack waiting to happen! She has all kinds of cool stories like that.
Final update:
I’d mentioned that she fixed my gluten intolerance, but since I started seeing her last year I have also gone off my allergy and acne medications! Let me repeat in case you missed—I went off ALLERGY meds LIVING IN GEORGIA! It’s amazing!
Other issues have, of course, come up during my treatment so health is always a process. Sadly, I’m not yet through with my mono, and it’s been almost 17 months at this point. But I’ve improved a ton. I was an absolute zombie there for a while. Unfortunately, after everything my body went through last year, I’m basically having to rebuild my immune system. It’s not uncommon to take this long. I’ll be way better on the other side, though, and in a much better place to move forward. With biofeedback, I’m not putting band-aids on symptoms like most other traditional medicine treatments. I’m working on repairing my body so it does what it was created for. It’s really quite remarkable.
Oh, and she also told me recently that several major Atlanta healthcare systems are now exploring the technology! That gives me great hope that this might be incorporated into regular medicine. That is super exciting to see the worlds of natural and traditional medicine intersect.
Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll answer anything I can, but I am a huge believer as you can tell.
I’ve joined the monthly subscription box revolution! I’ve been circling the idea for a while since my co-worker turned me on to them a while back. But I wanted a different focus for my box than she was receiving, so I began to do some research.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it’s pretty much in the name. With a monthly box subscription, you receive a box each month full of goodies. The really fun part is that the items are almost always a surprise. You just sign up for a type of box, and the company fills in the gaps.
I had NO IDEA how many different services exist! You can find all kinds of boxes like snacks, coffee, tea, allergy-friendly foods, pets, children, baby, beauty, men’s products, household, vegan, music, gluten-free, indie products, women run business, fair trade, shoes, healthy, fitness, travel, ethnic foods, fashion, etc. Crazy. So, even though it took me hours to make my picks, I had a lot of fun browsing!
Here’s what I came down to…
My preferred criteria:
Eco-friendly and people-friendly
Variety of products, not just food
Charity model of some sort, doing good
Wanted to try one box before subscribing or easy cancellation
The Vegan Box (I decided the cost was more than I wanted to pay monthly.)
Trade As One (More than I want to pay, but how can I not want to support this company!)
(I have recently started eating more vegan, hence the narrowed focus of the finalists. It’s not something I know a lot about yet.)
Since I’m still awaiting my sample boxes, I haven’t yet made a final decision. But I’ll let you know! These sample boxes were a birthday month gift from me to me, which by the way, I loved.
My friend, Kristen, inspired this post. We were discussing the Dahlonega Wine Trail event that I attended this past weekend. She asked how I found out about it, and I told her I was on A LOT of local event lists. Then she suggested I put together my own list based on the emails I get and send them to her. Basically, she wants me to whittle them down to the really good stuff. 😉
While that may sound like a lot of extra work, and let’s be honest it is, I also think it might be kind of fun. Atlanta is a GREAT city with a lot to offer. Why not take advantage of that? People should really explore the city they live in, so maybe by compiling this list I can help get my friends and co-workers out of their house and into some ATL adventures. I get asked about restaurants a lot because I used to work in the hospitality industry, but not as frequently about events. However, I do a lot of really fun stuff in the area, so I’m happy to share what I know.
Fingers crossed, I’ll do this monthly. For now, let’s start with the end of August and September, the month of my blessed birth. And because new emails hit my Inbox everyday, I’ll likely add to each list throughout the month. So be sure to check back if you don’t see anything the first time!
Just keep in mind, these are based on my tastes and preferences, so you won’t see too much in the way of sporting events or concerts. But if those are your favorite things to do, find a list and jump on it!
This week I attended Plywood Presents for the third year. It’s a really fun and unique Atlanta conference, in a city where conferences seem to happen around the clock. Plywood centers around social innovation, with the motto, “We will be known by the problems we solve.” Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Plywood Swag
While the speakers are great, seeing friends from other local orgs is fun, and some days you just need a break from the norm, my favorite thing is always simply learning about people and companies doing really great things. To me, it’s most inspiring just to share air with people who are changing the world. It’s as if there’s a new horizon, and we’re all standing at the edge of it together.
I can always count on this community to challenge me to be better. And in an every day way, it helps me see new places to put my money where my mouth is—companies and people I can support with my voice and dollars that share my values.
Here are the amazing places and people I learned about this week:
Do yourself a favor, and check out these companies. They are doing some great work, and they need our support. And don’t forget to join us next year at Plywood Presents!
There are so many awesome things to do in this area while the leaves are changing. Take advantage of the cool weather and beautiful colors!
Mental Post-Its 