At 60, I can say confidently that I’m livin’ the dream and lovin’ it, but it wasn’t always so good. If it weren’t for the challenges and the tough times I doubt whether I would have arrived at this point… So thank you to all the systemic ignorance, economic disasters, and genetic misfortunes for pushing me to the brink of my better potential. It is only on the edge of the precipice that we dig down deep into our richest reserves to make it through – that is, not only to survive, but to thrive and revel in the experience of this life.
It is now more than ten years since the world of magnesium opened up for me with a natural solution to many health issues, including my own. Back in 2008, I was struggling with an auto-immune disorder called Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism and severe heart arrhythmia.
However, it wasn’t always so dire. After I married Peter in 1996, we started a local area tourist magazine on the Gold Coast, which was quite successful with its local features on dining, health and beauty, and events around town. Peter was the professional photographer and I the editor. Together we sold advertisements. We also employed a couple of sales staff and graphic artists. Our girls, Michaela and Heidi, were born in 1997 and 1998, and all seemed rosy for the first 9-10 years.
However, dark clouds started amassing from 2006 to 2007, reaching a dangerous pressure point by 2008 as the Global Financial Crisis bit into the Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia) economy and cash flow dried up. One after the other, my regular advertisers couldn’t pay their accounts on time and some even went bankrupt – too many actually! Here I was, 50 years of age with peri-menopause symptoms and under immeasurable financial stress.
My husband and I worked very hard to keep the business wheels spinning to support our young family as our girls were still in elementary school. We had a mortgage and car payments – pretty much ‘the usual’. To get to print on time with each issue, I often had to work through the night as our publication was time-dependent.
Staying up for 24 hours without sleep means the body has to produce a lot of extra adrenaline, which can reach a toxic level that has an effect similar to methamphetamine (speed) drugs. These naturally-produced chemicals turned out to be very destructive for my thyroid, adrenal glands, and heart health as the stress chemicals produced excessive Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS free radicals).
These kinds of acids starve us of oxygen and energy. They can dissolve tissue and also trigger the onset of an auto-immune disorder where the immune system attacks the body’s own cells. Sleep deprivation is one of the worst stresses you can place on your body. As it turned out, I nearly lost my life because of it.
I had already been feeling fatigued and sometimes dizzy and short of breath – especially as the heart arrhythmia kicked in. In the beginning, from 2006 to 2007, it was just a tiny butterfly-like fluttering feeling – coming and going intermittently. I ignored it, steadfastly and stoically pushing through the challenge with my head down and tail up.
“The Elektra Magnesium Story: My Heart Restored…”
By Sandy Sanderson ©