What is the Size: Happy movement & message?
Incorporating essentials oils into your day can be a great way to help boost your mood, improve your energy, relax and naturally cleanse your body.
When deciding on which company or brand to chose, you’ll want to make sure that it’s organic, 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oil.
There are so many knockoffs on shelves these days, like at Walmart or your local drug store, that you’ve really got to be careful or you could potentially just add more toxins into your body.
There are a few different ways to use essential oils:
Now with the last two, it’s very important to do extensive research to make sure that a particular essential oil doesn’t require a carrier oil and that the oil is safe to ingest.
If you find a non-toxic candle with any of the scents or oils infused in them, that’s one of my favorite ways as well. Not only are the flickering of candles a relaxing sight, their fragrances can be too.
This article isn’t going to be “A Guide To Safely Using Essential Oils“, so please, before using any essential oil that I recommend check to see:
Here is Dr Axe Essential Oils Beginners Guide where you’ll find a lot of helpful information on how to apply them safely, carrier oils and the history of essential oils.
Energy and Fatigue:
Relaxation:
Depression:
Anxiety:
Mental Clarity:
Insomnia:
Cleansing the Body:
Immune Support/Antioxidant:
Stimulate the Lymphatic System and Circulation:
Skin:
Hair Growth/Thickness:
Inflammation:
Digestion:
Arthritis/Joint Pain:
Hormonal Balance:
Libido:
Treats Herpes and Other Viruses:
I listed a bunch under each symptom because some scents you’re not going to like. This way you have options and can choose one or more that works for you.
I personally use and trust Young Living Essential Oils.
You can order any of these Young Living Essential Oils directly through my Virtual Office
Step 1: click on the purple link above (my Virtual Office)
Step 2: once you’re on the website, checkmark which one you want – “Member” or “Retail Customer” and then hit the purple button on the bottom right that says “Continue”
Step 3: hit “Continue” again on the little pop up that says “Introducing your Sponsor and Enroller Christina Roulund”
Step 4: order away!
Or call Young Living at 1-800-371-3515 and give them my Young Living ID 15281837 so that I can be your Sponsor/Enroller. They’ll handle everything and help you save money! I’m not techy, so this is what I do 🙂
If you’re on Facebook join my Support Group, Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation and Education With Christina
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram at SizeHappy_WithChristina
Here’s to health, massive self-love and vibing high,
Christina Roulund-Dennis
As of today, there has been a lot of media attention regarding textured breast implants and a rare cancer of the immune system called, Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, or ALCL for short
“Many studies have looked to estimate risk and, depending on the source data and country, the global lifetime risk of developing breast implant associated ALCL for patients with textured breast implants ranges anywhere from 1 in 3,817 to 1 in 30,000” the FDA (Fraud and Deception Agency) said.
New data from Australia indicates that as many as one in 1,000 with breast implants may develop ALCL.
Typical symptoms of BIA-ALCL include:
Its said to take about three to 14 years after getting implants to start developing symptoms and signs of BIA-ALCL. This does not mean that you can’t or won’t experience BIA-ALCL until after the 10 year mark. 10 years is a ballpark answer and not a definitive, firm conclusion.
Breast implants are not life time devices. They should be replaced every eight to 12 years.
In the United States, textured breast implants make up about 13% of the market.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and The Plastic Surgery Foundation are each making a list of breast implant patients who develop ALCL. “The research will also focus on identifying potential risk factors and criteria detection and management of disease“, the group says on a website devoted to the matter.
Although doctors have confirmed and linked ALCL to a specific type of implant, manufactures like Allergan and Mentor have no plans to stop making them.
The FDA has been investigating reports linking breast implants with the cancer, and currently has over 400 reports about patients who have developed ALCL after undergoing a breast augmentation with breast implants, *including 12 who died.
If you think it’s as easy as a needle biopsy or getting a mammogram, think again.
Oftentimes the only way to test for and confirm a BIA-ALCL diagnosis is to have surgery, remove the implant and send the surrounding fluid and tissue off to the lab to screen for CD30, a specific marker that indicates lymphoma.
In the news story that aired on November 26th 2018 on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Michelle Forney had a mammogram that showed nothing abnormal. She had the implants removed anyway. Come to find out, the scar capsule around her implant was full of tumors and fluid. Michelle was diagnosed with BIA-ALCL after experiencing painful swelling around her breast and constant fatigue for three years.
Patients with BIA-ALCL generally undergo surgery to remove the lymphoma, the implant(s) and some surrounding tissue.
In the unfortunate event that the lymphoma can not be removed with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or brentuximab vedotin may be given.
After three years, 93% of BIA-ALCL patients are diseases-free when the condition is detected and treated early, according to ASAPS (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery) data.
Watch NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt talk about breast implants and BIA-ALCL
View the article written by Lauren Dunn and Maggie Fox for NBC Nightly News, Doctors, patients raise alarms about cancer linked to breast implants
Download The ALCL Fact Sheet Here
NCCN Consensus Guidelines For The Diagnosis And Management Of BIA-ALCL
*What’s Your Micromort? A Patient-Oriented Analysis Of BIA-ALCL
If you’re in the need of support and education regarding breast implants, Breast Implant Illness, explanting and ALCL, visit Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation and Education With Christina
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram!
here’s to health and massive self love,
❤︎ Christina Roulund Dennis
No matter how confident and secure you are in your relationship or with your body, the thought of getting an explant and going back to a smaller breast size is scary.
“Will I be completely flat?”
“What if I end up deformed or misshaped?”
“What if I have big scars that never go away?”
I’d like to think that I’m a pretty secure woman who is confident and happy with her body, but we all have our moments.
Yes, even Beyonce and J Lo.
When I decided to explant I knew I’d be small because I have very little breast tissue and my skin is thin, both due to breast feeding my son for four months.
Honestly, I expected to be flat… and I was perfectly ok with that if it meant getting my health and life back.
My health, family, happiness and quality of life are what’s most important to me… not the size of my breasts.
Sometimes we have to make sacrifices and decisions that just don’t seem fair. And this was definitely one of those times.
I had to stop fronting, get really honest with myself and ask: Would you rather have these big breasts that are potentially making you ill and continue to live a mediocre life, or are you ok with having smaller breasts and living a freaking epic life? – you can’t have both.
Not in my case at least.
For me it was an easy decision!
I was willing to lose a physical (foreign) part of myself if it meant the emotional, mental and spiritual side of me would flourish and shine bright again.
And boy has it been!
I was glad to trade my breast implants and have some pretty scars for a brand new life full of unlimited happiness, health, success and adventures.
Ultimately I was done with the days of:
No regrets. Not a single one.
Smaller breasts do not mean you’re any less of a woman, less worthy of love, less deserving or less attractive. I don’t give a flying flip what society or trolls on the internet try to tell you.
You’re beautiful just as you are. Your breasts do NOT define you.
And you wanna know something crazy? I am a more confident woman standing here before you today than I ever was with my breast implants.
I mean, I got breast implants because I wasn’t confident in the first place. You know?
Not only did I explant because I wanted to feel alive again, I explanted (without hesitation) because I now realize wholeheartedly that confidence does not have anything to do with a body part. Plus I’m a health coach and it felt so out of alignment to be teaching someone how to be healthy when I’m sitting here with two toxic foreign objects implanted inside of my body for the sake of vanity.
I was not being a good example of true health and loving your body as it is. That’s how I felt inside and I hated it. Alignment is everything to me
From my own personal transformation and in my own opinion, confidence stems from taking your power back, setting firm boundaries with everyone close to you, knowing and realizing your worth and falling madly in love with every inch of yourself despite what anyone else says or thinks about you.
Knock your husbands socks off and show him that you’re a confident, powerful women and your breast size will not take that away from you or the relationship!
You’re a brave, beautiful woman and I’m so very proud of you!
❤︎ Christina Roulund-Dennis
If you’re on Facebook join my Group, Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation and Education With Christina
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram!
So you just explanted – congratulations!
I bet you can’t wait to get back to the gym, lift weights and start losing some weight. Am I right?
Or maybe you’ve been ill and fatigued for so long that exercising had to be put on the back burner altogether.
Either way, this article is going to help you ease back into exercising after explanting.
Some of the most common symptoms of Breast Implant Illness include:
which make it a challenge to get an effective workout in.
You’re probably going to feel good after you explant, but you want to be sure to not do too much, too soon.
I follow a lot of women’s explant journey online, so I see this kind of thing happen all the time.
They end up feeling so good that they just want to get up and go, go, go. Only to be left feeling completely drained and wiped out by the end of the day.
Slow and steady wins… be patient with your body. You just had a major surgery and went under anesthesia.
For the first two weeks all I did was literally slow laps around my couch for 15 minutes, twice a day.
Be sure you get clearance from your surgeon before you exercise, and go over with him/her about what to expect with post-op recovery to be sure that you stay safe and heal properly.
The thing about exercising after explant is you don’t want to trip and hurt yourself, pop a stitch, pull your muscle or raise your blood pressure too high – which can be serious.
I wouldn’t recommend doing any kind of weight lifting or pulling until you get cleared to. And even then, you want to be sure you’re using very light weights and doing the movements slow and controlled.
I got cleared to start lifting weights at six weeks out.
Because my surgeon made it very clear to not lift anything over head or pull anything down from overhead for a solid five weeks, I started with isolation exercises such as:
I made sure I went very light and slow, feeling to make sure nothing was pulling or feeling weird.
It took me about 10 – 11 weeks to feel 100% normal, to where it didn’t feel like my right breast muscle was moving and not attached (it’s hard to explain the feeling).
I’m three months out and am finally at a point where my motivation to exercise and get in shape is high because I have energy, strength and I feel fully healed.
If you just explanted, are looking to get back into the swing of things and would like some professional guidance – I’m a personal trainer & health and fitness coach. I currently work with women who struggle with binge & emotional eating, but fitness and exercise are still a big part of what I do – professionally and personally.
… Mind… Body… Soul, baby.
I’d be more than happy to create you a custom-tailored four or eight week exercise program. Just let me know.
Do you have any questions?
Comment below or ask them in my Facebook Group, Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation and Education With Christina
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram!
here’s to health, rejuvenation and massive self-love,
❤︎ Christina Roulund-Dennis
When was the last time you took 10 minutes for yourself?
Something that soothes me (plus it’s a cheap way to pamper your body with a numerous amount of health benefits) is called DRY BRUSHING.
So here’s the trick (it’s very important) — you must do long, gentle strokes towards your heart. Not short, hard strokes heading towards the tips of your body.
Your skin should be pink (not red) after a session.
1. Stimulates your lymphatic system helping it release toxins. Your lymphatic system is responsible for responsible for picking up bacteria, viruses, waste, toxins, cancer cells, etc. and killing them. To me the lymphatic system is just as important as your immune system.
2. A powerful detoxification tool without having to introduce liquids into the body (internal detox).
3. Helps remove dead, dry skin making your skin look younger and feel softer.
4. Boosts circulation helping to reduce the appearance of cellulite over time (if done consistently).
5. It’s invigorating and a great stress reliever (trust me).
I had the privilege to chat with Sarah Phillipe from Reversing Breast Implant Illness and her Group of 1,1oo women today!
Here’s a breakdown of what we discussed.
Size: Happy is a movement and this is the message –
I’m a rebel naturally, so I don’t typically follow norms or conform to labels.
The way I see it, “whose to tell me what’s beautiful, in or trendy this season?” Not some magazine or celebrity gossip channel, that’s for sure.
Here’s the fact – you’re going to be “too much” or “not enough” for some people.
And oh-freaking-well. That’s their issue and not yours to carry around or believe.
My definition of self love is doing anything that makes you feel pretty or makes you happy.
That could be anything from:
If you’re struggling with self-love, you might need to unravel a lot of old programming, limiting beliefs and negative self-talk that isn’t true, serving you or allowing you to grow and evolve.
We pick up a lot of things subconsciously throughout our life from the people closest to us, strangers and even tv and magazines.
Our past experiences, relationships and interactions shape up into who we are today.
One of the best things you can start with is to dig deep into understanding where these thoughts and feelings are stemmed from, and then identifying if they are in fact actually true (which 99% of the time they’re not).
As you go through this process, do not judge what comes up. Do not dwell on a thought or past experience for too long.
Allowing yourself to feel “negative emotions” is one of the fasted ways to heal.
You must feel to fully heal.
Your health, happiness, attitude and actions are four of the biggest ones.
Everything else that you don’t have control of, such as:
you need to release and let go of.
At the end of the day you’re going to have surgery and you’re going to have smaller breasts. That’s all you know for sure.
What’s in your control is the fact that you can pray that everything goes well, hand it over to whoever you believe in and have faith.
*trust me, I’m a control freak do this takes work
2. Change your thoughts and the words you use.
Thoughts are powerful. More powerful than you may know.
I talked about this in one of my other blogs, but words like “can’t, scared, mad, ugly,”, etc. literally weaken the body, whereas things like “I’ll figure it out, I can do this, everything’s going to go smooth, I’m going to feel amazing” strengthen the body and carry a different vibrational frequency.
I know… it’s woo-woo, but it’s a fact.
On the topic of thoughts and words, social media needs to be brought up.
If you’re following an account and you notice that you’re always sitting there comparing your looks or body to anothers, which is leaving you feeling less then or not enough, I highly encourage you to unfollow that account.
You sitting there comparing isn’t allowing you to grow.
It’s keeping you stuck, destroying your mental health and brain washing you into believing that everyones lives are perfect and flawless – which is the furthest thing from the truth.
Next time you’re scrolling through social media, if what you’re seeing isn’t empowering, inspiring or motivating you, hit unfollow.
Your mental health and confidence will improve so fast within a month!
3. It’s about awareness and how quickly you bounce back!
We all have slips ups in our actions/habits and words/thoughts – and that’s ok.
For instance, I find myself comparing my body or breasts to anther woman at least once a week.
I now quickly catch myself, pull myself back into a loving state and remind myself that nobody else’s beauty diminishes mine.
This will take time, but as it continues to happen it’ll get easier and easier and you’ll catch yourself quicker and quicker.
It’s not about being perfect, it’s about realizing that when a thought, person or action/habit isn’t serving you and then quickly doing something about it.
Don’t let things simmer or fester. Just be patient with you body and self and know that you’ll always be a work-in-progress.
You never “arrive“. You will always be growing and evolving. That’s life.
4. Regarding your breasts and scars after surgery.
Yes, your breasts will look smaller and like a deflated balloon right after surgery.
Don’t stress.
Over the course of a year your breasts are going to change shape and fill out.
Once you see how good you feel, the size of our breasts aren’t even going to matter.
I’d much rather have my small A cup and feel amazing than to go back to a D cup and feel run down everyday.
For most of you, it’s only going to be you and your husband looking at your breasts and scars, I assume.
It’ll be an adjustment for the both of you, but it’s nothing you guys can’t handle.
Plus, I’m going to bet as soon as your husband starts to see how much better you’re feeling and how much more energy you have, he’s going to adore and appreciate you and your decision even more.
Visit her website to learn more about her and how she can help you Reverse Breast Implant Illness.
The Health Benefits of Rebounding:
It is best to start with feet on the rebounder and only gentle bounces, as opposed to high jumps. Short, soft landing jumps is the trick. 3-5 minutes a day, twice daily, is all you need to reap the benefits. Keep it in a place where you’re going to see it. Take turns with your kids.
The action of rebounding makes use of the increased G-force from gravity based exercises like this and each cell in the body has to respond to the acceleration and deceleration. The up and down motion is beneficial for the lymphatic system since it runs in a vertical direction in the body.
Another study showed that the increased G-force helped increase Lymphocyte activity. The lymph system transports immune cells throughout the body and supports immune function. For this reason, rebounding is often suggested as a detoxifying and immune boosting activity.
After my cancer scare in 2015, I began researching anything having to do with detoxing, cleansing and healing the body (it has to be done in this order to work).
I’m a firm believer that the body is capable of healing, if you believe it can and do the necessary actions.
If you enjoy my blogs – join my Facebook Group, Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation and Education With Christina, for more information about all things breast implants, Breast Implant Illness, the explanting process and how to heal mind-body-soul after your surgery.
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram!
here’s to regained health, rejuvenation and massive self-love,
❤︎ Christina Roulund-Dennis
It’s been eight weeks since I removed my 12 year old 420cc silicone breast implants.
I get asked daily “how are you feeling? Any symptoms go away?”
The answer is: “amazing and yes!”
If you haven’t yet heard my entire story with Breast Implant Illness, when my symptoms started, what symptoms I had and how my explant went, go here and read this first.
Crazy, right?
Today I want to share with you what’s new, gone and still here.
Out of all the symptoms I had, only shortness of breath/gasping for air, minor hip joint pain and hair loss are still present.
With that being said, though, these three things are much less frequent and severe than before my explant. Plus, the gasping for air and hip joint pain were two of my newest symptoms, which started last year. So they might be the last to go anyways. Who knows.
For the first five weeks after my explant EVERYTHING was gone.
Not just better. Gone.
It seems like I just had a minor flare-up during week six and week seven because my achy stiff hip joint pain was back and I started gasping for air and losing a lot of hair again.
But now, at week eight, these three things are starting to subside again. So that’s good.
Honestly, I’m feeling like I’m in a brand new body.
I feel light, energetic, blissed out of my mind, funnier, wittier, smarter, more patient, sexier, more attractive, more confident, with it in my head and I’m actually remembering so much now.
My body and mind feel like they are on high speed and high definition.
I wake up every morning feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, motivated and excited to get up and get out of the house. All things I didn’t experience nine weeks ago, and for years.
For the first five weeks going over bumps in the car felt weird, but now that everything’s healed it doesn’t feel weird at all – it’s hard to explain.
My fake ones never really jiggled. These do and it feels so weird lol
My scars are slowly fading, but still pink.
All in all nothings really changed since my one month check-in.
I’m extremely happy with my experience, results and decision to explant.
I will continue to educate you about Breast Implant Illness, the explanting process, detoxification, healing and self-love here and in my Facebook Group, Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation And Education With Christina
If you’re not on Facebook, you can find me on Instagram!
Are you planning on explanting?
Do you have a question for me?
Comment below.
here’s to newfound health, rejuvenation and massive self-love,
❤︎ Christina Dennis
Why is it that some women get ill from their breast implants, while others can have them 10+ years and only have one to two symptoms?
In my opinion, I think it has to do with a few things –
Having a weakened immune system will definitely have an effect on your overall health.
For me, personally, I was pretty healthy when I got my breast implants at the age of 23 and I took great care of my body afterwards. I didn’t start feeling any Symptoms of Breast Implant Illness until five years after I got them.
Over the years I’ve been working with a naturopathic doctor who is very knowledgable when it comes to autoimmune issues, viruses, parasites, the thyroid and adrenals. I originally went to him because my body was freaking the freak out.
Last December I was experiencing:
I was off my rocker.
We did some blood and saliva tests to see what’s up and to get a baseline of what’s going on with my body. From there I was prescribed blends of natural herbs and supplements. Within five to six weeks I was feeling much better.
These are some labs that I had done to check on things like my thyroid, adrenals, blood cell count, inflammation markers and important vitamins.
1.When looking at your thyroid check your FREE T3, FREE T4, reverse T3, TSH, TPO ab, and TG ab markers. For those that have a hard time losing weight, they’re typically hypo-thyroid. For those that have a hard time putting on weight, they’re typically hyper-thyroid. Not in all cases, though. For instance, I’m working with a lady who is overweight and has hyper-throidism. Every body is different.
2. The thyroid controls your body temperature. If your gland produces too much thyroid hormone, your temperature rises – and vice versa. The Temperature Test is another good one to get checked if you’re experiencing hot flashes or cold extremities.
3. Iodine levels are good to check. Iodine deficiency has been linked to so many ailments, like low thyroid function and abnormal enlargement of the thyroid glands.
4. When looking into your adrenals, check your Cortisol, DHEA-S, Estadiol, Pregnenlone, Progesterone, Testosterone Free and Total, and your Sex Hormone Binding Globuline markers.
5. CRP-C and ESR monitor your inflammation markers. A body with high inflammation markers (chronic inflammation) is prone to experiencing fatigue, rashes, abdominal pain, chest pain and getting sick more. If you’re experiencing IBS, Chrohns Disease, gas, bloating, and food allergies, your gut could be inflamed.
6. If you’re experiencing auto-immune symptoms, check your ANA AntiNuclear Antibodies. Some autoimmune diseases include Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Celiac Disease, Sjogrens Syndrome, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Multiple Sclerosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Type 1 Diabetes, Aloepecia Areata, Vasculitis and Temporal Arteritis. Quite a few women get diagnosed with one or more of these, or have these symptoms but a negative diagnosis, after getting breast implants.
7. If you catch every virus and bacterial infection that crosses your path, have your doctor make an order to check your NK CELLS. Immunodeficiency disorders prevent your body from fighting off infections and diseases. If you get sick a lot and it takes you awhile to recover, this could be why.
8. Mycoplasma (small typically parasitic bacteria) is another lab to look into if you feel like you have a cold you can’t knock. There are five different strands, so you’ll need to discover which one it is should you test positive.
9. If you’re always tired or have swollen lympnodes, it’s good to rule out things like Epstein Barre Virus, Lyme and Herpes. After I got my implants, my flare ups got more frequent because my immune system got compromised.
10. CBC and Lipids are good labs to check your white and red blood count for anemia and any infections. Last I checked, my total white blood count was low and my monocytes (another type of white blood cells) were extremely elevated.
11. Iron and Ferritine tests can check to see if any iron derangement’s are going on.
12. B12 and Folate levels are good to monitor, especially if your energy is low and you have the MTHFR gene.
13. If you experience depression or have low bone density, checking your Vitamin D level is a good idea. You need adequate vitamin D to absorb calcium and to regulate mood. Simply go out in the sun for 15 minutes a day in shorts and a tank top!
This website has more information on labs and is where I researched and found some of the tests listed above, although most of them I had done already over the last couple years because of all the symptoms I was experiencing.
I take a few targeted supplements through my naturopathic doctor, Peter Kan. I also take some herbs and supplements that help my gut, immune system and my lymphatic system, kidneys and liver detox.
Next time you see your doctor, talk to him/her about ordering some of these to help you figure out what your body is doing, lacking or producing too much of.
Alright, I think this is a good start. I’m sure there are a few other medical labs that would be good to look into, but I do not want to overwhelm you. If you’re experiencing symptoms that aren’t mentioned above, speak to your doctor about looking into those as well.
Are you on Facebook? Join Breast Implant Illness Rejuvenation And Education With Christina
Here’s where I educate women about Breast Implant Illness and help them heal pre and post explant.
Not on Facebook? Find me on Instagram!
here’s to newfound health, rejuvenation and massive self-love,
❤︎ Christina Dennis
Disclaimer: The information provided on or through this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal or other professional advice. Always work with your health care professional and surgeon when discussing treatments and supplements. This information is not intended to replace the advice or attention of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional.