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What? You don’t have a SwagBucks account yet? You don’t know what you’re missing! Just by entering SwagCodes and searching through SwagBucks, you can get free stuff easily, every month. If you want to earn a little faster, all you need to do is visit their Special Offers section, and install their toolbar (installing the toolbar makes it easier to search, too! Those two actions will generally net you another 2-5 Swagbucks a day, and they’re super-easy! I am on target to earn not one but TWO Amazon $5 gift cards this month, just for a few seconds’ worth of “work” (if you can call it that ) a day. So what are you waiting for?! Head on over and sign up now!

Now, for the lowdown on the inserts…the SmartSource inserts for the two papers were almost identical this week, with one exception; the Knoxville paper got coupons for Systane, I-Caps and Opti-Free, while the BHC did not. There was considerably more variation between the two papers’ RedPlum inserts, and for once, this seemed to be an good thing! Instead of the KNS having lots of coupons and the BHC only having a tiny handful, they each had about the same number, and each had slightly different Qs. Go ahead and check them out over on the Local Coupon Listings Page.

The weekend magazines in these papers had a wealth of coupons this week as well. For example, the USA Weekend (found in the Bristol Herald Courier) had the following coupons:
Walgreens Brand Over-The-Counter Medication Save $0.50 on any (7/31)
Nutrisystem.com/usa4110 Get 4 Weeks of Food Free with 4-month Auto Delivery Purchase (no expiry listed)
Harbor Freight Tools Free 3.5” 9-LED Aluminium Flashlight, no purchase required (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Save 20% on any single item (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools U.S. General 3000lb capacity Aluminum Racing Jack $59.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Chicago Multifunction Power Tool $34.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools 3 Gallon 100 PSI Oilless Pancake Air Compressor $39.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Drill Master 4.5” Angle Grinder $9.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Drill Master 80 Piece Rotary Tool Set $6.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Chicago Electric 45 Watt Solar Panel Kit $149.99 (9/25)
Harbor Freight Tools Central Forge 105 piece Tool Kit $34.99 (9/25)
Januvia Save up to $20 on up to 3 qualifying prescriptions – lots of fine print on this one so I can’t list all the restrictions here – (7/31/2011)
On the rear cover was a pull-off card for a 14-day free trial of Aciphex (12/31)

The Parade magazine (found in the Knoxville News Sentinel) had many similar, and some different:
Walgreens Brand Over-The-Counter Medication Save $0.50 on any (7/31)
Olay Facial Moisturizer or Facial Cleanser (ETS) Save $1.00/1 (8/31)
Bausch & Lomb PreserVision Eye Vitamin AREDS 2 Formula Save $3.00/1 (9/30)
Celsius Single Can Save $0.50/1 (8/31)
Celsius 4-Pack or Higher Count Save $2.00/1 (8/31)
Nutrisystem.com/par5110 Get 4 Weeks of Food Free with 4-month Auto Delivery Purchase (no expiry listed)
Januvia Save up to $20 on up to 3 qualifying prescriptions – lots of fine print on this one so I can’t list all the restrictions here – (7/31/2011)

All in all, not a bad week!

If you’ve never heard of CSN Stores before…the truth is you probably have, and just don’t know it. They own a group of over 200 online sites/stores that sell everything from children’s furniture to office supplies to pet products. This makes them a fantastic giveaway partner, as I know my lucky winner will have no trouble at all finding something upon which to spend their newly won loot!

For example, on their Cookware.com site, you could put it toward a set of nearly-unbreakable Corelle dishes. I grew up with Corelle, and can attest to its toughness. I’ve messed around with lots of other dinnerware over the years, but now I’m back where I started, since nothing else can stand up to my combination of butter-fingers and tile kitchen floor. And I know all you moms out there can appreciate kid-proof crockery! If you haven’t checked out Corelle’s offerings since the mustard-brown 70s styles (like what I grew up with), you really need to give them a look. Their bamboo pattern is beautiful, and they’ve even gone square!

Another option would be something from their Baby and Kids section, or even a little something just for you, like this gorgeous laptop case. If you’d like to find a gift for hubby or someone else, they feature a convenient gift finder with separate sections for boys, girls, men, women, teens and even pets!

I should note that this is a one-time use gift certificate, so if you don’t use it all, any remainder will no longer be available to you. So make sure you get close to (or over, of course) the $25, so you get maximum value!

OK, now for the rules & timeline…I will leave this drawing open through midnight eastern time on the 4th of August, with the winner to be drawn on August 5th (via random.org, of course). Here is how you can earn entries:

• Leave a comment on this blog post: 1 entry
• Subscribe to my RSS Feed (and leave me a post below to let me know you’ve done so): 1 entry
• Tweet about this giveaway & include both a link to this post and @CouponFans in the tweet: 3 entries (make sure to post here to let me know after you do this)
• Post about this contest, including a link back to this post, on your own blog: 5 entries (make sure to post here after you do this, also)

Also, make sure you include your email address when you submit your comments (but not in the comment body, just in the field where it asks for emails), as that is how I will be verifying that the correct person is claiming their prize. Worried about including your email address? Don’t be! It won’t be visible to anyone but me, and I’ll only use it for verification purposes. See my Privacy Policy, if you’d like more details.

I’ll be closing the entries at midnight eastern time next Friday (June 4th) and announcing the winner on Monday, June 7th, so be sure to check back (or if you’ve subscribed, just check your feed reader!) and see if you’ve won. If someone wins and does not claim their prize within 3 days after my announcement, I’ll keep drawing another name every three days until someone claims their prize. So keep your eyes peeled, and good luck!

Also note that there’s no need to comment multiple times for one thing, e.g. 3 comments per tweet, etc. Rest assured you don’t have to go to all that trouble! I’m storing all your entries in a spreadsheet, so a tweet still gets 3 entries and blogs still get five, even if you only comment once to tell me about them. I don’t mind you going the extra mile, I just thought I’d save you the time.

Good luck everybody!

That’s the short version. Read on if you want my rantings about what I *think* is going on. Bear in mind, I’m no doctor. I am, however, learning the hard way that if you want to be healthy, you are the only one you can trust to put your health first. Doctors don’t have time to scrutinize every little test they run on every patient, so I’m slowly educating myself as to what all the tests mean, and reading extensively online about the experiences of others. From there I’m putting as much together into a cohesive picture as I can, but it’s slow, frustrating going. The great news is, after a few days back on ALL my supplements, I’m beginning to feel like my old self again. AND I HAVE A GIVEAWAY READY FOR YOU! I may not post it until tomorrow (I don’t have the post completely written yet), but it’s a comin’ and it’s a great one!

So anyhoo, I had no Troponin in my blood (which would indicate a heart attack), so the ER folks pronounced it yet another panic attack, and sent me home. This time I got a copy of my lab results before leaving though. In fact, I now have copies of all of my lab results over the last few months (ever since this downward spiral started), and reviewing them is pretty telling. I’m consistently at the low end of normal (or just below it) on my electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride; magnesium is not measured regularly, though my GP has agreed to order it the next time I have a blood draw). This may be due to poor intake, the fact that I drink a LOT of water, or maybe that’s just where my body likes them, but the way my body acts…I doubt that last one! Given that electrolytes can be quickly depleted by diarrhea, and given that I have suffered that particular malady 4 weeks out of the past six, I’m betting that electrolyte imbalance is a HUGE contributing factor to the cramps, random muscle twitches, tingling, and other symptoms I’ve been experiencing. Such an imbalance can also cause muscle weakness, muscle pain, anxiety and other mood/nervous disruptions, and even bone pain. Luckily I don’t think I’ve encountered that last one yet, and I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t!

So I’m slowly rebuilding my strength by eating my low-carb, yet still nutritious diet (my alternative practitioner calls it “adequate protein and lots of vegetables”) and trying not to overdo my exertion. The pounds are falling off (I’m down over ten pounds since my Victoza incident!), and I’m slowly recovering back to where I was this time last week. Frustrating, but good to know that even though I have no idea what is causing the diarrhea, I can at least counter it without resorting to living on immodium. I attribute a good 80% of that to the supplement I ran out of, which is a multiple-digestive-enzyme formula that apparently helps my body digest my food even when it’s reluctant.

Another thing my lab tests revealed was a pretty glaring Vitamin D deficiency. Now, according to this site, you can mega-load with D without any ill effects. My GP, on the other hand, wants me to take 2000 IU per day for a couple of months, or until my D comes back up. I think I’m going to go a little higher than that (maybe 3-5,000 IU per day), and see what happens the next time we do a blood draw. If it’s not showing improvement, then I’ll consider going higher. Vitamin D affects the absorption of Calcium, so that may help with at least one of my electrolyte issues.

The great news: my white blood cell (specifically neutrophils) level dropped back down into the normal range. So now I’m just trying to control my stress as well as possible (which, of course, would include avoiding future panic attacks!) to keep it down. The other wonderful thing this diet/supplement plan has done for me, is bring my insulin down so that I am no longer anywhere near hyperinsulinemic! I’m so proud of this one, I have to tell you the actual numbers…back in April, I had insulin of 58.76 u/IU/mL. Insulin is normally supposed to run between 1.90 and 23.00, so this was WAY high. As of a week ago, my insulin was a very reasonable 9.2!!! I’m almost giddy about that.

So my advice is this: get your lab results, educate yourself about what they mean, and find yourself a doctor who will listen to you when you talk about it. It’s a lot to learn, and there are rarely any definitive answers to be gleaned from a single test, but over time, you can spot patterns that no one else will have the time or interest to see. For example, my WBC count started creeping up MONTHS ago, and nobody breathed a word to me about it until my favorite GP (I sometimes see others in her practice when she’s not available) noticed it was way high. If I’d had my lab results all along (and paid attention to them) I could have been the one bringing this to her attention, and asking what to do about it.

I also highly recommend a HEALTHY low-carb diet for anyone who is either hyperinsulinemic, pre-diabetic, diabetic, or just overweight. By healthy I mean NOT ATKINS! Basically, eat 3-6 ounces of protein at every meal, eat lots and LOTS of veggies of as many different types as you can stomach (avoiding potatoes and peas, though…yet for some reason sweet potatoes are alright), a little bit of fat (butter, olive oil and sesame oil are recommended by the folks who designed this eating plan), and seasoned with a little salt if needed. Add in plenty of water, cut out pastas, breads, sweets, sodas and fruit juices, and you’ve pretty much got my diet. Perhaps at some point (if anyone shows any interest) I’ll post a few of my recipes. I’m a big fan of cooking ahead and eating for up to a week on the leftovers, so most of the recipes are big enough to feed a family.