Interview with Rebekah Raines

 

Robin Nielsen:
Hello and welcome. This is Robin Nielsen and we are celebrating PCOS Awareness Month, all month long and especially this week with some very special guests to inspire us to become the CEO, the chief executive officer of our own health, to take charge, to get to know our bodies better and to really, really rock our health and our lives. And the best way I know to do that is to hear from other women who are doing it right now as we speak. And today I have a very special guest, Rebekah Raines. Welcome Rebekah.

Rebekah Raines:
Hello. Thank you Robin.

Robin Nielsen:
So great to be here with you. So Rebekah actually is on the Insulite team, complete transparency here and we invited her to be part of the team a few years ago because she really was such an advocate for supporting women with PCOS. She’d seen incredible changes herself. She’s been working on this for years and years and years since she was a teenager and she’s going to share with us how her journey has gone, what she’s noticed kind of some of her struggles. And then we’ll give you some pointers on how you can take charge right now to feel so much better. So, Rebekah, I’d love for you to start way back when you started noticing some things just weren’t right. So give us some real specifics. Like how old were you, what symptoms were you noticing and how your mom really like supported you to figure this out?

Rebekah Raines:
Yes, I was 17 when I was diagnosed, so I started experiencing some symptoms probably two years before that. And I had crazy irregular menstruation from cycling every nine days to not having a period for a year, crazy mood swings, no energy, and then I started noticing coarse hair growth on my body. And those were like the key points that made me go, “Oh, something’s wrong here.”

Robin Nielsen:
Yeah. Okay. So, you had really crazy irregular menstrual cycles, really horrible moods. I think you mentioned one more thing. What was it?

Rebekah Raines:
Well, growing hair everywhere and acne. Over the years, I’ve experienced all the symptoms of PCOS with cystic acne, being so incredibly painful with hair falling out with, you know, no energy, just completely depleted to the point of not being able to get out of bed in the morning, just feeling like giving up on life. It’s not worth it anymore to keep going.

Robin Nielsen:
We were you noticing this when you were a teenager?

Rebekah Raines:
Oh yes. Yup, yup. A lot of severe symptoms of as a teenager and it, you know, caused some alarm in my mind and in my mom’s mind. Like you said, and she has been a huge advocate for taking charge of my health. And that was before we knew what to do and now we know what to do and we have a clear plan. So we’ve come a long way.

Robin Nielsen:
And so, how did your mom get involved and how did she help you figure this out and what did you guys do?

Rebekah Raines:
Well, we went the traditional medical route and tried various birth controls and different medication to try to balance menstruation, you know, a pill bleed isn’t the same, but we were trying anything at that point, not knowing what to try, to relieve some of the pain of menstruation. It was, it was just agony laying in bed, not able to go to school. And so we were willing to try anything. So that’s really where it started and pretty soon we realized that wasn’t really helping, that wasn’t really getting the underlying cause of the hormone imbalance. It was actually making it worse in a lot of ways. And so we started looking for natural solutions and that’s how we discovered Insulite way back when I was 17.

Robin Nielsen:
Wow. Awesome. Okay, so you started the Insulite system and then what did you notice? Like give us sort of a timeline of what happened for you?

Rebekah Raines:
Energy was the first thing that I noticed back. I was able to get out of bed in the morning. You know, that was kind of the first thing. But then over time, months and even years, I became completely regular and I’m still regular to this day. A lot of the other symptoms have resolved too as far as energy, mood swings. Sometimes now I’ll start my menstruation and I won’t even realize it because I didn’t have the crazy mood fluctuation. I didn’t have the extreme pain in my abdomen, my lower back. That’s a huge difference compared to what it used to be. My skin is clear, you know, before I would have such bad acne here and here and my whole back all the way down to my legs. And that’s a big noticeable difference. Um, but energy, moods, acne, hair, those are the huge, huge things. Regular menstruation, ovulation. I can tell you when I ovulate every month now, it’s just really, really regular, on the dot. I love it.

Robin Nielsen:
Yeah, that’s pretty impressive. And you were able to have two beautiful children, so your cycle got regular and you were able to have two beautiful kids. So tell us a little bit like we didn’t really hear some of the, some of the challenges that you had with, the sort of the traditional remedies for PCOS. So, when you tried the birth control pills, it sounds like you tried more than one?

Rebekah Raines:
Mhm and honestly that was so long ago. I remember there were low estrogen ones we tried, they said, “Oh, if you take the low estrogen ones because you’re young, that won’t be as hard on you. You don’t need a lot of hormones to get your cycle going.” But I didn’t know what I know now back then. I didn’t know that it wasn’t actually starting my period in a natural way. I thought I was, I thought, “Great!” But what happened with the pills was it just, the PMS part became worse, the mood swings became worse, the cramps became worse, the back pain became worse and it felt like, what’s the point? It’s not really solving the underlying problem and I feel worse even though I’m bleeding. So it’s trying to solve one problem, but it wasn’t really, and that’s when we were like, “No, we’ve got to try to find something different.” Then we also knew and started looking at thyroid and adrenal health, knowing that that was really going hand in hand with the symptoms of PCOS and really started looking at the underlying symptoms, the thyroid and adrenal health as so important in becoming healthy for PCOS.

Robin Nielsen:
Yeah, so you’ve seen some incredible changes using the five element system for years and years now, how many years would you say that you’ve been using the five elements system?

Rebekah Raines:
Well, I just turned 36 last week, so you can do the math. 17 to 36, that’s a lot of years and you’ve seen it so many phases of life. It’s kind of beautiful when you think about it because life isn’t all the same. Life isn’t all on your teenagers. It’s not all in your 20s and 30s but I’ve grown and changed with it and that’s exciting to me because it, this is my life we’re talking about. This isn’t just this month. I’m going to try this. This is my life and I want my whole life to be incredible and beautiful and that’s probably the biggest message I would say to any woman out there who’s looking to take charge in PCOS Awareness Month is you can, you have to be consistent and you have to be in it for the long run, not for a quick fix, not for this month, “I’m going to try this or I’ll give this six months.” No, you have to give it your whole life to feel great, to look great, to have your babies, to have the energy, to do all the things in your life that you want. It’s commitment. It’s a commitment I’ve made in my life to continue to grow and continue to learn and even when I don’t feel like it, I do it. I don’t feel like it all the time, but I do it all the time.

Robin Nielsen:
Rebekah is well loved in our five element program. She’s well loved. She gives so much love to all the ladies and she’s so supportive and she’s been wherever you are for sure. She’s experienced all of the symptoms of PCOS, and so she’s just really, really an amazing advocate for supporting women to take charge of their health. And so, Rebekah, what are some of the things that you see in our group?

Rebekah Raines:
Well, first of all, the beautiful thing that I seen in our group is community. And that was so instrumental for me coming out of post-pregnancy and trying to kind of get my body back and my hormones back. I needed help and I needed other women who’ve got it but who weren’t just willing to get it and then stay stuck in it. But they were getting it and moving forward, they were getting it and saying, “Okay, I need to tweak this, I need to change this.” There are small things I can do to add up to be big in the end. And that’s kind of the beautiful thing about our five element communities. We’re all there making changes, doing it and working on it. And it’s the togetherness that makes such an important thing. Before I began working with Insulite, I joined the freedom from PCOS program as a cleanse and Robin challenged everyone to post something on social media about what you wanted your intentions.

Rebekah Raines:
And I had never ever posted on social media before because it felt too personal to me. And I was like, “Okay, Robin kind of knows what she’s talking about. I’m gonna try it.” So I did. And let me tell you, it came back to me and one of the things that came back and blessed me so much was working with Robin and Insulite, and that was a while later. But putting yourself out there in the community and letting others support you is such a gift. It’s a gift to the people who are around you and it’s the gift to yourself. And that’s probably the number one thing that I see in our community. There’s the second thing that I see in our community is we’re in it for the long haul. Like I said that, is don’t give up, keep going. It takes time for your body to heal. Your cells need all the love that you give them for the long haul to regenerate. Every little thing you do makes a difference. Whether it’s for good or for not good. So we’re in it for the long haul. Right? It’s our life.

Robin Nielsen:
So true. You said some great things, that’s for sure. And I didn’t know that about the freedom from PCOS program was like the first time you have shared something somewhat vulnerable for yourself. You remember, do you remember what you posted? Like what your intention was?

Rebekah Raines:
I believe I said something like what I wanted was to have energy, to feel good, to feel beautiful and have a job that I love because that was at a point, I was in a really low point in life. Mentally, spiritually, I’d come through a very difficult divorce and my son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis so I had a lot going on and I was looking for, by doing the program, I was looking to put light back in my life. I was looking to feel good and healthy and vibrant again. And so I put out there that I wanted those things cause I didn’t feel anything good. It was pretty low and I do and I did and life has given me back so many wonderful blessings and I love my life. In fact, I was just saying that to Robin. I do, very much. And there was a time when I wouldn’t have said that.

Robin Nielsen:
Well, I think that you’ve received every one of your intentions.

Rebekah Raines:
Yes. Yup.

Robin Nielsen:
I challenge you all right now who are listening to post your intention right here in the comments section, we want to hear what your intention is for taking charge of your health and getting your life back. What is it that you want for yourself? You can list one, two, or three intentions, don’t do more than three. We just want to bring in the biggies right now. So list your intention right here in the comment section. We read every single comment that you post, so we want you to put it out to the universe. What are your one to three intentions for yourself for taking charge of your health and getting your life back? I’d love to hear from you. Well Rebecca, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us today. Can you give us just three things, three short, doable things that you would recommend every woman do to start taking charge of her health?

Rebekah Raines:
First of all, the most important is don’t give up. Never. Keep pursuing information and knowledge and educating yourself about what you need and what your body needs. And the second is find the nutrients. The five element system is amazing and it has what your body needs to heal. And to me that was, that was a game changer. You know, I’d been eating right and moving correctly for hormone balance before that. But when I was able to add in the nutrients that my body needed to help myself regenerate and grow and heal, and then my body systems as an overflow of that, that’s when I began to see a difference. So your body needs nutrition. With PCOS and hormonal imbalance and thyroid issues and adrenal issues and gut health issues, all those things require added nutrition and just what you’re getting in your food. So that’s two and three is see community. You’ve got to have people around you saying you can do it, you know you can do it. And that’s partly what I love about my job with Insulite, is cause I get to say you can do it and then let’s problem solve together because yes, saying can do it is great, but then when you have someone who has your back problem solving with you, that is powerful.

Robin Nielsen:
Oh, I love that. That’s so true. And so powerful. And it’s also powerful to be around like minded women who want to get well. Like we don’t want to stay stuck. We are all about getting well and living our most fabulous lives. Right? Yeah. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing is because I want to make sure that we are helping women to get well, who want to be well. And that’s why Rebekah is doing the beautiful work she’s doing as well. We know what it feels like to be stuck and feel sick and not able to participate fully in life like we’d like to. And it sucks, right? Just sucks. So I want to make sure that you know about two very special things that are happening right now, this week, all week long, we have a very special sale on the five element system so we can get you into it and start supporting you in a really profound way.

Robin Nielsen:
And the second thing is when you jump into the five element system, you will get a full scholarship ticket. So that thousand dollar program, Heal Your Hormones live event coming up in January, you do have to put down a hundred dollars seat deposit, but you get it back the first day of the event when you register, it’s going to be a fantastic event. And when you jump into the five elements system this week, you get your full ride scholarship ticket. So I can’t wait to see you all inside the five element group and I can’t wait to see you at Heal Your Hormones Live. We’re going to start the new year out right. All right, everyone has been so wonderful spending time with you today. Thank you so much Rebekah, for being here with us.

Rebekah Raines:
My pleasure, my pleasure. Truly.

Robin Nielsen:
And sending you all so much love. Bye for now.

Rebekah Raines:
Bye.

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Next Steps

  1. Take the PCOS Quiz!  Get your score and assess your hormone health risks.
  2. Join our Facebook Sisterhood Group Pose your questions to this group of like-minded women. Get the answers to your questions and the support you need.
  3. Checkout the Hormone Reset. Guided Practices to eliminate anxiety, lose weight and boost energy.

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