Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Update: Others Like Me

New utility meters, (sometimes called smart, digital, electronic, advanced, AMI, AMR, or AMR ERT meters), do not evoke immediate adverse symptoms in everyone, however, those who do feel adverse effects from electromagnetic fields report similar symptoms to what I had experienced after new utility meters were installed on our property.  

Many people who are adversely affected by the new utility meters had no idea one had been installed where they live.  And many did not even know what a so-called "smart" or wireless utility meter was.

New utility meters, unless they are 100% analog/100% mechanical, emit low level pulsed non-ionizing microwave radiation.  The American Cancer Society states that smart meters give off the same kinds of radio frequencies as cell phones and WiFi.  However, Daniel Hirsh, radiation expert, states that the radiation from one smart meter is more like that of 50 to 160 cell phones, when corrected for duty cycle, and whole body exposure.  

Live blood analysis shows damage to red blood cells within minutes after people are exposed to new utility meters.  Even those who feel nothing show damage to red blood cells.  So if you have a new utility meter and are not feeling any adverse symptoms, that does not mean that it is not affecting you.  It only means that you can not feel the affects.  

Even the American Cancer Society states that there are no long-term studies that prove that smart meters are safe for humans, while there are thousands of studies that prove adverse effects on humans.  Our dogs even started experiencing strange symptoms after new utility meters were installed here.  Their symptoms did lessened after protective measures were taken.

Many similarities exist among those of us who do feel adverse effects from the new utility meters.  And like my experience, after taking measures to reduce the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in their environment, many have found their symptoms to lessen. 

How could this happen?  Isn't the FCC protecting us?  The short answer is, no.  The FCC is in service to the wireless industry and is not a health protection agency.  So when utility companies claim that their new meters are FCC approved, that means nothing about being safe for humans.

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In the following video, at about 27:00, a man begins talking about the symptoms he and his wife experienced immediately after moving into a new apartment that had a new wireless utility meter installed.

• Sleep problems
• Agitation, anxiety
• Headaches
• Sharp pains
• Fatigue
• Muscle, physical weakness
• Cardiac symptoms
• Chest pains
• Leg cramps
• Flu-like symptoms
• Sinus problems
• Asthma 
• Miscarriage

~ ~ ~

The following man describes what happened to him after smart meter installation.

• Difficulty walking in public
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Difficulty concentrating
• Stiffness

~ ~ ~

In the following video a woman describes symptoms she and her daughter experienced within six months after moving into a new apartment that had a new utility meter.

• Fatigue
• Migraines
• Electric shock
• Skin cancer
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Ringing in ears
• Joint pain
• Organ inflammation
• Sinus infections
• Loss of eyesight

~ ~ ~

This woman describes her experience after smart meter installation.

• Extreme nausea
• Sleep problems
• Shakiness
• Surges of sharp pain
• Heart palpitations
• Waves of heat
• Brain tremors

~ ~ ~

The following woman describes what she experienced after a new utility meter was installed.

• Chronic (almost daily) migraines
• Vertigo
• Sleep disturbance
• Vibration
• Feeling like electricity coming through nervous system

~ ~ ~

This woman describes her immediate reaction to a smart meter installed on her home.

• Severe insomnia
• Swelling
• Headache
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Depression and despair
• Anxiety

~ ~ ~

The woman in this video describes her symptoms after a new utility meter was installed on her home.

• Insomnia
• Heart palpitations
• Ears ringing

~ ~ ~

This woman describes how, not only were her bees and hens affected after smart meters were installed in her neighborhood, but she also started experiencing symptoms, even though she did not have a new meter on her home, only her neighbors did.

• Sneezing attacks
• Pressure in head
• Torn and detached retina
• Severe insomnia
• Throbbing head
• Humming, buzzing sound
• Neuromuscular coordination problems

~ ~ ~

This man knew he was sensitive to electromagnetic fields since he was a child.  His story does not mention new utility meters, perhaps because he moved to a remote area in order to distance himself from electromagnetic fields, and new utility meters do not work in remote areas, as we are learning.  

• Feeling ill
• Fatigue
• Eczema
• Pain
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Migraines 

~ ~ ~

And this woman's story does not mention new utility meters either, though she discovered that she was sensitive to electromagnetic fields and has moved numerous times in order to avoid cell towers, antenna, WiFi, and other modern wireless technology.

• Inability to speak
• Inability to comprehend what others were saying to her
• Inability to do simple mathematics
• Inability to walk
• Insomnia
• Exhaustion
• Feeling faint
• Headaches 

~ ~ ~

This video describes two women who have also fled civilization to escape modern wireless technology.

• Pain from pressure on skull
• Feeling like skull will explode
• Skin burning
• Memory loss
• Pain in leg radiating up
• Headaches
• Muscle pains

"It would be unbelievable if external electromagnetic fields DIDN'T have an effect." ~ Prof. Andrew Marino, PhD - Neurology, Louisiana State University

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There are more and more videos being made every day of testimonies from people around the world who have experienced or are experiencing severe adverse health effects from electromagnetic fields and the new "smart" utility meters.  

Some utility companies threaten to and have actually turned off utility service (electricity, natural gas, or water), if customers refuse a new wireless utility meter, even those who explain to the utility company that they suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, as I did.  

And some utility companies are giving us a what they call a "choice," (though it's not a choice when the smart meters are forced upon us), to "opt-out" of the new utility meter program, but it is usually for a fee.

"Money to avoid harm is extortion."

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has asked for "an immediate caution on smart meter installation due to potentially harmful RF (radiofrequency) exposure."  Don Maisch, PhD, from Australia, writes:

"We are now entering the era of 'The Internet of Things' (IoT) where all our appliances will be Wi-Fi enabled, endlessly communicating with each other and us through so-called smart devices.  This 'brave new world' dictates that human exposure to radiofrequency radiation must greatly increase in order to accommodate the technology.  This is a planned world being created by technocrats totally ignorant of the reality of our biology, an ignorance fostered by the existing thermal-effects-only standards/guidelines.  Now, more than ever, we need new, biologically relevant standards to meet the challenge of the future."

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If you live in Michigan, please call you State Representative and ask them to support HB4916, Meter Choice, which will allow us to keep our 100% analog utility meters with a $5 per month charge only if we do not read our meter ourselves.  More information about that here.

If you don't live in Michigan, but are concerned about the new wireless utility meters, please speak out!  Talk to everyone you know, and some people you don't know, about your concerns and why you feel that way.  We can make a difference.

Thank you for reading ~ May We All Truly Be Blessed!

Sources & more information:

• EMFscientist.org
• BioInitiative Report
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Take Back Your Power
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan, USA
• Smart Meters & Electromagnetic Radiation: The Health Crisis of Our Time
• Triggering Agents of Electromagnetic Sensitivity

"Sudden Aging" & Smart Meters

     "Sudden aging" is how some have described the myriad of symptoms that can occur when one experiences sensitivity to the vast array of man-made electromagnetic fields permeating our modern world. And feeling like I had suddenly aged tremendously definitely describes my experience, shortly after new utility meters were installed where I live.  I had deep, dark circles and huge bags under my eyes.  A friend whom I hadn't seen in a while asked me what had happened to my eyes, and said she had never seen me look so bad.  She was being honest and sincere and I knew she was deeply concerned about me.  I don't think I had ever seen myself look that "bad" either.  But a month of severe insomnia, waking up every few hours with heart palpitations, and feeling like I was being electrocuted throughout the night, is probably why I looked that way!

Our bodies rest, heal, and repair when we sleep.  When our sleep is chronically disrupted, as can happen after a new (wireless/smart/advanced/electronic/AMR ERT/AMI/radio frequency) utility meter is installed, our bodies are not given the chance to heal, rest and repair, thus aging can become dramatic.  Electromagnetic fields, or EMFs, are said to cause "subliminal stress" that puts the body into a fight-or-flight mode, even while sleeping, making restful and healing sleep less attainable.

In our modern world we are constantly being exposed to EMFs; from cell phones, to wireless laptops, WiFi networks, a myriad of wireless appliances and gadgets, and now the new utility meters.  Which is why it is so very important we have a "safe" environment at night for healing sleep.  However, when smart meters are installed on our homes, they are continuously sending millisecond bursts of radio frequency microwave radiation throughout our environment.  Radio frequency radiation, whether from a cell phone, WiFi, new utility meter, or any other wireless device, does not stop at walls, doors, furniture, or flesh.  We don't necessarily feel the millisecond pulses of radiation, but our biology does.  That is why, for those of us more sensitive to the pulses of radiation, the new utility meters can severely disrupt our normal nighttime rest, healing and repair cycle.

Pulsed radio frequency radiation that the new utility meters emit explained the mystery of the pain returning in my "cell-phone ear," along with sudden and severe insomnia, heart palpitations, feeling like I was being electrocuted, and like I had suddenly developed severe arthritis in just about every joint in my body.  I did not have any of these symptoms prior to new utility meters being installed.

Our natural gas company, SEMCO Energy, tells us that their new meters are "not smart meters," but that they do emit micro-pulses of microwave radiation.    

Electromagnetic fields don't seem to be something we really want to fool around with.  I've talked with representatives at the electric company, the natural gas company, and the water department, and none of them seem to have a thoroughly understanding of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and health risks associated with them.  How can those who don't thoroughly understand something, tell you that it's safe?

Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, Dept. of Physiology, Columbia University, and spokesperson for the International Scientist Appeal on Electromagnetic Fields, explains that damage is occurring to DNA at "virtually all levels of exposure."  

The following quotes are from an Abstract by J.L. Phillips, Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO,  N.P. Singh, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and H. Lai, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA:

"A major concern of the adverse effects of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic field is cancer induction. Since the majority of cancers are initiated by damage to a cell’s genome, studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of electromagnetic fields on DNA and chromosomal structure." 

"RFR (radio frequency radiation) exposure does indeed appear to affect DNA damage and repair..."

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is becoming more widely recognized, and the percentage of people who experience it ranges from about 1.5% of the population in Sweden, to as high as 13.3% in Taiwan, with the United States at about 3%.  I would say that for about every 10 people I talk to about EHS, usually at least one of the people are either also sensitive to EMFs, or know someone else who is.  

I've heard some call EHS a functional or environmental disability, because it's not something that would necessarily be treated by a doctor, though a doctor or health care practitioner versed in radiation poisoning could offer suggestions as far as detoxifying the body and building up the immune system.  "Treatment" for EHS seems to primarily involve altering the environment where the person experiencing EHS spends their time, especially their sleep-time.  

After the new utility meters were installed, and when I began to question whether or not this life was worth living, I knew I had to do something to reduce the EMFs in my environment.  Here's a list of some of the steps taken: 

• Wrapped new utility meters in lead sheeting (lead blocks radiation)
• Removed the grounding/earthing sheet from my bed (because the ground outside where the grounding rod was buried tested unusually high for electricity)
• Eliminated the wireless computer mouse and returned to a hard-wired mouse
• Turned off the wireless feature on the computer
• Turned off the WiFi feature on the modem
• Eliminated the iPad from my environment 
• Keeping the cell phone off most of the time, and pulling the battery out at night and when not in use
• Using the landline phone instead of the cell phone
• Turning off all the electric breakers at night, except for the furnace

The measures have been successful because I've been sleeping much, much better, thank goodness! 

Over 200 scientists have now signed The International Scientist Appeal to the United Nations and the World Health Organization, requesting greater levels of protection for humans and wildlife to electromagnetic fields and wireless technology.  Allowable levels in the United States and Canada far exceed allowable levels in other countries, for some reason, and professionals who do understand electromagnetic fields, are calling for the U.N. to strengthen its advisories on EMF risks for humans.

Bottom line is that the new utility meters are not proven safe, and many professionals are now saying they could be extremely harmful.  I know that they've been harmful to me.  And I know that I'm not the only one.

If you live in Michigan, please call your State Representative right now, and ask them to support the Analog Choice Bill, HB4916, which will give us a choice to keep our 100% mechanical, 100% analog, time-tested for safety, utility meters, without having to pay exorbitant fees to do so.  You can find more information about that on my blog here.

If you don't live in Michigan but are concerned about the new utility meters, please speak out!  Talk to everyone you know, and some you don't know, about your concerns and why you feel that way.  We can make a difference.

Thank you for reading ~ May We All Truly Be Blessed

Sources & more information:

• The Latest Form of Pollution: Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Hyla Cass, MD
• Electromagnetic Fields Stress Living Cells, Martin Blank, Ph.D., Dept. of Physiology, Columbia University, NY, NY; Reba Goodman, Ph.D., Dept. of Pathology, Columbia University, NY, NY
• Cell Phone Task Force - Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)
• Electromagnetic Fields and DNA Damage, J.L. Phillips, Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO; N.P. Singh, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; and H. Lai, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity - an increasing challenge to the medical profession, L. Hendendahl, M. Carlburg, L. Hardell
• Business Wire: International Scientist Appeal to U.N. to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields and Wireless Technology
• EMFscientist.org
• BioInitiative Report: A Rational for Biologically-based Exposure Standards for Low-Intensity Electromagnetic Radiation
• Electromagnetic Radiation Safety - Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
• Wireless Utility Meter Safety Impacts - Final Results Summary, Ed Halteman, Ph.D.
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan, USA
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Take Back Your Power