On the fence about whether to remove the smart meter from your home? So were my husband and I. But the continued deterioration in the health of my family,  especially mine, led us to take the only safe option—replacement of our smart meter with an analog. This was well over a year ago. I truly wish we would have removed it sooner. The consequence: There’s been periodic pressure from DTE to opt-out. We have our electricity. More importantly, we have our health back.

When confronted with a difficult situation, we think of all sorts of reasons to justify our non-action. But by now, you’ve read the science: Wireless technology is a ticking time bomb, a carcinogen. You know that there are thousands of people suffering immediate effects. You know, the system’s only concerned with the bottom line, not your health—that’s for sure. No one in power is looking out for you. You have to look out for yourself, for your family. I sure hope anyone who is experiencing severe health effects, or even minor effects, realizes their health is so much more important than being bullied into living with a smart meter.

I also hope that anyone who is seemingly not experiencing health problems, but who has a smart meter on their home, will carefully consider the long-term havoc this meter could wreak on their health, especially on their children’s.  

The smart meter is installed
Life can change in a heartbeat—literally. That’s what happened for me. We didn’t know a smart meter had been installed on our home until reading a small notation on the bottom of the electric bill sent to us nearly a month after the meter was installed. Was I worried? Just the opposite— I was excited, having heard only great things about them.

My only worry at the time we received that bill (unrelated, I thought) were recent changes in my health. A few weeks prior to the receipt of our electric bill (but very shortly after, I later learned, installation of the smart meter), I had awakened with a racing heart. It happened again a couple days later and continued to occur every day when I awoke. I couldn’t figure it out. Was I having bad dreams? Soon, I began noticing irregular heart palpitations during the day. There had been more and more over the last two weeks. And also insomnia, headaches, ear pain, difficulty hearing, flu-like symptoms, numbness, excessive flatulence and abdominal pains, and rashes, to name a few. My children soon began to complain of some of these same symptoms. I thought it was a bug, and that the problems with my heart were a separate issue.

While on my computer one morning, some time after we had received the bill with the notation informing us that a smart meter had been installed, I decided to learn more about the meters. DTE hadn't left nor sent us any instructions. I was mildly surprised to find that the meters work wirelessly. And then—I came across an article warning of health problems. Curious, I clicked the link, and my life turned upside-down. There before me was an exact list of my recent health problems, my family’s health problems. My heart—thinking back to the notation on our billing statement—had begun acting funny just days after the installation. I was shocked to my core when I continued my search, finding more and more articles; person after person reporting these same symptoms where smart meters have been deployed. I also felt relieved at maybe having found the source. But it seemed crazy. We—my family and I—had been using wireless technology for years. How could these meters be any different? How could they truly affect people's health like this? So began my crash course on EMFs, microwave technology, and electrohypersensitivity.

Into the second month after installation, my husband was back to work, the kids were in school. They seemed a bit better, but I was feeling worse. I decided to conduct an experiment and drove off into the country, away from any smart meters. After a while, the ringing in my ears and my headache diminished, my heart calmed. What also diminished and vanished was any lingering skepticism that had remained: It was definitely the meters causing these health problems.

I called DTE. I wanted them to know their meters were dangerous. It didn't matter who I spoke with, like robots on repeat I heard the following: "They're as safe as cell phones. No, they cannot be removed." So frustrated, I began calling a few times a week, hoping to get through to the right person, someone who would listen and help.  My  request was simple: Allow us an analog meter. They refused.
We were in a living nightmare, my health continuing its rapid downward spiral. My heart thumped like a fish on dry land. The constant ringing in my ears was now accompanied by popping every few seconds, as if changing altitude. I began seeing flashes of light when I closed my eyes. One more month—that was our plan. We'd hold out for the opt-out program that DTE assured us was coming. (We were completely unaware of the fact that both the smart meter and the opt meter would expose us to dirty electricity.)

There came a day when I just didn't think I'd get to see the next. I went to the ER, and spent the night away from home. Back in my own bed the following night, I urinated on myself (incontinence, I have since learned, is a not uncommon effect of smart meters).
 

I was so angry—at myself, at DTE!
How absurd that I had even subjected myself to this torture!  
Even more ridiculous, that I continued doing so!  
Chancing death—literally, with my heart problems—because I was afraid to remove a DTE smart meter!