I'm on day 6 of the cold. Other than an occasional gob of phlegm hitting my vocal cords and making me sound like I'm under water for a few seconds I'm doing really well. I'm not even really sniffling today. All the noticeable symptoms of a cold are gone. I'm still a good bit tired, but that's from pushing myself through 10 hour days at work in spite of the fever and other symptoms. Unfortunately I was just in a position where I couldn't be out sick. Honestly, I feel pretty normal today minus the tireds.
One of the ladies I spoke to at the office who had the cold well before me said that she still had a cough hanging on a couple of weeks later. My cold, on the other hand, never made it down into my lungs. That's a minor miracle considering I used to have major problems with asthma, and anything that got into my head or sinuses was usually destined to head straight for the lungs.
So this cold bug has been hanging on for weeks in other people, but I knocked it out in 5 days with NO drugs. Wow!
I really can't get over how much things have changed for me. It was a tough decision for me to let the fever run its course naturally when I had no choice but to keep working regardless of how sick I was. I could have caved and gone for pharmaceutical intervention. But now I see the results. Even with my work schedule, supporting the fever instead of suppressing it was worth it.
In other news...
... I have my first tan! I have always had porcelain white skin and have never in my life been able to get a tan. But when I was on vacation I was out in the sun all day and I didn't want to block all the good vitamin D, so I only put a teensy bit of sunscreen on my face. I did get a little bit of pink around my decollete, but never really burned. I put some Sovereign Silver first aid gel on the pinkishness and never had any problem with it, although I did cover it up the next day to be safe. Now I have an awesome tan on my face, arms and decollete, and even a little on my legs (so anti-tan stubborn it's not even funny - I could blind astronauts on the International Space Station with the glare off these babies).
The astaxanthin I have been taking must have made all this possible. I have never been able to hold sun, instead I'd just turn red as a lobster and then go back to pasty white as soon as the red went down. Now I have this nice sunny glow for a change. So fun for the girl who got called Snow White in school!!!
The Camu Explosion
I started taking my Camu Camu while I had a fever. My first bottle of Camu Gold I bought while I was on vacation had a defective dropper top and wouldn't release the drops. So when I pressed a little harder to try to get some out, the entire dropper top exploded out of the bottle and sent sticky camu-ness all over me, my hair, my face, my clothes, my desk, my computer, etc. Not fun.
But I do have to give props to the folks at Amazon Herb Company. I contacted them because I was rather ticked about the Camu explosion and subsequent cleanup ordeal. Even though I didn't buy the bottle directly from them, they replaced the bottle at no charge. Now that is a company that knows how to make things right!
So I got my replacement bottle and since I knew the Camu Gold had a ton of vitamin C in it, I started taking extra. I do think it helped to have the extra along with my regular daily dose of Vitamin C. I do feel like I'm getting a little pick up when I take it, but it's hard to really tell since I've been so sick. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll start getting a better picture of whether or not it's helping my depression. The few depression symptoms I have left seem to be getting better and better by the week just from the nutritional and homeopathic intervention, so I'm excited to see how this may play in to that.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Battling a Cold
Well here it is. My first official battle with an illness sans big pharma. I had to go out of town and Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible sore throat and sinuses feeling like they were on fire. I used some of my SinuOrega and Sovereign Silver nasal spray, thinking it was just sinus stuff, and took some kali bic and allium cepa. By the time I got up for work in the morning I felt like I'd been hit by a mack truck. I knew I was running a fever, even though I didn't have a thermometer. You know that weird tingly burning feeling you get on the skin of your face when you're sitting by the fire? That was what I had and my face was pretty flushed. I have no doubt it was running pretty high.
After listening to Robert Scott Bell's show when he's discussed fevers multiple times, I knew this was actually a good sign. I don't think I've had a fever when I've been sick since I was a kid. It is interesting to actually experience the whole "you're finally strong enough to have a fever" thing. Fortunately I keep homeopathic phosphorus in my purse for my occasional sinus headaches and popped some under my tongue once I realized I was running a fever. I also had some white willow bark tincture in my purse, and since my head was really hurting along with my throat, I mixed up some of that in a bit of water and drank it down. It really did help with the throat and headache. Then I took some Sovereign Silver orally, holding it under my tongue for 30 seconds, and gargling it back in my throat before swallowing.
Midday I ran to get some Zicam zinc lozenges, as I've had good luck with it before, and some Elderberry juice that had zinc, propolis and echinacea mixed in. I continued to take this along with the silver, phosphorus, kali bic and allium cepa several times a day. By day 2, the inflammation in my throat and sinuses had gone down and my voice was much better, minus the plegm flopping down on my vocal cords as it drained out of my sinuses.
I did have a little intestinal mischief with all the drainage, but I really think that the daily dose of chia seeds and Dr. Ohhira's probiotics saved me there. It never turned into diarrhea like it normally does when my sinuses go nuts. I am seriously in love with chia seeds now.
My fever finally went down on day 3 (Friday), but I was still tired from all my traveling for work this week. Today I'm spending the day resting and recovering. I've been blowing stuff out of my nose today like crazy, and I think that's a good sign.
It's been a rough few days being sick and exceptionally crazy days at work that I just couldn't miss, but I've done amazingly well with no pharmaceutical intervention whatsoever. My body seems determined to fight it. Before I would have been fighting my body with drugs to suppress the fever, suppress the sinuses working to clean themselves out, and all that. I can't say that it sucks any less being sick, but I seem to be a lot less sick and the symptoms seem to be resolving themselves faster than they would have in the past. Now all I need is sleep, sleep, and more sleep.
After listening to Robert Scott Bell's show when he's discussed fevers multiple times, I knew this was actually a good sign. I don't think I've had a fever when I've been sick since I was a kid. It is interesting to actually experience the whole "you're finally strong enough to have a fever" thing. Fortunately I keep homeopathic phosphorus in my purse for my occasional sinus headaches and popped some under my tongue once I realized I was running a fever. I also had some white willow bark tincture in my purse, and since my head was really hurting along with my throat, I mixed up some of that in a bit of water and drank it down. It really did help with the throat and headache. Then I took some Sovereign Silver orally, holding it under my tongue for 30 seconds, and gargling it back in my throat before swallowing.
Midday I ran to get some Zicam zinc lozenges, as I've had good luck with it before, and some Elderberry juice that had zinc, propolis and echinacea mixed in. I continued to take this along with the silver, phosphorus, kali bic and allium cepa several times a day. By day 2, the inflammation in my throat and sinuses had gone down and my voice was much better, minus the plegm flopping down on my vocal cords as it drained out of my sinuses.
I did have a little intestinal mischief with all the drainage, but I really think that the daily dose of chia seeds and Dr. Ohhira's probiotics saved me there. It never turned into diarrhea like it normally does when my sinuses go nuts. I am seriously in love with chia seeds now.
My fever finally went down on day 3 (Friday), but I was still tired from all my traveling for work this week. Today I'm spending the day resting and recovering. I've been blowing stuff out of my nose today like crazy, and I think that's a good sign.
It's been a rough few days being sick and exceptionally crazy days at work that I just couldn't miss, but I've done amazingly well with no pharmaceutical intervention whatsoever. My body seems determined to fight it. Before I would have been fighting my body with drugs to suppress the fever, suppress the sinuses working to clean themselves out, and all that. I can't say that it sucks any less being sick, but I seem to be a lot less sick and the symptoms seem to be resolving themselves faster than they would have in the past. Now all I need is sleep, sleep, and more sleep.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Vacation Time!
I just got back from a great week-long vacation. It's amazing how much I learned about my body with the variance from my daily routine. I went to the coast and had a great time indulging in all sorts of new foods, but still I was very careful with what I ate and did not get one bit sick.
My morning smoothie routine stayed the same for breakfast. It is:
1 cup dairy kefir,
2 scoops chocolate Amazing Grass,
1 scoop One World Whey (chocolate),
1 cup coconut milk (I used to use almond milk but I decided I like coconut milk better),
8 drops of chocolate flavored stevia, and
2 tbsp. chia seeds.
It's amazing how much this helps me power through a long day. I spent a lot of time walking through several historical cities and on the beach in some pretty oppressive heat, typically I was on my feet from early in the morning until I went to sleep at night. I did get one minor heat headache, but I did not get dehydrated in the least or sick from it (thank you chia seeds!).
My friend who went with me did get dehydrated and heat exhausted, and I actually was having to slow myself down in the heat so she could keep up with me! My endurance and ability to cope with the climate was amazing, and so far beyond where I would have been just months ago. I am a little sore in my feet and ankles from walking on the beach, but some arnica montana really seems to be helping.
The interesting thing is that I started my period the day before I left, so I was in the heaviest part of my period while I was doing most of the walking in the heat. After being on the Mega Foods Blood Builder and ferrum phos. for an entire month I had no trouble whatsoever. No weakness, no energy loss, nothing. I really didn't even experience my usual PMS beforehand, although I did start taking my King Bio PMS Relief several days before I started. My blood loss was pretty par for the course as it has been for the past couple of months, but the difference in how I felt was substantial, especially with all the physical activity. Needless to say the Blood Builder and ferrum phos. are going to be a permanent part of my supplement regimen from here on out.
When it came to eating I made sure to get plenty of good lean protein and raw vegetables. I did indulge in dessert a couple of times, but was careful to stay gluten and grain free. My intestines stayed quite happy the whole trip. It's amazing how you can overindulge on a great salad and seafood and it totally doesn't mess with you or sit heavy on your stomach.
I picked up some Camu Gold from the Amazon Herb Company while I was on vacation, since I happened to run into some and have been meaning to try it to see how it helps with depression. Hopefully that will be a good report as well.
My morning smoothie routine stayed the same for breakfast. It is:
1 cup dairy kefir,
2 scoops chocolate Amazing Grass,
1 scoop One World Whey (chocolate),
1 cup coconut milk (I used to use almond milk but I decided I like coconut milk better),
8 drops of chocolate flavored stevia, and
2 tbsp. chia seeds.
It's amazing how much this helps me power through a long day. I spent a lot of time walking through several historical cities and on the beach in some pretty oppressive heat, typically I was on my feet from early in the morning until I went to sleep at night. I did get one minor heat headache, but I did not get dehydrated in the least or sick from it (thank you chia seeds!).
My friend who went with me did get dehydrated and heat exhausted, and I actually was having to slow myself down in the heat so she could keep up with me! My endurance and ability to cope with the climate was amazing, and so far beyond where I would have been just months ago. I am a little sore in my feet and ankles from walking on the beach, but some arnica montana really seems to be helping.
The interesting thing is that I started my period the day before I left, so I was in the heaviest part of my period while I was doing most of the walking in the heat. After being on the Mega Foods Blood Builder and ferrum phos. for an entire month I had no trouble whatsoever. No weakness, no energy loss, nothing. I really didn't even experience my usual PMS beforehand, although I did start taking my King Bio PMS Relief several days before I started. My blood loss was pretty par for the course as it has been for the past couple of months, but the difference in how I felt was substantial, especially with all the physical activity. Needless to say the Blood Builder and ferrum phos. are going to be a permanent part of my supplement regimen from here on out.
When it came to eating I made sure to get plenty of good lean protein and raw vegetables. I did indulge in dessert a couple of times, but was careful to stay gluten and grain free. My intestines stayed quite happy the whole trip. It's amazing how you can overindulge on a great salad and seafood and it totally doesn't mess with you or sit heavy on your stomach.
I picked up some Camu Gold from the Amazon Herb Company while I was on vacation, since I happened to run into some and have been meaning to try it to see how it helps with depression. Hopefully that will be a good report as well.
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