The period came and went uneventfully, so I appear to be on the right track with the whole food iron supplementation and ferrum phos. All I needed was a little arnica for some minor cramplets one day and I was good.
Due to the changing seasons here in East Tennessee, my sinuses have been a bit more trouble than usual. Our weather changes from moment to moment between hot and cold, rainy and dry when the seasons are changing so it's not terribly surprising that my body is having trouble keeping up and it's manifesting in my sinuses. Still, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be.
I'm having to keep up with the SinuOrega and Sovereign Silver nasal sprays multiple times a day and it is helping. They seem to be a lot less irritated, especially with the SinuOrega. I guess it irritates the crap out of them all at once and there's no irritated left by the time it's done. There was some blood coming out while blowing my nose and I could feel scabby-crusty stuff forming in the sinuses, but some hepar sulphur calcareum for a few days got that under control. I read somewhere that it's supposed to be good for that, and it worked like a charm. That's definitely going to stay on my go-to sinus drama list.
Doggie Drama
My Boxer recently had to have surgery to remove a small benign tumor in one of his lower eyelids that was really irritating him. The vet had to take a V shaped section out of his eyelid to get all of it, and he did great up until a few days after surgery. Then he pawed at his stitches and scratched his lid. There was blood everywhere. The dog, the carpet, me - EVERYWHERE. Honestly I thought he had gouged his eye out. So I put his cone collar on and took him back to the vet and it was just a little scratch, and he didn't do any damage to the stitches or incision (thank goodness!).
Anyhow, his eye got super irritated after we got him cleaned up and home from the vet. There was some blood tinged pus coming out of the eye almost constantly. I got an eye dropper and started flushing his eye out with Sovereign Silver a couple of times a day. Admittedly, the boy was not thrilled with it, but he tolerated it well and his eye cleared up and healed up beautifully. His stitches came out yesterday and he's my happy, handsome Boxer boy again!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
So Far, So Good
According to my period tracker I am about 2 days out, give or take, from starting my period. So far I haven't had any advance symptoms of PMS. Considering last month's stellar performance after having been on the Blood Builder and ferrum phos for a month straight, I am expecting nothing major this month either.
Periods without PMS ... I would never have thought it possible.
I am starting to notice some definite effects of the Camu Gold now. It was subtle at first, so it was hard to pinpoint. Really I am just feeling more joyful and upbeat, even at work. Work is especially hard as I am in a very high stress field and around people who are pretty much in panic mode 24/7. I think the Camu is making a difference there.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Death and Demise of a Cystic Zit
Well, I had my first official zit since starting on the Silver/Aloe Protocol back in April. Before I was on birth control pills I would get horrible cystic acne, especially on my chin, that would get pretty big and painful. The mounds would get as big as half of a small marble on the surface of my skin and they would hurt so bad. Even worse, they would last for weeks at a time and no over the counter acne meds would touch them. Typically the end result is that I'd get so frustrated with there being no end in sight to the zit and break out the rubbing alcohol and a sewing needle and go digging in the zit for the infection. I'd open the thing up and get out all the infection and then alcohol it to death, leaving a huge scab and a lovely scar. Fun times!
I still get some clogged pores here and there on my chin, now that I'm off the birth control pills and on my new organic/homeopathic lifestyle, but those have never gotten infected and I've been able to easily extract them using an aethetician's tool. Clogged pores are pretty normal for us oily skinned girls anyway. But this one decided to go rogue on me. I felt it starting to swell with a tiny bit of pain, but not bad. It came up to a bit of a bump, more like the head of a pin. I started slathering my chin with Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel immediately.
The zit never got any bigger, and the pain stopped, and then the zit went down to being not visible within 5 days of twice daily application of the gel. I can still barely feel a bump under the surface of my skin, so I'm still applying the gel. But that was FAST.
Any doctor will tell you that cystic acne is the most difficult to treat, because the infection is deeper in the skin and it never comes to a head like normal zits. Instead they just look like giant cysts. I have tried EVERYTHING on the market to fight these. The Sovereign Silver must be able to penetrate way down into the skin to get to the infection somehow. Admittedly I was taking the oral Sovereign Silver as well, to help with the recovery from my cold, and a little bit of sinus crud from the sudden weather change from summer to much cooler weather. Still, I think it was the First Aid Gel that made the difference.
I still get some clogged pores here and there on my chin, now that I'm off the birth control pills and on my new organic/homeopathic lifestyle, but those have never gotten infected and I've been able to easily extract them using an aethetician's tool. Clogged pores are pretty normal for us oily skinned girls anyway. But this one decided to go rogue on me. I felt it starting to swell with a tiny bit of pain, but not bad. It came up to a bit of a bump, more like the head of a pin. I started slathering my chin with Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel immediately.
The zit never got any bigger, and the pain stopped, and then the zit went down to being not visible within 5 days of twice daily application of the gel. I can still barely feel a bump under the surface of my skin, so I'm still applying the gel. But that was FAST.
Any doctor will tell you that cystic acne is the most difficult to treat, because the infection is deeper in the skin and it never comes to a head like normal zits. Instead they just look like giant cysts. I have tried EVERYTHING on the market to fight these. The Sovereign Silver must be able to penetrate way down into the skin to get to the infection somehow. Admittedly I was taking the oral Sovereign Silver as well, to help with the recovery from my cold, and a little bit of sinus crud from the sudden weather change from summer to much cooler weather. Still, I think it was the First Aid Gel that made the difference.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Cold Update and Other News
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?
I've been a little frustrated with ear canal issues and discharge for several years now. While the silver-aloe protocol seemed to help some, because I had discharge from my ears while I was on it, it didn't completely clear it up. There's actually so much gunk in my ears every morning that if I don't clean it out it affects my hearing a bit (and it smells funny!). Yesterday it was itching something awful, just driving me crazy. I had tried coating a cotton swab with the Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel and swirling it around in there a while back, which helped, but never really cleared it up. The itching was always back in a few hours.
So, I was frustrated enough that I finally did what I should have done months ago. I dumped an eye dropper full of the liquid sovereign silver down each ear canal, while laying on my side. Then I left it in for about 8 minutes and then sat up and let it run out. Then I put a little of the first aid gel around the outer part of the ear where my skin is a bit flaky. The difference this morning is amazing. The outer part of the ear is still a little itchy where there's some eczema, but the inner part of the ear canal is totally happy and not itchy. It doesn't feel like there's gunk in it like usual.
I have had some clear fluid discharge coming out of my ears today, sort of like water.
I'm going to keep doing this every night for a few days to clear it up. Apparently candida can grow and do exactly this itchy, crusty, gunky stuff in the ear canal, so I'm betting my ears have been one of the last bastions of candida in my body. Bye ear candida monster, you are going down!
Also I am working on my scalp eczema too. It's back a little but not nearly as bad as it was before the silver-aloe protocol. I read online that you can put about 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract (the same stuff I use diluted in water to clean my veggies) in your shampoo and leave it on for about 3-5 minutes. Talk about cheap, and using stuff I already had. I tried it for the first time last night. That would be awesome if it works!
So, I was frustrated enough that I finally did what I should have done months ago. I dumped an eye dropper full of the liquid sovereign silver down each ear canal, while laying on my side. Then I left it in for about 8 minutes and then sat up and let it run out. Then I put a little of the first aid gel around the outer part of the ear where my skin is a bit flaky. The difference this morning is amazing. The outer part of the ear is still a little itchy where there's some eczema, but the inner part of the ear canal is totally happy and not itchy. It doesn't feel like there's gunk in it like usual.
I have had some clear fluid discharge coming out of my ears today, sort of like water.
I'm going to keep doing this every night for a few days to clear it up. Apparently candida can grow and do exactly this itchy, crusty, gunky stuff in the ear canal, so I'm betting my ears have been one of the last bastions of candida in my body. Bye ear candida monster, you are going down!
Also I am working on my scalp eczema too. It's back a little but not nearly as bad as it was before the silver-aloe protocol. I read online that you can put about 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract (the same stuff I use diluted in water to clean my veggies) in your shampoo and leave it on for about 3-5 minutes. Talk about cheap, and using stuff I already had. I tried it for the first time last night. That would be awesome if it works!
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