February Update

Wow, time flies by doesn't it?  There is so much craziness going on but I continue to heal more day by day.  I got a full-blown sinus infection a week and a half ago, and am now pretty much over it.  The best part - I used NO pharmaceuticals whatsoever.  Not that I wasn't tempted to try to get some relief, but I knew that everything I have been through to heal hinged on me not going on antibiotics to destroy all the progress I have made so far.  I've dealt with a couple of sinus infections just trying to start, but this is the first one that got all the way to full blown.  Apparently it decided to sneak up on me.

I've been through two colds, a zit outbreak, and now a full blown sinus infection with my new way of doing things.  As much as being sick sucks, I am starting to look at these illnesses as a learning opportunity.  I research, and I find ways of dealing with it to help my body naturally.

For instance, I now know that homeopathic hepar sulphur calcareum ROCKS at dealing with zits.  It also works well for sinus infections.  For the sinus infection I bumped up my Sovereign Silver orally to three times a day, plus doubled the dose of aged garlic (morning and night instead of just at night) I normally take.  It's been interesting watching the snot colors change (gross I know) from the yellowish-green that is classic of the infection and watching it go back to clear within a matter of a couple of days, so I know the combination is fighting the infection.  Everything has been pretty much clear now for about a week, but occasionally I get little bits with a bit of infection still in it.

I started out with using Sovereign Silver and SinuOrega as nasal sprays and alternating them, but I quickly realized the SinuOrega was making my symptoms worse in this case.  It usually burns pretty badly, but my headache would get worse each time I used it.  So I tried a new xylitol/grapefruit seed extract nasal spray called Xlear and alternated that with the Sovereign Silver and it seemed to work much better.  It's a more soothing product than the SinuOrega.

I also discovered that homeopathic belladonna seemed to be the remedy of choice for my really bad sinus headache this time instead of phosphorus.  Once I made the switch over to the new nasal spray and belladonna I finally got some relief from the pain.  Of course my old standbys allium cepa and kali bichromicum were a big help as always in the snottiness/congestion department.  I also got a little Olbas inhaler thingie that I LOVE.  It really helped keep my sinuses opened up.  It's all pepperminty/eucalyptusy scented.

So a week and a half later I'm still using my garlic/oral Sovereign Silver and alternating doses of Sovereign Silver and Xlear nasal sprays.  I'm still having to use belladonna in the mornings and right before bed, because my sinuses just feel a bit sore and kind of dull achy, and it really helps.  I know this means there is still inflammation in there, and I'll have to keep treating for another week or two.  It's not gone yet, but I know I've got it on the run.

Interestingly I found that massage, acupressure and reflexology also helps.  I went to a massage therapist and she did some reflexology stuff to stimulate my lymphatic system and some sinus massage to help drain everything.  Then she showed me some pressure points to use daily to help continue to keep the sinuses draining.  The next morning I got up and felt SO much better.

Probably the hardest part of this whole process is getting my head knowledge down to my heart.  Knowing I can trust my body to heal, that it wants to heal, and that all I need to do is support it is great.  But it's so contrary to the notions I've grown up with that the body does stupid things and we don't understand why so you have to take drugs to suppress the stupid body.  Getting that knowledge from my head to my heart is hard.  I still am fearful, thinking things like "what if this doesn't work" or "what if my body can't handle this one" or "what if I can't figure out what my body needs to help it."  But I am learning and growing stronger by the day.  I know that knowledge is slowly making its way from my head to my heart. 

Even my mom got really ticked at me that I wouldn't go see the nurse down at the Walgreen's and get some antibiotics on day two of the sinus infection.  A lot of times I feel like I'm alone in this, especially when people are telling me I'm being silly for not taking the drugs.

My depression is continuing to get better.  I haven't had many more signs of the twitchies recently, so I'm just watching for now.  While I've been sick I don't want to mess with anything.  But I still feel like I am going to be able to get off of the drug, even my doctor thinks so at this point.

Over the past couple of months I have actually been able to slowly adjust my body to some oral magnesium.  The lotion is great, but I didn't feel like I was getting quite enough from it.

So I got some of the Natural Calm magnesium powder and started taking it in teeny doses.  The normal dose is two rounded teaspoons, but I had to start out with 1/4 tsp. a day.  Not much, but I took that for a while, and let my intestines adjust to the dose, then upped it to 1/2 tsp. a day, let my body adjust and so forth.  Now I am up to a full 2 tsp. a day, only I take it in 1 tsp. doses twice a day.  So far my intestines seem to be handling it with no problems.  Eventually I'll be able to do rounded teaspoons.  I can tell a difference in my anxiety and stress level when I take it.

Cleaning Out the Cosmetics Drawer

I'm continuing to make progress day by day.  My digestion has gotten tons better since switching to a topical magnesium supplement and adding digestive enzymes to my regimen.  I got the Ancient Minerals Magnesium Lotion and it seems to be working pretty well for me.  Plus with all the coconut oil in it my skin is all silky smooth too.  Two birds, one stone.  Love it!

I've also been working my way through all my cosmetics.  I got into some gluten containing foundation or moisturizer and my chin broke out pretty badly.  It's healing up now thanks to a switch to some known gluten free products and the Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel.  That little gel works wonders on zits.  Like I've said before, I have never known of anything that works on cystic acne, and one did try to pop up, but it pulled a Barney Fife and nipped it in the bud.

I feel bad having throw out so much of my old stuff, but it's much better to be safe, since I know I'm reacting to this stuff now.  My first priority was my lip glosses, since they run the risk of getting into my intestinal tract.  Now I've moved on to verifying ingredients and manufacturing for everything. 

On the up side since I'm a lip gloss-aholic, I've been able to buy a bunch of all new lip glosses.  Yay!

Healing Tendons, Raw Cheese, and Digestive Enzymes

The one thing that amazes me on this journey is how much I continue to learn about what my body needs on a daily basis.  Thanks to my great chiropractors and the double dose of turmeric I am taking daily, my hip is healing fast.  It still stiffens a little bit when I've been sitting for a while, but there is no pain any more.  But the stiffness is getting less and less, and quickly shakes off after walking around a few minutes.

I've also started eating raw cheese on a daily basis.  It's truly interesting because I was having such a hard time with any dairy, but this doesn't make me nauseated at all.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a good source for raw milk.  I've been getting organic kefir which is pasteurized, but the fermentation process seems to make it quite digestible for me.  Plus it's giving me probiotics.  So now I can eat raw cheese, kefir, and ghee without problems.  Apparently this is pretty common for people recovering from either celiac or gluten intolerance from what I've been reading online.  For some reason we just can't handle the lactose, but in the kefir and ghee there is no lactose.  Interestingly, raw cheese still has the enzymes from the momma cow to help her baby digest the lactose.  So I'm guessing lactose is my culprit there.

I'm still having problems when I eat anything outside of vegetables, meat, and nuts.  Any kind of carbs do not go well, not that I eat many.  But I have found some digestive enzymes that are really helping quite a bit.  Initially I ignored the suggestion that I take digestive enzymes in the Body Ecology Diet book, but I started having some intestinal issues again.  Apparently that was a combination of my oral magnesium supplement and needing some extra digestive help.  I started the digestive enzymes with meals and it got a lot better but still not 100%, but then I realized that the magnesium can have a laxative effect, so I stopped it and now I'm back to normal.

Fortunately I don't have to take the enzymes with everything, but I do have to watch anything with any real carbs in it, like brown rice and some seeds.  If I eat anything at all questionable, like something a restaurant or relative has prepared I take them to be safe. 

As far as the magnesium goes, I have a magnesium lotion coming to try supplementing through the skin, as I know the magnesium is really good for me.  But I guess my system can't handle it orally.

The Case of the Curious Eczema Recurrence and a Torn Tendon

It has been an eventful few weeks.  I found out this week that a problem I have been having with my hip since I tripped and landed squarely on the pointy hip bit that sticks out beside the tummy are due to a partially torn tendon on the iliac crest.  Fun fun!  Fortunately it will heal with some help.  I started seeing the chiropractor this week and it has helped.  Last week the pain and stiffness was getting pretty bad, but I couldn't get in to see the chiropractor til this week, so I started taking New Chapter Turmeric Force twice a day.  It really has helped manage the pain a lot.  Even the chiropractor told me that staying on the turmeric would be huge in helping me heal up.

My biggest mystery of the past few weeks was the recurrence of some pretty bad patches of eczema on my scalp.  Up til now it had been pretty well under control, save for a few flaky spots here and there, but definitely showing continuous improvement over the last few months.  All of the sudden it flared up big time and was actually scabbing up again.  This was definitely not good.  I finally figured out that I had started using some remaining leave-in conditioner for my hair, that I had from a while back.  My hair had been dried out from two beach trips over the past couple of months (who knew salt air could wreak havoc on hair?), so I had started using it a few weeks ago.  Finally my brain made the connection and guess what I found on the ingredients list? Yep, hydrolized wheat gluten.

Geez.  I sent Ojon (the product maker) a rather irate letter explaining that they needed to do a better job formulating their products, especially with the growing numbers of people with gluten sensitivity.  I also checked out most of their products at Sephora and most contain wheat. Their response ... we have experts formulating our products ... will pass this along ... reading between the lines the response appeared to be basically "we don't give a crap."  Nothing like "gee, we're sorry our product made your scalp self-destruct." 

So I went to EarthFare and got some gluten free hair care stuff by Hugo Naturals.  Hopefully that will calm my scalp back down in a bit.  I also got this yummy gluten free brown sugar and kumquat sugar scrub from them too.  With winter coming up, a good sugar scrub is a must!

I never imagined when all this started that I'd have to completely go through all my personal care products and start trashing anything with wheat or wheat derivatives in it.  Fortunately I found a list online of stuff to look for in the ingredients lists.  I remember about a month ago helping pack up cookies at a wake after a memorial service and noticed my hands got itchy, but thought it was just my imagination.  Maybe not.  I did have the good sense not to eat them, but I didn't think touching it would be a problem.  Now I think I really do have a full blown allergy to wheat.

Oddly enough I was talking to my chiropractor about the whole gluten thing while he was adjusting me, and he said that he thinks that 90% or more of all humans are gluten intolerant to some degree, but just don't know it.  Interestingly even my dog's allergies have improved since he has switched to a wheat free formula.  So what the heck has happened to our wheat to make it so toxic?

Change of Seasons

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!

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.

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.