Natural remedies

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You should’ve seen by the look in my eyes, baby…

June 19, 2010 in Darby, Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, Paige, Random by Petra | 3 comments

Randomness
{and I don’t know what’s up with the REO Speedwagon reference in the title today… apparently I’ve got the ’80s on my brain? Maybe it was in my dream last night? There’s no telling. Sing it with me now… “there was something missing… You should’ve known by the tone of my voice, maybe… but you didn’t listen…” Okay, I’m done.}

  • Paige’s two molars have finally broken through! Hooray!! I’m sure the next two  molars will be trying to come through soon, but for now, she is sleeping much better.
  • I’m recovering from the baaaaaad lamb. Whew. That one set me back. I think the diet is going well though – aside from the lamb episode, I’ve had more energy – AND my skin is clearing up!!! Breakouts, flaky skin, and itchiness are all usually symptoms of something in one’s diet that is disagreeing with them, and I have always had all three of those things. So I’m thinking whatever the offending food item has been must be gone since those three things are not bothering me for once. I mean, my skin started clearing up after a day and a half of the new diet!! It’s the little things.
  • Andrew has been working so much! And when he’s not working, he has massive amounts of homework (he’s now in school for his new MOS – until September). He did get to come home early yesterday after passing his test, though, so we are enjoying a long-ish weekend.
  • I’m especially enjoying that while I’m sitting here blogging, he is mopping the kitchen and dining room. ;)
  • Justice comes home from his mission trip today! I really miss him! I’m not going to do so well when my kids start moving out of the house. I like them too much!! Yes, I’m one of those rare breeds of mothers who actually *likes* her kids and likes having them around, even the teenagers. ;)
  • Darby is done with her swimming lessons! They had been jumping off the diving board at the end of class, and on the last two days, the kids that wanted to were allowed to jump off the high dive. Two boys in the group wanted to… and Darby! She jumped off several times and swam over to the side after she jumped in. She’s always been kind of a daredevil, and she definitely learned a lot in her two weeks of lessons. $20 well spent! :)
  • I guess I need to get off my rear and get back to helping clean the house. More elimination diet posts to come, and I’ll try to do a post with more photos soon – I’ve been lacking in the photo-posting area.
  • Happy Father’s Day to all the dads that read my blog. :)

Elimination diet – Day 3

June 18, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | No comments

June 18, 2010

Paige slept from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am!! She’s never done this with any consistency – she’ll sleep all night for 1, 2, or 3 nights, then it’s back to waking up. I’m patiently waiting for the day that she just sleeps all night, every night! :)

I got up with Paige this morning – I slept from 12 to 8, only interrupted once by Jacob and once by a weird dream. A few more nights like this and I might actually feel caught up on sleep! :)

Breakfast, 9:15 am -
halibut
strawberries and blueberries
garlic and honey

I ended up taking a nap when Paige did – for three hours (!), so I ate lunch late. Was really weak and shaky going five hours without eating. I may add the green tea back in. I haven’t had issues with my blood sugar for a long time, and I know when I did, the green tea helped regulate it. It coud be that it was helping all along!! I’m sure the green tea isn’t one of the foods that has been bothering me, and I gotta say – the caffeine would be helpful in the mornings. :)

I woke up with a horrid headache that was making me nauseous. I took a painkiller before my nap and the combo of the drugs and the sleep helped. It’s just a dull headache now, but I’m still a little nauseous (and I hate being nauseous). And I’ve burped up lamb several times. I don’t think I’ll try the lamb again for a while. I had never heard of lamb bothering anyone – but then, Timberly said it bothers her, so there ya go.

The foods I suspect could possibly be the culprit(s) that were still making me feel bad: dairy (I drink a lot of organic milk), eggs (I do get free-range, cage-free, organic eggs, but still – these are high on the suspect list), white potatoes, rice, bananas.

At first, I was just going to cut *those* foods out, but I ended up finding this diet that seemed like a pretty good plan.  And actually, this diet allows some other meats, but they were things that didn’t interest me, such as quail, rabbit, and other obscure animals. Uh, gross. I’ll stick with the fish for now. :)

Lunch, 2:30 pm -
salad – spinach, spring mix, carrots, cucumbers, sea salt
pineapples
plantain chips

———————————————–

So, around 4:00, my headache got much worse and I was so nauseous that I wished I would vomit. And if any of you know me at all, you know how much I hate to vomit. I used to say I’d rather give birth than vomit, but then I gave birth to Paige, and uh, vomiting is better than that was. Whew. I was just wishing to get it all out of my system!

Anyway, after much rest and some TV on DVD, I’m feeling human again. I didn’t eat much the rest of the day – some fruit, some grape juice, and finally – some natural peanut butter. According to the diet, I can have almond butter or sunflower butter, but I don’t like either of those, and I was NOT up for cooking fish tonight, so I just had some all natural peanut butter for some protein. I don’t think peanuts bother me, but I won’t be eating much of it just in case.

Oh, and I felt so sick because of last night’s lamb! I’m absolutely positive that’s what it was. I was already convinced of it, then Andy went to eat the lamb leftovers (since there was no way I was touching it), and halfway through it, he goes “I think this is really bad meat.” Hmmm. No more lamb for a while.

Elimination diet – Day 1

June 16, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

June 16, 2010 (I’ll be posting these daily as I go through this process and updating them as I go through the day)

Paige had me up half the night. When Andy got up for work (and I was up messing with Paige), I had gotten about an hour of sleep total. But then she slept from about 5:30 until around 10:30, so we made up for a little bit of the night. So, since I got up late, and I actually had to defrost and cook my breakfast (—), I didn’t eat breakfast until 11:30.

Breakfast, 11:30 am -
a cup or so of blueberries
wild halibut cooked in olive oil, fresh garlic, and sea salt
lemon water
clove of garlic chopped up in a spoon of local honey (for the antibiotic properties)

Symptoms, 12:15 pm -
Stomach is killing me – gas, indigestion, bloated.
Foggy brain.
Exhausted, but not sleepy.
Kind of nauseous.
Neck, shoulder, back pain – as always.

In hindsight, “going out with a bang” yesterday probably wasn’t wise, but whatever. I felt ill anyway, so I figured what the heck – may as well let my taste buds have some enjoyment.

Lunch, 1:30 pm -
salad – spinach leaves, “spring mix” which includes romaine, chard and other leafy greens, yellow onion, green pepper, carrots, sea salt
red grapes
lemon water

Snack, 3 or 4-ish pm -
raw sunflower seeds (yuck – I should have bought the roasted/salted ones!)
plaintain chips

I’m starving and starting to get a headache from not having my morning green tea (a.k.a. caffeine).

Dinner, 7:00 pm -
wild yellowfin tuna, cooked in sesame oil with fresh garlic and sea salt (it’s kind of chewy?)
green beans
fresh cut pineapple
more lemon water (been drinking it all day)

The citrus fruits I’m avoiding are in the orange and grapefruit families, also avoiding apples and bananas.

Have I mentioned that I don’t really like seafood? I bought like six different types of fish to try though. I’ve had halibut before, since when I *do* eat fish, I normally opt for a white flaky fish. However, the tuna I had tonight was less fishy than the halibut I had this morning. I bought all my fish (and my lamb and some of my fruits and veggies) from Trader Joe’s.  Oh, I always get my sea salt, olive oil, and sesame oil there as well. Just fyi. the next piece of tuna I eat needs to be cooked a different way, I think.

Final update of the day, 10:00 pm -

I just ate a snack of more blueberries and pineapples, and I sprinkled some shredded coconut on them. It was delicious. And yes, the coconut was natural – I use Bob’s Red Mill coconut.

I realize my diet today was probably a bit too fruit heavy – need to eat more veggies tomorrow. It’s because I thought I had gotten more veggies than I did, but when I went to look for things like cucumbers and zucchini today – alas, there was none. And now I remember it was because those were looking kind of wilty at the first store, and then I forgot to look at the second store. I’ll pick some up tomorrow maybe.

At the end of the first day, I don’t feel worse, but I don’t necessarily feel better.

Aaaaand as I type, my tongue is starting to feel weird? It’s indescribable, but I think I’ll hold off on the coconut for a while!!! It’s like my tongue got scraped and maybe burned? Weird.

Okay – heading to take a shower and hit the hay. Here’s hoping Paige sleeps tonight! Because yeah – lack of sleep most likely accounts for about 60% of my current issues! The last time I had a “good week” with more energy than usual and less brain fogs, was the last time Paige slept through the night for a week in a row. I really think if I can figure out whatever the last foods are that are bothering me, *and* get sleep every night, that my health and energy levels will significantly improve. :)

Process of elimination – Part I

June 15, 2010 in Celiac, Elimination Diet, Fibromyalgia, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

As most of my readers probably know, I have food sensitivities or intolerances, whatever you want to call them (not allergies – allergies are different). I know I cannot have gluten, due to the celiac (see my ‘health’ page for more info on that). I have figured out that chemical-laden foods bother me, and I know that corn and corn products make me ill. However, after ridding myself of those things, I continue to have symptoms. So, since I cannot afford to get an ALCAT test done, I am going to do an elimination diet, the particular one of which I have lost the link so I’ll link you up later when I feel like looking for it. 

Basically, I can only eat certain foods for a while (probably between 2 weeks and a month, depending on how long it takes for my symptoms to disappear), then I’ll be able to add in one food at a time to see if it bothers me. Since intolerances, unlike most allergies, sometimes take a little while to show symptoms, I’ll be introducing each new food twice a day for about four days before I can move on to the next new food. I’ll keep a chart, and if it bothers me right away, I obviously need to never eat it, if it bothers me the 2nd day, then I can probably have it once every four days, and if it bothers me the 3rd or 4th day, then I can probably have it once every other day. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. lol. I’m actually excited to figure it all out. I’m going to keep a record of it all on the blog for those who are interested. If you aren’t, then you can just skip these posts. ;)

The symptoms I’ve been experiencing lately are these:

  • more frequent headaches. They had slowed down a LOT after getting rid of the gluten. However, a lot of people with celiac have other food intolerances as well. Getting the gluten out of my system was wonderful, but then my body became more sensitive to the ‘smaller’ (for lack of a better word) things that were bothering me. I got rid of the chemicals next, then the corn. Now that those are out of my system, whatever else is bothering me is amplified. So the headaches are back. Not like they were a couple of years ago, but enough to where  I’m ready to do something about them.
  • more brain fogs. These are usually due to the fibromyalgia, but fibromyalgia can be controlled by diet, and I notice that the fogs get worse when I have something in my diet that does not belong. If you’ve never had a brain fog, trust me, you don’t want one! Your head feels full of pressure and is sometimes accompanied by dizziness, you can’t concentrate on anything, you become irritable, it’s hard to focus or even get out complete sentences, it takes much effort to try to remember simple things, etc. Not fun.
  • my fibromyalgia pain and also my myofascial pain are worse than ever. I’ve had to take pain killers much more often lately, and I wait until it’s really bad before I start popping pills since me and chemicals don’t really get along.
  • arthritis-type pain, which accompanies the above – it’s not actually arthritis, it’s from the fibromyalgia, but it’s been super bad lately.
  • I’m tired all the time, and seriously lacking in energy.
  • I’m irritable (and it’s not just me being moody – I’m only irritable when my health is uncontrollably causing it).
  • My senses have all been heightened lately. Noises are louder, smells are stronger, the sun is brighter, etc.
  • I’m sure any digestion/stomach issues I’ll ever have now or in the future will never compare to what they were before I gave up gluten (!), but my stomach has been bothering me more lately in the form of (warning: tmi ahead) gas and constipation.  Woo hoo!
  • Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble waking up once I finally do get into a deep sleep. This has always been an issue for me – my entire life, but it’s been worse again lately.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, and many of the things I mentioned are bothering me right now. Some of my issues I know are due to a lack of sleep, but I’m sure that there are foods that are still bothering me. I’m crossing my fingers it’s *not* dairy. I think that’ll be really hard to give up – as hard as giving up gluten.

Starting June 16th, I will only be eating the following foods that I stocked up on yesterday and today:

  • lamb
  • wild fish, not farm-raised (I bought several types)
  • a myriad of vegetables, but no white potatoes, tomatoes, and a couple others that I’ll have to consult my list again to see
  • some fruits, but no citrus fruits, and no bananas
  • sea salt
  • extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil
  • sunflower seeds
  • a few spices

A couple of nuts are allowed on the diet, like almonds and, I think, pecans, but just the thought of consuming those makes me want to hurl, so yeah – I wont’ be eating them. Yuck. I SO wish I loved almonds, but alas, I do not.

I have never eaten lamb before, so I just bought one package of it, which is supposed to be about 4 servings. I’ll let you know how I like that.

Basically, my plan is to eat for breakfast – fruit, some fish, and my daily garlic, for lunch – a salad and a fruit smoothie (not my old recipe, which included yogurt and milk, but an all-fruit recipe) and probably a handful of sunflower seeds, then for dinner – fish or lamb with lots of veggies. I’ll snack on veggies, fruit, and seeds. I’m planning on feeling very hungry, especially at first! lol. Today, I ate lots of things I love and will miss, like gluten-free pancakes, Trader Joe’s bacon, Kettle barbecue chips, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, and an extra glass of green tea. I figured I’d go out with a bang. ;) I think my morning green tea will be difficult, but the stuff I read about the diet gave a convincing argument that I needed to eliminate all that sort of stuff and start from scratch for this to really work. I don’t think green tea bothers me, so I’m sure I’ll be adding it back in as I believe the health benefits of green tea far outweigh anything negative from the caffeine.

Wish me luck, or rather, pray for me. I’ll need it! :)

I am sitting in the morning at the diner on the corner…

May 22, 2010 in Darby, Health, Natural remedies, Paige by Petra | 5 comments

I’ve decided. I shall eat a clove of raw garlic every day for the rest of my life. If only I had decided this earlier, but no, I had to stop once I received the antibiotic properties last time I was sick. I stopped because of the smell. Well, smell schmell!!! I now have what the kids have been passing around. But I shall nip it in the bud quickly. Go garlic! Go!

Andrew has to go out to the field this week. Bummer. He hasn’t done that in a long time. But it’s only three days, so I’m sure I will survive. I’ll miss him though. I think we enjoy one another’s company more and more as time passes by.

Poor Paige does not like to be sick! And she really does not like it when I suction her nose out, or even when I wipe her nose. Hopefully she’ll recover from this respiratory illness very soon!

Speaking of Paige – here she is being all pitiful and ill two nights ago…

You can’t see all the snot in this photo. But it’s there.

And Darby is a mess, as usual. A cute mess…

I love her freckles…

Back to making some CD’s for my car. I’m so over the ones I’ve had in there forever.

You make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a natural woman…

February 28, 2010 in Breastfeeding, Health, Natural remedies by Petra | 10 comments

I don’t know why I keep thinking I need to include chemicals in my life in any way, shape, or form!

I just went through a round of antibiotics because of mastitis in my left breast. A few days in, my breast was better, but then I got a pill stuck in my throat (I have a small esophagus) and it was a night from h-e-double-hockey-sticks complete with nausea, my throat/chest being on fire, sweating, and feeling like I was going to die. I skipped a day of the antibiotics after that, fearing another pill getting lodged in my throat/chest, but started feeling bad again so decided it’d be best to finish off the drugs. The day after that, my right breast became infected! Argh. I kept up with the antibiotics, and my breast cleared up except for a small spot that was still a bit tender. I finally finished the antibiotics a few days ago, and had a huge party to celebrate. Hundreds of people were invited. There was dancing in the streets. I hate swallowing pills. My body hates chemicals. I felt like I had been hit by a truck the entire time I was on them, so being done caused me to sing the Hallelujah chorus at the top of my lungs!

Yesterday, I felt some of my energy returning. I even cleaned up the basement where all the construction is happening.  That wore me out, though, so I took it easy the rest of the night (you’d think two weeks of antibiotics would have me feeling amazing, not just-barely-hanging-on). Then in the evening, my energy was completely gone, I started feeling lightheaded, and within a short amount of time, my right breast was completely hardened on the top half of it all the way up to my armpit and hurt like heck.  I don’t know if I had a fever, I felt horrible though. I was like “great! I’m gonna have to go on antibiotics again!” And I hear that happens a lot – people end up going through two rounds of antibiotics because their body doesn’t quite get well the first time around. I was bummed. So – I was all set to get steadily worse until Monday morning rolled around and I could call the doc’s office. 

But then, then I had an epiphany!

I was like, “ya know? I don’t need those stinky chemicals!!! I’m gonna get rid of this thing au naturale!” And I remembered garlic. And how God gave it to us as a natural antibiotic. Cause He’s awesome like that.

So… last night before bed, as I felt worse and worse, I took a hot shower, drank lots of water, and minced a clove of fresh garlic and ate it with a spoonful of honey (not tasty, but not completely inedible). This morning, my breast was still pretty bad. I minced another clove of garlic and ate it on a spoonful of honey and went to church. When I came home, I was still burping up garlic (I’m sorry to everyone that I talked to at church!), so I was like “I’ll wait until later to take my next dose,” and I took a nap with the heating pad.  Now? my breast is almost completely unblocked and my energy is returning!!!! After only two doses of garlic and a nap!

I plan on taking garlic a couple times a day for at least a couple more days, and resting for at least another day, but I’m pretty sure I’m not going to need any more yucky, chemical-filled, plastic-encapsuled pills!!! Hooray!!!

So – that being said, here is my cure for mastitis – start these steps as soon as you begin having symptoms!:

1. Get plenty of rest! This is important! Your body can’t fight infection nearly as well when you are running around pushing your limits.
2. Drink plenty of water. Got to stay hydrated. Fo sho!
3. Apply heat to the affected area. Use a heating pad or a hot washcloth.  You can also take a hot shower or bath.  Some people say taking a hot bath with baking soda and epson salts helped them, as that helps draw toxins out of your body.
4. Keep breastfeeding! And do it often. Begin on the infected side every time so that the baby can help unclog the ducts with the most vigorous sucking.
5. Massage the breast before and during breastfeeding. Yes, it hurts, but it helps too. 
6. Eat a clove of garlic with a spoonful of honey (you can mix it into a cup of hot tea, but that would last much longer than just hurrying up and chewing and swallowing one spoonful) three times per day.
7.If you *must*, take a couple of ibuprofen for the pain (I did take some last night, but I’m limiting my chemical intake more and more, and would like to eventually not even be taking any types of pain killers – I take them much less often than I used to).

And there you have it – more proof that going all natural is a good, good thing! Next time, we’ll talk about my all natural beauty supply list. :)

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, a medical professional. However, I know my body, and I know that I have, through my own research and trial/error methods, figured out much more that has helped me heal than any doctor ever told me (and I have been to a lot of doctors). That being said – you are not allowed to sue me if you follow this regimen and it doesn’t happen to work for you. ;) I would recommend trying this method FIRST, and then if you don’t see positive results within 2 or 3 days, go to your doctor.