Verdict on Month 1

“A man may esteem himself happy when that which is his food is also his medicine.” --Henry David Thoreau

Last week, I started my allergy supplements. I made the mistake of going cold turkey, meaning that I stopped taking my Zyrtec on day one. Rookie mistake. Several hours into the day, I got the mother of all headaches and could not breathe. The devils inside my sinuses forced me to break down and pop my Zyrtec. I felt like an addict. I lasted a mere 5 hours without the comfort of my decongestant and then fell off the wagon. So since then, I have been taking half of my Zyrtec plus the supplements. My body can handle this much better.

My NP noted that it may take a little while for my body to adjust to life without a decongestant because I have been taking one since about age 10. Few things in my life have been as consistent as my morning allergy pill. I can truly say that I have only forgotten to take that pill once in 12 years… and it was easily in the top 10 most miserable days of my life.

So I’m still working on weaning off of the medication. BUT it’s almost time to move on to Experi-month #2. Before I introduce the new topic, I have some closing thoughts on my holistic month.

Will I stick with it?

I can say with 100% certainty that I will continue taking Slippery Elm and Fish oil. This combination seems to do wondrous things for my insides. I have noticed the largest improvement in this arena. These little miracle workers changed my life! I went from feeling pain every single day to feeling nothing. It still surprises me… and I love it.

I’m still not certain about the supplements for my thyroid and allergies. Those conditions seem pretty much the same with or without the supplements. So my decision may come down to comparing hassle and cost. Is it worth it to take something 3 times a day versus once a day? Is it worth it to pay slightly more, thanks to my insurance company’s lack of support for holistic healing? We shall see. It may take a few more months for the verdict to come out on this one.

Am I glad that I tried this?

I hope no one seriously asks me this question after reading the previous paragraphs. But, heck yes! Insert previous comment about my life being changed in marvelous ways. My body is happy. If I listen closely, I can actually hear my body saying, “Thank you,” as it digests. I can actually enjoy eating food instead of waiting for the eminent repercussions. It’s a great way to live. Food = nourishment… not food = enemy.

Would I recommend trying it?

Abso-freakin-lutely! I realize that not everyone has the same health problems that I do. But there might be something that you wish was a little better. Or you might want to prevent future illnesses. It sure as heck won’t make you feel any worse. I also think that I was lucky to find a good Naturopathic Physician so quickly. Maybe that was the universe’s way of making it up to me for staying with Cruella Condescension for so long. If you decide to try it, definitely do research to find a good one and to make sure that they are legitimate doctors. That’s my general advice.

Top 5 things I learned from this month:

1.      Listen to your body’s cries (or screams) for help and change.

2.      You are responsible for your own health. If you don’t put your whole effort into helping your body feel better, why would anyone else?

3.      It actually is possible to digest without feeling intense pain.

4.      If health insurance companies had a Facebook page, it would say “In a Relationship with drug companies.” And it doesn’t appear that will change any time soon.

5.      When you feel healthy, so many more things seem possible. Hope is a lovely thing.

I officially declare this month a success.

updates galore!

“He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.” --Arabic Proverb

I apologize ahead of time for the random nature of the subsequent paragraphs.

Still can’t tell a difference in bodily functions from the supplements I’ve been taking for my thyroid. So I suppose that means they work just as well as the medication I used to take. I will, however, need to get my blood tested just to make sure everything is all good.

I have this friend. Let’s call her Mica. She is awesome and gave me a helpful response to one of the questions I had about probiotics. The question was if your body can become immune to probiotics like it can to antibiotics. She said that it most likely won’t, but there can be a too-much-of-a-good-thing type of situation. So moral of the story: probiotics are nicer to the body than antibiotics, but don’t pop them daily if you want them to work splendidly. Mica also gave a lovely description of how probiotics work (per her mother), which included the phrase, “It’ll help restore the flora in your gut.” I found this simultaneously interesting and disturbing.

The next phase of my naturopathic healing is to tackle my allergies. This was my next to most annoying ailment, following IBS obviously. Without being redundant and repetitive and redundant and repetitive, I will make an abridged list of the things of this world to which I am allergic.

1.      Cats

2.      Dogs

3.      All animals with fur, really

4.      Smoke

5.      Mold

6.      Dust

7.      Trees

8.      Pollen

9.      Grass

10. All of the outdoors, really

11. Several varieties of antibiotics

As you may have noticed, these supplements will have their work cut out for them. But let me note the score, for those of you who haven’t kept count:

Natural healing: 5 million points             Modern medicine: -37 points

My body seems to be keen on naturalness, with regard to medicine. What can I say?

Lastly, I have decided what the next Experi-month will be!!!! I’m super excited about it. I also very much appreciate your suggestions for future topics. In reference to Experi-months, I will say, my search for more than contentment has already gone marvelously. It’s much easier to be happy when your body is happy. And my body is beyond happy. It’s downright pumped about life these days. I just want to sing happy songs from Glee all the live-long day. If that’s not an indication, I don’t know what is.