Living Healthy: Surviving Leaky Gut Syndrome

Things I Hate About Winter with LGS:
- Everyone in the known universe has some kind of cold or flu!
- Jack frost nipping at micro-sized toes and fingers is not pleasant.
- No cocoa with marshmellows to warm up with (*sigh*)

Things I Love About Winter with LGS:
- No one thinks you're a freak for wearing gloves everywhere, and scarves serve to casually filter the allergens and fragrances.
- Everyone wants to stay home and in bed. Whoohoo!
- Snow days mean not having to explain why you don't feel well and can't go into the office yet again.
- The snow is beautiful. It can relax you as it floats gently from the sky, and brings a sense of peace. I appreciate and respect its nature more than ever.

Apparently, I lack spontaneity and need more fun in my life, says the family. I understand their intentions, but I never was particularly spontaneous in the first place - how can I be now? I am on the road to wellness, but with all the preparation I need to do with the allergies and such, I can't just walk out the door. Not to mention the costs associated with all the medical & food needs! I never seem to have enough dough to do more than I have to to survive.

I'm not against having fun (just against getting sick!) so, I gave it a college try. On the spur of the moment (and with some financial help), I rented a hotel room for Hubby and I for his birthday. He was so surprised and happy, and did have a very good time. I learned a lot along the way:

- Hotels with Suites are the way to go: If you can find something to eat out, great. But if not, you can cook your own food without worry. Ours had a full kitchen, like a little apartment. Yes, it meant I had to cook a bit, but at least that meant I stayed healthy!

- How to survive toxin hell: The cleaning chemicals they use to clean these rooms seem like they could melt your lungs! I left every scented soap and complimentary item sealed, and shoved them to a side I wouldn't use, and opened all the windows up for a half hour (in the cold, that's an eternity!). The difference between my room and the hall was striking. Oh - and don't take a bath in a hotel, you'll be drinking chemical soup through your skin.

- Set it and forget it: I had all my supplements and at the ready in one place when I needed them. When I didn't need them, I just spent quality time with hubby and had oodles of fun. We kept so occupied with fun things, I didn't have time to be sick. :)

....And afterward I rested for a full day to recover. Mission success!

My doctors don't talk to each other. I wish this were not so. I dream of a day where Western and Eastern medicine can smoothly compliment each other..... it is getting there, but we need to speak out! And I found just the right link to help today.

Did you know that they are closing down alternative medicine establishments even in the absence of a claim of harm or misconduct? Right now the laws are unclear about these places (are they medical? massage? religious?), so New York State does not recognize them.

While many doctors (like my PCP... sort of) acknowledge the effectiveness of alternative medicine and share patient concerns about overuseage of invasive surgery and drugs , they legally cannot hire or "team up" with alternative practitioners (they are not considered to have a proper standard medical license). It can be viewed as aiding and abetting a crime (I guess this is why my PCP is trying to stay away!)!

The New York Natural Health Project (NYNHP) is "a coalition of New York State health care consumers and organizations seeking to broaden the public's access to complementary and natural health care in New York". They want to clarify the laws and make safe establishments easily accessible to the public.

Please visit the link below and sign the online petition! And please, if you know of anyone else in New York who may want this info, please pass it on!
http://www.nynaturalhealthproject.org

I got a email in my box today about color therapy. My luck - the news always seems to reach me after I've done what I have to do! Oh well...

Here's the link.

An article came out in the NY Times yesterday called "Make That Steak a Bit Smaller, Atkins Advises Today's Dieters," - everyone is in an uproar about Atkins and the consumption of too much fats and red meat. So Atkins' site is sending out defense articles to counter it.

I don't have much love for the program anymore, for obvious reasons. But what amazes and saddens me is how many people honestly seem to have not read the books and are ok with living on a beef and cheese lifestyle. The original premise of eating natural, non-man made fats and avoiding refined crap has been lost due to public demand for low carb convenience foods and media hype.

Wake up America - and look before you leap!

Yesterday, I was just getting over a painful alergic reaction to outside Chinese food from the other day, but there was a gathering of Internet friends happening in NYC. My hubby really wanted to go, and wanted me to go along to socialize and just get out for awhile. After my last experience eating out in the city last year, which knocked me off my feet for a month, I wasn't sure how this would work out, but I prepared as best I could.

We picked a nearby place out of the New York Naturally Guide - The Organic Grill, located at 123 First Ave between 7th and St. Marks. My first impression was that it was a very small place, but it felt very cozy. The staff was very nice, and everyone in there (diners included) felt so comfortable, chatting occasionally occured across tables!

We started with drinks. I was impressed by the number of organic teas & coffees available. Even better, they list the health benefits of the teas! I chose a ginger lemon mint for poor digestion & a sore throat, and hubby picked a hot cinnamon... just because. Not only did the tea taste good, but within minutes it was doing exactly the job it promised! My stomach felt so much better.

Onto the food! They offer all organic, kosher, macrobiotic, vegan and vegetarian meal options. Since I can't have soy based foods (a common problem I have when choosing a health food restaurant), it did limit my options a bit, but I chose a nice grilled salmon with sauteed kale and brown rice. Hubby grabbed some yukon gold fries. If I didn't know better, I would've sworn I had made it fresh at home! Tasteed great and no problem. I have a new place to eat!

As a plus, they also make wheat-free cakes, some sweetened only with rice syrup. No gluten-free ones yet, but they do custom make cakes! I hope they up for a challenge - I'd like to have one for my next birthday.

My last visits have been very long! In addition my my usual treatments, the QMCI biofeedback device is being used as standard treatment. The machine seems to have picked up on physical events happening in real time - an alarm went off during a muscle twitch in my back, and it seems to have picked up an injury in my right leg.

The emotion side of the QMCI treatment has been popping up some interesting things to think about. It was difficult last time, but I focused my mind on relaxation (with the help of a beautiful cardinal near the window) and color therapy. My color was purple, for energy. I have studied the impact of color on others, but never used it for myself, at least in a therapeutic sense. It was quite nice.

They've explained to me how QMCI works, but it's still over my head - it just looks weird! I take a leap of faith on this one.

What was of greater significance to me was my recent meeting with one of the other staff members, M-. She handles the psychological aspects of healing at the clinic. We discussed belief systems, and how belief, conscious or unconscious, can help or hinder the healing process. We talked about a LOT of things - usual and unusual...stuff I've never told anyone, ever (I figured if I'm going to get better, there was no point in holding anything back)! In the end, she brought to light an issue I've been really giving it a lot of thought on since. Maybe I'll reveal it later.

On last visit, I also spent a good deal of time talking to the Doc and worked on releasing some issues based on my chat with M-. I reaffirmed that it was ok to let go and take care of myself, but that it's also ok to depend on others when I need it (I suppose the question is when to do which?).

You know, I thought I had gotten over everything in the past. Dr. V- also says that the subconscious mind has a great effect on the body - for example, 5% of my conscious may be saying one thing, but in the subconscious, I may actually be feeling the opposite. I have no doubt of it, but how does one bring these issues to light on their own? Perhaps we lock them away in the body until there is a time we can deal with them.

With the colds and flus flying all about me, the past week felt like a long one to the doctor's visit. I was so barraged by them I was totally clogged up digestive-wise. I even had a fever on Saturday, and those were becoming rare as of late. I self treated with everything I knew to keep the worst of it at bay (teas, soaks, supplements - even washing my hands so much they were raw), but Dr. V- had to do accupuncture & a biocleanse to really finish it off. We also did a liver detox.

I told him, very honestly, that I did not want to keep getting sick with these little colds & viruses. On the other hand, I don't want to seal myself away from everyone and everything for fear of what might happen - I am just not sure when is the right time to act, and when is the right time to rest. I wasn't expecting any actual answer for it, but ultimately he told me I'd just have to teach them (people close to me) how to take care of themselves as I have learned.

Perhaps teaching others is what I was meant to do. I'm willing to teach if they're willing to listen!

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
--Vincent Van Gogh

...And it's wonderful! I actually have large spaces of time now where I don't feel stomach pain, burn, etc. So much so, my mind is actually thinking about things like what I'd like to do, as opposed to what I must do.

I went to church (a nice member of the congregation gave me a ride, and re-introduced me to everyone). I did a little exercise, and played video games to my hearts content.

It didn't last the whole day (nights can still be hell), but I did have I look forward to the day where this feeling of freedom stays.

This week, one of the staff members at Dr. V-'s office who is a massage therapist taught me a more efficient technique for relieving constipation. I've put it to good use already, and thought it would be important to share. You zigzag up a little on the left side, then small circles circle down. Zigzag up further, and circle down again. And so on until you've gone around the entire large intestine area.


(This is just a rough sketch, but hopefully you get the idea.)

While just doing one large sweeping circle around the system can be useful, this method seems to work better for those really stubborn blockages.

Heard this one today - for some like me, you might take this literal -

Life is NOT like a box of chocolates
Life is like a jar of jalapeños.
What you do today
May burn your ass tomorrow.

As if the public wasn't scared enough about Mad Cow, now they announce that farmed salmon is polluted too, because of the feed they give the fish. I knew about this before, but boy it really drives home the point of eating natural and organic foods.

So frustrating! Makes you want to get a plot of land and grow it all yourself. But who the hell has the time? Maybe one day organic and grocery store food will be one and the same....

Link to Article

I know I caught something... I feel out of sorts today and so my sprits have been lagging a bit. I stepped outside of the office for a breath of (ice cold winter!) air, and went to the post office to drop off a package.

Just when I was feeling at my worst and was on my way out, a little booklet caught my eye - "Life's Wonders". I thought maybe it belonged to someone else, but the entire place was empty. Drawn to it, I picked it up, opened to a page which had a poem:

Forever Near
There are days dear Lord,
I trouble over what to do.
Such days I know I must
Place my hope and trust in You.

I must trust and pray,
Knowing life - like stormy skies
That soon are blue again -
Goes on, and dry my weeping eyes.

My every need you know
And tell me to recall
Promises of love forever near
In words You spoke for all.

Thus I can face each day
With lifted heart, steadied hand,
Knowing that Your love is there
And every trial you understand.

With my answered prayer, I know
A gift has come for me for me to share
With others who need to know
You're forever near, You'll forever care!

-Minnie Boyd Popish

Just another day showing that everything in this world happens for a reason.

Today I officially set up this blog online. I've actually been logging my progress in Word documents, excel sheets and my diary all along, but now I want to post it all up. Why though?

- To free it from my soul. To thank those who have helped me, and to forgive those (including myself at times!) who didn't.

- It seems that there are a lot of people who are/have been in my boat, but as of yet, no support group is really out there (the ones that are are either for traditional medicine and one symptom of Leaky Gut or for people supporting just one kind of alternative miracle "super remedy".) If just one person out there reads this and thinks "that's happening to me!" and gets help, I think I'll have fulfilled one of my purposes in life.

I'll be filling in the blanks of the past as fast as I can while I log the present. I have learned a lot since the Fall of 2002.