Grrrrr

Events today had steam coming out my ears.  And I was not charitable.  Which I suppose is just as bad as being condescending and bullyish.  Rhiannon says I was rude.  I say I was furious.

Rhiannon has been sick a lot in the last 2 years.  The last year she has been sick more than she's been well.  She's well for a week or two and then she is sick again for 2 or 3 weeks.  She's missed two dance performances and several lessons and play dates.  I started to wonder if she had allergies.  Eryn was tested when she was 3 and is allergic to wheat, milk, dust mites and the kind of mould that comes from decaying leaves.  I am pretty sure I am also allergic to milk although I have never been tested.  Dean has severe seasonal allergies.  Although she did not have his kind of symptoms, I started to wonder if there was something going on for her.  We went to the Doctor back in January and got a referral to an allergist.

Today was the day.  We went to Kelowna.  I forgot to bring the paper with the address.  I couldn't remember the Dr's name.  Maybe that was a sign...  And when we found the office (I remembered the street and asked someone), the receptionist (who was wonderful!) said that there had been confusion and that our Doctor had said the appointment was cancelled...  Perhaps another sign I should have heeded and gone home...  Nevertheless, we went through with it and filled out the intake form.

A very nice and personable nurse took us into the room and administered the scratch test.  Another nice nurse took us into another office and debriefed the test.  Rhiannon did not test positive for any pollens, trees or grasses or any animals like rabbits, cats or dogs.  She also didn't test positive for any food allergies however I don't think the scratch test is especially accurate for those - a blood test for antibodies is more accurate.  She did test as being very allergic to dust mites - two different kinds. 

This actually made sense to me because she started sleeping with Kaetlyn's old duvet 2 years ago.  She also sleeps on a 30+ year old futon of solid cotton (the brute weighs more than 100 lbs!) and her room is carpeted.  We will be making some big changes around here!

If I had left at that point, I would have left feeling enlightened.  However, we had to wait more than an hour to see the actual Dr.  She was the type who does the closed-eye fluttery thing when she talks to you.  Her bedside manner with Rhiannon consisted of grunts and cursory pointing and abrupt and incomplete commands.  Going over our history, she fastened onto the fact that Rhiannon has never been immunized.  She insisted that Rhiannon's frequent illnesses were not a result of allergies but instead a result of not being immunized.  She said that immunization protected children from all infections and that children who were immunized got sick less often.  When I challenged her on this she was very condescending and went into a lengthy explanation of how immunization works.  I listened politely and told her that I understood how vaccinations were supposed to work.  She then went on about how people in olden times used to die from infections (huh?!) and that because of vaccinations small pox, etc. had decreased.  This was about all I could take.  I stopped her there and reminded her that actually there had never been a study that proved cause; that this was actually a correlation and not a causal relationship.  She went on to tell me that it was ridiculous to think that Rhiannon's allergies caused her illnesses.  She pointed out that she did not have immuno-defficiency.  I stopped arguing with her.  She recommended two drugs and gave us a prescription for one - both for symptoms Rhiannon does not have (one was for asthma, the other a steroid nose spray).  She also insisted that Rhiannon was a mouth breather (Rhiannon is just getting over yet another cold) and wouldn't listen to me.  Mouth breathers get sick more often.  Heh.  By this time I was so furious from being talked down to and bullied with misinformation that I just bit my tongue.  She hustled us out of the office (her shortest appointment since the time we had been there!)

Basically she was telling me that although Rhiannon had just tested positive for a severe allergy to two different dust mites, this had no effect on her health.  It was illogical for me to think that her immune system that was dealing with an allergy to dust mites would be further weakened and more vulnerable to colds and flus.  These symptoms were rather a result of not being immunized.  Just in case you agree with her, please check out this recent German study using more than 17, 000 children.  Or check out this less formal compilation which actually finds that non-vaccinated kids are sick LESS often.  You will notice that according to this study (which has its weaknesses: relying on self-reported data, very small sample size for non-vaccinated children [.7% of the population], etc.) there was no statistically significant difference between rates of colds and flus between immunized and non-immunized children.

I might have been wearing jeans and a hoodie but I am actually a well-informed, educated woman.  Would she have treated me different if I was wearing a power suit with an expensive handbag?  As a mother, I have made an informed decision for my children. And one I do not regret.  One that I believe in.  What is worst in the medical system is the lack of logic and science from a discipline that claims both.  What is worst in the medical system is abuse of power and authority to forward a particular agenda.  I think this push on more and more vaccinations comes from the interests of pharmaceutical companies and not scientific evidence or logic.  I think that if we suddenly stopped immunizing we might be surprised at what doesn't show up.  I also believe that vaccinations have their place.  Developing countries without sanitation and clean water and good nutrition might benefit.  I am far more curious about the damage being done to immune systems with all these vaccinations - basically man-made immunities.  I think there is no substitute for strengthening the immune system through fresh air, good wholesome, non-processed foods and getting sick once and awhile.  And yes, I've had: mumps, both kinds of measles, chicken pox, whooping cough and hepatitis A.

Not that she asked...

The Wise Woman Way

This post really goes hand in hand with the last one on woman's cloth. A few years ago - probably around 4 - I started to occasionally have my periods at shorter intervals. I was introduced to Susun Weed's book, "The Wise Woman Way, Healing Wise". I borrowed the book from a friend, skimmed through it and read the pertinent parts. I started to make nettle infusions and to drink them on a regular basis. My menstruation irregularities disappeared. Now an infusion, as some of you may know and some of you may not, is not tea. Using 1/2 cup of dried nettle per litre or quart, you pour boiling water over the dried nettle and immediately put a lid on the jar or glass container you are using and let it sit for 4 hours. Then you strain and drink.

Then, last summer, the irregularities returned. I was still drinking my nettle infusion so it couldn't help any more than it already was. I ordered my own copies of the Healing Wise book and also her book "The New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way". This time I read both books cover to cover. And I loved them. She really speaks to me. I had had these kinds of thoughts and feelings and reading her work was very validating. She knows an amazing amount about plants. She believes that good health ought to be able to be achieved by eating the plants that grow around us. She believes that supplements and vitamins have their place but they are more like drugs and for special circumstances. I highly recommend the books. I have given copies to many people.

But more importantly, I have used what she recommends and it really works. After reading the menopause one, I started making an oatstraw infusion in addition to the nettle one. This helped tremendously with the emotional aspects. I was feeling alot of anxiety and my pms was rather extreme. Oatstraw had an immediate effect (it also tastes good). But my periods were still only 2 weeks apart. Considering that I bleed for a week, it meant that I was often having 2 periods a month.... So next I tried Yarrow. Yarrow is far to bitter to make as an infusion (although I tried that first before I carefully read the yarrow section). I made it a tea with lemon balm and lavender and that helped with the flavour - it made it bearable. But yarrow also has side effects. It makes you sweat more profusely and can even make hot flashes more likely. It definitely had those effects on me. I did have a couple of mild hot flashes as a result. So next I tried sarsparilla root. For root infusions, you steep for at least 8 hours. Sarsparilla root is delicious - it is the flavour of root beer, after all. Very easy to drink. But you are not supposed to drink too much of it. I had 1 - 1.5 cups a day for a week.

Susun Weed eschews the new term of 'perimenopause'. She points out how according to this new way of looking at things, menopause is only one day. The one day that your period ceases. So in this spirit, I have entered menopause. I am at the beginning stages.

Using these infusions, gradually my emotions have evened out and the pms is now minimal and even more gradually my menstruation has returned to its usual 3 week cycle (3 weeks off and 1 week on). All without the interference of dangerous drugs.

In season I pick and dry my own nettle. This year I also dried red clover blossoms and red raspberry leaves. The rest I buy from Anna's Vitamins Plus (250-260-1147). I can buy them there in bulk in 1 lb bags. 1 lb of oatstraw or nettle fills up a gallon jar and lasts me more than a month. She is happy to ship, as well.

So right now I am drinking a lot of infusions. Every day I drink nettle and most days I drink oatstraw as well. Once a month I drink sarsparilla for a week and I throw in raspberry leaf and red clover, too and an occasional pot of yarrow tea. So every day I am drinking 3 cups of infusions. The hormonal shifts of menopause are as demanding on the endocrine system as adolescence and your glands need a lot of nourishment. These infusions are high in so many nutrients that I take no other supplements.

So if you have a very heavy period, try nettle. It is high in iron and calcium (and vitamin D and lots of other things). You will be surprised how it helps with your bleeding and makes it easier to use a diva cup and cotton pads.

Woman's Cloth

Because it is not Mother's cloth, Fatima. In fact, mothers go through a nice period of NOT having to use such things. But I digress... It all started for me more than 3 years ago. I have always been interested in living and eating healthily. And as I became aware of what was happening to this world of ours, I became very interested in living with a smaller footprint on the world. For many years I have been unhappy with the choice in so-called feminine products. The disposable-ness of them, the bleached white-ness of them - to think of putting some of the worst chemicals next to the most tender part of my body just never seemed right. I had long ago given up using tampons for the same bleached-white reason and because they stopped feeling good to me. I noticed that I felt more bloated when I used them.

Now, if someone who is not my sister is reading this, I should give a bit of background information here. I have a period like my mother. I bleed for a full 7 days and I bleed very heavily for 3 of those at least. When I say heavily, I mean very heavily - like half the blood of my entire body leaving through my vagina..... I know several of my sisters are like this,too. So obviously, to return to the 'old' way of just using rags would not be practical. For me, it would have meant living in the bathroom for most of my period or walking around with blood running down my legs.

So just over 3 years ago, I bought a Diva Cup. I had been hearing about them for awhile. I purchased one for just over $40 but they have gone down in price since then. Learning how to use it was rather comical, I must admit. Following the instructions that came with it didn't work. Folding it up like it is in that link only resulted in it suction cupping to the inside wall of my vagina and it was excruciating. And of course, I started trying this on a day of heavy flow. I felt like I worked in a slaughter house, with blood running down my arm.... yuck. But in the end, I figured it out. I just squeeze it slightly in half and slip it in, position it and turn it the required 3 times so that it makes a seal. I got better and better at it as time went on.

Then it was only a matter of time until I purchased some cotton, reusuable pads. Lunapads. So much more comfortable than paper pads, let me tell you! However, rather expensive and I was loathe to buy more than the starter pack because, really, I could make some of my own. I mean, I had seen all the cool ones that Soulemama had made. But I didn't for another year or so. Mom eventually make me a whole bunch more when she came with me to New Denver. And now I have a huge stash that I never use all of when I am 'on the rag', so to speak. On the light days of my period, the diva cup is enough. But on the heavier days, there is a bit of leakage and for this, the cloth pads are wonderful. I used a thrifted flannel sheet, as well as some I had saved or Rhiannon's which were like new because she almost never slept in her own bed.... and a thrifted towel for the inside part when I made my own. When one of the pads is dirty, I just pop it into an ice cream bucket that sits on top of my dryer (which is a stacked one, so it is way up high, out of everyone's sight). The bucket has water and oxyclean in it. When my period is over, I rinse out the water and throw them in the wash. They come out perfectly clean with no stains.

Of course you save money using this method for obvious reasons. But what continues to appeal to me is that not only is it so much gentler on the environment but it is also so much better for me. Like many others that I have heard of who also use the diva cup, they like their periods so much better and somehow, your period seems to change a little. But that just might be becoming so much more aware of its fluctuations. On my super, super heavy day I usually must empty my diva cup every half hour.

And emptying it is not that hard. I have been in almost every conceivable situation now. At home, I take it out, empty it into the toilet and wash it in the sink with soap and warm water. In public washrooms, I can just empty it into the toilet, give it a wipe with some toilet paper and reinsert it. Or you can even revert to the old ways of disposable products for an outing. But I never have. I love the diva cup. It is comfortable, and easy to use. I forget I have it in. I have been swimming with it in many times, exercised with it in, gone everywhere with it.

And there you have it, the complete tale of my 'woman's cloth'.... Are you a sister and would like to try some of these? I have mom's serger, I 'd be glad to make some liners for you but you will have to buy the bottom part from Lunapads (probably sold at your local health food store).

More

Check this out - very interesting information about Swine Flu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0JqQyl09zQ&NR=1

Weighing In

Well, since the hysteria that has swept the world since the H1N1 virus first came to public attention last winter, I have been shaking my head. Now it dominates the news everyday and I have to question what exactly is going on...

From the very beginning I was not afraid of this virus. For one, I don't believe in germ theory. Evidence shows that we all have bacteria, viruses, cancerous cells, etc in us, on us, around us all the time. Normally our immune systems function to keep us healthy. When our immune system is depressed, through stress of some kind, either psychological or physical, or we are tired and worn out, then we are susceptible to infection. Studies have shown that those who are exposed to bacteria have healthier immune systems. Surely this mass fear fanned constantly by the media contributes more to depressed immune systems... This article expresses well what I have long believed.

When Kaetlyn was a baby, I came to the conclusion to stop vaccinating. Eryn had her shots to age 5 and Kaetlyn had her first set at 4 months. Andrew and Rhiannon have never been vaccinated. And you know what? Out of our family of 6 - 4 of us have been vaccinated and we all have some kind of auto-immune disease. Dean has asthma and severe allergies. I have hypothyroidism, Eryn has allergies and Kaetlyn has diabetes. Andrew and Rhiannon have none of these things. Of course, I know this is much too small of a sample size to be statistically significant. But it does make me wonder... I think we are doing dangerous damage to our immune system by these vaccinations. I think we need to be sick sometimes to strengthen our immune system.

And there has never been a longterm, statistically significant study looking at the possible side effects of vaccinations or even the effectiveness of them. For their efficacy those who promote vaccines site the fact that diseases like small pox and polio have now been almost eradicated. However, they fail to look at the big picture - like the fact that those diseases were already declining when vaccinations were started. That is called a co-relation and it is not proof. In fact, other diseases have also disappeared that we have not vaccinated for - like scarlet fever and bubonic plague. The fact is that the human immune system adapts over time and develops immunities naturally. Although what is happening now that we are not allowing it to do its job?

Right now in the media they talk as though the flu vaccine has a 100% track record for preventing the flu. Although I am sure everyone reading this post knows someone who has been vaccinated for the flu in the past and got it anyways. This is a very well written article about the usefulness of the vaccine.

Of course talking about children dying and healthy young athletes succumbing to the H1N1 is enough to strike fear in any parent's heart. However, it is just another way we are manipulated by the mass media that it is almost impossible to escape these days. It is news that is way out of perspective. Like if we saw a comparison with how many children die everyday from all causes and then looked at how many are dying from H1N1 we would see a bit more of a balanced picture. And if we looked at just how many children are not dying, who are healthy, maybe we could relax a little. And what if you knew that some of the children who have died for the H1N1 virus were even vaccinated against it? Maybe we could start hugging and shaking hands again...

And I have to ask myself, who is benefiting from all of this? The pharmaceutical companies are making money hand over fist. Their making a killing on this mass hysteria. Doesn't it make you scratch your head just a little bit? While stories about the side effects of the vaccine or the ineffectiveness of it just don't hit mainstream media.

Myself, I would love to turn the radio on and listen to something else other than the H1N1 virus! Enough already!

If you are interested in more about the vaccine, you can find links to several articles here. And you have to check out this article and ask yourself what they know that we don't.

Ring of Fire

Isn't that what you called it last year, Laura? That is pretty much what my mouth is right now. Although it is looking less and less like a mouth and more and more like a beak because it is protruding so much.

This photo was taken yesterday morning. If anything it is a bit worse this morning. You can see the first cold sore fading. You can kind of see one on my bottom lip in the middle and then you can see the enormous one on my upper lip. It actually spreads all the way up to my nostril as you can see in this next picture taken this morning. (wouldn't want you to miss out on my misery!) (click on the picture to see the wee fish eggs on their trek to my nostril and every single pore on my face...)

And yes, I am doing everything I know of. I am applying fresh aloe vera, tea tree oil and L.Lysine cream directly to the cold sores. I am taking massive doses of L.Lysine, vitamin C, proflavanoids, as well as vitamin D, E and a B complex. I am drinking hyssop infusion and nettle infusion and completely avoiding sugar, chocolate, nuts, peas and popcorn. And taking oregano oil 3 times a day.

I do think it is a bit better because of the L.Lysine. The fish eggs are tiny aborted fish eggs that aren't scabbing over. And it feels different on the inside of my lip than it usually does. However, feeling a little self-conscious about leaving the house with my lips sticking out 2 feet in front of me...

So Much For That

So in November or so, while at Nature's Fare, I noticed a bottle of L-Lysine in the sale rack. Not having heard of it, I picked it up and read that it was to prevent cold sores. So I bought it. When I got home, I looked it up on the internet and found this and a list of foods (that I can't find now) to not eat in order to avoid a cold sore. I got the cold sore virus when I was 10. For the last couple of decades, I normally get one cold sore a year - usually in February, although in the last 2 years I have got it in March. Last year I had a particularly bad cold sore that lasted for a month and spread all over the right side of my mouth - both upper and bottom lips. I made up my mind that this year I would avoid getting a cold sore. I also found this lip balm recipe and when I was making all my lip balms for Christmas I made up a cold sore remedy one as well - adding all the essential oils I had that were supposed to be good for cold sores (peppermint, tea tree, cinnamon, bergamot...).

So in January I started taking the L-Lysine and ate a lot less chocolate and peanuts.

And then, on February 10 those old familiar fish eggs appeared on the bottom left corner of my lip. The cold sore.

I can say this: I think it has gone away faster. Although it is hard to remember exactly how long they usually take to go away as I only get 1 a year. It has been 10 days now and it is looking much better. The swelling did go down very quickly. I think one of the things that has really helped this year is using the salve I made in the summer from olive oil, calendula, plantain, chamomile and bees wax. I have applied it constantly and it has kept it moist and kept the healing skin from cracking and bleeding. Tea tree oil, which I have been using for years, also seems to be the most effective at stopping it in its tracks and drying it up. At night when I go to sleep and when I go out, I use the lip balm.

Not sure if I will buy L-Lysine again but there you have it, my cold sore report. At least I have got it over with earlier than last year!

Update 2: Hair Routine

So, I promised Pea and Bean this post in the summer. I don't know if it will work for you. Although we have similar curls, I think mine are drier than yours. But here it is. I have been doing the "Curly Girl" routine since shortly after Sarah's wedding when Katie told me about that. When was that? 4 or 5 years ago? Since then, shampoo has not come near my hair.

First of all, I now only clean my hair about twice a week. Sometimes it is only once a week but it is never more than 3. (see mom, in the end, it turns out you were right!) I found that using only conditioner was leaving a real build-up on my hair. For the first time in my dry-haired life, I was getting greasy hair. So my friend and hairdresser when she failed to talk me into using shampoo occasionally, told me to rinse it with baking soda and water.

Step 1: So before I get into the bath (I almost never shower) I hang my head over the shower and pour either a yogurt container with 2 Tablespoons of baking soda in it or for more greasy/sweaty weeks I use a gallon bucket and 4 Tablespoons of baking soda.

Step 2: after rinsing the baking soda out of my hair I use a scrub made of a rich conditioner (Riche by Curelle made in Vancouver) and brown suger. I use about half the amount of conditioner I usually do and then add 2 - 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar. I scrub my scalp with this. This is a recipe from the "Curly Girl" book.

Step 3: after risning the scrub out of my hair, I apply the light conditioner I use (Whenever by Kiss My Face) mixed with 1/2 a lemon (about 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice). Again I use about half the amount of conditioner that I usually do and add the lemon juice. If my hair has be especially tangly, I might apply some of the Riche just to the ends of my hair. Then I rinse it all out. This lemon juice recipe is also from the "Curly Girl" book.

If I wash my hair in the middle of the week, I will use just the light conditioner either by itself or mixed with lemon juice - whatever I think my hair needs. I don't use much product in my hair unless I am going out somewhere that requires dressing up on the evening. I also don't do much to help it dry curly, either unless I am going out. I am just more of a wash-and-go kinda girl. I'm not much into fiddly-farty kind of stuff. However, using the techniques in the Curly Girl books, I have got my hair to look pretty darn awesome, if I do say so myself. But most of the time I like my hair soft and flowy. And I must admit that I do occasionally use a hair pic kind of comb on my hair when it is just too knotty for my fingers.

What I would really like to do is learn how to make my own conditioner. All that packaging just seems so wasteful. And my grandmother who was known for her beautiful curly auburn hair didn't use any store bought products. How is it that in the space of 2 generations we have become so dependant on manufactured goods? My Gram once told me that she washed her hair once a week with an egg in the trough. I wonder what she did in the winter? I have actually tried an egg rinse a long time ago in the late '70's but I am just not so up for the cold rinse needed to get the egg out of the hair without cooking it... But that is my next step. Make my own conditioner. How hard can it be?

Sick

It started last Sunday. Dean got that horrible, horrible flu going around. By Tuesday night I had it. I haven't been so sick with the flu since I was 18 and at BYU. On Wednesday, I was totally out of it. My head was excruciating and every centimetre of my body was aching. I actually cancelled everything we had on our schedule today (Friday) and I have never done that before for my own sickness. I cancelled my Butterfly Class and Rhiannon's violin lesson. This afternoon Rhiannon came down with it. She couldn't even walk up the stairs to bed or eat an entire popsicle.

And to my dismay, I discovered the beginning of a coldsore in the weirdest place - on the inside of the middle of my bottom lip... I usually get one in February.... I almost made it!

Anyways, I have lots to update - news about my knee - news about Kaetlyn's insulin pump. Look for it over the next couple of days as my eyes can stand looking at the screen and my spelling makes more sense...:)

I leave you with this funny scenario from bedtime the other night:

Rhiannon was watching me get changed for bed after a meeting I had on Tuesday - she woke up when I got home.

Rhiannon: Why don't you wear your bra to bed?
Me: Because it isn't comfortable.
Rhiannon: oh......
Me: Do you want me to wear my bra to bed?
Rhiannon: yes
Me: Why?
Rhiannon: Because it makes your breasts not baggy....

hehe from the mouths of babes!

Encropesis

So, Rhiannon has given herself encropresis. You can read about it here or see what the Mayo clinic has to say about it here. I have written about it before and I thought we were getting a handle on it but it has been persisting and getting worse. Of course I haven't been to a Dr yet. But I will in the next couple of weeks. In the end she was holding her 'stool' for almost 2 weeks and leaking into her panties several times a day. Eventually children who do this lose the normal urges to poop and this had deffinitely happened. I followed the treatment from the Mayo clinic and bought some suppositories and fed her a steady diet of laxative tea. She has started having the urge to poop in the last couple of days. We are down to one cup of laxitive tea and no suppositories.

So I thought we would do the Master Cleanse. Kaetlyn said she wanted to do it, too. So the three of us girls set out to cleanse our bowels... We had our cup of tea last night and this morning but Rhiannon is struggling with drinking instead of eating. She hasn't drank enough and she is feeling hungry. I don't think she is going to make it. And Kaetlyn says that she doesn't think she will be able to keep going. So that leaves me... I wasn't really in a cleanse mood. And I always feel hungry when I do it and I don't feel energized, either. I feel like I am fasting... But I could probably use a cleanse and now I have all this stuff - for 3 people to do it. That was expensive... What to do...