Arthritis Adventures…

So I grew up eating pork & shellfish, stepped on a few rusty nails, dug up a septic system when I was a kid (forced labor LOL!), had a run-in with a chemical something-or-other in an on-campus apartment in college, and spent a few decades running around getting Rx’s from docs for various ailments, which didn’t work, and then hunted down natural healing & detoxes, which finally did. After that mess, I’d finally got my body back, and I hit another “chemical something-or-other,” with a husband and 4 babies in-tow! My best guess is that it was an ex-meth house made over like a dream-home rental. At any rate, that sent me into a tail-spin, and fast. We got outta there, quick as we figured out it was the house, and I’ve been healing since.

One of the things the doc tried to pin on me was Rheumatoid (autoimmune) arthritis. He told me I had fibromyalgia, and that my “something-or-other” was high. I asked him what it was, and he said, “Oh, it’s a big word. You don’t need to worry about that.” …um, yeah… that went over like a lead balloon! I’m no doc, and don’t pretend to be one, but don’t tell me that somethin’ in my body is “too big a word”, and that I “shouldn’t worry my pretty little head about it.”!!! I was livid! All done with that doc, LOL!  My body got a LOT better once we got out of that house, but it took time and a LOT of work to make the headway that enabled me to become a strong, active, and even athletic woman again.

With that nut-shell background, a bit on what has been helpful for me in fighting the symptoms of severe, crippling (had to be carried when I could no longer crawl) arthritis:

MSM: methylsulphonylmethane– organic sulphur. No USRDA on it. Too much can give loose bm’s (which is a place where the zeolite can come in handy), but when I’ve been hurting badly, 2,000 mg every 2 hours has helped immensely. 3-5,000 / day maintenance dosage seems to be about right for me now. Also a nice anti-cancer tool.

FYI (by Garden of Life) or Rejuvenzyme (cheaper, but same strength of stuff): It’s pineapple enzymes, but super-potent: stronger than regular bromelain. Works better than Ibuprofen, and without the side-effects.

Wild Yam Root: terrible tasting stuff, and it took a good bit when I was in real pain. I’d take 2 heaping Tbsp of it every 2 hours, alongside the MSM when I needed it. I ordered it in by the pound b/c it’s cheaper that way, but it’s like swallowing gravel, so I had to be sure to have plenty of liquid on-hand to get it down. Again, an anti-cancer tool.

Ginger Root (Rhizome for technical folk): STRONG-brewed tea– great anti-inflammatory stuff. I was doing 3 quarts / day of about a heaping TBSP of ginger root powder per quart of hot water. Be sure to cover it while it brews to keep in the healthy stuff– steam can leach out some of the best properties in teas of all sorts. Also great for warming up cold tummies, and great for digestion.

Aloe Vera: 2-6 ounces / day– recipe here, and another post I wrote on it, with the Ancient Hebrew pictograph here. I’ve seen this plant do some beautiful things, both inside and out! Another anti-cancer tool in my basket!

Cod Liver Oil: 4 Tbsp / day– more info on my experiences with it & what king here. Great for weight loss and detox, too!

Zeolite: Great for drawing toxins out of the body. Slows down bm’s a bit if you have difficulty with diarrhea. Special kinds of minerals are just amazing tools!

Arnica: (only if you have some form of trauma you’ve dealt with) I was at the 1M level, as-needed for quite a while, but have since healed, got a reaction (“proving,” meaning that I’d healed at that level, and needed to move down to a lower potency) at the 1M level, and moved down to the 200C level, eventually had a reaction at that level, and was able to move down to the 30C level, again, as-needed. Only need it very occasionally now 🙂  More info on different potencies and how I use them here.

Diet : No GMO’s, No sugar, no grains except for brown rice, no legumes, TONS of Brassicas (broccoli, kale, collards, maca, etc.), no “unclean” animal meats (pork, shellfish, etc.), and for a while there, no dairy or eggs. Later on, I’ve been able to incorporate eggs & dairy back in, slowly and carefully– no hormones or antibiotics, no blood spots in the eggs, and the milk has to be RAW, and CULTURED– raw-milk organic cheese, or keifer, for example.

Sauna / Sweat: Great for getting rid of pesticides and petrochemicals– my joints LOVE sauna sessions. More info here.

Exercise / gentle movement, increasing as able– this one started out as moving whatever small appendage I was able to move in the mornings when I would wake up in the toxic house. Eventually, I’d be able to move another finger or toe next to that one, and so forth, until I could crawl, and then walk (most days). During that time, it was a choice– I could lie there and just quit breathing, or I could move a bit, even when it hurt. I recommend moving… as gently, and as much as possible 🙂

Heat at night: When I was living in the toxic house, I found that my lymph fluid would kind of “freeze up” in my joints– I’d wake up in the mornings with lumps everywhere– fluid that “got stuck” All but two are gone now– one in my right hand, and one in my left leg. Still working on those, but they don’t impede movement anymore 😀 Anyhow, I warm a cotton bag filled with rice or other grain in the oven or microwave ’till it’s as warm as I can touch, wrap it in a towel to hold the heat all night, and put one on my guts (where lymph fluid is supposed to drain into so that it can be eliminated through the normal channels), and one on whatever joints were worst-off, and elevated those joints, so the lymph fluid would flow back down toward the gut for natural elimination. I invariably woke up with better functioning when I started doing this.
I’m currently working on a book– if you have time to investigate any or all of those links (yeah… I know LOL!), I’d love feedback on what is / isn’t clear, helpful, etc– The book will be entitled, My Body Knows Torah… And I’m Not Jewish! (btw, for my Christian friends: Torah is the first 5 books of the Christian Bible)
OH… and the disclaimer thing:

I’m  no doc, and don’t pretend to be one. I am therefore not legally licensed to diagnose, cure, treat, prevent, or otherwise mitigate any disease, and neither is the stuff I generally choose for healing… but then, I’ve not been educated indoctrinated by boards with big pharma reps on them, either   so do your own research and find what works for you

I’m also no rabbi, so please don’t take my experiences and path as your Rx for Kosher living

My Dust Bath

We got baby chicks a couple of years back, and enjoyed it so much that we got another batch last spring. They LOVE the moment they’re big enough to be outside in the dust– their little wings become paddles, splashing their backs in the funniest little flurry, digging themselves into good, clean dirt. I watched  7- and 5-year old little girls imitating them this summer, and the smiles on their faces mirrored the birds’ obvious relish for their bathing ritual.

So I took a bath in dust & ashes the other day… only I added water to mine– no kiddin’ LOL! There are several types of clay that come in a powder form, or “dust.” Different clays have different healing properties, but the gist of it is that they pull out toxins through the skin when applied externally, whether in masque form, or in a bath. Some of them can be taken internally, too, and pull out toxins from the “inner skin”, or gut lining. Helps slow down loose bm’s, and a few types of clay help the body to assimilate nutrients better than consuming the food without it. I like Bentonite clay for baths & masks in external applications, and Zeolite clay for internal use. It’s kind of an “intuitive” dust– gives what the body wants, and takes what it doesn’t want. It’s often fed to livestock to improve their nutritional uptake and efficiency. It’s not the tastiest stuff in the world, but when ‘ya need it (digestion moving too fast, or not getting all the nutrients you need out of your food), it’s gold. In fact, there have been times in history when certain types of clay were considered to be of more value than gold… gold can have healing properties, too, but that’s another topic for another day.

Yom Kppur was the Day of Atonement– the day when the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies, and the whole nation (except for sickly folks, children, and pregnant or nursing mothers) would fast and focus on turning away from the things they’d messed up on, asking YHWH to forgive them and make it right again. We celebrate this fast as best we can. There were a few years there when I wasn’t in any shape to do much more than give up honey (we already don’t use sugar & a myriad of other things). This year I did a modified fast with a bath in dust and ashes. The ashes piece is activated charcoal– also known to draw out toxins, both transdermally and internally. ** I realize that bathing is prohibited by some sects of Judaism on Yom Kippur, but, in the spirit of purification, humility, and turning away from the pollutants in my life, I went ahead and “repented in dust and ashes”, like Job said,

1Then Job answered the LORD and said,

2“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

3‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

4‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’

5“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;

6Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

I kinda figure a guy who went through hell-on-earth and sores on his skin, and then said to the Almighty, “but now my eye sees You”, might have a clue on how to repent when you’re looking for healing. Understand, now, that this is not a “go thou and do likewise” post. It’s just a “this makes my skin ailments better” and “this is the direction I’m pointed” explanation of some Natural Miracles.**

A spot in Torah that points me in the same direction is the part where God forms man out of the dust of the ground. There seems to be something good and “grounding” about re-connecting with Earth. Everything from statistics on mental health rates of various professions finding that people who work closer to the earth (potters, gardeners, etc.) have a lower incidence of mental illness than other professions, to the general relaxed feeling we get from walking barefoot on dirt, sand, or even concrete or an earthen floor– it’s all Earth, and it’s all “grounding.” Anytime I feel like I’m just “buzzing” too much, it can do wonders to just find some good, clean dirt. I highly recommend it 🙂

Standard Disclaimer:

I’m  no doc, and don’t pretend to be one. I am therefore not legally licensed to diagnose, cure, treat, prevent, or otherwise mitigate any disease, and neither is the stuff I generally choose for healing… but then, I’ve not been educated indoctrinated by boards with big pharma reps on them, either   so do your own research and find what works for you

** I’m no rabbi either, so please don’t take my experiences and journey as your Rx for Kosher living 😉