My Benefits From Alternate Therapies

I am an oddity, and I know this. There are over the counter meds that I cannot use because my body reacts badly to them, and 2 drugs that I do take, that other people have serious issues with (because they are nasty drugs with evil side effects) that I have - thus far - been able to utilize to help my medical conditions.

For years though, my main self-care has been through natural means wherever possible. I cannot have surgeries, having had complications from 15 minute ones when I was young and healthy, and was warned then "you are the sort who dies on the operating table, unless it is a matter of life or death, you should never have another surgery". I listened!

I learned about the interactions of the foods that I eat with the drugs that I am on, with each other, and with my body. That has enabled me to stay somewhat stable in the areas of my blood pressure and A-Fib. Finding out that cherry juice is a natural anti-inflammatory has helped me have less pain from my arthritis, although when there is any severe storm coming in, my bones are the first to let me know, followed by my blood pressure, as soon as the bariometrics start to change. The reasoning is explained here. 

Likewise, I have used a blend of essential oils for pain relief when needed, and was surprised the other day to realise that I had not had to use any in a while! For this, I am very thankful! God is good! 

My mobility has been an issue for many years now, due to both of my hips and both of my knees all needing replacing since 2006 - which is obviously not going to happen since these would require surgeries. Since they are not life-threatening, but simply life-affecting, that is not an option.

Over the years, I have had excellent chiropractic care, which has enabled me to maintain the mobility that I do have, and even improve it somewhat. My go-to-chiropractor at the moment is Dr Cody at 100% Chiropractic in Magnolia Park in Greenville. I love his office, I go weekly and it's like visiting family;  he and his staff are absolutely brilliant. 

One of my other long term self-care treatments has been massage and reflexology, and for the past few years, my go-to-therapist has been Roger at Studio Rejuvenate in Greer. He has worked with me through many issues including back pain, and our current focus has been the lymph drainage which began affecting my legs a couple of years ago. My monthly visits now include a lymph drainage massage and a foot reflexology session, and I come out after my visit feeling relaxed, my legs are not aching and my feet feel AWESOME!

I cannot say enough about Dr Cody and his team, or Roger and the others at Studio Rejuvenate. I recommend people all the time. Make sure to tell them Rose sent you, that way they know how much I appreciate them! And I do! Between the both of them, and their natural healing processes, I am pain-free probably 95% of the time now, and managing my BP and A-Fib much better than before.

I advise anyone with health issues to learn everything you can about them, and then look into any drugs that you are taking for those issues, check for any interactions, and also for food interactions with those drugs AND - big AND this - take note of how YOUR BODY reacts to the foods that you eat.

Final note on Prescription Drugs ... many are not supposed to be taken together, some need gaps of 204 hours between them and another drug, also some need to be taken with food whereas others are to be taken on an empty stomach. Nobody tells us how much these things affect our bodies, it is up to us to find out for ourselves and learn how to make choices for our bodies that help them heal and stay healthier.

#essentialoils #arthritis #alternatetherapies #massagetherapy #studiorejuvenate #100%chiropracticmagnoliapark #DrCody #reflexology #chiropracticcare #footmassage #selfhealing

Small Steps to Success, and Other Stuff

 Well, life has been hectic of late, albeit in a somewhat slow sense. Let's face it, everything I do now is slow ... fast is not in my vocabulary any more. But that's ok, I plod along and do my best, in dribs and drabs, and measure my achievements, no matter how small.

Brunel's new training class got underway this past weekend. The whole goal of the intermediate one is to get them focused on you when there are multiple distractions around. This is one of our problems, and Brunel (although now a year old) is still a very large and playful puppy. Working with him at home, he responds well to all my commands, but as soon as there's a distraction - off he goes doing his own thing. We are also having to keep working on the "no jumping up on people" as he gets so excited and loves everybody, but (me, particularly being scared of dogs so I understand others may be also) I do not want him doing that, I want him remaining calm when other people are around, and so that training is also continuing.

Having a puppy in the house, particularly a large one that can reach up to get things, meant that my model making took a hiatus, with his crate blocking access to my work table. Finally, yesterday, I took some time to get back to it, and completed the fire station. I'll be packing up the rest of my supplies and kits though, as I am trying to declutter and empty the kitchen, in preparation for remodelling in a couple of months time. As said previously, my only speed now is slow, so I am trying to do something every day, and it IS noticeable. The 2 racks of wire shelving that I've used for pots, pans, storage containers and other kitchen necessities, once emptied, will be going out to hubby's shed for his goodies to be stacked on, as when we redo the kitchen there will be lower level cabinets in their place. Goodwill and Miracle Hill love me, as the more I clear out, the ore donations they get!

With my AVON business sadly slowing down (Covid and the economy have done a number on it for me, and I probably earn less than half what I did 2 years ago, now) I have been contemplating going into publishing as a business. I am currently looking at a program however all the editing is done in Canva and I seem to be having difficulty figuring it out. Yesterday, my grandson published a journal and dream log, and in speaking with him, he used Canva to edit it and said he'll walk me through it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I have a poem "The Storybook Witch" which I have long wanted to publish for my great-grandchildren (and others) as a picture book, but have had problems finding someone to illustrate it for me. Although that isn't going to be the focus of the first book that I want to publish, I intend using that poem in it. I am thinking, a double page spread with an illustration on one side and the poem on the other, and then 2 double page spreads of colouring pages with things pertaining to each poem. I am going through my poetry to find al my children's poems, so that this would be a poetry/colouring book. My friend, Steph, had offered to help me learn Canva, over the phone, but now that Dylan has used it for his editing and can actually sit with me and show me, I think I may finally be able to learn it. We shall see.

Hubby finally received a 20% disability rating from the VA for his diabetes, since chemicals he used in the military to clean off other stuff (and some has been banned in the decades since) have been found to be a cause. Had we known this, he could have claimed when he was first diagnosed 10-12 years ago. Well, you live and learn. Likewise, the same chemicals are now known to be carcinogenic, and so they acknowledge his CLL, but he has a zero rating on that while he is just in the "watch and wait" stage ... but if he ends up needing treatment, that will go to 100%. 

He has an upcoming appointment with our regular doctor next week, and will be discussing his Long Covid with her. The heatwave we are in, right now, is causing him a lot of difficulty with his breathing, and - although his cancer doc said his breathing/lungs are good - he says it fees like someone has whacked him in the chest, and hurts like when he had the pneumonia during his Covid bout. Talking with a workmate, who also had a bad case of Covid, and was hospitalized for weeks like Mark was, they apparently both share this symptom, along with the brain fog/forgetfulness and the lack of energy constantly. I hate seeing him suffer, and next May cannot come quick enough, in a way, so that he can retire and allow his body to dictate what it can and will do, rather than a work schedule deciding that. I don't want him dropping dead from his body being physically and mentally exhausted.

Tonight, my granddaughter has offered to come over with a friend, and concrete me a pathway from the house across to the driveway, so that I have a level surface for my walker as recently it has become much more difficult for me to get across.

Having finally completed fire station model that I began a year ago, tomorrow I will be packing up my other model kits and all the accessories (glue, scissors, paints etc) so that We can take the fold up table out ready for our kitchen redo. Slowly but surely, I am getting stuff done.

All in all, I am quite satisfied with the way I am decluttering and packing, and am actually quite pleased with myself. God is good and is def helping me do this because I'm staying pain-free and without that, I'd never be able to do this.