A little bit of peace, brain scatter, and my remedy for a killer sinus headache

I'm feeling silly right now, not sure why. But in a good way. I'm home alone, sitting at the dining room table sipping some Yogi Detox Tea, and for some reason, right now, that is enough. All is well with the world.

Just a couple of hours ago I was near the desperate edge of misery fighting off an excruciating sinus headache. Yep, the allergies are back with a vengeance. It seems what was doing the trick were all the enzymes I was taking, and I had to lay off them during my monthly cycle, because if I don't bad stuff happens. (I won't gross you out w/any more details.)
What is this miracle allergy cure I've discovered? (Well not a cure, but pretty damn close!) Well, I have been taking a supplement called Inflatrol, which contains Papain, Bromelain, and Quercetin (of which the first two help by thinning secretions, i.e., mucous/phlegm, and the third works as an anti-histamine) along with a negligible amount of Vitamin C, and Ginger and Turmeric, two potent antioxidant/anti-inflammatories. That helps a bit. But the last couple of weeks on this diet, I've been taking another digestive enzyme formula as well (it was free, and it contains pancreatin, along with other ingredients which aid in digestion, including some more papain & bromelain). But what I think has really been the key is the Natto I've been eating, which contains Nattokinase. I've noticed the difference right away whenever I have some of the gooey stuff. So yay for the Body Ecology Diet! (I'd heard of Natto awhile back, actually been taking Nattokinase supplements to help keep my Endometriosis in check for awhile on & off, but it wasn't until I heard Donna Gates' Liver Cleanse protocol that I decided to try the icky sounding stuff. As gooey and slightly icky as it is, I can't seem to keep away from it; my body just seems to love it. The protein from the fermented soy beans seems to do be me good, plus it's not as heavy as Tempeh, and seems to help digest whatever else I eat with it.

So today, as I was having a rather unpleasant reminder of just how awful allergies can be (I had no energy, brain fog up the yazoo, although only slightly worsened by the allergies, and I was starting to feel fluey, feverish, heavy-headed and just plain miserable. And oh yeah, the sinus headache felt like my forehead/skull were being pried in two. That bad!) when I decided to say screw it, and get back on the enzymes. First, I had some Natto, whipped up with some gluten-free Tamari, some Nori flakes, and a side of cultured veggies. (I know that sounds totally gross, but I feel compelled to eat it! Almost, even, maybe...LIKE it!)

In slight desperation, while out running errands, I'd taken a pseudoephedrine (decongestant that is an upper, sometimes sets off my POTS, or makes me very restless and cranky) but that wasn't helping, neither was my nasal spray, so I gave in and did a sinus rinse (I cannot get used to that whole deal!) and what a relief right there...well about halfway... Next I took a couple of acetominophen (paracetomol for those in Europe or outside the U.S.) and some ginger tea (in hopes of it acting as an anti-inflammatory. I also sucked on some chewable enzymes (about $3 a Trader Joe's, great for when you forget to take the non-chewable kind in time, and in this case, for liquifying & loosening phlegm clogging up your sinuses. I knew it wouldn't all help instantly, so in the meantime, to keep any more allergens from entering my poor nose, I coated it with Vicks Vapo-Rub and trapped the vapors inside w/cotton. An hour later, much better.

Now if I could just get my attention span back...I can barely even seem to write an e-mail, much less chat or Tweet...can't even seem to watch a DVD...To think I used to be the Queen of Multi-tasking...not much hope trying to do anything useful until that improves a bit...

In the meantime, I'm going to rev up the detox tea and water w/lemon, since I seem to be out of Vitamin C, and it just occurred to me that the reason they keep saying to sip water w/lemon is possibly partly at least because of the Vitamin C in the lemon...good for energy...well off I go to throw my hippie self into a reclining position, back's so tired!

Oh wait! Speaking of back!
The rheumy I saw yesterday called and left me a message that she looked at my MRI report (uh, that's what I gave it to her yesterday! Shouldn't she have done that then?) and I have some issues w/my spine that cause pain so she's going to refer me to a pain management doctor and there's an injection that they can put in my spine to help with that.

!!!?!!!?

Hmm. Needle. Spine. I'm not in THAT much pain!
I actually feel grateful, because my pain is actually not constant, and even though it's been worse this past year than it has been in awhile, I know if I could just afford to see a chiropractor I could get it under control, probably completely, plus some physical therapy to strengthen it and get rid of those trigger points I always get...

Maybe she didn't believe me that 30 Vicodin last me at least 3 months... I know that stuff is addictive and if I don't have anywhere important to be or anything to do, I'd rather ride it out in bed w/my trusty ol' heating pad, unless it gets really bad. Other than that, I only take them when I have something to do, like drive...go to family function, etc. and being out for a couple of months and detoxing my body w/this diet has made me want to take them even less frequently. (Not to mention people close to me abusing Rx meds or becoming dependent on them! Still enough of a control freak there that I couldn't stand to have a drug controlling me.)
Fun stuff when you're poor and have a pain condition! One doctor alternates between pushing pills I don't need (which I declined!) and then warning me they're addictive, another tells me if I should lose my bottle I won't get a refill! I miss my old doctors. They knew me, had access to all my med records for the last several years, and never made me feel like a drug seeking addict. Ah, well. Someday I shall know the joys of private insurance again! Or not need pain meds other than Tylenol! I know the day will come.:)

A New Fibromyalgia Remedy: Antiviral Drugs - US News and World Report

Though I feel this is a bit oversimplified, I think it's an interesting article, especially the part about the allergies!

A New Fibromyalgia Remedy: Antiviral Drugs - US News and World Report

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Better...

Today was the first good day all week. The only day I haven't felt like jumping out of my skin or screaming in angst & frustration. I got sleepy early (the key being a couple of Benadryl I scrounged up from my overnight case, because I ran out of my usual anti-histamines and was having a full-on allergy attack, teary, itchy eyes, sneezing...in addition to the impending sinus congestion, headache, and asthma attack) and I woke up early, for me. 9am. Yay.

I checked my Facebook, caught up on my apps...Apps that the old me would have previously been tempted to judge anyone for having the time to waste playing...
and then I got some more serious stuff done on a project I've been helping someone with.

My cognitive function has been regressing a bit lately. I am still SO grateful for the improvement of the past year, although I don't know what brought it about; if it was Oxymatrine, Inflatrol (a supplement containing Turmeric, a spice found curry being used in tests to fight Alzheimer's plaques, as well as cardiovascular plaques and fight inflammation, and Ginger, another powerful antioxidant, as well as blood thinning enzymes papain and bromelain, Vitamin C, and Quercetin.) or perhaps just gift of not HAVING to push myself like I had previous to moving here, when it was a matter of life and death (or at least keeping a roof over my head, a few drops of gas in my car, and food in my tummy) or just not having to use the brain power to interact with people... Maybe it's a combination. I don't know what it is, but I am SO grateful, especially when I have a bad day, and I can barely fathom how I lived that way for days, weeks, months on end, barely able to keep a thought in my head, walking around in circles, forgetting, getting confused, and feeling like my brain was cramping up, every little thing taking up so much energy... As long as it's only going backwards a little, and it's only a few really bad days every now and then, I'm cool though.

Ah, sad. The kitty just walked in, and I can tell she wants some attention, but I dare not even pat her with my foot lest it encourage her/kick up dander. Picking up my Elavil rx left me with 2 pennies in my wallet, and I ran out of my anti-histamines. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some. Crazy to think that if I am ever stuck in a small room with cats and no anti-histamines it could be the end of me! Especially since I've had the same cat for 14 years and wasn't allergic to her or any other animal for 12 of those years!

Wow, I'm rambling tonight.

I don't know what is wrong with me! Sometimes I wonder if CFS has damaged some kind of learning mechanism in my brain...or if it's just my innate stubbornness that is causing an inability to adjust... Especially this week, it seems...I can't stop wanting to have a life.
Earlier, after talking to a friend who was going out tonight, I found myself thinking, if only I still lived in L.A., I'd go out too, I want to so badly! I need to find a way to make friends here, find places to go. And then reality sets in. Even if I had the money, well, yesterday I got tired walking from the parking lot to the pharmacy and back and had to lie down in the car before I drove home! Today, I sorted my laundry and had to lie down for half an hour before taking it (in a wheeled cart) to the laundry room. And I realize I've tried that before, when I was healthier probably, and it didn't work so well then! I'd get worn out getting ready to go out. Meeting new people is stressful! And then it's really hard for me to keep up with friendships, which makes it really hard to bond with anyone new.

Long story short, lately it's hard to find hope, because it seems like I've tried anything and everything to make my life better, to get what I need to be happy. And everywhere I've turned I hit a roadblock. I feel like one of Pavlov's dogs. I keep salivating thinking I'm gonna get the food, but after years of not getting the food after all, it only lasts a second and then I end up with my tail between my legs because I've been disappointed so many times. Full-time job? Nope, not happening. Legit Part-time job. Nope. School? Uh-uh. Social life? Don't think so.

I swear, I must sound SO negative. And I hate that! I wish I could just be happy lying around not worrying about stuff, most of all, not wanting stuff. But I can't. For long. It's just not me. I want to live. I wanna love. I wanna rock in the city tonight! lol. Sorry, I think that's a song from Live. From the Mental Jewelry Album. (I probably have lyrics wrong, lol. It's the one that says "...he was a rock n roll messiah...")

It's probably hard to tell I had a better day, but I swear I did. I felt calm and okay all day...not till night I started getting a bit frustrated. I'm grateful for the peace though. Night meds are kicking in...Kitty's made herself a little nest in my bed, now I have to figure out how to tell her it's not happening...Imagine if your cat that you'd slept with all your life came up to you and said, "Sorry sweetie, but immune system is all whacked out and I'm allergic to you now"! Well, it could be worse I guess, at least I can keep her around...with a steady supply of higher-than-the-recommended-dosage anti-histamines that is!

Alternative Treatments for Allergies

My newest in the long list of my ailments is my allergies. I had a very stressful year last year, and I guess that, having to breathe ash-laden air (there were bad fires in CA last year, the sky was brown for weeks, and since it was during a Fall heatwave, I had to keep the windows open) and my already screwy immune system, I developed the allergies from hell. The worst being my allergy to the cat who's spent over a decade with me. Now, obviously, getting rid of her would be like giving up my child. It's NOT going to happen. Plus, it's not just her, I seem to be allergic to all kinds of things, inside, AND outside, so it probably wouldn't help all that much.
So I've been struggling.
I had NO idea how bad allergies could be!
With all the advertisements for anti-histamines on TV, it would seem like all you have to do is pop one, and voila! All better!
Not the case.
Also, I was under the misconception that allergies were like a mild cold. Not that having a cold non-stop would be fun, but...
Now, granted, I did have the sneezing, watery-itchy eyes, stuffy nose thing. That, the anti-histamines seem to have helped. (Along with eyedrop anti-histamines, and washing my hands immediately after touching kitty.)
But I still get EXCRUCIATING sinus congestion, which makes my brain fog sooo much worse, makes me so tired (plus the existing fatigue of course, which I've learned to live with, and was manageable until this point in time) I have to lie down and if I'm really unlucky, really bad painful sinus headaches.
In the past, whenever I had sinus issues, I could take a pseudoephedrine or two, and it was GONE, all better within 20-60 minutes. Now, I'm lucky if they work at all.
There there's the asthma attacks. Those, thankfully, seem to respond well to the anti-histamines, and having an air purifier.

So the big thing is the sinus congestion & subsequent headache, increased fogginess, and fatigue. Not only was the Pseudoephedrine not working, but it was making me jittery, moody, and possibly aggravating my heart & BP issues.

So I did some research and came up with the most unexpected thing: Digestive Enzymes!
Apparently alternative allergy practitioners use them to treat allergies.
Bromelain seemed to be a big one.
The next important supplement was Quercetin. Basically it sounds like a natural anti-histamine. Vitamin C is good as well, as it's good for the immune system.
I'd also been wanting to try Turmeric and Ginger supplements for inflammation (asthma and bodywise) and pain. (Turmeric, along with being an amazing anti-oxidant, clearing plaque from the blood vessels and the brain, also seems to work on the nociceptors, something about preventing or controlling central oversensitization, which causes FM pain and is why nerve pain/epileptic drugs are working for FM.)

I was lucky to accidentally come across a supplement that had all of those, plus Papain, another enzyme. It's definitely helped. Not cured, but helped.

Also, another big help is Neilmed Sinus Rinse. You have to do it for awhile, and keep it up to keep results.

I've read about a technique called BioSet, too, which totally makes sense to me, as it employs muscle testing, of which I am a believer, but of course, no $$ for that yet...The doctor I spoke with sounded confident she could if not cure, get the allergies very under control. Add another thing to my wishlist ;)

A bit worn out now, so more later.