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.:)

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.