Flower

This is Flower, a rescue dog belonging to my oldest and bestest friend, Kris.

She got Flower at the Shelton City Dog Shelter, where she had to enter her name in a drawing to get her.  Kris visited Flower every day, and by the time of the drawing, it seems they were destined to be together.

To me, Flower seemed to be the perfect dog for Kris.  Please forgive me, Kris, but she even resembled you in some ways.  You know they say that people get dogs that look like them.

This picture was taken on a day that Flower was running around and around a big fir tree in order to get that dang squirrel.  She appeared at the front door looking like a Thanksgiving Day centerpiece, all decked out with fir branches and cones.

Flower's special gift was the ability to detect breast cancer.  Kris has a friend that Flower had gotten very personal with.  Every time she saw her, she would nuzzle both of her boobs.  Turns out this friend had cancer in both breasts.

Several years later, she started nuzzling Kris' left breast.  Kris remembered what had happened when Flower did that to her friend, so she made a doctor's appointment.  Sure enough, Kris had a small tumor.  After surgery, radiation, acupuncture and all the other things they recommend for those healing, Kris is in great health with a very small percentage for it re-occurring.

Thanks to Flower.

Sadly, Flower died shortly after Kris's surgery.

I always loved that dog, but especially because she was instrumental in saving my friends' life.

Hip Replacement and Weight Loss

I recently found out that I have to have a total hip replacement.  I'm really looking forward to it because I want to be mobile again.  I saw my surgeon on Tuesday, and let me tell you, he is drop dead gorgeous.  Young, of course, since everyone is young these days.  He looks a lot like Sheldon Cooper, but without the pinched look.  

Anyhow, he says I have to lose 30 pounds before the surgery.  I've already lost 30 pounds this year, but I want to do this quickly since I want to get this done soon.

I researched crash diets for surgery and found the Grapefruit Diet.  A bunch of us at work, back in my previous life, went on this many years ago.  I lost 20 pounds in two weeks!!!

I am hoping for the same success this time.

To help me along and to keep me on program, I am using a tool I used on my kids when they were young and it was December.

Oh, my gosh, on December 1st, they turned into little monsters.  My husband and I would look at each other and say "Where did our boys go?"

For several years, I would have them make a paper chain in green and red paper.  It consisted of 25 links.  Each boy was assigned a color, and each day, one link would be removed by the respective child.  This was amazingly effective.  It allowed them to see how long they had to wait.

Yesterday I made a chain for me consisting of 29 links, since I have already lost one pound.  I didn't have any nice paper on hand so I had to use tablet papers.

So, I am hoping to complete this by Christmas.  It would be the best of presents for me and my family.

Anyone want to join me?

They're BAAAAAACK!!!

My next topic was going to be:  How do you know when you have killed all of the parasites?

I don't know.

I know I was feeling so much better there for awhile, and then the pain in my hips and legs became so bad, I knew they were back.

I don't sleep at night, I cry all the time.  This is so miserable, why can't someone help me?

As I said before, the hardest part is finding someone to guide you and support you.

I discovered that  The Tahoma Clinic has a fellow who deals with parasites.  It's just down the street from me.  I have made an appointment to see him but that won't be until August 29th.

I have an appointment with my regular doc tomorrow, which will be wasted time.  I thought maybe, just maybe, I should see if I actually had something else going on in my hip.  Then this morning I googled Joint pain and parasites.  And this article appeared!!!  http://www.angelaburleson.com/parasites.html
Validation, my friends.

TREMORS, PART II

Oy vey.

I was just reading that if you are elderly or have autoimmune issues, you probably shouldn't do a cleanse since it can make conditions worse.  Since I was so sick with them, I feel I made the best decision in doing a cleanse.  Since killing the worms, I am very toxic and I need to get those toxins out of my body.  Methods I have used:

cupping

Lymphatic massage,

reflexology massage

Infrared light wraps.

Daily epsom salt baths

Now it is time that I build up my system and repair the damage that has been done.

Last week, after having a reflexology massage, I was so sick and in so much pain.  It's hard work to expel the toxins.

Over the course of the last 6 months, I have had many, many massages.  I am finding that the massage therapists, for the most part, share my belief that the worms live in the soft tissue and only go to the stomach or intestines to feed.  I can tell you, or point out, every part of my body where I believe the worms were in residence.  Yes, I could feel them moving around.  Under my ribs, my left foot, my right thigh and hip. 

It could be a major cause of arthritis.

That brings up the point.  What kind of worm do I have?  I don't know.  I took in pictures, actual worms and many, many fecal samples for evaluation, but the lab always came back negative for human parasite.  From my research, this is very common.  And, the doctors will not medicate you unless they know exactly what worm you have.

So back to the detoxing.  I have developed skin issues, a result I assume of the toxins trying to leave the body through the pores.  Now I itch.  Rashes are common.  I don't see a rash but I sure have the itches.

Oh, and hair loss.  I put my order in for Keranique.  Hope to see results.

You would think that after getting rid of them, the symptoms would go away, but they linger on.  I want to emphasize this, since it has been a long haul for me.  I was hoping for a "cure" in 15 days.

Back to my nutritionist.  I came to Suzie with a suitcase of problems.  I was in the middle of my first cleanse, and I had just been diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis.  Suzie and I worked on nutrition, digestion, and the importance of healthy fats.

She then started me on the SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET.  I'm not going to explain that since you can research it.  This diet, in addition to taking daily CBD drops (cannabis) has enabled me to reverse my condition.  I will still carry Kaopectate in my car just in case, but have not had a need for about 3 months.

This is very scattered today.  I'm not in a great writing mood.  But here is the thing.  I see so many people at the grocery stores in their motorized carts.  The are mostly obese.  And I think to myself, Wow, do they realize they can cure themselves with the proper diet?  They must be in so much pain.  I know, because I have the pain, too.  I am doing my best to conquer this with diet.  That does not mean 1200 calories a day.  It means avoiding the foods I am sensitive to, avoiding most carbohydrates, using healthy fats and buying organic whenever I can.  Thank goodness for Costco.

As I said, this has been pretty scattered.  I may or may not have a part III.  Now or later.  Sometimes I get really tired of talking about and dealing with this.  If I think of anything else constructive, I will write again.

Oh.  My tongue.  Well, that is where the worms came out, right?  And when I do a cleanse, my tongue turns brown and is very swollen.  So my doctor thought maybe I had cancer of the tongue, and I had a biopsy done.  That was not explained to me at the time.  The Doc who did the biopsy felt we might be able to determine the type of worm.  No one said cancer until after the fact.  Of course it wasn't.  My tongue hurt so bad for two weeks.  Can you imagine?

So, the last advice I got from my Western Doctor was to get mental health counseling, because she, like so many, think I am nuts and it is all in my head.

But I have pictures!!!!

TREMORS

Remember the movie TREMORS with Kevin Bacon?  Those giant worms wreaked havoc on the countryside.  Worms in humans can also be devastating.  My friend thinks that I should share my experience so that others can learn from it.  Since my biggest challenge has been in getting good advice, this is a good idea.  The only help and support I have gotten is from the internet.  Thank goodness for GOOGLE.  This is a long story, so I will be writing it in parts.

Parasites in Humans

PART I

5 years ago I started getting sick.  Weird things happening that sent me to the ER on several occasions.  Severe pain under and around my ribs.  Difficulty breathing.

Total lack of energy.

No help from the doctors.

Meanwhile I developed high blood pressure, High cholesterol and low thyroid.  Seems like every time I turned around I was getting another medication.

And the anxiety and depression joined the crowd.  It's natural when you feel so terrible and don't know what is wrong.

In 2014, after another trip to the ER, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease which attacks your thyroid, preventing it from doing it's job.

At my Doctor's advice, I started working with a Naturopathic doctor who specializes in thyroid disease.  I had her stumped.  We could not come up with a treatment that helped me.

All this time, I was fighting edema in my legs and rib area.

In late 2015 I suddenly gained 40 pounds in the course of 6 weeks.  I googled "sudden wight gain".  One of the topics was "Are parasites making you fat?"  Obviously, I did not give this article enough attention.  I kept going to my doctor, a new one now since I was on Medicare and was able to get decent insurance through the ACA.  I'm really trying to keep this short, believe me.  I was tested for every disease or condition you can imagine.  My legs looked like tree trunks and I was suffering from a lot of pain in my hips and legs.  Finally, the internist I had been referred to told me to cut out the salt.

Okay,

In June of 2016 I went to another Naturopathic doctor.  She did a ton of blood tests and the results showed numerous food sensitivities, candida, Immunity levels in the basement, Vit D and 

B12 deficiencies, and an inability to absorb nutrients.  She put me on a number of supplements and a diet avoiding the foods I was sensitive to.  I will not give you the entire list.  The big ones are dairy, eggs, beef, lamb and beans.

Three months later I developed diarrhea and had it for 6 weeks.  I finally got a referral to a Gastroenterologist.  I was due for a colonoscopy, so we decided to start there.  He did a biopsy and discovered I have lymphocytic colitis.  The drugs to treat this cost over $1000 a month, and they are steroids, so I opted out and decided to work with diet.

At this point, I decided to start working with a Licensed Nutritional Therapist, Suzie Bauer of The Tasty Remedy.

Also at this time I was drinking bone broth.  To treat the candida, I found a great recipe for healing broth that was very spicy.  A day after taking it for the first time, I found white worms coming out of my tongue.  OMG!!!!  This was terrible.  I picked up a parasite cleanse from my local vitamin shoppe and started a cleanse.  One night, I had worms come out of my neck, my chest and my feet.  The cleanse creates an environment that the worms do not like, and they were trying to get the hell out of there.  So begins the frustrating journey of trying to clean my body of these invaders. Everyone asks me where I could have gotten the worms from.  Well, 50% of Americans have them!  Most of the time, you do not show any symptoms.  But, as the worms multiply and the load grows, the symptoms appear.  I was also an alpaca breeder, which put me in contact with alpaca poop on a daily basis.  And,there was that trip to Peru.  I could just as well have gotten them from a grocery cart or door handle.

Here were my symptoms:

fatigue

gas and bloating

constipation

pain in joints, muscles and bones

changes in my vision

brain fog

balance problems

swelling

weight gain. 

Inability to lose weight

Okay, so these could be symptoms of so many things, but remember, I had been tested.  

I am going to end this for today.  I'll be back tomorrow or the next day for Part II.