Midnight Ramblings of a Mad Woman

I lean towards what most people would consider “crunchy” or “woo woo”. How does that translate to life with chronic illness?

Years ago, when first seeking a diagnosis I took every pill the doctor threw at me without question. I took even more to try and mitigate the side effects, which only caused more side effects. Eventually, upon falling in love with my now husband, I was introduced to the idea of herbal medicines. Now, I hold a certification in botany, and another in herbal remedies. I grow most of our medicine in my backyard. I still rely on western medicine when I feel it’s necessary, but the lack of side effects makes herbals my first go to. Now, everyone in the chronic illness community has heard of “those” people.

“Yoga cured my sisters uncles nieces cousin from fibromyalgia”

“Acupuncture cured my dogs friends nephews brother from arthritis”

“Just a glass of apple cider vinegar a day cured my ex’s brothers cousins best friend from diabetes!”

I want to make it VERY clear:

I am NOT one of those people.

I’m not here to sell you a cure,

In fact I’m not selling anything.

I’m only here to share my experiences in hopes that it may help someone else.

I have multiple chronic, genetic, debilitating illnesses. Chronic implying there is no cure. I’m not out to cure what I have (though, that would be lovely, but I don’t see science advancing that far in my lifetime). However, my goal is the same as anyone living with chronic illness; mitigate symptoms to the best of my ability to give myself a better quality of life.

I’ve found a combination of herbal remedies and western medicine is the best way to about that. If I rely wholly on herbal remedies, sometimes it’s not quite enough; wholly on western medicine tends to be too much. Elderberry syrup for cough and cold, mullein oil for earache, honeysuckle for sore throat. Antibiotics for infections, insulin for diabetes. I think you get the point.

I remember when I first decided to come off of ALL of my pharmaceuticals. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel. My husband guided me through what my body was so desperate for. Water, sunlight, activity. I had spent so many years drinking sprite exclusively because I thought it was helping my stomach pains. Spoiler alert: it was causing my stomach pains. Forcing my body to be active after years of a sedentary lifestyle was difficult at best. I noticed though how much better my body felt every time. Every time I pushed myself to go outside and do something, go for a hike, make my body work, I felt like crap for a few days and then I felt so much better. I finally felt like I could breathe after years of living under the weight of chronic illness. I changed everything. The food I was in taking, the products I was using, toothpaste, detergent, shampoo, you name it. I started reading ingredients lists, searching for the shortest ones on the shelf. Living low tox changed my life.

Disclaimer: THIS DID NOT CURE ME.

This did HELP me, significantly. But it did not cure me.

I still live with, and manage chronic illness symptoms on a daily basis, but I do very genuinely believe that low tox living and herbal medicine make my quality of life so much better.