Cough Be Gone!

And other health-related topics

Man, I always do this. I think up a bunch of blog posts in my head, determine to write more frequently, and then somehow days... weeks... go by... and I haven't written anything.

I wanted to be sure and give a little update regarding my vitamin d levels and cough. Not to go on and on about myself - but hopefully to give somebody out there some tools and resources to consider.

Time and time again, I am impressed by naturopathic medicine and the help it has provided me and my specific symptoms. I have been seeing naturopath physicians off and on for about 7 or 8 years now. Before that, since the time I was about 16, conventional doctors have recommended a whole spectrum of treatment for my endometriosis and related symptoms ranging from birth control pills, anti-depressants (which I promptly deposited in the trash bin on my way out of the doctor's office), medication that would cause my body to go into early menopause.... not to mention anti-anxiety drugs, inhalers, acid reflux medication and on and on and on. I have never once - not once - had a conventional doctor recommend to me that I exercise regularly or change my diet. And yet, these two things by far, have been the biggest aid in helping me feel good. Now, I'm not saying that conventional medicine isn't good for anything - in fact, I see a very wonderful conventional doctor as well, who has educated me, eased my mind, helped me get some more answers as to what's going on in my body. What I am saying is that I really wish conventional and alternative medicine could link arms a little more. I think we could all benefit from it.

That said, I am very happy to report that since seeing a new naturopath and beginning on some supplements, I am feeling a bazillion times better than I had been over the winter and even better than that - my cough is almost completely gone! Hooray!! Before I went to see her about a month ago, my cough was getting worse and worse until I seemed to be coughing all day long. And now - every once in a while I notice the rattling in my chest and I will cough a bit - but nothing near what I was experiencing before.

I wish I could tell you exactly what was going on with me. I think it was a combination of things stemming from the fact that my immune system was extremely depleted. What I can tell you is what I've been taking and doing and where things will go from here. Of course, I'm not a doctor, and I have always been very hesitant - even when I've felt that I've know the proper supplement to take - to treat myself without the oversight of a physician. I don't think this stuff gets shared enough though - which is why I'm sharing it with you - but I would highly recommend that anyone see a naturopath for their personal treatment.


First off, the Vitamin D3:

• 5,000 IU/day for another month at which time I'll have my levels re-checked
  
• I've been laying out in the sun as much as possible - my research says up to 90 minutes between 10 and 2 is best for D3 processing in darker skinned people. Believe me, I do not have 90 minutes a day to lay out in the sun. I might get 15 minutes here and there.
  
• I'm trying to choke down my cod liver oil - I've taken this regularly in the past but let me tell you, it is hard to do. It's just plain gross. Taken with a shot of milk - I can tolerate it - but my naturopath as well as my friend, Jodi, recommended Nordic Naturals to me. I'm going to get some - I hear it tastes better and is less expensive than what I've been taking.

Liquid Calcium/Magnesium

• 1 Tb a.m. and p.m - to help with my D3 processing and also to help acid reflux which my naturopath thinks could be the cause of my coughing.

Cysteplus

• 2/2x day - I wish I could tell you what this was but I really have no clue. I asked my naturopath - twice - and she explained it to me - several times in different ways - and I still didn't really understand. What I do know is that it's an amino acid and is supposed to help detox your liver and specifically for me, thin mucus that was in my lungs.

High Potency Pro-biotic Capsule

• 1/day - now, as far as I've read, pro-biotics are one thing that pretty much everyone, children and adults alike, can take and will be helped by. Just a simple "probiotic" search on mercola.com turns up a wealth of information.

Vitamin C

• 2,000 mg/day - I've been taking this mostly in the form of Emergen-C added to my workout water.... when I go to teach Jazzercise! Yes, you read that right - I'm teaching Jazzercise again and am loving it. It's refreshing for me in so many ways.
  

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

• I am supposed to be drinking 1-2 tsp. of this mixed in water 30 minutes before every meal. I've done it once. Because well, how many mamas do you know who know when they're going to get to eat next? Yah..

Sitting down and chewing my food more while I eat

• This happens a little more than the acv - but not much more. One interesting bit of info. that my naturopath told me is that one area of disagreement between alternative and conventional doctors is whether or not acid reflux is caused by a lack of acid or an overabundance of acid. Naturopaths believe it is caused by a lack of digestive acids so that when you eat, your food does not get digested enough and comes back up. Chewing your food more, taking the apple cider vinegar and not drinking while you eat can help provide more acid in order to digest food more effectively. I find this all very interesting.
  

Water

• Drink 50 oz./day. Unfortunately this doesn't happen often either but I am drinking more water than I was before.

Contrast Hydrotherapy

• This is the craziest thing I'm doing but it's turning out to be one of the most refreshing. I do it focused mainly on my chest and lungs. Be sure and click on the link to read about it. The naturopath I linked to is not mine but it is a very good explanation. I do it in the shower and alternate hot-as-I-can-stand water and cold water on my chest and back. And yes, I felt like screaming the first time I did it.
  

I've also continued to try and remain as gluten-free and now, as grain free, as possible. But this is a continual area of struggle for me so maybe I'll share about that another time.


Man, I talk a lot....

In other health-related news. Sweet Xochi has managed to end up with a pretty flat head over her short 14 months. After a trip down to Children's Hospital on Friday to have it evaluated, it looks like we are probably going to be treating it with a plagiocephaly helmet. It shouldn't take long - about 4 months - for it to round out. It really is not that bad and is kind of on the line of whether or not it should be treated, but hopefully we'll be saving her from any future teenage-flat-headed woes.