MY FAVORITE THINGS

i must preface this post with a warning. i'm not a doctor. (there's a shocker) so please don't try any of the products or implement any of the therapies mentioned here before checking with your doctor first. 


i have often found it super helpful to connect with other lymies on different sites and glean information from them on what has helped - or not helped - them in their battle with LD. i've learned a lot from others. shared information can be of huge value. i've also learned that everyone responds very differently to different treatments. what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another. we are all unique. so true. on the other hand, at other times, what has worked for some one else has tremendously helped me or parker or taylor. 


so i thought it would be fun to list of a few of my favorite things. and then i looked thru the list i started and some of it sounds near torturous and down right diabolical...and i've titled this post favorite things? yikes. i'm sure my favorite things list is very different than oprah's favorite things! (so the show is no longer on...but it was when i first started this post.)


can you imagine oprah debuting some of my favorites on her favorite things show?

now folks, my all time favorite thing is ....

(sense the crowd's building enthuisiasm, breath held, cheeks flush with anticipation, heart's pounding) 

wait for it..wait for it...wait for it

COLONICS!

and your all going home with 10 free sessions!

crowd goes wild....you know the jumpers, the head holders, the screamers, the fainters? 

i can just invision it. the blood curdling screaming, the frenzied panic, followed by a stampeding charge out the nearest fire exit. talk about a clearing a studio -
  

yes, it is true. the first thing i thought of when i started listing my faves was colonics. i realize that is bizarre. so let me state for the record that i don't particularly find colonics "fun" they don't top my list of "favorite past times"... but they top the list because they really did wonders for my body.

1. COLONICS - yup. LOVE 'EM. run shrieking. it took a full year of dr h telling me i needed to do this before i finally took the plunge. read about it in- fluffy-fluffy and the unmentionable - it was not as bad as i expected, anticipated or every imagined it to be. albeit, my family has been traumatized by them. after every appointment, they were regaled with stories of what had been encountered that time. it grossed them out. i'm sure several have gagged as they read this. me? no way. i'm mesmerized by this one. hands down, bottoms up - it is one of the best things i have ever done for my body.

2. MASSAGE - i hate massages. yes. you read that right. i would choose a colonic over a massage any day of the year. yes. you read that right again. i endure massages for the greater good of my body. that's right. massage and endure in one sentence. only in my weird world. dr h made me do these too. i've endured both lymphatic drainage and aruyvedic massage. i have to admit it both have been super beneficial. 


2a. LYMPHATIC MASSAGE - i've blogged about these before...in the 3rd person as a character called fluffy-fluffy - meet fluffy-fluffy. read about more of fluffy-fluffy's adventures she loses it here and drives dr h crazy here.


2b. AYURVEDIC MASSAGE - specifically abhyanga and shirodhara. underwent these about a year ago. i've not before blogged about my experience - didn't have the to courage to relive it and neither did fluffy-fluffy but i'm stepping up to the task for the greater good of the masses. i'm working on a more detailed account of it in a post that'll be titled 'chill out, grease ball'. stay tuned.

for now, i'll say that abhyangha and shiradawa massage are not your run-of- the-mill standard massage. while it is true that i didn't enjoy them, they did do wonders for detoxing me at a time when i was impossibly and scarily chock full of neurotoxins.


abhyanga is a full body, hot oil massage. sounds heavenly... feels like hell. why? it includes what felt like the equivalent of a full body flogging.


shirodhara is hot oil poured over your fore head in a continuous stream. often lasting 45 -60 minutes. it is supposed to be very soothing and helps to balance the nervous system. all i thought during it was chinese water torture.

during my first collective ayurvedic massage experience, the theme song from titanic came on. you know the one - my heart will go on by celine dion. catchy tune, right? everyone knows it. sing along...i did. i silently sang my own ad-libbed lyrics  "how long must this go on? how long must i endure? i'm here, there's everything to fear! i have to pee, i am nauseous. how long will this go on? it just goes on and on and on and on..."

3. MUNDIPUR - actually any of the products from bioresource/pekana get an a+ in my books. their entire detoxing line - itires, renelix, and apo-hepat have been of great benefit for both parker and i. they are all homeopathic liquids. add them to a couple ounces of water. then down the hatch. i prefer mine in a martini glass.

4.APPLE PECTIN TABLETS - i've had a major issue with detox. most of the standard detoxing binders have done squat for me. these little gems have helped mop up that toxic feeling. interesting side note: apparently dr oz featured these little gems on his show. i believe they can be used to aid in weight loss. i'm not entirely sure. i don't watch the show. it annoys me. now i'm doubly irritated b/c once he mentioned them on his show, they flew off the shelves of every health store and suppliers were back ordered. i had a dickens of a time getting my hands on a bottle after that. thanks a lot oz.

5. LYMPHOMYOSOT INJECTIONS - (heel product) 

again thumbs up for being decidedly overjoyed by a treatment that requires i inject myself into my gut 3xday. lovely. my frustratingly sluggish lymph was decidely supported by this one. feel free to read about fluffy-fluffy shooting up

6. GARDEN OF LIFE GREENS - it's so energizing, it's like crack in a glass. it tastes how lawn clippings smell. yum. i eventually got used to the taste. after a while i even enjoyed it. probably because it appealed to the cow in me. i must have been magnificently deficient when i first started this one, it is one of the only supplements i have ever taken where i actually FELT an immediate response in my body. i could feel it doing the happy dance. again, it was most likely my inner cow coming out.

unfortunately, i am no longer able to tolerate the greens. now that i'm allergic to veggies, this one is a no go. sad. this cow is not happy about that.

7. ALKA SELTZER GOLD...plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is! this is my latest and greatest favorite thing. i'm addicted. dr d started parker on this ages ago. he's not such a huge fan but it is a great alkalizer and an alkaline body is a good thing. parker gags it down when he is herxing. he can't stand the taste but knows that it helps his body. me? i can't get enough of the stuff. super, duper delicious! i enjoy it on the rocks.

LD has grossly limited my drink repertoire and now thx to my fruit and veggie allergies, gone is lattes, gone is smoothies, gone is juicing, gone is green tea, gone is any herbal tea, gone is green goo, gone is wine, all gone, gone, gone...but i have alka seltzer. plop, plop, fizz, fizz...it's my specialty drink.
important note: use only alka seltzer GOLD. this one contains no aspirin.

8. ROCEPHIN - this is one of the big gun IV abx used to fight LD. it's the preferred drug of choice among llmds. it has done wonders for my body and my brain. prior to rocephin, i was lost in a haze of pain and brain fog. i couldn't recall my kid's names, i had no idea how to sign my name and if i ventured out of the house, i often couldn't find my way home. when i think back to those early days of treatment, it is nearly impossible. i've come along way, rocephin has been my faithful companion along the way.

9. OREGANO OIL - interestingly tangy, zinger of an herbal remedy. can you tell i'm flavor starved? i take it straight - shaken but not stirred and definitely not watered down. 5 drops at a times directly under the tongue. oh yeah, feel the burn baby! this beaut of a remedy is a powerful viral, fungal and bacterial fighter. i had great success with it when i developed a difficult to treat case of thrush. oddly enough, i really enjoy the after taste of this one. who knew little oregano burps would be so pleasantly enjoyable?

10. SALLY HANSEN NAIL POLISH STRIPS - ok, so totally unrelated to treatment altho' pampering oneself is a good thing. i have to plug these sweet little nail coverings. they are so cool and super durable. they are fairly simple to use as they are basically glorified yet super adhesive stickers.  the bonus is there is NO drying time! the effect is phenomenal. avery and i had a lot of fun with these this summer.