Feeling Good in DC

I knew getting away for a few days in Washington, DC would be good for me. I had this deep feeling that being on the go, wandering around the capital as opposed to sitting at a freezing cold desk all day would simply make me feel better and help my sinuses open. My prediction came true. I definitely felt better leaving DC than before. I'm not sure if it was my positive outlook or the walking around a new setting or both.

I started a medical cleanse Sunday. I must admit the limited diet is making a difference. My sinuses are improving. I'm also using nasal irrigation meds. I visited the ENT today. She took a look and said I look much better than I did two weeks ago. But that I do have some inflamed, swollen polypoid tissues. No polyps. She said to continue doing what I'm doing and add back in the Qnasl spray.

I awoke at precisely 2:12am and heard the birds chirping like mad. I thought back to the story of the Japanese man who would awaken wiht the birds and breath in the fresh oxygen. I was too tired to step outside. I took a deep breath from my bed and feel back asleep.

Too Much Info Or Not Enough

While searching for a solution to my ongoing sinus/Candida problem I came across this forum on Topix for other similar sufferers. I was so amazed and relieved to find over 300 pages of other fellow sufferers. Suffering never made me so happy. Well, not really.

All of the sufferers who had experienced improvement mentioned that a combination of diet and  prescription anti-fungals had brought them to a renewed state of health. Since I've already overhauled my diet, I hoped that the addition of an anti-fungal would do the trick.

I visited Dr. Firshein on Tuesday. Before I could share my newfound knowledge with him, I broke down crying. The doctor must think I'm a total wackadoo. He passed me a box of tissues. He was calming and understanding. I have found with some other physicians, if I mention researching a health-related matter online, they often frown upon patients attempting to educate themselves. This was not the case at all with  Dr. Firshein.

He agreed that trying Fluconazole along with decongestants was the right strategy to move forward with. I first balked at the decongestants. My ENT had taken me off them 10 years ago because he said they caused high blood pressure. Instead my ENT had me take 10 years of steroids and antibiotics. Honestly, it seems like a few days of decongestants are much less invasive than weeks or months, or worse years, of steroids and antibiotics. This is why it's so important to find a doctor that meshes with your point of view.

I have now been on Fluconazole and Sudafed for five days, and I'm already noticing improvement. I'm not experiencing the extreme inflammation and mucus build up. Yay!

Fingers crossed for more good news to come.

Drag Me To Some Place Nice

Over the weekend my husband and I watched Drag Me To Hell. The film follows the story of a loan officer who evicts a gypsy woman from her home and becomes the recipient of a supernatural curse. The loan officer is slowly dragged to some place not so nice. This is my life with chronic sinusitis. I feel like no matter all dietary changes, all the supplements I take, all the alcohol, sugar and yeast I avoid, I can't escape the hell of sickness.

I did some Googling where I found a slew of people who had suffered from Candidiasis and became allergic to everything they ate. Most of the people were put on prescription antifungals for a long period of time. A strict diet and the meds slowly killed the evil yeast inside them.

This excerpt about my condition makes me realize that there's only so much the natural way can improve my condition:

The spreading yeast fungus prevents proper digestion of all nutrients – the food we eat, the vitamins and minerals we take – thereby depriving the body of what it needs to remain healthy. It can trigger an over-reaction of white blood cells which normally gather to heal infection, making our immune system either over-active or under-active, and multiple health problems can take place.

I have suffered from extreme food-induced sinusitis for almost two years. The areas around my nostrils are permanently red from blowing my nose umpteen times a day. Today I visit Dr. Firshein. I'm hoping he puts me on an antifungal. I want to be done with nasal douching once and for all. I want to be done with stockpiling tissues. I want to be done with spending money on countless doctor visits. I want to be dragged to serenity.

Thresholds

I'm discovering that thresholds aren't static. As I experience more and more good moments free of insane inflammation and disgusting sinus mucus, I find it increasingly harder to handle the bad days. I feel like my threshold for sickness and discomfort is lowering. I can't take as much as I used to. Honestly, I don't know how I survived so many weeks even months as sick as I was. These days I have less patience for sinusitis. Yesterday, I felt poopy. I just wanted to cry. Instead, I went to the bathroom and cleaned out my sinuses. I guess nasal douching is a form of shedding tears. Thick, gross tears I never want to see again.

I met my friends Kristal and Madhu for dinner last night. On the way, I passed Blossom Du Jour, a to-go vegan eatery. They had pressed, fresh juices. I selected a pint of The Field of Greens, which contained spinach, cucumber, apple, ginger, lemon. The apple overpowered all the ingredients. If I let the juice settle, all the greens settled to the bottom leaving the top four-fifths of the liquid looking like apple juice. Overall, the juice was too sweet for my tastes. Once again I discovered that thresholds can evolve. What a few months ago would have tasted ok, now I could barely stomach. I like my green juice less sweet. Since I spent $7 on the juice, I drank it down and then headed to Cookshop for dinner.

Ten minutes after finishing the juice, my sinuses became super clogged. I think it was all the sugar from the apple. It made enjoying my amazing veggie plate a little difficult. I found myself gobbling up all the brussels sprouts, greens and cauliflower, but avoiding the sweet carrots.

Over the past two months I've greatly decreased my intake of dark chocolate. I'm curious if my threshold for this old fav has changed. I can only hope.

Heart Healthy Post

I'm about three-quarters of the way through In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I like the cover moto, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." The book clearly sets up what's wrong with our food supply, why it went wrong and what you can do to ensure you eat foods that are good for you.

One thing I've discovered that the book mentions, is when grocery shopping stick to the periphery. This is where you find fresh produce and lots of greens. Other spots I hit are usually frozen foods for Amy's g-free vegan burritos, the rice section and other gluten free areas.

Another point the book highlights is that the American Heart Association, for a free, will bestow its heart healthy seal of approval on a product. Some that have paid include Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Trix and Yoo Hoo. I wonder how much they'd charge for me to add this symbol to my online portfolio? I'd like to think my work is heart healthy.

The book is chock full of enlightening information and suggestions. I plan to pick up a copy of Food Rules by the same author. Reading books about wellness, keeps me inspired to continue on my own personal journey toward a sinusitis- and yeast-infection-free life. Some days are really tough. Overall, the bad moments are lessening. If you've read any good books about wellness and healthy lifestyles, please share.

It's Alive!

I finished The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates. The book details reestablishing your internal chemistry through a diet of probiotic Kefir made from cow, goat and coconut milk or cultured vegetables. Since I can't have dairy and coconut is an allergen, I decided I'd try the cultured veggies. I ordered a kit to culture my own veggies. Basically, you place shredded cabbage and other veggies into a container, mix in good bacteria and then let sit on the kitchen counter anywhere from three to 10 days. At this point you move the swamp like thing you've been growing to the fridge. Supposedly, the fridge doesn't stop the bacteria growth. Just slows it a bit. For a full-time working mom who also takes on her share of freelance projects and already has to make all her own food, this seemed daunting and scary. So, when my mom mentioned having been wanting to try the raw sauerkraut that Doctor Oz mentioned on his show, I was game.

I canceled my Amazon order and hightailed it to Rosewood Market in Columbia, South Carolina where mom and I purchased raw sauerkraut by Rejuvenative Foods. When we got home, I opened the jar and my husband said, "If you're going to be eating that, you better brush your teeth afterwards." Smells don't scare me. One of the benefits of years of acute sinusitis.

I took a bite of the kraut and liked the tangy sourness. I then toasted a slice of brown rice bread and spread more kraut on it. The stuff is delish. Plus, I think it's helping me other throw the evil bacteria in my gut, and it's lessening my food allergies and nasal inflammation. I've been able to eat small amounts of some allergen foods (walnuts, cake) without extreme reactions. More like subtle congestion. I've also been maintaining my greens intake through smoothies and juices.

When I return to NYC on Wednesday, I hope to find a jar of my latest fav food at Fairway. It's my new breakfast of sinus champions!

High On Colonics

I had a very moving Saturday. I woke up feeling a bit tired. I didn't make it to the yoga class I had been wanting to check out at NYSC. Instead, I did laundry. Not really relaxing. But, it's nice to check this chore off my list. I also drank lots of fresh cucumber, spinach, lemon, apple and garlic juice I made.

Saturday afternoon I visited Suite Retreat for hydrotherapy, also know as high colonics. Based on numerous books I've read as well as the recommendation of my doctor, colonics is good way to remove toxins and other nasties that have built up inside the colon. It's a good way to alleviate candida, which has plagued me for a year and a half. Candida is annoying on many levels. In addition to the usual issues in the nether regions is also causes sinusitis. Antibiotics and steroids are like candy for candida, making the condition even worse. That's another reason why I'm working so hard to not take either of these oral medications. I follow a diet that doesn't feed the yeast. I also take a candida cleanse supplement called Caprylex.

When I arrived at Suite Retreat, I felt like I'd walked into a cozy refuge. Rose first chatted with me about my health history. She had also suffered from sinusitis as well as bronchitis. She's been free of these ailments for years. After our chat, she took me into the procedure room that was equally warm and cozy. Not cold and sterile like a typical doctor's office. She explained the procedure and showed me the freshly wrapped-in-plastic, sterile tubes she would be using. Next, she had me get changed in the bathroom. I came out and climbed up on the table with the help of a step stool. No awkward scrambling here. She had me lie on my side, as she inserted the tube. Or was it tubes? I'm not sure since I couldn't see down there. Then I moved onto my back to relax.

She massaged my abdomen during the procedure. She had me apply a special oil called Di-Gize directly onto my belly to alleviate any cramping or feelings of gas. All it took was one tiny drop for me to feel totally fine. I highly recommend this oil for anyone with gastrointestinal upset. Our skin soaks up everything we put on it. Hence the patch to help cease smoking. It's much better than swallowing a bunch of meds that lead to stomach upset. Rose also applied peppermint oil to help open breathing passageways. I asked her about lavender and she applied a touch of this oil too for relaxation.

Toward the latter part of the procedure, it began to feel like Kool & The Gang had inhabited my lower regions. She massaged me more, letting me know there were some trapped gas pockets working their way out. Guess this was the gang. When the procedure was finished, she unhooked me. I went back to the bathroom to sit on the potty. The great thing about the toilet were the spray buttons. There was one aimed at your buttocks. One for fronttocks. And a dryer! I sampled all. What fun. Wish I had this at home. I'd probably never leave the bathroom.

When I left, my stomach was so flat. I didn't feel any bloatedness or cramping. I felt great. Just incredibly hungry. I got home and tore into the random leftovers sitting in my fridge. A couple hours after I left Suite Retreat, Rose sent me an email outlining her recommendations for a few supplements and oils. If you're considering hydrotherapy, I highly recommend Suite Retreat.

Can't Take A Good Day Without Something Bad

I'll get the bad stuff over first. I have what looks to be a cherry-flavored Jelly Belly sprouting between the top of my nose and my left eye. Actually, it's almost a part of my nose. Possibly, I'm growing a second nose since my current one has failed me. Is this a side effect of ridding my body of years of antibiotics, steroids, peanut M&Ms, duck-fat-fried french fries and gruyere cheese? If so, then get out. Way out. Whatever it takes, just leave my body now.

On the bright side, the amping up my greens is truly helping. Since making this change this week, Tuesday to be exact, I'm noticing more and more improvement. My sinuses are not nearly as inflamed. When the congestion overcomes me, the mucus is draining easier. Instead of nasal douching (sexy), blowing my nose actually relieves me. I can't wait until the time when I don't have to blow my nose at least 20 times a day. Just think of the money I'll save when I don't have to buy three-packs of over-sized Kleenex boxes. Plus, the area around my nostrils is always red. I call it Rudolphitis. Every day I apply cover up over the red areas. Inevitably an hour later, I blow my nose exposing the ugly redness again. A losing battle.

I'm really impressed with Victoria Boutenkos Green For Life. It's a fast read. There are actual accounts of patients who have had chronic sinusitis and multiple food allergies find wellness simply by drinking a quart of green smoothie a day. I wish I'd known this before I had sinus surgery last November. Plus, there are accounts of people who have reversed pancreatic cancer, healed from strokes and gotten off breathing machines thanks to the green stuff.

I recall earlier in the year complaining to my otolaryngologist that I was always incredibly tired and exhausted. He said it was because I'm a mom. I believed him since he's a doctor. Well he was wrong. It's so nice to go to play dates with my son and feel as vibrant as a three-year-old. Six months ago they were a painful duty. Now I look forward to chatting with other moms and pretending I'm Sir Topham Hat. I'm happy I took my health into my own hands by educating myself. I encourage every one to do the same.

Happy weekend. Down those greens!