food as medicine | Kai Chronicles

WARNING: Graphic images may frighten some..(lol).

In my last post, I told you about my most recent aliment: acid reflux.

I was prescribed ®Nexium and had started it on May 9.

I felt a bit better but at one point, got worse, then a little better.

But things changed in the early hours of May 16th.

I woke up at 4am (ish) with incredible burning and blockages in my throat and chest (this was beginning to be the norm).

When I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror (asking why me?), I noticed my left eye was extremely bloodshot. Then I noticed my eyelid was all puffy and a bit droopy.

I thought, ‘wtf?’ but went back to my self pity about the reflux.

In the morning, it looked better but I was concerned.

At my scheduled follow-up appointment with the doctor who had prescribed the meds, I brought it up (after he diagnosed me with severe reflux osophagitis and told me to take ®Nexium for 2 months).

He had a quick look and brushed it off as a touch of conjunctivitis or “maybe you rubbed it in your sleep”.

Okay then.

Fast forward to 4am May 17.

Again, I was up with severe heartburn and the blocked feelings.

This time, I could feel that my eye was swollen and when I looked at myself, I saw that the right eye had decided to get in on the action.

May 17 4am approx 8.5 hours after taking meds

May 17 4am shot 2

May 17 730am what I looked like when I got up

When I saw how I looked at 4am, I went straight onto google and sure enough swollen face, lips or other parts of the body are side effects of ®Nexium.

Needless to say, I didn’t take anymore nor have I been back to the doctor.

What I did do was go for a session of Bowen Therapy.

It was my first time and I didn’t know much about it but it was recommended.

I will tell you more about it in a separate post, so stay tuned.

What I know for sure though is that night, without the meds and after Bowen, I began to feel better. I actually did not get up out of bed all night (a first in 2 weeks) and it’s been like that since.

I’m almost sleeping through the night.

I’m still get a bit of heartburn at 9pm so I take 15ml of Gaviscon. Once I’m rid of it for good, I will go back to natural remedies like bicarb and water or apple cider vinegar and water.

I’m still restricting a lot of food and today, I’ve actually started Dr Mark Hyman’s Ultramind Solution 6-week program.

This is very much like the elimination diets I’ve done in the past: no gluten, no dairy, no caffeine, no alcohol, no food from a pack or can, no sugar, no flour of any kind.

I’ve done this so much over the past 3 years but it never stuck for too long before I was abusing and misusing food and booze again.

This time, I’m determined to stick with it to the END and properly re-introduce some of the things I may miss (like flours and sugars so I can still eat my home-baked goodies).

I’ve still not had any coffee and I guess I won’t now for another 6 weeks at least. Who knows, maybe I won’t bother going back to it.

Considering I’ve been on a restricted diet for 2.5 weeks now, the next 6 weeks will not be too hard. I’m looking forward to getting my health, energy, motivation and brain back!!!

My kind of medicine

Save the honey bee.

Today I met someone who could change my life, if I let her. As a writer, I often have to seek out experts to speak about my chosen subject and I have met some fascinating and knowledgable people this way. But none as fascinating and inspiring as Cyndi O’Meara.

Cyndi is a nutritionist, author and my newest health inspiration. Check this out:

She has never (NEVER) taken a pain killer or anti-biotic, nor has her children or her siblings.

Cyndi’s father was a pharmacist back in the 50s and saw what prescription drugs were doing to society (pretty switched on, I’d say) and made it policy that his family would not pop a pill for any ache, pain or infection that came about. Even through broken bones, Cyndi never took pain relief. Her father’s theory was that the drugs were just masking the symptoms (hear hear) and said that unless it was a life threatening situation, his children would never take medication.

Do we need to harden up?

Cyndi said that she thinks her threshold to pain is higher because she has never taken a pain killer.

“I think the fact that I have never taken a pain killer allows me to not be so sensitive to pain; I can deal with pain. My dad wouldn’t give me anything when I broke my collar bone. He made sure I was comfortable, physically. If I had a cold or flu, he wouldn’t allow anti-biotics.

“My father used to say, ‘Your body has to deal with the little infections in life so you can deal with the big ones later on’. He believed in the intelligence of the human body. We used food as our medicine, nothing else,” she said.

Growing up, Cyndi’s family used honey as their main cure-all.

“We always had honey straight from the apiary in our pantry. If we had a cold, mum would make up some lemon and honey drinks. A teaspoon of honey daily is the best probiotic out there,” she said.

Watch the signs, break the cycle

Society, especially Western society has been brought up to believe that they should never have to suffer or feel pain. There’s a pill for that. Although I do not take pills often, I am guilty of giving in to an infection or a headache or backaches and choking down paracetamol or taking a course of anti-biotics because I couldn’t handle the pain.

“We are so indoctrinated that if you have a headache, you take a pill. My indoctrination was very different. The headache was a signal, it was an indicator. Take the indicator away, you don’t solve the problem. Leave the indicator in place and investigate the cause: drink water, rest, eat, deal with your hormones whatever the issue is. My dad saw pain as an indicator to a problem,” Cyndi said.

I now feel embarrassed and shameful that I let myself fall prey to BIG PHARMA. I had myself convinced that I wasn’t a “user”. And what’s worse, I have raised my child to think that taking pain relief is the way to go. That “medicine” is a cure all. Sure, we use honey, ginger, lemons, apple cider vinegar and some food as natural medicine but when the going gets really tough (pain and infection is involved) it’s straight onto anti-biotics and pain relief.

And is it just an excuse? An excuse to numb away every uncomfortable feeling or emotion that we have? Some use prescription drugs (legal drugs), street drugs, booze, fast food, shopping, gambling…whatever makes you (un) happy.

Cyndi said it but I fully believe it to be true: Addiction starts at home. Is it any wonder that 20 million people around the world use illegal drugs or that prescription painkillers are the most abused substance in the USA?

According to Dr. Carr, a professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, there were 15,000 deaths due to opioids in the USA in 2008 and a half million emergency department visits due to prescription painkiller abuse in 2009. That’s an incredible amount of pain, and that’s just in the USA!

For the past year, I have been on and off anti-biotics. I have not been this unwell since I lived in Canada (where going to the doctor was a bi-weekly event) in the late nineties and believe me, my lifestyle back then was the contributing factor to my ill health.

Cyndi’s story and way of life has made me realise that I can take charge of my own health. I need to question and investigate why I am having pain and recurring infections and stop putting a chemical bandaid over the issues and get to the bottom of it. Sure, my pain may increase but I have faith that nature will help: raw honey, ginger, vinegar, fermented foods, fresh produce, water, herbal tea…..I’m changing habits. I’m worth it. My son is worth it.

Want to learn more about Cyndi? You can find her here.

Save the bees. They do so much more than just make honey!