I'll never forget the look on the doctor's face when she came back to the examine room. She said that the strep test came back negative. She instructed me to take the Amoxicillin anyway; one in the morning and one at night for 10 days. I smiled and nodded knowing the whole time that I wasn't going to fill that prescription for beans. She insisted that I had strep and that something went wrong with the test. She decided to be absolutely certain and ordered another test that involves growing the culture, but this would take a few days to process. Again, this all happened on a Saturday, but the test results wouldn't come back until Wednesday. Knowing how often antibiotics are given for viral infections in this country, I decided to continue taking the goldenseal powder, at least until the test results came back. I'm so happy that I chose to do this.
To be honest, I was pretty sure that I had strep despite the test. Everything the doctor told me convinced me that I had strep. My best guess is that the goldenseal was so powerful that it killed enough of the culture in my throat to throw off the test. I fully expected for Wednesday's test to come back positive.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
My Long Absence Story (Part IV)
I felt pretty certain that the doctor would find that I had strep, but because of that stuff on my throat I couldn't say what they were going to find for sure.
First, my throat was swabbed to do a strep test. Then the doctor examined me. The moment that I opened my mouth, she said it smelled like I had strep. She explained that strep has a certain smell that she detected on my breath immediately. She also told me that the white sheets and specks weren't fungus like I feared, they were pockets of puss. This is a very common symptom of strep throat. This doctor was so certain that I had strep that she prescribed Amoxicillin before the strep test results came back. I told her that I wanted to see the test results first. I informed her that my other doctor felt that I had a viral infection and that I didn't believe in taking antibiotics for anything other than a bacterial infection. She then stressed that I needed the antibiotics, she said that if I don't, not only would I not get better but I could easily spread my disease to others. She told me of her experience with medicine and insisted that she knows strep when she sees it and smells it and she had no doubt that I what I had was strep. Because she was one of few MDs that I knew who made it blatantly obvious that she cares about her work and her patients, I shut my mouth and took the prescription from her to be polite. I may not agree with the conventional medical philosophy, but I will never disrespect a doctor who is desirous to see her/his patients get well. When she stepped out to get my strep test results, another doctor came it to get a look at my throat. He eyes became slightly widened before she uttered the words "Oh you poor thing!" It wasn't clear why she came in to look at me, but when she later told me that her specialty was once worker's comp, I was able to make a few guesses. I was able to make a few more guesses when she told me she hadn't seen a throat that looked as bad as mine.
First, my throat was swabbed to do a strep test. Then the doctor examined me. The moment that I opened my mouth, she said it smelled like I had strep. She explained that strep has a certain smell that she detected on my breath immediately. She also told me that the white sheets and specks weren't fungus like I feared, they were pockets of puss. This is a very common symptom of strep throat. This doctor was so certain that I had strep that she prescribed Amoxicillin before the strep test results came back. I told her that I wanted to see the test results first. I informed her that my other doctor felt that I had a viral infection and that I didn't believe in taking antibiotics for anything other than a bacterial infection. She then stressed that I needed the antibiotics, she said that if I don't, not only would I not get better but I could easily spread my disease to others. She told me of her experience with medicine and insisted that she knows strep when she sees it and smells it and she had no doubt that I what I had was strep. Because she was one of few MDs that I knew who made it blatantly obvious that she cares about her work and her patients, I shut my mouth and took the prescription from her to be polite. I may not agree with the conventional medical philosophy, but I will never disrespect a doctor who is desirous to see her/his patients get well. When she stepped out to get my strep test results, another doctor came it to get a look at my throat. He eyes became slightly widened before she uttered the words "Oh you poor thing!" It wasn't clear why she came in to look at me, but when she later told me that her specialty was once worker's comp, I was able to make a few guesses. I was able to make a few more guesses when she told me she hadn't seen a throat that looked as bad as mine.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
My Long Absence Story (Part III)
Have you ever tried to see a doctor on a Saturday? Sometimes doctors are available, but more often than not, trying to see one is an absolute BEAR! The little specks of black in my throat scared me enough to see whatever doctor would see me that weekend whether MD or ND.
The easiest thing to do when you are sick on a weekend is to go to the ER, but I didn't dare go to the ER. Because doctors aren't available on weekends, ERs tend to be full of people like me who are sick and contagious. I was already sick, my immune system was obviously weak and my body was therefore vulnerable. I was scared that if someone coughed on or near me, I would REALLY be in a fix because I was weak enough to catch ANYTHING. I looked at every other option. I even tried to see an ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist), but they told me that they would only see me if I was referred by a doctor or, since it was Saturday, the hospital. Frustrated, desperate and very afraid, I begged my husband to keep hunting for another option. Finally, he found an urgent care clinic that was open and that accepted our health insurance. They weren't busy, so I didn't have to be too concerned about catching anything from anyone.
I was taking the goldenseal for two days by then. When I gargled with it, it tended to dull the pain in my throat a bit, but I was scared that if the white on my throat was fungus/thrush that goldenseal was making it worse. If it was strep, then I decided that I would take any prescription from the doctor but I would not fill it. I was going to continue with the goldenseal powder. My main purpose of going to the urgent care clinic was to find out what EXACTLY was wrong with me so I knew what I was up against.
The easiest thing to do when you are sick on a weekend is to go to the ER, but I didn't dare go to the ER. Because doctors aren't available on weekends, ERs tend to be full of people like me who are sick and contagious. I was already sick, my immune system was obviously weak and my body was therefore vulnerable. I was scared that if someone coughed on or near me, I would REALLY be in a fix because I was weak enough to catch ANYTHING. I looked at every other option. I even tried to see an ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist), but they told me that they would only see me if I was referred by a doctor or, since it was Saturday, the hospital. Frustrated, desperate and very afraid, I begged my husband to keep hunting for another option. Finally, he found an urgent care clinic that was open and that accepted our health insurance. They weren't busy, so I didn't have to be too concerned about catching anything from anyone.
I was taking the goldenseal for two days by then. When I gargled with it, it tended to dull the pain in my throat a bit, but I was scared that if the white on my throat was fungus/thrush that goldenseal was making it worse. If it was strep, then I decided that I would take any prescription from the doctor but I would not fill it. I was going to continue with the goldenseal powder. My main purpose of going to the urgent care clinic was to find out what EXACTLY was wrong with me so I knew what I was up against.
Monday, December 12, 2011
My Long Absence Story (Part II)
The next day wasn't a good one for me. I was desperate for rest and I kept on breaking things. Among the many things that broke that day was the medicine my doctor had JUST given me. Because she was closed that day, I had to wait another 48 hours to take my medicine and by then my throat had become more inflamed and swallowing became painful. Once again, I found myself worrying that I may have strep throat.
I was reminded by a friend of mine about the power of goldenseal powder. I've always known that goldenseal powder was powerful, but then I found out that an old healthcare provider of mine in NY would give it to his patients in heavy doses to heal pneumonia and strep throat. Again, I used to believe that when one had either of those two diseases antibiotics were a requisite of healing. Before I got my medicine replaced, I started taking the goldenseal powder. My old healthcare provider said it was necessary to taste the bitterness of the goldenseal in order to heal. Because I gargled with the goldenseal mixed with water, it was hard to avoid the taste of the stuff anyway. Fair warning: It does NOT taste good!
It didn't appear to work immediately. What I mean is that the symptoms progressed. By Friday evening, both my tonsils were huge and covered in white sheets and speckles, swallowing was very, very painful (to the point where I was having trouble sleeping because of the pain) and I was getting very worried about what the white stuff on my throat was. My left tonsil was almost completely covered in white. I started to panic when I saw that some of the white looked like it had swirls of black in it. Was it fungus/ thrush? It was so hideous and frightening, that I though it was necessary to see a doctor again.
Have you ever tried to see a doctor on a Saturday?
I was reminded by a friend of mine about the power of goldenseal powder. I've always known that goldenseal powder was powerful, but then I found out that an old healthcare provider of mine in NY would give it to his patients in heavy doses to heal pneumonia and strep throat. Again, I used to believe that when one had either of those two diseases antibiotics were a requisite of healing. Before I got my medicine replaced, I started taking the goldenseal powder. My old healthcare provider said it was necessary to taste the bitterness of the goldenseal in order to heal. Because I gargled with the goldenseal mixed with water, it was hard to avoid the taste of the stuff anyway. Fair warning: It does NOT taste good!
It didn't appear to work immediately. What I mean is that the symptoms progressed. By Friday evening, both my tonsils were huge and covered in white sheets and speckles, swallowing was very, very painful (to the point where I was having trouble sleeping because of the pain) and I was getting very worried about what the white stuff on my throat was. My left tonsil was almost completely covered in white. I started to panic when I saw that some of the white looked like it had swirls of black in it. Was it fungus/ thrush? It was so hideous and frightening, that I though it was necessary to see a doctor again.
Have you ever tried to see a doctor on a Saturday?
My Long Absence Story (Part I)
Three weeks ago, I had a fever. It just hit me out of nowhere, I mean, I had no other symptoms; just the fever. There was no coughing, no sneezing, no runny nose, no sore throat and no stomach flu symptoms. Because I was detoxing, I suspected that my body sensed a microbial invasion and the fever was an attempt to fight it off. For days I had this fever on and off until finally, I was back to my happy self and tried to get back to my life. About a day or so later, my ear started to bother me. It then filled with fluid and I had a sore throat. The last time I had an ear infection, what saved me was a homemade gargle that my doctor told me to make. I mixed the gargle, and after gargling with it a few times, I looked at my throat. That's when I noticed it; something that scared me out of my senses. There were little white spots all over my left tonsil and a small white sheet on my right tonsil. I knew that was one of the symptoms of strep and became very concerned. I made an appointment with my doctor IMMEDIATELY, hoping the whole time that it wasn't strep. The disease itself didn't scare me, but the thought of taking antibiotics after everything that I've done to rebuild my gut flora frightened me. I didn't want to start ALL OVER AGAIN from square one. If I had strep, however, I wouldn't have a choice. As far as I knew at that point, antibiotics are absolutely necessary if one has pneumonia or strep throat. To my relief, my doctor said that the infection was viral. To assure me that I didn't have strep, she stressed how my throat wasn't very inflamed and reminded me that I wasn't in much pain and that I didn't even secrete very much mucus. The only concern that I had was the white stuff on my tonsils. The doctor told me that the white specks were just deposits on my throat from my illness; I should have asked her to specify. At that point, "deposits" was a good enough answer for me. That night, I started my journey toward healing from my viral infection by doing exactly what she instructed me to do. I took the tincture that she made, the homeopathy that she gave me and did the hot bath followed by the wet sock treatment that she told me to do.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Case Against Fluoride (December's Book)
I want to give a warm loving "Howdy" to all of my BeWell BookWorms. I'm so sorry that December's book is so late. If you read my post earlier, you would see that I'm in the process of giving a full explanation. I promise more on that story tomorrow. Right now, please allow me to present December's book.
December’s book is “The Case Against Fluoride” by Paul Connett, PhD, James Beck, MD, PhD and H. S. Micklem, DPhil. I remember the words of a friend of mine in college that was studying medicine at the time. She said “Fluoride is bad for your everything.” This was the first time I heard anyone tell me that fluoride was bad. How is this possible? All my life my teachers and dentists have been telling me about how fluoride was necessary for the health of my teeth. During the years when I started becoming more aware of the toxic nature of products that I used, I wondered about why my friend would tell me fluoride was bad. I especially wanted to know because she was never wrong about such things. As far as I knew, fluoride was natural. I learned recently that sodium fluoride and calcium fluoride are natural. Problem is, neither is used to fluoridate our water! 90% of water fluoridation uses another fluoride compound that is hazardous waste. This book gives all the information that we should know about what is in our drinking water.
December’s book is “The Case Against Fluoride” by Paul Connett, PhD, James Beck, MD, PhD and H. S. Micklem, DPhil. I remember the words of a friend of mine in college that was studying medicine at the time. She said “Fluoride is bad for your everything.” This was the first time I heard anyone tell me that fluoride was bad. How is this possible? All my life my teachers and dentists have been telling me about how fluoride was necessary for the health of my teeth. During the years when I started becoming more aware of the toxic nature of products that I used, I wondered about why my friend would tell me fluoride was bad. I especially wanted to know because she was never wrong about such things. As far as I knew, fluoride was natural. I learned recently that sodium fluoride and calcium fluoride are natural. Problem is, neither is used to fluoridate our water! 90% of water fluoridation uses another fluoride compound that is hazardous waste. This book gives all the information that we should know about what is in our drinking water.
My Long Absence
I apologize for my very long absence. My Long Absence was due to multiple illnesses over the last three weeks. One illness in particular kept me in bed for a majority of the time.
My story is surely one to post on BWMFs for a number of reasons. For one thing, it taught me how faith plays a huge part in healing. While as a Christian woman, I place my faith in God, that's not necessarily what I'm talking about in this case (even though it could be depending on the individual). What I mean exactly is, the confidence in the belief that you will get well plays a part in healing. Stress is part of what breaks the immune system down. This is why I've talked about how things like laughter, exercise and music are all things that are good for your health in prior posts. They all decrease the chances of contracting an illness because they keep your immune system strong by keeping your stress levels down.
I must say, looking back I was doing very well this year until I started this detox. The colder seasons are by far the worst times to start a detox program. I've mentioned this before and my doctor has even warned me about it. I wouldn't have done it normally, but unfortunately other health issues didn't permit me any other choice. So I took the risk (since the alternative was worse), but paid a pretty hefty price. Thank goodness I am finally out of the darkest part of those woods.
What I went through over the last couple of weeks is a very long story, so I will have to break it up into a series. Hopefully you find it enlightening, for I've learned so much on my three week journey to wellness and I'm eager to share.
My story is surely one to post on BWMFs for a number of reasons. For one thing, it taught me how faith plays a huge part in healing. While as a Christian woman, I place my faith in God, that's not necessarily what I'm talking about in this case (even though it could be depending on the individual). What I mean exactly is, the confidence in the belief that you will get well plays a part in healing. Stress is part of what breaks the immune system down. This is why I've talked about how things like laughter, exercise and music are all things that are good for your health in prior posts. They all decrease the chances of contracting an illness because they keep your immune system strong by keeping your stress levels down.
I must say, looking back I was doing very well this year until I started this detox. The colder seasons are by far the worst times to start a detox program. I've mentioned this before and my doctor has even warned me about it. I wouldn't have done it normally, but unfortunately other health issues didn't permit me any other choice. So I took the risk (since the alternative was worse), but paid a pretty hefty price. Thank goodness I am finally out of the darkest part of those woods.
What I went through over the last couple of weeks is a very long story, so I will have to break it up into a series. Hopefully you find it enlightening, for I've learned so much on my three week journey to wellness and I'm eager to share.
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