ROAD TRIP - My Journey with Asthma/Breathing Problems
June 24, 2010 While out walking and meditating this morning, I remembered something Dr. Roger had said at church on Sunday. He said that we are born to parents, but really are made of spirit. Like the saying, "We are spiritual beings having a human experience." I thought about that quite a bit and tried to find an analogy so I could understand that concept more clearly. Here is what I came up with. We drive cars. But we aren't cars. We are inside them, making them turn right, turn left, turn on the turn signals (hopefully!) and basically make them do what we want, within the scope of their ability. But we can do a lot of things inside the car without using the physical car. We can eat, drink, put on make-up, listen to music, etc. Now change out the word "car" with body" and edit just a little. We have a body. But we aren't our body. We are inside them, making them talk, making them sleep, making them breathe (hopefully!) and basically make them do what we want, within the scope of their ability. But we can do a lot of things inside the body without using the physical body. We can meditate, we can imagine, some people can see spirits, some people can see auras, we can "think" our body well or sick. We spend so much time working on our physical body, clothing it, feeding it and exercising it. Iif we used 50% of the time on our body and 50% of the time on our spirit, we would be in such good shape and our "spiritual being having a human experience" would be so much healthier. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * April 15, 2010 One thing that has become perfectly clear to me - my breathing problems are with breathing out, not breathing in. The alveoli, little air sacs in the lungs, are like tiny, stretchy balloons. Mine have lost their elasticity, so it's hard to breathe out the carbon dioxide. Because of this, I added visualization to my daily regime. I "see" the alveoli as pink and soft and stretchy. I imagine little clowns in my lungs blowing up the alveoli like balloons. I am not noticing Cat's Claw to be of any help so I am going back to using A & A. (See March 7 entry). I continue with daily walks while running my energy, the Firebreath, eating unprocessed food 95% of the time (can't give up chocolate and Fritos completely!). I am looking into something a little more unorthodox and will write about it when I get more information. How do you keep a seeker in suspense? Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen April 7, 2010 I have noticed a change in my thinking lately. For the past month, I have been eating mostly only unprocessed food. The only processed items are things like soy sauce (soy/ginger sauce is great!) for brown rice or natural fruit juices without additives. I eat full meals and eat lots of cooked and raw vegetables with fish or chicken. Instead of processed sugar items, I eat fresh fruit to satisfy my sweet tooth. Dates are wonderfully sweet and they quash the sugar cravings. What I have noticed is that my mind has been turning off the "Feed me" alarm that used to constantly ring. I don't need to adhere to a "diet"; I just need to eat "real" food that sends signals my brain to stop eating. Not only am I satisfied with less, my cravings are all but gone. Using the same thinking of less processing is better, I have gone back to using bar soap instead of liquid shower soap. I find I don't crave showers as much any more. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * March 22. 2010 Sometimes you have to cut your losses and start over. That's what I have done. I have been trying to heal* my breathing problem with strictly natural methods, but it seemed for every step forward, I took 2 steps back. Then I caught an upper respiratory bug and that stopped me cold. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't sleep because I was constantly coughing and my immune system was abandoning the mothership. I finally went to a doctor and she prescribed 5 days of antibiotics, steroids and an inhaler. Sounds harsh, I know. But the situation was harsh. Now I breathe, I can sleep without sitting up and I can think again. Sometimes when you are down so far for so long, you don't realize how bad off you are until you are well again. I still have the nodules and breathing is not at 100% but now that my body can function at a reasonable level again and I can think, I will continue to search out natural healing methods and report my findings to you. *Did you know that in the U.S., only a medical doctor can “legally” heal or cure you? I think that should be labeled a “blue law”. What do you think? Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * March 19, 2010 If you have a problem in life, it's because you don't know that answer. I heard that in a class the other day and had to ponder it for a while. It's true, you know. For instance, I seem to have quite a problem finding a good mechanic. I had a good one for years, but he moved to California a couple years ago and I have been in search of a good mechanic ever since. Of course, I have asked friends and neighbors who they use, but it just seemed like I had bad "car karma". I decided I needed to look at the problem from another angle. Instead of just asking other people about their mechanic, I talked to a mechanic for about 30 minutes. I told him I was looking for a long-term mechanic who I could take my car to without any fear of being ripped off. I told him of all the problems I had with past mechanics. This particular shop had a great BBB rating and no outstanding complaints. Plus he and another mechanic talked to me in plain language without all the industry jargon. I told him about the last mechanic who ripped me off. They suggested I bring a camera and they would take a picture of what the last mechanic had done. They put my mind at ease, I took the car to them, the car now works fine, and I feel so much better. So it's true, if you have a problem in life, there is some piece of the puzzle that is missing. Whether the problem is with your car, your job, your significant other, you can find the problem and solve it. And once you do, your energy is freed up to pursue more pleasant, life-affirming activities. . Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * March 14, 2010 Sinuses stopped up? Here is something I use and it helps.. With your index fingers placed at the outside corner of each nostril, massage the area in a circle. You should almost close and open the nostrils. Do this 10X. Next press just below the inside corner of your eyes, near the nose. Massage in a small circle 10X. Then go to just behind the ears and find the indentation behind your earlobes. Massage in a circle 10X. And lastly, massage the earlobe itself 10X. After performing each of the above 3 times, you should feel some relief. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * March 7, 2010 Talked to a friend today and she made a suggestion that I wanted to pass on to you. You know I have sworn by Ashwagandha and Astragalus (A&A) for months now. She reminded me that a person's body can get used to a particular supplement and the benefits diminish. When that happens, it's time for a change. I thought about A&A and the immediate relief I felt from taking these supplements was not as intense as when I first started taking them. Since one of the benefits of A&A was boosting my immune system and decreasing inflammation, I am replacing A&A with Cat's Claw (una de Gato). I'll let you know if it works.. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * February 20, 2010 It crossed my mind today that instead of a diet, we should try a different approach to a health weight. When we think of going on a diet, it puts us in a stress mode and we start shutting down. As I have learned, when we have more stress, our bodies become more acidic and that just creates more problems that we have to deal with. So instead of attempting a full-blown diet, just change things for a couple of days and see what happens. For instance, I am a chocoholic. I have been for years. And I'm not a discriminating chocoholic. I love Godiva and Dove, but will eat M&M's and Rollo's just as often. So for a week I had no chocolate and appeased my sweet tooth with dates. Yum! After a week I had some M&M's. What a difference! They didn't taste like chocolate; they just tasted like sugar. Not near as appetizing. I have all but quit eating anything with high fructose corn syrup so when I do have a product with that ingredient, I can taste it immediately. And it's not a good taste. Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? I didn't until a few days ago and used that instead of pasta. It was great! So instead of "going on a diet", just try to change a few foods every other week and see how that works for you. I have noticed the "feed me" switch in my brain does not come on near as often now. Another plus.. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * February 5, 2010 Went to a seminar last night entitled "Brain Fog". The instructor talked about many things that were new to me. Instead of giving you just a little taste of what he talked about, I decided it would be good to interview him and get more in-depth information. Until the interview is published, let me share one thing he talked about - Firebreath. Firebreath: Put your arms straight out in front of you. Women, hook your left thumb over your right; men hook your right thumb over your left. (I asked what the significance was but didn't get an answer.) Now, with your thumbs hooked together, lift your arms straight up, so they are pointing to the ceiling. Breathe slowly in and out from your nose. After a minute, breathe very rapidly, still using just your nose. You will notice that the trunk of your body moves forward a little as you do this, so you are standing more on the balls of your feet, rather than your heels.. He said this stance is better for you. He also said your arms lifted up aids in getting more oxygen to your lungs. He also gave us a handout that I thought contained some interesting statistics: Why Breathe?
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * January 30, 2010 Yes, Virginia, you can afford Health Care. I needed some dental work done and after spending a lot of money on different procedures, I still needed a root canal and some filling (even though I had already paid for filling, my dentist said that amount didn't cover these other fillings). I had enough! I talked to Tony, a friend, who is a world traveler. He told me he always gets his dental work done in Mexico and gave me the name of his dentist. After a lot of research and planning, I went to Los Algodones, Mexico, 7 miles from Yuma, Arizona. Here is what I found: I went to see Dr. C yesterday. I thought he was down one alley so I started walking down there, past vendors of jewelry and hats and clothing, oh my! These alleys aren't like what you think of when you think of American alleys. They have stores and vendor tables in front of the stores. It's more like going to the flea market than going down an alley. For some unexplained reason, a lot of women walk around trying to sell you painted ceramic turtles. Ugly painted ceramic turtles. And pharmacies everywhere! You can buy Viagara and 800 mg aspirin and other drugs advertised on TV for a couple bucks a bottle. Finally, when I couldn't find his office, a guy helped me and we eventually found it down another alley. He was on time and took me back into his office. He was very good looking. Thank you, Tony! His office looked like an American dentist office for the most part. He did have a spit sink (something I have missed since they quit using them in the US). The most important difference was right outside his sliding glass patio doors was a restaurant with people eating and a band playing. While Dr. C talked to me, I could hear "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" by Glenn Campbell being sung in Spanish. It was a hoot! Dr. C took an X-ray (which took only 5 minutes to produce, unlike in the US where it takes 20 minutes while you sit in the chair waiting). He decided he would feel more comfortable if his colleague did my root canal. So he walked me over to Dr. R. Dr. R was located down a few blocks in the Plaza Flamingo. There were tables set up in a patio area. It looked like it was an outdoor restaurant. But the tables are where patients sat waiting to see the dentist. There were probably 5 dentists in this plaza alone. There are around 370 dentists in Los Algodones. There were 2 people waiting in the waiting room where I sat. One drawback to this whole dental trip is that sometimes you have to wait a long time. But remember, I didn't have an appointment with Dr. R. They thought they could get me in at noon, but it was 2:00 before I could be seen. However, my wait was unlike any I have ever spent in a doctor’s waiting room. There ended up being about 6 of us and we just had a party – minus the liquor. Kathy and Gerry were from Evergreen and were just traveling around the US in their RV. Terry and Terry (husband and wife) came in for the husband to have his teeth worked on. Terry told me about all the drugs you can buy for practically nothing. Oh, and recommended a great place for shrimp tacos. (They were great.) Elaine was there for her dentures and told me that both her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter have MS and she brings them down to Mexico for treatment. That explained the hyperbaric chamber office on one of the streets. It was closed when I was there but if it is open when I’m here, I’m checking it out. I always wanted to feel what Michael Jackson felt in his chamber. Ha! So finally get into see Dr. R. It was the best experience I have ever had in a dentist chair. Keep in mind, I have spent my life in a dentist chair starting at age 5 when my front tooth was knocked out by Randy pushing me down on blacktop. Dr. R had a computer monitor hooked to his overhead dental light. He took 3 X-rays and they immediately showed up on the screen so he (and I) could see. He explained what was going on with my tooth and what needed to be done. Now for the fantastic part – I barely felt the 2 shots of novacaine. And when I say “barely” I mean on a scale of 1-10, it was about a .05. He had me move my upper jaw a certain way and my lower jaw a certain way and then gave me the shots. No pain. I have NEVER had that before. Usually the shot of Novacain is the worst pain of the whole visit. This guy is GOOD. And yes, he had a spit sink, too. Total cost for the root canal - $250.00. The whole appointment took about 30 minutes. I go back on Wednesday for follow-up. Today I go see Dr. C for fillings. The only other drawback is going back across the border to the US. It took 1 hour 45 minutes. If you go later, like around 5:00, it’s not so crowded. You just stand in a line that snakes back a mile and slowly move forward, going over the All American Canal, past more vendors selling ugly ceramic painted turtles and, of course, people watch. What kept us amused was that quite a few people had spent their time drinking cervaces and tequila so they were pretty drunk. And they were all 60+ years old. They would keep up conversations with the people in cars who were also waiting in line to cross the border. They would ask for rides. They would sing and they were just generally hilarious. Barbara and Howard S (they gave me their card) snowbirds from Yuma and Crestline, CA befriended me in line and then gave me a ride to my car. So, my friends, all went well. Los Algondones is a well-kept secret except for those who already know about it. They swear by the good doctors, (optical is big here also), great prices and all say it is very safe. And now I do, too. If you decide to try this for yourself, I recommend staying in Yuma, Arizona which is only 7 miles from the Mexican border. Drive to the border and park on the US side. If you drive your car into Mexico, you need to have Mexican insurance. Going into Mexico is easy. When you cross back into the US, I recommend either crossing before noon or after 5:00. Otherwise you will be stuck in a long line of people waiting to cross back into US. Of course, you need a passport to get back to the US. If you go to Los A from May to October, you won't see the long lines. It's from October to May when the snowbirds are there vacationing that make the lines so long. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * November 10, 2009 My 92-year-old Aunt Martha in Atlanta has admonished me several times - "Whatever you do, keep all the cartilage you can". Her mind is fine; it’s her body she’s having issues with. I always laughed to myself about her warning. How does one “keep cartilage”? I’m laughing no more. I just returned from a Tai Chi/Qi Gong class. The instructor, Joe Brady, told us how to stand correctly. Hips tilted forward, feet pointing straight ahead. He said this stance is the correct way to stand and walk. It is much easier on the knees (and the rest of the body). I asked him if it was good for the cartilage in the knees. He said most certainly, it was. He also said that when you walk in this manner, your abdomen is doing the work, not the lower back. When you walk correctly, your stomach will perform crunches every time you walk. No more sweating and getting on the floor to get a flat stomach! This may not directly deal with breathing problems, but since the whole body is connected, it has to help indirectly when knowing the correct way to stand and walk. Something I did when I got home from class - I had a headache all over the top of my head. (I also noticed that the roof of my mouth was rather sensitive. That's usually a sign that some cold-carrying entity has entered my body. I used the Acuspark on my head. I clicked it about 10 times, all over my head. I just noticed that the headache is gone. And the roof of my mouth feels better. Just thought you might want to know. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * November 1, 2009 I think it's time to review the different actions I've used for my breathing problems and the results. Please keep in mind, these are my results. You may have a completely different experience when you try these methods. (See table below for rating on the methods.) As you may remember, it is not asthma that I'm dealing with. It is two different kinds of bacteria and some nodules in the lungs. The nodules are non-cancerous and non-tumorous. They block me from breathing easily, especially when walking up steps or small, very small hills. Acupuncture - I was going to an acupuncturist and the first session seemed to help. It alleviated the little aches and pains throughout my body. Noticed that my breathing was a little easier, but not much. He gave me some Chinese herbs and I have taken those. Don't really notice a lot of difference. I quit going because I wasn't noticing a lot of difference and it was getting rather expensive (since I'm paying for it out of pocket.) Ashwagandha (Ayurvedic Adaptogen) and Astragalus (Chinese herb) - Still taking these and still find they help tremendously. In addition, I am taking a pill form of Propolis (a natural antibiotic). Exercise - Absolutely helps. Walk up steps whenever possible. Do light aerobics in morning. EFT (Tapping) - Have used this quite a bit and feel much better immediately afterwards. Need to work on this more to effects last longer. Laser - not sure if it is helping breathing, but certainly helps with intermittent knee pain. Acuspark - Not sure if it is helping breathing, but feel very alert when I use it on the top of my head. Also use it on the acupuncture points for the lung. Need to use this more. Run Energy - Have forgotten to do this recently. Need to get back in the habit of running my energy, especially in conjunction with EFT. I haven't had another X-ray yet to check on the nodules because I don't think they have diminished at all. I will continue using these methods and checking into others. When I feel like I have a true breaththrough, at that time I will get another X-ray to compare the two. I am going to start doing more visualization. I am reminded of something Gregg Braden said in one of his lectures regarding monks. I will use that method and see what happens. So stay tuned. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * |
ACTION |
RATE |
NOTES |
| Acupuncture | 6 |
Helped with little aches and pains throughout the body, not so much with the breathing. Had 4 sessions. May schedule another session in a few weeks. |
| Acuspark | 7 |
Helped with mental clarity when used on head. Have used it on acupuncture points; didn't notice a big difference. Need to use it more on these points and decide if that helps. |
| Ashwagandha and Astragalus | 10 |
The benefit of these herbs are immediately noticeable. Will continue to take these. |
| Diet | 5 |
Eat too much dairy still and haven't kept on a good diet. Need to set up and follow a healthy eating plan. |
| EFT | 10 |
When EFT is used, I notice an immediate positive effect on breathing. Need to do this daily. |
| Energy (Running) | 10 |
When used in conjunction with EFT, this has a very positive, immediate effect on breathing. Need to do this daily. |
| Exercise | 10 |
After exercise, especially walking up flights up steps, notice a much freer feeling when breathing. |
| Laser | 9 |
Have used this on my lungs and lungs feel better immediately following use. Also use it on my ears, which is an acupuncture ponit. Need to use it more. Also, use it on my legs and other parts of the body. |
October 19, 2009 I resurrected another tool from the Land of Forgotten Tools. I remembered how it helped me through some pain I had in the past. I got it years ago to use on my sciatica. There's an experience if you've never had it! Pain shooting up and down the legs. My morning walks took 3 times as long because I couldn't move very fast. When crossing a street I had to make sure there were no cars for miles because it took forever to cross the street. Three steps forward and then back up a couple to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. I felt like a human Frogger game. Anyway, visits to the chiropractor helped the first couple times. I tried a few other things and finally went to a Reflexology clinic. The doctor placed a couple of paddles on my lower back. This is called Laser Reflexology. These paddles contained dozens of tiny lights, the size of Christmas tree lights. I felt a little warmth from the paddles. The doctor explained the body is like a plant. A plant uses sunlight for photosynthesis and sloughs off the sunlight it doesn't need. The body takes in the light from the laser, uses what it needs for healing and sloughs off the rest. I tell you, after a couple of sessions with the paddles and the doctor using regular reflexology, the sciatica was gone. And I haven't had another episode of it since then. I purchased a laser diode to perform laser reflexology on myself. The picture to the right is the unit I use. The doctor said that a laser pointer from office supply places can be used for the same purpose. I point the laser diode at my right lung and hold it there for a couple of minutes. Another area I point it is at my knees. I have sharp pain there about once a week. The pain subsides almost immediately when I use the laser on it. Try it and see if you have the same result. Anyway, I figure it can't hurt to use it on my breathing. And I have to say, after using it on my lungs for a couple of minutes, there is a definite release of tension in my lungs. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * |
 |
 |
October 10, 2009 Here is a picture of the Acuspark - actual size. (www.acuspark.com) I have been using the Acuspark for a couple of weeks now. I use it in the same areas where Dr. Cao placed the needles - my lower legs, ears and forearms. I use it on my sternum, my head and my hands. The only place it hurts is in the fleshy part just below my thumb, same place that hurt the most with acupuncture needles. Even though I haven't mentioned it for a while, I still run my energy about once a week. I have made a sign to remind me to do that daily. Running my energy always made my breathing stronger. I still use EFT (tapping) about once a week and again, I have made a reminder sign to do it daily. Like most people, I get busy during the day and sometimes forget the things I need to do for myself. But if we don't do things for ourselves, we won't be able to do things for others, right? Make sure to take some time for yourself every day. Make a reminder sign if you have to and put it where you will see it often. I put mine on my bathroom mirror. "TAP". "Acuspark". "Eat chocolate." I don't really have to make a sign for eating chocolate, it's deeply ingrained in me. Yet it's like putting "brush your teeth" on my List of Things To Do. It's something I know I will do so I will be able to cross something off my list. And that makes me feel successful. Set yourself up so there is no way you cannot be successful. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * |
October 1, 2009
Went to Dr. Cao again yesterday. I am experiencing a little more pain after each session. And the pain lasts days after a session. My right arm is still very sore today. I think it's maybe time for a change.
I remembered something that I experienced several years ago at my uncle's house in Atlanta. He was having problems with no feeling in his legs. A friend of his came over and she had him put his feet on some magnets. That seemed to help him. But it was something else that she had that intrigued me. It was a little hand-held "plunger". I had just flown in and was very tired. She took this plunger and clicked it several times on top of my head. I was immediately more awake and refreshed. I asked his friend about it and she said she had bought it several years ago and couldn't remember what it was called or where she had purchased it.
When I returned home I did some research on this "plunger" and found that it is a piezo-electric instrument called Acuspark (www.acuspark.com). According to the website, " essentially with every use of the Acuspark instrument, the body is placed in the electrical balance state; thus placing the conductivity of the nerve fiber system in the median range". I purchased one and used it for a while and then forgot about it. You know how it is, you find something you like and use it for a while and then something new comes along and you forget about the old. Well, I remembered about the Acuspark and decided to start using it again. I have been using it on the acupuncture points where Dr. Cao put the needles.
We'll see what happens.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 26, 2009
My brother was in town and we went to the Rockies game with some friends. As we were walking up the (few) steps to Coors Field I felt extreme tightness in my chest. Thank heavens there weren't many steps. It was a great day for a game, just not for the Rockies.
I have actually started eating some eel (diet recommended by Dr. Cao). Well, it's really eel sauce. A local grocery store makes sushi and they serve eel sauce with it. I was eating it, until I read the ingredients and found that there was aspartame listed. I called up the store and asked why there would be aspartame in sushi. The only thing the gentleman could figure out is that it was in the sticky rice. I now buy my sushi from a health food store - no aspartame.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 24, 2009
I called Dr. Cao today because of some problems I had last night. I woke up at 3:00 am because my right leg, below the knee developed a charley horse. The muscles in the shin area and foot cramped up. The pain was excruciating. I had to get up and walk around for about 15 minutes before the pain subsided. I finally got back to bed and about an hour later, the same thing happened on my left side. I have never had that type of pain before. Dr. Cao said that the energy was becoming unstuck and was moving through my body.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 23, 2009
He asked me how I was and I told him that I had felt some pain after the last session. He said the energy was starting to flow. This time I asked him to put a needle in my third eye to calm me because of the pain from last session.
He looked at the top and bottom of my tongue and took my pulse. He said my pulse was weaker than before. In addition to the needles in my arms and lower legs, he also put four in my abdomen region for large intestine to aid in digestion. That helps build chi. He also put one in the top of my head this time.
I told him that I had had an infection in a tooth on the right side of my jaw. It wasn’t totally healed and there was still a dull pain. He placed a needle on my arm for that. The pain lessened considerably until it became unnoticeable.
He asked me if I wanted some music playing while I was lying there and I said yes. His assistant put on some gentle woodwind music. On certain notes, different points with needles felt affected. I asked about that later and he said that certainly does happen. He said that music certainly does affect our energy.
I asked him about the diet sheet he had given me. On the xi tonic list it said to oats were okay to eat. On the phlegm list it said oats were not to be eaten. He said a little portion of oats were okay to eat but not to eat a lot because they do cause a build-up of phlegm. I also asked him about an item in the lungs/spleen list. It said not to take recreational drugs. A friend had seen the list and wondered when it would be appropriate to take recreational drugs. From what Dr. Cao to said, I don’t think there is an appropriate diet that would include recreational drugs.
After he removed the needles, he pressed on my chest and on my back. He remarked, "they aren't moving". I assumed he meant the nodules. Need to get those moving and get them cleared out.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 19, 2009
This session was a little more intense than the first session. He placed 1 needle in my ear and said that was the lung. There were 6 needles in each arm and approximately 5 in each leg.
Before placing any needles, he looked at the top and bottom of my tongue and took my pulse. My pulse was still weak. He said first acupuncture session usually doesn’t hurt but following sessions could hurt because this means the energy is starting to flow.
This time the needles were placed for the lungs, spleen and kidneys and they were left them in about 25 minutes.
After the session he gave me a diet sheet to follow and some herbs to take after each meal. He also told me to drink approximately 2 ounces of aloe vera juice. We went over the diet sheet and he is having me follow the diet for xi tonic – this had foods I was supposed to eat. It contained foods like chicken, mackerel, grapes, eel, yams and sweet potatoes. Didn’t sound too tough to follow, except I don’t have a lot of occasion to eat eel. He also wanted me to follow diets for lungs, spleen and phlegm. These lists contained foods I was not to eat. The main foods not to eat were sugar and diary products. He also gave me advice that I had heard before but had not followed. He said it is not good to eat things that are too cold. It is not good for digestion and/or energy.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 16, 2009
Upon the advice of a friend, I went to an acupuncturist today. The friend recommended this therapist because he trained in north China, near Russia. I was told that my points and meridians in my body need acupuncture once per week for 4 weeks.
I met with Dr. Cao and filled out a form requesting medical history. He checked my pulse and said my pulse was very weak. He had me lie down on a massage bed, face up and relax for about 10 minutes. He then came back in the room and put 4 needles in each leg at different point (below the knee). Four needles were in my left arm and 5 in my right arm; one in my sternum and one in my third eye. He puts one in the third eye on a person's first appointment because that point calms them. After inserting the needles, he left me for approximately 25 minutes. (It's was a little hard to lift my arm to look at my watch with the needles sticking all over.) He returned, checked on me and left again for about 15 minutes.
The insertion of the needles does not hurt. There is nothing on or in them. The treatment is they are inserted into the body at points and meridians to relieve pain and treat various ailments. The only pain I felt was in the pin that was stuck in the fleshy part just below my right thumb. Dr. Cao said if there is pain, that is where there is an energy block.
While the needles were in, I felt I had a lot obstruction (phlegm). But without even coughing, the obstruction disappeared. Afterwards I felt better; my lungs felt a little more free. The main result was that little aches and pains I had been experiencing for quite a while (but just dismissed them) were gone! It felt so good to not feel those nagging little pests.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
September 1, 2009
Trying to sort through everything regarding my "condition" has been rather daunting. I figure it's in my best interest to check out everything and then plan a course of action. I decided the best way to do this would be take everything the doctors, friends, research and my own intuition say and assign a number to it. Here's what I came up with:
On a scale of 1-10, where 1 = bad or don't believe it and 10 = best or completely believing it.
| Resource | Diagnosis/Action |
Rating |
Reason |
| Doctors | Lady W's Syndrome, MAC, MAI | 9 |
Research shows my symptoms match. |
| Doctors | Recommend 1 year of antibiotics | 1 |
Research and friends all point to a strict regime of antibiotics is bad. |
| Friend/Nurse | Candida/recommended Pau D'Arco Tea | 4 |
Symptoms don't match candida. Bought Pa D'Arco tea but haven't drank it yet. |
| Medical Intuitive | Said nodules had been in lungs for a long time. Something woke them. Recommended boosting my immune system. | 7 |
Can't go wrong boosting the immune system. |
| Friend | Recommended Ashwagandha (Ayurvedic Adaptogen) and Astragalus (Chinese herb) | 10 |
Within 30 minutes of the first time I took it, I could breathe easier. |
| Exercise | Work on the 6th floor. Started taking the steps instead of elevator. After my lungs felt like bursting the first time I made it all 6 floors, a feeling that I hadn't had for a very long time came into my lungs. That feeling was NOTHING. No tightness. No pain. No difficulty breathing. When you feel nothing in your body, it's because your body is working like it is supposed to. When there is dis-ease you feel discomfort, pain, a feeling that something is wrong. | 10 |
It reminds me when I had sciatica. I saw a chiropractor, had laser reflexology done. Both of these helped, but in the long run, I truly believe that exercising through the pain and walking every day was a major factor in recuperation. |
| Doctor | Prescribed a Combivent inhaler. Instructions are for 2 puffs 4 times a day. I use about once every three days. I am not a very good patient - at least not using Western medicine. | 7 |
Lung function test showed the inhaler worked and I don't feel any side effects. |
| Research | Take Propolis. This is a natural antiobiotic from bees. I switched from the liquid to capsules because the liquid was 91% grain alcohol. | 8 |
Have been taking this for 1-1/2 weeks. Feel a positive difference in my breathing. |
| Intuition | Having trained in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and had success with it on different issues in the past, I used it on breathing issues. | 9 |
Lungs feel freer immediately after using EFT. |
| Intuition | Running Cosmic and Earth Energy | 9 |
Lungs feel freer immediately after running energy. |
| Diet | Have cut down on dairy because of the mucus-producing properties. Not completely because I love my milk, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream, on and on. But figure it can't hurt. I eat it maybe twice a week instead of every day now. Ummmm, ice cream. | 8 |
Can't tell if it's made a difference in my lungs, but have lost some weight. That's a plus. |
| Diet | Fasting with just juice | 5 |
At this point, I don't think this is a good idea. |
If you are dealing with some dis-ease in your body, you may want to do a similar experiment yourself. Gather information from manysources. And done forget the most important source - yourself.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 27, 2009
So, where did I leave off? Oh, yes, Lady Wyndemere's Syndrome. At least that's one of the thoughts the doctor had. He also suggested I might have MAC, MAI, bronchiectasis. I feel like he is using the spaghetti approach. Throw it all at the wall and see what sticks. But bottom line is, he recommends a year-long regime of antibiotics. Ha! That will be the day! That may kill the bacteria in my lungs, but it will also kill all the good bacteria in my body. I have spoken to two different people who have been on antibiotics, and not for a year. They both said it wreaked havoc on their bodies. Instead, I am taking propolis. That is a natural antibiotic from bees. According to the label, it's bee-harvested tree resin. To extract the propolis from the rest of the bee wax and beehive paint chips, grain alcohol is used. That will wake you up in the morning!
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 24, 2009
I finally got paid for the car accident (the incident that caused me to have a CAT scan and find out about the dis-ease in my lungs.) Once again, everything does happen for a reason. If you, or anybody you know, is involved in a car accident and the insurance company drags it's feet, contact DORA. Contact your state Department Of Regulatory Agencies and tell them what is going on. When DORA contact them, insurance companies start jumping through hoops. At least that's what happened in my case. I received a copy of a letter DORA sent to the insurance company on a Friday. That following Monday I received 4 phone calls from the insurance company regarding my claim. Ha!
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 22, 2009
Today I ran into a friend of mine who is a former nurse, plus has a lot of certifications (including hypnotherapy, craniosacral and Matrix Energetics). She did some muscle testing on me. She said she could hear something in my lungs. She said it sounded like I had candida and recommended I try Pau D'Arco Tea. So I bought some of that.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 15, 2009
To continue on how to run your energy, you have pulled things out of your body and sent them down the grounding cord. How it's time to go into your head and clear that out. Imagine your head as a room. You can make it look however you want, color, size, windows, etc. But it should be an empty room. Once you have gotten to that point, look around in your room. Do you see things that don't belong? Things that may be interfering with your thought processes? Things that are not necessarily good for you? Maybe people or their faces appear? Get rid of it all. Send everything down your grounding cord.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 11, 2009
The plot thickens.
Had a consultation with the doctor yesterday and he informed me that he thinks I have Lady Windemere's syndrome. It's also known as hot tub lung, and it's very rare. I always get the rare, bizarre illnesses. I once had Pityriasis rosea which is a common benign papulosquamous disease, in layman's terms that means spots on your body. I also had peritonitis, which means infection in the lining of the stomach and is very dangerous.
Now instead of asthma or emphysema, it's Lady's Windemere's Syndrome. The doctor threw out a lot of medical terms like MAC and MAI and Bronchiectasis and Nacardia. It all boils down to he wants me to do 12 months of antibiotics. And since I am not fond of drugs or doctors, I will be looking into a different method of cure. I will keep you up on what I find out.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 9, 2009
I have been trying to get back into sports that I used to play so this morning I played tennis with my friend, Barbara. It was fun, but I could only play for 30 minutes before my lungs started screaming at me to stop. Oh, well, I will work on that. Unfortunately, that wiped me out for the rest of the day. This is getting really old. Pretty much laid around the rest of the day. Need to step up things a bit. I didn't go on the energy fast before. I guess it really is time to do that. More on that later this week.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 8, 2009
Went swimming this morning. Used to be able to do 20 laps without being winded. Today it was 6 and I was puffing like a train going uphill. After the swim, I spent a few minutes in the hot tub and then a few minutes in the wet sauna. My lungs felt like they were going to implode in on me. However, later today my lungs felt clear. They felt great. I could breathe fairly easily. So it was something either in the pool, hot tub or sauna. I will explore that further. Of course, before the swim, I went for a walk and ran my energy and took all my vites.
The next step for running your energy, after the running of the roses (see July 22) it's time to "pull" things out of your body. Start at your stomach and take your mind inside it. Is there any discomfort, either physical or energetically? If so, imagine just pulling it out of your body. It may come out in the form of a box, lines, circle. You can also imagine a ball outside your body and it is pulling all the discomfort in your body out and going into the ball. Slowly go up different parts of your body: stomach, solar plexus, lungs, heart, throat, head, and remove all discomfort. Once they have been pulled out, you can send them down your grounding cord, either sending each individual item down the cord or send down the ball that has gathered them all.
Since nature abhors a vacuum, make sure to replace the now-empty areas with good energy. Image a large golden ball over you. Make it bigger. Bigger still. Okay, now pop the ball and let the golden healing energy flow over you and fill in the empty spaces.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 4, 2009
Feel great this morning. Lungs are feeling pretty good. I have been doing a lot of breathing exercises to help my lungs. Seems to be working. Mostly the 1 X 4 X 2 exercises - I use 8 as the common number. Breathe in for 1 (X8), hold it for 4 (X8) and push out for 2 (X8). That helps oxygenate more blood and, as we know, oxygen helps heal the body, so the more oxygenated the blood is, the healthier the body becomes.
It may seem like I am spending a lot of time with various exercises. Truthfully, I think I spend maybe 30 minutes a day on exercises for my lungs. Many times I do them while I am doing something else, such as during my daily walk, in the shower or in bed. You don't really have to carve out more time to take care of yourself, you just need to remind yourself to do it and find the time within other daily activities you would do anyway. My time is spent like this - taking vitamins/minerals - 5 minutes; breathing exercises - 10 minutes; running energy - 15-20 minutes. I do other things throughout the day, and I incorporate them during other activities so I don't lose any time. You'll find that once you get in the habit of doing good things for your body, you'll easily find the time.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
August 1, 2009
Since I have been back from California, I have notice a slight change in my lungs. They are tighter than they were at sea level; breathing a little bit strained. No surprise there.
I am preparing for a workshop I'm teaching next Thursday and reviewed some of the exercises that Donna Eden (Energy Medicine) teaches. I came across the lymphatic flush that she does and one of the points directly correlates to the lungs. I am starting to incorporate the lymphatic flush into my daily regime. If you want to see how it is done, Donna has a video on You Tube. Search for "Donna Eden Lymphatic Flush" and you will find a 10-minute video on it. Good stuff! Of course, I am continuing my daily routine of vites/minerals, running my energy and plugging in the sun into my forehead and lungs! Next entry I will continue with how to run your energy.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 25, 2009
Spent some time in Venice today. It was interesting. I remember being there years ago and what a great people-watching place it was. It still is, but now there are a lot more people to navigate around. I didn't feel the same good energy that I felt in the past. There was one guy who was drawing a crowd so I went out to check it out. By the time I got there, he was talking to the crowd. He had a good body, but his energy was very bad. He was very rude and told everyone if they wanted to see anything more, they had to put money them in his duffel bag. And people did it. I found it very strange that people would pay for someone to insult them. And once they paid him, all he did was do some dance steps and make people in the crowd mimic him. I decided the energy was more positive at the Oceanside beach. Much more life affirming. And I could tell a difference in my breathing when the atmosphere was more positive.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 24, 2009
Every since I stepped out of the plane in California, it's been so much easier to breathe. And for me, there is nothing that compares to walking on the beach. I was on the beach for a couple of hours in the morning. Sometimes just watching waves cradle the surfers gently and then toss them into another wave, sometimes walking and breathing in the rich salty air. My lungs loved it. In addition to the A&A and the rest of the vites/minerals, I did some alternate nostril breathing, which wakes up both sides of your brain and helps it function at its peak.
A very strange thing happened when I was running my energy while walking on the beach. Instead of the usual images I get when I center myself and run the cosmic and earth energy, everything was an image of high speed. You know how in commercials or in movies when they want to show something (or someone) going fast and they have lines in the air to show movement? Well, that is the image I got when running my energy. Very interesting! The running of my energy has gone from something I can slowly visualize (especially the grounding cord) to a blur of color. I feel a clearing of my body much quicker than I ever did. Plus I feel more alert.
More tomorrow. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 22, 2009
Lungs are feeling pretty good this morning. Could be because I'm leaving for California this morning for some R&R. Going from 5280' to sea level will be great. I remember when I moved to Carlsbad back in the 80's. I was moving from Denver and smoking cigs at the time and swore I was going to quit smoking. But when I got off the plane in California and found how much easier I could breathe, I decided I could keep smoking. Ah, so young and foolish.
A friend who has had asthma for years said that asthma can be related to emotions. I did some research and found there is such a thing as "emotional stress related asthma." Even though I had been told that I "probably had asthma" years ago, it was only recently that they diagnosed it. This was after my car accident. And anybody who has had a car accident and had to deal with unprincipled insurance companies, know that it can be very stressful. So a little R&R is the perfect prescription for me. Not a steroid inhaler, not another CAT scan, and not another doctor's appointment where I have to sit and wait for 2 hours. Just the sun, the sea and an umbrella drink for me. Ahh, I feel better already.
To continue on how to run your energy - After bringing in the Earth and Cosmic energy (see July 14 and July 17), now it's time to "run the roses". Image a long-stemmed rose in front of you. Doesn't matter what color. And when I say long-stemmed, I mean the rose can be as tall as you are. Then imagine one in back of you. Then one on each side. Then imagine roses filled in all the way around you, so you basically are in a rose cocoon. Be sure to have roses above you and below you. These roses protect you from other people's energy. Not that their energy is necessarily bad. It's just that you have your own energy and you don't need theirs. Sometime other people's energy can be bad. Ever been around someone who just sucks all the life out of you? These are energy vampires and the rose cocoon can protect you from them. Also, send out some of the roses to gather up energy you have left other places and with other people. Have them gather that energy and bring it back to you. This will make you stronger.
Okay, work on your rose cocoon and bringing in the Earth and Cosmic energy. You are doing great!
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 17, 2009
Started the day in the usual way with the A&A and on to the walk. My lungs didn't feel that bad. At least not until I jogged for the count of 50. Then the lungs hurt. Immediately after stopping jogging, I started tapping (EFT - see July 15) and breathed the tightness out through my mouth. There was immediate relief! The lungs loosed and the pain/tightness was gone. This combination of tapping and breath work has worked for me.
Alright, it's time to continue our talk about running your energy. First the first part, read the July 14th entry. That told you how to bring the Earth energy into your body. Today we'll talk about the Cosmic energy. First I ran my cord down to the Earth's center. My cord today was a flowing sheet of orange poppies and the Earth's energy was the color of Orange Crush soda. Very pretty. The method of bringing up the Earth's energy today was a little different. Instead of merely coming up through my feet chakras, an image of a bank drive-up teller tube came into my head. You know, those clear plastic tubes that you put your deposit in and it gets sucked up into the chute and goes to the bank? That's what was coming up to my foot chakra. It was a very efficient way to bring the energy to me. I was quite impressed.
After that flow was set in motion, then it was time to bring in Cosmic energy from the sky. When I first started running my energy years ago, the color of it was white. Pure, white light. However, when I was studying hypnotherapy in Santa Fe, some friends and I visited a Buddhist stupa. Once inside, I started running my energy and noticed that the Cosmic energy was no longer white, but a rainbow; it was separate rays of different colors. Very cool! Ever since then, my Cosmic energy has been colored. You bring the Cosmic energy into the top of your head, your Crown Chakra. Then it flows down your back, along your spine. Some of it will take any unused or unnecessary energy and flow down your cord to the center of the earth. The rest of the Cosmic energy will flow down your spine and then come up the front of your body. While it is doing that, it will touch and open your other chakras. It will get them spinning and free them. Keep running your energy, Earth energy up through your feet, through your pelvis and down your cord; Cosmic energy in through your Crown chakra, down your spine and up your front. Breathe deep during this time.
Next time - run for the roses.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 15, 2009
My morning routine has become get up, take the A&A plus regular vitamins and minerals, drink a shot of aloe juice, feed the birds/squirrels/mice and head out for my walk. To get ready for the 3-Day Energy Fast, I am down to eating just fruits and veggies today. Watermelon, avocados, peaches and green beans, along with juices. Tomorrow will be just organic juices and some organic vegetable broth.
As usual, my lungs are tight this morning. A little tighter than usual. I sprinted to a count of 50 and thought I was going to pass out. I didn't (good thing, there are coyotes in the area) but it took a long time to get back to regular breathing. Each morning I walk about an hour, 2-3 miles. I ran my energy while standing on the boulder in the middle of the creek. This time I put my hands on my hips and imagined a cape on my back a la Wonder Woman. It was such a neat feeling. Try it sometime! Guys, try your favorite superhero. I felt invincible. I ran my energy and felt my lungs loosen up.
What helped even more was another visualization, along with tapping (EFT - to read about EFT, click here). While tapping I breathed in through my nose, breathed out through my nose, breathed in through my nose again and then I breathed out my mouth while imagining that the tightness was a physical thing coming out through my mouth. What popped into my mind was the scene from the Green Mile when the guy breathed into the guards mouth and all these insects came out of his mouth and went into the guard's. Little creepy but a great visual. I did this 6 times and my lungs REALLY felt a lot lighter. When I moved off the boulder and got back on land, I faced the sun and plugged in my third eye (forehead), both lungs and sternum. That seemed to "set" the healing of my lungs.
Try these visualizations for any discomfort you are having in your body. The more you visualize, the better and stronger you become at it. When you first notice something in your body, start working on it right away before it gains a strong foothold.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 14, 2009
Lungs are tight this morning but there is no pain. I can take a pretty deep breath. During my morning walk, I actually ran for a count of 50. After the first spring, I was completely out of breath. The second, third, fourth and fifth times were much better.
I ran my energy again today and that seemed to clear out some stagnant energy. To run your energy, you first need to center yourself. To do this, imagine a cord coming out from your lower back and going down to the center of the Earth. This cord needs to be attached or tied off in the center of the Earth. Once it is attached, you can widen the cord and make it as wide as your hips. Your cord can be any color you want, and it can be made out of anything you can imagine. One day my cord may be a leafy green vine and the next day it may be a bolt of dotted Swiss material. Whatever you want it to be, that's what it will be. Of course, i t moves with you so you can go for a walk, drive, garden, whatever, and run your energy at the same time.
Once you have it attached, then push an imaginery button on your hip that will allow things to flow down this cord. You will understand this in a minute.
Next thing you need to do is to open your feet chakras. You have seen a camera shutter open and close, right? Okay, just imagine that the bottom of your feet are like a camera and open the shutter. This allows Earth energy to flow into the bottom of your feet and up through your legs, through your hips and then down your cord and back into the Earth. Again, the Earth's energy can be any color that seems right at the time. Some days I will have burnt orange flow up from the Earth, come into my body, and flow back down my cord that is a curtain of gold coins. Beautiful. Work on imaging a cord and centering yourself and also opening your feet chakras. Later this week you will learn how to bring in cosmic energy.
Couple of other things - if you are looking for Ashwagandha, I found it at Swansonvitamins.com. Also, in preparation for the 3-Day Energy Fast, today I am giving up sugar. That is the hardest thing for me to give up. Have to admit, I'm a chocoholic. But, here goes. If I sound a little cranky in the coming days, you will understand. So as of today have given up meat, liquor and sugar.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 13, 2009
Lungs are tight this morning but no pain. Yesterday went to the Rockies baseball game and the elevator at the light rail station wasn't working. Had to walk up 40 steps. Thought my lungs were going to explode. Couldn't talk for about 3 minutes. Not fun. During my walk this morning I used EFT (tapping) for the breathing and my lungs felt a little looser. Need info on EFT? Click here to check out Gary's Craig's interview. During my shower, I used an emery board on my feet (one of those boards made for feet). I used it a lot on the ball of both feet. According to the reflexology charts, that area on the foot corresponds to the lungs. Didn't notice a lot of difference, but it can't hurt!
Have a message from a doctor. He wants to give me the results of a lab tests. I'll talk to them on the phone, but I am so over seeing them in person! All they did was cause unnecessary stress and aggravation - two things that exacerbate any dis-ease in the body.
Today I am starting the 3-day Energy Fast (by Pamela Serure). I did it once before and my energy shot through the roof. I wasn't hungry, got rid of a lot of toxins and it looked like I had a facelift. All positives! Only drawback was that I missed eating solid foods. The medical intuitive I met with a couple of weeks ago (Jean-Marc) said I should wait until my immune system was stronger and then he said it would be good to go on a fast. (In addition to the lung issue, he saw that I had something foreign in my stomach and a fast should take care of that.) Here's how the 3-day Energy Fast works: You slowly remove different foods from your diet until you are just drinking liquids. I cheat a little, I have watermelon. For 3 days. Today I am removing liquor and meat from my diet. So no tequila for breakfast today. Darn!
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 12, 2009
My walk to the park was especially productive this morning. My lungs feel free this morning but around my sternum I feel tightness. My stress level is lower today. I ran my energy like I do most mornings, but this time I did it while standing on a boulder in the creek. Looking down at the water and hearing it flow beneath me made my energy flow faster. Don't know how to run your energy? I'll go into detail on that later this month. After running my energy, I also used EFT on my breathing. As I was walking, I tapped and breathed in and out and released the tightness in my chest. Of course, took the A&A. Have to find out why Ashwagandha is getting harder to find.
Not only do humans feel stress. So do animals. I witnessed this with a mother duck this morning. As I was walking, I heard these ducklings crying. I looked and they were crying for their mother. She was gone. They were probably a month old, too young to fly, but not newborns either. I was feeling very sorry for them and planning on calling someone when I got home, but then I saw the mother fly in and make a beeline to her brood. Instead of being happy at the reunion, Momma Duck started quacking at them and pecking at them. She kept pecking at them to hurry them along downstream. It's my guess, she had gone out for some R & R and wasn't too happy to have to come back and take care of her kids. Wish I could teach her to breathe in from her nose and breathe out from her beak!
As I said, my stress level is low now, about a 2 on a 1-10 scale. I have determined that doctors' main goal is to make you stressed. After all I have been through, the worst of it was the stress caused by all the appointments, the miscommunication from health officials. I need now to repair my body from all the stress it has gone through. One thing I am doing is something I learned when I was taking Chinese Energy Exercises. You pat each part of your body and thank it for doing such a good job. Let your body know you appreciate it. I started on my lungs and patted each one and said "Thank you for breathing and doing such a good job." And then on to another part of the body. It's good to acknowledge the body for all it does.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
July 7, 2009
This blog was supposed to be strictly about how I am treating my asthma. Since everything in my (your) life effects my (your) health, I am including some personal information so you can get a better picture of what is happening.
My lungs were really tight this morning. On my walk I had to put 4 plugs from the sun into my 3rd eye, my right lung, my left and my sternum. I also took the Astragalus and Ashwagundha (A&A) for the first time in a couple of days. Within 30 minutes of taking these, my lungs felt better.
It was my first walk in days. On Friday, we received a torrential downpour. My apartment got flooded. I stood in the living room and watched a small tidal wave come toward me from my kitchen. The little mice were pulling out their surfboards. I spent the next 24 hours sucking up the water with a Rug Doctor. Turned fans on the kitchen, living room and bathroom 24/7 for the next two days and finally the place was dry. But now I have to have the carpeting replaced in the kitchen, bathroom and living room. Arggghh!
Looking back, I realized that throughout the last several days I was strictly in the flight mode. I didn't take care of myself. Didn't take walks, didn't do any kind of exercise (except moving furniture and sucking up water) didn't take the Astragalus and Ashwagundha, two things I know help my breathing. Mentally I was in a funk. None of these are a good prescription to good health.
When we are thrown into situations that are outside our comfort zone, we tend to revert back to basic routines. And sometimes those routinse aren't the best thing for us. This morning, I noticed the ducks swimming in Goldsmith Gulch. They are always in the same place in the morning, waiting for a man to throw out food for them. Even though he quit doing that years ago, they still go to the same place, expecting breakfast. How many times do we do that? Go back to something that used to work in the past and expect that nothing has changed? Something to think about.
Now that I have realized what I have/have not been doing, I will revert back to a more healthy, positive pattern. I am going to start more aggressive methods to return my body to health. Time to get serious.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
July 1, 2009
My lungs are a little tight this morning. But after the day I had yesterday, it's not surprising.
I went to the doctor for a consultation. She showed me the CAT scan results and the pulmonary results. (I already basically knew all this from Jean-Mark, the medical intuitive, who told me immediately - didn't have to wait three weeks.)
Two hours after I left the doctor's office, she calls me up and said I had to get to the hospital right away because the sputum test showed that I might have TB. She said that they would find out the results and most likely wouldn't let me leave until they did find out. Well, they said they won't know until Thursday but let me go anyway. I have no symptoms - no coughing, feel fine, etc., etc. She said they were going to run several tests on me. She said they might either put a tube down my throat or stick a needle in my chest. All they did was a chest X-ray. Geez. Nothing like scaring me and then nothing coming of it.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
June 30, 2009
Happy Tuesday ! My lungs feel really open and free today. No pain anywhere else in the body. It's a start to an excellent day. I have been taking the Astragalus and Ashwagundha regularly and drinking the Echinacea-spiked water. These three things have helped tremendously, but there is something that helped even more. I remember the exact moment breathing became easier and my lungs felt free.
That moment occured when I was doing The Work (Byron Katie). I was using her "One-Belief-At-A-Time Worksheet" and working on money issues. I was having major blockage when it came to "Turn the thought around." I couldn't. In my mind's eye, I saw a huge steel door and the answer was on the other side. The door wouldn't budge. So I used self-hypnosis (I am a clinical hypnotherapist) to figure out the steel door and how to remove it. When it finally melted away, the answer was right there on the other side. It was an answer that I had been looking for a very long time. Once I found the answer, I was easily able to turn the thought around. And in the moment I was able to do that, my lung capacity seemed to double. No more pain. No more tightness. That was yesterday and today I still feel fabulous.
In the next couple of days I will be sharing the experience I had at Byron Katie's workshop this weekend. Also, I attended the International New Age Trade show and share that with you. What fabulous energy there was there!
Now it's time for me to go to the doctor, yet again. I was there yesterday. The doctor prescribed Pro Air HFA inhaler for me. I Googled it and found the list of side effects was long - bad trembling, severe leg cramps, pounding heart, sweating, feel jittery, nausea. I think I will forego this medication. They have already tested for TB, but now they are conducting more tests. I could be stressed about it, but Byron taught me about first generation thinking. Stress is now almost zilch. I will tell you all about it in the review of Byron's workshop later this week.
And now an update on the accident that brought my lung issue to the forefront. In a nutshell, a lady cut off a guy, he slammed on his brakes and hit me. The police said the lady was "not part of the accident because she sustained no damage to her new BMW." The guy's insurance company is only accepting 30% liability of the damage because they are blaming the lady for causing the accident. In the meantime, I am stuck in the middle and can't get my car fixed because her insurance company is saying she had nothing to do with the accident. If there was ever a cause for stress, this would it. But I know it will all work out. Oh, did I mention, the lady who caused the accident is the granddaughter of G.D. $earle, the man behind Nutra$weet (and other drugs like Dramamine, Celebrex, etc.)?
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly.
Ellen
* * *
June 27, 2009
Chest feels pretty good today. No pain and tightness is not as bad as yesterday. Took Astragalus and Ashwagundha right before bed last night. Maybe that helped.
Meditated on the walk, like I usually do. Met Peaches, a little white/black pug, out walking with her "mother". Looks just like Frank in Men In Black. Never know the parent's name, only the dog's. Very thankful for the good health that I do have. Didn't walk very far today because have to get ready for the all-day workshop with Byron Katie. I'll write about it next week.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breath from your belly.
June 26, 2009
I feel very tight starting at my sternum, radiating over the whole right side. My left leg has a pain in it and my back hurts. My body is falling apart. (Of course, I know not to say that too often. Everything I think has the capability to go into my subconscious and become true. Don't want my body literally falling apart!) I plugged the sun into my forehead and into my chest during my walk this morning. Of course, took the Astragalus and Ashwagundha, along with the the tincture of Echinacea.
This morning I go to pick up cups from the doctor for a sputum test. Even though I had a TB test, they want to check this out further because I spit up blood last Monday. While I appreciate their concern, it takes so long for doctors to find anything out. Because it does, I went to a medical intuitive to find out right away. I found Jean-Marc from Jersey. He said his mother is a healer and he started out life just "knowing things". Doctors send him patients when they can no longer help them. He said he workes on a lot of adults who used to play soccer. He is also a massage therapist. I have had massages before, but always by a female. Jean-Marc has very strong hands and he worked his magic on my neck and shoulders. That alone was worth the visit!
However, he was able to see the nodules on my lung. He said they had been there a long time and that they had just "woken up". I asked him what that meant. He said, "You saw the movie 'Alien'? Remember when they found the pods of aliens and then they opened up? That's what your nodules look like" Good visual, huh? He is the one that told me to build up my immune system and he also suggested I see a doctor. I asked him if he could get rid of the nodules. He worked for a while and I felt better when I left. Definitely will be following up with Jean-Marc from Jersey!
Until next time, thanks for reading. And breath from your belly.
Ellen
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June 25, 2009
Lungs feel tight this morning, but there is no pain. During my walk every so often I would imagine a starter's pistol firing and run like a (very slow) cheetah. I did that about 5 times and had to walk at a snail's pace the rest of the time to catch my breath.
I met Stevie, a friend in from San Francisco, for dinner last night. When I told her of my health issues, she reminded me that I had taken Astragalus and Ashwagundha a couple of years ago. Astragalus is a Chinese herb and Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic Adaptogen. They both boost the immune system. I did remember that they were very helpful before, so I went to GNC and got some. We'll see what happens.
I'm a little bummed out today. The goats are gone. The park I walk around uses goats to eat down the grass. Environmentally it's better than using the noisy mowers and personally, it fun. It's like an adult petting zoo. They are done with our park so they moved them on to another park. Bahhh.
A little background on how I was diagnosed with asthma. On May 7, I was in a car accident. No one was hurt. My car is the only one that sustained any damage. A lady cut in front of a guy. He slammed on his brakes and they locked up, which spun his truck into my Honda. I was having problems concentrating a couple of days later and had a CAT scan done on my head. They didn't find anything (ahem, I heard that!). But they did find nodules in my right lung. I had a TB test (negative), lung function (see the results below in red), and spirometry test. I was coughing up blood last Monday so back to the emergency room. Now I have to go in for a sputum test (a further test for TB). They took so long to get the lung function test to me, I went to a medical intuitive so I could find out right away what was going on. I'll write about that next time.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And keep breathing deep.
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June 24, 2009
This morning during my walk my lungs feel tight, like someone was stepping on my chest. At the beginning of my walk, the tightness was just on the right side. Then the pain moved south, into my solar plexus. Even though it's 90 degrees out, it looks like it's snowing because the cottonwood trees are in full bloom. I am not allergic to this so I am enjoying the sight.
I walk every morning. I don't run. Not unless someone is chasing me. There are a couple of different paths I take. This morning I walked along the Highline Canal. It's a dry canal unless "those in power" turn on the water and flood the canal. There is always something interesting I see or I learn on my walks. This morning, a bicyclist asked directions to the Cherry Creek bike path. We finally got it figured out.
One of the first steps I will take to combat the asthma is to boost my immune system. I looked through my warehouse of herbs and minerals. (You know how you hear someone recommend something and you run out to buy it and then six months later you find it and say, "Now, why did I buy that?") My closet could pass as a health store. Anyway, I found Echinacea Triple Source tincture. The bottle says it "supports a healthy immune system." Just what I was looking for. It says for acute situations put 40 drops every hour in water. I am opting for 40 drops in water first thing in the morning. Every hour seems a little excessive.
During my walk, I did a visualization technique that I made up. I plug the sun into my head. To do that, I close my eyes, stand facing full sun. I lift my head up and imagine an electrical cord coming out of the sun and plugging into an outlet in my forehead. Once it is plugged in, the golden vibrant energy from the sun flows through the cord and drenches my brain, flows down throughout my face and runs over my entire body, saturating each cell. This gives my body and mind pure radiant energy, healing energy.
That energy makes my lungs feel a little lighter and not so tight. I can envision the sun radiating out from my lungs.
Until next time, thanks for reading. And keep breathing deep.
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June 23, 2009
Last week my doctor told me I have asthma. And possibly emphysema.
Since I don’t trust doctors and don’t like taking drugs, I'm going to take a different route. There are many alternative health methods I currently use to improve my overall well-being. I will apply these and learn others to use on my asthma. What will happen? Will they cure it? Make it go into remission? Make it worse? If I am successful, it will be a testimony to the effectiveness of these methods. If not, it will probably be a TV reality series.
I will use different methods, tell you what they are and keep you updated on what happens. To see my starting point in this journey, check out my Pulmonary Function Lab Report. See the numbers with parentheses around them? Those are outside the normal range. Where I should be at 2.76, I have .60 before albuterol and .75 after. Not good.
So it's time to start my journey to wellness. Take a deep breath in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth and please send healing thoughts my way. Check back in a couple of days for an update.
Ellen