The Road Home

The Road Home
There is no place like home.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Our Journey to Better Health

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen. Frank and I have been trying to put together some thoughts lately. It's an odd topic, it goes back 20 to 30 years, and we're going to try to take you from there to where we are today. I'm going to share with you some of the changes we've made in our lives recently, and a little history about where these changes are coming from. We all have different learning levels, some are right in our face everyday, sometimes we ask ourselves, "Why didn't I see this years and years ago?" We're all human, or I believe we are all human anyway, we all make mistakes, and I believe what separates a lot of us is how we acknowledge and handle our mistakes. Here goes.

Back in the late 80's or early 90's, Frank had a persistent pain in his shoulder blade. He went to the doctor, and was given a prescription of Relafen for the pain, which he ended up taking for years. He would go back to the doctor with pain in his shoulder, and after awhile, he was
also getting an upset stomach. Finally, at one doctor visit, he asked if the upset stomach, pain in his shoulder, and the Relafen were somehow related. The doctor said yes. It turns out that the Relafen, though it worked on the pain, was causing the stomach upset, which can be manifested as a referred pain to the shoulder blade. So we asked, "Why didn't you tell us this years ago?" Frank had been taking a medication for a pain that had probably always come from his stomach, that made the problem worse in a vicious, Catch 22 cycle. Frank stopped taking the medication, took care of his stomach and miraculously the shoulder pain was cured. 

This was the beginning of our realization that most doctors are only able to see, or diagnose, or treat, what they have been taught to see, or diagnose, or treat. Very few of them are able to gather data, i.e. symptoms; synthesize that data; evaluate all aspects of treatment, i.e. something besides "Here. Take this pill."; and come up with an effective treatment plan that doesn't just mask the symptoms, but treats the underlying cause of the problem. 

Fast forward a few years, and now we live in Alaska. Frank starts having problems with his armpits being dry and chaffed. He goes to the doctor. They gave him this cream and that cream, none of them worked. They 
gave him a shot, they gave him some pills. None of them worked. He looked at the chemical composition of some different deodorants, and he changed what he was using. The problem still persisted. Alaska is notorious for low humidity, sinus problems are prevalent. Somebody mentioned to him it may be dry skin, try some lotion. Wa-la! Put lotion on, wait a little while, put on deodorant, and the medical mystery was solved. Dry skin. Makes you wonder why the doctors didn't tell him that since they see the effects of dryness everyday. A couple of squirts of Vaseline Intensive Care, problem solved.

Fast forward to about four or five years ago. After we moved to our homestead from Alaska, we began an earnest effort to eliminate much of the chemicalized food, chemicalized toiletries, chemicalized gardening techniques and feeding our animals chemicalized products. We haven't been able to totally eliminate them, but here are some of the things we have done.

Frank went first in the no deodorant at all arena. I followed a few years later. Now, neither one of us apply anything at all to our armpits. Nothing. If we work real hard, there may be an odor of sorts temporarily, but we don't go around stinking all the time. It took a few weeks for our armpits to 'withdraw' from the chemicals we were applying daily. They felt a little funny for a bit, but now, I don't notice them at all.

Next we quit using toothpaste. This time I went first. I have had a problem with bad breath at times for years and years, especially if I was taking any medications. But, we'll get back to medications in a minute. I really
thought I would have even more problems with my breath when I quit toothpaste, but you know what? My mouth felt cleaner that it ever had. I was totally amazed. It was then I realized all that taste good, fluoridated, poison stuff I brushed my teeth with every day was leaving a coating in my mouth that lead to bad breath. Amazing! Actually, my reaction was more like, "You've got to be kidding!" Not long afterwards, Frank stopped using toothpaste as well. Now we use plain baking soda. I've looked at many sites that make their own toothpaste with essential oils and other stuff, but I like plain, simple baking soda. It works great.

We've already written about our lip balm and lotion recently, so I don't need to explain that again. I also stopped using any shampoo and conditioner about a year ago, along with commercial panty liners. All of these steps have helped to eliminate more and more commercially made products and chemicals that our bodies were absorbing every single day. 

Now back to some more medications. Over the last couple of decades, Frank and I started having some reflux problems, so we went to the doctor. I think this started sometime shortly after 2000 when we were in Alaska. They put us on Protonix and Nexium which we took for years. Years.
No one told us that these types of medications were initially produced for people to take no longer than six weeks at a time without causing side effects and problems. It was only a few years ago we found out, through our own research, what a huge impact proton pump inhibitors can have, not only on the production of acid and the whole digestive system, but on your entire body at the cellular level. It changes the chemical composition of your body and how it reacts to acid. That's part of the reason it is so difficult to get off of this drug, or it was in our case. We just followed doctor's recommendations and continued to "take this pill." Once we found out just how much damage long term use of these pills could have on our bodies, we decided to wean them down and quit. The only problem is, that once your body has adjusted to having these drugs for a long period of time, it goes through a major increase of acid production trying to compensate for the lack of medication. Most people cannot tolerate the withdrawal symptoms of intense heartburn and stomach pain, so guess what? They go back on the medication thinking there is something wrong. We did. More than once. I even ended up with
ulcers in my esophagus accompanied by serious chest pains (they even did an entire heart work up in the hospital and found nothing), gastritis and h-pylori. Then I did some very serious research on Nexium and found out one of the complications of long term use is ulcers in the esophagus. I was angry. Very angry that I had been allowed, even encouraged to take this medication for years! When I was sick with the esophageal ulcers they had me double the medication. We have now successfully quit these medications and have no reflux, no stomach pain, and don't need to take any over-the-counter antacids. I feel like we have finally been able to heal our bodies from the damage these medications did.


Some time when we were living in Alaska, one of the doctors recommended Frank take a blood pressure medication since his readings were just borderline high. He didn't take anything for years, but started taking one off and on after we moved here. But his blood pressure was
never really high. So, we bought a little blood pressure machine. Well, a number of months back Frank's blood pressure was what we thought was really high. We have a couple of nurses in the family, Frank called and we went to visit one of them. To her, his blood pressure was no big deal. She's an active, participating, veteran nurse. We all have stressful days, and Frank had a major surgery recently, and before that was in a tremendous amount of pain. But the words of our in-law nurse, "That's not bad." So, Frank quit his blood pressure medication. Nothing happened, and his blood pressure went down. The next time we visited the doctor he wanted Frank to take a beta blocker along with his blood pressure medication, and we said no. He has since quit taking the blood pressure medication altogether.  His blood pressure is now fine.

I haven't mentioned it, but Frank and I have our blood work done twice a year. Each time we have it done, our doctor wants to put us on medication to lower our cholesterol. Frank has a long term running joke. "If you want me to lower my cholesterol, just give me a pencil with an eraser." He has found that, believe it or not, what you have to eat the day before affects everything that is tested in your blood work, especially the biggies, like cholesterol and sugar. But the medical folks will tell you that your diet the day before doesn't make any difference. Hogwash! If he has a bowl of ice cream before he goes to bed the night before his blood test, the next day his sugar is elevated. We keep all of our old blood test records. Frank started experimenting to see if what he ate the night before affected the tests and it does. So, what you're told and what is reality, don't always fit together.

There seems to be a pattern. I have a headache, take this. What you're taking for the headache upsets your stomach, so take this. What you're taking for your stomach causes your blood pressure to rise, take this. And then take this. And then you don't know why you're taking anything. It's a difficult thing to see and figure out.
We have all been taught to do what our doctor tells us to do and we want to believe that the medical profession has our best interest at heart. Speaking of heart. A number of years ago, back in Alaska, Frank had a stress test done on his heart. Everything was great, except for one spot they couldn't see and it was a dark spot, or sometimes called an artifact. This lady doctor was going to schedule surgery, Frank told her no, and she was appalled that someone would question her. Follow me here. A couple of years ago, Frank had another stress test here in Oklahoma. His heart is just fine, except there is another dark spot, or artifact, in a different location, and the doctor wants to schedule surgery. Now isn't this ironic? That there is a dark spot, or artifact, a place they cant' see in two different parts of his heart on two separate tests. I don't want to think that this is some kind of high level con game, but if you can't see it, then I guess you've got to go in and look, don't you? Makes you wonder. So, does the medical profession have your best interest at heart? Makes you wonder. By the way, Frank never had any surgery. The answer was still no.

Moving on. When Frank went back for his five month check up after having back surgery, we had a pleasant conversation with the surgeon. Earlier on, Frank had asked him if weight was a factor, related to his surgery, and the doctor's response was, weight is always a factor. Now, Frank and I are both big people, and we're also overweight big people, which boils down to we're both fat. You know, corn fed. And we've both been told for years by
assorted doctors that we needed to lose weight. We've done the token diet thing a time or two, but something was different that day with the back surgeon. He introduced us to a program where you cut carbohydrates sharply. We talked about it in his office some and when we left that day at around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, we walked out to the truck, and sat there for a minute. We both agreed it is time, and that we can do this. That was December 2, 2014. I cannot tell you what is different. There was no strike of lightening or epiphany, but we both knew it, and we both felt it, and we both agreed that the time is now. So, like we do most things, we came home, got on the internet, looked up the books,
downloaded the ebook version, and the next day we started our diet. And I'm reluctant to call it a diet, we just changed the way we eat. If you eat food in any form or fashion, you're on some kind of diet. We just changed the way we eat. This is the way we plan to eat from now on. It's not a starvation diet, I eat more and bigger plates of food than we ever have. Frank the carnivore has learned to like the color green better. In 10 weeks now, it has made some dramatic effects upon our lives. You know that humble turnip we have talked about for months? That accidental, experimental animal feed project? It has been a major part of our diet. I can't help but believe in my mind that this is all part of some master plan. But that's kind of getting out there, I guess. But for those of you that feel and see that way, then you know what I'm talking about.


A long time ago, seven or eight years back, we came to the realization that things are changing profoundly in our world. This could be one of those times where we wonder why it took us so long to see it, or we can be thankful that we saw it a number of years ago. But the deal is, we did see it, and there are changes
happening. On the chemical issue, I'd rather
get off the chemicals on my schedule, than get off chemicals on somebody else's schedule. Withdrawal is not always a pretty thing when you don't have access to what you're used to, whether it be illegal drugs or legal prescription drugs. And then there are the chemicals that we are just exposed to daily, whether we eat them, drink them, breathe them or absorb them through our skin, if we have to have them, then when the time comes that we don't, things may not be pleasant at all. If you have things in your life that you've been wanting to change, I hope you find the inspiration and the motivation to do so. Even if it's not a chemical, or a pharmaceutical, what about behavioral things that we have become addicted to? Picture television. The winds are changing, and the winds may change at your house soon. It might be time for you to give thought to change also. 

We've taken the time to share these personal notes, and some of them are very personal, in the hope that they will help someone in some small way. If you can find any motivation or inspiration in some of our trials, please use them. We hope these stories and views will give you something to think about.

Frank & Fern

49 comments:

  1. What a great post! We have been doing like you, too. When I first saw the new doctor in town about 10 years ago, the first thing he told me was "all medicine is poison". Nexium gave me shortness of breath and wheezing. Read in the package insert that this was a side effect. Threw those pills away and never looked back. We use an organic tee tree toothpaste with no fluoride or weird chemicals.....get it from our co-op. It works great. I never believed that real butter was bad, or red meat either. Doctors wanted to put me on statin and poison my liver.....not gonna happen. Of course, now eggs and meat are OK. (smile). We love dried veggies as snack food. crunchy green beans....yum. Lots of sprouts, too. We don't eat after 6 pm and that resets our insulin mechanism as intermittent fasting is good. Hard to get away from all the chemicals, though, but we are trying our best, like you. You are an inspiration, for sure.

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    1. Tewshooz, I just wish it hadn't taken us so long to see what is going on. Life could have been a lot different if we had started this search 20 years ago, but this is where we are and I'm glad to be here. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

      Frank

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    2. Frank, 20 years ago we were all still eating real food. Monsanto not on the scene like now. Sure, we had processed foods and TV dinners, but no HFCS or stuff like that. Corn was still corn and not GMO. Seem like all this franken food and franken pharma has exploded now. I wish I had become more aware earlier, too. This is one place where the internet shines.....research and knowledge and connecting with like minded folks

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  2. I think your experiences with doctors is very typical. My sister was on Nexium for years, became so anemic a doctor asked her when her last transfusion was and no doctor had an explanation for the anemia. She researched it and found that in a small percentage of users anemia is a side affect, took her sometime to convince her doctors. She was treated in the only way they knew.




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    1. Bellen, I hope things worked out for your sister. I would still like to think that doctors have our best interest at heart, but the older I get the less I believe that. Thank you for sharing.

      Frank

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    1. M.E. thank you for reading and thank you for the comment.

      Fern

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  4. I found your article middle similar to mine. I was diagnosed with again and was taking a whole bunch of stuff, Zoloft for hot flashes, prilosec for acid reflux, water pills, etc. All prescribed. I am now off all meds except the DAMN prilosec (hard to get off) and blood pressure is now 107/78 . Stay away from doctors. I too am tryingthelow carb diet. Amazing. So enjoy your site.

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    1. Janet, it was very difficult for us to get off of the proton pump inhibitors. We just did it very slowly, over time, and at the same time increased our Rolaids and Tums usage, and then gradually quit taking them. We're not talking about a couple of days here, we're talking about a couple of months. But, we didn't change our diets at all during that time. Good luck and thank you for sharing.

      Frank

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  5. bravo for another great post Fern and Frank - and i surely do hope that people will come here and learn! my hubby and i got rid of all chemical cleaners in our house years ago and only use baking soda and vinegar now. we also don't use underarm deodorant and i make our own. it's pretty simple and i am sure that you will love it. sift some baking soda. put it in a jar. use as fancy a cloth as you like and dust it on your underarms - bahahahah! we also use baking soda and sea salt combined for our toothpaste. we make our own shampoo and surprise of all surprises - use apple cider vinegar for conditioner. if you find that the apple cider vinegar causes itchy scalp or dryness in your hair, use a tiny bit of coconut oil after you rinse the cider out of your hair. just a tiny bit rubbed all over your scalp and then another rinse and your hair will be fabulous. there are tons of things that we have researched to learn about natural ways of taking care of our health.

    jam just recently developed an abscess tooth - he didn't tell me about it until it was too late. so he had to go to the dentist and was put on antibiotics. if he had have admitted it sooner, i would have administered clove/olive oil and put him in a serious raw garlic, unpasteurized local honey and apple cider vinegar tea for about 4 times a day - that would have taken care of it. if caught and taken care of soon enough, the tooth wouldn't have abscessed, although he would still need it pulled.

    a lot of our modern needs for medications for this and that are a culmination, as you say, of taking something for "this" which then affects "that" recquiring more and more medications. i am glad that you and Frank have learned this through true experience.

    don't get me wrong - some people truly need particular pharmaceutical medications and i support that. but i sense that you guys, like us, are figuring out different ways and means of preventative medicine. and the majority of it starts with diet.

    great post Fern. sorry i hogged your comment section again with trying to re-write "war and peace" - bahahahahahah!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Hi Kymber. Thank you for your personal comments and your recommendations. Most folks don't realize that the chemical industry has only been around for about 70 or 80 years. Look at the effects it has had on society. We can't go back as a group, but we can go forward as individuals.

      A question I have is: Why is the chemical industry, government and the pharmaceutical industry working together to damage as many people as they can? Why are we burning corn in our cars? Why are we eating GMO corn and feeding it to livestock? I know there are no answers that I will receive, and I don't believe it is just a matter of profit. I believe it is a matter of control. Thank you for your insightful comments.

      Frank

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  6. Thank you for this. I appreciate others' corroboration of what I've been quietly trying to demonstrate to friends and family for some time now. Some of the original "leading lights" in my own religious tradition strongly advocated herbs, prayer, and faith over dependence on doctors for healing, but even their most ardent followers tend to disregard that teaching today. Unfortunately they also disregard their teachings encouraging home schooling, study of the Constitution, preparing for times of world turmoil, and other stuff only "crazies" do today. Anyway, this "crazy" says thanks.

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    1. Nordyke, Fern and I have this discussion on a regular basis. Are we one of the "crazies"? How come so few see what's happening around us? Someone walks outside and says the sky is paisley, but everybody else sees sunshine, then the paisley person, by the definition instilled by society, must be crazy. So those of us that see dark clouds coming, when everyone else sees sunshine, does that mean the dark cloud people are crazy also? Food for thought. May God be with you in your quest.

      Frank

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    2. you remember pogo?
      in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king. in the land of the insane the half-wit is crucified.

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  7. I like and agree with everything you've said here. The medical profession is a con. They don't heal.... They treat. It's everyone's responsibility to do research on their own for their own well being

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    1. Well, we are responsible for ourselves. It's our temple. God gave it to us, and I believe He expects us to take care of it. Thank you for your thoughts.

      Frank

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  8. Interesting post Fern, I too have experienced bad Dr. advice.. It's what they were taught in medical school. Two years ago I and the Doctors in the emergency room thought I was having a heart attack. I spent three days in the hospital for observation and battery of tests. They even gave me a "NITRO" in the emergency room, wow what an experience! Long story short my heart was and is fine. The diagnosis was "Acid Reflux". Yep, wanted to put me on a prescription. I researched it and found out it could cause life time diarrhea. I now take vitamin B12 & Folic Acid for my reflux and along with some dietary changes I'm fine. So research you're ailments and seek alternatives folks, you may save you're own life and a lot of money too! Good Health to all from N.W. Illinois.

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    1. N.W. you're right about your diagnosis that we need to perform our own diagnosis. Something's just gone awry somewhere and I don't think it's ever going to get back to where it should be until after the big change that is coming. Maybe then doctors will go back to being doctors and not drug dealers. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are good doctors around, and I'm also sure there are probably some good politicians around, too. It's hard to override that mechanism we've been instilled with, to trust some people. Thanks for your comment.

      Frank

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  9. Oh my goodness, what a terrific post!

    It takes a lot of faith to know that we know our own bodies better than anyone.

    Regarding statin drugs: No doctor has ever been able to answer my question, "If statins have been shown to cause muscle deterioration, how on earth can they NOT then adversely affect the HEART, the most important muscle in the body?"

    Great post!

    Just Me

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    1. Just Me, that's a very good question. My doctors wanted to put me on statins before. Ain't gonna happen.

      When you read all of these comments, it helps me understand that I'm not alone and there are probably hundreds of people that have read this and didn't comment, that feel the same way. I read other people's blogs, and seldom comment.

      Just one more sign of things going down. Our system is broke. The machine doesn't work anymore. It would appear that corruption has rusted the gears. I'll stop there. Thank you for the comment.

      Frank

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  10. None of us are trained lawyers but we must take some responsibility for reading the label.
    Starts by stating Side effects may be:...

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    1. You are precisely correct. But these prescription labels, and the pamphlets that accompany them, are written by lawyers. We, the public, expect to be able to trust the advice given to us by our medical professionals. But, you're right.

      Frank

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  11. I agree with you Fern. now when I go to the doctor and he tells me I need to take something the first thing I ask is what are the side effects. and 99% of the time I tell him
    I won't take it. He got upset because I refuse one med because it could cause breast cancer, I had told him I lost my mom and older sister to breast cancer. Now I'm looking for a new doctor

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    1. Sorry about your loss. Fern and I have not gone back to many a doctor. We've been told what we were going to do by more than a few, and that just doesn't work in our house. We've had a lot of one visit doctors over the years. Good doctors are hard to find. Take care and good luck.

      Frank

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  12. Great post! I so agree with everything you have said Fern.

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    1. Linda, thank you for reading and thank you for the kind comment.

      Fern

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  13. Wow - I really appreciate your honesty and down to earth conversation. I don't use deodorant anymore either. However,when go out on a hot tay and want dry armpits, I rub a little cornstarch in them. Simple, and it works. My son once had a problem with a horrible rash in his armpits also. The doctor gave him a cream to kill yeast, and it only got worse. Then my son was given a cortisone cream, and it got worse again. Finally, with his armpits all red and inflamed with raw spots developing, he could no longer put on deodorant. He was a teenager and this was very upsetting to him. Lo and behold, his armpits got better. Turns out he is allergic to talc, which is in just about every commercial deodorant out there! Funny how sometimes just standing back and doing nothing is the best remedy of all! Thanks for all your words of wisdom!

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    1. Vickie, I had issues with deodorant for years and years. The only solution I ever found was quitting.

      It's hard to imagine how many chemicals we ingest through our skin. But there is no way that some of the chemicals in deodorants can be good for you, especially combined with the chemicals in shampoo, toothpaste, conditioner, mouthwash, lotion, soap, detergent, feminine hygiene products, toilet tissue, facial tissue, and the list goes on. We don't have a clue what these things do in combinations of two, much less combinations of 50.

      Don't forget the chemicals in your furniture, your clothes, your car, the inside of every food container, and more. But let's not leave out the air we breathe and the water we drink. And just imagine the vast, vast majority of these chemicals did not exist until after World War II. We don't have a clue what the long term effects will be. Not a clue.

      Have a good day.

      Frank

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  14. My grandpa was on several prescription medications. He felt miserable most of the time. They had to keep adding things to stop problems caused by the previous drug! Well, one day he said enough is enough! He was 93 and figured that if he was going to die anyway he wanted to feel better doing it. He lived two more years. Stacking wood and puttering around his little place. Thank you for this article.

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    1. Desiree, thank you for sharing your heart warming story. Best wishes.

      Frank

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  15. I agree! Medicines are just a band aid, they don't treat the problem, and I've got a big beef with doctors. It really seems all they want to do is toss drugs at you! We are in our late 30's (me) and early 40's (him) and don't take any medication besides the occasional ibuprofen for a headache. We've talked intently about it and know what the other wishes. I won't take medication, and I feel that the side effects are far worse than the actual illness they are supposed to be treating! I also don't wear deodorant on a daily basis, and only put it on if I know I'm going to be really sweating in public! Then I use Tom's deodorant. Well I could go on and on, but suffice it to say......I'm not a fan of doctors! I'll put my trust in the Great Physician! :)

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    1. Goodwife, thank you for sharing your comments and thoughts. I wish Fern and I had tapped into these thought patterns when we were in our late 30's and early 40's. Thank you for sharing.

      Frank

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  16. Thank you for sharing so much! Hubby and I are in that process now of getting rid of what we can and keeping what we need. We are in the group of people who if born 100 years earlier would not now be alive, so we appreciate modern medicine, however there is a co-opt that has occurred in recent years of the medical field by both bureaucrats and big pharma. There is a fine line that must be walked between what I need and what you want me to take when you talk to your doctor, we have a recent pharmacy school graduate in the family (cousin) and he is our go to guy, drs do not know much more about the drugs than what the drug rep tells them, they do not do research anymore. As an insurance agent I understand my benefits and have been interviewing drs whenever I needed a new one for years, if they don't want to be interviewed they are not my dr. I also understand that the insurance company has suggestions for drug treatments that are based on discounts and malpractice risks rather than results. It is a lot of work to do your own research but it is worth it in the long run. Thanks again, another thought provoker!!

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    1. Kathy, Fern and I are both of the same group you spoke of. Neither one of us would be here today without the benefits of the medical profession. We have also, in our adult lives, had medical procedures performed that were life saving. That fine line you make reference to? We try not to cross that line unless we have to. I rely on the pharmacist that we use a great deal, and he seems to have a more genuine concern than my doctor does, and also appears to be sharply more knowledgeable. For that, I am grateful. Thank you for the thoughts you've shared.

      Frank

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  17. I agree most whole-heartedly with everything you and your wise readers say here.

    Once went in great hip pain to the doc (so much pain that I cried just shuffling back to the exam room) you guessed it arthritis localized around an old healed up thin crack (fell off horses in my youth, falls off sidewalks - either of which could've caused that) and that could be helped with correcting my diet, the way I sat and slept, but that did not stop him from prescribing meds for it AND for high blood pressure. I knew why my blood pressure was elevated that day (PAIN< PAIN: PAIN!) and refused to take the meds. Not happening. I don't take any arthritis pills either. Now years later I do display some physical symptoms of HBP and lower it by taking garlic on a regular daily basis. If ever there is a med I will need it's likely to be for HBP and I'll likely take it IF I can't control it thru my diet. Once read a study that those centenarians who live to that age only take ONE med and that is for HBP.

    I have lots of medical folks in my family. I believe they went into it with good intentions.
    (Yep, I'm the cra-cra-crazy one who has always inherently had a dislike for pills and will drink herbal teas and make my own salves, etc.) However, I do believe we as patients are partly to blame for just being 'give me a pill doc and let me get back to work' kinds of patients and not doing the OTHER things some of our good doctors suggest like eating right, getting exercise, losing weight, etc. and now the pharmaceutical companies have taken over our med schools and things have gone down hill drastically. Hippocratic oath of 'do no harm' is not practiced as an important theme in medicine as it once was.

    I have a book - no need for you to get it - I'll tell you it's title - called Nature's Seven Doctors - "Fresh Air, Sunshine, Good Food, Exercise, Pure Water, Rest and the Power of the Mind".

    On the good food - folks could try what we've done - eliminating a majority of the processed foods ('Clean Eating'), decreased our carbohydrates intakes and staying away from hybridized wheat/grain products. Like we did, you'll likely lose weight and feel much better. We greatly increased the good fats, moderated our protein intake.

    Go forth and be well. Thanks for a great article Frank & Fern!

    ~Sassafras (Disclaimer - I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV - take charge of your own health and heal thyself.)

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    1. Sassafras, thank you for sharing, and taking the time to give us your thoughts. Your comments are another example of what we were trying to project with this post.

      Fern and I got started late in life trying to clean up our act, and I'm happy, very happy, for those that can control their surroundings at a younger age. But, I'm happy that we started trying to influence and control our surroundings where we are now, in time and place. I really wish things were different, but these are the cards we've been dealt, therefore, these are the ones we must play. I genuinely thank you for your thoughts.

      Frank

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  18. Thank you for sharing so many personal aspects of your life in order to help others. You likely have no idea how many people you touch with your articles. Another inspirational post!

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    1. Karin, thank you for the kind words, and thank you for taking the time to comment.

      Frank

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  19. The similarities between our observations are scary. When Ralph was driving highway tractor and on the road he was diagnosed diabetic...they put him on pills. The told him to drink diet drinks...he is always listening and heard that the chemical sweeteners are WAY sweeter than sugar or even High fructose corn syrup, they trick the body into thinking it has had a huge dose of sugar and his blood would go crazy, no diet pop...normal blood sugar.
    They said he had sleep apnea and needed a very expensive machine....since he has been off the road his sleep is normal and quiet, not snoring unless he is exhausted. No expensive machine.
    His cholesterol is a wee bit high...so the Dr promptly prescribed pills....then was mad at Ralph we we decided to try diet changes first. By the way the diet changes worked. There are so many chemicals in the modern diet I get so concerned when we add chemicals in medicines...and then there are all the side effects and drug interactions. When we go to have our annual check ups the Nurses are always so surprised we have not got a case of pills we are taking.

    Thank you for sharing your health and observations!

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    1. Fiona, thank you for sharing one more example of why we need to be responsible for our own health.

      Diet drinks, or ones that simulate sugar, are extremely destructive to our bodies. Why would any competent doctor recommend any patient drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners?? They just produce another set of unacceptable numbers on a chart that is then addressed by another means to change those numbers. In other words, like I said in the post, if you want my cholesterol to go down, give me a pencil with an eraser. In many cases we create our exceptionally high or low numbers, and we're not solving the problem, we're treating the number. Thank you for your comment.

      Frank

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  20. I am 58 years old and have never taken medications for anything unless absolutely necessary. Meaning, excruciating back pain from a ruptured disc. Muscle relaxant and pain med prescribed. Neither did any good so I stopped taking them. The doctor expected me to just take them forever when what I needed was surgery to remove the piece of disc. Piece removed, excellent result. That was 30 years ago. Fast forward to today and I am having serious hip pain just as anonymous above described. I was given a prescription that worked great but I don't want the eventual stomach problems that are sure to come, along with possible liver or kidney damage. I stopped taking the RX but hip pain came back almost immediately so I started taking one Advil in the morning and one at night. Advil has the same warnings but isn't as strong. I don't want to take Advil but I do not know what to do that is natural. I wish I could contact anonymous for the information he/she found. I am a very poor internet researcher. I am pretty computer illiterate. Any arthritis natural remedies would be appreciated!

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    1. Brenda, we don't have access to identities or email addresses of folks that send us comments. If there are folks out there that have remedies or solutions to the problem that Brenda has described, would you please answer her comment. We're all in this together, all help is appreciated.

      Frank

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    2. brenda,
      don't know the cause of your hip pain but i am taking MSM, curamed and astaxanthan. really helps.
      ibuprofen may cause deafness, especially in women. i only take it when really hurting.
      was taking it regularly before i discovered the MSM-astaxanthan-curamed[turmeric] triumvirate.
      i was becoming hard of hearing.
      daughter found the research on deafness and advil [ibuprofen].
      i quit using it and hearing returned but not all who have lost hearing acuity have recovered it.
      deb h.

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    3. Thank you, Deborah, for your suggestions.

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  21. I'm so excited by this post because I know what a difference a change in diet has made in my life and I know that you will reach a lot of people with your post! I decided to follow the Paleo diet a few years ago( it is very similar to what you are doing) and one of the first things I noticed when I gave up white flour was that I wasn't getting daily headaches anymore. A doctor had told me that the headaches were caused by my hormone levels. Wrong! Almost everything in our bodies is connected to the foods we eat and everything else is stress or environmental pollutants - including our hormone levels and autoimmune responses like arthritis, thyroid... the list goes on and on. What I like so much about Paleo is that the community is made up of people who take all of these things into consideration and teach people what they can do to improve their lives. Yes, there are some people trying to make money by selling supplements and whatever else, but if you take the basic message to heart you will change your life. I recommend: Marks Daily Apple, Chris Kresser, The Weston A Price foundation. There are so many wonderful resources out there for people to learn how diet and lifestyle changes can change your life completely. Look up the TedX talk by Terry Wahls about how she used food to improve her MS(she was in a wheelchair and was declining fast!)
    I'm not affiliated with anything I have mentioned, I'm just someone who has made these changes and am excited about helping others do the same :)
    ~Jackie in VB, Virginia

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    1. Hi Jackie. Thank you for sharing your encouraging thoughts. We've had doctors for years trying to get us to change our diets, but it always fell on deaf ears. I'm not sure why this time the information was received and acted upon, but it was. I guess it was just time.

      It's like anything, what you put into it affects what you get out of it. I'm sure if we lived a life style like our grandparents and great grandparents did, we wouldn't have to worry about a diet. But we don't live that type of life style, and frankly, I'm glad that we don't. I'm afraid we're going to real soon, though. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

      Frank

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  22. had to take protonix last year.
    changed tastebuds and sense of smell.
    went off it instantly.
    when i was a kid doctor looked at fingernails eyeballs et cetera while examining AND CHATTING. THEN HE DIAGNOSED.,
    DOCS DON'T KNOW HOW NOWADAYS.
    SOME JUST GO ROOM TO ROOM WITH THE PRESCRIPTION PAD.
    SORry abt caps. too near the 'a'.

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  23. I think doctors are so prone to write prescriptions because a) they think that's what we want and b) they don't know what's wrong with us and just want us to go away peacefully. My doctor rags on me about cholesterol every time I go. I took Lipitor for awhile, nobody told me it reacted with grapefruit, and that's when I started having horrific muscle spasms in my back. Every doctor I've mentioned that to says there's no way Lipitor could cause that and I don't agree. My doctor wants me to have a colonoscopy just because I haven't had one in a long time. That one time was ENOUGH, the preparatory process was sheer misery, irritated my colon, they found the spots of irritation in my colon, which they said was just that, but every time I changed insurance companies after that, they claimed I had colon problems and didn't want to insure me.

    Most recently I began to lose vision because of epi-retinal degeneration problems. I had cataract surgery first and then the retinal surgery. Both surgeries went well and I've regained vision in that one eye. But the eye drops I had to use both times, I could taste after they were administered. They gave me a sore throat. Now I seem to have acid reflux. I tried Prilosec, which doesn't require a prescription and when my two weeks were over I went off, like the directions said. I had really bad chest pains for the whole morning. I just laid down on the bed and said, "I'm ready, God, whenever you want me". Have not used Prilosec again, have not had any chest pain since but I still deal with a sore throat. Can't drink coffee now. Doesn't hurt at night and I wake up without it. Just builds during the day. Feels like the roof of my mouth, back towards my throat, has been sprinkled with pepper. I'm not sure if it's really acid reflux or something else, caused by the eye drops. Haven't used them in several months now but the sore throat persists. I dread going to the doctor, they won't know what it is, won't want to believe it's something caused by eye drops, and will just write a prescription. But the bad thing is I've just had one eye done and probably this next month I'll be ready for cataract surgery on the other eye. Here we go, on those drops again....

    My brother was a trucker and he delivered chemicals. He took the same tank to the cola beverage plant that he took to the weed killer plant.

    Anyway, I've been learning a lot, reading your posts this morning. I'm up in the NE part of Oklahoma, in Bartlesville. Hope you didn't get hit by any storms last night.

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    1. Our storms weren't as bad as those up in your neck of the woods, Ilene, thank you for your concerns.

      We have learned a lot about the chemicals that surround us in the last few years. Sometimes it's aggravating and depressing. But more than anything, it just makes us learn more about healthy ways to take care of ourselves. Thank you for sharing.

      Fern

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