My goal is to have a better year, health wise and socially. Socially? I miss my friends and family. I really hate living in a bubble. I’ve become more sensitive to chemical fumes and additional foods in the last six months and I desperately need and want the sensitivy to go away. I realize it will probably take a while but I need some hope that it will happen. In order to accomplish my goals, I will need help to figure out what is going on inside my body. Unfortunately, I have no help from my MD so I decided to begin reading and wading through the many websites in internet land. 90% of the information was useless but I did find some intriguing ideas that seem to fit me, my past situation over the last 18 months and my current state of unfortunate pain. My typical tricks to stop the swelling madness have failed me and I realize those tricks were only masking the real problem, not fixing it.
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Now this may be more information than some of you might want…so I recommend that you stop reading NOW. Seriously. For those of you that are experiencing any of the following symptoms, I would encourage you to continue reading; maybe you will see an idea or perhaps you can share an idea with me. My symptoms include:
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- Extreme insomnia
- Chronic fatigue
- Discolored patches on my skin
- Localized, sharp pain over my right eye
- Sharp pain in my abdomen and stomach
- Itchy skin that refuses to go away
- Abdominal pain and severe swelling
- Distended stomach and abdomen
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Persistent back pain (particular between my shoulder blades and in the kidney area)
- Loss of appetite (which is not good consider I’m still nursing the Yipiyuk)
- Pale stool color (there it is)
- Severe, chronic constipation (I initially put Diverticulitis here but I’ve never been tested for that…so I thought I would use a more vivid description instead)
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These symptoms, minus the bottom two, are kept under control until I have an exposure to an allergen and subsequent allergic reaction; then everything hits me at once and I am almost incapacitated. I was reading this article concerning “Allergy Effects on the Liver and Colon” and began to wonder if this was happening to me. When I have allergic reactions, I have severe, chronic constipation. My stomach and abdomen become distended and then the other symptoms hit with a vengeance. I’ve been experiencing this for the past week and I am exhausted. I do not want to spend 2012 in the same poor or semi-poor shape of 2011. The article has this to say on the liver and colon during allergic reactions
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“The allergic reaction creates turmoil in the body when antibodies and antigens react, causing mast cells to break up and histamine to be released in large quantities. These adverse chemical reactions result in the body becoming overloaded with toxins which eventually find their way to the colon for elimination. Unfortunately, the constipation, which is so often present in allergy conditions, causes these toxins to remain in the colon. This results in the bile fluids continuously overloading the liver with recirculated toxins from the colon and eventually, the liver may become incapable of coping fully with its detoxifying duties. When this happens, the liver degenerates, the system becomes poisoned and the individual, who has never been well because of masked allergies, now becomes seriously ill.
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The effects, therefore, of allergies, particularly several masked allergies, on the liver, over a period of time, can be extremely serious and cause further severe illness.
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Constipation, which often accompanies food allergies, causes the accumulation of fecal matter in the colon which proceeds to putrify and ferment. Combine this with the additional wastes caused by the body’s continuing allergic responses, and an overloaded toxic situation occurs in the colon, with devastating effects. The colon is faced with the extraction of remaining nutrients from fermenting, toxin-laden rubbish. As a result, polluted nutrients pass back into the bloodstream to aggravate further the allergy condition.”
If this is actually happening to me then I need to do something about it, now. The article did not mention a remedy for the above situation so the search continued. After a few additional weeks of research I came across this website (this site has an alternative approach). It talks about the the benefits of completing a gallbladder flush. I was a bit hesitant of attempting a gallbladder flush while I am nursing the Yipiyuk but I think it would be in my best interest and indirectly her best interest for me to be healthier. This decision was not made lightly, it was frought with these thoughts:
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“What if she reacts to my detoxing?”
“What if she has severe diarrhea and becomes dehydrated? I can’t give her pedialyte…it’s all corn”
“What if….fill in the blank”
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I’ve done additional reading on the function of the liver and complications a person can have if their liver is compacted or not functioning correctly. Here are a list of symptoms associated with liver problems from the Mayoclinic. You can also follow this link to see symptoms of gallstones.
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“Signs and symptoms of liver problems include:
- Discolored skin and eyes that appear yellowish
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- Itchy skin that doesn’t seem to go away
- Dark urine color
- Pale stool color
- Bloody or tar-colored stool
- Chronic fatigue
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite”
According to the Mayoclinic Gallbladder flushes are useless. You should instead go to your doctor to talk about removing the gallbladder, medication, bile salt tablets (why not use epsom salt?), and sound wave therapy. Some individuals will have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain during the flush and cleansing period…most people are already experiencing this. I know I am. I cannot enter my doctors office without illness and dizziness, so unfortunately sound wave therapy may not be an option for me. I have no interest in another surgery with corny IVs, corny Intravenous medication, corny tape, latex gloves, and corny food. I honestly cannot afford any more compounded medications, the insurance does not cover it at all. They also mention that “the gallstones” expelled are actually bits of the olive oil. I did some reading and individuals were able to expel gallstones without the use of the olive oil drink. That was promising, for me at least. I realize herbal mixtures aren’t scientific, to some, but I have had more success with herbal mixtures than I had with all of the corn laden medications my doctors gave me over the years. Medications that I had severe allergic reactions to and was prescribed, erroneously, again and again. My family has a history of gallstones, food allergies (even though they won’t admit to it), and diverticulitis/severe and chronic constipation. This may seem like a risky assumption but I am going to move forward with the corn free herbs, gallbladder flush and hope for a reduction in my symptoms and a reduction in food allergy and chemical sensitivity. I am still searching for an organic epsom salt….
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So, I’m literally starting the new year off with a bang! We are hoping to have a better handle on my allergies, the Yipiyuk’s allergies and allergic reactions. Wish us luck!
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Here are a few additional sites concerning signs of liver problems.
http://liver-disease-symptoms.com/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/22836-early-signs-liver-problems/
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Here are the new morning stretches and exercises I will be doing, hence forth. I am also going to start drinking 1 & 3/4 cups of warm water mixed with 1/4 cup aloe vera juice in the morning on an empty stomach.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EklbLJYUip4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hde8IKLYx0Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEu3yNHiib0&feature=fvwrel
