A Healing Update: Killing the Bad Guys and Strengthening the Good

Mr. Lyme takes his time

My last healing update was over 2 months ago already! I have been faithfully taking what Dr. Phil (my chiropractor) prescribes me, and things are changing slowly but surely. So far I do not notice many changes in my energy level, but that doesn’t surprise me because we are still going at the Lyme disease.

However, I am already noticing some changes! I have been feeling a tad more energetic—which although it’s not a huge difference, any good change is exciting for me. Shows that I am really on the road to healing!

Did you know that there is more than one type of Lyme disease? There are different strains of it, and at least two that I am being treated for: a North American strain and another European type. “Scientists recognize more than a dozen tick-borne diseases in the United States and new ones are still being discovered.”

Lyme disease is greatly debilitating, and can cause so many problems.

How did I even get Lyme disease?

If you know about Lyme disease at all, you probably know it is spread by ticks—those nasty little bugs that just suddenly appear right in front of your face when you least expect them as you go tromping through the woods.

If you get bit by one of these Lyme carrying ticks, then the disease is spread to you. It is an infectious disease caused by at least 3 species of bacteria, which—of course—cause you to become ill.

What if you were never bitten by a tick, but you test conclusive for Lyme disease? I did some research and according to this site: “More recent definitions state that mosquitoes, spiders, fleas and mites may also be capable of spreading the same or similar infections.” (I believe in what this guy writes, since he researches well and has legit resources.)

According to a map on that same site, I have always lived in low-risk areas for contracting Lyme disease. Of course, I do not know how well they have tested my area, so it is possible that they are just unaware of how infested the area is. Who really knows? 

From researching the topic, I have found that Lyme can be passed from a mother to her unborn child still in the womb. Some say that a mother can also pass the Lyme onto her baby through breast feeding (let’s say if after the baby is born the mother develops Lyme disease and continues to breast feed), but there’s not much conclusive evidence in that.

It has also been stated that the Lyme can be passed sexually—which I believe, as this is one way other diseases can be transmitted—but again, it’s not a very sure thing. The main ways of receiving Lyme disease seem to be either by getting bit by a disease carrying tick or insect, or through the umbilical from mother to child.

Since it is possible for a mother to pass on other viruses and infection to an unborn child, then it’s not especially that difficult to perceive how such “hardy” bacterium as those in Lyme disease could be passed on as well. It is the only thing that makes sense in large families that all have the disease.

My chiropractor (who also specializes in natural medicine) has treated whole families with Lyme disease. How possible is it that each person in an entire family gets bitten by one of those ticks or insects? Not extremely likely—especially those who don’t live in high-risk areas. So it makes sense that this infection was passed on from a mother to her child.

I personally suspect that I was born with the Lyme bacterium already in my system. It makes conclusive sense in all my years of a low immune system, and all the other symptoms I have had through the years. There are other factors though, to this as well, as I will get in to below.

I'd be interested to know if a mother has it, if she passes it on to every single one of her children. There are probably a lot of other environmental and lifestyle factors that play a role in this, but I would suspect that in some cases some of the kids get it and some of them don’t.

Symptoms vs. None

It is true that two different people could have Lyme, but only one of them has the symptoms.

I personally have some very good friends whose own sister has been struggling with fatigue and health problems for years. Like me, she was tested for everything possible, and even the Lyme test came back negative. After being tested again recently, she found out she really did have the Lyme disease all along, and the test results were just inaccurate. (I don’t hold much trust in the conventional medical testing after all the inaccurate testing and money wasted in my own experience. It’s much more accurate, simpler and quicker to just get answers directly from the body, and in my opinion, makes much more sense.)

Because of the diagnosis, her sisters (whom I am very close to) got tested as well, and not surprisingly, they tested positive. They themselves have had a few food allergies and other minor health issues over the years, but compared to their sister—or me—it’s like comparing dead dogs to dogs that can fly.

So what makes one person extremely ill and fatigued, and the next person have hardly any symptoms at all? As Dr. Josh Axe states in his article, the real causes of chronic Lyme disease with incapacitating symptoms are:

1.    Weakened immunity

2.    Inhibited cellular function and protection

3.    Systemic bacterial infection

4.    Environmental factors including exposure to mold and parasites 

In my case, this is what has been going on with me:

1.    Weakened immunity

Ever since I was born, my system and body have been exceptionally sensitive to the world and stimuli. I am what they call a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), someone who has a “sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment.”  - Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. (I’ll write more on this later.)

I am also Empathic—which in essence means that I can not only feel others emotions easily, but I take them into myself and I tend to feel and experience them as well. (I’ll write more on this later as well.) Hence, not only am I experiencing my own feelings/emotions/conflicts, but also others around me as well.

With an overload of stimuli—and other people’s negative energy—my body then tends to accumulate more trapped emotions, blockages, energetic imbalances, etc., and in order to compensate, I have built many, many heart walls in the process. With all this extra negative emotional energy and other energetic imbalances, my immune system has constantly had an extra load to deal with.

Next, because I believe I was born with the Lyme disease, this was an additional stress on my immune system from the moment of birth.

With a suppressed immune system from the very beginning, I easily picked up bugs along the way. With each ear infection, Strep infection, or what have you, I got a dose of antibiotics. And with each dose of antibiotics, my gut flora was wiped out.

Your gut health is directly related to your overall health and immune system. Those little guys in your gut, they are a huge defense army in there ready to ward off the bad guys and protect you. But if they aren’t replenished after you deliberately kill them off, then your protection against invaders is greatly diminished.

I could go on and on, but then I’d have a complete novel here, and that’s not the point.

Another thing: vitamin D is especially helpful in boosting your immune system. Not only do I live in a region of the world where we only get adequate, full-body sunlight 3 months out of the year, but Lyme also feeds off of vitamin D, and therefore can hog it all. (This is why it’s not smart to take vitamin D while you have Lyme disease, because while it’s good for you and you are probably low in it, it feeds the Lyme, which is not the point at the moment. Or ever, obviously.)

2.    Inhibited cellular function and protection

“The Lyme bacteria along with viruses and parasites can attack your cells and weaken your defenses.” - Dr. Axe

There’s one obvious reason why my cellular function would be inhibited.

Another gigantic reason, I believe, is because of my energy imbalances. (More on that later.) When you go smaller than cellular level, you eventually come to molecules, then atoms, and of course, protons and electrons. Even smaller than that, all that there is at the most basic level is vibrating energy. I could—easily—write a whole post on that alone, but I will avoid the temptation for the moment.

Since everything is made out of energy, if you have disturbances, blockages and imbalances in your energy, than your very makeup is suffering—right down to the cellular level. Your entire health will be impaired, and you will not feel as good as your full potential would allow if things were balanced. Muscle testing—as well as symptoms—show I have many imbalances and the like, which I am working on correcting with Energy Medicine. 

What Dr. Axe writes about cellular function (in the afore mentioned article) is so, so, so interesting to me, because these are all nutrients that I have really benefited from! 

“B-Complex vitamins support cellular function and help fight infections and improve neurological health.  Vitamin B-6 is especially important for lyme patients.”

B-complex—as you may recall if you have read any previous entries—is what I consider my most important vitamin to take. I started taking it for migraines, but it has helped me in numerous ways that I hardly remember, since I have been taking them for so long. If there was one vitamin I would dread living without, it’d be this one hands down.

What I remember it helps me with:

-          Migraines

-          Headaches

-          Sensitivity to bright lights

-          Anxiety

-          Temper/mood/sanity

-          Energy

“Omega-3 fatty acids are highly anti-inflammatory and support cellular and neurological function…”

I have been taking omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil capsules for a couple years now. These are the ways they have affected me:

-          Concentration

-          Alertness

-          Fixed my dry eyes

-          Reduce PMS symptoms

-          Add energy

-          Helps with my complexion

-           

And there may be more that I am unaware of.

“…magnesium can support cellular function and turmeric can protect your cells and reduce inflammation which can be helpful in treating lyme disease.”

Oh, my dear magnesium. If it weren’t for this wondrous mineral, I’d be dreading my monthly periods like heck. As long as I’m diligent about taking magnesium, my periods go pretty smoothly. If not, I suffer with:

-          Achy legs

-          Short temper/very emotional

-          Even lower energy

-          Food cravings, especially for chocolate (which itself is a source of magnesium)

A couple other issues I’d have on a daily basis without magnesium:

-          Tension headaches (there were other sources as well, but this is a big one I believe)

-          Charlie horse cramps in my feet and calves (generally in the middle of the night)

And there could be more that I’m unaware of.

Those two things above were daily pains I used to dread. One simple fix and I now never have muscle cramps! I know that a huge part of my tension headaches were due to my crappy diet I had before, but I’m sure the magnesium played a role as well.

“CoQ10 can protected your brain and nervous system from degradation and improve cellular function.  Heart biopsies done on lyme patients showed they are deficient in this essential nutrients.  Most physicians recommend taking 200mg 2x daily.”

I had read in my Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome book by Dr. Lam a long time ago about CoQ10, but for some reason I kind of forgot about it and never took any. He has so much information on so many different supplements; I wasn’t sure exactly what I should take, so I just took what my doctor—at the time—prescribed.

I just got a bottle of it the other day, so that will be added to my daily supplement list. This is what I take every day:

-          B-complex, time released (taken in the morning, as it’s energizing)

-          P-5-P (an activated form of B-6. Muscle testing at my chiropractor shows my body needs this.)

-          500 mg magnesium (taken at night, as it’s calming)

-          Between 1,000 and 3,000 omega-3 (it would depend on your diet how much will be good for you. Of course I would recommend a healing diet of lots of good fat, moderate protein, good carbs from veggies and fruit, no refined sugar, processed food, or grains; basically the Paleo diet, but of course muscle testing foods to see what your body specifically will benefit from, or what it would do best without.)

-          Grape seed extract, as an antioxidant (again, a strong ‘yes’ when muscle testing)

-          2,000-4,000 mg Vitamin C, more if I feel a cold or sickness coming on

-          CoQ10 (haven’t established a dose yet)

-          15 billion blend UltraFlora Balance probiotic, 2 capsules per day (was taking a different kind for the last 2 weeks for my candida issue)

-          Whatever herbs my chiropractor prescribes at the time. Venus Flytrap is what I am using for the European version of Lyme. We had used Teasel for the North American strain a couple months ago, but so far we haven’t had to add it back into the program.

3.    Systemic bacterial infection

This is definitely one I can relate to. As a young kid growing up, I was very susceptible to ear infections and Strep throat. Of course—as is the custom with modern, Western doctors—I was given a bottle of antibiotics that not only killed the infection (some of the time), but also wiped out the good. They’re called anti-biotics for a reason—biotic itself a word derived from a Greek word meaning “life”. They literally kill not only the bad bacteria, but also the good.

Working with Dr. P (my chiropractor), it has become obvious that my parasitic load is quite large. We are still working to get rid of them all, but I believe we are starting to get to the bottom of it all.

As it goes with the body, every time you muscle test to find out what’s going on, the body prioritizes what is the most important at the time, and doesn’t always reveal everything right away. Even if something is revealed, the body won’t always allow you to work at getting rid of it right them. Instead, it takes the issue(s) that are the most problematic at the time and ‘allows you’ to treats those first. It truly is amazing how the body always knows best!

  

Of the things I can remember, here’s what we have kicked in addition to working on the Lyme disease (some of the food allergies I am taking herbs for still):

-          H. Pylori

-          Multiple bacteria that feed off of dairy, wheat, soy, black beans, walnuts, peanuts, pecans and potatoes

-          Candida overgrowth

-          An infection in the gall bladder

-          An infection in the bowels

-          Strep (one of the two kinds—the type they don’t treat at the doc’s)

And there may be more that I just can’t think of at the moment, which is very possible because there has been so much already it’s hard to keep track of it all.

When all the Lyme, parasites and bad bacteria are cleared, I will for sure continue to care for myself and do all I can to keep my immune system strong.

4.    Environmental factors including exposure to mold and parasites

As far as I know, I have not had too much exposure to molds and such. Parasites we are working on now, as I already mentioned. My weak immune system and lack of gut flora allowed these buggers to take root and stay.

One environmental factor would be the crap diet I had before. For a year my body was over-reactive to environmental matters, and I believe this was because I was eating things that my system couldn’t handle. Because I was getting minor allergic reactions to foods, my body was producing histamines. When your body does that, it begins to react to random things in your environment as well, and for a long time I would get allergic reactions to pollen and cleaners. (I’m still sensitive to chemicals and have to hold my breath when they’re around, but I may always just be more sensitive to harsh smells.)

So yes, that is looooong, and I still have more to talk about! I know this won’t interest many people, but I hope someday someone else who is going through the same thing can find something helpful in all this, and also feel encouraged that they aren’t the only one going through the ordeal.

I myself love reading other peoples stories and progress, and if there is anyone else out there who feels the same, then I want to give them what I like seeing from others.

I am going to end this post before it turns into a week’s worth of reading. Count on more posts soon though, because I have much more to tell! I’ll be writing about heart walls, trapped emotions, energy medicine, Highly Sensitive Persons and empathy. So get ready to hear about some very old healing methods, which may seem like a very radical approach to healing from the usual customs, but are actually the most natural and back to basics as you can go.

‘Til next time!

Love,

Linnaia

Dr. Axe's site: info on Lyme disease



- Sorry for the white splotchy spots...I can't figure out how to change it :(

Answers!

A Diagnosis

Today was my chiropractor appointment. Sitting there in the waiting room, I suddenly got awfully nervous. Any time I am going into an unknown situation, I get anxiety. Particularly if it involves doctors—I’m not sure why. Going to the chiropractor is a lot different than most doctor visits though, and you find out answers a million times faster (as long as your body wants to reveal facts), yet still I get sick butterflies before.

The appointment went great, and I found out a lot; more than I expected.

Guess what? I do have h. pylori. I DO! I feel like I have found the final answer to everything. It makes complete sense in every single way.

We were also able to pick up a parasite, as well a certain strain of Lyme. It was brought to light that I need to avoid wheat (like I have been), oats, dairy and soy. I had already figured I would have to remove dairy from my diet (because h. pylori feeds off of it), so I didn’t buy any dairy products when I went shopping last. I will end up eating more fruits and veggies because of that I’m sure.

I laughed all the way home from the chiropractor’s. Anyone else who has had any type of chronic illness will know exactly how I was feeling! When you go so long without concrete answers to your problems—problems that keep you from experiencing life to its fullest—that when you finally get an answer that yes, something IS wrong that you can fix, you can’t help but feel overjoyed.

While I danced around back at my apartment, a cluster of blissful “thank you”-s continued to tumble out of my giggling, cheeky grin. I felt so grateful in that moment. I knew this day would come—and it did!

Where are my doubts?

I have tried many things in the last few, troubling years. Many things helped, some not so much.

I have gotten answers before—answers that just ended up being a result of another unknown cause. A deficiency here, an imbalance there. We’d fix the problem, and the biggest symptom (fatigue) would stay the same.

Remember when I wrote this? :

“I am still in the early stages of working on reflex integration and learning about it, but I really do believe I have finally found the answer to my problems. I have been learning to trust my instincts, gut feelings and whatever intuition I have over the last year, and whenever I have a feeling about something nowadays, I’m usually right.”

Obviously I wasn’t completely cured after getting my reflexes integrated. So what if this is just another one of those answers, which has another big, underlying cause to it?

That is one fear that every now and then pokes its ugly head into my face, and sobs for attention. Well now is my moment to kill him into the dirt.

The Way I See It

There were no “things” I could have done differently to get me further ahead than I am today. God has a plan for each and every person; and while we are given our brains to make our own choice, God is still at the head of the line, and every outcome in our lives happen exactly as they are meant to.

Why my progress has been debilitating and slow can only be for my own good. I feel like I have gotten 15 years smarter in the last three years—maybe not in Trigonometry or Business Law, but in things that actually matter a whole lot in life. And about our main goal in Life: happiness. And also natural healing (can’t forget that one!).

Each time in the past when I was given another clue as to what was causing my health problems, I was still at a point in life where I didn’t know where I wanted to be, or who I was.

I felt like I was beholden to other people and I had to please others. I was such a perfectionist that if I didn’t feel like I could do something perfectly, I wouldn’t even start it in the first place.

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with my life, and I thought there was a problem with that. I felt like life was passing me by, while I was stuck in the mud and couldn’t move forward.

What has changed? A butt load, that’s what.

I know where I want to be: exactly where I am. I have come to know myself quite well, and I now have goals and things to look forward to; I no longer feel afraid of the future.

I now no longer try to please others. The real truth is that no matter how hard you try, you will never please those critics who are never satisfied with anything. Those who are like that have deeper issues with themselves than you can imagine, and since they not only feel like they aren’t good enough, they have a tendency to make others feel like they aren’t either. Now that I understand that, I know that whatever I do is ENOUGH.

I now have a pretty good idea on the things I want to do during my life. I realize I have always wanted to do them, but now they feel like plans, not merely dreams. I am also completely satisfied with the knowledge that my plans could change at any time—for whatever reason I might decide that I want to do something else instead.

I have done things that I never would have done four months ago, such as starting this blog. I am definitely more certain of myself than before, and yet while I still have a little ways to go, I know that a lot of my anxiety and worries are caused by my h. pylori (and the other things).

I definitely have to give a lot of credit to Myra Moyryla, who has helped me so much in not only integrating my reflexes, but also for correcting other imbalances, removing certain fears, and for all her little but profound and insightful pep-talks.

There was without a doubt a multilayered reason why I was to go to her. And I do not regret the time it took for me to get to the answers I got today—it did not take away from my healing process: it was a big part of it. Healing does not happen solely in the physical body. I feel it must happen in the mind and spirit as well, which did indeed happen for me.

My theory as to why the answers didn’t appear sooner while muscle testing at the chiropractor, is because my body wasn’t ready to work on this part of the healing yet. I think correcting my reflexes has helped in moving things along, but also my attitude and the removal of a lot of fear. Also, the body can become overloaded with too many things to work on at once; and soon before the long break I took from the chiropractor, I had just gotten rid of a parasite, was focusing on eating without the foods I was sensitive to, and I had a lot of active Moro and Fear Paralysis reflexes going on.

I won’t pretend to know all the answers; I don’t. But if I’ve ever been certain of anything in my life, I am certain now that I have touched down on some tremendous answers, and am starting on the pathway to some major healing. I will patiently wait for all the good that is to come!

And I am Thankful

Everyone has their trials in this life. Pretty much every being has at least one big, troubling, and difficult trial that is exceedingly challenging to overcome. And yet while I feel like most other people have their biggest tests later in life, I see it as a blessing that this particular hardship in my life came while I am still young.

I may have missed out on some “fun” in my teen years, but I have gained so much more than any of those exciting times could have given me.

I have found a strong passion for pure, natural, primal health. A deep ambition to live life to its fullest, to follow my dreams, and to do whatever brings me the most happiness.

I have learned that Life isn’t about being the smartest, being the wealthiest, or climbing the “ladder” to be at the top of whatever job field you have entered. It’s not about the money. It’s not about the rat-race.

I have learned that your self-confidence and self-esteem shouldn’t be placed in any physical attributes or intelligence. You should know that you are worthy of happiness and any possible thing—simply because you ARE. You are one of Gods children—a human being made perfect in your own exact way, and no matter how you look, no matter how smart you are, no matter about anything at all, other than the fact that you were made by God, and you are worthy simply because you are here.  

It’s not about settling for one thing in life—bouncing around from one thing to the next is not really that bad: do as many things as you’d like. There is no reason you can’t change your mind and quit whatever you are doing in the middle of it, to turn around and start doing something else completely different. Why finish something if it just feels like it’s dragging you down? I have learned to just stop and access, and say, “This isn’t bringing me happiness, and I can’t afford to waste any more time of this precious life on this any longer,” and quitting it as soon as I can. It’s not called being a quitter, it’s called being smart and choosing what you spend your time on wisely.

The truth is that we are put on this earth to be happy. We are given trials, yes, but they are here for us to learn from, to help us grow wiser, to make us stronger, and to make the good times better.

I am grateful that this trial of mine was given to me at the time it was. And that every second of pain, suffering, and sweat happened with God by my side.

Moving Forward

I started my new protocol today, of killing off the bad guys that have put up camp inside me. I will continue with my detox baths, sauna, healthy eating, and the like. I hope to start doing 20 minutes of healing yoga, qi gong or snowshoeing per day—something that won’t break me down.

At this very moment though, it is getting late, so off to bed for me! I have work at 7:45 tomorrow morning, so goody-dum-day, I got to be a ‘going now.

Love,

Linnaia

H. Pylori: A Deep Suspicion

H. Pylori

I have been doing a lot of research lately. Last week I watched four hours of video on h. pylori (one of the most common infections in the world), and did hours of reading/research as well.

How I got onto h. pylori (helicobacter pylori) was a little by chance. I was reading this blog, which is written by a girl about my age. She also has chronic fatigue, digestive issues, etc., plus more problems than me. Sooo many of our issues are the same however, and our stories are eerily the same—right down to being crabby babies, very sensitive as kids, ear infections and lots of antibiotics, and our “unexplainable” problems starting at age 12. Even stranger is that we are both super short—she’s only 5 feet tall! Put another ¾ of an inch on me, and we’d be the same height.

So anyway, I was like “Wow, if we have so much in common, it’s possible we have similar causes to our problems,” and so I pretty much read her entire blog.

Like me, doctors are unable to find out what is causing her problems. So also like me, she does a ton of research—reading books, blogs, doctor’s pages, studies, etc.—to try and become educated in hopes of finding the answers herself.

When I do research, I make sure my information is coming from a reputable source. If I am reading from some random person’s blog, I make sure they have trustworthy resources so that I can see that the information is true and factual. I have noticed that she does the same thing, and I believe what she writes. I am so grateful of everything she has written and shared, because #1, I probably wouldn’t have heard about it if she hadn’t written and posted her material, and #2, then I don’t have to do quite as much research.

When I read her blog post “The Truth About H. Pylori”, I thought, this is me! I have to learn more NOW. I had never heard about it before (what? how?), and something about it resonated deeply within me.

After watching the (quite long) videos she linked to, I felt even surer that what I have is h. pylori. It would explain EVERYTHING to a T: my vitamin B deficiency, low stomach acid, low pancreatic enzyme production, the almost zilch amount of probiotics in my gut, SAM-E (and other neurotransmitter) deficiency, migraines, headaches, leaky gut (which itself caused food allergies, environmental allergies, digestive issues and other symptoms), you get the idea.

H. pylori also close up your detox pathways, so you end up with an overload of toxins (like heavy metals), which themselves cause another host of problems: like thyroid and adrenal issues. All in all, you end up sapped of all energy, and you are left chronically fatigued in addition to an army of other distressing health dilemmas.

Next Steps

First of all, I emailed my chiropractor (who I haven’t been to in a while) and asked if he has had much success in finding and treating h. pylori, plus my concerns about heavy metal poisoning. He answered back that yes, he has been able to successfully treat both h. pylori and chelate heavy metals, and so I immediately made an appointment.

I canceled my appointment with Dr. W., since I feel like just going to my chiropractor doctor is enough right now. One step at a time, darlin’.

That appointment is tomorrow. I am both excited and a little afraid at what we will find. Excited that tomorrow may be the day I find out the answers to my years of health problems, but also afraid that we may come up with nothing. I am just going to let it all go now *poof* and trust that whatever happens, happens for the best and for my own good. Everything will come in due time.

Boxes, orders and food!

I am a little strange; possibly a little wacko as well.

I ordered a bunch of stuff last week, and when it came in I got so excited! Other teen girls—who open their big boxes of clothes—don’t get as excited as me when I open my boxes full of vitamins, coconut oil, clay, Epsom salt, and the like. But I guess that’s to be expected with someone like me: anytime you receive something that is meant to make you feel better, you just get so happy.

Part of my orders

I also went grocery shopping. Since I just got my paycheck from my new job, I was able to go and purchase the bulk items that I hadn’t been able to buy in a long time: bags of nuts, a bunch of different herbal teas, lots of fruit for drying, etc.

Calming, detoxing, and organ supporting teas.

Detoxing

Because I am leery of heavy metals, I am going to start a few different safe and natural detox methods. Bentonite clay baths, Epsom salt baths, oil pulling, and I’m continuing with the Neti Pot and my zapper.

Coconut oil, Epsom salt, and Bentonite clay

I also purchased some charcoal, which will help with digestive problems, allergies, and detox symptoms. I am going to just use this on occasion—when I’m feeling really crappy or am having digestive probs. While it removes excess gas and negative byproducts, it also does remove some good nutrients as well. So be smart when taking charcoal, fellow health nuts!

Last night I took my first clay bath. First of all, the clay wouldn’t mix right. It became slippery and lumpy when I mixed it with water, not muddy and easily spreadable like I thought it would be. I’m not sure how to fix this problem, but maybe I just need to add the water more slowly, and start mixing it with my hands right away. I’ll experiment some more and see if I can figure out the proper technique.

From what I read, Bentonite clay can clog your drain, so it’s good to cover the drain with a strainer of some sort (I didn’t have one so I used a cloth) to catch the chunks, and just allow the loose stuff to go down. Before I even started the tub, the drain wasn’t draining properly, so I was worried that it might become completely clogged by the time I was finished. But guess what? The opposite happened, and the drain became completely unclogged! Like whoa…

However…

Before I even started the tub, I scrubbed the tub out with baking soda and vinegar. So now it’s a mystery as to how the drain became unclogged: from the baking soda and vinegar, or from the clay? Or from a mixture of both? Who knows? But I’m off subject, so rerouting!

I had read of some people leaving a ton of black, sludgy clay at the bottom of the tub after a detoxing clay bath. I only noticed a tiny bit of black sludgy clay—so little that I had to look real close at the bottom of the tub. I’m not sure if that means not many toxins came out of me, or if not that means I’m not very toxic to begin with. Or if I’m reading too much into black sludgy clay. Kooky padoodles, I confuse myself.

I drank a lemonade-iced tea during my bath, and lots of water during and after the bath, as it can make you lose a bit water, salt, minerals and electrolytes. (A sauna does the same thing.) I also took magnesium to replenish the mineral, and while I thought about eating something salty, I wasn’t craving salt so I figured I was fine.

After the bath, I was extremely relaxed and sleepy. My skin was a little dry (clay will do that), so I moisturized my whole body with coconut oil—while swishing with coconut oil at the same time.

I fell asleep almost immediately after I crawled into bed, with my zapper happily zapping away at the bottom of my foot. (I like wearing my zapper to bed, because it makes me have vivid, entertaining dreams. Who knew sleep could be entertaining!)

But when I woke this morning, I had a headache. Oh boy, those dreaded headaches! I was also extremely tired all day, with a ton of brain fog. I was probably dehydrated, but I also suspect it may be a detox symptom. Maybe I just went to bed too late last night, or maybe I didn’t get enough sleep after a detox bath. Maybe I really should have eaten something salty, or maybe, maybe, maybe…

How will I ever know for sure?

Oh, that’s right, I could muscle test.

But you don’t know how to muscle test yourself, Linnaia dear.

True, true…I have yet to figure out how to do the sway test truthfully. And it’s not like there’s always someone around who can muscle test for me. Shucks, shucker poos, cruddy dumpkins. Oh well.

Scalded Tongue Cure

Let me tell you a little story:

Last week, I was busily and contentedly researching natural solutions online, when I had the feeling that I would like a cup of tea. (Yes, I drink tea. And yes, I love it. And no, I don’t drink coffee. Why? ‘Cause I don’t like it, and I can’t handle the caffeine.)

I love these little messages! Hehe, I like quirky things :)

Anywho.

Once my steaming cup of aromatic perfectness was finally steeped to perfection, I picked it up and inhaled its wonderfulness. Then I took a sip, and immediately backwashed. My tongue was scalded like a lobster boiled alive, and it turned just as red. It hurt like the dickens, and boy was I irritated. I felt like weeping tears of sorrow into my cup of now-ruined tea, but of course I soldiered up and decided that a better tactic was to just find a cure for my painful tongue.

I tried the first home remedy I found: pour a spoonful of sugar onto your tongue, wait a few minutes, and spit it out. I was skeptical, but I tried it anyway. Let me tell you, it didn’t work a lick.

Then, out of the depths of my deep intuitive insight, came an inspiring thought like a bolt of lightning from the heavens. (Well, maybe it wasn’t quite so dramatic, but it sounds better that way.) Why not try oil pulling? I thought.

So I did. I melted a tablespoon of coconut oil, and then added a couple drops of tea tree oil (which is good for burns). I swished for 20 minutes, and then spit the remnants into the garbage.

I was shocked at the results. Normally when I burn my tongue, it’s days before it feels better (or so it seems). But after 20 minutes of oil pulling, I was practically cured! The pain was gone, and except for a tiny bit of a “scratchy” feeling, I was back to normal.

Needless to say, I will do this every time I burn my tongue!

Tonight

After I eat something scrumptious and healthy, I am going to take another detox bath, this time with Epsom salt and some Bentonite clay, along with some essential oil. Baths really are super-duper relaxing.

If I get the chance, I will give myself a manicure. Yes, I still bite my nails. I quit for a month, and then relapsed, and lately, filing my nails every day just hasn’t been at the top of my list of priorities. So things are pretty much out of hand at the end of my fingers.

I will then go to bed at a decent hour, and get up and get going tomorrow morning with plenty of time before my appointment. Or at least I hope that will happen.

Love,

Linnaia