A New Adventure in Learning

Today, I begin a new adventure in exploring, learning and sharing. Since my journey with the black beast began, I have received life saving (at least I hope so) medications and treatments and surgeries to make the beast retreat and hopefully never return. However, I live in the real world and know he can show his ugly face at anytime.

During these last 2 years my body has been filled with the most offensive toxic sludge that a body could absorb without dying from the treatment. I refused, at every new curve in the road to recovery, to give in to the black beast or to let him define me. Even though I felt like death itself, I got up, I got dressed and I got on with life, only missing once month of work while receiving daily doses of IV Interferon.

As is true for all conventional medicine, they are all toxic to the body. That said, they have beneficial side effects to warrant their use. For example, HCTZ (Hydrochlorothiazide) rids the body of fluid. It is, however, not selective in this action. So along with the fluid, essential electrolytes that the body cannot live without are also eliminated. All of this action, just by what it does, lowers blood pressure and helps control edema (swelling). The beneficial side effects of this drug, for some patients, can warrant the risk of their use. Education is essential to every patient to know the risks, the benefits and how to minimize the depletion of these life saving electrolytes. This is but one example of the multitude to toxic side effects that conventional medication can produce. Have you ever listened to a TV commercial about the drug of the month and decided after hearing all of the possible side effects, that maybe you would think twice about using it…. I know I have.

I live between two very separate and very valid thought processes. As most of you know, I am a member of the established conventional healthcare industry. I believe in it with my heart and soul, being the first to suggest a medication to a patient that I think might be beneficial. But, after becoming a patient during a life altering, life threatening disease and subsequent treatment, I have opened my mind to the possibility that maybe there exists a path that would make conventional medicine more tolerable. My interest in herbal remedies was piqued many years ago while reading a Nursing publication that spoke about studies of the use of the spice Tumeric as an herbal relief for arthritic pain and the pain and fatigue associated with EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) also considered by many as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This little tidbit of information was stored in the recesses of my mind and surfaced from time to time when new information regarding this herb and many more started to flood the media.  

I do not embark on this new path lightly. I have studied the alternatives that are available, for the last 6 months. This new investigation began as a last ditch effort for my own healing purposes. After 11 surgeries consisting of 5 wide lesion excision, all at least 6 inches long, and 6 deep cryosurgical procedures (deep freezing after anesthesia), my body’s healing abilities were non-existent.  During this search, at a time when I had open, oozing wounds, an opportunity arose to try an herbal mixture with a base of shea butter to aide in healing.  The herb that was infused in the shea butter was cannabis. After just 7 days, a wound that resisted healing for 8 weeks was now on it’s way to a full healing.

 

The above pictures are the day of surgery, 8 weeks after surgery, 5 days after starting cannabis cream and finally, 2 weeks after beginning cannabis cream and totally healed.

During this time, my Dermatologist noticed 5 areas on my face that were highly suspicious for being BCC (basal cell carcinoma). Unfortunately, the treatment for the black beast opens the door and turns on the light switch for BCC and SCC (squamous cell carcinoma) to flourish. And I’ve had them all. My Doctor wanted me to use a highly toxic cream to remove them from my face. Now, again, those of you that already know me, know that I work in a very busy medical practice, tending to hundreds of patients a week. And I am also sure that most of you have seen the vivid horrible results of using this cream. Recently, a picture of a girl who used it went viral on social media to raise awareness of the dangers of the sun.  My resounding response to this suggested treatment was NO WAY.  The resulting appearance devastation was one factor in my negative response, cemented by the possibility of local lesion infection. Being highly analytical, I thought that maybe, if the Shea butter herbal mixture could perform so spectacularly on an open wound, maybe it could help heal the lesions on my face.  I shared this thought with my Doctor and she agreed to postpone intervention until we could analyze the result of using this cream for a period of time. As previously stated, I have 5 areas on my face ranging from pea sized to quarter sized lesions. The most problematic being the quarter sized lesion on my right cheek. It was very red, very tender to touch and down right ugly. So, I started using this Shea butter cream on my face once a day.  After application I would vigorously massage the cream into the lesion. As I sit here writing this journal, I am now 5 months into using the cream. It has not cured these areas or made them disappear, however, the quarter- sized area on my right cheek has decreased in size. It is now half the size of a dime and no longer red and angry.  

I use this as an example of my own isolated experience, as my own reality. I am not suggesting that conventional treatment is out of the question. But if I can postpone invasive surgical procedures for as long as possible, I feel I have achieved my goal.

It is with this lone experience and it’s surprising result that initiated my quest for learning more about what herbs, the gifts of the earth, could offer. After purchasing at least 10 books by different authors to see if there was a common knowledge base and common thought process, I started to identify similar stories and similar techniques by all of the renowned herbalists that I studied. To be sure, as is true in any quest for knowledge, there are central facts that hold fast and then there are fringe ideas that to most would make a conventional thinker shake her head. Even the fringe ideas can merit examination in the full spectrum of investigation. Although foreign to most of our conventional educational base, the powers of earth’s gifts in theory and in essence must be considered.

At this point, definitions of the available herbal preparations would be helpful to the reader.  A tincture is an alcohol based liquid derived from steeping herbs in the alcohol for an extended period of time. There are many different ratios for this formula. Most however are made with 100 proof vodka. These combinations are achieved mathematically via W/V (weight by volume) calculations. Dried herbs are made with a 1:4 W/V and fresh herbs are made with a 1:2 W/V.

To the lay -person this might seem like an insurmountable task. It just so happens though that I have been actively working with W/V formulas for the last 35 years. All of the allergy medications that I make for my patients and use to test my patients are achieved using the W/V methodology.  So this portion of my investigation was actually a relief and relatively easy to achieve. Herbal oil is achieved by steeping herbs in organic oils for a set period of time. The oils used can be olive oil, almond oil or coconut oil.  This is usually a 1:1 W/V meaning equal amounts of herbs and oil. Each herb used in oil will treat a very specific symptom. Herbal remedies do not strive to cure a disease but instead treat the symptoms caused by a disease to allow the body to heal itself. As with oils, creams can also be infused with herbs and applied to the skin for surface treatment.

After investing a substantial amount of money on books and after careful reading and note taking, I decided to enter the next level of investigation. I happened on what felt like a vivid sign that maybe my investigation was meant to be. While vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, as we do often while enjoying the beauty of the island, we were also enjoying the goods and crafts at a local farmers market. It was a gorgeous day and happily we tried foods and bought flowers and hand made goods by the local artisans. A lovely woman from the island manned the last display I visited. She was selling herbal tinctures, oils and selling books. I quickly scooped up the books as she was closing her booth for the day. When I turned the books over to read about the nationally renowned author, I realized that the lovely woman was the author of the books and the maker of the tinctures and oils. She graciously signed the books and I departed without buying any of the tinctures or oils as she had already packed them in anticipation of her departure.

This happened on the first day of a week long vacation which gave me 7 days to study in depth the contents of her books and her knowledge of the plants that she harvests on the Vineyard.  After leaving the island, I was wishing that I had purchased some of her tinctures and oils and luckily noticed that she had a website.

Again, for those of you who don’t know me, I am a realist at heart and somewhat of a doubting Thomas. I need things to be proven to me before I will throw myself head first into an endeavor.  That said, I strongly felt that this was something that I wanted and yes, needed to explore. If by any stretch of the imagination it could provide the knowledge and information useful in alleviating just one side effect of the toxins still residing in my body, I would invest my time and resources to take it to the next level of investigation.  So, I purchased 2 dropper vials of tincture, one to aid in better sleep and one for the reduction of stress. I also ordered a tin of herbal tea to be used at night as a calmative.  Each dropper vial contained 2 ounces of tincture and the container of tea was a combination of herbs and dried flowers that weighed 1.75 ounces. The cost of these three products was $92.00. I include the cost to give one piece of evidence that helped me to decide to produce these products myself.

2 weeks after placing my Internet order for the tinctures and tea it arrived safe and sound. To say that I was anxious to try it is a huge understatement. So after dinner and the cleanup were completed I made a cup of tea with the herbal mixture and followed the directions on the bottle of tincture for more restful sleep.  As any other post menopausal woman, from time to time I suffer from insomnia and to me this would be the easiest symptom to be able to evaluate the efficacy of the nighttime tincture. Again, I had no pre-conceived conclusions regarding the strength and efficacy of this tincture.

I continued to read as I do most evenings until about a half hour after I had taken the tincture in a small amount of water, when my eyes started to be very heavy. I thought to myself that it was all in my head. Well, it was not in my head. I was very drowsy and knew that I needed to go to bed. I slept through the night and awoke well rested. Thinking that this was either a placebo effect or just my force of will, I tried it again the next night. Yep, that’s right, 30 minutes after taking the tincture I needed to go to bed. I have only taken this tincture a few times since, when I felt I needed it, but each and every time it worked the exact same way.  The tea mixture is delicious and also works well as a calmative after a busy day.

After having the exact same response to the tincture with each use, I thought that this might be a viable remedy and a basis for further study. I started to research herbs and their actions and indications and developed a list of the most beneficial products for the symptoms I was studying, narrowing the list down to 23 herbs.  I placed an order for these herbs from Mountain Rose Herbal website where all of their products are certified organic. This was a substantial expense but I knew that if I wanted to grow in my herbal journey that it was necessary. To give you a rough idea of the cost, it is as follows: herbs were approximately $300.00, the ball jars were $22.00 and the vodka was $16.99 per bottle, I purchased 10 bottles. So approximately $500.00 paid for all the supplies and herbs etc. So, ok…. let’s play with math for a moment. Keep in mind that the 2 bottles of tincture and the loose tea cost $92.00.

To make the tincture with the price of the herb and the price of the alcohol using the most expensive herb and the least expensive herb I came to the average price per half ounce, which is usually the amount, used in herbal mixtures. The average cost per half ounce is $0.87.  When you compare the price of a 2ounce vial of tincture, which averages $30.00, the effort to make your own is well worth the time taken. Not to mention, I have a great need to control the ingredients and the process of production. In doing it myself I know that the jars have been sterilized, that the alcohol is 100 proof and that aseptic technique has been maintained throughout the preparation at every step.  It took approximately 6 hours to make the herbal mixtures, this included clean up time.  These 23 herbal tinctures will be combined depending on their specific actions to treat a whole host of symptoms from headaches to muscle soreness, fatigue, insomnia, arthritic pain and focus of thought. Again, this will be done slowly and the dose will be started very low and increased in very small amounts until the effective dose is achieved. I have purchased these individual herbs with the health and wellness of my family in mind. I have taken meticulous notes and have written a journal that chronicles the supplies, suppliers, the herb’s name both scientific and popular name. I have noted each herb’s use and conditions it could benefit. I have also been very selective as to what I would delve into. Having a very good sense of what I am comfortable doing and uncomfortable with, I will not cross my internal line. So I have stayed away from anything that affects the heart or blood pressure. I still believe that conventional medications must be used for these.

While being introspective, I find that I regret that I am now 63. Not because I miss my youth because I don’t.  The advancing years brings to reality the finite time left to learn and expand my knowledge base. If I long for youth, it is merely to have the opportunity and the time necessary to examine the miracles of the body and the bounty of Mother Earth.

I will keep you posted on the tinctures completion, which will be approximately around Halloween. And will report the efficacy of this endeavor. This is undertaken with the hope that if it is worthwhile for the family, that with my notes, this art will endure after I have left this earth.