HERBALIST - AUGUST

Friday 14th was the day for my postponed appointment with Jan, so I was up, ready and out the door and at the Clinic for 9.55am. I found Jan sat at the reception desk.... she was multi-tasking, as poor Anne, the receptionist, was at the hospital having a chest x-ray.

The first thing, as usual, was a hand over of my food diary sheets and a review of them. Jan took especial note of the symptoms I'd written down after the stomach upset I suffered after starting the slippery elm powder. I'd felt that this was more due to some kind of bug, rather than the powder - Jan thought it was a virus, due to my "feeling as weak as a kitten" afterwards. I'd run out of the digestive capsules I usually take on the Saturday I came home, after my holiday, and it followed that my digestive problems gradually increased during the time that I wasn't taking them. Conclusion for us both: I am definitely much better when taking the capsules, so that will continue. Jan had already ordered in more of said capsules for me but in a larger, more economical sized box, this time.

It was decided that the mix wasn't quite right for me, as my energy levels and moods had been up and down, leaning mostly towards down since my holiday as I've had real problems readjusting to the traffic noise and general bustle, resulting in disturbed sleep - not helped my mood at all: so whilst I needed the calming influence of some of the herbs in the mix to help lower my stress levels before the holiday they seemed to be flattening things off a bit too much afterwards. Plus, as Jan felt I was still recuperating from a virus, she thought adding in some echinacea, as an immune system boost, would be a good idea, along with a little more of the "lifting" herbs. Not too many of those though, as then there would be the risk of me becoming hyper - had enough of that when I had a bad Diet Coke and coffee caffeine habit! LOL

We then agreed it was time to start tackling the Candida gut fungus again, so Candigest capsules were added to my treatment. So my new regime is: on waking and one hour before breakfast take 2 Candigest capsules, half an hour before take 1 L-Glutamine tablet and 2 digestive capsules, just before take 6mls of the new mix medicine and after eating take a Chromium tablet; half an hour before lunch take 1 L-Glutamine and 2 dig. caps, just before 6 mls of med and a Zinc tablet during; a minimum of 2 hours after last eating/an hour before evening meal take 2 Candigest, half an hour before 1 L-Glutamine and 2 dig. caps., just before take 6mls of med and 1 Osteoguard tablet (dairy intolerant, so developed brittle nails through lack of calcium) during; just before bedtime take 1 Acidophilus capsule (to put good bacteria back into my system, replacing the bad bacteria that the Candigest kills off).

Yes, I've written it all down on a reminder list and I've stuck it on the cupboard above the area where I keep my pills and potion........ and I'm definitely going to start rattling as I walk during the next couple of months. LMAO

There's no getting away from it: it's working out expensive, as the NHS doesn't cover any of the cost BUT the increased health improvements I've gained since starting the Candida diet and treatment make the cost well worth it. Not only have I lost weight, which will benefit me long term, but my energy levels are vastly improved, my sleep patterns have improved (though still have the occasional glitch), pain from my arthritic joints has greatly decreased and - the biggest improvement of all - my moods (depression, grief, anger) have lifted greatly. Not only can I now go out of the house on my own again without it being a major issue but my self-confidence and zest for life have returned in spades - it feels like I've finally reclaimed the old me, the person I used to be in my 20's and early 30's. How can you measure all those benefits in the terms of cost/money? Thankfully my DH considers it worth the pain to his wallet as he can literally see the improvements..... though I don't think he's all that keen on the increased enthusiasm for decluttering the house and getting jobs done. ROFL

We also nattered about a few non-health related things along the way, one of them being that Jan has now realised she does need to get out of the town and out into the country and is currently looking at houses in the villages. She showed me details for two properties she was going to look at, both lovely homes with beautiful gardens - one she pointed out and said that she thought of me as soon as she saw it. It was absolutely gorgeous but, much as I'd love to leave this town at some point, am not so keen about remaining in the same area....... I always hoped that, should we ever decide to move - and be able to afford it - we'd go to live in my beloved Cumbria or, failing that, into DH's home county of Derbyshire. Basically, somewhere with lots of fresh air, peace and quiet and lots of decent walking on the doorstep. I'll leave it up to the Universe: if it's meant to be, it'll happen. Meantime I'm enjoying finally getting things sorted here. :0)

I then asked Jan to do the all important weigh in, to which she commented that she hoped it wouldn't depress me. Nope, I felt I needed to know what damage, if any, I'd done. On holiday it was very easy not to pick much between meals, as we were out and about a lot, and felt I'd lost much of what I'd gained beforehand - back home and in a funk it had been really difficult not to keep reaching for the tortilla chips, plus the digestive problems had kicked in big time and I felt bloated and fat. Off we trotted, with Jan stepping on the scales first to check everything was aligned OK...... then it was my turn. Had I done any damage? I couldn't believe it when Jan said "Is that on or below 12stone? I reckon it's below". Looking down at the dial it was definitely below and I honestly couldn't believe it at first and had to re-check the reading.

So................... I am now at 11stone 13. TaaaaDaaaaa!

Yes, that was the goal I'd wanted to achieve before my holiday but things started yo-yo'ing out of control instead. The new tablet regime should ensure there's no afternoon picking going on from now on, so I'll be introducing some distraction techniques when I start to feel hungry, as in: I've made a list of those "extra" jobs that need doing around the house, such as wiping down the bathroom wall tiles, organising bits of my various stash (cardmaking, stitching and fabrics) etc etc and when I feel hungry I'll pick a job at random and go and do it. The house benefits, I get busy so it distracts me and the extra activity should burn off extra calories. It's a win-win situation. LOL

After Jan had mixed the new potion and gathered together the other bits I needed I paid my dues, popped everything in my bag, thanked Jan and said goodbye and headed down the stairs.......... and straight into my favourite haunt, the Hospice Bookshop. About 20 minutes later I came out with two more additions:


A fantasy book and another for my esoteric collection. I didn't really fancy wandering any further down the High Street, so I crossed over to the Tesco Express to get the bits of shopping I needed. I also came away with a little treat: the magazine. I don't usually buy this (my DSis does occasionally and she passes it on to me when she's done with it) but it had a couple of articles in it that interested me: the Spiritual space clearing one as, when the mammoth de-cluttering session is finished and the rooms are redecorated I fully intend doing a proper cleansing on them too - though I have various books that touch on this subject I was curious to know what the piece had to say about it; a piece about the Angel "expert" Diana Cooper and another piece on Pagan Wedding ceremonies, the latter just because I'm curious to see what alternatives are out there now. When we wed it was just 2 choices: civil ceremony or church wedding - only a very few adventurous souls had started going abroad to marry, combining it with the honeymoon. This is definitely one area where the changes have been for the better. :0)

Home again, everything put away and my dinner prepared and eaten I opted to go out into the garden for a while, making the most of the reasonable weather while it's here. Being out there has seen a lifting in my mood, as it's helped to get rid of the worst of the post-holiday blues - renewing the connection with Mother Earth is always good for my soul. :0)