HERBALIST - JULY

Just realised I didn't post about my last visit to see Jan...... though with all the holiday washing, ironing and packing to do, as well as several cards and stitching pieces to complete, I just didn't have the time to do any blogging before going away.

Now I'm back from my fortnight's holiday it's time for a catch-up........ if I can remember what happened! LOL

My appointment was on Friday 17 July at 10.30am, so off I trotted in plenty of time. We went through into the other room where I handed over the latest Food Diary sheets. Jan had a look through them then asked me how I thought things had gone.

Well, some of the monthly problems seemed to be returning, in that it was all stop/start/stop/start through the last one. I'd also felt my energy levels dackering off a little, as the clearing out had come to a virtual standstill - though I had had to divert on to holiday preparations and there are only so many hours in a day. I felt that, during that week, I'd felt like I was coming down with something, though nothing seemed to really develop. I'd also noticed some mood changes occurred, especially leaning towards weepiness. The changes were nowhere near as bad as they used to be - I'm certainly way less angry and brooding to how I used to be - but we both thought that it was an indicator that the medicine mixture was no longer as effective as it had been. I know that when I use something long term (such as a particular brand of deodorant or shampoo) my body seems to get used to it somehow and it's then no longer as effective as it used to be and I have to change it - so it looks like it holds true for the herbal medicine too. Jan decided it was time for a total overhaul of the mix, as well as an ideal time to start using slippery elm powder for the digestive problems.

The slippery elm powder was to be used instead of the digestive capsules I'm currently on, though intermittently rather than every day. I had to mix half a teaspoon of the powder with a little water, to make a paste, than gradually add a little water to it until it was of a consistency I could comfortably swallow it at - with the least amount of water being the best option, as there'd be less of it to swallow. It's not exactly an unpleasant taste but I wouldn't call it tasty either! LOL I had to do this before my meals for a couple of days then stop taking it and see how I was - any digestive problems and I had to take it again for a short spell. It's not to be taken long term as it can lead to problems with constipation - not something I want to develop again, thank you. I reckoned I could cope with it OK.

Next was the medicine mix. Out went most of the herbs in the old mix and in came a bunch of new ones but I can't remember what she mentioned - I know there was a specific one she'd recently been reading up on that she felt would be particularly suitable. There were herbs to help calm down my stressing levels (when going on holiday I like to be organised and get on with things but DH and DS are last-minute-merchants, which increases my stress levels) and other herbs to boost my energy levels, as she wanted me to go away and have a really good holiday. Jan felt I really could do with the agnus castus in there again too but it led to me having a full-on migraine when I was taking them as separate drops so I wasn't too keen. She pointed out that, as this was going to be quite a change, it would probably affect my hormones etc fairly quickly so she recommended that I get some Migraleve tablets anyway to take with me on holiday and to carry them with me at all times. Jan uses a degree of psychic awareness when she treats her clients and I've learnt to trust her instincts with these things (good job I did: two days before my monthly was due I had another full-on migraine. A bummer but at least I was prepared!).

I also asked about the Shamballah Healing Workshop that Jan had mentioned earlier in the year: Jan, Aureen and Janet, the acupuncturist, all want to do this workshop but the recession is making things a little difficult.... so the course is being delayed until Spring next year, in the hopes that things improve and more people will then be able to take it. Jan felt that this delay would give me enough time to get to a stage where I would be able to get the most out of it, as I need to be further along in my development for some of what will be involved. It also gives me a little longer to save up for it: it involves 3-days over 2 weekends (6 days total), so isn't exactly cheap..... though it's substantially cheaper than it is where it's available elsewhere in the country. I always want to help people who have health problems so feel drawn to doing something in the healing line. I think my ultimate aim would be to use the healing energy of crystals, so hope an opportunity to do a workshop in this will present itself when the time is right. :0)

I then asked to be weighed. I wasn't looking forward to this as I had a feeling I'd put weight on again...... and that proved to be right: I'd gone from 12 stone 4 back up to 12 1/2 stone. Bummer! As I told Jan, I'd just worked out what some of the problem was though: instead of having a plated salad with a little rice or cous cous I'd been having two tortilla wraps for my dinner...... and only recently realised just how many calories there are in those darned things. So I'd dropped down to one a day and added extra salad to my plate to bulk things up a little and had my fingers crossed that that change would start to make a difference before too long....... along with planning to do a reasonable amount of walking whilst on holiday.

Jan then went off to make up the new brew for me whilst I went to Reception to pay my dues, adding some more tablets and herbal teas, so I'd be well stocked up with everything while we were on holiday as I had no idea where I would be able to get any of these things up there. The Lake District doesn't seem to have much in the way of alternative therapy places.

Once Jan had given me the new brew and a bag of the slippery elm powder to add to my bag I thanked her and Ann and left. DH met me outside and we popped to a couple of shops to grab some bits we wanted for our holiday, then it was home to finish the last minute packing jobs.

I took the new meds before my lunch and evening meal and everything seemed fine: none of it tasted vile, anyway. :0) That night DS went out to see his girlfriend and DH popped along to a retirement do for someone he knew well at work. Within 10 minutes of them both leaving I found out why I'd been feeling as if I was coming down with something: I got a weird lurching sensation in the pit of my stomach that made me feel seriously out of kilter then had to go to the loo in a hurry. I felt like I couldn't get warm and felt quite off, so I got my nightclothes on and went to bed....... and was in and out of bed regularly for regular bathroom visits until just after midnight. I did eventually warm up to the point that I felt like I had a raised temperature and I couldn't really sleep but had decided phoning DH and asking him to come home - not a lot he could do in the circumstances, was there? Thankfully he got in not long after what turned out to be my final bathroom visit and at the point where I'd wondered if we were going to be able to go on holiday in the morning. DH reassured me and said we'd take our time and see how I felt in the morning - thankfully I fell asleep soon after and only disturbed a couple of times, when I either felt too hot and kicked the duvet off or too cold and had to pull the duvet back over myself. Ain't that irritating? LOL

Apart from feeling a bit washed out and low in energy on Saturday morning I didn't feel too bad. I did ring the Clinic to speak to Jan though and she advised me to stop taking the slippery elm and not take it again until she saw me again and to drop the medicine from 7ml to 5ml and not take that again until the following morning. She was quite apologetic but I don't think what happened was due to the meds, more a case of whatever I'd been feeling "off" all week with had finally happened.

We took it easy packing up the car, allowing time for DS to go off and run a couple of errands into town, and for me to have breakfast and lunch at home, to gauge how things would go. Thankfully everything had settled down OK, so we set off in the mid-afternoon, had our evening meal at the Little Chef just outside of Ambleside (very helpful with my dietary needs) and arriving at the cottage in the early evening. It was a truly lovely place - the best we've stayed in, so far - and an enjoyable holiday, which renewed the feeling that it is my soul's home and that I want to live up there. :0)