Holistic Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health (That Actually Work!) – Part 1: Common Mullein

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving yesterday filled with love, laughter, and wonderful foods!

As we enter the joyful chaos of this Holiday Season, we find ourselves caught up in a whirlwind of social events: eating, shopping, eating, gifting, eating, and traveling (and did I mention eating??).

This 45 day crunch of consumerism and partying can wreak havoc on the body’s defenses, making us more prone to catching the season’s flus, colds, and other bugs that threaten to dampen our merrymaking. There is nothing worse than being too sick to enjoy festivities that you have been looking forward to all year!

So how does one survive this onslaught with enough vitality left-over to enjoy the ride all the way through midnight on December 31^st , and beyond into the New Year? Especially when you are at a slight disadvantage from having a chronic illness or compromised immune system?

Most health sources quote the same usual remedies: Vitamin C, Echinacea, Elderberry, Garlic, Homemade Chicken Soup, Lots of Fluids, Lots of Rest, Tea, Zinc, Peppers, Local Raw Honey…the aids we have come to know and love when we aren’t feeling our best. But the majority of these treatments aren’t as effective once sickness has kicked in full force. They certainly help with the symptoms, sure, but what do you do when The Plague is going around the office and you wake up with what you know are the initial signs of impending doom? How do you stop that freight train?

I have dealt with chronically swollen lymph node glands in my face and neck, along with upper respiratory, sinus, and ear infections, ever since the ripe 'ole age of two years. My poor parents did everything 1980’s conventional medicine advised them at that time; I was on such heavy doses of antibiotics for so long they had to monitor my blood on a monthly basis to make sure the meds weren’t affecting my body in any adverse ways. The infections were so chronic I was eventually scheduled to get a tube in at least one of my ears, but a turn of life events in the family caused a lapse in our health insurance and so thankfully I was spared that potentially detrimental procedure. I continued to have chronic upper respiratory issues, including bi-annual Strep and bacterial infections, until I started aggressively adjusting my diet and lifestyle in 2009. During my lifetime, I have built up a tolerance or had an allergic reaction to just about every antibiotic and sinus med known to modern science.

In short, I know a thing or two from firsthand experience about managing the health of the ears, throat, nose, and lungs. And then there’s the whole immune system thing. I have been studying that too, since mine is pretty screwed. Am I a doctor? No. So don’t be brash, if you have some sort of pre-existing condition etc. you should always talk to your doctor first before trying something new.

But, I am someone who can tell you what has worked for me, and anyone I know who has tried it. Most recently I got to try these cold remedies on my boyfriend, who is not only my caregiver, but also works full-time in customer service at a grocery store. Needless to say, he has been a bit worn out from all the Holiday Crazies that emerge like a long-dormant locust invasion during this time of year (you know who you are! For shame!).  He started feeling unwell on Sunday, and by Monday was feeling fatigued along with a tell-tale “tickle” in his throat. The sort of throat “tickle” that usually becomes a painful, sore mess which makes swallowing feel like the worst torture, and right before Thanksgiving! Nooooo! My hard-working sweetheart was not going to be sick on our beloved and well-planned Turkey Day! Not if I had anything to do with it. He diligently followed my suggested regiment and by Wednesday was feeling loads better! My boyfriend was so impressed with the results he suggested I share my regiment with The World.

So, dear World, I share with you the four holistic aids I have found most useful for staving off infections, colds, and managing upper respiratory issues. They are inexpensive and easily accessible, in fact, you probably have one or two sitting in your kitchen pantry right now. I hope they serve you as well as they have aided my household, especially during this hectic time of the year.

Today I would like to discuss Mullein, an herb whose useful properties aren’t widely known outside of the wonderful world of Herbalism. The ironic thing is that we have probably all seen it at one time or another and regarded it as “just a weed”, rather than recognizing it for the versatile Plant Medicine that it is.

Verbascum thapsus , known as Common Mullein or Great Mullein, is a flowering weed that is usually found in open spaces where the ground has been disturbed. It is prolific and grows all over the continental US and beyond into Canada and Mexico. Since most Americans don’t have access to meadows, streams, fields, or forest openings, the majority of us have spied Mullein’s distinctive towering spikes of bright yellow flowers growing in ditches along roadways or scattered throughout the open wastes of dumps.

Picture from Wikipedia, its too cold where I am to get any of my own shots of Mullein growing

All parts of the plant have been used for medical applications since time immemorial. Mullein is primarily used to manage afflictions of the ears, especially infections, and it is also used as an expectorant, to alleviate swelling, mange the health of the lymphatic system, and treat spinal injuries. It is most commonly used as a tincture, but is also drunk as tea and even smoked. 

Mullein was first recommended to me by my Dad, who has Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome, which we suspected I also had until it was ruled out by a VKH specialist earlier this year. Before he said anything to me about it, I was totally unfamiliar with the plant. My Dad and I share many of the same symptoms, including tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and “feelings of fullness and itchiness” in the ears, and to my pleasant surprise I have found Mullein does an excellent job of alleviating these issues.

The very first time I used Mullein I was desperate. Earlier this year, while managing a flare in my inflammation, I woke up with the unmistakable sensation of full blown Strep Throat. My throat hurt so badly it felt like it was on fire, I sounded like I had swallowed a frog, the lymph nodes on my face and neck were swelling up, and my ears hurt and felt as though they were full of cotton. I knew I was in deep trouble, and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Even if I had easy access to transportation and wasn’t homebound from my light sensitivity, I would have still been hesitant to hop on over to a doctor’s office for what would more than likely have been a prescription for antibiotics. Not only do antibiotics take anywhere from 24 hours to a few days to start working (not an appealing thought when you’re in Strep Throat pain), I’m allergic to pretty much all of them, the rest can trigger a flare-up in certain autoimmune diseases so I avoid them as much as possible, and nowadays I’m far more hesitant to drop the medical equivalent of a nuclear bomb on my Gut.

So that leaves me with very little options via Western Medicine. What’s a Strep-Throaty girl to do?

Quite fortuitously, I came down with the Throat Affliction from Hades during the very same time I was performing preliminary research on Mullein for treating the afore-mentioned Tinnitus, hearing sensitivities, and other ear issues I’ve been dealing with during the onset of my autoimmune disease (whatever it ends up being – it’s looking like Lupus or Mixed Connective Tissue Disease but I’m still undiagnosed at this time). 

After reading about the plant’s supposed powerful effects on ear infections, my boyfriend came to my rescue for the zillionth time and brought a bottle of Mullein Leaf Tincture home from work that afternoon. I had been in pain for several hours, unable to eat anything not in liquid form or smoke any of my medical cannabis. Even the simple act of swallowing caused excruciating pain. I was not a happy camper, to say the least.

After reading the bottle and doing some third party research, I put the maximum suggested dose of two droppers of tincture into a small cup of water and drank deeply, making myself swish each gulp around in my mouth for a few seconds before swallowing - so as to help my lymph node glands absorb it more readily. The tincture looks a lot scarier than it tastes; having a very dark brown, basically black color, but mild earthy taste that is easily masked by whatever liquid you choose to put it in. 

I felt relief immediately. It was like a cool hand had massaged my throat/ears/glands and relaxed them. 

This result has since been repeated in others, most recently my boyfriend. My research had shown Mullein is highly noted for the instant relief it can provide to swellings and the pain caused by them. How wonderful to see it working in real time!

After a few days of using the Mullein tincture as directed on the bottle, along with the other three aids I will be discussing in the rest of this series, my Strep Throat and any signs of ear or lymphatic infection were completely alleviated! I felt like singing my praises from the rooftops! And then I did my “Suck It, Big Pharma” dance! How I wish my folks had access to information in the 80's like we do today with the Internet. This herb could have made my childhood far more bearable.

I am in love with this versatile and humble “weed” and strongly encourage you to conduct your own research so that you may see how it could bring positive health benefits into your own home (or workplace). I no longer consider my medicine cabinet complete without a bottle of Mullein tincture, and look forward to growing my own or wild harvesting it someday (from the wild - not from near a trash heap!) so I don’t have to keep buying it. But, at less than $20 a bottle, and around 30 servings per container, I have zero complaints about cost (Can’t find it in your local stores or have a difficult time leaving the house like I do? Amazon has Mullein, along with a bunch of other holistic stuff!). And its ridiculously safe, although the bottle does say to avoid “while pregnant or breastfeeding”. Not sure what that’s about. Merits more research, but since I don’t plan on spawning anytime soon (*knocks on wood*) I haven’t taken the time to look into it. 

If you do and find anything of interest, please share your findings with me!

Here are three really good websites for getting started on your own Mullein research:

http://herbcraft.org/mullein.html

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mulgre63.html

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/common_mullein.htm

I do hope you find this information enlightening and empowering!

What are some of your favorite remedies for treating throat or ear infections?

Stay tuned for the rest of my Tips for Surviving the Holidays in Good Health!

*Love & Light*

-Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Living with Chronic Illness - Making a Heaven out of Hell

First off, I would like to give my sincerest apologies for falling off the face of the planet for the last few months.

What have I been up to, one might ask?

Well, to be honest, I am ashamed to say I have been mostly doing this:

Which I think anyone would do in similar circumstances, but you don't get a lot done, and you're likely to miss any opportunities that come your way (like a call from the Blue Man Group or about the part as Scared Inmate #2).

For the last few years I have been battling debilitating chronic illness, and until about a month ago was eluded in reaching a diagnoses.  During that time, I have been told that I'm mentally ill, had doctors give up on me, had friends, family and acquaintances think its all in my head or I'm lazy, racked up medical debt, and had unnecessary invasive medical procedures. To put it lightly, I have been through the ringer, and despite the denial of everyone else, my physical condition has continued to decline. When I developed my UV sensitivity and my eyeballs started hurting, I knew things were going haywire and needed to be addressed asap. So I said screw these doctors I'm working with and saw a dermatologist and ophthalmologist. It was the ophthalmologist who finally diagnosed me. She was the only one who was willing to admit she doesn't know everything, and the only one who pulled out a laptop to conduct research with me. The ego of the majority of most medical professionals is impossible to comprehend until you have experienced it.

Ya'all need to take some freakin' communication courses!!!
(I'm not from the South, but ya'all is such a fun phrase, don't you think?)

It has been very hard to process, as there are no "cures" for this rare and misunderstood genetically inherited autoimmune disease, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada, or VKH for short. All you can do for immune diseases is manage them, and if you're lucky and play your cards right you will get to live a "relatively normal" life, with a "close to average" lifespan.  This is a very heavy thing to lay on anyone, but especially someone who is under 30 (not by much, but still!) and naturally active and independent. Which is why I started working at 15 and prefer to turn my own wrenches. Seriously homie, get your dirty paws off the MR2. Thanks.

(Please be aware that VKH affects your cognitive functions, so if I repeat words or make some other typo please be kind. This is partly why I haven't been writing. I will be checking this thing over several times before posting for errors, but will probably still miss a few. Thanks!)

But I'm freakin sick and tired of being sick and tired, and if you can't change a situation, you might as well change your attitude or perception of it, so now that I have spent nearly the last year feeling lost and depressed, I've decided to stop crying, start laughing, and do something about it. Perhaps its the Yaqi in me, but even through my darkest days there has been this voice coming from deep inside that won't let me give up on myself, that says I must fight, that I have work to do.

For people who have autoimmune diseases, the time period between onset and diagnoses is very pertinent to minimizing damage done to the body by the very mechanisms in place designed to protect it from harm. And unfortunately my experience has taught me that these diseases are highly misunderstood, as statistics show it takes an average of 7-10 years for people with autoimmune diseases to get proper diagnoses. 7-10 long, horrendous, tortuous years of bouncing from doctor to doctor, specialist to specialist, pill to pill, racking up debt even if you have insurance because there's still co-pays and traveling to and from the various offices and taking time off to go to these appointments (if you're lucky enough to still be able to work), and the out of pocket cost of often unnecessary invasive procedures, or ones that could have been conducted better had the etiology of the symptoms been properly understood.  7-10 years of friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, all looking at you funny, wondering what is wrong with you, being worried about you, or thinking you're totally nuts, a hypochondriac, or an attention whore. 7-10 years of your life absorbed by worry, anger, anxiety, fear, depression, doubt, and struggle to adjust to continual changes and loss.

I have experienced all of this, but have been lucky as it has only been about 3 years for me, though technically my research and medical history have shown that the VKH started manifesting when I was a child and has flared on and off in until recently unrecognized forms. And that is what makes the onset of autoimmune disease so insidious. Its invisible. Its your immune system turning on your body, so it starts at the cellular level, sorta like cancer (its actually odd how similar cancer and immune diseases are, in fact the same medical treatments are used for both!), and often times it takes many years for displayed symptoms to show up as abnormal markers in lab results, which means you could be literally dying, but your blood and urine samples come up "normal". This is another aspect of the human body that seems to be misunderstood by doctors and is maddening. I have lost count of how many times I have had blood work pulled while I was in debilitating inflammatory pain but no abnormal levels of inflammatory markers show up, or had urine analysis come back within normal ranges despite the fact my kidneys were melting down.

If you have a chronic illness, especially an immune mediated one, or are close/have been close to someone who does, then what I am saying here is old news. But most people will be lucky enough to have no idea what it is like to be physically and/or mentally inhibited. They don't know what its like to be robbed of capabilities we take for granted, to have everything flipped on them, never to be put back the way it was, and its all up to you to make sense of it and somehow piece together a "life" out of it. All this, while the Real World continues to move on; the rent is still due, the car still needs to be fixed, the fridge won't fill itself. The Real World can be a cold and heartless one when you're struggling with your own mortality. The Real World forgets about the important things, like cherishing the present moment and all that you have, even if you can't do many of the things you once took for granted. And the Real World also forgets about questioning the status quo, about pushing boundaries, looking for alternative solutions, and not taking "no" for an answer. Its too tired from working all day to change the World. It just wants the nice house and paid vacation.

I was frustrated at first by the time that went by between my onset of latest symptoms in 2011 and my diagnoses in July, but I have come to understand that it has been a massive blessing in disguise. The time spent chasing medical ghosts when I first got sick, combined with my lack of transportation, a lag in medical coverage when I was no longer well enough to pursue my career, my UV sensitivity and other physical disabilities, and living in a place over a mile high that gets more than 300 days of annual sunshine, all played a role in the delay in my diagnoses. I cursed each and every one of them more times than I care to admit, but again, the delay was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. It has forced me to think outside-the-box, to research biochemistry and the inner workings of the body more thoroughly than I would have if I had doctors thinking for me and feeding me pills, and to question the efficacy of those pills and the very nature of our medical industry as a whole.
In short, I feel that I have unwittingly avoided a path that probably would have exacerbated the situation rather than helped, and I have re-discovered knowledge that humans have cherished since time immemorial but has been blown asunder by the "Pharmocratic Inquisition" that's developed a stranglehold on the Western Medical System for the last 150 years or so. I have also discovered some fascinating correlations between disease and environment, which I look forward to discussing at length on this blog. It seems those of us with autoimmune disease are the "canaries of the world", and the toxicity of our industrial lifestyles that has been poisoning the planet since the onset of the Industrial Revolution are traveling all the way up the food chain, back to us, the creators of said destruction. Karma at its finest, no?

My thesis is this: Cancer, autoimmune diseases...they may have some genetic pre-dispositons, but their underlying roots are Environmental, meaning, toxicity or imbalance. Currently, "we don't know" what causes these problems in the body, and we are "searching for The Marker Gene and The Cure! Cut off your breasts now, before its too late!" (Donate Now!). Yet, after years of technical research into these matters, everything seems to be tied to be same basic concept: Everything in Nature has a natural state of stasis, and is always trying to maintain that balance. Throw it out of balance in some way (i.e. stress), and it will do whatever it can to regain that original state. Just because you have a marker for a disease, does not mean it will manifest, and not having a marker does not mean you are in the free and clear. Fun Fact: Only about 5% of women who get breast cancer have a genetic marker for it. That means around 95% of women with breast cancer have no family history of it! Doesn't it seem odd, then, that we are so focused on genetic markers, and aren't focusing more heavily on other factors? Could it have anything to do with gene patents and the gargantuan amount of money to be made thru this new industry?? Or maybe that looking deeper would reveal an even deeper set of problems humanity has yet to tackle? Hmmm....
The Human Body is an amazing organism that has evolved from various bits and pieces throughout the millenia...some mitochoncria here, some intestinal flora there...and, sorta like a high security office building, it needed a way to identify the folks who were supposed to be there doing their job, from the trespassers who were there to infiltrate the system from the outside. Our bodies developed all kinds of mind-bogglingly complex systems to do exactly that, ranging from the equivalent of armed security guards to ID cards to filters. But, a guard can be tricked or blinded, ID cards can be faked, and filters can become compromised from too many particulates and stop working. In the same way, our bodies can be infiltrated by organisms that don't belong there, that throw us out of balance, and can only handle so much stress in one life-time. In a very strained body, something will eventually have to give, and in a "perfect storm", you get Cancer, or Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada.

My story (and the story of my father, who is also a VKH Fighter and from whom I inherited the genetic pre-disposition) is a text-book perfect example of a body that has been pushed too far. And the more research I do, the more this seems to be the case with anyone suffering from chronic illness.

I plan to tell my story on this blog, so that others may learn from it, and to share my personal discoveries and knowledge with others, to help further unite the community of those living with chronic illness, and to help shed some light on these mysteries and hopefully help fuel the drive for new research into fields neglected by The Status Quo. Cannabis is a prime and obivous example. Its 20-fucking-13 people, why in the fuck aren't we using this plant like crazy in medical studies??? Why is there still a stigma about it in our society? I lost 4 friends to overdoses before they turned 25, ALL of them were caused by legal, pharmaceutical drugs. You ever hear of anyone dying from a cannabis overdose!?.

 I am using myself as a guinea pig, re-discovering the Lost Knowledge of Plants and Fungi, and have found some rather promising potential so far. The most exciting part is I have just barely scratched the surface.

I look forward to this exciting and rewarding adventure! I hope you will join me and share your constructive thoughts and ideas as well. Because "none of us is as smart as all of us".

Thank you for reading!
*Love & Light*
Renata Carmen 

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :)