Re: Holistic approaches

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I think treating the problem with alternative medicine

is a great idea. Have you seen Dharma Singh Khalsa's " the Pain Cure " ?

it make's very interesting reading and has fantastic info on natural

anti inflam's, diet etc. As far as herbs go " Herbal Healing for Women "

by Rosmary Gladstar is quite a good intro, doesn't actually talk about

VV, but it has good stuff about some other related conditions, like

thrush and trich.

of the alternative medicines Ive tried the best was the chinese

medicine and accapuncture- gave me a few days relief. However I think I

could have been helped lots more, if I had been working with a

reasonable diognosis. The fact that all the alternitive doc's Ive seen

have tried to heal me on the assumption that I have no infection, when

infact I do- makes the limited success Ive had easier to understand. I

guess that's why It's important to use alternitive therepies alongside

allopathic ones.

Did you read my last post? (I mean the one about the doctor, not

the reply to Dee) The treatment for this condition is flagal orally (Im

violently allergic to the stuff) and an anti-bacterial cream inserted.

At the moment I think Ill use the cream, rather than taking drugs, I'll

just find some anti-bacterial herbs, like garlic, and use them to try

and clear the bacteria from my system.

best of luck with whatever you try - Ill be facinated to hear how

you go.

Love,

Alison

[Guest guest]

I havent mentioned it yet, because I just got it and I havent had it long

enough to see results yet, but I am currently trying out some treatment with

magnets. In addition to all of the general medical stuff of course.

Someone I know is working with this magnet therepy and she sugessted I try

it this. She gave me a few things to try out, but the two things that held

my intrest where a megnetic blanket with some sort of propertys that make it

so that it helps regulate body ph. A shower head with a filter with some

sort of magnetic propertys.

I have actually noticed some results with the shower head already. Where I

live we have very hard water, and the water burns my skin (especialy down

there). I figure that if I'm not suppose to even wash my clothes in bleach

or normal detergent, and if I'm only suppose to use dove soap on my area, I

probably should'nt have all that stuff that is in our tap water in there. I

figure its all worth a try anyways With this holistic stuff you never know

whats going to work and what wont.

If anyone is interested in me finding out, I could ask in a little more

detail how thease magnets work in the blanket and shower head I am using.

She often has people use some of the other magnet stuff on back pain and

other ailments.

Bunny

----Original Message Follows----

Reply-To: VulvarDisorders

To: <VulvarDisorders >

Subject: Holistic approaches

Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 15:37:41 -0400

Hi everyone,

In my research at this moment I am wondering about any holistic approaches

such as special diets that people may have found helpful. I am following the

low oxalate and hypoglycemic (The Zone) plan, it isn't easy but I think it

helps. I'm wondering about adding anti-inflammatories to my diet, I mean

natural ones like fish body oil, flax, also MSM, glucosamine etc. I give all

of this stuff to one of my dogs, who developed early onset arthritis at

about four years old, and there is very little conventional veterinary help

for this condition. Basically they give steroids and painkillers, which only

treat the symptoms and often cause other problems. I investigated

alternative treatments and started giving her (under the guidance of a

homeopathic vet) all kinds of stuff, making her food, adding natural

anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, herbs etc. and at age six she is doing

fantastically well. the very worrisome lesion on her spine has not increased

at all. The specialist said if he didn't know better he would say it had

shrunk! At any rate, I have seen proof positive how powerful nutrition can

be in healing a living organism, and I'm wondering if some similar approach

might not help some of us???

If anyone has had experiences with treating this condition holistically, I

would love to hear about it, good or bad. It's a bit of a leap to

extrapolate from dogs to humans, except that in my case, we used all human

methods on the dog - and it dramatically improved her health. Everything I

give Lila addresses an inflammatory condition that is progressive and

painful and she is better - and I get it all at the health food store, so

it's designed for human use. I really want to see what I can do with this

for myself.

Hope everyone is feeling ok today,

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

I haven't looked into yet, but a friend of mine owns a

health food store. She has had wonderful luck in

helping people deal with many ailments. I think it's

possible, but you have to be careful which herbs,

minerals, etc you take.

For example: some herbs are meant to increase and

stimulate female hormones....evening primrose oil

according to my friend is supposed to help you

increase your bust size.

I do know from experience that peppermint is wonderful

for nauseau. Kava-Kava & Valerian are great to help

you sleep. St s Wart really is a mood elevator.

My caution is to read carefully and from a variety of

sources before you take any of it. Also see if you

can find information about the herbs and potential

drug interactions.

If I can reach my friend I'll have to ask her about

this....I don't know when that will be, but when I

know I'll post!

Hope everyone's having a better day today than

yesterday.

chelle

--- Lane wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> In my research at this moment I am wondering about

> any holistic approaches

> such as special diets that people may have found

> helpful. I am following the

> low oxalate and hypoglycemic (The Zone) plan, it

> isn't easy but I think it

> helps. I'm wondering about adding

> anti-inflammatories to my diet, I mean

> natural ones like fish body oil, flax, also MSM,

> glucosamine etc. I give all

> of this stuff to one of my dogs, who developed early

> onset arthritis at

> about four years old, and there is very little

> conventional veterinary help

> for this condition. Basically they give steroids and

> painkillers, which only

> treat the symptoms and often cause other problems. I

> investigated

> alternative treatments and started giving her (under

> the guidance of a

> homeopathic vet) all kinds of stuff, making her

> food, adding natural

> anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, herbs etc. and at

> age six she is doing

> fantastically well. the very worrisome lesion on her

> spine has not increased

> at all. The specialist said if he didn't know better

> he would say it had

> shrunk! At any rate, I have seen proof positive how

> powerful nutrition can

> be in healing a living organism, and I'm wondering

> if some similar approach

> might not help some of us???

>

> If anyone has had experiences with treating this

> condition holistically, I

> would love to hear about it, good or bad. It's a bit

> of a leap to

> extrapolate from dogs to humans, except that in my

> case, we used all human

> methods on the dog - and it dramatically improved

> her health. Everything I

> give Lila addresses an inflammatory condition that

> is progressive and

> painful and she is better - and I get it all at the

> health food store, so

> it's designed for human use. I really want to see

> what I can do with this

> for myself.

>

> Hope everyone is feeling ok today,

>

>

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

B.,

Sounds interesting, I would like to learn more about

the magnet therapy. I am open to trying anything,

so any information about how you use it and where

I could find out more about it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Pam

[Guest guest]

I would be interested. I use one of those balloons

filled with sand & magnets for my hand...carpal

tunnel. I do find it helps and I feel a difference

between the magnet one and one without. My roommate

is going to try these insoles for his shoes that have

magnets...have to see how those work.

Oh, and for your skin (not down there, but everywhere

else) parafin is wonderful! I know you can pick up

one of the parafin bath kits for around $50. My

friend who owns the health food store used parafin on

my back and hands...heaven. My skin was softer, felt

wonderful and the ache in my hand was gone.

Definitely worth it! There's also Colostrum based

lotions. The concept of colostrum is that it

rebuilds. Presumably it's good for many ailments. It

comes in forms for topical and ingestible uses. I

tried the lotion, but couldn't stand the scent. You

might want to look into it. I don't know how it would

work down below, but as a general lotion it's pretty

good.

Chelle

--- Bunny

wrote:

> I havent mentioned it yet, because I just got it and

> I havent had it long

> enough to see results yet, but I am currently trying

> out some treatment with

> magnets. In addition to all of the general medical

> stuff of course.

> Someone I know is working with this magnet therepy

> and she sugessted I try

> it this. She gave me a few things to try out, but

> the two things that held

> my intrest where a megnetic blanket with some sort

> of propertys that make it

> so that it helps regulate body ph. A shower head

> with a filter with some

> sort of magnetic propertys.

>

> I have actually noticed some results with the shower

> head already. Where I

> live we have very hard water, and the water burns my

> skin (especialy down

> there). I figure that if I'm not suppose to even

> wash my clothes in bleach

> or normal detergent, and if I'm only suppose to use

> dove soap on my area, I

> probably should'nt have all that stuff that is in

> our tap water in there. I

> figure its all worth a try anyways With this

> holistic stuff you never know

> whats going to work and what wont.

>

> If anyone is interested in me finding out, I could

> ask in a little more

> detail how thease magnets work in the blanket and

> shower head I am using.

> She often has people use some of the other magnet

> stuff on back pain and

> other ailments.

>

> Bunny

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Alison,

> I think treating the problem with alternative medicine

>is a great idea. Have you seen Dharma Singh Khalsa's " the Pain Cure " ?

>it make's very interesting reading and has fantastic info on natural

>anti inflam's, diet etc.

### No I haven't seen that one, but I sure will check it out!! Thank you!

As far as herbs go " Herbal Healing for Women "

>by Rosmary Gladstar is quite a good intro, doesn't actually talk about

>VV, but it has good stuff about some other related conditions, like

>thrush and trich.

#### I've been working with herbs since the early eighties, I just finished

a course in herbal medicine, but in truth I haven't got a ton of hope that I

can find help there. I'm thinking more of eliminating troublesome foods -

adding nutritional supplements like fish oil, MSM etc.

The thing is, if I do try guaifenisen, I can't use herbs at all anyway.

> of the alternative medicines Ive tried the best was the chinese

>medicine and accapuncture- gave me a few days relief. However I think I

>could have been helped lots more, if I had been working with a

>reasonable diognosis. The fact that all the alternitive doc's Ive seen

>have tried to heal me on the assumption that I have no infection, when

>infact I do- makes the limited success Ive had easier to understand. I

>guess that's why It's important to use alternitive therepies alongside

>allopathic ones.

#### Yes I totally agree! In the case of my dog, I worked with a

conventional orthopedic surgeon who performed the very tricky operations on

her legs, AND with a veterinary homeopath who suggested various supplements,

dietary adjustments, homeopathic remedies - we even tried magnets with her.

I believe it was the co-operation of the two types of approaches that led to

my dog being healed. I hope it can work that way for me too! :-)

> Did you read my last post? (I mean the one about the doctor, not

>the reply to Dee) The treatment for this condition is flagal orally (Im

>violently allergic to the stuff) and an anti-bacterial cream inserted.

>At the moment I think Ill use the cream, rather than taking drugs, I'll

>just find some anti-bacterial herbs, like garlic, and use them to try

>and clear the bacteria from my system.

### Something you might like to look into is bee propolis, in tincture form,

which is a potent natural antibiotic. Can you tolerate Vitamin C? I'm scared

to death of it because of the oxalate content - but as you no doubt are

aware it's so important to healing.

Do you take Vitamin E at all???

> best of luck with whatever you try - Ill be facinated to hear how

>you go.

### Thanks Alison! I think it makes sense to try these things now, when I

have first experienced a flare, and see if there's even a connection. It's

obvious to me there is something going on, because after a couple of months

on this diet I have MUCH less burning, and I feel overall better - if this

scary condition were to vanish I would say I feel very good overall - fewer

tender spots (from FMS) better energy, better mental clarity. The vvs justs

casts a shadow over everything, though. But I really think in my case at

least, that diet seems to help.

I am adding supplements one at a time to see how they affaect me. I started

with fish oil from Eicotech, called ZonePerfect. It's REALLY important if

you use fish oil, to get molecularly purified oil. Other oils may contain

PCBs and it makes no sense to take a supplement designed to improve health,

that contains carcinogenic substances. Unfortunately there are only a couple

of fish oils that will guarantee they are contaminant free - I get

Zoneperfect from www.VitaminShoppe.com it's a bit of a pain to order, but

well worth it.

I will let you know if anything seems to make a difference beyond what I'm

already doing.

Take care,

[Guest guest]

Hi catherine,

Prolopis-what a great idea, didn't think of that one!

thanks for the sugestion;)

I do take vit C without any problems, but then again Im not on the

low ox. diet. I did try for a while, (low ox that is) but all it did

was make urinating slightly less painful. I get the same amount of

reduction in pain from drinking lots of water so I figured it wasn't

worth the bother. (I know it works wonders for some prople on this list

though). Is vit C actually high in oxilates? my understanding was that

it increses the excretion of oxilates, but dosent actually add any to

the body. I could well be wrong though.

As for vit. E- I took it for a while, but stopped it (along with

some other supps I was taking) when I began doing biofeedback- I was

spending so much on that I couldn't afford many supplements as well. Im

going to go back on it soon though. (with some other stuff).

the other thing that Ive found really interesting is how well my

body has felt after my last gyno appt, where i was told there is some

hope. The old mind body thing I guess.

Keep me posted as to how you go, and let me know what you think of

Damha. Thanks for all your insight I think if your dog is healed

through diet and supplements we can be too!

take care,

Alison

-

[Guest guest]

Hi Alison,

At the moment I am on this really crazy diet - low oxalate, but then I'm

hypoglycemic so I have to limit starches and fruit; I'm mold-sensitive so I

can't have melons; this means basically I eat meats, cottage cheese and

yogurt, turnips, cauliflower, red pepper, peas and peeled apples. I do have

breakfast cereal which is supposed to be a no-no but doesn't seem to bother

me and keeps me from getting constipated (which really exacarbates my vulvar

pain, I might add....)

One good thing about this wretched diet is that in three months I have lost

20 pounds.

I'm starting to introduce foods from the medium oxalate list, as suggested.

I had broccoli three days in a row and did not notice any increase in pain.

Next I plan to add garlic, some soy, and then Vitamin C. I agree that lots

of water helps with burning urine, but I'm going to proceed with caution as

far as oxalates go.

The only thing I'm taking at the moment is fish oil, 1000 mg. of salmon oil

per day. Next week I plan to add MSM - have you read about this " wonder

supplement? " It's supposed to give relief to arthritis, allergies, all sorts

of skin disorders. My dog has been taking it (along with glucosamine and

chondroitin) for two years. I was just reading a book about it yesterday and

it sounds extremely promising.

I agree that the mind body thing is enormously powerful. I think there are

several layers of " cause " for this thing, and I wouldn't downplay the role

the emotions play. After all, if one is in a stressed out state, it's been

proven to have deleterious effects on the body - don't ask me to describe

the technical end, I'm out of my depth! But there is a ton of clinical

evidence to support the notion that a relaxed, calm state of mind provides

the backdrop for healing. I'm trying the holistic route as far as food and

supplements go, it makes sense for me to include meditation and lots of rest

in my regime.

You know, I've had a pretty good two weeks since my last period. I think I

was staring to get a bit cocky, actually, because day before yesterday I

went a bit nuts thinking I was " getting over it " - right - and I did way too

much for me, in one day. Three long dog walks, laundry, ironing, dishes,

lots of physical stuff. Next morning I woke up feeling very sore.

That was yesterday. I ignored the soreness and went into town - what is it

with the car? it's MURDER on the afflicted area - and by the time I got to

the mall, I was burning, feeling spaced out and anxious. To make matters

worse, I capitulated to the urge to have a muffin and immediately got heart

palpitations (hypoglycemia.)

Than I went home feeling miserable and looked at myself - swollen and very

red. Feeling defeated and scared I went to bed early.

After a LONG rest, my vulva looks and feels almost normal again. Why do I

get symptoms after overdoing it??? In the morning, I have almost no redness

except in the vestibular area, and little or no pain, At the end of the day

I look red and raw. Anyone else experience this???

I have always had a weird system, but this is weird even for me. :-)

AS far as my dog goes - it was just incredible. At four years old, she had

spondylosis, torn cruciate ligaments, kidney and liver malfunction - and the

conventional vet had only steroids for her.

The holistic vet told me off the bat, this is a slow healing process, and

somewhat experimental. But have faith. He told me on the first visit that he

thought Lila was " God-sent " to me, which made me cry because I have always

thought so too. I have no children and Lila is just the love of my life

(along with her 'brother' Luke that is...)

First, he changed her diet, recommending lower protein and a variety of

measures to keep her system from becoming too acidic. (Something for us to

think about, too?) He added flax seed oil, fish oils, borage oil (like

evening primrose, a source of gamma-linolenic acid) Vitamin C, E, and

glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM.

Later we added digestive enzymes, spirulina,a multi-mineral, pycnogenol (a

powerful antioxidant) and CoEnzyme Q10. Instead of commercial dog food, she

eats fresh meats, vegetables, yogurt, fish, a little cottage cheese and

rotated grains - brown rice, then wheat, then quinoa etc etc - never corn or

soy which can be problematic for dogs.

A year after starting this regime (and also a programme of

massage/therapeutic touch, of which I am a student practitioner) Lila's

blood profile was according to the vet, that of " a different dog. "

I believe we are controlling the inflammatory process as well as restoring

balance to this dog, through careful dietary management first and foremost.

She has now had major surgery on both knees to repair her cruciates, a

procedure that would have killed her prior to the diet.

She is now six, and extremely well. :-) Great coat, get teeth, no bad

breath, super energy....and she healed from the surgery with very little

swelling and no complications.

I might add that the holistic dog lists I am on ALL feature dozens if not

hundreds of stories like this - dogs even coming back from cancer. Amazing

stuff.

So yes, I take great inspiration from this. My reasoning is simple; we on

this list appear to have an inflammatory, hormonally related disorder which

doesn't respond well to the myriad treatments I keep reading about. OK,

sometimes a person will get 50% relief, or even totally heal. But more often

I'm hearing that the misery just goes on and on, particularly with

vestibulitis.

But if we KNOW that dietary changes will effect relief in arthritic

patients - and we can observe it in other living creatures as well - why not

us? Personally I will live on wheatgrass juice and mashed soybeans if that's

what it takes to heal.

Sorry this is so long. I have ordered the book you recommended Alison and

another called The Power of the Mind to Heal, by Joan Borysenko, which is

supposed to be one of the best on the subject. I might be accused of putting

abright face on a lousy situation, but I'm trying to ask what this pain is

here for, what am I supposed to learn from this ordeal. I know I need to

slow down, to forgive myself and my family, to live in the moment and stop

trying to be Martha (boy are THOSE days over or what...) I know I

need to learn to really care for myself and stop treating my body like a

machine. I wasn't listening to the fibromyalgia and so now I have an ailment

I can't possibly work through or ignore.

At the very least, thinking this way helps me to make the most of a very bad

scenario. I started a diary in which I can only record positive things every

day - how beautiful the sunset was, how much I love my dogs, my gratitude

that I don't have to try to work outside my home with this happening.

(Ladies I don't know how you manage.)

When I look back over the past few months I realize that even with this pain

and terrible fear, life has it's beauty and joy. I can't allow the darkness

to take me over, although some days it's so hard to resist it.

I'll keep you posted on any improvements I notice. For now,I hope everyone

has a painfree day.

Love,

[Guest guest]

I don't know why I didn't think of this

before...there's a product called Barley Grass. It's

considered to be a super green food. I don't know

that it will help, but for those who need some extra

nutrients from greens it's a good way to get it. I

can tell you this: it's helped me to lose weight and

maintain regularity. Just thought I'd pass it along.

chelle

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I love your posts! they're so strong and positive. I'll look up

MSM when I have a spare minute. Just free associating here, but

have you tried supplements for the nervous system? Ive recently

been reading about dealing with illnesses like herpies by

keeping the system relaxed with stuff like Vit B, magnesium and

herbs like oatstraw and scullcap. I know it's a bit of a logical

leap, but when I was reading your post (in particular the bit about

stress making you feel worse, and sleep helping, I wondered if it

might apply to us too.

I know other women have had car trouble too, and apparently

inflatable " donuts " to sit on have helped. Otherwise ask Tom- he

might have some clever solution.

Thanks for the post- I dont have time to do it

justice now as I am maddly writing an essey. Ill write again soon

though.

love Alison

>

>

>

>

> Hi Alison,

>

>

> At the moment I am on this really crazy diet - low oxalate, but

then I'm

> hypoglycemic so I have to limit starches and fruit; I'm

mold-sensitive so I

> can't have melons; this means basically I eat meats, cottage

cheese and

> yogurt, turnips, cauliflower, red pepper, peas and peeled

apples. I do have

> breakfast cereal which is supposed to be a no-no but doesn't

seem to bother

> me and keeps me from getting constipated (which really

exacarbates my vulvar

> pain, I might add....)

> One good thing about this wretched diet is that in three months

I have lost

> 20 pounds.

> I'm starting to introduce foods from the medium oxalate list, as

suggested.

> I had broccoli three days in a row and did not notice any

increase in pain.

> Next I plan to add garlic, some soy, and then Vitamin C. I agree

that lots

> of water helps with burning urine, but I'm going to proceed with

caution as

> far as oxalates go.

> The only thing I'm taking at the moment is fish oil, 1000 mg. of

salmon oil

> per day. Next week I plan to add MSM - have you read about

this " wonder

> supplement? " It's supposed to give relief to arthritis, allergies,

all sorts

> of skin disorders. My dog has been taking it (along with

glucosamine and

> chondroitin) for two years. I was just reading a book about it

yesterday and

> it sounds extremely promising.

>

> I agree that the mind body thing is enormously powerful. I think

there are

> several layers of " cause " for this thing, and I wouldn't downplay

the role

> the emotions play. After all, if one is in a stressed out state, it's

been

> proven to have deleterious effects on the body - don't ask me to

describe

> the technical end, I'm out of my depth! But there is a ton of

clinical

> evidence to support the notion that a relaxed, calm state of

mind provides

> the backdrop for healing. I'm trying the holistic route as far as

food and

> supplements go, it makes sense for me to include meditation

and lots of rest

> in my regime.

>

> You know, I've had a pretty good two weeks since my last

period. I think I

> was staring to get a bit cocky, actually, because day before

yesterday I

> went a bit nuts thinking I was " getting over it " - right - and I did

way too

> much for me, in one day. Three long dog walks, laundry,

ironing, dishes,

> lots of physical stuff. Next morning I woke up feeling very sore.

>

> That was yesterday. I ignored the soreness and went into town

- what is it

> with the car? it's MURDER on the afflicted area - and by the

time I got to

> the mall, I was burning, feeling spaced out and anxious. To

make matters

> worse, I capitulated to the urge to have a muffin and

immediately got heart

> palpitations (hypoglycemia.)

>

> Than I went home feeling miserable and looked at myself -

swollen and very

> red. Feeling defeated and scared I went to bed early.

>

> After a LONG rest, my vulva looks and feels almost normal

again. Why do I

> get symptoms after overdoing it??? In the morning, I have

almost no redness

> except in the vestibular area, and little or no pain, At the end of

the day

> I look red and raw. Anyone else experience this???

> I have always had a weird system, but this is weird even for

me. :-)

>

> AS far as my dog goes - it was just incredible. At four years old,

she had

> spondylosis, torn cruciate ligaments, kidney and liver

malfunction - and the

> conventional vet had only steroids for her.

> The holistic vet told me off the bat, this is a slow healing

process, and

> somewhat experimental. But have faith. He told me on the first

visit that he

> thought Lila was " God-sent " to me, which made me cry

because I have always

> thought so too. I have no children and Lila is just the love of my

life

> (along with her 'brother' Luke that is...)

>

> First, he changed her diet, recommending lower protein and a

variety of

> measures to keep her system from becoming too acidic.

(Something for us to

> think about, too?) He added flax seed oil, fish oils, borage oil

(like

> evening primrose, a source of gamma-linolenic acid) Vitamin

C, E, and

> glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM.

> Later we added digestive enzymes, spirulina,a multi-mineral,

pycnogenol (a

> powerful antioxidant) and CoEnzyme Q10. Instead of

commercial dog food, she

> eats fresh meats, vegetables, yogurt, fish, a little cottage

cheese and

> rotated grains - brown rice, then wheat, then quinoa etc etc -

never corn or

> soy which can be problematic for dogs.

>

> A year after starting this regime (and also a programme of

> massage/therapeutic touch, of which I am a student

practitioner) Lila's

> blood profile was according to the vet, that of " a different dog. "

>

> I believe we are controlling the inflammatory process as well

as restoring

> balance to this dog, through careful dietary management first

and foremost.

> She has now had major surgery on both knees to repair her

cruciates, a

> procedure that would have killed her prior to the diet.

> She is now six, and extremely well. :-) Great coat, get teeth, no

bad

> breath, super energy....and she healed from the surgery with

very little

> swelling and no complications.

> I might add that the holistic dog lists I am on ALL feature

dozens if not

> hundreds of stories like this - dogs even coming back from

cancer. Amazing

> stuff.

>

> So yes, I take great inspiration from this. My reasoning is

simple; we on

> this list appear to have an inflammatory, hormonally related

disorder which

> doesn't respond well to the myriad treatments I keep reading

about. OK,

> sometimes a person will get 50% relief, or even totally heal.

But more often

> I'm hearing that the misery just goes on and on, particularly

with

> vestibulitis.

>

> But if we KNOW that dietary changes will effect relief in arthritic

> patients - and we can observe it in other living creatures as

well - why not

> us? Personally I will live on wheatgrass juice and mashed

soybeans if that's

> what it takes to heal.

>

> Sorry this is so long. I have ordered the book you

recommended Alison and

> another called The Power of the Mind to Heal, by Joan

Borysenko, which is

> supposed to be one of the best on the subject. I might be

accused of putting

> abright face on a lousy situation, but I'm trying to ask what this

pain is

> here for, what am I supposed to learn from this ordeal. I know I

need to

> slow down, to forgive myself and my family, to live in the

moment and stop

> trying to be Martha (boy are THOSE days over or

what...) I know I

> need to learn to really care for myself and stop treating my body

like a

> machine. I wasn't listening to the fibromyalgia and so now I

have an ailment

> I can't possibly work through or ignore.

>

> At the very least, thinking this way helps me to make the most

of a very bad

> scenario. I started a diary in which I can only record positive

things every

> day - how beautiful the sunset was, how much I love my dogs,

my gratitude

> that I don't have to try to work outside my home with this

happening.

> (Ladies I don't know how you manage.)

> When I look back over the past few months I realize that even

with this pain

> and terrible fear, life has it's beauty and joy. I can't allow the

darkness

> to take me over, although some days it's so hard to resist it.

>

> I'll keep you posted on any improvements I notice. For now,I

hope everyone

> has a painfree day.

>

> Love,

[Guest guest]

Hi Alison,

Thanks for the warm words. I guess it's easier for me to be " strong and

positive " than for those who have had this wretched condition for years and

years. Remember I'm a newbie, although I have had vestibulitis for years I

thought it was yeast, it's only been about ten weeks since I got really

horribly sore and inflamed. Prior to that, I had no symptoms except painful

intercourse.

Still, I am not always positive, that's for sure. ;-) I just TRY to be.

As for B vits, I do plan to add some soon. I probably mentioned that I'm

adding things one at a time, so if I get a problem I will have a clearer

handle on what caused it.

I was planning to avoid herbs because I'm considering guai, but I think I

will try this way first, and then if I'm not getting significant relief,

we'll go to guai.

I think anything that calms the nerves and aids deep relaxation has got to

be good, even if it doesn't make the pain go away it's likely to lessen it.

Chamomile is not only soothing but it has some anti-inflammatory properties

as well. Oatstraw and skullcap are very mild relaxants and would combine

well with chamomile. My only concern about herbs is that some people may

have allergies to them. Chamomile is related to ragweed, so if you're a hay

fever sufferer you might want to avoid it!

Herbalism is an art, even though I have studied it for some time I still

exercise a lot of caution, even with very safe herbs.

One thing I am very interested in is Boswellia. Boswellia is a very potent

anti-inflammatory herb that's getting a lot of attention lately. I tried

giving it to Lila as part of her regime, but she has a tendency to GI

problems (she's the Queen of Vomit, actually) and she threw up all afternoon

after I gave it to her.

Boswellia is often combined with a substance called curcumin, derived from

turmeric, and the combination is very potent, according to all the

literature I've checked. Now I was reticent about adding it because of the

potential that high oxalate substances (which I presume this is) might

aggravate my main problem.

But at some point, I will try it.

First, we do MSM. And I will give that a good ten days before I add anything

else.

I will most definitely look into a donut!!! I hate feeling like I can't go

out.

Thanks for the reply, Alison, and just curious - are you in University? You

mentioned an essay....

Take care and be well!

Love,

[Guest guest]

Hi -

I have been trying to catch up on my emails all week

and just got to this one. I just want you to know

that I adore your spirit, love for animals, and belief

that in using the mind to help us heal. What a

beautiful inspiring message. We all need to remember

that no matter how bad things get, if we just try to

acknowledge one or two wonderful gifts each day, we

can keep strong of spirit.

Amber

> Sorry this is so long. I have ordered the book you

> recommended Alison and

> another called The Power of the Mind to Heal, by

> Joan Borysenko, which is

> supposed to be one of the best on the subject. I

> might be accused of putting

> abright face on a lousy situation, but I'm trying to

> ask what this pain is

> here for, what am I supposed to learn from this

> ordeal. I know I need to

> slow down, to forgive myself and my family, to live

> in the moment and stop

> trying to be Martha (boy are THOSE days over

> or what...) I know I

> need to learn to really care for myself and stop

> treating my body like a

> machine. I wasn't listening to the fibromyalgia and

> so now I have an ailment

> I can't possibly work through or ignore.

>

> At the very least, thinking this way helps me to

> make the most of a very bad

> scenario. I started a diary in which I can only

> record

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