Sick and Tired....

So I get a lot of emails from people wanting to know what to do, then come to find out they haven't done anything OR decided to try something else first which didn't work so now they are back asking more questions. One thing I say to these people is that "you aren't sick and tired of being SICK AND TIRED". Then they get upset....

Not mad, just upset because I pointed something out. Usually they come back with a response like "you don't know what I'm going through" (oh really?!) or "do you think I want to have this disease?" No I just said you weren't "there" yet. There meaning at the lowest point possible in your struggle with the disease in question. Because when you get there, you know what I'm talking about....

Let me give you an example: Take the person addicted to drugs or alcohol. Before they can get better, before any intervention is possible they have to have fallen down into the lowest depths of their illness before they can say "I can't go on like this....I need help" because that is what happens when you are there!

Now let me tell you about my there moment. This is the most embarrassing thing of my life and no, its not in my book. I still remember it like it was yesterday.....my disease was getting worse each day, I hadn't worked in 3 months, getting out of bed was a chore and took hours before my joints would loosen up enough to even make it in to the shower (where I had to sit and take a shower instead of stand like a normal person), and while I had only been in this flare for 3 months (this time) it was the worst one of my life so far. That morning I had woken up quickly, like I was jolted, realizing I had to go to the bathroom NOW and jumped out of bed only to drop to the floor just as fast! My legs wouldn't hold me, my mind didn't know what had just happened and my body decided it still had to go so I went......did you get that?!

Then I dragged myself to the bathroom, up on the toilet to finish going (no it wasn't over yet....) and then into the shower to wash off. I got out and (sitting on the toilet) dried off, then crawled back to the bedroom with carpet cleaner (from under the vanity in the bathroom) to clean up my mess. And yes, I was crying the entire time!!!

After I cleaned it up, I pulled myself up on my knees beside the bed (which by the way, is high not low to the ground so there was no way to get back into it) and started to pray. I told God I couldn't live like this any more, that I didn't want to die from this disease, I needed a cure and if He would bless me with that knowledge I would make sure I told everyone who would listen to me how they could cure themselves as well. I was physically and emotionally warn out and dragged myself across the floor into the living room and up onto the coach (a much lower piece of furniture!), curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep all the while asking God for a sign. An hour later I woke up and I didn't know why, but I knew I had to research Lupus Cures on the Internet again.

The one thing I see now that I was doing right was having a smoothie every morning, but in my mind it was only to get down all the supplements that I was taking that allowed me to be functional ~ not painless, not happy, just functional. So I first had my smoothie (Chocolate Almond Breeze, Spinach, almond butter, ice) and then got on the computer. First I checked emails and there was one that stuck out. It was from a client in California, whom I call Dr. Joe, and it had a link that talked about Dermatitis Herpatiformis. When I clicked on the link to the article, at the bottom of the page there as a link that said "woman cures herself from Lupus with Raw Foods". I about fell over.....then I thought, what the heck is raw foods? I didn't have a clue, so I researched it for hours....I was exhausted from all the information and not quite sure who to believe and who not to believe and I wasn't about to buy the woman's book for $39 to find out her "plan" because I didn't have $39 dollars to spend, so I called Dr. Joe (who happens to be a Homeopathic Physician) and asked questions.

His best advice was this, "first, you need to give it time, I would say about a week. Next, go to Whole Foods and in the produce section is a place where they sell prepared raw foods (as well as a few items on the food bar, which I added to the mix) and get some things that look like you might like it (Grawnola, flax crackers, pate, guacamole, salsa, date balls, raw dressings, mango pie, etc) and then get some produce of everything you like and just eat." He advised me to eat every thing and anything that was raw, make salads, eat fresh fruit, get fresh juices, make smoothies...and then he said the magic word 'get superfoods'. I didn't know what it was but he said it was the cure of all cures for many with autoimmune diseases.

I was actually excited and managed to get myself to Whole Foods (20 minutes away by car and I swear to you God was driving for me because I didn't remember the ride afterward) and only purchased whole raw foods. I skipped all the other foods in the store mainly because I was so tired and couldn't focus on anything else (except for Almond Breeze, which I was already using in my morning smoothie and not ready to give up).

And while I had no idea what superfoods were, I got a supplement called SuperFoods (from Amazing Grass Company) and started putting it in my morning smoothie (and then added an afternoon smoothie as well). I also found raw crackers in the "cracker aisle" and raw granola in the cereal aisle.

First you need to know that what I did was drastic and did cost a lot. I spent $250 (on the credit card, of course...) in less than 30 minutes because I didn't have the strength to go to another store and shop around for my produce. Plus I had purchased a lot of prepared foods so I would have enough to last me the week. And honestly I don't even spend that much in a month now that I know where to get my whole foods cheaper (farmers market, produce outlets, etc). I decided it was worth it if it would cure me and I'm so glad I did because in three days I started to feel better.

However, I will tell you that by the end of the first day I felt like crap! I was stuffing as much food as I possibly could into my body and it was forcing me to detox rather quickly! For three days I detoxed and for one of those days I had an emotional meltdown. I know from others this is a rather short amount of time, many take up to a week, however I didn't have to detox any meat or dairy products from my system and these seem to be what take so long to purge from your system (as well as drugs you may be taking for you symptoms).

So do you now get what being there means? Are you there? Really, are you there yet? Don't be upset if you aren't, just don't be upset with me when I point it out to you after you've asked my advice.....

And know that when you are there, I'm right here waiting to help you.