I am straining the Four Marvel Tincture now. It is on the last strain which goes through a coffee filter and takes quite a long time, so I am thinking it will be ready to test tonight when I take my last medicinals before bed. I will begin with 1 tablespoon daily.
Here is the formula for the 4 Marvel Tincture:
Huang Bai (33%)
Yi Yi Ren (33%)
Huai Niu Xi (17%)
Cang Zhu (17%)
Mascerated in a liquid of Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol) and water at a 1:1 ratio
If you don't want to spring for Everclear you can use another liquor as long as it's 40% alcohol, which most are. The other liquor used most often is Vodka. Don't buy the cheap stuff and don't water it down. Use it full strength.
My experience with the heart tincture and pain tincture I made is that these tinctures taste bad. If you can't stand it the way it is add some honey to it, just be aware that you are also adding calories. Also, this wouldn't work for diabetics.
This is not an attempt to prescribe a course of treatment and I certainly don't advocate suddenly stopping your current medical regimen. This is something to be stepped into on a graduated scale, hopefully you won't have to experience the liver problems that I had or other serious side effects of traditional medicine. Natural medicinals are not for everyone and keep in mind that they also contain chemical compounds and some have side effects of their own. On the other hand, our bodies also contain chemical compounds and many chemical reactions take place within us daily, even healthy bodies. So speak to your doctor and find a good naturopath to work with you. A good naturopath will be able to get your body back in line and set a good foundation for the beginning of a wholistic treatment.
I'm smiling :-) and excited to be on my way to good health. If this formula doesn't help, I'll keep looking til I find one that does. Next Tuesday I will know the results of my bloodwork and I'll have the opportunity to speak with my GP about my decision to go natural. I don't believe she will have too much problem with it, she has advocated several natural method to me already; the Daniel fast, and Fish Oil Capsules. I think she will be OK with it and I will certainly need her to keep a check on my bloodwork.
I have several more tinctures still mascerating which will be ready in a few days. I'll post more about them later. Got to get back to the liquor store soon. Until then, be blessed.....blessed be.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Here we go.....Part 2
After a little more than a year of going to the rheumatologist, with her increasing my overall intake of meds and increasing the dose of the old meds, my liver began to be negatively affected. Suddenly I received calls from the rheumatologist and my GP to stop taking the methotrexate and the cholesterol meds, immediately! My feet and legs were swelling from fluid retention and I had to wear those really tight hose they use to have some control over the fluid. Getting those things on everyday was great aerobic exercise and weight training! I've never worn clothes that I had to fight with, until then. Of course, they prescribed Lasix and Potassium so I could sustain the dose of Lasix. They do this with Methotrexate also. They prescribe Folic Acid to keep the methotrexate from killing you quickly! While all this was going on, I was thinking......something is not right with this plan.
When it appeared, based on blood tests and lack of fluid retention, that my liver was functioning again the rheumatologist wanted me to begin the methotrexate regimen again. I attempted to discuss this with her and realized I was trying to talk to someone as they walked away, after spending less than 5 minutes in the exam room with me. Plus giving them $50 every visit! None of that made sense to me and I decided I wouldn't accept it any longer. That's when I stopped taking all the RA meds, including the NSAIDS, which are also very dangerous if used over an extended period.
After about 3 months of no poison I began to notice that I didn't bruise every time something touched me, I didn't have to take Prilosec everyday because of the acid reflux caused by the NSAIDS, and I realized that I didn't feel any worse than I did while taking all those meds. Through it all my feet continued to hurt and my fingers swelled up every night. The meds never stopped that. And it's still true now. After coming through the worst flare I've ever had and reuniting with the dreaded steroid I knew I needed a more pro-active plan. As a certified herbalist, using natural meds and a good naturopath I am stepping onto a new path.
At this point the herbs are mascerating in my kitchen. They have to mascerate at least 3 weeks and today is the 3rd week anniversary of the 'Four Marvel Tincture' for treating RA. Tomorrow morning I will strain it, bottle it, and begin using it. I'm really excited about this tincture. It is made from medicines used for centuries in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). They make 'Four Marvel Powder' and compress it into pills or put it in capsules. I am trying the tincture for 2 reasons: 1. Alcohol is known to extract more of the useful substances and 2. liquids are faster acting. In my next post I'll put all the ingredients of my tincture, if anyone wants to try it. The naturopath and I both agree on daily intake of curcumin. It's nature's version of prednisone, the dreaded steroid. I'll also post this along with the dosage size and amount as well as the other tinctures and herbs that I am using for creating a good foundation for this new beginning.
Thank you for joining me on my journey! Hopefully, this will benefit others besides me. That is equally important to me.
When it appeared, based on blood tests and lack of fluid retention, that my liver was functioning again the rheumatologist wanted me to begin the methotrexate regimen again. I attempted to discuss this with her and realized I was trying to talk to someone as they walked away, after spending less than 5 minutes in the exam room with me. Plus giving them $50 every visit! None of that made sense to me and I decided I wouldn't accept it any longer. That's when I stopped taking all the RA meds, including the NSAIDS, which are also very dangerous if used over an extended period.
After about 3 months of no poison I began to notice that I didn't bruise every time something touched me, I didn't have to take Prilosec everyday because of the acid reflux caused by the NSAIDS, and I realized that I didn't feel any worse than I did while taking all those meds. Through it all my feet continued to hurt and my fingers swelled up every night. The meds never stopped that. And it's still true now. After coming through the worst flare I've ever had and reuniting with the dreaded steroid I knew I needed a more pro-active plan. As a certified herbalist, using natural meds and a good naturopath I am stepping onto a new path.
At this point the herbs are mascerating in my kitchen. They have to mascerate at least 3 weeks and today is the 3rd week anniversary of the 'Four Marvel Tincture' for treating RA. Tomorrow morning I will strain it, bottle it, and begin using it. I'm really excited about this tincture. It is made from medicines used for centuries in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). They make 'Four Marvel Powder' and compress it into pills or put it in capsules. I am trying the tincture for 2 reasons: 1. Alcohol is known to extract more of the useful substances and 2. liquids are faster acting. In my next post I'll put all the ingredients of my tincture, if anyone wants to try it. The naturopath and I both agree on daily intake of curcumin. It's nature's version of prednisone, the dreaded steroid. I'll also post this along with the dosage size and amount as well as the other tinctures and herbs that I am using for creating a good foundation for this new beginning.
Thank you for joining me on my journey! Hopefully, this will benefit others besides me. That is equally important to me.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Here we go!
All right! Getting started on a new way of life; both exciting and a bit worrisome. Having already tried the mainstream medical ideas I know they don't work for me. It really seems that naturally is my only choice. Therefore, I am attempting to give myself the best start possible, but first let me give you a little of my history with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
I believe I've had this disease for several years, even before I was diagnosed in 2009. In 2002, I believe it was, I hurt my wrist at work and they sent me to their workers comp doctor. He took x-rays of my wrist and hand and that's when I got my first picture of arthritis. He only took pictures of the one hand (my right) so it never dawned on me at that time that the other hand may be affected also.
Several months later, in 2003, I went to another doctor because my fingers would swell up at night, to the point that I had to remove my rings every night before I went to sleep. If not, I would wake in the night because the rings would be hurting my fingers and it would take soapy water to get them off. This was happening to both hands now. She drew blood and ran an arthritis profile but the RA factor didn't show up in that test. Since then I have learned that lots of people with RA test serum negative on their blood work. But at the time I thought I was free and clear!
Time passed with not much change until 2007. I got to the point that I could hardly sleep because it hurt my feet to lie on the bed. My feet and hands had also started burning, sometimes even turning very red on the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. We were spending a lot of time away from home by then, working on the pipeline. It took 2 more years and some other ailments to force me to come home and go to a local doctor. I showed him my hands, which by now were staying swollen most of the time. His comment was "Well, there's arthritis and then there's Arthritis." He ran the arthritis profile and this time it showed up in my bloodwork. He prescribed an NSAID pain reliever which gave me no relief at all. When I returned to him 3 months later he added methotrexate and changed the NSAID to Celebrex. After a few months I did notice some improvement in the pain and was able to get a better night's sleep. I thought we were on the right track. In the meantime, he retired!
It was about a year later, in November of 2010, when I experienced my first flare-up. I had some knowledge of this from doing research on RA and had put myself into flare (by over-doing it in the garden) once before without it. This one though, seemed to come out of nowhere and it laid me out. I hurriedly found another local doctor because I needed help bad! An RA flare feels like the worst case of flu imaginable plus arthritis. This is where I got my first taste of Prednisone, the RA drug everyone has a love/hate relationship with. She started me off on a high dose that gradually tapered off. It rescued me immediately from the miserable grip of something worse than death; that's how I felt anyway. My new doctor set me an appointment with a rheumatologist. Then she moved! I don't know what it is about me and doctors now. They just don't stick around, for some reason.
I'll finish the background in the morning. Need to rest now. Been a very busy 3 days!
Thank you all for stopping by and sharing this journey with me.
I believe I've had this disease for several years, even before I was diagnosed in 2009. In 2002, I believe it was, I hurt my wrist at work and they sent me to their workers comp doctor. He took x-rays of my wrist and hand and that's when I got my first picture of arthritis. He only took pictures of the one hand (my right) so it never dawned on me at that time that the other hand may be affected also.
Several months later, in 2003, I went to another doctor because my fingers would swell up at night, to the point that I had to remove my rings every night before I went to sleep. If not, I would wake in the night because the rings would be hurting my fingers and it would take soapy water to get them off. This was happening to both hands now. She drew blood and ran an arthritis profile but the RA factor didn't show up in that test. Since then I have learned that lots of people with RA test serum negative on their blood work. But at the time I thought I was free and clear!
Time passed with not much change until 2007. I got to the point that I could hardly sleep because it hurt my feet to lie on the bed. My feet and hands had also started burning, sometimes even turning very red on the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. We were spending a lot of time away from home by then, working on the pipeline. It took 2 more years and some other ailments to force me to come home and go to a local doctor. I showed him my hands, which by now were staying swollen most of the time. His comment was "Well, there's arthritis and then there's Arthritis." He ran the arthritis profile and this time it showed up in my bloodwork. He prescribed an NSAID pain reliever which gave me no relief at all. When I returned to him 3 months later he added methotrexate and changed the NSAID to Celebrex. After a few months I did notice some improvement in the pain and was able to get a better night's sleep. I thought we were on the right track. In the meantime, he retired!
It was about a year later, in November of 2010, when I experienced my first flare-up. I had some knowledge of this from doing research on RA and had put myself into flare (by over-doing it in the garden) once before without it. This one though, seemed to come out of nowhere and it laid me out. I hurriedly found another local doctor because I needed help bad! An RA flare feels like the worst case of flu imaginable plus arthritis. This is where I got my first taste of Prednisone, the RA drug everyone has a love/hate relationship with. She started me off on a high dose that gradually tapered off. It rescued me immediately from the miserable grip of something worse than death; that's how I felt anyway. My new doctor set me an appointment with a rheumatologist. Then she moved! I don't know what it is about me and doctors now. They just don't stick around, for some reason.
I'll finish the background in the morning. Need to rest now. Been a very busy 3 days!
Thank you all for stopping by and sharing this journey with me.
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