A New Approach To My Health

A friend of mine posted a link to this article, "11 Integrative Medicine Breakthroughs Of 2011" a little while ago on Facebook.  Most of the items seem like common sense to me, but I am glad that they are formally recognizing that yoga helps bad backs and acupuncture is safe for kids.  The article also introduced me to the term CAM.  It stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Turns out I have used some forms of CAM for several years.  I managed my depression with acupuncture while trying to get pregnant and the first trimesters with Superman, as well as the days leading up to my induction with Mr. T.  I have done yoga to help my flexibility and increase my core strength when my back was hurting me.  I take an amino acid to avoid getting cold sores when I go to the mountains (but apparently I didn't take enough a couple weeks ago because I ended up with 2 after our tubing trip).  I used a chiropractor for my lower back pain during the pregnancy and then Mr. T received craniosacral treatments shortly after he was born.

It wasn't until recently that I decided to take it a step further.  As most of you know, I am on a journey to feel better.  It started just as weight gain, but as I continued to try and figure out what was going on, my therapist recommended "Intuitive Eating".  As I began to pay more attention to how I felt before, during, and after eating, I began to realize that I was feeling pretty crummy.  Actually, more than crummy. I was downright sick and had no idea. 

The logical thing to do would be to my primary care physician.  When I decided that I didn't want to do that because of my lack of help in the past from her, I knew I needed to change primary care physicians (and am in the process of doing that but am not having much luck).  I also knew that maybe I needed to look at alternative medicine for the answer...so I began researching naturopathy, found a naturopath (ND), and met with her.  (I did end up at my old primary care physician's office so that I could get lab work paid for through my insurance.  The nurse practioner gave me a flier on how to lose weight and circled the walk at least 10,000 steps a day after I had just finished telling her that I walk between 11,500-13,000 steps a day on average.) 

All I can say is that for the first time in a really long time, I have felt truly heard when I talked about my medical issues.  I wasn't looked down upon, I wasn't ridiculed for thinking that something else might be going on despite the lack of evidence at the time, I was listened to because I am the expert of me.  What a concept!

So I have been working with my Naturopath for just over two months and have not only learned why I feel like crud, but how to fix it....for good. I have been complaining to my "regular" doctors for years and been told nothing is wrong with me or that I just need to take x pill for 10 days and then I would be better.  It infuriates me that mainstream practitioners are so quick to blow patients off just because their lab results are within the normal range.

Now if I could just find a regular physician that works well with naturopaths, I would be golden.

Loving Motherlove - A product review

I have eczema.  It is on my fingers and I struggle with it year round, but during the winter?  It is much worse.  And when I am pregnant? Ugh! It is awful.  So here we are in the winter and I'm pregnant and there isn't much I can do about it since steroid creams are not recommended during pregnancy. 

When I was pregnant with Superman I used my paraffin wax dipper thing a lot.  I would load my hands up with a high quality cream and then dunk my hands.  It worked okay, but the results never lasted very long and doing it multiple times a day was not possible.

Well this time around I have this blog and with that comes companies occasionally wanting me to review things.  I was lucky enough that in October a representative from the Mother Love Herbal Company contacted me and wanted me to do a review.  I didn't know I was pregnant yet, but told her that I was still nursing and do struggle with eczema (because frankly even my prescription doesn't work that well).  She said she was sending me their nipple cream for any nursing issues and the Green Salve for my eczema.  (I have been fortunate not to need the nipple cream, so this review is not going to include any information on it.)

Shortly after I got the products I found out I was pregnant and, once I knew the Green Salve was safe during pregnancy, I began to use it.  I have to be honest, it only worked okay.  At this point I had several cracked areas on my fingers (to the point of bleeding) and I was desperate for it to work.  Unfortunately, although it gave me some relief when I put it on, the results did not last long.  In fact if I put it on at night, I would wake up with my hands just as bad as before I used it. 

So I sent an email to the representative saying that I didn't think I should write a review given my results (she said that I could still write it because they are looking for honest reviews from people).  However, she forwarded my email on to the owners of the company and they came back with the suggestion that I try the the Diaper Rash and Thrush salve.  It contains myrrh and oregon grape root (both are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal).   I was willing to try anything at this point so I agreed.

The first night I put the Diaper Rash and Thrush salve on my hands and went to bed.  The next morning I woke up, and I swear to you, my hands were so healed I couldn't believe it.    I was (and am) so grateful that the rep. was willing to take that extra step to find something that did work for me.  It isn't every day that you find a company willing to do that. 

At any rate, they were so healed that I didn't have to even apply it to my hands for 4 days.  After 4 days they started to get a bit dry and I figured I would prevent a huge attack by putting on at night again.  Then the worst thing happened....I couldn't find it anywhere!  I searched my house from top to bottom...staying up way too late searching for it.  Yes, it works that well.  Finally after about 40 minutes, I realized I had put it in my laptop bag...pure relief. 

Then a strange thing happened.  I didn't really get the same results that I did the first time.  In fact, my hands didn't really look any different in the morning.  So after trying it a couple more times, I decided to switch back to the green salve, thinking maybe whatever was causing it this time could be solved by it.  It got a little better, but not great.  Then? I get the brilliant plan to put them both on my hands together.  This? Worked perfectly!

I am still not sure how it all works (and because Motherlove is an herbal company they "can't make medical claims to cure any conditions or diseases"), but from what they are suggesting and the research I have done, it appears that eczema and yeast can go hand in hand with some people and I am one of those people.  It makes me really wonder about the prescription stuff I normally use...maybe a trip to a naturopathic doctor to see if I can learn more about this would be a good idea.  Either way, I am just grateful that I found something that works during my pregnancy.

I highly recommend the Motherlove Herbal company if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a baby.  They have been around for 20 years and based on what I have read about them, really strive to provide the best products possible with the least amount of impact on earth.  Many of their products are certified organic and never contain mineral oil, lanolin, parabens, or synthetic or artificial ingredients.  They have amazing customer service and have been a real pleasure to work with. 

Disclaimer: I received 3 products to try for free from the Motherlove Herbal company in return for an honest review.  What I have written here are purely my opinions and should not be considered medical advice.