Round 2, Part 1

Round 1 definitely goes to Toxic Blood.  I lost that match and it was 93% my fault.  Yes, I am owning this defeat.  I'm not proud of it, but I am owning it.  Here's the deal, when crossing the chasm between Western and Eastern Medicine, there are just certain things that we, those of us ingrained in Western Philosophies, don't think about.  I had completed the Stomach Rescue potion of the detox, and, as instructed, I repeated it after 48 hours.  I had consumed all 10 packets of the purified calf thymus.  I had taken (and am still taking) the Stomach Enzyme Supplement every time I ate as well as a tablespoon of Cod Liver Oil.  I begin every day with a fiber supplement, a thyroid leveler, and a laaaarge mega vitamin. (Anyone who knows my disdain for pills is probably having a hard time accepting that I'm really swallowing these supplements every ... damn ... day.  But I am.)  As these things all began to work their magic within my system extracting toxins from my blood, I began to break out in an itchy, blistery rash across the back of my shoulders, the back of my neck, and in my non-existent cleavage ... the 1st places on my body to sweat, courtesy of RSD.  Fortunately they weren't juicy blisters, but the itching was miserable!!  And RSDers know just how miserable it is to itch on an affected body part.  We can't scratch it, we can't put ice or a cool cloth on it, we're basically screwed ... so to keep me from causing myself extra pain in those areas, I turned to Cortizone 10+aloe.  Aaaaaaand that's where I screwed myself.

I should have called Dr. Lal to ask her what to do, but I did what I always do when faced with a potential increase in RSD pain, I tried to nip it in the bud all by myself.  It never dawned on me that the OTC steroid creme would negate every bit of work that I'd done on my gut and blood.  Well, almost all of it.  My red blood cell count was much better, as were my thyroid levels, but that was it.  In my blood I still have large blobs of plaque with yellowish green spots (bile); I still have gall stone particles floating like stars in between the blood cells; my white blood cells are almost completely inactive (thank you steroid creme); I still have brown spots on my blue eyes; and there's a dark, cloudy ring on the outside of my iris, indicating that my endocrine system is clogged. 

The 7% that wasn't my fault lies in the fact that this is supposed to be a 3 week process, but due to the doctor moving her office and rescheduling me twice, I was forced to wait 5 weeks.  It was at about 3 weeks when I started breaking out in the rash ... but still ... I should have called.  So now I must do the blood cleanse all over again, but ... wait for it ... waaaaaait forrrrrr iiiiittt ... I have to allow 5 days to wean my liver off of the steroids and an additional 2 days to allow my compromised system to go back to it's "normal."  After I have completed Round 2 (at the 3 week mark this time) I will return to Dr. Lal for 15 minutes of UVBT (Ultra Violet Blood Therapy) which will light up my veins and arteries and serve as a magnet to pull all of the remaining crap in my blood to the walls.  I am told that about 2 days after this therapy, as the crap at the walls is working it's way out of the bloodstream, I'm going to get sick, and it won't be pretty.  Yes, I began to freak out a little tiny bit at this news, and the more I thought about it and let it fester in my brain, the more freaked out I got. <enter my cousin-in-law, Kimberly, the nutritionist>

Without writing an entire novel about my experiences on Tuesday, I will end Part 1 here.  In Part 2 I will introduce you to, and pimp out my cousin and his wife.  Meanwhile, if you're in the Denver area and would like to explore non-invasive ways of dealing with secondary diagnoses of RSD, or you're a Normie and just want better health, I am recommending Dr. Noopur Lal in Cherry Creek.  She really is fun to work with if you can pry yourself away from the Western Medicine frame of mind.  You can check her out at www.drnoopurlal.com ... and if you're local (to me) I have extra business cards that I can give out.

So here I go, weaning, returning to "normal" and starting all over again ... I'ma beat this sumbitch stomach/blood crap ... I have faith that I will.  I juuuuuuust need to retrain my brain to get the hell outta the box!!!

  

Be Blessed ... Like Me!!

RSDers around the world get frustrated easily.  We have this "rare" condition/disorder/illness for which there is no cure.  For most of us it's usually "invisible."  We are rarely believed by our family and friends and a huge chunk of the medical community still hasn't even heard of it.  We are called addicts, pill seekers, hypochondriacs, liars, and drama queens/kings.  We do everything in our power to make our voices heard, and still we are met with resistance.

To the namecallers, doubters, disbelievers, ignorers, and know-it-all-assholes I say this ... Fuck You!! (sorry Mom ... kinda but not really.)  We, RSD sufferers, have an Awareness Month, an International Awareness Day, an Awareness Ribbon color, and the doctor bills to prove that our disorder exists!!  And to my family and friends that believed me from the start, stuck with me thru thick and thin, and never lost faith in me even when I'd lost faith in myself, I say this ... I Love You!!  To the moon and back, for ever and ever, and from the bottom of my heart!!  My Mom, my Dad, the Bombshell (my sister), and Houdini (my brother) have never ever doubted my pain.  I truly am one of the lucky ones!!

Today is Nervember 5, RSD Awareness Day!!  All I can say is ... WOW!!  I made 2 posts on Facebook last night asking my friends and family to wear orange today to help me, and a couple million other RSDers, raise awareness.  Wanna know how many of my FB/Normie friends had not heard of RSD until they met me??  Approximately 98% of them!!  Wanna know how many are UNaware now?? NONE!!  Wanna know how many of them have posted pics of themselves wearing orange today??  97 and counting!!  I feel blessed!!  There is no other word that accurately describes how I feel.  Emtionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically ... I feel blessed.

Yep, you read that right!!  Physically I feel blessed too!!  Every RSDer has asked the universe, "Why me?"  Well ... I know "why me"!!  I was given RSD so that I could help bring it into the spotlight of human consciousness.  Just like the world knows about cancer, the world will know about RSD.  Now ... Wanna know how I know that I have done just that??  A couple days ago, a friend of mine from high school, who is now an ICU and Cardiac nurse in New Mexico, posted this on my FB wall ... "Jen, I just wanted to tell you that you are helping me be a better nurse and helping others as well. We recently had a young woman in the ICU with lupus and the staff did not understand the pain involved. I have taken this opportunity to teach them about the pain involved with Lupus and RSD. I have even started to teach them about spoons.  You are such a strong woman and are a blessing to those around you. Love you."  My suffering is paving the way for others!!  The medical community is listening to me!!  This sqeaky wheel is gettin' herself some grease, dammit!!  I ... am ... making ... a ... difference!!!  I have been blessed with the monster, RSD!!

Keep wearing orange!!  Keep educating yourselves and others about the existance and horrors of RSD!!  Keep hangin' tough!!  My faith has been restored time and time again!!  RSDers, don't give up!!  Between the moments of varied excruciating maladies, feel blessed!!  You are still here to tell your tale.  You have someone who will listen and believe (me).  Your story might just give someone else the hope and faith that they need to get thru their bad days!!  YOU can change the world!!

FURSD!!!