I was diagnosed with severe myelodysplasia in January of 2005. This was right after I completed aggressive chemotherapy treatments for an immature teratoma; a strange and rare tumor that decided to grow on my ovary. Doctors gave me 5 years to live if I didn't have a bone marrow transplant and they only gave me a 5% chance of surviving that procedure because of damage caused by the previous chemotherapy treatments.
Since my diagnoses, I have been trying different kinds of diet programs, pills, tonics, spa treatments, and other things to try and work with my body to heal. I was only 28 years old, I decided right after my diagnoses that I would heal. I still have too much to do here and I'm not ready to leave so soon.
I have however, had a hard time sticking to anything for very long and trasitioning into the diet I am eating was a much slower process than it should have been. I wish I would have taken bigger steps towards my current eating habits but with that said, If you eat a Standard American Diet (SAD), making the changes I have made takes a lot of work and will power at first. After awhile my body stopped craving crap and started craving more nutritional foods.
I won't talk too much here about what I've tried in the past that didn't work. Please email me any questions you may have about certain things, I'll let you know if I have any experience or knowledge regarding it. I would like to talk now about what I've found that does seem to be helping.
Diet
My diet is by far what I consider to be most important in my journey for health. If you are sick and you do not choose to start finding out what your body needs nutritionally then I beleive you are missing a huge piece of the puzzle. I am going to start by listing the items no one should eat in large qauntities, if at all. The following list are foods that if you are consuming, you are doing nothing for yourself nutritionally and you are probably causing your body more harm than you realize.
I do not eat any of the following:
Soda, candy, large amounts of high fructose corn syrup, packaged dinners like hamburger helper, packaged soups like cup o' noodle, white sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, or any other sugar*, most prepacked breakfast cereals, conventionally grown foods - you need organic meat, dairy, and produce. Anything with nitrates like sandwich meats, hot dogs, etc., white flour pastas and breads, most cookies, pies, cakes, pasteries and other sweets, processed cheese, canned foods like chili, ravioli, or spagetti O's. Most prepacked frozen meals or frozen pizzas. *You get way more sugar than your body needs or wants when you eat an average diet. There is already plenty of sugar in fruits and carbs convert to sugar. It not good to add even more. There are some better sweeteners like honey and maple syrup and there are even better ones than that, such as agave nectar, stevia, and zylitol. Many people are addicited to sugar and don't realize it.
So now that you have an idea of some of the things to stay away from, here are the things that I am finding are great for me. Finding the right nutritional balance seems like a science to me and I do not believe what works well for one will always work well for another. After a lot of trial and error my diet consists if nuts, seeds, any and all raw vegetables, raw juices, fruits, high qaulity grains, cold water, wild caught fish, organic poultry and organic beef or buffalo. I eat way more vegetables than anything else. I like to juice often and have invested in a very high quality juicer. It's on the way, it is a Green Star 2000. Until now, I have been using a cintrifucal juicer. It's better than nothing but I believe it is not nearly as beneficial as one of the masticating or better yet twin gear models.
UPDATE: I have had the Green Star for several months now and I love it. It does take some time and effort to clean but after drinking the juice you make with it you'll have plenty of energy to clean it!
I do not eat animal products every day and I try to use care in portion control. There is a lot of discussion regarding animal protiens and the risk versus benefit with them. I believe for me, they are an important part of my diet. I do find myself craving them less though and I think I will continue to limit my use of them depending on how I feel.
I make a lot of seed and nut pates that have a nice heavy consistency, they are almost as satisfying as meat. I use various chopped nuts for breakfast cereal and in one batch I added dried coconut and dried mango pieces. with a little agave nectar and nut milk, it was really delicious. I make my own nut milk and soak a lot of seeds. I also eat a lot of salads with olive oil and lemon based dressings.
I make home made carrot salad, cole slaw, and other interesting salads. If you look on my main page under the categories for directory, you will find websites that have some great recipes for raw cooking. I am new to this myself and I use those sites for new ideas.
I also do a lot of juicing. You can consume a lot more vegetables when you juice than you can otherwise. Wheat grass juice is very beneficial for me, some people have an adverse reaction to it though so go slowly with it. Try a shot at Jamba Juice or Whole Foods first to see if you can even tolerate it before you go out and buy the equippment and wheatgrass flat, only to find you don't tolerate it. Wheatgrass juice is only one molecule away from human blood - it make sense to me that this would be good for people who have issues with the blood.
Basically, your diet is the most important factor in your health. You are responsible for the things you put in your mouth. Only you can find what is the right combination for you. You are the only person who can educate yourself regarding nutrition and then actually use the knowledge and nourish yourself accordingly. I just don't think it is possible to recover from any disease fully unless you eat a proper diet. I also don't think that the majority of people truly understand what eating a proper diet means.
The good news is that the information is available, all you have to do is seek it out and use it.
There are some great books out there to help you find your "right" diet.
Healing With Whole Foods - Paul Pitchford
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration - Westin Price
Traditional Foods are Your Best Medicine - Ronald Schmidt
The Web That Has No Weaver - Ted Kapchuck
The Metabolic Typing Diet - William Wolcott and Trish Fahey
If you buy and read all of these books you will find contradictions within the information. This is because your diet should be individualized to you and no one but you can ultimately find the right combination. Start out by making a commitment to eat organic foods and foods that are not processed.
Drugs/Transfusions
I have posted my counts and will continue to keep you updated, if you are interested in seeing how my numbers have fluctuated and my frequency of procrit or aranesp injections, you can find it under my counts on my main page. I am currently using Aranesp to keep my numbers boosted. As of today I have not needed it for 5 weeks and counting. I am only going to use it if my Hemoglobin dips below 12. I was using Procrit for the better half of last year and got poor results, it didn't make a huge difference in my numbers and it caused bone pain, nausea, fever, irritability, and just general yuckiness. I quit using it in July and you'll see that my numbers dropped and my transfusions increased. Unfortunately, I also was not following the diet as well as I should have been at this point. I fell off on my good practices a little, partially because my energy was low and eating healthfully takes work.
Aranesp seems to be much better than procrit for me. I was using it every 2 weeks, and then 3, and so on. Now, it's been 5 weeks and I am only going to use it if I dip below a hemoglobin of 12. My hemoglobin seems to be doing well, staying between 12 and 13 for over a month now. My goal is to quit using it all together if possible. I will say though, it has been helpful and significantly better than procrit so if you are using procrit with little success, you may want to look at Aranesp instead. It's very expensive so make sure that's not a factor, if it works better, your insurance should cover it!
UPDATE: 12/08/06 I have not used Aranesp or any other drug for over 6 months now and my numbers remain strong.
I have received a number of blood transfusions although it has now been 3 months and 3 weeks since my last one. I normally need one when my hemoblobin drops to about 8. I have gathered up a couple of designated donors so when I do need a transfusion I can let them know and they go in and donate for me. A local paper ran an ad for me and some friends asked around at work. It was amazing how willing people were to go get tested for me and be available in case I need blood. Having designated donors cuts down on the risk of developing antibodies to blood.
UPDATE- 09/23/06 It's been 5 months since my last blood transfusion and 11 weeks since I have had an Aranesp injection. My counts remain strong.
UPDATE: 12/08/06 After 7 months with no blood transfusions I feel it's safe to say I no longer need them.
Supplements
I went to a medical facility in Mexico called Sanoviv and it was there that I finally found the right combination of supplements for me. I have bought huge amounts of crap. Nothing made a difference until I started using my current regimin about 3 months ago. It consists of:
Wobe Mugos enzymes - These are not available in the states, I am getting them from Mexico and I am paying a lot of money for them. There is a very similar product available called wobenzymes and they are not that expensive. Enzymes are required for every living thing, you simply cannot survive without them. Cooking food destroys the enzymes that would otherwise be in it to help you digest it and as you age, you produce less of your own enzymes. I cannot believe how much better I feel since taking them. They are like little miracles. Read more about wobenzymes at http://www.myhealthpro.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?bai=&a=disp&pid=984198&cv=x.
Probiotics with at least 5 billion microorganisms UPDATE: 12/08/06 I had a hard time finding the right probiotics and after a lot of trial and error I have found that Metagenics Ultra Flora Plus DF Capsules do what probiotics should do. They are available through your physician.
The vitamins I am taking are Omega 3's, Ginko, Vitamin C, Multivitamin and mineral and a couple others. This is a lot of supplements but I believe they are all providing significant benefit to me. I have become a representitive for the vitamins I am using because they are the only supplements that have given me noticeable results. They are the best nutritional supplements on the market which has been confirmed by a huge independant study. Whether you choose the ones I am using or another brand, you do need nutritional supplementation. I think the evidence shows that our foods do not have the nutrition content they once did and in order to get the amount of nutrients you need, you would have to consume an unreasonable amount of organic, whole foods.
I also use 5-HTP and melatonin for depression. 5-HTP and melatonin combined increase your body's ability to manufacture serotonin. Melatonin has also shown some improvement in platelet counts for some people.
Lastly I take NAC for my COPD. It is an amino acid and amino acids are good things.
The thing to keep in mind here is my needs will not be the same as your needs. I believe that every person should do the following at a minimum: 1)Eat an organic, high fiber, whole food, diet with as much raw food as you can tolerate. 2) At a minimum take a high quality multi vitamin and mineral. Be willing to invest money in your supplements, we're talking about your health. Consider additional supplements such as calcium and omega 3's based on your needs. For me, the list of products I listed above is crucial, I will take them for the rest of my life because I feel amazing with them. 3) Use enzymes! I believe Wobeenzymes are the best, most cost effective ones but I'm not an expert. I am taking a variation of them and they've been great for me. You can't overdo enzymes or hurt yourself with them so if you find another enzyme that you think would help - go for it. 4) Probiotics can really improve digestion and improve elimination, it's important to arm yourself with those friendly bacteria. You need a probiotic with at least 5 billion microorganisms.
Exercise
I need to do more of this but I am doing more than I used to. I go for walks at least 4 times a week, swim when I'm near a pool, Today I did some yard work. I am finding the more I do, the more I can do. I am getting stronger.
I started yoga and also just ordered a rebounder (mini trampoline). They are suppose to be the best exercise you can do. Yoga really appeals to me because it's seems sort of like a moving meditation. I'll keep you posted about my progress but I am really enjoying getting more active.
UPDATE - I got the rebounder and I love it. I am on it at least 30 minutes per day and working up to more. Exercise has been really rewarding and the more I do, the more I am able to do. Start slowly but get moving.
NEXT UPDATE - 09/23/06 I feel fantastic and get up each morning and spend 30 minutes jumping on the rebounder. I love it. Yoga is still great and we have been talking nice walks though the canyon. Sometimes I don't feel like it at first but once I get going I am glad I did.
NEXT UPDATE - 12/08/06 I am not doing nearly as much as I should and I am making a committment to get back into this routine starting today.
Water
There is a lot of different schools of thought regarding your water. Some people swear by distilled water, some prefer spring water, other like mineral water...the list goes on. Drink a clean form of water - your tap water is killing you and you need to invest in your water supply if you are still drinking water from the tap. You need to be concerned about the water you bath in as well. The clorine and other toxic stuff they use to treat tap water gets absobed into your skin - everything you put on your skin gets absobed into your system so be weary. I have a whole home reverse osmosis water system so all of the water coming into my home has been treated. Beyond that, I have added an additional filter on my shower head to get anything my system does not. At a minimum go get a water filter for your shower from Home Depot. It's inexpensive and easy to install. Not only is your body absorbing the chemicals in the water but hot chlorine creates a horrible gas that you are breathing in as you shower. Do not drink or cook with your tap water.
Reduce Toxins
I have done a lot of things to reduce the amount of toxins that I am exposed to. Unfortunately in today's world you cannot completely eliminate your exposure to pollutants and toxins but there are steps you can take to reduce your exposure significantly. Here's some of the things I have done:
Purchase a high quality vacuum with a HEPA filter and use it often.
Get rid of carpet if you can and get a hard wood or other less toxic flooring. Carpeting itself is typically made of chemical substance and then it traps pollutants within it's fibers.
Use non toxic, natural cleaning products and laundry detergents. Eliminate use of frangrances, they are chemicals that your body was not designed to manage.
Use shampoos, soaps and other skin care products that are natural, without harmful chmicals. I use Sense products, they are very nice. You do not have to sacrifice to use good skin and hair care products. The Sense line offers a nice alternative. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing these products.
Do not use traditional deodarants or anti-perspirants. Use a mineral salt stick or choose Tom's or other natural deodarant. UPDATE - One of my very best friends visited me recently and I was dismayed to see her slathering a common brand of ANTI-PERSPIRANT all over her. Do not use anti-perspirant please. You are suppose to sweat, it's natures way of excreting toxins and if you prevent that process you are keeping those toxins locked up in your body.
Do not use main stream toothpaste. It contains sweeteners and normally flouride which is not the wonderful thing the government has led you to believe it is. I use a nice natural toothpaste, I get it from the same company I get my vitamin's from, it is the best natural toothpaste I have found as far as taste and consistency, please contact me if you would like some.
Do not use traditional pesticides in your home and if you cannot avoid this, leave your home when they are being used. I would honestly leave for several days or even longer if pesticides were used in or near my home.
Eat organic foods.
Other Stuff
- Spirituality has become an important part of my being. If you feel a spritual connection to the world around you, no matter how it materializes, nuture that as much as possible.
- Meditation is a sometimes difficult but very rewarding pratice, learning at first to simply quiet your mind and then going deeper, using meditation to acheive extreme relaxation and learning to really connect with your inner being is awesome! I'm still working on this but I dedicate 15-30 minutes each day to quiet refection or meditation.
- Acupuncture has been a wonderful experience for me and something that I will do for the rest of me life. I have found a wonderful acupuncturists and I highly reccomend it to others.
- Yoga has been a wonderful experience for both my husband and myself.
- Hypnotherapy has helped me with relaxation and better sleep.
- My pets have provided me with laughter, love, and unconditional companionship. I highly recommend you get one and if you have one already, nurture that relationship.
- Don't watch the news, read the papers, or otherwise expose yourself to negative things.
- Connect to that within yourself that is perfect. Honor yourself before all else. Without you, you have nothing. You are a wonderful and beutiful person, once you connect to that within yourself that is already perfect, you give yourself a stronger foundation to work on the rest.
- Educate yourself. Do not trust everything your doctor tells you. Ask questions, challenge opinions, do not do things that do not feel right to you.
- Get spa treatments. This is not a frivolous luxury, not something you should feel guilty about doing for yourself. Massage, facials, wraps, reflexology can all help get lymph fluid moving, release toxins, hep with relaxation, and more. We have to get out of the way of thinking that says taking time to relax and hiring people to help us do that is a luxury that we should not provide for ourselves. Look at these things as an important part of your health building routine.
- Seek out professionals that can help you meet your goals. Consult with nutritionists, hypnotherapists, life coaches, naturopaths, and any other professionals that you feel may be helpful for you.
