Just the facts

It is officially winter in the Bay area.  We had our first rain of the season a week ago and the chilly air is setting in this week.  This is the time of year I traditionally start to feel ill and my body and mind suffer the greatest. 

I am feeling quite crappy physically and mentally.  Over the last month my lungs have become more congested and it’s more difficult to clear my airways.  My sinuses started to cause me headaches while the mucus was clear but now it’s changing to infectious green and giving me post-nasal drip further irritating my throat.  No amount of ricolas and hot garlic/ginger/cayenne tea are helping.  I’m feeling very tired and sluggish even sleeping 10 hours a night. 

My first visit to the Dr. in 2012 revealed some normalcy and some new developments that I need to make some quick decisions about.  My FEV is 111%, an increase of 3% from 6 months ago.  This means my lung function is still very good even though I don’t feel well.  My sputum culture was mostly normal reveling heavy growth Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.  On the other hand, it had a new culture of HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE which is a bacteria that is often found in the respiratory tract and plausibly why I am feeling crappy.  NOT to be confused with the flu or H1N1 flu.  My Dr. said it is usually treated in NON Cf patients with antibiotics and only in CF patients if we are feeling symptoms.(refer to paragraph two).  Now I have to decide if I ask for antibiotics.  Pills, pills, pills damn it.  My vitamin D lab revealed an ULTIMATELY LOW level.  My dr. said it might be the lowest she has ever seen.  She has rx me ADEKs daily and superdoses of vitamin D with a digestive enzyme weekly for 3 months…again.  At least I’m still not bloated:)  Lastly, I am at my heaviest weight in 7 years, 124lbs, so all that eating is sticking somewhere!

All my life I’ve been a busy minded person who's focus is easily derailed and the cold weather and lack of sun is no help.  The same remains true today.  I am working full time and attending school part time while working on multiple mini projects.  My lack of focus is causing me to be less productive in all areas resulting in stress on my already weak immune system and a constant state of exhaustion. SIIIIGGGGH.  Doing too much is my middle name. 

Cold weather highly affects me mentally and has done since I first moved to San Francisco in 2002.  Winter rain and cold makes me want to stay inside which results in less motivation, less exercise, less focus.  A.k.A  S.A.D.  For real.  Seasonal Depression.  I don’t think it needs a medical name but I definitely experience it.  They relate “the blues” to the chemical changes in the brain caused by changes in the amount of sunlight.  I already am lacking in vitamin D which is created in the body when exposed to the sun.  Cold weather and lack of sun = lack of concentration, indecisiveness and fatigue.  What can I do about this yearly issue?  Move to the sun.....

Me and Erin at Whole Foods

On a happier note, my man and I are planning another vacation to Hawaii.  Maui is one of my favorite places to visit and it may just be my next home.  My mother retired after 40 years as a nurse and plans on volunteering for the Opera, traveling more and enjoying life alongside my dad who has been retired for about 7 years.  Thank goodness because we thought she’d never retire!!  I’ve been making more time for my dear friends and even got to do a mini photo shoot with my girl.                   

Life IS good.  

My current situation living with CF

Although it may seem otherwise, my health is important to me and I do want to live a healthy long life.  I just do not agree with so much of western medicines idea of treatment.  I read the CF community blogs and get irked by all the issues people have with the continuous drugs and picc lines etc etc.  There has to be a better way.

My current situation living with CF

I have yet to return to the western Dr. since my last visit…more than 4 months ago.  I missed 2 appointments in the last 2 months after making serious effort to go into the clinic and make an appointment.  The fact is, I don’t find any relief or anything new when I visit the CF clinic.  I take the same tests and am forever telling them what I am doing for myself while they could give rats ass.  Kudos to my Dr., who listens, but I think she knows as well as I do, the western way is not my way.

I UNDERSTAND my case of CF is MINE and I do not have as severe a challenge as others patients.  When I try the Dr.’s orders I feel like shit!  I take antibiotics and then I feel worse after.  I get a PICC line and it takes 5 tries to get it in and they never stay put because my veins collapse.  I take enzymes and I can’t pass a bowel movement without taking a laxative.  At 34, this process does not make sense to me, and hasn’t since I was 12.  The Dr and their rx’s do not make me feel better.  I feel worse.

I have the normal CF problems such as mucous throughout my body and malabsorption of vital vitamins due to enzyme deficiency.  The mucous is almost zilch and hardly effects me when I eat properly…NO DAIRY, NO WHEAT and NO FRIED FOODS and run on a regular basis.  I have incorporated saline (salt) treatments into my regimen which are traditionally done through a nebulizer, but instead, I have chosen to put the saline into a humidifier and “beach” my bedroom and sleep in the salty air.  This allows me more time to enjoy life instead of feeling like an invalid strapped to a machine.  As far as my pancreas and being enzyme deficient, I’ve been experiencing extreme bloating for most of my life.  I have tried everything the CF clinics have prescribed including several types of enzymes, laxatives, vitamins, supplements, shakes, diets and even undergone removal of 2 feet of bowels.  I’ve tried numerous herbs and acupuncture and only experienced temporary relief but have never had a comfortable properly functioning digestive system. But QRA has just begun to change that!

For the first time in YEARS, maybe ever, I am no longer experiencing the pain, bloating and irregular bowel issues from eating 4k calories a day enzyme, laxative, vitamin, and supplement FREE!

3 months ago I experienced my first session of QRA, Quantum Reflex Analysis.  It “is a method based on B-DORT, a bidigital o-ring testing that allows any strong person to test strength and weaknesses, strength and specific, identifiable nutritional deficiencies, in every gland, organ, and area of tissue.  QRA is the specific identification of not only nutritionally-deficient organs, glands, and tissues; as well, QRA matches with exquisite precision what nutrition is deficient, and how much.”

My back went out at work one day after 3 months of growing stress and I finally made the call to see the practitioner hoping she could help my BACK.  I traveled a couple hours to see her and spent 5 hours in my first session in which she was able to provide me a thorough analysis and 1^st treatment.  The analysis confirmed several of my organs are weak and distressed and I am highly deficient in Vitamin D.  All of which my acupuncturist had explained to me over the last year as well as western medicine telling me about my vitamin levels.  After a series of tests, “clearing” and mud therapy packs, I went home with a vitamin D supplement to take for a couple weeks and to experience the most INTENSE bowel purge of my life!  It was excruciating and I was in tears.  My man cared for me throughout the experience, which lasted about 90 minutes.  Since that moment, my back and my bowels have been remarkably FINE!!  No pain, no aches, and no bloating!   I’ve even indulged in pizza and enchiladas, two foods that used to have me staying at home for 24 hours.

I am a true believer in QRA and walking proof that it does work.  I am continuing to see my practitioner for all of the “mystery” aches and pains and undiagnosed problems I’ve been suffering with.  I am look for a better quality of life that doesn’t require drugs, needles and knives.  I am finding it.