6 mos Later, I’m Still Free! (2 min read)

Join me in my quest for 

MORE “One of the Lucky Ones!”

It’s been six months since I posted

  Rant and rave on The Unwanted Visitor!

I’m still C-diff free! 

How did I do it? 

I ate 1 avocado a day and

Drank Kevita probiotic drink

(Switched to Karma Vitamin water with probiotics in the cap 2 mos ago)
Along with eating, 🍹ing or taking the following-

Standard process Promaline Iodine & Okra pepsin E3 

Fish oil supplement

Turmeric sprinkled on my Crohns and colitis diet

Yogurt daily  (No other dairy)

1 Banana per day

Fermented foods (dill pickles or sauerkraut work well)

No red meat ( still none yet 😒)

Limited pork

Almond milk

Blueberries 

Fruit smoothie made with banana, blueberries and applesauce  with a squirt of lemon ( now 3 times per week instead of everyday)

Coconut water not made from concentrate in tap water

Nature’s Bounty probiotic at dinner time.  

Cayenne pepper sprinkled on most anything.

Seeped green tea, echinacea, marshmallow root and stevia herbs. ( I also add ginkgo)

Ginger in or on anything you like.

I keep a prescription of dicyclomine 20 mg on hand in case of Colon spasms.

Start with a short walk each day and increase distance as your body will allow. If you feel pulling in you abdominal area shorten it, then increase again in a week or two.

**For more in depth information read my Rant and rave on The Unwanted Visitor post!**

** Most important is the PROBIOTICS and the AVOCADO! **

Go!!

Health be with you!!

Keep me posted and share! share! share!!

Kind Regards and feeling thankful, grateful and thinking of you -K

  Copyrighted and owned by K at the Black Wall Blog! No posts may be professionally published without written permission.

One of the Lucky…

As I was laying in the ER the other day getting a bag of fluids due to some gastro-something virus thing I caught at work. My blood work results returned and a very relieved PA said to me “You know you’re one of the lucky ones.”

“One of the lucky ones. One of the lucky ones.”  Those 5 words  have swirled round and round in  my head for the last 24  hours. 

That statement made me glad AND sad. 

1) Due to back to back bouts of c-diff earlier this year I can no longer take anti- biotics. One of those “helpful” lil’ buggers caused my c- diff!  

But that’s not why I”m saddened by “being one of the lucky ones.”

2) I lost my job and almost everything I own due to that terrible super bug .

But that’s not why I”m saddened by “being one of the lucky ones.”

3)  The  fact that less than 80% of people are cured by the C-diff drugs doctors prescribe, (including me).

 THAT makes me sad! 

The fact that I spent numerous days researching alternatives, digging into studies, reading blogs and comments, digging, praying only to sleep a few hours and start again making notes, trying this, trying that until FINALLY! I started feeling better .

 I’m proud I did it 

Unfortunately the regular doctors and primary care physicians aren’t mentiong any of these alternatives.

The pharmaceutical companies are going to fight, probably already are against the answers, the discoveries of what is working ! THAT makes me SAD AND MAD!! 

I want MORE lucky ones! 
I wrote about C-diff and my trials in my post The Unwanted visitor! I didn’t know if it was truly going to work then. 

NOW I know, IT DID!

In my next  post I will reiterate in a quick 3 minute(ish) read what to try!  AND NOT one of those disgusting sounding turmeric enemas IS part of it! Ewwwww!

 I shiver,quiver and feel gross just thinking about it. I apologize to those getting by on that method. But ugh!

One, stipulation if you try what I did. Keep me posted on your progress. Comment comment comment! 

THEN PAY IT FORWARD!  

Spread the word!

SHARE and be a part of my quest for MORE “ONE OF THE  LUCKY ONES!”

Kind Regards 

and often long winded-K

All contents of this post is copyrighted by K at The Black Wall Blog. It cannot be professionally published without written consent.

What sparks your creativity?

Thank you Zen to Zany!

 

What is your passion?

What makes you jump out of bed in the morning?

What is it that gets your heart pumping and blood boiling?

What really  makes you come alive?

For some people it is music, obviously for some it is writing and blogging!

**I double dog dare you to send me a comment about your true passion!**

I have many, but I’ll start with these:

My sewing machine and I have had a long relationship. Three of my most favorite creations are:

1) My oldest grand daughter’s  many Halloween costumes. She would find a picture of what she wanted to be and I in turn would produce a pattern. Then together we would decide the material(s) to use. And, Voila’ she had her one of a kind outfit! The first Dracula costume I designed when she was six, per her orders, had to have a skirt that twirled when she swirled! I think there was 2 1/2 yards of material in the skirt alone! She loved it! How dare she grow up and not need costumes anymore. Geesh! the nerve!! But, I have faith, there will come a day when she will need something magical, something special and one of a kind and we will once again design together!!

2) I felt such love, creating from scratch my 2nd grand daughter’s first doll. My daughter sent me video of her giving her dolly -it’s first kiss when she was maybe 6 months old. That touched my heart and made me a very happy blubbering idiot! Kleenex please!!

3) My mom used to sew. I have such fond memories of her making every grandchild and half the women in the family, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.  After she and my dad retired she had immaculate degeneration and became legally blind. It didn’t knock her down, until  her mid 90’s she still walked 3 miles a day, did her own yard work and swam every warm summer day. Oh and she played a mean game of scrabble, she just bought a game with bigger tiles! To me, that is determination to live life to the fullest!

After she lost most of her sight, I created a Raggedy Ann doll just for her. She had sewn all those dolls and never once made one for herself!  The doll’s dress was made from material which she had years earlier,when I was a little, made me a darling Easter outfit. She was totally caught off guard by my gift. That doll, sat on the back of the living room couch for years! Even when she had dementia which later turned into full blown Alzheimer’s she kept the doll with her. It made me feel EXTRA- ordinary.

Another, life long love is 1/12th scale miniature houses, complete with life like hand crafted landscaping plants, bushes, hand braided rugs and more.  Oh yes, mine is a log cabin, wired with lights and sports a wrap around porch that has a floor made from very tiny bricks.

Not completed and terrible pic… but, it is on a turntable for ease of working on any side. One small error. There are only two doorways it will come through. One is into the garage and the other the back deck sliding door! oopsee!!

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”

-Mary Kay Ash

 

 

Daily post – Sky

My Rant & More on the Unwanted Visitor

Thank you Zen to Zany- Tell Her The Black Wall Blog said hello!

The Rant:

Interesting, I lost two Twitter followers when I posted “The Unwanted Visitor”.  It actually made me feel sad. Along with all the terrible illness, one get’s a bonus of dealing with depression and anxiety of being sick. Trying to maintain a “normal” lifestyle and battling this Super bug is the pits. Having 14 good days in a row, only to wake up at 2am and have it hit full force, keeps you on guard 24/7. It truly is not my kind picnic. My job is literally on the line due to lost time. Keeping things lower key and less stressful is one of the helpful hints to the way back to health. Sure… okay… definitely working on that. 🙂

I, like many people that have any illness, be it depression, chronic fatigue, the flu bug or Cancer are not looking for sympathy. We are looking for answers for a better way of living. You know what is needed?  A friendly ear, a bit of moral support, no judgement, perhaps a touch of empathy and for God’s sake…let us maintain our dignity. We did nothing wrong! No bank was robbed, we weren’t out doing things we shouldn’t have… Shit happens!

Sure! I could hide in a corner and be embarrassed by all this. That is just not me. I want to help other people. If that means I have to lay myself out there, so be it. I refuse to hide, I don’t flaunt it, obviously this blog was started under a name other than my own. But most of the people in my life, know this is me. Heck, I share it with them! I didn’t even understand the ramifications of this illness when I started writing here. I needed an outlet and I sure wasn’t going to twiddle the ol’ thumbs all day. 

 

Just the start of my research

Is what you will read below.

And if you start feeling better,

Please email to let me know.

Each and everyone of us,

Deserves a healthier day.

Let’s raise our glasses in toast,

And finding that better way.

 

The Start:

So I wrote in the “Unwanted Visitor”…”On to the homeopathic route I go…. Iodine, turmeric, ginger, daily avocados along with veggies and fruits that ferment naturally. Keeping my immune system up via seeping  herbs such as; Echinacea, Green tea, Marshmallow root and Stevia.  Just 3 days ago I started adding Kevita, a wonderful drink that contains 4 strains of live probiotics.”

 

Continuing on:

Having had two major bouts with C-diff I started down a more homeopathic  and natural eating route. I spent 2 weeks and a gigantic number of hours researching pros and cons of various non traditional medical cures. To date, I have reached just over 4 weeks since taking my last dose of Vancomycin without recurrence of the nasty Super bug. The first time it took barely 2 weeks for me to be in the hospital again with a full blown episode. Vancomycin has about an **80% success rate.

**FDA success numbers: Clinical success rates were 87% for BI strain, 81% for non-BI strain, and 76% for unknown strain. In subjects with diarrhea resolution at end-of treatment with vancomycin hydrochloride, recurrence of CDAD during the following four weeks occurred in 7 of 26 subjects with BI strain, 12 of 56 subjects with non-BI strain, and 6 of 25 subjects with unknown strain. Those were original numbers… the new Super strain has lowered the success rate.

This post is going to be filled with links! There are so many people searching for answers!! And I continue to research. I have almost 30 years of an inventory control/cost accounting background. Being a relentless researcher is my favorite game! You have questions? I will find the answers! 

So you are wondering, what HAVE I been doing? Here I go- (pardon the pun):

 Activia Yogurt– 2 containers per day.

500 mg of a turmeric supplement every other day- It is an excellent anti-inflammatory. It is supposed to be taken daily, but, it is a suggested natural supplement for lowering blood pressure and mine runs about 90/60 naturally so bringing it down doesn’t seem like the best option for me. Web Md’s overview on benefits and side effects.  

Note on turmeric: I have seen numerous people asking the question: “Can turmeric cause anxiety symptoms?” No one seems to want to answer that question. So I will, from experience, offer my two cents. Yes it can. I take a very small dose of an anti-depressant and when the dosage was higher I started getting, you guessed it, anxiety, extra nervous and uptight. I get the same from turmeric which is another reason why I am careful about my turmeric intake.

Opposite days I sprinkle the turmeric spice on my food or have it in my nightly chamomile tea.Wellness blog- Turmeric Herb Profile

A Fish oil supplement– daily

Kevita probiotic drink: which contains the live organisms-Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086 remains active through the expiration date and are added in sufficient quantities to provide the benefits of this live probiotic. While the Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei do not remain active through the end of shelf life, the inactive cells continue to be of functional value by providing numerous Lactobacilli cellular components and compounds. These include Lactobacilli intracellular elements such as the bacterial nucleic acids DNA and RNA, bacterial cell wall fractions such as glycoproteins, peptidoglycans, glycopeptides, muropeptides, as well as metabolic by-products such as polysaccharides (fiber). These components appear to interact with the intestinal membrane and might aid in digestion and other processes. Kevita.com

I dare you to say the above 3 times fast!!! Ha!

Bacillus coagulans (BC30) minimizes severity of Clostridium difficile-induced colitis

Standard Process Prolamine Iodine– 2-3 tablets per day End of antibiotics Rise of Iodine

Standard Process Okra Pepsin E3 -1 tablet per day Okra Pepsin E3 Review

Coconut Water (not from concentrate) added to my evening drinking water. Web md’s link to coconut water health benefits

Daily tea mix of- Green tea, natural roots of ECHINACEA , MARSHMELLOW ROOT, STEVIA and Ginkgo seeped and strained.

All natural herbs from herbalcom.com- Natural herbs can be purchased bulk here

 Avocado– 1 a day

 

After searching for hours I finally found this AGAIN  on an Amazon.com-excerpt from a Customer Review for Floraster .

32 of 40 people found the following review helpful beware: Florastor contains lactose, November 27, 2014 By Arney R This review is from: Florastor – 50 count, 250mg (Health and Beauty) The first time I took Florastor recently for C. diff., it did no harm, but didn’t seem to help much. This most recent time I took it produced violent adverse reactions. I thought it was just a coincidence, since Florastor is the #1 recommended probiotic against C. diff., but the next dose produced the same results… As a side note to those with C. diff., at one point (after exhausting all approved medications for C. diff.), I started eating avocados. I ate one each day. From the day I began, my C. diff. stopped & never returned. I eventually stopped the daily avocado and the symptoms have not returned. I can’t say for sure that an avocado will cure C. diff. but it’s worth a try & can’t hurt. It may work for you alone, in addition to Florastor, or in addition to Risaquad. Either way, I almost died without it, yet I’m here now writing this review. Summing up, if you are lactose intolerant, Florastor may be iffy for you.

Oatmeal bread– Stay away from Wheat bread. Trying to be mindful and lean towards a more gluten free eating lifestyle.

Naturally fermented vegetables and fruits – Sauerkraut, air ripened bananas. It is suggested that you stay away from vinegar, but I get cravings for dill pickles. And at this point I listen to what my body requests. Fermented food archives

Banana – At least one per day, ripened towards almost black.

Ginger– I refuse to give up my morning coffee. So I literally put ginger spice in my coffee filter when I make my daily brew. Benefits of Ginger

Curried foods – Crohn’s & Colitis Diet – second Edition

Living with Crohn’s & Colitis

Fish!! Fish!!Fish!!

Quinoa –  Benefits of Quinoa

Oatmeal – the “old fashioned” kind topped with Strawberries or blueberries. Excellent for breakfast!

My favorite  “keeps you regular” smoothie– 1 fully ripened banana, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, Coconut water, 1/2 c regular water  and add a handful of blueberries for extra antioxidants. You can mix it up a bit by adding unsweetened apple juice, yogurt with live cultures and/or Almond milk.

Almond Milk -Staying away from dairy, I find that this is the closest to 2% milk I have found. I have substituted almond milk for regular milk in all my casseroles and no one has noticed. A Plus plus, is it comes in my favorite vanilla flavor, which I find delightful on a day I am craving something sweet.

Natural Health Advisory Institute- A Great resource

One final note: Saltines eaten on a daily basis will help control diarrhea.

 

Phew, that is where I am to date… I would love your input! Please send comments and anything  you have found helpful to theblackwallblog@gmail.com. I and many others are really looking forward to hearing from you!!

Daily Post-Stairway