Everything is the same. Nothing is different.

So I have had two sessions of food allergy testing now because the holistic doctor I went to in April said I looked like I had a food allergy. He said 50% of his patients’ were able to resolve their health problems through a change in diet.  But it turns out (at least so far) that I don’t really have food allergies. I am a bit allergic to corn, and slightly allergic to soy and strawberries. Dairy and wheat, which seem to be the big offenders, don’t bother me, nor do all the grains we tested, chicken, pork, kale, apples, chocolate (thank God), yeast…

The way the doctor ordered the allergy testing for me is really slow. I go in for a 3-hour session and am tested with one food and then have to wait about 10 minutes before I can be tested with another. This is the most accurate way to do it, and (I think) sets you up to be able to get shots later on to reduce your allergies. They test me by injecting the food into the top of my skin. It stings a bit, but it’s not too bad.

I haven’t been eating corn now for two weeks, and it hasn’t seemed to have made any difference. I have had killer seasonal allergies for the last two weeks +, but I think they are winding down. My main symptoms are serious fatigue and a slight headache. The fatigue really sucks. I just want to close my eyes and lie down. It doesn’t seem to matter how much sleep I get.

This is the fourth spring that I’ve had bad allergies. It was these same springtime allergies that made me realize I had a lump on my neck, which turned out to be thyroid cancer. So it’s very frustrating that here, three years later, I haven’t been able to clear them. The other night in a moment of severe frustration I googled “seasonal allergies fatigue” or something like that and read about butterbur as an herb that’s worked for some people for fatigue. So I went to iHerb and spent $60 on herbs for allergies because one of the reviewers said that these had solved all of her allergy problems.  I got butterbur, nettle, and quercetin. I actually tried quercetin three years ago in the spring, and it didn’t seem to do anything.

They arrived today and of course the fatigue is gone. I think whatever pollen it is that gets to me has run its course. Or maybe I healed myself just by buying the herbs. Ha!

What I am realizing is that this latest effort of mine to heal myself by going to a holistic doctor is not working any more than any of my other efforts have. The crazy hormonal imbalance I had going on (which I’m pretty sure was brought on by taking Iodoral) has cleared up on its own. I don’t seem to have any life altering food allergy. I’ve had a battery of blood and other tests, and I’m pretty sure they all turned out fine. That is, the doctor told me he would call me if anything came up, and he never did. So $940 later I am feeling better but not because of anything that anyone did for me. ($1000 if you count the herbs:) In fact, the holistic doctor told me to start taking these hefty multivitamins from Emerson Ecologics, and they’ve been screwing up my stomach and making me feel worse, if anything.

I have a friend, Leslie, who is also on the path of awakening. I was talking to her today, and she was saying that everything that isn’t peace is all the same. It’s all a manifestation of our ego mind. I am able to see that clearly when I get angry at my husband. I can look at my thoughts and see how it’s my ego thoughts that are making me unhappy. I can see that if I let go of these thoughts, I will be at peace again. But somehow when things go wrong with my body, I think it’s outside of me. I think I can find peace in herbs or in a doctor or in some other healing method. I mean, lots of people do. All those reviewers on iHerb who claim that such and such herb completely changed their life– they have found some peace in a bottle of pills.

But Leslie was saying that it’s all the same. That I need to allow whatever symptoms come up in my body. I have to stop resisting them, trying to make them go away. And that is when healing will come.  I think it really is true. That’s how what healing has happened with the thyroid tumor has come– from focusing on my spiritual practices: meditating, reading, allowing. There is a great talk by Story Waters on allowing, if you’re interested in that. The practice is basically to just be with whatever is happening in your body or mind– to watch it, to feel it, but without judgment. You’re not trying to change it or figure it out, you’re just allowing it. Of course, Story Waters explains it much better.

So I am going to finish out my last two allergy testing appointments. I am getting tested for molds and pollens, and maybe a couple more foods. But I’m not going to schedule an appointment with the nutritionist as the holistic doctor recommended. I have already done so much research on nutrition and changed my diet over the last 5 years that I don’t think I can go much further with dietary changes.

I have a follow-up appointment with the holistic doctor in two weeks, and I’ll see what he has to say. I want to finish this out since I’m in so far. But I think what I really need to do is see that everything is the same, and everything requires the same thing. I need to allow. I need to trust. I need to let go. I need to remember that I am Cause, not effect.

An alternative doctor and supplementing with iodine again

All that said about wanting to heal through the mind, I am quite happy because I have found an alternative doctor who I think supports iodine therapy, and I have an appointment to see him in two weeks. He specializes in environmental medicine, which I need to read more about. But this includes allergies, which are a major issue for me in the spring and late summer.

I spent a good deal of time (way too much time) this week reading more about iodine and how to implement it. Yahoo groups are great, but I would search the Yahoo Iodine Group for a specific thing like, which type of selenium to take, and I would get over 1000 results. How long do you spend looking?

One thing I downloaded and read was a .pdf file called The Guide to Supplementing with Iodine. You can download it for free from that link. I am going to try iodine again, but this time use all of the supplements that are recommended.  The first time I tried iodine, a couple months ago, I took it with a very high dose of Vitamin C (which upset my stomach) and Celtic sea salt. This time I am going to add in selenium, magnesium, ATP Cofactors, and an adrenal health supporting herb. I got all of these at iherb, which is a good site. I got a buffered version of Vitamin C, which should help with my stomach problems, and I got a version of magnesium that is supposed to be easy on your stomach also.

Here are screenshots of my order in case you want to see exactly what I decided on. I did afterall spend 2000 hours researching the types before I ordered:)

I am excited to start them because a lot of the reviews on iHerb had people talking about what a big difference some of them had made. I’m starting with all the supplements except Iodoral. I will add that in after I talk to the doctor in two weeks.  A lot of the information says it’s best to do tests and monitor things when you’re taking Iodoral.

Just to review my main symptoms now are: low sex drive, more frequent periods, occasional low energy, and occasional unexplained weight gain. I have had low sex drive since the birth of my second daughter 7 years ago. The problems with my period seem to have developed in the last 6 months; the unexplained weight gain has been happening for the last two years– but in spurts, not all of the time; and the low energy seems very related to allergies and has been consistently happening in the spring and late summer. Overall, however, my health seems very good. I run and do sports and function normally most of the time.

I will post again after my doctor’s visit.