First opinion diagnosis ~ Lupus

[Savage Daughter]

Could you post the ingredients of your salve, or link? My friend's adult son is completely incapacitated by some type of rash/pain for years. I'm sure it's a *** injury from far back. Anyway, the only thing he will use is garlic because it's all that seems to work and he's rightly leery of pharma.

I thought maybe I could make some of your salve and see if it helped him.

thanks!
Liz

I actually make several salves for chronic pain now, and every one is different. I custom make them for people based on the issues they are dealing with, their general physical appearance & condition, the types of foods they eat, even their personality. They're 'holistic' formulas based on decades of knowledge I have picked up from working with plants. HOLISTIC is the best word I can use to describe them. Because they are custom made, they will probably never be found in stores, online or anywhere else, and they are not something which can be made by someone else who has no knowledge of plant medicine.

The original salve I made for my friend / neighbor works great for her, but when she gave some to another neighbor to try, not so much. Not surprising. They have very different issues which are contributing to their pain. So I formulated one for him after speaking with him for at least 45 minutes, listening to what he told me & making my own observations. I spoke with him the other day & he says it's working great

Your friend's son sounds like he has completely different issues going on, even though they may be ***-related. There are countless jabs now, as we all know, and his physical / emotional / psychological is unique to anyone else's. It's very very likely that he needs to see a naturopath and / or a homeopath to clear the issue from his body. That's not something I do, although I use homeopathy & herbs internally for my own health issues.

I would suggest doing research in regards to plant medicine if you wish to make a salve for him, and be VERY careful about just going to random websites which are put together by people who don't know what they are doing. I have seen some really irresponsible advice given out by people who know nothing about plant medicine at all.

Very, very good books:

NATIVE AMERICAN ETHNOBOTANY

INDIAN HERBALOGY OF NORTH AMERICA

 

[PaintyLiz]

I actually make several salves for chronic pain now, and every one is different. I custom make them for people based on the issues they are dealing with, their general physical appearance & condition, the types of foods they eat, even their personality. They're 'holistic' formulas based on decades of knowledge I have picked up from working with plants. HOLISTIC is the best word I can use to describe them. Because they are custom made, they will probably never be found in stores, online or anywhere else, and they are not something which can be made by someone else who has no knowledge of plant medicine.

The original salve I made for my friend / neighbor works great for her, but when she gave some to another neighbor to try, not so much. Not surprising. They have very different issues which are contributing to their pain. So I formulated one for him after speaking with him for at least 45 minutes, listening to what he told me & making my own observations. I spoke with him the other day & he says it's working great

Your friend's son sounds like he has completely different issues going on, even though they may be ***-related. There are countless jabs now, as we all know, and his physical / emotional / psychological is unique to anyone else's. It's very very likely that he needs to see a naturopath and / or a homeopath to clear the issue from his body. That's not something I do, although I use homeopathy & herbs internally for my own health issues.

I would suggest doing research in regards to plant medicine if you wish to make a salve for him, and be VERY careful about just going to random websites which are put together by people who don't know what they are doing. I have seen some really irresponsible advice given out by people who know nothing about plant medicine at all.

Very, very good books:

NATIVE AMERICAN ETHNOBOTANY

INDIAN HERBALOGY OF NORTH AMERICA

Thank you for your very thoughtful & complete response. Unfortunately he is basically a hermit and absolutely will not go to any doctors including homeopath because I already suggested that. I'm sure his mental health is suffering as well as his body. Thanks for the info on books, I'm starting to build a reference library.

 

[Savage Daughter]

Thank you for your very thoughtful & complete response. Unfortunately he is basically a hermit and absolutely will not go to any doctors including homeopath because I already suggested that. I'm sure his mental health is suffering as well as his body. Thanks for the info on books, I'm starting to build a reference library.

No worries, happy to help in whatever way I can.

I understand the tendency to self-isolate when feeling less-than-stellar, especially when a person had been experiencing pain & other issues for an extended period of time, fair enough. I have experienced this myself. It might take someone being willing to drive him / take him out in order to get that ball rolling. I at one time had an advocate who saved my life in a situation like that when I was *very* sick. If not for her, I would have died on one particular day if she had come even 30 minutes later than she did. As sick as I was, it was very difficult for me to call her that day & ask for help.

Another book I forgot to mention:

A HERBALIST'S GUIDE TO FORMULARY

I am not feeling like typing out the author's names for these books right now, want to get my wood stove sparked up, but I am sure they will come up when you do a search for them.

@Zany_in_CO has also had some good recommendations in regards to GOOD websites when it comes to proper advice related to working with herbs. I suggest looking through many of her posts / searching her posts for herb related website recommendations.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@Zany_in_CO has also had some good recommendations in regards to GOOD websites when it comes to proper advice related to working with herbs.

Here's one I doubt even you have, @QuasiQuadrant :

Mrs. Grieve's Modern Herbal (published, 1931)

A HERBALIST'S GUIDE TO FORMULARY

 

[Savage Daughter]

Here's one I doubt even you have, @QuasiQuadrant :

Mrs. Grieve's Modern Herbal (published, 1931)

That rocks! Thank you!

Please keep posting your resource @Zany_in_CO because you're the only person who I have come across who gets into these kinds of old herbal books

That said, for those at the beginning of their journey, cross check your plants in more than one reference book. There can be good advice in old books, much of which has been lost - Dr Christopher rocks FYI - but we have also found out more about the healing constituents of these plants since then. They may not be as suitable across the board as once assumed for all situations and / or all people.

This is one of the many awesome things about plant medicine....there is an endless variety of plants which will work in many situations, in different parts of the world, in different climates, and which suit specific 'types' of people, making it a very flexible, customizable modality of healing.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

for those at the beginning of their journey,

... I'd just like to emphasize that IT IS a journey, not a destination. Take time to learn all you can, try things as you go along, keep good notes, and never be satisfied with a quick solution that may or may not be the answer you seek. On the other hand, it may be just the ticket! I had the benefit of seeking answers for myself and others, using me and them as willing "guinea persons", one-by-one-by-one until we hit the sweet spot that made the nasty go away. Mother Nature is incredible, more often than not, in the way she puts the remedy in close proximity to the culprit, i.e., Jewelweed to treat poison ivy.

 

[Iluminameluna]

I'd like to add my 2 cents, if I may. I'm SO glad your Dx wasn't Lupus of ANY kind, but fibro is still a pretty upsetting Dx, just not possibly fatal. Whew!
My 2 cents is that I WAS Dx'd w/ Systemic Lupus E. over 35 years ago and one of the lifestyle themes that have kept me alive is that I keep processed foods out of my diet. The other is that I closely monitor what foods irritate my body. This last has quite literally saved my life on more than one occasion. Having autoimmune issues means that I've acquired a whole slew of allergies to food and meds over the years. Keeping a journal that goes EVERYWHERE with me has been important as when I have medical appointments I don't always see the same provider. I'm not exactly crafty, but my budget is very limited so I've made up my own notebooks w/ binder paper from my grand's school supplies, and toilet paper rolls covered in shiny magazine pages that come in the mail (Costco Connection has some pretty pages!). So I'm able to give them a complete rundown of EVERY allergy, both medicinal and comestible, to that date. I also give them a list of every medication I'm taking, and which one(s) has been removed from my routine, which is easy with one of my made-up little notebooks.
Btw, even though you have not been diagnosed with Lupus, you can look for closed fibromyalgia groups. There's NO need for all and sundry to know your business. There are groups on Reddit, Telegram, and Discord, not only on FB and the like. I'm in a group called Lighthouse for Lupus, which is by invitation only. If you want to, or need some support in the future, let me know and I'd be happy to help.

 

[Shelley D]

I'd like to add my 2 cents, if I may. I'm SO glad your Dx wasn't Lupus of ANY kind, but fibro is still a pretty upsetting Dx, just not possibly fatal. Whew!
My 2 cents is that I WAS Dx'd w/ Systemic Lupus E. over 35 years ago and one of the lifestyle themes that have kept me alive is that I keep processed foods out of my diet. The other is that I closely monitor what foods irritate my body. This last has quite literally saved my life on more than one occasion. Having autoimmune issues means that I've acquired a whole slew of allergies to food and meds over the years. Keeping a journal that goes EVERYWHERE with me has been important as when I have medical appointments I don't always see the same provider. I'm not exactly crafty, but my budget is very limited so I've made up my own notebooks w/ binder paper from my grand's school supplies, and toilet paper rolls covered in shiny magazine pages that come in the mail (Costco Connection has some pretty pages!). So I'm able to give them a complete rundown of EVERY allergy, both medicinal and comestible, to that date. I also give them a list of every medication I'm taking, and which one(s) has been removed from my routine, which is easy with one of my made-up little notebooks.
Btw, even though you have not been diagnosed with Lupus, you can look for closed fibromyalgia groups. There's NO need for all and sundry to know your business. There are groups on Reddit, Telegram, and Discord, not only on FB and the like. I'm in a group called Lighthouse for Lupus, which is by invitation only. If you want to, or need some support in the future, let me know and I'd be happy to help.

Thank you for the information and suggestions ~ I know I will need to basically eliminate every food I love but I just can't bring myself to commit to it 100% yet ~ after all, my favorite foods are all the ones that cause me the most grief ~ which leaves me all the food I don't like *sigh*
It just sucks that these illnesses take so much from us ~ can't even leave us one simple pleasure like food!

 

[PaintyLiz]

I'd like to add my 2 cents, if I may. I'm SO glad your Dx wasn't Lupus of ANY kind, but fibro is still a pretty upsetting Dx, just not possibly fatal. Whew!
My 2 cents is that I WAS Dx'd w/ Systemic Lupus E. over 35 years ago and one of the lifestyle themes that have kept me alive is that I keep processed foods out of my diet. The other is that I closely monitor what foods irritate my body. This last has quite literally saved my life on more than one occasion. Having autoimmune issues means that I've acquired a whole slew of allergies to food and meds over the years. Keeping a journal that goes EVERYWHERE with me has been important as when I have medical appointments I don't always see the same provider. I'm not exactly crafty, but my budget is very limited so I've made up my own notebooks w/ binder paper from my grand's school supplies, and toilet paper rolls covered in shiny magazine pages that come in the mail (Costco Connection has some pretty pages!). So I'm able to give them a complete rundown of EVERY allergy, both medicinal and comestible, to that date. I also give them a list of every medication I'm taking, and which one(s) has been removed from my routine, which is easy with one of my made-up little notebooks.
Btw, even though you have not been diagnosed with Lupus, you can look for closed fibromyalgia groups. There's NO need for all and sundry to know your business. There are groups on Reddit, Telegram, and Discord, not only on FB and the like. I'm in a group called Lighthouse for Lupus, which is by invitation only. If you want to, or need some support in the future, let me know and I'd be happy to help.

I have the same type of issues. Since you brought it up I want to point out that xanthan gum is a huge culprit that is kept very secret. It actually killed a bunch of babies when it was put into their formula to thicken it. It is the slimy black mold that grows on carrots when God is telling you to throw them away & not eat them. They scrape it off, dry it and use it in practically EVERYTHING - from ice creams to make cheap ingredients feel creamier, to gluten free baked goods to replace the gluten. It can cause horrendous gastric problems. Citric acid is no longer produced from citrus fruit, it is made from a similar mold. So watch out, even 'healthy' foods can have additives that are very problematic. There's even 'organic xanthan gum' hahaha

 

[Savage Daughter]

Good to know! I had read that I need to add legumes to my diet but what the heck is a legume?! oh this is gonna be fun!

Lentils are part of this family of plants, and there are a lot of different types. And yes, peanuts are legumes, NOT nuts, as erroneously referred to by most people. Therefore, people with a 'peanut allergy' do NOT actually have a NUT allergy. They have a LEGUME ALLERGY....which does not mean that they are allergic to all legumes. So, overreaching nut bans in schools, which ban *all* nuts, are quite nonsensical. The reasons for 'peanut allergy' becoming so widespread are several, which I am not going to get into here because I know that many will feel angry once the subject is broached. I cannot be bothered to argue with anyone on these topics, especially those who haven't looked into these things in detail themselves.

It's best to soak your lentils overnight in water, then dump that & rinse them before cooking. This leaches out some of the things in lentils which are not that great for us.

Proper food preparation is also very important, in reference to the soaking & discarding of that water. Do the same with dried beans as well. This was stressed to me when I was growing up, watching family members cooking. SOAK those puppies overnight & toss that water into your compost, and do NOT add salt until the legume / bean is at the end of its cooking process.

I am reading an amazing book right now written by an ethnobotanist who lived & worked with Amazonian Indians from many different tribes. He studied their traditional botanical medicines for years. Mind-blowing book! One of the things I kept noticing in this book was that the process of properly preparing the medicine was just as important as choosing the correct plant. This is how I work with plants as well. There's a whole lot more to using plants, in food or otherwise, than people realize.

 

[Shelley D]

Lentils are part of this family of plants, and there are a lot of different types. And yes, peanuts are legumes, NOT nuts, as erroneously referred to by most people. Therefore, people with a 'peanut allergy' do NOT actually have a NUT allergy. They have a LEGUME ALLERGY....which does not mean that they are allergic to all legumes. So, overreaching nut bans in schools, which ban *all* nuts, are quite nonsensical. The reasons for 'peanut allergy' becoming so widespread are several, which I am not going to get into here because I know that many will feel angry once the subject is broached. I cannot be bothered to argue with anyone on these topics, especially those who haven't looked into these things in detail themselves.

It's best to soak your lentils overnight in water, then dump that & rinse them before cooking. This leaches out some of the things in lentils which are not that great for us.

Proper food preparation is also very important, in reference to the soaking & discarding of that water. Do the same with dried beans as well. This was stressed to me when I was growing up, watching family members cooking. SOAK those puppies overnight & toss that water into your compost, and do NOT add salt until the legume / bean is at the end of its cooking process.

I am reading an amazing book right now written by an ethnobotanist who lived & worked with Amazonian Indians from many different tribes. He studied their traditional botanical medicines for years. Mind-blowing book! One of the things I kept noticing in this book was that the process of properly preparing the medicine was just as important as choosing the correct plant. This is how I work with plants as well. There's a whole lot more to using plants, in food or otherwise, than people realize.

Good to know!
Luckily, I do not have any known actual food allergies. Now, sensitivities may be a horse of a different color as dairy, sugars and starches may be the devil's foods for me but I can tolerate them in moderation. My daughter blames her lactose intolerance on me ~ I said I don't have any of your symptoms so it must have come from your father's side if I eat a lot of dairy stuff, like for several days (especially cheeses, yum!) I do get bloated and constipated ~ but one serving of anything true dairy makes her downright gassy and certain things give her diarrhea so it's a mystery to me ~ especially since she never had that problem as a chil
And that's how most of my food issues work ~ a meal is fine, maybe 2, but if I keep eating something it will make me feel uncomfortable. I haven't had sweets in the house for a short while (a couple weeks now), so today I made brownies with peanut butter chips in them, just a half batch recipe since hubby doesn't care for them ~ I really don't sit around and eat junk all day, I just can't give it up altogether yet

 

[Savage Daughter]

Good to know!
Luckily, I do not have any known actual food allergies. Now, sensitivities may be a horse of a different color as dairy, sugars and starches may be the devil's foods for me but I can tolerate them in moderation.

These 'sensitivities' are a result of the vast majority of us eating foods which are highly processed AND doused in herbicides / pesticides, grown in 'soil' which is completely bereft of natural minerals & then doused in 'fertilizers' made from petroleum products, rather than food grown in mineral rich soils with organic matter broken down into it - namely compost.

These kinds of 'sensitivities' were not rampant as they are now when people still drank whole, raw milk, ate real butter, ate fresh fruits & vegetables which were grown in healthy soil, when we ate foods free of refined white sugar / flour / chemical sweeteners / glyphosate / roundup / pick your poison, quite literally, when there wasn't a Starbucks, McDonalds etc on every corner, when the vast majority of us weren't on pharmaceutical drugs. People are so concerned about 'illegal drugs' being 'dangerous', yet don't want to look at the fact that the 'legal' drugs - all of the above - are what is slowly killing them, killing billions of people around the world.

So the problem is not our bodies having 'sensitivities - the problem is that what people are eating, popping & jabbing into themselves is gradually breaking their bodies down, until they can't digest anything properly. Then we hear those pimping the latest fad 'diets' begin demonizing everything, from gluten to dairy to nuts to seeds to all animal products...what is it we would be eating then?

I have noticed a great deal of difference in the health of my skin, my hair, my joints, muscles etc as I continue to weed things out of my kitchen, item by item, over the years.

It's funny, I keep reading this book & have noticed from beginning to end that not ONE person in these villages is mentioned as having 'food sensitivities' because all they eat is REAL, fresh food.

Check this out: Home Weston A. Price Foundation

This man is / was a legend, and the research he did was absolutely astounding. What we eat & the other substances we put into our bodies - the literal garbage we eat / the pills we pop / the injections we line up for - and our emotional health are both the strongest contributing factors towards all disease.

I promise you, if you begin looking at the information I have shared, in this post & the previous in this thread, you will begin feeling hopeful, rather than helpless. Your daughter will also figure out why she can't tolerate anything with dairy. You have the power to change what is happening with your body. You are the only one who has that power - not your doctor or anyone else. Take your power back.