Spoiled

This post could take a number of directions with that title. For instance, I could tell you how incredibly fast organic food spoils compared to non-organic food. (I can keep organic pears and bananas for a max of 4 days and then if they haven't been eaten, they're too mushy and nasty. Their non-organic counterfruits used to last until someone ate them.)


Or - maybe that title is describing Bubbles the 65lb Black Golden Retriever who is currently snuggled up next to me on the couch because she's cold. (If Rick was here, he'd kick her off the furniture.)

We could even use that word to describe my children at times. (Gasp)



However, that title is for no one other than yours truly today. I have decided that I am spoiled. Now, this is the point where you thank your lucky stars that your reading a blog entry about my spoilage and not having a face-to-face conversation with me because it could get awkward here.


I mean, I'd say I've determined that I'm spoiled and you'd say you know and that you've been meaning to talk to me about my excessive shopping trips to Sam Moon. This is the point where I'd realize you and I were not talking about the same kind of spoiled and a hushed, awkward silence would fall over our conversation. (Then, we'd probably decide to grab some Chipotle for lunch and run by Sam Moon ... )



You see, after yesterday, I have determined that this new way of living (organic, extreme food intolerances, salicylate build up, etc...) has spoiled me.



We began this (extreme) journey on January 26th of this year when the entire family switched to only organic fruits & vegetables, only hormone-free, grass-fed beef, only free-range organic chicken .... you get the idea. (Craig had already been egg free, dye free and gluten free for a few months but we went extreme in late January to test for the salicylates and sulfites.)



I will admit that in the beginning it was (soooooo) hard because we were so limited and because I was having to make every single thing that we ate. We weren't eating out. (my absolute favorite thing to do!!) We weren't able to buy anything already prepared. My work load significantly increased. However, once we began to see results - the work load didn't seem to matter anymore. Remember labor? Once you get the prize at the end, the work of the actual labor and delivery are significantly diminished in size. Results fuel our hope! What about the last diet you were on? (No, the one that worked.) When you were actually losing, you probably didn't care what you were having to go through to see the numbers decrease. As long as it's working, we can usually stick it out.



Once we began to get our son back, the constant (and I do mean CONSTANT) work of trying to stay one step ahead on his food, the never ending trips to Whole Foods, and the lack of creativity in our diet didn't seem like so much of a burden.



Then, something really weird happened. Are you ready for this? They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I don't know if that is true - but at some point - this new way of life became a habit. At some point it began to feel normal. I like the way Rick put it when he informed me that we can no longer say that "the weird people shop at Whole Foods". When I asked him why, he said it's because we ARE the weird people now. We ARE the Austin tree huggers. We ARE the hippies. (Ok, maybe I took it too far there.)



That's why yesterday was so hard. You see, we've gotten used to our new kid. We have to work our backsides off to make sure he's eating correctly, but in exchange - we get a new son. I've already told you what a joy he is to be around now and I'm sure you're tired of hearing it, but when you go 6-8 years of "enduring" your child instead of enjoying your child, you tend to bask in the joy for a while.





However, lest I think I have this thing under control (a.k.a. - that I know it all, a.k.a. - get prideful) every once in awhile we have a day like yesterday. When I drove up in the carpool line yesterday at school to pick them up, I could tell by the look on his face that he was "reacting". (Reacting is the term I have coined (ha) to describe how Craig behaves when he has ingested something disagreeable. That's a diplomatic way of saying: When he's acting half-stupid again)


I had the joy of witnessing all kinds of temper tantrums, yellings, and just general irritations yesterday from the boy. He couldn't sleep last night (which is another sign he's reacting) and I fully expected him to wet the bed (yet another sign) but it seems we were spared from that one. (Whew!)



However, I realized in experiencing it all over again yesterday that I have become very accustomed to the new things in my life. #1) This new way of eating (while alot of work) has become our new "normal". #2) This new boy that I live with now has so many "good days" that the bad days seem all the more bad. I don't mean that in a negative way. I also don't mean it to sound ungrateful or snarky. It's just that we've had so many good days now that when a bad one rolls around it is completely out of character and it catches us off guard. (That's a diplomatic way of saying: It makes us wish we could crawl under a rock and hide.) So what do you do with a day like yesterday? Well, I don't know how you're "supposed" to handle it. I mean, as of yet, no one has written the Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dye-Free, Salicylate-Free, Sulfite-Free Handbook. But, I can tell you what we did: I read and re-read (and then read again) the food journal. (Rick will tell you he despises the amount of reading I do in the food journal when Craig is reacting. It drives him insane.) When he reacts I look at everything the child has ingested for the last 5 days. This particular time, I realized that Craig has had an apple, an orange, and a handful of strawberries every single day for at least 5 days. That is an ENORMOUS amount of salicylates. While I knew this in packing his lunch each day, I wanted to know how many days he could go before he "filled up". You see, salicylates accumulate in your system. They build up. That is why one orange may not be the trigger, but two oranges might do the trick. When we first started this, Craig couldn't even tolerate one apple. However, now - after 64 days of doing this, he can handle 5 days of salicylates. What does that mean? Well - it means his body is slowly healing. And - the mommy hope inside of me hopes that it means that eventually he will be free from all of these restrictions. 

1. I throw the t.v. rules out the window. I don't know how it works in your house, but over here the kids are encouraged to play outside or with their toys in their rooms. (That's a diplomatic way of saying: we keep the t.v. off as much as possible until the kids are in bed.) However, on days like yesterday, I throw rules to the curb and turn on Disney. Craig vegges in front of the TV and the world is a happier place. This keeps him away from the Wii (which angers him when he's reacting), away from his sister (who angers him when he's reacting), and away from me (who gets angry when he's reacting). :) Ok, seriously speaking - it just works for us. And I could get all bent out of shape about him watching 2 hours of t.v., or I could realize that it's one day and he's probably not going to be any worse off because of it. (Grace is a beautiful thing, you know?)
2. I put him to bed early. It's not a punishment although it feels that way sometimes to him. However, I try to keep in mind that any time I feed him something that causes him to react, his body has to heal (yet again) after that encounter. Our bodies heal when they sleep. (Particularly in the first two hours we are asleep.) So, more sleep equals more opportunity to heal. (It also enables him to have some quiet moments in his bed with nothing to yell at, throw things at, or attack. That's a win-win for everyone!)
3. I give a few extra supplements. Some of the supplements that he takes are to help him digest foods better. Some are to help with liver function (which I think I've mentioned was weakened because of too many years of poisons). Then, we have some that are specifically to help with allergens he encounters in his food or environmentally. When he's having a rough day, I give a few extra of those. Sometimes we see a direct result. Sometimes we just grit our teeth and get through the rest of the day without a result.
4. I go back to the bare basics for at least 24 hours. Bare basics means ABSOLUTELY ZERO eggs, gluten, salicylates, dyes and sulfites. (If you'll recall, we are slowly adding back in a few salicylates a little at a time.) So, while Craig has been recently having an apple and an orange in his lunch (because he's been tolerating them well) and then enjoying a berry smoothy when he arrives home from school - today he will be enjoying none of that. No fruits. Very low salicylate veggies. What if it's not the salicylates he's reacting to this time? Well, until I know everything and can read minds, I have to err on the side of caution. If it's not the salicylates and he's simply reacting to an environmental allergen (like the mold count or cedar), that will run it's course and he'll return to normal. However, if it IS the salicylate and I just continue to feed him those, they will build in his system only making things worse. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of gal. I'd rather pull out all the stops and get him back to our (new) normal than tinker around with ideas and notions and eventually land on the right one.

So, here I sit today ... spoiling. (hee hee) I'm incredibly thankful for the good days as one year ago there were no good days (in reference to food allergies). However, I'm also incredibly thankful for the bad days because they remind me how far we've come.

Why the Public School System is in More Trouble Than You Know

It doesn't matter if your children are home schooled, private schooled or public schooled. Chances are, you've heard of the public school crisis.

It's been an especially hot topic in my family because (as I've told you before) we come from teachers and preachers. Every single person in our family is either a teacher or in ministry. (Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but not much of one.) Our entire immediate family is in ministry or the teaching profession (or retired from them).

So, the public school crisis hits close to home for us. Granted, I've been predicting this (a public school meltdown/crash) for about 5 years now - but I had no idea it would hit so soon or so hard. I predicted 10 years out. Maybe it was more wishful thinking than anything else.

We are currently waiting to hear if Rick has a contract for next year. His district is "laying off" more than 100 staff members. It's been touch and go for weeks now. (I'm speaking of the job situation ... but it's been touch and go in the house as well just in case you were wondering!) One day he comes home and tells me that they held a meeting and they're going to need to get rid of another science person. We hold our breath for a few days and then he comes home and tells me they changed their minds and decided to go another direction. Then we repeat the process again a few weeks later. It's very ... um ... ... (ahem) ... character building.

We're not the only ones in our family being affected. We've gotten heart breaking emails and phone calls this week about what our loved ones are facing.

It is sobering and humbling and depressing all in the same breath. And while I would say I'm probably one solid step away from being a complete conspiracy theory fool, I don't think I'm stretching it too far when I say that this could have only been expected with the government being so hands on with our schools.

I know we like to think that as long as they have a good teacher and she's a Believer that our kids are safe and we don't really have much to worry about. She may have to teach evolution, but truth will prevail because .... well .... because I'm the room mom. (What? You haven't had that thought?)

We got our first real dose of just how cleverly the government has seized control of any and all aspects of our public schools when we needed Craig to be allowed to take a few of his supplements during school hours. He has a few whole food supplements that directly counteract allergens he comes in contact with in the environment and in food. While he gets both of these in the morning before he leaves, they have worn off by mid day and he begins to react slightly. While it is not near the behavior problems he was once experiencing, it still causes disruptions to the class from time to time and gets him sent out of the classroom. (For example, the last time it happened - he was throwing his cucumbers up in the air, catching them on his eyeballs and then trying to bounce them into his mouth. You can imagine trying to teach with that circus act going on. However, when he's reacting and you ask him to quit, he loses his temper and makes a scene.)

So, we began experimenting and talking with his chiropractor and soon figured out that if he could just have another dose of his supplements, he could finish the afternoon like a champ.

AWESOME!!

However, what I soon realized is that this is considered illegal.

We contacted the school to let them know Craig needed to take the supplements at school and asked what forms we needed to fill out. They sent the forms, but in reading through them we realized that the district had VERY strict guidelines regarding what the school nurses were allowed to give. Upon further investigation we discovered that it wasn't the district guidelines near as much as it was the states.

Even with a doctor's note, Craig was still denied the pills he needed.

The school nurse is allowed to dispense antihistamines, antibiotics, injections, epi-pens, and a whole host of other meds, but she cannot go near supplements.

The premise for this is steroids. (Or is it?) (I told you I'm just one hop, skip & a jump away from my own Conspiracy Theory.)

Supplements are likened to steroids in that they are not FDA approved and could affect the performance of a student ... or more importantly (in their eyes) an athlete. If the school nurses (and trainers) were allowed to distribute supplements, they could beef up their players before the big games. This is the reasoning they have on paper. (I'm not convinced.)

I'll save you my long, drawn-out Theory and just suffice it to say that if schools were allowed to give herbs, supplements, whole foods and vitamins instead of poisons (a.k.a. medications) - we would not be seeing near the cases of ADHD, ADD, diabetes, autism, etc... (However, the flip side of that is that the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't be making a killing off of the medications either. The love of money ... )

Yes, I know what I just said. I also know the research I've done since we began exploring other options for our son and I know where it's led us.

My children will never again receive another vaccination in their lives if I can help it. (If we have more children, they won't be vaccinated.) There is too much research that proves the links to autism.

My family will continue to eat organic, hormone-free, dye-free foods and do without in other areas (clothes, cars, etc...) for as long as we can without declaring bankruptcy. There is too much research that proves that the preservatives and additives in food are killing us.

We started this journey originally to help our son and it's turned into a life changing ordeal for our entire family. We won't ever be the same. We can't go back.

I realize that may sound a little dramatic (and yes we all know I can bring the drama) - but it's true. What we have learned in the last year regarding health, wellness, and food has taken us to a place of no return. (This is the part where you sing Phantom of the Opera's "Past the Point of No Return". Or, like Rick, you just roll your eyes and move on.)

Seriously speaking, this is a big enough, life changing ordeal to me that I am in the midst of beginning a ministry that centers around bringing truth on this very subject to families. I want to be able to go to churches (because getting into schools with this information will be banned) and speak to parents and show them how we found help ... point them to truth. However, that is a blog for another day.

Teacher layoffs, bigger class sizes, lack of freedom to give children medications they need ... It gets better.

I talked to one of my family members recently who informed me that her principal told them to no longer teach two of the subjects to their classes because they aren't going to be tested on them on the Taks test coming up in April. No need to learn history kids - it won't be on the Taks!

One of my other family members recently informed me that they found out that there is a poisonous "substance" in their school and the children are coming in contact with it each and every day, but that they are choosing not to do anything about it because the school doesn't have the money to fix it. And the most pitiful part? The teachers were sworn to secrecy and not allowed to tell the parents.

I don't know what the future holds for our schools. I don't know what the future holds for my husband's (and other family members) line of work or my children's schooling. (We all know I have no business home schooling them! I just taught Craig on Tuesday the "wrong" way to do subtraction. Oi vey!)

So much of all of it doesn't make sense to me. However, I don't have to have all the answers or have it all figured out. And - I don't have to worry about what the future holds. Furthermore, maybe the Lord put me in this place at this time in these circumstances "for such a time as this".

There's No Crying in Baseball!!!!

Oprah describes something called the "Ugly Cry" on her show sometimes. (I have lots of time to watch Oprah because the life of a stay at home mom is only made up of bon bons, hair appointments, and lunch dates.)


Her definition of the Ugly Cry is something to the effect of just losing it and breaking into that cry that comes complete with sobs, snot, and semi-convulsing. You've been there - you know what I'm talking about. It's the cry you save for when you're all alone. It's not the pretty one you do at church or in front of your kids. It's the one where you look half alien.


This is the cry I have been on the verge of this entire day. So far, I have maintained control. However, I cannot guarantee that I can keep this composure much longer.



Today is Craig's first baseball game.



If you were wanting something a little more earth shattering there, you're going to have to come back another time. Or - keep reading and I'll explain why his first baseball game IS earth shattering for this family of four.



Today is such a monumental day because I think some where deep down inside, I never thought it would happen. There were times when that child was four and five that I wondered if we'd ever be able to do anything "normal" families do.



Yes, we attempted things that normal families do - but so many times, it ended in disaster. Craig's behavior would escalate until the family outing was no longer fun for anyone involved. Sometimes it would be during a simple dinner out at a restaurant. Sometimes it would be while on vacation at the beach. Sometimes we'd be with friends & family. Other times we'd be alone. However, rest assured ... Craig would bring the drama.



Knowing what we know now about his food allergies and what we were feeding him, I know that he simply couldn't help it. That makes me feel like a complete FOOL as his mother. It also makes me feel incredibly sorry for him.



The older he got, the more he was able to tell me what he was feeling. I remember in Kindergarten when he told me that his brain "was just telling [him] to do bad stuff". That's heartbreaking to hear as his mother!



And in reality - he nailed it! Because he was ingesting things that were essentially poison for his body, his brain really WAS malfunctioning. (At this point I'm going to lose some of my readers that don't understand just how much food plays a role in human behavior. That's ok.)



All of his friends started playing t-ball when they were four. Craig would come home and talk about wanting to play baseball and we'd just look at each other. How in the world could we enroll him in baseball when we couldn't even leave him with a sitter safely?



Then came the questions from friends and family about why Craig didn't play organized sports yet. Those were fun to field! (No pun intended.) We heard multiple times about how his dad was a coach and so he HAD to play sports. And yet, living with Craig 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - we knew he wasn't ready. (Granted, we were wondering if he'd ever be ready. But, we just knew he wasn't ready then.)

So, here he is - the end of his second grade year - 8 1/2 years old and we are finally letting the child participate in his first ever organized sporting event: baseball. To say he is thrilled in an understatement. To say we are thrilled is only half true.

You see, we are thrilled. However, we're so much more. After 8 years of searching, we finally have answers and we finally have a son who can participate in the "normal" things of life. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I want this kid to be involved in every sport offered or to fill each of his afternoons with a different lesson. I just wanted him to be able to experience what every little boy seems to yearn for at some point growing up: The American Baseball experience. And knowing that there was a time in his life when we wondered if he'd ever be stable enough to experience it makes us appreciate it all the more.

He may be like his mom and run from the ball his first time up at bat. He may do just like I did and beg to quit tonight after the game. He may hate baseball by the end of the season. But, at the end of the day what we have is a little boy who actually gets to try it instead of a frustrated, angry, irritated son who doesn't understand himself or life around him.

Tonight we do not care if he misses the ball each pitch. We don't care if he drops every pop fly that comes his way. We don't care if he never gets on base or if he throws the ball to the wrong person each time he fields. We just care that God led us to truth which led us to a delightful son who is funny, caring, and incredibly thoughtful. His Word is true when it says that the truth will set you free. That's exactly what has happened for us.

So, tonight I may yell "Go Braves!" and I may scream "Yea Craig!". And I'll mean every bit of both of those regardless of the performance or the score. However, so much more than my outward enthusiasm will be my inward heart which will be overflowing with gratitude to the One who has shown us so much truth and has redeemed a dear little boy's life so that we can enjoy precious moments like first baseball games.

To Him be all glory & honor!

An X-Ray Alternative

I saw her fall. One minute she was pulling herself along on the wall - her first time roller skating. The next minute she was going down. I could only see her shoulders and head because the walls surrounding the rink were so high. So, when her head slipped below the ridge of where I could see, I knew she'd come back up in tears. She'd already fallen a few other times and landed right on her backside. (She's not like her mama - she doesn't have enough fluff back there for it not to hurt.) So, I knew when she got up, she'd be crying.

So did Rick. That's why he headed her direction to pick her up off the floor. However, by the time he could bring her the 15 feet to where I was sitting her face looked like this:

Yep - that goose egg (with the blueish hue) appeared in less than 30 seconds. One second is wasn't there and then WHAM - it appeared. I was convinced she'd broken her cheekbone or jaw bone or maybe cracked her eye socket.

I could tell she was hurt pretty bad because she kept telling me her head hurt and she wanted to go home. Ugh ... a sickening feeling for a mom. Hate it!

I wanted to take her to the E.R. immediately. However, Rick is nothing if he's not sensible and level headed. (Well, most of the time!) He's had multiple players break bones and/or get concussions so he began looking at her eyes/pupils and drilling her on phones numbers and math problems. He's the one who thought to put ice on it immediately. He's the one who told me not to let her go to sleep. It's good to know somebody was thinking because all I wanted to do was vomit.

We ended up taking her home and watching her closely. Other than the normal complaints you would expect from hitting your face on the floor, she was behaving normal. So, we gave her a little ibuprofen and everyone went to bed. I got up 86 times during the night to check on her and fully expected her to be in my bed at some point, but she actually slept great.

However, the next morning when she got up, it was more swollen and it had begun to turn her eye black. At this point, Rick said it was time to go see the doctor. Well, I had every intention of taking her to the doctor, but when we stopped by our chiropractors office to grab some supplements for Craig that we'd run out of, he offered to take a look at her. Considering we trust this man implicitly, he's a fellow believer, and he always opts for the "less is more" in regards to treatment and my pocket book - I was more than willing to let him give me his opinion before I took off to the clinic.

He did all the normal examinations - checking her pupils, asking her to relay information back to him, pressing around on the area gently to feel what he could. However, he then surprised the hound out of me when he grabbed a tuning fork. He explained that before x-ray machines were invented, that doctors would test for broken bones using a tuning fork.

Here's why/how it works: The doctor slaps the tuning fork against his hand or thigh making it vibrate. He then holds the end of it against the part of the bone believed to be broken. If it is indeed cracked or broken, the tuning fork will vibrate the broken piece causing significant pain. If it is not broken, there is no pain (other than what is already there from the original mishap).

He tested each inch of her cheek bone and even her eye socket and Julie simply looked at him each time he touched her face with the fork. Needless to say, within two minutes we were fairly certain that the girl had not broken any of the bones in her face. He also shared with me that if the cheekbone was broken in two that her face would be sagging on that side (not to mention that she'd be in alot more pain). So - really we were just checking for a hairline fracture or crack. He shared with me that if we had gone to get an x-ray, that hairline fractures usually do not show up for 8-10 days. So, the hospital/clinic would have wanted to do a CT scan of her head to look for breaks/cracks. Can you see where this is going?

I realize the hospital has to protect themselves by making sure that they don't miss a broken bone (especially in a face); however - I ask you ... If her cheekbone had a hairline fracture, what would they have done for her? You can't cast it. You can't wrap it.

Fracture or not fracture - the treatment would have been the same. Ice it. Take it easy. Eat some ice cream. (Okay - maybe the Dr. Mom in me added in that last bit of treatment.)

So, instead of a $1500 bill for an x-ray and doctor attention and then a $3000 bill for a CT scan not to mention whatever else they could add on .... I was able to determine whether or not my daughter had broken her face with a simple (and age old) technique that was no more than the cost of my current copay.

I love me a good deal and I love the lack of radiation in my daughter's face! Now if we could just get her face to quit turning such pretty colors:

How to Kill Strep and Flu Without Antibiotics or Tamiflu

Each and every day Dave Ramsey and I go pick up my kids from school. Granted, Dave doesn't know that he's along for this ride, but he is. He rants and raves on the radio and I laugh the entire drive over, the entire wait in the pick-up line, and then part of the way home (when the kids let me listen).

I always get tickled at his disclaimer that plays around 3 each afternoon. It says something about how the host of the show (Mr. Ramsey himself) should not be listened to when it comes to finances and that you should seek the advice "of a competent professional". I realize that Dave (I call him by his first name as if I know him personally) has to have a disclaimer to protect himself legally. However, truth be told, I would trust him before I trust any "competent finance professional" for advice. To me, he IS the competent finance professional!

However, he has to protect himself by using a disclaimer for all the nut jobs out there. Therefore, before I move any further in this post:

Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is not intended or implied to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content contained in or made available through this post is for general information only. The author/s of Ivy League make no representation and assume no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information available in this post and you are encouraged to confirm any such information with your physician. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU READ IN THIS POST.

Now that we've got that out of the way, I will share this with you: Yes. It is true. I have killed strep (my own) without an antibiotic and I have shortened my flu duration by what I believe to be half. (And one last disclaimer for the real coo-coo's out there: While I am comfortable using each of these methods on myself and my own sickness, I have never used them on my children and I make no recommendations as to what you do with your own children.)

Travel with me back to 1998. I was a freshman in college and was studying vocal performance. That means I sang from sun up to sun down. That means my mouth was open 24/7. (Yes, I sleep with my mouth open. I'm that kind of attractive.) I caught strep four times that year. This was the beginning of what seemed like a never ending cycle.

I caught it another 6-8 times before I graduated 4 years later. Then, I began a yearly cycle of catching it every single Christmas. This went on even after I started this blog. (2007, 2008)

And every single time I would catch it, they would treat it the same way: antibiotics. They'd slap a prescription on me and away I'd go. However, around 2004 I noticed that every time I had to get on an antibiotic (which was usually only at Christmas when I caught strep) that I then got a yeast infection as well. (I realize that's more information than you wanted, but some woman out there is thanking me for that.) While antibiotics are great for killing the infection inside you they throw off every other part of your body - your stomach (why most people get diarrhea while on antibiotics), your taste (ever noticed that?), your intestines, etc...

It wasn't until 2009 that I learned a way to kill it without the use of antibiotics.

It's called Agrisept. You can google it, but for those looking for a simple answer - it's grapefruit seed extract that works like an anti-fungal medication. It has been proven to kill herpes, influenza, candida, parasites, and yes, even strep.

I would not pretend to know the best way to go about killing strep with Agrisept. However, what worked for me was dropping 5-6 drops into 6 oz of water and then gargling for two or three minutes (spitting out and getting more after 30 seconds). I continued this for 4-5 days and the strep was gone.

As a side note, I would want you to know that if you gargle with Agrisept before going to see a doctor - the Agrisept will throw off the "in house" strep test. It will come back negative and the doctor will just assume you have some other throat fungus. It won't be until they get the test results back from the lab they sent off to that it will show positive.

Also, on one other side note (before I move on to my flu testimony) - I would want you to know that Agrisept is available through one of the websites that my coffee sells through. This blog entry is in no way, shape, or form an attempt to get you to buy Agrisept through me or from me and I am not being compensated for this post. However, in an attempt to be authentic it is important that you know that technically you could buy it on my Asantae website. In all honesty though, many times you can google the city you live in and "agrisept" and find stores or people who sell it locally.

Moving on to the flu ... I believe I shared with you that I caught it about five weeks ago. To answer the question I know is forming in a few minds - no, I did not receive a flu shot this year. I personally think it would be safer to inject myself with rattlesnake venom than with a flu vaccine, but I digress.

I felt it coming on on a Thursday. I got that achy, tired, "something is wrong" feeling. I stopped by Target and grabbed two products that now I would NOT recommend, but they are part of the story (unfortunately). (We'll laugh at my stupidity together.) One was called Cold-Eeze - I got it for the zinc. The other was Emergen-C - got it for the high levels of Vitamin C.

I began taking both of these products that afternoon around 3 p.m. (However, my tongue kept going numb using the Cold-Eeze. I just kept telling myself a numb tongue was better than flu.) That night I had an obligation I had already committed myself to and needed to follow through on and it kept me out from 7 until midnight. (I agree that this was not the smartest move as it lowered my defenses and exposed 4 other people to the flu.)

That night I woke up around 2 a.m. running fever and with chills. It was ON like donkey kong at that point. I emailed our chiropractor and he recommended three KEY things: Vitamin C, Calcium Lactate, and Zinc.

The Vitamin C is obvious - it boosts your immune system. The Zinc has been proven (although controversial) to lessen the severity of flu symptoms. However, the Calcium Lactate was a new one for me.

Apparently, when we have low amounts of calcium in our blood, the white blood cells (the ones fighting sickness) cannot do their job. This is why you get fever. Fever increases the body temperature to heat up the bone thus releasing calcium from the bone. The fever is pulling the calcium out of the bone so that it is available to the white blood cells.

So Friday morning, I began taking Calcium Lactate and Vitamin C every hour on the hour. (The Zinc I threw in the trash can because frankly - I like to be able to feel my tongue. You form your own opinion there. I also threw the Emergen-C in the trash after discovering it contained an artificial sweetener. I switched to plain Vitamin C tablets.) After running fever all night, my fever was gone after 2 hours on the Calcium Lactate. My symptoms (extreme fatigue, achiness, headache, etc...) lasted for 3 days.

Our chiro said that when my body had enough Vitamin C, it would let me know because I would have diarrhea. While this sounded like more of a nuisance than a great "get over the flu" plan, I went with it. However, after taking more than 10,000 milligrams of Vitamin C, I still was not having any stomach problems. So - either my body was extremely low on Vitamin C or I've got abs of steel. (I'll let you draw your own conclusion.)

By Monday morning, I was back at work. Granted, I was still slightly "off" - but able to function normally. And by Tuesday, I was back to my normal self. (whatever that is)

I wish I could say the same for my 3 friends and their kiddo's. They did not get on the Zinc, C, or the Calcium Lactate. The flu took them OUT along with several of their family members and each one was down for 5-6 days. Do you see what you're missing if you and I aren't friends? I'm a giver!

So, how is that different from Tamiflu?

I'm not interested in arguing over which method of treatment you should choose. My mind is made up. However, I would offer two insights into Tamiflu: #1) It is synthetic - chemically produced, man made, and #2) It only lessons the flu by .5 - 1 days (according to their statistical information). My experience with pushing the before mentioned items seemed to lesson mine by at least 3. (Feel free to draw your own conclusion here.)

In summary, what have we learned today? We've learned that I like to sleep with my mouth open and that I'm a giver. However, I hope more than that that you take away a few nuggets of wisdom to use the next time you're feeling a little under the weather.

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I'm going to tell you why you don't need an x-ray if you think your child has broken her face!