Man, Dieting is Hard

I just realized just how hard dieting really is.  I also realize just how expensive it is to eat "healthy."  I've been trying to measure everything, log it in to my app, keep track of every bite that goes into my mouth, but man is it hard.  I don't have that long of an attention span.

I also realize that all of my recipes that I've done for years are not all that healthy, but they are comfort foods.  I don't want to put them in my log, because I eat way too much when I make them.  The other night I made Tuna Noodle Casserole.  It's my mother-in-law's recipe that I've been making for 25 years or so.  My husband basically made me learn it.  She does a lot of one pot meals.  My mom did a meat (usually either grilled or shake and baked) with a canned or frozen vegetable, a starch (usually either a baked potato or high starch vegetable like corn) and a salad.  My husband didn't grow up that way, so he likes all his casseroles, which are meat and pasta basically.  And my MIL called my mom lazy.  She put her casseroles together in the morning and then maybe sliced a tomato or cucumber to go with it. 

Sad to say, but because of how my husband was raised, I've resorted to doing the same thing.  It's easier to throw a casserole together and cook everything in one pot.  I need to get back to getting good cuts of meat and then throwing a vegetable together with a starch and a salad.  But, being sick like I am, it's attractive to be able to put a casserole together in the morning when I have more energy and then throw it in the oven at dinner time.

Last night, I tried a new recipe.  My husband has gotten used to me trying new things on him, but he wasn't fond of this one.  I have a Pinterest account, and they posted Hot Dog Casserole.  My oldest son LOVES hot dogs, and I made the mistake of saying the name of the recipe out loud.  I checked, and I had all the ingredients, so we made it.  I and my oldest son loved it, my younger son gave it a 2.9 out of 4 (I gave it a 3.5) and my husband didn't like it at all.  We're eating the left overs tonight, with my husband having the tuna noodle casserole.  Bye, bye diet.  Oh well, a vacation for a day.  I've eaten pretty good so far.  Had half a grapefruit and a banana for breakfast.

Emotional Roller Coaster

I know that a roller coaster of ups and downs goes with any prolonged illness, but I wanted to make sure everyone else knows it. 

I had a bad day Sunday, but it always gets better.  My husband has not given up his talk radio, but he doesn't shush me when I speak over it.  That makes me feel better. 

I didn't feel like cooking yesterday, so we went out.  I had Denny's Tilapia Ranchero, but substituted the cheesy mashed potatoes with broccoli.  It tasted really good.  I didn't weigh myself this morning, too afraid.  I can't really do the military diet, it makes me too hungry.  I just had nuts for breakfast this morning, and I'll eat light for lunch.  That's because I want Tuna Noodle Casserole for dinner.  I planned on making it last night, but got pooped out too early.  This is a dish that can be made (except for the parmesan cheese on top) early and put in the fridge until time to bake it.  so that's what I'm doing this morning, to ensure I get it tonight.

I got my new glasses yesterday, too, which helped my mood.  My old glasses were a bit large for my face (since I don't have hair to soften the edges) and made me look fat.  I chuckled to myself as I wrote that, because my new glasses are Baby Phat's...oh well. At least they're smaller and don't make me look Phat.  But, I can read the menu on the satelite now....don't tell anyone I was driving with corrected vision of 20/50....wow, I can read license plates and road signs again!

Bad Day Emotionally

It's hard to live with death hanging over your head all the time.  I mostly don't think about it.  I feel pretty good.  But I know it's hard on my husband, who has to take up the slack on housework when I don't feel like it.  If he wants me to do dinner, I have to only do "station keeping" on the house.  Not too much deep cleaning gets done.  It's harder with 2 kids that mess it up more than you can clean it up.

I woke up yesterday, ready to go to church.  But my husband didn't feel like it. He does have a valid excuse: He's been dealing with a broken leg for almost a year.  But, I had excess energy.  I come from a family who had a mom that re-arranged the living room about twice a year.  Admittedly, there were only a few ways to do it, but she changed it.  He comes from a family that never even moved the furniture to vacuum under it.  Same, same, same all the time.  I decided I wanted a change, and was trying to figure out how to go about it.  We only have a couple ways also.  I knew it would be a lot of work so I asked him to talk me out of it with rational arguments.  He started screaming. 

Long story short, I spent 2 hours crying in my walk in closet before he even came to check on me.  By then it had deteriorated to the point where I told him of all the people I know he is the best at making me feel like a turd that's totally worthless.  I knew he was feeling I was just a burden, even though he denied it.  I had the attitude why is God dragging this out so long?  He went to mow the grass.

But, why IS God dragging this out so long?  I've been dealing with this for 2 years, if you count the few months I dealt with a dry cough before it actually got diagnosed.  This time last year I was trying to convince myself it was allergies.  December of 2010 was when I got the PET scan that confirmed it was back.  If God is waiting for my husband to learn some vague lesson, He can stop.  Either cure me or kill me, but my husband is too hard-headed to learn a lesson from anyone.

If the roles were reversed, I would hang on his every word, because I would realize I may not have him next year, or next month or tomorrow.  I have to wait until there's nothing on talk radio or TV to get attention.

I thought at first that it was my motivation to lose a little weight.  But I've tried losing for someone else before and it never works.  I want to lose for me.  I'm hoping that I'll have more energy and the good nutrition will help fight this off.  But sometimes I wonder, why do I bother?

Sorry for the bummer of a post, but I swore I'd tell the good, the bad and the ugly.  You just got the ugly. 

Holding Steady

I actually gained one tenth of a pound, which means I'm holding steady.  Not to be crude, but going potty could change that.

I've been taking my D3 for two days now, and I'm sleeping better.  I don't know if that's the reason or not, but I haven't slept this good in a long time.  I usually wake up in the middle of the night a couple times.  I've been able to stay up a bit later, and my naps are getting shorter. 

I've taken the Tykerb two days now.  I think I lasted a week to 10 days last time before I had a reaction.  For my own records, Friday was the first day, so not this Monday, but next Monday I get to raise the dose to 3 pills, if I don't get a rash.

Now, it's off to fry an egg and make a piece of toast for the military diet.

Starting the Military Diet Again

I think I'm a day late, but I saw my doctor yesterday and knew the treatment would make me feel bad.  I needed comfort food instead of a diet.  So I started it again today.  I'm feeling good so far.  Like I said earlier, this diet lasts 3 days, and then you eat sensibly for 4 days.

I did make one mistake.  I thought I remembered the diet, but I just ate day 2's dinner.  So I'll have to swap out day 1 and day 2 suppers.  At least I'm not exchanging food items, making food substitutions.  I'm only changing days around.

I am stuck around the same weight, 168 or so, so hopefully this will jump start it and make it go down again.  I thought the 7 pounds (even though I gained a pound back, making it 6) is considered dramatic results.  I expected to only lose 2-3 pounds a week.  I'm sticking to the only drinking coffee, unsweetened tea or water.  And believe me, being in Texas and mostly from the south, not having my sweet tea is a sacrifice.  I had cut out sugar mostly, using artificial sweeteners, but I'm discovering that artificial sweeteners make me hungrier.

I wonder how I'll put this out if it works?  I have a couple goals.  I want to get my weight down to 145 (currently 167.8), so I need to lose 20-25 pounds.  I also want to be able to exercise more, which is hard to do carrying extra pounds.  And finally, though maybe not in order of importance, I want the cancer to go away.

I took my new pills (the lower dose of the same pills that gave me a rash last time) this morning for the first time.  I also took my D3 last night for the first time.  I think I slept better last night.  We'll see how it goes.

Monthly Visit With my Doctor

I had my monthly visit with my doctor.  He was excited that I lost 6 pounds (got a hug from him).  He's from Columbia if I hadn't mentioned it, and is Christian.  He wears his Christianity on his sleeve, which is why I picked him.  He did ask about my exercise level, and wants me to do 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.  I managed to get on my Gazelle (a glider) twice in the past month.  It's a start.  I showed him my My Plate calorie tracker app from Live Strong.  He was impressed.  I briefly told him about the military diet, but didn't go into detail beyond I had to eat specific things for 3 days, then sensibly for 4 days.

He said my Vitamin D level was down, so he wants me on a D3 supplement.  He wants me taking 2.000 mg a day, which is 2 pills.  It's OK, I stopped at WalMart and got some and they're tiny pills, at least compared to the others I'm taking.  We talked about the Tykerb, the one I had an allergic reaction to.  I told him that I just couldn't bring myself to take it again, because I have a history of my reactions escalating very quickly.  He wants me to take just 2 instead of 5 for 10 days.  If I tolerate that well, I can add a third for another 10 days, and so on.  He wants to find the dose that doesn't get a reaction.  I asked him if I get a reaction, do I drop down?  He said yes.  So if I react at 2, I take one.  I don't know if he's going to replace it with anything else.  I forgot to tell him that I raised my Laetrile to 300mg a day.  He missed on my computer chart that I was still getting the hormone blocker shot (something like Flasodex?) and was going to put me on another pill similar to Arimidex, which I had been taking before this came back.  When I mentioned that I had 2 shots to get today, he realized I was still on it and canceled the other pill.

I think that's all that was discussed.  He said he read in a journal that Vitamin D helps fight breast cancer, so he wants to make sure I have enough.  I called my mom, who is a 13 year breast cancer survivor.  By coincidence, she also had her labs done today and when I mentioned the Vitamin D, she said hers was low, too.  What was odd is that she said they never checked it before.  So I told her about the article her read.  She's a retired nurse, so she knows what all those initials are for on the complete blood count (CBC).

I tried to stay on my diet today, but I ended up splurging for dinner.  The shots I get make me feel bad for a couple days, and I didn't feel like cooking.  My husband did scrambled eggs and I had our son help with pancakes.  I ate 6, with regular syrup (not diet).  Oh well.

Still Tweaking Normal Diet

I think this is the last day of eating regular, before I can start the military diet again.  I lose track.  I guess I should have written it on the calendar.  I don't think one day will matter. 

For breakfast, I had one small apple chunked with cinnamon on it.  Cinnamon is supposed to be a cancer fighting spice.  Everything helps.  Then for lunch I had 2 servings of canned oysters on my allowed 8 crackers and a half cup of cottage cheese.  No snacks today.  I made regular tea, with no sweetener added.  For dinner, I'm having 5 oz of tilapia on the grill with homemade picco de gallo (no avocado), 1 cup of wild rice, 1 cup of tomato, cucumber, pepper salad with a small amount of vinegar dressing.  Today I only drank coffee, tea or water.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

My son was talking to his friend, who is on a diet.  Before anyone goes ballistic, he was overweight, so his dad put him on a diet of sensible eating, just cutting out the junk and carbs, and no snacking in between meals.  He is allowed diet sodas and drinks, but I just told my son it made me crave more food.  I would suggest cutting out the drinks period.  He told him about my diet and how much I've lost.  I think he's at his sticking point.  He only wants to lose about 14 more pounds.  He's done really good, and is looking good.

Well, I ended up with only 3 oz of fish because there was less there than we thought. I had 1-1/3 cup salad instead.  This gave me enough calories left over for 2 ice cream bars.  It's probably the Splenda in the dressing.

Set Back on Diet

I've only been tracking what I eat and trying to keep it at or around the 1.260 mark that my program says I should be at.  But I've been going over about 50 calories the last couple of days.  I added 1.2 pounds of the last 2 days.

I guess either I'm not getting a good spread of carbs throughout the day, like on the military diet, or I'm just eating to much fat or carbs.  I did notice one thing.  We had run out of sun tea (made with only Lipton Tea and drank with no sugar or Splenda) and had gone back to the Crystal Lite sort of tea, already sweetened.  I think artificial sweeteners are my downfall.  If it's not sunny here today, I'll boil some water and make tea.  I need the UNSWEETENED type.  No more sugars.

I may also take the advice of my one commenter....eat a lot less for breakfast, and possibly only a small protein, like an egg.  If I totally skip breakfast, it makes me not lose either.  It's funny that the only thing that has worked is this military diet.  But if I lose 7 pounds and then gain back 2 in my 4 off days, it won't do much good.

My goal is 145.  I felt the best at 145 pounds.  I was a size 8 when I was 145, but that was on a anti-seizure med that caused weight loss.  I ended up at 135 and close to a size 4.  I looked like a Holocaust survivor, you could count my ribs.  That's why I like a size 8 better.  Right now, I'm in 12, sometimes a 10.  They have "vanity sizing" now at Walmart.  They went through and labeled everything a size smaller so you think you're smaller than you are.  So, if you buy from Walmart, you're a 10, but if you buy anywhere else, you're a 12.   I personally hate jeans with Lycra in them.  I'd rather have 100% cotton denim.  But they're hard to find at a price I can afford, so I hit the thrift stores.

We'll see today, about my diet, with cutting out the sweeteners and just having fruit for breakfast.  Yesterday I had an apple, walnuts sprinkled with cinnamon.  It was great.  I may lose the nuts today, though.

Medical Update

I've been concentrating on this diet so much, I hadn't really thought about my cancer.  I decided to share some thoughts and updates.

The last pill gave me a severe allergic reaction so I stopped them.  I was only supposed to stop for a week, but to tell the truth, I'm too scared to go back on it.  I don't like allergic reactions.  It's the body's way of saying STOP taking this, it's hurting you. It's still about 5 days until I see my doctor.

My doctor is not opposed to alternative medicine, but he wants to use it in conjunction with modern medicine.  I don't know what he's going to put me on instead of this pill.  He explained that it blocks more receptors than Herceptin (which I'm also allergic to). I was beginning to think I was over-reacting, but I took my 22 year old son (who is handicapped) to the doctor to get his test results back.  He has gout, and the med they want to put him on could cause a rash.  If it does, I'm supposed to stop immediately.  That re-enforces my decision to not go back on it.  It is a possibility.

I feel great.  I'm still a bit tired at times, but only if I get cocky and try to do more than I should.  Today I had to run to the doctor for the lab results for my son, then in the waiting room got a call that his glasses were ready and had to run there.  I had to drop off his prescriptions and then run to the bank and all that running necessitated a nap.  I still haven't gotten in the swing of cooking every night and some nights we just have a sandwich.  I had planned on tuna noodle casserole tonight, but I think we're having tuna fish sandwiches instead.  But at least I'm not sitting in a chair unable to walk across the floor.

My hair is slowly filling in.  I still feel like Golum....just patches that are halfway thick, with patches that are REALLY thin.  I'm getting creative on how to tie a scarf.  I've increased my wardrobe of scarfs so I have one for every color of outfit.  I prefer the cotton-ish or linen-ish ones, as opposed to the silky ones.  I suppose with half of them being silky, I should just get a wig liner so they don't slip.

I have doubled my dose of Laetrile...now I'm taking 200 mg.  I started out taking 100 mg morning and then again at night.  But it seems to make me a bit sleepy, like my body wants to sleep so it can heal.  So, I take both at night.  I've dropped my cholesterol meds and my high blood pressure meds.  I had a blood test recently, but don't know the results.  The body will make what it needs, and if there's a blockage, it will make more to make sure it gets what  it needs.  I'm trying to eat more broccoli and the other natural inflammation reducers.  My pressure is good, just don't know about the cholesterol.

I'll keep doing updates, on medical condition and diet success.  The main reason for the diet is that my doctor said to cut out sugar (which is HARDER than it sounds - I believe it is addictive) and exercise more.  Right now, just keeping up with my house is my exercise.  I hope to be energetic enough to take the dogs for a walk.  Right now I can only handle letting the cat out on a leash.  You don't really walk cats, you let them explore at their own pace, which mine is terrified of the outside and keeps to the house foundation and bushes.  It's actually quite amusing.

Diet "Tweaking"

OK, I'm gonna tweak the diet a bit.  I wanted to get a side-by-side comparison of the military diet and what you get each meal, and it's easier for me when I see it written down, so here goes.

Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1 slice toast, 2 TBP Peanut butter
                  1 egg, 1 slice toast, 1/2 banana
                  5 saltine crackers, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 1 small apple

Lunch:      1/2 cup tuna, 1 slice toast
                 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 boiled egg, 5 saltine crackers
                 1 boiled egg, 1 slice toast

Dinner:    3 oz meat, 1 cup green beans, 1/2 banana, 1 small apple, 1 cup ice cream
                2 hotdogs, 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup ice cream
                1 cup tuna, 1/2 banana, 1 cup ice cream

So, I do see a pattern.  For one thing, there is something from the 3 major groups each meal, spreading them out.  You generally get a small amount of protein, carbohydrates and fruit for breakfast.  Then for lunch you get slightly more protein and no fruit.  For dinner, it's a bit more protein even than lunch (the most of the day), with veggies and fruit and a little bit of sugar.

Even though I cheated yesterday, eating at Denny's, I still lost weight.  Yesterday morning I was at 168.0.  This morning it was 167.4.  So, in just 6 days I've lost 7 pounds.  I can deal with that.  So I need to stick to this pattern for my 4 "free days." 

To generalize, it's Breakfast: small protein, moderate carbohydrates, moderate fruit.  For Lunch, it's moderate protein and moderate carbs.  For Dinner, it's high protein, moderate vegetables, low fruit and I've been having the sugar snack in the evening.

I'm going to continue to eat according to the calories that my app says to get.  For today (and I said it's going down as I lose) it's 1.260 calories.  Let's see how this goes.  I also am going to be a bit more active today, as I have to take my son to the doctor.

Day 3 of the Diet

Well, I didn't make it all 3 days...I feel hypoglycemic...low blood sugar.  There isn't much sugar on this diet, and that's been my norm for too long.  I did good until dinner time, and now I'm STARVED!  I did manage to lose 6.8 pounds in 5 days.  That's great for me.  So, I'll eat regular for 4 days, and try again.  I don't know if I'll make it a whole month, but I'll give it a try.

I weigh at the same time every morning, wearing the same clothes.  So I know my weight loss is accurate.  It won't be the same when I go to the doctor, because of wearing shoes and clothes (sorry for the picture in the heads of the people that know me, but I weigh in bra and panties). And no, I'm not posting pictures.  I'm still close to 50, trust me you don't want to see them.

I'm going to continue the Iphone app I have that tracks what I eat.  I'm supposed to be at 1,268 calories, and it keeps going down as I lose weight.  That sucks, but oh well.  The hardest part of that has been actually entering everything I eat.  It makes me very aware of what I do eat, so I guess it helps.  I didn't realize I was getting as many calories as I was.  Right now I'm fighting the craving for SUGAR!

Day One of the Diet under my Belt

I've completed day one of the military diet.  I did get hungry, but I drank water. And I didn't get hungry until in the evening.  I ended up eating lunch at about 11:30, but I was starved so I ate dinner at 4:30.  I saved the ice cream (yes, we get ice cream on this diet) until about 7:30.

I've lost 6 pounds in 4 days.  But, the first day I did nothing but weigh, the second day I only did my app to track my weight (and I was about 54 calories over what they told me to eat), yesterday was day 3 and I haven't done anything but weigh today.  It's early. 

So, today I get:  Breakfast, 1 egg, a slice of toast and 1/2 banana.  For lunch, I get 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 hard boiled egg and 5 crackers and for dinner, I get 2 hot dogs, 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 banana and a half cup of vanilla ice cream.  I'm holding off as long as I can for breakfast.  The only thing allowed to drink is coffee (I assume black), tea (I assume unsweetened) or water.

I guess for dinner, I'll make brats for everyone but me, doing hot dogs for me.  I may check out the calories between the two and see how close they are.  Brats would be healthier in my opinion, if the calories are the same.  You never know what goes into a hot dog.  But I can do steamed broccoli and carrots to go with it and maybe rice.  I won't be able to eat the rice, buy my husband can't go a meal without a starch.

I'm pleased with the progress.  Six pounds is a great start.  And I broke that 170 mark. 

Yesterday, doing the military diet, I ended up very close to what my app said I should eat for calories.  I was supposed to get 1,270.  I would have gotten 1,281, but I did yard work for a half hour and counted it as exercise.  It took 154 calories off.  We (my husband and I, but mostly me) dug a hole and transplanted a peach tree from a pot to a plot in our yard.  I dug most of the hole (he currently has a broken leg and isn't supposed to put weight on it), and then rolled the pot on it's side to loosen the root ball.  He picked it up (with my help stabilizing and removing the pot) and put it in the hole.  Then I put the dirt back around it.  BUT, in between putting the tree in the ground and pulling the dirt back to fill the hole, I had to run and get the water hose because the old pot had a fire ant nest in it.  They attacked him, but not me (for rolling it around).  So, I'd say it was exercise.  I haven't jogged, even across the yard, in at least 2 years.  He's better this morning, but I'll be spreading borax and Splenda across the yard where they were.  They are concentrated in a stump we have, and had tunneled to the pot across the yard.  We sprayed with Murphy's Oil Soap yesterday, but it wasn't listed as a killing agent and I want to make sure they die with the queen.

New Diet

I'm going to start a new diet.  I need something to jump start my weight loss.  I know, my doctor said only natural foods, and he chooses to not eat meat from the United States, but I'm giving this a try.  I currently weigh 174 (at 5 ft 5).  I don't look that heavy, though.  I wear a size 12.  I felt my best when I weighed 145, so I could stand to lose about 40 pounds.

I subscribe to Pinterest, and saw this post on it with what they called a military diet.  It says that the military uses it when they have to lose weight fast.  The pinner stated that she had to quit after 2 days because of hypoglycemic issues.  But, here it is:

You follow the following for 3 days, exactly, no substitutes:

Day 1
Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruit, 1 slice toast, 2 TBSP peanut butter, coffee or tea
Lunch: 1/2 cup tuna, 1 slice toast, coffee or tea
Dinner: 3 oz any meat, 1 cup green beans, 1/2 banana, 1 small apple, 1 cup vanilla icecream

Day 2
Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 slice toast, 1/2 banana
Lunch: 1 cup cottage cheese (or 1 slice cheddar cheese), 1 hard boiled egg, 5 saltine crackers
Dinner: 2 hotdogs (no buns), 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

Day 3
Breakfast: 5 saltine crackers, 1 slice cheddar cheese, 1 small apple
Lunch: 1 hard boiled egg, 1 slice toast
Dinner: 1 cup tuna, 1/2 banana, 1 cup vanilla ice cream

For Days 4-7, eat as normal, but don't over do it.  This is supposed to see a weight loss of 10 pounds during this week.  You supposedly can do this for a month, repeating exactly the pattern, for a total of 40 pounds lost.

We shall see.  I don't recommend anyone doing this without speaking to their doctor.  I, however, being an adult and able to make up my own mind, choose to go get the groceries and do it.  I don't have grapefruit, ice cream, cottage cheese, hot dogs or crackers.  In my case, I have to change the crackers to gluten free ones.  Let's see how it affects the results.  Should I choose to eat regular crackers, I'd be in severe pain and have the Big D.  I'm a celiac and can't eat wheat, barley or rye.

Free Speech

I just read an article about a man who was blogging his experiences with the Paleo Diet and his diabetes.  Apparently the AMA or FDA or some government agency tried to take him to court over it because he's not a licensed dietitian, and was therefore not authorized to give advice.  They made him make is "disclaimer" more prominent on his blog. 

This is the only disclaimer you will get from me.  In this country, at the time of this writing, we the People are guaranteed free speech.  Do I believe there are limits?  Maybe.  You can't yell fire in a crowded theatre, or "gun" in a police department, it causes panic.  Is what I'm doing (or the other fellow did) causing panic?  Maybe from the drug industry when they realize that the pills they push aren't really curing anything and we the people are finding out about it.

I was raised in a medical family.  My aunt married a doctor, 4 out of 5 of the women in my mom's family (herself and two of her sisters plus her mother) were in the nursing field, to varying extents.  I have a cousin that's a radiation tech?  Can't remember but something like that.  I was brainwashed for a long time to just trust the doctors.

But now, you have DOCTORS coming out and saying a lot of the meds don't do anything.  I watched an interview with a doctor (on FOX, maybe?) who said cholesterol meds are bogus.  I don't remember how exactly he put it, but here's the theory.  You have high blood pressure because your organs need a certain amount of blood flow in order to work at optimum capacity.  If your arteries are clogged a little, your pressure needs to rise to get the right amount of flow going to those organs.  If you just lower the pressure, your organs won't get enough blood (including your brain) and things can start to go wrong.  Some of your organs need a certain amount of cholesterol to function properly.  If your arteries are clogged, they're not getting as much as they need, so the body makes more.  Lowering your cholesterol will only mean that the organs that need the cholesterol won't get it.  Cholesterol is not water soluble, meaning it doesn't dissolve in the blood.  The blood carries it where it's needed.  The reason your arteries are clogged has nothing to do with the amount of cholesterol being carried.  Your arteries are inflamed and therefore "grab" the cholesterol.

So, by just lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol, you're doing more damage to the body than good.  You need to find ways to bring down the inflammation.  Some suggest a baby aspirin, but that really only thins the blood to make it flow easier.

I found this list on line of foods that lower inflammation naturally.  Of the more common ones listed are broccoli, tart cherries, onions, garlic, pineapple and spinach.  Strange, I didn't know that, but I've increased my onion and garlic intake because I've been trying to eat more vegetables and it makes them taste better.  I haven't had a blood pressure pill since June 1st, and it's August 9th and my pressure runs about 128/80.  If you listen to modern medicine now, that's been revised to be borderline high.  I remember when they didn't worry until you got to 140/90.  Now they say the lower the better.  Sounds like a pitch to get everyone on blood pressure pills.

They put my son (who has a heart condition) on blood pressure pills.  The theory was that it would open the arteries so that the blood flowed through the arteries instead of regurgitated back through the valve, the theory of least resistance.  He (as well as his brother and I) is Celiac.  When he gets something not on his diet, it causes his triglycerides to spike.  He happened to get a test after getting something off his diet, with triglycerides at 300 so they put him on cholesterol meds.  How ridiculous is that?  His new medicaid doctor said he didn't need either.

So who do you believe?  "Modern" medicine always makes fun of home remedies, calling them old wives tales.  But look at the health of our ancestors compared to our health now.  Cancer is WAY up, as is heart disease and other health issues.  Then take a look at our diet (mostly highly processed) and the amount of pills everyone takes.  Doctors just prescribe a pill and send you away.  You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that almost every time I go to a doctor, sometime during my wait time I see a drug representative coming in and going straight back to see the doctor or leave samples, do you?

So, I will continue my little experiment on myself with home therapies.  I do think I have a fairly good doctor, but I don't blindly accept what he says either.  I'll continue to take my Laetrile while my stage IV cancer is in the early stages and not terminal.  We are born with a terminal disease, because the end of every life is death.  No one will be able to tell me that all those chemicals they put into a cancer patient's body is better for them than targeting the cancer cell itself and turning it off.  It's the difference between a shot gun and a sniper rifle.

Time for an Update

It's time for an update.  Last I wrote, my new doctor had said that the pills I received in the mail were NOT chemo drugs, but much like Herceptin, only better.  I was allergic to Herceptin.  My first reaction to Herceptin was an all over body itch.  So they started giving me Benidryl before (as in moments before) my infusion.  Then, I had an incidence of "thick tongue," where it made it a bit difficult to speak clearly.  At the time, I assumed it was from the Benidryl making me sleepy, and thus causing me to slur my words.  Upon more thought, sleepy doesn't equal slurred words.  I chose not to take it anymore so my doctor prescribed a pill.

Well, I started the pills.  I took them maybe a week, 10 days?  I'd have to count them to see how many days I have left.  The dose was 5 pills in one sitting, taking them either an hour after or an hour before I ate.  I was taking them one hour after dinner, and waiting an hour after that to have any evening snacks.

Meanwhile, due to code violations that I believe are abusively restrictive (but that's another blog), I was trimming my crepe myrtle tree in the front of my house.  I had to saw a few larger limbs with a pole trimmer, and it dropped massive amounts of pollen onto me.  Two days after this, I broke out in a rash on my face and head.  I assumed it was the pollen.  It was little puss filled pimples all around my nose, some actually inside my nose, and it spread.  I made sure I washed my face very well, and started my Neti pot to clean out my sinuses.  It got worse.  A few days later (and this is during the time I was taking my new meds) I decided it had to be something else.  The only other option was the new pills.  I didn't take them that night, planning on calling the doctor in the morning.  He said to stop it, just in case, for a week.  That week is up tomorrow.  I'm almost totally clear now.

It makes me not want to start it back.  But I suppose I have to to make sure it was the pills.  It doesn't say when to take them, so I might start taking them in the morning instead of the evening.  I get up around 4:45 with my husband, but don't eat until around 8:00.  Maybe taking them on a totally empty stomach will make a difference.  We'll see.

I raised my dose of Laetrile to 200 mg.  At first I was taking 100 mg at night and then another in the morning.  But it seems to make me a bit sleepy so I switched to both at night.  I'm considering buying the 500mg dose next time.  I'll have to compare how many you get and what the benefits would be.  It's like it causes my body to go into repair mode.  Your body can only repair itself when you're sleeping, so I guess that's why it makes me sleepy.  I'm not eating as many of the apricot kernels.  I don't seem to crave them on 200 mg of laetrile.

After I quit the new pills (that are like Herceptin, called Tykerb), I started feeling better.  I kinda felt on the verge of a fever...you know, like your body is fighting off a cold and not quite succeeding? I have been craving raisins, though.  Don't know why.  Probably the lack of sugar.  I've switched from the Crystal Lite tea drinks (artificial sweeteners) to sun-brewed regular tea and no sweetener.  It actually tastes pretty good.  My son had me put lime juice in it and it was even better.

As far as how I'm doing cancer-wise, I don't know.  If I go on feeling, I feel about the same, better now that I'm off the Tykerb.  Tykerb had messed with my bowels a bit, first causing diarrhea, then constipation.  After almost a week off of it, I'm normal again.  I also don't feel bloated like I had gotten.  It would solve so much if I could discover that it wasn't gluten free.  Part of me wants the decision to quit it out of my hands.  I don't want to abandon modern medicine, but it's not doing anything for me but causing side effects that need to be treated. 

I see my doctor again on the 23rd, so I guess we'll see.