Message from Beyond: A loved one (I think she's a she) came to me singing in a loud, clear voice the song "Shoo Fly." She placed special emphasis on the following snippet of the song: "I feel, I feel, I feel, I feel like the Morning Star!" Her smile was radiant when she sang that verse, and she wants you to know she's still with you in spirit AND is completely pain-free and untroubled.
My dreams, visions, sightings and a healthy dose of holistic and homeopathic remedies: the paranormal and unusual world of Kerry Murphy
Monday, January 21, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Smell of Petroleum
Yesterday, 1-9-13, at about noon I walked outside into the backyard and smelled petroleum. Just as in the last times I've smelled it, I'm hoping it's a real smell as opposed to a metaphysical/prophetic smell. I'll post updates below if an oil spill (or any other type of Big Energy disaster) happens.
UPDATE: 1-27-13: Barge carrying oil spilled on the Mississippi (there may have been other incidences prior to this, but I kept forgetting to check. Sorry):
Mississippi River Barge Crash
UPDATE: 1-27-13: Barge carrying oil spilled on the Mississippi (there may have been other incidences prior to this, but I kept forgetting to check. Sorry):
Mississippi River Barge Crash
Thursday, January 3, 2013
A New Dream Vision, a New Year of Change
First of all, happy 2013 y'all! I, personally, feel optimistic about 2013, but perhaps not in the way most of you reading this will feel. For the future, I've been shown much loss, much sorrow, more violence, more war, a lot of earth upheaval - particularly flooding and drought and earthquakes (natch :D), and yet I've seen the changing, little by little, of our collective humanity. This past election caused me to (quite literally!) stroke out, especially after reading months of racist, homophobic, pro-war, pro-weapons, the emergence of a fanatical religious wave - whether Christian or Muslim - denial of climate change comments under political articles referencing those topics. I simply could not believe (or, rather, did not want to believe) that so many of my fellow citizens could be so callous, so filled with fear about their neighbor, so obtuse when it came to the Earth-raping by Big Energy and climate change caused by same in conjunction with Big Business, so judgmental where it concerned their less-than-fortunate neighbors, so unenlightened in their belief that those who follow a different or rather same-sex gender preference when matters of the heart sing are evil, as well as the belief that women are still "less than." It sickened me and caused my own mind to reel from the utter hatred of it all. But along with all that mind-numbing insensitivity, I've witnessed little things that have given me great hope and a tiny sense of peace that can be ours if only we allow it to be the "new" norm: neighbors helping neighbors during a calamity, ordinary people taking a stand against the bullies in their communities, businesses giving charitably to their communities without any thought of reward, the lone individual who, tired of seeing her children sickened by a fixable problem caused by drilling or mining or tainted vaccines or chemical/agricultural waste dumping, taking on a giant industry...and winning. All of these fill my heart with hope and the realization that each of us has the power to change that which we can no longer tolerate because it isn't beneficial to us all. Oh, it takes a village, for sure, but it always starts with that one individual who says, "I'm not taking this anymore; something has to be done." And armed with a solution to replace the old paradigm, the chances of change are infinite, because it's one thing to bitch about a problem, but it's quite another to solve that problem. Anything else is, just, well, bitching, which doesn't cause the problem to go away or cause a company to change its business model.
With that thought, that one person, supported by a community of activists, can make positive, lasting changes, here's my dream vision of last night. Please keep in mind that when I dream of myself, "I" am not "me" - I may be the actual victim if it's a murder dream (as I was in Laci Peterson's case), or I might be in the body of a killer (as I was in Casey Anthony's case) or I might represent the collective whole for other types of dreams. In this dream, I represented the Shaman/connector but also the individual:
I was in a future time in which religious zealotry ruled. This future was similar to ours in that One God was the choice of the zealots, and I remember thinking that these people also were fanatics of the Christ. I was shoved into a huge tent, decorated all in white with gold accents: gold ribbons, gold carpets, gold chairs and couches. A woman appeared, dressed in white, and smiled menacingly at me. "You do not believe?" she asked. "No," I replied, adding, "I know there is no 'god' but rather the power of the universal One." "But, are those not the same?" she asked. I replied, "No. By universal One, I mean an individual as part of the whole. Each of us has the power to be god. Each of us is our own savior. Each of us has the power to change that which we cannot tolerate as a society, as a human, as a compassionate, empathic soul and as a sentient being. We are the universal One." Laughing, she told me she'd show me the power of God. She threw her arms open wide and manifested a being shaped like a ball but covered in feathers and threw it at me, shouting, "My God is more powerful than you, Shaman!" I was a bit awe-struck when I caught the ball/being. I marveled over its feathers and shape, and then I became very, very afraid. For whatever reason, I knew the ball/being meant me harm and was very powerful, indeed - just as organized religion of any faith is in our world - just as any big corporation is in its business practices. I tried to throw it back at her, but it was as if the ball paralyzed me. Knowing I was about to face imminent death and had no power to challenge its superiority, I thought, "Huh. I reckon he is." Then I felt a hand on my arm, then many hands, and I felt no longer paralyzed, and we, the universal One, threw the ball/being back at the priestess. I said, "Your god has no more power than any one of us here." As the vision faded, the woman's expression was one of shock, dismay and sadness that her challenge was defeated, and the ball/being growled, "God." (Still gives me chill bumps to think of it.)
It's a hard lesson when we've learned that the dogma we've been taught as a child is erroneous. Jesus, the Buddha, and others have tried to teach us that we each have the power to harness energy and use it beneficially for all; religious leaders have, for the most part, twisted and perverted that knowledge into worshiping a certain person, a certain god, a certain philosophy, whether it benefits a few or not, and usually it only benefits those leaders' pockets. It's a hard lesson when we learn that our parents aren't really all that powerful after all, and that businesses and politicians lie and would stop at almost nothing in order to hold power and influence in our daily lives, often when that very same power and influence harms many. The whole point is that we shouldn't be worshiping any thing, nor should we ever believe that one person/thing is superior to us. We should be celebrating life and each other, whether through the yin or the yang. Stop being so afraid or resigned to the status quo; that powerful entity (whether corporate or a person or a god) is not more powerful than you! Stop being paralyzed into thinking that you have no power. Celebrate that you have the power to challenge that which most believe is superior; make a change for the better! You, and your community, and therefore the extended universal One have all the power and energy to harness at your disposal, if you just tap into it. The next time you feel afraid or unworthy or abandoned, remember that you have the power to change that. Same thing goes if you see an injustice being committed or a person who just needs a shoulder on which to lean: stand up for the person/being who is harmed, lend your shoulder! Don't accept the corporate/religious/political line that there is only one way/one solution; just as there are many ways, many solutions, there is more than one hand on your arm - there are many, but you must take that first step and connect.
This year when mama nature or our politicians or Big Business throws atrocities at us, we will desperately need our fellow mankind to come together as One. One arm, many hands: much more powerful than most people realize and accessible to all.
With that thought, that one person, supported by a community of activists, can make positive, lasting changes, here's my dream vision of last night. Please keep in mind that when I dream of myself, "I" am not "me" - I may be the actual victim if it's a murder dream (as I was in Laci Peterson's case), or I might be in the body of a killer (as I was in Casey Anthony's case) or I might represent the collective whole for other types of dreams. In this dream, I represented the Shaman/connector but also the individual:
I was in a future time in which religious zealotry ruled. This future was similar to ours in that One God was the choice of the zealots, and I remember thinking that these people also were fanatics of the Christ. I was shoved into a huge tent, decorated all in white with gold accents: gold ribbons, gold carpets, gold chairs and couches. A woman appeared, dressed in white, and smiled menacingly at me. "You do not believe?" she asked. "No," I replied, adding, "I know there is no 'god' but rather the power of the universal One." "But, are those not the same?" she asked. I replied, "No. By universal One, I mean an individual as part of the whole. Each of us has the power to be god. Each of us is our own savior. Each of us has the power to change that which we cannot tolerate as a society, as a human, as a compassionate, empathic soul and as a sentient being. We are the universal One." Laughing, she told me she'd show me the power of God. She threw her arms open wide and manifested a being shaped like a ball but covered in feathers and threw it at me, shouting, "My God is more powerful than you, Shaman!" I was a bit awe-struck when I caught the ball/being. I marveled over its feathers and shape, and then I became very, very afraid. For whatever reason, I knew the ball/being meant me harm and was very powerful, indeed - just as organized religion of any faith is in our world - just as any big corporation is in its business practices. I tried to throw it back at her, but it was as if the ball paralyzed me. Knowing I was about to face imminent death and had no power to challenge its superiority, I thought, "Huh. I reckon he is." Then I felt a hand on my arm, then many hands, and I felt no longer paralyzed, and we, the universal One, threw the ball/being back at the priestess. I said, "Your god has no more power than any one of us here." As the vision faded, the woman's expression was one of shock, dismay and sadness that her challenge was defeated, and the ball/being growled, "God." (Still gives me chill bumps to think of it.)
It's a hard lesson when we've learned that the dogma we've been taught as a child is erroneous. Jesus, the Buddha, and others have tried to teach us that we each have the power to harness energy and use it beneficially for all; religious leaders have, for the most part, twisted and perverted that knowledge into worshiping a certain person, a certain god, a certain philosophy, whether it benefits a few or not, and usually it only benefits those leaders' pockets. It's a hard lesson when we learn that our parents aren't really all that powerful after all, and that businesses and politicians lie and would stop at almost nothing in order to hold power and influence in our daily lives, often when that very same power and influence harms many. The whole point is that we shouldn't be worshiping any thing, nor should we ever believe that one person/thing is superior to us. We should be celebrating life and each other, whether through the yin or the yang. Stop being so afraid or resigned to the status quo; that powerful entity (whether corporate or a person or a god) is not more powerful than you! Stop being paralyzed into thinking that you have no power. Celebrate that you have the power to challenge that which most believe is superior; make a change for the better! You, and your community, and therefore the extended universal One have all the power and energy to harness at your disposal, if you just tap into it. The next time you feel afraid or unworthy or abandoned, remember that you have the power to change that. Same thing goes if you see an injustice being committed or a person who just needs a shoulder on which to lean: stand up for the person/being who is harmed, lend your shoulder! Don't accept the corporate/religious/political line that there is only one way/one solution; just as there are many ways, many solutions, there is more than one hand on your arm - there are many, but you must take that first step and connect.
This year when mama nature or our politicians or Big Business throws atrocities at us, we will desperately need our fellow mankind to come together as One. One arm, many hands: much more powerful than most people realize and accessible to all.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
TIA Update, Solving the Baldness Issue, Happy New Year!
As we're about to go into the new year of 2013, my mind is a jumble of thoughts, feelings and lessons learned throughout the years. The following is going to be rambling - 'cause that's how I seem to roll these days - but hopefully enlightening (and entertaining!). My wish is that 2013 will be one of peace, calm and a lightening of the pervasive heavy-spirit that so many of us seemed to be floundering in during the past several years!
Re the pervasive heavy-spirit: I've watched with interest and awe all the recent stories of random acts of kindness. I've got to be honest with y'all: I still feel that broadcasting/bragging/publicizing any and all little kindnesses that one may do for his/her fellow beings makes me cringe. After all (and I feel the same way about public prayer ala Christian or Muslim fundamentalism) it's our innate humanness that should compel us to always seize the moment to be "good" or "do the right thing" and it's meant to be a private, personal karmic moment. However (you knew I'd pop that word in!), if publicizing acts of kindness compels others to do the same, it's totally worth it, and all that positive energy wafting through our universe benefits all of us! Anything that lifts our hearts and emotional well-being up is a wonderful thing.
Okey dokey - on to the baldness. I've suffered from a type of alopecia since my hysterectomy in 1996 (no estrogen!) AND it seems to run in my family. I've bought five wigs over the years to use when it's especially bad, and I've been as bald as having just a few baby-fine hairs on the front of my head. Back in 2005 I switched to a raw vegan diet, and that seemed to be the worst period of baldness, and I've alternated between being a total vegan to incorporating some meat in my diet since then, all to only partial success. Now I do eat a small bit of meat (bought from local humane, sustainable, organic farms) with a large helping of veggies at meals. For breakfast I usually eat eggs scrambled in coconut milk with several cloves of raw garlic, chopped onion, celery, mushrooms and about a cup of cilantro. Yummy, and all meant to lower my blood pressure. keep me healthy (I haven't had a cold or the flu or any other "bugs" for years), and keeping me full hunger-wise and full of energy throughout the day. But the diet alone doesn't help totally with the alopecia. So, over the years I've tried potions, salves, and other herbal remedies to solve the issue, but again, it only helped partially. What to do? I love my wigs, but good grief they're hot and sweat-inducing! Fast forward to sometime this year I just happened to be reading some random article on hair styles when a cosmetologist being interviewed mentioned that many women who suffer from hair loss lack enough iron, B-12 and biotin. Huh, I thought. I knew that too much iron is not healthy, and too little causes anemia. But how much is too much and how little is too little to not be on a medical radar? After several days of intensive research, I figured out the basic dosages, and now I have hair in abundance. Oh, it's all different lengths from growing little by little, and it took a few months to completely start growing, but no more shiny bald patch! So here's the "magic" formula that I take, all companies researched for their supplements' efficacy ratings and ingredients' purity: Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw Iron 22 mg., Country Life Biotin 5 mg., and TwinLab Mega B-12 Dots 5000 mcg. About the B-12: take it in the morning because it gives you a boost of energy, and you don't want to be up all night if you take it in the evening! Also, when you look for a B-12 supplement, make sure it's for sublingual (under the tongue) use. B-12 is best absorbed in this manner.
On to my recent TIA - mini-stroke - incident. I've had several neurologist and internal medicine visits, along with an MRI, an MRA, two complete blood tests, doppler carotid tests and a sleep study. It turns out that my right carotid artery has mild blockage, and the left carotid has slightly less blockage. The brain scans showed no sign of any damage, thank goodness! The internist immediately put me on blood pressure medication because my blood pressure was 173/101 (ugh) and wanted me to take a statin. I refused; last year it was finally confirmed by cardiologists that statins are toxic in otherwise healthy patients - among the permanent side effects are muscular-nerve loss, liver damage, and restless leg syndrome (this is when your legs get that "my skin is crawling!" feeling). The only people who are recommended to take statins are those who have suffered a heart attack or who have chronic, established heart disease. My heart is fine, oddly enough; it's my head area that's shorted-out :D. My mother died when she was 5 years older than I am now from congestive heart failure - her heart and lungs were filled with fluid, and she suffered from emphysema, as well. My heart's fine, my lungs are clear, I don't have emphysema. I DO have high cholesterol, but my HDL (the good cholesterol that eats the bad) levels are really good. Cardiologists are torn between admitting that cholesterol levels don't indicate heart disease and toting the Big Pharma lie that everyone needs to be on a statin. Look, from everything I've researched, statins are just plain poison. Period. And anyone who is past the age of 60 shouldn't be placed on a statin no matter what, in any event. So if you're over 60 and reading this and on a statin and haven't had a heart attack and your HDL is good (regardless of your other cholesterol numbers), your diet is good, just say no to a statin. So what to take in place of a statin to ensure your heart and arteries stay healthy? I'm now taking Solgar Vitamin B-6 250 mg. and Solgar Folic Acid 800 mcg., along with the vitamin B-12 - all three are necessary and vital for arterial health, y'all!
Those of you who know what a fervent believer I am re herbs, organic & gmo-free foods and all things nature provided to us for whole body wellness may be sittin' at your computer right about now thinkin' "Damn! If all things natural are so good for you, why are you sick, Kerry?" Here's the short and simple answer: I didn't start paying attention to my diet or to my environment or to, well, much of anything prior to about 7 years ago. Oh, I always ate a good portion of fruits and veggies, but I also ate a LOT of pure junk on occasion. My recent blood tests showed that my body is actually really, really healthy - my blood sediment rate, which shows inflammation, cancer, leukemia, etc., was the lowest it can be. This I attribute directly to taking white willow bark supplements: Two 400 mg. capsules twice a day, every day. I only started taking those in April right after I had the epiphany that my entire body suffered from inflammation during a poison ivy attack. Obviously, it works! Both my internist and neurologist were clueless as to the therapeutic value of willow bark, and both told me take aspirin every day to mitigate a possible future TIA/stroke. I am taking the daily low dosage aspirin, but I'm definitely taking willow bark, too. It's a literal life-saver. All those bouts of cancer, both of the auto-immune disorders with which I deal, bad food choices in the past, all of those have clogged my arteries and inflamed my body. I'm reversing that damage - there will always be some remaining damage, but it's manageable now - and so can anyone who really is sick and tired of being sick and tired. I still have flare ups of my disorders, I still have short-term memory issues (and those are likely permanent, unfortunately, according to the neurologist), I still stress out over injustices and earth and other beings abuse, but I am able to live body-wise better than in the past. On the cancer front, since I'm a DES daughter, my chances of getting breast cancer are 80% greater than other women; with all my life-style changes I've made in the last several years, I do believe I've reduced that statistic enormously (and if I do happen to get it from the genetic mutations DES has caused, I know it'll be a piece of cake to conquer it, too).
So what all am I taking on a daily basis that helps keep me functioning on an acceptable level (I use the word "acceptable" because all throughout my illnesses I've exclaimed, "Well, that's just totally unacceptable!")? In addition to raw garlic cloves and onions and a fruit smoothy that I consume every day (along with other healthy foods of course), here's my complete list, and yes, you may think it's overkill, but considering the excellent blood work report, I'd say it's vital, especially since there's no way I could consume all the food I'd need to consume in order to get the benefits that each supplement brings:
And here's what Jeff is taking on a daily basis (his needs differ from mine on a few issues):
If you have any questions about the benefits that each supplement provides, just Google each - you might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, that many of them are written about in the medical websites and not just strictly in the annals of herbology/holistic medicine sites.
There's one more drug that I've been prescribed, and it's a narcotic. I have to get a written prescription each month from the internist in which to receive it, and it's an opioid. It's called Nucynta, and it's been a life-saver, too, although in a much different way than the whole-body wellness supplements and change in diet. It's the first drug I've taken for my fibromyalgia that actually works by blocking the muscular-neural pain receptors. In the past I've been prescribed a whole slew of medications, from Cymbalta, Tramadol, Flexeril, Lyrica, Neurontin, and on and on that helped not one whit, and indeed caused reactions when I took them - anything from acute hangover type symptoms to increased pain to suicidal thoughts to extreme edema. Nucynta doesn't cause any of these issues, it's not actually addictive for those of us who suffer from chronic pain (unless you're taking it because you're already an addict to pain medication), and as I told the internist, "Best.Drug.Ever." The side effects can be hallucinations, extreme drowsiness, and the like - especially in high doses - but I haven't had any of those and my dosage is small. It allows me to have a better quality of life. Just like the willow bark keeps inflammation away, the Nucynta keeps the muscles and nerves from constantly flaring up. But as with all opioids (or all pain medication), it doesn't help short term memory. At all (duh!). But it certainly keeps my body moving and has greatly improved my ability to walk, and that's exactly what I've needed. I have no idea if I'll take this the rest of my life; I would love to think that I won't need it in some distant future. But the fact remains that I'm approaching 60 and the likelihood of my neuro-muscular system reverting back to pre-hysterectomy, pre-fibromyalgia, pre-auto-immune disorder days is just about zero. So rock on, opioid, rock on!
The sleep study: This was really, really interesting, I thought. I didn't want to participate, kind of thought it was ridiculous, and then when I was researching I found that fibromyalgia sufferers almost always lacked Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep. These two stages are the most beneficial to one's health, and without them, you feel tired, cranky, run-down and like a truck has run over your body during the night, so I went ahead and participated in the study. I got to the sleep lab at 8:00 pm, they hooked me up to all sorts of electrodes - all over my head and chest - and I fell asleep about 10:30 or 11:00. Well, I actually didn't sleep at all as verified by the results. I had a few minutes of Stage 3 sleep and zero at Stage 4 (deep sleep). I feel vindicated by the results of my sleep study re the fibromyalgia; at one time this disorder was thought to be non-existent, then accepted but still treated with anti-depressants and epilepsy drugs, and was just officially recognized in June 2012 by the Social Security Administration as a disability. Therefore, if anyone is suffering from fibromyalgia and needs one more bit of scientific "proof", I'd suggest taking a sleep study.
One more benefit of the sleep study: Since my TIA happened on the right side of my brain, my extrasensory perception was altered in that I just wasn't getting any more dream visits, and I couldn't perceive what was happening to people around me (I wasn't picking up anything). I didn't feel as if I was a part of the universal whole, and my short term memory vanished. What used to be easy-peezy for me to recite/know/acknowledge just disappeared in the blink of an eye, it seems. Just as the earthquake here in Virginia set off a slew of neurological Parkinson-type reactions in my body, the sleep study electrodes restored my gift. Unbelievable, truly - I didn't even think about the causal effect of electrodes coursing through my brain, but the next night after the study when I awoke from a vivid dream visitation from my Navajo elder guide, I realized what had happened, and I was overjoyed! Back in business, baby! Except if I thought I was forgetting instantly what I dreamed of before the TIA, with the short-term memory loss now it's that much faster how quickly the messages are in and out of my head. I'm now sleeping with my journal under the pillow so that I can (hopefully) write messages down before they blip away. I've only had one that I recovered in time, but I'm working on it!
One last thing: I haven't been on social media much, and I keep forgetting to turn my phone on/charge it. If anyone has been trying to contact me, forgive me, please. I'm still mending, and it takes me seemingly forever to type responses. Even this blog post has taken me five hours to compose - jeez. If this is my new normal, then I reckon I'll have to adapt somehow, but I'll never give up trying to regain what I've lost! Keep on keepin' on, y'all - one day and one hug and one random act of kindness at a time....
Re the pervasive heavy-spirit: I've watched with interest and awe all the recent stories of random acts of kindness. I've got to be honest with y'all: I still feel that broadcasting/bragging/publicizing any and all little kindnesses that one may do for his/her fellow beings makes me cringe. After all (and I feel the same way about public prayer ala Christian or Muslim fundamentalism) it's our innate humanness that should compel us to always seize the moment to be "good" or "do the right thing" and it's meant to be a private, personal karmic moment. However (you knew I'd pop that word in!), if publicizing acts of kindness compels others to do the same, it's totally worth it, and all that positive energy wafting through our universe benefits all of us! Anything that lifts our hearts and emotional well-being up is a wonderful thing.
Okey dokey - on to the baldness. I've suffered from a type of alopecia since my hysterectomy in 1996 (no estrogen!) AND it seems to run in my family. I've bought five wigs over the years to use when it's especially bad, and I've been as bald as having just a few baby-fine hairs on the front of my head. Back in 2005 I switched to a raw vegan diet, and that seemed to be the worst period of baldness, and I've alternated between being a total vegan to incorporating some meat in my diet since then, all to only partial success. Now I do eat a small bit of meat (bought from local humane, sustainable, organic farms) with a large helping of veggies at meals. For breakfast I usually eat eggs scrambled in coconut milk with several cloves of raw garlic, chopped onion, celery, mushrooms and about a cup of cilantro. Yummy, and all meant to lower my blood pressure. keep me healthy (I haven't had a cold or the flu or any other "bugs" for years), and keeping me full hunger-wise and full of energy throughout the day. But the diet alone doesn't help totally with the alopecia. So, over the years I've tried potions, salves, and other herbal remedies to solve the issue, but again, it only helped partially. What to do? I love my wigs, but good grief they're hot and sweat-inducing! Fast forward to sometime this year I just happened to be reading some random article on hair styles when a cosmetologist being interviewed mentioned that many women who suffer from hair loss lack enough iron, B-12 and biotin. Huh, I thought. I knew that too much iron is not healthy, and too little causes anemia. But how much is too much and how little is too little to not be on a medical radar? After several days of intensive research, I figured out the basic dosages, and now I have hair in abundance. Oh, it's all different lengths from growing little by little, and it took a few months to completely start growing, but no more shiny bald patch! So here's the "magic" formula that I take, all companies researched for their supplements' efficacy ratings and ingredients' purity: Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw Iron 22 mg., Country Life Biotin 5 mg., and TwinLab Mega B-12 Dots 5000 mcg. About the B-12: take it in the morning because it gives you a boost of energy, and you don't want to be up all night if you take it in the evening! Also, when you look for a B-12 supplement, make sure it's for sublingual (under the tongue) use. B-12 is best absorbed in this manner.
On to my recent TIA - mini-stroke - incident. I've had several neurologist and internal medicine visits, along with an MRI, an MRA, two complete blood tests, doppler carotid tests and a sleep study. It turns out that my right carotid artery has mild blockage, and the left carotid has slightly less blockage. The brain scans showed no sign of any damage, thank goodness! The internist immediately put me on blood pressure medication because my blood pressure was 173/101 (ugh) and wanted me to take a statin. I refused; last year it was finally confirmed by cardiologists that statins are toxic in otherwise healthy patients - among the permanent side effects are muscular-nerve loss, liver damage, and restless leg syndrome (this is when your legs get that "my skin is crawling!" feeling). The only people who are recommended to take statins are those who have suffered a heart attack or who have chronic, established heart disease. My heart is fine, oddly enough; it's my head area that's shorted-out :D. My mother died when she was 5 years older than I am now from congestive heart failure - her heart and lungs were filled with fluid, and she suffered from emphysema, as well. My heart's fine, my lungs are clear, I don't have emphysema. I DO have high cholesterol, but my HDL (the good cholesterol that eats the bad) levels are really good. Cardiologists are torn between admitting that cholesterol levels don't indicate heart disease and toting the Big Pharma lie that everyone needs to be on a statin. Look, from everything I've researched, statins are just plain poison. Period. And anyone who is past the age of 60 shouldn't be placed on a statin no matter what, in any event. So if you're over 60 and reading this and on a statin and haven't had a heart attack and your HDL is good (regardless of your other cholesterol numbers), your diet is good, just say no to a statin. So what to take in place of a statin to ensure your heart and arteries stay healthy? I'm now taking Solgar Vitamin B-6 250 mg. and Solgar Folic Acid 800 mcg., along with the vitamin B-12 - all three are necessary and vital for arterial health, y'all!
Those of you who know what a fervent believer I am re herbs, organic & gmo-free foods and all things nature provided to us for whole body wellness may be sittin' at your computer right about now thinkin' "Damn! If all things natural are so good for you, why are you sick, Kerry?" Here's the short and simple answer: I didn't start paying attention to my diet or to my environment or to, well, much of anything prior to about 7 years ago. Oh, I always ate a good portion of fruits and veggies, but I also ate a LOT of pure junk on occasion. My recent blood tests showed that my body is actually really, really healthy - my blood sediment rate, which shows inflammation, cancer, leukemia, etc., was the lowest it can be. This I attribute directly to taking white willow bark supplements: Two 400 mg. capsules twice a day, every day. I only started taking those in April right after I had the epiphany that my entire body suffered from inflammation during a poison ivy attack. Obviously, it works! Both my internist and neurologist were clueless as to the therapeutic value of willow bark, and both told me take aspirin every day to mitigate a possible future TIA/stroke. I am taking the daily low dosage aspirin, but I'm definitely taking willow bark, too. It's a literal life-saver. All those bouts of cancer, both of the auto-immune disorders with which I deal, bad food choices in the past, all of those have clogged my arteries and inflamed my body. I'm reversing that damage - there will always be some remaining damage, but it's manageable now - and so can anyone who really is sick and tired of being sick and tired. I still have flare ups of my disorders, I still have short-term memory issues (and those are likely permanent, unfortunately, according to the neurologist), I still stress out over injustices and earth and other beings abuse, but I am able to live body-wise better than in the past. On the cancer front, since I'm a DES daughter, my chances of getting breast cancer are 80% greater than other women; with all my life-style changes I've made in the last several years, I do believe I've reduced that statistic enormously (and if I do happen to get it from the genetic mutations DES has caused, I know it'll be a piece of cake to conquer it, too).
So what all am I taking on a daily basis that helps keep me functioning on an acceptable level (I use the word "acceptable" because all throughout my illnesses I've exclaimed, "Well, that's just totally unacceptable!")? In addition to raw garlic cloves and onions and a fruit smoothy that I consume every day (along with other healthy foods of course), here's my complete list, and yes, you may think it's overkill, but considering the excellent blood work report, I'd say it's vital, especially since there's no way I could consume all the food I'd need to consume in order to get the benefits that each supplement brings:
|
SUPPLEMENT
|
DOSAGE
|
|
White Willow Bark
(Nature’s Way)
|
2 – 400 mg. 2x daily
|
|
Vitamin D3 (Country
Life)
|
5,000 IU
|
|
Raw Iron (Garden of
Life)
|
22 mg.
|
|
Bayer Aspirin
|
81 mg
|
|
Vitamin B12
sublingual (Twinlab)
|
5,000 mcg
|
|
Mega Taurine
(Twinlab)
|
1,000 mg
|
|
Biotin (Country
Life)
|
5 mg
|
|
MultiVitamin for Her
50-plus (Nature Made)
|
|
|
Ubiquinol CoQH
(Source Naturals)
|
100 mg. 2x daily
|
|
Raspberry Ketones
Complete
|
250 mg
|
|
Vitamin B6 (Solgar)
|
250 mg
|
|
Folic Acid (Solgar)
|
800 mcg
|
|
Milk Thistle (Nature’s
Way)
|
80% Silymarin, 175
mg milk thistle extract, 150 mg Blessed Thistle
|
And here's what Jeff is taking on a daily basis (his needs differ from mine on a few issues):
|
SUPPLEMENT
|
DOSAGE
|
|
White Willow Bark
(Nature’s Way)
|
2 – 400 mg.
|
|
Vitamin D3 (Country
Life)
|
5,000 IU
|
|
Centrum Silver Men
50+
|
|
|
Phytosterol Complex
(Vitacost)
|
|
|
Vitamin B12
sublingual (Twinlab)
|
5,000 mcg
|
|
Mega Taurine
(Twinlab)
|
1,000 mg
|
|
Glucosamine, MSM,
Vit. D Complex
|
Twice daily;
glucosamine 1500 mg, MSM 1000 mg, Vitamin D 1000 IU
|
|
Ubiquinol CoQH
(Source Naturals)
|
100 mg
|
|
Vitamin B6 (Solgar)
|
250 mg
|
|
Folic Acid (Solgar)
|
800 mcg
|
|
Milk Thistle
(Nature’s Way)
|
80% Silymarin, 175
mg milk thistle extract, 150 mg Blessed Thistle
|
|
|
|
If you have any questions about the benefits that each supplement provides, just Google each - you might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, that many of them are written about in the medical websites and not just strictly in the annals of herbology/holistic medicine sites.
There's one more drug that I've been prescribed, and it's a narcotic. I have to get a written prescription each month from the internist in which to receive it, and it's an opioid. It's called Nucynta, and it's been a life-saver, too, although in a much different way than the whole-body wellness supplements and change in diet. It's the first drug I've taken for my fibromyalgia that actually works by blocking the muscular-neural pain receptors. In the past I've been prescribed a whole slew of medications, from Cymbalta, Tramadol, Flexeril, Lyrica, Neurontin, and on and on that helped not one whit, and indeed caused reactions when I took them - anything from acute hangover type symptoms to increased pain to suicidal thoughts to extreme edema. Nucynta doesn't cause any of these issues, it's not actually addictive for those of us who suffer from chronic pain (unless you're taking it because you're already an addict to pain medication), and as I told the internist, "Best.Drug.Ever." The side effects can be hallucinations, extreme drowsiness, and the like - especially in high doses - but I haven't had any of those and my dosage is small. It allows me to have a better quality of life. Just like the willow bark keeps inflammation away, the Nucynta keeps the muscles and nerves from constantly flaring up. But as with all opioids (or all pain medication), it doesn't help short term memory. At all (duh!). But it certainly keeps my body moving and has greatly improved my ability to walk, and that's exactly what I've needed. I have no idea if I'll take this the rest of my life; I would love to think that I won't need it in some distant future. But the fact remains that I'm approaching 60 and the likelihood of my neuro-muscular system reverting back to pre-hysterectomy, pre-fibromyalgia, pre-auto-immune disorder days is just about zero. So rock on, opioid, rock on!
The sleep study: This was really, really interesting, I thought. I didn't want to participate, kind of thought it was ridiculous, and then when I was researching I found that fibromyalgia sufferers almost always lacked Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep. These two stages are the most beneficial to one's health, and without them, you feel tired, cranky, run-down and like a truck has run over your body during the night, so I went ahead and participated in the study. I got to the sleep lab at 8:00 pm, they hooked me up to all sorts of electrodes - all over my head and chest - and I fell asleep about 10:30 or 11:00. Well, I actually didn't sleep at all as verified by the results. I had a few minutes of Stage 3 sleep and zero at Stage 4 (deep sleep). I feel vindicated by the results of my sleep study re the fibromyalgia; at one time this disorder was thought to be non-existent, then accepted but still treated with anti-depressants and epilepsy drugs, and was just officially recognized in June 2012 by the Social Security Administration as a disability. Therefore, if anyone is suffering from fibromyalgia and needs one more bit of scientific "proof", I'd suggest taking a sleep study.
One more benefit of the sleep study: Since my TIA happened on the right side of my brain, my extrasensory perception was altered in that I just wasn't getting any more dream visits, and I couldn't perceive what was happening to people around me (I wasn't picking up anything). I didn't feel as if I was a part of the universal whole, and my short term memory vanished. What used to be easy-peezy for me to recite/know/acknowledge just disappeared in the blink of an eye, it seems. Just as the earthquake here in Virginia set off a slew of neurological Parkinson-type reactions in my body, the sleep study electrodes restored my gift. Unbelievable, truly - I didn't even think about the causal effect of electrodes coursing through my brain, but the next night after the study when I awoke from a vivid dream visitation from my Navajo elder guide, I realized what had happened, and I was overjoyed! Back in business, baby! Except if I thought I was forgetting instantly what I dreamed of before the TIA, with the short-term memory loss now it's that much faster how quickly the messages are in and out of my head. I'm now sleeping with my journal under the pillow so that I can (hopefully) write messages down before they blip away. I've only had one that I recovered in time, but I'm working on it!
One last thing: I haven't been on social media much, and I keep forgetting to turn my phone on/charge it. If anyone has been trying to contact me, forgive me, please. I'm still mending, and it takes me seemingly forever to type responses. Even this blog post has taken me five hours to compose - jeez. If this is my new normal, then I reckon I'll have to adapt somehow, but I'll never give up trying to regain what I've lost! Keep on keepin' on, y'all - one day and one hug and one random act of kindness at a time....
Friday, December 21, 2012
Message from Beyond
This message is for a couple who recently found out the woman is pregnant. Your loved one heard you exclaim, "We're expecting another baby!" and is as delighted and overjoyed as you are. Your loved one is fully aware of what is happening in your life and sends much love and emotional support.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Petroleum, again
11/29/12, 4:30pm: I just walked outside and smelled petroleum, just as I did a few weeks ago right before the oil spills in NJ/NY and the Gulf. I really, truly hope that it was just someone's car malfunctioning. I'll post any events if they happen (let's hope nothing does happen!).
UPDATE 12/3/12, 12:26 pm: I just read this posting by Wings of Care re Gulf of Mexico drilling with new oil slicks: http://onwingsofcare.org/protection-a-preservation/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010/gulf-2012/334-20121202-slicks-macondo-area.html
UPDATE 12/3/12, 12:26 pm: I just read this posting by Wings of Care re Gulf of Mexico drilling with new oil slicks: http://onwingsofcare.org/protection-a-preservation/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010/gulf-2012/334-20121202-slicks-macondo-area.html
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
tumor or stroke?
tumor or stroke? http://soundcloud.com/kkmurphy/tumor-or-stroke At 0:34 you'll hear the whispered voice say "canker" or does he/she mean cancer? I recorded this today as I was working at my computer; I had turned on my voice recorder and asked that if anyone wanted to speak to me, he/she should feel free to chat away. I then remembered to ask about my brain anomaly - tumor or stroke - and the result was a whispered reply. Please let me know what you hear! This recording is an EVP (electronic voice phenomenon)
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
SO. I HAD A STROKE
So. I had a stroke. More accurately, I had a TIA - transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke, and it wasn't the first time this had happened to me, but it was the most severe attack I've had. Sometime in early October, 2012, a figurative bolt of lightning struck me while Jeff and I were in the kitchen fixing dinner. I saw a flash of light, felt off-the-chart pain for about a second, and then the left side of my face and head went completely numb and stayed that way for several days. I could still speak and think coherently, so I thought it wasn't an emergency - little did I know that most attacks that happen in this manner ARE emergencies with the likelihood of a full-blown incapacitating stroke happening within 24 hours of a TIA. If this ever happens to you, go to the emergency room immediately!
I continue to have a dull headache every day with numbness on the left side of my face, along with double vision, extreme vertigo and "brain fog" - it's taking me much longer to comprehend what I'm reading/seeing/doing than it had in the past
I made an appointment with a neurologist but had to wait until November 15 to actually see him. I used that intervening time to research "bolts of lightning to the head" and was rather dismayed to see brain tumors - along with strokes - pop up on Google. Ugh. But the doctor confirmed it was a TIA, so off to the testing facilities he sent me: blood work, MRI and MRA, and a carotid doppler.
Meanwhile, the doc told me to take a daily baby aspirin to open up the blood flow in my veins. I told him that I was taking a daily regimen of willow bark: 2 capsules 400 mg. each, twice daily. He asked me what willow bark is, and I said, "It's what aspirin used to be made from before it was synthesized." He said, "I don't know. I'm not sure what all is in it." I looked at him in amazement and retorted, "Bark from the willow tree. That's all that's in there - willow bark!" He sheepishly told me that he would feel more comfortable if I started taking baby aspirin anyway, and I told him I would (and I am - I want to do exactly as he instructs, but I'll also continue to take the willow bark!). I'll be researching holistic therapies for stroke, and meanwhile, I'm eating broccoli and kale every day as a start to opening up the veins. I'm also convinced that my daily willow bark regimen is what prevented me from having a full-scale stroke. It's kept my blood from clotting abnormally (though obviously not enough, it's definitely a lifesaver!).
Another thing that saved me was my diet. I spent years and years eating unhealthily at times, and it's only been the last 7 years that I've taken nutrition seriously. This just shows that it's NEVER too late to start eating healthily, y'all! Stroke victims are advised to go on a DASH diet to lower their blood pressure. The daily food intake is broken down to this:
4 - 5 cups raw veggies and fruit OR 2-1/2 cups cooked veggies/fruit
2 - 3 cups low fat/no fat dairy
7 - 8 servings of grains: serving size: 1 slice bread; 1/2 cup oatmeal, rice, etc.
2 - 3 tablespoons oil (olive, etc.)
6 oz. meat
4 - 5 servings of nuts (handful per serving) OR beans (1/2 cup per serving)
I don't know about you, but this seems like a LOT of food, so I've modified it somewhat by fixing fresh/frozen fruit with kale and carrots juiced; an omelet cooked in a tablespoon of olive oil and consisting of celery, at least a cup of mushrooms, onions, two garlic cloves, turmeric, 1/2 cup of black beans, a cup or more of cilantro, chopped broccoli, coconut milk; oatmeal with a generous shake of the cinnamon jar and dark buckwheat honey. I'm not a big dairy eater, I rarely eat meat, and I'm totally uninterested in eating that much grain - ugh. I've added freshly grated ginger to my nightly cups of green and chamomile teas, along with some more cinnamon, and I'm now taking a daily supplement of CoQ10 (100 mg. twice daily), the white willow bark (2 capsules of 400 mg. each, twice daily), and 5000 mcg sublingual (under the tongue) Vit. B-12 to combat high blood pressure and clogged arteries. I also take other supplements, but those 3 are probably the most important when it comes to arterial health. I also found that Hawthorn - 1200 mg. daily - is supposed to be excellent as well, but I have not tried it. The ginger, dark honey, fruit/veggies, chamomile tea, baked potato, garlic, turmeric, mushrooms, cilantro, onions, broccoli, celery, black beans and coconut milk/oil are all foods/spices/herbs known holistically to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. You should avoid licorice, ephedra, ginseng and, interestingly enough, rosemary essential oil.
A quick note on the length of time to actually get an appointment with a neurologist, get the tests completed and get the results back: From the first day of the TIA to getting the results back from the doctor will be a little over two months. If I had had a large stroke, this would absolutely be unacceptable. However, I had a mini-stroke, and I did not go to the emergency room. Why didn't I go? Because it's way too expensive. For those of us who have insurance, we all know that most policies won't pay for much of emergency care. The insurance companies like for their clients to have all their medical needs pre-approved, no matter what policy you may have. First of all, I haven't been to a GP in years - the last doctor I went to was my rheumatologist, and that was two years ago. If you go to the emergency room, the hospital wants to know who your primary care physician is, and they usually coordinate treatment through him or her. If I had had a full stroke, many of these tests would have had to be pre-approved, and indeed they're all being pre-approved even with the TIA. While I know many medical tests are unnecessary, the medical tests and protocol for certain illnesses/diseases are pretty straight forward. Stroke is among the most common event in today's world - the protocol to treat strokes, along with the tests to confirm a stroke has happened are universally accepted by the medical establishment as vital and necessary. But try to face an insurance industry in which profit is above even a patient's wellbeing, and therein lies the dilemma. We really, REALLY need universal care, y'all! The way sick people are treated by insurance companies is abominable and a direct consequence of "for profit" healthcare. There's no telling how much I'll have to pay out of pocket for all my tests and doctor's visits as it is (my doctor charges $400 per visit - wow), but to be denied care or to not seek care because you can't afford it, as many people are, is truly a national disgrace.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
another earthquake vision
Tonight, Saturday, November 17, at 10:05 I felt an earthquake, turned to Jeff, and said, "Earthquake! A big earthquake is going to strike somewhere soon." Stay tuned...
UPDATE: 11/18/12 a 5.1 struck the Phillipines
UPDATE: 11/18/12 a 5.1 struck the Phillipines
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Earthquakes and Oil Spills
On November 5, at around 1:30 a.m., I posted to Facebook: "earthquake?" I had been almost asleep when I felt the tremors/had a vision, and I wondered if an earthquake was happening or was going to happen within the next 7-10 days (which is my window of seeing - and by "earthquake" I mean anything other than a small one, which the Earth has every day). As it so happens, an earthquake was happening right at that moment in the area affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey (it occurred at 1:19 a.m.: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/new-jersey-earthquake-2012_n_2075620.html). Then on November 7, a 7.4 quake struck Guatemala.
On November 6, I posted the following to my Facebook page: "I've been smelling petroleum all day long while outside (and a tiny bit while inside). It's not our cars, no other neighbors' cars are parked near us, so I'm uncertain where the smell is coming from. If what I'm smelling is metaphysical, I reckon that means there will be a large oil spill in the near future. If the smell is actually real (hahaha - jeez sometimes I crack myself up by how totally loony tunes I sound!), wonder where it's coming from?" On November 7, one of my FB friends posted an article re a 840 gallon spill in Port Angeles, WA: http://www.king5.com/news/environment/840-gallon-fuel-oil-spill-in-Port-Angeles-177640001.html, and on November 9, a 336,000 gallon spill happened in New Jersey and New York: http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2012/11/08/photos-336000-gallon-diesel-spill-pollutes-waterways-after-hurricane-sandy/.
UPDATE: keeping with my visions of a 7-10 day time span, there was an oil platform explosion today: http://www.wwltv.com/news/Coast-Guard-reports-offshore-platform-burning-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-179665361.html
I swear I'll try to be better about simultaneously posting my visions on this blog, followed with updates, as soon as they happen as I do on Facebook. Stay safe, everybody - our precious Earth is going through a time of upheaval!
On November 6, I posted the following to my Facebook page: "I've been smelling petroleum all day long while outside (and a tiny bit while inside). It's not our cars, no other neighbors' cars are parked near us, so I'm uncertain where the smell is coming from. If what I'm smelling is metaphysical, I reckon that means there will be a large oil spill in the near future. If the smell is actually real (hahaha - jeez sometimes I crack myself up by how totally loony tunes I sound!), wonder where it's coming from?" On November 7, one of my FB friends posted an article re a 840 gallon spill in Port Angeles, WA: http://www.king5.com/news/environment/840-gallon-fuel-oil-spill-in-Port-Angeles-177640001.html, and on November 9, a 336,000 gallon spill happened in New Jersey and New York: http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2012/11/08/photos-336000-gallon-diesel-spill-pollutes-waterways-after-hurricane-sandy/.
UPDATE: keeping with my visions of a 7-10 day time span, there was an oil platform explosion today: http://www.wwltv.com/news/Coast-Guard-reports-offshore-platform-burning-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-179665361.html
I swear I'll try to be better about simultaneously posting my visions on this blog, followed with updates, as soon as they happen as I do on Facebook. Stay safe, everybody - our precious Earth is going through a time of upheaval!
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