Request for help with diet and lifting of veils

[Zylah]

Hello again Nynke -

First, I am really thrilled that your uncle approves of the tea and I completely understand your choice to leave out the milk given the intestinal permeability concerns. I'm so glad you could use that suggestion!

It sounds as if you have a very complex situation to deal with, which clearly requires a lot of strength. I will keep you in my thoughts and send good energy, that you may continue to be so graceful in this situation. I have no doubt you are and will continue to handle the expectation management beautifully. Your story sounds fascinating as well, with all the health difficulties you had to deal with from the beginning of this lifetime!

You're right, it's an odd phenomenon that medications can if overused actually provoke the very symptoms they're being taken to alleviate; we see it in overdoses of sleep medicines that cause hyperactivity and manic behavior. It also reminds me of blood sugar, in that hypo- and hyper-glycemia manifest the same symptoms and are treated in emergency situations in the same way.

Also what you said about the brain-gut connection reminded me of the whole reason L-Dopa is effective; it can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, where dopamine cannot. The problem is that it's also metabolized in other parts of the body besides the brain, hence the possible side effects. From what I recall of what I learned, anyway. But yes, your point about the opioid peptides is well made.

I continue to think of your family and wish every blessing on you all - please do keep me posted on your progress if you can.

[Nynke]

Dear Zylah,

I am mentioning your name in anew article "Happy Tea" (http://stonecircles.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/happy-tea/) and in the updated "Intersection" article, if that is okay with you? If so, do you want your name linked to some page or website somewhere?

Dear LadyAoftheshire,

I am mentioning your suggestion also in the "Intersection" article after having tried it. Is that okay with you? If so, same question. Webpage? Website to link to?

Dear "all",

To give my uncle somewhat of a "face" "here", if you like, have a look at the link below. It's on the Dutch Wikipedia, but it has pictures of some of his art: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Fokma

Again, thank you all very much. Your responses made me feel supported, and I got some very useful suggestions. You are the best!

Nynke

[Zylah]

Nynke, I'm honored , and I plan to try the tea the way you make it! I don't have a link to offer, but thank you for asking. How thoughtful of you!

I'm just about done with my break from outdoor work on the farm here, but I will check out your uncle's artwork when I come in again later. Looking forward to it!

[morgane_snowy_owl]

On another topic, regarding the constipation: there is a tea I make (...) is traditionally held to have a soothing effect altogether on the gastrointestinal tract. (...)If you can make or buy some chai tea, and then add fresh ginger, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and local honey as well as whole milk to it, it may have a happy effect.

I'm surprised to read this! Okay, Crohn's disease and IBS are not the same, but they're both about gastrointestinal tract acting up... I had IBS from age 14 to 31 (pregnancy made it completely go away, I was very lucky) and a year or so before I became pregnant I found Heather Van Vorous, who is an IBS sufferer and wrote two books and a website on the subject. After reviewing tons of literature, talking to doctors, and so on, she became a patient-expert and came up with a diet. It takes care of constipation AND diarrhea and it took care of 95% of my symptoms at the time. Pretty amazing. Milk and tea were HUGE no-nos in that diet. Indeed, tea was one of the things that made me react the most, and when I cut all dairy I felt much better (this is not about the lactose in dairy, but about whey). Instead, she relies a LOT on mint as a GI tract soother...

This prooves that we are all very unique... I'm fascinated by the way you use herbs and the composition of your teas, thanks for posting all this (more please? )...

...and that tea sounds fabulicious and I have to try it soon!


Nynke,
I really hope you'll find the right combination that will make your uncle feel better. Et si par hasard tu parles français, je vous souhaite à tous les deux la meilleure des chances. Je trouve ton dévouement à son égard admirable; il est bien chanceux d'avoir une nièce qui s'occupe si bien de lui!

Cheers,

Morgane

[RedSky]

On lifting the veils, the article is familiar to me in many ways. familiar is not the right word. Freemasons are taught to divest their minds and consciousness of all of the vices and superfluities of life (they are not taught how though!). As a direct result of that work I learned to divest my consciousness eventually of even of the thinking mind. Descartes thought that by thinking he proved his existence, Sartre later touched upon the answer when he realized that the thinker was not the same as the I am. The article at the link you provided also touches upon this inner stillness, the I AM. I think that the wise Salmon always returns to the source, the I Am. I have seen this reflected in Jacob Boehme's work and others. The zen cats understand it as well. The best most recent explanation of this idea is in the work of Eckhart Tolle. If you can find his "The Power of Now" cd's, your uncle might really enjoy listening to them. I think the book is in over 30 languages. He teaches that by divesting oneself of time and by stilling the mind, that one can achieve that inner peace that we all eventually will when it is too late. He teaches to become one with the un-manifested. I like Tolle because he doesn't want to be my guru.
Some people may really hate the guy and so ...whatever.
Fraternal regards to your Dear Uncle and Blessings,
Bill

[Aigeann]

Welcome to the Board, Bill!

I hope you enjoy your stay her.

My husband is a Mason and he echoes many of the points you brought up.

Blessings, Aigeann

[Dragonwyst]

Regarding the cramps - calcium is not the only anti cramp mineral out there. I don't see any mention of magnesium. Magnesium is what I use if I find myself getting cramps at night. It usually comes in tablet form combined with calcium. In foods - you'll find it in the nuts and bananas as well as grain products. With a gastro-intestinal tract misbehaving as his is and a long history of constipation, I wouldn't be surprised if he is actually absorbing less than a normal healthy person would as his food is digested.

How much salt is he consuming? Salt can help raise blood pressure. This is particularly worth looking at if he is drinking a great deal of water. always bear in mind it is possible to drink too much water which results in a loss of minerals etc from the cells. The recommended amount is 6-8 glasses a day - and sometimes that may be more than necessary, so don't exceed that. Has he has blood tests done at any point lately? If you are avoiding iron because it constipates, is he still getting enough via other means for red cell production? This is always an issue if red meat is avoided as red meat remains the single best source of iron. Blood tests can reveal whether his values for things like potassium, magnesium, and sodium amongst others are in the correct range.

I hope this helps a little.