Twin Bee
I hope you don't think I'm telling people to stop taking their meds. - I'd never do that. I realise that I need to take mine too to stop myself having a heart attack, However, because of this stupid 'white coat syndrome' if the doc. hadn't suggested that I buy a BP monitor & test myself I could have ended up taking more medication than was necessary to keep my BP under control. IF I do deep breathing exercises while I'm in docs surgery for a few minutes I can also get my BP down to 'normal' levels from VERY abnormal levels. If the doc gave me enough medication to control the high levels induced by 'white coat syndrome' then I'd be on FAR too much medication which can cause very nasty side effects and actually exacerbate the feeling of unwellness.
I NEED to take my tablets BUT I don't need to take more than absolutely needed to keep my BP down. I had a nasty scare about 12/13 yrs ago when I collapsed & they said that I'd had a heart attack after giving me an ECG. Thankfully I've not had a major one & I really don't want one. Surprisingly they didn't put me on any medication then, just told me to take things easier - virtually impossible when I was looking after my terminally ill mum on my own, trying to run my own business, having very little, very disturbed sleep as mum needed me during the night + being very stressed out as I tried to be superwoman.
Having trained/worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a number of years PLUS the fact that my mother died from the VERY nasty side effects of her prescription drugs (OK - she was only the 14th person in the world to have those side effects & die of them, OR, which is MORE likely, she was just one of the few that was totally teetotal, drug free & whose symptoms - granulation of liver & lungs - begun straight after she took the drugs involved) I now look for more natural remedies than the highly synthesised pharmaceutical alternatives. 60 years ago ALL pharmaceuticals were based on herbal remedies. The majority of drugs today are also based on herbal remedies except the active natural compound is now chemically synthesised. Mother Nature put in her remedies other natural chemical compounds that are ALSO needed to mitigate the nasty side effects of the main healing compound. Often the whole is better than part.
I believe we should also take responsibility for our own health & if that means looking for better natural alternatives - so be it! The Multi Billion Pound Pharmaceuticals are VERY scathing about many alternative remedies & have tried to get many withdrawn from the market. As many of the people working in the alternative/complimentary health field are well aware, if they manage to do this, within a very short while they'll be marketing these 'super drugs' themselves & charging ten times more for them. FIRST they have to get them off the market.
Just an example - I had VERY bad gastric reflux, so bad that i often had acid in my mouth & found it hard to lie down. I was told to raise head of bed on wood & was on medication that helped somewhat but didn't stop the symptoms altogether, I had to be VERY careful what I ate/drank & when. Then I started getting hip pains - a bit of research & I found it was the gastric medication that was probably at fault - if used for over 12m it can cause hip problems. Most people wouldn't have connected the two - why would they? I then found that by using Natural Active Manuka Honey 2-3 times a day on toast - Yum, Yum - I could CURE my gastric reflux in a very short time - within 2/3 wks i was symptom free & i took for about 3 months - no problems since! The same honey will also get rid of MRSA infections!
NO pharmaceutical company wants you to know there is actually a better product out there to CURE your problem rather than mask it. When you get hip problems they can sell you something to mask that too. Onto a winner aren't they! Our doctor now advises people to go buy Manuka from Tesco or Holland & Barrett instead of taking prescription drugs as she was amazed how quickly I was cured - she's also getting great results!
Karen - one of the best Stress reducers on the market is St. John's Wort - with far less side effects than many of the artificial pharmaceutical drugs. It's also a heck of a lot more efficient than many alternatives. It does react with a few (& it is just a few) drugs but it is considered pretty safe to use. Just check with your pharmacist first that it is not contra indicated with any other drugs you are taking.
Twin Bee - look into Nattokinase OR eating Japenese Natto - it's a natural defurrer that I found. I must admit that when both Carl & I took it we felt much better. You can buy from US for about $15 or less for 90 capsules - up to 3 months supply. Helps dissolve blood clots too. I hope you're feeling 100% now after your awful scare - this might just stop you having another. It's complimentary not an alternative!
For both of you - look at EFT - seems crazy but it's wonderful - based on tapping accupuncture points & works on just about everything - stress, pain, sorrow, fear, joint movement, addictions etc. etc. etc. Don't knock this until you've tried it as it works really well on 90% or more of all problems. Anyone who has used this properly will tell you it's wonderful.
www.emofree.com.
I won't be adding more to this thread as we're off to New Orleans via Heathrow, thankfully with Delta not BA (but I'm tapping already!)