Product Review: Safety Razor

And now for the post that several of you have been requesting for a while: A review of my new safety razor!

Let me begin this post by advising you not to try taking a pack of razor blades for your safety razor through airport security. You can imagine how that went for me. ;)

In looking for ways to reduce my use of plastic, I figured there must be a great solution to disposing my plastic Venus 5 blade razors every few weeks. I'm not the type to wax or have my hair removed with a lazer because both options are expensive and questionable. I've tried the fine sandpaper pads that rub away hair on your skin. They work very well for my upper lip hair, but not so great anywhere else on my body. I knew I needed to stick with shaving. Not knowing much of anything about safety razors, I decided to purchase one anyway.

I went to Amazon.com and searched for one. As it turned out, the price range was huge. I could spend anywhere from $15-200! After some research I found out the more expensive ones were made of true stainless steel. The cheaper ones are made with metals that resemble stainless steel. Knowing how safe, durable, and reliable true stainless steel is, I figured getting one was the way to go. I really couldn't be sure that the cheaper fake stainless steel kinds would stand the test of time. I was also concerned about rust. Well, as it turned out, the reviews on the fake stainless kind were so positive, that I simply couldn't justify spending an extra $80 for true stainless steel. So I ended up getting this one: SimplyBeautiful Double Edge Long Handled Safety Razor - Chrome Finish.



I paid $15 for this, and it's lasted me about 3 months so far. It's heavy and feels very solid. It's not having any trouble with rust yet. It's very easy to safely take apart and put back together. As of right now, I don't see any reason to spend the extra money to get a real stainless steel one. My concern is that this one will break down over time and start to have problems, but only time will tell. If that happens, then I will invest a true stainless steel one.

For another $10 I bought a pack of 100 double edge razor blades. What I'm finding is that I get about 6-7 shaves out of each blade. I could probably risk it and get more shaves per blade, but since the blades are so cheap, I'd rather not risk nicking myself with a well used blade that could have rust I didn't notice. So, I'm essentially spending 10 cents per 6 shaves (not counting the cost of the razor, which will last years and years and years, and it was only $15.) The plastic 5 blade Venus razors I have been using for years cost about $4 per 5-6 shaves. MAJOR SAVINGS!  The safety razor is so much cheaper, uses no plastic whatsoever, and, believe it or not, shaves way better!

Enough about which one I bought. Does it work?

Yes, it works very well IF I'm careful. Careful is the key word here. I cut myself in multiple places the first 7 or 8 times I shaved with it. I was beginning to question if it was the right type of razor for me, but I stuck to my anti-plastic conventions and kept working on mastering my safety razor. With a bit more practice, I started to figure out how to shave without cutting myself. I'll share tips with you later in this post. Once I got the hang of it, I fell in love with it. It shaves closer than the 5 blade Venus razors I was using. This single blade is able to get right on top of the skin and cut as close as possible, whereas I think using 5 blades in the Venus Razors actually kept the blades higher off my skin and caused more irritation. I'm finding that I'm shaving less often and my skin is softer with less redness or bumps, especially in my arm pits!

This is what I've learned in order to avoid cutting myself:

- Always exfoliate the skin first. I use a natural loofah and scrub my legs and arm pits well first. Any loose dead skin can disrupt the blade, pull at your skin, and leave you bleeding.

- Do not dry shave with it. Use a lubricant, whether you prefer soap or shaving lotion. I personally find that my favorite way to shave is in a bubble bath (using the very soft and moisturizing Every Day Shae Bubble Bath.) This lets my pores open up and skin soften. It also allows me to go slow and methodically. This eliminates the need for a longer shower or using messy creams outside of the shower or bath. The bubble bath leaves my skin baby soft too!

- Do not put pressure on the razor! Use the natural weight of the razor against your skin. I do this by holding the end of the handle from the top with my thumb, index, and middle finger. It's hard to create pressure when you're holding the handle gently.

- Go slow and steady, using one long stroke. I got into a bad habit of trying to shave quickly with my Venus razors, getting each stroke done as fast as possible, then going back over the areas that were still fuzzy in small quick strokes. I cannot do that with my safety razor, but I find that I get each stroke right the first time with this razor.

- Always shave against the grain. Sometimes the grain isn't up or down, but it's side to side. I have better luck getting the closest possible shave on my shins by going from side to side. Yes, this takes longer, but it works better for me.

- Use both sides of the blade. I get one stroke per side, then I rinse the blade in the bath water before starting again.

- Take the razor apart after each use. Wipe each part down and let it dry. This not only keeps it clean and sanitary, it also prevents rust (if rust is even an issue - I don't know.)

(Note: It might sound strange that I shave in a bath, because it means I'm sitting in water with tons of small hairs in it. I'm not bothered by this, and I've not noticed that I end up with lots of small hairs on me after my baths. I usually do rinse the soap off of me in the shower after the bath, which would take care of that problem if it exists. Also, and I will write a post about this, I wash my hair in that bubble bath. I find it's more effective than any shampoo I've used. I start my bath by soaking my hair for a while, then I shave without my hair in the water, then I rinse in the shower. It saves water for me, and I get more benefits from getting to soak in the heat.)

Conclusion:
I highly recommend switching to a safety razor! It's substantially cheaper, much more environmentally friendly, much healthier as it's free of synthetic chemicals, and does a much better job! Yes, there is a learning curve, and yes, you can cut yourself much more easily with it. Mastering the razor isn't difficult, and it is worth the benefits.





Bonus Review:
Back to my tip on not trying to travel with the blades for your safety razor.
What are you supposed to do while traveling? Well, in this case, waxing might be the better solution (depending on how long you'll be away.) What I did on my last trip was go to Whole Foods and buy a Preserve brand razor. You can buy these online too. They are made from recycled Stonyfield Yogurt cups. Even though the razor is made from recycled plastic, it's still plastic. There is no guarantee that the razor will get recycled again at your recycling factory. This could easily mean that those Stonyfield cups just take longer to end up in the land fill. Do not be fooled into thinking that recycled plastic is a great alternative to plastic - it's only a slightly better alternative. Thankfully, it's designed so that you get a long life out of the handle by being able to replace the blade heads.

The Preserve razor has 3 blades, and the blade head is very narrow. I found that it worked well for a non-safety razor. It shaves about as close as my Venus razors. It's comfortable to hold and work with, but can hurt if you use too much pressure. Venus blades are padded with Olay moisture strips, these are not. The edge of the blade head hurts if you use too much pressure.

It did the job well enough for me on my last trip. I'm keeping it as my travel razor. The replacement blade heads are cheaper than replacement heads for Venus razors, and since they're just as effective, I might as well save the money!

Plastics

This is a post I've been gearing up to write for many months now. The problem of plastic has become one of my passions, because it is one of the most easily solved problems by the majority of people. Step one is educating the majority of people so that they have the knowledge they need to make their choice for or against the use of plastic.

Plastic certainly has its uses, and it is a revolutionary component in our modern technology focused world with advanced medical care. This post is not against all plastic, because in many cases is it the best, if not the only, material we have for certain important uses. For instance, many types of medical equipment, such as tubing, require plastic. Do you remember the commercials back in the 90's with the slogan "Plastics make it possible"? The reason for the commercial was to address the health concerns about plastic that many people were worried about. The commercial wasn't lying. Plastics do many many things possible, things that could even save a person's life. The problem is, yes, there are some serious health concerns with plastics. Those worried people in the 90's had very good reason to be worried.

Due to the importance of plastic in certain instances, my complaint is with plastics made from petroleum that are only made for a single use or that are used as a cheaper material to a more natural qualified material. Yes, plastic is petroleum product, though there are plant-based alternatives, but I'll get into this later in this post. By single use plastics I mean plastics such as water bottles, straws, candy wrappers, disposable utensils, grocery bags, etc. By cheaper material I mean clothing made from polyester instead of cotton, water bottles made from plastic instead of stainless steel or glass, etc. These are easily fixable problems.

But why are these plastics a problem? There are several issues: Plastic does not recycle as easily as we're lead to believe, plastic does not biodegrade, plastic is often totally unnecessary (it's not sustainable at all, yet it's used in place of sustainable materials anyway), and plastic is an endocrine disruptor (easily gets into our bodies and acts like estrogen.) 

Yes, recycling companies do accept plastic to be recycled. But does it actually get recycled? For most of my life I was convinced that plastic sent to the recycling companies does actually get recycled, or else they wouldn't accept it. This is a difficult point to convince people of because it will shatter their view of the almighty Eco-friendly recycling programs. I encourage you to watch the documentary Plastic Paradise. It is currently free to view on Netflix. Even though the journalist who made the movie is inexperienced and a terrible interviewer, she does capture very important footage, interview some big names in the plastic industry, and takes part in a science experiment that went on to be an influential peer-reviewed published study. While she covers most of the very important points about the problem of plastic, what she did best with her documentary was give the audience a great visual idea of how much plastic is floating in our oceans. Plastic that may or may not have gone to recyclers. But let me give you evidence that you can read right now as well. China isn't accepting a lot of our used plastics anymore, and our recyclers in the country cannot support the amount of plastic that is put in recycle bins. What's worse is that only 6.5 percent of plastic that gets put into recycle bins actually gets recycled, and only 7.7 percent gets sent to waste-to-energy facilities. And so, recycling companies end up sending a lot of plastic to land fills anyway. Many of those landfills are in the ocean and countries like India. India has such a major plastic problem that there literal mountains of plastic. My friend's cousin is seeking funding for a project that would recycle the plastic in India into roofs. Please check out his project and support him!

The reason all this waste plastic keeps piling up is because it simply does not biodegrade. Organic materials biodegrade because the bacteria in the earth are able to break it down. Plastic is unlike organic materials, and therefore the bacteria cannot break it down.  It does, at least, decompose in sunlight, but not all the way. The sun turns plastics into tiny little pieces... that don't go away. In the oceans, fish eat these tiny pieces. Then we eat those fish, meaning that we're ingesting the plastic we thought we "got rid of" when we threw it away or "recycled" it. I'll get into why ingesting plastic is a major problem later.



So why do companies use plastics when other materials could be used? I'm not sure that I really need to link to any sources to answer this question. It's cheap. Not only is it cheap, it has characteristics that other materials don't: it's versatile, flexible, doesn't break when dropped, is transparent, and can shaped easily. Plastic really is revolutionary! It provides convenience and new possibilities at the lowest price tag. There are non-petroleum plastics, though, such as hemp and corn plastic. You may have noticed in recent years that the plastic bags available in some grocery stores for vegetables and meat are now made from corn based plastics. More and more of the plastic air pockets used in boxes for shipping protection is being made from non-petroleum plastic that biodegrades quickly. There is hope for plastic to become less and less toxic as the years go on, but I'm not counting on it, and I plan to avoid plastic anyway. (...And then there's the issue of my corn allergy! I don't know if corn plastic bothers me, but if it's holding my food then there's the potential for it.)

Okay, you get it. Plastic pollution is a major problem. These reasons alone are enough to make you want to quit relying on plastic, I hope. But these reasons are only half the problem with plastics. This is a health blog, and I wouldn't necessarily bring up this topic if wasn't health related.


How plastics affect our health, and my personal plastic health story:

I'd like to start by sharing my story, because I believe having a concrete example of the health problems caused by plastics will help you understand the research I'm going to link to.

As you know if have been reading my previous posts, I spent about 8-9 years suffering from brutally painful and unmanageable menstrual periods. I was losing 10+ ounces of blood per month, not including spotting, when the average healthy woman loses about 1-2 ounces per month. The pain was so unbearable that I was taking up to 12 Ibuprofen on the first day of my period, and it often wasn't enough to manage the pain. I had PMS symptoms that were the result of hormonal and reproductive problems too: severe acne breakouts, oily skin, anger and mood issues, powerful cravings, bloating and inflammation, and more. I was told that I probably had endometreosis, but I did not go through with the surgery that would confirm this. 

I decided to try an experiment about 7 months ago after getting diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. I had been reading up on endocrine disruptors in many common household products that caused me to react, and what I kept finding were warnings about plastic as an endocrine disruptor. I decided to see what would happen if I eliminated as much plastic as possible from my life, focusing on the kitchen and clothing. I switched to only wearing clothing from natural fabrics, like cotton and linen (yes, polyester, nylon, and spandex are all forms of plastic!) If I can get a body care product in something other than plastic, I buy it instead of something in plastic (for instance, Badger Balm comes in tin cans, and coconut oil from glass jars makes a fantastic lotion and make-up remover.) I choose to use natural bristles for my body brush and use a real loofa instead of the plastic imitator (and I just ordered a plastic-free toothbrush.)  My make up brushes are made from wood and natural brush fibers. I purchased stainless steel and glass water bottles, glass storage containers and bakeware, and ceramic and stainless steel pots and pans. I do not use a plastic sack to hold my vegetables when I buy them at the store. I bought a half a cow and had the meat wrapped in paper, not plastic. You get the idea. I was unable to eliminate all plastic. For instance, I cannot get chicken, turkey, or fish locally that wasn't sealed in plastic. My doctor's herbs and supplements all come in plastic containers. My liquid soap comes in plastic. I did what I could to eliminate plastic from my life. What I noticed was that each month following the plastic elimination, my menstrual periods got easier and easier to deal with. Now, I need to be very clear on something: My doctor was already addressing my menstrual issues for a year between diet, herbs, supplements, tinctures, exercise, and progesterone cream. All of these things helped considerably, and my periods were about 40% easier to deal with. I still was dealing with horrific periods, though, and needed more help. The plastic elimination helped ease my periods faster and more dramatically than anything my doctor did for me (which I'm very grateful for and was very necessary!) Last month, I was down to only losing 5 ounces of blood with no pain at all. I still got dizzy, overly tired, and light headed. I still had to lay in bed half of the day to manage these symptoms. But this is better than spending the entire day in bed screaming in pain, unable to move without extra pain, on the verge of fainting every time I stood up, wondering how to make it to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. What's more, my PMS symptoms have lighted up too. My acne has been reduced to one or two pimples the week before my period (instead of covering my entire face and some of my back.) My mood is stable the week before. My skin hasn't had an oil problem in a year, but now it's actually staying the same each day of the month. My bloating and tenderness issues are greatly reduced (to the point of being ignorable.)

I noticed another amazing benefit from avoiding plastic clothing: I no longer have body odor! I used to have a few shirts and pants that made me reek after half a day of wearing them, and other shirts made me smell too, just not as badly. I never knew my clothes were causing the problem until I tried this experiment. The shirts that made me reek the most were 100% polyester. I also discovered that my body odor never fully washed out of those shirts. Now that I'm wearing natural clothing I don't really ever smell. Even after I work out and am sweaty, I don't really smell. Sure, my sweat smells a little musty (doesn't everyone's?), but there was nothing repulsive about it.

So how is it that I got these fantastic results with my health just by ditching plastic? How could plastic actually have that much power over our health? Well, like I mentioned earlier, it's an endocrine disruptor. The endocrine system is your hormonal system. An endocrine disruptor is a synthetic chemical that when absorbed into the body either mimics or blocks hormones and disrupts the body's normal functions. Plastic mimics estrogen in our body. To be clear, there are many estrogen like chemicals other than plastic, but I'm focusing on plastic because it is one of the most prevalent sources of estrogen like chemicals. By clearing as much of the estrogen-like chemicals out of body as I could, my estrogen/ estrogen-like levels went down. I never had these levels measured in a lab, but why else would my menstrual problems be clearing up after eliminating plastic? (I should also mention that I've never been on birth control pills and I haven't used "regular" feminine hygiene products in about 7 years. I also haven't had any soy products in several years, as I've developed an intolerance to soy. All of those also contribute to an estrogen dominance. My estrogen was seemingly mainly a plastic problem, but I'm sure there were other contributing factors.)

We can easily understand how estrogen mimickers could affect women, but what about men? I really like what this article has to say about that. Poor men. Don't lose your healthy testosterone level to xenoestrogens! 

I could get into more detail, such as exploring specific chemicals in the plastics, like BPA. I might save such details for future posts. :)

I will leave you with this Story of Stuff video on the dangers of microbead plastics:

Candida

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for me to talk about this issue so soon, but after discovering how common of an issue it is, I decided I would share my story so far. I need some type of outlet for this issue, because my goodness, it's the only thing on my mind right now! It also will serve as an explanation for what's going on - why I've been extra quiet and distant this week.

My doctor told me it's time to address my candida overgrowth. This surprised me. I didn't know I had a candida issue, and from what I knew of candida symptoms, I assumed I would have figured out on my own that I have a candida problem. As it turns out, I didn't know that much about candida, despite reading quite a bit of the Yeast Connection book two years ago when I was searching for answers. Yes, I had tons of the symptoms listed in the book: multiple chemical sensitives, rashes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, regular discharge, extreme menstrual pain and flow, and digestive issues. All of these symptoms, though, were explained by other methods. What I did not have were regular yeast infections (I've only had 3 in my life, one of which was expected as a side effect of antibiotics I was temporarily put on for a MRSA abscess.) So I dismissed candida, thinking it probably wasn't my issue. Even though it turns out to be one of my issues, it is good that I didn't try to address it on my own before seeing my doctor, because I was not nearly strong enough back then to handle a candida cleanse.

What I know now is that heavy antibiotic use throughout life causes candida overgrowth. As you may know, I've been put on lots of antibiotics - 1-2 rounds a year at least for most of my childhood and teen years. I was also on antibiotics for a full year when I was 1 year old due to a chronic ear infection. Antibiotics destroy both good and bad bacteria in the gut, and when there's an imbalance of good bacteria in the gut, the candida yeast spreads. I've also had several mold exposures, and yeast can feed on mold. I was also eating plenty of sugar, and yeast loves sugar. The Yeast Connection book I linked to earlier explains all of this. I suggest that you do your own research and talk to your doctor if it's something you want to know more about. There are tons of websites, books, and studies dedicated to candida. I am writing this post to share my experience, not explain candida.

My Naturopathic Doctor has me on a candida cleanse using lots and lots of herbs. I will not tell you what he's having me take. What I'm taking is very strong and cannot be purchased off store shelves. If you want to do a cleanse, talk to your doctor (I highly recommend finding a licensed Naturopthic doctor for this, but from what I've heard from others I've talked to who have also done cleanses, a licensed acupuncturist or Chinese Medicine Doctor can also provide the same type of herbs I'm on right now.) I'm taking 4 rounds of pills a day until the candida is gone. This is a process.

I'm currently on day 6 of the cleanse, but I should be clear that I've been on a diet that does not promote candida growth for over a year. I've had almost no sugar and I've been very low carb.

Here's what I've been going through, symptoms starting at day 2 of the cleanse:

- Intense bloating!!
- Constipation AND too many extra trips to the bathroom
- Rashes
- Night sweats
- Restless aching muscles that burn like acid after being worked
- Fibromyalgia flares like I haven't felt in a year
- Inability to eat much because of intense bloating
- Adrenaline rushes/ jittery uncomfortable energy
- Debilitating fatigue
- Sleeplessness and over sleeping
- Teeth sensitivity flares
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Muscle Tension
- Heart palpitations

Yes, it's been really unpleasant. Apparently most of this is due to the "die-off effect." Candida can go anywhere in the body and cause problems, so as the yeast dies off, we can have die-off symptoms where the yeast was.

Let me explain the bloating symptom, because I want to complain (ha!) I didn't think to measure my belly before starting the cleanse, unfortunately, but I do know that I've been wearing a size 6 pant, which translates to a waist size of 27 1/2" as far as fashion sizes are concerned (not hip size, waist size.) I measured about an inch below my waist once I started measuring.

On day 2 the bloating began, and it was so bad that I couldn't even get my loose-fitting dresses to cover it up. I looked 7-8 months pregnant. I didn't take measurements until the after noon of day 3. Measuring at about half an inch below my belly button, I measured 36.5". The morning of day 4 I measured 34.5", at 1:30 that afternoon I was at 36", and at 7:30 pm I was at 37". Day 5 morning measurement was 36", afternoon was 37", and evening 36.5". This morning, day 6, I measured at 35" (but I forgot to measure until after taking my pills, which is an instant bloater - I looked my thinnest of the week this morning.) I'm currently at 36.5" after eating breakfast.

I don't think my belly could grow larger than 37" without bursting open! The bloating has been painful because I've felt stretched to my limit. My stomach has felt very firm, like a balloon filled to capacity. This isn't the jiggly "feeling fat" type of bloating - it's about as firm as possible. My clothing hasn't fit, so I haven't left the house. I'm sporting sweat pants and over sized shirts.

I don't know how long this cleanse will take, but I'm seriously looking forward to being done with it. Until it's done, it's dominating my thoughts. The discomfort is constant, and it's making me less interested in anything else for the time being.

Please leave a comment here on my blog or on Facebook with your candida experience. I want to hear what you've gone through on your cleanses!

Should We Talk About Our Diseases?

I wrote this post on my phone on an airplane last Wednesday, 4 days ago. I wrote it in One Note and didn't have internet access to post it with. I'm sharing it with you "as is," meaning I'm not going through and changing or updating anything I said. This was a stream of consciousness type entry, and I want to honor that.

~~~~

I recently saw this meme, and it's had me thinking. Whoever wrote this must not have a debilitating chronic illness. How is it possible not to think about and talk about a chronic illness when our lives must be formed around it? Every day I take many supplements and pills twice a day. I must stick to my very strict diet if I don't want a gut ache all day (among other issues.) I can't go into many places, such as schools or stores, without fearing fragrances or cleaners that could make me debilitatingly sick. My life revolves around my body now. I must obey my body's needs at all times, or I won't be able to function. If I don't talk about this to others, how will I be able to make friends, attend events, or participate in life? Because I struggle so much to fit in with most of this world's norms, I need to explain myself to protect myself. That said, I dislike dominating conversations with my chronic illness. I do like to talk about other things more, and it does help when I can chat for a while about topics that aren't about me.  

I'm writing this while traveling on a plane back home. In the airport before boarding I ended up chatting with a guy who turned out to be from my hometown of Boise, ID. He is a Mormon returning home from Virginia from his 2 year mission. We chatted for close to an hour (flight was delayed,) and we talked all about Boise, faith, and traveling. I didn't have to bring up my illness at all, and I felt so normal. It made me so happy to talk and laugh with a stranger about something we both love. I didn't have to think about my current problems. I felt free - I got to be me for that hour, not be sick me. I think this is the real point of this meme. It's not possible to avoid owning our illnesses or talking about them all the time, but when the opportunity arises to escape talking about our illnesses, we need to take it.  

On a side note, I'm super excited for him. He finally gets to return home to his girlfriend who he hasn't seen in two years. He was so nervous that I couldn't help laughing in excitement.  

I just spent a month away from home with my parents and my doctor. I didn't get to escape my health. I had to think about it every day, like I have been for the past two years. Being away from home was refreshing, but I'm still stuck with my personal reality no matter where I am. No, I can't do as this meme says. What I can do is choose to focus my energies on conversations not related to my health. I can choose to enjoy my environment and surroundings. I can choose to put a smile on to greet others, even when I'm grumpy from feeling sick. It isn't easy. In fact, smiling can be really very difficult. But it's worth it. If other people can see that you're making the best of life, they'll respond positively and help you feel like a normal person.  

I needed to write this post, because I need to savor this time that I have a clear head. Treatments helped so much, and I've regained enough mental clarity to think without the influence of anxiety. My goodness, I fought some scary bad anxiety attacks on this trip. When trapped in an anxiety attack, it isn't possible to see the beauty in life or the positives in my current life situation. I tried so hard to feel some hope, but I couldn't find any hope at all. I was so consumed by fear that I got lost somewhere in my brain and couldn't regain control. I need to write this now as a testament to the fact that the real me isn't an anxious person. The real me can laugh, connect with others, and look forward to the future. The real me isn't self consumed. The sick me is very self consumed and defensive.  

I think it won't be long before I lose this good mood. I'm in a window seat next to two ladies. I don't smell them through my VogMask, but my heart has been palpitating occasionally since we took off. I've been fighting a mild reaction from Detroit's restrooms for a while, but I'm handling it surprisingly well. I'm expecting to start breaking down at some point. I may not, though, because I did just do a lot of heavy detoxing this month and have been rejuvenated with immune system boosting IVs and treatments. I'm also wearing my doctor's personal air purifier, basically just a small unit I wear around my neck that produces negative ions.  

Conclusion: Always take the opportunity to be positive when you're mentally capable. It's hard. Do it anyway. Make the most of the times that you're not consumed with anxiety, depression, brain fog, and pain. A little bit of time feeling like a normal happy person goes a long way. But do not deny your chronic illness. Do not pretend it doesn't exist. Most importantly, you need to protect your health and sanity so you can have the good times. There wont be good times if you don't take care of yourself.

Product Review: Vog Mask

(Forgive my formatting - a lot of blogger features don't work on my phone.)


I bought a Vog Mask:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KVIWMI4


It's made with organic cotton and features two respirators. The filter is made of carbon. I bought it mainly for flying, but I expect I'll get use out of it at home too.

Did it work?

I was doing well with it on the flights. I wasn't feeling well anyway, but I didn't feel I was getting worse on the planes. Until people used the lavatory. Every time someone came out of the lavatory a tsunami of fragrance filled the cabin. I believe this is Delta's signature fragrance named "Calm." I smelled it through my mask and it made me nauseous. I don't know how much stronger it would have been without the mask, but it was really bothering my non-MCS husband. This was a major issue for me on all 3 flights. I have written Delta about the health problems of their signature fragrance twice and never received a reply.

I wasn't able to wear the mask in the airports because I needed to eat and drink while I wasn't on the plane. I felt perfectly irritated and over exhausted by the end if the day, feeling very polluted and crabby. I only felt instant reactions twice in the airports, but I wasn't well enough to recover. I took extra glutathione and NAC, which helped quite a bit.

Despite wearing a mask, I ended up with a nasty flu-like virus. It made itself known 2 days later after flying, the perfect incubation time, but I was having a lot of stomach distress the first two days.

So, did the mask work? I think it must have to some degree, because I wasn't in too bad of a reaction when the trip was over. I was very uncontrollably irritable and moody, like I always get in a reaction, but I wasn't suffering many of my obvious reaction symptoms. In comparison, a few days later I spent a couple of minutes in the body care aisle at Whole Foods without my mask and spent the rest of the day reacting harshly. It was a very delayed reaction, by about 3-4 hours, but I was also fighting the flu-like virus. (Whole Foods needs to learn to put unscented products in separate aisles!)

 

As for comfort level, the mask is pretty good. The size large fit my face well, and the ear hoops didn't pull on my ears at all. I was able to breathe normally because of the dual respirators (I wouldn't want to try a single respirator kind as I would think it would be too stuffy.)  It did cover my face well, but it wasn't as close of a fit as some might need. If I talked the sides didn't stay snug with my cheeks, but the gaps between my cheek and mask were very small. The metal over the nose was perfectly adjustable and long enough to ensure a good fit.

For $30, yes, it's much much better than nothing. It will not be nearly enough for severe MCS people, but it might be enough for most light- moderate MCS people. I was hoping for more protection, but the real problem wasn't my mask, it was Delta's overpowering extra strong lavatory fragrance.

Checking In. A few thoughts while I'm away.

I'm finding myself away from my computer for an extended period of time. This post is very short because I'm typing it on my phone.


I'd like to share a couple of thoughts. I decided to get them out tonight instead of let them swim in my imagination while I try to settle down to sleep. I tend to develop anxiety when my thoughts get trapped.


1. I have a theory that chlorine in tap water causes eczema and acne. Ever since I installed the chlorine filters at home my skin has been soft, free from eczema, and free from excessive acne. I'm in a place now without chlorine filters, and my skin has been very very broken out. It's also been very dry and itchy. I can smell the chlorine with every shower and it's most unpleasant. My skin habits have been the same as at home, only this time coconut oil and avocado oil aren't enough.


2. My doctor told me to get a latex pillow, so I did. For those of you who like memory foam, but don't want the toxic chemical soup under your head all night, I highly recommend it. It smells like rubber. I won't deny that it's stinky. But it's natural with great support. I will be exploring latex mattresses soon.


3. I'm coming to understand how MCS is really such an important underlying cause of my health problems. It isn't just another issue, it's a root issue. I'll expand on this in a new post later, but I feel way way better in my doctor's clinic, which is deliberately low VOC with great filtration. Today I felt like me again for a while - a very exhausted me, but me, because I finally experienced my body being calm. I'm so used to being trapped and limited by my body feeling constantly on edge. That edginess went away for a while today because I wasn't reacting to anything and acupuncture was very very calming. I'm coming to understand how I'm usually in a constant low level reaction. Couldn't be happier to see my doctor!


4. I'm not my body. The person I am is not my body. My body heavily controls who I am because my gut and brain make up why I act the way I do, yes. But who I am is not my body, it's my soul. My soul has been so hindered by my body, but it isn't sick like my body is. I am not a sick person. I'm a healthy person limited by a sick body. I accept this, for now, at least. I am worth being a member of this society. I have value. Just because my body suffers doesn't mean I'm not able to participate in life. I am very much wanting to be a part of this world. I hope you can see me for the person I am and not for my weak body. I may be sick, but I am so so so much more. I'm a person.


5. I miss my hubby. This isn't health related, but I just wanted to say it. I'm not used to being away from him so long!


6. I just battled a nasty flu-like virus. I'm sure I got it from flying, even wearing a mask. I'll review the mask later. Getting sick when I was already feeling weak was scary. I haven't been that hypoglycemic in a while. I wasn't so sure I was going to survive that one. I highly recommend being careful and keeping your immune system strong. There's a lot of viruses going around right now.

Low Blood Pressure, Muscle Tension, and my Reliance on Acupunture

It's been a while since I've posted. This past month has been very rough for me. I actually started two posts, but abandoned them because I realized I just didn't have the energy or focus.

My digestion started failing me about a month ago. It started with bloating, gut aches, and slow digestion. Then I was starting to get aches around my pancreas and liver (upper stomach,) and I even had rashes across my upper stomach. I had occasional mild heart burn too. My energy plummeted, my mood dropped, I wasn't able to exert myself as much, and I had lots of pain in my shins and shoulders. I was struggling to eat anything at all, and there were a few days where I ate only a couple light meals. Because I was undernourished, my blood pressure and blood sugar dropped. I was fighting vision loss, extra fatigue, more widespread pain, headaches, nasty eye pain, and circulation issues. I found myself drinking extra protein shakes during the day because they were the only thing that didn't upset my stomach and would offer me some nourishment.

Due to all this struggling, I am going to spend a few days with my doctor in the next couple of weeks. I've needed help in the mean time, though, so I've been going to acupuncture often. He's even started a new type of treatment with me: cupping. I'll get into what that is later on. What started to scare me was the realization that I was relying on acupuncture to keep me stable. I was on a roller coaster, where I would feel pretty good for a few hours, then would drop and feel horrible for the rest of the day, then the next day I would have more energy than I could handle, but then drop and hardly be able to move. This roller coaster lasted most of the month, but in the last week it's finally finally evened out. Acupuncture was doing a great job to balance me, but within a day or so I would start to break down again. My acupuncturist then had me come in 3 time a week last week (as opposed to once per week like before,) and tried needling new points for digestion, and I've been back to a more "normal for me" state. I'm back to eating every 2-3 hours again and I've felt my blood pressure rise.

There's a couple topics I want to get into individually.



Low Blood Pressure

Low blood pressure is an actual problem that actually exists, despite what doctors tell you. "The lower the better!" is a lie. Back in 2013 when I first started to really break down, my blood pressure was usually around 80/50. I was told by multiple nurses that this was a great number and they were impressed. Then I saw my naturopathic doctor who was very concerned about it. He said that low blood pressure can be dangerous because it means blood has a harder time getting to the brain. Even one second of blood not getting to the brain can cause permanent damage. He used the analogy of a hose. If water is running through the hose, it will always pour out the end if the hose is on its side. If the hose is lifted up, the water will only continual to flow out if the water pressure is high enough. If the water pressure is too low, it may stop flowing out the top for a few seconds. If that happens to our bodies, where we stand up and can't get enough blood to our brain temporarily, it is very dangerous.

With my doctors help, my blood pressure rose to an average of 110/67. This felt so much better, and I was getting used to the feeling of good, healthy blood pressure. The week before last it had dropped substantially again, and it's a very alarming feeling! First I noticed lots of fatigue, but fatigue can be caused by many issues. Then I developed lots of eye pain, mainly on the top of my eyes. My vision was blurring and fading as well. Muscle tension in my neck and shoulders can cause this problem for me too. I was fighting eczema and rashes on the rest of my body, but MCS or allergies can cause that. Then I started noticing circulation problems. My legs and arms were cold and falling asleep easily, and my face looked completely flushed. Then the loopiness settled in. I felt like I was spinning, my brain was shutting down, and I could hardly stand. Laying down and putting my feet up felt better for a while, but laying down too long actually made me feel like my blood pressure was dropping even more. I couldn't find a balance.

I was actually surprised that this problem occurred, because I've discovered that enough minerals in my diet keeps my blood pressure stable. I add a mineral powder to all the water and tea I drink, I soak in mineral baths regularly, and my diet is full of unrefined Himalayan salt (which has about 80 minerals.) My digestion was very poor, though, so perhaps I wasn't absorbing enough? Maybe I was otherwise too weak to keep my blood pressure high enough? I'm really not sure why my blood pressure dropped.

What I did to fix the situation was eat extra unrefined Himalayan salt, take extra mineral baths (I use Redmond Bath Salt Plus in water as hot as I can tolerate it,) use my Far Infrared Sauna a few extra times, and get acupuncture. I wasn't strong enough to exercise, so I used heat to get my heart rate up and encourage circulation. The spell lasted only about 4 days because acupuncture was so helpful.

During this time, I was told I had some blood deficiency, qi stagnation, my liver had a yang (I think he said yang, lol) deficiency. Rather than explain this myself, you should read up in it yourself. I'm not a Traditional Chinese Medicine expert by any means, but I'm getting better and more direct answers to my problems from it. It provides answers where western medicine cannot. http://www.sacredlotus.com/go/diagnosis-chinese-medicine/get/differentiation-syndromes-qi-blood-fluids-tcm



Unending Muscle Tension - Cupping
My shoulder and neck tension has been horrendous. It's been causing jaw and eye pain as well as sleeplessness. I have been massaging daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I've been using a Theracane to give myself deeper trigger point massages. I've been laying on my acupressure mat daily. I've been soaking in salt baths and using my sauana. I stretch multiple times a per day (and part of the problem with this is that I'm very flexible, so sometimes I struggle to get a good stretch.) The best I've been bale to do is loosen the tension for a few hours at a time.

My acupuncturist also works on my muscles. He not only needles the points, but uses a massage technique called Tui Na on the muscles while I stretch them. It has been very very helpful... for a few hours to a day at a time. My chiropractor does relieve some pain from the area between the adjustment and a bit of trigger point work.

From what I understand, qi deficiency and blood deficiency can cause muscle tension. If this is the case, it's no wonder I can't resolve this muscle tension issue - because my blood and qi issues seem never ending! Acupuncture should have resolved these issues a year ago, and yet I keep going in week and after week for more because it's the only thing that actually helps, even though the issues don't want to resolve. Clearly, there's more going on in my body, and I'm hoping to get that figured out.

So my acupuncturist tried something new: cupping. Several cultures use this healing technique, but it's known for being part of Chinese Medicine. A practitioner rubs oil on the area of the body to be cupped, creates a vacuum in a glass jar with fire, then quickly sticks the glass jar to the body. It forms a suction that lifts the skin into the jar. The jar can either be slid around on the body, or multiple jars can be used all over.  Here is a video for reference:


I had the sliding technique done instead all over my back and shoulders, and I've had 3 sessions of it. This helped more than anything else has helped so far. It has not completely reduced my tension, and my tension does keep coming back. However, it gives me instant relief and the relief does last longer than any other method.

Yes, it leaves some discoloration. What's been very interesting for me has been looking at my back after a session. There is no sign of cupping over most of my back, but the areas where my muscles have hurt the most are a very deep purple with tiny lumps. It isn't bruised - there's no pain on the skin. It's supposed to indicate blood stagnation. The suction pulls stagnate red blood cells to the surface of the skin and helps the blood move again. It also breaks up scar tissue and cellulite for the same reason. It feels just like a reverse massage. Instead of pressure pushing down on the muscles, pressure is pulling the muscles up, and it feels amazing. It's a very intense, strong feeling, so if you have a low pain tolerance you may not agree that it feels great.



Acupuncture Documentary

I watched a BBC documentary the other day called The Science of Acupuncture. If you're skeptical about it or on the fence about trying it, I recommend you watch it. I was not impressed with the first half of the documentary because it was disjointed, repetitive, and acted like it was about to deeply explore an interesting topic, but then moved on. If you've totally unfamiliar with acupuncture, it is a decent introduction to it. The second half of the documentary is what really impressed me. The host explored all the scientific studies already done on acupuncture, but then worked with a team of experts as they created a new study which turned out to be the largest and most helpful study to date. The study had people in two categories: the first got fake acupuncture and the second got real acupuncture, both groups were monitored under an MRI machine during the process. Each participant had no idea if they were getting real or fake acupuncture, as no one in the study had ever had acupuncture before. The results were favorable for acupuncture, showing it as a profound effect on the brain. If you would like to watch it, it is free on Youtube:

The Science of Acupunture