My daughter just had gallbladder surgery. Kind of a shock for this to happen to such a young woman. As her mother I feel guilt-ridden because I didn't prevent it. I do a lot of reading about health issues and still didn't know enough to recognize this problem in its early stages.
As she waited in Emergency for an ultrasound & surgery she overheard a lot of conversations. A couple of the health care workers were new, and comparing prior Emergency work experiences. They said that the most common reasons people end up in Emergency are for gallbladder, appendix, or if they are druggies.
Fortunately she had access to a modern hospital with great staff, so she has sailed through the whole experience smoothly.
But what if this was mid- or post-SHTF ?
Take care of your gallbladder today. A good digestion system is attained through a proper diet.
Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, juicing is good.
Lemon juice, fresh pineapple, papaya, kiwi, grapefruit, ginger, cayenne, apple cider vinegar all aid in digestion, (acid or enzymes)
Complex carbs: good. Simple carbs: bad.
Go light on red meats, alcohol, coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate. 😮 sorry
vanislemom, hope your daughter is doing good and like hell i will give up chocolate Yes, a very important subject for sure, I think every home should have this heath book, the best one i have found is called nutritional healing. by Phyllis a Balch and James f Balch. I picked up a older copy for $4.99 at the organic growers conference.
http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Nutritional-Healing-Practical-Reference/dp/1583330771
Hey, Beth
Yeah, I hear ya about the chocolate. I love the high percentage dark chocolate. But that, and wine are things I can't keep in the house. If I tried to stockpile it there just wouldn't be any left by the time the end of the world came! There's the irony of my daughter's situation: she has such self-control, or just not the appetite for unbridled chocolate consumption or/and wine drinking, and she's the one whose gallbladder crapped out. The doctor said it can be hereditary. My mother had gallbladder trouble, also.
Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch. I have it too! It's great! Always my first go-to book. The only thing that disappointed me was in reference to Vitamin E. In the 4th edition they lowered the recommended daily amount to a paltry 200 i.u. in response to a 'study' that said high doses of vitamin e was bad. What a load of horse manure. The authors just had to emphasize that the full range of the all natural E complex should be taken, not just the alpha. (Don't waste your money on the synthetic)
no synthetic for me, I grow enough herbs for the year for most of staying healthy. I think every area in the world has there local plants to use for heath. I like lemon balm, catnip, bee balm, rose hips and mint for a tea in winter when we feel sick. All ways have lot of theses dry in glass jars, oregano, sage, dill, red clover, st johns wart, and many more. like lots of garlic, very good for any infection. they had to use garlic in ww1 when they ran out of other drugs.
I have started to harvest rose hips, (before someone chops them down, like they did the blackberry bush. WTHey!)
I recently bought a good reference book that I carry with me everywhere called: Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada. As I do a lot of walking I am always on the look out for for a good crop of something. Even in the city there is a lot of wild edible plants, along the less manicured footpaths and bicycle trails. When I look at lawns and boulevards I often think about all the food growing potential that is wasted, but that could be reclaimed if people took back their right to grow food.
vanislemom I think we should take over the world and make all boulevards places for herb and veggs.
Stumbled across this interesting article about tics. (The burrowing insect kind, not the muscle twitch kind.) I'm fortunate to never had one, but have known a couple people who have, and tics are a real pain. Plus now there's Lyme Disease to worry about.
A while back I read an article that mentioned that when the allied soldiers came to rescue people from the concentration camps they unknowingly caused some deaths because they fed the starving people their rations. Food has to be reintroduced to a starving or severely malnourished person very carefully. Wikipedia has a good article about Refeeding Syndrome and Renourishment. Thought it might be useful to know in a shtf situation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refeeding_syndrome
Found this interesting (and horrifying) YouTube video of a lecture by Dr. Helen Caldicott of Australia. I remember her from years ago, campaigning against nuclear power stations. This particular lecture was when she was in Canada recently, talking about Fukushima and Chernobyl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJnhw68C_so&feature=related
So all post this then duck and run. this is a subject of intense debate. But when you know the other side of the info, you just might think twice about getting stuck with a needle. and if your wondering, I do not get my children vaccinated. My first two born got some shots, but I stop after my oldest had a bad reaction to a sulfa drug.
This part i find very disturbing.
"Despite early recognition and after almost half a century
of it’s injection into the human population, scientists have
finally acknowledged that a monkey virus, SV40, contaminated
polio vaccines which were first used in the late 1950’s.
This virus has been found in 43% of cases of non-Hodgkins
lymphoma, 36% of brain tumours, 16% of healthy blood
cell samples and 22% of healthy semen samples tested. Since
SV40 has been found in children of our era, unless current
polio vaccines still contain SV40 from traces of the original
seed stock on which the vaccine is cultured, their SV40 must
have been passed down from previous generations. If the latter
is the case, SV40 may eventually reside in all human
beings, initiating cancer in those who are susceptible."
VACCINATION What You Need to Know
The only safe vaccine is a vaccine that’s never used.
Dr James A Shannon, US National Institutes of Health
There is a great deal of evidence to prove that immunization of children does more
harm than good.
Dr J Anthony Morris, former Chief Vaccine Control Officer and research virologist, US FDA
Surfing around again. Came across this very interesting article, basically it's saying that the childhood illness, Fifth Disease, can manifest as severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (in both arms!)
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/314-unexpected-illness-is-a-prepper-nightmare
I guess this is not a complete surprise.
*sigh*
Soaring BPA levels found in people who eat canned foods.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/23/soaring-bpa-levels-found-in-people-who-eat-canned-foods/
I was going to say that generally I don't eat much canned food (although I do have quite a stock for emergencys), but then I realized that whenever I eat a staff meal at work, or eat out that I am getting canned products.
My own personal 'cure all' is to keep flushing my system with vitamin C.
I take a daily tablet (1000mg time release w/ bioflavonoids) as well as +/- 2000mg of the crystals or powder in my water bottle.
I have been having a particular health issue off and on over the last 4 years, that 3 clinic doctors and 3 emergency room doctors have not been able to diagnose (to the point where the last doctor asked me if there was any mental illness in my family. wtf !! 😯 😮 😡 🙁 😐 no...
If the pain/discomfort was on my right side, no problem: gallbladder, appendicitis, etc., but because it is on the right side they are mystified. One doctor said, "but there's nothing over there", meaning important organs, I gather. So my diagnosis is at this point, a self-diagnosis, but not to worry, I will be discussing this with a doctor at the clinic.
(My doctor for 34 years retired a couple of years ago, since then I've just seen the on-call doctor at the same clinic. So far, 2 are idiots, only one has given me the benefit of the doubt. The first one said, beside "there's nothing over there" he said "well, what would you like me to do for you?" The second one at least said, "well just because the tests don't show anything doesn't mean there isn't something there." The last one is the guy, that after listening patiently as I tried to explain my issues, asks about the mental illness in my family. Yeah, I'm going to figure out how to see the second one on his clinic days.) (apparently there is only one doctor in the area taking on new patients, way out in Langford.) (in BC: health care - zip, medical care - meh, emergency care - ok, I think)
Sorry, I went off the rails there, my point is that I finally googled diverticulitis because the word kept popping into my head. My mom had it, other people have mentioned it, (but not one of 6 doctors!) As I scanned the article the first thing that hit my eye was "pain/discomfort on the left side", plus my age - over 50. The other thing I noticed, and it made me think of preppers, was that sometimes in severe cases, antibiotics are required. But even though having diverticula is common in people over 50 eating the modern western diet, having complications can be prevented with care and attention to one's digestive health, and you can save your antibiotics for those gunshot and sword wounds. ...okay that was just snarky, but I'm on a rant.
Anyway, I have being doing better since I went on a system-cleaning regime of less solid foods and a few doses of milk of magnesia. The following is an excerpt from the Mayo Clinic website, I added the emphasis regarding temporary measures, easing back into normal diet. I think I'm ranted out now.
Diverticulitis diet
By Mayo Clinic staff http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diverticulitis-diet/my00736
Definition
A diverticulitis diet is something your doctor might recommend as part of a treatment plan for a mild case of acute diverticulitis.
Diverticulitis occurs when small, bulging pouches (diverticula) in your digestive tract become infected and inflamed. Mild cases are usually treated with antibiotics and a diverticulitis diet, which includes clear liquids and low-fiber foods. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
Purpose
A diverticulitis diet can't treat or prevent diverticulitis. Rather, it's intended to give your digestive system a chance to rest. A diverticulitis diet is typically recommended along with antibiotics for mild or uncomplicated cases of diverticulitis.
Diet details
A diverticulitis diet starts with only clear liquids for a few days. Examples of beverages allowed on a clear liquid diet include:
Broth
Clear soda
Fruit juices without pulp, such as apple or grape juice
Ice chips
Ice pops without bits of fruit or fruit pulp
Plain gelatin
Plain water
Tea or coffee without cream
As you start feeling better, your doctor will recommend that you slowly add low-fiber foods. Examples of low-fiber foods include:
Canned or cooked fruits without skin or seeds
Canned or cooked vegetables such as green beans, peas and potatoes (without the skin)
Eggs, fish and poultry
Refined wheat and white bread
Fruit juice with little or no pulp
Low-fiber cereals
Milk, low-fat yogurt and cheese
White rice, pasta and noodles
Results
You should feel better within two or three days of starting the diet and antibiotics. If you haven't started feeling better by then, call your doctor. You should also contact your doctor if:
You develop a fever
Your abdominal pain is worsening
You're unable to keep clear liquids down
These may indicate a complication that requires hospitalization.
Risks
The diverticulitis diet has few risks. However, continuing a clear liquid diet for more than a few days can lead to weakness and other complications, since it doesn't provide enough of the nutrients your body needs. For this reason, your doctor will want you to transition back to a normal diet as soon as you can tolerate it. Your doctor may even recommend switching to a high-fiber diet to help prevent diverticulitis from recurring. Just be sure to increase the fiber in your diet slowly and aim for the level recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans — at least 25 grams of fiber a day for women and 38 grams for men.
Sorry I got excited and misspoke where I said "but because it is on the right side they are mystified" I meant to say left side.