Vertigo into Vertigone in Two Easy Steps! XD

Very quickly--wanted to share this bit of success before I crash and burn entirely.

Late last evening, I got hit suddenly by three punches of vertigo within about 10 minute's time.  Today vertigo and nausea are washing over me wave after wave, tinnitus is absolutely shrieking like a banshee and my ears are poised to expel their contents like projectile vomiting.  Oh, and I've got pounding head pain as well.

I ate oatmeal with hempseed oil to see if that would settle my stomach.  Nothing happened.  I took both Robinul and Valium, the two prescriptions that my neurotologist gave me for Meniere's symptoms.  Two and half hours past and other than feeling drowsy as well, I had every symptom that I've had all day.

Between waves, I made 16 fl ozs of peppermint tea and put in two small spoonfuls of my homemade Honey Stuff which has a good dose of ginger in it into each teacup.  Ginger is perhaps the top-of-the-line non-Rx vertigo and nausea treatment out there.  I put Bach Flower Remedies Scleranthus, Wild Oat, and Gentian drops in the tea cup as well.

Not only does this peppermint/honey/citrus/ginger tea tastes utterly divine, but in this last half an hour the vertigo has slowed to a small constant rather than strong waves and the nausea has vanished completely.

Could it be that the meds simply took longer than 2 1/2 hours to work?  Possible but my stomach was actually empty enough when I took them that they should have hit my system within about 20 minutes or so.  They did not.

I can certainly feel them now nearly 3 hours later.  Hell, in another hour it'll be time for more and the last dose has only just begun.  I'm of the firm opinion that this tea rebuked the rising tide until the meds had a chance.

If you haven't got a jar of Honey Stuff in your fridge, consider making some up on a day when your over health and ability suns are shining.  It has proven itself valuable and, when stored in properly sanitized containers in the fridge, should last for at least a year.

I'm off for a crash landing.  Take care.  Hang in there. 

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Peace, love, herbs, and Honey Stuff

Physical vulnerability along with opportunistic viruses means: Time for peace, love, and Honey Stuff!

Got way, way too aggravated at the Office of Personnel Management last week. I believe I might have made myself physically vulnerable in the process. In addition, our house has been filled with plumbers, the gas company, the phone company, technicians, and repairmen of all sorts and every one of them has been hacking and coughing.

I was concerned that I might have to take the day off tomorrow from my full-time job of getting well but I realized that in fact,  I'll be working overtime.  No rest for the weary!

Here's a recipe for a natural honey, ginger, and citrus virus remedy that's as delicious as it is effective. Glad I've got some in the fridge already!

Gonna jump on this like a chicken on a june bug and mother-love it right out of my system. Mullein leaf tea and hops syrup now, neti pot, Sambucol (elderberry and echinacea syrup), and yarrow before bed. And soup with raw garlic stirred in just before I eat it. I know, I know, but raw garlic is useful for viruses. Once it's cooked, some of the therapeutic benefits disappear. Since that's why I'll be using it, it'll only get as hot as the soup itself right before I eat it.

Gonna get nice and peaceful underneath some rocks as well. Rocks just make me comfy and content, and when they're hot from the sun...oh me...  Bloodstone, amethyst, clear calcite, clear quartz, and rose quartz are all marvelous help for viruses. Smokey quartz is really nice for the aches and pains right at first.

This should be gone by tomorrow.

I might get so peacefully, tonically herbal that I put on a headband and start flashing peace signs. XD


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. Nothing in the above article is remunerated content. Remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Holiday Cheer - Sharethis: Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer

Just in time for Christmas...MORE GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHOCOLATE FRONT!

Fear not that high quality, high cocoa solids chocolate is nowhere to be found. World Wide Chocolate is one online purveyor who will bring such Elysian delights to your house, your very abode as it were. They are an online business I recommend. I do business with them and have been very pleased with all transactions.

Right now, yea at this very moment, Callebaut Belgian dark chocolate batons boulangers are melting in my mouth, smooth as liquid black gold.  This particular baking formulation has only 44% cocoa solids but I've got chocolate with 80% cocoa solids in the cabinet.  HELL yeah I eat baking chocolate!  And every sort of bonbon and confection, bakery item and savory dish containing Theobroma cacao that I can think up or find.

There may be some who consume greater quantities of chocolate than I do but I'll put my Theobroma cacao tastes up there with the biggest eaters any day.

Want to know why I don't eat Hershey's kisses?  Scroll down to the blog entitled "The Sweet Life" and look for the entry dated Friday June 5, 2009.  Read the comments.  Yep, there's one from ME.  I recommend The Bee Folks.  They carry bulk and varietal honey, some nice beeswax products, and Lori had TRIPLET BOYS last Spring.  They're good people to do business with.  I go through a lot of honey.  Lori sells half gallons, gallons, and even larger sizes as well as 8 oz and a couple of 4 oz sizes of premium honeys.

I hope to pull together some Theobroma cacao recipes and projects for the next article.  Preview:  That last swallow of sediment coffee in the pot that no one wants?  Add cocoa powder and another couple of ingredients to make a nice scrub for stretch marks that will tickle your spouse's tongue as well.  Ohhhh...yeah...

Chocolate is a Migraine trigger for some people.  It appears it may have something to do with endothelial function and production of nitric oxide, which expands blood vessels.  [Disclaimer:  I have carefully recorded my physical responses to chocolate over the many years I've dealt with Migraine and found one correlation:  The craving for chocolate is a sure sign that Migraine attacks are imminent.  Eat chocolate, don't eat chocolate, no effect on whether attacks occur in me or their intensity.]  Read this interesting article from--Hershey's--about some of the nice things chocolate does for people.  The article includes citations but frankly, I'd consider Hershey's Chocolate an expert in chocolate in their own right.  They're not my chocolatiers but I'll count on their information any day.

Eat high quality, high cocoa solids chocolate.  And honey.  Every day.  The Sparkling Mother is glad it's good for you.  :D
 

Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer
Dark chocolate prevents wrinkles, skin cancer Source: presstv.ir
Parin Stormlaughter sent this using ShareThis.

Short break!

Short break during the Cat Nights of Summer...yeah, Cat nights come after the Dog Days. :)

See you all soon.



Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Out There: I am Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer

It appears there is a 13th, generally unused astrological sun sign called Ophiuchus. It is generally defined as falling somewhere between November 29th and December 17th of a year. I found it when I was reading Love is in the Earth: The LIITE Fantastic and Last Testament by Melody, (c) 2007 by Earth-Love Publishing House. [At once cloyingly sentimental and egg-headed, it's not a terrifically practical book but it does keep some useful crystal information at hand such as the chemical formulas (good for figuring out which rocks have a good chance of working well together) as well as the Mohs hardness scale for more than 1,300 rocks, minerals, and other things that generally fall under the title of 'crystal'. Unfortunate that the name of the book is misspelled on its own title page but oh well...]

I was born on December 14th, making me not a Sagittarius but an Ophiuchus, by strict sun-sign reading.

Ophiuchus is the Serpent Bearer, the doctor. And true to my nature, medicine is a true love for me. Western medicine holds no charm but completing and alternative medicine traditions do. My first foray into studying completing therapies came about when I wrote a research paper for my sophomore high school English class. My topic? Honey!

I've gotten a parans fixed star reading to integrate into all this too. According to the parans reading, my rising heliacal star is Antares, the Heart of the Scorpion. Not surprising since my Sagittarius Sun is virtually unaspected (being trine only Uranus and that's it). My most aspected Light is my Scorpio Moon and it's my second most aspected planet with Pluto being first in the queue.

Hopefully I'll be able to integrate a couple of astrological readings done for me into a future column. Edgar Cayce considered astrological readings as a snapshot of a person's integral physical and spiritual nature as identified by heavenly body positions at the moment they were born.

What all that means is it's probably not learned behaviour that up to now, I've delved straight into deep, intense relationships, not passing "Go" or collecting $200 or even becoming friends first (my ex-husband began discussing marriage two days after we met and I was there--he and I share many chart similarities), and have made my most profound progress not through reflection or sharing with others, but through life and death. Transpersonal psychology, depth psychology, that's what I want to do.

The stars and planets don't cause me to be the way I am. They provide a way to identify and analyse personality and physical aspects in an understandable way. They'll give me a way to explain to analysands why one workaround might get faster and better results than another. Not likely that they'll care what their heliacal rising or setting stars are or which planet is aspected to the what in the where on their birth charts. All this will be useful to me mostly.

Three steps forward, two steps back...drinking colorless apophyllite, blue aquamarine, and rutilated quartz-charged water right now. I'm about ready to go back to the neurotologist about this Meniere's. I have spent a year working like a dog to see if I could solve my vestibular system problems through completing treatments but haven't made enough progress on that front to count, really. Keeping my energy balanced and using rose quartz both help with vertigo attacks but nothing has touched the disequilibrium that persists for weeks after vertigo attacks. I'm on the verge of needing a walker (the vestibular rehab therapists that I've seen in the last two years think I do), frequently I can't keep my balance sitting upright in bed even, and walking when I'm disequilibriated wracks my shot nerves. This is no kind of life.

What I've learned in the last year is that an integration of what we know now with what we know now is the key to health success. Both Libchik and Aikichik-sensei (Shodan as of yesterday!!) agreed this past week that in some ways, I am remarkably better now than I was two years ago. I owe much to the Crystal Healer's advice and the professional astrologers who've patiently answered my intense questions, the amazing books I've read on Jungian dream analysis and planet delineations, and the personal work I've done on my own ideals and direction.

Although I spent some years as a W-2 wage earner, mostly I've been self-employed in my money earnings. If I can ever get disequilibrium resolved, and can continue the good progress on the Migraine front, maybe I'll be able to rejoin my beloved self-employed. I'll have to find new route out for intestinal gas than through my mind (read: brain farts short-circuit my cognitive processes), but hey! I love a good challenge if I can figure out what it is. XD

"Life goes on within you and without you", as George Harrison put it in Within You, Without You. It'll go on for me whether in this life or the next. I certainly would rather be of service than to require being served, that's for sure. My birth chart is so others-oriented, I didn't seriously consider further pursuing who I was more than being an MBTI "ENTJ" until I was faced with the horrific spiritual attack that has now divided my life into "before July 2007" and "after July 2007", but the rest of who I am in fact will have to wait for a future column.

Time to scoot. The sun will come up soon and this nocturnal scorpion will be retreating underneath rocks shortly to wait out the burning sun until night falls again.

Oh frabjous day! or Diabetes might be in my future but it's not in my present :D

They say that the waiting is the worst part.

You've had medical tests performed. The doctor says he or she will call you about the results. You go home and...wait.

BUT SOMETIMES YOU GET LUCKY and have a doc who's office calls immediately to discuss the findings. My doc's nurse called me today about the further diabetes testing that was done yesterday. Yep, called me today. The results made me so happy that I had a piece of toast with butter and honey to celebrate. I did!

Although they're not ready to say that I have not developed diabetes, at least I DO NOT need to take any action right now. Well, they want me to enroll in the cholesterol nutrition class. Something about my total cholesterol being 248 and my LDL being 167 seems not good to them. XD

That testing yesterday made me ill. Within 120 seconds of finishing that fizzy orange drink that tasted five times beyond way too sweet, full rotational vertigo started. I was nauseated. The nurse said I looked like I didn't "feel too good". I kept it down though.

Afterwards, the nurse made me eat a package of cheese crackers from the vending machine and drink water before I got up from having the last blood drawn. No scolding please--I bought Aikichik a nice Milo's lunch for giving me a ride and staying to keep me company (and I got a burger and fries for me--no drink) and I ate the fries on the way home. I haven't had french fries in more than a year.

I checked my sugar when we got home before I ate my burger. It was 69 and that's low. I ate my burger, took a nap, and when I woke up it had only gone up to 84.

The nurse had said to eat protein and protein and protein for the rest of yesterday but no more sugar (I looked at her in disgust and told her I didn't WANT any more sugar) so I ate eggs and chicken. By bedtime it was up to 117 and I was feeling better.

Yay. Nothing to do for my sugar but keep on keepin' on.

If my triglycerides were even close to bad (but they're wonderful) and if my blood pressure was close to bad (it's wonderful too), I would be more concerned about my cholesterol. No way am I going to agree to take cholesterol meds. We have no family history of heart disease and the strokes we've had are migraine-related, I'm quite certain. If my liver is naturally making this much cholesterol, maybe I need it.

Now I get to read up on crystals and cholesterol, liver function, and such.

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! And thank you, Lewis Carroll, for providing my father with a favorite blurb to say at odd moments, "The time has come, the Walrus said..."

Who knows the future? Not me, but I'd give nearly anything... At least my tomorrow doesn't include diabetes, and for that I am grateful to God.



Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

The Science behind Honey Medicine for Colds, Coughs and Sore Throats

Ah, the elysian delights of honey! I could wax lyrical, but it's better done here (.pdf file) at the US National Honey Board website. The science in this article comes from this .pdf file. Here is the National Honey Board's page of links to honey and health topics. Peruse at your leisure and enjoy the recipes.

I want to be a queen bee. A hive has only one, she's the most important bee of all, and there are between 500 and 1,000 drones. Dadgum migraine...can't get my mind out of the beehive...honey doesn't appear to be a trigger for me and I'm not aware of anyone whose Migraine or Meniere's symptoms are triggered by it. Sinus problems (whilst being a symptom of a type of headache called cluster headaches) and viruses do seem to trigger Migraine attacks in me. I like this medicine because it doesn't interfere with any meds I'm taking and does treat colds. Important: see the Notes at the end of the recipe for information about a couple of meds and a couple of the ingredients.

Honey contains vitamins and trace minerals (not in particularly useful quantities), antioxidants, and it's a source of natural hydrogen peroxide. It's considered antimicrobial due to its relatively low water content and high acidity--yep, honey is an acid. Fortunately the majority of varieties don't taste acidic.

It's time to make this year's Honey Medicine for Colds, Coughs, and Sore Throats. I developed this particular combination of ingredients after many seconds of fractured thought whilst at the same time pondering the exquisite nature, fragrance, and flavor of mead (honey wine). Tonight I made hay while the moon was shining and I felt up to it, and made a quart. The three of us--Elder and Younger Assistant Offspring and me--use only about that much in a year's time. Be clean, sterilize your jar, lid, and ring, and simmer the ingredients properly and it will still be a delight this time next year.

Just another couple of tips before the link to the recipe: Honey freezes well. If you believe you'll have honey for longer than, say, a year before you use it, consider freezing it. Whilst crystallized honey is perfectly safe, it may have developed a musty or old taste. That old jar with a layer of hard honey at the bottom might be perfect for a facial or to put on a scratch or minor burn if the flavor isn't to your requirements.

On to the medicine...click here for the full recipe (also below).

Honey...worth exploring for its many valuable properties, worth eating just for its incomparable self, and do consider learning to make mead if you just want a safe hobby that doesn't require burning up gasoline. The honey wine you'll make will provide you with yet another avenue to follow as you lift up your life to a higher level.


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

Honey Medicine for Colds, Coughs, and Sore Throats - recipe

Honey Medicine
for
Colds, Coughs, and Sore Throats

* Wide-mouth quart canning jar, lid, and ring
* 2 cups raw honey, any flavor you like but tupelo is especially nice
* 1 lemon, well scrubbed, thinly sliced, and well mashed in the saucepan. Remove seeds you see and be sure to put in all the juice
* 1 orange, well scrubbed, thinly sliced, and well mashed in the saucepan. Remove seeds you see and be sure to put in all the juice
* 1 cup filtered water, spring water, or other non-chlorinated/non-fluoridated/non-distilled water
* ½ inch slice fresh ginger, finely minced but not grated
* 1 stick cinnamon (cassia), broken
* ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg or tiny pea-sized chunk (optional, for flavor only)


Wash the quart jar, lid, and ring in hot soapy water, rinse well, and bring to a boil in fresh hot water to sterilize. Remove from water, drain, and set aside.

Combine all medicine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring gently rather frequently until the honey dissolves in the water. Carefully skim off any scum that rises. Do not boil! Simmer for 10 minutes.

Carefully lift out the pieces of fruit and put into the sterilized jar. Carefully pour liquid and remaining ingredients into jar, wipe the top clean, cover with the lid an ring, and allow to cool. The lid will ‘seal’ and ping. Release the seal, re-cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Use as often as you wish when your throat feels scratchy or you feel like you might be coming down with something. Rarely will anyone need more than one serving. This is potent medicine.

To use, turn the jar over a couple of times to mix it up and let settle for a couple of seconds.

For one person, pour two or three nice big tablespoons or so through a strainer into a big cup of boiling water and mix it up well. For the grownups, add a shot of bourbon if you wish.

For more servings, pour about a cupful through a strainer into a 44 oz tea pot. Fill the tea pot with boiling water and share with the whole family so that, hopefully, no one else will get sick. Drink it as warm as you can stand.

Nice to sweeten hot tea too, herbal or Lipton but you might wish you hadn’t if someone suddenly gets sick and there isn’t any left.

If everything was well-sterilized and the mixture properly simmered but not boiled, this will stay good in the fridge for a year.


Notes: Many recipes perform well with substituted ingredients. This is not one of them. You’ll only be making this once or twice a year so do it right.

Don’t make this if you can’t get high-quality, good-tasting honey because the flavor of it will only intensify as it waits in the fridge. Honey has a natural form of hydrogen peroxide and it forms the recipe’s medicinal foundation. There are more expensive bourbons but if you chose to put a shot or two in a cup, Wild Turkey 101 Proof has a flavor that matches these ingredients deliciously. The lower proof is nice too.

DO NOT use ground cinnamon. Don’t make this if you don’t have a fresh, high-quality, fragrant stick of cinnamon (cassia). Stick cinnamon has medicinal value and this recipe relies on the quantity in a full stick. Cassia is one of the “50 Fundamental Herbs” in Chinese medicine. Get the good stuff for this recipe.

DO NOT use ground ginger. Don’t make this if you can’t get a beautiful, fragrant, firm piece of fresh ginger. The recipe relies on the medicinal value of the volatile oils in fresh, young ginger rhizomes. Avoid consuming the minced pieces if you’re taking Warfarin or have gallstones.

Don’t make this if you can’t get a beautiful, fresh orange and a beautiful, fresh lemon. Orange juice and dried peel, lemon juice and lemon zest, might make an inoffensive beverage, but the recipe relies on the medicinal value of the bioflavonoids and antiseptic properties in the fresh fruit and the terpene oils and aldehydes in the fresh peel. Drink a glass of orange juice or lemon-water if you want the nutritional value of the juice.


Sources:
The Magic and Medicine of Plants, (c) April 1990, Reader's Digest Association Inc, Pleasantville, New York
The National Honey Board website, www.honey.com
Complete Lemon Information from www.drugs.com
Oranges: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy from the University of California website


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.