Follow Up and Letting Go

My last blog talked about a great many remedies for a cough and cold I was dealing with last week, and how useful they have been for me. All of the remedies that I presented in the passage were recommended to me by various friends, homeopaths, herbalists, and nutritionists in town. So far, all of this advice from different sources had been complementary on all sides. However, an interesting new development arose a few days ago, during a phone call with a good friend of mine, Marc, who is an acupuncturist and allergy elimination specialist.

Marc and I had both suffered from the same cough recently, and had been comparing symptoms and remedies throughout the week. On this particular phone call, as he listened, impressed at the speed that my illness moved through me due to the immune-herbs I had been taking, I mentioned all the other supplements that I take regularly on a daily basis, and he said with alarm "What?? Wait! What are you taking?!"

I told him of my daily supplemental regimen, that includes B Complex vitamins, Folic Acid, Antioxidants, as well as an herbal formula for more balanced and sustained energy, and another with estrogen-calming agents. When he heard all of this, he told me to immediately stop taking everything, because my body will get confused, and just needs to focus on getting better, and that combining immune herbs with other non-illness-related herbs can drive the current illness further into the body. He also muscle-tested me over the phone, concluding that I should also stop taking the Cold Quell, and only take the Herbal ABX, and the 'Serious Cough' tincture.

I expressed my doubts to him, especially the part about diagnosing me over the phone. (What if we have a bad cell phone connection, ha ha?) Also, I really felt like the 3-remedy combination was working for me, and I was very hesitant to stop. I told him that I would go to Pharmaca the next day and consult the herbalist who originally recommended these herbs to me, as I wanted a big-picture perspective from the original practitioner, Matthew.

The next day at Pharmaca, as I awaited Matthew's availability, I asked my friend Marjy (also a Pharmaca-practitioner) what she thought of all of this. She said that she believed it is all personal preference, and that if I feel like the herbs are working for me, I should keep taking them. I expressed some frustration at hearing so many different opinions that did not all line up, and she understood. She said 'You know, sometimes you just have to take a step back from everyone's advice, and figure out what feels right for you.'

Moments later, I spoke with Matthew. He said that he thought that most of my supplements were fine to take, like the vitamins and some MSM I have been taking, but to stop taking the herbal energy supplement, as well as any multiple-herb tonics. He confirmed what Marc had said, that the body gets confused, and will possibly drive the illness further into the body, but that if I felt that the Cold Quell, ABX, and Serious Cough were working, that there was no reason to stop taking them.

Whew! So, I took Matthew at his word, but I also went home, and took a breath, and thought about what to do with all of the information I received from these three practitioners, and how I felt. This is what I came up with:

• The two days following, I stopped taking all other supplements, and continued the three immune-herbs, but lessened their frequency, realizing that they probably weren't as necessary now that I was past the worst of my sickness.
• When I started re-introducing my daily supplements two days later, I decided to re-evaluate their role and need in my life. I had been taking 5-htp since last fall, due to a sustained period of depression and low-energy. I realized that I have been feeling fine for quite some time now, and have found balance in other areas of my life, and that perhaps this 5-htp could be taken out of the daily rotation.
• I began taking my other vitamins again, but decided to take a break from the other energy and estrogen-related herbal formulas in the meantime, until this sickness has passed completely.

During the 24 hours where I was getting more advice than I could handle, I was feeling overwhelmed, and anxious. Marjy's reminder to me about listening to myself above all others was crucial. I had received some great advice all around, but it was time to listen to myself. I realized that after introducing certain formulas into my rotation and experiencing success with them, I was clinging to them a little bit as well, and needed to take a step back, and take a fresh look at my situation. I feel lucky to have so much access to information and insight from all the people around me- including my own!