Diagnosed & Taken Down the Wrong Path by Doctors

Daniel:  "You've gone through some very difficult stuff with allergies and environmental illness. Talk about your experiences."

Angie: "I would say that the doctors nearly destroyed my life with their "treatments" for these diseases.  Thank God I finally found different approaches that actually made a real and positive difference! 

 I started having allergy shots as a child right up into my teens.  I don't remember this doing any good, and I had chronic congestion, sore throats, and other allergy symptoms.  I just wonder what impact all these injections had on my long term health.  My health began to "crash" around 1986. Then maybe 13 years ago I got diagnosed with environmental illness.  This can be simply described as an allergy to the world and an inability to handle normal levels of toxins. Following the medical advice I received is where I think the most harm was done to my health.

I was taught to alter my life completely in order to "take the toxic load off my body". In other words, I was made into a "bubble girl".  For example, I was told to  wear a mask when I went out in order to avoid all toxins and allergens, to avoid public places, to avoid all foods I was allergic to (which was most foods), to purify my home air, to avoid any product with a fragrance or toxic chemical, and the list goes on.  We actually built a new "environmentally safe" home. We spent enormous amounts of money to make it allergy free and non-toxic.  

OK, I need to say that I consider some of these changes in moderation to be helpful and even healthy for anyone. For example, we still prefer to clean our home with non-toxic products whenever possible. However what this strategy did was make me far more sensitive, weaker and sicker.  I now believe that when you put yourself in a pure environment, instead of getting better and more able to tolerate the normal things in the world, it often causes an increase in sensitivity to the slightest toxins or allergens. In addition to my experience I've seen this in others as well.

My reactions became more severe and very frightening. I had to become more isolated to avoid bringing on these dangerous reactions. I became more sick and allergic to more foods and every day environmental things.  I became far more sensitive to the slightest thing, and became more and more unable to deal with the normal things in the world without having severe, terrifying reactions. I became incredibly weak, and had some very bad new problems develop. This was a terrible time for me, and for you (Daniel).

I want to add that I never met anyone else who took this path that got well.  I'm not saying it's not possible as I'm not a doctor, but everyone I met who took the advice of these doctors and tried to live in a totally pure environment just seemed to become worse, and ultimately became trapped in this "bubble world". 

I went through many types of treatments. I went to a clinic in Dallas and was tested and given allergy shots to take home with me. They made me severely worse. I would also say that it did not seem to help the majority of others I've met either. The one person I met who was helped by shots had to keep doing it for years.  She had to keep going back to the doctor to be retested as her doses would change as her condition continuously altered.  She was dependant on the injections and constantly in the doctors office being retested.

I also went through a detox sauna program, tried IV vitamins and many of the other strategies being recommended to me at the time. I took gamma globulin shots. I only ate the small group of foods I was shown to not have allergies to, and I rotated my foods. I became vegetarian. I did colonics, clay and psyllium husk, B-12 injections, fasting, juicing.  Nothing helped.  Most of this made me worse.  More sensitive, more weak. 

I do believe that allergies can have multi-level causes within the body, mind and spirit.  I don't feel you can neglect any of the three aspects and expect to see great improvement.  I believe in attacking all three issues when dealing with any health situation.  And they all have to be delt with in certain ways to receive health benefits.

STEP ONE: SPIRITUAL & EMOTIONAL COMPONENT

"God Can help you. Ultimately, I have to share that it was through God that I finally turned the corner. With the help of a place called Pleasant Valley Ministries, I was able to break out of my bubble and regain some health.  It's a long story, but they were able to get some amazing insight into the root causes of allergies and how to reverse it. I have completely changed my opinion on dealing with allergies.  It's well worth a call to Pleasant Valley to get info on what they can do to help. You do not have to be Christian to apply their information and for it to work. I'm not associated with them in any way, other than as someone they once helped. (Click here for Pleasant Valley Ministries books and website link).  Another ministry that will work with you over the phone with this issue is WellSpring Ministries.

I know many, many people who recovered completely from environmental illness and allergies through the information and teachings of these folks. Several of those people I know were near death when they came to that place for help.  Many were chemically injured. I made some huge progress overcoming the allergies and environmental illness through their insights and help." 

On an emotional level, chronic anxiety, even at a low level that you're not aware of, causes Fight or Flight. That changes your body chemistry. This can cause illness. There is a physical state in the body called "fight or flight". When there is anxiety, even if we are not aware of it, it sets off all kinds of chemical reactions in the body to make it ready to fight or run. In many, many people, living with anxiety is a normal state. We may not even be aware of it, because we don't know what it feels like to be without it.  Fight or flight can cause the body to have all kinds of troubles, including interrupting our natural ability to detox properly, as well as allergies.

Not only do the fight or flight chemicals we release do harm eventually, but systems in our bodies are neglected and not fed, as the body is putting it's resources elsewhere. So what results are problems like leaky gut, poor digestion, etc.  For example, the lining of the stomach is continually regenerating in a healthy person.  A person in chronic fight or flight doesn't get the blood and the bodies resources in the gut where it needs to go.  Leaky gut can develop. 

Often folks who have had a trauma in their lives live with a continuous underlying anxiety.  Frankly, this is a high stress world and most of us are walking around with less peace than is good for our health. Unless we find a way to deal with it in peace, we can expect some wear and tear on our bodies.  This can also block success with even the best health treatments.

I would like to share that I have invested a great deal of energy and time into working on coming into peace with God, others and myself.  I have found that in addition to the obvious benefits, like a happier life, I seem to have much more success when I apply health strategies. I have far fewer bad reactions, and more progress.  I shared some of what has worked for me on the "Spiritual and emotional aspects of healing" web page. "

Daniel: "Clearly, your life has changed for the better, and you are making progress now for the first time. Tell me about what you're doing."

Angie:  "In combination with applying what I've learned through Pleasant Valley, I am doing some other things as well." 

STEP TWO: HEALTY NON-TOXIC CHANGES (IN MODERATION)

"A healthy house is a part of healthy living, but I believe you can go overboard, make yourself more sensitive to the normal things in the world, drive yourself crazy, live in fear (which will hurt your health) and drive everyone else crazy. The divorce rate for those who try to go "pure" because of Environmental Illness is high. Still, there are some very practical things to consider, and with a balanced attitude I find some tactics to be healthful and practical.

I personally try to keep the chemicals down to a minimum in my house, while not going overboard with the need for perfect purity. The home should be a place where we do try to create a healthy environment which is restful for the body,  but it's my feeling that if you go to the extreme with this stuff it can backfire. I found that by taking it in moderation I've done better. I keep the toxins and allergens to a minimum without making myself so secluded that my body becomes more shocked and sensitive to everyday things.  

Here are just a few things that I choose to do as part of my own healthy choices:

• Cleaning air vents.

• Using a good air filter in my home air system.

• Non-toxic pest control.

• Non-toxic cleansers whenever possible.

• Keeping a clean environment.

• Avoiding the use of fragranced products in my own home, and on my body. (I try not to be obsessive with this as I don't want to move back into being a bubble girl.  For example, I will use whatever soap is available when I'm out of the house.)

• Keeping my bedroom environmentally clean so that I can rest my body at night. This includes excluding particle board furniture which has formaldehyde and other chemicals in it.

• Water purification for drinking, cooking and bathing."

                                  STEP THREE: CLEANING THE BODY INSIDE

Within the physical body, there can be parasites, candida, leaky gut, liver congestion, etc. In fact, we clean and support the inner workings of our cars, but we don't clean and support our bodies. Just cleansing the inner systems can make a difference. We need to clean the colon, liver and kidneys, while supporting our bodies nutritionally.

To a large extent this can be done at home, and with fairly inexpensive methods. "My Current Wellness Plan" deals with overcoming many of the possible root causes of allergies.  It's my opinion that just treating the symptoms of allergies by shots, pills, elimination diets, etc., is not a healthy long term strategy. I believe in getting at the root cause whenever possible. 

I went to so many doctors and they had me going from product to product and procedure to procedure, without putting it all together in a way that made sense.  I see that many others are having that problem now.  My current wellness plan was the result of my researching and determining what areas I needed to hit, what order to do it in. 

Many folks seem to have a great deal of success with just doing the colon cleansing followed by the Hulda Clark style liver cleanses found on www.curezone.com, so not everyone needs to do every last thing. Each person is different and must find their own plan. (Go here to see the liver cleanse directions on Curezone.com). By the way, readers should note that the liver flush is not without some risk, so study carefully before deciding to do it.

For links to resources, articles and helpful products for allergies click here.