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Body able to heal itself

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Lupus
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Posted 7/17/2012 10:35 PM (GMT 0)

I finally went to a chiro a few weeks ago.  When I was younger they had told me that I had a curve in my spine.  After doing xrays, yup I sure do!  I believe that our bodies have all the needed tools to heal itself, if everything is in it's proper place and all signals can get where they are suppose to.  So now I am on a therapy program to help straighten my spine out.  I hope in return calmer Lupus.  Already in a week, I have clearer thinking and have so much more energy, it's encouraging. 

Wondered if anyone else has tried this route or another, more natural approach to let your body heal itself, and what the results were?

Posted 7/19/2012 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Our bodies do have great healing powers but cannot heal every injury, condition or disease unfortunately. There are many anecdotal stories about complementary therapies and people going into remission but they are just that...anecdotal. Some of us will go into true remission (no meds, no symptoms) and will stay there. There is no way to know if you are truly healed or just in temporary remission.

Lupus is a powerful disease and usually requires using modern meds to suppress your immune response. I had a life threatening case complicated with polymyositis and did not have the luxury of fooling around. If you have nutrient dificiencies, a poor diet, a sedentary life style, all of those things should be addressed but that is not treating the problem of an AI disease directly. It helps but does not change your immune response except in some specific situations.

I went from quadriplegic to functional to active again by taking PT and exercise to the limit but it was a modern treatment that saved my life by controlling my immune system and giving me the time to recover. Despite that, I am nowhere near the physcial person I was 7 years ago due to age and significant loss of muscle cells (polymyositis).

Here is an article from the AARP magazine a few years ago about healing.

http://www.aarp.org/health/alternative-medicine/info-11-2008/super_healing.html

Bill
Posted 7/20/2012 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Proper nutrition and exercise...even moderate such as walking is great. The old adage, "if you don't use it, you lose it" says a lot. I have always eaten well, not I eat better. Dairy and Gluten free, along with low fat, no port and I stay away from aspirin and alfalfa sprouts. Anything that is considered a flare food I do not eat. I go for walks and I am working my way up to hikes. I take supplements such as Evening in Primrose or borage oil 1300mg x's 2-4. I also take 500mg x's 4 of Turmeric Curcumin. This helps to keep the inflammation down and is all natural. The Chinese cure autoimmune diseases through diet.
Before the evening in primrose my left hand was becoming useless and I had bakers cysts behind both knees. No shots, no surgery and no meds. The bakers cysts are gone and my left hand, still has arthritis, but is very usable with moderate pain.

I am with you...good nutrition, exercise and the belief that things can and will get better. Just by visualizing, along with proper nutrition can perform miracles. Live by the words, "Keep on Keeping On."
Posted 7/20/2012 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
Chinese medicine does not deal with AI diseases any better than Western medicine and they have problems with lupus, myositis and others.  What has been demonstrated is that treatments like acupuncture do help treat symptoms like pain when allopathic medicine cannot.  Many of the doctors I know who practice allopathic medicine do believe that complementary treatments can help treat diseases like autoimmune diseases. 

Bill

Posted 7/21/2012 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, the Asian are afflicted by Lupus and it is usually more intense than the effect on a Caucasian. Checkout "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford. Nothing is 100% and people of all races have resistance to change and a better diet.
Not everything will work for everyone, but proper nutrition and supplements helps me. I went from an unbearable 6-8 pain level to a 2-4 pain level. Not even drugs are 100% and they have a lot more side effects than supplements or a special diet to try to alleviate the symptoms.

The Asians use a lot of Qigong exercises to open the channels of the body. This can be done with meditation and visualization also. There is no quick fix for any of us, but there is hope. If we keep trying we can get to a pain level
that is tolerable and we can live as normal of life as possible.

With the proper nutrition and exercise, the hope for all of us is that we go into remission until the day we die. If you give up trying and hope, you might as well be dead now!
Posted 7/21/2012 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
I understand that and practice tai chi but it is not a primary treatment. Allopathic medicine also encourages that people try an anti inflammatory diet and it seems to help some but it did absolutely nothing for me. Suppression meds saved my life and I have been in full remission from lupus and polymyositis for 6.5 years and counting. Hope it keeps up. Other than getting old I feel fine and do not feel a need to try other treatments at this time but would do so in a heartbeat. There are 3 ways to classify AI diseases....monocyclic, polycyclic, and chronic and continuous. Mine seems to be mono but most fit into the polycyclic or chronic types and require ongoing interventions to deal with flares. Until science understand the mechanism(s) the best interventions we have are shotgun in nature that carry their own risks and downsides. As researchers understand the genetic and molecular actions that cause lupus there will be interventions that address the root of the problem without the host of side effects from suppression meds. Unfortunately we aren't there yet and for those with polycyclic or chronic cases it is very frustrating.

Bill
Posted 7/26/2012 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with you that Qigong and Tai Chi may not be your primary treatment. I have seen people with lupus open the channels in their body and lower their pain to almost nothing. I wish it worked that well for me; but it helps. The nutrition
also helps and the determination to find an answer for me is a necessity.

Even if you have to result to taking meds, it is good to have your body in the best shape physically as you can be. It also helps to keep you with a healthier mental attitude. Attitude might not be everything, but it is very important. I believe in seeing yourself the way you want to be. I also believe that are bodies are like computers. Our hard drive is our brain and it sends signals to the rest of our body. With meditation we can open the channels from the brain to the rest of our body. When we do this, the energy flows smoothly through our body.

I recommend that everyone try this. Of course, some conditions will still need meds. There is a huge possibility that most people who need them, might need less or what they are taking could be more effective.

I will fight the good fight and am determined to live my life to the fullest and enjoy every minute that I can. I refuse to let my body win. My mind is the strongest and most powerful part of my body. I will win by living my life as close to what I visioned before Lupus and Sjogrens. They are something I have to deal with, they are not the center of my life. My family (including my lupus and sjogrens family) and friends are what is important and what I focus on.
Posted 8/20/2012 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
I do think the body can heal itself up to a point. Case in point, Steve Jobs. He had pancreatic cancer for decades and usually it is fatal in five years or less. Doctors think because he was a vegetarian, it increased his life span.

Has anyone taken a look at functional medicine? you can google Dr. Mark Hyman and see how he treats lupus and other auto immune diseases. What he does makes sense to me. Yes, we need traditional modern medicine for certain things, but alternative or holistic medicine also plays a role in healing the body. A big one at that. If I had the financial means I would go to a functional medicine doctor and/or a naturopath. They look at the whole picture-test for food intollerances, allergies, toxins in the body, etc. Take a look at the website and let me know what you think. He has an interesting article or two on there regarding auto immune disease.
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