Aromatherapy: Getting My Act Together...

American tourist (that's moi, of course) discovering the beauty of essential oils while in England back in the late-1980's...

"And so I've been putting off something that has been a silly economy and a hugely effective tool in what has been part of my arsenal to seriously fight my severe Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (unfortunately, AKA "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome") as well as my fibromyalgia."

Since my traumatic hospitalization, I've been on a mission to reexamine past medications, past diets (as in "way of eating," though losing weight is always an issue), past physical activity that I could/can handle and so forth.  However, the other day it occurred to me that somehow I'd dropped a ball.  (There are, after all, so many balls to juggle.)  Worse, this was a hugely successful ball in my arsenal - for me, I hasten to add. It's the world of essential oils and aromatherapy meeting and treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (a less palpable term than CFIDS or ME) and fibromyalgia.  

I "discovered" aromatherapy quite by accident when going to a contemporary museums, i.e., to British grocery stores, department stores, book stores, drugstores (oh how I love to look at what personal items another country has) and so forth. (Don't you just love the term "contemporary museums"?)  

As I added the oils to my daily life, eventually I was able to graduate from a wheelchair to walking - not far, mind you, but enough that life was made so much easier.  I could walk in my bedroom area and if, need be, I was able to go down to the kitchen, although basically, the only thing that would come out of it was the newest disaster.  Talk about getting into a bad mood!   

My sleep (which I consider to be akin to labor although minus the great, miraculous result - a baby!) substantially improved. It was such a downright miracle that good ol' "Miss Irene" in her usual fashion of studying everything about a topic that tickles her/my fancy took it upon herself to learn all she could about aromatherapy - most of which has been forgotten by now.  Fibro-brain strikes again! ;)  But that's what books and the Internet are there for: we can do so much while still in bed.

Today I should be in a fantastic mood for quite a bit of the day.  (If this family could just stay out of the hospital for a while, I'd be on cloud nine!  Don't ask me where I was Tuesday night!)

Here are a few truisms about me:

• on the whole, it really takes so little to make me happy (Goodbye, pain! Please go down some sewer!)
• I am one of those female "weirdos" (as my middle child would put it) who hates to shop 
• nine times out of ten, I'll pick out a few basics at one of my "favorite" online stores, but then I am way too exhausted to actually place the order.  My brain is simply too fried.  Pain has its way with me. (Get your mind out of the gutter please, my dears!)
• there are just too many steps to placing an order.  You know that you have CFIDS/ME/CFS and/or fibro if this truism applies to you as well.  I have to wonder, what happened to my love of shopping, "window" as well as otherwise, which I had before this DD hit me?
• worse, with my short-term memory problems, my "attention" to how much things cost. My brain that is just soo fatigued once it comes to credit cards, filling out addresses, filling out passwords (searching for a piece of paper or the notebook that has SOME of them) is just more than I can handle.  Yes, I know: tell you something you didn't already know! (But it's validation, no?)

And so I've been putting off something that has been a silly economy and a hugely effective tool in what has been part of my arsenal to seriously fight my severe Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (unfortunately aka "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome") as well as my fibromyalgia.  Somehow nature's "gift" of essential oils, which has worked so well in the past, has fallen by the wayside.  

However, in the midst of writing this post, I finally shopped and then actually bought quite a few essential oils. (See the power of a blog? I'm actually able to cross an item off an old mile-long list for shame!)  I used to be a regular customer and would even foist the oils onto my kids for various things when they were growing up.  LOL: one friend's daughter of about 30 years ago, after not seeing me in ages, asked "are you still using that witchy stuff?"  Out of the mouth of babes.

AND NOTE: Did I mention that the "company," Aromathyme, from which I most frequently buy my  essential oils is having a sale of 10% though May 27, code word SUMMERTIME? 

Looks like it's time to bite the bullet and attack the things that essential oils can address. 

I've long wanted to start a series on essential oils, especially since the first post I wrote about my three most favorite essential oils had such a high readership.

Four Hours Later:  Oh how I wish I were joking when I say that this post was started well over four hours ago. It's taken me that time alone to go through the web site I was ordering from.  I've picked those oils which were so useful to me in the past.  I've picked a few new ones that look promising. I've taken advantage of the discount and free shipping.  I've picked according to conditions, many which I've discussed (harped?) about for ages: insomnia, mood, clear thinking, memory and so forth.  I'm absolutely thrilled that I'm going back to essential oils.  And I can't wait to get them in the mail as soon as possible. 

After a bit of experimentation, I'll let you know which are (still) successful.  And I'll let you know how it's going.  

Teaser: three of the essential oils ordered were ravensara, neroli, ylang ylang.  Heaven.

In the meantime, I hope all are feeling their best, only better!  Ciao and paka.


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My Favorite 3 Aromatherapy Essential Oils

One of the most successful "natural" or "alternative" routes that I've discovered in my adventure of trying to "heal" myself of the CFIDS/ME/CFS and fibromyalgia nightmare has been that of aromatherapy.  It was on a trip to England one year that I discovered the beauty of aromatherapy.  It was the late 80's and we who lived in the States hadn't heard of aromatherapy at all.   Having been raised by a mom who had some miraculous things happen in her life when conventional medicines were not available during drastic times, I always believed in alternative medicine in addition to western medicine: I am my mother's daughter, after all.

I suppose I was most influenced by one of my mom's worst life-altering episodes.  It happened when she came down with some sort of leg infection that became so dire that it called for an amputation but the doctors were understandably too busy with wounded soldiers.  As my grandmother carried my mom back to their home, an old woman called out to my grandmother and asked what the problem was. (Oh those old Russian/Ukrainian babushkas always had to be in on any action going on!)  Upon hearing what had happened, the old woman nodded sagely and after my grandmother swore to carry out the instructions to a T,  she was given a secret recipe of herbs to pull out all the gory stuff from my mom's leg. Within a certain amount of time (weeks, months, this my mom doesn't remember, as other problems were taking their attention away  from the leg crisis) all the tissue was rejuvenated and my mom was left with only a scar that showed where the puss and rot had come out.

Likewise, I doubt that there is a Russian or Ukrainian, here in the States or back in the "old country" who doesn't know that if one gets a wound of any sort, they simply need to find some "podorozhnik," a weed that grows "by the side of the road" (plantain, I believe it's called) and stick it on.  There's no scar left if it's used until the healing is over.  Even a "new" Russian arrival, a doctor at the "major medical center," swore by podorozhnik - that made me really laugh!  The only thing that keeps me away from podorozhnik these days is that I know that there's none that hasn't tons of pesticides drowning it.

So, when I first heard about aromatherapy, I was fascinated.  Plus, there's that tiny thing of having a nose that's infamous for its sense of smell.  To me aromatherapy and my nose seemed to be a match made in heaven and I became almost obsessed with aromatherapy.  I discovered it in an English pharmacy.  I love to visit  pharmacies and grocery stores when I travel. Why?  Because to me they are what I call "contemporary museums."  How better to get a good view of what a country and its people are like?

According to history, it was WWll that brought essential oils to the fore.  A medical doctor began his own research on the properties of essential oils, taking over the work a previous doctor who had started experimenting with essential oils during WWI when there was a shortage of supplies and medicines.  During the second World War, when supplies and medicines, including the new antibiotics, had run out near battlefields and in field hospitals he tried essential oils and the wounds healed rapidly, infection was reduced and often completely arrested - much like what happened to my mom, though through different "old world" means.  It's said that many soldiers were saved because of his treatment with essential oils.

"Dr. Jean Valnet has written extensively about essential oil therapy and  in 1964 published The Art of Aromatherapy and the movement in Europe had rebirth.  Around the same time, a Frenchman, Albert Couvreur, published a book on the medicinal uses of essential oils and Madame Marguerite Maury, a French biochemist, developed a unique method of applying essential oils to the skin with massage and established the first aromatherapy clinics in Paris, Great Britain, and Switzerland, and studied the rejuvenating properties of essential oils.  Her research was published in English as The Secret of Life and Youth (1964).  Micheline Arcier studied and worked with Maury and Valnet and their combined techniques created a form of aromatherapy that is used around the world."  ~From AromatherapyNaturalHealing.com

                                     
I've had some dramatic results with aromatherapy.  I was lucky enough to go back to London a few times and get work done at Micheline Arcier's aromatherapy center in Knightsbridge.  For a few years I had a local massage therapist use blends I made up myself.  I would also use the essential oils for various symptoms and health problems that came up, with great results.

Although I could go on and on about many oils that I love, these are my favorite three, aside from the obvious ones such as lavender and tea tree oils.  And just to state the obvious, please remember to only go for organic and well-established sources for essential oils.  Can you imagine the concentrations of toxins in a single drop if you're using an oil that's been grown under non-organic conditions?  (Yikes!)  And please keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, nor a professional aromatherapist.  Finally, bear in mind that if you're on any medications, they need to be cross-checked with a physician of some sort.  I've not had problems, but I've also done "my research" before using any oils and run them by my doctor, who is quite open-minded about these sorts of things if I bring him my research.  At any rate, these are just three of my favorites that have worked wonders for me.

• Clary Sage: I think of this oil as the one that lifts you up when you are down but brings you down if you're too up and running on jittery nerves.  I absolutely love this oil.  Its properties are that of an antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, astringent, deodorant; it decreases gas and indigestion, brings on menstruation, relaxes muscles and nerves and lowers blood pressure.

Clary sage uses: added to a massage oil or used as a compress, it eases muscle and nervous tension and pain. Its relaxing action can reduce muscle spasms and asthma attacks and lowers blood pressure. It's great for "female ailments": coping better with menstrual cramps, PMS and is the first go-to for menopausal hot flashes.  It may be a gentle hormonal stimulant.  As if that's not enough, it's great for improving the complexion, so you can add some to a cream if you have acne, thin, wrinkled or inflamed skin.  In Europe, a tea prepared from clary sage leaf soothes a sore throat. (I didn't remember these last few things: darn it!  I could have used it a while back!)

HOWEVER, WARNING: Large amounts can make one giddy, cause headaches and raise blood pressure. Never use it with alcohol or if you are pregnant, suffer from breast cysts uterine fibroids or other estrogen-related disorders!

• Neroli:  Oh, I love the smell of this oil and it is my choice for falling asleep if the stars happen to line up in the sky correctly. (I'm kidding about the stars: sort of!)

This oil is derived from orange blossoms, a most wonderful smell.  The best, rivaling my beloved roses.  Because of the delicate nature of the blossoms the method of extraction is by steam, making this oil one of the pricier ones.  It has a sweet, floral smell, and I think it's a rather refreshing smell as well.  It blends well with jasmine, ylang-ylang (another favorite, especially for depression) and sandlewood.  A little bit goes a long way, so if you should order it, go with a very tiny amount.  I also like it because it's a mild oil and thus skin sensitivity is rarely a problem.  Allergic reactions are also quite rare.

Neroli Oil uses: this is an oil that produces relaxation and is although it is often compared to lavender, this is by far the preferred choice.  It's calming properties allow it to to alleviate anxiety, depression and stress.  It helps promote sleep and relieve restlessness.

• Pink Grapefruit: Oh, my.  If you're exhausted, this will pep you up, but in a calm way, not as jerky and hyper as peppermint (IMHO).

It has a brightness to it that gives you energy and uplifts the spirit.  (I really don't mean to sound too much like a hippie: but other language evades me!)  I once surprised my son by arriving in Australia unannounced (oh yeah, there goes all my credibility!) and was absolutely dead from the long trip.  In order to make it to the surprise "Hi, how are you doing?" as he almost dropped dead from a heart attack, ("Mom, what are you doing out of bed?") I used this oil and suddenly freshened up, despite the shower that was supposed to give me a boost, but suddenly started putting me to sleep instead.  I've been in love with this oil since!

It's said that the oil enhances self-esteem and I agree!  Dare I say that it also gives one "a sense of empowerment"?

Here's another tidbit: it supposedly diminishes people's appetites.  (I'm ordering this very soon - I can't find any of my oils in the house since the remodeling began.  Oh well, they were all past expiry dates anyway!)

Pink grapefruit uses: applied topically, it can benefit toning and have astringent effects.  It's also known to stimulate the lymphatic system and helps the body remove toxins.  Furthermore, it's said that it stimulates liver and gallbladder function (well, that boat has sailed: too late!).  It's an excellent body tonic in that it increases circulation and tones skin cells.  Ancient medicine says that the sour taste of grapefruit was used to balance and regulate conditions such as constipation, anxiety, worry, restlessness, PMS and insomnia.  The sour taste is also known to improve a sluggish digestive system. (Does anyone remember the grapefruit diets?)

One "how-to" use of pink grapefruit oil tip which I came across: place one to three drops in the palm of your hand and rub your hands together vigorously.  (Adjust the amount to your satisfaction, less or more, according to what appeals to you.)  Breath in the scent 5-20 minutes before a meal.  Important: drink 8 oz. of  "real" water after inhaling the oil.

It's said that if one blends a wild patchouli essential oil with the pink grapefruit essential oil,  the grapefruit oil's properties will be enhanced in the appetite suppressant category.  (I've not tried this, but I may well do so!)

A beauty tip: add a drop or two into a shampoo bottle to enhance the shine to your hair.  It's also been shown to eliminate oily scalps and other skin and hair conditions.

Finally, my favorite thing to do is to use it as a room freshener and deodorizer.  I've also used it to mist the air.  It has a "delicious" smell that just makes one feel as light and fresh as a sweet-smelling child who's been out in the fresh air.  And what a feat!  I'm not a fan of grapefruit, so it says a lot that I turned my opinion in its favor.

There you have it: a bit of history along with a bit of hope and optimism which comes naturally, encased in little delightfully fragrant bottles which, believe it or not, our sensitive noses can actually benefit from.  It certainly works for MY wacko system!

As always, I hope everyone's feeling their best, only better.  Ciao and paka!

Good To Know About Scarred Skin

The Tomboy!

Ever since I put the silicone sheet on my arm, as instructed by my plastic surgeon, in order to minimize the distinctively ugly, and solid 30 inches of scarring - which, incidentally, gives me a rather distinctive resemblance to the bride of Frankenstein - and then had my horrible allergic reaction to the sheet, I've been intrigued by silicone. (Described here: here) 


And my fascination is not surprising - in my head at least - since most cosmetics out there, as well as a pretty vast majority of skincare, has quite a bit of silicone in it.  Since that unfortunate allergic reaction, I've been in a bit of a quagmire trying to figure out which products with silicone will cause a bad reaction and which ones have formulations which don't appear to give me a problem with the silicone.  It all really reminds me of Bayer's aspirin. The chemicals used by Bayer were basically the same as in all aspirins: it was the bark of a willow and its acetylsalicylic acid.  However, it's the formulation, the "buffered" part - which is a secret - that distinguished it from the rest of the aspirins out there, a formulation which allowed for a larger part of the population to "stomach" the aspirin, by diminishing the side effects of nausea and gastric pain, which made the original owners its vast fortunes.  


So, where am I going with this trivia?  Well, it's just that I can't help wondering why it is that silicone is so successfully carried out in some products while in others, not so much.  Each time I buy a new skincare product or a beauty product, it seems as if I see silicone in almost every product out there.  If you tried to stay away from these silicones, it would be almost impossible, and I do try!  On the other hand, I have products that do contain silicone and they don't seem to bother me.  Is this because the products that don't bother my CFIDS, ME, fibromyalgia skin have a different sort of formulation than the ones that do bother?  Is it a case of what happened to Bayer aspirin is now happening in the generic vs brand name medications? (State secret here: generics do NOT work as well as the brand name and I do get so annoyed with my insurance company when I have to fork out the mucho bucks for the name brand  medication or make a judgement call and go with the generic: it's quite the dilemma, though I realize how trivial it must sound: there are people and children out there who can't eat and I'm complaining about generic vs. brand name meds?  Still, when I take a med and it works sometimes and doesn't at others, I know it's because I've been forced to go onto another (inconsistent) generic.  But don't get me started!)


And so here we are - finally! I know!!! - with the subject at hand:  how to deal with skin that is damaged and that we want to prevent from scarring as much as possible.  And let me tell you, I am much more clumsy now than I was before I became so ill.  Part of that is age, of course, but most of it is that when you have an undependable sense of balance, depth perception (because of eyes that don't function the same hour to hour) and just a general feeling that things are "off" in the world, you had better build yourself what I call a "scarring kit."


One interesting factoid I came across in doing research for this post is that if you have stretch marks or injuries that are still pink, there is still time and a good chance of ridding - or at least vastly diminishing - the appearance of scars.  The pink shows that there is still blood flow in the area and that's crucial.  


I've had my fair share of injuries, be it from small surgical scars due to small things such as my appendix taken out, to the ridiculously big, like my latest with my compartment syndrome surgeries, something so nasty that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.


I've also had nature-made accidents, scrapes from gardening, falls from trees as I was (supposedly) growing up, gravel burns and abrasions.  Just about everything, luckily, healed beautifully and I never minded the appearance of scars...as long as none were on my face.  The face: to me, that's sacred and where my vanity begins and ends. I even missed my smallpox vaccination scrape: how did THAT manage to disappear without my noticing? 


But for those of you who do not have a good relationship with your scars, the following may help.  These are my favorites for fighting these sorts of problems:

• Essential lavender oil, neat or in a carrier oil, I prefer the organic high-altitude lavender oil.

By "neat" I mean that a drop can be put right on the skin.  I know that a lot of the literature out there says to blend it in a carrier oil (such as jojoba, avocado, olive), but with lavender I find that putting a drop on directly will not do any harm.  This is a very old-time and old-fashioned "fix."  It's even perfect for burns in the kitchen, for example - and putting it on immediately is key so in our household we have little bottles of it stashed around the house at crucial places, like next to the stove.  My kids, who would rather go without eating for a week than admit that I'm right, have secretly borrowed my "extra" bottles from me, even asking for it if desperate enough when leaving home for an extended period of time.


I prefer to buy the organic, high altitude lavender oil sold by Aroma-thyme here .

• Bio-Oil - a classic that I've only started using since my surgeries for compartment syndrome back in November/December.  

I'm going by the recommendations of others since I'd never even heard of this product before, and my arm/hand is major scarring that will take years to heal, due to both the huge amount of area  and the place affected, so I won't know for years if and what is effective, come what may with my arm and hand.  Bio-Oil is widely available but I happen to buy mine from http://www.drugstore.com/bio-oil-scar-treatment/qxp165709?catid=182889  There are huge fans of it out there, so I use it when I think to.

• HealGel, invented by a team of dermatologists, is a new product and though I'm a bit skeptical about silicones, I use this off and on.   

HealGel is a relatively new kid on the block and has an incredible pedigree: it was developed by five dermatologist and one surgeon in order to treat post-operative scarring, blemished skin and aged scar tissues, keloid scar, as well as the everyday sunburn, bruising and inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.  I have no hard data for it, only an "eye" for how things appear to work for me.  It's a problem in that I've never cared one way or another as to how I do with scarring - the true sign of a person who doesn't have big issues with healing skin, I now realize. I think it's worth trying, however, because it IS based on science and has such a huge fan base.  Also, my feeling is that if you're desperate enough, you'll give just about anything a try: at least this gel has quite a bit of science to back it up.

• Creme de la Mer and La Mer: the Concentrate are classics.  

These are the number two products in my arsenal, along with essential lavender oil and  the LaMer's have helped me when nothing else has.  The concentrate may very well contain a bit of silicone, I'm rather sure, but is formulated in a way that it doesn't bother me.  For best results, massage the concentrate onto the scar and then "seal" it in with the Creme de LaMer.   I'm not sure if there's anyone on the planet that hasn't heard the story of how this product was discovered: a physicist had set out to correct the horrible scarring he had sustained in a lab accident and after a few years and thousands of different formulas, he came up with LaMer and the rest was history.  It has algae (and I do so love algae for skincare) and needs to be fermented for a few months.  When a duplication of the elixir was attempted by other companies, the results were never successful and so it had to finally be bought by Estee Lauder.  I have to wonder if EL tried to fudge it on some of the steps (it's a time-intensive process: think scotch!, which is why it costs so much) because I do not think that LaMer is the same as it was when I first started using it back in the '90's.  But this is just one person's opinion and it's still an incredible team that deserves room in your arsenal if you can afford it in any way.  


Happy Monday, everyone!  Here's to all feeling their best: if not better!