Useful natural remedy as a heart tonic

Lilly of the valley is a perennial plant found growing wild in Europe and North America. It is antispasmodic and a diuretic, but it is mainly recommended as a heart tonic that can safely strengthen the heart. In larger doses, it can act as a laxative. It is not recommended for use if you are useing Beta-blockers for any heart complaint, as it can cause irregular heartbeat and upset stomach.

Please add your comment and url if you have used Lilly of the valley. I would be interested to hear if it has helped you.


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Caregivers: Do You Tell Your Ill Partner About Your Stress?

Typically, the bulk of the attention goes to the partner who has the health condition.

Doctors, nurses, clinics, & hospitals make appointments with the ill partner. They run tests on the ill partner to assess the status of the condition. At home, care providers - aides, physical therapists, visiting nurses - focus on the ill partner to find out how s/he is doing and to assess what adjustments might need to be made in her/his care.

Family members, colleagues, and friends call to find out how the ill partner is doing. Even empathic pets tend to curl up next to the ill partner.

And even the well partner focuses most of his/her attention on taking care of the comfort and daily living needs of the ill partner.

So - who is paying attention to the well partner, to the caregiving partner?

Often the answer is no one, not really, not in a sustained way. Yet the physical and emotional stress the caregiving partner suffers is huge. And often s/he feels s/he must keep it boxed up, put on a shelf for later; not to be shared with the ill partner for fear of overtaxing him/her.

The caregiver has not only lost the partner s/he knew, along with the dream of a predictable future, but s/he has also lost his/her best friend and confidante.

Caregivers -- to what extent do you share your stress, your burdens, your worries, your reality with your ill partner? If you have, what has been the result, for you and for your ill partner? If you don't share your stress with your ill partner, what do you do with it?

Does the PTSD of Illness & Pain Ever Go Away?

I developed tendonitis in my right wrist -- probably from using an external mouse on my computer. I saw a doctor. Got a removable splint to wear and was told not to strain my wrist. No big deal, and no PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).

A few day later, I sliced open two fingers on a sharp metallic edge of a tray I did not notice was so sharp. Blood gushed. I could see the fat layer of my fingers. I used the voice (you know the one. We all have it in serious situations where obedience is required and no questions are to be asked) to tell Richard - I need you to drive me to the emergency room, now.

I was fine during the waiting and the stitching. I joked with the doctor, got to know her life story, gave her recommendations for local restaurants.

Then, over the next few days, I was either hyper or low-per -- unable to sit for more than two minutes or unable to get out from under the fleece blanket and off the couch. I either felt feathery, as if gravity were not strong enough to hold me down; or I felt compressed & dense, as if I were the center of a cosmic black hole.

I was hypervigilant about the wound -- checking it a few times an hour to see if there were any signs of infection or to see if a stitch had come loose. I held my fingers under a fluorescent light. I examined them with a magnifying glass.

Within the course of a ten day period, I made two visits to the surgical physician's assistant and two more to after hours care. I was sure something had gone wrong.

As I was experiencing all this, I also had the awareness to ask myself if my excessive scrutiny might not be a leftover from the terrible fear of things going wrong that chronic pain can infuse into one's very cells. The answer was - Yes. I knew my behavior reeked of PTSD; but I couldn't stop it. I needed repeated confirmation that everything was OK.

In fact, one doctor I saw told me there were no signs of infection. But a few days later, the surgical physician's assistant I saw confirmed that I did have an infection, still in its early stages. I was relieved she caught it. But the misdiagnosis only reinforced my watchfulness.

Now, about three weeks after the finger slicing, I am calming down. I trust it's healing, as it was meant to do.

But when will the PTSD of living with pain finally heal?

Natural ways blood pressure can be controlled

My blood pressure has now returned to its normal level. This may have been helped by the garlic supplement, or by drinking the correct amount of fluid each day, ( see my earlier post ) or it could be that the drug Ramipril is now starting to work.

If the above had not worked then I had intended to start taking the herb Hawthorn, I still may do this but I do not want to mix it with Garlic. Hawthorn is a shrub and its berries contain many active flavonoid compounds. Hawthorn can dilate and relax coronary vessels, reducing blood pressure and improving blood supply to the heart, and therefore beneficial in the prevention and treatment of angina.

It may not be wise for me to take Hawthorn at the moment, because of taking Ramipril and garlic as this may lower my blood pressure by too much, symptoms of this are nausea and feeling faint.

TheValue of Depression & Anxiety

From an article by Dr. Xavier Amador in the Huffington Post. He argues that depression & anxiety have distinct benefits. They cause us to connect with each other.

What do you think?
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"Early in its development I was asked by the producers of the PBS Program "This Emotional Life" to consult with them about their examination of human emotions. One thing I recall saying to them at the outset was that our species evolved to feel a wide range of emotions-including some negative emotions--that served to connect us to one another. I remember one producer being surprised when I said this. She smartly asked "How can depression or anxiety help propagate our species?" ..........My comment was aimed at everyday episodes of depressed mood which, I argued, are normal and exist for a reason. They cause us to connect. When we are sad, people reach out to us and we feel the desire to be held, cared for, loved. Anxiety often has the same effect. And when we come together we can then pursue common causes such as the search for food, creating shelter, defense against predators -- our genes survive and are passed on to the next generation."

Why is my blood pressure so high?

My blood pressure has been very high since my doctor changed my medication to Ramipril 5mg, the last reading at my GP was 165/102. I am trying to reduce using natural remedies such as Niacin 100mg per day (vitamin B3), and Garlic supplements 1000mg per day. I don't think it helps that I am stressed out all the time.

I read that drinking water may help, as this would flush out some of the sodium from my body so I decided to give it a try. I took my own blood pressure reading and it was 160/99, still far too high. I then drank a glass of water, after ten minutes I took another reading which was 153/93, a little better. I then drank another glass of water. After ten more minutes I took another reading which was 145/89.

The water seems to be helping although it could be that I needed the fluid anyway. I would be interested to hear other comments from people that may have tried using water to reduce their blood pressure. Please follow me if you find this post interesting. Thank you.



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What is Your New Year's Resolution to Your Partner?

This time of year talk shows and articles are full of discussions about New Year's resolutions. They tend to be pledges one makes to oneself about oneself. Pledge such as:

• exercise more
• eat healthier foods
• give up smoking
• be more assertive
• start a blog
• live a more green lifestyle
• etc., etc.

But what resolutions do you want to make to your partner, about your relationship? These are the harder ones to reveal and to keep. They involve exposing deeper, more emotional frailties and making commitments out loud to another person.

Would you resolve to:

• Listen with an open heart
• Accept your partner's invisible pains as real and not as malingering
• Appreciate (out loud) all the caretaking your partner does for you
• Find more ways to play and have fun together
• Instead of shrinking into your shell, reach out and tell your partner what's bothering you
• Just hold each other more
  

• What would you add to this list?