I have recently dove head first into the world of essential oils. Some of you know that my day job is in the pharmaceutical/biotech realm and the contrast between my day job and the implementation of essential oils may seem incongruent and to others of you it may make perfect sense.
To this story, I add a piece of history. When I was in high school and volunteering at a local hospital because I dreamed of going to medical school, I had a positive PPD (the skin test for exposure to tuberculosis), in short, it was determined that I had latent tuberculosis and the doctors decided to put my on a drug known as INH (Isoniazid).
At the time, they believe that patients should be on the INH therapy for two years in order to be effective. During the time I was on this treatment, I experienced most of the side effects listed on the package insert (fainting, dizziness, numbness and tingling in the extremities, fever, upset stomach, excessive tiredness, weakness, lack of energy, loss of appetite and on at least one occasion, convulsions. The doctor's response was loosely " just take the medicine at night so most of the effects hit you at night during your sleeping hours." Fast forward 11 months and the rules for INH therapy had changed and it had been determined that 9 months were likely to be as effective as the previously supported two year therapy and I was removed from the therapy and received my INH completion card.
Fast forward a few years and I began to suffer from chronic back pain and migraines, so debilitating that some days I could not bring myself to get out of bed. Fast forward some more and you see me gain 40lbs and have headaches so severe that on top of the migraines, I have an unending residual tension headache and spend a lot of time crying from the pain. I saw general practitioners, physical therapists, neurologists and they all just threw more pharmaceuticals at my and six weeks of traction which just exacerbated the situation. I eventually went to a chiropractor for the first time who deduced that all the fainting, dizziness, convulsions, etc. from the INH had caused so much trauma to my spine that I had developed vertebral subluxations which are when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. the subluxations were so bad that i had lost some of the natural curvature in my spine and the nerve disturbance so sever that the chiropractic stated that he was amazed that I was not suicidal. I wasn't ... thankfully. However, I had reached my breaking point. I was a finishing up college at San Diego State University when my dance professor saw how much pain I was in and introduced me to her husband who would become my acupuncturist. That man literally saved my life! This was my introduction to a more naturalistic approach to self-care and overall healthcare. He introduced me to Chinese herbs and supplements and through my time getting to know him and his family, I learned more about the importance of whole foods. I could write a whole separate post about that altogether, but the point is that was tipping point in my life. That's when the history of medicinal herbs and foods and the centuries old practices of energy healing came into focus for me and became my first approach to everything.
Let me be clear, science is amazing and there have been some remarkable advancements in western medicine. I am not by any means belittling western medicine. My point is that I believe strongly that there is a time and place for both naturalistic approaches and the more scientifically or technologically driven approaches. Yin and Yang when in balance.
So many years later I meet my husband, he suffers from chronic pain due to a life of ruff and tumble and jobs that require brute strength combined with endurance. He's been hard on him. Ever since I have known him it has been whiskey every night and anti-inflammatories or extended-release pain meds during the day ... just to get him through the aches and pains of being in his own skin. i of course with my own experience and reading drug side effects everyday worry about what that could be doing to his body in the long run.
When we had our daughter, we were blessed to have a healthy baby - she did have a bit of colic, but no reflux, no chronic ear infections, no diaper rash or yeast infections, she didn't even really spit up much, but when she was 15 months old she had her first febrile seizure. It lasted seven minutes and I thought my heart might just break into a gazillion pieces. We learned later that they are benign and she will likely outgrow them, but that we need to manage her fevers when she gets them very aggressively ... which means acetaminophen and ibuprofen, cool wash clothes, light clothing, and occasionally cool baths. That's when I started hearing people recommending peppermint oil on the feet of babes to help reduce fevers. My interest was piqued, but I honestly didn't move on it until she had another seizure and another. She's had three now that we know of ... each one different, each one I feel like I might just die watching her little body seize and jerk.
This was about the same time that my husband was developing a hand injury from his 'hands on' work and was in another level of pain that also happened to interfere with his everyday functioning. Imagine not being able to pour a cup of coffee because your hand gets stuck in the gripped position around the coffee pot handle. Frustrating!
That's when the essential oil conversation got louder and louder in my world. I began to listen and do my research and that's when I was introduced to Young Living Essential Oils. I sat down with some friends who had integrated essential oils (EOs) into their lives. Their testimonials were inspiring, exciting, and promising. I read more, asked more and I decided to try and integrate EOs into my life.
Since we have started using EOs, I have found a combination of EOs that my husband applies topically to reduce body pain and another one for headaches. He has since reduced his intake of ibuprofen by 95%. I have used peppermint oil in combination with pharmaceutical fever reducers to get my daughter's fevers down in less time with less need for rescue medications.
Oh and did I mention that she was suffering also from chronic nosebleeds (sometimes 3 a day) which have been reduced by 99% since I started using geranium oil on the bridge of her nose twice a day.
My husband and my daughter both fall asleep quicker and stay asleep more peacefully since using lavender and cedarwood oils on them every night. And I avoided a swollen ankle and days of an awkward uncomfortable gait after I took a tumble and twisted my ankle by simply applying lemongrass oil to my hurt ankle.
I friend suffering hair loss is seeing increased regrowth after I made her a blend of EOs. All of this accomplished with a reduced presence of pharmaceuticals in our life. Again, I am not anti-pharma. I work in pharma ... it's my day job, but I am an advocate for safe medications, patient-centric medicine and a healthy lifestyle.
So when people ask me why I am so passionate about EOs, Less pain and suffering for my groom and my daughter all due to a naturalistic, less toxic approach to treating what ails us. I have been on the receiving end of the side effects from pharmaceuticals, those risks aren't to be taken lightly. Sometimes the risks are outweighed by the potential benefit, but why take that gamble when it's not necessary.
