When the cure causes the disease

One of my TMS equivalents has been psoriasis. I've had since I was a teen and have used medicated shampoo since then. (Unless of course, I care to have my scalp turn into an awful, painful mess complete with the horrifyingly embarrassing dandruff. Yeah, that's just what a teen girl loves to have when Head and Shoulders ad campaigns is teaching us how shameful it is.)

I've been experimenting with going shampoo free (google it…it's not as disgusting as it sounds!) or using only mild/natural shampoos.

My results? My hair has become more healthy looking and my scalp has never been better. Oh, a few little flares here and there but nothing like the ongoing battle I had when using costly prescription shampoo.

Then this head slapping revelation occurred to me. The "cure" is what was causing my dis-ease. The medicated shampoo and years of frustrations, compliments of TMS, were fueling this entire script.

I thought of the other TMS tools that feed the pain script: orthotics, pillows, or any other thing used to help the equivalents.

And of course, the media is ever so busy creating cures for maladies they've invented themselves.

The insanity just staggers me!

 

That is just great, North Star! And think of how much money we are saving without having all those special items. I'm saving lots by not buying expensive nutritional supplements. And yesterday I bought a new furnace filter. Normally, I would get the expensive one that eliminates all allergens, but this time I just got the cheap-o one because I know my allergy symptoms are just TMS.

It's great to no longer be a consumer of snake-oil and its equivalents!

 

Ellen, I know longer buy a pile of supplements either. It feels wonderful…and my budget thanks me.

Speaking of special items. I was talking with a person the other day who has severe TMS but doesn't know it. She is constantly chasing the latest cure. I could feel my stomach churn when she told me of her latest discovery - a new alternative medicine machine. "I just sit there and they run the machine. And they're SOOOOO nice there!"

Yeah, I'd be sooooo nice too. She told me that the sessions are only $125 each but if you buy a pack of 10, you get a discount and it's only $800. "I'm feeling so much better!" Uh yeah. For how long?

My limited budget while raising a family has at least spared me from placebos of that financial magnitude!

 

North Star - you really hit the nail on the head!! I have been there, done that with special shampoo, supplements, etc. Boy how mass media feeds our TMS.

 

I could do a lot with $800, like pay some bills or donate to my favorite charities: sick kids and animals in danger.

I prefer to let TMS and God heal me first.

 

Oh, yeah, Chickenbone! I'm still uncovering little artifacts from my pre TMS days. Ointments, hand support sort of things, massagers…they either go in the garbage or to charity. I wonder how much I've spent over the years? If I included what insurance has paid for, I'm sure the amount reaches into the stratosphere.

And speaking of $$, Walt, I had to strain to keep a straight face when she told me that so casually as though she was telling me about milk being on sale at the supermarket. We've gone though some very lean times these past few years…I probably would have brought groceries and some new clothes for my kids if I had that change laying around.

Cost of TMS healing - a few books and a few meditation apps for my iPod. Maybe $50? To say nothing of the TIME savings by not going to therapy appointments.

Grateful me.

 

The last few months I have been using Mane and Tail shampoo .... yes, shampoo for horses! My thin hair has become stronger. What natural/mild shampoo are you using?

Along this line, I do not use deodorant, which is very dangerous to the body. I use cornstarch and baking soda mix, and it has been amazing. No odor, and soaks up moisture nicely. I may have to apply it a couple times a day, but it's worth it.

I have a question on supplements - being a vegetarian, it is harder for me to get the B vitamins. When I am tired, is like a shot of energy (sometimes better than caffeine). Do you think the 'need' for B's is exaggerated? Will this, too, become unnecessary as I travel this path?

with grace and gratitude,
^_^

 

Mane and Tail is a nice shampoo; my daughter uses it. I've been using Dr. Bronner's liquid soap. It's mild and doesn't strip the natural oils out of my hair and I'm stretching out the days between using shampoo. It has really made a difference for me and in a small way, I feel like I've taken another step toward independence from the marketing ploys that shape so much of our behaviors.

I've read about the deodorant toxicity too…can't quite ditch that yet. No one would want to be around me. haha

The supplement thing has been something I've thought long and hard about. I've taken a handful of supplements daily for years. Including some that were in 3 doses throughout the day. Talk about a preoccupation with my body!

My last and final visit to my naturopath really jarred me. She had asked to see what I take so I brought the bottles in (mainly stuff from Costco) and I muttered how it was a little embarrassing at all the stuff I took. (At that time my regimen was Omega 3, B complex, multi, and D3. At times I've added in other things.)

She looked at me with surprise. "That's not a lot. Most of my clients take way more." My strained budget was even more strained by the time I left as she sent me off with a handful of supplements/homeopathy.

My conflicts were many. How has mankind survived as long as we have before the days of $20-40 bottles of supplements? How many old people are alive and well that have never taken any supplements? Are our bodies so weak that we need all this stuff? How much is placebo effect?

But I tried to keep an open mind. And honestly…after a few weeks, I felt no different. I also found it mildly amusing too that the chinese herb that was supposed to, uh, I can't remember, but I had stopped taking it because the taste was so foul and would linger for hours. Anyhoo. She declared it a success when she looked at my tongue. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had stopped taking it. (We see what we want to see, eh?)

I can rationalize the importance of taking some supplements. And solidly too! I take D3 because of the shortened day light in winter. I believe the B complex has been helpful in calming my nervous system. The multi assures me that my body is getting the nutrients I may miss.

What has changed in me though is obsessing over this stuff. I think there IS some placebo effect with these things…if we allow it to be. I'm hit or miss with taking my vitamins now and it is no longer a preoccupation with me….much like my symptoms can be a preoccupation.

And I'm also a lot less stressed simply because I'm not spending dollars that I really shouldn't be spending. Actually, I'd it was a source of anger and resentment toward my body. (How's that for "rational"?)

Okay…back to your B vitamin question. (Forgive my ramblings.) My naturopath gave me a B shot. I felt nothing. But I also noticed the dose she gave me…it was quite small. Back in my nursing days, I gave a lot of those injections and it was several milligrams. Patients swore by them up and down. I could even see their cheeks flush with color.

Placebo or science? A bit of both?

For me, I'll continue to take my B complex. And actually, just yesterday I bought some B6 because it's supposed to help you program dreams, according to this doc. If it was $20/bottle I wouldn't have bought it. But it was $6 and I've been experimenting with dreams so I thought I'd give it a try.

Those be my thoughts.

 

North Star, I know what it's like to live on very little.
It's amazing how far we can make a buck go.
I've shopped at a lot of thrift stores for clothes and kitchenware,
and more at garage sales.
Friends say they love my old furniture and I tell them it's mostly from
garage sales. I even got my first dog at a porch sale, for $5.

As a freelance writer for 40 years I've let or below poverty level,
but I've told my dogs when we drive along the streets of mansions,
"We are rich. We just don't have any money."

Being healthy is the richest.

We TMSers know that.

 

I take Muscle Aid for b vitamins. Powder you mix with water. Citrus taste. Better absorbed by the body than pills.

 

Walt, long before we had kids we decided I would stay home with the kids. We'd joke about how we'd eat top tamen and rice if we needed to.

Many bowls of rice and top ramen later…and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Most of our friends are way ahead of us financially but we feel far richer because I've been able to stay home. People have marveled that we've been able to live on one income - it's an oddity today. But between thrift and little bit of horse trading here and there, we've done okay. I'm especially pleased that my kids know how to stretch a nickel and think creatively.

 

I buy my shampoo at the dollar store. It's soap and something and I haven't gone bald yet.

Cosmetics are so expensive. I don't know how women can afford any of it.
Lipstick and scent cost a week's groceries for me.

Poor as we were during the 1930s Great Depression, my mother always found a few bucks
to buy Coty's Emeraude. I don't think my father or we kids noticed.
We would have noticed and complimented her if she made a batch of apple fritters we
could have with syrup. I still remember the Log Cabin tin container the syrup came in.

 

Forest…too much information? Nah! Your comment made me chuckle considering the intimate nature of some of the things we all chat about here. So you're fine.

I can stretch my shampoo to every fourth day. I am truly amazed at how the body adapts. But my biggest thrill is the improved condition of my scalp. And no…my hair looks perfectly fine. No bugs flying around it or green fumes emanating from my head. haha

I'm pretty sure I don't have any Asian blood in me. When I exercise I'm dripping in sweat. And if I forget my deodorant uh…well, that's not something to discuss in polite company. :stinkyfeet:

 

Interesting topic ..... I have to agree with too much hygiene. A number of years ago, I contracted MRSA (open cut on my hand and I was giving my dad a mani.... he apparently had it). Quite a horrific experience and it came back two more times over the course of 4 months. During all this, I was seeing a specialist where I basically learned that we are too clean. Too much soap, shampoo, sanitizer ........ and don't rely on our body's natural defense. Now, I completely bathe generally every other day, unless overly physically active and wash my hair every 2-3 days. I use Dr. Bronners (love lavender) or Purpose (non-soap bar).

 

A literal metaphor of don't scratch the itch?

 

Seems like a common sense response. Glad you're finding a better haircare routine.