I have about 5 conditions that Frankincense helps directly, but it's so expensive to get the doTerra brand, which can be taken internally. I got a cheaper brand for external use but it doesn't do much. Poor quality I guess. Almost everything I use is natural. Happy to not have the toxic side effects of prescriptions. I react so badly to most prescriptions.
Thank you! Yes the essential oils are extremely expensive. I’ve been looking at different ones…too bad insurance companies didn’t help with these since most use them for medicinal purposes.
Thankfully at the moment we can afford to get frankincense that I can take internally. There are so many oils that help with so much it is amazing. My doctor swears that it is the oils that pulled me through the septic shock and kept the infection under control until they could find it. Of course he is a bit old fashion and believes that chicken soup is better for a cold than pharmaceuticals, specially if served by a loving mom.
It's amazing to have a Dr. that lets you try alternative treatments, isn't it?
i scan most of the answers and did not see what i like to add from my own experience. What i found out is that the fog can be caused by medications prescribed. Each person can be different and since it sounds like you have negative reactions to many meds ...you might want to slowly get off all and then enter them one by one...of course do this with your doctor's help and advice.
Prednisone and narcotics are especially bad and you get worse if you add drugs like muscle relaxants. At least for myself this is true, in fact i cannot take muscle relaxants with my narcotic pain medication as it is just too much and my body including my brain get all screwed up.
You might ask the specialist why he will not prescribe what he normally would .. is it due to reactions you have had or feels you might be on many drugs already etc... I have had many doctors of various specialties tell me that being on even 3 drugs is a lot and i do understand where they come from...more interactions we can have within the drugs themselves.
As to not taking meds at all, i think this is very possible choice for those that have not so serious case of SLE or are in remission or just a good place. I have gone times without taking lupus drugs and been okay and other times where i had too if i wanted to keep an organ. But i do try to take natural inflammatories and think that is excellent choice for all of us ...to try and get off as many drugs as possible is always helpful for your body and your mental wellbeing.
good luck and hope you do find out about your mental fog and if it truly lupus or due to the drugs you are taking...even not eating healthy i found can cause it. but i do wish you the best and get how frustrating it is to not think well.
OH many pain drugs if you are too high dose can cause one to feel that mental fogginess too.
The reason for not wanting to prescribe them is because of my adverse reactions to so many of the drugs they tried me on while in the hospital. Also the fact that a baby aspirin would kill me. I can only start a new medication while being watched by a doctor. Every new prescription means over night in the hospital and daily check ups for a week. My pain killer is 1/2 a 25mg percoset and the muscle relaxer is 1/2 a 2mg valium. Either one of those will knock me out pretty good. As you can see I'm on some really high dosages of medications. To give you an idea how bad my reactions can be. I was given 1/4 of a dose flu shot and spent a week in the icu.
I have had so much fatigue, brain fog (I call them fugues), memory problems, etc. I am on Plaquinel and other things; however, my doctor put me on Adderal for the severe fatigue and it has not only helped my fatigue (I still get tired, but not on the scale of before--I can function being tired), but it has helped my brain fog and memory problems. It's not perfect, but I feel so much like my old self, it's strange.
Anyway, my life has improved immensely.
Using some of the recommended oils I'm improving daily. I almost believe I'll get through this and then out of nowhere the pain hits, a 15 on a scale from 0 to 10. I feel like someone put me in a dryer full of boulders for a tumble dry. I can't even say where the pain starts. I'm feeling fine and suddenly wham, I'm in screaming pain. Is this something anybody else has? How do you handle it?
Doggie,
I don't have much pain, and I'm so sorry you go through this. I hope you find answers.
Yes, that's every day life for me and most lupus patients, and when it hits, we have to sit down or lay down NOW! It's often what keeps us at home. We each find our own answers. I am so impressed with krill oil after only 10 days of taking it. It's anti-inflammatory properties has helped in so many ways, but lupus has damaged my body so badly after 40+ years that now I am allowed to have some strong pain meds at home. When I am out, I have to use a rollator walker. I avoided it for years due to embarrassment, but decided I had no other choice. So when it hits, I can sit down, or sit down every so often to avoid a bad pain session. And it's weird how it hits body wide, like being hit by a truck, but it does. When I first had lupus, pantothenic acid (just B5, but not called B5) was a great help. A university football team Dr. taught me about it and said it keeps his players off of pain meds, because it dissolves the lactic acid that causes pain in our muscles after a workout or injury. He told me that 500 mg every 5 hours is safe. Then when my pain was no longer just muscles, but nerves, I added vit D (heals the whole central nervous system) and vitamin B complex that dissolves under your tongue and sinks into the blood vessel there. (It heals nerve endings). During unbearable pain from trigeminal neuralgia, one of the worst pains a human can experience, one of the things they suggested was an anxiety pill, not because it has anything to do with anxiety, but because it calms nerve endings. Then I ended up on strong pain meds for that pain and other pain that is neither simply muscle or nerve related.
Hi everyone.
I was just reading Sheila's post. I know what you mean by "lay down NOW'. Sometimes I feel like I will pass out if I don't. Had knee replacement surgery 3 weeks ago and the recovery is doing well, if it wasn't for the fatigue. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Cindy
Hi again where do you get these oils??
Cindy
Cindy, Doggie and I were talking about the doTerra oils that are the only ones that can be taken orally are sold through private representatives. My daughter can help you find one near you. I just saw on your page where you live. Add me as a friend and I'll send you the representative's number when I get it.
I believe there are only two companies in the USA that sells oils that are safe for internal use. Both are sold by individual distributors. If you want to check out the one I get mine from I'll send you a message with its name and its websit. I use some of their blends and they have been a big help. From what I understand that doTerra is a bit cheaper though. They haven't got as many oils or blends or the research department as the company I buy from. I have heard good things and bad things about both companies so I wouldn't feel right recommending one over the other.
Sheila
Luckily I pushed the right button and accepted you as a friend.
Thanks
Cindy
Great!
Hi, everyone. Please do be safe and talk with your doctors if you’re considering taking supplements. They may be natural, but that does not mean they are not potentially dangerous. Also be sure to talk to your doctors when it comes to either stopping or not taking Lupus medications. Your doctors are best able to advise you as they are medical professionals and are knowledgable in treating Lupus and know your medical histories.
I have talked to my doctor. Since I can't take the medications normally used to treat lupus he is working with me and keeping track of things using what the doctors at the research clinic recommend. I have terrible allergic reactions to most chemically derived medications. In 2012 I spent 8 months in the hospital for something that should have only been 2 months because of all the allergic reactions I had to the medications they tried. He would rather I didn't have to spend too much time back in the hospital.
I wouldn't take anything without talking to my PCP and Rheumy. I'm still slowly recovering from my total knee replacement. It's not going as fast as I would like but they say I am doing great.
Hope everyone had a great Hliday weekend.
Cindy
For you Doggie!
