smoking Archives | Natural Health with Merrilyn Hope

On-Going Chest Pain Is It Lung Cancer?

A Wee Panic In My Breastie

At the beginning of the year, when we had just so much rain, my lungs began to hurt. This was also around the time when Saturn went Retrograde, and, unbeknown to me, that my son was suffering the effects of cancer which he suspected he might have. It turned out that, as well as having tumours about the throat, he had a large tumour in the chest.

http://merrilynhope.com/roundup-herbicide-causes-severe-candidiasis/ Read this post also: RoundUp weedkiller can cause chest pain and flu-like symptoms.

So, while I was worried that I may have lung cancer, because of the pain in the chest, my son actually DID have cancer in the chest area.

He had the operation for thyroid cancer only several weeks ago. His chest was opened up at the same time to remove the tumour there, which involved an 8 hour operation. We had no idea about the chest tumour until after the operation, but I think I may have sensed his problem on a psychic level. It could be that I manifested chest pains in sympathy for his chest problem. It seems interesting to me that my chest has healed since Saturn has again gone Direct, at the same time my son had the operation which removed the chest tumour.

Since around January, which was the month my son made several visits to me before his thyroid cancer was diagnosed, my lungs had felt as if they were congested. Saturn had gone Retrograde. There was an ongoing pain, but no infection came to dislodge the lump I felt was harboured there. The feeling of suffocation was often with me, and I was often short of breath. I wondered about the health of my heart.

There was a very sore specific spot on the left side, deep within the chest, which the pain seemed to be radiating from. It was the exact same spot which used to hurt when I was a smoker, which was the main reason I gave up the second-time around, around the age of 50. The first ‘give-up’ of smoking came when I was a young woman, expecting my first child. After that, I did not smoke for 25 years, until I succumbed again to the seductive habit. Giving up smoking the second time around, without a family to spur me into quitting, was very, very difficult. But eventually, I did it.

Back to 2012: I was so concerned, as the pain was so severe at times, that I went along to the doctor to organize a chest X-Ray. It was still a possibility that I could have developed lung cancer as a result of chain smoking not so long ago. Anyway – I got the the X-Ray done, and was very pleased to find out the outcome. It showed no sign of lung cancer, but the lungs were ‘hyper-ventilated’, to use the doctor’s term.

I don’t like X-Rays, because they are harmful in themselves, and damage cell tissue. I thought it would be a good idea to do just the one, to see what the state of my lungs was like, establish whether or not I had cancer, and then get onto an intensive natural therapy of my own to restore the health of my lungs.
I decided that whatever the outcome, I would ‘go natural’. So –

Mainly Raw Food Diet: Two grated raw apples eaten at one sitting, either in the morning, or as the main meal in the evening. I cooked plenty of vegetable and mung bean curries, and ate these with a little rice. Plenty of onions were used in the vegetable curry, as well as plenty of hot spices such as red paprika, ginger and chilli. Onions are particularly helpful for all bronchial complaints. I ate carrots every day, since my friend Bernhard in Spirit had told me to use carrots daily, either grated raw, or cooked. I did not use any wheat, sugar, or cow’s milk during this time. I cut down on coffee, but did not cut it out completely. Soya milk substituted cow’s milk for the coffee.

Carrot and Apple Juice: I went out and bought a new juicer so that I could drink at least one cup each of carrot and apple juice per day. I sometimes added celery or cabbage juice to the carrot juice.

Anti-Viral Remedies: The same day I got the X-Ray done, I went out and bought a whole lot of supplements to tackle the problem. I bought a range of anti-oxidant products – Multi non-acidic Ester Vitamin C 1000mg – Fish Oil – Evening Primrose oil – and an olive-leaf preparation which had zinc and other minerals in it. We are generally all short of the mineral zinc in New Zealand, because our soil here is deficient in zinc, and also selenium. These two minerals are very important for the health of the immune system, metabolizing food properly, preventing cancer, and in keeping viruses at bay.

This olive-leaf mixture was recommended specifically as an anti-viral treatment. I felt I must have a viral infection, if I did not have cancer. I took the maximum dose which was recommended, and even had two or three doses on some days. By the time I had finished this anti-viral preparation, the chest pain was almost gone. I also took around 3000mg to 5000mg of the Ester C per day – for around two weeks, during the same period as using the olive leaf remedy. I alternated the Vitamin C with the olive leaf during the day so that I would get maximum benefit from each. Then I reduced the dose of the non-acidic Vitamin C 1000mg, to just one or two tablets per day. On each day, I also took one each of the fish oil and primrose oil capsules. I continued pumping in all of these things for several weeks, until the olive leaf mixture ran out. Then I relaxed the dose of everything.

After the olive leaf preparation ran out, I began a course of ginseng tablets, in combination with the Vitamin C, fish oil, and primrose oil treatment.

As well, I used a mentholated cinnamon and cedar preparation on my chest each night, with layers of wool, cotton, and a hot water bottle to cover the chest. This was a Malcoom Harker remedy – but simple eucalyptus and olive oil would do just as well if you cannot get the Malcom Harker.

Homeopathic Remedies: As well, I took homeopathic remedies to try and release the congestion in the chest. I found that Thuja taken for one week, and then a week off, when I sometimes used Bryonia, was helpful. On days when I felt exceptional grief or anxiety, for no apparent good reason at all, I took Arnica-Hypericum for a couple of days. This helped enormously in alleviating that wierd sense of less which had come over me.

I also took, occasionally – say every 2 weeks – yes – you have guessed it – castor oil. When I did not feel like taking castor oil, I sometimes used a tablespoon of Epsom salts in a couple of cups of warm water. Something like once or twice a week, for several weeks. I bathed the feet a few times in hot Epsom salts – about 2 tablespoons of salts to around a litre of water.

Finally, after around six weeks of this intensive treatment, the chest pain, which was on the left side, in the middle of the chest, and often radiating around to the back, disappeared completely. Then, quite suddenly, I ‘came down’ with flu, which I welcomed as a cleansing process to end the cycle of bewing unwell.

It is interesting to me that the ‘cure’ of the chronic chest pain happened just after Saturn went Direct, which was just after my son had his operation, and we found out about his extra chest surgery.

I think that it was a virus in my lungs which would not budge without the vitamin, homeopathic, and herbal aids.
Of course, it is possible that the thing might have run its course alone, and I might have gotten better without the naturopathic aids. But really, the thing went on for so many months I had lost count of how long I had had it, and was only concerned that the ‘wee panic in my breastie’ might be cancer.

I know several people who have had similar symptoms. I think it is some fierce new strain of virus which has adapted itself so that it can remain in our lungs more or less permanently – unless we summon up enough vital force to conquer it.

Finally getting a real flu, with its accompanying high fever, threw off the last vestiges of this virus. The chest pain which has been there for months, has disappeared completely, and so has the strange and intense feeling of grief. Praise God and my Angels for helping me to recover so well. And Praise God and the Angels for taking care of my son and seeing him through his operation.

I am sure that on a psychic level, I was tuning into my son’s illness within his chest, and his anxiety and feeling of gloom, and that this was probably the main reason for my getting such a chronic and mysterious illness.

Saturn Retrograde, combined with my environment, the rain, the winter, my son’s condition, all played a part in this sore chest of mine, I believe. My flat is all concrete – concrete floor, concrete walls, and no sun, which makes it very damp during the winter. These cold, damp conditions contributed to the persistent chest pain, I am sure. Should I move? Saturn is Direct again now. My son is getting better. Summer is only just around the corner, with all those hot, sunny, languid days on the beach ahead. Mmmmm…..Roll on summer.

My friend Bernhard who is in Spirit tells me that it is still important to use his acupuncture points for weak lungs. One very good one he has pointed out is on the wrist, just below the thumb. You can reach this point by interlocking the two thumbs together, and reaching out with your forefinger towards the wrist of the other hand. It will arrive at an indentation in the wrist which is the location of the Lung 7 point. You do both hands for this point. Hold the point for just 30 seconds. Then stop for 30 seconds. Then repeat on the same hand once more, for 30 seconds or up to a minute. Then rest for a minute. Then do the other hand, following the same procedure. Do morning and night.

Note about Cell Phones: My son who got the cancer in the chest and in the thyroid, used to often carry his cell phone in the left chest pocket – right over the heart area. This happens to be the same area where I was experiencing the pain. I hope he is not still putting his cell phone in his shirt pocket.

Note On Fukushima Radiation: Helen has just commented about the radiation levels in New Zealand at the moment. This was in response to my post Radioactive Pollution in New Zealand From Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. I must say that I have wondered this myself. Thankyou Helen for bringing this question up. Unfortunately, our environment is probably going to be contaminated from the effects of this nuclear disaster for several years to come. Radioactive pollution will be weakening our immune systems and causing all manner of mysterious symptoms and viral infections.

Read Merrilyn’s new post May 2013 entitled: Homeopathic Arsen Alb For NZ Flu May 2013. Also the one after that, entitled: Homeopathic Remedy Arsen Alb For Flu Allergies Asthma.

Giving Up Smoking

Why You Should Quit Smoking: Of course smoking is very bad for the health. You might get less colds and flu and enjoy a socially more active life while you are a smoker, but giving up smoking will give you benefits to your health which will far outweigh any positives for remaining a smoker. For a start, your life-span will surely be extended.

Smoking damages your eyesight. All that smoke drifting up past the delicate eye membranes actually causes damage to the nerves and the lens of the eye. The sinuses and ears are affected, and you lose your sense of smell.

Chronic Lung Disease results from long term smoking. Apart from the obvious damage to the lungs, the heart is affected, your veins get clogged, your blood pressure rises, you run the risk of getting arthritis if you do not already have it, and you are more likely to get cancer anywhere in the body than people who don’t smoke. If you smoke and also work in a toxic environment or use herbicides and pesticides, then you are more at risk of getting lung cancer, emphysema, melanoma, heart disease or some other degenerative disease than are non-smokers.

But giving up smoking can be so, so, difficult. Here are some suggestions which might be helpful in getting you on your way to recovery from smoking.

First, you need to change your mindset. Breathing exercises and meditation can help with this. Alternate Nostril Breathing is very good for people giving up smoking. This exercise, while being relaxing, oxygenates the blood and helps clear the lungs of toxins. Deep relaxation exercise such as Yoga Nidra is very good for the general physical and mental health, but also gives you the opportunity to visualize the improvements and changes you wish to make in your life while you are in a deeply relaxed state of mind. Regular, daily practice of yoga nidra where you state your affirmations to yourself, will really help you in giving up smoking. Other types of meditation are also helpful, as is regular prayer.

See my post on YOGA NIDRA and post on YOGA BREATH and SLEEPING WELL

The best thing is to give up drinking alcohol at the same time, or even before, you plan on giving up smoking. The two go together like a horse and cart. If you continue to drink, you will always feel there is something missing each time you have that glass of wine or that beer. But the other reason is that all alcohol is acid-forming and an acid body makes it very hard to give up smoking. This can be a good part of the reason we become addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. Changing the diet to an alkaline one, which includes most fruit and vegetables, is very helpful.

People with hypoglycaemia, that is, fluctuating blood sugar levels, might find it difficult to give up alcohol and smoking. A diet devoid of sugar, wheat and yeast products including bread, and dairy products is important in the case of people with low blood sugar levels. Yeast foods are problematic and are best left out of the diet as they contribute to people getting candida. Yeast foods include all alcohol, vinegar, tomato sauce, soya sauce and bread.

Brown rice should be substituted for bread. Rice is absorbed as sugar more slowly into the bloodstream which means that the blood sugar remains more constant. This is favourable to your health and your emotional state, as you will not feel so tired, depressed or inclined to take a cigarette. Another point in favour of substituting rice for bread, and other wheat-based foods like pasta, is that rice, especially brown rice, is less likely than wheat to make you fat.

Eat plenty of green vegetables, root vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, eggs , fish,whole grains like buckwheat and rice, and meats in moderate amounts. Eat at regular meal-times. Snack on nuts, almonds and a little dried fruit, or fresh fruit, raw carrots and celery during the day. Almonds are a good quality protein: half a dozen a day is a good amount to begin with, then you can increase the amount to about ten. The combination of nuts and fresh and dried fruits, carrots and celery, can be eaten whenever you have a craving for a cigarette and will not cause you to put on weight, so long as you are avoiding sugars, wheat and dairy products. Eating nuts and fruits etc during the day will help you prevent low-blood sugar which will help you in giving up smoking.

A diet insufficient in the essential vitamins and minerals can also make us less inclined to give up smoking. Insufficient intake of the essentials can leave us with a semi-permanent state of depression which alcohol and cigarettes – and coffee – temporarily relieve.

A booster of B complex vitamins is important to help with general health and improve your stress levels. Take the stated dose. Niacin is very good, but you do need to talk to a health professional about this one, as it can cause a sudden but temporary rise in temperature in some people. If you are able to take it, then it is very good for flushing toxins out of the brain: this effect also helps counteract depression and helps with memory loss.

1000mg of vitamin C morning and night is a good and safe detoxifyer as well as a mild sedative which will help counteract the desire for tobacco. If you do not have candida infection, then standard Vitamin C is fine, but calcium ascorbate is the best form to take, because it is alkaline.

Zinc, magnesium and selenium in moderate doses, all help to counteract stress, depression and the desire for a cigarette.

Homeopathy may be of help. Read about one remedy which has helped many people http://merrilynhope.com/homeopathic-remedy-to-reduce-craving-for-tobacco/

NOTE: Talk to your health professional to make sure these supplements are not conflicting with any other medication you may be on before you add these to your anti-smoking regime.

Richard Webster has devoted many years to helping people with behavioural problems, including people’s addiction to smoking. He published a booklet which accompanied some tapes called ‘Ezi-Stop’. This was published by Prestige Marketing 1995.

Richard recommends baking soda to keep the body alkaline. You can brush your teeth with it: a small amount is absorbed through the tissues of the mouth and into the bloodstream. This helps the body towards sustaining an alkaline p h level. Richard recommends putting a dab of baking soda onto the tongue whenever you have a craving for a cigarette. This helps negate the craving for nicotine.

NOTE: Richard also warns that baking soda should not be used by people who have high blood pressure or who are on low sodium diets. Baking soda is a salt and should not be used in these cases.

So, you are about to give up smoking, maybe for the umpteenth time. Richard recommends signing a contract with yourself- you agree with yourself, that on a certain day, at a certain time, you will throw the rest of the cigarettes away and become a non-smoker.
Make a list of all the benefits to your health and your budget.
Make a plan of what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and tea. Do not leave anything to chance, as you really need to take care of your blood sugar levels and make sure they do not fluctuate. Ensure that you have enough protein included in the diet and eat plenty of cooked greens, raw and cooked fruits, nuts and brown rice.
Eat at REGULAR times of the day – proper meals – sit down to eat, give thanks for the food and give thanks for being a non-smoker.
Eat your healthy snacks between meals -nuts, dried and fresh fruit and vegetables. DO NOT eat any sugar, wheat or dairy-food (butter is usually ok)during this period. It is best to cut these foods out for good. In my experience, it is when my health recovered after following such a diet for many years, that I relaxed my rules and let these problematic foods into my diet because I thought I was “cured” – not so – this caused a drastic decline in my health and I became addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. These days, I am following the old rules again – no sugar, bread, dairy products, except for butter.Consequently, my health is great, and praise God – I am neither a smoker or a drinker.
COFFEE – beware of drinking too much coffee, especially while you are giving up alcohol and cigarettes. Coffee is also addictive. Drinking too much coffee will dehydrate you and deplete your body of the much needed vitamin B and other vitamins and minerals which help you cope with stress. Excess coffee will give you bad skin as well as weaken your kidneys. Dehydration will make you inclined to drink alcohol and to smoke, both of which compound dehydration of the body tissues

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER while you are giving up smoking. Herb teas and green teas help with detoxifying, and make a pleasant and refreshing change to coffee and tea. Ceylon tea is an antioxidant and is good for the health in moderate amounts – but try to avoid putting milk into the tea. Milk in tea and coffee is possibly the most toxic way we take milk, as the milk solids are rendered indigestible by tannin. Tea with milk puts a strain on the liver because the livercannot process the plastic-like protein which results. Toxins then form in the intestine and are absosrbed into the bloodstream. The poor old liver then has to try to remove them.. This condition of perpetual poisoning can give us addictions to alcohol and cigarettes because these things temporarily disguise the symptoms of stress originating from the liver.

Remember your affirmations, your agreement to yourself and your YOGA NIDRA practice. Eat well. Sleep well.
Good wishes for your giving up smoking – don’t be discouraged if you “fall off the wagon” – simply start again being a non-smoker. Think of how great you are going to feel being a non-smoker. Think of the benefits to your life which you are already beginning to experience. Cut down – cut down – cut out.