Friday, April 29, 2016

Fleece diet

One of the members of a knitting group I belong to went on a yarn diet. She forbade herself to buy any new yarn until she had used up all of her stash. Well I have put myself on a fleece diet. I am working my way through the fleeces that I already have before purchasing any new ones. I' not even going to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I'll really miss it, but if I just can't handle the diet, I can hop over to the Great Lakes Fiber show, May 28-29. Hopefully my Etsy shop will slowly fill with all of the yarn I will be making : )

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Update On Treating Fibromyalgia with Teasel Root Tincture

To see my previous posts on this topic go here.

I made some teasel root tincture and took it three times a day for six weeks. I started out taking three drops three times a day and upped the dosage until for the last couple of weeks I was taking about ten to fifteen drops three times a day.

Has it helped? My cautious answer is, yes. I say "cautious answer" because although I have been feeling really good, I don't want to subscribe it to the tincture just yet. If I continue feeling good for a good long time, then, yes, I believe it is the work of the tincture. I tried the tincture last summer, around July,  and I felt really well until the end of December/January. I'm hoping this time around I will continue to feel well for several months, too.

Am I cured? No. There is less pain, yes, but what it really seems to help with is the gumption factor. I feel like doing more, I have more energy, and my mind is clear of that fog that sometimes descends. There are still days where everything hurts, but it's not as severe. Things have sort of leveled out.

Last August, after taking the tincture, I completed the Akron Marathon with my family as a relay. I walked my leg of the relay, and it was the shortest leg, but the point is, I felt well enough to train for and walk the 3.4 miles at a very brisk pace. I continued with the walking until I started to feel bad again in December/January. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm walking again. I won't be doing the marathon again this year, but I have the energy now to help my daughter with her wedding planning - which, believe me, takes a lot of energy.

You still can't over-do things. You can feel when your limit is coming on, at least I can. Sometimes I can do that extra loop around the park, and sometimes I can't, but at least I was able to get out there and do that first one, or two!

So would I recommend teasel root tincture to help with your fibromyalgia? Yes. Be sure to stick with it for the whole six weeks. You may not begin to feel results until the last week. And do your research. Learn about teasel root and what it is used for.

Teasel root tincture can be purchased or, if you are confident about your plant identification skills, you can make your own. Remember that you must use the first year plant which is low to the ground, not the second year plant, which is the one that grows tall and flowers. It's not hard to make tinctures, research how to do it. I used the fresh root, but some might prefer to use the dry root. I ground my roots up in a food processor with a bit of very high-proof vodka, then put it in a jar, covering the ground root with vodka. When you've done this, place your jar in a dark place like a closet and shake it once or twice a day for two weeks. Then strain the roots out, giving them a good squeeze to get all of the goodness out, strain it once more through a coffee filter, and voila! You've got tincture.

If you try teasel root tincture, I hope you have good results, too. If you have Lyme disease and are on medication for Lyme cysts, do not take teasel root tincture, as that particular medication should never be taken with alcohol. Please do your research before taking the tincture. And good luck!