Good Ole Home Remedies

Hello again, Juan Day Readers,

Today's blog post is regarding a wart.  Yes, a darned, lowly wart, which I discovered on my pinky toe about a month ago and will blame on the Chemo, or the Rituximab, or both, heheh...

When I first saw it there I thought, oh-oh, here we go, an onslaught of warts are surely to come, given me and my suppressed immune system, so I asked P to hit the pharm and get the latest 'n greatest anti-wart treatment, which was a home freezing kit that looked pretty promising.

Before trying it though, (as is the tradition ; ), I googled home remedies for wart removal and came across one that took my fancy due to its non-intrusive nature. The home freezing method would have quite possibly caused an infection during the healing process--again, due to the immuno-suppression, so I was less than keen to jump to it.

The method?  Duct tape.  Yup, good ollllle duct tape.  What you do is place a small piece on the wart and then cover with a band-aid, (keeps it in place in high summer heat, I found), occasionally, gently filing the wart down, re-tape it and keep at that for two weeks.

The result?  Well, I'll just show ya's as I was MORE than impressed with this painless, passive and perfect method--that took yes, exactly two weeks.

Here's the pinky toe now, completely wart-free with only a shallow crater and brand new skin on the spot the wart once occupied:

What's inspiring about this little story is that my immune system responded exactly the way a healthy one would via this treatment--which apparently helps the body locate the virus to drive it outta Dodge.

The duct tape works also by depriving the wart of oxygen, which all viruses need to survive.

So boom, there it is and toe-life is good again.

Hope it'll work too for anyone out there with a wart situation, as opposed to freezing, or for more pesky cases, utterly painful injections of anti-Cancer meds right into the warts.  I have a friend, (who is also on immunosuppressing drugs), who had that done on multiple warts and said it was probably the most pain she's ever had to endure--and this lady's a trooper, too.

And with that, I bid you all a lovely August day out there.

+++vibes,

: J

Movin' on Up AGAIN!!!

Hello again, dear Readers,

Today is a very special day for a couple of reasons and they're both so sweet I don't know which one to share first!

Let's start with these lil kidney beans o' mine.  As of the latest blood work done, I am now the official owner of a brand new and markedly improved kidney filtration rate, (aka GFR), which has gone from 34 last month to a smokin' 41!!!

I'm still in Stage 3b of Chronic Kidney Disease, but alas, no longer "barely in there", like it has been for soooo long.  I'm smiling still and have been since picking up the results an hour ago, teeheeeeeeee!

Now, onto the 2nd bit of great news, and that is in regards to my electrolytes and my potassium levels in particular.  After a month of eating a number of "no-no's", on the Renal diet, (IE: beans, chickpeas, dark leafy greens like spinach, a few cherry tomatoes and even ALMONDS, (which was an UBER-treat after not having any for 7+ months and a staple in my former life), I was beside myself with joy to see that my K-count was STILL TOTALLY NORMAL!!!

This means that those fat little fava beans I bought, (currently soaking and soon to be cooked into Nirvana), will not only be enjoyed but celebrated, as I can continue to eat more damned normally!

What's extra great is that since I'm now vegetarian, I no longer have to worry about getting my much needed protein, (as I must limit fish and whole eggs due to cholesterol), from potassium-rich pulses and oh-so missed almonds and walnuts too.

Granted, all in calculated doses of course, counting every nut and never going too crazy on the portions with the beans etc., but WOW, this all means so much to me as with all the restrictions in my diet, this new loosening of the potassium-belt is just beyond welcome.

Can't wait to share this new GFR with my dear nephrologist cousin in Milano, he will be pleased!

I'm guessing that during all the time I was getting chemo, the Vasculitis was continuing to vie for position in my body and was, even though suppressed, still nibbling away at my kidneys. Now that I'm solidly in blessed remission from that disease and have been since late June, these sweet lil beans are now free to profit from everything I do to help them.  That's my theory anyway.

And on that note, IT'S LUNCH TIIIIIME!!!  On the menu: gorgeous white beans with a little white rice, garlic, spices and PLENTY of yummo arugula.

As always, ++++vibes and thanks for reading,

: J