Maybe you came across this post by fault or maybe you saw me on Instagram, YouTube or Facebook. If you do not know already, I am an advocate for the chronically ill community.
I have suffered with multiple autoimmune diseases since I was 18 years old. My main diagnosis is Rheumatoid Arthritis but I have also been diagnosed with Lyme's Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. For whatever reason, this diagnosis never sat well with me. Am in in denial? Maybe. In reality, the scientific basis that my doctors try to justify their hypothesis on...just doesn't make sense. Not just to me. Apparently, it doesn't make sense to them either.
I believe in a healthy balance of all things we do in this life. When my flare ups are so excruciating to the point that I become completely debilitated, disabled and useless...I choose to take my pharmaceuticals like I am told too. Once I am "stabilized" but still suffering from the horrendous side effects my biologic, anti-inflammatory's, steroids, and pain killers cause, I choose to wean back off. This is the so called "healthy balance" I am referring too. Something I have been faced to juggle for over eight years now. The scariest part, the most heightened times of concern were during both pregnancies and deliveries I went through over the past two years to bring my sons into this world.
Since I know that masking my symptoms with chemically induced drugs for the rest of my life would be doing a disservice to my children and my future grandchildren, I feel compelled to find a resolution to my problem. Even as a chronically ill diagnosed teen I could recognize that my life had the potential of being cut short by 20, 30, 40, or possibly 50 years by allowing this disease to go uncured. I could not ignore this kind of injustice. A doctor telling me that I was going to be sick for the rest of my life and I had to just accept it? This isn't to say that allowing yourself to become disabled by refusing drugs isn't a disservice to your children either because it is. I've been there too. To a certain extent you can put off the harsh drugs, but if you're desperate, you're desperate. No judgement! I have been on both sides of the fence. Again, my plan of action - use what you need, as you need it (balance). With that being said, I began to seek out other options.
Turns out there are plenty of people out there trying to come up with healthy alternatives to managing debilitating disease. I underwent multiple therapies of holistic approaches. From diets to vitamins to minerals to epsom salt baths to LED light therapy, to ozone blood transfusions...i'm still sick. Now, that's not to say that none of that helped. I do believe that it helped. It just wasn't enough for the type of fight my body is up against. To get close to curing something as aggressive and invasive as Rheumatoid Arthritis, were going to have to go DEEP and i'm talking on a cellular level. Once a disease resonates (goes untreated) for so long it goes as far as to live in your CELLS. This means that no diet, sauna/ bath, or rigorous vitamin regimen will be able to reach this invisible beast.
"When you research into what our bodies are made up of you find the short answer would be bones, muscles, fat and organs. To explain more in depth, we are mostly made up of oxygen, but all bodies are made up differently. Tall, short, old, young, fit and not so much. We're all a bunch of molecules that happen to be doing a lot of complicated things or are we more than that? It depends on who you ask. A biologist would say your made up of around 100 trillion cells. They're constantly dying, replicating and getting replaced with new ones. They also contain most of our bodies water. More than half of those cells aren't exactly your own but that doesn't mean they are harmful. Most of our microbes improve our immune system and the internal cells are vital for food digestion. The human cells in our bodies form all types of material we are made up of. Being our muscle, fat, bone, teeth, brain and body fluids, including blood and urine.
However, if you ask a chemist what your made up of the answer will be very different. They would give you a list of the chemicals that built you. For the most part its oxygen and hydrogen forming H20 (water). Then there's the carbon that make up all of our organic compounds like carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids and nitrogen that builds up your DNA. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of 6 elements. 65% of that is oxygen. Since all atoms are made up of 99.9% empty space, technically we are made up of nothing. You could say that we are made of stardust. The stars that have died to become supernovas gave our elements a chance to be reborn to help create us."
Now, as fabulous as all that sounds, you cannot tell a patient suffering in chronic pain that they are made up of stardust being technically nothing. My everyday struggle is not something to be taken lightly. If my organs are on fire, you better give me a better explanation than that and still I have yet to get one.
Between recognizing our bodies main sources for proper mechanical function and studying my ever so complicated blood-work, I have found the topics that I want to focus in on are the Cells, Blood and DNA.
I am on the path to seeking total health and wellness. I believe each body is uniquely made by very complex compounds that intermingle with each other to create a walking talking species. We are not made up of one or two things. We are made of many beautiful crazy wildly mysterious mixtures of both visible and invisible compounds. One thing I know, is that my body is aware when something is off and so is yours. Being it is that our major organs are made up of cells. It makes sense that I have a dysfunction on a cellular level considering my illness attacks all major functions that cells help to create ie; bone, tissue, muscle and fluid.
After coming to this conclusion I conducted research regarding treatment on a cellular level and came across Systemic Stem Cell IV Infusion. This treatment has been said to have very hopeful outcomes and high success rates, around the world. (There are many forms of stem cell treatment, i am not a doctor, i am not giving medical advice. Do your own extensive research for any treatment topic of interest before committing to it, as well as, vigorously vetting for your place of treatment administration.) This treatment is expensive and not covered by insurance, go figure. After learning about Stem Cell treatment I found that, in my opinion, it seems like a great option to explore in the field of regenerative medicine. Seeing this as something I would receive once I am in remission as a healing tool to restore my bone, muscle, tissue, synovial fluid etc. to support my stable immune system. Reminding you that I still have to find a way to calm my immune system down before skipping to rejuvenating my body.
IVIG is something else I have come across in my research as a healthy alternative to pharmaceuticals that I have seen Rheumatologist practicing on their patients in hopes for higher disease remission success rates. There are a few different forms of IVIG so make sure to speak to your doctor about your options if this is something that interests you. It is not widely talked about and a newer therapy but worth a try if it is something that could be used for your specific ailment type. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is a blood product curated from healthy persons immune systems via donation that replaces dead antibodies with healthy immune protecting antibodies. Essentially, this is an immune transplant. Goals!
Now, most/ if not all, pharmaceutical drugs that we are placed on to help control our disease are immune suppressant. This is not a good thing. Actually, it's the worst thing I've ever heard. It sounds like your head is being held under water for 60 seconds then lifted back up for a 5 second air break. miserable. Not thriving. What's intriguing about IVIG is that it is an immune modulator. Yes! That is what we want! Something that is going to help us heal over time, not suppress what is actually going on inside of us.
All of these findings have led me to where I am today. I am not a doctor. I am not a scientist, but I am a patient. I am a young woman with her own hypothesis and questions as to what happened to her at such a young age based on how I feel on a daily basis and the feedback I have been given by my six doctors since 18 years of age. I study my illness and I pay attention to how I feel. I take note on what helps and what doesn't. I know that one day this will all be a part of one large success story. Success to me means creating a safe, helpful environment for my fellow spoonies. I am here with you and I work for you. We will come out of this. There is so much more to my story and so much more to learn as we go along.
Interesting fact; An unborn baby is connected to the placenta by the umbilical cord. All necessary nutrition, oxygen, and life support from the mother's blood goes through the placenta and to the baby through blood vessels in the umbilical cord.
Mesenchymal stem cells are found in both bone marrow and in the blood of umbilical cord tissue.
(Proverbs 3:8) AMP: "It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones."
(Proverbs 3:8) KJV: "If you do this, then it will be like medicine for your body or a refreshing drink that makes you strong again."
I hope you will follow me in my journey to seeking total health and wellness through organic/ regenerative medicine. Check out my YouTube Channel and follow my crazy life, business and health ventures as I use my body through trial and error testing to help find healthier solutions to heal autoimmune disease.
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♡, Madeline Cary.