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Taking control of my health
Any trust that I had of the medical profession was gone by the time I left Germany. It was 1987. Never again would I allow myself to be jerked around by a medical professional. I took the responsibility for my health out of their hands and put it squarely in my own. As it should be.
I began to seek alternatives to theophylline. I looked in vitamin catalogues and health stores, and began to experiment on myself with different herbal combinations until I found something that worked for me better than anything ever given to me by doctors.
There were two formulas that worked for me at that time. For every day maintenance I used Breathe-Aide, from Nature’s Way. One capsule in the morning carried me through the day, keeping my bronchial tubes open. If I got sick I took two of the Breathe-Aid four times a day and added AS-Comp, from Enzymatic Therapy, one capsule twice a day.
The AS-Comp was amazing in how it made bronchitis more tolerable. I got well faster using the AS-Comp than ever before. My body would tell me when I needed to reduce the dosage and when to stop. There were NO side effects.
Armed with antibiotics, which I took at the first sign of bronchial trouble, and these two herbal formulas, I never again had another respiratory infection. When I told my doctor in Hardy, Arkansas about the herbal formulas I used to help me breathe, he said, “it is nice that you think so.” This man put another nail in the coffin of my attitude toward mainstream medicine. I found another doctor.
All was well. I did not get sick for 18 months, and then I got bronchitis again. The bottle of AS-Comp I had on hand had been sitting around for a year and a half, so at first signs of trouble I went by The Health Center, owned and operated by my friend, Dianne Meeker, and picked up a fresh bottle of it.
I couldn’t understand why the fresher AS-Comp was not working correctly. I compared the ingredients on the two bottles and discovered one ingredient, grindelia, was no longer a part of the formula. Frustration mixed with a bit of panic rose up inside of me. I tried the AS-Comp from the old bottle and it worked better than the new bottle with it’s changed formula.
I wrote a letter to Enzymatic Therapy asking why they removed the grindelia, telling them the AS-Comp did not work the same. They responded telling me that removing the grindelia made no difference in the effectiveness of the product. I shook my head in disgust, my body had just proved otherwise.
Meanwhile I had told Dianne about the missing ingredient and she found a source for grindelia and ordered it for me. I added the grindelia drops to my “getting well” regiment. The drops helped, but even so the effectiveness of the combination did not work like the old AS-Comp formula alone. Unfortunately, Enzymatic Therapy no longer manufactures the AS-Comp forumula.
Jumping ahead a bit.
For a season in 2005, Breathe-Aid was no longer available in the health stores. I had some concerns. I had not had bronchitis in over three years, but what would I do if I got a bronchial cold? I did not know. And I did not have to find out, because Breathe-Aid came back on the market. I also keep a bottle of grindelia on hand at all times to use if the Breathe-Aid is not sufficient. I get it through Belle, a in California.
Since I am always experimenting on myself, I recently (May 2006) tried Lung-Saver by NaturalCare. It works. Please note that when I eat a certain way, there is no need for anything to help with my breathing. Food makes a difference, but that is addressed elsewhere on this website.