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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Day 5 of Living with Essential Oils-The Art of Ingesting Lavender


Day 5 was a horrific day for me concerning my allergies. This pollen is so bad! Tim and I had a meeting to go to at 11am, but my sinuses were not wanting to give me a moment's peace. When I first woke up I put on Peppermint and Lavender to help, but I was snotting everywhere. So not attractive! Therefore I chose to try ingesting some of the Lavender to give some relief, I was so miserable. It is a wonder I didn't end up spilling half of the bottle on me in my attempts! I'm positively certain there is a really good way that Monique has posted about in www.granolaoils.com, but I didn't have time to refresh my memory on the post before fixing the pill and getting out the door.

I had already made myself some Lemon water, which I have forgotten to mention several times already. The scent is amazing, and the taste is almost non-existent but so refreshing. One day we were out this week and I drank water the whole time, but not lemon water, and just felt like I wasn't getting enough. I rarely guzzle, but my thirst was just not quenched. Then when we got home, I hurried over to a glass of lemon water, guzzled,  and finally felt refreshed! It is certainly addictive, but it is not something I have found goes with just any kind of food, either, so I'm still drinking unflavored water and tea. I'm also down to just one 16oz. Coke a week. I used to drink at least one a day, so this has been an amazing accomplishment for me. We've also managed to get the kids down to sodas every other day or more, from the once a day and only before 6pm rule we used to have. Tim and Grandma are still a work in progress, and have tried to substitute as much tea as possible, however we are still trying to figure out what sweetener is right for us and doesn't have the horrible side effects of aspartame, etc but that also doesn't cause a powdery, bitter aftertaste.

Now what was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Sorry, this post might should be sub-headed “Caution: Prone to Rabbit Trails”. Anyway, I took my first Lavender pill with a drink of my Lemon water, and....(pause for a moment of suspense)....nearly gagged and at least grimaced an awful face. I don't know what I was expecting, since I've never tasted Lavender before. I'm sure others don't taste the oil, but then they probably don't coat the outside of the capsule in their attempts to get the oil actually inside the pill! I have to take a lot of pills a day because of the multitude of my afflictions (that sounds much grander than saying I'm disabled), so I'm used to swallowing pills and have been rather proud of the fact that I can take all 9 of my nightly pills in one swallow (except sometimes for those annoying two that won't go down and dissolve on my tongue and taste nasty and only chocolate can make the taste go away). But this pill capsule was just different. Its hard to explain. However, I got over it and went on, it was no "the sky is falling" moment.

I told Tim what I had done, and he teased me about taking care of myself only and not offering to make him one. I could have reminded him how often in the past week I've rubbed his feet, but I choose to think I'm made of nicer stuff and fluff, therefore I made him up one. Since his chief complaint was congestion and not the sneezing and snotting I was doing, I put Peppermint in his capsule, along with Lemon to help with clarity and get rid of his “belly fat”(his words, not mine). Plus I put one other thing in it, but I don't remember what it was. At least I know whatever it was, was only for his benefit and was not something that could do him harm! Perhaps these oils should say on the bottle under “neat, diffuse”, etc “Rachel-proof”. I'm certain that would make everyone in my family feel safer to know I can't accidentally poison them, haha.

The look on Tim's face when he took his oil covered, oil filled capsule was priceless. He has such an expressive face and jokes about, that it is quite entertaining to see what expressions he can come up with. The Peppermint coating the outside burned him a little, but it probably opened those sinuses! On the way to our meeting, he remarked how he was going to be burping up Peppermint for the rest of the day, but he was okay with that, because at least his breath would smell good! I informed him that was much better than my predicament because burping up Lavender is just weird.

By the time of our meeting, I had gone through at least ten tissues since waking up in the morning, accompanied by multiple sneezes. However, at the end of the meeting I was fine. I was clear without the Claritin and no longer sneezing. Since chemo effected my life last year, I have had a symptom that plagued my mother during her own battle with cancer: a constant runny nose. When I eat, especially, it pours like a faucet. So, I always have to have tissue with me. I have them tucked in places for emergencies, because sometimes I have no warning or time to find anything before it starts dripping. Once again, so not attractive!!!!! If you've ever seen the commercial where the guy is paying for ice cream for his daughter and himself and he hands the guy a bill crumpled up with a used tissue and it mentions squirreling tissues, that perfectly sums me up. Which is weird, because I'm one of the OCD people who doesn't like things out on the countertops and wants everything in its own pocket inside her purse, and compulsively cleans off the table of the junk that gets piled on it. We joke about the spirit of Minimaw taking over since my mother's passing, so I'm going to attribute this one to her for my own peace of mind. Therefore, no telling me any different!

Shoot, I've seemed to have lost my place again. The Caution sign is blinking and I'm rambling off down another rabbit trail. Soon I'll start singing Little Bunny Foo-Foo. (I'm not totally mental, I promise) When Tim sees how clear I am and how I'm no longer red-eyed and red-nosed, he asks why I didn't put any Lavender in his, because he's not as over his allergies as me yet. Of course, we banter and I stick out my tongue at him at some point. Our marriage is always fun and full of laughs. Otherwise, it'd be very depressing and we'd hate each other; the reason of avoiding and depression and simply because there is a lot to laugh at.

The rest of the day went well, and I still had more sustaining energy than the short energy bursts I've generally had these past two years. I know the oils are effecting me this way, because a week and a half ago, I would not have been able to go five days without at least three of nothing but sleep.

Our night time oils were:
Grandma- Lavender on her neck for sleep and rest. Peppermint on her stomach and the corresponding spot on her foot for some stomach discomfort she was having. Purification on her chest for ease of breathing, because she is prone to bronchitis and has asthma. Valor on her feet for sleep apnea. Then Peace and Calming on the back of her neck. So far, her favorite is the Purification, with Peppermint coming in second.

Tim-Lavender on the neck and behind the ears for sleep and rest. Valor on his feet for sleep apnea and I did rub it on his feet myself! His feet are a whole lot softer and isn't like rubbing sandpaper as it was just a week ago.

The kids-Lavender on the neck and behind the ears for rest and sleeping.

Me-Valor on my feet and on my hip joints which were aching painfully from our day out walking about. I put Lavender on my pillow and behind my ears. However, I was reading a good book and couldn't go to sleep even after my set time of reading had elapsed and my face was burning which was also keeping me awake. So, I got up and put some cold cream on my face, some Peace and Calming on my shoulders and some Purification on my chest. I have to admit that I really do not like the smell of Peace and Calming. It reminds me of the smell in some elderly relative's house where they have a displayed arrangement of some waxy, fake flowers from back in the fifties. It smells almost musty to me, or moldy. But that is just my opinion. 

I then gave myself fifteen more minutes to try to go to sleep and if I was still awake I was going to go back to reading my book. Apparently, those oils, even the stinky one, worked because the next thing I knew it was 9am and I was being asked if I wanted to watch Perry Mason just in case he didn't win his case this time. 

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