Here’s how I handle my many illnesses

I always get questions about what I do for each. I’ll outline each below. I include affiliate links so you can see the products. Consult your doctor if you want them! I am not your doctor. Always track interactions for drugs AND supplements with your doctor, pharmacist, and also I recommend Drugs.com too. You can keep a detailed interactions list. This list is not exhaustive (☹️).

Also what works for me may well not work for you. Everyone’s body chemistries and disease dynamics are different.

Endometriosis

• Surgery. Nothing beats surgery when it works well! I’ve only needed it once when I was 14, but it cleared out all the scar tissue effectively.

Fibromyalgia

• This is one of my most problematic diseases.
• Cymbalta. I started on it as a teenager, and it’s made an enormous difference. I wasn’t depressed, but did have markedly low serotonin, which causes very low immunity—a forgotten symptom of fibro. This raised my levels and stopped me from getting colds and infections constantly — really like it went from half the year to maybe 1 or 2 short times each year. It also reduced the intensity of my seasonal allergies enormously.
• Flaxseed oil. Reduces excess hunger and is just known to be smart for people with fibro.
• Solgar brand gelatin. My joints haven’t been my worst problem and I was hesitant to take this as a kosher vegetarian, but it really works. I’ve tried alternatives and nothing comes close to the cushioning I feel on my joints.
• Vitamin B. Helps with energy.
• Vitamin D. Trying a new type soon, but huge for weight loss and energy.

Crohn’s

• Oddly this is one of my gentler diseases. This ends up being a lot of listening to my body and avoiding very random foods that upset me.
• Ox bile and Sodium Butyrate. My doctor recommended for digestion. Not fully sure how it works.

PCOS

• I’m trying more things here too, will update as I know what works.

Insulin Resistance

• Metformin. It kind of punishes my body when I have too many carbs, which is a great deterrent. Furthermore, it helps control my symptoms.
• Low carbs. :( But brands that make me hate it less: Modern Table pasta, ChocZero syrups and sweets, Base Culture bread, Smart Sweets fiber candy, Go Better sweets, Halo Top ice cream. EASE into high fiber foods WINK WINK.

Seasonal allergies

• Off-brand Zyrtec. It’s just the medicine that works best for me.
• Quercetin with Bromelain. It’s a combination of herbs that drastically reduces my symptoms.
• Allergy eye drops.

Migraines

• Green light therapy. There is research backing its effectiveness, and keeping on a few LED lights on full-green throughout the day has drastically reduced my migraines. Nothing special, LEDs have worked fine!
• Low carb diet (ideas above). Eating well and low carb helps a lot here too.
• Excedrin migraine. Just when I need it.
• Migratone. Daily. I’ve gone on and off of it to test, but it really does reduce migraines.
• Migra-T. As needed.
• GABA. Daily. I used to get reverse hangovers and found out low GABA was why, which can also cause headaches.

Skin problems — Rosacea, keratosis pilaris, etc.

• Red light therapy. It’s definitely been helping reduce breakouts.
• Prescription Azelaic Acid. It reduces pain, swelling, and redness on my face. You can get non-prescription at a lower intensity.
• Spironolactone. Prevents me from absorbing every drop of water that ever enters my body forever. Reduces acne.
• 60 billion probiotic. Makes my acne less gross. I notice bigtime if I don’t.
• Now this one’s weird even for me. Laser hair removal. KP is caused by tiny ingrown hairs, and my KP was really bad. So years of weekly arm and leg treatments using Tria. Apparently I’m not the first to think of this.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)

• I had a few sessions with a physical therapist who worked to figure out my weaker areas. It boiled down to my abs (you don’t test that when you have Crohn’s!), my ankles, and my feet. She recommended green SuperFeet which have helped, but I’m getting prescription inserts. She also recommended some small but massively helpful exercises. I would recommend a PT with an EDS speciality to help figure out what you need!

Food sensitivities

• Viome (use senatorshoshana at checkout for $10 off. I don’t make anything but wanted to help people afford it!) I knew I had some food sensitivities but had trouble IDing them. Viome is a guided elimination diet. If you do it, do it right and don’t cheat. It’s not easy but it was incredibly worth it for me. it helped me realize signs food is bad for me and helped me figure out cauliflower, chick peas, artichoke, and much more was making me sick. I lost 10 lbs because of it!
• All that said, Viome did nothing for my dad. It told him to avoid some nuts he never eats. Maybe it didn’t work with his body chemistry. Maybe he doesn’t have food sensitivities. But know it doesn’t work for everyone.

TMJ

• I have a custom mouthguard :(

Overall

• Nothing beats diet and exercise. Exercising regularly in ways you enjoy and not just eating well, but eating right for your own body. Fueling as you need, avoiding things that don’t make you feel well.
• Acupressure. LOVE this mat. Loosens me up.
• This head rest thingy helps with my head and neck pain.
• This thing squeezes the life out of my shoulder tension.
• L-Carnitine. Body recovery.
• Creatine. Recovery and REALLY helps me recover faster from exercise.
• Any CBD cream with good reviews. MAGIC for muscle pain. Oral CBD hasn’t done anything for me.
• Favorite bath soak for muscles. The only one I REALLY feel.

Pill cases

• My current. XXXXXXXXXL
• Last one. XL

Things that didn’t work for me at all

• Most other joint supplements.
• Apple cider vinegar.
• Sea moss.
• Tumeric.
• Curcumin.
• Collagen — used it for my joints and it didn’t help.
• Life Extension ArthroMax Elite Joint & Cartilage Health Support— used it for my joints and it didn’t help.
• Green tea supplements.
• Oral contraception for PCOS/endometriosis. By all accounts it made everything worse.