What are the best immune boosting raw foods?

[PansyLo]

My boyfriend has the flu, he's got it pretty bad and he's given it to me but my symptoms are very mild at the moment. He got symptoms on Friday night and we'd been together before that since wednesday. I spent a day looking after him before he went home. I'm only just getting minor (but the same) symptoms today (wednesday after).

I figure my immune system has been doing a pretty good job of fighting it off but in the interests of it not progressing into flu what are the best raw foods to give yourself a boost?

I already had a few cloves of garlic mixed with manuka honey. I've been drinking lots of water, new filter has made me a water drinking fiend.

I tried googling for answers but it's all "drink some orange juice and take some vitamins"! Pretty useless.

[walnutty]

Garlic-Ginger-Fresh veggie juices, especially green juices!

[Raw Angel Mom]

3 days water fast, but this isn't for everyone.

Yes, what was suggested with garlic.

If he isn't hungry, the first step is not to eat.

I can tell you what will diminish the immune, any sugar except from fresh fruit such oranges.

If he is up to it, going for colon therapy will flush out the virus and help you to get back on your feet almost immediately.

If you friend doesn't do raw food, he should stay away from any white flour, sugar etc....

[delmar]

Garlic-Ginger-Fresh veggie juices, especially green juices!Plus stuff with red pigment. Grapes, raspberries mulberries, blueberries, tomatoes.

[michigan roman]

my flu drink is juicing tomatoes , vitamin c , with garlic cloves and fresh parsley included

[PansyLo]

3 days water fast, but this isn't for everyone.

Yes, what was suggested with garlic.

If he isn't hungry, the first step is not to eat.

I can tell you what will diminish the immune, any sugar except from fresh fruit such oranges.

If he is up to it, going for colon therapy will flush out the virus and help you to get back on your feet almost immediately.

If you friend doesn't do raw food, he should stay away from any white flour, sugar etc....

Haha the advice was for me not for him he can deal with his own flu! I don't think he'd want to try any raw style remedies but I'll pass on that he should avoid refined sugar and flour if he's still feeling ill when I see him later.

For me I feel like a water fast would make it worse. I've drank a ton of water and haven't eaten much but fasting entirely doesn't feel right. I've never fasted before so maybe a bit heavy for me to try for the first time while coming down with the flu.

My symptoms have lessened from the masses of raw garlic and water but I still have the general unwell feeling and my head aches and my throat hurts. Could be a lot worse!
I'll try these suggestions for the next few days and hopefully that should have me sorted. :)

If my boyfriend is staying at mine over the next few days I'll see if he'll try a few things. Might help him get rid of it, though I find catching these things before you properly get symptoms is a lot easier than trying to get rid of them.


What is the best way to juice tomatoes? I feel like there would be a lot of waste and little juice from a juicer... I've only ever blended them.

[delmar]

What is the best way to juice tomatoes? I feel like there would be a lot of waste and little juice from a juicer... I've only ever blended them.

If you can find a squeezo at a yard sale, nothing else will touch it for tomatoes!
http://squeezostrainer.com/product_detail.aspx?id=31826

It also works great for apple sauce. I use mine quite a bit because I have apple and pear trees.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Book a colonic. I swear you will see the difference immediately. Plus you are doing raw food, you are most likely detoxing more.

Take garlic every couple hours. At least morning, lunch and before bed. Oregano oil. You can breath it (smell), it will help sinusitis and lung infection. If you take it orally, i mixed it with raw coconut oil.

In the past, garlic and Reiki was enough but now, if i get really sick, i had to do more such colonic, water fast, etc..... I am not saying for you to do the water fast since you don't resonate with that and you need to honor your gut feeling but someday, when you are ready, you should. Drink a squeeze lemon in water after taking garlic.

Hope you feel well soon!

[michigan roman]

cut up tomatoes and garlic fine as can - throw in big pot - add amount of water that'll create a good tasting / not too diluted juice with the amount of tomatoes in pot - take manual tomato masher and smash into a sauce - strain through fine metal mesh kitchen strainer or paint filter bag - pulp becomes excellent salsa

[Charybdisjim]

Some great suggestions already. Foods high in vitamin C and zinc are generally good additions to your diet. Vitamin C has some more familiar and obvious sources - such as oranges. To ensure sufficient zinc, avacado, pumpkin (particularly the seeds), sesame seeds, and green peas can be excellent.

Shiitake and miatake mushrooms have demonstrated some immune boosting functions. If you can't tolerate them raw, then sundried and mixed into a salad is a good way to go. Sun-dried mushrooms are also potent sources of vitamin D and certain varieties contain demonstrated anti-viral, anti-carcinogenic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and general immune function boosting properties. The potency and type of anti-microbial effect varies between species and certain varieties of mushroom have been identified as being most potent.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1193547/

Be aware though that some of the most potent immune boosting mushroom varieties are also the some of the ones people are most likely to experience digestive intolerance to. When trying a raw form of one of these mushrooms for the first time, simply keep in mind that digestive intolerance is possible and if it occurs you might just want to try another species or the sun-dried form instead. Also be aware that many of these more potent sources of identified anti-microbial and immune-boosting agents are also extremely dense sources of certain nutrients. As they are sources of potent near-pharmaceutical compounds as well as specific vitamins, it is probably best to include them as a relatively small component of your diet.

Even if your stomach and wallet could tolerate several cups of sun-dried shiitake per day, moderation would still be most highly advised. Also keep in mind that some varieties which demonstrate an overall significant anti-carcinogenic effect also demonstrate slight increases in specific incidence rates of colon cancer. If you have a history of or are at increased risk of colon cancer, this is something to look out for. Finally, the inclusion of some mushrooms (shiitake in particular) in your diet may not be advisable if you have a pre-existing kidney condition. They show no increased rate of kidney complications for those with already healthy kidney function but do show increased kidney stone incidence in persons with already impaired renal function. This is quite likely related to their high concentration of vitamin D.

[PansyLo]

^ I was always unsure of what mushrooms can be eaten raw. You get some unusual ones at the supermarket but I always played it safe just incase and stuck to basic button mushrooms and portobellos.


cut up tomatoes and garlic fine as can - throw in big pot - add amount of water that'll create a good tasting / not too diluted juice with the amount of tomatoes in pot - take manual tomato masher and smash into a sauce - strain through fine metal mesh kitchen strainer or paint filter bag - pulp becomes excellent salsa

I think that will have to be my method! There's no way i can afford a tomato strainer like the one delmar posted, unfortunately yard sales aren't really a big thing in Scotland. I do go to a few auctions and sales but I doubt I'd pick anything like that up there.

I think I'll go for that later. :)

There's no way I'm getting a colonic! I don't have any money and I really, really do not want to! I'd rather do a cleansing fast or something instead. I think such a drastic fast could have a bad effect with my meds though? It's not exactly something I can ask my doctor.

[Charybdisjim]

I was always unsure of what mushrooms can be eaten raw. You get some unusual ones at the supermarket but I always played it safe just incase and stuck to basic button mushrooms and portobellos.


You are correct to be cautious about which mushrooms you choose to eat raw. Some mushrooms contain toxins which are partially removed/destroyed when cooked; this renders them inadvisable selections for a raw food consumer though I would argue the only-partial effectiveness of cooking in removing the toxic compounds would suggest they shouldn't be eaten in general. Some mushrooms, such as shiitake, are generally consumed cooked more due to issues of flavor and texture. Raw shiitake is not exactly something most people find delicious in my experience.

Even though raw shiitake is generally safe to eat for most people, some (roughly 10%) people will experience a noticeable digestive intolerence when consuming them. The solution there is to simply not eat them again - which can be unfortunate given their potential health benefits. An additional 1-2% of people will experience a mild though uncomfortable reaction called "Shiitake dermititis"; this is a non-itching rash which lasts up to 10 days. This reaction is beleived to be caused by the starch "lentinan" which also happens to be one of the potential anti-cancer compounds in the mushrooms. Sun-drying seems to reduce the incidence of digestive intolerance, improves the nutrient profile, but does not remove the lentinan (which is good if you are interested in the health benefits of the mushroom but bad if you are part of the roughly 2% of the population which will experience shiitake dermititis if you eat them raw).

Common safe raw mushrooms include cremini, button, portabello, and enoki mushrooms. As with all raw mushrooms there is a chance of experiencing digestive intolerance, but these do not have the strong flavor issues or the lentinan content that shiitake does. Raw or sun-dried shiitake is worth considering for the health benefits, but you do have to understand there is a decent chance it won't agree with your stomach and there's a small chance you'll have an unpleasant reaction; if you do then you should consider them mildly toxic, if not then they are safe. Its perfectly understandable if you don't want to risk that though as 10 days is a long time to have a rash.



There's no way I'm getting a colonic! I don't have any money and I really, really do not want to! I'd rather do a cleansing fast or something instead. I think such a drastic fast could have a bad effect with my meds though? It's not exactly something I can ask my doctor.

As you surmised, a cleansing fast may not always be advisable depending on health issues. It can certainly be helpful in some situations and I personally do believe in the spiritual value of certain fasting rituals. Still, this actually is something you should be able to ask your doctor about - at least most doctors don't see fasting as incredibly controversial or fringe. I am sometimes shocked at how naive or uneducated some professionals can be - even in the sense of what is considered conventional knowledge in their field. So its possible your doctor might not be particularly well equipped to help you with that question.

If your doctor does seem unable to help with that question then I would imagine they're utterly useless to their more observant muslim, mormon, eastern orthodox, or hindu patients who may practice various forms of fasting as part of their faith. If your doctor is that closed minded though, you might have better luck asking a medical practitioner who happens to be of one of those faiths - or ask someone you know who is if they've ever consulted their doctor about fasting and what their contact information is. Various forms of fasting are integral parts of many cultures and so any doctor worth their salt and equipped to care for a diverse set of patients will be able to advise you as to whether it would influence the effectiveness/absorption of any medicine you are on or whether it may pose a particular risk to you.

I agree with you about colonics though and would consider your hesitence to be prudent.

http://www.livescience.com/15912-colon-cleansing-useless-dangerous.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801122948.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fliving_well+%2 8ScienceDaily%3A+Living+Well+News%29

[PansyLo]

^ Ahh! Thank you for all that information!

If I see sun dried shiitake mushrooms I'll give them try, if the rash is quite mild and not harmful I wouldn't mind risking it. Glad that enoki mushrooms are among the safe ones, they're easily bought and I like them cooked so would be interested in trying them raw.

I'm still to meet my doctor, I'll see what he's like, if he's quite nice then I'd venture to ask him. The last doctor I saw at the same surgery was quite rude to me and I can only see a negative reaction from her if I were to ask her. She obviously read in my file that I had in the past had an eating disorder and for whatever reason acted like I still did. I had a disorder years ago and I have been fully recovered for years. She gave me quite an unnecessary lecture on my weight and said if I lost any she wouldn't be prescribing my contraception anymore (there is a risk of osteoporosis but over years of use, this is only my first month being on it and swedish research proved the risk to be quite low). While I hate hormonal contraception this is really my only option for it and to have prescriptions denied would be extremely irresponsible and I would think against my rights in some way.
I am quite small but I'm generally very petite, it runs in my family. My old doctor agreed that despite being underweight according to NHS bmi scales that I was a case where these calculation were in fact inaccurate due to my frame and build and was always happy with my weight and she was the one who treated me as a GP when I was anorexic so I feel like she should know! Right now my weight is within the "normal" range according to BMI but I know myself that it's not my natural weight and I only gained it from eating a lot of junk.

Sorry about the rant but I felt like it showed a complete lack of professionalism and a little ignorance. She did tell me some useful things too but that and one other thing really irked me. I feel like if I were try and ask a serious question about fasting or my diet to a doctor like that I would be lectured and my completely valid questions would be dismissed as silly or worse treated as a symtom of an eating disorder which I do not have!

I hope my assigned doctor will be a lot more useful and open minded.

I've been trying some of the suggestions and some symtoms have eased but I'm still left with a banging headache? I'm looking at painkillers longingly.

[Charybdisjim]

^ Ahh! Thank you for all that information!

If I see sun dried shiitake mushrooms I'll give them try, if the rash is quite mild and not harmful I wouldn't mind risking it. Glad that enoki mushrooms are among the safe ones, they're easily bought and I like them cooked so would be interested in trying them raw.


Don't get me wrong - its unsightly, though the worst examples of it are photos where people have picked at it rather than leave it alone so they actually show an infection from scratching rather than the rash itself. It doesn't actually itch though nor is it dangerous, but most people would find it rather inconvenient and unsightly especially during shorts+tshirt weather. It resembled poison oak without the burning or itch if that gives you an idea - the worst part about it is that it can appear over large areas of the body.

http://namyco.org/publications/mcilvainea/v21/shiitake_dermatitis.html

Again - less than 2% of people will experience this; its rare enough that it wasn't until relatively recently that doctors realized that it was caused by an uncommon reaction to shiitake consumption. The "risk" overall is quite mild as its primarily just a risk of an ugly rash but the rash itself is large enough and unsightly enough that I gave you a poor description to just call it mild.

Also yeah I hope your assigned doctor is a bit more experienced in treating patients with different customs, diets, and body-types. Still, having a rude doctor who speaks their mind to you isn't the worst thing as long as its easy enough to tell what is them relaying blunt medical fact and what is them speaking their personal opinions a bit to frankly. At least their not enabling bad behavior for the sake of avoiding confrontation - and not having to talk to them might be a good incentive to stay healthy right? Bad joke I know, but I guess I'm saying that there are worse types of doctors than rude and slightly backwards ones.

[PansyLo]

^ Haha true. I'm painfully shy and appointments make me particularly anxious. Telling doctors they're wrong is not something I would do... I'm probably more likely to cry or something haha. Not that I've ever done that!!

Would it help to try shiitake at a low dose? It would really bother me to have it on my face... which puts me off trying it.

[Charybdisjim]

Probably, but if you were still trying enough to find out if you had a reaction then one of the most likely places for the rash to present is around the lips. Reducing the amount would probably just reduce the body coverage of it and not necessarily prevent it from appearing on the face.

Maybe hold of on trying it until you end up stuck home with the flu or something. If you've eaten a lot of cooked shiitake already, you would have likely been exposed to enough partially/undercooked shiitake so that if you were susceptable you'd have had the reaction already. If you don't normally eat it and the idea of an ugly rash on your face for 10 days is an unacceptable risk (completely understandable since its a lot less convenient than say a shoulder or something) then I don't think you can meaningfuly reduce the chance of it occurring on your face while also finding out if you'll have the reaction or not.


I'm painfully shy and appointments make me particularly anxious. Telling doctors they're wrong is not something I would do... I'm probably more likely to cry or something haha. Not that I've ever done that!!

Yeah I completely understand that - pretty shy myself. Luckily (or unluckily) my coping mechanism for my shyness is to cover for it by acting like an opinionated smart-ass, so I'd probably tell a doctor off if I thought they were wrong - whether or not i was right.

[PansyLo]

I think I'll reserve trying the shiitake's until a convenient time... just incase. I have a lot of trouble with my skin and if I was unable to treat it due to a rash it would be a real pain.

Changing the subject but does anyone have any remedies for chronic headaches? :sadtears:

It's relentless, I've had it at varying degrees for days. While all my other symtoms have passed before getting into full swing the headache still remains. It's been really bad for the last 11 hours.

My mother seems to have caught it too, just the headache and hungover feeling so far. I passed on the suggestions and she's going to try some.

But if there is such a thing as a headache remedy share! The painkillers are becoming increasingly tempting.

[Charybdisjim]

Changing the subject but does anyone have any remedies for chronic headaches? :sadtears:


Could you describe the headache? As in - where does the pain seem to be centered (behind the eyes, one side of the head, etc.)? Is the pain constant or does it seem to radiate and pulse outward from a certain area? Did it gradually build up or did it come on suddenly?

What are those other symptoms you mentioned? Do they include traditional migraine symptoms/precursers such as "auras?" Do they include things like nausea, confusion, dilated pupils, dizzyness, feeling light-headed? I know you mentioned having the flu, but did symptoms can vary between strains and individuals and some will experience significant congestion and others won't.

Also, if could could tap firmly (hard enough so that you can hear it but not so hard that you would expect it to hurt) on the bone below each of your eye. Does this cause a noticeable pain - dull or sharp but feeling like its coming from below the bone or even in your teeth?

I ask because severe prolonged headaches can be anything from dehydration, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, migraines, aneurysms (even leaking or unruptured ones), sinus infection, etc. The advice for how to manage the headache depends on which of those things it is, and sometimes they can involve contradictory advice or advice which is dangerous for another underlying cause.

I'll go ahead and start with the easiest possibility and might have better/more applicable ideas if you can help narrow down the actual cause. But on the off chance its either lingering effects of dehydration from the flu or a secondary infection like a sinus infection:


Dehydration and/or low levels of electrolytes


If you may have become dehydrated or, though properly hydrated, lost too many electrolytes while sick then this could cause quite severe lingering headaches. I would suggest either pedialite, diluting Gatoraid by 1/2 with water, or mixing the following:

1 quart (4 cups) water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table/sea salt
3–4 tablespoons sugar OR 4-5 tablespoons honey*

Sip slowly (chill if you prefer, but its actually best not to have it ice-cold) for a few hours and eat a bannana. Stop if your headache worsens noticeably. If you'd rather not include baking soda, do not double the sea-salt but instead increase it to 3/4 teaspoons.

*This may be hard to find a raw and truly vegan alternative for. You could use 4 oz of evaporated cane juice or the juice of about 8 of the sugar-cane segments normally sold at whole foods in place of some of the water. You could also use the juice of 4 apples or 3 pears (add water to juice to dilute until total liquid is 4 cups.) I suggest those fruits specifically because they are relatively low in nutrients that can be mildly counterproductive when attempting to rehydrate and restore electrolyte levels - specifically potassium.

If you do have raw honey on hand I suggest that over fruit juices for this purpose at least (the salt and baking soda is going to combine to create some bizzarro flavors with fruit juices wheras the mixture is much more palatable with a more neutral sweetener.) Do NOT use non-sugar/non-metabolizable sweeteners such as stevia. Many of these are duiretics and also known to cause or exacerbate headaches in some individuals. They may be natural but the sugar/honey/fruit isn't part of this recipe for the taste so stevia and other natural non-sugar sweeteners are not a substitute. Since stevia can cause headaches too, probably best to avoid it/stop using it if you are since there's a chance it would be related.

If you felt a pronounced pain directly below where you tapped on your face

This would tend to indicate an infected sinus, sinus polyps, or potentially an ear infection (could be inner ear.) The mostly likely of the three would be a normal sinus infection or an infection due to nasal/sinus polyps. If this does turn out to be sinus related then I would guess you probably have nasal/sinus polyps based on the intensity of the pain and that you said your other flu symptoms have gone away - including I assume any congestion you might have had. That might not be the case though and, depending on the nature/location of infection, people can have sinus infections despite a lack of noticeable congestion even without polyps.

In either case a neti pot or warm saline spray would be a common method of relief. Always use sterile water for this and either pre-packaged packaged sterile saline solution. If your nose is dry and you do not notice much congestion, you may be better off using an "isotonic" solution (roughly the same salinity as your body.) If that does not help or you are noticeably congested then you may wish to try a "hypertonic" solution - this can sting a little and be rough if your nose and mucas membraine is dry though. You may find a saline spray more convenient to use - in either case make sure to pop your ears a few minutes before and about 20 minutes after irrigation to ensure you don't have water trapped trapped in your middle ear. Do not pop your ears immediately afterwards or you could force water into your middle ear and that can hurt quite a bit.

It might be an ear infection (or a sinus infection and an ear infection). I probably don't need to tell you the symptoms of an ear infection, but adult ear infections are often undiagnosed/untreated simply because people don't consider them because they haven't had one since they were a kid. Obviously pressure in your ear would indicate a middle ear infection and you probably wouldn't be asking if that was the case. Its possible then that it is an inner ear infection which can be caused by a specific virus or by some bacterial infections. If this is the case though, you would experience bouts of extreme dizzyness and vertigo.

Just a word of warning - if you do suspect you might have an ear infection in addition to sinus polyps or a sinus infection then absolutely do not use a neddi pot. A painful enough sinus infection could mask the normally obvious signs of a middle ear infection though - so compare your hearing in each ear and see if you can pop your ears before trying a neddi pot. Using a neddi pot with a blocked escutcheon tube or an ear infection can result in water being trapped in the middle ear and that can be incredibly painful.

[walnutty]

Raw honey also! Especially, raw manuka honey!

[PansyLo]

I don't have a migrane as I suffered from those for years, it's a very different pain, not as severe that I'm incapacitated as I was with migraines and there's no other migrane like symtoms.
It's also not a sinus infection, once had one for months and couldn't shake it. My sinuses feel absolutely fine. Tapping causes no pain.

The other symptoms I had before were feeling a little feverish (though my mum said I didn't feel hot), generally achey and just a bit ill feeling if that makes sense? It felt like I had a rotten hangover except I haven't drank! Had a bit of a dodgy stomach too. My boyfriend had the same symtoms and now had full blown flu.

I doubt it's dehydration as I've been guzzling loads of water.

It's still there but it's eased a bit today and has been gone at points. It's hard to localise the pain now that it's eased. I'd say sort of top/back back and sides? Not sides like a migrane. Above and further back, mostly that area actually. Occationally the back of my head in general too. It's a bit general. Hopefully this ease is me seeing the back if it anyway!

I've sort of ended up on a water fast of sorts. I've totally lost my appetite. All I had today was 2 cloves of crushed garlic with manuka honey and drank a glass of raw homemade lemonade. I've wandered in and out the kitchen trying to think of something to eat but I feel full and really don't fancy anything.
I don't know if this is a symptom, a side effect of my meds (they can decrease appetite) or just that my body knows what it needs to heal.
I've been drinking lots of filtered water still.

[Charybdisjim]

Since you were drinking lots of water and haven't been eating much it could have been a headache from reduced potassium levels. If you lose a lot of water - even if you're still staying hydrated - you can end up losing a lot of electrolytes and low potassium levels in particular can cause some nasty all-over headaches. Electrolyte levels can get low after/during flu if you're drinking a lot of plain water and sweating/urinating it back out since your losing a lot of electrolyte-rich fluids and mostly replacing it with non-electrolytic fluids and not much food. I had a nasty headache right as I was getting over my last flu and eating a couple bananas and drinking a bottle of pedialite as soon as I could hold them down cleared it right up. I know it sounds funny to suggest pedialite, but when I went into the school health center that's what the doctor handed me as soon as I described the headache and flu - 2 bananas and baby-gatorade.

[PansyLo]

^ That does seem to fit!

I suppose I better make myself eat a little. I don't have anything like pedialite but I googled how to replace electrolytes with food and greens, tomatoes, olives, banana, salt and a vague "nuts and seeds" were recommended. A small salad then a banana might do the trick.

Thanks :)

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

^ Haha true. I'm painfully shy and appointments make me particularly anxious. Telling doctors they're wrong is not something I would do... I'm probably more likely to cry or something haha. Not that I've ever done that!!



l like to talk to them about how Dr Barbara Starfield M.D wrote an article for the `Journal of the American Medical Association' stating that medication error and adverse events from drugs or surgery means that going to see medical professionals is the third major cause of death in the U.S and forth major cause of death In Australia. That always gets their attention. Then l quote other studies to rub it in (all in fun) Then l talk about how doctors recommend `aspirin' despite the medical journals warning of the dangers, and then l say...`how come you give people `aspirin', don't you read the medical journals like all good health professionals should'? And then l say, "ah hang on....l saw lots of Readers Digest' magazines out in the waiting room....is it true that most doctors get their information from pharma reps and readers digest"? And sometimes l might bring up other stuff if they haven't hung their head in shame already lol. But l always do it nicely because l know the poor M.D's have no leg to stand on....they are niave and slaves to drug companies who paid for their medical training, so they know no better. But l still ask them why they prescribe certain things when the medical and science journals say they are dangerous.

l took my mum to an doctor recently. The doctor prescribed her fish oil and some vitamin. l said to the doctor...`don't you know the scientific literiture has now proven that fish oil is rancid and contains the highly carcinagenic `lipid peroxide'? And don't you know those vitamin supplements contain petro chemicals', and two major double blind studies with well over 100,000 people from two prestigeous universities proved that using these synthetic vitamins actually caused 67% more sickness in the supplement group [in one study] than the placebo group'? Then `don't you read your medical journals doctor'?

Doctors are so much fun.

lf you want a really good laugh at how silly doctors are, this link is a must see. Don starts talking at about 3:30 in, and the links are really good for the first 8 parts. Here is the first part, the other 7 links are there too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDtny2HMNXo

[PansyLo]

^ Haha maybe one day I'll have a little fun with them. God knows they've scared me half to death before, I'd have loved to politely put that particularly rude doctor in her place.

I don't know it our doctors are better or worse than American doctors. They're not run by drugs companies (thank god because having psychiatric issues I'd probably be screwed in America) but they are funded by the government. Medical research is funded by the government. About as trust worthy and sincere in intention as the drug companies.

[laughalways]

You know they are just normal people like you. You should picture them in some funny situation or with toilet paper trailing behind them while you are waiting to see them to eliminate the fear you have of them. That might make it easier for you to ask appropriate questions and to make sure you understand what they are prescribing you. It's your health and your body. You have a right to question them and understand what they are doing. Just my two cents....

[PansyLo]

The only meds I'm on were prescribed by my psychiatrist, who I actually really liked.

He knew I didn't want to go on anything, but he was right that I needed to take them. At least on them I can probably do things like stay raw, get back in to education, be able to do the things I want to do, maintain relationships with people etc. I think I'd rather be raw on meds than eating SAD food and taking recreational drugs.
He also considered very carefully what would be best for me. He explained everything, asked my opinion on each aspect and listened to me and would give me pros and cons and let me make my own decision. He was really good about me moving and arranged getting me referred to the relevant people here himself.

If more doctors were like that then I would have an easier time with them.

Even people who just act human rather than ignoring me, brushing off my opinions and lecturing me would be better.

I had a doctor in Glasgow who tried to make me go on the implant (which is turns out would be really bad for my disorder). He brushed off that I wanted to go on the shot (as at least I get no side effects, best of a bad bunch) and gave me a prescription for the pill (also shouldn't be on because I get migraines) when I asked about the side effect of that he replied "You'll have more side effects when you get pregnant."

[walnutty]

I just got hit with the flu....ugh! My son has been sick for the past week with it and I was hoping it wouldn't get me too, but it did! I woke up early AM today with a raw throat (ha ha ha), congestion, head ache and fever. I have been juicing all day today to give my body lots of nutrients and my digestive tract a break so that my energy is spent on healing instead of digesting.

[PansyLo]

^ That's lousy!

I'm glad to say I fought it off before it really kicked in and my headache did totally disappear after a salad and some frozen banana!! :)

I'll definitely be following this advice next time too.