I weighed 171 today, a loss of 4 pounds in two days!  That is encouraging, to say the least.

Sticking to the recommended food is getting easier because I don’t crave the really bad stuff any more, like donuts, chocolate, or ice cream.  I did learn yesterday, though, that I was craving something but didn’t know what, so I tried a fourth teaspoon of salt mixed with water.  That was just what I needed.  The mixture reminded me of broth and really helped relieve my craving.

I began today with the usual celery juice and continued with the same smoothie as yesterday ( I had two 16 oz glasses leftover in the fridge).  When I felt like eating something else, I had bananas, an apple, and some almonds.  We went to a special dinner for our homeschool group and I ate two plates of fresh salad.  I cheated a little by having a little dressing on it.

Yesterday, at about 3 pm I remembered to take my Sertraline, and I felt a little dull headed after taking it, so today I didn’t take it and I do not feel the usual tingling and nerve pain I used to feel, nor do I feel as dull headed.  My daughter Melissa says to see how it goes, if I am experiencing a placebo effect, it will not continue to work, but if the changes I am making are legitimately helping, then the diet is not just a placebo and the positive effects will continue.

I am also doing my best to let go of negative and stressful thoughts, and relax.  Stress really exacerbates this nerve problem.  This is difficult to do when my life has been so full of stress and anxiety for so long.  Being in Oregon, and having family around, is a big part of my self prescribed medicine, and it is good medicine!  Mostly, I am learning to recognize the negative thoughts when they creep in.  The negative thoughts target me when I am either really tired, or feeling really good.  It is almost comical now that I recognize the pattern.  When I am feeling tired I think, “How are you going to do anything, you’re so tired!  You are not capable of anything significant.  You might as well stop trying and just do little tiny things,” and when I don’t recognize that those are just negative thoughts trying to mess me up, I feel hopeless and helpless.  Then when I feel really good, with a burst of energy, I think, “Look at you, you are just fine!  Why do you think anything is wrong with you?  You are just fine now.  You don’t need a doctor!” and I feel all excited and happy until I hit the wall again and have to rest in a dark room because my head hurts, which is usually only ten minutes, up to a couple hours, into my burst of energy.

I read more from “Medical Medium” this evening, and the chapter on the Epstein Barr virus is very interesting.  Anthony William says the Epstein Barr virus is behind many of the illnesses that doctors cannot explain, like Hashimoto’s, Lyme’s, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Tinnitus, and Vertigo, among others.  I have symptoms, or have had symptoms, for all of these.  I read the list of recommended foods and herbs, specifically to get rid of the Epstein Barr virus, and looked through my shelves.  I found Silver Hydrosol and L-lysene, both of which are recommended in this treatment, so I took them tonight.  Tomorrow I will gather more of these recommended foods and herbs so I can proceed with more of the recommended foods.

What is that saying . . . “Make food your medicine, and your medicine your food” . . . something like that.  I always liked that saying.