Here is question submitted by Pam from the Costco article:
Subject: Hives
Message: Congrats on making, striving for and attaining your goals! You are an inspiration. I have a quick question re: the hives you (used to?) get. Were you ever able to connect them to any specific food or additive? Do you still get them? If not, what do you believe caused them? Also, did your hives always start on the same place on your body? I've been getting a similar rash every few months for last 3 years (for which an allergist told me to take Allegra & Pepcid, along with applying Triamcinalon ointment) but allergy tests were all negative except for dust mites. Rash always starts on left side of my neck then spreads to arms, sometimes legs, and waist. Been to 3 derms, allergist, internist -- but none know why I get it. My diet is high in fiber, lots of veggies/fruit (~50% organic), virtually dairy free (diagnosed lactose intolerant last year), but I do eat chicken often (~50% free range/organic fed), and fish & red meat ~once a month. Weight in healthy range, as are cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. (Age: 47). Consistent w/cardio, but not great w/strength training. Just wondering if you attribute disappearance of rash (if it is in fact gone) to anything specific in diet…? Appreciate your thoughts (I know you're not an MD, blah, blah blah... just asking for any connections you were able to make in your life).
Thanks,
P-
p.s. Blog is uplifting. Inspiring me to make some changes myself, which I hope has gone on to inspire others. Glad you're addressing the "balance" thing. Personally, I've discovered my best life is about "ranges" rather than "absolutes." But each of us has to find what works best for ourselves.
Hi Pam, and thank you for writing in and sharing your story. I certainly can relate to what you are going through! Regarding the "rash" specifically…I bet you've heard the term "idiopathic" (i.e we have no idea what is causing it)…I sure heard that term a lot! I spent 39+ months going to doctor after doctor, clinic after clinic…and NEVER finding resolution or even improvement in the condition(s) I was suffering from. It was finally in May of 2006 that I said "enough was enough" (actually I believe the words may have been less than "G-Rated" - LOL). After spending 4 long days in the exclusive Mayo clinic…I checked myself out and decided that I would dismiss much of what I had been told in the long process, and focus all my energies on re-balancing my own body…I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Although there was never a definitive answer to what caused my issues…I can say definitively, that the key to healing myself, was the focus I placed on nutrition and exercise. In the end, I, and many doctors felt that the root cause, was a major imbalance (obviously) and due to a gland called the Thymus…which in my case had grown into a large mass in my chest. It wasn't my only issue (bad diet, overweight, high cholesterol and on and on played a part as well)
The Thymus has a big role in your immune function:
"The thymus is a specialized organ of the immune system. The thymus produces and "educates" T-lymphocytes (T cells), which are critical cells of the adaptive immune system…The thymus is largest and most active during the neonatal and pre-adolescent periods. By the early teens, the thymus begins to atrophy and thymic stroma is replaced by adipose (fat) tissue. Nevertheless, residual T lymphopoiesis continues throughout adult life...CLICK HERE TO READ MORE about the Thymus".
My second to last day at the Mayo Clinic, I distinctly recall the conversation with a Thoracic Surgeon who came to speak with me and review some test results…Although he did not feel the mass was cancerous (at least not at that time), due to the location and size (and inability to adequately biopsy and test it), that we should consider surgical treatment and removal…It was at that moment that I decided to get out of there! For whatever reason (environmental, diet, lifestyle), my Thymus had grown, as opposed to shrunk (as it does as kids grow)…and I was able to re-balance my own body/system and cause it to literally "shrink", returning to the normal and nearly undetectable adult size.
Although I could write a novel about my own battle, I feel you stated it well with, "life is about "ranges" rather than "absolutes." I couldn't agree more, but would add the following…our bodies, just like everything else in this Universe are part of symbiotic systems and relationships. The more our Westernized world has "evolved" and "advanced"…the more we have lost our natural ability to maintain that symbiotic relationship. Unfortunately, in so many cases (not all cases of course), our wonderfully sophisticated system of medicine often times "forgets" that there may be far simpler solutions than pharmaceuticals. As you mentioned, I am not an MD, nor am I suggesting that people dismiss the recommendations of doctors…but I am suggesting that either you look at the big picture yourself, or find an integrated physician, who incorporates both traditional western protocols, with logic and understanding of the "whole". Isn't it interesting that as our society changed over the past couple hundred years, as we became so cutting edge and "smart"…that the increase in disease, sickness and general imbalance has increased in concert with that!
So…how do you reverse that pattern, just as I reversed my illness? All I can tell you is what my experience was, and what the experience has been with others I have worked with…And, I can assure you that my general approach, will only have the potential of improving your health…Although, I practice a strict Vegan/plant based diet (and will be talking plenty more about that here), the integration of primarily whole foods (i.e not processed) and organics is a wonderful place to begin. When I began my "transformation", I wasn't Vegan…not even close! However, even with a diet integrating animal products, my focus on natural and whole foods in combination with exercise facilitated quick results. I quickly lost weight (eventually close to a hundred pounds in about a year) and the ailments I fought…began to diminish in just a couple months…finally disappearing totally in 10-months.
Fortunately, the availability of organic and natural products continues to increase, and is also becoming more and more affordable too! And, fortunately there are some big companies (just like Costco), who have made a commitment to those efforts.
So…back to Pam's questions…
"Were you ever able to connect them to any specific food or additive"?
I don't relate what I went through to any one specific food or additive, but more so to the total imbalance within my body (and the related inability for my system to adequately resolve it).
Do you still get them?
No, the hives have never returned.
Also, did your hives always start on the same place on your body"?
Yes, typically they did…under the arms, on the sides of my body…quickly moved to the legs and arms, followed by my back being covered (click here to see what they looked like about 15-minutes into a reaction). This occurred everyday for 39-months..and about 90% of the time in the evenings. After a couple hours of the hives, my body would begin to go into anaphylactic shock…and thus began the cycle of cocktails of allergy meds etc.
Thank you again Pam for writing. I truly hope that you can begin to find some relief and some answers. Keep me posted on how you're doing…and be strong…you are your own best advocate:)
Best,
Josh
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 10:47AM 
