Monthly Archives: August 2013

Return of the Neti Pot: Getting the Gunk out with Nasal Irrigation!

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I started using a neti pot over ten years ago.  I still remember the day I got it because when I mentioned to my mom, during our weekly phone call, that I was going to the health food store to pick one up, she was revolted by the concept.  She kept referring to it as my “nettle pot.” (P.S. About a year later though, she asked me to pick one up for her after she read an article in the Times about an opera singer who uses a neti pot.)

A lot of people, particularly in the United States, are appalled by the idea of using a little pot (that looks like a cross between a ceramic teapot and a magic genie lantern) to pour salty water into one nostril; so it can run through your nasal passages and come out the other nostril.  It can be a little intimidating the first time you use it.   Fearful of drowning, I remember leaning as far forward as possible, to ensure I could still breathe through my mouth while I was irrigating.  I was willing to try it though because I had a lot of sinus trouble, particularly when I was still consuming dairy.

I hadn’t used it since my nose was broken six months ago.  This morning I woke up with dry eyes and felt that twinge in my sinuses that lets me know that something is in there and it needs to come out. My nose finally started to feel normal again over the last week.  So, I broke out the neti pot and got to irrigating.  I won’t gross you out with the details but let’s just say it was very productive.

The benefits to using a neti pot are numerous.  It obviously gets the gunk out.  I have avoided sinus headaches by using it when I get that first twinge.  It’s also good for treating sinusitis and helping to clear a sinus infection or a cold.  Allergy sufferers can use it to clean pollen and other irritants out.  The best part is that it is all natural, no harsh chemicals …just water, salt and gravity.

Do you use a neti pot?  Would you consider?  I would love to hear your experiences or answer any questions you may have.

Love and blessings to all.

Cynthia

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justdragonfly

Being (a) Patient: A Moment of Gratitude

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When you have been through as many dental consults as I have (six periodontal, four prosthodontic and two orthodontic) and several months of procedures with an oral surgeon, you can get pretty tired of going to dentists’ offices, especially when the actual dental reconstruction work hasn’t started yet.  It begins to feel endless before you even begin.  Then the blessing comes.

I had to have my broken bicuspid bonded in order to be able to have a brace put on it.  The entire front was missing. I am going to be in braces for over a year. So my prostho didn’t want to put a temporary crown on it for that long.  When he said he was going to bond it, I figured it would like a patch, similar to the blob of bonding material my oral surgeon put behind another tooth to save it.

So, you can imagine my surprise when he molded it to look like an actual tooth…  not just a tooth either, MY TOOTH.  I could barely talk when his assistant put the before and after photo up on the monitor. It looked like it had never been broken… like nothing at all had happened to it.  It looked perfect!

I know it’s just one tooth and a temporary solution at that.  I still have a looooooong way to go in this dental reconstruction but it’s hard to express how it good it felt to have that first little step be so beautiful!  I felt a little bit more like myself than I have in a long time.  Even with my appliance in, I felt uncomfortable smiling wide because I knew my broken tooth would still show.  Thursday night, I wore the widest, brightest (had a cleaning too) smile that I have had in almost six months when I showed his work to my family.

I knew the prosthodontist I had chosen was an artist.  …I can always spot one a mile away.  I wasn’t worried about whether he could do the work but it is awfully nice to see proof that I was right in my own mouth!

What was your big moment of gratitude this week?

Love and blessings to all.

Cynthia

 

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justdragonfly

Brussel Sprouts: A Former Hater finds…Like

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I have always despised brussel sprouts.  As a vegetarian, I generally like all vegetables but not brussel sprouts.  I thought they were mean, nasty, little, bitter cabbages and I avoided them like the plague until today.

I’ve been doing research on nutrition that will support me having the best possible outcome from the dental reconstruction I will begin shortly. (I’ll get more into this in a future post.)  So, you can imagine my inner conflict when I discovered that brussel sprouts, those angry little wet balls of green slimy leaves, are loaded with vitamin K, essential to strong bones, and calcium… among many other health benefits.  Dammit!  Now, I was going to have to give those little suckers another try.

So, today with an open heart and mind, I opened a bag of fresh (well, you know, Trader Joe’s fresh) of brussel sprouts.  I dutifully cut off what remained of their little tails and split them in half.  (I learned it was good to split them in half because sometimes little creatures can be found amongst the leaves…ewwwl!)  Then I put them in a bowl full of water with three tablespoons of vinegar for ten minutes to clean them.  I rinsed them off and was ready to roast.

I figured, since I tend to like roasted veggies that, roasting might increase the odds I actually would find them edible.  I added a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Then I put the little green guys in the oven for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

When I checked on them, I was pleased to find them just starting to turn brown and tender but not slimy.  I cautiously put one in my mouth and began chewing.  While, I would say they definitely were mildly astringent but not at all bitter.  They were quite pleasant.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was actually enjoying brussel sprouts!

So, to any of you veggie avoiders out there (you know who you are!) you may want to give your detested dish another try.  I think prep is key when it comes to certain vegetables.  So, if you don’t like it the way your grandma made it; find a new recipe; mix it up; invent your own!  It might improve your health and make your world a little more interesting.

Love and blessings to all.

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.

justdragonfly

Did You Take Your Meditation Today?

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Check out my post as a guest blogger on HolisticsVoice.com:

Back in March, I fell down a large public staircase and smashed my face on the ground, breaking my nose, jaw and damaging several teeth, including the loss of my right front tooth. Many times since then, people have complimented me on how well I’ve been handling the situation; often exclaiming they would be a puddle in the corner; had it happened to them. – See more at: http://www.holisticsvoice.com/featured/did-you-take-your-meditation-today/

Letting Go: Sorting Through My STUFF

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I just watched the last piece of my Nana’s cherry wood set get hauled away.  I dragged that set with me from home to home for the last fourteen years and today, I let it go to an appreciative young man who was probably furnishing his first apartment.

I moved out of my parents’ house over 19 years ago.  Hurricane Sandy brought me back here temporarily.  My dental reconstruction is keeping me here a while longer.  Deciding it was better to have funds available to pay my various dentists than for storage fees, I cleared out my POD this weekend.

I am a fiercely independent person.  I do not enjoy asking for help.  However, this situation has required that I learn how to accept it and I am definitely grateful for the help that has been extended to me by friends and family.  I’d be lying if I said I was excited about the idea of sorting through all my crap and deciding what stays and what goes.  It’s a perfect beach weekend and that is where I would rather be.

Rather than dwell on the loss of my independence (and a good beach weekend) though; I’ve decided to view this as an opportunity to let go of what I don’t need and welcome a fresh start.  While I was looking through one box, I found a baseball card album filled with Steve Sax cards.  My boyfriend in college gave it to me as a birthday present one year.  I had remarked that Steve Sax had a cute tush and he thought it would be funny to give me all his cards.  It was funny but not funny enough to keep toting around decades after we broke up; especially when I never really wanted it in the first place.

The baseball card album was one of his better gifts too.  One year he gave me a toolbox filled with tools.  I didn’t want that either.  The nicest things one of my friends at the time said about it was “tell him next year, you want a jewelry box and to fill that up too.”  The rising chorus from my friends was “dump him” and eventually I did.  So, why do I still have this little album all these years later?  Who the fuck knows… I am a sentimental person but I think this is a good time to reevaluate what I want to keep in my life and what NEEDS to go.

I also have this sense that letting go of unnecessary stuff will make room for new and better things, opportunities and experiences in my life.  I think I will do a mental overhaul while I am at it and let go of accumulated fears, pains, frustrations and insecurities… I’m sure I have a book on that in one of these damn boxes…

What do you need to let go of?  Have you had a positive experience after letting go of items you no longer needed?  I would love to hear from you!

Love and blessings to all,

Cynthia

Please follow me on Twitter.  Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page.