Update On All My Natural Supplements

I have been researching a lot about natural supplements. I am no longer willing to do only as my doctor prescribes (although I will always continue to do all that he prescribes). There are so many other options outside of the medical world and as I feel more and more desperate to be as healthy as possible for my daughter I am now delving into the natural side of treating CF.

Part of me wants to start all the supplements I have been researching right away and see how it improves my health. The problem is I am the daughter of a scientist and so for me, this just isn't possible. I want to make sure each supplement works for me and that I can feel the difference. I don't want to waste time and money on things that don't work for my body.

I started juicing in April and after deciding I felt a positive difference, I enjoyed the taste, and genuinely liked juicing so I decided I continue to juice.

In June I started L-Glutathione and noticed a HUGE difference and loved the change. I decided it was absolutely worth my time and the cost. The first night of using it my mucus was so thin I actually woke up gurgling. This was such a dramatic difference that I instantly wished that I had done L-Glut since my diagnosis. But then, something not so miraculous happened. I started to feel tight. It was subtle at first, but over the next few days I felt much more tight to the point that I became hard to breath let alone move mucus at all. The only change I had made was L-Glut (which is why I didn't start everything new at once) so I immediately stopped it. I felt some relief within a day or two. In order to be a good scientist I want to try L-Glut again and see if it was a fluke (something in the air that made me tight like an allergen) or if it really was the cause of my extreme tightness. Honestly, I have been a little nervous to try again.

In July I started Fizzy NAC for the second time in my life. I felt like I had positive results two years ago when I was using it, but stopped when I got pregnant with K. I am not as impressed with it this time around. I don't seem to feel a huge difference, but my health has been a little rocky since I got the flu last winter and so maybe it is just harder to tell the difference it is making. I am still using it, but have not decided if I am going to buy another shipment.

In late June I started Liposomal Vitamin C. Again, I am not 100% convinced it does much. I haven't noticed the difference that a lot of my CF friends have noticed. I wonder if I was getting enough Vit C through my diet so I didn't really see a difference. Again, I am not sure if I will be buying more when my bottle runs out.

Fizzy NAC

I have read SO much about fizzy NAC recently through different CF forums and I have been dying to try it. I have heard a LOT of good things and some people saying it did nothing. I so want to see if it does any good for me. It is really expensive at $25.00 a box w/taxes and one box will only get me through 10 days! Considering my husband and I don't make very much money and my health is already rather expensive, it is a little steep. The cost is why I did not order it sooner. I tried to get my doc to order mucomyst (which is the same as Fizzy NAC, but tastes much worse apparently) so insurance would cover it, but he refused. He then told me that if I went out and bought is myself (fizzy NAC) he couldn't stop me and would not think any differently towards me. He is SO conservative when it comes to meds. I am always trying to convince him to let me try new things and he always says no.

I went ahead and forked over the $25.25 for fizzy NAC and just received it in the mail today where I promptly took the first dose. I am a little torn if I should be taking it. As we discovered in past posts, I am a horrible scientist. I know I cannot give NAC a fair assessment because I am sick and on orals. Will I feel better because of orals or because of NAC or both? Will I think NAC does nothing because I am already sick and therefore do not feel well? Will I think it works wonderfully because as I get over this infection I will naturally feel better? I will have no way of knowing which is precisely why I am a bad scientist. At the same time, I am sick and want to get better ASAP so I of course am going to try anything. I decided in order to give it a fair assessment I will continue to take fizzy NAC for a few months before deciding if I like it or not.

When your life and health and well being is on the line I think we are willing to try almost anything. I so desperately want to grow old with my husband. I realize we will never be the little old couple holding hands on the front porch swing, but I would love to be a CF old person holding my husbands not so old hand. I would love to find grey hairs and even a few crows feet. I would love to be able to order off the seniors menu at restaurant or get a senior discount. It is funny that the things most people dread would be an honor for me to experience. I guess when people complain about growing old they forget that the alternative would be much worse. I wonder how many 27 year olds have these worries.