It's About Time!

Click on LINK to read more about the FDA making it easier for generic Epi Pens to come into the market.

Product Review (3) - DeMitze

They have different sizes: single, queen and king.

I have used this for almost 10 years now. The material is super smooth and the sewing is very tiny to ensure minimal gaps.

Our mattresses, pillows and bolsters are all encased in this. The best way to using this is to wrap your stuff when they are new. That will minimise dust exposure and thus minimising dust mites (dust mites thrive on dust).

But you can do so with your old stuff too.

The DeMitze cover.

Normal protector.

Bolster case.

Washing instructions.

They have dust mite spray too, but I have never bought this nor have I used this. 

Verdict: Buy this to encase your mattresses, pillows and bolsters. I have no regrets. They work well for us.

Thermomix Millet Flakes

I have craved for corn flakes for a very long time.

Crave is an understatement.

PICA is more like it. 

The ones sold at the grocery stores have added flavourings, colourings and the usual ingredients that I can't have.

And then when I find the ones I can have, they are loaded with SUGAR!

So when I saw this in the grocery store, the wheels in my brain turned and I knew I had to try to make my own MILLET FLAKES!

 Ingredients:

1. 1000gm water
2. 260gm millet flakes
3. 5gm sea-salt

------------------------------

1. Place all ingredients into the TMX jug.

2. Set 6 minutes/90C/speed2.5.

3. Once it is lumpy and thick, it is done.

4. Line baking tray with baking paper.

5. Spread paste onto baking tray as thinly as possible.

6. Preheat oven to 180C.

7. Bake for approximately 1 1/2 hours.

8. Turn the whole sheet of millet over. Certain parts underneath will still be soft.

9. Bake for another hour. The whole sheet will be crunchy and crispy.

10. Allow to cool.

11. Break the millet sheet into small pieces.

12. Keep it in an airtight container.

Bon apetit!

December 2017 Update

Today's the 196th day I've been off my meds!

To read about how this journey started, click on LINK.

*picture taken from HERE

The State of Today's Health

*taken from HERE

Just Keep Swimming!

*picture taken from HERE

Product Review (2) - Ecover Washing-Up Liquid

 Today's product review is Ecover washing-up liquid.

Chamomile & Marigold

Lemon & Aloe Vera
(I did not realise that this picture is the product BEFORE the latest ones. The ones I bought do not have FRAGRANCE as in the picture above.)

This is the one I have, the older version.

I have been using these for years now. They are gentle on the hands. The smell is very, VERY faint and that was what caught my attention. It hardly had any smell.

When I first bought this many, MANY years ago, it was only approximately about RM15 for 1 litre. Now it costs RM23+ at many supermarkets and hardware shops. But ACE Hardware is still selling this for RM20+.

*The ingredients are plant-based. They are DI water (deionized water), sodium lauryl sulfate which is derived from plant oil (coconut oil), lauryl/myristyl glucoside which is derived from plant sugars and oils, ethanol which is from fermented plant sugars, sodium chloride (salt), glycerin from vegetable oil, sodium citrate from plant sugars, citric acid derived from fermented plant sugars and T-butyl alcohol which is from fermented plant sugars.

*taken from HERE

Apparently they have a fragrance-free wash liquid but I've never seen this in Malaysia.

Not only do I use these two for my dishes, I use them for my bathrooms. Yes, I use them to wash the bathrooms! They work very well. 1 litre can last for 9 months! After every wash, the bathrooms do not smell as though they got bombed by chemical-fragrance bombs. And they clean the bathrooms very well. No residue and no smell!

Unfortunately, when I find something suitable, the universe will go all out against me. Products are either discontinued or have their ingredients changed.

The revamped products: IMPROVED FRAGRANCE!

I don't know how strong the scents are. I haven't taken a whiff of the new improved versions. I have not bought the new ones as I still have a lot of the old ones.

I might have to start scouting for new smell-free washing up liquid with reasonable prices.

Verdict: The old version was awesome. No comments/feedback on the new ones.

How to Survive When You Get Struck by the Lightning of Life

The storms in Life are horribly unpredictable. Sometimes you know a storm is coming and you are able to seek shelter from the lighting. Sometimes, it just hits you with no warning whatsoever. And it isn't in the form of Thor. And most of the time, we are blindsided.

Many people have written to me asking me for help to how to overcome ailments which have struck them very suddenly in life. First and foremost, I am not a doctor. But I can share with you what I had adopted in my life to overcome the salicylate sensitivity which resulted in an anaphylaxis (which also caused my life to come to a screeching halt).

1. Keep Calm

I know, it's easier said than done. A thunderbolt just struck your life. How to be calm??? "You are INSANE for even suggesting this Evelyn!" you say.

If you're not calm, how can you plan your next step? It would be running around like a headless chicken.

So, my two cents worth of advice would be this:

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

OR, you could try this:

OR this:

*picture taken from HERE

2. Research, Research, Research

You need to research until the information oozes out from every single pore that you have, from your eyes, your nose, your ears.

You cannot ask another person to do the research for you. Did you ask someone to study for you and sit for your driving exam? Or your school and college exams?

YOU did all the studying and research for your exams! It's the same now. Don't ever ask me to READ and SUMMARIZE all the information in the links that I gave you. The time that you spend researching about the ailment that has struck your life will give you understanding to what you must do and how to do it. You need to internalize the information.

3. Patience

Rome was not build within a day. Thus, your immune system will not be 'normal' overnight. It takes time. And it takes patience. And sometimes, it may take forever.

This isn't a 50 or 100 metre dash. This is a marathon race. So if you think you can outrun the ailment, you'll be in for a very great disappointment.

I would say that the anaphylaxis chose the right person to strike. I was a very impatient person. You can ask my mother. Having this medical condition has taught me much patience.

4. Know Your Limit (Will POWER)

Just because you are now finally able to eat the food you've not eaten for so many, many, many years, it does not mean you can now gorge yourself like a glutton pig. Just because you can now smell some fragrance, it does not mean you can expose yourself to the Eau de Parfums (a.k.a. Little Miss/Mister Stinky) all around you.

You need to have the will power to hold back.


OR, you can do this:

*picture taken from HERE


5. Use Common Sense

If you know you cannot eat a certain food or smell a certain smell, why must you go and eat or expose yourself to it? What are you trying to prove? Have some common sense.

*picture taken from HERE

6. It's OK to Fall Down and Fail

I've lost count of the times I fell down and failed throughout these 8 years plus. If a person tells you that they've never failed or fallen down in life, that person is full of shit.

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

7. Keep on Moving

Once you've picked yourself up from where you fell down and failed, you need to move on. And to keep on moving forward.

*picture taken from HERE

8. Get Help

If you're unable to pick yourself up and move on, get help. Talk to people who can help you. Seek help when you need it. There's nothing to be ashamed about in needing help.

*picture taken from HERE

9. Be Happy

Find that one thing in your life that makes you happy even though life truly sucks generally.

It could be your family or your child.

10. Last but not least, SWEAR LIKE A SAILOR!

*picture taken from HERE

*picture taken from HERE

Just For Laughs (18)

*taken from HERE

Product Review (1) - Jack N' Jill Natural Toothpaste

I will be doing some product reviews as I come across "safe", "fragrance-free" and "chemically-free" products being sold out there.

My review is my opinion. You can disagree. You can pound your keyboard and scream in disagreement. You can even send in your disagreements.

But if you choose to buy and experiment, you are responsible for your own experiments. Please use wisdom and common sense when you try anything new. Just because I can use/eat/smell it, do not think that you too will be able to. My immune system and yours are different and no two persons' immune system are the same.

Today's product review is Jack N' Jill Toothpaste.

The ingredients are xylitol, purified water, vegetable glycerin (coconut derived), silica, xantham gum, potassium sorbate (naturally derived) and citric acid.

According to what is written on the tube, it's safe to be swallowed. It is also SLS (sodium laureth sulfate) free. It has no fluoride, no sugar, no artificial colour and no parabens.

The gel is transparent/translucent.

When I used it for the first time, my eyes went as big as goldfish eyes. It was sooooooooo sweet! Hey, I thought that it stated "No Sugar?" I read the ingredients again and saw xylitol. Well, *xylitol is a sugar substitute and is used in "sugar-free" candies and sweets. It has a low glycemic index, fewer calories and doesn't spike blood sugar/insulin. The sweetness turned me off.

The price factor was another turn off. For 50gm it costs a whooping RM31.70!!! That was the first and last time I would ever buy this. It's too damn expensive. With RM31.70, I could buy one and a half free-range chicken!

Some salicylate-sensitive people might not be able to tolerate the coconut derived vegetable glycerin. Many cannot tolerate coconut. Vegetable glycerin is from the oil and coconut oil is HIGH in salicylate.

My verdict? A waste of money and WAY TOO SWEEEEET!


*taken from Xylitol - Everything You Need To Know

Latest News on EpiPen Failure

Please click on LINK to read in detail. It is important that you keep abreast of what is happening regarding the EpiPens.

Do check on the state of your EpiPens regularly to make sure that they are not leaking.

An Update!

Today is the 161th day!!!! The body is slowly forgetting Xyzal. Sometimes the craving still comes. But it has lessened considerably a lot!

I've been extremely busy experimenting with food. Hehe... There were times where my bucket overflowed because I couldn't resist high-salicylates food. Then it was back to low-salicylates. I still am not strong enough to try outside food yet. But life is good. And I'm very thankful and grateful to be at this stage. Health is truly wealth!

I've also been walking 10K steps everyday. Walking makes a huge difference. It helped strengthen the immune system. It also helped me de-stress. It also helped loosen some very tight muscles.

The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida

The second part of this journey: Candida & Dr. Yadav

The third part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The fourth part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part Two)

The fifth part of this journey:  The New Hell Called Steroids

The sixth part of this journey: Onward, Forward, No Looking Back

The seventh part of this journey: Moving On

The eighth part of this journey: Trekking On

The ninth part of this journey: An Update

Flourless Thermomix Cashew Bread

Ingredients:

1. 385gm cashew flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
3. 1/2 teaspoon of salt
4. 3 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
    - egg whites beaten until stiff peaks are formed
5. 120gm plain yoghurt
6. 80gm apple juice

---------------------------------

1. Place salt, baking soda and cashew flour into TMX jug and set 5 seconds and set speed 6.5.

2. Add egg yolks, yoghurt and apple juice to the flour mixture. Knead for 30 seconds.

3. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

4. Bake 150C for an hour. (I added 10 mins at 180C to get the golden brown finishing touch.)

Bon appetit!

Insect Screens

A good method for keeping insects out of the house is to install insect screens at every window and door. It's almost 100% effective.

The frame for the nettings.

They have tiny wheels to slide across when we need to open the windows.

For single windows, these two open like a door.

Window with the insect screen.

When it's dusty, all you have to do is just take them out to the bathroom and spray them with water. Leave them to dry before placing them back. I do this weekly.

I find these work so much better than the magnetic insect screens. These are stainless steel.

An Update

Today's is the 82nd day off Xyzal!

I finally fell sick in July. Caught the flu bug which was going around the Klang Valley. The last time I fell sick was one year ago. The doctor told me that it is good to finally fall sick. The immune system can be strengthened.

As a result of falling sick (also had ulcers on my tonsils at the same time, not eating and sleeping well, coughing to the point, I think my lungs were almost expelled out a few times), the reflux problem came back and I had to be on PPIs for a few days. Then it was back to building up the gut again.

Food wise, I have been able to eat small amounts of spinach, okra, broccoli and turmeric with no issues. These are high in salicylate.

I'm still taking it slow and easy! But it's good to be able to eat healthy food!

The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida

The second part of this journey: Candida & Dr. Yadav

The third part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The fourth part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part Two)

The fifth part of this journey: The New Hell Called Steroids

The sixth part of this journey: Onward, Forward, No Looking Back

The seventh part of this journey: Moving On

The eighth part of this journey: Trekking On

Dehumidifier

The dehumidifier in my laundry room.

2017 so far has been a very wet year for us. It's been raining so very frequently. When it doesn't rain, the weather is hazy with a pungent acrid burning smell in the air.

How can you dry laundry then?

Imagine the smell that it will absorb.

Imagine the DAMP smell the laundry will end up with in this damp weather.

So what to do?

Invest in a dryer!

Many will say: "The electricity bill will cost a bomb!"

Many instead choose to hang their laundry all over in their house. I read that hanging wet laundry in the house can cause problems for the lungs. A damp house can worsen an asthma attack. A damp environment can cause mold to thrive. Dust mites love a damp environment too. To read more about this, click on WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HANG YOUR WET LAUNDRY INDOORS.

Unfortunately, this is a very normal habit for us Malaysians.

WHAT TO DO THEN?

Invest in a dehumidifier. Not those tiny boxes which you place in your wardrobe. Not dried charcoal in small bags either. It won't work with drying your clothes!

I'm talking about those huge electrical dehumidifiers which can absorb nearly 20 litres of water (or more).

This is what I have in my laundry room and in my bedroom.

You can adjust the percentage of the humidity that you want the room to reach to. I usually wash my laundry at night and then switch the humidifier on for the whole night. The next morning, the clothes are all crispy, dried, HOT and fresh smelling. The whole laundry room is HOT and DRY! The container at the bottom of the dehumidifier would be filled with water.

Some people will place this in their room/basement which are damp and place the outlet hose for the water to be drained into the bathroom. This will enable the dehumidifier to function on non-stop mode. The method which I'm using does not use the outlet hose. Once the container is filled up with water, the dehumidifier will shut off automatically.

When we first shifted in to our new place, the master bedroom was very damp. The humidity level was 80+. It was very humid and damp. I was very worried about fungus spores forming. I switched on the humidifier during the day and the air-con during the night. Over the months, the humidity dropped and it's now in the early 60s.

Drying the laundry in this manner doesn't burn a hole in the wallet compared to when using the dryer. Also the clothes last longer. I find the dryer speeds up the process of 'aging'! The clothes wear out faster.

So if you're in a dilemma on how to dry your laundry, you might want to research about dehumidifiers.

The ABCs - O is Organic (Part 1)

Everywhere you go, organic food screams out from every supermarket.

But what does organic mean?

According to the Department for Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), *organic food is grown in a farming system which does not use man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products made from or derived from GMOs are also prohibited.

*taken from HERE

One of the aims of organic agriculture is to be able to have environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. That can be achieved by relying on crop rotation, animal and plant manures, hand weeding and biological pest control.

... to be continued

Moving Forward

The Biggest Mistake Ever!

It's almost one year since we moved to our new place. Time just flew by.

We got a HE inverter front loading washing machine as it saves water electricity and detergent. Since it uses so little water, it needs to be 'washed' every month. Soap scum tend to get clogged much easier for the HE machine. I have never owned a HE front loader prior to this.

The HE front loading washer.

Recently, the laundry started to smell not-so-fresh and they didn't look clean after coming out of the washer. Many times, they had a stale smell.

The machine needed to be washed. I have not washed it for one year.

How to wash?

I went to a hardware shop nearby my place and was recommended this.

This was to be poured into the drum directly and washed in the highest temperature.

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

My whole house smelt as though it got 'nuclear bombed' AND 'atom bombed' AND 'torpedoed' by artificial fragrance. I choked and started tearing. Joel who has never been affected by smell said that both his ears and neck felt like they were breaking out in hives. He started itching.

We opened all the windows and switched on all the fans in full blast.

The smell left the house but the laundry room was a disaster. It smelt like a chemical perfume factory. I wanted to cry. My laundry room is just next to the kitchen. And I spend almost all my time in the kitchen. By the end of the day, the smell would permeate the whole house again.

My mouth started to burn. I started to feel ill. I swallowed two Piritons that day to be on the safe side.

Every load of laundry after that smelt of that horrible toxic fragrance smell.

I tried baking soda.

It didn't eradicate the smell.

I couldn't wear my clothes as they were saturated with the chemical perfume smell. It made me very ill.

WHAT TO DO????

And then the voice in my head said, "Vinegar".

I bought this from the hardware store:

Of course I had reservations regarding vinegar as vinegar has always been my worst enemy. Highest in salicylates.

Shockingly, this vinegar wasn't pungent. And I wasn't sickened at all by the smell. I had no reaction.

I poured 400ml into the washer and set it to the highest temperature. And I did this three times.

Hallelujah.

All hail Lord Vinegar. Praises be heaped upon Lord Vinegar.

The toxic fragrance smell was gone.

I then washed my clothes with the vinegar in the highest temperature. The sickening fragrance smell was gone!!! I then washed my clothes in my usual fragrant-free detergent. They all smelt normal again.

What a great relief!

This was a pricey lesson as the Tide machine washer cost RM60+ per box. I cannot exchange it as I've used one sachet. Hmmmmm.... I wonder who would want it. Hehe.....

For future washings for the machine, vinegar will be used as the tub is now so clean and fresh. And the clothes look bright and clean again. Smells great too.

Thank god for Lord Vinegar! Long live Lord Vinegar!

Formaldehyde Poisoning

Who would ever guess that this family was being poisoned by formaldehyde which was from their books, magazines and newspapers?

Click on LINK to read more.

Trekking On

Today is the 58th day of being free from PPIs. It is the 49th day of being Xyzal free!

I now realise that the garlic which I had thought to have caused me to have gastric/reflux is actually an IBS symptom. Garlic is a definite high on the FODMAP food list. I've also been eating BREAD! Yes, I couldn't resist the temptation of bread. It was like I died and went to bread heaven. Again, this is high on the FODMAP diet. But one needs to know the amount that one can take before the IBS symptoms start to manifest. And the new gastro told me that I have to experiment and know my limit as everyone is different. Most of the time, it was the IBS that pushed the gas up to the stomach which then pushed the acid up to the esophagus. Once I had my food under control, there wasn't any IBS or 'reflux'.

I still get random itches here and there now and then. The good news is that the craving for Xyzal has lessened a lot. I've been consuming quite a lot of food high on the salicylate list. I've had broccoli, spinach, okra, corn, curry, turmeric and etc. I overdid it and my bucket overflowed. I had a nasty reaction two days ago and I had to take two piritons to help settle this episode. Well, it's back to low salicylate diet again for now. But I am so happy that today, I am able to tolerate better high levels of salicylate in food.

Will be working towards experimenting outside food in the future. But for now, it's still maintaining being drug-free and symptom-free.

The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida

The second part of this journey: Candida & Dr. Yadav

The third part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The fourth part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part Two)

The fifth part of this journey: The New Hell Called Steroids!

The sixth part of this journey: Onward, Forward, No Looking Back

The seventh part of this journey: Moving On

Happy Story

I CAN EAT ANYTHING!

What's yours?

Did You Know....

*picture taken from HERE