One day, earlier this year, I found myself in the ER vomiting up the mucus that lined my stomach. That afternoon, I decided I’d had enough.
The vomiting was a result of acid reflux and yes, I was on medication when it happened. I’d been taking prescription medication for years as well as doing everything I knew might help. I actively avoided my known triggers, for instance. (I went years without eating french fries!) I also had my chiropractor adjust my xiphoid every time I saw him.
“Your what?” My xiphoid. The xiphoid process is a tiny part of your body, at the bottom of the sternum, that has a direct correlation with acid reflux. Basically, if it’s out of position it can trigger an attack, and if you’re suffering from acid reflux it gets pulled out of position. It’s a truly vicious cycle. My chiropractor adjusts me with an activator and, using that tool, he can adjust my xiphoid. Every time he adjusted it, I got relief for a while.
After that ER visit, I decided I was done with the medicine battle. For years, faithfully taking medicine had accomplished nothing beyond keeping the symptoms at bay. I wanted better than that. As soon as I could, I went to The Health Fix in Liberty, Texas, approached Betty Runkle, ND, and informed her that I needed to fix my acid reflux and do it naturally. I knew going in that natural remedies take time and can be costly since they’re not covered by insurance, but I had reached the point that none of that mattered. I was committed to true recovery if such a thing were possible.
She assured me it was possible and set me up with a plan that is working.
It’s working so well that in one of my recent visits my chiropractor didn’t even have to adjust my xiphoid. That is a first! Yes, I do still deal with issues, but they’re less and less every month – except for months like these last two when I’ve eaten a lot more rich food than usual. The point is the symptoms aren’t just being controlled like they were with medication: The system is clearly healing.
So, what am I doing? I’m glad you asked! What I’m about to share is what I’ve found works for ME. It involves taking the appropriate nutrients that support and promote the body’s natural and innate healing processes. It’s about taking what she told me to do and tweaking it as I saw how my body responded. It’s a multi-part program, and every part is essential. Let’s go.
- I take a teaspoon of raw, unfiltered honey every morning and every night. Honey is a healer on many levels and, when I let myself run out, I notice a definite difference.
- Another thing that heals your stomach is aloe vera. To be honest, if I were doing it totally right, I’d be drinking organic aloe vera juice. What I do is buy the 16.9 ounce bottles of aloe vera you can get at dollar stores and groceries (especially if they cater to Hispanics). I drink one a day, usually early in the day. I drink it early because you don’t want to combine it with apple cider vinegar as the two cancel each other out. I let the aloe soothe my stomach and work on healing it in the morning, then introduce the acid around noon. Aloe vera is also a great rescue; if you feel the fire, it’ll put it out. I sometimes drink it before bed as well.
- I take a digestive enzyme with my morning pills. The one I take is Acid Soothe from Enzymedica. This is one of my tweaks. Dr. Runkle had suggested I start the day with an apple cider vinegar pill to ensure there’s enough acid in my stomach. For most people I’m sure that’s best. I generally practice intermittent fasting, however, and putting that much acid on my stomach and then waiting so long to eat seemed to make things worse instead of better, so I switched to taking the enzymes first and my symptoms improved. You can also take enzymes with meals, and I do often, especially when I’m eating foods I know might bother me in some way. I’ll even take enzymes in the evenings if I’m uncomfortable.
- Apple cider vinegar, which I was thrilled to learn comes in pills, is a huge part of the program. Acid reflux is triggered by not having enough acid in your stomach when you need it. With this in mind, and since I don’t take it first thing in the morning, I try to take it about half an hour before a meal – though I’ll also take it at the beginning of a meal if I’m behind schedule.
- Finally, she taught me to mix up a roll-on with Solle Naturals’ CALM essential oil in a carrier oil. I take it with me everywhere, and if I find myself experiencing discomfort, I can roll on a line from my belly button to my xyphoid or, if I’m in public and can’t, I’ll often roll it at the base of my neck. I learned about putting it at the base of my neck when I had one of those “it feels like something is stuck right there” moments (if you know you know) and decided it was worth a shot. The relief was amazingly fast.
Solle’s CALM is a high quality essential oil blend that promotes bile production and a sense of calm throughout my body and mind. Essential oils are amazing and, as soon as you put them on the skin topically, the healing properties enter the bloodstream within three seconds. If you’ve never tried them, you’re missing out!
That’s everything we discussed. It was pretty simple and, surprisingly, it’s not that much money! I was honestly shocked. People automatically assume that natural remedies are necessarily expensive, and they can be; these aren’t. I can stay on these even during the months I don’t get my widow’s benefits from Social Security. (If it seems odd for me to mention it, know that women in my position have to keep in mind the reality of those checks and what their absence does to the budget.)
I will insert, here, that when you’re dealing with natural remedies you are also dealing with time. That’s something we don’t like in the modern world. We love quick fixes, and we especially like them when it comes to our health. The problem is, those quick fixes often fail to deal with the root problem just like years of taking prescription drugs for acid reflux never healed my gut. It takes time for the body to get out of whack, and time for it to get back in balance. I have enough experience that I knew I was making the right decision going into this, but even if I’d lacked experience I knew enough that I would have made a 90-day commitment because, while in many situations you do experience immediate results, with natural remedies it can often take 90 days to start seeing them.
The only other thing I do, aside from trying to eat healthier than I have this holiday season, is see my chiropractor regularly so he can keep the xiphoid in line. It’s been nearly a year and this regimen is working. Healing is undeniably happening, and I couldn’t be happier.
If you have questions about natural treatments for this or any other health issue, I suggest checking out The Health Fix Store or the VIP group BeYoutifully Holistic on Facebook, which is the front page for the podcast, BeYOUtifully Holistic with, no surprise, Betty Runkle.
Betty Runkle, ND, is a fount of valuable information and you can make appointments to speak with her personally at https://bettyrunkle.com.
Believe me, your health is worth it!
Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C
PS: If you want to check out Solle’s CALM, and don’t mind using my referral link, you can click here. There are several Solle products I use regularly, so I signed up to be able to use their monthly subscription service and get discounts. You may want to consider doing the same.
