feeling a little better... todays diet is:

VACUUM THE HELL OUT OF THE RUGS THIS MORNING. Since I can't get the dogs to vacuum (lazy bitches!), clean clean clean: bedding, dust, etc - cuz you never know what will set those f*cking polyps off....breakfast: banana and 1 small slice of cornbread with jalapeno, 2 c. coffee with non-dairy creamer and 1 sm. spoon of sugar (yea bad... ok tomorrow no sugar)
lunch: gonna be 2 real "tacos" - corn tortilla, heated in oven and moistened with water to get it soft, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa: note that there is no cheese or sour cream (dang).
dinner: gonna be mashed potato (no butter) and salad, allowing for 3tbl dressing mayo based french dressing (again, bad i know but im out of vinegar).
snack: apple if i get hungry... green tea/thistle tea... a few cups of popcorn, no butter... and more green tea, green tea, green tea, greEN tea, green tea... AND BTW: TRIED THIS DAIRY FREE HEMP MILK, sounded good.. TASTED LIKE CRAP. I really wish there was a hemp milk out there that tasted good (and no, it was not just my taste buds... let 4 of my friends try it and everyone wanted to puke after it touched their lips.)

der der der

So, after my last freak out, I went back on fruit/veggie diet - but I allowed corn... popcorn, corn tortillas, and, corn. The pressure that I felt in my right nose, as if the polyp was returning, went AWAY. I drank loads of green tea/thistle... vitimens... peroxide wash... etc. I was feeling pretty good for those days. TWO DAYS AGO I baked (and ate) cornbread with eggs and milk... and in the evening had a few lemon-aid screwdrivers (lots of sugar in those), but woke up feeling OK. THEN Yesterday...I went to visit at a friend's house, and ate pizza with everything (wheat in the crust, sausage, cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, olives, etc.), and drank wine, and had more of the cornbread. TODAY my right sinus is clogged. Coincidence? Maybe. But today I'm going back on fruit/veggie/etc diet, including no booze (basically NO soy, wheat, nuts, dairy, shellfish - all the common allergens). Let's see what happens. (*note: i have read that sometimes it can take a few days for whatever your food allergy/sensitivity is to kick in, so, maybe it was the cornbread, maybe not, maybe the mushrooms? Wine? Pizza crust? who the hell knows... so back on clearing my system, and then I will eat a bucket of mushrooms, wait 2 days .... then olives, wait 2 days... etc.)

What he hell, sooo disappointing I must be an IDIOT

I can already tell that on my right side, something is going on, such as another polyp is growing. The nose is slightly stuffy, enough for me to notice a pressure after so many great days of breathing perfectly clear. I realized something was happening when I awoke last night to my own snoring (I had not been snoring at all for the past few weeks) and needed to blow my nose. FUCK. What did I do different: Yesterday was the first day of zero steroids. Also, yesterday I ate a few things I probably should not have, i.e.: 2 oz cheese; 1/2 c. rice; a bowl of popcorn... oh, yea, and I had a handfull of goldfish crackers.

Also, to be honest, I have not, at least for the past few days, been using my nasal steroid 2xs per day - I've only been using it 1x per day.

And now as Im writing, I guess I've basically been really screwing up: my dogs have been sleeping in the bedroom with me, and I have not been drinking my green tea/thistle like I should.

Today I will start all over doing what I should be: Morning nasal flush with the peroxide solution, followed by nasal steroid. Fruit and veggies only. Lots of water/green tea. Evening flush and steroid use. Dogs out of bedroom.

See what happens.

Old Me

I remember in 2007 while at a friends home, she was telling me that her doc said her oxygen levels were at 93%. I responded "so... it's in the 90's, that sounds OK." She thought so too, and told me she didn't feel too bad. In 2009 I was visiting my nephew in the hospital. For "fun" we all placed the oxygen meter on our finger. I was at 93-94%. I didn't feel bad, and actually thought of it as no biggie since my friend was 93% and she was Ok.... so I lit a cigarette, poured myself a glass of wine, ate some cheese, and never thought about it again until mid 2009 when I visited the ER for the first time with shortness of breath and dizziness. X-rays and test showed negative to any real problems. I was given a peek flow test, which I blew in the low 300's, a steroid inhaler, and it was "suggested" that I quit smoking, and I was sent home where I continued with my lifestyle, not really knowing what to do with this "thing" the doc gave me. Then, in January 2010 I was taken by ambulance to the ER room for a "sudden" asthma attack. Looking back, I was exhausted for days before this attack, and the day of the attack I slept all day until I was rushed away at 11:30 p.m. This was my first brush (one of many - took me a few to "get it") with death. I attribute all of my problems over the years to bad living, with the polyps a RESULT of my bad living. For the first time in probably 20 years, I actually feel alive and awake by following a super simple diet; some, but really not much, exercise, and paying attention to my environment - avoiding smoke. (btw: oxygen levels for me at this point are between 98% and 100%, and my peek flow meter registers between 450 and 520.)

Nasal Polyps and Cleaning Your System

WHAATT??? Am I CURED OF NASAL POLYPS? HAVE THEY GONE INTO HIDING? I DON'T REALLY KNOW, BUT THIS IS WHAT I DID, and you can do it too.
I was so fed up with feeling really, really, sick - almost died 4 x's, in and out of ER rooms for respiratory problems in 24 months, endless doc visits and medications kind of sick... could ONLY breathe out of my mouth even when sleeping kind of sick... researched so much about these freaking polyps that any more conversations about the possibility of parasites in my nose to yeast growing in my nose, was gonna make me (literally) vomit sick. That is when I decided to do all the following. I PAID ATTENTION, FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS, and in two weeks my (years) of polyps disappeared! I say two weeks because it has been two weeks since I decided to actually go through with, and stick with, a diet an exercise plan, and take my meds, EXACTLY (a semi-detailed description of a typical day is under this post) that I had my amazing experience. No cheating. No forgetting. No doing anything after a few hours from the time that I told myself I was going to do it. I just did it. And did this take just 2 weeks? My whole life, before the diet, I ate and drank anything I wanted, which was mostly sugar and fermented foods since I had weakened sense of smell and taste from smoking (?), and the past few years, I had NO SENSE OF SMELL and I would say about 90% OF MY TASTE BUDS WERE GONE because of the polyp growth! Sugar and fermentation were the only things that would register with my brain and give me satisfaction (blue cheese, crackers, glass of wine and a chocolate was my favorite dinner... chewing away and breathing out of my mouth -- how lovely, and how wonderful I must have smelled to others!) I did not ever use the (following) peroxide solution, and I was irregular on my nasal spray. Yes, I have had prednisone before, but did not combine everything together and stick with the follow diet/regiment. The only thing I used on a semi-regular basis was my emergency inhaler and nebulizer. No kidding.
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This time I stuck with my guns, and I did so with amazing results. And btw: no, I'm not trying sell you anything. :)
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I could actually smell, and breathe once again! (smoke? um, yea... you gotta quit, but until you do, go ahead and try this diet anyway!).
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A minimum of two weeks of hard core, then after that, you can slowly add foods back into your diet if YOU CAN BREATHE AND YOUR NOSE IS CLEAR. If you have to keep eating nothing but organic fruits and veggies for a month, or two, or three, DO IT until you can breathe. Because you have polyps, something in your diet/environment is very "off", and something in your body is freaking out, causing it to attack itself. With some of us, the result is the damn polyps! Only add things back into your life only to figure out what you can not ever have back into your diet/environment... because it's going to be something. If you have to stay on the diet longer, stay on it. Stay on it until one day, when you take a shower, and your blowing your nose, the polyp(s) fall (uggg) out!
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Pay attention to your body. After I had been on this diet for a few weeks, I added popcorn. My all time favorite, something I've eaten for 50 years and never a problem, so it appeared to me. Popcorn. No butter, just a little Agave Nectar and some salt. Simple and sweet. After this "feast" I fell asleep for 4 hours in the afternoon. My conclusion? I'm sensitive to corn... a no-brainier. Sensitive enough to make the polyps come back? Is corn part of the problem? Where did this corn actually come from? I would rather not take a chance, and will now highly limit my corn intake.
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I have read of some people staying on this diet for up to 3 months, flushing their system out of crap that has accumulated over the years. From what I've been researching regarding nasal polyps, they are not a disease per se, but an indicator that something with your body and/or environment is wrong and you immune system is out of wack. Really out of wack. This very simple diet should hopefully help you figure out what you can eat, and what you need to avoid. Also consider your environment, i.e. pets, dust, mold, etc. If this could also be part of your problem, take care of business. Since this problem is so difficult to diagnoise, assume its a combo of problems causing your polyps to develop. Dust. Clean. Rip out your carpets. Wash in "green" soaps. Keep pets out of your bedroom - house if your really bad. No incense, perfume or anything scented. Use breathe-strips and sleep with a medical mask on if necessary, and no, I'm not joking about that.
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1. Throw away everything that comes in a package, can or bottle (noodles, milk, canned foods, cheese, bread, juice, soda, etc.), or, pack it into a box, and put it in your garage. Because this is so hard core, you can have organic coffee and organic tea - but black, and no more than 2 cups a day (AS IN 16 OZ TOTAL, NO MORE). No sugar. No dairy. No non-dairy creamer.
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REGARDING NUTS: YOU MAY NOT EAT ANY NUT PRODUCT, not even organic fresh off the tree nuts.
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NO YEAST OR FERMENTED FOODS. No bread products. No blue cheese, yogurt, wine, beer, vinegar, pickles, mustard, and so on... .
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2. You should be left with fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables, salt (sea) and fresh ground pepper. Buy organic if possible, and not too expensive. Remember this is not a forever diet, it's just until your cured diet. No animal products, and that means fish. No grains, yea, NO GRAINS. Your happy days of endless drinks will consist of green tea and water, and you want to drink a lot of both. *Note: for now, avoid mushrooms. Also avoid CORN. Unless you can find pure, real, pesticide free, not genetically altered, corn, avoid it for now. Even if you do find "real" organic corn, there could be a good chance it's been infected with who the hell knows what, so be paranoid. Paranoid like me. It's fun.
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IF you can afford it, use a juicer. Watch your fruit intake - lots of sugar. But have at on beet and carrot juice! A juicer is an awesome way to get healthy FAST.
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You will also be incorporating stinging nettle tea into your diet to build immunity, 3 cups per day, one with each meal. You may use one spoonful of LOCAL HONEY per cup of green/stinging nettle tea, up to three, per day for a little sweet which will also help build immunity. If you can not just use the 3 spoonfuls per day, avoid it all together. Honey is good, but if you go crazy with it too much sugar is just as bad.
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Use fresh oregano on a daily basis, and quite a bit if possible. It's anti-inflammatory properties may help.
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3. All water used for cooking and drinking will be poured through a purifier. NO PLASTIC BOTTLED WATER AND NO STRAIGHT FROM TAP WATER.
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4. Nasal cleansing: In a nasal irrigator, purchase the sodium/salt solution and irrigate nose according to directions (a Netti Pot).
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5. Use 1 tablespoon 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to equal amounts of water. Pour the peroxide mix into a container that allows you to squirt up your nose 2 x's per day, like a used Affrin bottle. Lay back so that the mix can get up into your sinus passages. Yes, it stings. Let it sit there until you can't stand it any more (about 2 misty squirts per nostril) while your head is rested over your bed, while you are on your back. If it stings too much, then sit upright, and squirt 2x's, and tough it out until you sneeze of have to blow your nose because of the, well, pain. No, this is not fun. If you have bad nasal polyps, use the squirts up to 4x's per day. The peroxide will help kill any germs who knows what, as well as kill infected skin cells, flushing them away from your healthy cells.
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6. Massage. Every night you will massage your face around the upper lip, nose, and under eye for at least 5 minutes. If you can do 2 or more times per day, better. This is best done after you have rinsed with the peroxide, and (if prescribed) squirted Fluticasone into your nasal cavity.
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7. Regarding nasal polyps: if they are to such a size that any prescribed medication, like Fluticasone, is unable to reach back up into your sinus, ask your doc to place you on a temporary high dose of prednisone. Because I was in a hospital, with respiratory problems (which at this point I am sure were caused by my polyps 100%), I was using a nebulizer (breathing treatment) every 4 hrs, and I was on an IV of 125mg of prednisone 4x's per day, for 3 days, then, my nebulizer was cut down to 2x's per day, and prednisone pills cut down to 60mg for 2 days, then 50 for 1 day, 40 for 1 day, etc. until pills were gone. This allowed my sinus inflammation to shrink, and I was able to get the Fluticasone AS WELL AS the peroxide solution up into my nose. During this period, I was using the Fluticasone 2 squirts, 2xs per day. Also, continue to use all doctor prescribed medications as usual.
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8. Blow your nose GENTLY. If the polyp will not let you blow your nose OUT, try to breathe IN. Sometimes the polyp will move in, but not out. If you can breath in, so this as often as you can think about it, and do it gently.
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9. Try to sleep as much as possible. Take naps, sleep in late, etc. Take WHOLE FOOD SUPPLEMENTS, not vitamins. If you want to read more on pro and con look it up, otherwise, JUST DO IT. Go to your health food store and buy the supplement.
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10. If the weather is nice, try to lay in the sun for 10 minutes each day if it's OK with you and your doc. YUP, I SAID LAY IN THE SUN. Get out, and get some sun. Obviously, if you have skin cancer, don't do it, or some sort of other sun related problem. Use your brain.
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HOW THIS WORKS:
First, I have to say you will loose weight, think clearly, and soon feel good on this diet, and it's simple. Eat breakfast lunch and dinner, a good portion if your hungry but don't eat as if there is no tomorrow. There will be a tomorrow, and if you eat 10 bananas and 10 apples each day in addition to the following sample diet, you could technically be eating thousands of calories each day. So be real. Have a snack. Not 8 MEALS a day.
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For instance, I usually had an apple, orange and banana for breakfast with a spoonfull of local honey drizzled on top with a few dashes of cinnamon - fruit salad. Lunch: A big sweet potato with a salad of greens, carrots, etc. The hot of the potatoes made the dressing-free salad taste OK! Yes, salt and peppered. Dinner was sometimes a gigantic bowl of steamed veggies, or I would buy organic veggie broth, and boil the potato and veggies in the broth. Once tender, I would blend the mix in an electric blender to make a "creamy" soup. More salt and pepper, as well as chives, oregano and rosemary. Every day I would snack on at least two apples, and usually a banana. I was never hungry, and I tried to avoid eating after 7:00 p.m.
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Drink as much water and green tea as you want. At some point during the day, walk down the street for 10 minutes as fast as you can, then walk back to your home. 10 minutes. Not much, but it will sure make a difference. If you have allergy or sinus or polyp problems, always carry your emergency inhaler with you on your walks.
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You will do this for 2 weeks. By the end of the two weeks, you will feel clearer, and very healthy. Energy will seem endless. My polyps LITERALLY DISAPPEARED. After 2 years or more of terrible suffering... of thinking of nothing but my breathing (literally) 24/7. I was cured. I woke up one morning, took a shower, and blew my nose. Out came the polyps, and I could instantly breathe. How did I know they were polyps? 1. I had all the symptoms 2. Doc concluded I had them as well. 3. Confirmed by the fact that what came out of my nose looked like the photo: nasal polyps! White/grey teardrop shaped clumps of, um, gack! Disgusting, and yes, I almost puked looking at it, but wow, SUDDENLY I COULD BREATHE!!!

Sample Diet: One Day

Me: a 49 year old female. Sure, my body has changed, and so I'm assuming I now have food sensitivities I never had, or maybe noticed, before. Now I pay attention since breathing is such a luxury for me, I never want to give it up again. Eating french bread and aged cheeses is not worth growing polyps... assuming those foods, for me, are part of my problem. Anyway... I'm also a little vain, enjoying the compliments from people... "your FACE looks different... did you do something to your eyes? Did you get a nose job? You look happy... have you lost weight!" (NO KIDDING).
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Morning: A big fruit salad with local honey, sprinkled cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Tea: one bag of stinging nettle tea and one of green tea combined. Usually I would have 2 cups. Maybe a cup of coffee. Eat my supplements, and fish oil pill. Shower. Wash out nose a bit. For the first two weeks I used my nebulizer at least once a day (sometimes more) for sure in the morning, and then as needed... and in the beginning it was definitely needed.
Morning snack: apple and green tea. My 10 am meds. Nasal spray, first peroxide mix, let nose dry, then the Fluticasone (now referred to as F). Facial massage while I lay on my back with head over bed.
Lunch: Sweet potato and huge salad with greens, carrots and whatever I wanted to throw in, as long as it was just a fruit or veggie. Fresh chopped oregano, chives and rosemary. Lightly salted and peppered. Another nettle/green tea cup. Sometimes I would add avocado and apple to the salad. (see photo)
Afternoon: banana and an apple.
Dinner: Steamed veggie and potato. Sometimes a white potato, but would try to stick with sweet potato or yams. More fresh chopped herbs. Lightly salted and peppered. I would eat until I felt very full. Veggies have little calories, so you can have at, with as much as you want. Nettle/green tea.
After dinner: go for a "quick" 10 minute walk down the street, and then back. Carry my emergency inhaler.
Dessert: apple.
10pm same med duty as 10am including massage. I always brought a big glass of water to take to bed since at first I could not breath through my nose and always awoke each night, every night, on the hour with a parched throat. Usually I used my emergency inhaler at least 1xs per night since I simply felt like, well, SHIT. It was just horrible.
NOTE: THROUGH THE DAY usually at least 4x's per day, I squirted the 3% peroxide solution (solution mix with equal parts pure water) up my nose, and held it there until it was stinging so bad I would sneeze or simply have to blow my nose. I read this kills off bad skin cells and bacterias. Remember, I am trying everything at once. I can't stand my "life".
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Anyway, you can see, I was never hungry (I ate a lot!), still lost 10 lbs (im assuming since I was not eating CRAP), and felt like a million once that freeking polyp came out. What a difference.

Home Made Mayo

OK. A little gross after a talk about nasal polyps, but what the hell. Take 2 large, fresh, organic or pasteurized eggs. The egg is not cooked so it must be certifiably fresh and/or pasteurized. This is not just to avoid any problems with salmonella and so on, but because fresh eggs emulsify much better. I use date-stamped eggs, or the fresh ones I can buy from a local farm.1 to 1 1/2 cups of oil. The choice of oil varies based on what you intend the mayo to be used for. Normally I use a flavorless oil such as peanut or safflower, but for making a mayo for dipping vegetables in, or as a basis for aioli (garlic mayonnaise) I use either a mixture of safflower and extra virgin olive oil, or olive oil alone. If you use all olive oil, the predominant taste in your mayo will be olive oil. My usual preference is for the egg flavor to be more forthcoming. 1-2 Tbs. lemon juice or white wine vinegar. Again, the amount of acidic liquid you add will influence the flavor of your mayo.1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, to taste. Optional: 1/4 Tbs mustard powder, OR 1 Tbs. mustard. Again...the type of mustard and the amount will also change the flavor. I actually prefer no mustard at all, or just a smidgen of mustard powder. Finally, all the ingredients (and equipment) should be at room temperature.

Put your chosen oil into the plastic squeeze bottle. My pink capped bottle just happens to hold exactly 1.5 cups. Separate the egg yolks from the whites; discard the whites or keep them for something else. Put the two egg yolks in the two bowls - one yolk per bowl. Why? You will see.Add about 1/2 tsp of salt and the optional mustard to one of the bowls. Start beating at low speed. In short order the egg yolk will look rather sticky. Add the oil, drop by drop, to the egg yolk mixture. And I do mean drop by drop. This is really critical to creating the emulsion that is the basis of mayonnaise. Keep adding the oil, drop by drop!!!
Transfer your whisk or beater to the other bowl, the one with the second yolk. Beat this one like the first one until it looks a bit sticky. Now add the egg-oil mixture from the first bowl to this, one spoonful at a time, making sure to beat each spoonful in. Here you see the eggdrop oil mix going into the new emulsion: When all the oil is added, add the lemon juice. Start with 1 tablespoonfull, beat in, then taste. Add more if you want it a bit more lemony. The lemon juice will lighten the color of the mayo. Adjust the salt too, if needed.You will end up with approximately 2 cups of beautiful mayonnaise.

Yeast Free Dairy Free Vegan Lasagna

OF course, buy as much organic produce as possible. You will be using sliced potato in place of the noodles. Slice as many white potatoes as you will need to make 1/2 your dish. The other half of the dish you will use either sweet potato or yams, or both. You will end up taking turns with the layers. Make your tomato sauce: smash up a bunch of tomatoes, or puree, or blend, add garlic and herbs, loads of oregano, and set aside. Your layers will go like this - mix and match as much of any of the following: potato, thin sliced carrot (not grated, but long sliced thin), sprinkle a little corn, then a layer of think sliced red bell pepper, spinach, onion, then your herbs like oregano, rosemary, sage, hot pepper, basil leaves, loads of garlic, and finally your tomato "sauce". Then drizzle with olive oil AND LOCAL (must be local) HONEY. Yup not much, just enough to sweeten the tomatoes. Repeat the layer to the top of your pan. Cover with foil. Cook at 350* until potato is soft, about 45 minutes. Lightly salt and pepper, add more herbs, and serve with a tall glass of iced green tea. No yeast, no animal, no dairy, just a bunch of cooked veggies to fill your little tummy. ** For now, until I know exactly what's up with my body, I am avoding mushrooms (it's the nasal fungas thing, know what I mean?)

DISCLAIMER
My opinion and experience is not as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only you and your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.