Normally I wouldn't be happy to hear that my dad has the bacteria that causes ulcers. . .

This may sound weird but after my mom's trouble with ulcers you'd think that it would be natural to check my dad for the bacteria that causes 90% of all ulcers: Helicobacter pylori. I wrote a blog about this a few months ago and included info about how this little factoid was discovered - and how it resulted in a Nobel Prize for Dr. Warren.

My dad reminds me in some ways of Dr. David Suzuki. I don't mean in the seriously eco-sensitive, hosts his own TV show, has a foundation to help protect the earth way. You may not have seen the interview with him that disclosed his commitment to his physique but it left a lasting impression on me.

OK, so in that interview he told a story about how one of his daughters had a bodybuilding magazine out that she was looking at and he offhandedly mentioned that he could look like that. According to his interview, she scoffed as only a teenager could which prompted him to take up bodybuilding. He did end up looking like the guy on the cover of the magazine (see above - wow) but more to the point of my father, they showed some footage of Suzuki building a deck. He was hammering nails into the boards with the speed and accuracy of a nail gun. No fooling. And he was in his 60s at the time. Yikes and Hey - How You Doin'? My dad believes in exercise as no one else I've ever known. He devises little machines and routines regularly to improve his physique. The man exercises for a living via his career in home improvements and then comes home to walk the dogs for and hour. Every day. And then proceeds to do his made-up exercises. So when he was having gastrointestinal problems that would not be cleared my mom began to worry. I was asked for some insights and gave the usual answers - watery diarrhea use activated charcoal. But if it's an infection it should clear on its own in 7 to 10 days. This didn't happen. He wasn't dehydrated. He didn't have cramping or pains. Just this knowledge that the volume going in wasn't reflected by the volume going out. So my next suggestion was a laxative. This did help with the volume going out. This is good but still this water problem. Adding to my mom's concern was that he wasn't active. He was watching TV. Not that he never watches but he sat for more than an hour. This doesn't happen. Ever. He was fatigued. And it wasn't ending. Combine that with the need to use the facilities immediately after eating and that's a combo no one wants. Now when my mom was diagnosed with an ulcer back in 2006, I told my mom to get dad checked. They are from a part of the world (middle Europe pre-1960) where the incidence of Helicobacter pylori infectivity is super high. Did he go? Course not. But something about these symptoms really bugged me - so I put the bee in mom's ear and she called his doctor's office and forced them to run the test. And finally the results are in - yup, he's got it. So why am I relieved? There is a cure. Even though antibiotics do not work a lot of the time (like a 70% failure rate). There are natural things that can help out with clearing the bug.

Now I don't know if my dad will be 100% after his treatment regime but if he can get back his energy and not need a washroom every time he thinks about eating - I'll be happy. Bottom line - you need a patient advocate. Seriously, what kind of doctor doesn't think to check the spouse of a known ulcer patient who has tested positive for H. pylori. This isn't rocket surgery. It's passed through saliva and hello married people are known to kiss, share food and drinks. Not to mention the above stated likelihood of his having the bacteria due to location and conditions of his life prior to living in Canada. The patient shouldn't need to diagnose themselves. A reminder of your individual situation no matter how difficult it may be to get your healthcare practitioner to listen, may just lead to the diagnosis you need so that you too can be on the road to recovery; like my dad.

How I went from infirm to energetic

I was having dinner with a very dear friend tonight and a topic came up: my friend was having serious problems with her energy levels. Given her recent troubles, it wasn't unexpected but she's so out of breath that it brought to mind a situation I had many years ago and what I did to "cure" myself. Many a moon ago, I worked in a lab that poisoned me with chlorine gas. I went from being quite active to not being able to vacuum my tiny apartment in a matter of months. My lung function was so poor that the doctor who examined me actually asked me to sit down to review the results directly with him in his office. I was put on a variety of medication and given a schedule by which to see him. After 3 months, there was no real improvement - with the meds I could vacuum but not go up the 2 flights of stairs to my place without taking a breather. So I started looking into alternatives. By chance, I came across the book by Dr. Robert Fulford: Touch of Life. (I've since found out that it is available in paperback to this day. It was first published in 1996 - 1 year before the beginning of my symptoms. Lucky for me.) Dr. Fulford was an osteopath. The DO stands for Doctor of Osteopathy. This discipline is similar to medical school but the methods are very different. Osteopaths usually deal with injury repair - not like I was shot and need my tissues put back together. More like I was shot 3 months ago and need to remold and repair the area. They also deal with chronic injuries like those that result from childhood trauma or car accidents; you get the idea. Part of how it works is by opening up the congested, scarred region to the flow of the body's energy. And, at the end of this book is a chapter called exercises. I pulled the exercise pix that I'll post here from this osteopathy pdf. These exercises together with using a cleansing tea called FlorEssence took me from that terrible physical state to being able to help my parents re-roof their home just4 weeks later. I even went back to university right after that. And as everyone who's been knows, this is not a stress-free endeavor. So what is FlorEssence? This is a tea that was based on Renee Caisse's original formula known as Essiac tea. Essiac contains burdock root, Indian rhubarb root, sheep sorrel and slippery elm. This formulation was based on a Native American/ Native Canadian combination used to treat cancers and other serious ailments. If memory serves, Ms. Caisse was allowed to test the tea on terminal, untreatable cancer cases early in the 20th century. The results were so unexpectedly favourable that the formula has not died but instead been expanded by an additional manufacturer in the form of Flor Essence. It contains the same four herbs plus watercress, blessed thistle, red clover and kelp thought to increase the potency of the Essiac formula. For me, the combination did wonders. I've used the tea for 3-12 weeks every year since (expect when pregnant and nursing). Unfortunately, I've let the exercises go by the wayside. This blog post is reminding me of how good it felt to do these exercises and I think it would make a great addition to my daily routine. Well, I hope that this combo can help you or someone you know. And please check out Touch of Life. It changed my views of medicine and what has been practiced in North America for the last 100 years. Here are the exercises - try them out. They're simple and surprisingly beneficial.