I'm seronegative and am currently baffling the rheumatology experts with my non-compliance with any of their medical precedents (and my body's resistance to everything they give me). My pattern is that of spontaneous flareups and remission, although I'm always in some sort of pain somewhere or other, depending on what day of the week it is and which way the wind's blowing.
I've not long returned from Santorini in Greece, which is an island in the middle of the Aegean. I stayed in Oia, which seems to be mercifully spared from the humidity which causes incredible sea level clouds and spectacular mist waterfalls over the towns of Fira, Imerovigli and Firastefani. Oia is very beautiful, very hot, and very dry.
And for exactly one week I was cured!Literally within hours of landing I noticed I had no pain anywhere. I'm used to that 'background rumble' of pain (I call it my physical tinnitus) and it came as a bit of a shock when I suddenly realised it wasn't there any more. For that one week I walked for miles, climbed a volcano, dived off a boat and swum 40 metres to hot springs and back, and traipsed for hours over the hills and up and down marble steps in blistering heat. My rosacea disappeared and my usual and very random allergic reactions stopped. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, including the foods and drinks that would normally cause horrendous, and very painful rosacea flareups, without incident. I didnt' even have any vertigo attacks or imbalance (I have Meniere's Disease too). For a week I remembered what it was like to be healthy, and my husband couldn't believe his eyes. He said it was like stepping back ten years.
Then I came back to blighty
. Within hours I was back to the way I was before I went, except the pain, the stiffness seemed a lot worse. I'm convinced it's the cold, damp weather.
In short, this country makes me sick.
Has anyone else had similar experiences in hot, dry countries? I know of a colleague's friend, recently diagnosed, who had the same incredible experience in Turkey. It really was very dramatic.
Additinally, we plumped for a spa afternoon with full body massage and Roman bath filled with milk and volcanic mud - the works! My French masseuse was amazing. He asked if I had any health issues (after noticing my stick) and I just said I did, but that I was currentl healthy and if anything he did bothered me I'd tell him. Well, after an hour he told me he'd detected a lot of humidity (if you're not familiar with Chinese medicine the body should be in a state of harmony. When one condition is dominant it has a domino effect on the others and caused health problems). He asked if I lived somewhere damp or humid. Birmingham is very damp and very humid in the summer - unbearably so. Then he told me I had a blockage over my spleen (he was talking about my chi flow) and that this would cause ...
Let's just say that my husband asked him if he'd been on the telephone to my GP! He reeled off autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, skin problems, intolerances, inner ear disorders leading to balance problems etc. It was incredible. My jaw hit the floor and he gave me advice on diet and lifestyle, many of which I'm already following. He told me to increase pulses and legumes (which I am) and avoid dairy products, processed sugars and processed flour and fat, although olive oil and flax were good oils to use (I already do). Although I already knew about 75% of what he told me (I'm a long time amateur herbalist, alternative / holistic therapy advocate and vegetarian) I learned something new, and I was absolutly amazed at his accuracy. He told me to visit a qualified acupuncturist, preferably trained in the Chinese method, as they would give me a whole body approach as opposed to a 'local' approach, which is the western way.
As it happens, I'm receiving acupuncture on the NHS for some back issue which might or might not be sacroiliac (and that's another long story), so while I was there I told my therapist all this. She was quite sceptical and said she hadn't been trained in the Chinese method but she'd like to give it a go, and fetched her book to study spleen points. Cue another dropped jaw when she read what blocked spleen energy points could cause. She agreed it was as if he'd been through my entire medical history from childhood.
I've been in bits ever since! And that's exactly what the French masseuse/holistic therapist said would happen. He said it was a bad blockage, and fixing it would take some time, that I'd suffer more before things got better IF I didn't have full body assessment/treatment to stop a sudden gush of chi which would bugger me up. *ouch*
I'm so impressed with his accuracy to date that I'm going to spend a bit of private insurance (it pays for holistic treatments) on some traditional Chinese acupuncture. I've experienced Chinese injury therapy (not medicine) before and it really was quite incredible.
I must say, when I paid for what I thought would just be a relaxing spa experience I didn't expect all this. Turns out the chap is qualified in practically every holistic therapy on the planet, and has spent most of his life researching and experimenting. He even has his own restaurant serving mainly vegetarian, organic and nutrionally balanced meals.
And he was gorgeous
And gay
Which is just typical
