As my story of how I handled my IPF condition progresses readers will be no doubt in need of some good news. So far from Part I to Part V, it's all pretty much been interesting background, but is any of what I have described, working? What's it doing to my body, how am I feeling and what do my results show? In this Part VI I'm going to divulge what happened upon my second and third consultations with the Naturopath and how the results fared.
My Second Appointment
As far as chronological timeframe goes, the date of this second appointment was 18th May 2021 and I returned to see the Naturopath, with, I have to confess, a little intrepidation. Was it all worthwhile? Were my efforts in vain? What sort of progress, if any will I see.
As professional as ever the Naturopath got down to analysing about 12-15 parts (I have never listed them) of my body...
It's worth adding at this juncture that my weight had now fallen by 2 stone, since the start of the diet at the end of December/early January 2021. Not only was this positive in that the weight loss was of a good standard, but more pleasing was that it wasn't a rapid loss, and thus it was much more likely to remain off providing I was sensible.
The first radionics result that came in was encouraging... my reading had gone from 30% to 63% (don't ask me what it was for, because I didn't record the consultancy meeting and nor did I write any of this data down...I merely listened). Indeed I listened intently to all the readings and without exception they had all improved. Some had gone from 30% to 60%, some had gone from 40's to 50's and many had crept into the 60%s from 50%s... the real icing on the cake was that one specific area had gone from 20% to 60% (an increase of 40%) within only 4 weeks of treatment. The Naturopath was thrilled and of course I was equally thrilled knowing that giving up that which I most enjoyed, but which was unwittingly doing me harm, and having to struggle through what was still a tough dietary change, was showing such great results. As you can imagine, these results and knowing that the Naturopath considered the progress to be "outstanding" was a big boost to me, my confidence, and helped cement the need to keep focusing on what I was doing right. The weight loss to contributed to a very positive outlook.
At this juncture, two things sprung to mind? The first was, if I'm only on 60% or 63% for some and 50% for others how do I reach 100% and when can I come off the supplements and restrictive diet? I asked "So, if I'm in the 50's and 60's with most of these readings how much more will it take me to reach 100% as I suspect it will become more difficult the nearer to 100% I go...?" "Ah!" Was the reply "you'll never reach 100% - for someone of your age you need only reach 70%-80%! I don't expect you to get anywhere near 100%, your body just won't allow that." Whoa! Music to my ears...my mind went fast forward to the day when not so long into the future I will hit the 70%...but to think that I was to continue to take the supplements in the same quantity for another 5 weeks was something I didn't relish.
As for 'coming off the restrictive diet and supplements? That was going to be some considerable time yet. But the good news was that my dosage of supplements had reduced from circa 36 capsules per day to to 24 per day. That was some progress but of course it also meant that upon my next, third appointment, the progress was likely to be less pronounced. This I understood and had primed myself mentally that this was going to be a slower process than I had first imagined. Having said that, I consoled myself with the thought that 'here was I having to undo literally years of unwitting dietary abuse and it had only taken four or five weeks to make a huge impact, then it shouldn't be a hardship to wait a few more sessions until I can finally claim that my body is in shape.'
It was recommended that I buy a Himalayan Salt Pipe (yes it was alien to me too at the time) to help with clearing my lungs and with my breathing. The salt that is supplied with it, lasts about 12 months so it was a good investment at about £18.00 in total. What was unbeknown to me was that unlike coal miners who were very prone to fibrosis, salt miners never suffered from the condition. The vapours from salt are actually good for the lungs!
I left the meeting elated! My next appointment with the Naturopath was due on 29th June and with the Lung Consultant (B) at hospital on 19th July 2021 when I would also undergo a further Breathing Test.
There was little happening during the May and June period. The most notable happenings were that I was feeling good, feeling fitter, had noticed a marked difference in my stamina and was starting to regain the ability to walk without feeling tired nor out of breath. I walked down-hill to the pub a couple of times with family members and pretty much made it home (up-hill) without stopping. Previous attempts had resulted in me having to stop and take breathers two or three times en route. Now I was just able to complete the walk home without stopping...although it was slower than I had hoped. It was progress, but I didn't dwell on it as being anywhere where I wanted to be. Towards the latter end of June and again when my sin was around, I was up a step ladder trimming hedges. A task that I had never have attempted for the past three years since my heart attack in August 2018! Clearly I was improving and my family had noticed the improvement. (By the way, before you ask, yes I still go to the pub regularly but I haven't touch a drop of alcohol since before 22nd April. Much to the amusement of my social buddies I order water for every round.) I don't miss alcohol...and the rounds are cheaper!
Fast forward to 29th June and my third appointment with the Naturopath.
The Third Appointment
As I outlined earlier, my supplements had been reduced in dosage, and as such I wasn't expecting such marked results. This was to be the case, but there were still some pleasant surprises to come.
The usual radionics readings took place. "Ah you have a throat irritation" the Naturopath stated. Yes. Indeed I had. I put it down to the Himalayan Salt Pipe, but who knows what it was at that time. Two readings relating to my throat had fallen. Only by 2% from 50% to 48% for one reading but this was disappointing. The Naturopath was unperturbed and dismissed it as exactly what it was, an irritation and that we'd monitor it over the next sessions. A 2% fall wasn't earth shattering. What was more encouraging was the fact that my entire heart structure (not just my heart - but the entire structure supporting my heart frame), was much improved and very strong. Further, all other readings had improved again, some by small margins but more so about 5 of those body readings were now in the 70%s...hey I had hit my target on 5 of my readings! Of those which had improved, the other 5 or 6 were all between 63% and 69%... it wasn't going to be too long before I could claim the scalp of all targets!
This was great news indeed, and although it wasn't, as expected, as pronounced as the previous (second) session it was nonetheless incredibly positive. My entire regime of i) changing diet, ii) taking the recommended supplements and ii) coming off the (traditional pharma) heart medication, and countering that with a good diet and suitable supplements was having a profound effect...as demonstrated by my next paragraph.
By the time of this appointment, my weight had reduced by 2 stone 7lbs.
Profound Progress (and a word or two about exercise.)
Naturally, many readers will have assumed that I have been incredibly physically active...and regular and concerted exercise has played a big part of this great progress over the past months. You couldn't have been more wrong. The honest truth of the matter is that I had ballooned so much that my stamina and breathing difficulties somewhat constrained me in doing too much physical. When, mentally, you know it's not going to be enjoyable, and you don't have the breathing capability to cope with much then one tends to switch off to treadmills, exercise bikes or even walking.
About five months earlier, and prior to any diagnosis or consultation with the Naturopath, my condition was so bad that I was breathless having climbed the stairs of the house. Dizziness played its part and weight was the greater obstacle. A few small events (or should I say every day occurrences) which I undertook, convinced me that I was 'in trouble'. My son and his partner encouraged me to walk down the road to the local pub. We had a drink or two and meal and started the journey home...all up hill. It was only a quarter of a mile...but as I say it was uphill. I stopped twice. I couldn't go on and my son had to get the car to take me home. Lightbulb Moment One. We repeated this exercise the following week and again twice I had to stop but this time no car was required. But a walk of 7 or 8 mins turned into 20 minutes. Lightbulb Moment Two.
Around that time I was asked by a client to attend a venue in a park. I knew the venue location well, indeed I knew the park well, and I walked the 500/600 yards downhill to the venue without issue. Well, it was downhill! The return walk however was a different story. Again I had to stop and rest on benches twice - hell it's only 500/600 yards!! Lightbulb Moment Three! I had to undertake the same visit to the park a second and third time but that was a little later after having started the naturopathy treatment and I could sense a tiny improvement...only one stop.
Following my third appointment with the Naturopath and with renewed confidence I again went to the pub for a meal with my son and his girlfriend. The return walk uphill was without incident. No breathlessness, no stopping, no pausing, nothing. I walked straight home with no detrimental effects.
That week I had to return to the same venue in the park. Some 500/600 yards downhill. This time I didn't stop. I continued the walk further in to the park and down another slope and then a third slope...down to a cafe. Since I have stopped tea and coffee in my diet I only ever partake in water or herbal teas. A herbal tea and a quick chat with the owner, and I was back in the park tackling the much longer walk - nearer half to three quarters of a mile, all up a gradual incline. I made it in one session with no breathlessness, no tiredness and no huffing and puffing (indeed I felt so strong I could have continued on when I reached the road and my car). This was a major breakthrough.
My next quest was to tackle lay at the top of my road. As I have mentioned I live on a sloping road and I still have a steeper element of about 400 yards to cover to reach the junction. Turn right and then left and one is faced with a further slope with a much more severe gradient. About 1 in 4. One evening when the weather was good but cool I decided to tackle it. Reaching the top of my road was a breeze. Tackling the steeper gradient was a different challenge. I got half way up and stopped to check my Fitbit - my heart rate had raced to 124. This was 13 points over that which was safe for me, according to my heart consultant. In a split second I had to make a decision, to push on or the turn around defeated and return down the hill. By this time I had stopped for no more than 30 seconds. I pushed on. Of course once I got over the brow, it was literally downhill all the way back and I had finally broken the spell which I felt hung over me.
The icing on the cake was however to come a week or so later. The weather was great - not too hot and not too cool...good walking weather. Following a disused railways track which had now been converted for walkers and cyclists I decided to walk to a pub/restaurant have lunch and walk back. It was 2 miles each way. The walk there was easy although appeared never ending. A salad lunch later and I was back on the track walking a slight incline for the 2 miles back. I did it. I slumped my tired body in the car. It wasn't a matter of breathlessness as I'd expected but more tiredness of the legs. I'd even done a detour into the woods on the return journey to find the old disused brickworks where as a kid I had spent many a day fuelling a vivid imagination. Yes, about 4 months/5months earlier I could barely walk up the stairs in the house. This particular day I had walked 4 miles! This was a remarkable turn around...and gave me some slender boasting rights at the pub, with my friends who'd been there most of the afternoon. The sense of achievement was immense. I slept well that night.
As this story has unfolded so far, I have been relating the event as they have occurred in the past, but with one more post we will be up to date with my current progress. The next stage of the story takes me back to Hospital (B) to undertake a further Breathing Analysis test and immediately after a further consultation with Lung Consultant (B) to discuss which of the two traditional medications I was to commence for my 'deteriorated' IPF condition. Check back what happened...
