June 2016 – Page 2 – The Pantry Pharmacy

big-guns

Yes, that’s right. We’re bringing out the big guns, now.

By this time, you should have been following the recommendations outlined in the Phase I post for at least 3 days, and you may be getting headaches, nausea, and hopefully, loose stools from Candida die-off. Your UTI pain should be alleviated by 30-40%, as well.

With your strong OLE you bought online in hand, you can start taking it with every meal. With Vitacost OLE (500 mg capsule with 90 mg oleuropein in it) you can take..

2 with breakfast
1 with lunch, and
1 with dinner

..on the first day, and see how you feel at the end of the day. You may experience an increase in die-off symptoms. For nausea, you can drink a glass of baking soda water to settle your stomach in 10 minutes, but for the headache you’ll just have to stay well-hydrated and soldier through. If you feel pretty good, take 1 more capsule before bed, and in the morning take..

June 8, 2016

Rebekah W.

32 Comments

How to Read and Understand Your UTI Test Results

Posted in Useful Tips

It sounds simple enough when you look at the box, but you’d be surprised.

First of all, if your infection isn’t raging out of control, you may not get any results at all unless you test first thing in the morning, because neither leukocytes nor nitrites have built up enough in your urine for the reagent to pick up on them. So if you feel like you have something, but you take a test and don’t see anything, wait till first thing the next morning to get a true read.

Secondly, nitrites are more easily flushed out of your urine, (they take 4 hours to build up in it) so you can feel something coming on and take a test in the afternoon and only see leuokocytes, (the top one that turns tan-purple) making you think that you have a gram positive infection, and then you can take something for it and test again the next morning, and see only nitrites (The one that turns pink).
I wish I had a picture of my expression when this happened to me.

June 8, 2016

Rebekah W.

81 Comments

Killing a UTI: Phase III

Posted in Infection Killing Protocol

If you’ve done everything outlined in Phases I and II and you still have trace leukocyte test results you can’t seem to shake, ~~the best course of action is to increase your raw garlic intake.~~
I know, not what anyone wants to hear, right? But, it works, and you only have to do it for 3 days. Increase by one clove per meal throughout the day, while still doing everything you’ve been doing, then get a good grip on your courage and take 3 good-sized cloves before bed. No cheating with those skinny little inner cloves, now. I can see you. Ò_Ó

Y’all will be delighted to hear that ‘more garlic’ is Old and Busted, and ‘oregano oil’ is New Hotness!

June 8, 2016

Rebekah W.

18 Comments

Deciphering OLE Supplement Labels

Posted in Spending Wisely, Supplements, and Useful Tips

So, you’re at the local hippie store trying to find some OLE, and this looks good, right? It says 18% right there in black and white! This is what you’re going to see on the store brand OLE labels.

At first glance, you’d think you’re holding some quality OLE in your hot little hands, but look again at that label. See how it’s split into olive leaf extract, and olive leaf?
Those are 400 mg capsules, and they have 215 mg of olive leaf extract with 18% oleuropein, and 185 mg of olive leaf, which is basically useless filler.

What you’re really holding is about 9% oleuropein, total. Those 400 mg capsules have 38.7 mg of active ingredient. To contrast, Vitacost OLE, my favorite, has 90 mg of oleuropein in a 500 mg capsule, for a true 18% active ingredient.

Many health food stores carry Gaia brand in addition to a store brand, and guess what % of active ingredient that has?

June 8, 2016

Rebekah W.

49 Comments

The Deadly Duo: UTI’s and Candida

Posted in UTI Causes

lady-tramp-siamese-cats-main

Something most people don’t realize is that virtually every case of UTI coexists with and is exacerbated by a case of intestinal Candida overgrowth. The UTI itself may even have been indirectly caused by Candida.

What happens is, you get your first UTI, for whatever reason. Like any normal person, you take antibiotics for it. Presto, infection’s gone. You may or may not get a vaginal yeast infection afterward, which you may treat topically, and you may take probiotics and think you’re fine, intestinally. Especially if you took Diflucan, because if you take that, you’re alright, right?

Wrong.

June 7, 2016

Rebekah W.

37 Comments

Hostile Terrain: Vaginal Health and Recurring UTI’s

Posted in UTI Causes, and Vaginal Health

(For obvious reasons, I have to get creative if I want to use any pictures on this blog. That one is of the high-altitude Chilean desert.)

Many of the women who contact me about curing their UTI’s naturally are at their wit’s end because they get a new UTI every time they have sex. Talk about a mood-killer, right?

There are 3 factors at play, here, in order of likelihood:

Bacteria present in vagina
Bacteria present in the region of the rectum
Bacteria present on male, fondly known as the Poison Penis.

I’ve discussed what causes #2 here: this post is about how to deal with #1.
Normally, a pathogen that finds its way to your lady parts is unable to make a happy home there, due to the presence of beneficial bacteria and an overall healthy vaginal environment. After a round or two of antibiotics, though, the balance of vaginal flora is skewed and both Candida and pathogens like Gardnerella (causes BV), Klebsiella, E. coli, staph and many more, are able to flourish there. After that, it’s a hop and a skip to your urethra.
I’m not breaking out the ruler, because my thirst for knowledge goes only so far, but we’re talking about half an inch or so from vagina to urethra. Easy peasy for even a couch potato of a pathogen.

The key to restoring vaginal health naturally and effectively is…

June 6, 2016

Rebekah W.

37 Comments

The pH Connection: Or, Why I Never Recommend Cranberry Juice

Posted in Diet, Immediate UTI Treatment, Infection Killing Protocol, and Useful Tips

There’s a great deal of confusion surrounding the issue of whether your urine pH should be acidic or alkaline, when you have a UTI.
Most people think that it should be more acidic, largely because they hear that cranberry juice is good for a UTI and that’s very, very acidic.
Also, if they put lemon juice in their water and feel better, they think the lemon juice acidified their urine. More on that, in a bit.
If you’ve used cranberry juice, and it seemed to get better, and then it got worse, this is why…(the link is a very worthwhile read)

..cranberry produces hippuric acid in the urine…Putting hippuric acid into the urine initially kills off the bacteria that have thinner acid-susceptible cell-walls, leaving only thicker-skinned acid-resistant individuals to multiply and pass on their resistant genes.

Therefore, you feel better initially, and then the toughest bacteria take over, and you actually get worse, because the surviving bacteria are now more resistant to anything you take, including antibiotics. Fortunately, this isn’t irreversible, so if you’ve experienced this, don’t freak out.

Month: June 2016