So this happened…and for it, I am thankful. Fall 2017

This is my story of an event that almost put The Kombucha Lady out of business.  Read on…

I believe in naturopathic medicine and would rather take herbal supplements than prescription meds from a doctor that is beholden to big pharma, but…

This summer.

I went to a local naturopath who sounded really good online for some hormonal issues.  She ran blood tests.  I liked that.  But always get a second opinion and learn from my mistake.  She diagnosed me with several serious diseases and gave me 5 prescription meds and about 7 other supplements and tinctures, most of which you could, of course, order from her website.  arg. wake up!  What was i thinking?  Well, turns out I wasn’t thinking at all.   (Read about antigens vs. antibodies).

About 3 weeks into the whole program, I started feeling raunchy.  Nauseous, headaches, extreme fatigue, abdominal pain.  I couldn’t eat or do much of anything. I asked family and friends to help me keep the kombucha going or I was going to lose this dream.

About 2 weeks later, I couldn’t go like this any longer so i went to my regular doc.  The PA immediately ran blood tests and found my liver was shutting down.  The doctor persuaded me to go to the ER, it was that bad.  They thought I had a blocked bile duct, perhaps.  Then something showed up in the CAT scan, maybe a mass on the liver or pancreas. Very scary.  The word cancer was mentioned.  Down to Hopkins for an exploratory procedure.  I had the “talk” with close family members.  Didn’t really know if I was coming back from this.

When I woke up from the procedure, the doc said, “You’re good to go home!  We didn’t find anything at all!”  I was pretty shocked, elated, but confused.  I was still sick.  My liver enzymes were dropping lower (good) but still extremely high.  I searched for a liver specialist and found a highly rated doc.  She came to our area once a month, so I called.  The sweet lady that I spoke to was alarmed at the liver numbers and asked if I could make it down to Sibley the next day.  Yes.

The liver doc did a very thorough exam and diagnosed me with DILI.   Drug Induced Liver Injury.  Who ever heard of such a thing?  Looks like we Americans have been popping herbal supplements that are very strong medicine without really knowing how hard they can be on the liver.  She asked me to stop all those supplements immediately ( I already had weeks ago ) and get blood work done every week.  Each week those numbers came down.  I also did Epsom salt baths, ate a vegan diet, juiced, applied Castor oil packs, drank much water, rested and downed at least a quart of kombucha daily and had green tea and bone broth as much as possible.

What the liver doc predicted would take a year to recover, came in 2 months!  From being on the verge of needing a liver transplant to completely recovered!  My liver is completely functional.

A very close call, my friends.  I tell you this to warn you of two things:

Get a second opinion!

Beware and respect the herbs!

Read, research thoroughly and ask  a trusted medical doctor. ( The liver doc said Black Cohosh is the biggest problem and some ladies have needed liver transplants from taking this herb!)

I am very very overjoyed to be alive.  Grateful.  Amazingly grateful for:

Family, friends, my pup

My business..The Kombucha Lady

Flowers, herbs, seafood, beer, music

my cows, my garden, peace and quiet on the porch

time on the hammock with my grandchildren, time at the beach with anybody

the smell of the ocean, the feel of the sunshine

seasons and colors in nature.

Jesus