I discovered the remedy on my own, after suffering from recurring throat and mouth ulcers every 3-4 weeks, for more than 18 months. Previously to this I had seen 4 different doctors, all of whom put me on antibiotics to clear up the “infection”. I also had blood tests for all manner of things, including food allergies, thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances, even eating disorders. But all tests came back negative. Apparently I was as healthy as a horse!
So why, even in the face of taking ever increasingly more vitamin/mineral substitutes, was I continuing to suffer every month? My diet was fine, I’m a red meat eater, so no problems with regards to my iron intake, in matter of fact it was “way up there” as the doc put it. During warmer months I ate as much, if not more than the average intake of leafy greens, beets, spinach, eggs (1 a day avg), beans, peas, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms … you name it, I ate it regularly.
Now, I won’t proclaim that this remedy will fix all cases, as there are many reasons why we get these painful and distressing mouth sores. But when the most obvious paths have been exhausted, this may just be the thing to try. However, if I’d known sooner, I would have reached for the bottle first! It certainly doesn’t hurt and has no side effects. But before I get to the remedy itself, here’s the story of how the problem came about…
Stress. It’s a killer, as they say, and after a marriage separation, I found myself working to pay the mortgage. But that wasn’t the problem. I was now a single working parent and I managing quite well considering all that had happened, but that year turned out to be the year from hell. I was managing two businesses out of one building. I was not being paid what the position was worth, let alone getting the time off to relax or zone out. Even so, I was managing – just. I had by this time been working 3 years and was saving for a family trip to England. I was really looking forward to it.
But several months beforehand, I suffered a series of health related problems, one after the other – a kidney stone, a hernia, and then within a week, was diagnosed with a gastric ulcer. Oh Yay!
The Doc stuck me on a capsule to lower the stomach acid until the worst was past and suggested what foods to avoid.
I was close to burnout from the stress at work, but was wholly focused on the up coming trip. Then I was off, complete with head cold (but nothing was going to stop me from flying) so I was dosed up with all manner of nasal sprays to get me through the 27hour flight. We had a ball.
Got to England, my cold had passed (whoopee!) and I had a great first 4 days – then the first ulcer appeared at the back of my throat. Within hours there were 5 of the little blighters, all stinging like crazy. I had trouble drinking and eating, I was already suffering from lack of sleep, and this combined with the heat at the time, completely knocked me over. I ended up with 8 ulcers. I could not enjoy my holiday, and to the point where exhaustion hit me hard, I was ready to drop by lunchtime each day. It not only ruined my holiday but put a real damper on my family, who had to work around me to get to see everything in the short time allowed.
I was lucky to get in to see a doctor while in London, though all he did was prescribe antibiotics. It was another week of gargling double strength Asprin every 3-4 hours (I couldn’t swallow any due to having a gastric ulcer) before the throat ulcers began to heal.
To be honest, I don’t think the antibiotics helped at all with healing the ulcers – I was popping multi vitamins like lollies (within reason) and am convinced that they did the trick. So!
Upon returning to work, within two weeks, I was so stressed and exhausted that the doc put me on antidepressants. These did help lower the stress levels (but took another year to ween myself off them!) However, a month later, the ulcers were back. This continued for more than 18months. The most ridiculous thing of all was that after seeing 4 different doctors without a correct diagnosis, it turned out to be the most common problem of all!
Candida – a yeast infection of the mouth.
Of course being female, each month most of us have cravings for sugary foods. But if you have a yeast infection, caused by an overgrowth of the bacteria that eats into our teeth, causing decay, they will attack sugary deposits – and also the throat and gums. Hence, if you have had several courses of antibiotics in a short period of time (for example, 3 or more courses in 2-3 years) these also kill off the good bacterial flora that normally inhabit the body. This includes the throat and mouth.
We have all come to know that when taking antibiotics, we are advised to take a course of Acidophilus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Make sure you purchase the capsules available from your local health outlet/pharmacy – yoghurt just doesn’t have enough pro-biotics to affect a good outcome. They do however, work well towards prevention.
These products tend to be developed to move through the stomach and into the gut, to help repopulate the intestines, and to get ourselves back into a healthy and regular cycle. Bit it’s not common knowledge that we should also suck on a course of lozenges developed specifically for repopulating the mouth and throat. This can take several courses, but persistence is the key here.
I tried a course of these lozenges as a last resort – and what an amazing thing! After my first course I had only one ulcer, compared to 4 at a time, and even the cold sores were diminished. After a second course the following month, I no longer have any mouth ulcers at all. However, Easter this year was a small trial – one ulcer due to excessive gluttony on chocolate! But a small thing compared to the enjoyment – at long last!
I won’t mention the brand name here, as I’m sure there are many other products of a similar nature available. However, if you describe a product of this type to your pharmacist, he/she should be able to supply you with a local product.
And the best thing? Being blissfully pain free, and finally regaining control of my life.
And I can eat Vegemite without fear of consequences! And Chocolate…
