Hi all you garden expert's! I've read that Chamomile can actually 'calm' the nerves as well as help with things like muscle spasm's , sooth the stomache,ect. Is it true?
Any one ever try drinking it for those purposes?
Would it have ill effect on a person taking strong pain meds like 'oxycontin'?
The pain drugs have also complicated his 'colitis' like symtoms which he had
before all of these surgery's (before he injured his back)
Much of DH's pain (localized up and down his back) comes from little 'zaps' (and big zaps) that his back nerve's
do to him 24/7.
I saw on his last Dr. payment reciept that the Dr. keeps marking 'fibromyalgia' as well as Degenerative disc desease,----- I'm not buying that Fibromyalgia!!!! I think they are marking that to cover their bums.His pain is localized, and if they wont help him I have to try --- I feel so bad for him.
Background: 3 major invasive back surgery's, the 2nd being just 2 months from the 1st (they left some disk partical in from the 1st one) And the 3rd even more invasive 2 years later, bone taken from his hip, they went in from the front of his body and all the way to his L4-L5. The 3rd one did him in, he can walk but walking,sitting,standing is painful. They've tried : the pain patch, nerve burning, some kind of horrible drug that drug addicts are given to come down from their drug habits (which made him extreamly ill) And now they are just saying nothing more can be done for him, and he is within a hair of total imobility. (so they say)
Any suggestion's would be appreciated. Thanks, Jill
Chamomile info needed
Hi Jill. I use herbs medicinally and maybe the following will be of some help to you.
Yes, chamomile is used for calming the nerves/muscles, but it is the mildest of all the herbs in this category. Passionflower is more effective. This is the dried flowers of a large vine (Passiflora). You can also try Scullcap -- dried leaves of Scutellaria. Wild lettuce (Lactuca) can be helpful in small amounts. You can combine these herbs or try them individually.
Experiment CAREFULLY if the person is taking oxycontin. Every person is different, and while some people might not notice an interaction, there might be an additive, sedative effect. It would be best to make a mild tea and work up. You can buy these herbs in extract form, but I would strongly recommend using the whole herb as a tea. Whole plants consist of many things which exert a balancing effect upon each other. Making single-chemical extracts does result in a stronger drug, but the beneficial wholistic effect of the plant is lost in the process. Interactions with the oxycontin would be more likely using extracts than with using the whole herbs, though as I mentioned, you must watch carefully for this either way. Oxycontin is a very powerful drug.
For calming the stomach, ginger tea or peppermint tea are classic and both work very well. Chamomile is also traditionally used to calm the stomach, especially if there are stomach spasms. To make ginger tea, use fresh ginger. Grate about 2 Tablespoons in a cup of boiling water. Let steep ten minutes, strain, and drink -- add honey if you like. The strong flavor of the ginger does not combine well with either chamomile or peppermint, so don't combine it with them. But you could try each one individually and see what works best.
An outstanding and reliable online supplier of herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs. They have individual herbs as well as various teas, all organic or grown without chemicals. I deal with them all the time and have never had a single problem, and the quality of their products is excellent.
Good luck. If I can help further, just let me know. Allegra2
Thanks Allegra2 , I will check into all that you've mentioned, the trick will be to get him to use a medicinal herb, I may write his doctor too to see if he thinks there would be a reaction, he is on a host of drugs daily but the oxy is the main one. I'll get an herb book from the library too to check on these things, thanks for your time and your information. Jill
I also use Herbs and I would strongley suggest that you grow and dry your own. Each company who deals with herbs have different strenghts. But yours will always be the same because you grew and dried yours. Good luck.
Thanks, I've not been to the library yet to read up on some of this stuff but I'm on vacation as of this evening -- so once I have my shopping done I'll check an Herb book out and sit down with some Chai tea and do some reading and some thinking! I spoke with DH about 'herbal' remedies and he is willing to try some as long as we research it and start slow. I'm also interested in a 'cancer' diet, there is so much cancer in my family I feel I'm a walking time bomb, I think I heard that there are certain foods a person can eat to help with the threat of cancer.Jill