Hello all :) Please read & reply

[melanie]

I'm interested in getting some opinions on my husbands health.He is a 25 year old white male and weighs 125 pounds.Not a ounce of fat on his body.He recently cut back smoking from 2 packs a day to about 10 cigs a day.He also smokes pot daily which I thought had stopped but obviously hasn't. He was diagnosed in 1997 with a cholesteatoma (ear polyp,non cancerous tumor/growth) in his left ear.He has since had two surgeries to remove this and they have grown back everytime.HIs eardrum was also removed.He is in pain and believes the marijuana is helpful.
(a bit of history)
His mother smoked pot with him in the womb and has had reocurrent ear infections his entire life.He didn't start smoking cigs until the age of 16 but both parents smoked around him growing up.
I believe the toxins he is inhaling is the root of his problem.He cannot work and was laid off two weeks ago. His equilibrium is off,and he is completely deaf in his left ear.

I have made him read You are all Sanpaku and we have talked about Regimen #7.HE has shown some interest but I don't think he truly believes this will help him.
Maybe some of you could comment and help me explain what his habits are doing to him? Sorry to vent here but I believe,quitting smoking and a detox will help him immensely.
Has anyone been diagnosed with polyps and then had them disappear with macrobiotics?

Thank you for any advise.Maybe someone else telling him will help me help him
MElanie

[Bruce Paine]

Melanie,

Hi.

How are you?

Smoking cigarette and using drugs are usually only part of the problem.

A person's diet often figures more prominently.

What has your husband been eating as his diet, most of his life, recently, in the last 7 years and during the 18 years before that?

Diet, activity (work and lifestyle), location (for climate) are among many of the factors that can contribute to our condition.

Please give us a bigger picture of his life.

Does he have a first name?

Thank you, very much.

Be well.

Bruce Paine

[melanie]

Hello Bruce,

Thank you for responding.

My husbands name is Damion.I do know most of his childhood he ate and drank alot of diary which I guess could also be causing the problem. The only dairy he eats now is cheese.He is a meat eater too but says he has no problems quitting if he thought it would help.Other than that I guess his diet could be considered really poor.Lots of sugar,pop,snacks like doritos.Pretty much whatever looks good at the time.Like I said though,hes as skinny as a bean pole so never had to worry about watching his diet,or weight gain.

As for enviornment,We live right outside of Cincinnati,we do have some coal factories around here.

I know I wasn't very clear with everything in my original post.Since I posted this we have talked more though and we have decided to take the plunge and both eliminate the things in our life that cause my migraines,and his ear pain.
I'm off to make some nori balls and salad.

We will see how it goes.Thanks again for any advise you can give.

[Bruce Paine]

Melanie and Damion,

First of all, I am not a fully trained or professional macrobiotic, so though I have more than thirty-two years of personal experience, I can not take you Damion through all of the steps that you will need to heal yourself, macrobiotically.

For that, you will need a trained macrobiotic counselor and I can point you to two of them, one in Cincinnati:
Inner Spaces Unlimited LLC by Charley Kabenji,

and one in Cleveland:
The East West Center of Cleveland with Bob Carr

My perception is that you will probably want to be patient and heal slowly as the discharge will be so close to your brain and other crucial organs in your head.

Taking an extreme step like going "cold turkey" or quitting smoking, and changing your diet drastically might be okay, I feel, if you are relatively healthy, but for someone like yourself, who is very sick, it could be quite detrimental.

Though the diet you will be moving to will be one consisting of organically grown whole grains, temperate climate vegtables, legumes, sea vegetables, dark leafy greens, and pickled vegetables in additional to a variety of nourishing soups, I feel that you make the change gradual so that your discharge will be gradual and less discomforting.

Smoke less dope and cigarettes each day, as you are eating less meat and dairy and gradually, add macrobiotic foods to your daily regimen.

If you are smoking regular or menthol cigarettes, then I recommend switching to natural cigarettes like American Spirit so that you can be ingesting less chemical additives, perservatives, flavorings, and stuff that is usually added to most commercial cigarettes.

Decide on a plan than is most comfortable like smoking one less cigarette every one, two, or three days depnding on what you feel you can do as you are also gradually reducing the dope, meat and dairy.

Start eating miso soup using a light sweet organic miso in the early days and gradually work your way up to darker, stronger, healing miso.

Besides the gradual inclusion of tofu and tempeh in you diet, start to include a little bit (about a sixth of whatever amount of whole grains you eat) of either aduki beans, chickpeas, lentils, or black soybeans (if you can't find them then black beans will be alright) in your daily rotation.

If you don't already have these two books:

The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods by Kristina Turner

and

The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health: A Complete Guide to Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders Naturally
by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack , get them.

And then thoroughly skim both of them before seeng a counselor so it can be easier for him or her to explain what is going on and what you will need to do.

And later, you will use these books to help you cook, continue your healing process, and keep your eye on the proverbial ball.

Macrobiotics is not a quick fix so you will have to be ready to change a little bit a day at a time (remember, Damion, you did not get this way over night, so you will not alleviate your condition, overnight!).

And again, if the counselor says anything that contradicts anything I've said, listen to them, they are trained professionals with a lot of experience helping others heal themselves.

Thank you, very much.

Get and be well!

Bruce Paine

[melanie]

Bruce,

WOW.Thank you.
My husband read your post and I think things got through. I'm glad you mentioned taking things slow because he says that's what he wants to do.One step at a time.
We will be making a phone call to the counselor to see what we can get started.
I was just at a point (when originally posting)of anger and frustration because he was in so much pain. No amount of ear drops or antibiotics,painkillers can touch it.It's hard to see it.



Thank you again,for taking me seriously and offering your advise.

Melanie

[Bruce Paine]

Melanie and Damion,

A minor but important correction.

I don't know if you undrstand what I meant when I said:

"Besides the gradual inclusion of tofu and tempeh in you diet, start to include a little bit (about a sixth of whatever amount of whole grains you eat) of either azuki /aduki beans, chickpeas, lentils, or black soybeans (if you can't find them then black beans will be alright) in your daily rotation."

But I was talking about black turtle beans if you can't find black soybeans, locally.


Mary O'Farrell ( macromary205 at comcast dot net ) in Indianapolis is a macrobiotic cook with 20 years experience:

"I would usually go in and teach the caregiver how to do the cooking...and that is a possibility in Cincinnati, for 2-3 days at a time, and if she is already cooking instead of eating out all the time, just fine tuning and making some minor adjustments..learning how to use these macro ingredients. I just help short circuit the learning curve for people, have more energy and heal quicker.
I am here to help anyway that I can.."

And tells me that there have been potlucks and seminars held at Ruth and Howard Hughes farm in Brookville, Indiana (just 23 miles from Cincinnati) in the past and you can call to find out more about what they have to offer- seven six five six four seven six eight seven five in the evening.

Ruth tells me that you should stop consuming dairy altogether!

Please call her!

Thank you, very much.

Get and be well

Bruce Paine