Imagine you’re a ruggedly handsome carpenter/ contractor. For 40 years you’ve worked with your hands and kept your body lean and mean. Now imagine a creeping pain that slowly takes over your body.  Suddenly, you can’t raise your hands above your head. It’s so bad that for a year (yup, a year) you sleep sitting up in the recliner. Meet Harley. Yes, Harley, you know Mr. Teri—as in Teri’s husband Harley.

The kat got the chance to hear Harley’s tale of woe in person the other day. Don’t worry, the story has a happy ending, but boy were there some frustrating detours along the way! Ready for the ride?

Kat: What happened? You say you were in extreme pain. What did you first notice?

Harley: Initially, it was in my hip joints and lower back.  But then it spread to my shoulders, arms, and hands. There are no words to describe it really.  Excruciating. Relentless. Crippling. They all fall short.  The worst was when I was in a reclined position. When you have to get your wife to open the car door for you, you know you’re in trouble.

Kat: So what did you do?

Harley: I trotted off to the doctor for what turned out to be the first of two misdiagnoses by an internist and an orthopedic physician. The first doctor said it was tendonitis and prescribed Prednisone. It didn’t work.

Kat: And then?

Harley: I trotted off to Doctor #2. This one put  me on Cymbalta and Lyrica. You’ve seen the ads. All those dreamy looking people smiling. Well, I took the drugs for three weeks. My hands swelled up which was no good. I depend on my hands. I felt horrible. Meanwhile, I kept getting letters in the mail from the pharmacist telling me about yet another side effect I should be on the lookout for. It scared me big time and I quit the drugs.

Kat: How did you finally get to the right diagnosis?

Harley: It started with Doctor #3, Dr. Galina Vileshina, a neurologist and acupuncturist. She correctly diagnosed my condition as Chemical Neuropathy, which basically means  your nervous system goes haywire. It turns out over the years my body had been exposed to an overdose of chemicals through the building supplies I worked with. I also had a hair analysis done by a naturopath. My results were off the charts for both arsenic and aluminum in particular.

Kat: I believe Teri sticks her nose in at this point, right?

Harley: Yes. She contacted Dr. Rodier for further advice. He listened to my story and asked  questions about my job, lifestyle, and diet. He concurred on the Chemical Neuropathy diagnosis.

Kat:  So basically you find out you’re a toxic mess.  What did you do about it?

Harley: I detoxified. Dr. Rodier recommended a range of actions to get rid of the toxic chemicals in my system, including changes to my diet, saunas, acupuncture, and a variety of supplements. I'm convinced that a big key to my cure was Constant Health and Soothing Greens. Although never much for taking pills, even vitamins, before, I now wash down Milk Thistle, Neuro-PS, B-100, Fish Oil, and Soverign Silver every morning. 

Meanwhile, I cut out dairy and gluten from my diet. Bye, bye pasta—at least until Teri found gluten free pasta!

Kat: When did you start to notice results?

Harley: Well, I’ve got to warn you, it’s not instantaneous. I had to give the process a fair shot. Teri asked me if I could commit 30 days of my life to this new regimen and I said “yes.” Since it took a long time to do the damage to my body and since I was spooked by the side effects of drugs, I decided to really commit, with Teri’s help, of course. Every morning I drank that Constant Health milk shake Teri made me and took those vitamins. I’d say that after about five weeks I started to feel a difference.

Kat: Okay, did you ever go back to those other doctors and say “Na, na, na, na, na!”

Harley: Actually, I did go back to the first doctor. I was sharing my story with the nurse practitioner, describing the symptoms, when she blurted out, “Oh my God, I’ve got neuropathy, too!” She then proceeded to ask me what I’d done. I also went back for another hair analysis about six months after the results started to kick in. All levels were normal!

Kat: And today?

Harley:  Today, I feel 99% of my old self, which is not bad for someone pushing 55! Now it’s me opening the car door for Teri instead of the other way around! At this point, I tell Teri, “I will only take 10 pills a day. I don’t care which ones you give me but only 10 pills.” She rotates a whole bunch of stuff and I don’t ask any questions. I still drink my shakes and I take whatever she decides I need. I’m lucky she makes it so easy for me!

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If you're interested in hearing more about Harley's story, you're welcome to write to Teri with questions and comments.