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April 26, 2004
INTRODUCING TRICIA ANDREWS, PH.D. & MEMBER, WHO TALKED WITH US ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA
Well, the Kat’s Interview Series got off to a great start, with members clamoring (meowing) for more after we introduced Mike Ciell, our member pharmacist. Now, Tricia Andrews didn’t exactly volunteer herself to be interviewed. As a long-time member, she was hissing at me for being tardy in responding to one of her emails. Ouch!
She sounded feisty though, so I called her to make amends. Tricia’s background got my interest, so we asked her to participate in this kat’s interview series.
Tricia has a Ph.D. in Botany from Claremont Graduate School in CA. She was Curator of Botany at the San Bernardino Country Museum and taught botany and biology at Riverside Community College. She has spent over 30 years in various aspects of the ‘natural’ side of the health industry. She studied herbology, iridology, kinesiology and homeopathy. To get started, I asked how Tricia describes herself to others.
“At this point in my life – I’m 79 years old, by the way – I consider myself an educator. I try to show others how they can heal themselves in natural ways. When I have a problem, I do my own research as I don’t want to be tied to so-called conventional wisdom.”
Tricia is anything but conventional and is not afraid to admit her love for this kat! “I’ve always loved the kat. I get a kick out of the kat’s comments, and I even like the little kat face on the labels. It makes them fun, interesting, definitely not normal. My husband used to say, ‘Don't call me normal. Anything but that! I'd rather be weird, different, a little crazy – but not normal!’ And I agree. Normal is boring.”
Yippee. I flushed out another fan! The more we talked, the more impressed I was with Tricia. It wasn’t that she had a magical recipe for curing herself of a crippling condition called fibromyalgia, although her journey is impressive.
Nope, what struck me most was how much courage Tricia has had in
facing pain, staying committed to finding what worked for her body,
and continuing to learn and grow (a cat with nine lives, you might
say!). When asked to comment on her diverse studies, here’s
what Tricia had to say:
“I consider them all important, but I think most really healthy
approaches actually work together better than alone."
“Don’t get me wrong, if I were in an automobile accident, I would
want to go to allopathic doctors. I’m not against them. My only
sorrow is that so many of them fight you when it comes to more
natural forms of healing."
“My belief is that you have to experiment with a variety of
treatments and modalities for each individual. I use muscle testing
(kinesiology) to determine what’s good for my body.”
In fall of 2000, Tricia started to hurt and by early 2001 she needed
help even getting up from her chair.
“I am not one to complain, so although I should have told someone, I
didn’t. It took me a while to figure out what was happening and be
able to ‘call’ it something. When I finally could no longer stand
the extreme pain, I talked to my son, Bob, who is a pain specialist
at a major clinic. He told me to try nortriptyline, which is
considered an antidepressant.”
“I told him that I wasn’t depressed! Bob said he gives this to all
of his fibromyalgia patients and it helps in about 50% of the FMS
cases. I tried it and it did work. I had been using Darvon, but Bob
said that drug is a no-no for FMS patients.”
“Ultimately, I weaned myself off all pain medications, including
Advil, which is what I took when it first started. For the other
products I used, I have to say it took a lot of trial and error to
find out what helped and what didn’t. It’s really slow when you’re
having to figure this stuff out by yourself.”
Some of the products Tricia found most helpful included
FibroResponse and Magnesium Malate from Source Naturals.
I know, I know, it’s unlike this kat to give favorable mention to
another company, but it’s part of Tricia’s story, so there you go.
Tricia also spoke highly of the Co-op’s DHEA, Fish Oil and Evening Primrose Oil (for linoleic acid), but confessed to having experimented with literally dozens of formulas and combinations, tossing the products that didn’t work for her.
What this kat found most compelling was Tricia’s courage and
curiosity in the face of adversity. When complimented, Tricia just
laughed and shared: “I love to learn. I think I’ve learned more in
the past two years than in the rest of my life! After my husband
died in September 2001, I spent the next six months worrying about
my fibromyalgia and fiddling around accomplishing nothing. Finally,
I realized I was getting nowhere, so I decided to do a full
180-degree turnaround."
“I decided to quit worrying, reevaluate my life, and begin again.
I began to take telecourses. I joined groups and found people to mentor me and
to help me. If you’re not afraid to step out, you somehow find the things that
are right for you, picking what you need and letting the others go.”
When I asked what kind of telecourses and mentoring Tricia was
talking about, I was a bit surprised by her answer.
“I am building a web site to let people who are suffering from
fibromyalgia know that there are natural things you can do to get well. I’m also
working on e-zines and a book on the subject. My present course is an 8-week
telecourse on promoting my web site. I tape the calls, transcribe them, and then
go over my notes. I learn better when I can read the material several times.”
Writing an e-book? Building and promoting a web site? At 79?! MEOW!
You go girl!
Tricia noted my surprise and confessed to having played around with
software “back in 1987 – in the DOS days” when you could still “tweak” the
programs! Our conversation turned to life in Idaho and Tricia sighed, saying she
will soon move off her 70 acres of forest on top of a hill. Her driveway is a
mile long and very steep in places. This past winter she ended up snowbound on
the hill for nine days after a heavy snowstorm.
“My grandson, Warren, was wonderful. He came to live with me for
about nine months when Fred first died, but he has his own life and moved back
to California. Now it’s time for me to move to a place closer to ‘civilization.’
We’re looking at a house next to my daughter and her husband. It’s still in a
forest, but not so isolated.”
In a bio that Tricia sent to me (for a speaking engagement she was
doing locally), there was this line about her being a psychic. Kat’s curiosity.
I had to ask! Cats are psychic, too, you know !
“I think everyone has psychic powers – you just have to learn to
listen to that little voice you have inside – which most people ignore, even if
they do hear it. You can put out important questions and there’s a part of you
that knows the answers and can respond. I use this a lot to heal myself.”
When asked for her secrets to health, Tricia’s answers tumbled out
readily.
“Chew every bite at least thirty times. When I started doing this,
it about drove me crazy. I had to count so I’d remember! But you have to realize
that your stomach doesn’t have teeth, so it’s important to chew carefully.
“I don’t drink anything with my meals – I drink half an hour before
meals and two hours after my meals. That allows your food to digest naturally
instead of being washed out of the stomach prematurely.
“I try to use as much organic food as possible, including the meats
I buy. In the summer, I think I keep the Farmers Market going!”
Before continuing, Tricia detoured to describe some yucky stuff
called prions (don’t ask – if you’re really interested, do a Google search!).
Tricia went on with her tips:
“I also call companies and ask if their food is genetically modified
(GMO) or not, or if it’s irradiated, and if it’s organic – especially soy
products. And you have to watch those new sugars. Research has shown they have
bad chemicals in them, even though they say ‘natural.’ Also, I drink distilled
or purified water I make myself. And, 99% of my clothing is cotton or silk, even
though I don’t really like to iron!”
And then the topics that really lit Tricia up finally emerged.
“Of course, I garden, growing flowers, veggies and fruit. I raise my
own chickens and guinea fowl for fresh eggs. I spend more money doing everything
organic, but it’s worth it to me.”
I wondered what Tricia’s favorite plant was, with her botany
background. I was hoping it would be something special like catnip! Wrong again.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued by her answer.
“My favorite thing to grow is my crop of purple string beans! They
have gorgeous lavender flowers and dark purple stems. I’m the only one around
with purple beans!”
On to my favorite topic – pets! And, Tricia had plenty of stories to
tell:
“I have four cats: a Halloween black cat; a Manx; a long-hair mix,
black and white with a lion ruff; and a half Siamese with blue eyes. I also have
two Heelers, one blue and one red. They are always trying to ‘herd’me. I love
them all dearly.”
“Of course, I can’t leave out the moose family either. When I creepy
crawl down the hill in the snow, I have to watch out for them. When the baby was
new it had such wobbly, spindly legs I was afraid it would fall. I stay away
from the adults because if they decide you are doing something they don’t like,
they will butt your car.”
Elk, bobcats, deer, grouse, wild turkeys - it’s quite The nature
preserve at Tricia’s property! I can just imagine Tricia “creepy crawling” down
the hill to watch her beloved moose. Me-thinks she would have to be cured of her
fibromyalgia to do that! My last question was, “What is the role of humor in
your life?”
“Oh, my husband used to say that I didn’t laugh enough. He was quite
a jokester and I laughed at his jokes, but I tend to be too serious. I’ve been
working on that. My animals’ antics get me laughing. Like my Guinea fowl.
Although they have nests, they lay their eggs right in the path and it’s like an
Easter egg hunt gathering them in the evening.
“I try to see the humor in all things and I even try to practice
laughing – it’s something my husband taught people to do and I believe it really
helps. I already told you I’m not worried about being considered ‘normal,’ so
why should I care if someone thinks its odd to see me laughing out loud outside
or no other reason than I’m practicing.”
For those of you who would like to be in conversation with Tricia about any of the many things she’s interested in, here’s her email address: fwataa@imbris.com
COMMENTS FROM MIKE CIELL, R.PH.
Since everyone seemed to like hearing from Mike Ciell, our
Co-op’s favorite pharmacist, I decided to ask Mike about his
perspective on fibromyalgia and Tricia’s story. Here’s what he had
to say:
“I think fibromyalgia and candida are some of the toughest cases
we see as pharmacists. It’s really heartbreaking sometimes. The cause of fibromyalgia is unclear, with experts disagreeing. And good treatments depend on your hypothesis about what’s causal.
At the risk of turning off scientists in the crowd, I believe that if a person doesn’t have some kind of spiritual awakening, a real shift in perspective in life, it’s really hard to treat the symptoms. Because fibromyalgia brings serious and chronic pain, many patients turn to support groups that, unfortunately, seem to depress versus uplift them.
Tricia’s story stays true to what I’ve seen. She experimented with many things, paying close attention to how her body responded.
As importantly, she had the will to push through physical pain and remain committed to a lifestyle that requires a lot of extra effort. That's big!
She sounds like an impressive lady. Thanks for sharing her story.
TERI’S COMMENTS
After reading Tricia’s story, Teri’s comment was simply:“She sounds like the kind of person I would like to know, and that’s the highest compliment I can give!"
SPREAD A LITTLE HUMOR
So, while we don’t have a recipe for curing fibromyalgia, we do recommend adding a daily dose of humor into the lives of those afflicted by chronic pain.Please take time to share a smile with someone who needs a break, with someone you love today. You’ll feel better too! Kat’s promise! ^..^
Still purringly yours,
Guido
Guido Housemouser (The Enforcer) ^..^
Chief Kat and Community Manager
Our Health Co-op
931 Village Blvd, Suite 905-480
West Palm Beach FL 33409
Making Health Affordable Together