Remember last year when I ended up in the hospital due to an abscessed salivary duct?
I had tried treating it with home medicine, and finally got to the point where I knew I was out of my depth.
I was weak, in pain, and having more and more difficulty swallowing.
It was time to go to the hospital.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, my hospital experience wasn’t the best. (You can read about it in previous Inside Editions here and here … and if you’re not a sponsor yet, but want to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in spreading the word about the power of backyard food and medicine production to improve health and heal the planet, click here.)
The abscess was caused by a small stone that was stuck in the duct, blocking the flow of saliva. The hospital treated the infection, but wasn’t able to remove the stone while I was there because the inflammation was so intense.
My ear, nose, and throat doctor said I should give it a few months, then get the stone surgically removed.
I was about to start the process of scheduling the surgery this spring when, in the midst of prepping my garden beds and shoveling a bunch of compost, the same salivary duct got infected and abscessed. Again.
When it happened last fall, I had wanted to visit Shifu, a Chinese doctor who’s a genius with alternative medicine and who offices out in the forest near me.
He wasn’t available at the time—but thankfully, he was able to see me this spring. I told him I needed him to lance the abscess. Shifu examined me, and shook his head.
“No. Not going to lance,” he said. “I do acupuncture.” (His English is not nearly as good as his medicine!)
Well, my hospital stay was no picnic, and I wasn’t eager to repeat the experience later when the still-present stone decided to act up again. So, I argued with him.
“No. No. It needs to be lanced.”
But he insisted.
The long and short of it is that, 15 minutes and 10 acupuncture needles later, he sent me home with some herbs. Three days later, the whole abscess had just dissipated. It was gone.
My hospital stay was super-expensive. We have a high deductible insurance plan, so it was $5,000 out of pocket for me. And, honestly, I’m still paying those hospital bills. (Not to mention all the time it took me to recover my good gut flora after they killed it all off with antibiotics—and who knows what else they did to my body with that toxic, radioactive injection prior to the CT scan!)
Then, this time, I was able to visit this old Chinese man out in the woods. He charged me $95 … the abscess cleared up … and my gut flora are still intact!
Even more remarkable was what happened a few days later … .
I tell the whole story in my next video chapter of Grow: All True Wealth Comes From the Ground.
Bottom line? Industrial medicine has its place, but alternative forms of treatment can be just as effective nine times out of ten.
And the world needs access to them in a serious way.
What if you could provide them with that access, and achieve financial freedom at the same time?
You’ll learn more about that in this video, too.
Then, I’d love to hear about your experiences with alternative medicine, and your perspectives on the issue of redeveloping health care.
Would you leave me a comment below?
Huge thanks!
Marjory Wildcraft is the founder of The Grow Network, which is a community of people focused on modern self-sufficient living. She has been featured by National Geographic as an expert in off-grid living, she hosted the Mother Earth News Online Homesteading Summit, and she is listed in Who’s Who in America for having inspired hundreds of thousands of backyard gardens. Marjory was the focus of an article that won Reuter’s Food Sustainability Media Award, and she recently authored The Grow System: The Essential Guide to Modern Self-Sufficient Living—From Growing Food to Making Medicine.
COMMENTS(21)
Industrialized medicine is the bane of health care, since it’s symptom based rather than preventative, exploited rather than shared. Originally the congress of the people was about trading and sharing, and transferring knowledge of the great peace from one generation to the next through regalia,songs, dancing and stories. Today, instead of regulating commerce through knowledge, commerce regulates Congress with a quiet force unsurpassed by any former reign of terror in the history of the world: Obfuscation, misinformation, half-truths, conjecture, and the the most basic principle of capitalism: Exploitation!
We the people need to be cured of dollar-driven megalomania. This calls for a constitutional renaissance. The original constitution needs to be read and studied in the context of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation to know what government must not do and what we must improve upon, not violate. Then We could put a stop to corporate adulteration of our food.
Hi Marjory,
I love listening to your stories advice and philosophy on food, medicine and earth sustainable ways of living. I did have an experience this year while on holiday in Spain. I developed an infection in my gum which was very painful and inflamed. I really didn’t want to have to visit a dentist (didn’t speak any Spanish anyway) but I am always fearful of doctors and dentists because I don’t have a lot of trust. When I realised what the pain was about I decided to chew a clove of raw garlic first thing in the morning with breakfast and before each meal throughout the day. I also bought dental sticks and thoroughly brushed between my teeth where I knew the tenderness was. I also rinsed and cleaned my mouth and gums before bed each night with warm very salty water. After about 3 days the pain started to subside and within about 5-6 days all pain went and it cleared up. I would love to own a plot of land that I could grow my veggies on and an even bigger one where i could keep a few chickens but i have to settle for what i have, which is a smallish back garden where i grow small amounts of potatoes, herbs, greens and some berries during the summer. I have been involved in a small venture locally where i was allowed grow some produce which i cannot find room for in my own garden and it was brilliant to grow in a polytunnel where i had great success with tomatoes, mini peppers and butternut squashes. I don’t know if i will be able to do this next year as the venture has decided to expand in a different direction and my space may be taken away for some other project. but it’s a thrilling experience to know i can grow my own food …it’s so empowering and it’s all organic. I also love trying out old ideas for winter storage of say beetroot and potatoes. Oh and i made sauces for the freezer and bottled some pears that were windfalls. Maybe next year I will have a bit of land to sew and grow. I love taking seeds as well and knowing that this is all it takes to make food. Why can’t everybody have a bit of land to do this in a world where wer’re constantly being told ‘there isn’t enough food to sustain everybody on the planet’. I don’t think i believe that story any more.
sorry if i was a bit long winded. i love your videos and your ideas. they are exactly what the world needs right now. btw I live in Ireland. xx
Tremendous video on health care and alternatives!!!!! I recently heard David Crow outline the ‘CSA-format’ for medicinal herbs called CSM. And now you propose a CSH plan. How exciting!! A new friend at our local farmers’ market is so frustrated by all the administrative ‘hoops’ from the state that she would have to jump through just to process her own organic herbs into products that she plans to sell the fresh herbs and teach people how to process them ‘in the privacy of their own home.’
Can you share the web site for Rene and her amazing coconut cream? Does she do mail order?
I know that your book is a work in progress, but I am looking forward to buying a personal copy and even more for my friends. You are doing such important work. THANK YOU!
Suggestion: I don’t know how difficult it would be for you to convert your web site to ‘httpS’, but I generally try to go to secure sites, as navigating WWW is getting more complicated and risky.
I live in the Pacific NW, so alternative medicine is not hard to come by… HOWEVER finding good, solid alternative medicine is REALLY hard. There are tons of herb shops, but finding a really good one takes a certain skill that I haven’t mastered yet. Same with acupuncture and herbalists. Any advice?
Oh please give us contact information for Renee.
Hi Karen,
Renee’s website is https://originallivingcoconut.com/
Renee also recetnly sent me over an article on how she regrew the tip of her finger – yes, regrew it… COnsidered impossible by allopathic medicine. I am going to post that in my journals area of the webiste – but give me a week or two – super busy right now!
About herbalist being permitted to treat people, the number of people who die as the result of properly prescribed herbal remedies is nil: the number who die as the result of properly prescribed pharmaceuticals is in the order of one hundred of thousand. Maybe this can be leveraged to get the law changed.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/05/18/medical-errors-death.aspx
“Story at-a-glance
In 2000, Dr. Barbara Starfield published a study revealing that doctors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., killing an estimated 225,000 patients each year
According to a new study, medical errors kill an estimated 250,000 Americans each year, confirming that modern medicine is still the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
The CDC doesn’t collect or publish information relating to medical errors or deaths attributed to iatrogenic causes. The researchers urge the CDC to include coding for medical errors on death certificates.”
Industry lobbying, revolving-door of top management, regulatory services and politicians and the vested interests of the multi-billion dollar ‘industry’ have created a monopoly for allopathic medicine. The monopoly has to be broken before real change can occur.
Yes Paul!
Hey nice photo too 🙂 Love that hat.
I think that ‘medical errors’ is actually #1 leading cause of death. If you think about it…. the medcial system is reporting on itself and it says they are third???? Uh, how much do you think gets not reported? My guess is a LOT.
This is a big issue and so true. While I believe the normal health care system has its place in emergency situations like car accidents and serious injuries that need that kind of immediate care. They do not however belong in long-term care situations.
I myself am a healthy 23 year-old(and I say this loosely becuase as a young person I hold up better than most.). Ate and still do a good diet of mostly veggies, some meat and very little bread, milk, sugar and pasta. But over the last year and a half I have been suffering from horridly painful digestive issues. I was quite literally on the ground in pain at least once a week it was so bad.
I have spent the last two years almost, asking and pleading with my doctor’s that there was something wrong. I suspect that looking healthy and young and otherwise being ok had them believe I was overreacting or didn’t know what I was talking about. Then when they d finally finally decided to DO something they tossed antibiotics at me. Things only got worse from there; back to back yeast and UTI’s that just wouldn’t go the freaking away. And what is their solution… Antibiotics. Oh they cleared the infections but they always came back and my other issues just kept getting worse. I have had to stop running and anyone who knows me knows that my love for running is integral to who I am. I was just so sad and unhappy all the time.
That was when I decided to go to an integrative doctor, ND and such. It cost me a bit since I was used to spending $100 for meds and doctor visits (mostly meds.) vs the near $200 for just the first consult (it halves itself after that.) But am I ever so grateful I did. One week in and more than 50% of my pain just vanished. Two weeks 80% and now at three its just about all gone! Even pain I didn’t realize I had is gone. While it cost me close to $500 for everything (including the herbal solutions)so far I’ve probably spent a few thousand over the last few years on stuff that just made it worse, WORTH EVERY PENNY!
My journey to good health isn’t over but I’m on my way there and I just wish more people knew and weren’t so scared to try. Good lord was I scared, terrified that I was spending my savings on a quack. (its why it took so long for me to go despite knowing about this alternative for years.) I’m already evaluating if I should drop my insurance and just save my money instead. Thousands we spend on insurance that doesn’t support the right kind of long term care we need. Its insanity.
It is truly something everyone needs to really stop, think and consider when they are ill. Do you really want to be on meds forever? And still be sick? Its just not worth it.
oh haha this became a monster. Oops?
Hey, Marjory. Tough story! I’ve also been through very expensive western medical hoops without any really good help. With poor training leaning towards pharmaceutical drugs and more and more specialists it seems common sense has been lost. I had to turn to alternative treatments as I was very sick and regular doctors kept patting me on the back and saying my blood work looked fine. I’m still not out of the woods, but the knowledge of the alternative doctors helped me immensely and gave me a light at the end of a tunnel. My issues are auto immune. My story is very long and we spent thousands of dollars on doctors who did not have to really help but still got paid. It would be nice to not have to pay if they can’t give any answers. But, that isn’t the world we live in.
Doctors are trained in medicine and the use of medicine, otherwise known as Rockefeller medicine, a system of practice derived from the production of pharmaceuticals. where they lack in training is in health, nutrition and the use of the body’s own intelligence to heal itself. sometimes all it needs is a nudge in the right direction. Some basic information and a few pictures and we can identify much of whats going on in the body and from what the point of origin is. As an herbalist, CNHP (soon to have my ND) and HP Supervisor (homeopathic immunization) more of what I do is education.
How by chance did I stumble on this! Last October I had a blocked parotid duct. The ENT specialist could not find any stones, but the saliva was not moving so fast. That was all he said.
After the MRI revealed no stones, I cancelled the follow up appointment.
Every bite of food brought on pain, yogurt and soup not so much.
I relieved the pain by using a heated rice sock with Lavender essential oil and using lots of teas: cranberry, burdock, dandelion, licorice. After a few days, the swelling went away. I had a minor flare-up a few weeks later, but the heated rice sock took care of it right away.
Until now, I had never heard of this problem before.
I love hearing about people who have healed problems at home with herbs, vitamins etc. I work in the medical field and have known for a very long time now that we are not getting better with drugs. So I opted out and started seeking the natural way. I have lots of stories of how I have helped my family dealing with infections such as staph, UTI’s, the flu and other things using only herbs and vitamins. I pass it along, but people are too scared to use the “old” ways…Why? They will take a drug in a heartbeat from a dr. and not even ask what side effects it may have. Yet I tell them a natural herb and they ask is it safe? I just shake my head. Thank you for sharing your knowledge…I learned a lot from my dad who like you, grew all our food at home. I didn’t learn as much as I should have so I am seeking out others, thanks again for sharing what you know!
I suffer from food allergies that cause severe stomach pain, hives, eczema the list goes on…. the only remedy that I have found for eczema is tea tree oil and argon oil plus abstaining from said foo, or environmental triggers. I am interested in all herbal remedies and have a huge amount of faith in medicinal fungi. I just don’t even know where to start. There are so many different avenues of thought.
Im a new member & just looking around on your site so this is the first thing I’ve watched. I totally loved the video & everything that you’re about. I’ve healed some pretty painful abscesses with good certified food grade clove essential oil. Blessings on all the work you are doing.
WOW! I feel like I just had an epiphany. I have had numerous ailments throughout my life. Many of the “treatments” I have received have, I know without any doubt, made my overall health so much worse. One treatment would cause the onset of another illness. And on and on. I could easily write a book on it all. Don’t worry, I won’t right now. I will tell you that I have had kidney stones for nearly 30 yrs. I have had so many treatments and procedures to get rid of them, that I lost count years ago. I rarely go more than a year without another stone. What is so strange, is I was literally thinking this morning that it had been almost 2 years since I have had one. Then I got depressed because I thought oh boy the next one will be a doozy. Then I hear you talk about the coconut cream. I had never used coconut cream until around 2 years ago. I started using it when I make granola. I wanted the granola to not be so hard after I would bake it. I tried coconut oil which helped, and a few other things, but the coconut cream really worked. I liked it so much I started using it in other things I would cook. Since one of my goals is to try and help heal my body with healthier foods. I had no idea of the connection with coconut cream and ones kidneys. While I can’t say for certain it was the coconut cream that has kept the kidney stones away. I will for certain, be using coconut cream from now on.
I’m hoping you will also have a video version, or at least an audio version, of the book as well. I still have a 4+ hour/day commute and it is easier for me to watch a video or listen to an audio during that time. Otherwise, I’m working or sleeping. Yes, actively looking for my opportunity to escape the Corporate Plantation.
Marjory, you should have tried massage. We learned how to drain lymph glands even in the mouth. Find a good massage institute. If they know lymph drainage they can help.
Marjory you are SO right. We have to transform almost all of our way of life to change the planet and save it and ourselves. Starting with our own medicine is a great place. I don’t like going to the doctor anymore for the obvious reasons, and when I do I find myself having to not say the truth to save myself from their system. I even got a “warning” letter in the mail from one such doctor because I wasn’t following his protocol of scheduled visits.
As far as medicine and food, I’ve been inspiring people (one by one) lately to grow food. When they come to my house for a music lesson or to pick up sourdough bread, the main thing that catches their eye is my main garden. Even had one person ask me what it was! he didn’t know what a garden looked like. I’ve given out seeds and free taste veggies to people and everyone gets hooked. One of my main goals is to get everyone I know to start growing SOMETHING!
As far as home medicine treatment. GARLIC! I’ve been suffering from a boil in a most problematic spot. Lets just say when I pee it gets on the boil and boy it burns! BUT! garlic and a tea for boosting the immune system of tulsi, turmeric, ginger & pepper everyday and NO antibiotics for this girl!
Hi harpiano – oh I am so heartened by your comment. Yes, we need to change everything, and your work in helping everyone you contact is so important. Yeah for garlic 🙂
I am so happy to see Marjory reaching out as she is to educate people. That is the key to all the change that she talks about. You can start all the alternative jobs, industries, modalities, etc., but without a shift in public thinking through education, there is no reason for the general public to shift their attitudes toward these alternatives. At least not in the numbers needed for any real change. Very many kudos and thanks to you and your team, Marjory.