My grandfather was a herbalist, not professional,, but very knowledgeable. For stomach problems - and sleeplessness a few drops of tincture of Valerian on a cube of sugar was the remedy - and believe or not, I used it sometime now for restlessness and it works and taste just the way it did whenI was a kid. Hot compresses of vinegar water around the neck, covered with something water-proof and then a wrap of a wool-scarf was the remedy for sore throat - I hated it! That wool-scarf got so scratchy by and by! Chamomile or peppermint tea for stomach upsets. Hydrogen peroxide as first aid for cuts and scrapes - still my first disinfectant in the medicine cabinet. Comfort food; farina (cream of wheat) lightly toasted, thinned with broth (Angebrannte Griess Suppe) I still have it at times. My sister acquired pin-worms once and was treated with enemas of milk and garlic. There was a cough syrup made of hollowed out carrots, filled with brown crystal sugar, the juice was very nice, the winter cod-liver oil not so much. Spring-time Grandfather would gather the whole family for a purifying tea to thin the blood, even my father got caught in that one several times.

One thing that everyone can begin looking at is this: Biofilms. Biofilms are these gnarly, sticky mats of congealed mucus where candida, bacteria, and other pathogens hide out. If you have reoccurring infections or infections that simply will not go away, then you likely have a biofilm in the infected area. Candida behaves much like a biofilm in this it is systemic and can spread all throughout your body. In order to get rid of biofilms in your nasal pasageways you need to be ready to go to war. The latest remedy, which people are swearing by that works, involves baby shampoo of all things. It's a 'surfactant' I believe is the word. And you use it in nasal irrigation: 1/2 table spoon of it in water, mix it with a neilmed rinse kit, use the saline packet that comes with it, and follow the normal directions. You can follow it with an allicin rinse as well. Allicin is the extract from garlic and has been shown to help breakdown and eliminate biofilms. You basically break open and pour one capsule (do not use the empty capsule) into the mix, add the saline packet, and use as directed. I believe that's it. In the meantime you'll want to think about fortifying your body from biofilms and candida (candida infections can be denoted by fungus growth in toenails, thrush on your tongue and throat, sinus infections, chronic fatigue, depression, dark circles under eyes, and many more). Grapefruit seed extract is really good for this. Buy somme Nutribiotics Grapeseed extract and pour a few drops in water in the AM and PM and drink it down. Also, any kind of citrus fruit extracts you can add to it. Agrisept L could be one of the greatest products of all time for breaking down biofilms in the body. This is just about an all in one anti fungul, bacteria, candida (yeast), and more. It's late and I'm getting choppy on the keyboard so be sure to google all of this stuff on your own to make sure I'm not missing steps, etc. Best!

To repeat some of what I've said earlier in multiple posts, I've taken a multi-faceted approach: sunlight therapy light for 30 minutes each morning during the shorter winter months making sure to eat healthily, esp. lots of legumes exercise (which for me also includes social partner dancing...not only provides exercise but physical interaction and music!) bamboo sheets have greatly helped with night sweats. I sleep much better. join a menopause support group or else start your own such Meetup group (I did, in NYC!) I take Rainbow Light Menopause One make it a point to be social....to get out of the house and be around other people. Go for walks...be around nature. If you are a night owl (like me), try your best to change your schedule little by little. Waking up earlier and going to bed earlier means you will have more waking hours in the natural light, and fewer waking hours in the dark, which in turn helps with serotonin levels and mood. Talk to a shrink if you are depressed and/or try to engage in cognitive therapy on your own. Be aware of how you are able to somewhat impact your own mood. For e.g., I noticed a pattern, whereby I was constantly assessing my mood multiple times per day. 'Am I feeling depressed right now?....Yup, I am. I am indeed feeling down...just like I was earlier today...just like I was yesterday. Ugh.' I realized that in doing that, I was then creating a sub-conscious 'reality' for myself, that if I am feeling down today, and I felt 'down' yesterday, and the day before that, that it stands to reason that tomorrow, and the next day, will also be the same. And how on earth can I expect to be in a good mood, if I believe this to be my reality, for the foreseeable future? Talk about creating a sense of doom for oneself. ;-) So.... I realized that this thought pattern I was exhibiting was not serving me one iota. Of course, we all know the expression of 'living in the moment'. I decided to purposefully try this at every moment of every day. 'Oh, doesn't this cup of coffee taste so good?.... this is so great that I just finished this work spreadsheet on my computer...I can now cross this off my to-do list.... this is great... Oh, this is a great song I'm listening to ...this salad I'm eating tastes so fresh!.... don't my two cats look so cute sleeping together..." And so on. By doing this, at the end of each day I found that I was able to look back and think 'you know...today wasn't that bad actually...'. And if I practiced living in the moment the next day as well, I could say 'this is great...today was pretty good...yesterday was pretty good...'. So that in turn helped to create my own new reality, which then helped me believe that the days ahead would also be pretty good! ;-) (If I assumed the days ahead would not be so good, they usually were not so good. But if I took on a more positive outlook, that my days ahead would be good, or 'pretty good', indeed, they usually were. While we can't control our emotions or mood entirely, much of it IS about perspective, and recognizing the ways we self-sabotage. And on that note....do not believe for one minute that 'older women are regarded with little worth' (as someone else here said). I am so utterly tired of women (and most often, it's American women) making this complaint. If you believe it, so it will be. No one wants to be around an older woman who is down in the dumps about her age. You could take two older women who look the exact same age more or less, and who have a similar appearance. One woman is confident, takes pride in her appearance, dresses attractively, does not feel her age is in and of itself a detriment; she is engaging, curious, outgoing. The other woman goes around believing that now that she's X-years of age, she's washed-up, and that society and men will 'ignore her'. She doesn't bother trying to dress nice, because she figures 'why bother'. Which woman do you think society is going to respond to more favorably. Which woman will more men find attractive? ;-)

Phoggie - your symptoms sound a lot like mine. I have/had arthritis and was on medication but they would always stop working or I would start to react to them. I wasn't ready to move on to the new medications and when I reacted to the last one I looked into the natural route. Two years later, after mastering my diet (for me, no gluten, no dairy (although I can handle whip cream (no additives) in my coffee and a bit of parmesan cheese), pea protein, soy, and recently just eliminated nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, all pepper including chili powders and paprika or any derivative) and officially, this past week I have no indication of anything! Before eliminating nightshades I had a lingering tightness but full use of my body which I was happy with but I know nightshades cause problems so I got rid of them. My joint issue is the last to resolve buy everything else resolved rather quickly - my heartbeat is normal (unless I cheat then it gets a little rapid for a couple of hours) but it was like yours, very slow (in the 50s) now it is good at 65, blood pressure, skin conditions (psoriasis and rosacea), hair grew back (it has been thinning for years now), no more sleepless nights (well, sometimes I have a few days where I get limited sleep but I'm not tired during this time, I just have less sleep?), regular periods and no more signs of endo., no fatigue, no aches (I would always get a feeling on my skin that it hurts, like I was at the beginning stage of a flu). I has been remarkable. I noticed things like canker sores and I asked my GP if my food had something to do with my conditions (before doing this diet) and he said no. I tested anyways:). Glad I did. My Rheumy is much more supportive and says "great" and is a bit curious. And my bloodwork shows no sign of inflammation or anything indicative of autoimmune conditions. Just google results of elimination diets and you will see so many personal stories of success. There are so many resources and support groups on line.