Angel Donation - Sally IV Therapy/Prescriptions
Hi...
This is Sally ...
This is difficult to do. This time, I'm asking for help for our business and myself.
Look at it like a Go Fund Me for us. ❤️
Short story: I got hit hard with Shingles again this year. Vitamin C done Intravenously, really kicks ass against Shingles. Google it. It only took me 4 years to learn about this!!!!!!! I'm getting things back together again and I really need some help. I'm terribly behind on important bills. I really could use $3,000 to get back on my feet.
Between sales and some help here, I hope to do this quickly.
Or the long version - truly because I want this to help others and I do love my members so much. I want you to know how hard it's been - and I want to get rockin' again!
I'm no quitter....
And YOU have to know enough to help others before this hits them like it hit me. Just keep this in the back of your head until the day you need to know it!
I've thought long and hard about putting this out here.... but I am doing it for 3 reasons:
1. I really do need some help or I'm not able to be productive.
2. I KNOW from the last 4 years that some of the remedies I've found for the nerve pain have helped others. I'm hoping what I'm about to write helps you or someone you love. There clearly isn't enough info out there (even to the doctors) about Shingles or PHN. Also, the instances of Shingles right now is on the rise - it's one side effect spurred on by the Covid vaccines because of how those can take a hit on someone's immune system. And some people are getting them when they are young - and some doctors think it might be because the younger generation got a chickenpox vaccine (unlike us old fogies that got the real chickenpox). 🤓 YOU need to know to hopefully avoid this from happening to someone you know.
3. If my business doesn't do well, it can't help others.
4. If you didn't know it before, you know it now.... I'm no quitter.
Many of you know that I have "Trigeminal Neuralgia" (look that up) in the form of Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) which is nerve damage in the right side of my face caused by Shingles in late 2018 - Which originally was brought on from the crazy stress I was in at the time. It went misdiagnosed for about 6 months - causing the nerve damage.
It started in November - when we were moving the studio back into this space, the internet wasn't working as promised, the haters were in full swing (horrid daily bullshit hitting the fan), I was trying to make money (of course) and we also were burdened with getting the info to the attorney for the lawsuit that was getting organized against 5 people. The lawsuit got filed the next month- Dec of '18.
It was all more than I could handle. The lawsuits (currently against 6 people now) are still in the works and moving slowly through the courts. I try not to think about them, and instead I truly love my attorney who has taken a huge weight off my shoulders by dealing with this for me.
So this beast (PHN) flares rather often - sometimes severely. It took quite a while before I pinned down what seemed to be the triggers. I've learned it usually fires up when I'm stressed from annoying type problems. There's lots of that in a business that is as big as ours and that has been through so much since my daughter was killed in 2016 and Craftsy basically went down , too.
Being super happy, angry, or sad doesn't set it off - but stupid stuff does. (So throw 2 years of Covid in there!) I guess it's because I'm trying to get so many things done before January for all of you as well as the shop program we are rolling out that will help the shops make $$ after they have been so beat up over Covid.
I'm single. I can't just wait this out.
Or... let it do us in!
This latest flare, in hindsight, was the worst. Seems (in hindsight) it was a new full blown shingles attack. This time, the pain was smack in the middle of my ear and each flare lasted hours. Oh, it was horrid.
I was already taking prophylactic Acyclovir. Pffft.
So the topical remedies when things fired up didn't really work as well - because the nerve endings at issue were in my ear this time.
One night in October, the pain in my ear was extra severe. It would tear me up for 8-15 minutes, then go away for less than 10 seconds and then hit again. (I actually was watching my watch... trying to use it to meditate though these episodes. It happened for about 2.5 hours at 1AM. Then it returned at about 4AM. No amount of trying to relax through, breathe or ride with the pains helped. Finally, at 5:30 AM, I called my son & got him to take me to the ER at 6 AM. I wanted to be put down with some heavy duty drugs! In hindsight - such a beautiful thing, isn't it? - what a waste of time and $$ that was. Totally worthless effort and a new $2100 bill on my desk to prove it. This was the first time I went to the hospital - and I wish I had a buck for every time one of my friends would tell me to go over the last 4 years - lol. It was never bad enough before.
By the way, narcotic pain relievers sometimes helped if the pain was in certain places - but usually they don't help much against nerve pain. Plus, I have my own reasons for trying to be off of pharmaceuticals because I believe our bodies can heal if given a chance - if we don't cloud what's going on with drugs.
If you know anyone that is in the first day or two of Shingles... get them to an IV source for a high dose Vitamin C IV. Don't hesitate... read up on it (Google it) on your way if you need to. Just my opinion.... but be a bully friend if you have to - this is nothing to screw around with. Just last night, a friend told me how she has a friend that went through facial Shingles and some of it went to her brain and she now has one leg that doesn't work right.
Some people have lost hearing, eyesight, or even an eye.
AND... (like me) ... there doesn't need to be a rash present. If you have nerve pain happening out of nowhere, YOU need to be a bully and make sure the doc explores Shingles as a possibility. After the first 72 hours, treatment and healing rules change for the worse.
By the way, when mine started, I went to my doc and dentist on the same day.... the idea of shingles never came up! THINK OF THAT - A pretty healthy person my age with new nerve pain out of nowhere!!! I was a ripe candidate for Shingles because of my age. I got a pain reliever and a muscle relaxer and a pat on the ass - and then let the crucial 72 hours fly by while zoster virus was munching away on my nerves. Ugh.
I could give doctors an hour lecture about the harm they are doing.... but I'll digress.
For the sake of others out there - I do take a supplement that stopped the PHN nerve attacks I was having daily ..... but that's another story. I wasn't getting enough C (and probably other things) to defend against a new Shingles attack though. Still, amazing stuff. Found this on my own, too...
I also have two topical creams that do help significantly! One is a harmless over the counter $30, the other is a topical narcotic prescription made by a compounding pharmacy. I'm still using these as needed. If you need info, just holler. ❤️
The first helps against the shingles virus being able to "do its thing" (multiply) - which does help against pain if the virus is still active, in my experience. And then, the other is quite strong and is for pain. When this was at it's worst, I even tried using that artist's paint brush to apply the creams.... tiny bits at a time.... and even that was an impossible hell..... How did I look?
September 23. 2022 Couldn't wash my hair or open my mouth. I was in hell.
I couldn't get the cream down on my chin - where things were hurting the worst.
And yeah.... I went to the doc.
Did you know that extra bags under your eyes can indicate that your kidneys aren't happy?
A person can't fake this look... or at least I couldn't.
I looked worse than this when I went to the hospital on Oct 20th!
Nobody should go through this pain. Ever.
When I told people I was ready to die - I meant it.
When I told people if I had been given a choice between losing a foot or going through this nerve hell on my face - I meant it.
I teased one friend that if I didn't owe her so much money, I would have committed suicide. Think about that. 🙄
I can't even repeat some of the things I said to my son - trying to get him to understand. But I still don't think he really does get how bad this was/is.
The one thing that this experience gives me, though, is the right to be a bit pushy and stick this info out there so it helps others.
So let's shoot to today.
After 4 years of fighting pain in my face, I ran into new, simple info: high dose Vitamin C (along with other immune boosting ingredients including Glutathione) delivered through IV. It took me FOUR YEARS to trip into this info!
wth.
I went for my first IV within 2 hours of finding this Vitamin C info.
I had to track down a place nearby that did this IV service.
At this time (evening 11/9/22) I've already gone for three sessions at a facility called onus.iv . This is a great place that only employs medical professionals that have at least 3 years of ER, EMT, or ICU experience. Each session is a little over $200 on the average for the concoction I'm getting - but I've been getting their most "super duty" recipe PLUS as much Vitamin C as I could get (without a prescription ) added to it. 🥰
When was the last time you saw an IV bag hanging on a lime green climbing rope with a carabiner holding the bag??? What can I say? This is a very "Colorado" kind of place.
pic taken November 3rd - after two IV sessions.
Yeah, I know. Still not "presentable". lol but I hadn't seen my bottom teeth in weeks.
And hey... I'm not out of the woods - but I can smile and do normal things like having a cup of coffee, talk and get back to doing the video work for our Mastery Workshops.
And if things hold out, hopefully we can get back to live get togethers via zoom and real live events starting later next year. Gosh, I miss seeing everyone together and having fun!
I've also currently got $225 worth of prescriptions I need to pick up. I'm still taking an anti-epileptic (generic for Tegretol) that interferes with my brain receiving bad/false messages because of the bad wiring (nerve damage). I am not epileptic. But I also don't have teeth that that should be hurting - it's just bad wiring. lol. I also, on high stress days, take a "chill pill" that slows me down a notch or two, makes me a nicer person and helps to keep flares from happening.
Over the past 4 years, I've weaned myself off of the pharmaceuticals for this 3 times. So here we go again!
It's been a "Between a rock and hard place" situation for me for most of the last 4 years with the last 3 months or so being extra bad. When in pain, it's impossible to do anything. When the nerve flares, I can't talk because the pain is severe and is either sharp, or burns so bad, or is more electrical shock in nature in my jaw/side of face.
I've definitely learned that stress is a trigger. 😣 This whole situation has caused more stress than any person should have to live through.
A good day is like having a toothache - which I can usually deal with. A really bad day, I can't move - the jarring of walking or vibration in a car or the slightest breeze of air outdoors causes extreme pain by my ear. My bike has been parked all year. 😢
Makeup? I think I could do that today - but the fear of taking it off is there. I don't know if I'll be able to touch certain parts of my face or mess with my hair 10 minutes or 3 hours from now. It's totally unpredictable.
I went 9 days between washing my hair (avoiding an area by my ear) because the pain is intolerable in one spot above my ear. Couldn't brush or touch hair that was there. The IV's stopped that.... but it's creeping back again because I sneezed once yesterday that sent everything into a real zinger and haven't had an IV this week - yet.
I believe our bodies are capable of healing... but dang, nerves are slow to heal and these IVs give that healing a boost, The prescriptions help cut down the nerve action to minimize shocking and burning sensations. I truly try to avoid the pain killers - I want to give my bod & brain (what's left of it! lol) the best chances to sort out my "bad wiring" and heal.
To others - SERIOUSLY - Google Vitamin C & Shingles. If you catch it right away - pick it: be sick for 3 days (with Vitamin C IV) or ride it out with what the doctors give you for 8 weeks or longer.
And no.... you can't drink enough orange juice to make a difference. I am drinking a hi dose Vitamin C every day - but it's not enough.
Anyway, I'm really feeling up against the wall. I'm exhausted from 4 years of pain. I've been sleeping twice as much to avoid pain and try to heal...and any of you that know me just KNOW that I've never been good at sleeping! lol.
But.... I'm feeling better from the IVs. I want to be back to being happy and in a place that my business can do loads of good for others like it has in the past. In order to do that, I have to get myself back on the rails first. In a big way.
During this last whopper flare that went on for about 8 weeks (until the IVs) I couldn't open my mouth because any movement of the skin/lip on my right side would cause excruciating pain by my ear (trigeminal nerve ganglion) I tease that I was on the tortilla chip/ritz cracker diet. I could get ½ a ritz in through the left side of my face and then be able to eat it. Just try and drink without involving your bottom lip - it's a real challenge. Not drinking enough water for weeks is pretty unhealthy on the kidneys too.
Other times, swallowing was hell. There were some days I had one hour stare-downs with the pills because just getting those pills in my mouth and being able to drink anything was just a horrible task.
Then there were the friends that said "use a straw". I challenge any of you to use a straw without moving or involving your bottom lip on one side. 😣. Seriously... you can't move where the affected nerve endings are.
Upside: I have lost over 20 pounds - but this is not a fun way to go about it! lol
My business and I wouldn't even to still be here if it weren't for a couple of our Angels and my son who have carried me when I couldn't even move or think.
My landlord has been very kind, too. He had no idea until last month that I'd been going through this since '18
Sooooo.... I just can't do it all alone. The website went down for a couple of days last weekend because I drained my bank account for the third IV. One of my business neighbors drove me to get it - I was in too much pain to drive. To be honest, one of our members helped to get the site back up... and again... to be totally honest, I need to be able to work without hurdles over the next few months so we can have a great January - and just get back to normal! ... and I can't do that alone. I'm spending my days putting out fires and that's counterproductive and stressful - so it just causes more problems.
The current game plan is to see if I get reliable relief by getting my immune system back on track with 2 IVs a week and then back down to one a week... and if successful, then just 2 a month throughout next year.
If that doesn't totally do the trick, then I do have some specialists in other states that I would like to see. I'm currently on one waiting list for me to see a jaw nerve specialist in New Mexico next October. 🙄. Sure can't sit around and wait for that, riiiiight?
Or... there's a dentist in Arkansas that is on my radar.....
Everything seems to indicate that my nerve damage is virus related - so the game plan is to kick the virus cootie's butts and see if my bod can heal by having what it needs to heal.
So if you use this item here, on the site, it is a donation to be used for me to be able to get IVs, prescriptions, and help cover any business expenses while I'm going through this. Any excess funds and repayment will go into our Angel account if you desire.
Today, I think it's kind of amazing my phone is working - I'm late on that bill.
If you've been around me any length of time, you should know that I've donated thousands of dollars along with the dollars some of you have contributed since 2015. I bought new sewing machines for 5 people in 2015. It feels terrible to be on this side of it all now - so more than anything, I want to be able to be on the giving side again.
OH.... a little bit of sunshine.... I want to mention that one of our haters (that we filed suit on ) sent my attorney a letter indicating they were hoping to come to a settlement before the end of the year. Wouldn't that be something! This particular defendant has been a thorn in my side for 8 years - so we'll see how it all goes. There's another one that I would think should settle quickly.... but if she was stupid enough to do what she did for me to file suit on her..... there's no guessing how she will act now that she's been served. And.... we still are waiting on a trial date for that battery fire I had in '17. .... But please know ... I obviously can't depend on any of this and it doesn't help me now. But those are lights at the end of what's been a very long tunnel.
No matter what happens with all of that, Januarys can be our best months. We did stellar business when we weren't being messed with! So I hope to be able to do that again this year, but wow.... I have a lot to do to make up for being down so much these past few months! If you have any questions or want to reach me - I'm on zoom and there is the "Chat with Us" bubble on site pages that goes straight to my cell phone.
This item is set at $1. Obviously, please just put in the quantity of those dollars that you are able to push my way at this time. I would prefer if you would choose the PayPal option for this - you can still use your credit card. (The "credit card" option goes through Shopify and they are terribly slow to pay me)
Alternately, if you're not already....please check out our membership page. Cash flow through there right now would help greatly. - And to make that worthwhile, the last box of zippers arrived just yesterday so we expect a HUGE zipper release on about Nov 18 for Lifetime VIPs and Nov 19 for VIPs and no discounts for anyone else until Nov 20th.
VIPS get 60% off zippers - there will be new codes issued for this next release.
These zippers took about 2 months longer than usual to arrive.... so we're glad they're here now! Please keep in mind that the zippers and frames are NOT my business - that all belongs to my son and his family.
I appreciate every one of you and every penny. If/when we start to get settlements in from the jerks that crossed my path, or January starts with a huge bang...paying back debts to everyone that has helped my business and me survive through everything is first on the list. After all, if it hadn't been for the events of '16 that continue on to today, I wouldn't be in this position to need help.
And I wouldn't still be here if it weren't for a few big hearted Angels that have stayed close to me and kept me from totally falling and being in a pup tent by now! Love you!
Just writing this is so stressful, I'm starting to hurt. I need to call it a day, 🥴
Lots of good things on the horizon.... I just need to be able to get there.
❤️❤️❤️ I hope this info helps others, too!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
If you can help, I appreciate it.
With much love,
Sally
PS... I want to get back to being all of this to serve all of you and those that I love....
If you're not already, follow my personal facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/sally.ripstitcher
I do share some pretty cool stuff!
