My COVID Journey – Part 4

The Road to Recovery

I may have gotten out of the hospital 8 days earlier than I should have, but I still needed another 7 days in quarantine at home. I was still taking the mystery botanical remedy (which the trial isn’t over yet) I’ll post details once I’m able. It’s all still very hush-hush, but I can get the product with advanced notice. Text me for more info on that!

I was also still on the prescription medications and was told the blood thinner would be something I need to be on for 3 months. I was told to make a follow-up appointment with my Primary MD, (which I did not have) and that I would need another chest X-Ray in 6 weeks. I’m proud of myself, I found a Primary here in Folsom, and I actually really like her! They have an app to get to my medical records and it gives me access to my blood lab results. Ok, so this is not too bad at all! All new still just the same, but she gets me and my love of clean eating and taking of the supplements. But she WAS NOT going to budge on letting me off of the blood thinner, even after my chest X-Ray came back clear.

So of course, what to do with THAT!? I listened to her. Then at the 2-month mark, after my chest was clear and the side effects of the medication were really NOT OK, I started to step down gently off of it with help from my doctor. Do NOT go off your prescribed medications without consulting your doctor first. I needed them, they helped me, but now I’m done. And I did some research and found out that the blood thinner ‘could’ eat one’s liver for breakfast! Rare, but possible. I was 100% sure it was the culprit! My cholesterol was high right along with my liver enzymes. I called a big fat BS! I do not have high cholesterol! Never have. 

Supplements

So I started to bring back in some of my favorite supplements and herbs and immediately began to feel better. I was 8 days into my ‘stepping down’ process and adding in the supplements and herbs and my blood labs came back 99% improved, boom!

• Cod Liver Oil
• Ginkgo Forte
• Rehmannia Complex (thank you, Dr. Virginia Irby)
• Milk Thistle Forte
• Livco
• Echinacea Premium
• Zypan
• Colax

Poop 💩

Now Zypan and Colax have been major players throughout the whole process! Meds or not! Constipation is no joke! Sometimes you need some extra assistance, and colon hydrotherapy was just the thing to set things straight! EVERYONE needs 3 sessions with Vinaya, hospital stay or not! Poop is a priority!

Yoga + Breathwork

Breathing is a priority too! I was approached by an old friend who has been my trusted Yoga Instructor for 13 years. She needed a ‘test student’ for a program certification she just finished. It’s a post-COVID yoga, and I was a perfect candidate! I have to tell you; I had no idea how atrophied my muscles had become from COVID! It wasn’t just because I was on the couch or in a hospital bed for a month, but the virus literally ate my muscles.

Susan took time with me every week to walk me through some very important Pranayama (breath work) she helped me build my lungs back up and I was able to get off of the steroid inhaler pretty quick! Paired with daily Asana (body posture and movement) this brought me back to life. My first attempt at the plank in a sun salutation was comical as I plopped down on the floor with no flow. I was incredibly weak. Every week, new Pranayama and gentle increase on Asana, and I’m SO MUCH STRONGER!

Here’s a little more about Susan:

Susan Bentley is a certified yoga therapist, fifteen-yoga instructor, and owner of Alma Sana Yoga in Folsom, California.

Her passion is bringing yogic practices to strengthen and help heal not only the physical body, but mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.  Susan is an IAYT-certified yoga therapist since 2017.  In addition, she holds an E-RYT500 from Yoga Alliance since 2008, is an ACE-certified personal trainer in 2010.

Susan has more than 1500 hours of training through YogaFit Worldwide, and additional trainings with Timothy McCall, Leslie Kaminoff, Leeann Carey, Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation, and others. She holds specialized certifications in trauma-informed yoga, yoga for athletes, yoga for active aging, brain health, and women’s health.  Susan has been providing yoga for COVID-19 recovery since 2020.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from CSU, Fresno in Business Administration, and has prior professional history in technology, education, and public health fields.

Body Work

Now massage therapy and chiropractic care have always been on my regular maintenance plans! Check out my favorites page to see my list of trusted practitioners. 

Tamara Anderson CMT, Venie Grey CMT (Lymph Specialist), Dr. Brian Jenkins Chiropractor, and all-around amazing guy have all helped me to not only recover but to stay on top of my game!

Recovery & Healing

This has been a journey! Thank you for reading and following along with me. Remember this is an ugly virus and it’s unstable and unpredictable. It won’t kill you, but it could. And it will make you THINK you’re going to die! No natural thing on this earth could be behind what that was. Nothing. Take care and be safe!