Have you tried herbs or supplements for your chronic illness? I’ve had to find “other options” for treating my fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder because of my financial situation, so I’ve been doing a lot of research and collecting some tools for working with the herbs I like to experiment with.
Capsule Machine and Completed Herbal Capsules
In other words, I’ve been learning to make my own herbal treatments for my various symptoms. I ordered an “encapsulator” for making my own herbal capsules, and have been playing with that a LOT. Instead of buying bottles of herbal supplements, I’ve been making my own. It’s tons cheaper, but it does take some time and work.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and nothing I say in this post is intended as medical advice. If you find the idea of using herbs in your treatment plan intriguing, be sure to do the research and discuss any changes or additions with your healthcare provider to ensure your safety.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to this process, but for me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. For example, making my own gives me the ability to:
- Save money
- Make my own blends for various purposes
- Ensure that I’m not taking something that causes a bad reaction (testing is a lot easier if I know exactly what I’m taking.)
- Experiment with new herbs without investing a lot of money into a product that I may not be able to use (I spent about $16 on a bottle of Valerian, only to discover that it triggers migraines for me. If I’d made my own, I could have purchased just a couple of dollars worth of the herb and tested for bad reactions without losing so much money if I couldn’t use it.)
- Experiment with other methods of delivery, like teas, poultices, tinctures, and infused oils
- Control the quality myself (Especially with supplements in pill form, there are frequently ingredients other than the herb itself that could cause a reaction, and there’s no way to tell WHICH ingredient I’m reacting to. It could be the herb, or it could be one of the fillers used to form the pill.)
- I actually enjoy the process of preparing the herbs and creating the various blends I use. I find it relaxing, and many of the steps can be performed while doing something else like watching a movie or chatting with friends.
On the other hand, it is much easier to just buy a bottle of something. Some of the disadvantages of making your own herbal products include:
- Having to buy some equipment and supplies
- Finding a place to work
- Finding storage space
- Needing to find the time to make the capsules, etc
- Pre-processing can be rather physical and time-consuming, depending on whether you grow your own herbs, purchase dried herbs, or purchase powdered herbs. (This can also depend on the equipment you use for processing. Grinding dried nettle leaf is much more physical if you do it with a mortar and pestle as opposed to using something like a manual or electric herb grinder.)
- Finding containers to keep finished products in (I reuse bottles and jars that I purchased something in, which adds the work of cleaning them and removing the labels.)
I’m discovering that this can be lots of fun, and I’m finding quite a few things that actually help me feel better, too. For example, I sprained my shoulder at work almost two weeks ago, and they gave me Lortabs for the pain. I couldn’t take them one day because I had to drive somewhere, so I took the Skullcap capsules I’ve been making instead. I was amazed to realize that the Skullcap actually eased the pain BETTER than the Lortabs do, and doesn’t have any of the nasty side effects. (I’m saving the rest of the Lortabs for knocking myself out when I have migraines. LOL)
NOTE: Do NOT take Skullcap WITH any prescription pain medication, as the interaction could be dangerous, or even deadly. Skullcap has sedative properties, and in combination with prescription pain medications it could depress your breathing to the danger point.
Experimentation is continuing, and my next post will include some of the cool things I’ve discovered.
Related articles
- Will herbs play a role in future medicine? (healthisahabit.wordpress.com)
- Herbal Remedies for Natural Pain Relief (everydayhealth.com)
- Herbs for Bipolar Disorder (everydayhealth.com)
- Alternative Options: Easing Fibromyalgia With Herbs and Supplements (everydayhealth.com)
- Using Herbs for Stress Relief (brighthub.com)
Looking forward to reading more about your creating your own medicine. Do you grow your own herbs or purchase from a trusted supplier?
You could ask for folks to send you clean, pill-bottle sized containers. I’m sure we all have a stash waiting for recyle day (or kept because they were a nice size, colour, shape).
phylor – Right now, I’m buying almost everything, but we’re working on a little area I can use to plant a few things (well, hubby and the roommates are, I’m mostly just watching and enjoying.) The neighbor across the street has tons of rosemary plants, so I can get all of that I want, and he’s going to start me a basil plant when he prunes his. Everything else is either ordered online, or purchased at the local organic grocery/co-op (for those in Atlanta, I do all my local buying at Sevenanda in Little 5 Points. The prices are reasonable, and the quality and selection are both excellent. If you have other local resources, I’d love to hear about them.)
So far, bottles haven’t been much of an issue. We’re always emptying sauce bottles and jars, and the brown glass bottles my fish oil comes in are PERFECT for storing herbal capsules. I LOVE Classico pasta sauces, because they come in mason jars. I can just buy lids and rings for them, and vacuum seal my herbs with my Food Saver and the canning jar attachment. (They taste pretty good, too. LOL) I’ve got the friends that drink saving me pretty bottles too, for storing herbal vinegars and such in; and working at a grocery store, I also have access to the giant jars that the pickles for the sandwiches come in. (The plastic buckets that the cake frosting comes in are pretty handy too, for things like making laundry detergent, composting, and planting in. They aren’t pretty, but right now, free outranks good-looking.)
You are the fist person, Wendy, that I have ever run accross who makes their own herbs. I think it is a great idea although I don’t think I could congitively and energy wise do it.
I love the idea though and I love that making your own herbs allows you the ability to monitor your reactions so closely. Awesome!
Thanks Dominique – I’m really enjoying the process, and I’m learning a LOT . . .
You sound so much like me. Back in the ’80′s when I was having kids we had so little money, no health insurance etc. is when I started using herbs (I made sure everything was safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding). I’ve had hits and misses too. But I agree about making your own capsules… So much cheaper! Tinctures are very easy as well. I haven’t tried vinegars but may sometime. I’m very frugal too. I’ve cleaned many of those frosting buckets LOL… and I don’t eat store bought frosting anymore
After scooping out frosting with your hand that never seems to go bad – ick! I’m going to revisit the skullcap for pain. I used to use it to help me sleep when I was working nights (it doesn’t help for that now). I get opiate agitation, even at very small doses so I would love to stop taking them. oh and Lemon balm is really easy to grow and makes great tinctures. You may want to grow it in a bucket as it tends to be invasive especially if you only have a small area.
Anything in the mint family tends to be invasive (lemon balm, catnip, etc.) so all of that stuff will go into containers. LOL I haven’t been doing tinctures because I have a really bad reaction to alcohol (even a dose of Nyquil will make me sick) but I am considering the vinegars even though I hate the taste. I read somewhere that if alcohol is a problem, you can put the dose of tincture into a cup of hot water and the alcohol will “flash” out like it does when you cook with it, so I may try that, too, but it still makes me nervous. (and yes, things that last forever without spoiling worry me . . .)
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