Posted by Poppy on 2/14/07 4:50pm
Msg #175694

OT: Way off topic. Reliv

I want an honest opinion.
Have any of you ever tried a product called reliv... A friend of mine is trying to get me to use it on my youngest daughter. She is really struggling with asthma and according to my friend many have had great success reducing symptoms with this product.
Seems to good to be true to me, but I'm desperate. I've tried other boards but I've found the responses are usually from someone selling the product....
So I thought I'd post here....
Sorry for the OT...

Reply by ck_KY on 2/14/07 5:39pm
Msg #175706

You may not believe this..

but when I was young I had horrible asthma. My Grandpa Jack is part Indian, and when I was 3 years old, he cut a branch off a sour wood tree, threw it up in the attic, and when I outgrew the stick, my asthma was gone! Many people don't believe in the old wise tales, but I am a firm believer! My 6 year old son had warts all over his hands, he had them frozen off twice, but they kept coming back. Last summer, an elderly neighbor told me to put Dandelion (sp?) milk on them, and they were completely gone in three days. My son's little friend had warts on his knees and I told his mother about the Dandelion milk. She tried it, and they were gone in a couple of days. When he went to his family doctor for his check up, his mother told him about the warts being gone in a couple of days with this treatment and he said it couldn't be so. Try the sour wood tree remedy! What could it hurt?

Reply by Poppy on 2/14/07 5:54pm
Msg #175708

What's a sour wood tree? And how long of a stick was it?

Kidding aside, I do believe in old remedies... We've tried Chinese herbs, no acupuncture she would freak out...
I've heard that many kids will grow out of it, I'm really hoping this will be the case for her. However waiting is difficult when she is having so much trouble right now... The winter months are awful for her.

Reply by Poppy on 2/14/07 6:01pm
Msg #175709

Re: What's a sour wood tree? And how long of a stick was it?

I just googled it... What a beautiful tree... Never seen one around here.... I'll have to pay attention and keep an eye out for it...

Reply by ck_KY on 2/14/07 6:04pm
Msg #175710

Re: Actually, I'm not quite sure..

I will ask my mother tomorrow and get back to you. The stick was cut just a little taller than I was at the time, so in a few months, I outgrew the stick and outgrew the asthma. I don't remember it because I was so young, but my mother and grandfather told me it was the worst case of asthma they had ever seen, and I had been on every medication known at that time. I would love to find a book on all those old remedies. My grandfather passed away a couple of years ago, but I do have a few other remedies that he told me over they years. My oldest son had vomitting and diareaha (sp?) and my grandfather made him a tea from peach tree bark. He said you scrape the bark upwards for vomiting, downwards for diareaha, or up and down for both. You bring it to a boil with water for 10 minutes. I put it in his bottle, he drank a few sips (I"m sure it didn't taste that great) and he was fine after that! It amazes me!

Reply by Poppy on 2/14/07 6:06pm
Msg #175711

Thank you... I appreciate it... :-) n/m

Reply by MelissaCT on 2/15/07 9:31am
Msg #175761

Is it allergy-related? Food allergies can really trigger

asthma & you may not know what's causing the "outbreak". Thankfully, my son has *mostly* outgrown his asthma but he is food-sensitive.

Both my husband and I have adult-onset asthma & it's tough to manage at times.

Check out information on http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=20 Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America for additional information. I'm not saying that this is the cause, but may be contributing to the symptoms.

Reply by Kate/CA on 2/14/07 6:57pm
Msg #175714

I just sent an email to my daughter. All five in her family have asthma. My oldest grandson gets it pretty bad sometimes and ends up in the hospital. I'll get back to you.

Asthma does come back. I had it as a child, nearly died with it in PA and my parents moved us out to CA. I have been fine until the last few years.

Reply by Poppy on 2/14/07 8:33pm
Msg #175726

Thanks Kate. I would like to hear what's working for them.. n/m

Reply by janCA on 2/14/07 7:40pm
Msg #175719

Has your daughter been tested for allergies? Asthma is an allergic condition. A study done by Mayo Clinic many years ago suggested that there is a link between asthma and sugar intake, especially in children. This is just stuff I read and I believe trying to heal ourselves naturally. Your daughter could be allergic to a number of things. Cats and dogs, many types of food or it could be environmental.

Reply by DonR_NYC on 2/14/07 7:49pm
Msg #175721

First off let me state that both my kids (aged 17 & 11) have suffered from asthma since birth. I would never give them anything for their condition without consulting their doctor; especially so-called “remedies” purchased over the internet and made in an unsupervised lab. There are proven old world remedies that today’s medical community are now embracing but I don’t believe “reliv” is in that category.

BTW: After serving 25 plus years with New York City’s Emergency Medical Service I know first hand what could happen when unproven “treatments” are tried. Don’t fool around; ALWAYS consult your medical professional.

Reply by Poppy on 2/14/07 8:51pm
Msg #175728

Jan and Don...

Jan
We have an appointment for allergy testing. She is just getting over pneumonia and it's been a heck of a winter for her. Initally we tried to treat her on an attack by attack basis. Now the doctor says we can no longer approach her treatment in that manner. So she is now on an inhaled steroid. Honestly it's freaking me out. She is so young. I've been praying she will grow out of it. No one in our family has asthma and we really feel inadequate in dealing with it. I just want to know that we are doing all we can with out over doing medications.

Don,

I agree with you and would not take her off of anything, I'm just really frustrated and trying to find hope where I can. I know it sounds rediculous but it's horrible to watch her struggle on such a regular basis. Seems like every little runny nose turns in to something awful...
I really think that with all the meds she is taking she should be able to breath without difficulty, but to take all this stuff and still have problems. It's very frustrating.
I don't want to be foolish and fall for a scam especially such an expensive one, but would pay twice that if it would help her.
I guess the only way to tell is to try the product and see if it helps.... Of course they say it can take several months to work and since her most severe time of the year is winter we may have to wait until next winter to see if it really has any positive effect.
Thanks for your input... You're right I will be careful and I would not dare take her off her meds... I know she needs them.

Thanks again! Poppy

Reply by ananotary on 2/14/07 10:57pm
Msg #175737

Poppy

Hi Poppy, I don't know how old your daughter is but my son has had very severe asthma problems also. It is only aggravated when he is sick. It was such a battle when he was younger but I am seeing signs that he may be growing out of it. He is 4 1/2 and the breathing treatments during illness are less and less. As a matter of fact he had two colds this winter that did not require ANY treatment. That was a miracle and a sign that things are looking up. He was allergy tested and that has helped tremendously!

Reply by Poppy on 2/15/07 9:06am
Msg #175759

That's great news Ananotary. I hope the allergy testing

will be helpful for us as well. My daughter has only mild syptoms throughout spring and summer but winter is awful. Not sure what her allergy could be since not much of anything blooms during the winter. I was thinking it may be the heater.
I bought a couple books on Asthma yesterday so hopefully I'll have a better idea what to do for her. As you know it's very scary and I think learning all I can about it will help all of us deal with it better. Right now everyone in the house is worried and I don't want my daughter (she is four) to be afraid. Last week she looked at me with a sad look and asked me "Mommy why am I always sick" it broke my heart....

Anyway thanks for the response. It is good to know that your son is getting better at such a young age. Hopefully my daughter will too...
Take Care, Poppy

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/15/07 9:52am
Msg #175764

Re: That's great news Ananotary. I hope the allergy testing

Poppy, I have told you about my terrible problems with allergies. I went through all that and it came down to the fact that I had to take steriod inhalers...for years on a seasonal basis.

I am cured now. No more Why? I moved away from the mold of the Golden Gulf Coast of Texas. My body can fend off the rest of the allergens but I am highly allergic to mold/mildew. Until I moved seven years ago I had to see a doc every three to six WEEKS for sinus infections, coughing, sneezing, general ill health. Five years now...no trips to the docs for illness. I get well on my own.

Reply by Poppy on 2/15/07 1:53pm
Msg #175842

Brenda, glad you're doing better. I thought about you when

the whole subject of allergy testing came up at the doctors. Honestly I got a chill when I thought about how mean kids were to you. (I know it made you stronger, but still)
I've been wondering if there is some kind of toxic mold hidden in the house. Funny the things that begin to freak you out when you can't quite figure out what's wrong.
Quick question: Did you have any adverse side affects from the inhaled steroids?

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/15/07 2:26pm
Msg #175853

Re: Brenda, glad you're doing better. I thought about you when

**Quick question: Did you have any adverse side affects from the inhaled steroids?**

Nope. The inhalers coat the inside of your nose so that it doesn't react to the irritants. You don't get so much "steroid" into your system.

I had been through the oral and injected. I was relieved to get the inhaler. Use it a few days and then it starts to work...cut way back and use PRN.

Reply by Poppy on 2/15/07 3:58pm
Msg #175874

Thanks, Brenda. Maybe I'm overly worried about the steroids

I appreciate your response and I'm very glad to hear you're doing better.... "smiles" Poppy

Reply by BrendaTx on 2/15/07 4:10pm
Msg #175876

Re: Thanks, Brenda. Maybe I'm overly worried about the steroids

I grew up on the Tx. Gulf Coast. That's one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world. We lived next to a chlorine plant when I was little. Most of the time we'd hear the whistle to evactuate before we saw the yellow cloud, but it was just routine.

I played in the fog of the mosquito trucks back when they were puffing out the mean stuff.

My point is that after all that contamination I thought nothing about steriods, nor did my parents.

However, if you have little ones of your own you are probably living in a much cleaner, healthier environment...and all the bad press about steriods...so I understand! But, believe me, I am healthy and no side effects!

Reply by MelissaCT on 2/15/07 9:50am
Msg #175763

Prayers are with you

My son had RSV when he was in daycare -- he was 10 months old at the time. It's tough watching your child struggling for breath, taking 60 breaths a minute...to weak to do anything but sleep & breathe.

We changed pediatricians right after that -- the nurse wouldn't even schedule the dr to see him, thought I was overreacting about how sick he was. So, I showed up at 9am when theyir door opened with my son & refused to leave until he was seen. I was trying to avoid the ER & that fiasco. He ended up in the hospital due to the severity. Like many respiratory problems, the mild cold quickly got much worse in a matter of a few hours.

I know first-hand how scary it can be & you know your child best. You sometimes have to fight for proper care & to find out what's causing the problem.

Reply by Poppy on 2/15/07 1:55pm
Msg #175844

Thank you, Melissa. Prayers are always a comfort and much

appreciated. "smiles" poppy. I hope you son is doing well....

Reply by Karen Brown on 2/15/07 9:05am
Msg #175758

I am a massage therapist as well, and have been around alot of natural remedies. In response to your Reliv questions, it is great stuff for adults with weight or health issues such as irriatable bowl, fibromyalgia, etc. (they even claim cancer, but I don't know about that one...) But I would be wary of giving it to kids and for an aliment that doesn't have to do with nutrition such as asthma. I don't sell it, but hear its great stuff and very expensive ($100+ a month) Hope that helps....

Reply by Poppy on 2/15/07 1:57pm
Msg #175845

Thanks Karen... Maybe I'll hold off on the Reliv and see how

the allergy testing goes... I appreciate your input....