Yesterday marked my 15th year sober. Sobriety was not enough. In my first year sober, I had nearly a constant headache. Perhaps from brain damage from drinking, I don’t know, but I feared it would be like that for the rest of my life. What an awful constant thought to carry around.
In rehab, I realized I had a problem with suicidal thoughts–going back to when I was around 11 years old. So I stayed a bit longer than I planned, over the 3 months.
Around my second year sober, my arthritis was getting worse. The pain was so great, like beyond unbearable, on a scale of 11 out of 10, the suicidal thoughts were returning. I remember thinking, “If the pain is this bad now, at 43, then how will I even be alive as I get older and this gets worse!?” And, “At what age will I have to kill myself just to get the pain to stop?” So I understand when others say they feel there is no way out.
Wasn’t my health supposed to improve in sobriety? It was not happening.
So, I reasoned, I have to take extra steps to improve my health. Extraordinary steps. Unusual steps. I have to go “beyond sobriety”.
One of the things they teach in rehab is the danger of pain killers. Especially strong pain killers in case you get an accident. Literally a broken leg from an accidental accident can lead to morphine, and a relapse. That’s the warning. Of course, I was not taking morphine.
But due to my arthritis, I realized I had an increased tendency to take Ibuprofen, one of the things the pharma doctors in rehab will let you have.
So just because things are allowed, does not mean they are ok. Another lesson I had to learn.
Pain killers do not cure arthritis. They do not stop pain, except temporarily. Like alcohol does. So I was making a mistake there. They also cause bleeding, and I was also getting nosebleeds, which also correlate with increased arthritis. Ugh. So I’m causing my own problem. Ugh.
So, the pain killers had to go. First step. Scary. But when it’s either that or death by arthritis and suicide, something has to give. And I had to stop making it worse. First step.
I also realized I had to cut out my other alternative pain killers: tiger balm. It also causes bleeding. It’s like ben-gay, which also causes bleeding.
And of course, this was going to cause more pain. But what choice did I have? This was going to be bad, but I have to go through it. And I did.
So, of course, without those anti inflamatories, my back got inflamed, cramped up, and I was flat on my back for about a week, and in big pain for a month, except for brief periods where I walked my toddlers to school. A few days I had to have one of the teachers walk down the few blocks to my house to get them. I was literally debilitated.
Next up, I had to look for natural anti inflammatories, and fix this back cramp that devastated me. I found my way to leafy greens. And I started drinking green smoothies. What choice did I have?
I also tried to quit coffee, and that led to horrific body pain, but I managed to temporarily quit coffee for a few months. Then, I got back on it, because it can relieve mental anguish, which is a part of the symptom of arthritis and suicidal thoughts.
The leafy greens helped my arthritis a bit. But what really helped was starting isometric stretching, and doing it right after drinking the greens. I found a few sources talking about that pairing, and sure enough it worked like magic.
Soon, not only could I walk my kids to school, but I COULD CARRY THEM!!!
An isometric stretch, or flexed stretch, or flexing while in the stretched out position, actually strengthens the muscle in the stretched out position, rather than weakening it with a relaxed stretch.
Second, it appears the body releases toxins from stretching. They can bind to the greens, leading to a nice synergy and upward spiral of far less pain.
This was amazing enough to put into a book.
I tell my story of alcoholism and green smoothie recovery here:
But I wanted to look up the side effects of leafy greens, or excessive greens. I found oxalate problems. Potential demineralization. Dehydration. Noted.
But my health improvements were so great, I tended to dismiss the warnings. Surely they were idiots and cranks and liars or skeptics.
Until after three years on green smoothies, dehydration and constipation and cramps hit me. Constipation while full of fiber? Yes, it’s a thing. Ugh. Same back problem: it seized up again in a spasm and would not let go.
I remembered the warnings. Dehydration. Cramps. Constipation. Truth was smacking me in the face again. Or I guess in my lower back. Clearly, the solution was minerals.
Fastest way to be right, is to admit when you are wrong! I was causing my own problem again.
I found my way, achingly, to a store that sold supplements, and I got one by Now Foods, a multi mineral formula. (Heavy in iron and calcium, and not recommended.)
A single pill from an “off the shelf” normal supplement, and I puked it right up. What?
I figured it was a basic osmosis problem. I’m too demineralized to absorb it easily. That’s also a thing. Bodybuilders have died from demineralization and dehydration from diuretics, which I knew about. Greens are natural diuretics. Warning.
I took my next mineral pill in the middle of a meal of rice, which is one of the most easily digested foods. It stayed down. Success!
Instead of being taken out for 3-4 weeks with a back cramp, it began resolving almost immediately. Even better!
And I noticed that I was suddenly stronger in all my lifts in the gym, by a lot, which never happens. I think I found something great again!
About a year later, I saw a naturopath clinic that advertised mineral testing. I figured why not improve my health with some real information and keep getting better? I secretly figured I would ace the tests, because I was feeling great. I had no idea the tests were so invalid, but they even warned me about that in the consult. So there goes $1000. Wasted?
November, 2014-15 or so, the test came back, low in copper and zinc. I started a normal zinc pill and a normal copper pill. Wow. I got even more improvement, up from “good health” levels?? I didn’t know I was so unhealthy until I got the benefits of the zinc. My joints felt so great. Another layer of joint health? I was overjoyed. I actually quit lifting, just to let my joints heal to a new layer of improvement. That was a bit of a mistake. I started lifting again 6 months later.
Quickly, I started other minerals, because if those could be so good… A man on the internet, one of my facebook friends suggested I look into iodine and boron. I did.
I started boron, and the first day I got a massive brain boost. A month later, I started the iodine.
My first drop of iodine, and I was like a different person mentally. Suicidal thoughts that had crept up to over 100 a day… not from arthritis, but from oppression… suddenly vanished. Down to one or two bad thoughts, and if they did crop up, that seemed foolish and silly. What magic is this? Who am I? I thought I was my thoughts, at the very least. Nope. Humbling.
Iodine got me going again. A year later, and I wrote my first article on iodine, which is still popular today. https://revealingfraud.com/2022/09/health/why-im-taking-iodine/ I have edited it a few times.
About a year or so after that, I discovered that maybe I could take copper at higher levels. A few years later: The first major article I wrote on copper, 2018:
The copper article led me to Jennifer, and we got married, and now she is almost 8 years sober, too. She inspired me to write books, and refine our protocol, which we continue to do together. Go Jennifer! We all owe her a big debt of gratitude, especially me. Because intellectually, I don’t believe in copyright, except to prevent others from claiming I can’t publish my own material. She finally said, “You are not writing a book for you for money through copyright, you are writing the book to help others.” Of course. So simple. I was an idiot. I can still write a book, copyright it, and intellectually hold my belief that copyright laws are unnecessary.
So I’m obviously a reluctant cult leader, LOL! I wish all those who false accuse me of being a cult leader would at the very least give me all of their money, as cult leaders demand.
If you are feeling generous, if you have extra, if it brings you joy to give, you can buy us a coffee.
In all seriousness, this is a real donation link:
By 2022, I finished my book:
“The Copper Revolution: Healing with Minerals” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q6D3R7B
This forum on Facebook is now almost 5 years old.
There are shades of AA influence in my work. Alcoholics Anonymous.
I try to say what we are doing. I try to give my testimony. I try to avoid telling others what to do. I try to offer suggestions, instead. Try this, or try that. When typing fast, I don’t always succeed, and advice just comes out. This also aligns with basic principles of freedom.
The minerals are the best thing I’ve ever done for my health.
Sobriety is a part of it, and good part of the start of it, but the minerals give me a greater power over my brain, and take the sobriety to higher levels. Why would I want brain damage from alcohol, which would undo my better brain health? It’s not even a temptation, it’s a revolting thought.
If things ever seem dark, just know things can get better.
What have I healed from? Mold. Arthritis. Suicidal thoughts. Alcoholism. PTSD. And I’m surprised by my own increased patience with others. But I still don’t put up with too much abusive people; they also teach that in rehab. They call it, drawing proper boundaries.
We aim to help those who have ears to hear.
Thanks for listening. I hope this was enlightening and a bit inspiring.