Sharla Race - The Salicylate Handbook: Your Guide to Understanding Salicylate Sensitivity

Sharla Race

Copyright 2013 bySharla Race

SmashwordsEdition

The SalicylateHandbook

Your guide tounderstanding salicylate sensitivity

New, revised,edition.

EBook ISBN:9781907119057

Also available inpaperback.

Copyright SharlaRace

All rightsreserved

No part of thiseBook may be reproduced or reprinted, stored in a database or otherretrieval system, transmitted in any form, by any means, includingmechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Publisher: TigmorBooks

www.tigmorbooks.co.uk

For you

Table ofContents

Table ofContents

My life before Iknew I was salicylate sensitive was confusing, frustrating, andpainful. Even as a child, I never seemed to be well and the doctorscould rarely find anything wrong with me. Diagnoses changed overthe years from growing pains, rheumatic fever, just accidentprone, to viral infection, post viral syndrome, stress, over work,over weight and so on. I am sure the underlying diagnosis was oftenhypochondria but nobody actually said that.

By the time, I wasin my mid thirties I was a physical, mental and emotional wreck.Nothing I tried seemed to help. A healthy diet full of fruit andvegetables made me feel worse. Strict low calorie diets broughtabout some weight loss, usually not for long, but my other symptomspersisted. Counselling sorted out some of my inner confusion butchanged nothing else. Homeopathy did help relieve some of mysymptoms, especially the sinusitis, but the majority of theproblems continued to recur.

My healthdeteriorated to such an extent that I was no longer able to go outto work. I had so little physical energy that even the simplest oftasks, such as feeding the cats, could reduce me to tears. Myjoints were stiff and inflexible making walking up stairs anightmare. The additional muscle pain made lying down and sittingjust as uncomfortable. I seemed to have a permanent headache,sometimes a migraine. My ears buzzed, my sinuses swam, my visionblurred, I put on weight and was bloated all the time.

Far worse than thephysical symptoms was the loss of zest and interest in life. Mymemory was appalling and I felt confused, irritable and veryscared. At first I had no energy to resist being so ill and didlittle else than sleep and watch television. This inert time wasnot wholly without some positives. The one thing I could do wasthink - yes, it was often muddled but I could still do it.

I had triedeverything - the doctors said nothing was wrong, alternativetherapies and miracle cure diets (and, believe me, I had tried themall) had not worked. Instinctively, I felt that there was nothingseriously wrong with me, that the answer to my problems did existand that it was simple. I was missing something and I had to findout what it was. I was not going to spend the rest of my life inthis state.

A short whilebefore becoming very ill I had helped Alex, my husband, identifythe cause of his migraines, high blood pressure and depression. AsI watched him get thinner, healthier, and migraine and depressionfree, I started to muse on food intolerance. The links between foodand migraines are well known, and accepted, which is why I had beeninsistent that he try various diets until we unravelled hisproblems - a tyramine sensitivity and yeast intolerance.

At the time, itnever occurred to me that my own problems might also be related tofood intolerance. In all honesty, my symptoms seemed so diversethat it just seemed a ridiculous idea. However, I had triedeverything else. To say I was sceptical is a gross understatementof how I felt. I was simply going to try this avenue because I hadreached a dead end down all the others.

It was not astraightforward process but I eventually discovered that all myproblems were being caused by a sensitivity to salicylates. Findingthe information I needed was exceedingly difficult as there is verylittle information readily available on salicylates, and asalicylate sensitivity, except in respect of aspirin, is notaccepted by many doctors. I persevered and eventually was able topull together enough information to begin my healing process.

I would bemisleading you if I was to say everything changed overnight. Somethings did. Suddenly I had more energy, my skin was clearer, mymuscles and joints stopped hurting, I began to sleep better, feltcalmer, stopped having mood swings, no longer experienced anxiety,lost weight, and so on. If only that could have been the end of thestory but, sadly, it wasn't.

After a period ofamazing good health, I began to experience the same problems whenexposed to perfumes, air fresheners, detergents, scented candles,glues, paints and, so it seemed, virtually anything that had asmell and some things that didn't. I began to suspect that I haddeveloped full-blown Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Going anywhereoutside of the house led to a reaction that left me ill for days. Iseemed to get over one reaction and then another would arrive.

Bewildered, Idelved back into more research and discovered that salicylate notonly occurs naturally in food but also, in various other forms, isused in the manufacture of the products that we use every day inour homes, shops, and offices. I had already discovered thatapplying a product containing salicylate on my skin would lead toproblems (chemical like burns on my face and scalp after using ahighly coloured shampoo, a blotchy rash from a soap scented withoil of wintergreen and so on). Perhaps the same applied to inhaledsalicylate. We cleared the house of as many scented products andchemicals as possible and tried to cut down on my exposure outsideof the home. Almost imperceptibly, the changes began to take place.I began to have fewer reactions and the severity of the ones I hadbegan to reduce.

I still experiencereactions but, generally, only away from the home. My activitiesare restricted but less so than when I was ill - at least now I canwalk pain free and think clearly! The freedom and relief that I nowhave from simply being able to understand what was causing myproblems is immense and extremely liberating. I no longer have towaste time worrying about what is wrong with me - I know and aslong as I control my diet and limit my inhaled exposures, I amhealthy.

Convinced that Iwas far from unique, I wanted to share my experiences and theinformation I had acquired and so the Food Can Make You Ill(www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk) web site was born. That and thesuccess of my first book, Change Your Diet and Change Your Life,further fuelled my drive to get information on food intolerance outto people. If my life could be so impaired so could that of others.If I could experience such dramatic changes, physically, mentallyand emotionally, then so could others.

I have resistedwriting The Salicylate Handbook for some time because I still feelas if I am learning but as the number of queries I receive onsalicylate continuously increases I felt that the time was right topull together the knowledge that I had acquired and to share itwith others.

You should beaware that the role of salicylate in illness is a controversial oneand is not accepted by many in the medical profession. I hope thatin time this will change and the hidden suffering that many undergowill stop but until that time we have to do the best we can withthe information we have available. This handbook is designed to beused as a resource you can dip into whenever you need to check onthe different ways in which salicylate sensitivity can affect yourhealth. Before using it in this way, I suggest you familiariseyourself with the whole book.