You can’t get very far these days without hearing the hype, or hysteria about swine flu. Even Dr. Mehmet Oz covered the topic in his inaugural Dr. Oz talk show program this week. The probability of a ‘worldwide pandemic’ is enough to scare even the bravest people—and you can count me among that group. I even wrote last week on the icama.org forum asking for opinions about the swine flu vaccine.

I was worried. Afterall, I’m now 7 weeks pregnant, and was afraid to be among the ‘high risk’ group (pregnant women) that face contracting the virus.

Then, last week despite my manic handwashing, and carefully plotted attempts to steer clear of people coughing, I got sick. It started with what felt like two bricks sitting on my lungs. I immediately emailed Matia to alert her. She had me on Chinese herbs within hours. I wasn’t sure what I was dealing with yet, but I knew it was nasty.

The symptoms kept coming, but really the main issues were fever, aches, pains, and other general feelings of the ‘flu’. I was definitely afraid, but also felt empowered and secure given the direction of Matia with my herbs.

About three days into my illness, I decided to get tested for influenza A. I tested positive. The state of Missouri (where I live) stopped testing for the specific swine flu virus strain because they found that at this time of year (not flu season) 98% of patients did indeed have swine flu. That meant that I almost certainly had the virus I so feared.

But guess what? I’m here—alive and WELL, only 5 days after getting sick. I didn’t take one Tylenol, Robitussin, or other ‘quick fix’. Instead, I honored the path that illness takes, and kept in constant contact (multiple times a day) with Matia for herb adjustments. I was sick, but I also got progressively and steadily better every hour that I was sick. I literally could feel the herbs working in my body.

Despite all of the hype, my personal experience is that—while certainly not fun in any way—the swine flu is simply the flu. Healing takes rest, liquids, and support from Chinese herbs that work with the body to heal. Even all of my doctors (my OBGYN, PCP, and urgent care doctor) said that in their experience the swine flu is no more dangerous or severe than the regular flu.

So, what to do? Swine flu shot? Flu shot? Ultimately that is up to you, and I’m sure Matia can help guide that decision. However, for those of you who do not want to subject your body to vaccines, I simply wanted to share my story, and to demystify the hype surrounding the virus itself. There are many preventive measures you can take to reduce your chances of getting sick, but if you did contract the flu, careful and steady use of herbs will support your body in exactly the way it needs to heal.

I recovered relatively quickly from the illness, I am completely normal today, and my growing baby is definitely just fine (as the morning sickness and crazy cravings have confirmed countless times this week).You can’t get very far these days without hearing the hype, or hysteria about swine flu. Even Dr. Mehmet Oz covered the topic in his inaugural Dr. Oz talk show program this week. The probability of a ‘worldwide pandemic’ is enough to scare even the bravest people—and you can count me among that group. I even wrote last week on the icama.org forum asking for opinions about the swine flu vaccine.

I was worried. Afterall, I’m now 7 weeks pregnant, and was afraid to be among the ‘high risk’ group (pregnant women) that face contracting the virus.

Then, last week despite my manic handwashing, and carefully plotted attempts to steer clear of people coughing, I got sick. It started with what felt like two bricks sitting on my lungs. I immediately emailed Matia to alert her. She had me on Chinese herbs within hours. I wasn’t sure what I was dealing with yet, but I knew it was nasty.

The symptoms kept coming, but really the main issues were fever, aches, pains, and other general feelings of the ‘flu’. I was definitely afraid, but also felt empowered and secure given the direction of Matia with my herbs.

About three days into my illness, I decided to get tested for influenza A. I tested positive. The state of Missouri (where I live) stopped testing for the specific swine flu virus strain because they found that at this time of year (not flu season) 98% of patients did indeed have swine flu. That meant that I almost certainly had the virus I so feared.

But guess what? I’m here—alive and WELL, only 5 days after getting sick. I didn’t take one Tylenol, Robitussin, or other ‘quick fix’. Instead, I honored the path that illness takes, and kept in constant contact (multiple times a day) with Matia for herb adjustments. I was sick, but I also got progressively and steadily better every hour that I was sick. I literally could feel the herbs working in my body.

Despite all of the hype, my personal experience is that—while certainly not fun in any way—the swine flu is simply the flu. Healing takes rest, liquids, and support from Chinese herbs that work with the body to heal. Even all of my doctors (my OBGYN, PCP, and urgent care doctor) said that in their experience the swine flu is no more dangerous or severe than the regular flu.

So, what to do? Swine flu shot? Flu shot? Ultimately that is up to you, and I’m sure Matia can help guide that decision. However, for those of you who do not want to subject your body to vaccines, I simply wanted to share my story, and to demystify the hype surrounding the virus itself. There are many preventive measures you can take to reduce your chances of getting sick, but if you did contract the flu, careful and steady use of herbs will support your body in exactly the way it needs to heal.

I recovered relatively quickly from the illness, I am completely normal today, and my growing baby is definitely just fine (as the morning sickness and crazy cravings have confirmed countless times this week).