DIY - Herbal Heart Heating Pad

Now that its fall, cooler temps are coming and I’ve been thinking of ways to stay warm these next few months.  Ok, so it’s still in the 90’s here in AZ, but we are all pretending its fall around here.  I came up with a fun little project for you to try this weekend!  Make your own herbal heart heating pad!  I bought an herbal rice heating pack many years ago in a shoulder shape and was always twisting it around trying to get the shape just right for where I wanted it, on a sore leg muscle or tummy.  Then quite a few years ago a friend showed me how to make them myself using flaxseed instead of rice.  Flax is much softer and because it is a flower seed, not a grain like rice, it has much more oil and will hold the heat a lot longer.  I made some for my boys (not heart shaped) for Christmas about 6 years ago and they still use them all the time.

What you need:

3 ½ cups of flaxseed (I found this in the bins at Sprouts for $1.19 per pound)

Dried herbs (I use lavender, chamomile and spearmint - also found at Sprouts for around 69 cents an ounce, you don’t need much, a couple tablespoons per herb depending on your preference)

2 - 10” squares of fabric (I often use flannel, but found some soft pink sweatshirt material I loved for this tutorial, cotton is just fine as well, fleece is too thick)

Matching thread

Sewing machine

Scissors 

Pins

How to make an Herbal Heart Heating Pad:

1.        Cut a heart shape out of your fabric (fold the fabric in ½ so both sides of your heart will match)

2.       Pin inside out

3.       Sew inside out with a ¼” seam around the edges leaving about a 2” opening

4.       Turn right side out

5.       Fill with flaxseed and add herbs to your liking

6.       Finish sewing the opening

Microwave 1-2 minutes depending on the size of your heating pad and the power of your microwave.  Don’t burn yourself!  If it’s too hot, let it cool before putting it on your body.

You can also put your heart in a bag and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours and use it as a cold pack!

You can make any shape you want, shoulder pads, eye pillows, squares, tubes, small hearts or squares for pocket warmers.  Sew many possibilities. :)

If you don’t have access to a sewing machine or don’t want to attempt this, you can buy an herbal heart heating pack from me here -  Creative Wave Studios.  I’ll also take custom orders for any other shape, eye pillows, shoulder pads, etc.  These make great gifts!

Send an e-mail to creativewavestudios@gmail.com or contact me through my shop on Etsy for custom orders.

If you make a herbal heating pad send me a photo!  I would love to see what you make :)

 

New Habit – Supplements

I hate pills.  Always have.  I’m not one to take them unless it’s absolutely necessary.  Just the idea usually turns my weak stomach.  Let’s face it though; we are not getting the nutrients we need from our food.  People with fibromyalgia are often deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, and may need some help getting our bodies back to the right levels.  It IS necessary.  My Dr. recommended a few for me, and like I mentioned in a previous post, Figuring out Fibromyalgia, one of the things suggested was to take a few supplements.  So I decided to give it a try and see if it made any difference for me.

I began to do a little research on the supplements I should be taking and quickly became overwhelmed.  There are so many to choose from, so many different brands, dosages, different kind of pills, powders & drinks.  I had to walk away from the computer in frustration many times.  I had no idea what the best way to take each one was, the best time of day.  BLAH.  Then one day I was out shopping at Costco & just decided to go get what I needed there, give it a try and then change later if I needed to.  I stood there in the isle with a very unhappy 2 year old in the cart (he hates shopping) and read through the supplement chapter of Figuring out Fibromyalgia on my Kindle.

1. Triple Omega

     2. Super B Complex 

        3. Vitamin D3

 

Got it!  Now I was committed.  Those Costco size supplements are no joke.  It was around $50 for all 3.  I'm getting close to running out of the Triple Omega now, but the other 2, I still have plenty!  And it's been months since I bought them.  Little tip, keep them in your fridge!  (They keep longer & no fish smell from the omega)

I devoted myself to taking them every day.  And for the most part I have!  I forget some mornings, and there was a month that I stopped as a little test to see if they really were helping, and about a week when I was pretty sick.  Other than that, I have been faithful since January 2012.

Another thing I wanted to try was herbs.  My sister is studying to be an herbalist.  She took some time and knowing what was going on with me, made up a few different things to help.

For me, just doing this small thing with just these few supplements & herbs has made a HUGE difference in my life.  It took about 2 weeks to really kick in.  Taking the Omega Blend has helped tremendously with my brain fog.  I would say I have about an 80% improvement.  The B complex has given me a little bit of my life back.  Instead of heading downhill at around 4pm every day, I’m usually just fine until bed time.  Having more energy is such a blessing.  I would rate it at about 50% improvement (and getting better).  I don’t feel any difference with or without the Vitamin D3, but from what I’ve read, this is worth taking.  And it’s just a little easy pill.  The herbs that I take have helped me with a few other health issues, not necessarily related to fibro.  The more I read & learn, there are probably some more supplements that would be helpful for me.  I have just started taking MagnesiumGlycinate.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

I urge you to talk with your Dr., get some testing done to see if there are deficiencies, and do a little reading for yourself.  It is worth it!  I am VERY pleased with my experience & will continue to take my pills every day.  Hey, it forces me to eat a little breakfast every morning so I can stomach taking the pills.  There’s another good habit.