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March 02, 2008
Linden tea (and arm-chair medical research) FTW!
(engage rant mode)
So about two months back (before the whole heart flutter fiasco), I was checking out some videos that I found by way of an open source internet tv and video player called Miro. I had come across a series called "Zen Living", and this particular episode was talking about holistic approaches to relieving stress in your life. In it, they discussed linden tea, which is reportedly good at calming the nervous system and reducing high blood pressure, among other things. I made a note to look for it, and continued on with my life.
Two weeks later, happy fun ER time.
Last week, I thought about the tea again, and decided to go looking for it. They didn't have it at the local Whole Foods, and it wasn't listed at the Trader Joe's web site - two local places where I thought I'd have good luck finding obscure teas. I did some more digging online, and found places selling large quantities of the stuff at really high prices. Now, I'm not much of a fan of tea in the first place, so I didn't want to sink $30 into a case of tea if I wasn't going to like it, so I kept looking. Eventually, I found my way to Ebay, and I actually found someone selling a box of ten bags of linden flower tea for $1.50 + $2 shipping! I figured it was worth a try at that price, so I hit "Buy it now" and ordered a box.
A few days later, a yellow envelope arrived at home, and my tea was inside. I opened the package, and at first sniff, thought the tea smelled like black licorice. I don't like black licorice, so I wasn't exactly filled with confidence for the tea. I nuked a cup of water and dunked a bag. After a moment of soaking, I changed my mind, and decided it smelled like wet envelope glue. Not exactly an improvement, but better than licorice at any rate.
I shot a small spoon of sugar into the cup, stirred, and took a sip. It wasn't that bad, actually. It tasted kind of like really watered down hot chocolate, a little sweet and a light, and a bit flowery. I've had worse. (Coffee, for example. I just don't understand how anyone can drink that stuff.) I just brewed up my second cup while sitting down to write this entry, and used honey this time instead of sugar. A little bit better; I guess I could learn to like the stuff. I got used to beer, after all.
The cool thing is this: I sat own this afternoon to find out more about my PVCs and possible causes. While looking up the anti-cholesterol med I'm on - which I started taking double doses of at the doctor's suggestion the day before the heart and stomach problems started up - I checked for possible side effects between it and linden tea. (I'm strongly against any "all natural" remedies due to their untested nature, and unknown reactions to prescription meds.)
I didn't find any problems listed - in fact, I read that the tea is incredibly mild, and is recommended for children with stomach problems. Even better, one writeup I found says that linden tea is a good treatment for "excessive gas causing the stomach to press against the bottom of the heart (also known as the gastrocardiac syndrome)". This syndrome is defined as "disturbances of the heart's action due to faulty action of the digestive system, especially of the stomach".
This could explain my PVCs, as I hadn't really noticed them until that one weekend where I ate lots of really bad greasy fatty food and had a horribly upset stomach. I had been noticing the feeling of my heartbeat very low in my chest, down below my ribs, around the area where I thought I would find my stomach. As I have altered my diet since then, cutting out caffinated beverages and most fatty and spicy foods (and the extra medicine), my stomach has felt better, and the "floppity" sensations have gotten less frequent and lighter. I think I went the whole day yesterday only feeling them a few times.
So, I'll keep drinking the tea; I might even learn to like it. The change in diet has helped a lot, too - I'm keeping those lost ten pounds off, and maybe even losing a bit more. I discovered yesterday that I have now lost two inches around my waist, as I can now go two holes further in on my belt than before the ER trip. That would put me at a waist size I don't think I've seen in this decade. It's encouraging me to continue working on it - well, that, and the comments I get from the missuz about how much better I'm looking already :) And I will definitely NOT follow doctor's orders and stop looking up medical stuff online!
(disengage rant mode)
Posted by zaren at March 2, 2008 04:33 PM