How I Use Herbal Medicine to Both Prevent and Treat Phlebitis and Blood Clots

Many herbalists and healers get started into natural medicine because standard medicine didn't help their problems. This was my case. Some people are born with great health genetics and that is a real gift. I was not born with good health genetically. My mother had horrible varicose veins, especially in her right leg. Even though she had the veins stripped in her legs, as was the treatment in those days, she had trouble with circulation in them constantly. Stripping the veins only lasted for a few years, before her leg was serious again. She suffered a lot of leg pain and her legs looked like the picture in this article. She died at 78 from an embolism.

I did well until my third child. I had easy pregnancies but carried all of them low for the last 6 months of the term. I also gained too much weight while pregnant, which was not good. Each pregnancy caused more strain on the veins in my legs. With my third and last child, I immediately developed phlebitis. Phlebitis is inflammation of the deep veins in the leg. They could not give me blood thinners because of the pregnancy, so I spent most of that time in bed with my legs up. Weak vein genetics, poor health, and the stress of three pregnancies, carried low all contributed to the breakdown of the vein integrity. After she was born, I didn't worry much about the leg. What I didn't know about phlebitis would later come back to give me problems. At this time, I was very much into standard medicine for I worked for doctors as a medical lab and back office assistant.

My daughter began getting sick at about three months, and after a year of antibiotics, she was even sicker. I was not in great health either. I didn't eat well, had way too much stress, didn't effectively deal with that stress, and was not well myself. I began delving into alternative medicine both for her and myself. I began taking courses and going to Dominion Herbal College. Around that time, I experienced a blood clot in the right leg. I called up one of the doctors I used to work for and went in immediately. The diagnosis was partial obstruction of the vein running down my right calf. He wanted me to go directly to the emergency room. There they would administer blood thinners while my leg was raised up with a sling. He gave me an austere lecture. By this time, I had enough background in herbal medicine to know that there was an alternative. For a struggling mom with no insurance and no savings, I refused. I went home, adamant, that I would use herbal medicine. After, telling me I was crazy and risking my life, I still chose the herbal medicine route.

I will state at this point, that in doing this, I was taking great risk. I am only telling you how I chose to deal with this emergency. I would advise, if you are prone to clotting, that you go to a physician who believes in alternative medicine, to work with you on circulation and clotting problems. At the time in 1980, I was a struggling single mom with no insurance.

The pain of a blood clot is severe. When you stand up, there is a searing pain that radiates down your leg to the point of the blockage or clot with inflammation and swelling. After being informed on how dangerous it was to treat myself at home, without prescription blood thinners, I went home. I couldn't work for a week. I stayed in bed with my legs up on pillows, except when I had to get up. I had learned that there is alternative medicine that also thins blood. One of them was liquid chlorophyll. The alfalfa that the liquid chlorophyll is made from has a number of healing properties. It builds up the blood because of the vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll. The chlorophyll also has the property of thinning the blood. Normally, you put a few tablespoons in water and drink it that way. I drank the concentrated liquid chlorophyll several times a day almost straight mixed only with a small amount of water. I also took cayenne, which helps to clean out the arteries and promote blood flow. Added to this regimen was several thousand units of Vitamin C to help vein integrity.

Within a day, the searing pain began to lesson and continued to improve. I was back working within a few days. I realized then, that I needed to be on a constant program to keep the blood thin and promote circulation in a leg where the vein system was genetically compromised.

In thirty years, I have had only two more blood clots in my legs and dealt with both using herbal medicine I stay on an austere program both with diet, exercise, and herbs to deal with an ongoing genetic vein weakness. It is interesting to note that my youngest daughter also has the same vein problem in the same leg. She is not thrilled with her genetic heritage but at least knows what to do to reduce her risks

My health regimen: liquid Chlorophyll, cayenne caps 2-times a day, 2000 Mg's of Vitamin C, 400 to 800 mg of Vitamin E, a Chinese herb formulation for circulation, 2000 Mg's of Omega 3, horse chestnut (an herb used to promote healthy circulation). I also exercise and wear support socks, especially designed for legs with circulation problems. These natural supplements keep my blood thin and promote healthy circulation and support the vein structure.

References:
Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide, by Deepak Chopra, M.D., pages 994-995