Salt & Fiber Co.

UPDATE POST INFUSIONS:
The nurse was here from 9am -4:20pm. It was a loooong day.

I meant to post this last night to keep y'all updated and I ended up falling asleep, I was exhausted after this, so my apologies. It was a very long day.

✅300 mL of Gamunex-C IVIG

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, I REALLY appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, those who reached out here, truly, it means the world to me, more than you may realize right now 🥹🙏🏻. I do have a bit of a headache from the infusions, to be expected, and is one of the common side effects but hey, if that is all I get, I'll take it. The next 3 days there could be more side effects, so here's to hoping there aren't any other side effects 🙏🏻 I appreciate YOU 🤗 Here's to hoping this works and I start feeling a bit better 💛🙏🏻✨
💛 xo, Kerstin

Here's a pretty big secret I've been keeping 🥹

Tomorrow marks a major new chapter in my journey with chronic illness: I am starting my very first at home IVIG immunoglobulin (IgG) infusions. 🥹

Living with adrenal insufficiency, and the requirement of subQ steroid injections throughout the day, every day, means my body already fights an uphill battle every single day. My doctors and I uncovered another critical piece to my puzzle. My pneumococcal titers came back incredibly low, confirming that I am severely immunocompromised.

Truth is, i’ve actually known about this and have said NO to infusions for the last two years.

As someone who personally is anti-vaccine 🚫💉, it was a really hard pill to swallow knowing that IgG therapy is made from the pooled plasma of "healthy" donors who may very well have been vaccinated themselves. Supposedly the blood is cleaned and filtered several times and the "cleanest" that blood could possibly be, but there is still that chance... 🥹

It took a lot of time, reflection, and weighing my options to process that, and a lot of debilitating FATIGUE... 24/7‼️

Luckily I was able to decline the Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccines (this alone took a lot of back and forth with my doctor explaining my why's and him finally respecting them) for him to agree to complete prior authorizations for me, to fight to not have to have the vaccines (typically required for infusions apparently), and, insurance finally approved for me to have the infusions, without the vaccines prior. 🙌🏻 Pretty sad we have to fight insurance to begin with, for our health needs 🥹

But between my autoimmune struggles and my body’s inability to protect itself from common infections, I had to look at the bigger picture. These IgG infusions aren’t just a new treatment anymore—they are my new shield, every 2-4 weeks, for life. They will give my immune system the antibodies it simply cannot make on its own.

I’m feeling a mix of everything right now to be perfectly honest— I'm scared, I'm alone in this process, I'm nervous about the common side effects I hear about, but mostly a deep sense of hope, for my future, what's left of it 🙏🏻✨

Chronic life and chronic illnesses are a constant cycle of self-advocating, processing, and making the hardest choices for our own survival.

Tomorrow, I take a big step toward protecting my health and reclaiming some strength, I hope...

Would you mind keeping me in your thoughts and in your prayers here on out? I'd be ever so grateful for healing light and energy sent to me in addition?
💛 xo, Kerstin

Does this resonate with you?

"The inability to receive support from others is a trauma response.

Your “I don’t need anyone, I’ll just do it all myself” conditioning is a survival tactic. You needed it to shield your tender heart from abuse, neglect, betrayal, and disappointment from those who could not or would not be there for you.

From the parent who was absent by choice or by the circumstance of working three jobs to feed and house you.

From the lovers who offered sexual intimacy but no offered no safe haven that honored your heart.

From the friendships that always took more than they gave.

From all the situations when someone told you “we’re in this together” then abandoned you, leaving you to pick up the pieces when s**t got real, leaving you to handle your part and their part, too.

From the lies. The betrayals.

You learned along the way that you just couldn’t really trust people. Or that you could trust people, but only up to a certain point.

Ultra-independence is a *trust issue.*

You learned: if I don’t put myself in a situation where I rely on someone, I won’t have to be disappointed when they don’t show up for me, or when they drop the ball... because they will always drop the ball sooner or later, right?

You may even have been intentionally taught this protection strategy by generations of hurt ancestors who came before you.

Ultra-independence is a preemptive strike against heartbreak.

So, you don’t trust anyone.

And you don’t trust yourself, either, to choose people.

To trust is to hope, to trust is vulnerability.

“Never again,” you vowed.

But no matter how you dress it up and display it proudly to make it seem like this level of independence is what you always wanted to be, in truth it’s your wounded, scarred, broken heart behind a protective brick wall.

Impenetrable. Nothing gets in. No hurt gets in. But no love gets in either.

Fortresses and armor are for those in battle, or who believe the battle is coming.

It’s trauma response.

The good news is trauma that is acknowledged is trauma that can be healed.

You are worthy of having support.
You are worthy of having true partnership.
You are worthy of love.
You are worthy of having your heart held.
You are worthy to be adored.
You are worthy to be cherished.

You are worthy to have someone say, “You rest. I got this.” And actually deliver on that promise.

You are worthy to receive.
You are worthy to receive.
You are worthy.

You don’t have to earn it.
You don’t have to prove it.
You don’t have to bargain for it.
You don’t have to beg for it.

You are worthy.
Worthy.

Simply because you exist."

- Jamila White.
Does this resonate with you? If you’ve been carrying the weight of doing it all yourself, let this be your reminder that you are allowed to rest. Drop a 🤍 in the comments if you needed to hear this today.

Y'all, I am so over this 🥹 The last few months have been nothing but non-stop pain and sickness! UPDATE in comments 👇🏻

Having Adrenal Insufficiency dis-ease and being immunocompromised, means my body can't handle any extra ailments. Physical stress, naturally turning what should be a standard recovery into an absolute battle:

✨ Emergency dental surgery for a cracked tooth 5 weeks ago (I hate to admit it, but even longer dealing with the pain before I realized how bad it was)...

✨ A simple yawn that triggered a closed lock jaw causing immense pain (has this TMJ ever happened to you?)...

✨ An ER visit for scary immediate facial numbness and prickly sensations a week after the jaw...

✨ Emergency jaw surgery a week ago (and still dealing with the closed lock jaw and nerve numbness and pain and still cannot open my mouth wide!)...

✨ Catching the bug my husband came down with...

✨ And now... back in the ER getting checked for strep throat with fever and weakness and sinusitis (yes, again, story of my immunocompromised life)...

✨ And there's more health issues and ail-ments I haven't shared yet that are in the works with my insurance currently and my functional medicine doctor (coming soon unfortunately or fortunately 🥹)

💉 Having a rare disease means constantly managing steroid stress-dosing through all of this just to keep my body out of crisis, and physical and emotional stress is one of the main triggers for a crisis.

Can my immune system please give me a break?! Prayers and healing energy are greatly appreciated right now.
🫶🏻 ~Kerstin
P.S. I post this for awareness of Adrenal Insufficiency Disease and the side effects that daily STEROID replacement 💉has caused in my life, not for oh poor me. I will be okay 🫶🏻💉

UPDATE to my previous post: I had to go in for emergency surgery today, Orofacial & Dental Implant Surgery. I will explain more once I’m out of the woods and no longer in pain 😅

It has been an incredibly rough road lately, and to be honest, I am so over dealing with these health ailments.

Your individual thoughts, prayers, and healing energy keep me going. I appreciate each and every one of you y'all, immensely 🫶🏻✨

Full transparency y'all, ER tonight, this is why I've been so quiet , well one of the reasons why. More to come soon on all that 🙏🏻🥹

Today, August 26th around 1:00 PM, my mouth suddenly went completely numb—my lips, down below my jawline, and my chin, on both sides. Because of this sudden numbness, we headed straight to the ER. I’ve had to set my hobbies aside and focus entirely on my priority right now: my own personal health. Real-world struggles, y'all. 🥹

Three weeks ago on Monday, I had emergency dental surgery with my incredible IAOMT Biological Holistic Dentist to extract my lower left back bottom tooth. I was in quite a bit of pain for several weeks beforehand, leading up to the surgery, and in intensive pain healing afterward, it has been incredibly rough. No joke, I wish I was making this up. 🥹

I’ve been utilizing red light therapy and taking internal arnica. Clove only relieves the pain temporarily—it’s very short-lived because of my fast metabolism.

I’ve been on a soft/liquid diet for weeks. My stitches came out at the two-week mark, and my doctor just removed the membrane this past Monday.

But somewhere in between—about two weeks post-op, shortly after the stitches were removed—I went to yawn, and all of a sudden, my jaw popped. Excruciating pain, y'all!

After that jaw pop, I could eat even less, dang it. I have to physically hold my jaw just to "chew" soft foods. I still can't use a straw because of the oral surgery healing, so now I'm on a pure liquid diet. Let’s just say I look like a slob when I eat right now, with liquids just spilling out like I’m drooling! 😅 Between the dental surgery and that jaw pop, I am scared BIG TIME, and we think it may have affected the nerves.

So, we show up at the ER. At this point, the sheer stress triggers my Adrenal Insufficiency Disease. My body goes into full crisis mode—I’m shaking uncontrollably, and my heart rate spikes higher than I have ever seen it. Next thing I know, I’m being rushed from triage to a private room to get hooked up for an EKG.

The doctor tells me his plan is to check my heart, run a CT scan, and give me medication. He says the meds are for anxiety and asks if that sounds good. I tell him that’s fine, (expecting he is referring to running a CT of my face), except he is completely dismissing my Adrenal Insufficiency crisis! He then says he will give me medication for that, too.

But get this: they send up the anxiety meds and Solu-Cortef in powder form only. No sterile water was given to mix it for the injection! The medical assistant had to wait to talk to the doctor again just to order the correct vial and water to mix it. As I sat there shaking even harder, with my crisis symptoms escalating, I explained to every single person who walked in that I needed an IV injection of 100mg Solu-Cortef Act-O-Vial STAT. No one listened to the severity.

They did a CT scan... of my chest y'all, not of my face as well, my whole reason for being there, and once things finally started settling down, the doctor told me my vitals looked okay, and they could discharge me. Say what?!

There was absolutely NO discussion at that moment from the doctor regarding my chief complaint—the exact reason I came in! Zero mention of the sudden facial numbness, which screams nerve issues to me and scares me to death. I even tried to explain my family history, but felt completely dismissed.

Frustrating, y'all! I understand a racing heart takes precedence in an emergency, but you still have to treat the patient's valid concerns and not just dismiss them. I mean, I would think so, anyway, don't ya?

We definitely have to be our own advocates. Before signing discharge papers and leaving, I demanded imaging scans of my face, because I know whatever dentist, doctor, surgeon I see outside of the hospital ASAP is going to want to see them.

I’m just so frustrated and angry because I’m being dismissed, sitting here with no answers for the sudden facial numbness and ongoing pain I am still experiencing.

And before anyone assumes, I am anti 🚫 💉 so no my health ailments are not due to injections inside of my body.

I'm extra scared though y'all because, as some of you already know, my dad had a toothache, was told by his dentist he needed to be on antibiotics first, and he died right in the pharmacy parking lot, y'all, with the bottle in his hand. The autopsy showed he had just taken that first antibiotic and had a massive, fatal heart attack. So yeah, dental issues and heart spikes terrify me.

So I sit here, at home now, numb, quite literally, and scared, with no answers, on a Wednesday night. I usually like to research my doctors thoroughly ahead of time, but this is an emergency and I honestly don't know who to call next. 😔

And if you're ready this far, you really are a trooper and care, so thank YOU, for taking time to care, another ME 🙏🏻🤗 xo Kerstin

I hear and FEEL this photo 😂
Thinking about the good olé days!

🎉 25 Fun Things to Do Without a Screen! 🎉
Because magic happens off the device 💫
1. 🎨 Paint or draw a masterpiece
2. 📚 Read a fun book or comic
3. 🏕 Build a fort with blankets and pillows
4. 🌿 Go on a nature scavenger hunt
5. 🍪 Bake cookies with a grown-up
6. 🧩 Do a puzzle or brain teaser
7. 🪁 Fly a kite at the park
8. 🧸 Make a puppet and put on a show
9. 🚲 Ride your bike or scooter
10. 💦 Run through the sprinkler
11. 🎶 Make up a silly song or dance
12. 🦋 Catch (and release) bugs or butterflies
13. ✨ Make a fairy garden or mud kitchen
14. 🧽 Help wash the car or water plants
15. 🧵 Learn to sew or craft something cool
16. 📦 Build a robot or rocket out of cardboard
17. 🧘‍♀️ Try kids’ yoga or deep breathing
18. 🎯 Play a game of hide-and-seek
19. 🌈 Draw chalk art on the driveway
20. 🥒 Plant something and watch it grow
21. 🐾 Make a nature journal or scrapbook
22. 🍿 Have a picnic or tea party outside
23. 🎭 Dress up and act out a story
24. 🎲 Play a board game with family
25. 💤 Lay in the grass and cloud-watch ☁️
-Jarizmel Wynkoop