Mastic good enough for Harems and it seems to be working!

[CyberchndriacNot]

wow 10 hours of relief! that's amazing. i only get like 2 or 3 at this point, but it seems to be improving. during the earlier part of the day my breath is better. it's still not quite making it as the day goes on. Cyber, before the mastic, did your breath get worse in the evening as well?

I don't think so. It was constantly bad. I noticed that the only time it used to get much worse was when I was under stress, i.e. at interviews, or when my lessons had to be observed by inspectors, or when I had impossible deadlines to meet. At these times or rather after I overcame the hurdles I just physically retreated whenever I could - it was my only escape and it was back to scraping, flossing, parsley, cloves, cinnamon, eating bread/buns to stifle the smell etc. BTW no listerines, 2 phase mouthwashes - no commercial product ever worked beyond an hour, if that.

chewing - do you boil it before you chew it or you just pop it into your mouth? for how long do you chew it for?

No, I don't boil it; I just chew it. If you're talking about the transparent resin, I chew it until it disappears. The processed chewing gum, I'd probably chew for about an hour or so. And the non processed mastic/luban - well I can't seem to be able to get it into one chewey mass - it gets plastered across my teeth and into the roof of the mouth as one would do with a caulking gun on a wall full of nooks and crannies .

steeping - how long are you supposed to steep it for? i can't always do overnight. just wondering what the custom is over there for the medicinal property to come out.

The locals say that they drink it while it's still warm and then they top it up before leaving overnight to drink in the morning.

too bad to hear that it doesn't cure sinus problems tho'. because since i've been feeling different in my sinuses, i have high hopes for that.

Not a cure, but apparently acts as a decongestant and relieves the pressure around the eyes and forehead.

[CyberchndriacNot]

CyberchndriacNot, I've been following the thread loosely, and I'll first say your efforts are awesome.. You try so many different things and think about the results objectively..

I guess I'm just lucky in that I've got a field outside my doorstep within which I can do some fieldwork!!!

Anywhoo, what is the exact product that you have been using now? Did you say it came in an unmarked package?

The marketplace is full of baskets containing all sorts of herbs and spices. The baskets are all unmarked and the shopkeepers speak very little english. I am in the process of trying to determine what these resins are and where they are sourced from.

Also, how did you manage to meet herb specialist? Very intriguing

I work with her and since she is knowledgeable about local customs I asked her on the off-chance if she knew anybody who has specialised knowledge on these old-time medicinal herbs. She invited me for a chat and the rest is history...

[waitingforrelief]

an update -

ok, breath got worse tonight.

i had to go out for dinner and was a bit nervous about my breath, as i had noticed that it was getting a little worse already before i went out. i drank another cup of essence and sucked on a small piece of mastic on the way. but saliva got really sticky, nose felt really dry and lips were chapped. i kind of "survived" thru' the evening - could feel the bb.

and this is the most terrible: i could smell that weird metallic fishy odor again!

that odor has been gone for a few days but reappeared tonight. now that i think about it, i actually smelled it before i left for dinner, but weirdly didn't recognize it. i thought that odor was familiar but couldn't place it (i'd forgotten only after a few days of its absence). when i caught a whiff of it just now tonight, all of a sudden i realized what it was - that dreaded metallic odor. i think i hate it even more than the fecal odor. it is so stinky.

i'm depressed.
i only just told my partner today that my bb is under control. (the first time mentioning my experiment with mastic) and now i think it's back.
my mouth and nose feels so awful again. i feel so dry - it's so weird that i can feel the bb not just in my mouth, but also by how my sinuses feel, and even just a general feeling in my system. i just don't feel "well".

i'll go drink some more essence, but i doubt it'll help much. this morning and early afternoon, i was still ok. i've always had worse breath later in the day, but i'm really afraid that the mastic is losing the battle.

[noptical]

wfr remember when I gave you the link to the site about Empty Nose Syndrome? All symptoms point that way so why dont you buy a spray to humidify your nose?

[waitingforrelief]

wfr remember when I gave you the link to the site about Empty Nose Syndrome? All symptoms point that way so why dont you buy a spray to humidify your nose?

i know i had bene using the neti pot regularly for a while, but i'm not sure how much it helped the breath. i've stopped ever since using the mastic.

i don't want to use any over-the-counter nasal spray. i might try to neti again tonight. i'm so tired of doing all this stuff everyday. i felt such relief for a few days - now i m wondering if i'd had too much hope over this.

[path]

Waiting, take it easy. Our situation couldn't be worse right? We have nothing to lose. If we could gain anything, it would be a surprise. I have yet to try it, still waiting for the mastic.

[Iris]

and this is the most terrible: i could smell that weird metallic fishy odor again!

[/quote]

I am surprise to hear from many of you that you can smell your breath. As for me, I have never smelled mine even in the extreme days. So, I will never know when it is really bad or not. I know it does not matter if we can smeel or not when the BB is there anyway. However, for those who can smell it does not have surprise as I do. For example, during these days, I was confident that the choline diet was giving me some relief. However, my husband told me that the sugar or rust smell is strong for a couple of days. I am depressed too. I do not know what else to try. I have been trying so many things for so long....

[KC]

our bacteria of bb becomes so strong that it can get used of anythings including antibiotics within short period. Probably we need something like inject sth into our bloodstream.

[waitingforrelief]

so today there was a very strong fecal odor in my mouth even after drinking half a cup of essence. so i drank another half a cup, and then it seemed to help. i'm steeping some more and hopefully it'll do its magic. as of right now, my breath is still not quite fresh. but it's not that bad for sure.

cyber - pardon me for all the questions, but i'm trying to gain more insight into this from your successful experience.

so do you drink a cup of essence with 1-2 tbspns of mastic 3 times a day? (I'm assuming that you finish the whole cup every time?)

do you always use fresh mastic with each cup?

you said that the lady told you mastic needs to be properly stored in order to retain its medicinal properties. i tried to look up that info online but only came up with "store in airtight container". i'd like to look into whether the stuff i have is fresh or not. you said that brittleness is a sign that it's not fresh? some crystals of mine are more brittle than others.

how long do they keep? how should it be stored?

i sometimes chew the lump left in my cup. it doesn't stick to my teeth this way. chewing the mastic itself is sometimes impossible - i've only tried it twice. one time it's too brittle to turn into gum, altho' the other time it did sort of become gum-like. but it's bitter and unpleasant. whereas the lump tastes fine. just woody and a bit tough. but resembles chewing gum texture.

i don't know which is more effective - to chew on the soaked gum or sucking on a fresh piece. i sucked on one last night and it didn't do too much. i'm glad that it's helping somewhat again today. the real test is this evening (when my breath is usually worse) - as it was during the later part of the day/evening yesterday that it didn't work.

[CyberchndriacNot]

so do you drink a cup of essence with 1-2 tbspns of mastic 3 times a day? (I'm assuming that you finish the whole cup every time?)

no, I would probably drink 1/2 cup of essence at the very most during the course of a day.

do you always use fresh mastic with each cup?

No, I tried topping it up, but have noticed that it's not as effective as fresh mastic.

you said that the lady told you mastic needs to be properly stored in order to retain its medicinal properties. i tried to look up that info online but only came up with "store in airtight container". i'd like to look into whether the stuff i have is fresh or not. you said that brittleness is a sign that it's not fresh? some crystals of mine are more brittle than others.

how long do they keep? how should it be stored?

Good question, I really don't know. She recommended a market where there is high turnover of the products. It's not as if the resins can spoil, but I'm sure that factors such as the drying process and exposure to sunlight would affect the resins - I don't know, I'm only speculating. I didn't manage to find time to speak to her today - so busy with marking and preparation for exams, but will be catching up with her next week, plus she has some botanical names for me and this is what I am really interested in knowing. There are so many varieties available and it would be good to know which trees they come from. I've already experienced some mastics / resins working more effectively than others and I wonder if the ones I have are the same as yours.

i sometimes chew the lump left in my cup. it doesn't stick to my teeth this way. chewing the mastic itself is sometimes impossible - i've only tried it twice. one time it's too brittle to turn into gum, altho' the other time it did sort of become gum-like. but it's bitter and unpleasant. whereas the lump tastes fine. just woody and a bit tough. but resembles chewing gum texture.

The resin I steep turns into a transparent 'jellyfish' lump which can't be chewed. This is the one that i feel has the longest lasting effect on the breath.

i don't know which is more effective - to chew on the soaked gum or sucking on a fresh piece. i sucked on one last night and it didn't do too much. i'm glad that it's helping somewhat again today. the real test is this evening (when my breath is usually worse) - as it was during the later part of the day/evening yesterday that it didn't work.

I can't wait until you receive the parcel - I think the transparent resin will have a stronger effect than the stuff you currently have. I'm still going strong; BB seems to be under control - I've had a long and difficult day meeting deadlines etc (almost 1 in the morning!) I'm knackered!!! and would usually be smelling of rotting vegetation, but apart from the tiredness my breath is OK. I last chewed on the natural gum (no time for essence today) at 6:00pm - that was 7 hours ago and before that I chewed on some processed mastic gum after lunch and sucked the resin in the morning. But we'll see what tomorrow brings...Off to bed now...

Oh BTW - I bought some more resins for those of you who have been asking and will get to the post office on Saturday! Sorry that it's taking so long to get to a Post Office, but the weekend is really the only time I can get to one!

[waitingforrelief]

cyber,

just a quick note to thank you for your tireless effort in your research, and helping others by answering posts and mailing resins!

[waitingforrelief]

a short report for now -

have drunk another half a cup of essence - but with more mastic in it this time - about 1-2 tbspn like cyber does. chewed some soaked mastic. i flossed a little bit earlier. fecal odor between almost all the teeth, that is fecal breath at its worst.

*sigh*

just rinsed and brushed teeth and tongue with salt water. and chewing another piece of mastic. i hope my bugs are not defeating yet another help.

[waitingforrelief]

i'm afraid that this mastic (at least the kind that i'm using) is probably not working for me...

it's only been about 20 mins since i last flossed and brushed and everything - now i'm flossing again to check the odor. BAD fecal smell, and the other weird odor that i've been smelling lately, i just realized that it's a rusty kind of ALMOST urine like smell.

and these last two days as the mastic stops working its magic, i started to have this sore throat - which i just realized that it might have something to do with my bb. as i seem to have relief from it when i happen to have relief from bb with whatever that i'm taking.

this experiment reminds me of my experience with salivarius. how i seem to feel better but can't pinpoint how during the treatment. and then i'd start to "feel" the bb coming back instead of just smelling it. like my airway from my lungs feel congested and heavy, and the heaviness goes all the way to my stomach. (not that i can exactly pinpoint where my stomach is - just where i THINK my stomach is.) catching whiffs of different odors all day long. throat hurts. feel dry (dry mouth, sticky saliva, as well) and tired (which i don't know if it's because of the bb or from the obsessing over bb). oh, and after drinking the second half of the more concentrated essence, i felt really nauseous. i remember feleing the same way with the salivarius when i started to up the dosage when it stopped working.

so i might have to stop as i'm getting worried sick that like the salivarius, the mastic might make it worse. but then again, when there's no other solution in front of me, i still feel like reaching out for another piece of mastic in desperation because i'll have to go to work now.

[waitingforrelief]

well, it's been about 7 hours since i last chewed some soaked mastic.

i was working from 7 until only about shortly after 8. i am not completely sure of how my breath was at the time, but believe that i was getting some reaction. (unconfirmed)

my mouth didn't taste very good, and by about 8, i could actually smell that metallic taste from my breath.

then i had dinner with some friends and we spent some time together. basically my mouth has felt pretty good since dinner. it wasn't too dry and saliva was less sticky, less bad taste in the mouth. i didn't smell the fecal odor.

i just flossed to see if the floss would smell. verdict: slight fecal odor in two spaces between teeth instead of strong smell between almost all of them this afternoon.

i don't know what happened. my mouth just started feeling good after dinner and the good feeling sort of stayed. i don't know how much of that fecal odor would appear on my breath, and my sense of smell is usually worse at night. i don't know if the mastic started working later, or maybe the combination of food and the mastic did something. i just don't know.

FYI, i had salmon, mashed potatoes, and a salad for dinner. i also drank 2 glasses of water with lemon in it.

i guess i'll keep taking the mastic after all. i'm glad that my bb was controlled tonight, but this experiement is making me feel very anxious - not knowing if it'd make my breath worse... sometimes rocking the boat in any way, even possibly for the better, is scary. the fear of disappointment... it feels safer to stay in the cocoon of misery. at least one is used to it.

but of course i'll keep trying to find a way to fight this.

[CyberchndriacNot]

The flossing thread motivated me to try something.

I awoke this morning BB free and it's been a good number of hours since I last chewed some mastic. (before entering class last night 6ishpm - it's now after 11:am following day) After reading this post, I decided to floss my teeth and have no smell except from 1 or 2 front teeth where I can detect that smell starting to form. 5 minutes ago I got some soft pliable mastic in its original form and plastered it in and around the teeth starting to give off the offensive smell and flossed it. When I first ran the floss through it, I could still smell the offensive smell. As more of the mastic came into contact with the surface areas in between the adjoining teeth, the smell totally disappeared.

Once again, I know I'm stating the obvious and we know that mastic / resin has antibacterial and antibiotic properties so that when it comes into direct contact with the surfaces within the mouth that have a predisposition to allowing bad bacteria to flourish, it is highly likely that the bacteria will be eliminated.

Which mastic did I use? I used the local luban variety of the green form. It comes in different colours, white, yellow and green. I forgot to mention this on Wednesday. Apparently, the green are highly prized and of course more rare. The antibacterial properties are more concentrated in the green blobs than the others. In the packets I have sent, you will find a mix of colours with only a few blobs of green. Yesterday, when I went shopping for more bags, I was unable to buy bags of just the green stuff, but will be keeping my eyes out for it. I suspect it gets to the locals before it gets to the stores.

I suppose you're asking me what makes this experiment different to other ones, such as using mouthwashes to eliminate the surface bacteria. The answer to this is that the effect appear to be much more long-lasting. None of the mouthwashes ever produced the effect for longer than an hour at the very most for me. Although, I haven't tried the lavoris 86. Maybe this would work equally as well...