Hi Joyforalifetime, Essential oils that are now the current craze are part of multi-level marketing or an alternative medicine. I know that you are an intelligent person and you consider treatments carefully with your doctor.

I would not pay $150 dollars for an oil set. Do not allow yourself to buy into the propaganda. Consider who is marketing the product and listen to the claims - Are they licensed medical doctors? Does the person know DM/PM is incurable? Has the person read the scholarly articles from The Myositis Association?

If someone tells you that autoimmune disease starts in your gut, teeth and sinuses then they do not understand viruses. I would laugh and politely decline the product.

I have this lady who is currently trying to sell me a $1600 water alkalinity machine. The lady is into multi-level marketing and has bought into a lot of propaganda. She rejects the authority of licensed medical doctors and that is really sad. This lady told me that this machine "cures" cancers - nutty stuff. I am going to have a polite discussion with her this weekend. I hope I will be able to help her see the light before she is victimized further by nonsense.

Stay educated on the truth about DM/PM and you can save yourself a lot of money and maybe some buyers remorse.

Hi Joy. I think they smell nice and can be used in the right hands for relaxing massage. I don't believe they help DM/PM. I once met a salesman with really bad teeth. He was trying to sell me a product which he said could re grow fingers and teeth. Looking at him I wondered why he had not re grown a decent set of teeth for himself. It was terribly funny until I saw people buying his stuff. Autumm

Hi Joyforalifetime

Essential oils have been around for many years. I use essential oils daily along with the regular drugs for DM
I find lavender useful for relaxing and also use lavender bath salts for bathing. When my rash was active and hurt I used witchhazel and aloe vera on it, was the only thing that cooled the hurt. When I used cortisone cream on my rash it helped for oh about 10minutes then would burn like crazy. The witch hazel with aloe cooled, soothed and almost put a coating over the rash.
Here in Saskatoon we have what is called the Cat Lab and Lucy is incredible with her knowledge and mixture of essential oils. When I had a fungal infection of my little fingernail I used lavender old and within three weeks it was healed.
I had a wart on my index finger and used oregano oil and after about two weeks it fell off and has not come back.

Really when you look into it our drugs come from nature. Asprin comes from willow bark, lavender is an antiseptic.

I I know cinnamon and honey have been recommend as a hot drink on this site. Cinnamon helps decrease yeast in the body.

I use unpasteurized honey for sore throats and many other things. It is also an antimicrobial, they used to put honey over cuts and open wounds for healing
The use medical honey dressing in many hospitals around the word. I have a set of power points right from RUH here in Saskatoon of cases where honey dressing have worked wonders for people. Even sero converted an MRSA positive person to MRSA negative.

Look into what you are interested in trying, don't spend thousands of dollars. Read and talk to people and try what you believe may help you.

I use many alternative therapies, I know my bodytalk practioner believes my DM will go away in time. My body will start to work the way it is supposed to, Many may not believe this and thats ok. I do and so do my supports. That is all that matters. So I combine the medical model with alternative therapies and it works for me

You need to find what works the best for you and your body

Sending prayers to everyone!
roxanna

I use essential oils for muscle and joint pain. Two products I have found very effective are Molly Brown's Omega Pain Deep Tissue Massage Balm (contains 13 essential oils) and Teeter's Cream of Wintergreen Liniment (contains camphor, menthol, wintergreen oil, and eucalyptus oil). Also, because commercial deodorants bother me, I make my own deodorant from coconut oil, shea butter, baking soda, arrowroot starch, and essential oils of choice. Before I moved, my massage therapist used essential oils (especially lemongrass) for my massages. When I have a headache, I often use peppermint essential oil across my forehead. I have also used peppermint oil (and sometimes other oils) on a handkerchief as a form of aromatherapy. I have used oregano oil as an infection fighter, and clove oil for tooth and gum pain. The 2 brands of oil that I most like are Young Living and Aura Cacia. Young Living is purchased through a representative, and Aura Cacia can be purchased from many places such as Vitacost. Both can be purchased at Amazon.

Essential oils are not created equal, i.e., not all are good ones or as effective as other brands. Be sure to research information on essential oils. For instance, lemongrass can make one photosensitive for a short while. Also, some essential oils work together synergistically. While other oils do not work well with each other. Do your homework on the subject. There is much information online, and there are books on the subject. Best wishes to you.

thanks for your input everyone! trpt, I agree to be weary about stuff that people are trying to pull you into. that expensive water machine sounds crazy! autumm, too funny about that salesman with bad teeth-that's pretty sad!!

I have a lot of friends who have enjoyed/had great success using essential oils. and they are people I trust with real results who aren't trying to sell me anything. I'm a huge fan of natural, organic things-although I am not very knowledgeable, and I'm enjoying the research and trying new things. (for example, i'm noticing increased energy/decreased pain just from adding chia seeds to my diet!) and essential oils sound natural and harmless (if researched well and taken the right way, etc). I have a doc appt on the 30th and will ask my doctor all about it. I'm excited to learn if they can do anything to help with DM, but also excited to use them for things like mosquito repellent!
roxannak, thanks for letting me know what you like to use! I agree that you have to find what works for you and your body and go with it.
nanny, i took a lot from your response-thank you!! Young Living is a brand I'm looking into. I attended a webinar about them last week. I am definitely planning on doing a ton of research and trying a little at a time.
thanks again everyone!!