Enjoying Life OTR

#49 Overcoming Trucker Fatigue, Respiratory Issues, and Pain: Dawn Dodge's Road-Tested Solutions

• Cindy Tunstall, Dawn Dodge • Episode 49

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Attention OTR truckers! The Enjoying Life OTR podcast is taking a brief hiatus this July as we gear up for an exciting new season. Now's the perfect time to catch up on any episodes you've missed and stay connected through our Facebook groups.

Are you an over-the-road trucker battling fatigue, respiratory problems, or chronic pain during those long hauls? This Enjoying Life OTR podcast episode tackles common truck driver health challenges, offering practical solutions you might not have considered.

Meet Dawn Dodge, a 61-year-old long-haul truck driver who's cracked the code on staying healthy on the road. Dawn shares her journey from struggling with typical trucker ailments to discovering simple, natural remedies that fit seamlessly into the OTR lifestyle.

In this healthier truckers podcast, we explore:

  • Combating truck driver fatigue without relying on energy drinks
  • Managing respiratory issues from extended time behind the wheel
  • Dealing with chronic pain and inflammation in trucking
  • Addressing digestive problems and kidney stones common among drivers
  • Finding natural energy boosters for cross-country trucking trips

Dawn offers practical, easy-to-implement truck driver health tips that don't require major lifestyle changes. You'll also discover how to make the most of your trucker downtime, with suggestions for great truck stops and driver hangouts across America's highways.

Whether you're skeptical about natural remedies or just looking for new ways to improve your health as an OTR truck driver, this episode has something for every trucker. Tune in for a down-to-earth discussion about real solutions to the health challenges we face every day in the trucking industry.

Plus, get insider tips on hidden gems like Casa de Fruta in California and creative ideas for building community at truck stops. Don't miss this chance to learn how you can enjoy life more while driving OTR!

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how you can enjoy life more while driving OTR! Subscribe to the Enjoying Life OTR podcast for ongoing trucker health tips, inspiring OTR adventures and lifestyle tips  tailored for long-haul drivers.

Remember, we're on break this July, but we encourage you to join our Facebook community and catch up on previous episodes. Stay tuned for our re

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Enjoying Life OTR—because LIVING WELL is worth the effort. We’re sparking curiosity, adventure, & resilience while honoring drivers and embracing a healthier trucking life. Discover creative life hacks & practical strategies to make the most of your time on the road. Join the movement!Explore, enjoy the food, snap the pic, and share tips on saving money along the way.

This podcast is for new and veteran drivers looking to stay mentally, physically, and financially strong while embracing the freedom of the road. We bring you real stories, expert advice, & practical tools to help you thrive, not just survive, in the trucking life.

Connect with Us: Join the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook Group – Share your journey, find trip recommendations, & connect with fellow drivers. Follow our Facebook page – Get the latest podcast episodes, trucking tips, & entertaining content. Visit our website – Explore our journey, see community highlights, and access resources for a healthier, more balanced OTR life.

For questions or to be a guest, email our host, Cindy Tunstall at EnjoyingLifeOTR@gmail.com #HealthierTruckers #EnjoyingLifeOTR #TruckerWellness #OTRLife #WorkLifeBalance



Speaker 1:

Enjoying Life Over the Road a community that champions adventure, innovation and well-being. Welcome back to the Enjoying Life OTR podcast. My name is Cindy Tunstall and I'm your host. Truckers, I'm often searching for ways to have more energy while driving without overdosing on energy drinks, so I think this episode's a game changer for over-the-road drivers. You're going to meet Dawn Dodge. She's a 61-year-old trucker who's cracked the code on some very common truck driver health issues that long-haul drivers face From fighting fatigue on those cross-country trips, respiratory problems, from smoking to managing pain and inflammation, dawn shares secrets for better health while trucking.

Speaker 1:

Whether you're battling kidney stones, digestive issues or you just need a natural energy boost on those long hauls, you're going to want to hear Dawn's trucker-friendly natural remedies. Plus, you're going to get to hear about some great truck stops. You know I love that and a great way to increase community, even while on the road. Stay tuned to hear new ways to improve your health and lifestyle as an OTR driver, with some simple tips that will help you have sustained energy and reduced pain. Dawn is truly enjoying Life OTR and I can't wait for you to meet her. Welcome to the show, dawn.

Speaker 2:

Hi, nice to meet you. It's really great to be here.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate you. Well, Dawn, I'm excited for everybody to get to know you, but before we started getting some questions that are, you know, unique to your story and your over the road adventures, can you tell everybody just briefly about your career in trucking and how long you've been driving, what kind of freight you're running and you know where you run typically, just to kind of give them a little bit of background so they can get to know you just a little bit more?

Speaker 2:

Sure, I've been driving for four years and I'm 61. So it's kind of fun. It's all a new adventure all the time and I go from Pennsylvania over to California and then back again. I go, I drop in Indiana and Ohio, but that's pretty much what I do now and I just love it. It's just so fun. The company that I have I went to right after school and they're Calix and I'm from Pittston and they're like a mile away from my house how could you beat that?

Speaker 1:

and I'm from Pittston and they're like a mile away from my house.

Speaker 2:

How could you beat that? And they let me have fun on my way because they trust me to get my load there, which is reefer. I do reefer and then I bring produce back to Pennsylvania.

Speaker 1:

So I kind of feed my family. Isn't that cool? I love it. Okay, a couple of questions I have for you. You made a comment they trust me to get the freight there and let you have fun. Tell me, what do you mean by that?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness, I have a fishing pole in here and I have a license in three different states so that I could stop for like 10, 15 minutes and just take a minute, and I like to forage for plants. So while I'm there, I'm looking for plants, like I know. One that you know about is the mullin and that helps people with upper respiratory problems, like even COPD. So I tried to collect that and bring it home and dry it, and on my way, I have a friend that lives in Missouri. We met online like 2012, and she likes the same things I do. Who would have thought? So I drop it off to her and she changes it into a tincture. She makes it into a tincture to give away to help other people.

Speaker 1:

Okay, tell us what that means. I did a little bit of research, knowing that you were coming on the show, but what does that mean? Tincture what is that exactly?

Speaker 2:

Take the melanin and put vodka in it and then you let it sit for six months and then you're able to take it with eye drops and you strain it out and then you can use eye drops and put a couple eye drop falls under your tongue to help with your upper respiratory problem.

Speaker 1:

How did you learn about all of this?

Speaker 2:

Oh, this is so funny. I used to smoke pot when I was about 19 or 20 and I wanted to quit and this old Indian gave me some mullein and told me to smoke that instead. And that because one of the reasons I wanted to smoke pot was to calm down, because I'm so hyper and love life right. So she gave me that and I smoked it and it just relaxed me. It doesn't get you stoned. It was really great. And then she informed me of all the other benefits of it, and I used to be a caregiver before, a truck driver and a carpenter, so people I would meet from what she taught me the Indian lady up in New York State. Way up there I was able to share with other people. And then when I found it, I was so excited and that was started my trip of, or joy of gathering plants, learning all about the plants that I could possibly learn about in order to help other people.

Speaker 1:

OK, so I have a million questions about all that. Let me just jump in here. Okay so, smoking this plant that you found or that this person, individual, told you about, do you still do that to help settle you down?

Speaker 2:

I do. Okay, I do Just not as much because throughout the years I've learned other ways, like meditation that helps to calm down Chamomile tea. But I will mix the mullein. I take the mullein mostly, then smoke it. I will take the mullein and mix it with a chamomile tea, because that's what you do with the dried part of the mullein plant you dry it and you can make tea out of it. So you can make tea, you can smoke it or you can make it into a tincture.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so just because we're truck drivers and we have to drug test and all that, so I'm assuming that there's nothing.

Speaker 2:

There is no drug in it, no drug at all.

Speaker 1:

What is it about it that's making you calm down? Do you know the reason why that's having that effect on your body?

Speaker 2:

I do not, and it doesn't make you sluggish, it just makes you calm. And you know what? I never looked into that I should do that yeah, it's just interesting.

Speaker 1:

I know, honestly, a lot of people smoke pot. I mean mean not truck drivers obviously, but you know, across the country, a lot of people you know are looking for a way to settle down that nervous energy. You know, maybe they're drinking alcohol. That's a, you know, a depressant, so it kind of settles you down. So I'm just always curious about more natural options.

Speaker 2:

This does not make you, you can mix it with any medicine. Okay, it does not hurt. Even people with heart medicines, things like that, it doesn't hurt anybody. But you know, they even use it for diaper rashes, uh, or abrasive uh. If you get, if you're bleeding or you have an abscess, you can put a lotion, you can put wet it down and put it on there, but it takes diaper rash away even. It's an amazing plant, okay.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I need to put it in the same room. People that want to smoke, the indigenous people they smoke it. Okay, and I know it sounds crazy to say that lung cancer you smoke cigarettes but what it's doing is it's healing the lungs, so you're putting it directly onto the lung, which is why they smoke it wow, okay, I feel a responsibility also, the most direct way to help is to smoke it. Okay, and the tincture is let me jump in here for just a minute.

Speaker 1:

I feel a responsibility to put a disclaimer out there. So you know I'm not a medical professional, and I don't think Dawn is either. So we're just sharing, for you know her journey and you know her story, and so you take responsibility for your own health and wellbeing. Audience, I'm speaking to you and you know. You just, you know, investigate this. These are options that you may want to explore and do some research.

Speaker 2:

There's plenty of places online on Facebook Mullen groups and you can go to your health food store and learn more.

Speaker 1:

And how do you spell the name of that Dawn? Just so people want to do some Google research.

Speaker 2:

It is like M-U-L. There's two ways to spell it. Okay, okay, I spell it M-U-L-l-e-i-n okay and you can make it with an oil too, like an olive oil, and let it sit there, and that's great if you put a little uh garlic in it and use it in for your eardrops. Isn't that cool stuff. It is fascinating.

Speaker 1:

It is Wow, it is. So what made you personally start to become interested in this? Were you having some health challenges? I know you said you used to smoke, but you just discovered this just randomly talking to this Indian guy.

Speaker 2:

And that was so many years ago, like 2010. Okay, long before anything, so anything in my life that I would have to quit for, right? So when I became a caregiver, I did live in caregiving. I didn't just go do caregiving, I worked for myself and I did live in caregiving. And now so many people were having COPD and upper respiratory problems and I'm like there's got to be some other way to help it. They're giving them nebulizers with medicines and stuff and I'm like I wonder what I could find out and, to my surprise, that's how I found out about the Mullen helping that.

Speaker 1:

Wow, and so were your patients experiencing some relief.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, yes. First you ask the family, you don't just do it, and you share with them the information, and I used to print it off or I would send them papers in the mail if they were out of town. Okay, this is all right. And then when internet came about, it was just beautiful because you could just send them a link, yeah, and they could decide for themselves and nobody said no. Nobody said no, which was great. And when they would come to visit, they would try the tea, because I would make it ahead of time and I would make it in the refrigerator. So then you, just you can drink it cold or hot. So the tincture, if it's doubled, you can use it in the refrigerator. So then you, just you can drink it cold or hot. So the tincture, if it's doubled, you can use it in a nebulizer, and that really helps people. I just learned that last year through my friend in Missouri, which is great.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so tell me about the process. So I saw a picture online where you were doing some foraging and you had some plants that you were taking back to her, like what's the process from the time you pick from the ground and you get them to her, like what's the process of turning this into a beneficial?

Speaker 2:

okay, so you uh, take the mullein, you strip it down off the plant or, as best as possible, which is easy. So now a lot of times I'll just take the leaves, okay, and there's two ways to do it. And then I for the truck. You're going to laugh, but you know the safety net at the top. I lay it all on there and then I shut the curtain and I blast that baby hot, All right, and up front I got the curtain curtain, you know, separating us when I put the air conditioner on.

Speaker 2:

So by the time I make it, I there's a whole bunch of it in Arizona. That's what makes it so fun. So I get enough for like four different trips. And then I just I give a lot of it away because a lot of people have knowledge of mulling, and now okay, so I give a lot of it away because a lot of people have knowledge of mulling and now Okay, so I give a lot of it away and let them do with what they want to do and keep to harvest for myself and drop some off for my friend in Missouri. So it makes it fun, you can. So you can dry it crisp, which is usually what I get. By the time I get home it's ready to use for tea and store away and not worry about it. It's good it won't mold. The most important thing is to not let it mold, and a lot of people it gets humidity and it will mold, so that's important.

Speaker 1:

How do you prevent it from molding?

Speaker 2:

Making sure it's in a dry area, not like moist. You can put it in the oven very lightly, you can put it in dehydrators, um, but you want to just make sure there's not high humidity in the area that you're doing it in so maybe after you dry it you could put it like in a sealed mason jar or something.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly okay. Okay, I'm just yeah. And then, if you want to use it for tinctures or oils, you don't have to dry it all the way, but you want to get it for tinctures or oils, you don't have to dry it all the way, but you want to get a lot of the moisture out so that when you put it in there it's already filled up with moisture. It's not going to soak in the benefits of turning it into a tincture or oil-based medicine.

Speaker 1:

Wow, this is just fascinating to me. It's really fun.

Speaker 2:

There's another one out there that you're going to. Okay, it's, people call it queen anne's lace. Okay, but okay. But it's also called wild carrot and it's important not to mix it up with poisonous hemlock. Okay, um, but that the flowers of that you can eat the whole plant. The flower of that queen Lace has a little purple dot in the middle of it to identify it different from the poison hemlock. But you take that. It's good for kidneys. A lot of people get kidney infections out here on the road from just not drinking enough water, things like that. Sure, and then the carrots. You can eat them, the bottom or the root. I don't really take the bottoms very often unless I just want to enjoy one, because I want to make sure to go back the next year and be able to pick the tops off again. So I want the jewelry box. I would like a jewelry box for dried flowers. Okay, so they'd be my jewels.

Speaker 1:

Know, you mentioned, like the poisonous plants, like how did you get to the point where you're confident about what you're foraging when you were new? Because I would be. I would be nervous that I'm going to ingest something that well, even that had been chemically treated in some way, or you know, or you know even just I'm picking the wrong plant. I mean, do you have concerns about?

Speaker 2:

that you want to try to make sure that you're not picking chemically. You wouldn't go to somebody's lawn and pick the indy lions on their lawn after the tidy guy comes along and sprays it right, right, um, you want to be careful that. So you go out in the field to. I'm blessed in arizona, where I pick the molyneux, they don't do that to the sides of the road, they just leave it natural. So that's great, yeah, um, but it's not right next to the road. There is some right next to the road.

Speaker 2:

I don't pick that, I go off the road and there is so much of it. It's just beautiful, all right, and the Queen Anne's lace is usually in flat. It is. I see it on the side of the road yesterday it was pretty but most of the time it's in the middle of a field. So you go in the fields and you ask permission. You don't just walk there. If you can go in the field and go and get it and're identifying, it is well like. The little purple dot in the middle of the Queen Anne's lace is a good, sure reason to know that that's there before you pick it and it's not until you get used to it. Then it's not a poison, hemlock.

Speaker 1:

But you look at the difference.

Speaker 2:

Online you'll see the difference even in the bush compared to the stalk.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So if somebody's having kidney problems and they want to try this, what do they do with the flower once they find it? How would you apply that?

Speaker 2:

You just make a tea, okay you just make a tea and then for kidney problems. Castor oil is a beautiful savior of many different things. It bone spurs all the way from bone spurs to kidney stones. Anybody that has women's internal problems you can take. And Barbara O'Neill talks about this on her site. Ok, she is a lady that was a medical lady that got kicked out of wales, all right. So it's funny, because she does everything natural now and they did not like that. So I learned a lot from her too, and the favorite part of hers is the castor oil.

Speaker 2:

Because I had a bone spur and I'm like, well, I'm gonna try it, all right, and you put a compress of this on your, on my bottom of my foot, okay, and so then, uh over, I had that sucker for like two months. I couldn't get rid of it. I tried all those pads and things in the store. Yeah, I'm telling you, I had this thing on for three weeks while I was driving. I put like a little bag over my foot so the castor oil wouldn't leave bad right, and just drove with it in my shoe and that was three weeks later it was gone. I was so excited.

Speaker 2:

A friend of mine had a lump in her chest and again you would want to go to a doctor had a lump in her chest and they thought it might be cancerous, and so she put the castor oil patch on that and when she went back it shrank like half when she went back for another. It's an amazing product and you could look up any of her videos online, not her ads. Don't go for ads. Always go straight for her videos, because people try to false information her to sell stuff.

Speaker 1:

She doesn't really sell anything but a special cream so again, if you seek medical attention, if you have a lump in your breast or you know so we're not saying this is um in lieu of medical advice, because we are not medical professionals.

Speaker 2:

No, you go to the doctor, the doctor was surprised okay and I didn't hear what they did after, but he was very surprised that it shrank that much. Okay so, kidney stones it's known to break up kidney stones, so wouldn't that be nice?

Speaker 1:

Okay so how would somebody I know many drivers, you know because, like you said, have kidney issues and kidney stones is definitely a painful, awful problem. So if somebody's having issue with that, what would they do with the castor oil if that's their issue?

Speaker 2:

okay, the castor oil is one of the only oils that gets into the pores of your skin and you do not drink, like when we were kids, what our parents did to us here. Take some of this, it'll help you. That's not right, okay, I never agreed with that, no. But what you do is you take a like flannel or a pad and you make it a little bit thick, like a quarter inch. Okay, and personally, just to make life nice and I'm 61, I don't have it anymore, but I will buy the premenstrual pads, cause they got a stickers on the back, okay and you lay it out on a piece of saran wrap, so that, because oil, if you get it on anything, it's really messy, it doesn't come out of your sheets or anything, so you want to put it on saran wrap is great. So then you just put that on the area of what you want to heal and you leave it on there as long as possible, uh, every day, okay, so like I don't care how long, like I would say for kidneys, cause they're in the back. My friend, she laid it down on the um bed and then laid on it, okay, okay, overnight. So that's just one way, but like if you have any swelling in your belly. So what I did, um, at one point, is I wanted to fix the cesarean line. I wondered if it worked right, so I wrapped it around I mean, it says it helps with skin things and stuff like that and I wrapped it around my whole body with the saran wrap, okay, and? And then put a shirt on over it and I'll tell you what I have a smaller scar than I had then. So I don't do it all the time, but I bet if I did it all the time I thought to myself, I wouldn't have any more real big scar there. You know, isn't that cool, I love that, and yeah, it's neat, that cool. And uh, yeah, it's neat. And then if you add cayenne pepper, which is another awesome herb for healing, um, you put the cayenne pepper on a pad, but you use the castor oil and it castor oil isn't really doing anything at that point. It's just there to hold the cat, the cayenne pepper, okay, like a host. And then so suppose you have an inflammation on your knee and you need to get rid of it. You put this pad on there, okay, and you leave it on there as long as you possibly can. It is going to feel like it is burning your skin, but cayenne pepper does not burn your skin, okay, and what it's doing is it's drawing all of that inflammation out to the top of the skin. When you can't stand it any longer, then you take it off, and by the next day a lot of times the swelling is all gone. Oh, wow.

Speaker 2:

The other thing about cayenne pepper is digestive problems. It's super for that. Thyroid problems. What you do is you take a little glass of water not a whole glass, like a quarter, I don't know, like quarter inch, half inch in a glass, and you put you work your way up. You take like an eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and put it in there and drink it down, and it will tingle the back of your throat, okay.

Speaker 2:

What that does, though, is, first of all, if you have a bad heart, it's going to help your blood flow. It takes one minute for your blood to go from your feet to your heart, and so it's going to get your blood open and flowing and going through your heart. Really great it's. People put it under people's tongues when they're having a heart attack to help them survive. Isn't that amazing? Wow, incredible. Yeah, so also, it heals. If there's a cut or something in your blood veins, it will heal it. Like who thought of that? Right, that's so cool. Right, that's so cool. So, um, digestive like wise. If you take it 20 minutes, that drink 20 minutes before you eat, it will help your digestive system to help start digesting the food when it's going down there. So that helps a lot of people who have ulcers. It helps with ulcers.

Speaker 2:

You'd have to look it up. It's got so many uses I couldn't even remember right now, but it seems to be popping up on a lot of issues that people come and talk to me about. And it's got vitamins in it. It's great. So I got scared at first to try it because you know peppers are hot, right, and I'm like this is not okay. But I can't tell anybody unless I do it Right. I'm telling you, I do it every day now. It does not hurt, okay, it tingles your throat, All right. And I started off with, I'm telling you, I sprinkled the water on there. At first I did not take an eighth of a teaspoon, but I am up to a half a teaspoon. That's enough for me. I don't need more than that. My blood flow. You will feel your blood alive, like the cells in your body are alive.

Speaker 1:

It's just beautiful okay, don, speaking of your heart and everything. So are you? You know you're a little bit older. I mean, I'm not much, I am ageless. So so are you getting regular checkups from your physician and are you getting good? Um, you know medical reports from your doctors and, like, what are your doctors saying about this holistic approaches? Are you still seeing a doctor?

Speaker 2:

I have a doctor that they call a DO and I'm not quite sure what that is, but I'm part of a Geisinger in our area is a hospital, okay, and it's part of that plan, but they're all doctors and my friend said you should go to her, she's a DO. Well, when I told her, she said that I was so sick during COVID okay, and I had to get home and I just couldn't breathe well, and I went in and the doctor I had did not let me, uh, see me. I see I guess he signed me up for video one and I'm sitting in the office. Anyways, the short story is that I went to the hospital and I got an x-ray because I had to go out that night and I figured at least the doctor would see the x-ray, right, right, he wouldn't even look at it. So my friend recommended this other doctor in the unit and she is a DO, and he's like she's a DO, she's going to understand you and I'm like no one does.

Speaker 2:

No, I'm just kidding. So I went to her and she looked up that x-ray okay, that that guy would not look up, and that's how her and I got started and she said you have a very, very bad upper respiratory problem. As a matter of fact, I don't know really whether to call it COPD right now or what. Let's fix you first and go from there. And I said well, then I went back and she's like I don't know, dawn, I don't know if it's COPD, but we're going to call it that. And I said, yeah, it could be, because I used a bottle of aerosol in the truck one time doing my leather and I did have the windows open, but it was not OK. I think I could have a problem like that. And I said, but in one year from today. So she gave me allergy medicines, that's all just to dry stuff up.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

She gave me an inhaler that I used twice, that's it. And I went back this year to get checked up and she's like checking me, and checking me, and checking me, and she's like you don't have anything in there. Oh well, sometimes I take those citrine medicines that you gave me for drying up, because you know California is really tough over there with their pollen, so maybe I do have allergies after all. She said, well, do you have a cure for that? Anyway, she was in awe. So isn't that beautiful.

Speaker 1:

I love that story.

Speaker 2:

I heard that you were sick. That is beautiful.

Speaker 1:

I love the story and that you have a record of you know them, seeing a significant change in your body because of the choices that you're making.

Speaker 2:

You know what? She didn't care what it was in the beginning when I told her about it. You know what? She didn't care what it was in the beginning when I told her about it. But when she listened to my heart and everywhere, the back of your back, and all that, she said what's that stuff called now? What does it look like? And I went, yeah, now she wants to know that's cool. Yeah, that was beautiful.

Speaker 1:

So COPD I mean there's no cure for that normally right in the in traditional medicine, is that? Am I right in saying that? Like that's right? I don't think so either. I think that they give you nebulizers and things to breathe easier, but all the clients that I had looked like they were getting worse yeah, that's what I was understanding too, that it was something you were going to live with once that's diagnosed, and I thought that as well. So it's very encouraging.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I have some other questions, okay that's fine you seem to have a lot of information that we have for our drivers. Okay, what about sustained energy or anything that seems to be a big issue for drivers? You know, and they'll often you know, myself included. I mean, I obviously drink coffee, but, and you know and I know other drivers do energy drinks and other things Do you have any little healthier choices for sustained energy or what's been working for you on that area?

Speaker 2:

I am a huge coffee drinker. I only cause I like the taste. But I will have to tell you that when I start getting drained down, I will take a water and put a lemon packet and they have them right in the truck stops, which is really great. Now the lemon packet where the coffee is, you'll see lemon packets. It's like iodized or crystals of lemon and that right there has some vitamin C in it. It gives you a boost and I'm telling you that would be the time. That's also the time that I take the cayenne pepper and put it in a little water with the lemon and drink it down. I slug it. Now I'm talking like a half inch of water in your cup. You you don't, you don't want to drink a whole cup full of cayenne pepper water. That's not fun, but that right there gets your blood moving. So therefore, it's waking you up, it's getting you moving and you know that's the best thing that I have found. When I learned that, that changed my whole life.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I love this little tip. Thank you for this. This will definitely this alone will make me make my little cayenne pepper mixture okay, so tell me how it works for you.

Speaker 2:

I will, I will for sure I love it I will, for sure.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to make some today, okay, so tell me again. Um, just so now. Everybody wants to have sustained energy. We all are all paying attention. Okay, so tell me again how to make the cayenne mixture like what would you what amount of water and how much cayenne pepper to add to the water, and then how long does that need to sit before you would want?

Speaker 2:

oh, not at all, all right. So for four, for four, say, four ounces of water, okay. So, like I don't want you to put it in the whole bottle, um, like an over a shot glass full. Okay, we're not allowed to drink out here, but that'd make it fun, wouldn't it all right? So, anyways, you, you put it in like a four ounce, something that you can drink within one or two gulps, okay. So everybody has their own ability of what they can drink, okay. And then you put your. I start off with an eighth inch, not an eighth inch, an eighth of a teaspoon, okay. Or you can do what I did and said this is a crazy idea. I'm just sprinkling it on there. You will get the tingle. All right, you will get the feeling of what it will be. It won't do that much for your body, but the eighth will. Okay.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and then you just go from there.

Speaker 2:

Once you get used to that and your body gets used to that, and you will feel the difference. You can go up a little bit to like a quarter teaspoon or some people even do a half a teaspoon and when I have a cold I do a half a teaspoon. Wow, and I have it with ginger and terminic. Those are the other two things that are like my favorite things to do, and garlic.

Speaker 1:

So so just start small, start with the lower amount that you can get used to, the tingle and the taste and being able to do it in a shot, basically, and then you would increase slowly as you, your tolerance, I guess.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Okay, and you can take the. Uh, if you're sick or you're feeling like you got a cold, you can take the turmeric, ginger and garlic it's called the flu shot and mix it with a little bit of honey and water and drink that down.

Speaker 1:

Okay, dawn, I thank you so much for sharing all this. You know, on my healthier journey, I'm trying to take better care of myself and I really like the idea of holistic approaches to things when I can, but I've always just been a little bit. You know, people act like it's so hokey and crazy and not trustworthy and all of that. So if somebody was wanting to get started on learning a little bit more about this type of self-care, do you have a resource or something that you could recommend? I know you recommended um, you know somebody earlier. Is there other other books or things that people could read if they were interested in learning more about these different types of approaches?

Speaker 2:

barbara o'neill is a great lady to go to and you put Barbara O'Neill in and then whatever you have for a problem and see if she has anything there. She's a great resource and she gives you other resources to go and read about. Okay, and then for Mullen there's so many places on Facebook for Mullen people and they all bring their input there and their knowledge and people are asking if this is the plant when they go to pick it and we're telling them no or yes okay it's a start, and then also right down to the part where how do you do it?

Speaker 2:

um, you can look up on google. A lot of times they'll give you all the menu, all the things for recipes on how to do different things and also anything that you find out there. You look up on google for health benefits. Yes, um, and, and it go from there and it'll give you more information. It's like a rabbit hole of anything that you would go down to learn about yeah um, dandelions, for that everybody knows you can eat them most likely, I think anyway.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, all the way from the roots, like coffee, and the tops and the leaves are packed with more vitamins than even anything in a vegetable aisle.

Speaker 1:

Do you eat those like a salad? How do you eat those you do?

Speaker 2:

Okay, but also because I don't get to keep a salad, I have two little coolers. I'm not fancy, I have everything else I can cook with, but on my coolers I like to walk. So I have those plug-in coolers, the little ones, the soft sides. So the dandelions I will dry them if I can, and then put them in like smoothies so that you have the vitamins from them. Okay, but I will eat them fresh if I'm in the area. They're really good. Yeah, they really taste good. So, and the flowers they're great for your. You want to make sure you get the bugs out of the flowers. You don't need the iron. That's funny. My first salad I threw them in. It looked so beautiful and then I saw the little ants coming out. That's why I was like, ooh, nice salad.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's a buzzkill, for sure. It's a learning process. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2:

Fiddleheads Everybody knows about fiddleheads they're packed with vitamins. Okay, I, my goodness. Fiddleheads Everybody knows about fiddleheads they're packed with vitamins.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I don't know about fiddleheads. What is that?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness, you're so going to be excited next spring. Okay, you know all the ferns you see on the side of the road. Yeah, okay. Well, when they're babies and they're first starting to grow up, you'll see them like a circle. They're all in a ball of a circle at the top before they're going to bloom out. Those are fiddleheads. You pick them right off and you bring them. You clean them very good. Bugs get in there and they taste a little bit like spinach, but they're packed with vitamins. I was a kid I was 10 years old picking fiddleheads for my mom. I'm telling you I think she gave them to the neighbors because she sent me out the next day for more. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, this is fun. And wild strawberries you find them in um fields. Um, they're little tiny strawberries and I used to as a kid I grew up in Vermont on a farm. The next door neighbor would give me a quarter for a Dixie cup filled with wild strawberries that I'd get up off the pasture Fun.

Speaker 1:

Fun. Yeah Well, Dawn, I have enjoyed this conversation so much. I feel like you've opened this realm for me and I'm very excited to learn more, so I'll definitely be doing some research and finding ways to apply some of the things that you've shared. Do you have any other tips or things that, on this topic, if you want to share with our audience of other drivers or any places that you would like to share about exploring or fun things that you've done on the road?

Speaker 2:

Oh, there is. If you're going over toward California, I deliver to Concord in the North area. So I go to Santanella and Patterson and I learned about probably everybody knows about it, but since I'm a new driver of four years it's all new to me. And Casa de Fruta is a really cool place. It's called Casa de Diesel, if you want to park your truck there, and they have produce and turtles and ice cream and restaurants and awesome stuff. And then I also learned that I didn't know, because I like to camp that right around the reservoir toward hollister. That's where casa de fruta is.

Speaker 2:

Okay, going around the reservoir, there is a state park there and you could park your truck at the Petro and I'm going to do that this time. So then I'll really tell you for sure. But my buddy does it and he told me I'm going to give you my secret place because I'm not out there anymore. And I'm like, oh my God, yes, so I'm excited, you anymore. And I'm like, oh my God, yes, so I'm excited you can swim and fish there. Oh fun, isn't that cool? I'm all excited because I also like to cook in my truck when I take my 34 off. So if I could catch me a fish, I would be happy camper, but even just being out in the water and getting your toes in the water is just, oh, beautiful, so great.

Speaker 1:

Well, thanks for sharing that. You know drivers are hesitant to share their favorite things, you know, and I don't blame them, you know, I think the same thing. You know truck parking is always an issue and so I mean I love it that somebody shares something fun to do outside the truck, because, you know, sometimes, you know, we just end up getting in this rut where we're just parking in the place we always park and just doing our laundry and showering and, you know, having some downtime watching some movies, trying to have some chill time in the truck. So I just love the opportunity to be able to get out and explore and do something different. So thanks for sharing that with our audience.

Speaker 2:

You're welcome. There's another thing that another truck driver does is they belong to the Planet Fitness. There's another thing that another truck driver does is they belong to the Planet Fitness and they go to the Planet Fitness as they drop the trailer and go over to the Planet Fitness with other drivers. I used to have the TV that goes on the side of your trailer, what's it called? Like you could watch a movie on the side of the trailer anyways, and if you do that, other truck drivers are going to come over and watch the movie with you.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that Like a projection.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, stuff like that gets people out of their trucks. Oh, that's a great idea. Yes, that was a cool thing. I gave it to another truck driver yesterday because I don't need it. I do things different now. But I gave him that toy yesterday and he's like I don't know what he thought it was. But I knocked on his door and I went would you like this? And he's like how much you want for it? And I went it's free. I don't want to throw it away. I don't use. If I don't use something in my truck, I get rid of it.

Speaker 1:

And he goes I, I could use that. I could use that. That'd be great. Okay, drivers, everybody, this is this tip, in case you've missed this get a projection. You know the. You know everybody talks about the truck stops. How there used to be this. You know this brotherhood and everybody used to hang out and cook out of the truck stops. If you want some company at the truck stops, get a projector. Plaster that thing on the side of your trailer a lawn chair and people are going to join you. So those of you that are needing a little community out here and we all do this is a great tip for you know, getting to watch the movie together and have some hangout time, maybe fire up the grill, that's right, I love this idea, love it that's life.

Speaker 2:

That's what makes the small stuff really. That makes life great yeah, at home and now on the road yeah, well, thanks don.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate this. You have anything else you want to share before we wrap up?

Speaker 2:

no, no, I'm good, I'm great, you're wonderful. I really enjoyed you. Thank you so much for having me yeah, thanks so much.

Speaker 1:

And please, if you find even when you're traveling out, you know, I know you're a member of enjoying much and please, if you find, when you're traveling out you know, I know you're a member of Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group If you find some things that are fun to do out there and you stumble on a little fishing hole, you know, or a place where you could pull your big rig in there, you know, please share that with the community, because you know we're all working hard out here trying to make money, trying to get those miles on, and you know it just makes it easier for other drivers when they're passing through. They can search California and see all of your great recommendations, and so please share this with the community too. I know that they would appreciate that as well.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, I sure will, and I really am looking forward to listening to all the podcasts. I'm excited about it while I'm driving. Thank you. That's so neat that you can hear it while you drive, I know right.

Speaker 1:

It's so great. Thanks, dawn. You shared so much valuable information and I know there are strivers out there that have been struggling with some health issues and maybe have a prescription or they've been trying some other things that just haven't been working for them, and I think you've shared a lot of really great options, so I know it's going to benefit a lot of people. So I just wanted to thank you for your time and the information.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, and they should always talk with their doctor before taking something new.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and even dropping their meds right. So same thing, exactly. Don't do that unless you talk to your doctor. Yeah, yeah, that's good. Be careful, proceed with caution.

Speaker 2:

And the health food centers have a lot of information in them to share with you well.

Speaker 1:

Thanks, don. I sure appreciate you. Be safe out there and enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks for coming on, thanks, bye-bye.

Speaker 1:

All right, truckers, I hope don's trucker health tips have inspired you from using mullin for drivers that have respiratory issues, for cayenne pepper for a natural energy boost on those long hauls. I mean we all need that right. Don shared some game-changing remedies for life on the road. Remember, always check with your doctor before trying new health approaches. After all, we're truckers, not doctors. Okay, well, for more truck tops and driver hangouts, like Don mentioned, join the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook group. It's a perfect place for truckers to share their favorite spots across America and connect with other drivers who are enjoying life OTR. And if you're committed to becoming a healthier truck driver, hop onto the Healthier Truckers Facebook group. It's packed with trucker-specific health tips and support for drivers just like you. It's created for truckers by a trucker who understands the challenges that we face while on the road.

Speaker 1:

Speaking of which, don't miss next week's episode featuring Melinda Fox Wellington. She's revolutionizing trucker health and proving that the OTR lifestyle doesn't have to be unhealthy, so tune in for more practical tips on staying fit as a truck driver. If you've enjoyed this episode. Please take a moment to rate and review Enjoying Life OTR on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other drivers find us. We want more great drivers just like you joining our community. Well, there's so many great things happening in the Enjoying Life OTR community and we want you to remain a part of it, so stay tuned next week for another great show. Well, y'all take care out there and, by all means, enjoy the journey.

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Cindy Tunstall

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