My Journey to CPL Botanicals: How Herbs And The Holistic Way Healed Me
Photo 1: 2010, 48 years old, 205 lbs. Photo 2: 2024, 61 years old, 156 lbs.
Everyone’s healing path is different. Mine began with my own health struggles—challenges that conventional medicine simply could not or rather, would not resolve. Through long hours of study and experimentation with herbal medicine and holistic practices, I began using natural remedies to bring my body back into balance. I’m still a work in progress—but I’m well on my way.
Over twenty-five years ago, I was morbidly obese and was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Not long after came high blood pressure, then high cholesterol and extremely elevated triglycerides. As expected, I was prescribed medications for everything. Over time, those prescriptions only multiplied. Instead of healing, I became more medicated—and less well. I always thought doctors were trained to heal. However, I found out differently. My doctors followed their training: manage symptoms with drugs. But I wasn’t getting better.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease—psoriasis—and later, psoriatic arthritis and then, eczema on top of that. All my symptoms worsened. More medications were prescribed. I just seemed to be getting sicker as the years passed.
Only one person knows this, my best friend, but before I started this journey of healing myself, I was nearly in a wheelchair. I used a cane regularly and although I never told anyone, used a rollator at home. The soles and sides of my feet were completely covered in painful, cracked psoriasis that bled, burned and itched unmercifully. It spread up above my ankles to my calves and across the tops of my feet. Every step was agony. I cried just getting out of my chair. Every painful movement was a reminder of how far my health had declined.
I became miserable—not just in my body, but in my spirit. I struggled with all kinds of symptoms including dizziness, fatigue, blurry vision, chronic headaches, difficulty breathing, intense joint stiffness, and inflammation. I later realized I was becoming depressed, (enough to go get on yet another medication.) My skin was red, dry, cracked, itchy, and bleeding—on my feet, scalp, ears, navel, hands, and arms. I didn’t just feel broken—I felt alone. And without meaning to, I made the people around me feel my pain too.
In Early 2024, Everything Changed
I hit my rock bottom; I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So…
How I Took My Health Back
In 2024, I dove headfirst into herbalism and naturopathic healing. I had always been curious about plants and their healing power, but this time, I committed fully to learning. I enrolled in courses, studied for hours, experimented in my kitchen, and started creating my own herbal remedies. All of this, while working in my full-time accounting career. Later, I enrolled in a Naturopathic Coaching class that led me down a path of deeper nutritional healing—where food became medicine and the root causes finally started to shift.
Now—just a year and a half later—my A1c is in the non-diabetic range (5.6 or lower). My blood pressure is better than it was in my teens. My cholesterol levels are balanced. I still take one prescription for my psoriasis, eczema, and psoriatic arthritis, but I’m working every day to eventually replace it with a botanical formulation that truly works. And I will.
Why I Chose This Path
It wasn’t enough that I had gotten my levels where they should be, I wanted to get to the root causes for those issues. I want to heal my body at its core so I don’t have to take daily herbal supplements to keep my levels good. I want food and water to be my only daily medicine to keep me healthy.
There are doctors who believe in this type holistic healing and getting to that root cause to truly heal at the cell and mitochondrial level. They’re called Integrative Doctors. They look at the whole picture: mind, body, and spirit. But there’s a major barrier—access. Insurance often doesn’t cover them, and consultations with personalized protocols can cost thousands of dollars (around $9-10,000) upfront. I once paid $600 just for blood work. I gained some insights from that blood work, but not the full picture.
With the insights I gained from that blood work, I took charge and started looking for the root causes myself. I committed to restoring my own balance—step by step, layer by layer. As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m still a work in progress, but I’m well on my way. I feel better than I have in years.
And Now, I Want To Help Others Do the Same
This journey brought me to create CPL Botanicals — a space where others can find the same hope, healing, and support I discovered through herbs, holistic coaching, and deeper nutrition.
This is where food is medicine and plant wisdom meets the healing journey.
Holistically & Herbally Yours,
Charlotte Lange, CNC