opus88

Big thanks to all of you! I'm feeling about the same today - got worse for a while yesterday evening, but rallied a bit later. The throat is probably the most bothersome, since it affects my desire to talk or eat. Many things mentioned here are good possibilities. It has been a number of years since I've actually had a cold or the flu - my immunity seems to be quite strong against those things. Without a fever, it makes me believe it's something other than that. But it would certainly be possible to have some kind of virus. (Gosh, I hope not!) I've been off of all supplements since late July, so I'm sure my body is asking for a boost again, maybe the Vitamin C in particular. Probably all buildings in my area (and maybe the outdoor debris piles, too) are hiding mold somewhere since the hurricane, so that would make a strong case for an allergy possibility. Has anybody ever worked with NAET? I had looked into it a couple of years ago, but I just spoke with someone who got incredible benefit from it. If only money and time were on my side right now . . . Hormones could be a culprit - although I don't have the "cycle flu" each month, it could be that the stress of late is creating some extra imbalances there. I have some colloidal silver spray somewhere (had forgotten about it) so I'll try to find which box it might have been packed into - does that work after the fact, or only as a preventative? It's been a long time since I learned about that. You have all brought up many good possibilities to consider - I soooo appreciate your input! So here is one more really bizarre occurrence to toss out to you. I've never talked about it with anyone because it seems so silly, but my belly button is seeping! I have this cute little "innie" that folds in on itself (not like a scooped out hole), but the skin inside is red, irritated and weepy, and even a tiny bit crusty. I tried to gently wipe it out today and the tissue came back tinged with pink. It is a bit tender to the touch, too. I don't believe this is related to the throat and other problems mentioned in this post (I've had this belly button thing 3 or 4 times in the past), but it did all happen since this weekend. I'm thinking that probably a couple of days with an antibiotic ointment will take care of it. I'm just curious as to whether anyone has experienced something like this.

Hi, Labrat! Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do to change someone's perception. I suppose you could wear one of those handicapped parking signs around your neck - at least then they probably wouldn't question your actions! I don't mean to be flip, but people are gonna think what they're gonna think. You could try explaining to everyone, but many people still would not understand or believe what you are saying. However, I do think it's important that your supervisor and co-workers know what you are going through so they won't be upset with you for taking longer, moving slower, taking more breaks, or whatever else you need to do. I was a high-energy teacher, but I had to give up teaching about 10 years ago when I became too ill and too inconsistent to be successful. I now work in an office with a supervisor who trusts me to do the best I can under whatever circumstances exist at the moment. It's not always ideal, but there is a real freedom to my setting that I didn't have as a teacher. Sometimes you have to make peace with the need for change and then find the positives about the new setting. Let us know how you tackle your situation!

Hi, Gang! I'm sitting here today with a somewhat sore throat - not the usual rawness, but more like a swelling or thickness coupled with dryness. Also, the lymph nodes in my neck are swollen, I have a headache (3rd time in 5 or 6 days), my eyes are slightly burning, my sinuses are painful, and when I get up to walk, my muscles feel like I worked out yesterday (even though I didn't yesterday or any other day in the past 3 years!). On top of all that, I have bruises on my arm; the only thing I can figure out on that one is that I have been leaning my arm on a desk to do a lot of proofreading lately, even though I've never gotten bruised from doing it before. (OK, I'm sure that's not related to the other stuff, but since I'm already whining . . . ) I would suspect a flu-like something-or-other, but I have no fever or that overall malaise that typically comes with the flu. I believe all of this can potentially be linked to CFS, but after almost 2 weeks of worsening fatigue, I've rebounded the past couple of days to a somewhat healthier energy level. It seems that all of this other junk I'm experiencing today would have hit with the fatigue instead of popping up after it improved. Just wondering if anybody had any ideas . . .

I have dry eyes and mouth, though not necessarily at the same time. Both will come and go. My eye doctor told me to use HypoTears drops - said she doesn't recommend for most things, but for dry eyes it seems to work best. And you can use them as often as you need. I didn't know about dysautonomia at the time, but after 2 attempts at contacts (about 3 years apart), I had to give up on them. At least now I understand why!

I have dry eyes and mouth, though not necessarily at the same time. Both will come and go. My eye doctor told me to use HypoTears drops - said she doesn't recommend for most things, but for dry eyes it seems to work best. And you can use them as often as you need. I didn't know about dysautonomia at the time, but after 2 attempts at contacts (about 3 years apart), I had to give up on them. At least now I understand why!

I don't know much about raw sugar, but the less processed something is, the less unhealthy it should be. It might be stronger (or maybe weaker - I don't know), so my suggestion is that if you try it, go light on it. My body will not let me have sugar or even fruit - it kicks up the insulin which then kicks up the adrenaline, which will take me down for days, weeks or months. Ugh! I've worked too hard to get my health to this level, and don't want to set off another downward spiral (that can happen too easily even when I think I haven't done anything "wrong".) P.S. 88 keys on a piano. I'm a professional musician and former school music teacher. I still maintain a small private piano & voice studio (outside of my full-time office job) plus I accompany our almost-professional-quality community chorus, and play piano and sometimes a little harp for parties, weddings, etc.

I'm a huge advocate of NO artificial sweeteners. The case studies I have read, combined with info from people I know (including a co-worker who thought she was truly losing her mind and had developed undiagnosed heart trouble until she quit using Splenda), makes a no-brainer decision for me to never, ever touch any of this fake junk. If you do have such a strong need for sweets, it's because you are addicted to sugar. Plan for about 2 weeks or so to struggle with the detox from the addiction - after that it will be MUCH easier. I've been sugar- and sweetener-free for about 16 years now and don't miss it a bit, even though I used to live on soda, milkshakes, Twinkies, ice cream sandwiches, cookies, etc.

BriarRose, WOW - BIIIIIG THANKS for posting this! I've done much reading and researching (not as much recently) but haven't come across anything that excited me this much in a very long time. It seems to have hit the nail on the head for so many of the symptoms that I rarely see mentioned or described as well as what was in here: the admission (by a doctor!) of patients being looked at as hypochondriacs, the brain fog/change in IQ (a huge issue for me right now), the painful skin that we don't want to mention because we fear it will give more ammunition to the hypochondriac theory, the waxing and waning of symptoms, etc. . . . This is me, to a T! I read everything, but will print it out, reread (probably multiple times) and keep it in my files. THANK YOU for sharing these articles!!!

Big congrats! I hope all works out to be easier than you are expecting it too. You'll have lots of fun planning for the new little one, I'm sure!

Radha, The brand of cell salts I took were only available to me as a client of the Metabolic Typing Program, so you won't be able to get them the same way. You will need to do some phone calls and/or web searches for the salts - I'm sure they are available from other companies, or maybe even from a local pharmacy.

Beverly and Radha, I finally made it back to my house this weekend. We have stairs again, so no more ladder climbing to get inside! The roof has been delivered and the replacement is beginning today, along with tearing out the ceilings. We have chosen the tile and carpeting - they are sending someone to measure everything tomorrow. I'm having a horrible time choosing wallpaper and countertops - I was born without a decorating gene, but I don't want my "new" house to look horrible! Our builder is determined to be done enough for us to move in by Nov. 15, when he goes on vacation, so everything is now a rush job to get materials chosen and ordered. (We had great news that the sewer should be reconnected within the next 2 weeks, instead of the original March date given us previously!) Anyway, while I was there, I wrote down the cell salts I had been taking. Please keep in mind that these were suggested by the Met Typ program according to my tests, so they may not be the right things for Nicole. All of these were mixed together into 3 cups of water, and I did this mixture twice a day. It worked great for me to finish the first batch by lunch, and the 2nd batch by the time I left work. That left the rest of the evening to move the water thru my system so I didn't have to get up constantly thru the night. Di-Sodium Phosphate - 1/8 tsp. Sodium Chloride - 1/8 tsp. Sodium Citrate - 1/8 tsp. Sodium Glycerophosphate - 1/4 tsp. (By the way, I read my Celtic sea salt package, and it indicates that it was harvested in France, and has more than 80 minerals when harvested their way - I was thinking it was only a couple of minerals that it retained.)

A tech person told me once that a co-worker who was complaining of headaches and slight dizziness had the refresh rate on her monitor set too low. You might check to see what yours is set to and if possible, bump it to a higher rate. Or switch to a flat monitor since those use a different technology that does not flash to create the images you see.

Amen to the above! I'm luckier than many of you concerning the gift-buying hassles. I have no children (by choice). My husband takes care of gifts for his sons & their families, and does not exchange with his sisters or their families. My 4 brothers and our spouses drew names for a few years, but now we don't exchange gifts at all, and I never started buying for my 11 nieces and nephews. That means this year I will buy a gift for my dad, a small item for each of my music students, and a company gift exchange item. My husband and I will decide whether we're doing a gift for each other (and how much to spend) or if we'll go away for a few days or get something for the house. As for the events, we just tell people that we will try to make it (or would like to be there) but only if I feel up to it that day. When asked to bring a dish to share, I only bring something I can have, and if I'm the only one who eats it, that's fine with me. My family and friends always joke about my cooking - the truth is I am quite honest about being a terrible cook who dislikes kitchen duty, and I can't eat much of anything but eggs, plain meat and plain veggies anyway, so they won't want to eat what I can have. Therefore, I usually am asked to bring ice or paper plates & cups or some such thing, and then I watch everybody else eat & drink while I walk around with a glass of water. Decorating? What's that? We've never had a tree in our 17 years of marriage, and we have never missed it. We have done the whole house in tinsel and lights some years, and nothing other years. It just depends on our mood, stress levels, schedules and my health - and since we don't entertain in our home, nobody knows the difference anyway. Most often we just put out the very few "nice" knickknacks and statues that we have, and call it finished. As musicians, Christmas is usually our wildest time. But our Christmas Show is Thanksgiving weekend, and now that we don't have the church jobs any longer, this Christmas will probably be a breeze!

Have any of you heard of or tried EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)? It is the simplest thing to do and highly successful for exactly what you are talking about. I know a woman in PA who can do this over the phone (many EFT practitioners can do this, I just happen to have crossed paths a few times with this person). It's so simple that she can explain how to do the very short procedure of tapping specific points on your face, hands and chest. I always feel it's best to have at least one "professional" session just to get the ball rolling, but it's really not necessary. After that initial appointment, in person or via phone, some people enjoy guided sessions periodically while working on their own between times. Below is just one site that gives some info on EFT. I'm not really familiar with the site, but toward the right are case feedback links, including weight loss, headaches, addictions, eating disorders, depression and more. At the lower left is a link to search for a practitioner in your area (in any country). I hope this will be helpful to some of you. http://www.emofree.com/

I went through months of feeling like my limbs weighed a ton. Then I was put on strong doses of GTF Chromium, and within 4 days I was able to tell a wonderful difference. I don't know if it would have any relationship to your situation or not, but it's a pretty inexpensive thing to try. I used Nature's Sunshine brand of GRF Chromium (tried other brands and other forms, but they did nothing for me), at a dose of 9 pills daily (3 pills taken 3 times a day). I eventually was able to slim down the dose and right now I've been without it for a number of months and I'm doing ok.

I didn't really have trouble with this until the past few months. Turns out that milk or milk-based products cause my hands to become stiff and sore and feel fat, adn eventually it spreads to my feet, then knees and hips. It took a while after discontinuing the milk, but now the pain is gone unless I slip up and again consume it. Just something for you to consider.

Can you explain exactly what you mean and where you feel the adrenal gland pain? What's it like? I've often wondered if that isn't what I feel, but nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about!

Just another thought: Chlorine in your shower and drinking water can be a real problem. I believe there is some specific negative link to adrenals, but my addled brain can't come up with that info at the moment. We have a reverse osmosis water purification system at our kitchen sink for drinking water, and a showerhead that filters out chlorine and much more (RainShow'r brand). Those 2 items might be worth considering to to make your daily living situation a bit healthier.

Perhaps you spent more time outdoors during your vacation? If so, you might want to look into changing to full-spectrum lighting in your office and home. I'm far from knowledgeable about that topic, but I do need to start checking into it for myself.

As far as I know, I don't think there is a link between the two. However, many people with dys do get tested for MS, since some of the symptoms are the same. Some are even given misdiagnoses of MS. There may be a few who truly have both MS and dys, but it seems that would be more of a coincidence than a relationship. Then again, I'm no expert on that.

Beverly, I took parsley in a capsule form, and took it according to the dosage listed on the bottle. It didn't give immediate relief, but after being on it a few weeks I began to notice a shift. I think it is typical of herbs to experience a slower and very gentle change. That is probably why so many people say herbs don't work for them - they don't give it a long-enough trial, and the shift is so gradual that it can be hard to notice until much further down the road. By all means, do get the Met Typ book - I highly recommend it. I have found and also read, though, that most everyone comes up as a Mixed Type when doing the test in the book. That is a subjective questionnaire that can be helpful, but without the physical tests that they do with the full program, Nicole may not be able to pursue what is truly needed for her body. I got the book and read it before enrolling in the program, and it helped immensely with my understanding of what we were trying to accomplish. It just sounded like exactly what I needed, and I was right. Working with the Met Typ counselor and the supplements were invaluable. It is lots of hard work and you have to be very dedicated to it, but all that time and effort is more than worth it.

I don't even think about iodine, so I don't add it, although I probably should. I know that kelp and dulse are high in iodine, so you might want to add that no matter what kind of salt you use. The site at the end of this message offers dulse and kelp in shakers, like salt, to make it easier to add those to your diet. The Celtic Sea Salt keeps the sodium, magnesium and potassium balance. Regular table salt is so processed that none (or very little) of these are still available when we consume it, but they do add iodine after it is processed. I don't understand the how or why of it. The link below has some info on why sea salt is better for you, its effect on your body chemistry, history, etc., and you can order products from them. This is where I get my sea salt. http://www.celtic-seasalt.com/

I did get the cell salts thru the Metabolic Typing Program. I'm sure they are available through other sources, but I can't begin to tell you where. Unfortunately, the cell salts are all at my house and I'm not sure when I can get there to try to find them - maybe this weekend. (We are displaced due to Hurricane Ivan while our house is being halfway gutted and redone. But when it's done, we still won't be allowed to live there until the sewer is reconnected, which they are saying could potentially be March!) Anyway, I'll try to find them next time we're there and let you know which ones I was taking. It's not the homeopathic pellets - these are all powders to mix with water. In the meantime, another thing that helped with having to urinate constantly in the middle of the night was to take parsley. I don't know anything about why it works, but taking that herb finally allowed me to sleep. (That was before I began working with the Metabolic Typing.)

Just came across this brief article in the Alternative Medicine newsletter. Maybe it will be helpful to some of you. - - - - - - - - - - What's Lurking in Your Shower? Norman Bates isn't the only scary creature you might encounter in your shower. With infectious disease rates rising over the past decade, scientists have been scouring our everyday environment for potentially overlooked sources of germs. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found one such microbe hideout in a seemingly innocuous place: shower curtains. In five soap scum samples taken from four different vinyl shower curtains, researchers found all sorts of organisms, including Sphingomonas bacteria, which can lead to urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and abscesses, and Methlobacterium, which can also cause pneumonia as well as skin ulcers, inflammation of the cornea, and bacteria in the bloodstream. The researchers think these pathogens are mainly a risk for people with troubled immune systems. But even if your immune system is strong, it's not a bad idea to keep the cooties on you shower curtain in check. A well-directed spray of 10 percent bleach solution should do the trick.

Just passing along an interesting bit of info for those concerned about or dealing with MS. Click on the BBC News link at the bottom for more. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ MS, Hepatitis Vaccine Links Found People who are vaccinated against hepatitis B are at an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study of UK patients. American public health experts discovered a link between the vaccine and MS when they examined records of more than 1,500 people. The research team does not know if the vaccine causes MS of those already susceptible to the disease or if it speeds up the onset. Hepatitis B is a virus that could lead to liver problems, and possibly, liver failure. It usually is passed by blood contact, but the virus also is present in saliva and other bodily fluids. UK doctors encourage patients who are at an increased risk for the disease to get immunized. Medical professionals, prison staff and inmates, people who share drug needles and those with several sexual partners are among those at the highest risk of getting hepatitis B. In the 1990s, there was some evidence that supported the link between the vaccine and MS; however, other studies disputed this. Still, the idea spurred further research. In this study, researchers looked at UK patients diagnosed with MS from 1993-2000 and compared hepatitis B vaccination records of the 163 MS patients to about 1,600 control group patients without the disease. Investigators estimated there was a three-fold increase in the incidence of MS within three years of being administered the shot. Liver disease groups warn that the study' results may have holes because vaccination records for the control group may not have included workplace vaccinations. If so, then the incidence of MS would go down significantly. Despite the controversy, experts say that this is an important study that needs to be considered in future research. BBC News September 14, 2004