Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[covsooze]

Hi everyone!

Been away for a while posting elsewhere (a UK thyroid board and more recently the candida thread here). Have been reading along a bit here.

I'm afraid I'm with Donna on the e-coffees They do sound like a good idea in theory, but....

Kassandra, your piccie is lovely

I've been quite poorly recently with various different viruses. My blood counts are all low, so the haemotologist is investingating. He thinks it might have something to do with my coeliacs not being under control properly...

On which, the GI is concerned that my anti-gliadin IgA antibodies are still raised, despite me being incredibly strict with my diet, personal care products etc etc He says I must be super sensitive. He's ordered a whole batch of tests to check for pancreatic insufficiency, lactose intolerance and refractory sprue (which I don't think it is). I'm having an endoscopy on Tuesday this week.

Dr P's tests have come back - my adrenals are almost totally exhausted and my candida IgA antibodies were off the chart So I can no longer be in denial about the whole candida thing and am currently coming out of a nasty herx having started the diet and anti-fungals.

I'm seeing Dr P next Saturday, which I'm really looking forward to, but hoping I'll be well enough to travel.

The haemotologist diagnosed me with free protein S deficiency (a clotting disorder) but said it's unlikely to have caused my miscarriages, so we're back to square one with that, but I'm convinced the issue is my thyroid and adrenals. My TSH is within what UK labs consider 'normal', but outside the US normal range and way outside what enlightened Drs like Dr P consider to be normal. So my GP won't up my thyroid meds, but Dr P will do once my adrenals are a bit better.

I'm still loving my neti pot Also, epsom salt baths and dry brushing. My skin does seem to be struggling with the whole die-off thing, as I've had lots of my funny itchy patches in the last couple of days, so hoping that the baths and brushing will help.

I will probably be posting mainly on the candida thread, as I'm trying to rest more and spend less online time.

to all my Rachelville buddies

Susie x

[miamia]

I have not caught up on all the reading but I figured I would post a quick update-

Ok so I had my appt. with the gastro last week and we discussed options, and after some debate and going over symptoms we decided that an upper GI and lower bowel series would be more beneficial than a gastric emptying study (which is what my doc had wanted me to do . So I actually was able to get an appt. on Friday and had it done. I obviously don't have the complete results yet, but this is what happened- The test started out alright but then the baruium slowed a great deal so instead of taking an x-ray every 15 minutes they waited a half hour and it had stopped altogether . I had to leave and go eat and come back in an hour. So in over an hour when i came back it had finally moved enough to complete the test. The problem is there was no stricture or anything so why it stopped moving is sort of a mystery although it does go to how hard it is for me to eat and why it feels like my food dosn't move when I eat. I mean if I can't move a small amount of barium obviously a meal is that much harder.

ok I will post more in a little while

miamia

[Nyxie63]

Ok, need some help here. Dunno if i'm herxing or what.

Dizzy, light headed, legs are weak, air hunger. Need to hold onto things to walk. just started this morning.

does it sound like a flare or a yeast die off?

Gallbladder's realy bad this morning too. Stools have been graygreen for 2 days now. lots of mucus. don't think any of this is realted to ecoffee. more related to candida diet maybe?

Any suggestions welcome. maybe detos bath? supposedd to go to drs office tomorrow for allergy testing.

[CarlaB]

Nyxie, the air hunger and balance issues sound like babesia. I'm dealing with that right now, too, there's just not much you can do about it without meds .... you don't have much longer to wait.

Detox baths certainly can't hurt. Ecoffee has always helped me a little as you know.

Do you have night sweats?

After my friend's FIL's funeral, I just did nothing yesterday. I had a lot of things going against me -- first week of Humaworm, first day of period, loading dose of Malarone, full moon (stirs up parasites like babesia), regular 24 day herx -- I think a year ago that combination would have killed me, LOL.

[Nyxie63]

I've had night swest every night for about 3 years. Thye range between minorly annouing (damp) to trying to find a dry pillow. usually only chest, neck and head are affected.

I've suepcted babs for awhile. Think i'll try a detox bath once hubby gets up. need someone avail to take the dog out.

good grief! Yesterday sounds like one o fthose days when you just *have* to laugh because there's no point in crying.

Btw, not bothering to fi x typos right now. can you tell? I fyou need a translation, please sk later.

[Nyxie63]

Btw, how long does something like this last? days, weeks?

trying to figure out ho wi'm going to get to the dr's office tomorrow for allergy etesting. If I'm still dizzy like this, not gonna even attempt driving.

[CarlaB]

Well, Nyxie, yesterday I had Domino's cheese pizza and girl scout cookies for dinner! I played my flute for the funeral and was a little off balance walking back out to my car afterward.

I bet he'll be treating you for babs .... hold onto your hat! Babs is tough. Unfortunately, it gets worse before it gets better, which is why I feel the way I do now!

[CarlaB]

Btw, how long does something like this last? days, weeks?

trying to figure out ho wi'm going to get to the dr's office tomorrow for allergy etesting. If I'm still dizzy like this, not gonna even attempt driving.

There's really no telling ..... maybe it's from the full moon and will get better ..... but if it's a worsening of symptoms for some other reason, then you may not feel better till treatment ..... I didn't have trouble driving when I was off balance, just walking .... and I'd forget where I was going.

I remember once being with Morgan and turning on a random street .... she asked why I turned there and I didn't know .... she asked if I had ever in my life been on that street before, and I said, no!

Maybe someone can drive you to get your testing done?

Let's hope your babs flare was due to the full moon.

[aprilh]

So, has anyone ever had a negative reaction to glutathione? I took that and Magnesium last night and turned red all over. It was very wierd, indeed. I have taken both before seperately of course. Never taken them close together.

That would have been the 3rd or 4th time I took the glutathione. I don't have sulphur allergies because I eat garlic and onions all the time.

Maybe it was a herx type reaction? Cleansing of the liver? I hope so. I am really hoping this glutathione gets my liver working properly again.

[Rachel--24]

So, has anyone ever had a negative reaction to glutathione?

I noticed reactions while I was taking oral glutathione...after awhile I stopped taking it because I didnt think the reactions were a positive sign. I also had a bad reaction to my first mineral IV which had vitamin C and glutathione added in.

Since those were taken out I have done fine with just the trace minerals.

At my last ART session glutathione tested very badly for me. Dr. Amy told me to let the nurses know that its a huge stressor for me and should not be added into any of my IV's.

[AndreaB]

Wasn't getting email updates again....

Today's been a bad day as far as pain goes, so that's really all I have to say.

Hope you're doing better Birdy.

I will be treated for co-inf as well. I dont' want to post too many details.

It's all a bit overwhelming for me as cognitive functioning is at an all time low right now. I can't wait to get some of the labs work done so I can start treatment.

Thanks for the update Laurie.

I wasn't sure how my other two doctors would respond to the ART input from Dr. E, but they have been just great. I feel like I have a team to help me.

That's good. It's nice to have all the doctors working together.

Hope this week goes smoothly for you and that you don't crash.

Mom mom commented on my hair. Sheesh...whatever my hairdresser did, I want her to do it again.

Glad your friend is feeling better. The cruise would probably be more relaxing for her......she won't have to worry about preparing food or anything.

Hope she doesn't set off metal detectors.

Hi everyone!

Been away for a while posting elsewhere (a UK thyroid board and more recently the candida thread here). Have been reading along a bit here.

Sounds like a lot is going on. Hope the candida diet goes well and you feel better soon.

Thanks for the update.

[Rachel--24]

I will probably be posting mainly on the candida thread, as I'm trying to rest more and spend less online time.

to all my Rachelville buddies

Susie x

Thanks for the update Susie.

I'm glad your Dr.'s are looking into different possibilities and also trying to determine why your IgA levels are still elevated.

If all possibilities of cc as well as exposure from cosmetics, hair products, etc., can be ruled out I'm wondering if your anti-gliadin IgA is still elevated because you also have off the charts IgA antibodies for candida....and they both share the same amino acid sequence that triggers the immune response in celiac disease.

Is it your tTG that is still elevated?

The study that was done suggested that "C albicans might function as an adjuvant that stimulates antibody formation against HWP1 and gluten, and formation of autoreactive antibodies against tissue transglutaminase and endomysium."

I have not caught up on all the reading but I figured I would post a quick update-

Mia...I'm sure that you're anxious to get these results back...waiting is always the worst! I'll be waiting for your post...hopefully you can get some answer as to why your moving things along so slowly.

I was also found to have very slow digestion when I had all these GI tests done. Things were moving slowly and I also had alot of impacted stool as a result of that. I got the IBS label at that time.

My own opinion is that the metals have shut down enough of my enzyme systems to have a pretty big impact on how my body systems are functioning. When this happens nothing works as it should....digestion can be severely impaired. Normal function of enzyme systems is crucial for good health...If they are blocked by heavy metals they are inactivated and the metabolic processes are all thrown out of balance.

Obviously we know that heavy metals can do alot of damage and I believe that this is mostly due to the fact that being "metals" they are able to poison the enzyme systems....essentially slowing down detoxification as well as all other systems in the body.

Mercury very easily gets into the cells. I think the way mercury does its damage makes it very insidious. Alot of things can go wrong and yet most people are not ever aware of the "root cause" of their symptoms....which in some individuals may seem minor...or in other cases very severe.

Ok, need some help here. Dunno if i'm herxing or what.

Dizzy, light headed, legs are weak, air hunger. Need to hold onto things to walk. just started this morning.

does it sound like a flare or a yeast die off?

I think it could be either of those but its difficult to say....so many other things can cause those same symptoms.

There were times when I woke up feeling that way and experiencing those symptoms....but it hasnt happened in a long time.

I would frequently get shortness of breath and sometimes chest pain while breathing....is that the same as air hunger??

I can get symptoms like that from food dyes, preservatives and other chemicals. Its mainly food chemicals that trigger those types of symptoms for me....including the drenching night sweats. As long as I'm careful with my diet I havent gotten those symptoms. Some medications contain dye and I've experienced problems from those as well. I try to get any medications dye-free if possible.

I mostly sweat on my upper body as well...mainly my chest and head.

Donna,

I'm glad you finally heard from your friend.

I'm surprised that she got the OK from her doc to go on the cruise but it sounds like she's in good spirits and will make the best of it.

[Rachel--24]

Ok....Dr. Amy is scheduling for her next visit....which will be in a little less than 4 weeks.

Of course...I missed the deadline again!

The deadline was 2 days ago (Fri). I'm thinking I should be ok if I call first thing tomorrow morning. They are not working on the weekends so hopefully havent started scheduling new patients yet.

I think I'll have them send the letter to my mom's house in the future....since I'm not home enough to get my mail on a daily basis.

[confusedks]

Btw, how long does something like this last? days, weeks?

trying to figure out ho wi'm going to get to the dr's office tomorrow for allergy etesting. If I'm still dizzy like this, not gonna even attempt driving.

I know Carla already answered, but I may have a different experience. I just had a babs herx that lasted 8 straight days. I didn't have intense air hunger for most of the time...which is great! But I did have night sweats and BAD fatigue/weakness and headaches.

I have never herxed for that amount of time...so that's not typical for me. Also, I had a bad cold for quite a few days so that didn't help. Herxing is one of those things that is so different for everyone. Are you still logging things on Lymelog? You should...it helped me recognize patterns of things.

[AndreaB]

I think I'll have them send the letter to my mom's house in the future....since I'm not home enough to get my mail on a daily basis.

That sounds like a good idea.

Hopefully everything will work out with scheduling.

[Rachel--24]

I'm excited for my next ART session but I'm also really looking forward to getting some feedback from Amy about how well I'm doing with chelation thus far.

I had my 10th IV DMPS on Friday. I was scheduled to have the provoked urine challenge after this last session since it completes my second round of chelation. I chose to skip it since I had plans for that night and I really didnt want the orange juggy to tag along with me.

I just couldnt see myself collecting urine and storing it in my friend's fridge....especially since we havent hung out in like 5 years. So yeah...the orange juggy was not invited.

Plus we had plans to go out....and I was definately not carrying the jug as an "accessory" in downtown San Jose.

I'll take the test next time and should have the results back in plenty of time for Amy's visit. I will have to see Dr. S. once the results are in to discuss how things are going and if I will continue with this method of chelation...based on the results.

I'm hoping things are still moving out....even if in slow amounts. I dont want to have to make big decisions on what to do next....I would like to keep going with the IV DMPS and hopefully reach the point where there is a jump in excretion.

I've been trying to read alot more about what exactly the metals are doing once they get into the body and trying to get a good understanding of what it takes to get them out. Mercury gets into the cells with ease....but getting it to come out is not always easy....even with the best chelators available.

I havent noticed significant improvement yet....I think there has been some improvement....but not to the point that I feel that things have really shifted and that the scales are more balanced.

I dont anticipate a change as far as infections go....I think ART results will not indicate the bugs as major stressors....except possibly candida since I'm eating more sugar now than I was at my last session.

I really dont notice a worsening of symptoms while eating sugar....as long as I dont eat it by itself. I have to eat it with protein or I'll sometimes react....probably because of blood sugar levels.

As bizarre as it may sound I think its certain "healthy" foods (i.e avocado, nuts, herbs, etc) which cause candida to really flare up for me. I think its because my body cannot break down the food chemicals (salicylates, amines, etc) and this creates a more toxic environment. It would be putting more stress on my liver which would would in turn put more stress on my immune system.

Those are the foods that cause me to end up with a coated tongue....even moreso than sugar.

My understanding is that these food chemicals are toxic but since we have the enzymes which are capable of breaking them down for excretion...we do not suffer from an "overload" of natural chemicals such as salicylates.

Its only those who are lacking those enzymes who will suffer from these toxins. Obviously I wasnt born without these enzymes since I ate whatever I wanted w/out consequence for over 30 years. It was only after my dental work and placement of gold crowns that everything went haywire.

Ingestion of these food chemicals cause toxicity in the body when these enzymes are not functioning. The more these foods are consumed the more impaired the liver becomes due to the overload...this slows down detoxification and sensitivity increases.

Thats exactly what happens to me. A couple avocados can cause noticeable inflammation throughout my body...this includes the gut which can lead to weight loss. Also, my sensitivities to all things around me will rise significantly while consuming foods that I cant break down. Sugar by itself doesnt seem to have that affect.

A large percentage of autistic children (I think I read 80%) are sensitive to food chemicals. The majority of these kids are also mercury toxic. In my mind theres no doubt that the two are linked....especially with my own experience and the onset of symptoms occuring after exposure.

Most of these kids will excrete very little heavy metals with the first challenges. Even though I am excreting (better than I had anticipated) I feel that it is still minimal and not enough for significant improvement to take place.

Its those who are most toxic that have the most difficult time letting go of the metals because the damage to enzyme systems is greater and detoxification is very impaired due to so many imbalances in these systems.

Once mercury takes the place of zinc and other cofactors involved in enzyme functioning....there is no way to correct that situation without getting the mercury to come out. But at the same time....so many imbalances and loss of enzyme function makes it that much more challenging.

From my understanding in these cases we dont dump much mercury until things start to shift and normal metabolic functioning is less impaired. Thats why provoked urine challenges often dont show significant release in metals early in treatment....but suddenly later on we can have elevated levels of mercury or other metals.

It doesnt necessarily mean that this increase is from recent exposure...it can mean that the body is less impaired and more capable of releasing them.

April,

This may explain why your challenge didnt show significant levels of metals in comparison to your kids. Its a good sign that your kids were excreting those metals...especially without even needing a provactive agent. It shows that they are not so damaged that they cannot let go of them.

It might be more difficult for your body to release them. It could also be that DMSA isnt an effective chelator for you.

[Rachel--24]

I really believe that once I am releasing enough mercury normal enzyme function will be restored....but until that occurs I will continue to feel toxic when eating the wrong foods.

Since I'm deficient in so many minerals and seem to be very "unbalanced" I think its going to take some time to really see a big shift.

This is what I want to discuss with Amy more than anything else. I'm honestly not too concerned with infections...and I dont think they are contributing alot to my symptoms at this time. I do think they still need to be addressed but the best thing I could do to address them would be to get my body functioning as it should....which would require removing the metals.

Once enzyme function can be restored and my body is back in balance...I think my immune system will be able to take care of yeast and other opportunistic bugs without too much difficulty.

Its always interesting to me to learn why some of us are very affected by these toxic metals...while others are not....and Autism is the best example of this.

Most of the toxins we are exposed to we are capable of breaking down and eliminating...this is not the case with heavy metals though. We were never "built" to deal with these metals...and especially in the amounts we are exposed to them nowadays.

We cant break down toxic metals and because we cannot break them down...a big portion of them do get get stored away in the brain, kidneys, liver, etc. Once mercury is in the brain it takes about 50 years for the body to eliminate 50% of that mercury burden....so it is VERY slow to leave on its own.

Anyone with a mercury burden will have lost some enzyme functioning....but some of us have stronger enzyme systems and can deal with this without alot of symptoms. Some people may have no obvious symptoms or mild symptoms that are mostly ignored.

ANY symptom can be a result of disturbed metabolic functioning caused by mercury (i.e. hypothyroidism) but obviously this is extremely difficult to determine and can only be linked to mercury when the person is treated for metals and these symptoms disappear.

Those of us with weaker enzyme systems or less enzyme functioning to begin with....will be more susceptible to the damage from mercury. It wont take as much exposure to cause significant decline in health.

It comes down to the fact that we are all different and genetics plays the biggest role in who gets sick and who doesnt. Also, the greater the exposure the more you are at risk....regardless of how strong your enzyme systems may be. If the exposure is high...enough of these enzymes may become blocked so that we end up chronically ill.

If enough damage has been done supplementation of important cofactors such as zinc will not have alot of benefit because the balance is too disturbed. The metals will have to come out so that normal function can be restored.

[Nyxie63]

Rachel,

Interesting though about the lack of emzymes and "healthyy" foods. I didn't eat much avocado or nuts prior to the candida diet. Think ART would help determine this?

----------------

Had another thought. I quit smoking about a week ago. Now, ever time i quit in the past, I'd get something liek a flu. Wouldn't go away until i started smoking again.

Wonder if what i'm going through is my previously -suppressed immune system going into overdrive???

[christine 25]

Hi everyone!

It has been a while.

How is everyone doing?

Ive got good news. Im feeling better...since the last 5 months, maybe THERE IS HOPE!!!!!

basically since I started taking YAZ, the birth control pill, a lot of my jaw pain has dissapeared, and the headaches too... It helps me function, ive gained 20 lbs! whoa....

Id like to loose 10, lol.

I was dx with poly cystic ovary syndrome as a teen, issues with my ovaries, but it was managable, but since my toxic exposure, I think it did something to my hormones, perhaps estrogen, thyroid, enzymes who knows... none the less, I still need some dental work done, but whatever is going on the YAZ is helping me live my life without pain. Its unbelieveable. I still have to watch my diet and avoid certain things, but I am not without hope like I once was.

Has anyone else tried Yaz? or has messed up periods...?

Hope this helps someone.

Love yall

[confusedks]

Has anyone else tried Yaz? or has messed up periods...?

I was on Yaz for a while. I didn't have good luck with it...it didn't stop my bleeding. I went on it because my period wouldn't go away...and it still didn't when I was on the Yaz.

I have very messed up periods, and have tried many pills. For me, we think my period problems are Lyme related.

[Rachel--24]

Hers some interesting bits from a page I found...its having to do with Autism but mercury poisoning is mercury poisining regardless....so I find the info to still be useful for me.

_________________________

Mercury likes to attach to sulfhydryl groups in proteins. When it binds to two sites, we call this

[Rachel--24]

Rachel,

Interesting though about the lack of emzymes and "healthyy" foods. I didn't eat much avocado or nuts prior to the candida diet. Think ART would help determine this?

I dont believe that ART can determine whether specific enzymes are functioning or not. I'm sure there is some type of testing that is available for this though. I think I've seen it mentioned before but I'd have to look more into that.

Food antibody testing would be useless if the problem is not the food itself but rather something like salicylate content.

Salicylates is a natural chemical found in most fruits, veggies, nuts, herbs, spices, etc. Its a toxin that is produced as a natural pesticide. We have the enzyme to break it down so that is is harmless...unless the enzyme has been blocked or inactivated...in which case we become sensitive to the foods or other products that contain salicylates.

Most of the foods that are high in salicylate content are the healthy natural foods. It is also found in aspirin....so if you have a problem with aspirin along with certain foods and skin/beauty products (containing salicylates)....that would be indicative of a salicylate sensitivity.

With ART I've been tested for numerous treatment options including lots of herbs and things which would normally be beneficial...such as chlorella. I do not test well for any of it. Dr. Amy had said that my body does not like anything "of color"...the greens, the reds...all the things coming from fruits, veggies, herbs, etc.

I've thought myself to most likely be intolerant to salicylates for a couple years now....along with other food chemicals but no *proof* other than the fact that I react to the things high in salicylate content. Other things which are lower in content might take a few days of eating until I notice problems....I wont notice anything until there is enough in my system to cause symptoms.

I think this time it would be interesting to test this by bringing things which have the highest salicylate content and have her test them. I can bring aspirin, anything peppermint or spearmint, a skin product and various foods.

It would be interesting to see for sure....I highly doubt that I would test well for any of them.

[mftnchn]

Popping in to say a quick hello, just caught up reading.

I am managing, not feeling great but not terrible either. Almost up to the full amounts of all my drops and new supplements, except ran out of one and waiting for the order to arrive.

Rachel thanks for the info, I keep trying to understand how my results should be interpreted. If I understand it correctly, it looks like my intercellular levels of stuff is more normal (like magnesium).

Nyxie, how you felt after the ecoffee sounds familiar. When I get the light-headed stuff, if I can, I rest for awhile. That seems to help. But yes, the "lighter" sense is very familiar.

Thanks for posting the info on why the ecoffee works.

Sherry

[covsooze]

hi Rachel

Thanks for all the scientifness. I hadn't thought about the possibility of my raised antibodies being due to candida, but you could be right. I'm pretty sure it was anti-gliadin and tTg that were raised. Anyway, I'm having an endoscopy tomorrow, so that will confirm the current state of my villi, which should shed more light on things.

On the interesting topic of enzymes, core body temperature effects the body's ability to produce enzymes, that's partly why people with thyroid and adrenal issues have such problems with digestion etc. How's your temperature these days? I know you've mentioned it in the past as being an issue. I think it's a very big issue for me right now - some evenings, mine barely scrapes 35C!

Also, is histamine an issue with you? The healthy foods you mentioned could be high in histamine and would therefore provoke candida like responses in my mind. I have a slight reaction to avacado too - it makes my lips sore. It's very difficult doing the anti-candida diet without having energy rich foods like avacados and nuts, which is why I've struggled with it in the past and why I'm finding it difficult this time round working oiut what to eat without having too many carbs.

Susie

[miamia]

That sounds like a good idea.

Hopefully everything will work out with scheduling.

Andrea -

I MISS YOU!!!you have not been posting!!!!!!!!!

I hope you and the kiddies are doing good!!!