Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[georgie]

What really worries me was that I kept *feeling* some kind of vapors or "hot air" coming out from underneath one of the gold crowns the dentist had put in. I could taste metal and kept feeling this hot air all around that crown.

I've had that feeling. It felt like air was leaking out of my tooth. And then I could taste metal. It can't be healthy ....

I am really scared now

How do they get the mercury out of your body ?

[Rachel--24]

So, Rachel, how's this for denial? I'm thinking that everyone has bacteria, both good and bad. I just have some bad bacteria that's taken over, along with the mercury problem .... it's also caused tired adrenals. So, with the positive test, I'm not denying it's there, just that it's serious. I knew I'd have denial, I just didn't know what form it would take.

Yeah...DENIAL.

For me...I've *always* known whatever the heck happened to me is pretty darned serious. I was the only thinking it though....everyone else was too busy saying "But you *look* fine."

I know its something that will be a challenge to recover from but I just cant keep my mind focused on one thing. I think even if my WB's go positive after antibiotics it wont change this annoying habit I have of questioning everything.

[Rachel--24]

I've had that feeling. It felt like air was leaking out of my tooth. And then I could taste metal. It can't be healthy ....

I am really scared now

How do they get the mercury out of your body ?

Really?? YIKES!

I'm scared about that too...I hate thinking about it.

Was there amalgam filling in that tooth? Do you have any dissimilar metals in your mouth or are they all amalgam? Did they do something to the tooth before that started happening??

My teeth were perfectly fine. I never had any problems in my mouth before I had the amlagams replaced with the gold crowns. I had so many problems with that one tooth after that. I ended up getting a root canal. I never had anything like this before and I was terrified to get a root canal but the tooth was bothering me. It *still* bothered me after the root canal. It was painful to touch the tooth. Noone could figure it out...I went to 2 different root canal specialists and they said the root canal looked good and there should be no feeling left in the tooth...but there WAS!

The biological dentist said *something* had to be going on or I wouldnt be feeling pain. He suggested I pull the tooth....to ensure I wouldnt get worse due to problems caused by that tooth or the root canal. I ended up having it pulled and havent had any pain there since. I'm glad I pulled it but it sucks to have to deal with all this. I always feel that I would still be healthy had I not gone to that dentist for a simple cleaning.

They get the mercury out by doing chelation therapy. You would want a good Dr. for this. You also can NEVER get chelation while still having amalgam fillings. It will pull the mercury out of your fillings and make things much much worse! Chelators are powerful sulfur based drugs. There are only two chelators known to draw mercury out of the tissue and excrete them from the body. They are DMSA and DMPS. DMPS is more powerful but this is not always a good thing.

If I go through chelation I will choose DMSA...because its safer and FDA approved. I'd rather go slowly and be safe.

There are also natural chelators. Cilantro is one that is believed to cross the blood brain barrier and pull mercury from the brain. I dont know if its strong enough to remove it from the body though. It might just mobilize the mercury but not pull it out of the body.

The other chelators hold onto the mercury so that it can be excreted.

They use these chelators to test for mercury toxicity. They give you a urine test to see how much mercury is present. Then they do a challenge with one of the chelators and retest the urine...if someone is highly toxic the urine will have high levels of mercury after taking the chelator.

I dont know exactly how accurate these tests are given the fact that anyone whos had amalgams would excrete mercury after taking a chelator. I dont know if it indicates a severe problem though??

Anyways, this is basically how they get rid of the mercury. They continue taking a chelator until there is no longer large amounts of mercury being excreted and there is improvement in symptoms.

It sounds scary but my Dr. says its easier to deal with mercury than it is to deal with Lyme. Unfortunately with Lyme.....mercury is uaually a problem as well.

[Rachel--24]

STILL HAVEN'T TESTED FOR LYME AS NEW LADY DR DOESN'T BELIEVE IN IGENEX ..SHE TOLD ME TODAY.

SO ...AS USUAL...THIS IS ON TOTALLY CONFUSED BROAD THAT I PRAY YOU GUYS CAN HELP.

LOVE YOU ALL

JUDY

Judy...sorry about all you're ups and downs.

I cant wait for summer and yardwork and gardening....how about you??

I had found something before....it was something to print out and bring to ignorant doctors who dont believe that Igenix is qualified. It was all of the info. that shows that not only is Igenix qualified but the tests are far more sensitive than the tests run by other labs. Igenix is superior when it comes to Lyme testing.

I cant find the site...I may not have bookmarked it. I will continue to look for it though.

Isnt there someone that can order the test for you?? I worry about you with all the bulls-eyes you've had....and the cellulitis, brainfog, etc.

Anyways miss seeing you around...its nice to hear from you.

[Rachel--24]

Holy Cow...I got caught up! But now I'm too tired to post about my appt.

Sorry Andrea...tomorrow for sure!

[AndreaB]

Sorry Andrea...tomorrow for sure!

I'll hold you to that.

Besides if you don't post about it, you can plan on a phone call so I can get it straight from the horses mouth (so to speak) You know I love horses.

[rinne]

Andrea, I am always so glad to find you "mothering" us along.

Rinne.....what is the deal with Bowen?? Do you trust that lab?? I havent really read that much about them but have seen conflicting info on the lyme boards....about the Q-RIBb test.

It seems like everyone tests positive???

This is what the lab has said...

What do you think.....now they are coming out with a new and improved version of the test.....but do you trust the test???

........

Today a customer at work told me that when her dog went to the vet they gave her dog a Lyme vaccine. She said this proves to her that Lyme is definately a problem here in CA....or why would they be giving her dog a Lyme vaccine???

Ummm...I guess this also proves that we would be better off seeing veterinarians because they obviously are much smarter than most doctors.

Rachel, I know that is what has been said of the Bowen test but I am not sure about this new test.

I think some people in Canada have taken their dogs to be tested for Lyme because the tests for humans are so inaccurate that people are desperate enough to look for a Lyme diagnosis for themselves based on, "if the dog has it then I must too".

hello all! I am back. I have been waiting for my test results and they are all back and they are ALL negative!! it is so frustrating. They did a stool sample, the celiac panel (even though i have been gluten free for a while), tests for the pancreas and thyroid. I don't know where to go from here. I am thinking about just trying gluten to see what happens but i am not sure. Any ideas would be great. Thanks

I had been wondering about you too, glad that you posted. I agree with Rachel.

Maybe others will have some suggestions for you. I know you probably dont wanna hear this but I still think you should get a Lyme test from Igenix. Your history with ticks, your location and your symptoms make me very suspicious. I would hate for it to be something like this and for it to progress....especially since you are so young.

Thats just my 2 cents.

I'm sorry the tests didnt show anything...I know how frusterating that is!!

Are you still reacting to alot of foods?? If you are I dont know that eating gluten will really tell you anything. I think its best to stay off the gluten. In my opinion gluten isnt good for *anyone* who's sick...especially when digestive symptoms are involved. Even if gluten isnt you're main cause of illness...I think you will still feel worse eating it.

Rachel & other Medical geniuses,

I only can really open my eyes at night - the farthest away from steroids as I can be. My brain is so swollen. I actually called my life insurance company today thinking that I would up it before I got any diagnosis.

But, I hear these new despairing thoughts can be related to Lyme.

Sorry to bring a low note to the board. Maybe there is still hope.

Anyone hear about Ledum the dog lyme treatment?

Sorry to hear that you are feeling so ill, no need ever to apologize here for being low, we have all spent plenty of time there.

I know its something that will be a challenge to recover from but I just cant keep my mind focused on one thing. I think even if my WB's go positive after antibiotics it wont change this annoying habit I have of questioning everything.

Or we could say that it is your persistent questioning that has helped to bring us all to finding some real answers. Thanks Rachel, even if you are annoying sometimes.

Carla, I have been thinking along the same lines you have. I haven't ruled out antibiotics but I don't think I am ill enough at this point to risk them.

My blood work came back with mercury and cadmium high and manganese very low.

Mercury is at 39.9 and the range is between 0 and 24.9 as acceptable. Cadmium is at 45.4 and the acceptable range is 0 to 20.0. Manganese is at 206 and range is 273 - 728, I need manganese.

I am being a coward, I look at the test results but then I don't want to know what they mean.

Judy, I worry about you. I have read that the bull's eye rash is a positive for Lyme disease, if I am remembering correctly you have had that rash four times. Lyme could be at the root of your health problems, the basic Igenex test for the IgG and IgM antibodies is about $350.00 U.S. and that is the test I had. Are you taking antibiotics for anything now?

It is too early in the morning to feel this bad, I'd like to say it is herxing but I think it is just me getting stressed. We are supposed to travel today and do an overnight visit with friends but the idea of dealing with two meals away from home and an evening party with wine and beer I can't enjoy just doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun at the moment. On the other hand last night we went out and got a Christmas tree and a whole day at home to decorate does. MMMmmmmm.

[rinne]

Does anyone have a good link for information about vaccinations? I am looking for something that offers a balanced view of the risks and makes recommendations as to the vaccines which are most essential and the ones that are risky.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Andrea sent this to me a while back:

The NVIC website is at www.nvic.org. You can subscribe to their newsletter updates there. Below is the one I got this morning.

National Vaccine Information Center Newsletter

e-NEWS

"Individuals have a duty to prevent harm to others in the population," said Diekema. "Vaccination programs exist to reduce harm to those within the population. So, those who refuse vaccination may put others at risk of harm." - Pediatrician Douglas Diekema, M.D., MPH

BL Fisher Note:

It is both amusing and pathetic when M.D./MPH vaccinologists gather together to massage each other's egos and publicly confirm myths about parental attitudes toward vaccination that they, themselves, have created. Whether these self appointed parental attitude experts are engaged in group fantasy or are simply spinning for the benefit of the media, they march in lock-step on the subject of forced vaccination. Apparently that was the way it was at a "pediatric bioethics" conference held at Seattle Children's Hospital July 14-15, 2006.

Not wanting to admit that college educated parents reject vaccines after examining the poor science offered as proof vaccines are safe, the M.D./MPH vaccinologists prefer to characterize questioning parents as selfish and holding distorted values. Rather than answering an educated parent's legitimate questions, they wave the utilitarian "greater good" flag to deflect public attention from the more substantive scientific issues.

As the Nuremberg Tribunal so effectively discussed at the Doctor's Trial at Nuremberg after World War II, the utilitarian rationale for forced medical interventions is fundamentally ethically corrupt. Utilitarianism, which suggests that the state can force a minority to sacrifice their well being for the majority, cannot be ethically used by doctors or scientists to force medical interventions which can injure or kill or individuals without their informed consent. In the case of one-size-fits-all forced vaccination policies, the parents of children, who are genetically vulnerable to vaccine induced injury and death, are being forced to kill or injure their children without their informed consent.

The forced vaccination stance taken by M.D./MPH "experts" reveals exactly why educated parents do not trust them. Why would a parent entrust their child's life to a medical doctor who does not care if their child is killed or crippled by a vaccine but only cares if the child gets vaccinated in order to "protect" the State?

The right to informed consent to any medical intervention which carries a risk of injury or death, including vaccination, is a human right. Perhaps the MD/MPH experts who want to violate the human rights of parents should actually speak with, rather than publicly gossip about, those parents refusing to offer up their children as sacrificial lambs on the alter of one-size-fits-all vaccine policies.

International Conference Debates Vaccination Hesitancy and Parental Refusal

Experts in the Field Discuss the Successes and Challenges of Childhood Vaccinations

Saturday July 15, 8:39 pm ET

SEATTLE, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital, the nation's first center dedicated solely to the study of research and health care for children, concluded its second annual conference on Saturday, July 15, 2006 in Seattle.

Highlights:

-- Stephen L. Cochi, MD, MPH, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing childhood vaccinations. Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have to protect the health of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, our children, said Cochi. In 1985 the number of vaccines in the routine childhood immunization schedule was 7; in 2006 that number reached 16. Vaccines are protecting more children against more diseases than ever before in history, said Cochi.

In spite of the success, physicians face several substantial challenges in providing vaccinations, including maintaining a steady supply of vaccines and addressing unfounded fears about vaccine safety. If we hope to prevent disease and reduce morbidity from vaccine preventable diseases, we must achieve and maintain public confidence in vaccines, said Cochi. In order to maintain vaccine supplies, stockpiles of vaccines need to be expanded, support for regulatory agencies must be increased and streamlined, and national campaigns should be implemented to emphasize the value of vaccines.

-- Edgar K. Marcuse, MD, MPH, associate medical director at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, spoke to the conference attendees about the origins of immunization hesitancy. "The majority of parents understand the benefits of immunizations and support existing policies, but many parents have important misconceptions that could erode their confidence in immunizations." Concern for safety is, by far, the most significant reason parents give for refusing vaccines for their children. Compared to parents who vaccinate their children, those who refuse tend to be older, better educated and of similar income and race.

Dr. Marcuse pointed to the dilemma pediatricians face from parents concerned about an association between thimerosal and autism. While the evidence has overwhelmingly concluded that there is no association between thimerosal and autism, "most parents have no clear idea how to evaluate the credibility of the source of immunization information. The media value news over scientific 'truth,' controversy over education, regard balance as evidence of journalistic integrity, and equate one expert with another."

-- Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, presented the case for vaccine refusal: parent conviction, child best-interest and community good. Dr. Diekema posed the questions about parental duty to vaccinate their children and when is it justifiable to restrict individual freedom. Dr. Diekema argued that one circumstance that justifies that action would be when the action or decision places another individual at substantial risk of serious harm. But that is only the case if no less restrictive alternative exists that would be equally effective at preventing the harm.

"Individuals have a duty to prevent harm to others in the population," said Diekema. "Vaccination programs exist to reduce harm to those within the population. So, those who refuse vaccination may put others at risk of harm."

Parents have several reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Dr. Diekema suggests that the physician's obligation is to obtain parental consent to vaccinate and work respectfully with the family and physicians should not fire families who refuse to vaccinate, but instead continue dialogue with the family. Showing respect for parental concerns is the best way to break through barriers. Parents need a clear understanding of what is at stake, Diekema concluded.

"This is the core fundamental to protecting kids," said Diekema. "There is nothing we can do to protect them more than vaccinations."

-- Joel Frader, MD, MA, Medical Humanities and Bioethics, Northwestern University spoke about the physician's response to parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. In a random survey of 1004 American Academy of Pediatrics members, 39% of physicians said they would dismiss or fire a patient family if they refused all vaccinations, said Frader.

"Physicians who refuse to do these things are undermining the trust in their profession and do not advance the health and welfare of children," said Frader. "They will ultimately drive children to care by less qualified individuals."

-- Lainie Friedman Ross. MD. PhD, University of Chicago, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, discussed the limits of requiring vaccines for children - public health versus individual autonomy. There are three universal vaccine exemptions: medical, religious and philosophical.

"In balancing public health and individual freedom, the state has an obligation to ensure that all nonexempt children are fully immunized", said Ross. "State intervention becomes justifiable in times of epidemics when non-immunization poses risks to the public."

For more information on the conference, or to view the conference Webcast, visit Open Original Shared Link eattlechildrens.org

The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital, the nation's first center dedicated solely to the study of research and health care for children, hosted its second annual conference on July 14 - 15, 2006 in Seattle. The conference featured national experts leading discussions on vaccine policy, availability and research. Conference participants offered viewpoints on issues ranging from a parent's right not to immunize their child to a physician's right to "fire" a non-immunized patient.

Childhood vaccinations against a multitude of infectious agents have been hailed as one of the most important health interventions of the 20th century. Vaccinations have eradicated smallpox infection worldwide and polio in North America. Pediatric immunizations are responsible for preventing millions of childhood deaths each year. Despite this success, some parts of the world have not benefited as much from vaccine development and delivery. Even in the United States, where most children have access to effective vaccines, some parents are reluctant to vaccinate their children.

Media Contact:

Amy MacIver

Media Relations Specialist

amy.maciver@seattlechildrens.org

(206) 987-5210

(206) 469-3745 (pager)

Click here for the URL:

NVIC E-News is a free service of the National Vaccine Information Center and is supported through membership donations.

NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does not receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President and Co- founder.

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed consent rights Open Original Shared Link

NVIC

National Vaccine Information Center

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

email: kathi@nvic.org

phone: 703-938-dpt3

web: Open Original Shared Link

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Good morning, RAchelvillians! (Rachelvillains?)

Rachel, I lie awake at night trying to figure out what's going on with you!

You mentioned the heat going on. THis is such a long shot and so simple, it's ridiculous, so it's probably way off base, but do you have an air filter on your heater? I think they are 11" x 16", and have cardboard edges, they slide out--and they need to be replaced. Often.

Both houses that I have bought had air fliters that had not been changed IN YEARS when I moved in. The filters cost 4-20 dollars, depending on how fancy you get. During the winter, I was changing the ones at my old house every month or two (they recommend once a year, but I have cats and carpeting, so lotsa dust).

THe house we are in now has a heavier duty, metal-sided filter that they say to change once a year at $60. I vacuum it every month--the buildup is totally gross. We did try an electrostatic filter--very expensive, $700 to have it installed--but it didn't work correctly and the house smelled awful, so we took it out.

Also, do you have any kind of humidifier system going, like AprilAire (which is piggybacked to the furnace)? I think those are total mold pits. I know the doctors say to run little electric humidifiers when you are sick, but I noticed that I got better WAY faster when I didn't use one (I was too sick to get up and fill the thing--amazing how you stumble on things sometimes). I never use them any more, and my colds are so much milder, it is ridiculous. And I had been using the hot steam one, which is suipposed to be better for you than the cold mist!

[Judyin Philly]

Judy...sorry about all you're ups and downs.

I cant wait for summer and yardwork and gardening....how about you??

I had found something before....it was something to print out and bring to ignorant doctors who dont believe that Igenix is qualified. It was all of the info. that shows that not only is Igenix qualified but the tests are far more sensitive than the tests run by other labs. Igenix is superior when it comes to Lyme testing.

I cant find the site...I may not have bookmarked it. I will continue to look for it though.

Isnt there someone that can order the test for you?? I worry about you with all the bulls-eyes you've had....and the cellulitis, brainfog, etc.

Anyways miss seeing you around...its nice to hear from you.

Rachel & Renni--

Thanks for hanging in there with me. My hope for gettting the test at Igenex was on my friend (a PA) who is now with my old dr. I saw her when my dr had the day off and temp was 103..she SAID she was interesting in helping me think out side the box..well her 'box' is smaller than my dr of 25 + years. She said I shouldn't get all hung up on the 'lyme hysteria' that is going around.

so much for her.

sent her so many articles, (as i listed in post) obesity & celica..she says unless it's in the medical lit, they can't consider it..oh yeah, did you lose weight going gluten-free.???? she asks in a email..Heck, she was at my house for a girls party and commmented on my 50 # weight..

just so discouraged i just laid and cried under my elect blanket last nite. (screw it all, i was cold)

chiro is trying to get someone to order for me as she can't as i'm not under her insurance.

I even sent her the Igenex disclamer..if you find the article rachel, i'd love it.

my main dr is a birder and into lymes and have an apt for the yeast candidia monday am will ask him about lymes retest. he's the one who sent out the other tests on lymes just don't know where he sent or it ELSA or Western blott.

Renni wrote.--

Judy, I worry about you. I have read that the bull's eye rash is a positive for Lyme disease, if I am remembering correctly you have had that rash four times. Lyme could be at the root of your health problems, the basic Igenex test for the IgG and IgM antibodies is about $350.00 U.S. and that is the test I had. Are you taking antibiotics for anything now?

NO RENNI --NOT AT THE MOMENT. TOOK 3 DAYS OF CLYNDOMYCIAN LAST WEEK BUT STOPPED B/C DIDN'T HAVE CELLUITIUS. cHIRO AND I ARE REALLY PUSHING I WILL RELOOK AT ALL THIS TOMORROW.

TODAY HAVE TO FINALLY GET THE CHRISTMAS CARDS OUT.

CAN'T STAND TO FOCUS ON MY HEALTH ANOTHER DAY..

It is too early in the morning to feel this bad, I'd like to say it is herxing but I think it is just me getting stressed. We are supposed to travel today and do an overnight visit with friends but the idea of dealing with two meals away from home and an evening party with wine and beer I can't enjoy just doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun at the moment. On the other hand last night we went out and got a Christmas tree and a whole day at home to decorate does. MMMmmmmm.

IS'NT IT SAD THAT THOSE OLD TIMES OF OVERNITES/DINNERS OUT/BEER AND WINE --USED TO BE SUCH FUN.

TODAY STAYING IN DECORATING THE TREE...SOUNDS BETTER.

HOPE YOUCHOSE THE LATER..I KNOW I'VE HAD TO PASS ON A LUNCH OUT WITH HUBBY AND OLD FRIENS TODAY. LAST TIME I WENT THERE THE DIDN'T HAVE CLUE OF CC AND CAN'T RISK GETTING SICK WITH JASON COMING ON tHUSDAY.

WELL CAN RELATE RENNI.

THANKS YOU GUYS.

KNEW I COULD COUNT OF YOU ALL.

ANY INFO YOU THINK TO FORWARD I'LL BE GREATFUL FOR..ESP YOURS RACHEL FOR CLUELESS DRS.

LOVE

JUDY

[CarlaB]

Yeah....this is what the Dr.'s are saying too. It sucks to think about. I wish I could rule one out but it doesnt seem likely to happen. Too much evidence supporting the presence of these guys. The Dr. says they help each other out....they're buddies attached at the hip. Its harder to get better when they are backing each other up. It seems like such a long process.

Premature post:

Rachel, when I had my amalgams out I got sick like I had the flu. I found the supplements to be essential. Glutathione, specifically, would take away the nausea. However, I had no fever. So, my guess is the Lyme made you sick, but they are feeding off each other and making each other worse. Makes me very happy that none of my kids have any amalgams!! Maybe they will never get bad with the Lyme that they were exposed to by me.

[CarlaB]

How crazy is that!!

Does she know you're not eating gluten???

Does her son have Celiac.....did you mean to put C.D.??

Sorry to laugh but thats hilarious!!

I had a good laugh, too. That is worse than when my sister sent me a Buca di Beppo gift card with a picture of a plate of spaghetti!

[CarlaB]

Ummm...I guess this also proves that we would be better off seeing veterinarians because they obviously are much smarter than most doctors.

LOL, I wish this weren't true. This is how I found out I likely had psittacosis (chlamydia pneumonia).

[CarlaB]

Yeah....its been a soap opera since around page 50.

Carla...have you noticed how we keep changing our minds about everything?? I dont know if its denial but its kind of amusing to me. I guess since we are women we are allowed to change our minds from day to day.

Who knows what I might be thinking tomorrow???

Today I have changed my mind about the antibiotics AGAIN. I think I might want to the challenge afterall.

On one "natural cure" website, the guy said that sometimes people's immune systems are so bad from it that they need antibiotics to help out a bit. I can see that. Makes sense to me. Once you get the bacteria population down some, then you can focus on the more natural cures. That's how I see the use of antibiotics. I don't think they're a complete answer, but sometimes they are definately necessary. I found this out when I was really sick with that bird thing ... no natural cure was enough to bring me back to health, but I needed them after the round of antibiotics was over.

Since my test was positive, I can only assume that my immune system is in good shape ... so I think I'll try the natural stuff first, and if I can't overcome it, then I'll have antibiotics for a while. I hate to hurt my "healthy" immune system with antibiotics if it doesn't need the help.

[CarlaB]

Hey Linds!!

I had wondered how things were going for you....glad you posted about your results.

Maybe others will have some suggestions for you. I know you probably dont wanna hear this but I still think you should get a Lyme test from Igenix. Your history with ticks, your location and your symptoms make me very suspicious. I would hate for it to be something like this and for it to progress....especially since you are so young.

Thats just my 2 cents.

I'm sorry the tests didnt show anything...I know how frusterating that is!!

Are you still reacting to alot of foods?? If you are I dont know that eating gluten will really tell you anything. I think its best to stay off the gluten. In my opinion gluten isnt good for *anyone* who's sick...especially when digestive symptoms are involved. Even if gluten isnt you're main cause of illness...I think you will still feel worse eating it.

I agree completely, especially about the Igenex test.

I'm staying off gluten until I'm all better. I doubt it's a big problem for me .... I've been very careful, but I find it suspicious that I haven't been glutened since July!! Surely a mistake would have been made during that time!!

[CarlaB]

It is hard to talk to the Mensa People in my family - they don't hear sometimes.

LOL! I joined Mensa, but didn't renew my membership because it seemed that way to me, too. Now that the Lyme has become active again, I think my IQ has dropped about 50 points!!!

Your test could still come out negative. It's the sickest people who get the false negatives. Check out www.lymephotos.com. They talk about salt/vitamin c. I had been doing this when I took my Lyme test .... who knows, maybe it's what got my immune system going enough for the test to be positive. I think it makes me herx, but I feel so bad all the time I can't really tell if it's a herx or I'm just sick. It was the salt and C making me "sicker" that got me to get tested for Lyme in the first place.

Oh, and the picture on the bottom left ... that is EXACTLY what the floater in my eye looks like. I not only feel bad, but get to look at those blasted bacteria all the time!!!

[CarlaB]

Does anyone have a good link for information about vaccinations? I am looking for something that offers a balanced view of the risks and makes recommendations as to the vaccines which are most essential and the ones that are risky.

www.909shot.com

I haven't looked at it lately, but learned a lot from it when my kids were little.

I think I probably am sick enough for the antibiotics ... I can't function hardly at all ... but if my own immune system can take care of it with the help of natural supplements, that's better.

[diamondheart]

This is BioSET

Open Original Shared Link

I've been doing BioSET for 2 months now. My Dr. wanted me to go to get my body detoxing and to clear up some of my intolerances. At first I thought it was a bunch of hocus-pocus stuff and wasnt really "into it".

Now I am fascinated by it...I go twice a week. If it helps me I want to learn more about it...maybe become a practitioner myself. First I'd have to free of brain-fog though.

I always post about my treatments......I love BioSET.

That pretty much looks like the BioSET stuff my acupuncturist uses, but he uses a different machine.

I've had 5 BioSET treatments so far. I guess I'm on Level 3 according to the website Rachel provided. Thanks for that link Rachel. I haven't been able to find many good links on BioSet.

The first two sessions were focused on clearing anything I was reacting to, including phenols. I didn't keep a list of what I was tested for. By the third session, I was on to foods . The first foods that were cleared were eggs, walnuts, and cashews. I seemed to be fine with the walnuts and cashews afterwards, but I only ate one each to test them. I questioned that the eggs were really clear as I seemed to be getting some minor symptoms, like tingling around my lips and some pain after a bowel movement. But my acu said I was still clear for them, and he added some supplements to help heal my intestines. I think most of my problems are in my large intestines, particularly the decending colon. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm completely clear of pathogens/parasites.

Session #4 cleared soy. I had sushi with wheat free tamari last night for the first time in 4 months. This may sound weird, but I missed the soy sauce more than the nuts! Have you every had to eat sushi with fish sauce or some other weird substitute for soy sauce? It is not the same! So far so good, though it can take up to two days for me to see a reaction. No D, no gas, no bloating. Just that weird pain in my rectum after I go #2 (TMI, I know - sorry). Because the pain is so localized, I'm really suspecting some kind of parasite or pathogen that didn't get completely wiped out with the Chinese herbs. My husband travels a lot to Asia, and is having some digestive symptoms too (let's just say he can clear a room in a heartbeat). I may have picked up some digestive pathogen from him, or vice versa. He never was treated for anything after our trip to Thailand this year. He's off to my acu on Monday!

Session #5 yesterday: This is actually when my soy was confirmed clear. First, the food is cleared. Then, I have to wait until the next session to confirm that it is clear before I can eat it. My acu asked me what I wanted to clear next. Soy was one of the big three, with dairy and gluten being the other two biggies. I decided to get some of the other ones out of the way that I know of before taking on the dairy and gluten. We tackled corn this session. Although corn is in everything, I find it pretty easy to avoid and I don't really miss it. We'll find out Monday if it's clear. Then it's two weeks until I see him again, unfortunately.

He also did some testing to see which was going to be my core allergy and the hardest one to clear. He thinks it's going to be dairy, not gluten. While this is bad news, the possibility of being able to eat gluten again is intriguing. I probably wouldn't eat dairy anyways since our modern pasturized dairy isn't very good for you, whether it's organic or not. When we get to dairy, I might see if I can get my hands on some raw dairy to test that. My acu joked that people time share their cows around here .

I haven't really gone hog wild yet, eating all these foods that I haven't been able to have in a long time. I think I'll go buy some tamari today! Soy was really hard to give up. The other good news is that chocolate is completely fine!! As long as it doesn't have any dairy in it... Now I don't have to worry about soy lethicin in chocolate either. It's really hard to find soy free chocolate.

Well, I'm off to shop for my free range Christmas tree. Have a good weekend everyone.

Claire

[diamondheart]

Here's a website that lists information on which vaccines contain thimerosal, which is the preservative that contains mercury. I won't get a flu shot because most of them have thimerosal. I was forced to have a MMR (measels, mumps, rubella) shot in grad school, even though I had had vaccines for measels and rubella, and I had mumps as a kid. It wasn't good enough for them. This is before I knew anything about thimerosal. As a kid, I got the measel and mumps vaccines separately, about a year apart, which I think is the way to go. It's silly that all these vaccines are lumped into one shot, with thimerosal as a preservative too! I've always wondered how that MMR shot might have messed me up. I obviously didn't need it.

Open Original Shared Link

You can also look up previous years in which you may have had a vaccine to see if it had thimerosal. Thimerosal is being phased out of a lot of vaccines, particularly for children.

I still need to get a tenanus booster, which still has thimerosal, because I'm constantly getting scratched by rusty barbed wire and other rusty metal in my job. At least I only need it every 10 years!

Claire

[AndreaB]

Alison,

Thanks for posting the link for NVIC.

Rinne,

Have fun decorating your tree. Hope you do ok for your overnight trip. I'm the type of person that just prefers to stay home.

Carla,

When did you curtail vaccines. Did Chloe get all hers?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Andrea, the upcoming birthday girl is GORGEOUS!! (Just in case you didn't know.)

[dlp252]

Hi everyone, I'm BAAAAACCCCKKKKK! Got in at 2:00 this morning, and got to bed around 3:00 a.m. so I'm just hanging out...only got about 3 hours of sleep, but apparently they were good ones cuz I don't feel that bad today. I'll write more about my time in Disneyworld later--THEY ROCK with food intolerances!

Okay, going back into the murkey missed pages of Rachelville...don't send out the dingos for a while however...I've got about 40 pages to read I think, lol. I promise to not comment too much on "old news" though, lol.

[linds]

georgie- they did all of the thyroid tests. she made a point of doing them all just to be sure.

i'm not sure if i really want to stay off gluten until i am all better. I am still having a really hard time with no bread. that is really the only problem that i have with the no gluten thing.

[AndreaB]

Welcome back Donna!

Glad to have you home safe and sound.

If we don't hear from you in a couple days we'll have to come looking for you.