Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[AndreaB]

Jin,

I hope you will be in reading and posting as usual too.

Patti,

I hope this glutening doesn't last long for you. That's great about the house and already being empty!

Susie,

Nice to see you popping in. Hope work can be somewhat eased into. I know, probably hard with the type of work you do. Try to pace yourself.

Carla,

I forgot to comment on your house. It looks nice........but I love those wrap around porches.

Mia,

I'm glad you have a doctor who knows about the issues you're dealing with too.

[jerseyangel]

Patti,

I hope this glutening doesn't last long for you. That's great about the house and already being empty!

Thanks Andrea. It's not too bad today, and I seem to be able to handle it better when it does happen these days. I know the calcium is helping a great deal with the D aspect of it.

Jin--Did I miss something? Is everything OK?

[Judyin Philly]

patti................I'm so sorry i missed all this.

i don't know how i didn't see this

i guess if Mark went into work he's going to live w/o surgery

that is so painful

and the beer and glutening................

no wonder i haven't heard from you

in the er yesterday ............just what you needed.

please take care of you both

love you Judy

_____________________-

Hi everybody--what a weekend....we're packing and readying ourselves for the move at the end of the month. Yesterday, Mark jumped up onto a truck and felt a pop in the back of his knee--followed by tremendous pain. His leg actually buckled.

We called his doctor before going to the ER, and she said it was a meniscus tear (cartilage) and the ER would just tell us this. She gave instructions on how to deal with it, and he is a bit better. He went into work with his knee brace this morning!

And yesterday, there was lots of beer and snacks around as our older son and his friend came over and pitched in to help. I cleaned up and got rid of the bottles--and I think I got sick from it. I had D yesterday--first time in a long time--and fell unconscious by 9:30 last night.

This AM, stomach is iffy I think I got over confident, as I have been feeling so much better lately.

[jerseyangel]

patti................I'm so sorry i missed all this.

No worries, Judy

I'm fine (See my previous reply to Andrea )

[rinne]

Just a quick hello and contribution to the poll, since I have been ill (taking the tick bite 4 1/2 years ago into account) I have not had a cold or the flu.

Patti, so glad you found a house that you can move right into.

Thanks to you all for your support, I am serious when I say my body is so happy to be free of that toxic cloud. I feel like I have reclaimed the child I was at 11 before I started sneaking off for smokes, forty years of a smoky hell and I am free at last, wahoo!!!

[Green12]

rinne, great news about quitting smoking! I'm glad you are feeling like the clouds are parting for you, just by making that one change .

Patti, sorry about your husband's injury AND your possible glutening. I'm glad today is a better day for you

Good luck with the packing! Are you finding it difficult to stick with your special diet with all that's going on with the move? It was difficult for me, so much stress and many projects to tackle (and the kitchen being packed up), I did a lot of eating on the run and convenience foods- which I paid the price. I was able to keep away from gluten of course....but the other allergens, not so much.

Rachel- more details on your big decision? Oh yes, I fogot to mention I do remember the ketofin. Very interesting you found reference to it on the Lyme board.

Are there cases of people recovering from more serious stages of lyme and living normal lives again?

Thanks everyone for participating in my little poll a very unscientific one at that, not sure what I was trying to discover.....I guess I was just curious how many of us with chronic situations regularly got sick when we were exposed to anything.

[jerseyangel]

Are you finding it difficult to stick with your special diet with all that's going on with the move? It was difficult for me, so much stress and many projects to tackle (and the kitchen being packed up), I did a lot of eating on the run and convenience foods- which I paid the price. I was able to keep away from gluten of course....but the other allergens, not so much.

Julie, I'm not finding it difficult yet. I still have my kitchen, and have packed a lunch for myself when we've had to be gone all day. There's a great grocery store near our new house that offers a buffet, salads and sandwiches that also has cafe seating upstairs. We've been going there after house-hunting and Mark buys whatever he wants, I buy a drink and we go upstairs and eat our lunches. Works out really well.

The tough part will be the last weekend when we move out on Saturday and stay ay a hotel until Monday. That's going to take some planning. I will have a fridge in the room and access to a microwave, so I should be ok.

As you said, trying to stay away from all the problem foods is just so hard away from home, so I am going to try really hard to plan ahead.

I've just felt so "safe" here since I got sick--it's a bit odd to be leaving the nest for good!

[Judyin Philly]

HI Patti

You'll do fine just like you did in the hospital...

with the fridge in the room and access to a microwave, you'll be fine.

did you ever get those 'bags' to put in the toasters?

they really work.

It will be just FINE.

YOUR SO MUCH MORE HEALED.

JUST DON'T FORGET THE CALTRATE

HUGS

JUDY

[jerseyangel]

JUST DON'T FORGET THE CALTRATE

Not a chance!

[CarlaB]

Thanks, Andrea, I love wrap around porches, too.

Are there cases of people recovering from more serious stages of lyme and living normal lives again?

YES!!!

If you have a late stage Lyme you work for remission though, not cure. But many people stay in remission for a very long time. My LLMD has been in remission for 15 years. He still takes lots of supplements. That's what I plan on doing, keeping healthy by supplementing and eating right ... exercise, sauna, etc.

In fact, for 12 years I was in remission just from doing those thing without even having known that I had been struggling with Lyme. If I had known, I certainly would not be where I am now because I would have recognized the symptoms and started treatments immediately, whether they be herbs or abx I guess would depend on the symptoms.

I guess it's knowing that I HAVE lived with this for so long that makes me know for sure that I can live a normal life with this.

[confusedks]

Carla,

Does one HAVE to use abx to help with Lyme?? I just realized, I am allergic to all abx and I wouldn't be able to take any if I did have Lyme. Is that what alternative LLMD's do? I'm confused.

Kassandra

[AndreaB]

Carla,

Does one HAVE to use abx to help with Lyme?? I just realized, I am allergic to all abx and I wouldn't be able to take any if I did have Lyme. Is that what alternative LLMD's do? I'm confused.

Kassandra

They can use herbal stuff too, so you don't need to worry about that if you do have lyme.

Patti,

It will be challenging to stay in a hotel for the weekend, but I'm sure you'll do ok with the fridge and micro.

[CarlaB]

Carla,

Does one HAVE to use abx to help with Lyme?? I just realized, I am allergic to all abx and I wouldn't be able to take any if I did have Lyme. Is that what alternative LLMD's do? I'm confused.

Kassandra

There are herbal protocols.

My LLMD feels you should start with abx to lessen the bacterial load and deal with coinfections before you switch to herbs. He has had good results using the Cowden protocol of herbs. I understand Cowden is the one who developed the LED so many on this thread use. So, there are other ways ... Rachel and Donna are not on abx. Bev, Laura, Sherry and I are. Totally different approaches.

Are you truly allergic, or do you have bad reactions that could possibly be a herx?

[rinne]

Kassandra, I received a clinical diagnosis of Lyme which the doctor I was seeing backed out of after seeing the Negative on the Igenex test, unfortunately he was not a LLMD. He did not even have the test in front of him to discuss when we talked on the phone and from my own studies and the consistent pattern of indeterminates related to Lyme along with the 50 or so symptoms of Lyme I have had made me feel he was not a doctor I could trust.

I have done the salt/vitamin C protocol, also Samento and Noni nutraceticals along with a host of other practices in an effort to detoxify to address the Lyme. I am getting better, it is a slow process but it is working for me.

I also think that in combination with detoxifying, renutrifying (could this be a new word? ) the body is essential. Many of us who are ill are deficient in Vitamin D, Vitamin B and minerals and the challenge is once we are ill finding a way to take those in that our bodies can absorb them. The usual vitamins don't work.

These days I find that I am less concerned with other's diagnosis and more concerned with those treatments that help to lean me in the direction of health. Examples include: castor oil packs, detox baths, infrared saunas, salt - organic himalayan salt loaded with minerals......

How are feeling today?

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Mia,

That is great you like your doctor so much! This new one really does seem to have a good idea of what is going on with you. As you said, an integrative approach is best. Bits and pieces rarely if ever get you very far. It is frustrating being in a situation where you feel slightly better, but do not completely recover.

No colds after becoming ill for you either, huh? Most people get one per year. I do not get them lately, but have had some nasty ones in recent years. Elderberry extract is wonderful to decrease the duration of the cold. It boosts immunity by as much as 300 percent in some cases!

Dear Carla,

I have not gotten to look at you house pictures, yet. I am going to look at them as soon as I get the chance. Minimizing the time on the computer has been important lately due to my eyes being strained. That reminds me, I need to make an appointment with the eye doctor. Dad said I can go ahead.

You are right. I need to stop being so anal about posting. This is the primary thread I frequent. I am just going to have to visit the Silly Thread on occasion. Driving myself crazy is not worth it! I am a detail person, and that makes it difficult for me to let things go.

I accidentally got on a porn site one day. It was so disgusting! All I was looking for was pictures of Jennifer Aniston's hair, and it took me to this horrible site, and then almost would not let me get out of it! I have gotten e-mails for some of the stuff like it in the past. That kind of thing needs to be stopped!

My physician is holistic as well. She is also a regular MD. I finally heard of a doctor in town who is good with Celiac. I do not know if I will see this physician or not, though. Right now, Lyme is my primary concern, with Candida. I am doing all I can for the Celiac right now.

Cowden seems to have a good handle on things. I would probably be better off doing an herbal protocol. Candida thrives worse when antibiotics are used. The trouble with it is awful enough. Anti-fungal medications probably would not set well with my system.

Dear Judy,

Thank you for the neti pot video link! I will watch that! I am sure we have one. The thing is, where is it? There is no telling where my mother put it!

Dear Patti,

I am sorry to hear Mark got injured! Such injuries can be very painful. You can really cause damage if you overdo activity when your leg is hurt like that. My best friend's brother plays football, and he had to have surgery the other week. He did not have a clean tear, it was in the shape of a V instead, which made the operation more difficult than it normally would have been. I spoke to Ryan after the surgery, and he sounded good!

That is terrible about you getting glutened! I always am afraid to even breathe near gluten-containing foods. That is why. I am so afraid I will inhale it and accidentally ingest it. Sometimes I feel like I need to wear a surgeon's mask!

You did not miss anything. I said earlier that I could not keep up with this thread and the Silly Thread. I was trying, and that is why I had such a hard time posting here the other day! No more of that! I miss you guys if I do not go on here! Reading along is just not the same unless you post!

My brother was convinced he kept getting the stomach flu. I told him Celiac does that to you. After going gluten-free three or more weeks ago, he is doing much better! He has not felt this good since he was young. Chad is really amazed.

How great is it that you already found a new home? I bet it is nice. Who would have thought you could move in so quickly?

This could not have worked out better! You will do okay staying in the motel as long as you have your microwave and little refrigerator!

I first tried Stevia way before going gluten-free. I tasted some of the sweet, but only after I swallowed it. The licorice taste was what I mostly tasted, as you mentioned. RiceGuy theorizes that we need a sweet scented precursor so that our tastebuds can pick up on the Stevia. He also believes many Stevia products are diluted due to other things they are mixed with, because many are not pure.

RiceGuy is doing pretty good. We have been corresponding since March or so. He experiments with baking, and has told me all about the various flours and how they work. So far, he has come up with some delicious concoctions. Also, he has found some great places online to purchase things like guar gum, spices, and pure extracts, as well as flours and Stevia for good prices! I can share if you like. Our friend has also been kind enough to send me more information on Candida, and recommended some supplements he started taking that have helped him.

Dear Susie,

I can see why you need to pace yourself. Just getting over the flu is rough. With the kind of work you do, that only adds to the stress. At least you are feeling better than you were. That is a start!

You are very welcome for the updates! This thread can be overwhelming if you are gone very long. I was not posting, but reading along for a few days. I will never get behind again! I am too compulsive, and it bothers me!

Being sick often shows your immune system is working. That is actually good, although it does not seem like it is. People who do not run fevers really have a poorly functioning immune system. The germs and other microbes are not being fought as they should be. This means the immune function is down. If you do not run fevers, that likely has something to do with those neutrophils you were describing.

Dear Rinne,

We are more than happy to support your effort to quit smoking! Once you are doing it, you are okay. The anticipation of withdrawal is the worst part for a lot of people. Keeping yourself occupied is difficult somedays. Food is addictive too, and that is a tough habit to break when you use it as comfort. So many people do that.

That is so odd about you not getting colds after getting bitten by a tick. Did you say it was four and a half years since then? When I was young, I ran very high fevers. As I got older, I almost never ran them. In fact, most of the time, my body temperature is too low.

Your protocol sounds much safer than the ones with antibiotics. Natural herbs are what would probably be best for me. My system has had too many hard knocks with antibiotics. I do not think taking more would do anything but make the Candida grow. That is the last thing I need!

Dear Julie,

Moving and being on this diet would be tough. Moving out of state particularly would be complicated. If you have to fly to where you are moving, that especially is important. All of these security restrictions really cause problems for people like us. Luckily, Patti gets to drive to where she is moving.

You are welcome for our participation in the poll! It was fun and interesting to see the results. From what I can tell, the majority of us have not been sick with communicable diseases (colds, flu) since becoming chronically ill. Am I right? Perhaps I am only one exception. Although, since doing those antibiotics last year, I have not had a cold. That is when my stomach issues returned, and this points to Lyme being activated at that time.

Dear Donna,

I hope they figure out your allergies! I wonder if your neurotransmitter problems are contributing to that? They control a lot. When do you go for BioSet again? Maybe this time they will be able to identify some things that could be sources. Being near that Candida in your living room would be a suspect to me.

Isn't your cruise soon? Doesn't it begin late this month? I believe you had said the 28th was when you set sail. This is going to be great! I bet you cannot wait to get a break from work and just enjoy being lazy for a change!

Dear Andrea,

I am going to stay put! Do not worry! No matter what I was doing, when I was not on here, I kept wondering what everyone was up to. Rachelville is my happy place! Everyone here is a friend!

Herbal protocols seem to be a better idea than abx at times. I have had too many of those as it is. Maybe I will finally get my doctor moving on this! I am done waiting! I have been sick long enough! It is time I have a life!

Dear Kassandra,

I do not like abx, either. They always irritate my system it seems. There are only a very select few I can tolerate. I have always been this way. Herbs are very effective. Side-effects are certainly not as bad with them.

Herbal protocols seem to vary greatly from patient to patient. This is good. Doctors individualize treatment. Most regular MDs who are not LLMDs think treatment is one size fits all for Lyme. Every system is different, and these physicians pay attention to that. What is good for one person is not always useful for another. One person may do well on Noni, while another does better on Artemesia. Treating the co-infections particularly is complicated, and must be done carefully.

Dear Everyone,

I am so confused about my career path. I am not sure what to do. Should I be an attorney, or a naturopathic doctor? I keep asking myself over and over that exact question. What do you guys think? Which do you feel I would be better at?

Sincerely,

Jin

[covsooze]

Dear Everyone,

I am so confused about my career path. I am not sure what to do. Should I be an attorney, or a naturopathic doctor? I keep asking myself over and over that exact question. What do you guys think? Which do you feel I would be better at?

Sincerely,

Jin

Hi Jin

Well, you remind me so much of me, that I have to say you would make a good lawyer Your attention to detail and the way you think (compulsively like me) about everything would mean you would be a brilliant attorney. However, I also know that from the way you 'listen' so carefully to everyone here and research all the health issues so well, that you'd make a wonderful naturopathic dr. Sorry, not very helpful, am I? Do you have any gut feeling about it at all? I have to say that with all my career choices, prayer has been the key. God has so obviously led me down a particular path each time I've changed job, that I've known for sure that I've been doing the right thing. Praying you'll have the same guidance.

Susie x

[covsooze]

Jin, I should also say that I've found it really really tough going with the old brain fog. I couldn't do advocacy any more (thinking on my feet just isn't an option). I've probably said before - I changed to doing wills & probate about a year ago (mainly so I could work part time around DS's schooling). It's a surprisingly technical area and my brain is finding it really tough learning all the new stuff! I am enjoying that though. Sooo...I guess I'm just saying, whatever you choose to do, it will be hard work, so make sure it's something you will really enjoy. Feel free to pm me if you want to chat more about being a lawyer

Susie x

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Susie,

Forensics have always fascinated me. I heard there is a growing need for attorneys well versed in them. One thing is for sure, no matter whether I am a doctor or a lawyer, the cost of schooling to get there will be about the same. There is no lack of attorneys. The medical field is definitely growing.

This really is a tough call. Being a doctor is problematic in the sense you are more likely to be sued. At least if you are an attorney, you are much less likely to be a victim of a lawsuit! I am not extremely squeamish, but do not handle dealing with vomit or other things. I can handle blood, though. My doctor says she did not tolerate those things either, but she is still a doctor!

Maybe I should cast a spell to lead me in the right direction. That would be best. It is like prayer, but Wiccan style. I have tried some other stuff, but so far, I have no idea. It did not help much. I am just as undecided about my hair. I keep flipping back and forth! Normally, I know exactly what I want.

I will be sure to PM you if I want to know more about being an attorney. Speaking to one sure would help. I know there are a number of angles I could take. Since I was a victim of attempted rape at 19, I could be good at handling sexual assault cases. I also have contemplated doing cases involving forensics, and medical malpractice lawsuits are of great interest as well. Bad doctors should pay for ruining other people's lives.

Sincerely,

Jin

[melmak5]

This week was a really rough week. I was in a lot of pain, not eating during daylight hours so I could function at work and falling asleep as soon as I did come home. I really lost my fight and was feeling like I would never get better.

This weekend my mother mentioned "oh as a baby you couldn't eat rice."

4 hours later when I was doubled over in pain and had only eaten rice noodles for the day it clicked.

I have been 48 hours rice-free and while I don't feel 100%, its like my head has been lifted out of a fishbowl and I am not in pain! (Ok, I am really bloated and my gut is still making weird noises, but no sharp pain)

I am still going to go to the allergist next week (I had another reaction to fresh fruit, a banana) so I want to figure out what is going on, but if not eating rice helps, I am down with it.

I had no idea that people could have allergies/intolerances to rice, because it is one of the ONLY things people have been telling me to eat.

My question to you all, how would I know if it is rice that is the problem, or something else going on in my body that is causing me to react to rice?

[CarlaB]

Just a drive-by, I'll catch up later.

I get Dr. Mercola's newsletter ... some of it's interesting, most I don't actually read. Well, today it was about how they want to start taking cocoa butter out of chocolate and use cheaper veg. oil and still call it chocolate. Anyway, in the article he mentions that chocolate is high in LEAD!!! Well, for those of us wondering where we got out lead toxicity ....

[tom]

I have been 48 hours rice-free and while I don't feel 100%, its like my head has been lifted out of a fishbowl and I am not in pain!

. . . . .I had no idea that people could have allergies/intolerances to rice, because it is one of the ONLY things people have been telling me to eat.

My question to you all, how would I know if it is rice that is the problem, or something else going on in my body that is causing me to react to rice?

1st off - YAY on the 48hrs and "out of fishbowl"-ness!!!!!!

2nd - it REALLY really sounds like a leaky-gut induced intolerance, imo.

Especially w/ what looks to be frequent rice-eating. (Oops maybe not 'induced', now that I remember what your mom said about rice)

3rd - there may be other intolerances revelaing themselves now that the biggie is out of the way.

Do you already keep a food/symptom diary? If not, start. At this point it is MOST important.

4th - I hope yours works out like mine did, when I found the FINAL intolerance. Life has NEVER been better and is even well beyond anything I could've dreamed for myself!!

Good luck melly!!

[melmak5]

Tom,

Thanks! I feel like my 4 month food intake/pain/elimination diary and my Jessica Fletcher skills are finally paying off!

What I have been reacting to doesn't seem to be consistent, one week bananas are fine, this week they most definitely aren't.

This might sound naive, but I feel like I have the opposite of a leaky gut, everything feels stuck. I cannot eat very much before feeling very full, if I do keep eating I often regurgitate it, and I am rocking 2 different laxatives with moderate relief.

-I am hoping that no rice = the answer to everything

or

-its really something else and I can bring the rice back eventually

(I have also cut out dairy, caffeine, soy, corn, eggs, nuts to so maybe its one of those, but I am not really brave enough to start rotating them back in just yet)

I did test positive for bacterial overgrowth, had two rounds of antibiotics, but never was retest to see if its actually gone. But this seems like an allergy (with the random hives, skin irritation, pain) but who knows.

[tom]

Thanks to you all for your support, I am serious when I say my body is so happy to be free of that toxic cloud. I feel like I have reclaimed the child I was at 11 before I started sneaking off for smokes, forty years of a smoky hell and I am free at last, wahoo!!!

Rinne,

I've been inching towards the right frame of mind to quit and you just hip-checked me fwd a meter or two. (a lil canadian flavah in that last part )

Ohhhhhh Patti!

Ugh I think I got a bit ill recently from just touching wet (from regular beer) beer bottles!! Thought I was going nuts, attributing it to just touch! (I was sure I'd washed my hands soonafter)

He has not felt this good since he was young. Chad is really amazed.

And how great is THAT???? :)

I haven't been able to keep up at ALL lately.

But all the reuniting w/ ppl from the past - incl as far back as a girlfriend from SEVENTEEN yrs ago! - and a sudden drop-from-the-sky ticket to an NFL game (!!) has all been a ton of fun tho HUGELY wearing me out. I'm not sure I could've handled going to a game even a month into being soy-free, so in spite of the exhaustion, it was a very good sign.

P.S. Hi Donna-of-the-Dangling-Porch-Light! I SEE you!!

Only ONE time at WhF did I forget to check the cookie aisle!! (no need anymore?)

But now it'll be unguarded for 3 wks while I'm back in Phx. See ya maybe in Nov?

[dlp252]

P.S. Hi Donna-of-the-Dangling-Porch-Light!

Only ONE time at WhF did I forget to check the cookie aisle!! (no need anymore?)

But now it'll be unguarded for 3 wks while I'm back in Phx. See ya maybe in Nov?

Hello there from me of the still dangling porch light. No need to check the cookie aisle...it's safe for a while. (psssttt....I get there long before you even wake up anyway and I'm fast me thinks).

[covsooze]

Just a drive-by, I'll catch up later.

I get Dr. Mercola's newsletter ... some of it's interesting, most I don't actually read. Well, today it was about how they want to start taking cocoa butter out of chocolate and use cheaper veg. oil and still call it chocolate. Anyway, in the article he mentions that chocolate is high in LEAD!!! Well, for those of us wondering where we got out lead toxicity ....

How on earth does he figure that one?? How can we be sure he's right?

If this is true, it's going to be the factor that I need to ensure I don't keep going back to chocolate!

And yes, my heavy metal problem is with lead....

Hi Mel! Good to see you. I'm sure others who understand this sort of thing more than me will be more helpful, but, are you taking vit c at all? That might help loosen things up a bit!

Susie x