Feeling ill and found an article

[angeldancer]

Good reading.  If someone has shared this already I apologize.  Late night and I am trying to find a way to get healed from the mess in my body.  I am believing that there is something that has to help us.  Whew! Just breathe.

drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/30/how-to-stop-attacking-yourself-9-steps-to-heal-autoimmune-disease/#close

Angel

[litliwlowa]

Thank you, Angel. Quite timely, your sharing this article. It seems to me my biggest problem remains inflammation.

I'm at the point of considering more than symptom treatment. That seems to be the persistent approach from my docs anyway, treat the symptoms but don't get to the root cause. I'm long past ready to explore alternatives.

Amanda

[Ripvanann]

Thank you Angel.  This is very informative and I have to ditto what Amanda said. Feeling that alternative therapies and healing may be the way to go as I'm coming to the end of the road with traditional medicine. 

You are in my prayers Angel.

Grace and Peace to you.

~Andrea

[sassygal]

Angel,

Excellent article/blog! Thanks for posting.

Imagine that... a doctor that believes in finding the cause and eradicating that, rather than just throwing medications (chemicals) at the symptoms. I am not knocking all medications as they do have their place in treating illness, BUT what has perplexed me is that doctors prescribe medications for SYMPTOMS but really go no further to look for the CAUSE of those sypmtoms. The patient ends up on the hamster wheel. As Dr. Hyman stated, medications have their place to calm the immune dysfunction, but then the doctor should delve into why the patient is having the adverse immune response and treat that. 

The medical society and research seems more geared toward the pharmaceutical  corporations than toward the patients and finding out WHY they are sick.

Looking forward to reading more of this doctor's blog! Wondering if others on the board have read any of his books?

sassygal (Gail)

[litliwlowa]

BUT what has perplexed me is that doctors prescribe medications for SYMPTOMS but really go no further to look for the CAUSE of those sypmtoms. The patient ends up on the hamster wheel.

Yep, and that is precisely where I am - on a hamster wheel. Makes no sense, and when I look at the meds added the past 18 months, some have side effects that conflict with other conditions I am on meds to treat.

My PCP's response when I asked why is it some folks seem to have a lot more tests done (I notice that on the boards here) than ANY doctor has ordered on me (which is the bare minimum BTW) was "Well people with your complex medical situation usually spend a week at Mayo where all they do is run tests." I was dumfounded. Like someone on disability income only can AFFORD that???

So I am more than ready to seriously look into alternatives to the "status quo"...such as what IS the root cause rather than addi ng on more problems with yet more meds that cause even more problems.

[Jasper]

Thanks for posting the link to the article. I agree with the others that it is a good article and hits the nail on the head.

I know we need some pharmaceutical meds but we also need to be looking at the causes and triggers as opposed to just treating the symptoms.

I do have wonderful doctors and I am on Plaquenil, but I have, so far, not taken them up on any of the symptom relief drugs (Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Tramadol as well as Lidocaine patches and Clonidine gel, and also Pilocarpine ) because those drugs have such bad side effects and I already have a lot of odd ball issues and symptoms that just pop up out of no where. I do not need any drugs that will exacerbate any of those many issues and symptoms that I already have. I know some people really need those drugs and others, so I am not knocking them, but I am not at that point yet and if I can find another way (supplements, diet, etc.) that will help, I would rather do that and avoid the side effects of those drugs.

Instead I am taking a lot of supplements (which I believe are definitely helping) and keeping an eye on my diet, activity and exercise level, sun exposure, moisture enhancement, and anything else that I find influences how I feel.

Thanks, again, for posting.

[kimberly64]

Jasper,
What is the best supplimant for inflamation?

[Jasper]

Kimberly ..... Well, I am not sure what would be the best supplement for inflammation (from a scientific standpoint), but I do know that Curcumin is an excellent anti-inflammatory. The Curcumin has helped with my OA stiffness and joint pain, gotten rid of the Interstirial Cystitis (at least controls it so it does not bother me), got rid of the hot red lower legs, and got rid of the lower leg and ankle edema. And I am sure it was the Curcumin because, at that time, it was the only supplement that I had added.  I had been taking the Vitamins for years and I added many of the other supplements later. So I am sure the Curcumin was what improved those particular symptoms.

I can list which supplements I take and the reason I take them. I did a lot of research on the web (at reliable web sites) prior to deciding which ones to take:

Inflammation:
Curcumin: Anti-inflammatory
Boswelia:  Anti-inflammatory
Flor-assist Probiotic:  Anti-inflammatory (as well as balance the gut and all that entails)
Wholemega Whole Fish Oil (Whole Omegas ? 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9?s) (I get this from New Chapter):  Anti-inflammatory as well as other benefits

CoQ10:  Antioxidant  (also promotes mitochondrial growth)
N Acetyl L Cysteine:  Antioxidant  (also used in Sjogren's)
SAMe:  Used for OA and Depression
R Lipoic Acid:  Antioxidant; used for Peripheral Neuropathy; also decreases serum glucose
Acetyl L Carnitine:  Used for Peripheral Neuropathy, for memory, and for Depression
Krill Healthy Joint Formula: Joints - decreases stiffness and discomfort

Vitamins C, Vitamine E (Gamma E Tocopheral), as well as BetaCarotene: Antioxidents
Vitamine B Complex (complete)
Vitamine D3:  I am deficient, although my level just finally got up to 42

I also take Macuguard which contains Carotenoid Phospholipid Blend Phospholipids, lutein, meso-zeaxanthin & trans-zeaxanthin, natural Astaxanthin, and C3G (Cyanidin-3-glucoside) (for my eyes). My eye doctor told me to take Vitamine A (I use Beta Carotene) and the Complete Omega 3. I added the Macuguard on my own. He said it was fine to add it. 


About 4 -5 days after I went off of most of my supplements a week before the EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies, my bladder symptoms started to return (urgency and frequency, as well as dribbling which I was not aware of until I felt my pants getting wet) (I did not get the supra-pubic pain at that time, but I am sure it would have returned if I had stayed off of my supplements). After the tests, I went back on the supplements and the bladder symptoms disappeared again. So I know it is the supplements keeping those IC symptoms away. I suspect the anti-inflammatory aspects of some of the supplements are keeping the bladder from being inflamed.

Now, I don't know if what works for me will work for others. I just know it works for me. Plus, I do keep my eyes open for other possible more natural treatments.

Now, if I could just find something that completely got rid of Sjogren's I would be really happy. Probably rich too, LOL.

Here is a link to some information about Curcumin. Keep in mind Tumeric (Curcumin) is difficult to absorb so one needs to be sure the formulation is one that is easily and readily absorbed. I use Life Extensions Super Bio Curcumin.

http://examine.com/supplements/Curcumin/

[angeldancer]

i am forced to find some other alternatives.  Having a two pills per symptom allows for more toxicity to be in my body.  The chemo is killing my bad cells and good cells.  Combine that with lyrica , norco, dilaudid, plaque nil, zocor, zofran, and on and on. I am tired of it.  I will beat cancer and I will beat sjogrens but it won't happen just treating or killing the symptoms.  It is going to take getting down to the bottom of why all of this happen to me.

I can say that I have lived a very stressed life.  My new life will be stress free and whatever that means as far as who lives with me or is around me.  The stress will not beat me.

Lady Angeldancer

[Jasper]

You have a really good attitude, Angeldancer, and I believe that you will find some answers and some solutions.

[kimberly64]

Jasper,
This is awesome.  Thank you for sharing this and hopefully Angel will benifit from these natural remedies as well.  I hope you feel better soon Angel.
Kimberly

[warmwaters]

There is a growing movement called functional medicine, or sometimes integrated medicine, which tries to take a more integrated approach to health care, including nutrition, supplements, medication and so on.  There are a lot of possible theories of what the underlying causes of inflammation might be - leaky gut, food issues, toxins, etc. etc.  But just like traditional doctors don't know what the mechanisms are, neither do the functional medical doctors.  So these are just hypothesis, just like there may be hypothesis about B-cells and T-cells.

But do be careful - some of the doctors in the functional medicine sphere engage in some quackery - Mark Hyman, the person who wrote the article, makes a great deal of money pushing books and dvds, and at least in the area of autism, his theories have been pretty thoroughly debunked. Please note I said SOME!

There are many talented and skilled functional medicine doctors, and here's a link to their organization http://www.functionalmedicine.org.

And I know that many traditional doctors are also deeply frustrated with only treating the symptoms!  That's why they advocate for more research, or do research - they too would like treat the underlying illness, not just symptoms. 

[Jasper]

Warmwaters ..... I agree that one needs to be cautious and thoroughly research any and all possible treatments and ideas as well as the people practicing them. And I do agree about there being some who practice quackery. That seems to exist in the treatment of all disease processes.

My Rheumatologist is quite open to new ideas and novel treatments. She was involved in a study of some supplements (cannot remember which, maybe Omega 3s) and Lupus. She is happy that I am taking Curcumin and is interested in the effects/results I have had. (When I mentioned that I was taking Curcumin to my PCP, she just looked at me like I had 2 heads, LOL.)

I realize that I, too, am treating symptoms to some extent, at least with some of the supplements I am taking, but the supplements do not carry the toxic side effects that many of the main stream drugs carry. And, I am also supplementing nutrients that I may not be getting (enough of) in my diet.

[litliwlowa]

My rheumy also gave me the green light on curcumin.

[angeldancer]

I don't think I am treating symptoms but I believe if they say particular vitamins build certain things in your body then I want to build on the good stuff.  I know that abnormal amounts of yeast is no good and there has to be a cause.  Putting good things in our body is better than the bad.  Don't get me wrong.  Thanksgiving I hope to be eating some good sweet potato pie at my in-laws house.  I think we must exercise restraint on the sugars.  I have noticed that I drag more when eating glutens.  Its hard for me because losing weight during cancer is a normal and keeping weight on and just eating vegetables does not work.  I will stay away from the bread and white rice though.