Chicken or Egg? FMS or Digestive Trouble?

I went to visit my doctor this year for my annual physical. While there I asked what was up with my digestion. I said, right here is this spot that is always causing trouble. It is somewhere in my abdomen and it throbs like a heart-beat. What is it? He said your small bowel is located there. There are a lot of nerves there.

Really? So of course I went and googled. And googled. What I found added yet another puzzle piece to the mystery of FMS.

Apparently, I had it all wrong. FMS is not the cause, it is just a SYMPTOM. Wow. Who knew. Where have I been the last 10 years with all this research?

My latest research is on SIBO (small intestinal bowel overgrowth) and IBS. Not surprisingly, the mycoplasma virus probably caused both of these. It probably causes breast cancer as well. And this all fits in with my developing theory that all these problems are vaccine-induced when the government started mandating vaccinations after WWII. This fits the 1950s timeline where IBS and digestive trouble - and breast cancer - seemed to have emerged. Vaccines also fits into why FMS is a Gulf-War sickness.

Then, there is what they call leaky gut (yucky) where bacteria eats through your intestines and leaks toxins to your body. Hmmm. Something else to fix. And everyone is yapping about candida and what a problem it is. Not to mention parasites. Gees. Where does it end?!

Anyhow. On to the cure. (Ha ha. Should I have said treatment? Placebo? Next thing to try?)

You can google the benefits and why's of these if you wish. But last week I started using 

- Peppermint oil

- Olive leaf oil

- Coconut oil

- Wormwood
- Organic honey
- Diabe Tea (bitter melon, gymnema, Stevia)

Next up, among many other things:

- Black Current Oil

- Evening Primrose Oil

This is in addition to some other things which I won't confuse the article with, but they are a start. I have noticed benefits already, one of being which, that I. Can. Breathe. Yes, I have been able to get a full range of air and am not gasping like a fish out of water, which I understand is also a CFS symptom.

I ran across a blog today that I want to give a shout-out to. It is lyndsayjohnsonblog.com. I thought I had it bad that I have shooting pain in my muscles 24/7. The folks with severe IBS or SIBO have it far worse, and I feel so bad for them. Some of them report being doubled over in pain on the bathroom floor for hours at a time. I have never had this type of pain. But I learned from it - digestion causes pain. Who knew.

Anyway, I digress. This lovely woman, Lyndsay, reports that her diet is incredibly restrictive, and causes her a lot of emotional pain. I can certainly empathize with the very idea of restrictive diet. I think I should probably try such a thing, but I am going to try the modified version first I believe, and then I might try the very expensive Elemental food plan for 2 weeks to kill off the (possible) SIBO and see what happens.

More to come on this. I am off to write to Lyndsay, to offer my small tiny element of understanding.

Want to Lower Pain? Revolutionize Your Sleep in 5 Steps

Feel like this? Often? Every night?

Let me help.

When you go to buy a bed (and you should have a good one if you have chronic pain), you will be hearing the "latest" in FMS theory. Apparently, according to the Jordans Furniture Sleep Lab tech, pain clinics for major hospitals in the area are still advising buying a bed for pressure points. Really?

FMS theory is stuck in the dark ages. Probably because no doctors with FMS are writing anything. Oh wait, ARE there any doctors with FMS? Doubtful.

So that leaves you with moi, yours truly, to give you some sound ideas when it comes to choosing a bed & sleeping well in it:

1. Take a medicinal approach to sleep. What do I mean by this? Just this: Sleep is a medicine, not a luxury. According to some, FMS patients have an underlying sleep disorder. So get what you need in a bed, not what you want. This means avoiding the cushy, comfortable ones that you sink into and that relieve whatever pressure point pain you may have (this is merely the symptoms). And focus on the solution instead: increasing oxygen flow to your blood cells. So a medicinal bed means one that keeps your back perfectly flat, allowing your diaphragm to expand UPWARD when you breath, not downward into the bed. Your hips should sink into the bed slightly, but not your back. If your shoulders roll forward, they will collapse your chest posture and you will not breathe effectively all night long. Avoid any plush tops, use a flat surface only. This is the bed I ended up buying, that worked for me. It is a hand-tufted mattress from Jordan's Mattress Factory that has a foam exterior and inner springs.
2. Sleep on your back most of the night. Put a rolled up hand-towel under your neck, and another one under your back. This was taught to my be my first chiropractor years ago, and I have slept like this ever since. Have a pillow handy for when you roll onto your side. But spend as much time as possible on your back. This will ensure the most efficient breathing and minimize the time your muscles spend in awkward positions.
3. Sleep on the floor if needed. If you are in a place with a bad bed, move to the floor. I routinely sleep on the floor, even if in the most exotic locations. When you get a hotel room, ask for an extra blanket and sheet, and start the night prepared to switch to the floor. Even a few minutes with your back straight on the floor will realign your body and breathing.
4. Focus on breathing, not comfort. If you subscribe to the reality that you have pain because your blood cells are misshapen, and have trouble getting through the little capillaries to carry oxygen to your body, you will focus first on breathing. You will be more comfortable if you breathe effectively, and focus on that as the priority, than if you sink into soft pillows or a bed that interferes with your breathing patterns. And if you are like me, and it actually feels better NOT to breathe sometimes, then you must prioritize oxygen flow. You may not want to do it naturally. (Don't ask me what this is, but sometimes it hurts to expand my lungs, and I hold my breath involuntarily. Not good.)
5. Get out of bed in 7 hours or less. I have found that 6.5 hours is ideal sleep for me. Sometimes I need more, and sometimes less. But lounging in bed makes me feel WORSE, not better. If you are in pain, get out of bed. Do not expect your bed to provide something more for you in the next few hours than it did in the last few. Beds have limited function. Get in a hot/cold shower, go for a walk. Get your blood flowing, and do not expect bed rest to help you.

It is hard to exchange luxury and comfort for efficacy. It takes a lot of will-power, especially in this "you deserve a marshmallow puff cloud for a bed, because you earned it" era. But when you start realizing how much better you feel when managing your oxygen flow, than you felt when managing your pain, you will be motivated to choose. 

Need a simple way to remember how to lower your pain when sleeping?

When in doubt, chose oxygen over comfort. 

Your body will thank you.

5 Ideas for Dealing with a Control-Freak CPer

People with pain tend to be control freaks. We can't help it. Every little thing gets on our nerves  and this is literal if we have degenerated or damaged nervous systems, like people with FMS do. We are a nervous wreck of the Hespurus, and it sucks.

Two very little secrets I will share with you...we know we are control freaks, and we hate it also, along with the pain we hate. Second, we actually do applaud you for putting up with us. Really.

But that doesn't make life any easier for you. You - the tolerant, endlessly patient caretaker who feels like you have no rights anymore, because the Control Freak has eliminated them all for his/her "illness."

Here is the dilemma for us CPers (chronic painers). For us, it's not just other people that create drama in our lives. We have the problem of being at war with ourselves.

Imagine your worst enemy is your body. It turns against you, and you are left in an eternal battle to accommodate it, override it, fix it, hate it, love it, etc. Instead of other people being the focus, YOU are your own everlasting opponent.

Credits:  DeviantArt 

Yeah, it sucks.

So CPers do everything they can to minimize external problems, because that may help lower internal  ones. That may translate to...complete control freakiness. 

In case you think it is only annoying for you, who can't seem to even breathe without your CPer complaining about it, trust me. It is more annoying for your CPer. We are trapped in a cycle we can never leave. 

So what can you do when your beloved (or annoying) CPer once again controls the heating, the lights, the sound, every move you make, and every bark the dog makes?  Here are 5 ideas

1. Forgive & understand. Realize this is not about you. It is about them being overwhelmed & in pain. They cannot change the factors that create pain for them, and they are just trying to survive with dignity.
2. Offer to help. Yes, I agree. This is not the time you feel like helping. But, to quote a famous Nike slogan, Just do it. Say, "Cutiesugarpieloverbaby, seems like you are frustrated. Is there anything I can do to help you out?"
3. Call it what it really is. Realize often the control freakiness is - frustration. Anger at oneself and the universe that dammit, we are sick. So address frustration in your beloved CPer, before you address the control issues.
4. Leave. For the moment. If you are annoyed at the behavior, just take a break so you don't yell at someone in pain. That really never helps anyone. So go get ice cream. Go to the gym. Leave your CPer to relax alone for a few minutes without you creating more stress for them.
5. When you return, ask to chat about solutions. Stand up for yourself kindly and graciously. If you want to leave your sox on the floor, or want to feel like you can, start speaking up. Let your CPer know that you need to feel the freedom to put your clothes on the floor, at least sometimes. Then ask what options might be available to lower frustration levels around it. Can you put your sox on the bathroom floor on M, W & Fri between 7 and 9 p.m.? Should you pay for a cleaning woman to come pick up your sox daily (do they even do this!)? Can you buy trendy, fashionable new sox from the Arthur George line and leave them on the floor beautifully? Can you have a certain area where you can stack sox 6 feet high, vertically?

It's not easy dealing with a control freak, but remember, they didn't choose this. Their internal environment is in chaos & pain. Your CPer (or you) didn't choose to be like this. They can't help it. But you can help negotiate how you live in their world, so that you also don't get filled with resentment or start needless arguments.

Support your CPer in controlling their world by making it liveable and workable for you also. It takes communication & thoughtfulness, but you will be providing true love & care by lessening their load.

Alcohol. Et. al...

You may be opposed to liquor in general, but I will say, in my experience, using alcohol as a pain killer or distraction from it is less likely to result in:

1) Class action lawsuits against major pharma companies (i.e. just watch your television for a while)

2) Major biological problems (i.e. let's just say maybe you can't use the bathroom because a popular RX narcotic includes this side effect, that freaks you out, because what if you were like this the rest of your life? and you never had this problem before this med...so you stop...)

3) Addiction, because, let's face it, you really aren't in NEED of this thing, just what it provides. Because the people you hear becoming addicted don't REALLY need it, they just have no pain tolerance, as opposed to you, who are the expert, living with it 24/7. So you don't NEED it, it is just a choice, to not feel the pain, say, right NOW.

Just sayin'. In my very limited experience with narcotics (i.e. meds) and alcohol, the latter seems less dangerous in moderate quantities, as opposed to the former, which can cripple you quickly without warning. If you have any question about this opinion, just note the recent commercials about what is it, bladder mesh lawsuits? Or just try to p** after you take ONE tylenol with codeine. And then imagine, what happens to your bladder after1 year or 10 of them? 


Then read the book "Peter the Great" by Robert Massie. And go to see St. Catherine's Summer Palace in St. Petersburg, where you can see the (real or replicated) 5-legged chair mentioned in it. After you will get done reading this book, you will see new validity to my point. Although, when in Russia, I saw plenty of dangerous drinking. Which may also invalidate my point. However. Let me just ask you: how many lawsuits did you see against Budweiser this year?

Lastly. Because I am a thorough sort, if there is any remote chance that the government is colluding with pharma companies to 1) conduct biowarefare on our citizens or Canadian citizens, and 2) give pharma companies profits by "fixing" the problem, I fully intend to deny pharmas all the profits that I can.

Additionally and most finally, I love the Budweiser horses. And frogs.


There. I rest my case. 

This ad not sponsored by Bud.

Yup, the guai protocol works...but what about the RBC mis-shapage?

In my last post I raved about how a new ingredient EPO (Evening Primrose Oil) might reshape blood cells - that can't fit through tiny capillaries - and lessen FMS pain.

The problem is - that multiple events exist. And none are "wrong." (Sound like your workplace? ;)

Blood cells do get misshapen. I know this because when I exercise and oxygen flows to my body again, pain is reduced by 1/2 to 3/4 and I get GOOD feelings.

But also...I have been taking EPO generously ever since Sunday when I read about it, and I am in intense pain because my body still will not process salicylates. Yes. So that means that BOTH the guai protocol as proposed by Dr. St. Armand & the RBC misshaping by Dr. Les Simpson are true.

I just went to the chiropractor & was nearly unable to be adjusted at all because my muscles were in such pain & tension.

So this means - I will lower my dose of EPO to one per day, and see if I can take that with the TrueHope EMP (which already has Ginko in it, and other natural ingredients).

In addition I have been putting multiple sources of salicylates on or in my body, what really set me over the edge I think. This weekend it was 90 degrees, and we went to the Charles River to cool off (ha ha) so I was using natural-oil-laden sunscreen for multiple days.

I think my liver just threw up its little red hands & said, I can't eliminate all these phosphates, so suck it up. And...my muscles did.  Owwwww!

In other news, my niece tells me that a low-fat diet is proven to aid MS patients. And in the news today, a popular MS drug fails to control symptoms.

Duh.

The body is made of natural substances. What do chemists think they can do with that? Craziness.

More to come...

Fibromyalgia & Red Blood Cell Mishap-age

Somehow, in this high-speed digital world, it took 12 years for me to learn there is a physical symptom for FMS that shows up in blood tests and can prove you have it. I love my doctor (he is also super cute) but even he didn't know this, as he told me a few years ago you could see MS in medical tests, but FMS is invisible. Not so.

Dr. Les Simpson from New Zealand discovered that the blood cells of people with CFS, FMS and some other diagnoses are misshapen. Seems the cholesterol gets removed from them, and they get the wrong shape so they can't fit through the capillaries. They can't carry oxygen to parts of body, primarily the muscles & nerves, so - voila nerve pain. You can read more here. 

Credit: Biomedical Optics Express

This is not so surprising, considering that even stress will misshape them. Check out this site, which hosts this visual of what stress alone can do to blood cells. 

Also interesting to note as physical proof for CFS, one poor victim was shown to have scar tissue in her brain, possibly due to lack of oxygen. I say victim, because I firmly believe these diagnoses are all the result of mycoplasma biowarfare, which involves the exchange/agreement of the US and Canada to conduct experiments on each others' citizens. For more on the covert testing of mycoplasma, check out this site also:

(If you are reticent to believe the rationale behind this thought stream, check out this site, which shows again physical evidence that CFS exists, and then questions why CFS patients have a virus, and tend to get cancer...They ask "What is this virus, and where did it come from?" Perhaps here?)

So a bigger picture is emerging.

Equally disturbing is that doctors don't know about this. By choice! The site I referenced in the link above states that no doctors show up to Dr. Simpson's lectures on the topic. Why would this be? I am befuddled why our doctors (even my own, when I told him) ignore government biochemical experiments and their effects on the body. The drug companies may be paying them off to prescribe meds, but are they brainwashing them also, so they completely close their minds to reality? Another doctor referenced in this site apparently denied a connection between the mycoplasma and CFS, although the patient's mother had clearly heard otherwise.

Also unsure why the media doesn't acknowledge it. As an experiment, I may send this information around to some editors and see if there are any whistleblowers around. After all, the government openly admits doing these poisonings, yet nobody seems to care.

Fast forward to my care. So yesterday I picked up the recommended Evening Primrose Oil & took some. I actually feel better today, but it may be a fluke, so I am not celebrating. Yet. Because of course, it contains boucoup salicylates, and my back will likely start to hurt like crazy. But the Primrose Oil is supposed to help reshape my little blood cells so they can go on their merry way again.

What else gets blood cell shapes back to normal so they can continue their oxygen-laden journeys? Lack of stress, exercise, B-12, some medication he mentions that I need to research, and a couple other things. Sounds somewhat like some stuff I have already been doing for years. My primary way to lower pain has always been exercise, or anything that increases oxygen.

I had already figured out the link between pain & oxygen years ago. I have always known that anything that increases oxygen lowers pain. So now it is very interesting to hear there is a medical reason.

So this is the start of my foray into a new self-care regimen. It includes some old & some new:

1. Low stress
2. Daily exercise
3. Vitamin B-12 by Jarrow (I can tell these work, I have used them for a few months)
4. Guaifenisen protocol (For last 12+ years)
5. EMPower by True Hope (I just receive a few months shipment yesterday)
6. Evening Primrose Oil (6 weeks is supposed to show if it works or not)

Happy blood cells, here we come! :)

Loss is a Gift - An Unusual Poem

Blessings are big.

Blessings are small.

Some of them you might not notice at all.

Instead you notice them when they are gone, 

And mostly when you start to bawl.

When tears roll down

And eyes squinch up

And your nose turns red as a rubber ball

You notice a blessing you had but lost

And you forget all the others that still exist.

Can you walk? You are lucky.

Can you see? Lucky too.

Can you wipe your red nose that looks like a kazoo?

Your arms are working, your fingers move. 

You noticed you cried, your brain is not a sieve.

You remembered you had it, your cortex is in tact 

(You're not even sure if the cortex does that!)

Your reasoning is sound, you are THAT aware

You now know that you have it "up there."

For only those with memory forget

With reason comes judgement, and sensing a threat

Your anger is normal, but to feel it takes feelings......

Now, wiping your tears takes on a whole new meaning.

Next time you wonder why you're not Tebow,
Nor Gisele, Obama, Beyonce or Leo,

Ask yourself if you can wipe your tears

And feel lucky that you are still in the years

Where your body works, and your mind still commands it

Someday you may have it all go away

That day may be closer to today

Than you'd like to think

(And others would too).

Loss is a gift.

It reminds us we had "it."

So celebrate gently

Your blessings disguised.