Suffering With Joy

Sabbath Moments

April 10, 2010

Welcome to Sabbath Moments hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do.  Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary.

This week I struggled with fibromyalgia pain and chronic fatigue.  Through it all I finished my regular monthly newsletter for Una Voce Arkansas Ozarks and got it posted. Then I completed an article I was writing on the unavoidable tragedy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, researched for some blog posts and met with our insurance agent to find a better Medicare supplemental policy. These were not my Sabbath moments, but they led me to them.

My way of winding down after intense mental activity is to go out into God’s good sunshine and putter in the yard, to work on my digital art, or to gaze at a work of sacred art that leads me to prayer.  This week was great because I got to do all of it.  It may seem strange to say that puttering in the yard is a Sabbath moment, but it is.  When I am grooming plants, planting things or pulling weeds, I am reminded that all is God’s creation and am thankful He is letting me help take care of it and show His beauty to others.

When I work on digital painting, the beauty I create there is a dull reflection of God’s beauty.  It makes me think, “If this is beautiful, imagine what heaven will be like!”  Sacred art prompts me to meditate on the mysteries of salvation.

Through all these moments I keep thinking of God, my helplessness, and my need to trust in Him for all my needs, which leads to an undercurrent of constant prayer asking Him to help me to trust in Him more.

I want a good relationship with God.  Good relationships are built on trust.  Trust is letting go of self and selfishness and turning to face God.  Facing God, like facing the sun (the Son) brings warmth, peace, and well-being in a world gone mad.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, peace and joy

Asthma and Vitamin D Deficiency

April 6, 2010

The incidence of asthma is growing, especially among children.  One thing that seems to be an underlying cause is a vitamin D deficiency. I am writing about this because I know so many people who suffer from asthma, and if you have a chronic problem such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, lupus or other autoimmune problems, any other health difficulty makes the major problem much harder to deal with.

Only 5% to 37% of American infants meet the American Academy of Pediatrics standard for daily consumption of vitamin D – a mere 400 IU per day. This dose is required to prevent rickets, but it is not nearly enough to protect from other diseases. Who gets sick and who doesn’t may be affected by genetics and environment, but the more researchers study vitamin D deficiencies, the more they find that a key factor in many illnesses is not enough vitamin D.  One key problem parents should know about is that most blood levels of D considered “normal” are actually too low.  To reap the greatest health benefits from vitamin D, the blood test 25 OH D should result in a reading of 60ng/ml.  From Dr. Mercola’s site are recommended daily dosages of vitamin D and a warning:

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that poor diets and lack of vitamin D among mothers were determining factors in whether their children suffered from asthma, quite apart from the D levels of the child after birth.  Another issue of the journal calls the need to have an effective intake of vitamin D “urgent”.

Dr. Mercola says:

If you get your child’s levels to about 60 ng/ml, there’s a strong likelihood — especially if you combine it with exercise and balancing out her omega 3 and omega 6 fats as described below — that she will not experience asthma anymore.

He also points out:

Advair, for example, contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year.

Conventional asthma treatments can also increase your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

To read the full article on the subject of vitamin D deficiency and asthma in children, go to Mothering Magazine. As far as adults go, look hard at keeping vitamin D levels adequate.  It is very inexpensive and has no side effects. Parents, ask for the 25 OH D blood test for all your children.  It could save their lives.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, wellness

A Little of My Story

March 5, 2010

Holy Trinity, 1430, Master of the Votive Picture of Sankt Lambrecht, Museum mittelalterlicher österreichischer Kunst, Vienna

“O Lord,” I prayed, “Help me to grow more patient and trust You more.”

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord.”

“Okay, I’ll give you fibromyalgia and everything that goes with it,” He said.

“Whoa!  What is that, Lord?” I asked.

“You’ll find out, and I’ll be with you every step of the way,” He replied.

Six years or so ago when I was diagnosed my body was burning from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.  I couldn’t stand to wear my glasses and couldn’t see without them.  Every morning I got up, dressed, had breakfast and promptly collapsed into bed again.  After awhile I gave up on dressing and stayed in my nightgown.  My mind was in a stupor such that I could hardly pray and I lay there simply clutching my rosary.  When I had a conversation with my husband I forgot what I wanted to say after three words were out of my mouth.  I gave up driving and stopped going anywhere except to church, which finished me off for the rest of the day.

A couple of years went by and I found myself completely discouraged and wanting to go to bed never to wake again.  It seemed that everything the doctor told me to do and prescribed for me only helped marginally.  Yet as sick as I was, I never lost the feeling that this condition was God’s will for me, although I did think for awhile that maybe He might have picked a less unpleasant way to get His point across.

One day I said, “Well, Lord, I don’t get it.  Here You have smacked me over the head with a 2×4 and I still don’t get it.  What is it you want of me?”

“I want all of your pain and suffering.  Give it to Me with joy for the restoration of the Traditional Catholic Mass.  Give it to Me for the priest I have chosen to be your next bishop.  Give it to Me for the redemption of others and to expiate your sins.  Give it to me for My priests who are troubled,” He said.

“OK, Lord.  Whatever you say.  I want to do Your will.  But Lord, why did You have to teach me patience and trust this way?” I asked.

“Because  you were too full of yourself and your talents and ambitions were misplaced. I could not work through you the way you were.  I want you with me for all eternity.  I want you to know and understand Me better, to trust Me more through your helplessness and pain and to share what you are learning on this journey with My other children who are suffering even worse than you,” He said.  “I want you up here on the cross with Me.  I want you to witness to My message of hope and love, and the joy that comes from doing My will.  I want you to understand the fullness of My love for you.”

Morning sun over the ocean, Shizuoka Prefecture, (c)Tomo.Yun (www.yunphoto.net/en/)

And so I didn’t give up, and after accepting two new hips from Him through a good surgeon, and after slowly regaining some physical and mental equilibrium from remedies He showed me through knowledgeable holistic practitioners, I started this blog and put it in His hands.  I blessed Him for giving me this miserable disease and for putting me through the added great pain of hip degeneration; for making me aware that I have to depend on Him for every breath, every blink, and every beat of my heart.  I blessed him for giving me a high maintenance body because I know He wants me to learn how to care for it properly and share what I learn with others. I blessed Him for showing Himself to me both through pain and through the many forms of beauty that reflect His being.  Most of all, I bless Him for loving me enough to have created me and for having put all the wonderful people in my life whom I would never have met had I not become disabled.

Tags: fibromyalgia, joy, wellness

The Wellness Attitude and Spring Planting

February 24, 2010

Tomatoes and cantaloupe in the Earthboxes, mid-July.

It’s cold today but the sun is shining and I’ve been thinking about spring planting.  For the past three years we’ve been growing vegetables because of high grocery prices, pesticides used by commercial growers, because home-grown tastes better, and because it’s good therapy for us to putter in the garden in the sun. We found a sure-fire way to guarantee good produce – the Earthbox.

I’ve never been one to like pulling weeds and digging in the dirt because of my fibromyalgia pain and fatigue so when we discovered there was a way for decrepit people like us to raise our own veggies we decided to give it a try.  Maybe some of you will find our story helpful, especially if you have arthritis, fibromyalgia, or other physical problems that have inhibited you from growing your own produce.  For us, it’s also part of a wellness attitude – taking charge of our health as much as possible.

Earthboxes are great because we just follow the directions, put the box in a good location, and keep the bad bugs at bay.  You can’t overwater because there is a reservoir that has an overflow outlet that tells you when to stop.  It’s a big help for water conservation.  You also can’t over-fertilize because the plastic mulch keeps the fertilizer from washing away.  No need to weed, either. It’s a good option for people who don’t have a lot of space, too.  We started with four and now have six, one being a permanent home for strawberries.

We’ve put in tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cantaloupe every year. The zucchini prefers to be in the ground although the Earthbox site says you can put in four squash seedlings.  I like these boxes because they are movable.  If you find a better location in the yard for the crop you’re growing you can always take advantage of it. A couple of years ago we hired a handy man to make supports to tie the tomato and pepper plants to and they have worked well. By August the tomato plants in the boxes are like a jungle – so lush and filled with fruit you can’t see the supports.

whiteflies

We’ve learned a few things about handling bugs that attack the plants. Neem is a good, natural pesticide that causes chewing and sucking insects to forget to eat and to mate but doesn’t hurt humans, birds, or pets.  If you spray it early in the morning it will not hurt beneficial insects like bees or butterflies.  It takes longer to work than traditional pesticides because the bugs have to eat it first.  If you’re interested, here are some Neem insecticide products you can check out for your garden from my Amazon store:

Green Light Organic Neem II – 24 oz Spray #07824

Pure Neem Seed Oil – quart I mixed my own spray from the oil.  Warning – it smells stinky to me, but it sure works.  I got rid of all the whiteflies that infested the honeysuckle, daylilies, and tomatoes last year.

Green Light Organic Neem Concentrate – Pint #17016

I found out that putting egg shells in the soil makes tomatoes taste fantastic, so I’ve been saving and crushing mine in preparation for spring planting. Now if the weather would just warm up a little, I could get to the business of soil enrichment.

Home grown produce is good to share with neighbors.  It makes a good excuse to visit friends and share God’s bounty, just one more benefit we like from the efforts of gardening.

Tags: fibromyalgia, wellness

Guaifenesin vs. Iodine in Treating Fibromyalgia

January 20, 2010

Many people suffering from fibromyalgia have stumbled upon the guifenesin protocol pioneered by Dr. Paul St. Amand explained in his book What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Fibromyalgia.* It apparently works well for some people although the restriction of avoiding all salicylates can be difficult for some to follow as salicylates are hidden in many items commonly used in the home and for personal hygiene such as toothpaste and lotions.

The use of iodine in treatment of fibromyalgia shows consistent success and is much easier to accomplish, but some people may need both to get well enough to live anything close to a normal life.  Karen Frandsen’s website has a lot of really useful information about treating fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, the accompanying brain fog and depression, hypoglycemia and other bad symptoms.  The holistic approach shows the greatest promise because it gets to the root of the problem and “fixes” it rather than the application of pharmaceuticals which may relieve symptoms but don’t cure.

Karen has a good list of the similarities and differences in the guaifenesin and iodine protocols here.  Be sure to read this because if you need to increase your knowledge, this will be a good reference.

If you don’t have a doctor willing to work with you on a holistic approach (mine moved away), you might be able to find a good family practice doctor who will be open-minded enough to help you as I have.  It’s not a good idea to have to do everything by yourself, but you, the patient are still the only one who can say whether a particular combination of supplements, hormones, exercise, and drugs, if necessary, make you feel better.

*Clicking on the book title above will take you to Amazon.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, guaifenesin, iodine

A Fairly Cheap Way to Feel Better – Iodine

January 20, 2010

Since the 1990s considerable research on the use and benefits of iodine has been going on among clinical practitioners who treat fibromyalgia, fibrocystic breast disease and thyroid deficiencies. Doctors Abraham, Brownstein, Flechas and Mercola (See my bloglist) are all M.D.s who are really on to something here.  They have all published books and papers on their research and have helped many patients correct thyroid deficiencies which has been fundamental in reducing pain levels, ending depression and anxiety, managing blood sugar levels and a host of other symptoms that afflict many Americans today.

The following presentation was a major eye-opener for me when I saw it last spring. Thanks to Karen Frandsen at the Fibromyalgia Recovery Group, everyone can see what the conference attendees saw.  She added some additional slides regarding her condition.

Since the Iodine Medical Conference in 2007, research has brought even more information to the fore which we should all know about.  First, the PDF presentation.  You will learn a lot and probably need to look at it more than once if you are not a medical professional (I’m not).  I have seen it more than 10 times and still learn from it.

The use of iodine in the treatment of my fibromyalgia has been a major factor in managing the disease.  I took the iodine loading test through my doctor in November of 2008 and reached my current dosage in March of 2009.  Iodoral is a little more expensive than other supplements I’ve talked about in this blog (vitamin D and niacinimide), but it is not out of reach and for what it does, worth the sacrifice, especially if it gets you off prescription drugs as it did me. Investigating iodine deficiency is to me one of the first places to start in a wellness program.

Lugol’s solution is less expensive but is in liquid form and not as convenient to take.  However, it can be very useful diluted as a swab for a sore throat.  Swanson’s Health Products catalogue labels Lugol’s as a “folk remedy.”  It’s been around and used effectively since some time in the 1800s and was used by medics treating veterans during and after World War II.

I will go into iodine in more depth in future posts.

Tags: fibromyalgia, iodine, wellness

Another Really Cheap Way to Feel Better – Fibro-fog, Niacinamide, and Me

People with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are constantly presented with sure-fire cures and magic bullets that are supposed to cure them.  I haven’t found a single one of them to work for me.  What has worked is a combination of approaches that has allowed me to manage life better.  Nearly all of it I figured out for myself by pursuing leads I got reading articles and books from holistic practitioners and from the first M.D. who treated me, getting me started on a low carb – high protein diet and thyroid. I owe them all.

As patients in an age where a pill is supposed to be the answer to everything and the government is moving towards serious denial of healthcare based on age and disability, I think we need to keep several things in mind:

1. Drug companies want to sell us their drugs.  That’s why they spend billions in advertising to the public, even though we can’t prescribe for ourselves.
2. Most drugs address symptoms, create unpleasant side effects, and don’t provide a cure.
3. Medical schools receive considerable funds from drug companies and most students are taught to treat symptoms with drugs rather than get down to the systemic issues that cause the condition in the first place.

I am not accusing doctors of bad will nor saying that there is no place for drugs.  I am deeply grateful to the surgeon who replaced my crippled hips and the painkillers I took at the time were necessary for recovery. Other situations call for the use of drugs to alleviate symptoms, too.

What I want to make clear is that we must be in charge of our own health because the things I am discovering are not presented in the average doctor’s office.  The pharmaceutical lobby is much bigger than most people realize and it is to their benefit to keep holistic approaches from the public which they do at every opportunity, especially in the area of supplements.   At the same time, every approach to fibromyalgia that has helped me I learned from reading books by medical doctors who practice holistic or alternative medicine.

The most recent discovery I made is what I call the wonders of niacinamide, a form of B-3.  Anyone who has fibro or knows someone with it knows that the brain fog is really awful.  Added to that is the anxiety and depression that accompany a chronic pain condition.  One thing I set out to do after my second hip replacement in January of 2009 was to get the use of my brain back.  After much improvement using thyroid, vitamin D, and iodine, a couple of months ago I started on niacinamide after reading about it in Dr. David William’s newsletter.  Continuing research convinces me that many others can benefit by taking this supplement.

Niacanamide and niacin are two different forms of vitamin B-3 and are slightly different chemically. Niacinamide does not cause the uncomfortable niacin flush. B-3 is an essential member of the B-vitamin family.  What interested me was a report from Dr. Williams about a study done at the University of California, Irvine, on reversing Alzheimer’s using niacinamide.  After reading how it worked in the brain, I decided to try it myself.  Here is part of the report covered at Orthomolecular.org:

Kim Green, Ph. D. neuroscientist, University of California, Irvine

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine gave the human dose equivalent of 2,000 to 3,000 mg of vitamin B3 to mice with Alzheimer’s. (2) It worked. Kim Green, one of the researchers, is quoted as saying, “Cognitively, they were cured. They performed as if they’d never developed the disease.”

(2) Green KN, Steffan JS, Martinez-Coria H, Sun X, Schreiber SS, Thompson LM, LaFerla FM. Nicotinamide restores cognition in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice via a mechanism involving sirtuin inhibition and selective reduction of Thr231-phosphotau. J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 5;28(45):11500-10.

Specifically, the study employed large amounts of nicotinamide, the vitamin B3 widely found in foods such as meat, poultry, fish, nuts and seeds. Nicotinamide is also the form of niacin found, in far greater quantity, in dietary supplements. It is more commonly known as niacinamide. It is inexpensive and its safety is long established. The most common side effect of niacinamide in very high doses is nausea. This can be eliminated by taking less, by using regular niacin instead, which may cause a warm flush, or choosing inositol hexaniacinate, which does not. They are all vitamin B3.

B3 and nerves go together. New research confirms that niacinamide (the same form of B3 used in the Alzheimer’s research) “profoundly prevents the degeneration of demyelinated axons and improves the behavioral deficits” in animals with an illness very similar to multiple sclerosis. (11)

(11) Kaneko S, Wang J, Kaneko M, Yiu G, Hurrell JM, Chitnis T, Khoury SJ, He Z. Protecting axonal degeneration by increasing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis models. J Neurosci. 2006 Sep 20;26(38):9794-804. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed See also: Vitamins fight multiple sclerosis. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 4, 2006.

This website is very interesting.  They say: “Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body.”  The site has the niacin molecule on the front page.

I chased down information on William Kaufman, M.D. and his over 60 year work on niacanamide and arthritis treatment as well, and discovered yet more information on the benefits of this supplement.  After reading articles by Dr. Kaufman and Dr. A. Hoffer relating over 60 years of successful clinical applications each, I determined I had nothing to lose by trying several doses a day.

My experiment resulted in a clearer brain, increased mental energy, and increased calmness.  The SADS disappeared, too.  All this occurred in about a month.  The fibro fog seems to have completely departed and there are no side effects.  Niacinamide disappears from the body in a matter of a few hours which is why several doses throughout the day are necessary to achieve an optimum benefit.

According to articles at Doctor Yourself, Niacinamide has also proven effective in treating the following conditions:

• High cholesterol
• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes
• Osteoarthritis
• Cataracts
• Burns
• AMD
• Cancer
• Alcoholism
• Juvenile Diabetes
• Behavioral disorders

I strongly recommend reading Dr. Hoffer’s article as well as Dr. Kaufmann’s.  Doctor Yourself is a really interesting and informative web site that I have bookmarked for myself.  What worked for me may not work for others, but trying niacinamide in careful doses has no downside that I could find.  Each person’s chemistry is different, but once again, I have found a really cheap way to feel better.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, wellness

Today’s Happenings

This week I posted two new articles at Helium.  The first one is the final part of a trilogy on mental prayer or meditation.  Click here to read it: Pitfalls in Catholic Mental Prayer.  The second is Who Was the Virgin of Guadalupe? I also updated my article on Our Lady at my web site here, and dropped in an image of Quetzalcoatl.  I think you’ll enjoy it if you like to read about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Today I’m researching vitamin B3 for an article I want to post on niacinimide, which produces remarkable postive effects on a variety of health issues.  When I get it ready I’ll put it up as part of my goal to share how I am improving my quality of life even though I have severe fibromyalgia.

St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop, Doctor of the Church

Today is the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers, bishop, +368 who fought the Arian heresy at several Church councils, was exiled by the emperor Constantius because of it, and converted many during his missionary travels in Gaul.  He is an early Church Father and Doctor of the Church.  Click on the picture and you will go to a writing of his on “The Spirit of Truth”.

Tags: fibromyalgia, Our Lady of Guadalupe, wellness

Of Water Therapy and Miso Soup

Today I went to the fitness center to do my water therapy exercises after two weeks off during the holidays.  I was surprised to find that I was in better shape than I thought.  My 3x weekly workouts are slowly strengthening my arms and legs from the past year’s surgeries.  The bonus is that I’ve lost about 20 lbs. and only have 25 more to go.  The exercises were given to me by my wonderful physical therapist and I have added a couple more to help improve balance and co-ordination.  These times in the pool are also terrific for my fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and neuro disorders.  If you’d like to know what I’m doing so you can see if it would work for you, leave a comment and I’ll make some posts about the exercises.  Really, they are not hard and they don’t leave me miserable as land therapy does.  In fact, I really hate to leave the pool.  It’s warm water!

Now for the miso soup part of the day.  After working out my husband and I went to the health food store where I saw a product called “Miso-Cup®”, a freeze-dried instant soup.  Friends know that I love much about the Japanese – classical movies, kimonos, the countryside, the spirit of the people and many more things.  It’s turned into quite a love affair.  After seeing many movies mentioning miso, I have wanted to taste it, but thought it would never happen.  Imagine my surprise when I found that I could get it right in Springfield!  This stuff tastes good, and attention fibromyalgia sufferers, it is a living food like yogurt, made of fermented soy and rice.  This is really important for the IBS aspect of fibro.  I bought the kind with wakame seaweed and it was delicious, tasting very vaguely like chicken soup.  One cup only has 3 grams of carbs for you carb watchers out there, it’s filling and the price was economical. The box tells the story of miso and I’m not going to spoil the fun by telling you.  Just know that this could be a good food for people affected by wheat sensitivities, IBS, blood sugar problems, and other systemic issues.  It doesn’t say that on the box: I deduced it from the information given. So now I have one more thing I love about Japan and maybe you will, too.

I took the picture from Steamy Kitchen, Jaden Hair’s blog.  It shows tofu in the miso instead of wakame.  You can get Miso Cup® with tofu and with vegetables, too. Steamy Kitchen tells you how to make it fresh.  Jaden Hair is fantastic but if you go to Steamy Kitchen, beware!  This blog can be addictive if you like to putter in the kitchen and try recipes from around the world.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia

Those Pesky Little Neurites

Anyone who suffers from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, heavy stress or other disabling conditions has a brain under attack.  One of my favorite websites for learning more about systemic ways to address my own conditions as well as giving me insight on health problems others face is Vitamin Research Products.  You can sign up for a free enews monthly newsletter as I have if you want short, informative and educational articles covering a variety of health challenges written by scientists who work for VRP. I consider them an important part of my wellness education.“Now where did I put that?”, “What was I just saying?”, ”How did you say I should do that?” and other similar experiences can be a sign of deteriorating neurites.  The good news is that neurite outgrowth can actually be enhanced with improves the brain’s neural communications network.

Yes, they want you to buy their products and they explain what the formulations should do, how you should use them, and what they are for.  No, I get nothing from VRP and have yet to purchase anything from them because of budgetary considerations but I would really like to some day.  Nevertheless, the articles themselves are worth checking out.  They are short, fully footnoted, and identify research findings related to numerous conditions. 

We also can have “brain fog” from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, and from side effects of some prescription drugs.  For example, in a recent article, “Four Ways to Keep Your Brain Young for Good” I learned that given the right conditions, brain cells can regenerate themselves.  Neurites, branch-like extensions on brain cells can be reduced as we age, causing what people call “senior moments.”

Another good article, “Could Chronic Stress be Lowering Your IQ?” talked about the effects of excessive levels of cortisol on the brain.  It states that there may even be a connection between Alzheimer’s and stress. 

If you or anyone you know might benefit from more knowledge about the factors involved in brain functioning take a look at these short articles and keep those pesky neurites functioning well.

Tags: chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, pain