Autoimmune Disorders May Cause "Mental" Illness

This may be a hugely important breakthrough. Dr. Sander Markx at Columbia successfully treated a woman who was catatonic for two decades and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, using a regimen for lupus. The story was in the Washington Post and Essence Magazine. 

Read about the work at Precision Medicine.

https://www.precisionmedicine.columbia.edu/.../precision...

“The last several years have marked a turning point in our understanding of the genetics of behavioral brain disorders including traditionally thought of mental illness (like mood, anxiety, psychotic and eating disorders), intellectual disturbances (such as autism, learning disabilities, ADHD) and addictions (to alcohol, prescription, and recreational drugs). The increasing sophistication of genomic medicine has enabled us to reliably map genetic mutations that underlie debilitating psychiatric disorders of individual patients. The diagnostic clinic for precision neuropsychiatry is positioned to follow up on these findings, efficiently study the biologic consequences of these mutations and screen for novel treatments for psychiatric disorders for which there are currently few viable treatment options available, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and mood disorders.” 

Here we are...

In a Pandemic.

 This is almost overwhelming. I pray for those who are suffering and for the well-being of all those who are taking care of them. I pray that effective treatments will be found soon. In the meantime, stay as safe as you can!

Why the Anti-Abortion Movement is a Wasted Effort

Well, I've been disappointed in the number of people who voted for a candidate on the basis of his anti-abortion views. Never mind that he did not hold that position until he was running for office! But why does this position outweigh serious deficiencies in a person's character? People are so easily fooled!

Personally I am pro-choice, even though I am also pro-child. I happen to be old enough to remember the days when abortion was illegal. It was still common but it was dangerous! And many women tried to bring on miscarriages by various means like jumping off tables — risky but desperate actions! Legal abortions are much safer.

It makes better sense to increase access to birth control and motivate both genders to use it. Of course, abstinence is still an option, although it seems to be very difficult for young people whose hormones are pulsing. Still, they are more likely to choose it if they have self-confidence and see a bright future ahead, with opportunities to be gained by postponing intimate relationships.

A major newspaper reports that when legislation makes abortion hard to obtain, internet searches on do-it-yourself abortion increase. So it's too late to stop abortion anyway! (See this Glamour magazine article.) I am not advocating that anyone get an abortion drug from Mexico, by the way. Even for herbal abortions, women need to be very well-informed before taking them because even culinary herbs can be dangerous in high quantities. But these herbs will never be outlawed because we need them for cooking! And vitamin C is not likely to be outlawed either!

With all this in mind, keeping abortion legal is essential. Doctors should be involved in the decision so that safety can be assured.

Oh no! Bedbugs!?

My spouse and I got itchy bug bites on our legs which I thought were chigger bites. After all, it is summer and we had walked through damp grass. But when the spots spread and then spread again, my husband called the doctor.

It was the nurse who greeted us who said it first: "Bedbugs!"  Oh, no!

I never had a problem with bedbugs before but of course I had heard of them. And we had stayed in a hotel a few weeks before, which the doctor says fits the pattern. He prescribed a cream and said to launder all bedding the next day. We did, and also vacuumed the carpets and furniture and checked the mattress. It was already encased in a allergy-resistant cover which apparently protected it. I rolled a sticky lint-removal gadget back and forth over the cover and found no bugs. I guess they got on us at the hotel but did not have a chance to spread throughout our home.

The itchy bites are fading. Next time we go to a hotel I'll be more careful. I'll keep the luggage off the bed and carpet and check the bedding first thing.

By the way, the hotel was expensive because it faced the ocean. This did not mean it was immune to bedbugs, though, so be cautious when you travel.

Probiotic News

I read a very interesting article on probiotics that lower inflammation on the Low Histamine Chef site. I take Bifidobacterium infantis as Lifestart 2 by Natren. It seems to agree with me.

Many other probiotics have caused me problems, probably because they contain yeast.  My doctor believes that probiotics can help me, but he admits that they usually only stay in the intestine for a few days, not permanently.

Recognizing Verbal Abuse

I just read The Verbally Abusive Relationship by Patricia Evans. I found it very informative, although it does have a gender bias due to the author's experience being limited to helping women more than men. She admits this and says that men can also be victims of verbal abuse but this particular book is aimed at women.

Ms. Evans has a website and there you can read many of the points made in the book.

Verbal abuse includes withholding, bullying, defaming, defining, trivializing, harassing, diverting, interrogating, accusing, blaming, blocking, countering, lying, berating, taunting, put downs, abuse disguised as a joke, discounting, threatening, name-calling, yelling and raging.

Early in a marriage, the abused person may be surprised by the change in her spouse, and may wonder what she did to make him angry. Ms. Evans points out that it is probably less about what she did than it is his need to control. Farther on in the book, she provides some ways to react to verbal abuse. Examples include responding to:

• Ordering: Say "Do you hear yourself?" or "I don't follow orders."
• Anger: Try "Stop! Take a deep breath and please talk nicely" or "You may not raise your voice to me!"

Although Patricia Evans is not a psychotherapist, she has years of experience in the field of interpersonal communications. If you think you are being verbally abused, this book can be helpful.

Pesticides and Chlorine May Cause Food Allergies

Why are food allergies becoming so common? The hygiene hypothesis has been around for a while, linking extra-clean households with allergies. A recent study offers a possible reason: Pesticides and chlorine may kill the naturally occurring "good" bacteria in humans’ digestive systems, causing food allergies.

Antibiotics were previously linked in the same way. We need certain bacteria in our guts in order to digest food properly. Killing of the bacteria that live inside us may be hazardous to our health.

Methylene Chloride in Enteric Coating

I take SAM-e (S-adenosyl methionine) on the advice of my doctor. It's said to help relieve arthritic-type pain and depression. I'm supposed to take 400 mg. before breakfast and 200 mg. later in the day. I look for brands that are free of yeast and sugar alcohols. 

Recently I ordered a new box of SAM-e online and when it came, I was surprised to see Isopropyl Alcohol and Methylene Chloride listed as ingredients. They were not listed on the online ingredient list when I purchased them.

Isopropyl alcohol and methylene chloride are toxic, so the amount used in the supplement is small. But methylene chloride is found in some furniture strippers and has caused fatalities. (See http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/methylene_chloride_addendum.pdf). So I called the manufacturer (Natrol). Their customer service rep explained that methylene chloride and isopropyl alcohol are part of the enteric coating. They have been in the product all along but were not required to be listed until recently! So I imagine that we will be seeing a lot of these ingredients revealed on labels now that regulations require it. Obviously the amount in a single tablet is small, but people who take a variety of coated medications and supplements might be consuming more than desirable. I was not able to find a site dealing with this issue but there must be one out there. Let me know in the comments if you know of a study on the safety of methylene chloride as an ingredient. 

NOTE: Although SAM-e is available without prescription in the USA, persons with bipolar conditions are advised to not take it. (See article.)

September Update

I apologize for neglecting this blog. Like so many bloggers, I got busy with other things including spending too much time on Facebook. But let me give you an update on my health status, which is not bad compared to what a lot of people suffer.

1. Heartburn/ Reflux. This is my most annoying health challenge and it continues in spite of various treatments. The prescription drugs did not work for me so my functional doctor suggested dietary changes. They've been hard to follow; the hardest being giving up coffee, even decaf. But I did it and I still have heartburn. One thing that helped for a long time was melatonin, 6 mg. nightly. However, this eventually stopped working. Other treatments that didn't work for me are enzymes (the ones I tried, anyway), probiotics, and lemon juice. 
2. Overweight. I have struggled with my weight for years. The only diet that worked for me was Atkins but I got so constipated on it that I had to stop. Last year I went on a low-glycemic diet for other health reasons but I quickly gained five pounds and decided to stop. Weight is too hard to lose, so I just don't want to gain any.
3. Back pain, leg pain and core strength. I'm working with a physical therapist to build core strength. My hope is that this will cut down on back pain, leg pain, and frequent weakness. I do a set of exercises every day and I believe it is helping.
4. Food allergies and sensitivities. I have more than ever before, and so far there is no cure that works. I have to avoid a long list of foods, which is sometimes impossible when eating in restaurants because even the staff doesn't know what's in everything. Combine this with trying to avoid heartburn and eating is not fun anymore.
5. Fatigue. It's not as bad as it was a year ago but it's still an issue. 
6. Depression. Not too bad in the summer because I get plenty of sunshine, but I have to really fight it in the winter. Vitamin D, SAM-e, St. John's Wort, and bright lighting are my wintertime friends.
7. Sore feet. I get these thick spots on my soles that one doctor calls seed corns. They are painful and have to be removed regularly.

Most Folks Don't Eat Enough Veggies

In a recent poll, 61% of respondents said they eat one or two servings of fruits and vegetables daily, 33% said they eat three or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, while 6% said they they don't eat fruits and vegetables on a daily basis!

So a majority of Americans are getting much less than the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Or maybe they don't know what a vegetable is!

When the State Delays Abortion

State governments sometimes try to interfere with abortion by passing regulations that delay it. Examples are Virginia's proposed ultrasound requirement and various requirements for notifying third parties.

Whenever the government requires a procedure that delays abortion, it is risking an INCREASE in the chance of an embryo feeling pain. Many abortions are performed before the embryo is capable of feeling pain, which is at around 6 weeks after fertilization. Since a woman typically suspects pregnancy between 2 and 3 weeks after fertilization, she has a window of opportunity of only about 3 weeks before the nervous system starts working and the embryo's heart starts beating.

If the state delays abortions by requiring extra processes or tests, it increases the chance that the abortion will cause pain to the embryo or "stop a beating heart." Thus the politicians become party to what they supposedly want to prevent!

If people are serious about not hurting an embryo that is capable of feeling, they should encourage early abortions, not cause them to become later ones!

Of course, this is not what politicians are really concerned about. I realize some of them want to stop abortion altogether. If that's what they want, let them make it easier for women to raise children by guaranteeing that children will not go hungry or otherwise uncared for.

Is Your Fleece Polluting the Ocean?

One more thing to worry about: fibers from polyester and acrylic are polluting the oceans. See
Laundry Lint Pollutes the World's Oceans - ScienceNOW.

I'm not a big fan of polyester or acrylic fabrics because they attract static unless you treat them with fabric softener, which to me has an unpleasant odor. But I didn't know that their fibers are showing up in sand all over the world!

I guess if you have these fabrics, you should wash them rarely, which means wearing them less, until we find out how much of a threat this is to marine animals and those who eat them. (That includes ourselves.)

Queen Anne's Lace ... What?

I was browsing a wildflower book and came across this: the seeds of the dainty Queen Anne's Lace were used as a morning-after contraceptive! Wow, how did settlers know stuff like that?

I looked it up in Wikipedia and sure enough: The crushed seeds were once thought to be a form of birth control ... first described by Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago. Research conducted on mice has offered a degree of confirmation for this use—wild carrot was found to disrupt the ovum implantation process, which reinforces its reputation as a contraceptive. Chinese studies have also indicated the seeds block progesterone synthesis, which could explain this effect.

Don't try this at home though! Queen Anne's Lace (aka wild carrot) resembles the deadly poison hemlock!

X is for Xanthan

I've seen xanthan gum listed as an ingredient but didn't think to look it up until recently. It is created by a fermentation process. This raises a red flag for me because many fermented foods don't agree with me due to my allergy to yeasts and molds.

I haven't experimented with xanthan gum and I don't think it was included in any of the allergy tests I had. However, I see on the Wisegeek website that a lot of folks are volunteering their stories of allergy or sensitivity to xanthan gum.

It is used as a thickener in a lot of foods including many gluten-free foods, ice creams, and even some herbal extracts. I'm going to go back and read some labels of foods that I've suspected of causing me indigestion and see if it's listed as an ingredient. If it is, keeping track of whether I react to those foods should let me know if this is a missing piece to the puzzle of "why hasn't my digestion gotten better even though I'm eating healthier."

Actually, keeping a food diary with notes on symptoms is a valuable tool to diagnosing food sensitivities, but doing it for more than a few days is difficult. I've tried it and it just takes too much time. Plus who wants to obsess over every bite and every little ingredient?

More Sources of Yeast Allergy Reactions

I discovered another yeast-related cause of itching: kimchee (also spelled kimchi). It contains yeast, so I'm allergic to it. Too bad, it's supposed to be good for you.

In researching yeast allergies further, I found the following:

• Olives can contain yeasts of several varieties. (This explains my occasional coughing spells when trying to consume olive oil on salads.)
• Berries, grapes and citrus fruits often have mold or yeast on their skins.
• Molds and yeasts have been detected on ready-to-eat salads, whole fresh vegetables and sprouts.

Three Health Articles to Consider

1. CoQ10 seems to improve Gulf War Syndrome as well as Parkinson's.
2. Teflon component linked to arthritis
3. Broken CFL bulbs release mercury for up to 10 weeks.

What's Wrong With Antibacterial Soaps?

Triclosan kills "weak" bacteria but favors the tolerant, among them species of bacteria that eat triclosan.

That's one of the facts you'll find in this disturbing report on antibacterial soaps on the Scientific American website.

Most people who use antibiotic soap are no healthier than those who use normal soap. AND those individuals who are chronically sick and use antibiotic soap appear to get SICKER.

Triclosan is still found in most liquid soaps and various other products. Watch the labels and avoid it.

Saccharomyces and Itching

My doctor recommended the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii to help with long-standing diarrhea. I took it for a while and recently read that it may cause a reaction if you are allergic to yeast. Which I am, both to baker's yeast and brewer's yeast, and even to candida yeast. So I stopped taking the Saccharomyces capsules to see what happened and the next day noticed that the itching that had been causing problems for several months went away. It was a severe itch under my breasts which was somewhat helped by athlete's foot cream.

And no, the capsules did not cure the diarrhea. I'm now taking a different probiotic L. plantarum (as LactoflamX) and it does not make me itch.

Ouch! Dog bite!

My dog bit me! He got his leash wrapped around one of his legs and could not get free and was barking furiously. I reached down to help him and he bit my hand! He looked startled as soon as he did it and I was able to finish freeing his leg.

After I washed the wound on my hand, I decided it needed medical attention. Although not huge, it was a lot more than a scratch. Since my doctor's office was already closed for the day, I went to the hospital.

I had to wait for a couple of hours but finally I saw a doctor. She cleaned the bite with saline solution and had me get an X-ray and a tetanus shot. She returned to say the X-ray was fine and prescribed an antibiotic. Then she applied a splint and gauze and an elastic-type wrapping. She said that bites often get infected so the antibiotic is important.

Patient Info: Animal Bites

Now a couple of days have passed and I'm doing well. Need to work on dog behavior though!

Bloating is Miserable When Flying

Probably the most uncomfortable flight I ever had was one where I suffered bloating. As soon as the plane got up in the air, minor gas bubbles turned into severe bloating! I spent the entire 5-hour flight in severe pain. Finally when the plane descended the pain subsided.

Read: Bloating and gas are part of air travel.