Re: Re: Need some good info and resources

[Guest guest]

Patty,

Thanks for your info. I printed out the email you sent me several days ago on the supplements you are currently taking (what a list!!).

I think I definately want to get started on MSM, malic acid, and perhaps some form of Vit D/calcium, or shark cartilage. Not only do I have degenerative disk disease, but osteoporosis runs in my family (in addition to breast CA and heart disease--lucky me). My bones are so soft, that I want to make sure I take what I can to make them stronger. I'm also considering milk thistle, and I saw a product on a website that contained milk thistle, inositol, and something else that I was looking for. However, one of the fillers was silica.

Anyway, thanks again. I will keep your email handy and refer to it as needed.

e--by the way, how did your testimony go in NV?

[Guest guest]

> The

> silica that they use in tablets is to keep them from falling apart,

> so I try to get the supplements I take in capsules.

Actually, the silica is used as a drying (or anticaking) agent. Silica can

also be found in capsules, so I am very careful to read all labels before I

buy any supplement. I do avoid any with silicone dioxide or silica. I look

for pretty much straight forward supplements without all the fillers and

binders, although some you are bound to get them, like rice flour, cellulose

(which is indigestible fiber) and magnesium stearate. Magnesium stearate is

one of the most common ones I see. It is a soft white powder, odorless and

tasteless and insoluble in water according to my reference book on

additives. The ones you want to avoid though are magnesium silicate, as it

caused kidney damage in dogs.

Brands I avoid are Twin Labs and any cheap drugstore brands, including

Costco, Walgreens, Target, etc. I buy my supplements from a good health food

store, and most often use Solaray, Nature's Way, Nature's Herbs, and Solgar.

But, always, read your labels. I don't like Twin Lab because they make

everything in the lab (so it is synthetic), and they don't always list a

full disclosure of ingredients. They have a very impressive line, though.

Solaray guarantees that NO ingredients other than those listed on the label

have been added to the product...it says that on every bottle. Still, I read

the labels and buy as close to natural as I can. Organic or wildcrafted

herbs will be more expensive as well as standardized extracts. Standardized

extracts have a guaranteed potency, which ensure that you are getting the

same dose in every pill of the particular herb. Herbs, by nature of their

growing environment, don't all have the same quality, so some feel that

standardized extracts are the only way to go. I don't particularly subscribe

to that opinion. It depends on the herb that I am taking. Milk thistle is

one that I always look for good quality on, because it helps the

oh-so-important liver.

Hope this clears up some questions!

Patty

[Guest guest]

A good site that I have purchased products from is www.vitaminshoppe.com.

They have discounts on all major brands of vitamins, herbs, and other

supplements as well as health and beauty aids, ranging from 20% to 40%.

They have an excellent return policy as well. Occasionally I have purchased

a product from them, only to find out it has titanium dioxide or silicone

dioxide in it, and I don't want it then. They will give you full credit

when you return the bottle.

I also purchase vitamins here locally at 20% off at Warehouse Vitamins

(which is a chain) and also Health Express (another local chain). I am sure

that most major cities have health food store chains that offer similar

discounts.

Patty

[Guest guest]

Hi e,

This issue of soft bones concerns me and I have to wonder how many implanted women have a problem with calcium metabolism. I have heard so many women complain about the state of their teeth since getting implants, and how they have to deal with more decay and other dental related problems. I will never forget the woman in Washington DC last year that showed me her teeth--they were wore down to nubs and broke off so easily. One broke while we had lunch together. They were soft as chalk it seemed like, and she was reduced to eating only soft foods.

Others, like you have the soft bones....and it makes me wonder--is this something that is a permanent faulty metabolism effect from the silicone?

Wish we had answers.

As for the supplements, alot of it is trial and error to see what works for you, but give it a good try, and be consistent in your dosages for at least 6 weeks.

Patty

----- Original Message -----

From: cvrn8@...

Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 6:47 PM

Subject: Re: Re: Need some good info and resources

Patty, Thanks for your info. I printed out the email you sent me several days ago on the supplements you are currently taking (what a list!!). I think I definately want to get started on MSM, malic acid, and perhaps some form of Vit D/calcium, or shark cartilage. Not only do I have degenerative disk disease, but osteoporosis runs in my family (in addition to breast CA and heart disease--lucky me). My bones are so soft, that I want to make sure I take what I can to make them stronger. I'm also considering milk thistle, and I saw a product on a website that contained milk thistle, inositol, and something else that I was looking for. However, one of the fillers was silica. Anyway, thanks again. I will keep your email handy and refer to it as needed. e--by the way, how did your testimony go in NV?

[Guest guest]

Patty,

I have started on milk thistle, calcium and mag, a B stress vitamin, and glutamine. I have ordered MSM and malic acid, and will hopefully receive those by the end of the wk. I will give it the time it needs to see if these will work.

My bones are so soft. I had a cervical spinal fusion done last June, and in Oct xrays confirmed what my neurosurgeon and I feared---a non-union secondary to soft bones. My neurosurgeon felt that my bones were so soft, that my fusion would never take, and I would need to have a second surgery which would involve more "big time" plating and rodding, and not only an anterior fusion, but a posterior as well. But then, miraculously, in late Feb (3 wks after my explantation), xrays showed the beginning of a union! Needless to say, my neurosurgeon was amazed, and he quickly became a believer that my implants were related to the soft bones and non-union. I just had a CT scan and xrays done today to see if the fusion had taken anymore, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I should have the results by the end of the wk.

I'll keep you posted. But the rest of my body is still "soft." My rheumatologist wants to repeat my bone density scan sometime in the next 6 months and see if there's any improvement.

Thanks again for your suggestions on the supplements.

e