Re: Digest Number 921

[Guest guest]

Creighton,

Your symptoms sound incredibly similar to my son's (13), with the major

exception being that after having two rounds of high fever - between 102.5

and 104 - last Fall, the fever came back and didn't go away. He got sick in

September for 5 days, high fever, incredible fatigue and aches. We tested

for strep and thought it was a flu when that came back negative. Then he

got well, but in retrospect I know he wasn't back to 100% after that even

though he was still playing football (he was 5'9 " at the time and 140 lbs.

Today he is over 5'11 " and 150 lbs.)

Then in late October it came on suddenly again, total fatigue and

exhaustion, high fever and this time join pains. It occurs to me that the

first one could have been a true flu which triggered the JRA, based on what

I've read from the book. This time we tested for mono. The fever went away

after 5-7 days, but he never got all his energy back. He continued going

to school and tried to play basketball. By mid-November the fever was back

with a vengeance. He was having night sweats, cold chills, fever at over

103 every day, severe joint pain (one night he crawled to the bathroom

because his ankle hurt so badly) and that persistent exhaustion and fatigue.

His SED rate and white blood count were incredibly high, but the rheumatoid

factor was negative. Interestingly enough, our family doctor suspected JRA

and referred to a rheumatologist who immediatley declared him not to have a

rheumatic disease and referred him to an infectious disease specialist who

suspected borrelia and began to treat him for that while running lab work to

confirm, which of course, she never could. Meantime they suspected lymphoma

and leukemia and did CAT scans.

Then in the first week of December we admitted him to Children's

Hospital of Austin because he was getting dehydrated. They tested for

everything in the hospital, did a spinal tap, bone marrow aspirate,

echocardiagram, endoscopy, colonoscopy, countless blood work, CAT scans of

his knee and brain, and a few other things I can't remember. They

discovered a gastric ulcer brought on by ibuprofen which he'd been taking

for over a month for the joint pain and fever. So we put him on prilosec

for 8 weeks, and the ulcer finally went away. He lost 20 pounds and looked,

as my sister said, " like an AIDS victim " .

It was not until May that we tested him for mycoplasma on the suggestion

of an integrative medicine doctor, and sure enough, there were two strains

of mycoplasma in his blood - m. hominis and m. pneumoniae (however you spell

those things!) So by this time the pediatric rheumatologist in Houston (3

hours away) had finally said systemic JRA since they had elminated every

other possibility. So we started him on prednisone and minocycline at about

the same time. We had started him on methotrexate (which he insisted on

stopping himself several weeks ago) a month or so earlier and had seen

absolutely no improvement. (He had gotten some relief back in late January

when we put him on Vioxx after trying Celebrex. He still takes Vioxx and

can really tell when he's late on his pill). By April his fevers were

breaking through the Vioxx more frequently.

As I've said before, we put him on 20 mg. of prednisone and saw

absolutely no difference, so we put him on 80mg. and he was flying high. We

quickly brought him down to 60mg. and have him on 30 now and decreasing by

the week. Because of the prednisone he's been able to go to camp this

summer, go on a youth mission trip and enjoy our family vacation as well as

hanging out with his friends like he hadn't done for 9 months. So, we're

very grateful for the prednisone but are very anxious to get him off it

completely. He's doing well on 30 mg. this week, and I'm looking forward to

20mg. next week.

During all this time he has had migratory joint pain. Fingers, knees,

wrists mainly with some ankle pain and elbow pain. He can't straighten his

right arm all the way. His joint mobility is improving, I believe because

of the antibiotics. He had IV cleocin last week and has been on minocycline

for about 10 weeks. He pain has been severe at times so that he wouldn't

move his hand and would just hold it close to his body. His knees have been

swollen a lot. It all seems to be decreasing by the week right now. He's

looking forward to being in school full time. He was on home bound for most

of last year and never returned to school full time. It was right after

school that we got him on the high doses of prednisone and got his energy

back.

This was very long, but I was just really struck by the similarities

with your symptoms. It is also good for me to just write this out. We're

so thankful we found out about the antibiotic therapy.

Jan

>

>

> ________________________________________________________________________

> ________________________________________________________________________

>

> Message: 3

> Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 22:20:12 -0700

> From: " Burgher Family " <cburgher@...>

> Subject: RE: non-stop flu

>

> All,

>

> One last input. I too had a fever of around 104 every three months or so

> while in highschool. My doctors then had no idea what it was. I always

> tested negative for strep, mono, etc. In college (1986-90), it got worse;

> fevers lasted for weeks. UofW medical center ran dozens of tests; only

> could find that my immune system was going " haywire " , with no specific

> antibodies showing up.

>

> However, this now attacks me less often, less than once a year. But when

it

> does, I'm down for 5 days with the fever, and it takes me over a month to

> fully recover. Though I have not been tested for the Mycoplasma

infection,

> I do believe that when I get around to it, it will come back positive.

The

> other " symptoms " associated with the fever are very RA-like (or CFSID-like

> or FMS-like), with swollen joints, bone-pain, aching muscles, cripled

> fingers, etc.

>

> I've only come to these conclusions of the infectious theory over the past

> year, due to the research I've done trying to figure out what was wrong

with

> my wife. In March, she tested positive for several species, and in April

> was diagnosed with Systemic Sclerosis. We do believe (as many of you here

> do) that there is a link between the two.

>

> Prior to this, I believed what my doctors were telling me, that my system

> was just going haywire due to stress. I now know better. I am looking

> forward to the day when we all are vindicated in our decisions to go

outside

> of the " normal " medical community to seek treatment for the underlying

> cause, as opposed to destroying our bodies utilizing the standard medical

> treatments to treat the symptomology.

>

> Creighton

>

>

[Guest guest]

Melinda,

This is a great story! So glad your daughter is having fun with the art of

cake decorating.

Dear Friends,

One of you mentioned a book entitled " THE IMP OF THE MIND " . I just started

reading it and it is exceptional. While I was in the book store, and

Noble, a very nice woman told me that she takes cake decorating classes. She

showed me this gigantic, fantastically colorful and creative cake decorating

book in the store.

I'm near broke, but I purchased it anyway.

Next, I went to a grocery store and purchased a several cake decorating tips,

food coloring and a few flavorings. My daughter who has severe OCD and

schizo-affective disorder has not put the book down. She is engrossed in the

gooey frosting and loves the flavors, colors, textures and smells of the

frosting. She is quit a little artist if I do say so my self. The lady in

the book store told me that all of the sensory stimulation while doing the

cake decorating helps to devert her attention away from her " mean " obsessive

thoughts.

My daughter loves this so much that she is thinking about becomming a

professional cake decorator. She is decovering that she can use other parts

of her brain and she seems so happy.

Have fun

Melinda

________________________________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

>Jeanie,

>My son feels sleepy on SSRI's, too. However, I also know he uses sleep to

>counteract boring routines and after a hard afternoon. He says it is

>utterly exhausting to have a " fit " of OCD. Sometimes he waits a day or

>two, and then crashes asleep, sometimes it is more immediately.

>

Out of the mouths of babes. Your son is right on the mark - an OCD attack

can drain every bit of energy you have. They always wear me out (often to

the point of needing to lie down). The closest thing I can compare it to

was my wedding day - the exhaustion I felt after getting in the limo to head

to the airport was comparable to that of a medium-intensity OCD attack.

I've also used sleep to escape OCD, particularly as a teen. I found that if

I just stayed asleep I didn't have to experience all the anxiety. I once

slept for almost 36 hours straight, mainly to avoid some OCD thoughts which

were plaguing me. I don't do that now, of course (on meds and have to hold

down a job), but I slept a LOT as a kid.

SSRIs make me sleepier, too, so I'll bet that that's a common side-effect.

-

[Guest guest]

Based on the last message in this group, our computer may have been used by

a virus to try to disseminate itself. The lack of an attachment to the

message means it probably didn't succeed in this case (I assume

automatically refused to forward the attachment). The virus we found on our

hard drive is W32/Magistr, which automatically sends out copies of itself.

If you've received any email from us with an attachment, please delete

without reading and use your virus protection system to scan your Windows

files. We regret any problems this may cause anyone. J. Hemry

FYI

>

> A Project to Map Autism Research

>

> An all-encompassing and comprehensive review exercise to map the

> current state of knowledge in autism research is being conducted. This

> unique project is a precursor to the establishment of a UK-based

Foundation

> for Autism Research.

> The project, spearheaded by the Institute of Child Health, is a

> collaboration between academic and voluntary organisations; namely PACE

> (Parents’ Campaign for Education) and the UK National Autistic Society

> (NAS). The project is being overseen by an expert panel including Sir

> Rutter, Simon Baron-Cohen and Shattock.

>

> In order to develop and refine the proposal for an Autism Research

> Foundation, a preliminary mapping exercise into autism research is

necessary

> to:

> • Identify from a global perspective what research into autism is

> currently being undertaken

> • Identify emerging themes, and areas of interface between academic

> disciplines

> • Identify topics of potential value that are under-researched and

> locate themes for which funding is particularly hard to obtain at present.

>

> In addition to mapping published scientific work, the project wishes

> to gain information regarding current research activity and scientist,

> practitioner and parent views about future research priorities. FEAT is

> distributing this questionnaire to give you the opportunity to have your

say

> about the direction of future research. Unlike previous research, the

> project aims to raise questions rather than to answer them.

> As you may well know, the questions and problems of autism are

> pressing. Please respond promptly.

> Please complete the attached form and return it (either as a Word

> document or in the body of an email) to

>

> FEAT@...

>

> THEN FORWARD THIS ORIGINAL POST TO OTHERS YOU KNOW WHO MIGHT WANT TO

> PARTICIPATE BUT WHO ARE NOT REACHED BY THIS LIST.

>

> Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.

>

>

> Q 1. What do you consider to be the priorities for research in the

> next decade and

> why do you consider research in this area is needed?

>

>

>

>

> Q 2. If you are currently involved in research activity in autism

> spectrum disorder we would like you detail the title and aims of your

> current projects.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Tina M. Hendrix

> Cure2000@...

> Vice-President, California Coalition

> Neuro-Immune Dysfunction Syndromes

> Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity,

CFS,

> etc.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/2/MAGNET.UVM.html

Although the results of the study were inconclusive, magnet therapy reduced

fibromyalgia pain intensity enough in one group of study participants to be

" clinically meaningful, " the researchers said.

" However, we did find a statistically significant difference in pain

intensity reduction for one of the active magnet pad groups. The two groups

that slept on pads with active magnets generally showed the greatest

improvements in outcome scores of pain intensity level, number of tender

points on the body and functional status after six months. "

Pad A group exhibited a consistent improvement across all four outcome

measures at three and six months. Pad B group showed an improvement in all

outcomes at three months, and these improved scores were maintained at six

months. The sham pad group and the group receiving only usual care did not

exhibit the same improvements.

==========================

from: http://www.immunesupport.com/Library/showarticle.cfm?ID=383

Controlling Chronic Pain with Magnetic Therapy

by Source: Baylor College of Medicine

01-01-1999 Do magnets have healing power? Alternative practitioners have

long said yes, and recent studies suggest that they may be right.

In a recent study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and

Rehabilitation, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found

magnets to be more effective than sham magnets at blocking pain caused by

post-polio syndrome.

In the controlled study, 76% of patients treated with a magnet got pain

relief. Only 18% treated with a sham magnet got relief.

Growing Body of Evidence

In other studies, magnets have proven effective against:

Fibromyalgia. Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston

showed that magnets help reduce muscle pain caused by this mysterious

condition.

In the study, patients who slept on magnetic mattresses experienced greater

pain relief than patients who slept on ordinary mattresses.

Diabetic neuropathy. In research conducted at New York Medical College in

Valhalla, magnetic footpads were more effective than nonmagnetic footpads at

relieving numbness, tingling and pain associated with this diabetes-related

problem.

Evidence suggests that roughly 80% of chronic pain sufferers could benefit

from magnetic therapy. That's true for virtually any form of pain.

How Magnets Relieve Pain

When held against the skin, magnets relax capillary walls, thereby boosting

blood flow to the painful area.

They also help prevent the muscle spasms that underlie many forms of

pain-apparently by interfering with muscle contractions. And they interfere

with the electrochemical reactions that take place within nerve cells,

impeding their ability to transmit pain messages to the brain.

Of course, chronic pain can be controlled with aspirin and other

over-the-counter and prescription painkillers. But unlike pain medications,

magnets do not carry any risk of side effects.

Selecting Medical Magnets

Medical magnets come in a dizzying range of shapes, sizes and strengths.

They range in price from about $5 all the way to $900.

It's usually best to start with one or more coin-shaped magnets made of the

rare earth metal neodymium-boron. For most applications, these ?neoS magnets

work just as well as - and cost less than - other magnets. Cost: About $10

apiece.

Magnetism is measured in gauss. A typical refrigerator magnet is about 10

gauss. That's too weak to penetrate the skin-and unlikely to be helpful for

anything more than a minor bruise.

Medical magnets range in strength from 450 gauss to 10,000 gauss. The higher

the gauss, the better the pain relief.

Since magnets aren't always helpful, it's best to purchase yours from a

company that offers a money-back guarantee of at least 30 days.

For a free list of magnet manufacturers and their phone, contact the North

American Academy of Magnetic Therapy.

Putting Magnets to Work

The magnet should be affixed to the skin directly over the painful area.

Some people use ordinary adhesive bandages to affix the magnets. But

Transpore - a paper tape made by 3M - works better. It holds well, and it

doesn't pull the hairs from the skin when its removed.

If the magnet fails to provide relief within a few days, reposition the

magnet over the nearest acupuncture point. To locate these points on the

body, consult a book on acupuncture.

If repositioning the magnet fails to bring relief within 30 days, odds are

it's not going to work. Switch to another type of magnet...or speak with

your doctor about using painkilling medication or another conventional

approach.

Aching feet. Magnetic insoles can relieve foot pain and the achy feeling in

the legs after you've been standing all day.

Arthritis. If pain is limited to your fingers, a neo magnet taped to the

affected joint should do the trick. Or-you can wear a magnetic wristband.

For fibromyalgia or for arthritis pain throughout the body, a magnetic

mattress is usually best. If the $900 cost is too much for you, opt for a

magnetic pad, which will usually cost between three to five hundred dollars.

========================================

" A surfeit of positive ions also causes blood to flow more slowly..., and as

a result oxygen in the blood is not carried to the muscles as efficiently,

resulting in muscle pain. " - page 31

The Book of Magnet Healing, a Holistic Approach to Pain Relief by

Coghill

---

[This E-mail scanned for viruses by LRBCG.COM, Inc.]

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/5/04 3:10:56 AM Mountain Standard Time,

SSRI medications writes:

> I have a Grandson with ADHD. Stuart is doing very well, thank you ,on

> his medicine. My other Grandson took his own life because of

> depression. If he had received treatment for depression, would be

> alive today.

>

This kind of thinking always puzzles me. There is no way of knowing that

this child would be alive if he'd been pumped with SSRIs. He may have killed

himself sooner, more violently, or maybe not at all. It's an unknown, yet the

uneducated still think that these drugs are a panacea, a cure-all, a magic

bullet for life's ups and downs. He says his other grandchild is doing well on

his

medication. For how long? Until when? And if he doesn't continue to do

well, what will Mr. McFarland blame it on???? Not enough meds? The wrong med?

A much-needed different combo????? Meanwhile, my best friend contacted me

about someone she knows whose 14 year old daughter was prescribed Paxil and two

weeks later hanged herself. Of course, the doctor told the mother that

depression kills. Oh my, and what about the drugs that induce suicidality???

Blind Reason

a novel of espionage and pharmaceutical intrigue

Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again.

[Guest guest]

Dr. Magat,

This is what I've been saying all this time, if

vitamin E is a concern, then take the food richest in

this vitamin. Don't rely on the vco since its vitamin

e is minimal to begin with, and now nil!

Am now in Texas and running out of vco which we

personaly made and took over here. Anybody out there

have a suggestion which brand does not smell and taste

of coconut? I want pure virgin coconut oil without

heat and without enzymes used.

Thanks.

------------

> 12. Re: Re: Lauric acid

> From: Severino Magat

> <sev_magat@...>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear

A recommendation for a brand that does not smell and taste

of coconut, pure virgin coconut oil without heat and without enzymes used is

NAVICO which is produced under strict hygenic conditions by PT Pulau Sambu.

My husband is an agent in Malaysia.

warmest

regards

Begum

melly banagale <@...> wrote:

Dr. Magat,

This is what I've been saying all this time, if

vitamin E is a concern, then take the food richest in

this vitamin. Don't rely on the vco since its vitamin

e is minimal to begin with, and now nil!

Am now in Texas and running out of vco which we

personaly made and took over here. Anybody out there

have a suggestion which brand does not smell and taste

of coconut? I want pure virgin coconut oil without

heat and without enzymes used.

Thanks.

------------

> 12. Re: Re: Lauric acid

> From: Severino Magat

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear melly,

There are ANH VCO already available in the US. You can order from Mt. Mayon

and he can send it to you. Our distributor from the California area is still

trying to set up his system. We (our company) will be in Anaheim on the 24th to

the 26th of march for the Natural Products Expo West. If we can arrange to send

you from there its going to be find with me.

Tess

melly banagale <@...> wrote:

Dr. Magat,

This is what I've been saying all this time, if

vitamin E is a concern, then take the food richest in

this vitamin. Don't rely on the vco since its vitamin

e is minimal to begin with, and now nil!

Am now in Texas and running out of vco which we

personaly made and took over here. Anybody out there

have a suggestion which brand does not smell and taste

of coconut? I want pure virgin coconut oil without

heat and without enzymes used.

Thanks.

------------

> 12. Re: Re: Lauric acid

> From: Severino Magat

> <sev_magat@...>

>

__________________________________________________