Friday, February 24, 2012

kindling to fire

Or is it a match to kindling?  i have always done that - and i won't blame it on "cognitive dysfunction" related to chronic fatigue - that's what that avocado was like yesterday - a little spark that sets off a chain reaction overblown in its intensity.  You throw that avocado on damp wood and you get the minor lip tingle, and in an hour or so everything settles back in to normal - add it to an inflamed system fighting off other infections and it rages out of control.  It was hard to eat any food last night without getting symptoms and then i got a rash below my left eye and temple and this morning both my eyelids were a bit swollen - you are finally hearing in the mainstream media how the health of your intestines is vital to your overall health.  The majority of your immunity lies there, and we now know that getting "butterflies in your stomach" is a true physiological response - one of my favorite books is Molecules of Emotion, Candice Pert - she is brilliant and really "proved" the mind/body connection - but not in a cause/effect way - more that literally every cell in your body has complete memory - i read it too long ago to give you the best review - check it out though -

I read this link Wall Street Journal on Sue Jackson's blog - and beggars can't be choosers (thought i would throw another one in!) but i do hope that the researchers will look at this illness in a more functionally holistic way - meaning - all these "un-related" symptoms are not unrelated - my physician has really been looking at the role of the pituitary gland in my case for two reasons - one its role in immune function and two - that i fell out of a moving car when i was one years old -which has been a punch line in many of the mixed metaphors of my life! Anyways, her theory is that individuals with minor pituitary dysfunction sets of a cascade of problems - so as i patiently listened when i got home i googled away- and sure enough found these two articles pituitary/immune and this Misdiagnosing and found it fascinating.  The second article specifically speaks to mis-diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction in patients that had even minor head trauma d/t TSH not working optimally- something a number of doctors told me that it was not possible to have hyperthyroid condition without TSH being out of range first.  Well - I did. The point being - I continue to be disillusioned trying to find a magic bullet answer to this complex illness - but am grateful for those pursuing any answers.

I was discussing this point with my physician today, and I said I think there is a void in Western Medicine - think back to Hypocrates, many of the great physicians were artists, philosophers, they were healers...but now the competition to get into medical school is so fierce, it relies so heavily on MCAT scores, those that do well on a standardized test format and have insane GPA's in the sciences - you are getting this very narrow type of person - I know a number of very smart, caring - well rounded individuals that couldn't get into medical school - yet they would have been excellent physicians.  Then you have the movement into the specialities - like i said - if you need a heart transplant there is no better place to be than in America - but primary care got so boring with the current medical model - most people walk in diagnosing themselves - because somewhere along the line - prevention - building up immunity etc..got lost - so here we are - this society filled with auto and chronic immune illnesses that rely on pharmaceuticals to stop the symptoms - but where is the restoration of the entire body?  The pharmaceutical industry has done a brilliant job at stopping cascading event in our system - but restoring and re-building that's another ball game.

Yesterday, on the AOL newsfeed was the following headline - "what condition do 75% of Asthma Sufferers also have" the answer....GERD the article then went on to say that these conditions were two different diseases, require two different treatments and are unrelated - has everyone lost their mind?  Look to chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, other integrative teachings - and you will realize that they while yes they are different conditions - they are physiologically related - there is often a reason behind the two co-existing.  I learned early on, with asthma patients make sure they have enough digestive enzymes and HCl because if they aren't digesting food properly, it will effect their lungs.  It is one body - one action has a reaction - and its connected by pathways and transmitters - it is impossible to constantly separate out organs and have a curative effect - you can have a symptom management effect though...

Well - there's my little rant for today....i encourage you to look at yourself in a more holistic way - hopefully the pendulum will begin to swing back again as we see our nation suffering from chronic illness after chronic illness -

(this is out of order - but i can't figure out how to move the entry's around...) (fyi)

A little sex...

In the City that is! okay - while i was getting my blood treatment today and gabbing away to distract myself - both my doctor and my fellow neighboring patient commented on how funny i am...i'm no stand up - that would be my cousin Jack - but I do have a pretty good sense of humor - they were saying i should be writing about my take on camping - and i told them i have a hard time conveying humor in my writing - so i will try to work on that.

i have a post that i began this morning as my eyes were both swollen, and rash on my face - lingering effects of avocado gate - and my body was once again craving my blood treatment - in my gut i just new it was what would bring me some relief - and sure enough it didn't disappoint.

so when i got back here, i was ready to go the pool - by the time i walked over i was out of breathe - it only took a few minutes to recover - and since its quite warm her in phoenix today i didn't waste much time getting into the water.  after about my sixth lap someone else got in and was swimming next to me - and i couldn't help but think...hmm he looks a lot like Chris Noth - and after the second time of us being at the same end of the pool - i blurted - "do you just look a lot like Chris Noth or are you Chris Noth" and he politely responded - "I am Chris Noth" - then i said "You do really good work" - "He said thanks" and we went on swimming.  After, as he was on a lounge chair reading a script i was worried that if it shows up where he is that he might think I tweeted it - i should of assured him - no i might just mention you on my blog...

I won't lie - it gave me a little extra kick!  It was that out of the ordinary moment that added to an already much better day than yesterday - i've heard stories of individuals that have lived with alcoholics and one of the worst parts about it is the unpredictability of that person - walking on egg shells never knowing who you may get - just like those awful experiments they do with mice - where if they are shocked at a predictable interval they can handle it, but if its random it drives them crazy - (thinking way back to psych 101) but the point being there is an element of that to this illness - yesterday this tiny bit of avocado through my system into chaos - and today i'm swimming with Mr. Big!  (this one's for you nerd) - I'll take today.


Disqus for Festzeit