Male-Practicing

My new functional medicine doctor made his agenda very clear during the second appointment.

Wait, let's start at the beginning. The first appointment he spent one hour READING my new patient intake form. He asked very few questions and rarely even looked up at me. I found myself spending most of that hour staring at the floor. I drove two hours to be at that appointment. Why not just read in the privacy of his office and let me stay at home? Then he charged my insurance $600 for the hour. Is it any wonder I think doctors are overpaid? 

Our health care system accepts and promotes "practicing" as viable health care. If doctors don't find a solution, a remedy, the patient just keeps returning putting more money in their pockets. There should be a money-back guarantee. At the very least there should be standards of efficacy. 

This doctor also doesn't listen. What is new? It doesn't matter what I'm trying to tell him. Heck, I don't even think he read the intake form or he glossed over the parts that didn't fit his methods of practicing. His agenda isn't health care or at least MY health care.

More importantly, I think these functional medicine doctors have specific, single-minded protocols, and have no intention of veering off the established path. It would be too much work to actually recognize the patient is an individual with individual health care concerns. So much easier to see them as just another cow in the herd. After all, we are all the same. "Let's practice on that cow. We can do anything we want with a compliant cow as long as they are fed. It's not like they have the brains to question or complain."

I actually went back for a second appointment. Why? Because I'm a good cow. OK. My insurance actually covers him. That makes him cheap. I guess you get what you pay for. Most other doctors have a two-month wait for an appointment now. I justified if I can get a workable prescription so I can continue my thyroid experiments, it would be worth his insolence. Maybe he'll eventually accept me as a human being? Not likely. So far after every appointment I'm disgusted and vow never to return, but....I'm just as bad as he is supporting this health care system of incompetence.

He ordered $3,000 worth of tests during the second appointment, half of them I had done in the past year with lab copies in hand. Several of those tests I had done up to three times in the past year! He explains he prefers another lab. I wonder if he has stock in this lab? The other half of the tests are for nutrient levels and possible deficiencies...but I clearly explained on the intake form and again, verbally I am incredibly drug intolerant. I went into great detail writing every side effect up and down the margins. Does he think I'll invest in a cupboard full of pills and willingly take them? I can see he's not listening and I can foresee his agenda...excessive testing...then prescribing a closet full of supplements. He is no different than any other functional medicine doctor. 

About half of the tests are not covered by my insurance. One of the tests costs $450. A friend of mine is a practitioner and has access to tests. She said the lab charges about $200. The rest is the doctor's add-on charge. He's getting paid more than the test costs just to order it! There should be a law against this.

My labs showed nearly all nutrients fine so at least I know the diet is working. My iodine levels are low but he can't answer why. He tells me, "Every [cow] is low in iodine." He knows so little about Hashimoto's he doesn't understand the disease was relatively unknown until the government started fortifying foods with iodine...now Hashimoto's is an epidemic. Iodine supplementation will cause autoimmune attacks in people with Hashimoto's. He doesn't seem to understand that. Or maybe he just doesn't care. He doesn't get paid to diagnose correctly so why would he? I asked him why my autoimmune antibodies have increased. His answer, "Because you have an autoimmune disease." OH. MY. GOD. The incompetence makes me barf.

When I repeat once again, although very gently and sweetly to not rock the pedestal he has placed himself on, how I've done all these tests and treatments. How I am very intolerant to drugs of any kind including pharmaceuticals, but also supplements and herbs. I know this from experience. I can tell he's not listening. And he's ignored anything I've said about chemical sensitivity. Zero acknowledgement. His rant begins:

"If you can't do exactly what I want you to do, then I can't help you. You'll need to find another doctor."

I wanted to SCREAM at him, "YOU CAN'T HELP ME IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME!" I didn't. It wouldn't matter. Then the truth presents itself:

He says, "Your insurance doesn't pay me enough because of the contract I have with them. I can only take insurance because I am HERE."

HERE? I pondered this for a while. What did he mean HERE? While pondering I resisted the urge to scream, "YOU ARE OVERPAID ANYWAY!"

I wondered if he treats his male patients the same way? Does he snap at them when they ask him questions? Does he dismiss what they are saying? Does he demand total compliance from another man and expect that man not to question? Hmmm....

HERE. He is bought and sold by a supplement company. He represents them and his office is located HERE in their complex. He is so compromised as a supplement salesperson there is no way he can be objective. It stands to reason he will order  as many tests as possible to justify prescribing as many supplements as possible so it will support his bottom line. That is where he makes his money. It's not about health care, it's about profit mongering. Most doctors aren't this honest with their underlying agenda as they pretend to be health care providers, but I think he just loves to hear himself talk.

Seriously, health care disgusts me. The stench of money is nearly as bad as the stink of perfume.

I went back for a third appointment. He's not happy with the fact the test results don't justify prescribing copious amounts of pills so for the third appointment he orders another $1,000 worth of tests. After arguing with him (gently), he finally gives me the prescription I want. I think he just wants me gone. LOL. I will be gone eventually. It's just a matter of time.

Adios, orange cone.

Scented Supplements

Yes, you read that title correctly. Manufacturers are now scenting bottles of supplements. Why you ask? Because stink sells and we all need our supplements to stink like yummy dessert food so we want badly to eat them by the handfuls. (I will refrain from my tirade on the evils of supplementation....)

Here are some benefits of ScentCerts straight from the ScentSational Technologies website:

Benefits

• Masks and improves malodors of products
• Delivers brand-enhancing aroma to unpleasant or odorless products
• Increases consumer acceptance and compliance
• Significantly outperforms flavored ingredients & coatings
• Extends shelf life with long-lasting stable aroma
• Grows product sales and drives brand preference

The stink is embedded in either the lid of the supplement container or as a gel capsule insert. The website claims the additive is all natural, but customers from the MCS community are complaining wondering why their supplements which should be improving health are making them sick.

 Hmmm...so who do I believe: the money-making promoters or chemically sensitive people, the canaries? How can it possibly be "natural" if it extends shelf life with long-lasting stable aroma? The Masks and improves malodors of products is seriously suspect. We've all smelled vitamins. If this scent has the power to mask it, how? Natural orange flavors aren't going to do it. I believe they are using natural products as they say, but what else are they adding that is not being disclosed? 

Most importantly, I resent manufacturers assume I'm such an ignorant customer I need to be manipulated with stink in order to buy their product.

For more horror, please visit their website..

Vitamin Supplements Cause Cancer!

Research was started years ago when it was discovered that fresh fruits and vegetables could reduce one's risk of cancer so someone got the bright idea and wondered if supplements would be just as beneficial.

The rationality is incredibly ignorant, but that's how people think. If you can put it in a pill and call it a nutrient then it must be just as good as eating real, live, healthy foods. Nope. In fact the study results indicate supplements increase one's risk of cancer, especially Vitamin E, folic acid, and beta-carotene. Folic acid causes colon polyps. Maybe that's why colonoscopies have become so popular? Poisoned with pills.

You can read the article HERE

I read a funny the other day entitled, "Important Facts to Remember as You Grow Older" and one of them gave me a chuckle and has been stuck in my head for days:

 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.

I guess not. Now we know. They'll all be dying from cancer....

The Mutant

A few years ago a former, subsequently fired, health care provider was harassing me about taking B12 supplements. I kept telling him about the reactions I have had to most supplements including B12. He refused to hear to what I was saying. He argued and bullied me over the next couple of appointments and through email demanded I take B12. I guess he thought it was life or death. Really?

At our last appointment his doctor-friend sarcastically asked me why I was even there if I wasn't willing to submit myself to their ignorant experimentation. (I'm paraphrasing, of course.) Then all of a sudden, my doctor backed off and said something about a genetic mutation that creates all kinds of serious negative reactions if you take the wrong type of B12. I threw up my arms and exclaimed, SEE, I TOLD YOU IT'S NOT AS SAFE AS YOU THINK!

I felt vindicated. As I've said many times to many people, there is too much we don't know about our individual body chemistries to make blanket statements about how something is good for everyone without question. I have no idea why these people assume all supplements are safe and I find it so incredibly ignorant and unprofessional. On top of their ignorance and their narrow-minded veneration of drugs, they persist in ignoring what I'm trying to tell them about my personal experiences with supplements. In my mind, this compounds their incompetence and my distrust. I want to scream, WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME? I wasn't sure why he waited so long to back off and give me this information. I wondered if he was researching in between our email exchanges and appointments and had himself an "Ah Ha!" moment. That crazy patient of mine was right!

My newest health care provider was talking about genetic testing during my appointment. I'm not sure why she wanted to tell me about her heritage, but I read a philosophy once that said people who come into your life always have a message for you transported through the universe. Even if it's a casual meeting like talking to someone while waiting in a grocery checkout line or passing someone on the street and smiling with a quick "hi". Everyone has message for you. Something you need to know. Whether or not it's true, I like the idea of our universal interconnection. Her conversation about her genes was interesting because she said she thought she was part Native American, but surprisingly her results came back all Scandinavian. Interesting since that's my assumed heritage, but the conversation was so random I kept asking myself why was she using my appointment time to talk about herself? But it stuck in my head. It would only cost $99 to find out all about my DNA.  What could I learn from this kind of testing?

Then last week read an article by the highly informative thyroid doctor Chris Kresser on MTHFRS (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) which is a genetic mutation having to do with that enzyme that effects methylation. http://chriskresser.com/methylation-what-is-it-and-why-should-you-care His website-blog is listed on my blog list to the right of this post or find him at http://chriskresser.com

I have read several books addressing methylation, its issues, and possible contributions to chemical sensitivity as well as other conditions. But wasn't MTHFRS the same enzyme that the doctor-B12-bully told me about?  Later in the article Dr. Kresser says you can get genetic testing done for only $99 and not only can you find out about your ethic background, but all kinds of health related issues or genetic mutations. Is that the test the last doctor told me about?


WHOA! Epiphany! All these people have been giving me the same message! Without hesitation, I ordered the test online.

The company that does this DNA testing is 23 and Me.  It takes about 2 days for the test kit to arrive and it's very easy to do. Spit in the tube, close it, shake it, mail it. No doctor involvement makes this my kind lab test! The whole process is quite easy and incredibly efficient. When they receive the sample, they send an email which I really appreciated since I erroneously mailed the sample through the Rathole post office and doubted their competence. The notice was reassuring.

After three to four weeks the results come back. The first result they sent is I am a Neanderthal. I have no idea why I care about this, but I guess we are connected through various ancient groups. Mine originated in the Near East and then ended up in Europe. Maybe this is why the Paleo diet is good for me? I am also related through this ancient group to Jimmy Buffet so that's kind of cool.


A few days later I started getting emails from unknown people wanting to connect with me due to our ancestral linkage. Although I didn't get an email notification, I deduced this was because my ancestry results were ready and they were. I'm 99.9% European. This is interesting since I have been told all my life my great, great, great, great grandmother was Cherokee. I guess not. I know the name of her husband and their children, children's children, children's children's children, etc. I was told she died in childbirth, but I always assumed since we were supposed to be blood related that my great, great, great grandfather was her son. Maybe she died before she had any kids and her husband remarried creating my lineage? I have no idea. It's amazing what we think we know, but really don't know about our family and lineage. My grandmother was supposedly 100% Norwegian, but my Scandinavian ancestry was only 16.3% so this leads me to believe she wasn't all Norwegian. Who knows. It's a bit discombobulating to realize everything you've been told about your heritage was fabricated and it makes me think I come from a family of storytellers! But then I looked at the "Countries of Ancestry" and 2.1% is from Norway and only 1.4% from United Kingdom which makes more sense. In truth, I have no idea how to read any of this.

The fun, but slightly weird thing about this information is one can go online and see where all your relatives are located, or rather, everyone who has done this genetic test through this company who matches your ancestry. Many of my distant relatives are from Virginia and North Carolina. OK, that's where my Cherokee grandmother was from so that kind of/sort of makes sense. At least no one lied about location. I have many relatives in Ireland and Britain and since my last name is old English, that makes sense. One Irish woman matches me 53% and is considered a 4th cousin. For those who have little or no immediate family, this would be a fun way to link to distant relatives and create a larger family. I don't know. I'm not really fond of most of the family I have now so I can't imagine wanting more of them.

This company also does genetic research. I linked into their surveys and answered all kinds of bizarre questions that required me to constantly look in a mirror. Some addressed chemical exposures, drug usage, and allergies. This was interesting and it gives me hope that someone is researching chemicals and their effects on our health and genetics. The last survey was about sexual preference which is also fascinating. It would be interesting to know what role genetics plays in homosexuality and I look forward to when scientific evidence becomes fact silencing the irrational preaching of all those homophobic religious nuts.

I waited a day or so but didn't receive another notification. I had to search the website to figure out where they put the "raw genetic data." If you click on your name in the upper right hand corner, a drop down list appears with "raw genetic data". They used to interpret this for you, but as Dr. Kresser mentioned in his article, they got into some kind of FDA, USDA or government trouble. Now they send you the raw data results and you have to jump through hoops on other websites to get it interpreted. My first thought this was bureaucratic nonsense just making it harder for people to get information, but some of the results are a little hard to understand as it's all scientific explanations. I'm sure the powers-that-be don't want people doing stupid things in the name of health to try to fix their misinterpretations of the results.

There are two websites that will interpret your data. I'm not sure why they can and 23andme can't. One is GeneticGenie which will give you the gene type and results. Needless to say, I'm seriously mutant. Out of twenty genes, six are fine, twelve are compromised, and two are serious screwed. Some of the highlights caused by these mutations: MCS (SURPRISE!), B12 depletion, mood swings, sulfur intolerance, slow metabolism of caffeine, behavior problems, irritability, pain sensitivity, sleep problems, short-term memory issues, mast cell activation disorder, and lots of detoxification problems. These mutations also put me at risk for Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Bipolar Illness, blood clots and stroke. Great. I am doomed. What is new?

So far I'm not showing signs of Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Bipolar Illness, sulfur intolerance, short-term memory issues nor mast cell activation disorder. Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia...fatigue and pain? That's just part of the MCS family of symptoms although I've never been diagnosed with either as I don't think my symptoms are that chronic. Behavior problems? Well, that's up for interpretation! However, I don't think I'm that weird other than I'm not friendly with my stinky neighbors nor do I like toxic people in general. I think I'm fairly empathetic and cognitively aware when certain behaviors might be considered abnormal. Maybe I'm just good at hiding my weirdness? I suppose constant annoyance would be considered a behavior problem.

The other is Nutrahacker which will tell you what supplements/foods/things to avoid and what to take based on your raw genetic data results. I should avoid things like alcohol, cannabis, curcumin, cumin, estrogens, folate, grapefruit, noise, and vitamin E!!! Whoa! Grapefruit?? I eat curry and cumin all the time. Curcumin in particular is supposed to be an excellent anti-inflammatory and blood thinner. I thought the noise was really interesting since I have such a serious noise sensitivity, but the results specifically say too much noise and I have a greater chance for hearing loss than a less-mutant person.

The number one purpose behind getting this test was to find out if I can take B12 of any kind. I'm a little confused as both lists include B12, all forms, so I'm not sure what that means since another mutation creates a B12 depletion. My life is one on-going paradox.

I'm not sure if knowing all this is helpful in the long run. One of the gene mutations makes me prone to anxiety and worry. I guess now I have more to worry about!

DHEA

Stress due to lifestyle, mental or physical exhaustion, body inflammation, or disease contributes to an excessive production of cortisol which can not only deplete your reserves of cortisol, but also deplete your levels of DHEA. Low DHEA contributes to decreases in energy, fatigue, memory loss, libido loss, aching joints, bone density loss, muscle mass loss, lower immunity, and subsequent heart disease. Low cortisol and DHEA contributes to adrenal fatigue which affects thyroid function and thyroid function affects adrenal function.

I've done the Adrenal Stress Index test and the lab results confirm on a scale of 1 to 7, with one being the highest, my DHEA-cortisol correlation spectrum is at a 5, or "low reserves". Eliminating stress from your life allows the body to heal and DHEA reserves are able to increase back to normal. Unfortunately, I've done as much as I can figure out to eliminate inflammation and I have no idea how to reduce the adrenaline rushes I get with menopausal hot flashes other than hormone replacement drugs. I'm sure these oddities contribute to my low DHEA levels.

Dr. Kharazzian suggests taking DHEA to jump-start the adrenals prior to thyroid supplementation and since I'm constantly tired, I figured it couldn't hurt. He says don't take it for more than a month and other physicians have instructed no more than a 5 mg dosage. When requesting it from my new naturopath, I saw a micro-expression of surprise in her eyes and her body jumped a little. Considering she doesn't have much of a personality, I took this to be a show of horror. She very quietly said without much explanation she doesn't prescribe DHEA and it was not advisable. I have read overdosing on DHEA is common due to its accumulation in fat cells, but that's all I knew. Well, I also knew how sensitive I am to everything so the lowest dosage possible was my personal recommendation. I knew enough about the warnings to convince her I wasn't planning on abusing it so she changed her mind and prescribed exactly what I wanted: sublingual one mg. for one month.

The benefits of DHEA make it sound like some kind of miracle drug: energy, stamina and strength, increase in libido, weight loss, reduction in menopausal symptoms, increase in confidence and assertion, reverses bone loss, reverses asthma, reverses depression, and beneficial to those suffering from Crohn's Disease and lupus. According to all the propaganda, if you are going to take a drug, this sounds like the one to choose!

But what are the side effects of DHEA? Since I've now thrown all caution to the wind and have become a drug addict, I was curious what overdosing looks like.  There are plenty of websites, articles, and comments online that list the side effects. Many warn others not to even start taking DHEA and some even claim it'll ruin your life. Side effects include:

hormonal imbalance
hair loss
blood pressure increase
liver damage
heart arrhythmia or palpitations
glaucoma
perspiration odor
acne
breast swelling
facial hair (women)
erectile dysfunction (men)
insomnia
restlessness
irritability
aggression
severe personality changes

It's also addictive. Don't stop taking DHEA cold turkey or you may experience withdrawal symptoms like back pain, moodiness, sleeplessness, fatigue, body pain, weakness, and hot flashes. Since all these symptoms sound like me without DHEA, I had high hopes taking it might alleviate some of my constant discomfort.

I found this website very interesting:  http://www.raysahelian.com/dhea.html

It looks as if Mr. Sahelian is promoting DHEA supplementation, but he also includes information from those who have taken DHEA and experienced the side effects. Many warn others never to start taking DHEA because the side effects don't always subside immediately after cessation and it may take months before feeling normal again. I think most of the issue is with high doses over 10 mg and taking it for long periods of time or more than a month. Some admit to taking it for up to a year which is a common prescription for those suffering from depression.

I received the sublingual form which goes under the tongue with directions to take it on an empty stomach. It is also important to wait to eat or drink anything for 30 minutes to an hour. Do not swallow at all until it's dissolved. However, if one must swallow due to a large accumulation of saliva, limit swallowing to once or twice. I always have lots of saliva so I knew this would be a problem. The tablets are large so the dissolving also creates liquid and because of this it's hard to keep them in place.

The first and second day I avoided swallowing and spit once the tablet was dissolved. The third day I thought about how much drug I might be wasting and wouldn't it be more effective if I swallowed the one time and whatever didn't dissolve under my tongue would then be digested? That's me overthinking ways to make this work, of course. That was a mistake. Five hours later I became sick to my stomach and it lasted all day. The tablets are sweet so I wasn't quite sure if it was a synthetic sweetener the pharmacist may have added to improve taste or the DHEA. Probably the DHEA. I also read for people who are digesting the pill form, to take them with high-fat food to alleviate any digestive problems. Granted, no matter what kind of drug, herb or supplement I try, the third or fourth day is when I start feeling the side effects. I've been told it's because my body doesn't detox and that's the overload or accumulation point.

So day four I felt very hopeful and I went back to dissolving under the tongue and no swallowing at all. I was convinced that this was the answer and if I could just keep taking the drugs, I would again, be on the road toward better health.

Nope. About five hours later the queasy sick feeling started again. It didn't seem to be as bad as the day before, but bad enough to make me want to curl up in bed and stay there for the rest of the day. On top of the constant fatigue, nausea is a real waste of time. I'm not sure what to do about being so susceptible to side effects as I've been liver cleansing all week which is where much anything would accumulate and I'm not sure if I'm not swallowing the DHEA, why does it affect my digestive system?

However, the purpose behind taking the DHEA was to jump-start the adrenals so the thyroid medication would be most effective. It's really all about the thyroid medication.

On to the thyroid drugs! Crossing my fingers.

Autoimmune Diseases

When I first started hearing about autoimmune diseases and how the body's immune system attacks itself, it didn't make sense to me. Our bodies aren't designed to attack themselves just for the fun of it, so what is up? I concluded our immune system is attacking something that has infiltrated our bodies, something it sees as a foreign invader and must be removed. Now, what could that be? Yep. Chemicals. I've been alone with my theory for a long time, accused by anyone who didn't want to hear it that my thought processes had been taken over by anti-chemical propaganda and paranoia.

An acquaintance of mine, Heidi, has had lupus for the last fifteen years. About once a year her kidneys fail, she is hospitalized, given chemotherapy treatments, and spends months home-bound recovering her strength. The next time I see her she is unrecognizable. She doesn't expect to live very long. Heidi told me no one knows what causes our bodies to attack themselves.  Hmmm.... When I presented my chemicals-are-our-attackers theory to her, she considered it for a minute until I told her she might feel better if she gave up junk food, coffee, soft drinks, and smoking. She told me I was being ridiculous. Yeah, OK. She's had this disease for fifteen years and I've known about it for fifteen minutes so I figured maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But my theory is better than no one knows what causes it.

Heidi isn't the only person I know with an autoimmune disease. Three people I know have lupus, several have multiple sclerosis, two have Crohn's disease, one has diabetes and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis about a year ago. This is just a short sample from a much longer list of diseases considered to be autoimmune-related. Statistics show autoimmune conditions affect 50 million people and it is predicted this should increase to 75 million by 2050. Most are women (same as chemical sensitivity) and if you have one autoimmune disease, there is a high probability you will develop more. I know one woman who has had celiac disease and was recently diagnosed with both lupus and Sjögren syndrome. Triple whammy.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa, author of The Autoimmune Epidemic, believes autoimmunity is caused by...wait for it...ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS, specifically heavy metals and industrial waste. I'm inclined to include ALL toxins. We are inundated with poisons through air, food, and water. They are stored in our tissues causing our immune systems to attack within in order to remove them. That's what are bodies are supposed to do, unfortunately, it creates an internal war zone making the host feel really lousy in the process.

Ms. Nakazawa's general suggestions read like any chemical sensitivity menu: organic diet, stress avoidance, no cosmetics, dark hair dyes or nail polish, and no chemical household cleaners. Avoid the poisons! The book discusses the risks of supplementation due to conflicting research so there was some indication to avoid manufactured vitamins, minerals and herbs. She implies supplementation might be contributing to the autoimmune epidemic! In addition, we all should adopt a really good detoxification protocol promoting adequate amounts of sunshine (natural Vitamin D), food-source antioxidants, and food-source essential fatty acids.

Also, avoid viruses and DO NOT get vaccines. Ms. Nakazawa presents evidence suggesting viruses are often catalysts for these autoimmune diseases so it stands to reason having viruses purposely pumped into your body is a risk. Just before I became seriously chemically sensitive, I received vaccines for a teaching position. For years I argued with my superiors because I already had all the childhood diseases in question and this natural immunity should fulfill their hoop-jumping requirements. In a moment of weakness, tired of arguing, I caved. Oops. To think we automatically vaccinate our babies before they even get a chance to argue.

The Organic Consumers Association website posted an article on February 21, 2012 about the American Medical Association pushing for mandatory vaccination trials. Are they trying to kill us? Well, yeah! There is a lot of money to be made from autoimmune diseases. This is job security for doctors.

I ran into Heidi at the grocery store the other day. Her face was swollen from the last kidney failure and her grocery cart filled to the brim with junk food.   I just want to scream, "Can't you at least TRY to eat better and make healthier choices to see if it helps!?" But I only smile and keep walking.

Popular Protocols: Pill Pushing

I believe our bodies are always in a state of healing, always moving toward optimum health. This is what bodies do naturally regardless of what we do to circumvent the process. I read every two years we have a brand new body as it takes about that long to regenerate everything. I'm fairly certain it is the belief of most doctors our bodies aren't doing it fast enough so they need an extra push...with pills. Pharmaceuticals or supplements, it doesn't matter. Most are chemicals. All are drugs.

Yum! Yum! Why eat when we can take pills?

Americans love convenience. Why do the hard work when you can just pop a pill? I shouldn't even need to discuss the dangers of pharmaceuticals, but so many people blindly take them without much thought to the small-print warnings on the labels. All one needs to do is watch the news for another celebrity who has died from a pharmaceutical overdose. Nearly all drugs have a history of emergency room visits for overdosing, even the over-the-counter type you can get without a prescription. Pharmaceuticals are chemicals. They will add to the chemical overload your body is already experiencing.

Notes on pharmaceuticals and chemical sensitivity:  If one of your side effects is respiratory dysfunction, the easy assumption most conventional doctors will make is it's asthma and they will want to further poison you with inhalers. In addition to the drug, most inhalers use a chemical propellant and for the MCS patient, this will often make breathing more difficult and painful. Another common prescription is anti-depressants. A well-known side effect of anti-depressants is suicidal tendencies.  Does that make sense? The chemical overload is messing with our brain function. It doesn't seem rational to me to add more chemicals that might make it all worse.

What worries me more are the over-the-counter supplements that holistic doctors prescribe and anyone can buy and take freely. And they do, usually without any thought to how the particular supplement is manufactured, in what ratios and dosages, and how it might affect the natural chemistry of the body. Doctors rarely confess that many of the nutrients in the mix can negatively react with one another. Maybe they don't know? Maybe they don't care?

For instance, if you take too much vitamin C, it affects your body's ability to absorb iron. How many people eat flavored, synthetic vitamin C like it's candy and assume it's good for you? Synthetic vitamin E affects your ability to utilize real vitamin E. Calcium not in proper ratios with magnesium affects the absorption of both. The premise behind these issues is if you are giving your body extra synthetic nutrients,  it gets lazy and starts using the synthetics instead of the natural ones, but it can't utilize the synthetic ones as well.  Then the body shuts down its own absorption/utilization processes of natural nutrients.  I just recently read if you are taking calcium you have a higher risk of heart attack. Detoxification theories suggest taking all these extra synthetic supplements makes  your body work twice as hard to get rid of the excess when we should put our energy toward healing instead. These are just a few examples of the bad chemistry of unnatural supplements. 

What I want to know is how do manufacturers know the proper amounts and ratios for MY body specifically? I can't be the same as everyone else on the planet, but this is the assumption. Still, every doctor I've ever seen in my life wants to force a vitamin down my throat and not one of them can tell me the side effects of taking these drugs. They claim they are all safe. Hardly.

And what about the additives and fillers used to make these pills? Magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, silica, soy lecithin, cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, glycerin, gelatin. Isn't silica in ceramics? Synthetic forms of nutrients with industrial strength fillers...it makes no sense. Eat some fresh fruit instead.

I grew up working in health food stores so for years I was brainwashed into believing because of modern agricultural processes, we MUST take supplements because there are not enough nutrients in the soil to produce nutritious foods.  REALLY? If there weren't enough nutrients in the soil, the plants wouldn't grow! It makes you wonder who started that rumor and what were they trying to sell? Supplements, you think?

If you are eating a healthy diet of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, you should be getting enough nutrients. Add some organically grass-fed, steroid-free fresh meats and you'll get more. If you aren't digesting the nutrients well, that is a whole other health issue you need to address, but as I started this post, our bodies WANT to heal themselves. Give them time, proper diets and health lifestyles, they will.

Herbs, on the other hand, ARE drugs and have been used as drugs for centuries. Yet so many people take herbal supplements everyday as if they are food stuffs with no safety issues.  After all, herbs are available on the shelves for anyone to buy and the FDA hasn't restricted them so they must be safe, right? We don't even need a prescription, just money. We are far too trusting of the FDA to protect us from everything. Many herbal drugs react with pharmaceuticals, too, so that has to be a common-sense warning. I read once no one should take an herb for more than two weeks at a time, yet manufacture advertising  promotes eating Echinacea non-stop during the winter to fight off colds. We need to stop being so naive and instead start using our brains to protect ourselves instead relying on a steady diet of pills.

MY PERSONAL DRUG STASH: Aside from my lofty opinions and soap-box lecture on the evils of pills, I do understand when push comes to shove and a person is so miserable with illness or pain they would do anything, drugs have their place. I have emergency relief drugs I take only if absolutely necessary:

Benadryl  This over-the-counter allergy medication seems to be the go-to drug to give to anyone so I've always been against how easy it is for everyone to trust taking it or giving to their kids. However, one day while I was surfing the internet looking for clues I came across a woman's comment on how she uses Benadryl when her brain swells and becomes inflamed due to a bad exposure. Whoa! She went on to explain about the severe mood swings and neck pain, basically describing those scary ultradian cycles I have experienced. This to me was a lifesaver, literally. So my next bad exposure I tried it. It worked! Benadryl is an anti-histamine and controls swelling.  It also makes my ears ring, is dehydrating, and knocks me out for hours so I can only take it at night.

Ibuprofen  Migraines are a bitch. I can tolerate one for about 24 hours before I realize it's affecting my ability to function and then I give up. I take only one which only reduces the pain slightly, enough so I can get out of bed. I know what this drug can do to a person's liver so I avoid partaking as much as possible and only when desperate.

Dr. Shulze's Intestinal Formula #1  Dr. Shulze is into herbal dextoxification programs and through his website www.herbdoc.com and mail catalog he is willing to sell you any remedy for any bodily affliction. He's a wheeler and dealer, too, like an old-fashioned snake oil salesman. I love listening to him. He believes if you keep your colon clean, then your other detox organs (liver, gall bladder, bladder, skin) can clean your body properly and efficiently. His theories make a lot of sense. I have done his intestinal cleansing program and it works fine. I wouldn't make a habit out of it as I think one needs to eat right to properly motivate the intestines, but in an emergency situation, I use this formula to expedite the process. Any time I have a bad exposure whether it's toxic air or something I ate, this is my first line of defense: get it out of my body. Whoosh!  He used to give out a free tape recording of his philosophy one could order off his website. It's hilarious!

In my part of the country we suffer from solar deficiency so I'm buying into the fact I don't get enough sunshine on my face. My labs are showing low levels of Vitamin D so lately I've been testing Vitamin D to see if it makes any difference. I'm not having any side effects, which is rare with a supplement, so we'll see what happens. Regardless, it's a temporary test. It would take a heck of a lot of misery for me to take a pill every day for any reason and I'm not there yet. (Update: Even if I use Vitamin D as a moisturizer my neck and spine start hurting. I think it's the glycerin, but I don't see how lanolin is good for anyone to eat and it's the source for this natural Vitamin D supplement. I also read Vitamin D can cause kidney stones which is not a selling point. I've been eating lots of eggs and getting out in the sun as often as possible and my labs have improved.)

Do you take anything that helps alleviate your chemical sensitivity?

Do the supplements you take really help or are they contributing to the load?