“I have received dozens of requests to promote a response to the FDA Guidance for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products issued by the FDA in February 2007. There have also been many people posting about this on Vital Votes.  It has never been my intention to cry wolf and encourage response to any government initiative unless I was convinced it warranted it.  So, I invested in a legal consultation and paid one of the top FDA Washington DC lawyers $500 an hour to review the initiative and provide his impression of the proposal. My take is that this proposal does not warrant a response. The primary reason for this? The Guidance does not create any new regulations; rather it’s an explanation of how the FDA applies the existing regulations.  The Guidance explains the differences between foods, food additives, dietary supplements and drugs, and it explains how the same item may be considered a food, a dietary supplement, or a drug depending on the labeling and claims made.   Meanwhile, the Guidance does NOT prevent access to CAM providers, nor does it prevent the use of supplements/herbs by medical professionals in their practice. It also will not directly impact consumers/patients or prevent doctors from recommending the use of healthy foods to patients.  This is not meant to minimize any of the underhanded dealings going on at the FDA (like the fact that the majority of funding for the FDA comes from the very companies that it is seeking to monitor and evaluate), just put our efforts where they’re most needed.”

 

 

"I flipped over the last newsletter www.fms-help.com/041807.htm - the brain cell death info.  I have always counted on my spirit to keep me upright with the pain, and after getting my brain scanned and finding nothing wrong I was confident the dysfunction was not permanent..
Reading the drugs may be the  cause cell death was a blessing...I've always been more afraid of the drugs than of the fibro.

I live with frustration of those who would like to help me with a simple solution, pills... now I can tell all those helpful souls I have a good reason for resisting meds.

I no longer have health insurance so experimenting with treatments isn't an option. But I watch a friend with fibro go to a pain specialist  and tries everything from electrodes, shots, prescriptions, herbs, diets, etc.
and while she good moments, the fibro finds its way around every treatment in a few day so I dont feel bad that I cant go to the doc....

But then inflammation IS a known cause of brain cell death and that is still something to think about...
Some people take asprin to protect the brain from inflammation
(althought some fibro diets refuse asprin.. Dr Amand.)

In that view of consideration, there is a book called The Anti-Inflammatory Diet..  an other one called Eat Papayas Naked..
both geared to reducing acidity that causes inflammation and enviroments that cancer thrive in.. candida and a host of other problems.

Speaking of acidity..  sugar becomes acid. 
I stopped sugar and caffiene  few months ago (after years of resisting this suggestion) and found my overall inflammation reduced so much that some days I wonder if I really have anything but a dietary problem ..   (however I still hurt in spots , get hurt easily.. and nerve pain gets me whenever I do much of anything)

The idea of stopping sugar seemed overwhelming, actually impossible  - but after a few days it was easy to choose the multi grain roll instead of the pastry ...I am pretty proud of this change in my diet.  I like saying, does it have sugar... ah, no thanks.

Caffiene turned out tougher to give up altogether.. I still have a cup at least once a week for the treat of the energy..
Giving up caffiene used to make a HUGE difference in pain spots but now it takes away a general feeling of rust in my muscles when I first move out of any position but the general pain remains the same.  After 20 years, I never had a regular MD doctor tell me to quit either coffee or sugar...Never......hmmm."
[This reader makes a lot of good points.  I too am a self-pay patient, except for hospitalization--and thank God I've been able to stay out of there for twenty years now, so my financial situation greatly limits what I can try for tests, treatments, etc.  However, even when I had insurance years ago, I exhausted just about all options for FMS/CFIDS that doctors could give me, except for finding a few meds here and there that helped some (such as sleep meds).  I think the "Fibro Virus" (is there such a thing?) finds its way around just about every treatment, diet or lifestyle change.  I hear from people who think they are getting better, but write back a few days/months/weeks/years to say they are bad again or worse than ever.  FMS/CFIDS seems unconquerable, but at least there are some things we can do to help ourselves, which has been the subject of this newsletter for the past 11 years.  The only people who understand this illness are those of us who have it!  Also see my 100 Tips for Coping with Fibromyalgia and Insomnia at www.fms-help.comm/tips.htm.]

 

"I've had intermittent insomnia since Jr HS.  When the CFS was bad, I needed sleep medication all the time.  I've gradually been able to shift to using it only when I need it with the help of my acupuncturist.  In fact, that was the first change I noticed when I started acupuncture years ago...when I was able to fall asleep, I knew I'd been deeply asleep.  That gradually changed to being able to sleep deeply for longer periods of time.  I just use the Lunesta now if I have a couple of nights' run of no sleep or I have a lot on my mind that won't let me fall asleep."