"Thank you so much for all your work creating and updating your website www.fms-help.com!"

"I live in the UK and came across your website today and wanted to thank you for it, as it is so informative and helpful."

"Have you heard about Irlen Syndrome? I have been tested positive (from our college student disability office by a official there that also has Myofascial Pain Syndrome). I have decided to get the second, full-blown testing from an Irlen specialist and purchase eyeglasses. More information can be found at: www.irlen.com. Have you received any comments from Fibro/Chronic Fatigue folks that have used these glasses?"

"Re: www.fms-help.com/091810.htm, if anyone wants to talk with my husband, John, about Hulda Clark's zapper, our number is 614-352-6882. You may print this in the newsletter."

FROM DOM: I was intrigued years ago reading Hulda Clark's controversial book, "The Cure for All Diseases." She said flukes and parasites caused all disease. The book even has pictures of the critters that invade our bodies.

FROM DOM: Yes, a more alkaline pH is healthier. Being acidic promotes disease! I tried ACV (apple cider vinegar) years ago and thought it was awful - mainly the taste, but I had a friend at church who said ACV kept her from getting sick with a cold for 10 years. What I do now to have a more healthily alkaline pH is to put oxygen drops http://neveranoutbreak.com/oxygen.php?partner=FM5H1PDB in my drinking water. This was recommended by a reader in 2009 and it has helped keep me well for over a year now.

FROM DOM: Now if only I could nap during the day! If I don't sleep at night, I can't catch up with a nap in the daytime. My sleep disorder has been going on since age 16. I now use various meds to get relatively decent sleep most nights www.fms-help.com/what.htm. I went for decades of my life in a state of severe, torturous sleep deprivation www.fms-help.com/insomnia.htm. It interfered with my career and personal life terribly. I'm thankful for things that help me sleep now.

FROM DOM: There is a little girl in our area who was born without a face. She is now 6 years old, and her name is Juliana Wetmore. I saw a program about her on the Discovery Health Channel tonight. Juliana has endured 29 cranio-facial surgeries so far. She and her parents are just totally amazing! How brave and loving they all are in the midst of this incredible and painful journey! Here is Juliana's site: http://www.julianawetmore.net/story.php. (Lately, whenever I've been tempted to self-pity, the Lord has brought to my attention someone who makes my trials look like a cake walk - and I tell the Lord I am sorry for my pathetic responses to life's difficulties, and pray earnestly for the well-being of those who have it so hard in life. I recall this old saying: "I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." Juliana, if you ever find this little paragraph on the net when you are older, I just want you to know how much your courageous, loving spirit has encouraged me - a 58 year old woman - and I'm sure many thousands who have heard your incredible story. May God bless you and your devoted and caring parents!

"I have had FM for almost 3 years. Just found your website and was interested in your info on mercury fillings. I know of two people who have reported feeling so much better after having their mercury fillings replaced. I have also found a dentist who won't use mercury in his office and is also trained in amalgam removal. He also insists having a heavy metal test done prior to the first visit. However, just thinking about the pain involved makes me worried about undertaking this process not to mention the expense. But my symptoms are getting worse and I can also taste metal when I bite down."

FROM DOM: This topic has been mentioned in many newsletters - search for dentist, dental, amalgam, fillings or mercury using the Google search box below. If you want to comment on this reader's question, please write dombush@bellsouth.net. My mailbag has run 50/50 in past years about this question.

Debbie - "Could you please add me to your prayer list. I've had a recurrence of breast cancer after 11 years and am facing another long battle ahead."

FROM DOM: I'm always happy to include prayer requests I receive from readers in the newsletter.

"I've had a strange reaction to magnesium that has me stumped. You know that magnesium is supposed to help us with fibro, but when I take it, I get incredible pain. Do you know why this is? Last week I took a supplement called Fibrosense that has good grade magnesium and malic acid. I was so sore I couldn't touch myself. So this week, thinking it was the malic acid, I bought a good grade of magnesium and took one today. Now I am really stiff and sore. I can't figure this out. Why is it causing me pain? Any answers you could give me would be appreciated."

FROM DOM: Magnesium is a mineral that helps muscles relax. It also draws water into the colon relieving constipation. Calcium is a mineral that helps muscles contract. I use a combination formula with both calcium and magnesium in it. Write dombush@bellsouth.net for info. It could be that this reader is reacting to some inert ingredient in the formulations she has tried?? Anyone have ideas? (I'm a piano teacher, not a doctor or scientist.)

"Three things in life that, once gone, never come back:
Time
Words
Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person:
Anger
Pride
Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose:
Hope
Peace
Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable:
Love
Family & Friends
Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain:
Fortune
Success
Dreams

Three things that make a person:
Commitment
Sincerity
Hard work

Three things that are truly constant:
Father
Son
Holy Spirit

I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today; to guide you and protect you, as you go along your way. God's love is always with you, God's promises are true. And when you give God all your cares, you know God will see you through."

"I have been somewhat managing my CFIDS/Fibro but acquired Meniere�s Disease 3 years ago after a 6 mos. treatment with prescription anti-inflammatories for hip bursitis. At the end of the treatment is when my Meniere�s began and also my descent into chronic fatigue/fibro. Meniere�s is just as slippery and difficult to manage as CFS, and at the moment there are only anecdotal reports of �cures� or management through supplements, formulas, etc. I currently take Diazyde and also meclizine for the dizziness, and also have to restrict salt and caffeine. I am often waylaid several times a week by the dizziness. My primary physician and CFS specialist all missed this diagnosis by attributing the dizziness to adrenal fatigue, thyroid, TMJ, etc. I finally took myself to an ear institute where they accurately diagnosed it. Could you ask your readers if anyone has struggled with this nasty condition and what luck, if any, they have had???"

"I was wondering if you have heard of the Essiac Tea therapy,maybe you have spoke about it before and I had missed it. I just know it is supposed to help with many ailments,including cancer. I have a friend who was diagnosed a year ago with colon cancer and cancer of the lungs and liver, and he started using this 4-herbal tea and now all cancer is gone, the docs are amazed!! It is supposed to help with fibro/chronic fatigue also, so I have bought some and haven't used it yet, but was wanting to know if you had heard of it."

"Just heard a story about a 27-year-old woman who is slowly being starved to death because she�s in a (supposed) non-reversible coma. As Father Pavone commented, isn�t it odd that if the family really believe it�s time to �let her go,� that they wouldn�t just have her have a lethal injection and quickly get it over with? (Not that we would agree to that�just a point.) He said he saw Terri Schiavo die very slowly (also starved and deprived of all fluids), and instead of being �peaceful,� as they�d have us believe, it�s actually an agonizing, violent death, and horrific to watch. Every time I hear such stories (such as Terri Schiavo�s story), I think �we should have something in writing in case (God forbid) anything happen to any of us.� There�s a form you can get and keep on file. It may save your life or a loved one�s life. The �exit� treatment is being used too often. www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/livingwill.htm."

FROM DOM: I can attest to the gruesomeness of watching a loved one be "let go" until death without food or water. My beloved father died in this manner in January 2005, following a massive stroke that happened a few weeks prior. Doctors attempted to insert a feeding tube into his stomach, since he couldn't swallow, but they ruptured his small intestine and he hemorrhaged horribly. The tube they put in was never able to be used for food, and eventually even fluids given through IV's had to be restricted and finally turned off, because he was aspirating fluid into his lungs. I pray to God no one has to see their loved one die in this manner. It is horrifying. My precious dad died like Terri Schiavo, just a couple months before she did. Here's a link to the eulogy I wrote for my dad: www.fms-help.com/eulogy.htm. We are all going to die, so let's think about how we wish to exit. The link this reader sent www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/livingwill.htm is fascinating and makes some good points. Often, though, at the end of life, there are no good choices, and it sure is hard on the family - not to mention the dying patient.

FROM DOM: The webinar this week on nutrition and autoimmune disorders (Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.) was great! This guy really did his homework! I took notes and plan to send these out (via email) to newsletter subscribers in a few days. (Just need to be cloned to have more time....ha.) Besides all the great things he shared, he mentioned that anyone with an autoimmune disorder should NOT SMOKE! I know this may sound reeeally obvious, but believe it or not, I have heard from a few readers who still smoke! Yes, smoke! Yikes! Smoking causes free radical damage to your cells and we sure don't need that!

FROM DOM: As a confirmed couch potato and bookworm, I've been thinking lately about getting more exercise, but anything beyond simply stretching or walking has always backfired on me - for example, hurting my knees from jogging and bicycling, hurting my back from taking an aerobics class, almost killing myself diving into a pool and hitting my head on the bottom, and those jui jitsu classes I took when I was 16 are probably what's wrong with my neck today, etc.

So my new approach is to just not stay sedentary for long periods of time. However, this is not easy to do, because my work is very sedentary as a piano teacher and church pianist, and I spend my "spare" time on the computer writing this newsletter - and my favorite leisure activity is reading a book on a lawn chair outside. Those of you who are sports-inclined are probably totally disgusted with this revelation, but lately several of our extremely athletic, physically fit friends have either died or are on the brink of death due to cancer, heart attacks, strokes, etc. I also have some overweight (obese, sorry) friends, who do not have FMS/CFIDS, who run circles around me with their exuberant energy, good humor, busy lifestyles, and physical strength.

My husband and I have been talking lately about how God has an "expiration date" for each person's life. It seems like no matter what you do, there are unforeseen events - such as accidents, injuries, sudden illnesses or even death. There's a great poem that says "it's how you live your dash" - meaning the dash on your tombstone between your birth date and your departure date. So, I'm going to live my dash reading books, writing newsletters and playing the piano.

To prove my point, the last time I went for an invigorating walk in the neighborhood, I was chased down by an angry dog who probably weighed as much as I do. I was saved by knocking on someone's door for help - the door was opened by a severely ill, elderly man wearing a "help me, I've fallen" pendant. I told him I was being chased by a dog. I don't even want to think what would have happened if no one had been home. So as you can see, it's safer for me to read a book in my backyard. (OK, now let me have it, all you athletic types!)

FROM DOM: Recently I sent an email to my subscribers called "Fibro-Misunderstood." I received tons of responses! Here is one that arrived last night. This reader makes some good points, especially about the brain! I totally agree!--

"Thanks for sharing your feelings.  You hit the nail on the head. People including physicians tend to respond to things that are VISIBLE.   I think anyone that has an invisible devastating condition would love to have a little switch that would allow them to feel like you do on a bad day. I wonder how long it would be before they begged you to turn it off. :)

We do not really have good tests that let us know what is really going on. Only profoundly easy things get attention. Things like a broken bone, infections so bad they show up on MRI or blood testing.   Low grade inflammatory/infectious conditions are not easily seen.    Pain no matter how severe is subjective to the Dr. unless he sees a dagger in your leg which is a visual clue to "gee that must hurt" You have to be nearly in a coma to even get encelphalitis diagnosed.   Anything short of that will be missed.

Friends ... well yes I can see how frustrating and alienating it can be.   When they tell you some story about how so and so had a knee injury and they were happy as pie and overcame it.

Well, how do most people overcome tough injuries?    Most of these injuries involve anything but the brain.   They use a normally functioning brain to deal with it.

But... What happens when the areas of the brain responsible for drive, fear, logic etc. become compromised by inflammation?    Well, the part you use to get through things can't help you because its not 100 percent.

People will not understand that because well it's too esoteric.   Only when they walk in your shoes will they really get it.   You can read 1000 books on basketball but until you play the game you will not really know what it's like to play.

A virologist would be interesting to speak with.   I'm betting a bug is at the bottom of your symptoms.   If it were in stone - permanent damage -you would never have a window of good days.

Yes, I think you have made a excellent point here.   You get emotional stones thrown at you from people you are paying to help (Some Drs.) and well intentioned but ignorant friends.

You stated, "The emotional pain of being misunderstood greatly adds to the weight of suffering. Many people with FMS/CFIDS go on disability because they can't function." I know how you feel - been there.  Hang in there, Dominie, you are a true warrior, only the toughest can endure what you have. There are some things worse than death, what you have can be a living hell. I pray for more good days for you."

FROM DOM: I have many supportive articles for FMS/CFIDS sufferers on my homepage www.fms-help.com. Here are just a FEW--

Visit my homepage www.fms-help.com for lots more! There is no "cure" for our disorder, but plenty that we can try to manage our symptoms and feel better. It takes knowledge, patience, and willingness to experiment to find out what helps you specifically, because each of us is different, even though our symptoms may be similar or even identical!

I just wish there were one magic bullet that helped each of us uniformly. I am amazed that I am doing as well as I am now. It has been a long and rocky road - uphill all the way. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1982 www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm and CFIDS in 1987 www.fms-help.com/fatigue.htm and went through some horrendous years of pain and losses on all levels of life. The good news is that I am now able to work www.fms-help.com/students.htm and keep up with my responsibilities and home and at church.

FMS/CFIDS has been a life-wrecking, enormously challenging, humbling learning experience. Thanks to the internet, I am able to share with you the things I am learning - much of which comes from my wonderful readers, who are so willing to share their insights, findings and knowledge with me! (So consider me just a "funnel" for all the good info!)

II Corinthians 1: 4 - "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Visit Dominie's FMS/CFIDS Homepage at www.fms- help.com for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers and their families.

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor. I am a fibromyalgia / chronic fatigue syndrome survivor. The purpose of this website is not to diagnose or cure any disease or malady, but is presented as food for thought. This information cannot take the place of professional medical advice. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician. No guarantees are made regarding any of the information in this website.