Sensory Alarms Stuck
The researchers found that fibromyalgia patients have significantly less blood flow to the parts of their brains that deal with pain. The highlighted yellow areas show blood flow in the brain; fibromyalgia patients appear to have less blood flow to areas of the brain that deal with pain. (ABCNEWS.com) And compared to healthy people, they also have twice the level of a brain chemical called Substance P, which helps nervous system cells communicate with each other about painful stimuli. Elevated P levels may actually produce the higher levels of pain throughout the body . [NOTE FROM DOMINIE: Click on link to see pictures.]

"Just wanted to let you know about my Cytomel experience. Cytomel is instant release instead of slow release like the Wilson thyroid meds I'm on now. So what happens is it hits your body all at once and I had these terrible muscle aches. It was horrible!!! I was in pain. It's not natural for all the T3 medication to hit your
body all at once...your body doesn't do it that way, it does it slowly and steadily. I had to take extra strength tylenol with my doses. The only thing that helped was getting off the Cytomel!!! Then the incredible pain stopped. I have no pain with this slow release T3 medication. I order my medication from the Wellness Health and Pharmaceuticals in Alabama....the one endorsed by Dr. Wilson himself because they mix the
medication correctly with the releasing agent. The number is 1-800-227-2627. Just in case anyone wanted to talk to someone knowledgeable about the Wilson's thyroid treatment."

http://members.shaw.ca/me.victoria/newsletters/99jul-aug.htm

New Chronic Fatigue Evidence Emerges

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-15may1999-50.htm Saturday 15 May, 1999 (4:15pm AEST)

Australian researchers say they have discovered the first biochemical evidence to support the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Doctors at the Royal Hospital in Adelaide say chronic fatigue has often been seen as a pyschological problem, but they say they've found concrete physical evidence for the condition. Their research shows patients with CFS are unable to effectively metabolize glucose.

Chief researcher Dr Richard Burnet, speaking in Hobart today, says when people with CFS use their muscles, the glucose turns into lactic acid - in effect poisoning their system.

"We believe it is very important, because at long last it provides some unifying theory that will fit together the problems these people have," he said.

"After the birth of my son, everything went to hell in a handbasket as I like to say. My wilson's thyroid meds are working incredibly well for me. Did you know that the number one trigger for Wilson's thyroid syndrome is childbirth? Also that 50% of all FMS sufferers also have hypothyroidism? My pain, fatigue, stiffness, weight gain etc has diminished with my thyroid meds. Hallelujah!!!"

http://members.shaw.ca/me.victoria/newsletters/99jul-aug.htm

CFSingles is a personals newsletter for single PWC/MEs looking for support from other patients. It makes socialization possible. There were 80 members in the fall, and the list continues to grow. To join, send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with two stamps to: CFSingles, 325 South Washington Avenue, #373, Kent, Wa 98032.

Call to Action - TV Show Portrays Us Negatively In the past, I would´ve swallowed a bitter pill like the one FOX-TV´s new show, House, threw at us last night. Not anymore. Read on.

Be sure to check out my forum too. Sound off! I'm talking about this there too! Here's the link:

Please, I urge you, pass this message along to your fibro and cfs friends and support groups.

Dear House Producers,

I am appalled at your TV show portraying fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome in this ridiculous and shameful manner. I am a cum laude graduate of UCLA. FMS/CFIDS ended my career in 1982. I am now 53. I have spent the past 8 years as an advocate for people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome through my website http://www.fms-help.com/ and my monthly newsletter that goes out to 2,400 subscribers.

FMS/CFIDS targets the brightest and most high-achieving in our society. I believe it may have a viral or mycoplasma component which overtakes the immune system. It may even be a designer virus. One day, we may know the cause and cure. FMS/CFIDS/ME is a worldwide epidemic. There are thousands of people on every continent who are suffering from these identical symptoms, despite differences in culture, lifestyle, diet, etc. The pain is so severe that some have sought the "help" of Dr. Kervorkian for a "final" solution to their suffering. Do you realize the damage you have done to people who are at the end of their rope from FMS/CFIDS, possibly considering suicide?

The only way you will ever understand what it's like to have this illness is if you, one of your actors, producers, writers, or family members becomes afflicted. They will suffer the tortures of extreme sleep deprivation, unrelenting body pain, severe depression and debilitating fatigue. They will lose their careers, their quality of life and financial independence. They will suffer from the lack of knowledge in the medical community and the lack of awareness in our society. They will lose the esteem of family and friends. Their lives will be destroyed.

Why anyone would choose to make a mockery of this illness is beyond me--it is either ignorance, extreme insensitivity or downright cruelty. Kind of makes me wonder what illness will you be trivializing next--asthma? migraines? lupus? multiple sclerosis? Soooooo funny isn't it??!! Pass the candy!!!!!

Dominie Bush
http://www.fms-help.com/

"We are all on loads of meds. I get a lympathic massage about once a month. It is a very gentle massage and cleanses the lympathic system to take all the toxins out of our liver, etc. If the expense is too much for you look in the yellow pages for massages school and inquire if they do lympathic massage. The charge is usually around $25. Also, if you are going to a chiropractor ask him/her for Chiro Klenze which is a pleasant tasting tea that will cleanse your system. This is very important for anyone on lots of meds."

"In visiting with a representative from the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers http://www.fibroandfatigue.com/ these past couple of days, she has mentioned that they are currently in the process of opening 30 more centers across the nation in the next 3 ½ years!! That’s exciting news for all of us! I don’t know if you have had time to read the information on their website that I sent you last week but I’m so eager to learn more about these facilities and I just hope that they offer breakthroughs for the many sufferers out there that can’t get the medical attention that they require and deserve from their incompetent doctors. I intend to schedule an appointment first thing after the new year. I think we all deserve to know exactly what’s going on inside our bodies and get the help that we need to fight this debilitating disease."

[NOTE FROM DOMINIE: The cost of their program is extremely high. If anyone has gone to one of these centers, Jennifer jennifer.scott@chiefind.com would like to know what the results were. Please write her directly.]

"5HTP is a good natural alternative to boosting seratonin. St. John's wort works for some ppl too. Also SAMe helps increase seratonin and dopamine so sometimes if 5HTP doesn't do the trick SAMe does - though it's much more expensive. Neither should be taken if you are taking anything else that effects seratonin levels. Both work really well for me and I have used them for the last 5 years or so off and on in place of anti-depressants." [NOTE FROM DOMINIE: I weaned myself off anti-depressants in 1996. They had awful side effects for me and I was STILL depressed--like a black cloud was hanging over my mind. I did not sleep restoratively for nearly 20 years. I then started using melatonin and it helped both sleep and depression for several years until my estrogen level plummeted when I was 47. After that melatonin no longer helped my sleep, unfortunately. I began using sleep meds and found some that help me. I am now 53. 5-HTP made me feel weird and SAMe was incredibly expensive--but everyone is different in how they react to supplements and drugs. For more ideas, see my sleep page at http://www.fms-help.com/sleep.htm ]

Dr. Meinig brings a most curious perspective to an expose of latent dangers of root canal therapy - fifty years ago he was one of the founders of the American Association of Endodontists (root canal specialists)! So he's filled his share of root canals. And when he wasn't filling canals himself, he was teaching the technique to dentists across the country at weekend seminars and clinics. About two years ago, having recently retired, he decided to read all 1174 pages of the detailed research of Dr. Weston Price, (D.D.S). Dr. Meinig was startled and shocked. Here was valid documentation of systemic illnesses resulting from latent infections lingering in filled roots. He has since written a book, "Root Canal Cover-Up EXPOSED - Many Illnesses Result", and is devoting himself to radio, TV, and personal appearances before groups in an attempt to blow the whistle and alert the public. [NOTE FROM DOMINIE: Search online for more information or contact Dr. Joseph Mercola, 1443 W. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60194-4065, Phone 847-985-1777]

The writer of this ancient book of the Bible (Solomon) knew a lot. Medical studies now show that LAUGHTER boosts levels of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and suppresses levels of epinephrine, the stress hormone.

"Laughter may or may not activate the endorphins or enhance respiration, as some medical researchers contend. What seems clear, however, is that laughter is an antidote to apprehension and panic." ~ Norman Cousins

Over 25 years ago, Dr. Norman Cousins in his book Anatomy of an Illness described how watching Marx Brother movies helped him recover from a life-threatening tissue disease.

"Is it possible," he wondered, "that love, hope, faith, laughter, confidence, and the will to live have therapeutic value?" Cousins made it a point to enjoy a hearty belly laugh several times a day. A few minutes of laughter gave him an hour or more of pain-free sleep.

According to Arnold Glasgow, "Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects."

In an ABC television interview, Professor Lee Berk, who has studied laughter and medicine for the past 18 years, explained that laughter increased the Natural Killer Cell activity, the cells that destroy viruses and tumors. Laughter increased a disease-fighting protein, B-cells, the source of a disease-destroying antibody, and T-cells which help cellular immune response.

Hearty laughter also exercises the lungs and circulatory system and increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. "He who laughs," said Mary Pettibone Poole, "lasts." The time is NOW to laugh and be happy. You can do it! Scientist Boris Sokoloff explained, "Happiness can be learned."

This is the season to REJOICE that Jesus the Savior was born! It's a great time of year if you remember the reason for the season. For many people, however, the holidays bring on the "Christmas Blues." Please read my article at http://www.fms-help.com/Christmas.htm I hope it will be comforting, helpful and uplifting.

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas story is when the angels appear to the "minimum wage shepherds" to announce the greatest news humankind has ever heard...

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you GOOD TIDINGS of GREAT JOY, which shall be to ALL people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavnly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2: 8-14

Jesus could not have come to earth in a more humble manner or have his arrival announced to more lowly people (of that day). You don't have to be privileged, educated, attractive, healthy, successful or wealthy for God to love you. Jesus came to save people from their sins so that we could have fellowship with God and spend eternity with him. God is not a respecter of persons. (What man calls success, God may call failure!)

Keep JESUS the focus of your Christmas. Here's a great story...."Centuries ago, a royal couple had a baby. They were so excited that they decided to throw a party in his honor. When all the guests had arrived, the royal couple went into the bedroom to get the baby, but he was nowhere to be found! The baby was finally discovered lifeless under the pile of coats the guests had thrown on the bed. He had been smothered and killed by the very ones who came to honor him!" Don't let the "trappings" surrounding Christmas block out the true meaning.

I continue to do great since June 2001 when someone told me about an immune-balancer (not "booster"). I am 98% improved--I have improved stamina, sleep better, don't catch viruses and colds much anymore (despite daily contact with children as a piano teacher), my digestion improved, complexion improved, I have no more gas and bloating problems and plenty of energy. I still have to set some limits on the amount of work, commitments and stress I allow into my life. As a Type A workaholic--especially now that I feel better--it's easy for me to take on too much and get overloaded.