17. MAMMOGRAM DANGERS
You are no longer alone in your suffering. It is not in your head. See http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?ID=5416&PROD=PH176
19. BREATHING TIP FOR CFIDS SUFFERERS
From immunesupport.com's Tip of the Day--
Short, shallow breaths exacerbate feelings of fatigue. For 10 minutes a day, sit quietly and breathe deeply through your nose, filling your abdomen first and then your chest. Hold for three counts and then exhale through your nose. A leading CFS physician, recommends breathing exercises to increase oxygenation in the body for multiple health benefits. He recommends this simple technique: 1) Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds; 2) Hold your breath for 7 seconds; 3) Exhale through tightly pursed lips for 8 seconds, creating "back pressure" (you should be able to hear the air being forced out of your mouth as you do this.) Do this 8 times in a total of two and a half minutes. Do this twice a day - a grand total of 5 minutes a day. It’s that easy!"
[NOTE FROM DOMINIE: When I was in the throes of CFIDS, I remember holding my breath a lot--probably trying to conserve energy by not breathing--so I tried this exercise many times but it didn't make much difference for me. I include it here for those who might find it helpful. I am just glad that I am well and living a fully functioning life again! I lost 14 years of my life with disability from this illness and my heart goes out to all who are still suffering. You might get some ideas by reading my 100 Tips for Coping at http://www.fms-help.com/tips.htm You can also read my personal CFIDS story at http://www.fms-help.com/fatigue.htm ]
20. ANTIBIOTICS AND BREAST CANCER
From the Health Sciences Institute newsletter--
doubled among women who received 25 or more prescriptions for
antibiotics of any variety, when compared to women who took no
antibiotics at all. The group of women who received between one
and 25 prescriptions increased their risk by one and a half. And
a high rate of cumulative days of antibiotic use was associated
with a sharply increased risk of death due to breast cancer.
In their conclusions, the [University of] Washington researchers observe that
their results don't indicate that antibiotics cause breast
cancer. For instance, they point out that antibiotics inhibit
intestinal microflora from metabolizing phytochemicals, which
may be necessary to fight cancer growth. Also, the very
infections that antibiotics are taken to protect against may
impair the immune system or set off inflammation, paving the way
for cancer.
antibiotic/breast cancer connection, it's safe to say that
something very important is going on here. Most importantly,
it's clearly time for doctors everywhere to rethink antibiotic
usage. For many years, antibiotics have been over-prescribed -
often for health problems (such as the common cold) that
antibiotics have no effect on at all.
Wright, M.D.'s research has found that bacteria have an enzyme
system that is disrupted by the presence of silver ions, causing
the organism to die. In fact, it was commonly used as about the
only hope against severe infections prior to the advent of
antibiotics in the 1940's. Dr. Wright suggests adult doses of
"One tablespoon of colloidal silver at a 40 ppm (parts per
million) concentration at the first signs of any infection and
1-2 teaspoons three to four times daily until the infection is
gone. Then stop!"
From immunesupport.com's Tip of the Day--
An underactive thyroid is very common in chronic fatigue states. This may be the case even if your thyroid blood tests have been interpreted as normal. Many physicians recommend a trial of low-dose thyroid hormone if your clinical picture suggests low thyroid (even with normal tests). This is controversial. Treatment with low-dose thyroid hormone has been safe and frequently very helpful for my patients. Symptoms of low thyroid (in addition to fatigue) can sometimes include cold intolerance, constipation, dry skin, achiness, and low body temperatures. (Source: Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., from his bookm, From Fatigued to Fantastic: A Manual for Moving Beyond Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia)
22. TRADITIONAL MEDICINE DOESN'T HELP FIBROMYALGIA
From immunesupport.com's Tip of the Day--
Many doctors prescribe both traditional and complementary therapies to treat their patients with fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. "When I first started out, I prescribed only traditional treatments," says Stuart Erner, M.D., an internist in Albany, New York, who has treated fibromyalgia since the late 1980s. "But I was not getting much response, so I started using nutritional supplements and herbal remedies. The combined approach is generally more effective than traditional remedies alone," he says. (Source: Womans Day Magazine, 2/1/03)
[NOTE FROM DOMINIE: This is no surprise to any of us who have battled fibromyalgia. My onset was in 1982 at age 30. I am now 52. My personal story is at http://www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm ]
23. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
We are about to lose one of our most basic health
freedoms. Congress is about to roll back your
right to access safe, affordable and effective dietary supplements while
claiming to protect your health.
Bills in both the House and Senate
would dramatically change the current law
governing dietary supplements, the
Dietary Supplement Health and Education
Act (DSHEA). Of particular concern
are bills S. 722, the Dietary Supplement
Safety Act and H.R. 3377, the
Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act.
Go to the following website
to let your voice be heard!
http://capwiz.com/nnfa/issues/alert/?alertid=4089036&type=CO
24. YOUR FIBRO STORY IS WANTED FOR A BOOK!
Check out this link from Ken at Fibrohugs.com--
http://www2.fibrohugs.com/soupermail/story.html
25. SPIRITUAL UPLIFT CORNER
Are you too "busy"? Live a pressured and hectic lifestyle? Feeling totally frazzled? This article was sent in by a newsletter reader and said a lot to me as a Type A, overachiever. Be sure to read the ending!
Satan's Meeting
(Read it, even
if you're busy, especially if you're too busy)
Satan called
a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep
Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their
Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an
intimate relationship with their savior. Once they gain that connection
with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their
churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but steal their time,
so they don't have time to develop a real relationship with Jesus
Christ."
"This is what I want you to do", said the devil. "Distract them
from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection
throughout their day!
"How shall we do this?" his demons
shouted.
"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent
innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered:
a.. Tempt them
to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.
b.. Persuade the
wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each
week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty
lifestyles.
c.. Keep them from spending time with their children. As
their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the
pressures of work!
d.. Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot
hear that 'still, small voice.'
e.. Entice them to play the radio or
cassette player whenever they drive... to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their
PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and
restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam
their minds and break that union with Christ.
f.. Fill the coffee tables
with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a
day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their
mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind
of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and
false hopes.
g.. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so
their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and
they'll become dissatisfied with their wives.
h.. Keep the wives
too tired to love their husbands at night. Give them headaches too! If they
don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere.
That will fragment their families quickly!
i.. Give them Santa Claus to
distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of
Christmas.
j.. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his
resurrection and power over sin and death.
k.. Even in their recreation,
let them be excessive...have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep
them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to
amusement parks!, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies
instead.
l.. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual
fellowship, they will leave with troubled consciences.
Crowd their lives
with so many good causes that they have no time to seek power from Jesus.
Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and
family for the good of the cause.
'It will work! It will
work!!"
It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their
assignments causing
Christians everywhere to have little time for their
God or their families, and to have little or no time to tell others about the
power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is, has the devil been
successful at his scheme? You be the judge! Does "busy"
mean:
B-eing
U-nder
S-atan's
Y-oke?
26. DOMINIE'S PERSONAL UPDATE
I was going to say I've been really BUSY this past month, but after thinking about the above article, I might re-phrase that! Seriously, it's been a hectic month for me getting many teens ready for a music competition in Jacksonville, FL with Word of Life, as well as teaching piano and serving as church pianist for Russell Baptist Church in Green Cove Springs, FL. Our church continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It's a blessing to have a pastor who preaches the Word of God in these dark days.
I am thankful for the health and strength to keep up with everything now. Having spent many decades of my life as a "semi-invalid," I will never take my good health for granted! (You can read my personal stories at http://www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm and http://www.fms-help.com/fatigue.htm -- I'm sure that many readers can relate to what I've been through!)
On my mind right now is The Passion of the Christ movie. It is sold out for the next few days in our community, but some were able to see it already. They say that all of our worries seem insignificant in comparison to what Christ suffered for us in atoning for our sins. He truly was a bloody sacrifice! I am highly supportive of all who go see this movie, although I am not planning to go myself because I can't stand gore and violence. (My imagination is all too vivid and I can barely think about the torture and crucifixion of Jesus without suffering extreme distress!) However, this is a film for this generation! So many are immune to seeing blood and violence in movies and on TV. I thank God that God used Mel Gibson to make a movie that accurately portrays what Christ went through. It's so easy to skim over those verses in the gospel accounts of Christ's last day on earth and not get the full impact of what he did!
Some verses from Isaiah 53 that prophesy about Jesus come to my mind as I'm writing this:
"Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth....
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief....he shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities....because he hath poured out his soul unto death...and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
(Thank God we serve a RISEN Savior! He is not in the tomb! We have hope of eternal life!)
Well, that's all for this month's newsletter. It's hard to believe I've been writing a health newsletter since 1996! It has been my joy to serve you in this manner. May God bless each of you, my loyal readership.
Faithfully yours,
Dominie Bush
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