Miscellaneous

August 4, 1999

Hi everyone,

I was first diagnosed when I had a stiff neck for over 3 days and finally went

to the doctor. That was 15 years ago. Today, My hands(fingers) are the worst -

my middle finger on both hands are swollen and crooked.My knees hurt, my hips

hurt. I had surgery two years ago on my knee for torn tissue. Now I have torn

tissue tears in my right wrist. I used to crochet ALL the time so I thought that

was why it happened, now I am wondering.... I read somewhere that PA can cause

tears like this. SO now I am debating whether or not to have surgery. Right now,

I cannot crochet anymore and I really miss it.

I am 5'8 1/2 " and weigh 160. Since January I have lost 20 pounds and I want to

lose 10 more. Last month I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I used to be 5'9

1/2 " tall. So now, I started doing strength exercises and walking on a treadmill

(we got a brand new fitness center right here at work - only 14 dollars a

month). And now I read osteoporsosis can also be caused by PA.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor because my right leg below the knee cap started

intermittent burning. (I haven't had hot flashes yet, but this is what I assume

they will be like) It was the weirdest feeling ...It started last Thursday and

when I called him he told me to come right over. Turns out it could be a burst

vein or even a blood clot, so I am now going for an ultrasound. He says Feldene

has a side effect of hemoraghing(sp?), so maybe that is the culprit.

So Basically, everything that is wrong with me can be blamed on the PA or the

MTX or the anti-inflammatory drugs. I guess, I am a little discouraged. I had

been on MTX over 10 years with EXCELLENT results - went off for 6 months and now

my life is hell. I have been on Feldene at least 5 years. Now, I don't know what

to take. I cannot believe every month something new is wrong with me. My husband

is the kind of person who has never been sick and if he is sick he doesn't even

go to the dr.!!!, He tries to understand, but I know he doesn't.

I would like to just say forget all the pills, try the herbs and the diet and

working out and see if that helps but I am too chicken to do that too.

Oh yeah, I would also consider myself an over-achiever. I was divorced in 1980

(my kids were 4 and 1), and diagnosed in 1984. I was a single parent until last

year - I got remarried in 1998. So for 18 years I took care of it all. It is the

MOST Frustrating thing for me to have to ask for help.... for ANYTHING!. My

husband would help me if I ask, but I won't ask.

I am only 45.

THanks for letting me vent!

Joanne

July 15, 2002

Hi ,

I finally found the " Green Garlic " salad dressing by Annie's Naturals that was

mentioned a while back. I haven't tried it yet, but it appears to not contain

vinegar or sugar. I haven't actually tried it yet, but if it's any good at all

it's going to be a staple in my cupboard!

As far as mayo... yeah, I haven't found a prepackaged one that doesn't contain

vinegar or sugar either. So, I make mine from scratch, but it's not as good as

commercial mayo.

There is a pretty good ketchup recipe called " Easy Catsup " in the " Allergy

Cooking with Ease " cookbook. I actually made some and it's pretty good - even

the kids didn't notice the difference (which is a complete shocker). I then

bought a small plastic squeeze bottle of ketchup at the store and dumped all of

the ketchup out, rinsed the bottle, and filled it with the homemade stuff. I

tried making the " Mild Mustard " in that cookbook, but it turned out pretty

gross. Ketchup recipe as follows:

------

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

3/4 c water plus 1/8 tsp white stevia powder

2 tsp finely chopped onion

1 whole clove

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp tart tasting unbuffered Vitamin C crystals (found in the supplements

section of the store)

Combine the tomato paste, water plus stevia, onion, clove, and salt in a sauce

pan and bring them to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes stirring at

least every 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the clove and stir in the Vitamin C

crystals. Makes about 3/4 to 1 cup.

------

As far as scrambled eggs go... I use a little safflower oil in mine instead of

milk. Since the milk isn't there to sweeten the eggs, they take a little to get

used to. I like to sauté a little onion and have them in my eggs which helps to

make them more appealing as well.

Deli meats... I have only found one brand by " Applegate Farms " that makes

deli/lunch meat without adding sugar and it's pretty expensive. Be careful with

meats that are sliced right there in the store since they usually slice the

cheese and other meats on the same cutting machine.

Yeast free bread... I've also heard to make sure that the bread doesn't say

" sourdough " . All sourdough breads have been left to ferment (is that the term?)

so these may aggravate a candida problem. French Meadow makes a yeast-free Rice

bread, but it has wheat in it. So, if you have a problem with wheat, then

that's not an option. I go to the natural foods store and grab all of the

loaves of the rice bread and then freeze them. I don't like the bread any way

other than toasted. I grew up on white bread, so I can't seem to get past that

thick and dry bread. But toasted works for me.

I haven't found any candida dessert recipes that I like yet, but I'll let you

know if I find one.

As far as calcium goes, I'm taking a supplement because I'm currently pregnant

and expecting my first baby (supposedly due this Friday as a matter of fact).

I've also been thinking about this candida thing and how it will affect her and

so forth. Food allergies seem to run in my family, so I'm sure it will be

challenging. Sugar is in absolutely everything! What do you feed children when

you're cutting out sugar? I have 3 step children and they are all addicted to

sugar, but I can't get them off of it (long story).

Anyways, I've been babbling long enough! Good luck with your search... I'm

right there with ya,

Jenifer

July 18, 2002

Jenifer, thanks for all the info! I didn't realize you were due so soon!

How exciting!!

The other day I realized we had no milk (I haven't had milk in almost a week

now! I used to drink a gallon every 2 days!!) so I made scrambled eggs with

nothing in them. Tasted EXACTLY the same. So I'm not sure what the milk was

supposed to be for in the first place. LOL!

I did buy some of that bread you mentioned the other day. I haven't had the

nerve to try it yet. LOL! Or the soy milk, for that matter! But I'm gonna

make some of that ketchup you mentioned. Thanks for the recipe!

As far as feeding kids without sugar, it's sooo hard. My son is just like me -

hugely addicted to sugar. So I just stopped buying sweets of any kind. Other

than that I haven't really changed his diet much. I'm afraid to mess with his

milk and stuff he might need. To try something like this for ME is one thing,

but I have to know it's safe to cut out all these things from his diet, you

know?

Anyway, thanks for your help!

--------------------------------------------------------------

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July 18, 2002

Yeah, you're right. I hate fresh green beans though. But love canned. Go

figure. LOL!

--------------------------------------------------------------

~~ you had asked what was wrong with canned food... well, it is " dead

food " for one thing... it is lacking one vital vital thing... and that is

ENZYMES!! Which is why we eat veggies to begin with right!! I would stay as

far away from canned and/or processed food as possible and just eat food in it's

whole form

jen

December 4, 2003

> I've joined the board to find out what you know about surgery to C5-6 and C6-7

<

Hi Margaret...as a new neck sufferer (after almost 2 years of lumbar back

problems) I will be watching posts for answers also.

Good luck with your surgery!

Viv

October 23, 2004

: there are many of us who have tried to talk rationally to people we

know who are on these drugs and the overwhelming response is one of denial and

outrage. When my husband's best friend blew his brains out last year with a

shotgun while he was on an SSRI, I mentioned to his brother that it was

actually the drugs that killed him. His response was to go on Effexor. His

entire

family was drugged up. His now 17 year old son has been on psych meds since

he was 8 when they doped him with Wellbutrin for ADD after which he tried to

commit suicide, after which they institutionalized him. No amount of my talking

to our friend could convince him that meds played any part in his brother's

death or his son's insanity. Until these people have some cataclysmic event in

their lives as a result of the drugs, then and only then do they turn to the

Internet for answers and learn that the very safe and effective medication

their doctor told them they needed might actually be responsible for a) driving

their car through their house in a suicide attempt (20 year police veteran on

Paxil); stealing another woman's purse in a bar and getting busted and then

winding up in a brawl (elementary school teacher on Paxil now in prison);

head-on

collision from driving the wrong way on an offramp (high level exec on

Effexor), and on and on and on. The very first thing these drugs do to your

brain is

disrupt your cognitive thinking. My friend, the critical care nurse,

presented some of the doped up nurses on her floor with documents I gave her,

and she

said their eyes glazed over and they refused to even consider that these

drugs might be harmful. For those of us who have been at this activism for

years

and years, we've seen and heard it all and we've written letters and made

phone calls, and I've done TV interviews and radio interviews, and even written

a

book that raises the specter of suspicion about what these drugs are really

about and yet we have hardly made a dent in this scourge. . . why? BECAUSE IT'S

ALL ABOUT MONEY!!! For me, personally, I have to be careful because I am

absolutely terrified to death that I could be locked up (again) and forced to

take drugs (again) because I am so outspoken about what a fraud and a farce

SSRIs

are. It's almost too big a battle to even think about making a dent in it.

The mother with the brain surgery should contact Ablechild.org, started by a

woman who raised holy hell when they threatened to take her child away because

she wouldn't drug him. As for the pilots, well, it's not okay to fly a plane

while taking SSRIs, but you can fly your car!!!!

" Blind Reason "

a novel of pharmaceutical intrigue

Think your antidepressant is safe? Think again. It's

Unsafe At Any Dose

October 23, 2004