Fw: Autoimmune Diseases--What Went Wrong?

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Subject: Autoimmune Diseases--What Went Wrong?

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Autoimmune Diseases--What Went Wrong?

This report tells how to solve a mystery. What changed the immune system

>from an effective disease fighter into something that now struggles with

each illness? For some, it is the cause of a disease. This paper should be

of interest to individuals who were healthy a few years ago and are now

seriously ill. Included are those with rheumatoid arthritis.

An individual does not usually know what started his autoimmune disease.

Something happened. A healthy teenager is now a chronically ill adult. He

acquired the disorder. The chemical that started a damaging immune response

entered his body. This is what two research studies are saying.

The immune system was normal a few years ago, and now it is malfunctioning.

A reason why this happens is something entered the body that made the

change. How did the harmful material get into the body? This report

teaches a person how to solve the mystery using the symptoms as clues.

The author, Terry Gromer, is a chemistry teacher. He was trained to take

technical material and explain it to students in an understandable way. He

was fortunate to have a physician-father who took him to the hospital when

he visited his patients. They discussed the father's number one

concern--treating the symptoms, not the disease. He said this is shooting

the messenger. The concepts came from the father. The documentation came

from the son who spent approximately ten hours a week for a year in a

medical library.

Who is correct about the cause of an autoimmune disease? One group of

medical researchers says the cause is a genetic defect. Another group says

the cause is something that entered the body.

Let's use an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis, as an example. If you

are fortunate enough to visit the Science Museum of Minnesota, you will

see a display showing the gene for MS susceptibility on chromosome #1.

A person has the gene for MS at birth, but he does not have the disease.

At age 20, he still does not have the disease. At age 23, he starts

exhibiting some troublesome symptoms. At age 30, he is diagnosed with MS.

What went wrong?

The evidence suggests that both conditions need to exist. The gene for an

autoimmune disease is inherited, and the chemical that will start the

illness needs to enter the body.

Here is an example of a drug entering the body and starting an illness.

The elderly are taking large numbers of drugs, sometimes as many as six a

day. There is a chance that the memory loss is a warning sign that a drug

being used is poorly tolerated. The usual approach is to tell the elderly

person that memory loss is to be expected as we age. He is told to place

notes around his home to remind him to take all of his medications.

One reason why a person fights a disease and loses is he is not using his

body's defense system as it was designed to be used. Someone who has

allowed his body to generate the same warning symptom more than fifty times

is certainly not working with the system.

Bookmark this page if there is a chance that you may decide to try to solve

the mystery surrounding a chronic illness. The ad runs on different

locations. Finding this Web site again may be difficult.

Learning what is causing a symptom is time consuming. Why do it? Assume

the studies are correct when they say autoimmune diseases can be caused by

something that entered the body. Isn't it possible that the reason why a

person's body is generating warning symptoms is to alert him that he

allowed something into his body that caused an injury?

One does not destroy all of the nerves of the central nervous system or the

joints of a hand with one injury. It takes many injuries, perhaps hundreds.

Something entered the body that caused a small injury. A warning symptom

was generated. The warning could have been pain, depression, constipation,

morning stiffness, burning eyes or sore throat. The warning sign is often

ignored or treated with a drug.

Because the problem was not corrected, there is a good chance that there

will be another injury followed by another warning. The same warning sign

appears again and again. If the warning is pain, the treatment is to buy a

second and then a third bottle of a pain-killing drug. This is how the

hundreds of small injuries accumulate. One specific tissue or organ is

repeatedly damaged. It could be the joints of the fingers.

How does a person know that he put something into his body that caused an

injury? His body will issue one or more of thirty different warning

symptoms.Ý

The immune response causes harsh symptoms. Therefore, you can stop some of

your unpleasant symptoms by not putting anything into your body that

stimulates an immune response.

A patient with an autoimmune disease is told his immune system is attacking

the body's own tissues. This is only part of the story. The Manual of

Allergy & Immunology 3rd ed. P. 273, 1995, talks about " haptens. " A

chemical which is usually a drug attaches to the body's tissues. The

altered protein appears " foreign " to the immune system. It attacks the

foreign material. The body would not be attacking its own tissue if it had

not been altered by the drug. The resulting disease never ends if a person

repeatedly allows a chemical into his body that acts as a hapten.

If a product needed for good health is not being consumed, the body will

issue warnings. It will also issue warnings if something enters the body

that disrupts or injures. Therefore, attacking warning symptoms--pain,

insomnia, cough, headache, chronic fatigue--with a drug is no more logical

than silencing a fire alarm with a hammer.

A man would have a better chance of entering retirement free of disease if

his body would warn him if something entered it that disrupts or injures.

The body does warn him using symptoms. He has learned that he can get fast,

temporary relief of symptoms using a pill. The alternative offers slow,

permanent relief--taking the time to learn why the body issued a warning.

Now is the time to stop believing symptoms appear by magic. A withdrawal

symptom appears if a person does not consume a poorly tolerated product

everyday. An example is a lady who has a headache because she failed to

drink a cup of coffee before going to work.

I am not saying caffeine causes a disease. I am saying that anything put

into the body that triggers warning symptoms is a suspect. For a week,

avoid products that set off the body's alarm system. At the end of the

week, are you having more good days?

Why would a lady put something into her body that is destroying her hands?

If a harsh warning symptom appears seconds after the product enters her

body, she would stop using the product. Unfortunately, the warning can

appear one to 24 hours after the disruptive material enters the body. She

doesn't see the connection. She treats the pain warning with a drug, and

continues to put the poorly tolerated material into her body.

If an autoimmune disease is caused by something that entered the body as

some researchers believe, expect the human body to generate a warning. The

warning could be a chronic cough that starts hours after she eats a poorly

tolerated food.

What are some of the warnings that disruptive material has entered the

body? Look at the drug ads in magazines.

Here is part of a drug disclosure statement on page 48 in Newsweek January

17, 2000: The side effects are constipation, diarrhea, upset stomach,

heartburn, stomach pain/cramps, nausea, anorexia, hepatitis, muscle cramps,

pain, joint pain, insomnia, headache, dizziness, memory loss, tingling,

damage to nerves, loss of sensation, anxiety, tremor, hair loss, itching,

rash, cataracts, eye muscle weakness, blurred vision, blood vessel

inflammation, impotence, loss of sexual desire, psychic disturbances and

depression.

One does not normally think that something put into the body can cause

anorexia, joint pain or damage to nerves. These unpleasant warnings appear

because the body has been programmed to produce them. The human body has

been programmed to survive.

The body's alarm system warns a person that he is allowing something into

his body that is targeting a tissue or organ. As the damage to a body part

becomes more extensive, the warning symptoms become more harsh and more

disabling.

How does a patient deal with symptoms that are becoming more harsh and

more disabling? A typical response is to use a stronger drug and use it in

a greater dosages to crush the warning symptom. This approach is shooting

the messenger. My physician-father strongly disapproved.

There are two ways to deal with internal injuries caused by ingested or

inhaled material. (1) One correctly identifies the cause and eliminates

it. (2) One acts without knowing the cause. He uses a drug that slows the

damage being done to his body.

An illustration makes this concept clear. Diesel fumes from trucks can

disrupt or injure. Someone who is more sensitive to these fumes than the

average person and lives in a house that backs to a busy street will

receive a large dose of a harmful material. He will get sick. His body will

issue warnings. As the years pass, over-the-counter medications no longer

stop the harsh symptoms. The man may be told that there is a drug that can

slow the damage being done to his body. There is another option--stop the

damage by moving away from the busy street. This eliminates the chemical

causing his illness.

How does someone know that he has damaged his body? There is inflammation.

Inflammation is the body's response to an injury--Dorland's Medical

Dictionary. Before reaching for an anti-inflammatory drug or a pain

killer, realize that there is more than one way to stop the harsh warning

symptoms. Stop the injuries. Physical injuries--falls, cuts and

abrasions--can be avoided by being careful. Chemical injuries can be

avoided by not allowing substances into the body that damage organs or

tissues. If the cause is not apparent, it is likely to be a chemical

injury.

Individuals reading this report are interested in stopping a degenerative

disease. Why should they take the time to learn what is causing their

heartburn or headaches? Heartburn, headache, irregular pulse, nausea and

other minor symptoms can be used as clues to learn the source of the

chemical that is causing numerous problems inside the body.

A large number of products enter the human body. Each product contains

>from one to hundreds of chemicals. There are 400 chemicals in one

alcoholic drink. This gives you an idea of the amount of material entering

the body.

It is unlikely that all of the thousands of chemicals are going to be well

tolerated. If, by chance, poorly tolerated material is ingested or inhaled

on a regular basis, a person will get sick. For example, a chemical coming

>from a food was damaging a child's kidneys. When she no longer ate foods

containing that chemical, she recovered. Read the case of the 4-year-old

girl with a kidney disease. Learn how the mystery was solved.

The human body is equipped with an alarm system. One of the reasons is to

warn a person that he allowed something into his body that caused an

injury. There are two ways to explain it. The difficult way uses concepts

from physiology, chemistry and immunology. This approach is used to

validate this report. Omitting this material would make this paper much

easier to read. Interestingly, there is an easy way to explain why a number

of individuals have illnesses that do not end. It requires one paragraph.

The explanation is directed individuals who believe God created man. How is

it possible that the body's defense system, designed by God, can not stop a

disease? The Creator is all-powerful, but the defense system is not. The

system can not stop a person from putting poorly tolerated material into

his body, but it can issue warning symptoms. Therefore, to have better

health, stop using any food, beverage, drug, cleaning product, solvent,

glue, gas stove that is not vented if its use triggers warning symptoms

from your body. The symptoms are not the enemy. They are messengers. They

can tell you what started the disease.

The following case can help you understand how warnings coming the body

can be used as clues to solve a medical mystery. Here is DeLynn's Story:

I was told by the Aurora Public Schools that they did not need any more

chemistry teachers. An assistant superintendent asked me if I would teach

in an elementary school. I accepted.

My fifth grade class contained the usual number of bright students and

those who were not so bright. DeLynn was a child with a captivating smile

and a tenderness toward even the smallest of animals. Unfortunately, she

functioned at the third grade level.

One day in the gym, she spun around and her glasses fell to the floor. I

watched for about twenty seconds while she tried to figure out why she

could not see very well. Her reaction is not unusual for a slow student.

However, something unusual was happening. Once every three or four weeks,

DeLynn came out of her mental fog. She was sharp, followed directions, and

did fifth grade work. The next day she was back in her fog.

One morning was especially bad for DeLynn. In frustration, I asked her

what she had eaten that morning. She said that she had only a slice of

bread. I asked if she had butter or jelly or anything on it. She said, " No,

just a slice of bread. " There was a possibility of a food allergy because

she always had dark circles under her eyes. I called her parents and asked

if they would be willing to try a wheat free diet for DeLynn. I would give

her extra credit in science for the experiment. The parents started giving

her rice and oats instead of wheat. On the morning of the third day, DeLynn

was talking to two of my best students. I went to the back of the room to

ask what she was doing. She said, " You know the class challenge of the day

was to break a secret code. These two boys were having trouble with it so I

explained it to them. " I was stunned!

Two weeks passed, and DeLynn was having only good days. The only problem

for her was that the third grade reading material from another teacher was

too easy. Her world crashed on Friday. She missed all ten easy spelling

words. She was back in her mental fog. At the first chance, I called her

home and talked to her father. He said they had run out of wheat free

foods. The night before she had gone to a birthday party and had eaten cake

which was wheat. That morning she had pancakes made with wheat flour. After

my call, her parents restarted the wheat free diet. Again, DeLynn returned

to only good days. By this time the parents decided to visit an allergist.

The doctor said that she was " mildly allergic to wheat. "

DeLynn had an environmental illness. These ailments are caused by a poorly

tolerated chemical that entered the body. Her inability to think clearly

was caused by a wheat allergy. Examples of environmental illnesses include

wrist pain from an allergy, incontinence from a prescription drug, adhd and

kidney disease from a food intolerance, winter colds from mold, headaches

from formaldehyde and a lymphoma from a drug.

The disruptive material is not just cigarette smoke or too much alcohol.

It can be a common product that is well tolerated by one individual but not

another. Thus, a food, drug, beverage or inhalant can fuel a chronic

illness if three conditions exist: (1) Someone is much less tolerant to

the product than the average person. (2) He allows the product into his

body repeatedly. (3) He ignores the warning symptoms, or he crushes them

with drugs.

The original paper documented almost every statement giving the volume,

page and name of the journal. The physician who reviewed the manuscript

said that it was too difficult. This revised report is shorter, less

technical and uses more examples.

The disruptive material is usually a product that people encounter

everyday. The average person is not harmed by it. The problem is the large

variation in tolerance by individuals. As an example, almost everyone in a

family can eat as many eggs as they wish with no problems. Yet, one member

is harmed by them. This is what happened to a friend who did some baby

sitting for my daughter. She had severe pain several times a week. A doctor

said that he did not know what was causing it. My daughter told her that it

might be a food. The friend pasted the ingredient labels of foods that she

ate into a scrap book. One day, she was served scrambled eggs. Several

hours later, she was in severe pain. She looked back at her scrap book and

noticed that before each pain episode she ate a food containing eggs. For

this lady, the poorly tolerated product was a food, and the warning symptom

was pain. My thanks go to our Florida friend who called to tell us what

happened. This is a good teaching case.

What is wrong with taking a pill for pain, heartburn, depression, cough or

nausea? What is wrong with treating incontinence with a diaper and puffy

eyes with surgery? These are warning symptoms. They are part of the body's

defense system. They are not the enemy.

The body's alarm system uses warning symptoms. Here are some of the

warnings: pain, heartburn, sore throat, abnormal weight gain, insomnia,

cough, nausea, morning sickness, irritability, confusion, rage, abnormal

fears, fast resting pulse, constipation, swelling of the hands or feet,

gray skin color, hyperactivity, frequent urination, red or black circles

around the eyes, puffy eyes, purple hands, itching, nose bleeding, colic,

depression, headache, incontinence, lip swelling, morning stiffness, diaper

rash, diarrhea, excessive hunger, hot flashes and irregular heartbeat.

Here are examples of disruptive chemicals entering the body: drug

interactions, side effects, wrong drug, wrong dosage, hard-to-detect

infections, poisons, snake and spider bites, food allergies, drugs that

suppress the immune system or alter the body's chemistry, mold on

refrigerated and non refrigerated foods, inhaled gases from building

materials that use glues and solvents, exhaust fumes that enter the bodies

of those who live in homes that back to busy streets.

Here are clues that something put into the body is causing problems: 1.

Someone feels good some days but not others. 2. An elderly patient has

mouth pain only at night. 3. After eating, a person can not stay awake.

4. After three years of therapy, the lady has not improved. 5. No amount

of punishment stops a boy from hitting his younger brother hard enough to

draw blood. 6. A pregnant lady is sick only in the mornings, but not in

the afternoons. 7. The resting pulse rate never drops below 84 beats per

minute. Count for 30 seconds and multiply by 2.

The poorly tolerated product may not be a food. It can be a drug that is

used everyday. Here are the side effects from another prescription drug.

They are listed in a disclosure on page 50, U.S.News & World Report

November 20, 2000: constipation, upset stomach, heartburn, hepatitis, loss

of appetite, anorexia, joint pain, muscle pain, headache, dizziness,

anxiety, memory loss, tremor, psychic disturbances, hair loss, blurred

vision, cataracts. Allergic reactions: digestive symptoms, shortness of

breath, symptoms that mimic lupus (an autoimmune disease), blood vessel

inflammation, fatigue, sensitivity to sunlight, rashes.

Need documentation about ingested chemicals causing disease? Here is the

quote before it was translated into plain English: Clinical and

Experimental Immunology (37:434) says that identifying the antigen that is

causing the immune complex disease has enabled the patient to avoid the

chemical and, thus, end the disease. The antigens are listed at this Web

site.

Why do individuals with chronic illnesses have good and bad days? Here is

one reason. The symptoms are stronger after a large amount of the

disruptive product enters the body. There are milder symptoms when a

lesser amount enters the body. This is best explained using two

illustrations. One individual is using a drug everyday that is producing

side effects. The drug is fueling a harmful reaction in her body. The fuel

is always present. This produces a continuous supply of unpleasant warning

symptoms. This person is never completely well. The second individual said

that no one seems to know why some days she is happy and energetic and

other days she can barely function. She started a diary. Sunday, she ate a

beef steak. Monday was a bad day. Wednesday, she ate chicken. Thursday was

a good day. Friday, she had a pork roast for dinner. Saturday was a good

day. She noticed that all ten of her bad days came the day after eating

beef. Good and bad days offer clues that can help identify the disruptive

material.

Something happened to three of my elementary students. You read DeLynn's

story. Here is Pat's story. Pat was disruptive. She walked around the

classroom when she should have been seated doing her work. She made

strange noises that disrupted the class. The methods taught in teacher

education classes, such as praising good behavior, had no effect on her.

Several students including Pat had a behavior change after overdosing on

Halloween candy. I told her mother to try taking her off milk and sugar to

see if that would help. She did. The first change was Pat stayed in her

seat. She started asking if she could help pass out books. The strange

noises stopped. The day that I will always remember arrived. Pat said, " Mr.

Gromer, I have the most wonderful news. I have two friends!! Never in my

whole life have I had a friend. I have been invited to spend the night with

them. " A big smile was on the face of a child who seldom showed any

emotion. We have correctly identified the cause. The result is a new girl.

Doctors use the term environmental illness because these ailments are

caused by something entering the body. How an autoimmune disease such as

rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis relates to an environmental

chemical is quite involved. To comprehend requires learning some basic

immunology. Read the entire paper, not just the section that deals with the

illness that interests you. My wife, my children, my friends think the

material is too difficult. How to make it easier to read without losing

accuracy is a problem that I have not yet solved.

It is unfortunate that an individual will suffer for years with a disorder

that can be ended by avoiding the product that is fueling it. Let's use a

milk allergy as an example. If someone has pain within minutes after

drinking milk, he will say that he is " allergic to it " and will stop using

milk products. If the pain appears 24 hours after consuming milk, he will

probably not see the connection. He will take a drug for the pain and will

continue using milk products.

Some searches for the cause of an illness are easy. Here are some

illustrations: 1. A lady eats a large portion of spaghetti and gets

heartburn. Overeating should make one full, not cause symptoms. A possible

cause would be a hypersensitivity to wheat, tomato or vinegar. 2. A child

becomes hyperactive from Halloween candy. The suspects would be milk, corn

syrup and sugar. 3. A baby has colic, is irritable, spits up his formula

and refuses the bottle. He is never well. The suspect is a milk protein.

4. A man is disabled by his illness. A drug is slowing the damage the

disease is doing to his body. He says that he has no food allergies. Yet,

as a small child his mother stopped giving him milk because it made him

irritable. A suspect in his adult disease would be foods containing milk.

5. A lady has respiratory problems that never end. Just before she became

sick, she moved into an apartment that has a gas stove that was not vented.

It is ironic that the building department will get upset if a gas hot water

heater is not vented, but will say nothing about the need to vent gas

stoves in small houses.

Two studies link autoimmune diseases with something that entered the body.

One says that many, if not most, autoimmune disorders are caused by a

foreign antigen.(72) " Foreign " means not from the body. The second study is

reported by The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. They said in a 1997

article that two scientists in Belgium claimed that MS is caused by a

virus. Although there is strong theoretical evidence, their report was

called " premature. "

Let's assume the two scientists are correct about a viral cause of MS.

Protection from viruses and bacteria comes from a fully competent immune

system--one that is not suppressed. A way to suppress the immune system is

to put a chemical into the body. The product has a name. It is called an

immunosuppressive agent.

Here are three reasons why these medical studies should be given serious

consideration: 1. They answer the question, " Why is someone who was

healthy a few years ago now seriously ill? " 2. The studies support what is

taught in physiology, chemistry and immunology. 3. Someone can check to

see if his autoimmune disorder is caused by something that entered his

body.

Do you have the ability to be a detective? Can you identify the disruptive

material? Is it from an infection? If not, it can come from non-infectious

sources such as foods, beverages, drugs and inhalants. Keep a diary. Write

down what went on or in the body and the time. Also, record all symptoms

and their times. The timing patterns of the symptoms and their causes will

match. For example, pain and swelling occurred twice last month. A

particular product was used twice last month. Each time, the pain was

severe the day after this product was applied to the skin. Here is a match.

How would someone know this is happening? He is keeping a diary.

Here is a question. See if you agree with my answer. My doctor says that I

could avoid many serious illnesses if I would start an exercise program and

make lifestyle changes. Why should I make the effort? My friend has an

exercise program, eats right and does all the right things, and she has a

disease. Yet, my aunt eats everything, doesn't exercise, doesn't limit her

fat intake. She is eighty and is rarely sick.

" Rarely sick " is translated as having a body that is not issuing warning

symptoms. The aunt is putting into her body what it needs and not consuming

anything that disrupts or injures. One would expect her to healthy. The

friend who is chronically ill eats healthy foods. I think a different

definition of eating healthy is needed. " Eating right " means eating safe

foods--ones that do not trigger the body's alarm system. Rapid weight

gain, abnormal hunger, cravings, insomnia and heartburn are warning signs.

A way to have good health is to fuel the beneficial reactions occurring in

the body, but not the harmful ones. Fuel beneficial reactions by having a

balanced diet, drinking enough water and taking a supplement containing

vitamins and minerals, getting enough calcium. Stop fueling harmful

reactions by avoiding products that cause warning symptoms.

Long-term illnesses exist for identifiable reasons. One of the reasons for

continuing damage to the body is the material causing the problem is

repeatedly allowed into the body.

Some medical mysteries are easy to solve and some are difficult. A person

without a technical background should be able to solve the easier cases.

What a person puts into his body everyday to stop withdrawal symptoms is a

suspect. It can be a food that stops insomnia, or a drug that stops hot

flashes.

The search is for a disruptive product that enters the body everyday. It

can be benzene or diesel fumes from a busy street. It can be carbon

monoxide >from a faulty furnace or mold under a structured wood floor in a

basement. How hard is it to identify harmful material? It is not that

difficult. One is not trying to identify all the disruptive material

entering his body. He is just trying to avoid the two or three products are

causing the most problems.

Do read Part 2 of this paper. It contains instructions on how to solve a

medical mystery, a list of antigens that can fuel harmful chemical

reactions, more information for those who used autoimmune disease,

rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis as a search term. Also included

are actual cases that can help you judge your level of ability as a

detective. Solving 50% of the cases is an excellent score. Success comes

from having a burning desire to learn what went wrong and less on having

superior problem solving skills. Look at the list of references. They give

credibility to this report. (Size is 120K)