Re: Fungal infections, TNF drugs, side effects

October 8, 2008

, I have sent links on both cocciodomycosis and Valley Fever. Histoplasmosis is not the same thing. All are fungal infections-- and all can be attributed to areas where the dust and agriculture molds and fungus in the soils becomes airborne when the areas dry out especially in the summer time.

ANY weakened immune system makes it more possible to contract these diseases, but just because we are on TNF or even prednisone does not cause us to get these funguses. Generally, they are not contagious unless the become "dessiminated"-- where they leave the lungs and spread throughout the body. These are rare according to research.

However, for those that live in arid dry conditions-- and love to golf (wouldn't we love to have the energy to spend a day on the links..) and the course is dry and sandy --- you may have a higher incidence of exposure to the dusts. If you are where dust storms are the normal, then you are more likely to be exposed.

Mayo's letter states that African Americans, Filipinos, Mexicans are all at higher risk. They don't know why. If they thought for just a minute-- these are the races most likely to be harvesting the crops-- and therefore more exposed to agricultural dust.

Was this a conspiracy by our government to get us all sick- one article states that military personnel seem to be have a higher rate of exposure. Well, let's see-- Nevada is a high desert-- and dry and sandy, and it also has a huge military base out in the middle of nowhere. Utah-- has it's "salt lake." Arizona has it's deserts, as does the San Joaquin Valley where there is a tremendous amount of agriculture. Oh, and shall we mention all the men and women in the military that are in Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Kuwait-- and on and on.

This isn't brain surgery-- it's not conspiracy-- it's enviromental-- add floods to these areas-- or monsoons, and you have the perfect enviroment for fungus and molds to grow. This is a natural fungus-- that in certain conditions manages to take off and become a huge problem-- if the area is disturbed.

Watering down the soil before you go out and til it to plant the garden, and you've solved part of the exposure problem. Dust masks in areas that have dust storms will help. g your home and keeping the dust bunnies under control (at my house I've given up on this one--I just name them and then they are pets-- and you can write your name in my dust, I just ask that no one date it) will help all the lung issues.

Our MD's will not prescribe TNF drugs before they have done tests to make sure that we have something to treat and they know what that something is. To think that we can walk in and demand TNF drugs is nuts. The hoops that we jump through to get these medications-- and all the meds they try long before they'll prescribe TNF drugs (start small, work up-- hopefully you'll not need to go all the way to TNF drugs is the docs attitude-- and that is a wise attitude to have) is the way ALL my docs have approached my treatment.

I don't advocate TNF as a place to start-- not at all. If you can tolerate prednisone-- start there. Your doc will demand it. We know now that when sarc patients are put on prednisone, and then weaned off-- most 80% will relapse and need additional and different drugs to stop the immune system attack. So they move into Plaquenil or Methotrexate-- if they don't make the mistake that pred "worked " in the past, so do it again. If you don't get relief from any of those-- then they add Imuran. If that doesn't work, it's onto Arava, or Cytoxan or one of the TNF-drugs. By then we are standing with one foot in the grave, our lives compromised, on permanent disability, exhaustion, fatigue that would drop an elephant, in bed, wheelchairs, walkers, dementia, nerve and joint and muscle and bone pain that brings you to your knees-- and you can't get up withot help-- and then maybe someone will step forward and realize

that you are one sick person- and not a hypochondriac.

BTW, you've already done the psychiatric route by this time also-- and you are on antidepressants to regulate the pain and depression issues caused by the fact that no one has taken this seriously.

As for the stats I've presented above-- the articles and links for those are in the ARCHIVES AND LINKS-- so I'm not just blowing numbers off the top of my head.

, no one here is so dumb as to think that they can walk in and demand BRM's-- Biological Response Modifiers (aka TNF drugs) like you can ask for an antibiotic because you think you have an infection. It's not like that at all. I'm not sure where you are coming from-- but TNF drugs are being used safely for alot of illnesses, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoratic Arthritis, Chron's disease-- and all the people on them have already gone through the gamet of the other meds-- and this is what we had to do to get our disease under some assemblance of control.

Yes, they are scary-- so is the alternative. For me, it was an early death-- and I'm grateful that I've had the last 8 yrs-- even with the possible side effects of the TNF drugs. Without having taken the risk of this medication- I know I would have already been dead 7 yrs ago.

ALL of todays medications come with the concern that the medication may kill you. Read the stuff on aspirin to see if that doesn't rattle your cage. It too can kill us.

Sincerely,

Tracie

NS Co-owner/moderator

Check out FDA Alerts: TNF-Blocker Drugs for Arthritis Increase Risk of Fungal

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ARTICLE!!! URGENT!!! PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY! !! IT CAN BE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!!!

FDA Alerts: TNF-Blocker Drugs for Arthritis Increase Risk of Fungal Infections

Ron

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October 8, 2008

Amen, Tracie. Couldn't have said it better myself (couldn't have said it at all, actually!).

Ramblin' RoseModerator

To: Neurosarcoidosis From: tiodaat2001@...Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 18:16:53 -0700Subject: Re: Fungal infections, TNF drugs, side effects