Feeling Down

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the advice about the bands, one of the Doctors that I

work with said the same thing. So I've got a few of those aleady,

and one set of 10lb dumbbells, I'll have to grab a jumping rope. I'm

soo poorly coordinated though lol.

I'm feeling much better today. My husband went on my run with me,

and my first two sets of 6,7,8,9 went well, the last were really

weaker, but I definitely hit a 10 I was so proud of myself and was

sweating buckets afterward. I feel like I might have saved a little

bit too much up for that 10 by not pushing as hard on the last two

sets. So day after tomorrow I'm not gonna " reserve energy " I'm just

going to push as if every minute were the last.

Very sore today from monday, and I can definitely tell how one arm

is sooo much weaker then the other. My right shoulder is Soo sore

and stiff compared to the other. Looking forward to Lower Body

today.

I think the weight training rotation is great, by the time you are

almost over being sore from your first UBW you are right back on it.

Thanks for the comments yesterday! Oh yes, my new favorite snack is

Strawberries and non fat cottage cheese, I love it, I don't think

I'll ever eat strawberries any other way again!!

Oh yes and I found the great short song for Inspiration. Check

out " There she Goes " I don't know the artist sorry.

Tabitha

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the advice about the bands, one of the Doctors that I

work with said the same thing. So I've got a few of those aleady,

and one set of 10lb dumbbells, I'll have to grab a jumping rope. I'm

soo poorly coordinated though lol.

I'm feeling much better today. My husband went on my run with me,

and my first two sets of 6,7,8,9 went well, the last were really

weaker, but I definitely hit a 10 I was so proud of myself and was

sweating buckets afterward. I feel like I might have saved a little

bit too much up for that 10 by not pushing as hard on the last two

sets. So day after tomorrow I'm not gonna " reserve energy " I'm just

going to push as if every minute were the last.

Very sore today from monday, and I can definitely tell how one arm

is sooo much weaker then the other. My right shoulder is Soo sore

and stiff compared to the other. Looking forward to Lower Body

today.

I think the weight training rotation is great, by the time you are

almost over being sore from your first UBW you are right back on it.

Thanks for the comments yesterday! Oh yes, my new favorite snack is

Strawberries and non fat cottage cheese, I love it, I don't think

I'll ever eat strawberries any other way again!!

Oh yes and I found the great short song for Inspiration. Check

out " There she Goes " I don't know the artist sorry.

Tabitha

[Guest guest]

((( BIG HUGS )))

Hello everyone,

I just need a place to... decompress.

I just discovered that I have to be the world's most insensitive person.

I made a comment on a support group/message board full of wonderful people who have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me that was thoughtless and wrong.

I didn't intend to be harmful, thoughtless, or cruel... it just was one of those moments where you wish you could take back what you just said.

Because of that comment, I thought it best to remove my membership from the group. I'm so ashamed, so embarassed, and really just appalled at what I said.

And now I can't stop crying because I hurt someone I never wanted to hurt.

I'm not looking for sympathy... I guess I just needed to get that off my chest.

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate." - Ann Landers

[Guest guest]

YES IT WILL !!! )

I'm trying to forgive myself, but I am so emotional tonight.

It's been a week.

Tomorrow will be better!

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate." - Ann Landers

[Guest guest]

Again, thanks Helen. Needed that

So how are you doing tonight? Besides the thunder storm, power outage, fried computer...

-- angelbear1129@... wrote:

((( BIG HUGS )))

Hello everyone,

I just need a place to... decompress.

I just discovered that I have to be the world's most insensitive person.

I made a comment on a support group/message board full of wonderful people who have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me that was thoughtless and wrong.

I didn't intend to be harmful, thoughtless, or cruel... it just was one of those moments where you wish you could take back what you just said.

Because of that comment, I thought it best to remove my membership from the group. I'm so ashamed, so embarassed, and really just appalled at what I said.

And now I can't stop crying because I hurt someone I never wanted to hurt.

I'm not looking for sympathy... I guess I just needed to get that off my chest.

"When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate." - Ann Landers

[Guest guest]

,

We've all done or said something that hurt someone else's feelings without meaning to. Heck, part of my LD is that I tend to say the first thing that pops into my head; regardless of how inappropriate it may be for the situation. I've put my foot in my mouth more times than I can remember. But LD aside, we've all done it. Try not to be too hard on yourself. You are only human.

Tracey

-- Tracey White, Life Partner to Piskur.Summer has come and passed The innocent can never last Wake me up when September ends-Green Day

[Guest guest]

I'm trying to forgive myself, but I am so emotional tonight.

It's been a week.

Tomorrow will be better!

-- Tracey White <tracey.white@...> wrote:

,

We've all done or said something that hurt someone else's feelings without meaning to. Heck, part of my LD is that I tend to say the first thing that pops into my head; regardless of how inappropriate it may be for the situation. I've put my foot in my mouth more times than I can remember. But LD aside, we've all done it. Try not to be too hard on yourself. You are only human.

Tracey

-- Tracey White, Life Partner to Piskur.Summer has come and passed The innocent can never last Wake me up when September ends-Green Day

[Guest guest]

Les,

If you want to feel better emotionally and physically

it all starts with behavior changes. You can feel bad

and you can go out and get upset and feel those

feelings but it doesn't require you to eat bad food.

Trust me when I say that the bad food won't make you

feel better at all, I promise. If anything it will

make you feel worse both mentally and physically.

So it doesn't matter if you feel like doing it at all.

Create a structure/routine and follow it without

excuses. Because the peace of your structure and

routine will eventually be the peace you cling to.

Start or end your day with cooking the food you will

eat, and making time to exercise. It really doesn't

matter if you have weight to lose or not, eating right

and exercising have serious benefits to you.

Let go of any time frame you have for seeing results..

you may have to eat this way for life. Even if you

don't have to you should, as this is about as healthy

as it gets and your body will love you for feeding it

this way.

Emotions are fleeting and they will come and go, and

you have to manage them in healthy ways, like through

exercise, talking with a counselor, expression of art,

hobbies, etc.

When you feel a fleeting emotion, remind yourself that

the food will do nothing but make you feel guilty and

disappointed in yourself not feel better.

Then refocus and find something that will make you

feel better about yourself. An activity that has

positive benefits like going for a walk that also

helps you deal with the motions.

It's all about trading destructive coping mechanisms

with constructive coping mechanisms.

HTH...

Luv,

Debby

San , CA

--- Les <abrosens@...> wrote:

> I know what I am feeling is most likely normal but

> today I am feeling really

> blue. I wish there was some way of telling if this

> was working. I am

> impatient and want to see some big difference so I

> can justify to myself

Website for my son Hunter Hudson, born 10/11/04:

http://debbypadilla.0catch.com/hunter/

Today is the most important day.

[Guest guest]

Les wrote:

>

> I know what I am feeling is most likely normal but today I am

feeling really blue. I wish there was some way of telling if this was

working. I am impatient and want to see some big difference so I can

justify to myself that this is worth it.

==>It is very normal to feel blue and discouraged. Your emotions are

very much affected by candida, by the breakdown of your body, and

also by the healing process itself, which has it's ups and downs. I

can only reassure you that you won't feel like that every day as you

continue to progress on this program.

> I guess I am at the stage where I don't feel quite as

> overwhelmed by all the information provided yet terrified of the

thought of having to stay on this plan for months - years or for life!

==>It can be terrifying to think you might have to stay on this plan

for a long time, but eventually your taste buds will change so that

you won't want to eat bad foods because good ones make you feel good

physically and emotionally, and your mind is sharper so you can

accomplish more. But your diet doesn't have to be so strict for

life. I was free of candida for over 18 years and didn't have to be

strict, but I maintained a healthy diet anyway, and I still do. Why

would anyone want to lose their gains on this program.

==>Afterall we eat food to nourish our bodies and keep it healthy,

not for fun, nor for taste. We can still enjoy it, but our major

focus needs to be on nourishment, particularly nowadays because of so

many toxins we are unable to avoid.

> I don't feel any better. Maybe if I did, it would help me want to

keep plugging away. Right now I am feeling very emotional and trying

to tell myself to stick with it a bit longer. I keep searching the

Internet hoping for an easier way. Yet each time I keep coming back

to this loop for it seems like you have the answer.

==>You will feel better however, but unfortunately there is no easy

way and it takes time, patience and persistence on the program.

> It is just hard for me to accept today. I am not sure if it is okay

to write these type of thoughts to this loop but I needed to share it

with someone and I figured you would understand where I am coming.

Thanks for listening.

==>Thank you for writing Les. Writing can be very therapeutic too.

Whenever you feel bad writing everything down seems to get it off

your chest so you can focus on your goal better. I had a really

rough time curing my candida in the mid 1980s. At one point in time

I was losing 3 lbs. a day and I could only eat 9 foods - I had no

choice because everything else came back up. When you are feeling

blue you might want to read Bee's Personal Candida Story (in the

files after all of the folders), or even read Maddalena's Life Story,

which is heart wrenching and helps you know you aren't so bad off. Or

the Success Stories which can uplift you with all of the things

people here have been cured of in their journey towards total health.

Hang in there my friend. We are here for you. Write whenever you

need to. You can do this Les!! It's onward and upward.

Bee

[Guest guest]

>

> I know what I am feeling is most likely normal but today I am

feeling really blue. I wish there was some way of telling if this

was working. I am impatient and want to see some big difference so I

can justify to myself that this is worth it. I guess I am at the

stage where I don't feel quite as overwhelmed by all the information

provided yet terrified of the thought of having to stay on this plan

for months - years or for life!

***Hey Les

Its Kat, I hear you, and definitely feel for you, I think I have

even posted a " blues " post previously...........Believe me, this

diet is absolutely worth it. Even though I really sometimes dont

feel like it, I exercise, depending on my energy levels, sometimes

its a walk, sometimes something more vigorous, but exercise nearly

always makes me feel better, and during my walk I will pray and/or

give thanks for the many blessings that I have in my life that I

take for granted, the fact that I can walk, talk, have enough food

to eat, have people that love me - whom I love, give thanks for the

many wonderful and generous people on this site.

I don't feel any better. Maybe if I did, it would help me want to

keep plugging away. Right now I am feeling very emotional and trying

to tell myself to stick with it a bit longer.

***Hang in there my friend, you will get better.......Its true.

Love Kat

[Guest guest]

Well I am NOT looking forward to next week's appointments anyway. Usually I didn't mind that much except in trying to gather all the info ahead of time.

If by CHF you mean congestive heart failure, I have 'limited experience' in that a friend had it. Fortunately, however it was achieved, his doc a while ago said that he USED to have it. Now so long as he watches for the signs, supposedly he's ok. So maybe not necessarily a scary 'forever' anyway.

BUT one good thing -- the more SERIOUS health challenges you can list, the more likely you get the SSDI sooner -- that's known as 'black humor' which is part of what gets some of us through it all. I learned that from the magazine Special Living that has lots of cartoons along with helpful articles for the seriously disabled. At first I thought the cartoons were AWFUL, so disrespectful. Now I have learned to laugh.

Some here also know that I have 'taken me on as a client', so to speak; gives me some space from much of the hard stuff.

I've undressed so often for docs and technicians that I don't notice it any more. I say to some that there are two types of bodies -- male and female -- so it's become no big deal for me that they get to see my type. Besides as they look for medical knowledge, who knows, that maybe it will help.

My second diagnosis was major allergy -- and that doc figured that my depression and even the M.S. was really 'allergy' even to my own body. makes some sense (and at least for yourself narrows the number of diagnoses down to ONE, perhaps...) another black humor

Some here also know that I'm a believer in the more holistic approaches, eg homeopathy and acupuncture-- they seem to have helped my body in trying to heal itself, at least a little.

Actually I didn't have that much choice as I was at least 'sensitive' to more prescription meds, causing at least one doc to say to try not to take any, as they usually caused more harm than good. -- but that's just me, and hopefully for most folks, the Rx drugs do far more good than harm.

I believe it is excellent to vent periodically!! And one doc I hear suggest to allow a given half hour a day for that (exceptwhen/until you forget). and maybe even have a pillow to hit or a mat to kick!!

And after that, to try to 'keep a green bough so the singing bird will come' (Chinese saying?) and to 'be like the sundial that counts only the sunny hours'.

keep up that good strength!! You are your best ombudsman (usually), 'cause you know you best!!

Jean

Feeling down

Hi, anyone else on here almost HATE to go to the doctor? I have to but lately I dread it. It seems like every time that I do I leave with yet more on my plate then I had going in with. It is so frustrating right now and how I am also trying to go on disability because of everything and it is such a dehumanizing process. I just get ready to quit some days. Now yesterday on top of everything else my allergist/immunologist thinks I have CHF. ly it scares me to death. Seems though like it goes hand in hand with allergies/asthma/sleep apnea. So much of the literature on the net makes it sound like there is nothing that can be done. Now I have to be on prednisone and amoxycillin for bronchitis/sinusitus that wont leave. Sorry for venting and whining. Just seems to make the aches worse and my stomach has a hard time handling the amoxi/prednisone combo. Any suggestions, will take anything at this point.

[Guest guest]

I know about black humor! Sometimes that keeps one going. It is like if we don't laugh at it well, then we would be crying and laughing is a whole lot more fun. Yeah that is true with the SSDI. I like to joke that my body came with a warranty, that expired at birth lol. Yeah makes alot of sense that all the autoimmune stuff is like being allergic to oneself. Black humor - might as well be allergic to myself, lord knows Imallergic to everything else.

Huffy

On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 1:36 PM, Lord <gettingthere35@...> wrote:

Well I am NOT looking forward to next week's appointments anyway. Usually I didn't mind that much except in trying to gather all the info ahead of time.

If by CHF you mean congestive heart failure, I have 'limited experience' in that a friend had it. Fortunately, however it was achieved, his doc a while ago said that he USED to have it. Now so long as he watches for the signs, supposedly he's ok. So maybe not necessarily a scary 'forever' anyway.

BUT one good thing -- the more SERIOUS health challenges you can list, the more likely you get the SSDI sooner -- that's known as 'black humor' which is part of what gets some of us through it all. I learned that from the magazine Special Living that has lots of cartoons along with helpful articles for the seriously disabled. At first I thought the cartoons were AWFUL, so disrespectful. Now I have learned to laugh.

Some here also know that I have 'taken me on as a client', so to speak; gives me some space from much of the hard stuff.

I've undressed so often for docs and technicians that I don't notice it any more. I say to some that there are two types of bodies -- male and female -- so it's become no big deal for me that they get to see my type. Besides as they look for medical knowledge, who knows, that maybe it will help.

My second diagnosis was major allergy -- and that doc figured that my depression and even the M.S. was really 'allergy' even to my own body. makes some sense (and at least for yourself narrows the number of diagnoses down to ONE, perhaps...) another black humor

Some here also know that I'm a believer in the more holistic approaches, eg homeopathy and acupuncture-- they seem to have helped my body in trying to heal itself, at least a little.

Actually I didn't have that much choice as I was at least 'sensitive' to more prescription meds, causing at least one doc to say to try not to take any, as they usually caused more harm than good. -- but that's just me, and hopefully for most folks, the Rx drugs do far more good than harm.

I believe it is excellent to vent periodically!! And one doc I hear suggest to allow a given half hour a day for that (exceptwhen/until you forget). and maybe even have a pillow to hit or a mat to kick!!

And after that, to try to 'keep a green bough so the singing bird will come' (Chinese saying?) and to 'be like the sundial that counts only the sunny hours'.

keep up that good strength!! You are your best ombudsman (usually), 'cause you know you best!!

Jean

Feeling down

Hi, anyone else on here almost HATE to go to the doctor? I have to but lately I dread it. It seems like every time that I do I leave with yet more on my plate then I had going in with. It is so frustrating right

now and how I am also trying to go on disability because of everything and it is such a dehumanizing process. I just get ready to quit some days. Now yesterday on top of everything else my allergist/immunologist

thinks I have CHF. ly it scares me to death. Seems though like it goes hand in hand with allergies/asthma/sleep apnea. So much of the literature on the net makes it sound like there is nothing that can be

done. Now I have to be on prednisone and amoxycillin for bronchitis/sinusitus that wont leave. Sorry for venting and whining. Just seems to make the aches worse and my stomach has a hard time handling the amoxi/prednisone combo. Any suggestions, will take

anything at this point.

[Guest guest]

smiling appreciatively as I read

Jean

Feeling down

Hi, anyone else on here almost HATE to go to the doctor? I have to but lately I dread it. It seems like every time that I do I leave with yet more on my plate then I had going in with. It is so frustrating right now and how I am also trying to go on disability because of everything and it is such a dehumanizing process. I just get ready to quit some days. Now yesterday on top of everything else my allergist/immunologist thinks I have CHF. ly it scares me to death. Seems though like it goes hand in hand with allergies/asthma/sleep apnea. So much of the literature on the net makes it sound like there is nothing that can be done. Now I have to be on prednisone and amoxycillin for bronchitis/sinusitus that wont leave. Sorry for venting and whining. Just seems to make the aches worse and my stomach has a hard time handling the amoxi/prednisone combo. Any suggestions, will take anything at this point.

[Guest guest]

Hello HuffyI don't think it's so much going hand in hand but rather more like allergies, ashtma and sleep apnea would mask the symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure.   I think that CHF is difficult to diagnose mostly because GP's don't expect to see it in anyone younger than 90.   When I first went in to see a Doctor about the symptoms of CHF, he tried to send me off with a diagnosis of Bronchitis, fortunately I had already ruled that out as a possibility so I insisted that that wasn't it.For the longest time, the common wisdom was that there was nothing you can do for CHF patients except to try and make them comfortable.   Indeed, the various medical books and the Merck manual simply talks about how to deal with "end of life" situations.   When I was first diagnosed in 2001, the official references all said that 50% of CHF patients would die within two years while 70% would die within five; however if you dug around a bit, you would find that they were having promising results from using various FDA approved drugs that were approved for other purposes.   A year later, the official references said that the mortality rate had dropped to 60% over five years.I think it's important to note that CHF is just a situation caused by something else.   Basically, CHF is the situation where the heart is either not strong enough or efficient enough to provide the blood flow required by the body.   The body's short term response is to increase the heart rate which although would initially increase the blood flow, would also make each beat less efficient and there's a point were increasing the heart rate just decreases the blood flow.   The medium term response is for the body to make more blood which although that would initially provide more blood, it also presents an increased load on the heart which already cannot meet the demands.   The long term response is for the body to enlarge the heart in hopes of pumping more blood, again although initially a larger heart can pump more blood, it becomes less efficient and eventually any enlargement actually results in less blood flow.   So CHF is basically the point where whatever the body does to increase blood flow is actually reducing the blood flow so the body tries harder to increase the blood flow which only makes matters worse.Of course, the reason why the body needs more blood flow in the first place can be any number of things from old age, long term alcoholism, influenza, the flu to pregnancy.   This was quite comical at first because when I first started googling my symptoms together with my age, it kept coming back with pregnancy as being the cause.   Being male, I was fairly convinced that that was not the cause.The other issue is how long has this situation been happening.   Most people would discount the chest congestion, the insomnia, and the fatigue to things like allergies, asthma, sleep apnea, bronchitis, and just getting older.   I certainly discounted the fact that climbing stairs became very difficult to being out of shape and getting older but in fact it shouldn't have been so extreme.   If you don't figure out that you have CHF soon enough, the heart could be suffering from long term damage, scarring and enlargement which would be very difficult to reverse.    However if it comes on suddenly enough for you to seek help and be diagnosed properly (the latter being more difficult than you would think), then you actually have a good chance of recovery provided that the damage to the heart is still reversible and the rest of your body can tolerate living with reduced blood flow for a while.Initially, when I was first diagnosed, they thought that there was about five or six years worth of scarring on my heart.   Of course, that's just a judgement from observing what parts of the heart are participating in the contractions during the echo cardiogram and hence the scarring is inferred and not actually observed.   Also since I could only remember the fatigue coming on slowly as far back as I could remember and I had been to the rain forests in Venezuela back in 1995, they initially figured that it may have been from some exotic virus weakening me during the trip to the rain forest and then just spiralling down from there.   Later, as I responded quite well to the drug treatments, they figure that it must've been far more recent and probably just something like the flu tipping the balance and the reasoning for that was that I was recovering whereas had there been long term scarring, then I would not be recovering.   Interesting that a key observation for the diagnosis is whether or not you get better.One important clue is when they include the word "Idiopathic" in the diagnosis, it means that they don't know.Quite often, CHF is only diagnosed when it's only really bad and it's not getting any better as all the symptoms can be attributed to other more common causes like Bronchitis.   When I was hospitalized during a trip to Brazil in 2004, the Doctor there said that it was nearly impossible to tell the difference between CHF and Bronchitis.I would say that you need to see a Cardiologist if you suspect CHF and a rather good one at that since it takes a fair bit of experience to pink up on the third heartbeat with the stethoscope.   A chest X-ray has a 50% chance of confirming an enlarged heart and an echo cardiogram will allow them to calculate the ejection fraction which is a measure of how efficient your heart is at that time.   These tests can suggest CHF but like with Big Foot, it can't rule out CHF.   They will also try to listen for a rice crispy crackling sound from your lungs while you breathe, this would suggest pulmonary edema which could be a result of CHF but could also be a result of Bronchitis and perhaps a million other things.   I did find some websites which talked about using walking speed as a method of diagnosing CHF and quite frankly, it took forever to just walk across a room when the CHF was at it's worse, climbing stairs was also virtually impossible.   Other symptoms are puffy ankles, they can get to looking like blimps.What will they do to treat CHF, you will have to go on a strict low sodium diet to avoid fluid retention (no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day), they will put you on diuretics to reduce bodily fluids in order to reduce the load on your heart (this does put a strain on the rest of you so depending on how long this goes on, there will be other problems).   They will put you on Digoxin which is a refined form of Digitalis which is the poison derived from the Foxglove plant used to kill Roman emperors, there's no evidence that Digoxin helps at all but it makes the heart beat a little stronger and makes you feel a little better.  They will put you on an Ace inhibitor or an ARB to soften the blood vessels hence reducing the load on the heart, ARB['s are newer and with fewer side effects but some of the side effects of Ace inhibitors are suspected to be beneficial to CHF patients.   Studies have shown that Ace inhibitors and Arbs used together can negate any benefit.   My Cardiologist had me on both initially which was before the reports concluding not to do so came out and didn't want to rock the boat as I was getting better so he didn't drop the ARB as suggested by the studies.   They will also put you on Spironolactone which apparently has the side effect of spurring your body to remove the scar tissue in your heart and develop some new heart tissue in it's place (other side effects are hair growth and breast growth but it would hopefully take ten times the concentration that you will be on for those symptoms to be an issue).   Once you start feeling better, they will put you on a small does of Cozaar, probably 3.5 mg at first.   This is a beta blocker that slows down your heart causing more regular heart beats and allowing your heart more time to recover.   It'll also make you feel terrible, fatigued etc.   After a couple of weeks, of being on the Cozaar, you'll start feeling better again as your body gets used to the slower more regulated heart beat and the Doctors will double the dose making you feel terrible again.   They keep doing this till they hit the maximum recommended dose.   They say that Cozaar is really the only thing that improves your heart.   Eventually, if you get well enough, they'll start easing you off the diuretics in order to restore some blood flow to your other organs hopefully before they start failing (I don't think we did that quite early enough for my Pancreas as I started having high glucose levels hence now I'm also on insulin) but you'll probably be on the Cozaar for life.   Cozaar is fairly expensive even with insurance and being a beta blocker, long term use has a 95% chance of causing erectile dysfunction which would reverse if you stopped using the beta blocker.   Since stopping the Cozaar probably would mean death, you can ask for Viagra and or Cialis and hope that Bremalanotide gets past the FDA.   The goal of the drug therapy is to keep your EF above 40% because although that's much less than average, you could probably have a reasonable quality of life at that level.CHF does sound real scary at first but remember that it's the result of a weak heart (Cardiomyopathy) and they often don't know the underlying cause of the Cardiomyopathy which can be anything from Alcoholism, smoking, exotic diseases, pregnancy to a real bad case of the flu.   As long as the underlying cause of the Cardiomyopathy has stopped than it's possible to have a full recovery.    In general you just have to keep on a strict low sodium diet, watch your fluid intake and try to be more active in your daily life.   The literature out there tends to be dated and paints a bleaker picture than it should, yes CHF is serious and many people still die from it but you don't have to be one of them, at least not yet.   There's a lot of research in the field, in Europe they've been seeding the heart with donated stem cells (seems like the donor cells die off but triggers your own stem cells to migrate to the heart and begin repairing it) and there's talk about using stem cells in an inkjet printer to print out a new heart.   Just go see a Cardiologist, preferably one with a lot of experience that still follows the journals and attend all the medical conferences, if a Doctor says you'll die in two to five years, that's the old text books talking, tell him to read the journals and attend some conferences but most importantly, find another Doctor.   I was diagnosed in 2001 with a EF of 15% which is pretty much dead as a door knob (ie.: only 15% of the blood in a chamber was actually being pumped out), reached 45% within a year and am still alive now that it's 2008 though I think I need to do more with my diet and general health.   An EF of 15% is pretty severe so if I can come back from death's door, you know it's possible.Regards,P.S.It's interesting that when I was first diagnosed, they actually lied to me about the EF, they said it was at 30% because they didn't want me thinking that it was hopeless.   It was only later when I got better that they told me I started off at 15%, they also described the first echocardiogram as not showing a heart beat but just a heart quiver but they only said that once I got better.   My sister is a Doctor, and she was convinced that I would be dead within two years.   She couldn't hear the third heart beat till my Cardiologist pointed it out to her.   I think that the most positive thing to come out of my CHF is that before I had CHF, my sister would tell the geriatric patients that came to her with CHF that they would die within two years; now she tells them how I managed to survive CHF instead.On Mar 7, 2008, at 12:45 PM, Huffy wrote: Hi, anyone else on here almost HATE to go to the doctor? I have to but lately I dread it. It seems like every time that I do I leave with yet more on my plate then I had going in with. It is so frustrating right now and how I am also trying to go on disability because of everything and it is such a dehumanizing process. I just get ready to quit some days. Now yesterday on top of everything else my allergist/immunologist thinks I have CHF. ly it scares me to death. Seems though like it goes hand in hand with allergies/asthma/sleep apnea. So much of the literature on the net makes it sound like there is nothing that can be done. Now I have to be on prednisone and amoxycillin for bronchitis/sinusitus that wont leave. Sorry for venting and whining. Just seems to make the aches worse and my stomach has a hard time handling the amoxi/prednisone combo. Any suggestions, will take anything at this point.

[Guest guest]

What's CHF? Congestive heart failure?

Hugs,

Support your friendly local autistics...........I'm one of them.

Re: Feeling down

Hello Huffy

I don't think it's so much going hand in hand but rather more like allergies, ashtma and sleep apnea would mask the symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure. I think that CHF is difficult to diagnose mostly because GP's don't expect to see it in anyone younger than 90. When I first went in to see a Doctor about the symptoms of CHF, he tried to send me off with a diagnosis of Bronchitis, fortunately I had already ruled that out as a possibility so I insisted that that wasn't it.

For the longest time, the common wisdom was that there was nothing you can do for CHF patients except to try and make them comfortable. Indeed, the various medical books and the Merck manual simply talks about how to deal with "end of life" situations. When I was first diagnosed in 2001, the official references all said that 50% of CHF patients would die within two years while 70% would die within five; however if you dug around a bit, you would find that they were having promising results from using various FDA approved drugs that were approved for other purposes. A year later, the official references said that the mortality rate had dropped to 60% over five years.

I think it's important to note that CHF is just a situation caused by something else. Basically, CHF is the situation where the heart is either not strong enough or efficient enough to provide the blood flow required by the body. The body's short term response is to increase the heart rate which although would initially increase the blood flow, would also make each beat less efficient and there's a point were increasing the heart rate just decreases the blood flow. The medium term response is for the body to make more blood which although that would initially provide more blood, it also presents an increased load on the heart which already cannot meet the demands. The long term response is for the body to enlarge the heart in hopes of pumping more blood, again although initially a larger heart can pump more blood, it becomes less efficient and eventually any enlargement actually results in less blood flow. So CHF

is basically the point where whatever the body does to increase blood flow is actually reducing the blood flow so the body tries harder to increase the blood flow which only makes matters worse.

Of course, the reason why the body needs more blood flow in the first place can be any number of things from old age, long term alcoholism, influenza, the flu to pregnancy. This was quite comical at first because when I first started googling my symptoms together with my age, it kept coming back with pregnancy as being the cause. Being male, I was fairly convinced that that was not the cause.

The other issue is how long has this situation been happening. Most people would discount the chest congestion, the insomnia, and the fatigue to things like allergies, asthma, sleep apnea, bronchitis, and just getting older. I certainly discounted the fact that climbing stairs became very difficult to being out of shape and getting older but in fact it shouldn't have been so extreme. If you don't figure out that you have CHF soon enough, the heart could be suffering from long term damage, scarring and enlargement which would be very difficult to reverse. However if it comes on suddenly enough for you to seek help and be diagnosed properly (the latter being more difficult than you would think), then you actually have a good chance of recovery provided that the damage to the heart is still reversible and the rest of your body can tolerate living with reduced blood flow for a while.

Initially, when I was first diagnosed, they thought that there was about five or six years worth of scarring on my heart. Of course, that's just a judgement from observing what parts of the heart are participating in the contractions during the echo cardiogram and hence the scarring is inferred and not actually observed. Also since I could only remember the fatigue coming on slowly as far back as I could remember and I had been to the rain forests in Venezuela back in 1995, they initially figured that it may have been from some exotic virus weakening me during the trip to the rain forest and then just spiralling down from there. Later, as I responded quite well to the drug treatments, they figure that it must've been far more recent and probably just something like the flu tipping the balance and the reasoning for that was that I was recovering whereas had there been long term scarring, then I would not be recovering.

Interesting that a key observation for the diagnosis is whether or not you get better.

One important clue is when they include the word "Idiopathic" in the diagnosis, it means that they don't know.

Quite often, CHF is only diagnosed when it's only really bad and it's not getting any better as all the symptoms can be attributed to other more common causes like Bronchitis. When I was hospitalized during a trip to Brazil in 2004, the Doctor there said that it was nearly impossible to tell the difference between CHF and Bronchitis.

I would say that you need to see a Cardiologist if you suspect CHF and a rather good one at that since it takes a fair bit of experience to pink up on the third heartbeat with the stethoscope. A chest X-ray has a 50% chance of confirming an enlarged heart and an echo cardiogram will allow them to calculate the ejection fraction which is a measure of how efficient your heart is at that time. These tests can suggest CHF but like with Big Foot, it can't rule out CHF. They will also try to listen for a rice crispy crackling sound from your lungs while you breathe, this would suggest pulmonary edema which could be a result of CHF but could also be a result of Bronchitis and perhaps a million other things. I did find some websites which talked about using walking speed as a method of diagnosing CHF and quite frankly, it took forever to just walk across a room when the CHF was at it's worse, climbing stairs was also virtually

impossible. Other symptoms are puffy ankles, they can get to looking like blimps.

What will they do to treat CHF, you will have to go on a strict low sodium diet to avoid fluid retention (no more than 2,000 mg of sodium per day), they will put you on diuretics to reduce bodily fluids in order to reduce the load on your heart (this does put a strain on the rest of you so depending on how long this goes on, there will be other problems). They will put you on Digoxin which is a refined form of Digitalis which is the poison derived from the Foxglove plant used to kill Roman emperors, there's no evidence that Digoxin helps at all but it makes the heart beat a little stronger and makes you feel a little better. They will put you on an Ace inhibitor or an ARB to soften the blood vessels hence reducing the load on the heart, ARB['s are newer and with fewer side effects but some of the side effects of Ace inhibitors are suspected to be beneficial to CHF patients. Studies have shown that Ace inhibitors and Arbs used

together can negate any benefit. My Cardiologist had me on both initially which was before the reports concluding not to do so came out and didn't want to rock the boat as I was getting better so he didn't drop the ARB as suggested by the studies. They will also put you on Spironolactone which apparently has the side effect of spurring your body to remove the scar tissue in your heart and develop some new heart tissue in it's place (other side effects are hair growth and breast growth but it would hopefully take ten times the concentration that you will be on for those symptoms to be an issue). Once you start feeling better, they will put you on a small does of Cozaar, probably 3.5 mg at first. This is a beta blocker that slows down your heart causing more regular heart beats and allowing your heart more time to recover. It'll also make you feel terrible, fatigued etc. After a couple of weeks, of being on the

Cozaar, you'll start feeling better again as your body gets used to the slower more regulated heart beat and the Doctors will double the dose making you feel terrible again. They keep doing this till they hit the maximum recommended dose. They say that Cozaar is really the only thing that improves your heart. Eventually, if you get well enough, they'll start easing you off the diuretics in order to restore some blood flow to your other organs hopefully before they start failing (I don't think we did that quite early enough for my Pancreas as I started having high glucose levels hence now I'm also on insulin) but you'll probably be on the Cozaar for life. Cozaar is fairly expensive even with insurance and being a beta blocker, long term use has a 95% chance of causing erectile dysfunction which would reverse if you stopped using the beta blocker. Since stopping the Cozaar probably would mean death, you can ask for

Viagra and or Cialis and hope that Bremalanotide gets past the FDA. The goal of the drug therapy is to keep your EF above 40% because although that's much less than average, you could probably have a reasonable quality of life at that level.

CHF does sound real scary at first but remember that it's the result of a weak heart (Cardiomyopathy) and they often don't know the underlying cause of the Cardiomyopathy which can be anything from Alcoholism, smoking, exotic diseases, pregnancy to a real bad case of the flu. As long as the underlying cause of the Cardiomyopathy has stopped than it's possible to have a full recovery. In general you just have to keep on a strict low sodium diet, watch your fluid intake and try to be more active in your daily life. The literature out there tends to be dated and paints a bleaker picture than it should, yes CHF is serious and many people still die from it but you don't have to be one of them, at least not yet. There's a lot of research in the field, in Europe they've been seeding the heart with donated stem cells (seems like the donor cells die off but triggers your own stem cells to migrate to the heart and begin

repairing it) and there's talk about using stem cells in an inkjet printer to print out a new heart. Just go see a Cardiologist, preferably one with a lot of experience that still follows the journals and attend all the medical conferences, if a Doctor says you'll die in two to five years, that's the old text books talking, tell him to read the journals and attend some conferences but most importantly, find another Doctor. I was diagnosed in 2001 with a EF of 15% which is pretty much dead as a door knob (ie.: only 15% of the blood in a chamber was actually being pumped out), reached 45% within a year and am still alive now that it's 2008 though I think I need to do more with my diet and general health. An EF of 15% is pretty severe so if I can come back from death's door, you know it's possible.

Regards,

P.S.

It's interesting that when I was first diagnosed, they actually lied to me about the EF, they said it was at 30% because they didn't want me thinking that it was hopeless. It was only later when I got better that they told me I started off at 15%, they also described the first echocardiogram as not showing a heart beat but just a heart quiver but they only said that once I got better. My sister is a Doctor, and she was convinced that I would be dead within two years. She couldn't hear the third heart beat till my Cardiologist pointed it out to her. I think that the most positive thing to come out of my CHF is that before I had CHF, my sister would tell the geriatric patients that came to her with CHF that they would die within two years; now she tells them how I managed to survive CHF instead.

On Mar 7, 2008, at 12:45 PM, Huffy wrote:

Hi, anyone else on here almost HATE to go to the doctor? I have to but lately I dread it. It seems like every time that I do I leave with yet more on my plate then I had going in with. It is so frustrating right now and how I am also trying to go on disability because of everything and it is such a dehumanizing process. I just get ready to quit some days. Now yesterday on top of everything else my allergist/immunolog ist thinks I have CHF. ly it scares me to death. Seems though like it goes hand in hand with allergies/asthma/ sleep apnea. So much of the literature on the net makes it sound like there is nothing that can be done. Now I have to be on prednisone and amoxycillin for bronchitis/sinusitu s that wont leave. Sorry for venting and whining. Just seems to make the aches worse and my stomach has a hard time handling the amoxi/prednisone combo. Any suggestions, will take anything at this point.

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I can certainly relate to what you are going through. I am almost 7 weeks post

revision

surgery, and I have the rough, depressing days every few days, it seems. I am

lucky to

have a couple of girlfriends who work at home, so they have been picking me up

and

taking me to lunch every week. That gives me about 2 outings a week with them.

The day

certainly goes much faster by doing that, and I can vent my frustrations and

feel better

after doing that. Do you have anyone you could call to do that? I have found

that when I

do ask for help, they are always glad to help me. Picking up the phone and

calling

someone who is a good friend also helps me. I get very, very tired in the

afternoon, so I

have made an afternoon nap a ritual every day. When I go back to work, that

will change,

but for now, it is great and I have more energy when I wake up. I am going for

my first

post surgery visit with Dr. Bridwell on Monday, so I'm kind of nervous about

what he will

say, but I'm sure hoping he'll say everything looks great!! If you want to talk

with

someone, feel free to give me a call. I'd be very glad to talk! Just email me

and I'll send

you my phone number.

Take Care,

>

> Hi,

>

> I've been having a couple of rough days. I know we all have them. For

> me, it's a combination of taking another step down on painkillers,

> hormones (that time), exhaustion, work, and going stir crazy b/c I

> can't just get in the car and go somewhere (been in the house for 9

> weeks). I've tried walking, resting...still down in the dumps.

>

> Usually, I don't say anything but I thought that folks might have some

> good ways of dealing with downer days.

>

> Thanks.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Sorry your feeling down and be rest assured it is normal. You want to

get up and go and your body just isn't ready. I went through it too.

I remember thinking please just let me drive local, anything please.

What I did instead was make a list of treats and then did them. Mine

consists of lunch out once a week with somebody who would pick me up.

A new book to read. Rent a new movie. Buy myself some flowers. Wrote

a letter to somebody, the old fashion way. Sent notes to local

shutins from the church. Did something nice for someone else. You can

catch my drift. Pretty soon I was feeling better and the 12 ban on

driving was lifted. I know adjusting meds is hard but stick to it and

make sure your not depriving yourself if your body needs painkillers.

I did that too and found myself a raving lunatic because I was in

pain and wasn't acknowledging it. Just listen to your body and post,

post and post again if your feeling blue. Cheer up! Recovery is long

but worth it.

-- In , " starrc44 " <starrc44@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> I've been having a couple of rough days. I know we all have them.

For

> me, it's a combination of taking another step down on painkillers,

> hormones (that time), exhaustion, work, and going stir crazy b/c I

> can't just get in the car and go somewhere (been in the house for 9

> weeks). I've tried walking, resting...still down in the dumps.

>

> Usually, I don't say anything but I thought that folks might have

some

> good ways of dealing with downer days.

>

> Thanks.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

Not to minimize how you are feeling at all because it can be an awful

time, but honestly it is pretty common to kind of " hit the wall "

emotionally somewhere between 8-16 weeks after surgery. I think

sometimes it is actually post surgical depression, and sometimes it

is just adjustment to medications reductions/tiredness etc coming

together after what has really been a long ordeal. Don't forget that

the period leading up to deciding to have surgery and then awaiting

it was more than likely a very tense and emotional time and you are

just getting to the point where you can start to look forward to

getting you life back. Still...you know it will be awhile, and that

is a bit of a bummer too.

Here is a link to an article that appeared in a Harvard publication

on post surgical depression that may help you see some of the common

emotional milestones you may encounter:

http://harvardmagazine.com/2000/07/an-understandable-compli.html

Also, if you go into the files section there is a File of post-

op/recovery info with Vals and my journal and a few other nuggets

that may help you at least feel like what you are feeling is pretty

normal for us. I realize that won't make you feel less stir crazy,

but it might help you to know that we understand where you are coming

from.

I think Val had some great suggestions for how to try to break out of

the feelings you are having...and if you send me a private email with

your phone # I will gladly give you a call too.

And if that all isn't enough, we just had a great post from Edie

showing us how darn good you can feel a brief year from now!

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thanks to , and Cam for your responses. ,

good luck with your post-op appt on Monday - mine is not until 3

months at the end of June. This is the way Dr. Rand likes to handle

it.

I started to feel better yesterday afternoon. Not sure why but happy

for it. Could be hormonal Could be that I have now finally fully

transitioned to one pain pill a day now. I also had a really

productive work day. Who knows? I'm just happy to be feeling

better. I read the files you suggested, Cam, and I know I'm bound to

get down again but they were helpful in making me more optimistic.

Also, for the first time since the surgery, my husband and I have a

babysitter tonight. I'm going out to dinner. I've been out for

lunches occasionally but not in the evenings. Should be nice.

Once again, thanks for all the help. This board can be quite

reassuring as we all push through a tough recovery.

Have a good weekend.

>

> ,

>

> Not to minimize how you are feeling at all because it can be an

awful

> time, but honestly it is pretty common to kind of " hit the wall "

> emotionally somewhere between 8-16 weeks after surgery. I think

> sometimes it is actually post surgical depression, and sometimes it

> is just adjustment to medications reductions/tiredness etc coming

> together after what has really been a long ordeal. Don't forget

that

> the period leading up to deciding to have surgery and then awaiting

> it was more than likely a very tense and emotional time and you are

> just getting to the point where you can start to look forward to

> getting you life back. Still...you know it will be awhile, and that

> is a bit of a bummer too.

>

> Here is a link to an article that appeared in a Harvard publication

> on post surgical depression that may help you see some of the

common

> emotional milestones you may encounter:

>

> http://harvardmagazine.com/2000/07/an-understandable-compli.html

>

> Also, if you go into the files section there is a File of post-

> op/recovery info with Vals and my journal and a few other nuggets

> that may help you at least feel like what you are feeling is pretty

> normal for us. I realize that won't make you feel less stir crazy,

> but it might help you to know that we understand where you are

coming

> from.

>

> I think Val had some great suggestions for how to try to break out

of

> the feelings you are having...and if you send me a private email

with

> your phone # I will gladly give you a call too.

>

> And if that all isn't enough, we just had a great post from Edie

> showing us how darn good you can feel a brief year from now!

>

> Take Care, Cam

>

[Guest guest]

,

I am glad you are feeling better today. I also am glad that reading

some of those files helped. For me, just knowing that what I was

feeling was a " part of the package " made me feel better. I guess I

figured that if it was part of the getting better stage, then

eventually I would get better and so I didn't have to worry that the

" blues " were anything more than that.

I hope you had a great night out on the town with your hubby and came

away form the evening feeling like a million bucks. There is nothing

more normal than getting gussied up and leaving the kidlets at home so

that you can have a little adult time!

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

Hi .....I hope you and your husband had a nice dinner out last night, and

I'm glad that

you are feeling less depressed. We certainly all have our ups and downs during

this

healing time. When I had my hip replacement a few years ago, a guy on a hip

website said

that the recovery is like " watching paint dry, and you are the paint " !! I think

that pretty

well describes this recovery, also! I'll report back after my appointment

tomorrow.

Hope you have a good day today!

> >

> > ,

> >

> > Not to minimize how you are feeling at all because it can be an

> awful

> > time, but honestly it is pretty common to kind of " hit the wall "

> > emotionally somewhere between 8-16 weeks after surgery. I think

> > sometimes it is actually post surgical depression, and sometimes it

> > is just adjustment to medications reductions/tiredness etc coming

> > together after what has really been a long ordeal. Don't forget

> that

> > the period leading up to deciding to have surgery and then awaiting

> > it was more than likely a very tense and emotional time and you are

> > just getting to the point where you can start to look forward to

> > getting you life back. Still...you know it will be awhile, and that

> > is a bit of a bummer too.

> >

> > Here is a link to an article that appeared in a Harvard publication

> > on post surgical depression that may help you see some of the

> common

> > emotional milestones you may encounter:

> >

> > http://harvardmagazine.com/2000/07/an-understandable-compli.html

> >

> > Also, if you go into the files section there is a File of post-

> > op/recovery info with Vals and my journal and a few other nuggets

> > that may help you at least feel like what you are feeling is pretty

> > normal for us. I realize that won't make you feel less stir crazy,

> > but it might help you to know that we understand where you are

> coming

> > from.

> >

> > I think Val had some great suggestions for how to try to break out

> of

> > the feelings you are having...and if you send me a private email

> with

> > your phone # I will gladly give you a call too.

> >

> > And if that all isn't enough, we just had a great post from Edie

> > showing us how darn good you can feel a brief year from now!

> >

> > Take Care, Cam

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

I feel for you, we try and try everything dont we only to feel let down, I had high hopes about taking HC but it hasnt turned out as good as I hoped and I know what you mean about needing and wanting the backing of your doctor/endo. Although I am a patient of Dr P I still feel out on a limb with all this because I cant just go see him or talk to him when I want and I do feel alone with it, my own doc doenst know I take HC so cant even go talk to them about it. my temps have never reached 37!! so your lucky there.

I did all this to try and make myself better before I go on holiday in 5 weeks time but all I have done is make things worse and probably wont feel better when I go away. I wouldnt take armour with out the backing of my doc after this experience I have had, sorry I sound so negative, all I can say is I totally know how you feel and its hard--- On Thu, 11/9/08, lizzielassi <lassey@...>

HiI feel really down today, tearful. My days seem to start off quitegood but then can rapidly go downhill. Worked again today got throughnot too bad. Had cheese at break time instead of a banana, felt a bitsickly afterwards but didn't suffer quite as much with low blood sugarsymptoms.Love Lizzie

[Guest guest]

I wonder if you could be suffering with thyroid hormone resistence Lizzie. See

http://www.thyroidmanager.org/chapter16/16d-frame.htm

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/meid:245881

http://autoimmunedisease.suite101.com/article.cfm/new_thyroid_disease

Luv - Sheila

feeling down

HiI feel really down today, tearful. My days seem to start off quitegood but then can rapidly go downhill. Worked again today got throughnot too bad. Had cheese at break time instead of a banana, felt a bitsickly afterwards but didn't suffer quite as much with low blood sugarsymptoms. This afternoon I have felt terrible. So tired and dizzy justwant to lie down and go to sleep but can't do that with a family andthree children to look after. My eyes feel puffy my legs ache and feelweak and my temp has just managed to reach 37 at 4pm. I really can'tunderstand this. Surely 24 days in to a dose increse I should bestarting to feel better not worse?I am supporting my adrenals with 4 NAE a day.Can anyone shed any light on what could be happening, I am so fed upof waiting and waiting for an improvemement and seem to go one stepforward and two back. I am so close to ordering some armour but Ireally do want to have the support of my endo with this and do notwant to go it alone, because if it dosent work what then?Love Lizzie

No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.169 / Virus Database: 270.6.20/1666 - Release Date: 11/09/2008 07:03

[Guest guest]

Hi Lizzie, ok...first of all this group is great and you are going to get lots of support and advice.You're not alone and things are going to improve and get better for you.In time you will find the right treatment and find the right health specialists.

I am not going to presume to say you should try Armour.I can only say for me,I went from sounding like where you are now, to being able to funtion almost normally and be the mum I need to be.....and I know I'm only half way there.

What I can tell you with confidence is that before I started the Armour I went and saw a very good nutritionist who gave me good advice re my lousy blood sugar problems and perhaps this may be of some help to you.....

Blood sugar must be kept within quite a narrow range in order for optimal functioning.Insulin is secreted from the pancreas to transfer the sugar from the blood into the cells for use (as energy).Low blood sugar occurs when too much fast releasing (or refined) carb is eaten...thus resulting in a quick rise in blood sugar.This provokes the the pancreas to overreact and produce too much insulin.The excess insulin then removes too much sugar from the blood which results in abnormally low blood sugar....yeah,we know that feeling.I made a few simple changes that I could fit in around my kids/home life and it made a big difference in a very short time and now I very rarely have this problem (and if I do,I know why).

Some suggestions; Eat a little protein with every meal ... this slows down the release of glucose.

Eat slow releasing and complex carbs...brown rice ( a handful), quinoa (fab),

also millet,oats and pulses.

Give up white flour and products containing such

Have a bowl with some mixed 'good' nuts and seeds in...have a handful if you start

to feel your 'sugars' changing

I now it's hard with kids but try to have six little meals instead of three.....just til you

get back to normal

and yes,b-o-r-i-n-g but do drink lots of bottled water (six big glasses)

Avoid sugar and alcohol (though I find red wine with dinner is ok)

As I was too busy to cook etc for me,I now make up a batch of bean soup which I have with quinoa or brown rice and I keep it in the fridge or freezer.... it totally keeps me out of the low blood sugar world.As a snack I recommend oatcakes (they are yum) with hummus...works like a dream.

Better go now as I've said way more than my fair share tonight....

take care,you are not alone,things will get much better,

julia

ps I can give you th recipe for the soup if you like.....prob not on the forum though as I doubt its appropriate.

feeling down

HiI feel really down today, tearful. My days seem to start off quitegood but then can rapidly go downhill. Worked again today got throughnot too bad. Had cheese at break time instead of a banana, felt a bitsickly afterwards but didn't suffer quite as much with low blood sugarsymptoms. This afternoon I have felt terrible. So tired and dizzy justwant to lie down and go to sleep but can't do that with a family andthree children to look after. My eyes feel puffy my legs ache and feelweak and my temp has just managed to reach 37 at 4pm. I really can'tunderstand this. Surely 24 days in to a dose increse I should bestarting to feel better not worse?I am supporting my adrenals with 4 NAE a day.Can anyone shed any light on what could be happening, I am so fed upof waiting and waiting for an improvemement and seem to go one stepforward and two back. I am so close to ordering some armour but

Ireally do want to have the support of my endo with this and do notwant to go it alone, because if it dosent work what then?Love Lizzie

[Guest guest]



, you need to read the whole of Dr Lam's website on Adrenals and follow everything he says.There is no way you will get better by taking tablets alone without changing the way you live and eat. You have to settle your mind to the business of getting better, and this will not be overnight. I have used Dr lam's website as my bible on adrenals for years because he covers every aspect possible. Even though you have talked with Dr P and he has told you this will take some time and that you are only replacing the cortisol that you are not making, you still getting yourself stressed.

Stopping your thyroid support was essential before starting adrenal support, everybody knows this and the reasons why. You were kept going on the thyroxine still remaining in your body for 3 weeks. Now you have started taking it again, it was essential you start with a lower dose and gradually build up to the dose your body requires in the same way as anybody starting T4 for the first time. Your really have been on HC for such a short time and your adrenals are not strong enough yet for you to cope with more. I know this is hard for you, but try to look at things positively. Learn from the experts that for your health to be fully restored, you must look to changing how you eat, sleep etc and how you can help boost your adrenals yourself and not just rely on the HC alone.

Luv - Sheila

Hi

I feel for you, we try and try everything dont we only to feel let down, I had high hopes about taking HC but it hasnt turned out as good as I hoped and I know what you mean about needing and wanting the backing of your doctor/endo.

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