Seasonal Allergies and Related Foods!

I read this in the September issue of Health magazine:

If you have fall allergies, you may be able to minimize your symptoms by skipping certain foods and drinks, says Clifford Bassett, MD, member of the public-education committee of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Your body interprets chemicals in these foods the way it would allergens like pollen - which can lead to itchiness or tingling in your mouth and throat, as well as worsening of your sneezing, runny nose, or watery eyes. Check this chart for surprising triggers, and consider avoiding them.

IF YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO —     Avoid:

RAGWEED — Bananas, canteloupes, chamomile tea (a close cousin of ragweed), echinacea (another close ragweed relative), honeydews, watermelons and zucchinis

TREE POLLEN — Almonds, apples, carrots, cherries, hazelnuts, peaches, pears, plums

GRASS — Melons, oranges, tomatoes

ANY SEASONAL ALLERGENS — Beer, liquor, wine (all three contain histamine, a compound that triggers allergy symptoms like itching and swelling)

New Book Just Released Today!

Check it Out!

How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers
[Paperback] 

by Toni Bernhard

I am purchasing asap, will let you know my thoughts as I am reading it!

You Don't Have to Like It To Accept It

This is a Good One from FibroHaven

How often have we struggled with our new reality?
How often have we grown weary and frustrated with trying to decide who we are and how we now matter?
How often have we wondered if it will ever get better?

http://www.fibrohaven.com/2010/06/16/you-dont-have-to-like-it-to-accept-it/

SO TRUE - I started seeing the light when I let go of who I was and accepted and adjusted to who I am now and who I can be now. I was able to move forward and see the future much clearer once I accepted my chronic illness. I still don't like it, but I now accept it and choose to move forward.

Chemicals in Grooming Products

I have discovered that shampoos with sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate make my scalp break out on a terrible rash. And the sodium lauryl sulfate in most toothpastes also create terrible sores in my mouth and gums. (This is all since my fibro flares started, this did not happen pre-fibro!) So I have done research and taken careful measures to avoid these chemicals in my grooming and hygiene products moving forward. So I guess I should not be so shocked to have come across this article on PalmBeachPost.com, but I am glad to see it is getting some press and being addressed. These are good guidelines for anyone and everyone, I was just extra-interested because I feel that since my fibro flares I have become extra sensitive to chemicals in foods and products.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/safety-of-chemical-laden-grooming-items-uncertain-832902.html

Here are some excerpts and a list of ingredients to avoid:

"Most people think all the personal care products on the shelves, from lipstick to shampoo and deodorant, have been thoroughly tested for safety.

Sadly, that's not true.

Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based watchdog organization, has found that 99 percent of all personal care products are made with at least one and usually several ingredients that have never been assessed for safety by the government or any other publicly accountable institution.

With the average person using nine such products containing a total of 126 chemicals a day, scientists say they don't know the impact of the multiple exposures.

Over the past decade, the group's researchers have identified 500 products sold in the U.S. that contain ingredients that are banned in cosmetics in Japan, Canada or Europe.

Some of the working group's findings are quite disturbing. When blood and urine samples from 20 teenage girls from across the country were tested, it turned out they were tainted with an average of 13 potential hormone-disrupting preservatives, plasticizers and other cosmetic chemicals, said Jane Houlihan, the group's senior vice president for research."

"On July 21, the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 was introduced in Congress. If it passes, it would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to ensure that personal care products contain no harmful ingredients."

**The article mentions Blinc. Inc. products. Has anyone ever used any of their products?

"Lewis Farsedakis, founder and CEO of Boca Raton-based cosmetics manufacturer Blinc Inc., said he is in favor of the proposed legislation because if implemented, it would protect the consumer. However, it would probably take several years for the FDA to develop a system to implement the law, he said.

Farsedakis said his company's products are safe and non-toxic. Its best seller is a mascara that coats the lashes with tiny tubes of a water-resistant substance. Last year, Blinc removed a controversial ingredient known as TEA (triethanolamine) from its products. TEA is linked to allergies and considered a toxic contaminant. Most of Blinc's products also don't contain other ingredients on the "bad list' such as hormone-disrupting parabens, and are gluten-free and vegan.

"We are about providing a product that works and performs. If we can do that gluten-free, TEA-free and not testing on animals, we will do that. If it affects performance, we will not," Farsedakis said."

(That last paragraph is unfortunate! He/hi company was sounding so good!)

INGREDIENTS TO AVOID
The following ingredients are among those considered toxic contaminants or risky because of concerns such as allergies, hormone effects or as possible carcinogens. Many are commonly found in products such as facial moisturizers, shampoos, hair conditioners, body washes, hair dyes and deodorants.

• DMDM hydantoin and Imidazolidinyl

urea.

• Fragrance and dyes
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone
• Parabens or '-paraben'
• 'PEG' and '-eth'
• Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
• Triclosan and triclocarban
• Triethanolamine (TEA)
• Mercury, often listed as thimerosal
• Placenta
• Lead acetate
• Petrochemicals, (appearing on labels as petrolatum, mineral oil and paraffin)
• Phthalates
• Hydroquinone
• Formaldehyde

Source: Environmental Working Group

Review: The Fibromyalgia Controversy

THE FIBROMYALGIA CONTROVERSY
by M. Clement Hall

2009

M. Clement Hall, M.D., is director of continuing education in the emergency department of Scarborough Hospital and has written several other books.

SUMMARY:
"In The Fibromyalgia Controversy, Dr. M. Clement Hall presents six fictional, though factually based, case studies of typical patients from differing socioeconomic backgrounds and describes the varying investigations, diagnoses, and treatments they have undergone. Each of these case studies represents a composite of many years of clinical practice rather than one specific patient. Collectively, they cover the range of experiences fibromyalgia patients are likely to have encountered"

---

I saw this was a recently published book and was intrigued. I checked it out at my library. Seems it is pretty up to date on the information presented, very thorough and relevant and non-biased. But I did feel it was a bit scientific in its writing style and at times hard to follow and understand for someone not in the medical field.

Points from the book, that really reinterrate what we have been looking at on this blog:

- proper sleep is highly important and one of the key elements to feeling better
- proper nutrition is also a key element; staying away from a high-carb diet and sticking to meals of fresh fish, veggies and fiber (green leafy and yellow veggies are best)
- a successful treatment plan involves coordinating your specialized team of professionals, which is individualized for each patient and their need; these specialists could include physicians, psychologist, physical, occupational and or massage therapists, exercise physiologist, herbalist, nutritionist
- The "no pain no gain" philosophy will surely worsen fibro symptoms; for us we need to accept the "one size does not fit all" philosophy
- Massage is reportedly used by more than 75% of fibros for relief
- Heat applications (hot wax, hot water, heated paraffin wax) are also widely used for temporary relief; because the heat doe not penetrate but a few centimeters, yet feels like it penetrates deeper, it has been an inexpensive and safe treatment mehtod
- Medications can help reduce the pains and improve your sleep, but you should always combine the medication treatments with non-pharmacologic therapies including alternative medicine methods for management of stress, exercise etc.
- maintain a healthy mind and thus a healthy body follows
- fibromyalgia is polysymptomatic, a semi0Greek way of saying there are a LOT of different symptoms

This was interesting, explaining the 4 most common current beliefs on the causes of fibro:

1. a predisposing state with one or more significant factors (genetic and heredity, with the genes involving serotonin playing significant role)
2. a precipitating/triggering factor (extreme stress, viral or bacterial infection(s), car accident)
3. a progressive, gradual development of changes and increase in number of symptoms
4. an alteration in the structure and function of the central nervous system, which has resulted in a state of chronic widespread pain (this supports the change of fibro from the rheumatological field to neurological)

Its is generally agreed the pro to development of fibro, patients enjoyed a healthy active lifestyle. And there is probably no one single predisposing, precipitating or initiating cause common to all persons with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia and Brain Shrinkage

So I was ready an article in a magazine about chronic pain and it mentioned this "...Aging causes the brain to atrophy at a rate of half a percent a year, but chronic pain causes the brain to atrophy twice as fast..." and I kinda freaked. I mean I had seen this somewhere before, but I chose to ignore it, I wasn't ready to face that.

Now I'm facing it.

I wanted a better source on this info, and I found this addressed on the National Fibromyalgia Association website, direct link below. What makes it really good is that the author is also one of the researchers who released this report on fibromyalgia's effects on the brain. It gets a little scientific at times, so I've tried to highlight some of the key points below, but the entire article is well worth the read.

“What Do You Mean, My Brain Is Shrinking?!”
By Patrick B. Wood, MD

http://www.fmaware.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8489&news_iv_ctrl=0 

"The Journal of Neuroscience recently published the results of a study that demonstrated fibromyalgia is associated with a loss of volume of brain gray matter.1"

"...we found that the atrophy associated with fibromyalgia was over three times greater than that of normal aging, with each year of fibromyalgia equivalent to 9.5 times the loss of normal aging."

"Intriguingly, the brain centers that undergo accelerated loss of gray matter volume during stress in animal models are also connected to many of the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, including pain."

"Among the most encouraging findings stemming from the work of scientists like McEwen and Sapolsky is the observation that blocking the effects of stress-related chemicals can protect against their damaging impact on sensitive brain structures"

"Another agent that has demonstrated utility in promoting brain health is omega-3 fatty acid, i.e. fish oil. As previously noted, chronic fatigue syndrome is another one of the disorders that has been associated with brain atrophy. A case study from England reported by Puri and colleagues describes the treatment of a woman with chronic fatigue syndrome with omega-3 supplementation, which resulted not only in marked clinical improvement, but also in a reduction in the volume of her lateral ventricles, which suggests she benefited with an increase in brain tissue volume.16 While there is no data in the literature as to whether taking omega-3 may be useful in the treatment of FM per se, there are several other health-related benefits. So, while I recommend taking omega-3 supplements to my patients on a regular basis, it would be very interesting to see how they would perform in a structured clinical trial."

"What remains unknown at this point is whether the reductions in brain volumes in FM are related to actual loss of brain cells, or simply with cell shrinkage—I suspect the latter. And while the mechanisms of these changes are complex and not fully understood, there is reason to believe that they may be prevented and possibly reversed, as we shall see."

"While the proposition that fibromyalgia is associated with accelerated brain atrophy may be unsettling, there is something of a silver lining to the cloud. For years, the medical community has struggled to come to terms with the reality of the disorder or to take it seriously, due in large part to the lack of objective findings to distinguish FM patients from those who don’t have the disorder. The results of our study contribute to what has become the incontrovertible evidence that fibromyalgia is all too real and, I think, inspire a greater sense of urgency regarding the need to develop rational treatments."

Another New Fibro Survey - this one from NFA

I received this via email from the National Fibromyalgia Association, it really didn't take long and they were some good questions with room for comments:

The goal of this survey is to examine the symptoms experienced by patients with fibromyalgia, its impact on their quality of life, and the care they have received for this pain. The information acquired through the following questions will be used to develop educational programming for physicians, to help them provide optimal care for their patients.

All responses are anonymous, participation is voluntary, and the survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fibropatient

Post-It Notes Spread Happy Thoughts - JOIN THE CAUSE!

It's easy! And an Amazing Idea!!

Each One Can Reach One

 

I'm gonna start my post-its tomorrow! :)

Learn More about Invisible Illness Week, which is Sept 13th through 19th this year:

http://invisibleillnessweek.com/

It's Officially Official: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Linked to Virus

from the ME-CFSCommunity.com:


Finally, the National Academy of Sciences Makes It Official:

Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy donors

Release of study findings

Additional Stories:

New York Times

Washington Post:

A well-respected team of scientists released long-awaited new evidence Monday that a virus may be playing a role in chronic fatigue syndrome.

The researchers, from the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and Harvard Medical School, analyzed blood samples that had been collected 15 years ago from 37 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Most of the subjects--32, or 86.5 percent--tested positive for a virus known as a murine leukemia virus-related virus, the researchers found. In contrast, tests on 44 healthy blood donors detected evidence of the virus in only three of the subjects, or 6.8 percent.

While providing new evidence that a virus may play a role in the mysterious condition, the researchers said the findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are no where near proving the virus causes the syndrome.

But the findings are being hailed by advocates for chronic fatigue syndrome patients, such as the CFID Association of America. The head of that group, Kim McCleary, says the findings are a potentially important step toward finding the cause of the condition and possibly developing treatments, as well as dispelling the notion that the condition is really psychological....

- Wall Street Journal

Visit ME-CFSCommunity.com at: http://cfsknowledgecenter.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

New Fibro Survey

Please take a few minutes to fill out this important survey. It is completely voluntary and anonymous, and should only take about 10-15 minutes. Doing so provides a real and important opportunity to take part in helping create better treatments and quality of life for people with fibromyalgia.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/meddevice1

It was very interesting and sounds promising!

Fibromyalgia Research Info

More Clues To Fibromyalgia Pain

Brain scans show more neural activity between certain brain networks and pain processing region

By Jenifer Goodwin
HealthDay Reporter

 Full article here: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/641874.html

"That first neuroimaging study really demonstrated fibromyalgia patients were different than normal individuals, and at a neurobiological level, were truly experiencing more pain at lower intensities," Mease said.

The new research moves understanding of the condition a step further, by exploring what's happening in the brain during a resting state.