kindling to fire

Or is it a match to kindling?  i have always done that - and i won't blame it on "cognitive dysfunction" related to chronic fatigue - that's what that avocado was like yesterday - a little spark that sets off a chain reaction overblown in its intensity.  You throw that avocado on damp wood and you get the minor lip tingle, and in an hour or so everything settles back in to normal - add it to an inflamed system fighting off other infections and it rages out of control.  It was hard to eat any food last night without getting symptoms and then i got a rash below my left eye and temple and this morning both my eyelids were a bit swollen - you are finally hearing in the mainstream media how the health of your intestines is vital to your overall health.  The majority of your immunity lies there, and we now know that getting "butterflies in your stomach" is a true physiological response - one of my favorite books is Molecules of Emotion, Candice Pert - she is brilliant and really "proved" the mind/body connection - but not in a cause/effect way - more that literally every cell in your body has complete memory - i read it too long ago to give you the best review - check it out though -

I read this link Wall Street Journal on Sue Jackson's blog - and beggars can't be choosers (thought i would throw another one in!) but i do hope that the researchers will look at this illness in a more functionally holistic way - meaning - all these "un-related" symptoms are not unrelated - my physician has really been looking at the role of the pituitary gland in my case for two reasons - one its role in immune function and two - that i fell out of a moving car when i was one years old -which has been a punch line in many of the mixed metaphors of my life! Anyways, her theory is that individuals with minor pituitary dysfunction sets of a cascade of problems - so as i patiently listened when i got home i googled away- and sure enough found these two articles pituitary/immune and this Misdiagnosing and found it fascinating.  The second article specifically speaks to mis-diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction in patients that had even minor head trauma d/t TSH not working optimally- something a number of doctors told me that it was not possible to have hyperthyroid condition without TSH being out of range first.  Well - I did. The point being - I continue to be disillusioned trying to find a magic bullet answer to this complex illness - but am grateful for those pursuing any answers.

I was discussing this point with my physician today, and I said I think there is a void in Western Medicine - think back to Hypocrates, many of the great physicians were artists, philosophers, they were healers...but now the competition to get into medical school is so fierce, it relies so heavily on MCAT scores, those that do well on a standardized test format and have insane GPA's in the sciences - you are getting this very narrow type of person - I know a number of very smart, caring - well rounded individuals that couldn't get into medical school - yet they would have been excellent physicians.  Then you have the movement into the specialities - like i said - if you need a heart transplant there is no better place to be than in America - but primary care got so boring with the current medical model - most people walk in diagnosing themselves - because somewhere along the line - prevention - building up immunity etc..got lost - so here we are - this society filled with auto and chronic immune illnesses that rely on pharmaceuticals to stop the symptoms - but where is the restoration of the entire body?  The pharmaceutical industry has done a brilliant job at stopping cascading event in our system - but restoring and re-building that's another ball game.

Yesterday, on the AOL newsfeed was the following headline - "what condition do 75% of Asthma Sufferers also have" the answer....GERD the article then went on to say that these conditions were two different diseases, require two different treatments and are unrelated - has everyone lost their mind?  Look to chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, other integrative teachings - and you will realize that they while yes they are different conditions - they are physiologically related - there is often a reason behind the two co-existing.  I learned early on, with asthma patients make sure they have enough digestive enzymes and HCl because if they aren't digesting food properly, it will effect their lungs.  It is one body - one action has a reaction - and its connected by pathways and transmitters - it is impossible to constantly separate out organs and have a curative effect - you can have a symptom management effect though...

Well - there's my little rant for today....i encourage you to look at yourself in a more holistic way - hopefully the pendulum will begin to swing back again as we see our nation suffering from chronic illness after chronic illness -

(this is out of order - but i can't figure out how to move the entry's around...) (fyi)