Posts
I saw my doctor on Monday to discuss the Marshall Protocol. The good news is: he didn't say no!
The bad news is—no, I'm not going to focus on "bad." I'm not even going to characterize the passage of time as "bad." So what if it's another month before I can start the MP? Time is one thing I have plenty of.
Anyway, my doctor said that if he finds nothing harmful about the protocol, he is willing to let me try it. At least, that's how I interpret his remarks. The important thing is that he didn't dismiss it, and he seems to understand where I'm coming from.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
anthem
If any locals are interested, I'll be singing the Star Spangled Banner (with three good friends, in a quartet arrangement) for the little league All-Stars game this Saturday night. At least, I think it's for a little league All-Stars game. I'm supposed to show up at my friend's house at a certain time is all I know for sure!
edited to add: It was the West End Little League All-Stars vs. Amelia at Henderson Field, both the 9 and 10 year olds. And we sang purty!
edited to add: It was the West End Little League All-Stars vs. Amelia at Henderson Field, both the 9 and 10 year olds. And we sang purty!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
billionaires
Money magazine has a delightful article this month: How to Marry a Billionaire. Several charming anecdotes about rich men marrying waitresses (and a few about rich women too). There was practical advice about the types of activities that are worth investing in (such as becoming a member of a museum, attending gallery openings, etc.), and they make it sound so simple. All you have to do is:
I needed a magazine to tell me this?
- hang out where billionaires hang out
- dress well
- educate yourself about their interests
- try to get a job working for one
I needed a magazine to tell me this?
Monday, June 18, 2007
nerd test redux
I had to re-take the Nerd Test because I remembered that I did in fact build my current computer.
another year older
As I begin my 39th year, it seems appropriate to ruminate a bit on the passage of time.
The most significant thing I've noticed about growing older is that time speeds up. A week just isn't as long as it used to be. It's simply a matter of proportion: when you're ten years old, a year is a tenth of your life; when you're 40, a year is 1/40 of your life, and it takes four years to make one tenth. At ten, three months is 1/40. Sounds about right.
My 20-year high school reunion is this summer, and I don't have a lot to show for those 20 years, just two university degrees. I don't have a career, or a family, or even a social life. That was all supposed to happen during the past decade, but I've had an illness instead.
They say life begins at 40. I think that the Marshall Protocol makes that a very real possibility for me. I'm hoping to start in early July, and that means that on my 40th birthday, I'll have been following the MP for nearly two years. By that time, I should be feeling better, and able to work and travel. My CFS will be well on its way to permanent remission.
But of all the symptoms I am looking forward to losing, the most exciting for me is brain fog. I would love to have a fully functional brain again.
The most significant thing I've noticed about growing older is that time speeds up. A week just isn't as long as it used to be. It's simply a matter of proportion: when you're ten years old, a year is a tenth of your life; when you're 40, a year is 1/40 of your life, and it takes four years to make one tenth. At ten, three months is 1/40. Sounds about right.
My 20-year high school reunion is this summer, and I don't have a lot to show for those 20 years, just two university degrees. I don't have a career, or a family, or even a social life. That was all supposed to happen during the past decade, but I've had an illness instead.
They say life begins at 40. I think that the Marshall Protocol makes that a very real possibility for me. I'm hoping to start in early July, and that means that on my 40th birthday, I'll have been following the MP for nearly two years. By that time, I should be feeling better, and able to work and travel. My CFS will be well on its way to permanent remission.
But of all the symptoms I am looking forward to losing, the most exciting for me is brain fog. I would love to have a fully functional brain again.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Films this week
I do not normally watch lots of movies. This past week, however, has been an exception. In the last few days, I have watched:
This may have something to do with the fact that my brother, who is a movie nut, was here visiting this weekend.
- Ella Enchanted
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Shrek the Third
- What the Bleep Do We Know?
- Eddie Murphy: Raw
- The Secret
- The Brothers Grimm
This may have something to do with the fact that my brother, who is a movie nut, was here visiting this weekend.
Monday, June 11, 2007
CWD bacteria
Cell Wall Deficient Forms: Stealth Pathogens, Third Edition is a book by Lida Mattman explaining the basics of the tiny pathogens that Dr. Marshall believes cause Th1 diseases, including chronic fatigue. The Marshall Protocol was designed to kill them. Dr. Mattman was nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1997 for her work in microbiology.
My favorite quotation from the linked page: "If bacteria were politicians, they would belong to the conservative party."
My favorite quotation from the linked page: "If bacteria were politicians, they would belong to the conservative party."
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Vitamin D
Here's a long-promised post about Vitamin D.
On the Marshall Protocol, I will have to avoid all sources of Vitamin D, including D-rich foods and sunlight. The latter will be a challenge in Southeast Texas, and the former isn't easy thanks to industry-wide fortification of dairy foods.
Vitamin D is one of the most widely misunderstood vitamins out there. First of all, it's not really a vitamin. It's called a vitamin because when it was first identified in the 1920s, it was thought to be an essential nutrient. In fact, it is not an essential nutrient because the ingested form is really a precursor—or prohormone—to a hormone that can only be created by the body, not ingested.
The term "Vitamin D" actually refers to several substances, including the one found in fortified foods (D3), the hormonal precursor, called 25-D, and the hormone, which is called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, or 1,25-D. The hormone is involved in the immune system, but its exact role there and elsewhere is the subject of much debate. Many long-held beliefs about Vitamin D, such as that a deficiency of it leads to Rickets, have been disproved. (That study, from March 2007, confirmed this 2004 study.) A search on PubMed reveals that there is a lot of current research into Vitamin D's functions. Some of it is contradictory, indicating that it is not well understood yet.
What is certain is this: in healthy people, 1,25-D is synthesized by the skin in the presence of sunlight. Just 10 minutes exposure to indirect sunlight once or twice a week is all that is needed by most people, but more sun exposure doesn't lead to too much 1,25-D in healthy people, because the body creates only as much as it needs. Even this is misunderstood, though: the prevailing theory is that direct contact of UVB is needed on the skin to produce 1,25-D. But this is contradicted by the fact that nocturnal mammals, and even some species of fish that live in caves, produce plenty of 1,25-D. In other words, sunlight exposure is not the only mechanism for the body to produce 1,25-D, and is not absolutely necessary.
edited to add: I left out a step. D3, which is ingested, converts to 25-D in the presence of sunlight and also in the liver. 25-D is then converted to the hormone 1,25-D in the skin and in the kidneys.
And that doesn't even begin to address the issue of how much is necessary for health. What's more, the only function of the precursor Vitamin D (i.e., what is found in foods and supplements) is to enable the body to produce 1,25-D. Since, in healthy people, the body does not produce excess 1,25-D no matter how much D3 is ingested, supplementation is usually both harmless and unnecessary.
The rub, of course, is Vitamin D regulation in sick people, not healthy ones.
There are some studies showing that 1,25-D acts as an immunosuppressant. This is why it can make people with immune-related diseases feel better temporarily: feeling bad is a result of the immune system trying to cope with the disease. Shut that function down, and you don't feel bad anymore. But the disease doesn't go away. It's just like taking steroids.
Dr. Marshall believes that all people with Th1 diseases also have a Vitamin D "disregulation." In these people, the body produces too much 1,25-D. A serum D3 test is therefore not a reliable indicator of 1,25-D levels, but 1,25-D tests are rarely performed because they require specialized handling and are only performed in a few labs (two or three in the U.S.). Another reason they are not performed is that all this 1,25-D research is new and so doctors don't know about it—and if they did know about it, they wouldn't know what to do to treat it.
In any event, Dr. Marshall believes that 1,25-D is what enables the cell-wall-decificent bacteria (which he says causes Th1 diseases) to slip into the white blood cells. So reducing the levels of 1,25-D makes it harder for the CWD bacteria to hide, and enables the immune system to start eliminating them. The only way to reduce the level of 1,25-D is to reduce or eliminate ingestion of D3 and avoid sunlight. In time (many months for some people), this lowers the 1,25-D to a point where it both prevents the CWD bacteria from moving in and out of the phagocytes, but also enables the immune system to recognize the CWD bacteria.
On the Marshall Protocol, I will have to avoid all sources of Vitamin D, including D-rich foods and sunlight. The latter will be a challenge in Southeast Texas, and the former isn't easy thanks to industry-wide fortification of dairy foods.
Vitamin D is one of the most widely misunderstood vitamins out there. First of all, it's not really a vitamin. It's called a vitamin because when it was first identified in the 1920s, it was thought to be an essential nutrient. In fact, it is not an essential nutrient because the ingested form is really a precursor—or prohormone—to a hormone that can only be created by the body, not ingested.
The term "Vitamin D" actually refers to several substances, including the one found in fortified foods (D3), the hormonal precursor, called 25-D, and the hormone, which is called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, or 1,25-D. The hormone is involved in the immune system, but its exact role there and elsewhere is the subject of much debate. Many long-held beliefs about Vitamin D, such as that a deficiency of it leads to Rickets, have been disproved. (That study, from March 2007, confirmed this 2004 study.) A search on PubMed reveals that there is a lot of current research into Vitamin D's functions. Some of it is contradictory, indicating that it is not well understood yet.
What is certain is this: in healthy people, 1,25-D is synthesized by the skin in the presence of sunlight. Just 10 minutes exposure to indirect sunlight once or twice a week is all that is needed by most people, but more sun exposure doesn't lead to too much 1,25-D in healthy people, because the body creates only as much as it needs. Even this is misunderstood, though: the prevailing theory is that direct contact of UVB is needed on the skin to produce 1,25-D. But this is contradicted by the fact that nocturnal mammals, and even some species of fish that live in caves, produce plenty of 1,25-D. In other words, sunlight exposure is not the only mechanism for the body to produce 1,25-D, and is not absolutely necessary.
edited to add: I left out a step. D3, which is ingested, converts to 25-D in the presence of sunlight and also in the liver. 25-D is then converted to the hormone 1,25-D in the skin and in the kidneys.
And that doesn't even begin to address the issue of how much is necessary for health. What's more, the only function of the precursor Vitamin D (i.e., what is found in foods and supplements) is to enable the body to produce 1,25-D. Since, in healthy people, the body does not produce excess 1,25-D no matter how much D3 is ingested, supplementation is usually both harmless and unnecessary.
The rub, of course, is Vitamin D regulation in sick people, not healthy ones.
There are some studies showing that 1,25-D acts as an immunosuppressant. This is why it can make people with immune-related diseases feel better temporarily: feeling bad is a result of the immune system trying to cope with the disease. Shut that function down, and you don't feel bad anymore. But the disease doesn't go away. It's just like taking steroids.
Dr. Marshall believes that all people with Th1 diseases also have a Vitamin D "disregulation." In these people, the body produces too much 1,25-D. A serum D3 test is therefore not a reliable indicator of 1,25-D levels, but 1,25-D tests are rarely performed because they require specialized handling and are only performed in a few labs (two or three in the U.S.). Another reason they are not performed is that all this 1,25-D research is new and so doctors don't know about it—and if they did know about it, they wouldn't know what to do to treat it.
In any event, Dr. Marshall believes that 1,25-D is what enables the cell-wall-decificent bacteria (which he says causes Th1 diseases) to slip into the white blood cells. So reducing the levels of 1,25-D makes it harder for the CWD bacteria to hide, and enables the immune system to start eliminating them. The only way to reduce the level of 1,25-D is to reduce or eliminate ingestion of D3 and avoid sunlight. In time (many months for some people), this lowers the 1,25-D to a point where it both prevents the CWD bacteria from moving in and out of the phagocytes, but also enables the immune system to recognize the CWD bacteria.
Please, Doc
I finally got my printouts about the Marshall Protocol put together in a binder, and took it to my doctor. The binder was two inches thick, and there were more than 20 items in it (I happened to have some numbered tabs on hand so I used them). No, I don't expect him to read it all. I just wanted him to have it available if he was interested. Instead, I described the MP very succinctly in my cover letter, and then on a separate sheet provided him with a list of exactly what I need from him (prescriptions, blood tests, etc.). I'll make an appointment for a couple of weeks from now to give him time to review it. I tried to make it easy for him to say Yes.
edited to add: I have an appointment on July 2nd to consult with my doctor about the MP.
edited to add: I have an appointment on July 2nd to consult with my doctor about the MP.
Friday, June 1, 2007
fever
The last few posts are a sort of microcosm of my life.
A low-grade fever comes and goes, I stay home because I feel bad and then it's gone so I go out and try to do the things I need to do that I've been putting off, and then the fever comes back, and I end up unable to leave the house and having trouble finding anything cheerful to post about.
On Wednesday, I stayed home from choir practice for the second week in a row due to fever (two degrees). In spite of my optimistic assessment the week before, I'd been unable to go.
Then yesterday I had to go out and do some errands that couldn't be put off.
All along I've been trying to come up with something positive to say on my blog, but all I could come up with was a list of all the things I haven't gotten done by June 1st. Some of them are kind of important, like paying my bar dues and doing some CLE. But don't worry, I'm not posting the list here.
Overall, this is what living with CFS is like. Every day I'm optimistic that I'll feel better today, tomorrow, or next week. Maybe today, or tomorrow, I'll even feel good enough to go out and do things, both fun things and need-to-do things. And maybe by next month I'll feel well enough to start working again. But the reality is that I'm pretty much unable to do squat, even post on a dadgum blog.
A low-grade fever comes and goes, I stay home because I feel bad and then it's gone so I go out and try to do the things I need to do that I've been putting off, and then the fever comes back, and I end up unable to leave the house and having trouble finding anything cheerful to post about.
On Wednesday, I stayed home from choir practice for the second week in a row due to fever (two degrees). In spite of my optimistic assessment the week before, I'd been unable to go.
Then yesterday I had to go out and do some errands that couldn't be put off.
All along I've been trying to come up with something positive to say on my blog, but all I could come up with was a list of all the things I haven't gotten done by June 1st. Some of them are kind of important, like paying my bar dues and doing some CLE. But don't worry, I'm not posting the list here.
Overall, this is what living with CFS is like. Every day I'm optimistic that I'll feel better today, tomorrow, or next week. Maybe today, or tomorrow, I'll even feel good enough to go out and do things, both fun things and need-to-do things. And maybe by next month I'll feel well enough to start working again. But the reality is that I'm pretty much unable to do squat, even post on a dadgum blog.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
wiped out
I completely wore myself out yesterday shopping. I went to the fabric store to look at blackout drapery liners, patterns, and fabrics for curtains and a few wardrobe possibilities for the MP. I spent a couple of hours in the store, had a panic attack when I thought I had lost my purse, and then didn't buy anything.
Oh, but I did manage to spend $45: I bought gas and lunch.
So today I'm watching Star Trek recordings and wishing I hadn't eaten popcorn for lunch.
Oh, but I did manage to spend $45: I bought gas and lunch.
So today I'm watching Star Trek recordings and wishing I hadn't eaten popcorn for lunch.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
a good day
Feeling much better today, no fever or sinus trouble, just the normal joint and muscular pain that never really goes away without drugs.
This evening I am trying to finish putting together a three-ring binder of printouts and articles about the MP to take to my doctor tomorrow. I'll make an appointment to see him in a couple of weeks to give him time to review it first.
I have been amusing myself looking at hats, scarves, and gloves on eBay, for my probable MP enrollment. Although the burqa ensemble is tempting, and so is the hajib, I think I will be able to get by with a large scarf or two. I will probably make one. The balaclavas are also tempting. I think that an abundant scarf, along with the very dark sunglasses, and possibly a wide-brimmed hat and kid gloves, will be fun, even elegant. I can do an Audrey Hepburn impersonation or something. Hmm, I wonder if I can get one of those long cigarette holders on eBay?
This evening I am trying to finish putting together a three-ring binder of printouts and articles about the MP to take to my doctor tomorrow. I'll make an appointment to see him in a couple of weeks to give him time to review it first.
I have been amusing myself looking at hats, scarves, and gloves on eBay, for my probable MP enrollment. Although the burqa ensemble is tempting, and so is the hajib, I think I will be able to get by with a large scarf or two. I will probably make one. The balaclavas are also tempting. I think that an abundant scarf, along with the very dark sunglasses, and possibly a wide-brimmed hat and kid gloves, will be fun, even elegant. I can do an Audrey Hepburn impersonation or something. Hmm, I wonder if I can get one of those long cigarette holders on eBay?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wednesday
Better today, which is good because I have choir practice tonight.
Last week I lost an opal out of one of my rings. I was very annoyed, because I bought the ring from Australia, and although it isn't terribly valuable, I like it very much and don't see how I could get a stone matched to replace it. (There are three other identical opals in the ring.) Today I took everything out of my purse, and found the missing stone in the bottom of it. So now all I have to do is fix it!
Last week I lost an opal out of one of my rings. I was very annoyed, because I bought the ring from Australia, and although it isn't terribly valuable, I like it very much and don't see how I could get a stone matched to replace it. (There are three other identical opals in the ring.) Today I took everything out of my purse, and found the missing stone in the bottom of it. So now all I have to do is fix it!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tuesday
Today I am running a fever and completely paranoid about catching a bug from my niece's future stepson, who was here (along with my niece and her fiance) for a visit yesterday. We had a nice quiet day watching Disney movies (note to self: must replace dozen-year-old VHS tapes with DVDs), and my dad smoked chicken and brisket, both of which were excellent (along with my mom's homemade cole slaw, potato salad, and apple pie-- yum), and taking walks around the backyard with our two dogs and my niece's two dogs. But the baby was sick, and got sicker as the day progressed. I've felt so blah today that I haven't been able to even think about doing something requiring a brain, like tackle the criticisms of the MP, as I promised earlier.
Sorry for the whiny post. Actually it took me all day to realize I have a fever, because I have one so often. So no pity, please! It's actually pretty normal.
I will try to post something more cheerful soon!
Sorry for the whiny post. Actually it took me all day to realize I have a fever, because I have one so often. So no pity, please! It's actually pretty normal.
I will try to post something more cheerful soon!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Living with CFS
I can pinpoint when I got sick almost to the day.
It was in September 1997. I had had a very hard year. My father had almost died on the operating table in May, and I had come home to help take care of him for three months. When I went back to Chicago, I had no job, was in debt, and had been abandoned by my boyfriend for someone else. I spent a very difficult couple of months, working temp jobs (not even as an attorney), depressed and barely making ends meet. Suddenly, at the beginning of September, I got a call from the owner of a large software company I had worked for the year before. He wanted me to come back. I dictated my terms. It was a wonderful opportunity.
About three weeks later, I caught whatever was going around the office. It wasn't all that unusual, but I was so tired I could barely get out of bed. I didn't mess around. I went straight to a chronic fatigue specialist I'd heard about on the radio. He ran a large battery of tests, diagnosed me with chronic fatigue, prescribed low-dose cortef, thyroid, and a couple of other drugs, and massive amounts of supplements. Basically, my immune system had depressed to the point where an otherwise non-problematic bug overwhelmed it, and every virus I'd ever had reactivated. I tested positive for everything from mono (Epstein-Barr) to shingles, all at the same time.
After three months, I was only managing to work for two or three days a week, and my parents told me to take a leave of absence and come home for three months.
Nearly ten years later, I'm still here.
I have been to every specialist my GP can think of. I have received additional diagnoses, been taken off of some drugs and put on others, been told by specialist after specialist: "I can't find anything wrong with you," followed by suggestions to take antidepressants. I have been tested for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, lyme, sleep disorders, endocrine disorders, thyroid cancer, cardiac problems, lung problems, circulation problems, and probably half a dozen things I can't remember right now. I have been to immunologists, allergists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, naturopaths, chiropractors, accupuncturists, massage therapists, and energy healers. I have tried literally dozens of miracle supplements.
In March 2004 I felt well enough to work part-time. But eventually, I worked too many hours, and once again fell into the cycle of catching whatever went around the office. In early 2005, I couldn't get better. I took 15 rounds of antibiotics over the course of about six months. Once again, I took a "leave of absence" and haven't gone back since.
In addition to fatigue, general malaise, and susceptibility to catching the bug du jour (with very slow recovery), I also suffer from chronic joint pain, some muscle pain, exercise intolerance, low body temperature, cold feet and ankles, low grade fevers, heat and cold intolerance, weight gain, hypoglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hormonal imbalances, brain fog, memory loss, irritability, travel intolerance, post-exertional malaise, thirst, salt cravings, migraines, photosensitivity, dry eyes, TMJ, sensation of chest pressure, shallow breathing--think I'll stop there. edited to add: enlarged lymph nodes, which "popped out" very painfully under my arms.
Some of these symptoms may not seem like "real" CFS symptoms. I know that everyone complains about memory loss, for example. I list them all both because I'm trying to be thorough and because in reading about the progress of CFS patients on the MP I have recognized a lot of symptoms that they say are improving that I did not previously recognize as symptoms.
Also, there are several specific symptoms (such as joint pain) that I've had for years that no doctor has been able to explain, which I've recently discovered (from a modicum of internet research) are apparently now-accepted CFS symptoms. They weren't when I was diagnosed.
This is a truly debilitating illness which has entirely changed my life, and the lives of those around me. It's quite likely, for example, that I will never be able to have a family. I will certainly never have a real "career" as an attorney (or a singer!), and will probably remain financially dependent on others, unless I am cured. I have, with no exaggeration or self-pity, lost the best years of my life to this illness. People who knew me before I got sick remember a very different person from the one I am today. I used to be high-energy, always on the ball, seizing life with both hands.
People with CFS on the MP for a year or more say that they have been given their lives back. They feel decades younger. So the MP is very tempting. No one else has claimed to be able to cure chronic fatigue. And I want my life back.
It was in September 1997. I had had a very hard year. My father had almost died on the operating table in May, and I had come home to help take care of him for three months. When I went back to Chicago, I had no job, was in debt, and had been abandoned by my boyfriend for someone else. I spent a very difficult couple of months, working temp jobs (not even as an attorney), depressed and barely making ends meet. Suddenly, at the beginning of September, I got a call from the owner of a large software company I had worked for the year before. He wanted me to come back. I dictated my terms. It was a wonderful opportunity.
About three weeks later, I caught whatever was going around the office. It wasn't all that unusual, but I was so tired I could barely get out of bed. I didn't mess around. I went straight to a chronic fatigue specialist I'd heard about on the radio. He ran a large battery of tests, diagnosed me with chronic fatigue, prescribed low-dose cortef, thyroid, and a couple of other drugs, and massive amounts of supplements. Basically, my immune system had depressed to the point where an otherwise non-problematic bug overwhelmed it, and every virus I'd ever had reactivated. I tested positive for everything from mono (Epstein-Barr) to shingles, all at the same time.
After three months, I was only managing to work for two or three days a week, and my parents told me to take a leave of absence and come home for three months.
Nearly ten years later, I'm still here.
I have been to every specialist my GP can think of. I have received additional diagnoses, been taken off of some drugs and put on others, been told by specialist after specialist: "I can't find anything wrong with you," followed by suggestions to take antidepressants. I have been tested for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, lyme, sleep disorders, endocrine disorders, thyroid cancer, cardiac problems, lung problems, circulation problems, and probably half a dozen things I can't remember right now. I have been to immunologists, allergists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, naturopaths, chiropractors, accupuncturists, massage therapists, and energy healers. I have tried literally dozens of miracle supplements.
In March 2004 I felt well enough to work part-time. But eventually, I worked too many hours, and once again fell into the cycle of catching whatever went around the office. In early 2005, I couldn't get better. I took 15 rounds of antibiotics over the course of about six months. Once again, I took a "leave of absence" and haven't gone back since.
In addition to fatigue, general malaise, and susceptibility to catching the bug du jour (with very slow recovery), I also suffer from chronic joint pain, some muscle pain, exercise intolerance, low body temperature, cold feet and ankles, low grade fevers, heat and cold intolerance, weight gain, hypoglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hormonal imbalances, brain fog, memory loss, irritability, travel intolerance, post-exertional malaise, thirst, salt cravings, migraines, photosensitivity, dry eyes, TMJ, sensation of chest pressure, shallow breathing--think I'll stop there. edited to add: enlarged lymph nodes, which "popped out" very painfully under my arms.
Some of these symptoms may not seem like "real" CFS symptoms. I know that everyone complains about memory loss, for example. I list them all both because I'm trying to be thorough and because in reading about the progress of CFS patients on the MP I have recognized a lot of symptoms that they say are improving that I did not previously recognize as symptoms.
Also, there are several specific symptoms (such as joint pain) that I've had for years that no doctor has been able to explain, which I've recently discovered (from a modicum of internet research) are apparently now-accepted CFS symptoms. They weren't when I was diagnosed.
This is a truly debilitating illness which has entirely changed my life, and the lives of those around me. It's quite likely, for example, that I will never be able to have a family. I will certainly never have a real "career" as an attorney (or a singer!), and will probably remain financially dependent on others, unless I am cured. I have, with no exaggeration or self-pity, lost the best years of my life to this illness. People who knew me before I got sick remember a very different person from the one I am today. I used to be high-energy, always on the ball, seizing life with both hands.
People with CFS on the MP for a year or more say that they have been given their lives back. They feel decades younger. So the MP is very tempting. No one else has claimed to be able to cure chronic fatigue. And I want my life back.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
MP criticisms
Critics of the Marshall Protocol tend to attack it on four bases--
1. Vitamin D
2. double-blind studies
3. esoteric scientific theories about why it can't work
4. ad hominem attacks against Dr. Marshall
--according to what I have found online so far. I will try to address these criticisms one by one in the coming days. I am working this out for myself so there's no telling where this will take me.
I do find it interesting though that I haven't found any criticisms of the drug protocol itself, even though the usage of several of them is "off-label." There is just the general suggestion that taking antibiotics long-term (for two years or so) must be inherently bad.
1. Vitamin D
2. double-blind studies
3. esoteric scientific theories about why it can't work
4. ad hominem attacks against Dr. Marshall
--according to what I have found online so far. I will try to address these criticisms one by one in the coming days. I am working this out for myself so there's no telling where this will take me.
I do find it interesting though that I haven't found any criticisms of the drug protocol itself, even though the usage of several of them is "off-label." There is just the general suggestion that taking antibiotics long-term (for two years or so) must be inherently bad.
Friday, May 18, 2007
doublespeak
I went to a CLE this morning, on the subject of Family Law.
Why do we call it "family law" when it destroys families?
Shouldn't we call it "anti-family law"— or, here's a novel
idea: "Divorce Law."
(I don't practice divorce law, but I have to get in a certain number of CLE hours, and this is what they were offering this month.)
Recognized quite a few people there, made some new friends, and noticed a preponderence of western boots with suits. I pulled my boots out of the closet when I got home and dusted them off.
Why do we call it "family law" when it destroys families?
Shouldn't we call it "anti-family law"— or, here's a novel
idea: "Divorce Law."
(I don't practice divorce law, but I have to get in a certain number of CLE hours, and this is what they were offering this month.)
Recognized quite a few people there, made some new friends, and noticed a preponderence of western boots with suits. I pulled my boots out of the closet when I got home and dusted them off.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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