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[lenniel]

Hi psychdiva!  A light box is great - I got one years ago when diagnosed with chronic insomnia and it really helped turn my clock around.  It is also great during the winter, though it you have cats, you'll have to fight them for it.

I've heard good things about St. John's Wort - thank you for the great info, MsP!  I tried it once a long time ago and it seemed to help, but then went on regular meds - for the insomnia - and had to stop.  If you are on any "regular" meds for depression, don't take the St John's wort as it can caused complications.  My doctor was quite emphatic, and she is open to non-traditional therapies.  

I'll pass this info along to a friend of mine who has RA, just in case she doesn't know about some of these.

Glad everyone is doing okay!  Anon4now - are you doing better?  Out of hospital?

[dept_geek]

Hi all

Just kindof a wet blanket here (so sorry). While SJW has some really useful properties, it can interact (in not a good way) with some other meds  (*). (See, for example http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/advisory/stjwort.htm) Please do your homework before using it. I would really hate that an interaction would cause you to go missing from the forum for any length of time.

I say this from experience.


(*) Edited to add: above and beyond the meds mentioned by lenniel.

[psychdiva]

Hi all

Just kindof a wet blanket here (so sorry). While SJW has some really useful properties, it can interact (in not a good way) with some other meds  (*). (See, for example http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/advisory/stjwort.htm) Please do your homework before using it. I would really hate that an interaction would cause you to go missing from the forum for any length of time.

I say this from experience.


(*) Edited to add: above and beyond the meds mentioned by lenniel.

Thanks for the heads-up, deptgeek. I did some reading and also found those cautions, but anyway I won't start anything without checking in with my docs.

[gourmetless]

For those with energy, pain, memory, and balance issues:

I take Co Enzyme Q10 (150 mgs a day) and Gingko Biloba (120 mg a day).  My sister recommended the Q10, which does seem to help with boost energy.  My gentleman found out about several European studies combining the two.  I do seem to see a difference when I don't take them.

My docs don't have any issues combining them with my other medications.

Just passing it on.

[lenniel]

Thanks, gourmetless!  I wish we could go back to the days of quaaludes and gin...it all seemed so much more fun, somehow...:)

Got through my tests today and am now catching up on essential coffee drinking-email-and fora reading before heading off for errands, etc.  So far so good, though I am very tired.  I appreciate the energy tips here!

Hopw everyone is doing okay today?

[kissa_mau]

One of my doctors put me on the CoQ10 and ginkgo. I do notice a difference if I'm not taking the CoQ10. I only notice a difference with the ginkgo if I'm being really brain-foggy. I have run the CoQ10 past all the specialists I have to see, and they all think its a great idea.

Too bad it can't help me today... I crashed into the floor at work. Someone had to take me home. Now I'm propped up in bed with my laptop.

I should have been pacing myself better this week. It is so hard to not bounce around and do everything on those days I feel decent, especially since I've been doing better than average this month. Summer and more light always do this to me!

[msparticularity]

One of my doctors put me on the CoQ10 and ginkgo. I do notice a difference if I'm not taking the CoQ10. I only notice a difference with the ginkgo if I'm being really brain-foggy. I have run the CoQ10 past all the specialists I have to see, and they all think its a great idea.

Too bad it can't help me today... I crashed into the floor at work. Someone had to take me home. Now I'm propped up in bed with my laptop.

I should have been pacing myself better this week. It is so hard to not bounce around and do everything on those days I feel decent, especially since I've been doing better than average this month. Summer and more light always do this to me!

Wow - sorry to hear about your mishap! I expect all of us struggle with remembering that we're not 20 any more (or 30, or 40, in my case). I've been listening to the audiobook of Marianne Williamson's The Age of Miracles and one of the things she talks about is the paradoxical relationship we all have with ourselves as we age - we don't feel any older, yet we're now grappling with age-related issues. I think for those of us with chronic diseases, this effect is magnified.

On an encouraging note, a nutritionist told my dad (who has Type II diabetes) that many people become much healthier after they're diagnosed with a chronic illness. Until that point lots of us treat our bodies as if they're indestructible. It's true of me, for sure - I pay good attention to diet, adequate sleep and exercise now, but I really abused my body through my 20s and 30s.

And I'm thinking perhaps I should try the CoQ10 also. I give it to my dog, who has chronic renal failure, but I've never tried it on me.

[groundhog]

Well I wish I had found this thread last month, because I have some personal experience that could help OPs situation / outlook ....

Myself, I have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder, which wreaked havoc on my health and made finishing my PhD, the market and my first jobs pretty hellish before it was diagnosed. My health has improved dramatically but I'm still learning to manage my health, deal with the fallout of the last year's health crises, and try to stumble along the tenure track.  As if being junior faculty wasn't enough ... Right now, I'm finding myself worrying if I'll ever be able to handle/balance the demands of academia (real and perceived) and my health, or if I should be looking for other kinds of positions.

For Celiac disease, the good news is that things will get better.  I was sick from age 12, but it never really messed with my grades until I started undergrad years at college.  By the time I graduated I was sleeping 16 hours a day and simply getting to class seemed like an impossible chore.  That was two years ago and I can't say my academic career has gone anywhere other than a huge detour into working with financial aid, but now I feel quite like I imagine a "normal" person must feel (as long as I completely control what I eat). 

The biggest problem of course is eating on the go... or travel... I still haven't figured these out very well.  But as far as how you feel and how much energy you have, this will likely continue to improve for you for many more months, possibly even years.

Also, to anyone else on this thread with chronic health problems, especially any ones related to sleep, digestion, immune disorders, and common allergies:  Please arrange a simple blood test for anti-gliadin antibodies.  Reports I've seen from UChicago estimates there are some 2+ million Americans with Celiac disease who are currently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with something else.  This is a significant chunk of the people suffering chronic illness who have a simple, cheap path to real improvement...

You wrote the post that I wanted to write.  I don't want to be a "pest" but I too suggest this to anyone with migranes, IBS, depression.  Celiac can co-exist with other aliments such as Crohn's, IBS, colitis, lupus and RA and in fact some find relief from their symptoms by going gluten-free -- not all of course but some. It may not be easy but there are no drugs to take and no side-effects.

[tenured_feminist]

This is going back a few days, but I realized I never responded to Namazu's post about allergy immunotherapy.

My beloved partner went through several years of this at our old home, which was in one of those place notorious for terrible pollen. We managed to find an equally bad place to move to and have been here for a few years. This year, I'm starting to have more trouble again, but he seems to be fine. And the last few years we were in the old place, he was doing well. This is a guy who was popping every pill known when the pollen was high.

What I'd say is that if you have really severe, debilitating respiratory allergies, it is worth discussing this with an allergist. Getting up to the maintenance dose takes a lot of time and commitment, but I think overall it made a major difference in my sweetie's comfort and enjoyment of life.

[psychdiva]

Getting up to the maintenance dose takes a lot of time and commitment, but I think overall it made a major difference in my sweetie's comfort and enjoyment of life.

My SO and I are both doing allergy shots. Two things that make it much easier:

(1) We found an allergist whose office is very close to our home, where the staff are really efficient and get you in-and-out in less than 10 minutes. They're open on Saturdays and one evening each week. All of this makes the weekly (or twice-weekly) visits as easy as any other kind of errand.

(2) We chose our insurance policy from among the options offered at my school because, among other features, it waives the office-visit copay when you're seen just for the allergy shot. So the cost to us for the shots is $0.

I just reached the point where I'm on the maintenance dose. What I've noticed is that I used to get sinus infections several times each year from allergy congestion, plus frequent dizziness from my eustachean tubes being clogged, and all of that has gone away.

[gourmetless]

How is everyone?  Lenniel, how were your tests?  My sister does the gluten and dairy free thing, and she also does the this guaifenesin protocol
thingie, and salicylate-free products.  I haven't gone that far.

This heat wave has been brutal.  It has finally broken here, and my body feels so much better.  I spent the greater part of the weekend in bed. doubling up on painkillers and anti-inflammatories.  Goodie.

[lenniel]

Hi gourmetless, and thank you for asking!  The tests went okay and I see the doc on Monday to read them.  At the time, though, no one yelled "oh GOD!  Crash cart - STAT!" so I think all went well.

The heat has really been brutal and fortunately I work indoors.  Tonight it finally broke, so I am relieved.  I'm so sorry you had a tough time of it, gourmetless, but I hope you had AC at home at least?  I can't imagine how tough the heat must be for all of you with RA and similar problems. 

How is everyone doing so far?

[college_grad]

How is everyone?  Lenniel, how were your tests?  My sister does the gluten and dairy free thing, and she also does the this guaifenesin protocol
thingie, and salicylate-free products.  I haven't gone that far.

Ah but its so much healthier than the pain-management pill thing :)  A friend of mine had terrible heartburn and she ended up managing it by cutting out the salicyliates in order of the foods she enjoyed least.

I haven't (intentionally) had any wheat in two years and my only regret is that I didn't start abstaining ten years before that.  However, I'll buy pounds of cheese and gallons of milk in one grocery trip because I haven't had a personal issue with milk unless I'm drinking more than a quart an hour. 

When I started cutting out foods for a week or more it became incredibly clear as to how they made me feel...  These days it is like my sense of taste memory is more associated with the feeling than the smell, and my priority of favorite foods is radically healthier.  Broccoli ended up somewhere near the top, go figure!

[gourmetless]

Glad to hear they went well!!  Take it easy!

A window AC unit in a third floor brick walkup in a building designed to hold in heat and not let it out.  -sigh-  I spent the weekend on the bed with my laptop, moving as little as possible. 

The heat finally broke yesterday here, and now my achiness is far more manageable.  Ankles and wrists hurt today.... go figure.

Diet is a very personal thing, and people's choices truly define them.  I work academically with food and eating, and use cooking as a tool for personal expression.  For me, any protocol or diet that mandates cutting out specific foods is NOT an option.  Monitoring portions or limiting intake of certain foods is preferable.  But, to each their own choice!

[lenniel]

Glad you are feeling better today, gourmetless, and I hope the aches will go away soon.  I remain grateful that I don't have to cope with constant pain like that.  I'd be a blithering wreck!

Food is tough, and I have cut a few things out of my diet but I am also careful about going too far.  I did cut back on some wheat per advice from a friend and I think is has helped some things, and I am already lactose intolerant so dairy is minimal.  I'm a vegetarian and a bit of a food nazi, so I have tried to be less restrictive unless I go on the "lets eat cookies for a week" diet due to stress.

As I age, I'm more and more convinced that the secret to physical and mental well being centers on food and sleep, with a good dose of attitude.  Bad combinations or unhealthy portions of the former, too little of the latter and a bad 'tude make for bad health. 

Hope everyone is doing okay today?  Allergies getting better to those who are suffering this year's bad allergy season?