tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18617773605444754112024-03-13T04:11:10.028+00:00Permanent HeadacheA blog about my permanent headache which has not left me once for over five years.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-70912431272763431202014-06-01T22:47:00.005+01:002014-08-14T10:25:02.580+01:00Day 1990 - Chiropractic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://thepainterspalate.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/spinal.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H-fDLLG4X8Y/U4uemArP58I/AAAAAAAABIA/3DIFRgMvQUU/s1600/chiropractor.png" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: purple;"><span class="s1"><i>"According to the General Chiropractic Council, chiropractic is "a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health".</i></span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple;"><i><br /></i><span class="s1"><i>Chiropractors (practitioners of chiropractic) use their hands to treat disorders of the bones, muscles and joints. Treatments that involve use of the hands in this way are called "manual therapies".</i></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: purple;"><i><br /></i><span class="s1"><i>Chiropractors use a range of techniques, with an emphasis on manipulation of the spine. They may also offer advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle, and rehabilitation programmes that involve exercises to do in your own time. Some chiropractors may also offer other treatments, such as acupuncture.</i></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: purple;"><i><br /></i><span class="s1"><i>Chiropractic is part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This means that chiropractic is different in important ways from treatments that are part of conventional western medicine.</i></span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: purple;"><i><br /></i><span class="s1"><i>Some uses of chiropractic treatments are based on ideas and an evidence base that are not recognised by the majority of independent scientists."*</i></span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span class="s1"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span class="s1">*</span><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/pages/introduction.aspx"> http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/pages/introduction.aspx</a></i></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I </span>wore a splint for over three months – sadly with no results. I am so tired of this! The pain didn’t get any better while wearing it, but the headache was always at a stable 2/10, which I cannot complain about. The dentist suggested seeing a colleague chiropractor. I have been seeing him now for a few weeks, although with no concrete results.</div>
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<span class="s1">The chiropractor gave me various exercises to carry out at home, which I did religiously. During our sessions, which last a fleeting 15 minutes, he has carried out various neck exercises. My neck is certainly more flexible, which the chiropractor seems pleased with, although it hasn’t made any difference to my headache, which needless to say hasn’t pleased me too much.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I now have another two sessions left. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but given that it has made absolutely no difference to my head pain, I am not expecting any miracle cures over the next week.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">In the last few weeks, however, just as I was about to take out the splint, the headache got substantially worse – to about a 6/10 last week which had not happened in a long time. One really forgets about how bad it can be. I thought my head was about to burst. I could feel the blood trying to push through my veins and pump away all over the right hand side of my head, thumping away. When my headache is bad, I can move my head about and feel the pain reverberating elsewhere in my head – like a loose tool in a box, it’s as if the pain were jumping about, digging into my skull.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Today it seems to have calmed down, at about a 3/10. Why? I just wish I knew.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-54653713916723184742014-02-10T02:53:00.003+00:002014-08-18T10:25:25.279+01:00Day 1879 - TMJ Attempt 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/display_image.php?id=190651" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4xjWAOxQDM/Uvg-KzoxR-I/AAAAAAAAA5M/kiQNxixu0rE/s1600/tmj+3.png" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> would like to apologise to the readers of this blog for my silence over the last few months. Since starting this blog, I told myself that I would not whinge and whine about my headache; rather, I would try and post about possible cures found.</div>
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<span class="s1">Since my last post a few months ago there has been a change in the headache. It’s still very much there - but shifting, which has never happened since it started over five years ago (another anniversary passed - a fact I have tried to ignore and once again push away). Over the last few months it seems that the headache has popped up in other places along the right side of my head. It’s always in the middle of my right temporal bone, but it also seems to be further down by my ear. When I put my finger in my ear and exert pressure it hurts.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1">A few months ago I went to see a TMJ specialist in London. The Doctor read through all of this blog, the first time a doctor I have seen has ever looked at, let alone read, my blog. Just by reading my entries, he felt certain my headache was jaw related. He even wrote up the session’s diagnosis before I had arrived to our appointment - which he showed me after our session, ticking off each point one by one.</span></div>
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</div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I decided to get a second opinion. I did some online searches and came across the website of Dr Grossman, an orthodontist in central London. His website has a detailed (and very interesting) section on headaches. I am able to tick quite a few symptom boxes:</div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s2"><a href="http://www.patrickgrossmann.com/tmj-headache.html">http://www.patrickgrossmann.com/tmj-headache.html</a></span></div>
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<span class="s1">During my first session, the Doctor prodded all sorts of points in my head, jaw, neck and shoulders - many of which made me jump. He asked me to get a TMJ MRI to see what showed. I have had two MRI’s since the onset of the headache - but neither of them of my jaw.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The results showed that my jaw is slightly displaced. I do not - and have not - got too excited at the prospect of having solved my headache, given the amount of times that I have been let down in the past, thinking I had found a cure. So now I feel hopeful but in a way nearly indifferent - of course I want the wretched pain to go away, but I am not getting my hopes too high.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I have been wearing a splint for the past three weeks day and night. The Doctor said I would notice a difference within the first week. Three weeks have gone by and I am yet to see any reduction in pain - but after five years of constant pain I am certainly not expecting the pain to disappear overnight.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">But fingers crossed.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-35692327003336862622013-10-15T08:36:00.001+01:002013-10-15T08:43:01.248+01:00Day 1762 - Healer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://creatingcustomerhappiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/cupped-hands.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nuag2pUA65s/UlzuY_3FXmI/AAAAAAAAAug/BxxEviYz2f4/s320/Healer.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span> friend came over for supper a few months ago and handed me a book: “Read it. Maybe it will help you. You could go and see him”, she said to me. The book was called The Link. “He” referred to <a href="http://www.matthewmanning.net/" target="_blank">Matthew Manning</a>, author and healer.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I never thought I would find myself resorting to a healer, but after nearly five years of constant headache, one tries to experiment with everything, in the hope that the wretched beast will depart for good. The book recounts Matthew’s highly unusual poltergeist disturbances as a child, and his capacity later to heal people with his energy.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Needless to say, I was reluctant to go but thought I’d give it a try. My friend had been severely ill as a young girl, so much so that she missed months of school. Matthew miraculously healed her, and since then she feels like she has had her life back. Maybe he could miraculously cure me too.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I drove for a long five hours to reach Devon, on the southwest coast of England, for my first appointment. I found Matthew to be a warm, welcoming man who immediately made me feel at ease as soon as I walked into his little studio. There was nothing in the room, except for a reclining chair that was placed in the very centre, in which he asked me to sit. The session lasted about thirty minutes. Matthew’s hands rested against my temples for the duration. My eyes were closed, and I remained immobile as his hands moved around my head. “It’s not your stomach”, he told me. “It may be something out of place in your jaw, but I can’t feel anything… strange”.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I returned later that day for a second session, which unfolded in exactly the same manner as the first. I was asked to return a few weeks’ later.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The headache seemed to fluctuate in intensity over the following weeks, but who knows whether it is connected with what Matthew did to me. I drove all the way back to Devon for my third and final session.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Over one month has now passed since, and I am afraid to say the headache is still very much there, with a life of its own, making itself very much present all day and all night long.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-41241991619106166602013-08-02T17:42:00.003+01:002013-08-02T17:44:57.660+01:00Day 1688 - TMJ Attempt 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.tlcschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Mr-Masseter.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8bpDR57ilQ/UfvhHuvlpmI/AAAAAAAAAgI/p0-wkqWrnZE/s320/TMJ+-+Attempt+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I </span>don’t think words are quite enough to explain how sick I am of this wretched headache. It lurks, it hangs around, it’s always<i> there</i> – what does it want from me? I just wish I had an answer. I still remain firmly convinced that there must be a reason for this pain. If your body is screaming out, it’s telling you something is wrong. But <i>what</i>?</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The neck scan I had a while ago came out fine. No surprises there. I have been seeing the kinesiologist regularly and had some ups and downs since one of our most intense sessions a few weeks ago, when doing some work on my jaw. Could it be the teeth grinding? I had my jaw professionally checked years ago at a dentist’s clinic when the headache started. All manner of little prods and machines were placed around my mouth but all the results came out negative. I thought I’d go and get checked again, as after over four years of having a constant headache, maybe something was going to show up.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“Eat softer foods and come back and see me in two months” is what I heard. I nearly asked this “TMJ specialist” who, may I point out, is younger than me (hardly much of a specialist), to repeat. “I have had a constant headache for four and a half years”, I tried to explained to him. “I don’t think it will mysteriously disappear over the next two months, as much as I’d like it to.” And so I left, clutching a pointless piece of paper with an appointment to go back in September.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-15198616847968534592013-03-31T20:02:00.002+01:002013-03-31T20:02:53.243+01:00Day 1564 - Another to add to the pile?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://thethesiswhisperer.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/paper-piles.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vh8cfyl6g24/UViHTgAEh5I/AAAAAAAAAXM/Fj3YnmkZUp8/s400/thick+paper.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>ashed hopes, yet again.<br />
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Last week I went to see a physiotherapist whom a friend swore by. Apparently he has cured all sorts of “incurable” patients, including a little boy who could barely walk. The child was up and running in no time after seeing him on a regular basis for a few weeks.<br />
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I immediately liked the doctor when I saw him, which I think is of great importance when it comes to treatment. He exerted pressure on my headache point and looked at my neck and jaw. He looked at me and said “I am 95% sure I know what it is. You’ll be fine” My immediate reaction was to tell him not to be overly confident given that I have been battling with this monster for over four years. Nonetheless, a little part of me deep inside wanted to sob with joy. All sorts of rhetorical questions flew around my mind: “Can you imagine if in two weeks you don’t have a headache?!”, “What will it be like?!” I even set myself all sorts of goals if the headache left me for good.<br />
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My second (and so far last) session a few days ago had a slightly different outcome. I told the doctor that there had been no difference in the headache since the first session. In fact, if anything, it had got slightly worse. He played around with the headache again, hitting the exact spot. As he was manipulating me, I could tell that he was also baffled.<br />
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“My patients all notice a difference after the first treatment. Come back next week for the final one, but if it hasn’t gone by then, then I can’t help you”. That was the end of our session. At this comment I also felt like crying, yet this time out of despair and disappointment. I warned him, “I told you I am an unusual case”.<br />
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I now feel indifferent at the third session which will take place in a few days. I would love to believe the headache will go away but I can’t imagine it will do so given that there has been no difference in the last two weeks. As I left I thought about an interesting fact that my mother told me years ago and which I believe I have mentioned in a previous blog post. In ancient times, Chinese doctors were only remunerated once they cured a patient. If they didn’t cure them, then that meant they didn’t carry out their job properly and thereby didn’t get paid. Should it not be like this now, especially after having been given dashed hopes, yet again? I thought to myself, what am I paying for here? For another sheet to add to my headache folder?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-84914177512860348332012-12-17T10:39:00.004+00:002012-12-17T10:41:18.406+00:00Day 1460 - Electro Smog / Electromagnetic Sensibility<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.tristanramberg.com/category/photo/content/radio-waves.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E-mfvbLblXo/UM71fVUdkzI/AAAAAAAAAV0/fSvVDP6zxCo/s400/wifi+radiation.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Due to the introduction of mobile phones, computers, CCTV cameras, satellite televisions and digital radios, our lives are enveloped in electronic radiation. This phenomenon has been described as 'electro smog', so all-pervasive are the pulsing microwave signals that surround us on a daily basis.</span> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Of course, we cannot see all this electronic activity, but if we could, the sight would be dramatic. Stepping from somewhere free of modern electronic gadgetry into a Wi-Fi active zone would be the equivalent of walking from a peaceful country lane onto the hard shoulder of Spaghetti Junction.</span> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: #990000;">EMF Sensitivity is an adverse health reaction, similar to an allergy, caused by the radiation emitted from cell phones, microwave or cell phone towers, radar, satellite, infrared, ultrasonic devices, Wifi, WiMax, GPS, RFID tags, computers, power lines, and other electrical equipment.<br /><br />Some studies suggest that as much as five per cent of the population may already be suffering from headaches, concentration difficulties, chronic fatigue, irritability and behavioural problems because of this electro smog.*<br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229069/Is-electro-smog-causing-headache.html#ixzz2CEgLQkSF">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229069/Is-electro-smog-causing-headache.html#ixzz2CEgLQkSF</a><br />*<a href="http://www.emfsensitivity.org/">http://www.emfsensitivity.org/</a></span></span></i></blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i><br /></i><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> remember watching a documentary a while back on wifi radiation. Those interviewed were Scandinavian women who were severely affected by wifi radiation. This caused them all manner of ills, from a general feeling of malaise to more severe aches and pains. As a result of their sensitivity to radiation, they had to entirely plaster their house with what was effectively tin foil which, as far as I understood, would prevent the radiation from entering the interior of the household.<br /><br />It has crossed my mind that my headache may be due to wifi sensitivity. However, I haven’t noticed any difference in the headache when travelling to remote areas with no wifi or mobile phone signal. I wonder if the effects are immediate? Do those with wifi sensitivity notice an immediate headache when they are in an area with radiation and does it ‘switch off’ as soon as they are away from it? </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-69557386059607776732012-08-21T20:06:00.002+01:002012-08-24T07:52:39.058+01:00Day 1342 - Viscountess Anne Conway & The Headache That Lasted For 48 Years<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hyG6dgJuAc/UDPP24VbaSI/AAAAAAAAAVY/nco-UQPReAs/s1600/viscountess+conway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hyG6dgJuAc/UDPP24VbaSI/AAAAAAAAAVY/nco-UQPReAs/s320/viscountess+conway.jpg" width="184" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen my sister sent me the above photo I
immediately asked her where she had taken it. Oddly enough, her answer was ‘In
a museum’. I immediately Googled “Viscountess Anne Conway + headache” and soon
discovered that Anne did indeed suffer from a mysterious headache for virtually
all her life. She died in 1679.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">I wonder what people thought of her
headaches back then. Did they think she was a hypochondriac? A liar? A witch?
An emotionally unstable, neurotic woman in need of some fresh sea air?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Anne was actually a highly respected 17<sup>th</sup>
century philosopher, metaphysicist and intellectual whose ideas and criticisms
on Descartes and Hobbes influenced later writers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Her debilitating chronic headaches are
mentioned in a number of sources. From what I have researched, I am unable to
say whether Anne suffered from one persistent headache or a series of
continuous attacks. It seems to me it was probably one continuous headache, but
given that most people do not even believe such a thing possible, over time I think
some physicists and historians may have eventually settled for ‘headaches’ in
the plural.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Her severe headache perplexed friends and
doctors alike, leading her to try all sorts of (dangerous) cures including
mercury and opium, albeit to no avail. In a desperate attempt to cure the
headache, Anne even travelled to France to be trepanned. No one dared proceed
with the operation and eventually her jugular arteries were opened instead – an
equally risky procedure. A renowned alchemist and healer was even invited to
Anne’s country home to try and rid her of the debilitating pain, but her
headache persisted. It continued to baffle eminent physicians and doctors for
the rest of her life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">It appears her headache started at the age of 12.
It was initially attributed to her excessive studying habits, although a number of sources claim it started following a severe illness accompanied by fever, which
left a lingering headache that continued for the rest of her life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The headache had a clear influence on her
life and ideas: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: inherit;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">“The
way her own suffering from increasingly debilitating headaches contributed to
the development of her philosophical assessment of pain as an integral part of
the process of purification adds an autobiographical element to her writing
that is all too often ignored in the analysis of philosophical systems.”***</span></i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Anne was not considered mad, mentally
unstable or neurotic given her constant headache and pleas for help. If only
our doctors, like those four centuries ago, believed us when we say we suffer
from a <i>continuous</i> headache that <i>never</i> goes away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">* <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/conway.html">http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/conway.html</a></span> </i></span><style><!--
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">**<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CD8QFjAAOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunypress.edu%2Fpdf%2F61627.pdf&ei=5cgzUNrrGYfFswaX9YCwDg&usg=AFQjCNHCa6s3Ei64Hef225RGkcG2C17f3w">http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CD8QFjAAOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunypress.edu%2Fpdf%2F61627.pdf&ei=5cgzUNrrGYfFswaX9YCwDg&usg=AFQjCNHCa6s3Ei64Hef225RGkcG2C17f3w</a></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">***<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_708759150">http://www.scribd.com/doc/76534622/Anne-Conway-E3P1DBdnZv</a></span></i></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/76534622/Anne-Conway-E3P1DBdnZv%20" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></i></span></a></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-15681341241915601972012-06-25T16:27:00.001+01:002012-06-25T16:31:34.829+01:00Day 1285 - It's All In Your Head<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniowenphotography/3513779516/"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9wyxm4hua5s/T-h9m3CCoHI/AAAAAAAAAVM/Cxe2d1mieco/s400/It%27s+all+in+your+head.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i>"Many people know about other contributing factors such as heredity, food triggers, lack of sleep, poor posture, etc., but are not aware of any psychological connection.</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />Headache specialists report that many of their patients resist any discussion of emotional or psychological contributors to their recurrent headaches. Some people fear that pursuing this avenue could uncover evidence of "mental illness." Others feel that the existence of these factors would make their pain less real because it would then be "all in their heads". In just about all cases, neither of these 2 things is true!</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />Headache is definitely a biological disorder. However, since the body and the mind are interconnected, your emotional and psychological states can have an effect on your overall health, including your headaches. Here's why:</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i>- When your emotional and psychological systems are in good working order, they help to create a positive environment that contributes to the health of your body.</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />- When these systems aren't working so well...for example, if you feel anxious, depressed or angry on a frequent basis — and especially if you find it difficult to shake these feelings — a negative environment can be created in your body that may contribute to a specific headache episode or create a fertile breeding ground for headaches to occur. </i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />The relationship between anxiety, depression and headache is not fully understood. However, it is known that the brain chemical serotonin plays a role in all of them. Some headache specialists have theorized that these disorders may share a common mechanism in the brain.</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />Research has shown that some chronic headache sufferers also suffer from depression and/or anxiety. It is important to note that these sufferers' psychological conditions may not be caused by their headaches. Rather, tendencies towards depression or anxiety may be inherent in their personalities or ways of thinking. Or, they may be the result of an intense and prolonged level of stress which may lead to psychological conditions such as anxiety or depression. Regardless of the cause, having frequent headaches and feeling a lack of control over them may cause an existing condition of depression or anxiety to worsen. This situation can easily snowball, creating a vicious cycle of headache and emotional distress.</i></div>
<div style="color: #990000;">
<i><br />Unfortunately, emotional and psychological factors are often not considered in the treatment of headache. Doctors (especially those who are not headache specialists) tend to emphasize medical treatment — and rightly so. This is the traditional "first line of defense" and is effective for most headache patients. So is appropriate to start — and, for most, to stop — there. Also, some doctors today are cautious not to focus on psychological factors during the earlier stages of headache treatment — possibly overcompensating for the days when many doctors treated patients as if the pain was "all in their heads."</i></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<i><span style="color: #990000;">Doctors who do bring up psychological contributors as a possibility often find that their patients want to avoid psychological treatment, fearing a "mentally ill" diagnosis or having a concern that the presence of these factors would mean that their headaches are not a serious medical problem. This is very unfortunate because nothing could be farther from the truth!"*</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*<a href="http://www.excedrin.com/psychological-contributors-to-headaches.shtml%20" target="_blank">http://www.excedrin.com/psychological-contributors-to-headaches.shtml </a></span></i></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>t has taken me over three years to write this post.<br />
<br />
When the headache started - which now seems all those years ago - I went to see a psychologist about it. The headache had exacerbated to such a degree that I was unable to work and felt completely depressed about my situation. After telling her about the distress that the headache had caused, she looked at me, arms gently folded over her lap, and stated “It must be such a headache having this pain!” and gave a little chuckle. I brushed aside this silly joke, ignoring it and thinking that maybe she had unintentionally let it out. However, when the very same joke repeated itself over the course of the next sessions, I felt hurt, frustrated and angry that a person contending to be there to help could actually end up aggravating a situation. I could bear it no longer and after a few sessions I left. That was the last of any psychological treatment I have undergone.<br />
<br />
The possibility of the headache being related to a close friend’s death which took place a few months before the onset of my headache, has crossed my mind more than once. But nearly four years down the line I do not think the headache is related to this, or at least entirely to this. It is possible that I have not yet recovered from the shock of losing such a close friend. I truly believe there is a strong link between body and mind and that a traumatic event can undoubtedly have consequences on one’s body. The passage above taken from a Headache Centre webpage discusses this in further detail. Just today I also came across <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120619-how-stress-could-cause-illness" target="_blank">an article on the BBC website</a> on a similar topic.<br />
<br />
The reason it has taken me so long to write anything on this is that I
am unable to draw the line between the “it could be a psychologically
caused headache ” to a “it’s all in your head” (i.e. fictional). I am certain, from the manner in which this question is usually addressed to me, that by ‘psychological’ the word ‘fictional’ is intended. Does anyone feel the same?</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-90489900778948489252012-04-15T08:50:00.007+01:002012-06-25T16:30:49.918+01:00Day 1214<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NscfqVRAiAQ/T4p_LffHTmI/AAAAAAAAAVE/crjYooUGqk4/s1600/wall.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731533311189667426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NscfqVRAiAQ/T4p_LffHTmI/AAAAAAAAAVE/crjYooUGqk4/s400/wall.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 180%;">J</span>ust yesterday I spoke to someone over the phone and asked him how he was. “Just a bit of a headache today”, was his answer. Needless to say, all kinds of thoughts flashed through my head. I could not bring myself to say “Oh, sorry to hear”, as one would normally do. I just brushed it aside muttering some sort of a “I understand” under my breath. I find it impossible to empathise with people who have ‘a bit of a headache’ – if only they knew.<br />
<br />
I must admit I have become more and more secretive about the Headache. When It started I told virtually everyone about It, hoping that someone along the way would have an acquaintance with a similar story and know about a miraculous cure; but as time has gone by, I have not dared tell any new friends. The only people who currently know about It are those whom I had originally told.<br />
<br />
In my mind there is a stark division: the before and after It started - those who knew me already, and those whom have only known me with a headache (much to their ignorance). I sometimes wonder if they would think of me any differently if they had met me before.<br />
<br />
As a reader of this blog rightly suggested, having our headaches has undoubtedly led us all to explore different paths in life. In a way, there are many new and different areas that I have looked into to find a cure. I have learned and assimilated so much new information that I would certainly not have acquired otherwise; but I can’t help thinking how much better my daily life would be without this witch of a Headache, without having to open my eyes every single morning and have the side of my head pressing in – a wonderful reminder that it is always there.</div>
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</style></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-68076254780088394932012-01-13T10:22:00.003+00:002012-02-04T11:54:45.041+00:00Day 1121<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Old_books.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H1gPXknr1I4/Ty0HcbELBgI/AAAAAAAAAU4/9dbnlpDTlso/s400/books.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705224487831275010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span>he three year headache anniversary passed unnoticed – or should I say ignored. One year, two years, three years.. it nearly seems to make no difference anymore. It’s been dragging on for so long that my hope that it will cease is waning.<br /><br />I wish those who didn’t suffer from this wretched thing could understand how awful it is. Having a constant headache is so tiring, it makes the world so much heavier, every moment drags on for so much more, even when it's a fun moment, it's always somehow ruined because nothing is ever perfect, there's always that horrible headache reminding me that something is wrong.<br /><br />One of my greatest passions is reading and yesterday, as I was reading a book, I had to stop for a while as the headache – for whatever inexplicable reason – was quite strong at that moment and it made it hard for me to concentrate. So the headache is always there, reminding me of its presence (don’t worry, I won’t forget you, dear) at every moment. Even when I have a few moments to myself, to sit back and relax, the headache topic inevitably comes up. I question it but soon get tired as I have no answers, and try to brush it aside.<br /><br />I have learned to try and not ponder too much on its presence, to try and get on with daily life as much as possible and not let it interfere with my life, but the truth is that at times when I go to bed, I sometimes wonder ‘What if I just don’t wake up tomorrow?’ The truth of the matter is that, as much as I can ignore it, I realise that it is not normal to have had a headache for three years and sometimes I worry that the wretched thing may play its final joke on me.<br /></div><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; 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mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} @page WordSection1 {size:595.0pt 842.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> </style> <p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-family:";" ></span></p><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;font-family:times new roman;"><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">"The sacrotuberous ligament is a slender, fan-shaped ligament of the posterior pelvis located on either side of the body. This ligament arises midway down the posterior side of the sacrum, which is located at the spinal base. It primarily comprises of collagen fibers, and is strong enough to support the sacrum and prevent it against moving from its position under the body weight.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">The connective tissue in this ligament joins with various other tissues, particularly the biceps femoris muscular tendon, which is an important muscle of the hamstrings on the posterior thigh region. It is also a ligament of the sacroiliac joint, which is connected to the sacrum.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="">It typically receives stress during aggressive physical activities and sports that may cause the arching of the spine. If it becomes strained or injured, it may result in problems similar to those of a typical iliolumbar ligament injury. The ossified or bony sacrotuberous ligament may be one of the critical causative factors in different types of neurovascular compression syndromes. An anatomical understanding of this ligament may lead to effective treatments for this clinical disease."*</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;">*<a href="http://health.yahoo.net/human-body-maps/sacrotuberous-ligament/male#4/8">http://health.yahoo.net/human-body-maps/sacrotuberous-ligament/male#4/8</a></span></p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://health.yahoo.net/human-body-maps/sacrotuberous-ligament/male#4/8"></a></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> went to see the kinesiologist again at the beginning of the month. He focused on my back during our session, in particular on the lower part where the sacrotuberous ligament is. He looked for a link between this, the TMJ and the temporalis fascia, which is exactly where my head pain is. He told me he had to work on my lower back for a few minutes. I could tell it was going to be painful but I hadn’t quite realised up to what extent.</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">The pain was excruciating. I felt my hands begin to tremble and suddenly tears starting flowing down my cheeks. At first they were tears of pain but soon, even when he completely stopped exerting pressure, I was unable to stop crying. I was overwhelmed with sadness; my body trembled and I sobbed and sobbed. I tried to hold myself but simply couldn’t. I don’t know what it was; the only way I can explain it is complete sadness, although for what reason I do not know (women out there may sympathise with those occasional moments when we just cry for no reason –men may find this impossible to understand).</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">The kinesiologist explained that when working on certain areas of the body blocked emotions can be released. These could be from traumatic events in childhood or other moments of extreme stress that one has had to deal with. It was hard to pinpoint an exact instance of this at the time.</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">Despite the feelings of despondency and confusion, I felt that maybe during this session we had another clue. It was the first time I had reacted in such a way during any of our appointments – the poor kinesiologist was surprised at my response to his work – and felt that maybe it was a sign we have found something.</p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">Since then, the headache has been up and down – the first time in about a year that it has been up to 4/5 for longer periods – which makes me think that, despite the increase in pain, we may be one step closer to a solution.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-39901522371062879862011-11-14T09:43:00.007+00:002011-11-14T09:55:30.437+00:00Day 1060 - Propolis<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://beeisbeautiful.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/miele.jpg?w=710&h=505"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LVyTvK01otY/TsDi2p9v70I/AAAAAAAAAUg/S5t16Zpj-5U/s400/propolis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674784959092485954" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">"Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Propolis, from the Greek word, "pro", meaning "in defense of" and "polis" meaning "city", is descriptive of the protection propolis provides the bee hives.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">The main role of propolis is the protection of bees against disease. Bees coat every inch of the internal walls of their hives with a thin layer of propolis to sterilize the comb and keep their hives free of bacteria. The hive is an enclosed unit, it is hot and moist, the perfect breeding ground for microorganisms. Because of the propolis, the hive is virtually free of bacteria, mold and mildew. As a supplement, propolis helps provides your body the protection and healing properties that has allowed bees to survive for millions of years against many enemies. It is an excellent aid against bacterial infections.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">The properties of the propolis depend on the exact sources used by each individual hive; therefore any potential medicinal properties that may be present in one hive's propolis may be absent from another's.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Natural medicine practitioners use propolis for the relief of various conditions, including inflammations, viral diseases, ulcers, superficial burns or scalds. Propolis is also believed to promote heart health, strengthen the immune system and reduce the chances of cataracts.[14] Old beekeepers recommend a piece of propolis kept in the mouth as a remedy for a sore throat. Propolis lozenges and tinctures can be bought in many countries. Though claims have been made for its use in treating allergies, propolis may cause severe allergic reactions if the user is sensitive to bees or bee products."*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">*<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis</a></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">*<a href="http://www.eimi.com/beerich/pronotes.htm">http://www.eimi.com/beerich/pronotes.htm</a></span> </span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span>started taking propolis in August. I hadn’t heard of it before so I thought ‘Why not give it a go?’. I came across it when I was in the Caribbean and met a beekeeper, now my boyfriend, who recommended taking it to improve my skin condition (I suffer from a mild form of acne where little pimples grow under my skin, making my cheeks a soft pink colour - nothing too horrific to look at but something that has always made me feel uncomfortable).<br /><br />I was reluctant to tell him about the headache - I now hardly tell anyone about it, as I fear I may be judged or put in the ‘crazy’ box - but eventually I did. He was very supportive about the pain and enthusiastically told me propolis may well work against fighting it off. He has given it to various people in the past, always with positive effects. One of his friends suffered from bad acne on his back, and after just a couple of months of taking propolis his acne had completely cleared up. He has worked with bees since being a young child and explained the numerous healing properties of bee products to me - fascinating to think such little creatures to be so intelligent! What I found most interesting to learn was that propolis prevents putrefaction in the hive - if a mouse or a lizard finds its way into the hive, the bees sting it to death and seal the carcass with propolis, effectively mummifying it thus rendering it completely odorless and thereby harmless to their well-being.<br /><br />I took the propolis to the kinesiologist who tested me for it - my body strengthened which, according to kinesiology, means that I respond well to it. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I take a small little ball of it. All I can do now is wait (yet again!) and see what happens.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-44698100352414426732011-09-11T17:04:00.013+01:002011-11-14T09:50:49.968+00:00Day 995 - Chronicity & Anger<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.vereeck.exto.org/gallery/dbimages/3639/3639-o-15333016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZ1nulafv0k/TmzfJyf6TgI/AAAAAAAAAUY/JN7MQYut_oQ/s400/Anger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651136991710563842" border="0" /></a> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} p {mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} span.ilad {mso-style-name:il_ad; mso-style-unhide:no;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} @page WordSection1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:Times;"></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/whatischronicpain.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:78%;"></span></a></p><i><span style="Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-GBfont-family:";color:#660000;" ></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Times;mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-GBfont-family:";font-size:10.0pt;color:#660000;" ></span></i><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/whatischronicpain.html"> <i><span style="font-family:Times;mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:#660000;" ></span></i></a><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/whatischronicpain.html"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US;color:blue;" lang="EN-US"><br /></span></a></i> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >"Just as sure as the sun comes up, a person living with chronic pain will have good days and bad days. The good ones are good but the bad ones,<br /><br />...Oh Boy!<br /><br />Chronic pain consumes your every thought, your entire being.<br /><br />Nothing hardly can enter your mind but getting this beast under control. Control is what the chronic pain sufferer is seeking and nothing else.<br /><br />You are desperate for others to understand what and why this is happening.<br /><br />They think that you are faking or that you are seeking sympathy because you can’t be hurting for that long and have tried everything the doctor has given you.<br /><br />It makes you feel lost, disconnected or even alone.<br /><br />Chronic sufferers aren’t mad at you, it’s the pain they are angry at. They lose so much of their own identity."*<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> </span><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} @page WordSection1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> </style> <a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;" href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/whatischronicpain.html"><span style=" ;font-family:Times;font-size:7.5pt;" >*http://www.families-and-chronic-pain.com/whatischronicpain.html</span> </a><br /></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span>cannot believe it’s nearly been three years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">In the past few days the headache has increased to a 4/5 out of 10. For the first time in months.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Why?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">And as usual one forgets what a bloody nuisance it is having a strong headache. How you think about it every second and how it gets in the way of what you’re doing. How it makes you more tired. How you just want to lie down and close your eyes and hope the pain will go away. Hope that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">bitch of a headache</i> (excuse the language but this is what I refer to It in my thoughts) goes away.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">I have tried being ‘nice’ to It, tried being ‘friends’ with It as I was advised to do a couple of years ago. ‘Befriend the headache!’ Well, I have tried and it makes no difference. It is driving me up the wall. I cannot stand it anymore. I hate it. If it were alive I would shoot it. Squash it. Kill it.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-62848267253284838102011-07-28T20:31:00.004+01:002011-09-25T18:44:05.328+01:00Day 950 - Vitamin B12<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.drlisawatson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Eggs-a-source-of-vitamin-B12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0J7znEf_bxo/TjHi6rivCeI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/o3htDM9aw0s/s400/eggs.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634534106565904866" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">"Vitamin B12, also known as Cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin which is very important for a number of key biological pathways, including nerve function, cell growth, cell membranes and energy production.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">It is an essential nutrient available exclusively from bacterial sources, ie in the diet, or through the action of gut bacteria. As Vitamin B12 is manufactured by bacteria in animal guts, you should be able to get it from red meat, fish and dairy products.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">There are two main causes of Vitamin B12 deficiency – where the body can’t get B12 from your diet; and where the body can’t use it. Both can develop over a period of years or happen suddenly.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">B12 is a robust molecule and survives cooking. One of the few things that can break it is a microwave oven. Even if you don’t use a microwave yourself, it’s possible that foods containing B12 have been irradiated to stop microbes growing, which might break down B12.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">B12 deficiency typically makes you extremely tired (including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and can lead to depression; other symptoms include dizziness, hair loss, pins and needles, loss of memory, gastritis and constant headaches.</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"*</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >* <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.b12d.org"><span style="font-style: italic;">www.b12d.org</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* <a href="http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12/">http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12/</a></span></span><br /></blockquote></div><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> have been seeing the kinesiologist for about two years now. The last time I saw him my muscle testing showed that Vitamin B12 would strengthen my system. I am now on a rather high dose, at six a day.<br /><br />I had taken these supplements already a few months ago but it appears that my body still has a deficiency in B12. I have done some research on this vitamin which, according to certain studies, a vast part of the population is deficient in. People who suffer from intestinal disorders are particularly at risk, as their bodies are unable to absorb the vitamin. Given that IBS, for example, is such a common illness, this to me could mean that a good part of the population may well also have a B12 deficiency.<br /><br />Given my recent unsettled stomach and considering that I don’t particularly eat a lot of red meat or dairy products, let alone fish, lacking in B12 hasn’t come as too much of a surprise to me.<br /><br />The headache is still hovering at a 1, which is perfectly acceptable to live with. When I think back at how bad it was at the beginning, at about 9/10, making me scream in agony at night and bang my head against the bed, I feel grateful not to feel like that again. And all I can do is hope it will not flare up to such horrid levels again.<br /><br />The mystery remains as to what is causing it – even the kinesiologist, who is so passionate about his work and who is determined to find a solution to my headache, said to me the other day: ‘No wonder no one knows what your headache is - every time something new comes up!’. Even he is baffled as to what could be the underlying cause, but given the progress I have seen since my first appointment two years ago, my faith in curing my headache relies entirely on him.<br /></div><br /> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"MS 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} @page WordSection1 {size:595.0pt 842.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --></style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-17585854334371766142011-04-20T08:50:00.004+01:002012-08-21T20:12:22.100+01:00Day 851 - Stomach Acidity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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H. Pylori is easily inhibited by raising stomach acid, provided this is done before much damage is done by the bug, which is the reason why people with normal acid levels are generally asymptomatic and don't get ulcers unless they are on certain drugs or consume large amounts of alcohol. Coffee has been found to aggravate the symptoms of H. Pylori infections.<br />
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Unfortunately, people with reduced acid levels often times suffer from what they assume is high stomach acid (heartburn, bloating, nausea, frequent burping), and as a result frequently take antacids. By doing so, they encourage greater H. Pylori activity and thus increase the risk for ulcers or gastric cancers, with the bug also being implicated for heart disease, gum disease, asthma, rosacea, and chronic headaches or migraines as well. If patients had indeed high acid levels (as some physicians still have them believe), then why do symptoms quickly improve when stomach acid levels are raised?<br />
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The confusion usually stems from the fact that esophageal reflux (GERD) causes heartburn, from acid getting up into the esophagus, which doesn't have the acid-protective mucus coating of the stomach. However, H. pylori reduces stomach acid.<br />
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The paradox IS that having enough stomach acid keeps the valve to the esophagus closed so it cannot be harmed by stomach fluids. Also when the stomach produces stomach acid it also produces bicarbonate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda is what protects the stomach lining from being damaged by the acid. Therefore, it stands to reason that IF the stomach isn't producing enough acid it also won't be producing enough bicarbonate of soda which also allows ulcers to form inside the stomach.<br />
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Low stomach acid can be a factor with headaches, chronic fatigue, non-specific aches and pains, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other calcium metabolism-impaired problems -- all the way to various cancers.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*<a href="http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/dig10.php" style="color: #660000;">http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/dig10.php</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 180%;">I</span> have been reading around on Helicobacter Pylori as my stomach has been playing up again as of late. I felt very weak and dizzy the other day, and slept for 10 hours – even when I woke up I was still exhausted. My body must have been fighting something off (yet again I wish I knew what..) – that total lack of energy must have been due to something.<br />
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I got tested again for Helicobacter Pylori a couple of days ago; the result was negative. Odd, given that I have not been feeling too well again, with a painful stomach coinciding with an increase in the headache pain. H. Pylori causes stomach acidity, which I am sure I still have, despite the bacteria having been killed off. As a consequence, I am being extremely careful with what I am eating.<br />
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I came across a Helicobacter Pylori <a href="http://h-pylori-symptoms.com/about-david-hompes/">specialist’s webpage</a> with plenty of information on the bacteria and how it affects your stomach as well as other parts of your body. What I found very interesting was the relation between Helicobacter Pylori and headaches, as well as many other secondary factors it can contribute to, such as rosacea, sinus problems, sleep problems and cognitive and memory problems, and many more.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-25700445184317354992011-01-05T16:59:00.004+00:002011-11-14T09:53:02.565+00:00Day 746 - Helicobacter Pylori<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sciencephoto.com/images/download_lo_res.html?id=662201625"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/TU2CDDOTniI/AAAAAAAAAT8/xhEbOKT-zHE/s400/H%2BPilori.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570251303043702306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">“While "stress" was a popular basis for stomach ulcers years ago, Helicobacter Pylori has become a primary cause for peptic and duodenal ulcers since its discovery by two Australian doctors, Robin Warren, M.D., and Barry Marshall, M.D., in the early 80's.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Helicobacter pylori is a spiral shaped bacterium that lives in the stomach and duodenum. It used to be thought that the stomach contained no bacteria and was actually sterile, but Helicobacter pylori changed that.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The stomach is protected from its own gastric juice by a thick layer of mucus that covers the stomach lining. Helicobacter pylori takes advantage of this protection by living in the mucus lining. Once H. pylori is safely ensconced in the mucus, it is able to fight the stomach acid that does reach it with an enzyme it possesses called urease.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Another defense H. pylori has is that the body's natural defenses cannot reach the bacterium in the mucus lining of the stomach. The immune system will respond to an H. pylori infection by sending white cells, killer T cells, and other infection fighting agents. However, these potential H. pylori eradicators cannot reach the infection, because they cannot easily get through stomach lining. They do not go away either, though, and the immune response grows and grows. Polymorphs die, and spill their destructive compounds (superoxide radicals) on stomach lining cells. Extra nutrients are sent to reinforce the white cells, and the H. pylori can feed on this. within a few days, gastritis and perhaps eventually a peptic ulcer results. It may not be H. pylori itself which causes peptic ulcer, but the inflammation of the stomach lining; i.e. the response to H. pylori.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">H. pylori is believed to be transmitted orally. Many researchers think that H, pylori is transmitted orally by means of fecal matter through the ingestion of waste tainted food or water."</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;" href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://h-pylori-symptoms.com/h-pylori-symptoms/">*http://h-pylori-symptoms.com/h-pylori-symptoms/</a><br /><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;" href="http://www.acu-cell.com/dis-hpy.html">http://www.acu-cell.com/dis-hpy.html</a></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> had an endoscopy a couple of weeks ago and, sure enough, I have Helicobacter Pilori and bad stomach acidity. The gastroenterologist prescribed some antibiotics for two weeks, which I have just finished taking today.<br /><br />The medicines have made me feel drowsy and have, on occasion, strengthened the headache. On the plus side, the severe stomach pain has gone, and now only a feeling of mild discomfort remains. I have also been prescribed some acid-reducing medicines which I need to take for the next few weeks.<br /><br />Given that 50% of the world’s population is infected with H. Pilori and the majority are asymptomatic, I have no idea how long I have had the bacteria for. It may be that I have been harbouring it for months, or even years, and that it only started manifesting symptoms as of late.<br /><br />I recently read that there is a connection between H. Pilori and headaches: <span style="font-style: italic;">“It is not clear how Helicobacter pylori infections cause headaches and migraines. However studies have shown that migraines can clear once Helicobacter has been eradicated. It is likely that immune responses, hormone imbalances and neural factors caused by Helicobacter contribute to the development of headaches. For example, digestive infections can cause low progesterone women and it is well known that progesterone deficiency can cause headaches, particularly during the second half of the menstrual cycle. In addition, food sensitivities, possibly triggered by H. pylori may also contribute to headaches and migraines.”*</span><br /><br />In theory, the antibioitics should by now have killed H. Pilori which means that if the headache is in any way connected to the bacteria, then my headache should have gone (which it hasn’t). There is nonetheless a chance H. Pilori is still present and I need to get re-tested in three months’ time to see whether this is the case.<br /></div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-50025869769995665462010-12-05T15:46:00.002+00:002011-11-14T09:53:35.128+00:00Day 715 - Low Stomach Acid Headaches<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://makesscentsonline.com/test_blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/lemons.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/TU1xYS4zpRI/AAAAAAAAAT0/sK9HGuyuqYA/s400/lemons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570232976328074514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">“Individuals suffering from headaches related to low stomach acid have the option to resolve not only the headaches, but also most of the other symptoms associated with low acid, such as bloating, or heartburn-like symptoms following a larger meal.<br /><br />Considerations may include lemon or lime water, or they may supplement a digestive aid containing Glutamic acid + Betaine + Pepsin, or they may try Bromelain, which is a better choice if they suffer from acid reflux and low stomach acid (which is possible).</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Acidophilus, or any of the 'Probiotic' friendly bacteria formulations could also be taken on a regular basis, with the best time being right at bedtime. This assures re-seeding of the "good" bacteria overnight, which will subsequently lessen any early morning symptoms such as nausea or headaches that are experienced by some of those suffering from low stomach acid.<br /><br />Since the Helicobacter Pylori bacteria is a common cause for low stomach acid (as well as ulcers, cancer, asthma, gum, and heart disease), it may be worthwhile to be tested for a possible infection, and if found positive, undergo appropriate therapy.”*<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">*</span><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);" href="http://www.blogger.com/*http://www.acu-cell.com/dis-hpy.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">http://www.acu-cell.com/dis-hpy.html</span></a></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span>he headache’s second year anniversary is coming up soon, although this year it doesn’t seem to be as big a deal as it was last year. Maybe it is because I have lived with it for so long now that two years seems to be no different from one. Maybe it is because I would rather just push the thought to the back of my mind.<br /><br />I have been suffering from bad stomach aches for a few weeks which has made, of course, me wonder if they are connected to the headache. My <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-159-gut.html">stomach</a> has come up as a potential cause for the headache on various occasions with the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-103-kinesiology.html">kinesiologist</a>. I have no idea as to what the source of the pain could be - possibly a bacteria, or maybe stomach acidity. The <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-103-kinesiology.html">kinesiologist</a> has suggested I get checked for Helicobacter Pilori.<br /><br />The discomfort of the stomach aches which have now persisted for over a month have made me once again realise how one gets use to pain as I have caught myself on various occasions wishing for the tummy ache to go away and for the pain to move to the head. I have evidently got so used to the headache that discomfort in other parts of my body nearly feels unnatural, so to speak.<br /><br />I thought the stomach ache was the cause of something I ate, but given its somewhat abnormal duration I have decided to go and see a gastroenterologist. Again, an odd bit of hope that this may be the cause of the headache that is manifesting itself two years down the line.<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-91308964291485569442010-10-24T21:15:00.006+01:002010-10-24T21:24:05.791+01:00Day 673 - Chiari Malformations<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mwhphysicians.com/Images/j0385807.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/TMSUNlPHkrI/AAAAAAAAATg/l8hx2Jdu-p0/s400/chiari.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531709203372544690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"In 1891, Austrian pathologist Hans von Chiari described certain hindbrain abnormalities as postmortem findings in infants; these came to be known as Chiari malformations.</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Chiari malformations (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. When the indented bony space at the lower rear of the skull is smaller than normal, the cerebellum and brainstem can be pushed downward. The resulting pressure on the cerebellum can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) and can cause a range of symptoms including dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems, headache, and problems with balance and coordination.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">There are three primary types of CM. The most common is Type I, which may not cause symptoms and is often found by accident during an examination for another condition. Type II (also called Arnold-Chiari malformation) is usually accompanied by a myelomeningocele-a form of spina bifida that occurs when the spinal canal and backbone do not close before birth, causing the spinal cord to protrude through an opening in the back. This can cause partial or complete paralysis below the spinal opening. Type III is the most serious form of CM, and causes severe neurological defects. Other conditions sometimes associated with CM include hydrocephalus, syringomyelia, and spinal curvature.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Medications may ease certain symptoms, such as pain, although many people with Type I are asymptomatic and do not know they have the condition. Many patients with the more severe types of CM and have surgery see a reduction in their symptoms and/or prolonged periods of relative stability, although paralysis is generally permanent. Surgery is the only treatment available to correct functional disturbances or halt the progression of damage to the central nervous system.</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"</span><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">*<a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/chiari.htm">http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/chiari.htm</a></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><a href="http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/406849-overview">http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/406849-overview</a></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> recently had a comment on the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-219-hemicrania-continua.html">Hemicrania Continua</a> post from someone who has been diagnosed with Chiari malformation. Given that I do not yet have a post on this condition, I thought it would be interesting to write a few lines about it, especially as recently various people have mentioned that they are familiarizing themselves with new conditions via my blog. And I have to admit I find it fascinating, albeit at the same time very daunting, to learn how many different conditions have constant headache as one of their symptoms. It goes to show how complex and how intricately connected all parts of the human body are.<br /><br />And I wonder how many other conditions exist with headache as a primary symptom, which modern medicine has not yet familiarised itself with.<br /><br />Some of the websites I have read which detail the symptoms of Chiari state that at times an MRI is not sufficient, and that a CT scan can better detect any possible signs of the condition. I myself have had both, so can say I most probably do not have Chiari malformations. Yet again, something to tick off the ‘I most probably do not have this’ box.<br /><br />As Christmas once again creeps up on us, I am approaching year two of my permanent headache. I feel I have made some progress since it started, albeit only in terms of being able to eliminate what it could not be. As to what is really is, I still do not have a clue. At times I sit back and wonder whether I should not be more worried about this wretched headache and about what it could possibly be, but it has got to a point where I simply push that thought to the back of my mind. I try and forget that I have had this miserable and mysterious headache for so long, this headache which has no doubt altered the course of my life and has put me on a life path that maybe I would not have followed. The only thought I can reassure myself with is that, as I have mentioned before, it has probably made me into a stronger person and enabled me to cope with a condition I previously would have thought I would never have been able to put up with.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-6380024892092426222010-09-14T11:01:00.009+01:002010-10-24T21:25:08.016+01:00Day 632 - Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra)<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/photofiles/list/474/854walnut.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/TI9IbLfaSEI/AAAAAAAAATY/m396V_cnpCI/s400/walnuts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516707700330350658" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"The leaves of English walnut trees, Juglans regia L., also known as European walnut, have been used medicinally for thousands of years particularly for treating skin disorders. English walnut is native to southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, India and China.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The leaves are considered astringent, and insecticidal against bedbugs and mites (i.e. scabies). The famous herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper, used European walnut to "kill worms in the stomach or belly". The juice of the green husk was boiled with honey and used as a gargle for sore mouth and throat and to relieve heat and inflammation in the throat and stomach.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Walnut leaf today is most often used externally as an astringent for treating eczema, herpes and ulcers. The leaves of black walnut are most often used to treat hemorrhoids as well as liver and gallbladder problems. In folk medicine, black walnut leaf was also given to relieve headache, hepatitis, and skin conditions, although there is little evidence to back up these claims. The walnut’s active compound, juglone, isolated from black walnut, has been shown to be a laxative, fight worms, and have strong activity against bacteria and abnormal growths."*</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >*</span><a href="http://store.healingifts.com/blwaleexor.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://store.healingifts.com/blwaleexor.html</span></a></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span>he headache has been pretty stable the whole summer, hovering between 1 and 2; I only had one flair-up which lasted a couple of days, and was only about a 5. I say ‘only a 5’ because those of you who also suffer from a constant headache know that 5 is bad but perfectly bearable. I have not had a 9 for a long time now luckily. I dread to remember what it was like.<br /><br />I saw the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-103-kinesiology.html">kinesiologist</a> again a week ago. When muscle testing me, ‘bacteria’ came up a few times; whether this is a possible bacteria I caught when travelling in South America this summer or a cause of the headache I do not know; he gave me black walnut drops to take for a few weeks.<br /><br />I have recently had a number of postings on my blog - thank you everyone - although sadly many of those who have commented have had some terrible side effects from the medicines they have been taking to quell the headache. I cannot stress how much my headache has improved since those horrific first few months, and only through natural methods. I myself felt the urge to take some strong medicines at the very beginning when the haunting headache was horrendously bad but I opted out of this option having read what side effects some of these have.<br /><br />I know natural remedies, as a general rule, take longer to have an effect on our organism but this is not a reason to discard them; western medicines may have an immediate effect but they all have side-effects of one sort or another. The stronger the medicine, the stronger the side effect. I know my headache has not gone away but it is better - all I am trying to say to those of you who suffer from a similar condition is to try some natural remedies first before moving onto potent medicines.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-54995780227826398182010-06-19T23:20:00.005+01:002010-06-19T23:29:02.486+01:00Day 545 - Colon Cleansing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sflorg.com/sciencenews/images/imscn092506_03_01.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/TB1DT2_R6QI/AAAAAAAAATI/KipPXNSV40I/s400/colon+cleanser.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484613929664637186" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">"Why, suddenly, has colon cleansing (detoxification) become so necessary? Many argue that our grandparents did not use colon cleansers and they survived pretty well. The answer is simple: times have changed. Our eating habits have changed and our dietary intake has altered radically since the old days. Our grandparents, like their parents before them, lived on a healthy high-fibre diet of whole foods such as fresh garden vegetables and plenty of unprocessed fruit.<br /><br />Our food intake in today's rushed, modern world is very different. About 90 percent of the foods that we consume on a daily basis is processed or refined in some way. These refined foods keep depositing toxic waste in our body. The foods (including sugar and flour) make us extremely susceptible to serious intestinal problems.<br /><br />Over six thousand chemicals are used to process foods. The food that we eat every day is refined, genetically engineered, preserved, coloured, and treated with a mixture of insecticides, chemicals, and hormones. That means that not only do we eat very little roughage to encourage healthy intestinal function, but the constant chemicals, preservatives and colorants that we consume also have a devastating effect on the digestive tract.<br /><br />What happens when the colon becomes sluggish or constipated? This results in toxic poison building up as the result of multiplying bacteria when foodstuffs travel too slowly through the intestines during the evacuation process. These toxins then enter the bloodstream via the colon. That's why chronic constipation poses such a dangerous health risk.<br /><br />So, the single most dangerous threat to your colon is, of course, your diet. Depending on your daily food intake, your low-fiber, high processed, refined and chemically laced food intake is a serious health risk. In today's modern world, we are actually poisoning ourselves little by little, each and every day.”*<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*<a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/colon-cleanse-the-single-most-dangerous-threat-to-your-colon-1754106.html">http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/colon-cleanse-the-single-most-dangerous-threat-to-your-colon-1754106.html</a></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> remember hearing about a detox programme a couple of years ago through a friend of mine. Hers involved sipping some horrible sounding ‘soup’ for a few weeks or so, after which she had to slowly reintroduce certain foods, starting with little nibbles of salad or boiled vegetables so as not to give her system too much of a shock having not eaten anything solid at all for so long.<br /><br />No wonder I was reluctant to try the <a href="http://www.drnatura.com/colonix_program.php">Colonix</a> detox programme that my mother suggested I give a go. ‘You’ve tried everything for your headache, I don’t understand why you won’t just try this too’, she said to me. At the time, my mother had been on the programme for three months and had seen great results - she felt a lot more energetic and generally a lot healthier.<br /><br />I eventually gave in and thought ‘what the heck, might as well’ - it just gets to a point where you’re willing to try everything. ‘What if I don’t try it and it’s the key to solving my headache?’ - that’s the question that runs through my head virtually every time someone suggests trying out something new. I took the Colonix for a few months. As I have been based abroad for work, I couldn’t have gone back to see the kinesiologist anyway and I had finished all the tablets he had given me. I was therefore not following any specific diet nor was I on any programme of sorts. So why not give it a go?<br /><br />I was rather frightened by the possible effects of taking the Colonix - look at their webpage and the testimonial photos and you will no doubt understand why I am using the word ‘frightened’. My mother was convinced I was harbouring some sort of a bacteria or parasite which would soon be released thanks to the potency of this combination of herbal ingredients.<br /><br />I have now finished the three month programme and I do admit feeling better. My headache has stabilised to a 1/2, albeit with the occasional flair up - only once did I get an 8 which was dreadful but luckily it didn’t last for too long. As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, one forgets how bad the pain is until it comes back, your head thumping away, your field of vision obscuring as little flashy stars appear in front of you, a wave of nausea running through you and an untold desire to lie down and close your eyes taking control of your mind and body.<br /><br />The headache has definitely not gone, it still very much haunts me every living second, but it’s better, which is an improvement. I am seeing the kinesiologist again in a few days - I’d be interested to see what comes up when he muscle tests me.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-62846846312955062562010-05-06T10:06:00.005+01:002010-05-06T10:17:43.615+01:00Day 500 - Occipital Neuralgia<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hcw.cs.man.ac.uk/images/neurons.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/S-KG0yfM7kI/AAAAAAAAATA/kVbY_53ghVU/s400/occipital+neuralgia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468081139045166658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">“Occipital neuralgia is a term used to describe a cycle of pain-spasm-pain originating from the suboccipital area (base) of the skull that often radiates to the back, front, and side of the head, as well as behind the eyes.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The occipital nerves are two pairs of nerves that originate in the area of the second and third vertebrae of the neck. While most people's nerve roots originate in similar places on the spine, cadaver studies show a wide variety of differences between individuals as to the course of the nerves once they leave the spinal column. Often the nerves follow a curving course that passes through various muscles in the upper back, neck and head.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">These nerves supply areas of the skin along the base of the skull and partially behind the ear. While the occipital nerves do not directly connect with structures within the skull itself, they do interconnect with other nerves outside of the skull and form a continuous neural network that can affect any given area through which any of the main nerves or their branch fibers pass.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Occipital neuralgia occurs more often in women than men. It can have many causes such as trauma (a direct blow or "whiplash"); spinal column compression; nerve lesions; localized infections or inflammation; gout; diabetes; blood vessel inflammation; and local tumors.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Commonly, the nerves are inflamed and sensitive because they are trapped within the muscles through which they pass. Muscle spasm and pain are often associated with nerve entrapment, which causes localized pain, spasm and muscle cramping.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Symptoms include the following:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">- Headaches that are localized or following a "ram's horn" pattern on the side of the head, often starting in the upper neck or base of the skull. It can be one-sided or on both sides.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">- Scalp that is tender to the touch, often hypersensitive. Even brushing your hair can be a painful experience.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">- Pain or pressure behind the eyes. Eyes are very sensitive to light especially when the headache is present.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Many conditions can show symptoms similar to those found with occipital neuralgia. Treatment of occipital neuralgia may involve oral medications that are designed to reduce inflammation and spasms, localized therapeutic injections, physical therapy, massage, and heat.”*</span></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ></span><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >*<a href="http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/536/main.html">http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/536/main.html</a></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;">I</span> thought I would post something on occipital neuralgia as someone recently mentioned looking into this condition. My type of headache doesn’t seem to correspond to that described above, in particular as I do not suffer from muscle spasms. One reader of this blog recently commented on the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-219-hemicrania-continua.html">hemicrania continua post</a> about having an indescribably severe headache which manifests itself with severe muscle spasms. Occipital neuralgia could be something he could look into if he hasn’t yet. His story nearly brought me to tears.<br /><br />The number of comments recently posted on my blog under the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-219-hemicrania-continua.html">hemicrania continua post</a> go to show how many people seem to suffer from this condition. Sadly most of the people who I have been in touch with have not as yet had much relief from the medicines they were prescribed. I still remain convinced (and I am sure many of you do) that there must be an intricate reason for the onset and continuation of our headaches. What this is, in my case, as no doubt in many others, still remains a mystery.<br /><br />There have been a few days in which the headache has flared up, and every time I manage to forget how bad it can get. Being tired doesn’t help. Sleeping too much doesn’t seem to help either. Finding a constant balance is what I need to do. I also got a bit of a cold the other day which revived the headache, making it thump away - although that was a ‘cold headache’ on top of the ‘normal’ headache.<br /><br />It has now been nearly a year and a half.<br /><br />Compared to others who have commented on my blog, it’s no time at all. What is my body trying to tell me? What is going on in there? Sometimes I wish I could just crack my head open and see what’s going on.<br /><br />The <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-103-kinesiology.html">kinesiologist</a> was not around when I was back in the UK so I did not manage to see him this time round. I went for some acupuncture - the acupuncturist always manages to pinpoint the pain and stick a needle right in it; as the needle enters that part of my head, my head feels like a balloon deflating. The pain remains but in some ways I feel like I have caught it, pinpointed it, willing to stab it and kill it once and for all. But, alas, it perseveres.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-43947353388398626832010-03-16T08:27:00.007+00:002011-09-25T18:43:33.637+01:00Day 449 - Swearing<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dbh3.us/science/Swearing.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/S59BJYW5xAI/AAAAAAAAASs/49vggOH5HcY/s400/swearing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449145703554728962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain. Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The researchers think that the increase in pain tolerance occurs because swearing triggers the body's natural “fight-or flight” response. Stephens and his colleagues suggest that swearing may increase aggression (seen in accelerated heart rates), which downplays weakness to appear stronger or more macho.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," Stephens said."*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">*</span><a style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);" href="http://www.livescience.com/health/090712-swearing-pain.html">http://www.livescience.com/health/090712-swearing-pain.html</a></span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span>have not posted for a while as the headache has been at its best for the past few weeks - up until a few days ago. I got a bit of a cold and since then the headache seems to have partly shifted to the left hand side which is proving to be a complete and utter nightmare as I am not used to the pain being there. I can’t even seem to be able to figure out what level out of 10 it is as the pain has never been on the left hand side for so long.<br /><br />The other day, when it first moved about, I had a headache on top of the headache. That was a bit of a nightmare - it’s incredible what the body can get used to, and how one can feel two headaches simultaneously. It’s hard to explain unless you have experienced it first hand. I am sure that before the headache started I would not have been able to imagine experiencing two headaches concurrently.<br /><br />And, once again, I forgot how bad the headache was - when it subsides you can never really picture how forceful the pain had previously been.<br /><br />I also woke up a few days ago with an unbelievable pain in my teeth and jaw. I felt as if I had spent the night furiously grinding my teeth (I still regularly wear the mouth guard I was given by the dentist one year ago) - not sure if it was due to the headache pain, or possibly just a bad nightmare. Rather odd though as I woke up with my teeth and gums in complete agony. This makes me think the headache could be related to the jaw, but I have had that tested on various occasions and it doesn’t seem to be that..<br /><br />Let’s just hope all the pain moves back to the right as I feel I am able to cope with it much better when it’s on that side - I guess, once again, it just goes to show how used to pain we become. Maybe I should just swear more to make the pain more tolerable, as the study above seems to suggest.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-33217149168145279052010-02-23T12:56:00.005+00:002010-02-24T16:47:36.049+00:00Day 428 - Pain<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kerriesmyres.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/26/pain_survey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/S4PRcjZ347I/AAAAAAAAASk/oNj6fgtvHiU/s400/why.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441423063263994802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><blockquote></blockquote></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> 'We forget very easily what gives us pain.' - </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Graham Greene</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br />"Pain is a simple enough concept to grasp. You stub your toe, shout, perhaps utter a few expletives, rub it better and it eventually fades. But neuroscientists are realising that pain is much more complex than anyone thought possible, comprising not just physical sensations, but emotional ones too. Pioneering studies are providing insights into why some people experience debilitating chronic pain long after an injury has healed, as well as why some are more prone to pain than others, and why certain people never recover from bereavement.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">While most pain goes away as an injury gets better, sometimes it remains for months or even years, long outlasting its original purpose. Chronic physical pain is debilitating and can cause disability, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is also very common.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">No one really knows why some people experience chronic pain and others do not, but imaging studies at Northwestern University, Chicago, have found a series of abnormalities in the brains of chronic pain sufferers in which the part linked to decision-making (the prefrontal cortex) is reduced, while an area of the prefrontal cortex linked to emotion is hyperactive. What is known for certain is that the brain changes in those with chronic pain so that they experience pain differently from the way they did before.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">We all have a system for suppressing pain when necessary so that we can flee attackers even when injured. Those who suffer from chronic pain appear unable to access this and cannot use distraction as a means of suppressing pain; their brains seem to amplify pain signals rather than inhibit them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Neuroscience is also revealing a host of similarities between emotional and physical pain. Professor David Alexander, the director of the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research, is not surprised about the link between physical and emotional pain. “If you listen to people who are damaged emotionally, they will often translate their pain into physical similes: ‘my head is bursting, my guts are aching', and so on. The parallel is very strong.”*<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"> <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">*<a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4397377.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4397377.ece</a><br /></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"></span></span><blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;">A</span>s I have mentioned on a number of occasions, the headache has created paradoxical feelings in me - on the one hand, I feel I want people to know about it as it could justify any incongruous behaviour, such as feeling dejected, short tempered or angry at inappropriate times; on the other hand, I don’t want people to know about it as I don’t want them to see me any differently than they would someone else.<br /><br />But even those who know, after a while, stop asking you how you are, they stop asking about your headache, because they forget. But the awful thing is that I can never forget because the headache is always with me.<br /><br />It’s odd, though, how easily one forgets about pain - when the headache is at its strongest you are taken aback by the amount of pain it causes because in that intermittent period of time in which the pain was bearable, you forgot how bad it really was.<br /><br />And in a similar way, people forget, because most of us who have these inexplicable headaches don’t tend to have any other visible symptoms, which naturally leads people to forget about the fact that you’re in constant pain. But we ourselves are incapable of forgetting about our headache, because it never leaves us.<br /><br />Many people have asked me if I can forget about the pain, but how can you? Sometimes you get distracted for a few minutes and of course you focus on something else, but the pain is always there, always reminding you of its presence. It makes you wonder if another person would be able to cope any better. Would they be able to put up with the pain too? How used to the pain have I got? According to a study mentioned above, the brain changes in those with chronic pain so that they experience pain differently from the way they did before. This makes me question how much (or how little) I feel pain in comparison to others. I sometimes wonder what would happen if someone else lived in my body - how long would they be able to put up with the pain for before handing it back to me and imploring me to take it?<br /><br />I just cannot imagine what it would be like not to have a headache. I can picture an immediate feeling of lightness. Just imagine! My head always feels so heavy, so burdensome.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-23065469552743551702010-01-26T07:58:00.008+00:002010-01-26T08:08:28.178+00:00Day 400 - Vaccines & Thimerosal<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ASibLqwVbsk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ASibLqwVbsk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">“Vaccines are medications that are designed to stimulate the body's immune system to generate a response that will protect the individual from disease by the pathogen in question. The first vaccination was performed in 1796 by the British physician Edward Jenner who had noticed that dairy maids who had had cowpox infection (Vacca = cow in Latin) did not succumb to the deadly smallpox infection that was claiming many lives at the time. To test his theory, Jenner infected his gardener's son, James Phipps, with cowpox and then weeks later attempted to infect him with the deadly smallpox. Happily, James survived the experience and was protected from infection and thus the practice of vaccination was born.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The body's immune system is comprised of two arms - antibody-mediated immunity and cell-mediated immunity. All vaccines developed in the last 50 years probably protect by stimulating a potent antibody response. However, for pathogens that live within cells of the body, where antibodies can't reach, it is likely that cell-mediated immunity is required for protection. Examples of such pathogens include malaria, TB and HIV. Each of these is a huge global health problem claiming millions of lives each year for which there is no effective vaccine.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines, contains 49.6 percent mercury by weight and is metabolized or degraded into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. Mercury, or more precisely, ethylmercury, is the principle agent that kills contaminants. Studies indicate that mercury tends to accumulate in the brains of primates and other animals after they are injected with vaccines.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Mercury poisoning has been linked to cardiovascular disease, autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia and many other nervous system conditions. That's why the FDA rigorously limits exposure to mercury in foods and drugs. Some common sources of mercury include dental amalgam fillings, various vaccines and certain fish contaminated by polluted ocean waters.”</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">*<br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" >*<a href="http://www.malaria-vaccines.org.uk/2.shtml">http://www.malaria-vaccines.org.uk/2.shtml</a></span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ><a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/011764_mercury_thimerosal_vaccines.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/011764_mercury_thimerosal_vaccines.html</a></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:78%;" ><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4472485.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4472485.stm</a></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">H</span>aving written a post about heavy metal toxicity and having read more about the relation between mercury and vaccines, I thought I’d share some thoughts with you.<br /><br />I remember talking to some friends a few months ago when swine flu seemed to be the next epidemic that would wipe out half the world’s population (ah, the media!). I remember saying that I would never dream of taking a swine flu vaccine not only because of the amount of poisonous metals (namely thimerosal) contained in the vaccine itself, but also because the vaccine had never been tested before, and thus the long term effects are unknown.<br /><br />A few weeks before having that conversation, I had watched a video (you can click on it above) on the 1976 swine flu propaganda. The outbreak was a strain of H1N1 influenza virus and prompted vast mass immunization in the United States, mainly due to the advertising campaigns broadcast on television which propelled most Americans to immediately get a vaccine. As you will be able to see in the video above, the consequences were disastrous.<br /><br />I find this whole topic fascinating, in particular as no one is ever warned of the possible side effects of having a vaccine. How many of you are ever warned of any possible dangers following your vaccinations? The only thing I have ever been in told is that I may feel a bit dizzy and weak afterwards, but that’s about it. We’re not warned of the possible long term effects these injections may have on us.<br /><br />As I was doing some research online, I came across a site which explained that a study conducted in 1999 revealed that some infants, due to a genetic or developmental factor, lack the ability to eliminate mercury. Trace amounts of mercury in these infants, when accumulated over several vaccines, could pose a severe health risk.<br /><br />Because of this some countries (including the UK) have banned the use of thimerosal in some - but not all - vaccines. According to an article I stumbled across on the BBC webpage, only hepatitis B and influenza in the UK programme now contain thimerosal.*<br /><br />More and more scientists have found links between thimerosal and neurological damage, including higher incidence of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) antibodies in autistic children. Surely the link between those developing autism post vaccines is no coincidence? Needless to say, there are plenty of doctors, including the spokeswoman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, who believe that “There is strong evidence to show that thimerosal in vaccines does not cause neurodevelopmental problems." There seems to be plenty of evidence that points to the contrary...<br /><br />Could my headache be linked to metals that my body is finding hard to eliminate? Possibly.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1861777360544475411.post-13697169913634803152010-01-12T21:29:00.009+00:002010-01-12T21:44:26.310+00:00Day 386 - Heavy Metal Toxicity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://susanbleakley.co.uk/files/pics/untitled-metals.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IdtnV3v-H3s/S0zsjdvv5DI/AAAAAAAAASc/-FLcKuqAHrk/s400/metals+new.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425971745099080754" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">"Heavy metal toxicity is an excessive build-up of metals in the body. Oftentimes, the vague symptoms produced by heavy metal toxicity are mistakenly misdiagnosed as incurable chronic conditions. The most common heavy metals that humans are exposed to are aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.<br /><br />Heavy metals are found in everyday existence and are frequently hard to avoid entirely. Most people can excrete toxic heavy metals from the body successfully. However, some people—especially those who suffer from chronic conditions—cannot excrete them efficiently enough and a build-up occurs. Recent research also reveals that those who cannot excrete heavy metals efficiently appear to be genetically predisposed to this condition.<br /><br />When numerous metals are present in the body, they have a “synergistic toxicity.” Dr. Boyd Haley, professor and chair of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky, performed a study on rats and found that the mortality rate of rats exposed to a small dose of mercury or aluminum killed only 1 rat in 100. However, when the rats were exposed to both mercury and aluminum at the same time, all 100 rats died—a 100% mortality rate.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span>Heavy metal toxicity can result from either acute or chronic exposure to heavy metals.<br /><br />Acute exposure can occur as a result of:<br /><br />- Receiving vaccinations that contain thimerosal (mercury preservative)<br />- Mishandled metals at a job site<br />- Chemical and heavy metal spills–even from a broken mercury thermometer<br /><br />Chronic exposure happens over a period of time, and includes:<br /><br />- Having mercury amalgams (“silver fillings”) in teeth<br />- Living in a home built prior to 1978 that has lead-based paint<br />- Smoking and/or inhaling second-hand smoke<br />- Eating foods (such as contaminated fish) that contain high levels of heavy metals<br />- Living near a landfill<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">- Working in an environment where exposure is prevalent, such as at a dentist’s office where amalgam is used to fill cavities"*<br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*</span><a href="http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/heavy-metal-toxicity"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/heavy-metal-toxicity</span></a></blockquote></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span>had a bit of a flare up last week but nothing major (probably about 6/10) but other than that I have been doing well at about 2/10. No complaints. I am also back in the cold dry Russian weather which so far has kept the headache down to a 2/10.<br /><br />When I returned to Europe in December for a few weeks the headache seemed to fluctuate a bit more and oscillate (randomly, of course) between 2/10 and 5/10 but after a few days it seemed to stabilize at about 2/10.<br /><br />I went to see the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-103-kinesiology.html">kinesiologist</a> again a few days ago. I appeared to ‘weaken’ to a homeopathic remedy of metals which implies a possible metal toxicity. Incidentally, the <a href="http://permanentheadache.blogspot.com/2009/05/day-150-nutritionist.html">nutritionist</a> I saw a few months ago had mentioned the possibility of taking a herbal remedy for metal toxicity as she had told me this could be the cause of my headache.<br /><br />I ‘tested’ well for Cilantro (Coriandrum Sativum), a plant used in cases of metal toxicity, and I am now taking 20 drops of it three times a day.<br /><br />The most common form of metal toxicity is via tooth fillings, of which I have none (luckily). But there are, of course, many other causes of metal toxicity such as those mentioned above, the most common of which is by far receiving vaccinations that contain thimerosal, a mercury preservative.<br /><br />Given that we have all received vaccinations, it is not surprising that there are so many undetected illnesses out there that could originate precisely from injections that most people deem beneficial to their long term health.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5