got ill, now almost well

[jeanlong]

Hi All,

Turns out I wound up getting this illness. thank goodness for my prior reading, especially on this forum otherwise I would have been mentally very unprepared. The bad news is I was ill. The good news is that I'm getting well and my skin problems are about 98% better than when I was first sick.

Thank you to all those here who have helped me a great deal by providing a dialog and moral support. This is very helpful. You have my gratitude.

I think this illness involves some kind of parasite and/or a number of opportunistic skin infections, with health problems due partially to an impaired immune system. I think the immune system problem arises partly from exposure to toxic stuff including metals, nickel, BisphenolA and other substances that we have a lot of exposure to.

Acupuncture (self-administered in my case), TCM herbs (my own new formulas) and cleaning out my kitchen of all plastics, metal cookware and replacing it all with glass (stuff like Pyrex, Corning Pyroceram, Anchor Hocking, Corning Visions) were immediate choices after I realized nickel was a serious culprit for me.

I wish all the sufferers here the best. I'll be writing an educational paper as soon as I'm 100% well and feel up to a new set of work tasks, which will be listed on the California state website after I complete it. I'm still a licensed primary health care provider in California plus am an accredited California educator in TCM for continuing education, and believe this is very important information that health care providers need to understand.

While I'm not involved in science research, I do know what has helped me tremendously was to identify chemicals and elements that are not good for me and eliminate exposure. . . . As soon as my new educational material is completed I will try to get approval from the state of California for it as a course for educating health care professionals. The last course I offered was on acupuncture, but this new effort is to give more insight for treatment and care for TCM professionals, but, the basic understanding of the disease is going to be explained there and hopefully help MDs to isolate problems and give treatment too.

I do have a thorough understanding of this illness in terms of TCM and can diagnose and treat that way.

However, more research will be done to narrow down allopathic MD types of cures. My paper is going to be written soon and I'll post the state of California link here when I'm further along in my efforts....Help is on the way. I am convinced I will have a 100% recovery within a reasonable time line.

This disease is horrible and I think no one should have to suffer from it. I believe I was first infected by an insect that bit me. I never had a skin infection prior to this, but after this one bite the area swelled up, became infected, and then I had a series of nasty skin problems. I'm almost done with treatments too, so I firmly believe people can make a full, 100% recovery. Assuming I continue on this trajectory, I expect in about 5 - 6 weeks I'll be 100% back to my normal self, meaning no further treatment or special care will be necessary, and I'll have none of the symptoms of this illness. But I will have eliminated some stuff to help my immune system function better.

Thank you to those running this board for this forum. I am indebted to you for helping me find the support and exchange of ideas that has helped tremendously.

Best regards,
Jean

[jeanlong]

Hi:

I thought others would be intersted in the nickel details. Here is one link that is helpful:

Stainless steel as a source of nickel, chromium, and iron | Nutrition Research Newsletter | Find Articles at BNET

Long story short, nickel can corrode from cookware into the food we eat, and excssive exposure to nickel can contribute to skin problems.

Ingesting nickel is a bad idea.

Here is more of my personal story. I wound up not understanding my sickness, then went to my primary care doctor, who sent me to the specialist. Saw two specialists, not helpful except to eliminate possible diagnosis. Long story short, I went through exams, testing, and a biopsy. The good news is the test results were ok (negative) but the bad news is that means they were unable to identifty the root cause. Nothing explained the problems. Then when I used a magnifier it seemed like I had many of the Morgellon's skin problems.

Then I read the article above and thought about how nickel is in my life.

I don't think anyone has totally identified all the causes of M's in all its variations, but I'm convinced nickel was one culprit, at least in my case. I used to think stainless cookware was inert. I supposed for a quick saute or brief simmer it's fine. But apparently acidic foods and longer cooking using stainless poses a risk, that being that you ingest the nickel from the cookware.

Excessive nickel exposure can cause skin problems.

The error made was seeing this as a localized skin problem that was spreading. Instead, my health condition was a systemic problem that allowed the skin problem to begin then spread.

best regards,
Jean

[Janice]

I believe that metals have an effect on ones immune system. I don't draw a direct line from metals to morgellons. A malfuctioning immune system is what allows this fungus (which I believe) to take over our body. Any thing one can do to strengthen the immune system, if it is removing all cooking metals, thats great. But there is so much more than that
Thank you.

[jeanlong]

Neglected to mention in my prior posts today in this thread that after reading about nickel I had a lab test. and that showed nickel and other specific elements and chemical items are bad for me. Is nickel like like lead where it is bad for almost everyone? I don't know, but it is really bad for my health. I did not know that until recently. So before trying other things, it makes sense to follow the results of the lab test. . . . I don't think removing particular metals is the only answer. But the problem is that if my immune system is damaged or weak due to speciifc metals, then it is logical to remove those from my environment.

Yes, I had a lab test done to test for bio-compatibility of many items. I'm glad to learn I'm not allergic to my wedding ring, but unfortunately it is not healthy for me to have stainless 18/8 cookware, which is what mine was until recently. Cookware is often not inert. I want to eat food, not the cookware.

I did not know anything about these special lab tests until very recently. Now I am thinking most people might have health reactions to specific elements and/or chemicals, to the point where they will feel better by simply removing those items from their lives. I'm feeling much better from transitioning to inert cookware, and I did not expect that to be part of what has affected me. But it has affected me greatly.

Originally Posted by Janice

I believe that metals have an effect on ones immune system. I don't draw a direct line from metals to morgellons. A malfuctioning immune system is what allows this fungus (which I believe) to take over our body. Any thing one can do to strengthen the immune system, if it is removing all cooking metals, thats great. But there is so much more than that
Thank you.

[Janice]

I respect that you had a test for metals. Well done. Of course they are not good for any body. It weakens your immune system.What I don't agree is that there is a direct line from metals to morgellons.
It is an accumilation of negative things. The perfect storm.

[Janice]

I am also 99% well.
Had a metals test, and had no accumilation in my system. I forget the name of the test. I will pick up the hard copy on wensday .

[jeanlong]

Glad to know you are feeling okay.

I think you are fortunate there is no accumulation. The test I had done was not about accumulation though - it is about reactivity. Meaning some things are non-reactive. So for example I have no reaction to tin so I can handle and use tin without issues. But I have reactions to nickel, meaning bad reactions, so my body treats it totally like a xenobiotic, meaning a toxin substance. So it is logical to avoid toxic stuff, especially if not feeling 100% well.

I will be the first to say I do not have quantitative data. If I were in a research career, I'd chase hotly after this to examine more people, but I'm not a science researcher. . . I'm much more a clinician at heart.....It looks like this M's condition is partly due to opportunistic infections. That is why I think certain metals are bad, as they impair the body's ability to fight the infections. The metals are not a direct cause to make people ill, but rather a factor, which I believe is an important one, not a trivial factor. I did not find it entertaining to ditch my stainless cookware and buy other inert cookware - as this was done as some effort and some cost which I would have like to have avoided. Can't know for sure it will help everything, but things sure are going from scary to rapidly back to normal. This is the scariest illness I have ever had, and the symptoms upset me as they were so weird.

This choice was logical based on the test results - not to any attachment I have to getting new cookware.

I did speak with the scientist at the lab that did the test. He said clinical trials do show most people (over 90%) who do get tested have adverse reactions to nickel. Nickel is frequently found in costume jewelry, flatware, cooking utensils and items marked 18/8 stainless. I wish I had known all of this earlier; if someone had told me in 2003 when we bought our pots and pans that nickel is bad for your health, we would not have purchased a whole set of stainless cookware. Hoping to share what might be helpful with the idea it could help someone.

Originally Posted by Janice

I am also 99% well.
Had a metals test, and had no accumilation in my system. I forget the name of the test. I will pick up the hard copy on wensday .

[Jo]

Hi Jean,

You are fortunate that you educated yourself before coming down with it..I'd imagine that's very rare. How quickly after getting bitten do you think it took to comprise your daily living?

I believe folks that nip this infection in the bud, can fully resolve it fairly quick. Signs of systemic infection seem to involve distended abdomin, lower back pain and neck ache, along with depression as early signs.

Its good to have you are on board Jean and I wish you every success with your recovery and future work. Keep us posted!

Jo

[tcmgpt13]

Just a reminder to all who come down with mystery bug bites, especially those which cause any type of rash (not just bulls eye), to be tested for lyme disease. Caught in its earlier stages it is far easier to treat than it is later on after its settled in comfortably.

I remember the nickel in children's jewelry used to cause me to break out as a child. Intense and uncomfortable itching along with welts. I believe I have read though that some stainless steel does not have nickel added to it. I can see that as far as eating utensils this one is difficult to totally avoid, modern life being the way it is. I guess one could resort to wooden chop sticks and those little Chinese ceramic soup spoons, but then who knows what paint (lead?) was used to coat the spoons' surfaces?

I just looked up the information about what's in stainless. Here's a chart discusses stainless and quantities of chromium and nickel found in various grades. The lowest grade stainless has no nickel.

Stainless Steel Cookware

It does mention that the quantities of nickel released when uses stainless is minimal, but that if one is allergic to nickel stainless should be entirely avoided. That leaves me wondering again how to avoid using ordinary utensils to eat. Silverware is expensive. And what other metals are involved with silver?

It's enough to bring on a Morg headache. I suppose I'd better get rid of any stainless steel pots I have too since I know I am allergic to nickel.

[jeanlong]

Hi Jo

Thank you for your good wishes.

Hm...perhaps 3 weeks. ..This bug bite was so weird it was memorable; I was bitten on a Sunday one morning, during a brief trip to visit extended family.

Then the bite-spot swelled up in the weirdest way with multiple tiny bumps, and simply felt and looked wrong, red and infected - about 3 days later, it was alarming - it was all red and bumpy. For about 2 weeks I felt a little ill and did not have any thought of Morgellon's and was able to hike, and do most normal stuff. About 3 weeks after the bite I was always tired, easily felt cold, easily winded, unable to go on a daily walk, could not hike, unable do normal tasks or felt unwell, had tinnitus (ears ringing) and exhaustion was a total problem. Shortly after that I had a lot of M's symptoms show up with many skin problems commonly described.

The good news is I'm generally okay except now I feel tired easily and get the tinnitus and those are not normal. Skin is no longer so uncomfortable and under the magnifier I don't see anything unusual.


best regards,
Jean

Originally Posted by Jo

Hi Jean,

You are fortunate that you educated yourself before coming down with it..I'd imagine that's very rare. How quickly after getting bitten do you think it took to comprise your daily living?

I believe folks that nip this infection in the bud, can fully resolve it fairly quick. Signs of systemic infection seem to involve distended abdomin, lower back pain and neck ache, along with depression as early signs.

Its good to have you are on board Jean and I wish you every success with your recovery and future work. Keep us posted!

Jo