Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[Mango04]

Wow that was a really interesting post Rachel and I ditto Julie's optimistic thoughts. I am however laughing out loud at the thought of HOT ice cream That is some serious ice cream determination. Actually though, it's kind of a good idea. I bet if Starbucks sold hot coffee or peppermint ice cream in the winter people would buy it like crazy (or maybe this is something people normally eat and I'm just clueless when it comes to dairy products )

Hi to Mango, are you back yet? Great picture of the koala

Hi, I'm flying home on Dec 17th. I kind of have mixed feelings about this LOL. I'm flying to Melbourne tonight and next week I'll be travelling around Tasmania...and then I go home!!!! I've been travelling non stop for six weeks so it'll be nice to go home to my friendly gluten, dairy and soy-free kitchen (well actually it'll be my parent's gluten, dairy and soy free kitchen for a while, but I'm really looking forward to it )

[AndreaB]

Rachel,

My heads spinning. Your appointment sounds very productive. I'm so glad you have a plan of attack and everything you wrote makes perfectly good sense.

Julie,

It's so good to see you.

I'm not feeling well and have had a major headache all day, compliments of my head cold.

I'm still here just reading along....

[DingoGirl]

Rachel.....wow! my head is spinning too! I think it was very good that your mom was there. And you can warm your body temp up......

but hot ice cream?

OMGosh, Susan, are we REALLY supposed to remember pet's birthdays, too???!!! OMGosh, I don't even know how old my bird is, let alone when his birthday is .... with all these kids, he's lucky to get fed!!! Of course, he can talk if he wants something. Today he was saying "c'mere, step-up" I guess he wanted out.

I do have a goofy husband, but he did vacuum and mop our bedroom tonight!!! It's the finished attic of our house, so it's HUGE! Quite a job!

Welllll......the only reason I thought of it is that a friend I hadn't talked to in a while was shocked that Stinker was still alive and asked how old she was. And then, omgosh, I remembered the date......I got her at SPCA the day she'd been dropped off, and the people who brought her in knew the birthday of the NINE pups in her litter. but no, Carla, you don't have to know the birhdays of your pets.

Hi mango! it will be nice to have you back.

Hi Julie! Nice to see you.

I am off to my HEATED bed now. Rachel, you definitely need a floor heater in your room. Summer AND winter.

OMG I am quite scared, tonight I went to this women's meeting and drank some defaf, and poored some INternational Delight creamer in it.....I know the Nestle's Coffee Mate is gluten-free, but I don't know about this stuff, and have to work tomorrow........anyone know about this stuff? I was thinking it was gluten-free because of COFFEE MATE - - - but I don't know......can't call in sick no matter what......have to go there and try to act normal, no matter what

[AndreaB]

Susan,

I don't know, but I hope you don't get sick.

[rinne]

Hi everyone, this has definitely been another sauna door experience. When the log in routine changed to email address from user name I couldn't log on, I emailed and Scott answered and I still couldn't log on and then I realized that I had forgotten part of my password.

She doesnt get it at all...she's just never gonna understand. OMG...If only I JUST had a freakin stuffy nose around WOOD. Am I suppossed to lead by this guy's example?? As if we even *remotely* have the same kind of stuff going on!!

Rachel, I am thinking this may change for your mother. I think mothers have a really hard time admitting that their children are ill. I am really glad she went to the doctor with you and that he explained so much to her.

Now I can't remember what else I was going to say about all your excellent scientificness. Oh yes the cold, it makes so much sense. You need this thing I saw at the mall, it is shaped like a bib with wide straps but you wear it backwards, it is filled with buckwheat or something that can be heated in a microwave (there are all these little pockets filled with it so it stays distributed evenly) and it wraps round your neck. The man I talked to said his wife had created it for herself because of her arthritis and that she wears it around the house all day, the weight of the buckwheat keeps it in place. I thought about getting one but it would mean buying a microwave and cold is not a major issue for me.

I am really glad that your doctor seems to understand so much of what is happening with you.

The rest of my thoughts have been dingo'd.

Glad for the updates on the cruise, I am not jealous at all, NO I REALLY LIKE THE DEEP FREEZE I live in.

[Rachel--24]

Hi everyone, this has definitely been another sauna door experience. When the log in routine changed to email address from user name I couldn't log on, I emailed and Scott answered and I still couldn't log on and then I realized that I had forgotten part of my password.

It took me awhile to figure out the log-in routine had changed to email. I kept putting in Rachel--24 and kept getting DENIED. I thought maybe I was kicked out of Rachelville.

[jerseyangel]

Wow Rachel,

I read all about your doctor visit, and I'm glad he's on the right track and has a reasonable plan. I guess now it's in the B lady's hands. I think this is a good approach--the two of them working together on you. Stay warm!

Hi Julie,

Missed ya I agree--this is a very busy time of year.

Andrea,

I hope you get some relief of your headache and that cold! Does not sound pleasant at all

Rinne,

Hello! I had that same sign in snafu recently. Got a little nervous for a minute or two until I figured out what they wanted

Mango,

Can't believe it's time for you to come home! Time sure flies. If I don't talk to you before, have a safe trip.

[nikki-uk]

It took me awhile to figure out the log-in routine had changed to email. I kept putting in Rachel--24 and kept getting DENIED. I thought maybe I was kicked out of Rachelville.

Took me a while to figure that out too,- then I couldn't remember my email address as it's not one I usually use but I worked it out in the end!

Does anyone know why when I clicked to go back to the previous page ( scary I know) to read yesterdays posts they come up far down the page all squashed up on the left hand side??

[CarlaB]

Yes, Laura ... we haven't seen you in a while!

Rachel, that's interesting about body temperature. Mine was always low(ish) so I took thyroid for years. If I took two pills per day, my temp would be right. I've been taking daily saunas and drinking salt water. When I stopped my supplements temporarily because of the digestive problems, I never started back on the thyroid. My temps. have gone crazy (not from getting off the thyroid, but from the salt and saunas). They're always high, well normal. One day my basal temp was 99.5! I'm having a bit of trouble with NFP right now because they fluctuate so much, but are always high. Hopefully they'll even out again, soon, but stay high.

Maybe this is why I've been able to live with this so long. Whatever I have has knocked me down four times in my life ... the other three times, I've been able to pull out of it with lots of rest for about four months.

[happygirl]

x

[CarlaB]

OMG I am quite scared, tonight I went to this women's meeting and drank some defaf, and poored some INternational Delight creamer in it.....I know the Nestle's Coffee Mate is gluten-free, but I don't know about this stuff, and have to work tomorrow........anyone know about this stuff? I was thinking it was gluten-free because of COFFEE MATE - - - but I don't know......can't call in sick no matter what......have to go there and try to act normal, no matter what

gluten-free! I use it ... casein actually seems to have no effect on me whether I eat it or not. Makes me wonder why my Enterolab scores were so high. No difference whatsoever ... but I do use that stuff, and it doesn't have gluten.

Speaking of coffee, Rachel, can you get lattes at Whole Foods instead of ice cream? They probably use organic milk and coffee ... Starbucks even has organic milk, but their espresso is not. Then if you could find some chocolate syrup, carmel, whipped cream, etc, that doesn't bother you, you'd have your hot, high calorie "ice cream." I used lattes to keep weight on a while back. Pretty much everything I eat is hot ... can't stand the cold.

Actually, I just checked and the stuff I have at home right now is Coffee Mate, but I've bought International Delight, too ... I used it just the other Sunday. We were out of cream and live on the same block as the bakery. I sent my son over there to buy himself a danish and a cup of coffee and told hime to bring home enough cream for me ... it's International Delight. We lived in the sticks for six years .... this is SOOOOO fun living right in town!!!

From their website ....

Q: Does International Delight contain gluten?

No, International Delight does not contain gluten.

Andrea, sorry you're feeling bad.

Laura, I'm not going crazy, well, too crazy, probably because I figure they'll come out negative anyway. It sure would be easy if they were a very clear positive, but it just doesn't seem that it works out that way.

[happygirl]

carla.......i love your new pic. you are too cute!!!!

[CarlaB]

carla.......i love your new pic. you are too cute!!!!

Thank you. You need a picture!!! How about one of you and Eric now that he's home?

[happygirl]

x

[DingoGirl]

From their website ....

Q: Does International Delight contain gluten?

No, International Delight does not contain gluten.

Whew! Thanks Carla....that is a relief! I'm feeling okay this morning so I figured it was safe.

Rinne, sorry about your "sauna door" e xperience with logging on. Glad you made it in and no on got kicked out of Rachelville! But, um, this isn't happening for me.....I'm logging on same as before....?

gotta get ready for Stepford. See you all later!

i hate the way i look lately...so thats why i took mine down. my face is so gaunt...i just don't look like "me"....some of the wedding pictures (from the wedding i was in a few weeks ago)...where they are "full body shots"...i look borderline disgusting (and no, i'm seriously not being dramatic....my body is just not built to be 96 lbs)

Laura....you SERIOUSLY did not look gaunt in any of the pictures you've posted. You looked adorable....you may think you look gaunt, and I am sure you do, comparatively, but you looked really beautiful. not gaunt. I would tell you.

[jerseyangel]

Laura

I'm just so sorry. I happen to think you looked radient in your pictures--especially the wedding one. I, of course, am not looking at them with the same "eye" as you are. I think we are always so much harder on ourselves.

Petite, slender, cute--yes. Disgusting--absoluetly not!

[rinne]

It took me awhile to figure out the log-in routine had changed to email. I kept putting in Rachel--24 and kept getting DENIED. I thought maybe I was kicked out of Rachelville.

How could that be? Rachelville without the girl, no. Me, I figured I was kicked out. Glad to know I wasn't the only one with the problem, just the slowest one.

Rinne, sorry about your "sauna door" experience with logging on. Glad you made it in and no on got kicked out of Rachelville! But, um, this isn't happening for me.....I'm logging on same as before....?

That is weird, did the logging on procedure change for only some of us?

Adorable photos all around and I still haven't managed to get a newer one of me up.

I am herxing, my skin is breaking out, lots of lower back pain and my pee looks pink. I am kind of freaked out about that but when I first started the salt and c I had a couple of days with kidney issues sort of like this.... I feel wretched, my skin is crawling underneath, neck is stiff and I am hoping all this is part of the herx and not the beginnings of kidney failure or meningitis. I wouldn't want to forget the anxiety but then when I start out saying I am freaked out, just a little, it does seem obvious.

This is what I mean about being willing to experiment on myself. Sometimes it is not so much fun to be without real medical help and I am not going to be trying to find any other doctors right away. I just spent $4000.00 on the last one for the Igenex test and though I am grateful for getting the right test done the fact is I feel even worse for having thought that I had found someone and then finding he was an idiot.

I spoke with someone at the Hoffman clinic, a woman they brought in to organize them and when I told her my experience with him she was shocked that he didn't have the Igenex tests in front of him. She said that I am the first patient she has talked to that wasn't happy with Hoffman. She has only been there two months and I suggested to her she pay attention to the ones who don't come back because at this point I am doubtful that I will even bother to get the rest of the results. I also told her that I thought he had a real gift for inspiring people to health and that perhaps that would be a better focus for him than dealing with patients. I felt better about it after talking with her.

I was watching "The Grass is Greener" with Bette Davis the other day, so many hilarious lines, it is well worth watching if only for this line, "Men, if I have to spend five minutes talking to them I want to box their ears." My apologies to the many decent men who may be reading this. Maybe I'll change it to doctors.....

Hi Richard, I see you.

[CarlaB]

Rhonda, sorry you are feeling bad. I hope you can find a doc who will help and listen soon.

Laura, you probably look different to yourself and to those around you, but in the pics you looked great. You can always put up an old picture if you're not comfortable with how you look now. My pic is pre-braces.

I never log off ... so I never have to log on .... so I haven't noticed a difference with signing in.

[AndreaB]

Rinne!!!

Glad you are ok. I'm concerned about your herxing etc. I do hope you can get to a doctor at some point. I hear you about cost. I've been stressing lately as we put everything on credit card and now we are almost maxed out and I have the stress of "what if something comes up?"

As far as log in.....I don't have to log in. Since I've moved to DSL it hasn't asked me too. Glad you guys figured it out though.

Laura,

You are a beautiful young lady. I have always enjoyed your smiling pictures and didn't think of you a gaunt either. I also agree with Patti, we are always much harder on ourselves than other people are. Get some much needed rest.

Carla,

You get mail to late! Boy, we still have about 3 hours for today don't we?

That's interesting about the dairy with you. I'm mildly allergic as it is and after reading dogtor j's article I'm not to favorably impressed about gluten, soy, or dairy.

Susan,

Glad you feel good today. Hope today at work goes well.

Nikki,

Don't know about the problem with the squished posts.

[CarlaB]

Yeah, three hours ... I never knew what time our mail came till now. I usually care about mail as much as Rachel!!!

Dairy really doesn't seem to bother me .... but I haven't really consumed a lot of it lately. I used to eat it ALL the time, a latte every day, cottage cheese (with blueberries, yum) also almost every day, and I can't think of what else, back when the test was done. On the other hand, my thermometer requires much less cleaning off every day. I take my morning temp, and used to have to clean off the thermometer, so there is definately less mucus in my system without the dairy. I'm not worrying about hidden casein (like in non-dairy creamer) anymore, but it's also not an everyday thing. I also had a bit of ice cream on Thanksgiving and some gluten-free brownies that I know are not casein-free when we went to Maggianos -- they also had whipped cream on them. I'm really wondering if the test came out positive because I consumed so much of it.

Laura, another note on your pics, I remember saying to you that you didn't look like you weighed so little in the pics you had posted. I expected you to look gaunt, but you didn't. Don't feel that you look bad ... don't stop trying to gain weight, but don't feel that you look bad either.

[rinne]

Laura, gaunt or not, your beauty shines through and your inner beauty is substantially more important than the outer though it is very nice to be pretty and you are a very pretty young woman. I think you do look too thin but I don't think you look as bad as you think you do because you are focused on that aspect and we are seeing you.

[happygirl]

x

[Rachel--24]

Laura, I agree with everyone else....you looked beautiful in the wedding pics. I didnt think you looked too thin at all but I can relate to how you're feeling about the weight loss and just not really feeling like you recognize the person you see in the mirror.

I only have a couple pictures from when I was around 95 lbs. last year...I HATE looking at those pics! I think I look scary and grotesque and HEINOUS!! I was really self-consious about my weight and that people might think I was anorexic. When I look at the pics...I wonder why noone was telling me how bad I looked.

I agree that we are our own worst critics but I know EXACTLY how you feel. It didnt matter how many people would say I looked fine....I knew I was waking up every day with a body that didnt look or feel healthy to me.

You really *did* look great in your pics though....believe me....nothing like the skeleton I looked like in my pics.

Andrea is the only person to see me in my skeleton pic.

Rinne...I know you're not too keen on doctors right now and I dont blame you. I was just wondering if you could get some referrals from the Lyme boards.....maybe pick someone who comes highly recommended and is semi-close to you. Some of the LLMDS have waiting lists (at least in my area they do). Maybe you can just set up an appt. for down the road...just to keep some options open to you. If you change your mind later you can always cancel.

I just worry about you doing this all on your own.

Also, even though most dr.'s use antibiotics....like mine....he doesnt *solely* rely on antibiotics and I'm sure if I was very against taking them....he would just focus on natural treatment.

So maybe you can just put some "feelers" out there and see if theres someone who's GOOD and also familiar with the natural treatments??

i actually don't see how skinny i am...it is everyone else who sees it, esp my parents, my husband, and people that 'know' me. its not until i see like "candid" pictures of me from the wedding I was in where I can TRULY see what other people see. there are some snapshots where I look like a twig and could be broken at any second! I still see the "same" me when I look in the mirror...but my body doesn't reflect that.

Laura....I guess I wasnt in the same situation as you because noone else was really commenting or seeing how skinny I was. I was the one who not only saw it but pointed it out to EVERYONE.

I think I felt that even though people werent saying anything to me...they *had* to be thinking it....it was so OBVIOUS to me.

I wanted everyone to *know* that I was aware of my weight loss and I feared if I didnt let them know that they would think I was anorexic.....so I always blurted it out before they could start wondering about me.

Anyways, I guess my post wasnt very helpful.

I'm gald that you still see "yourself" in the mirror ..I didnt and it made me really sad..

Rachel, I read your appointment summary and I actually feel very optimistic for you. Sounds like he has a plan of attack for now, getting your body temp regulated for one, small steps and one thing at a time. I know that you would like to have more results with the bioset treatments but I think you will, just give it time. A lot of things are out of balance in your body, lots of toxicity and systems overburdened and sluggish or not functioning at all, imagine clearing away cobwebs and dusting things off, then cleaning everything out thoroughly and then restarting the engines, many many steps until you can get things moving and functioning properly again.

Thanks Julie,

Your posts always make me feel better about all of this.

I know that you are more familiar with these types of treatments and I value your input.

Yeah....I have lots of cobwebs and I just need to be patient, take baby steps, and then....sooner or later the engines will be running again!!

Hi, I'm flying home on Dec 17th.

Mango....you'll be happy to be cozy at home for Xmas.

I'll let you know how the HOT ice cream tastes.

Wow....its kind of strange to type "hot ice cream".

Carla...no...I cant tolerate most processed foods....organic or not. I most likely wouldnt do well with Starbucks or anything like that. I dont know why I can have this ice cream (and sooo much of it)....but its only this one brand that I can tolerate...and only 2 flavors.

I LOVE starbucks though. When I start tolerating more things....Starbucks is one of the first things on my list! There is one right next door to BioSET and I am *always* tempted to go in...it smells soooo good when I walk by.

carla.......i love your new pic. you are too cute!!!!

Me too Carla....thats a very cute pic of you and hubby.

[CarlaB]

-

[Rachel--24]

Wow...I must be WAY more critical over myself because I swear...all I could think about was how skinny I looked.

On top of that...my head gets a little swollen from reactions....so not only was I a skeleton...but I was a skeleton with an oversized head!!