The Health Matters Show With Cinda Crawford » Health Matters Shows

CFS and Germs

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:15:52 +0000

I’m been burning the candle at both ends lately (proverbially, of course) and my immune system is talking trash to me, thus the title of today’s post: CFS and Germs. Now I don’t have full-blown CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) anymore. I don’t even have symptoms unless I’m living too close to stress and gotta-get-it-done-now style of life. Even so, today I’m suffering with a runny nose, sneezing and sometimes a stopped-up nose. Go figure. I’m even betting my voice sounds scratchy on the podcast today. But I’m hoping not too much so because I’m treating myself to extra sleep, I’m doing Intentional Resting for my immune system and taking care of myself.

It’s never easy to hold yourself back when there’s so much in front of you to do. That seems to be my life right now with a book in progress and…in the coming weeks, I’m preparing two fantastic interviews for you. I know how much both men can offer us on these topics of feeling tough, not having enough energy, not being as healthy as we want to be and wanting to do something mighty about the whole situation!

*Take a look at more CFS and germs info from quite a few years ago from Andrew W. Saul. None of us can afford to sit on our hands.

Andrew W. Saul drsaul@doctoryourself.com:
FOR SOME REASON, this item caught my attention. It was sent to me by Shirley Bentley, president of the US chapter of the Common Cause Medical Research Foundation.

“Germs Patented by U.S. Government Linked to AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Gulf War Syndrome, MS, Cancers and Immune and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

“West Nile Fever Virus (NYC Encephalitis Outbreak) sent to Iraq FROM U.S. Center for Disease Control 5/21/85 (page 275, Congressional Record, May 25, 1994: “Dual Use Exports to Iraq and their Impact on the Health of Persian Gulf War Veterans”) The CDC West Nile Web Site is http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid ”

I must confess I found this all a tad hard to accept, at least until I saw that there are actual U.S. Government patents for some nasty little
germs. You can check for yourself:

U.S. Patent 5,604,093: Human Herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) Isolution and Products (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Health and Human Services) February 18, 1997 U.S. Patent 5,189,022: underlying viral cause of CFS (Health and Human Services) U.S. Patent 5,242,820: Pathogenic Mycoplasma (Mycoplasma
fermentans in CFS; Department of Defense) September 7, 1993 U.S. Patent 5,827,750: JHK Virus in CFIDS (Grossberg retrovirus) National Institutes of Health Grant RO1-AI-32710. …

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Permission to reproduce single copies of this newsletter FOR NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL USE ONLY is hereby granted providing no alteration of content is made and authorship credit is given. Additional single copies will be sent by postal mail to a practitioner or patient, free of charge, upon receipt of a self addressed, stamped envelope only, to Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, NY 14470 USA Telephone (716) 638-5357

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~~~~~~

I urge you to stay tuned and support the Health Matters Show, if you can. I depend on you to bolster me in times like this. Your care, concern and support will be returned triple fold. Together, CFS and germs will be more than just a title, but a goal to conquer and overcome.

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show

Intentional Resting Interview: Great Health Resource Tool

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:15:48 +0000

I interviewed Dan Howard several weeks ago for the Health Matters Show blog and podcast on Intentional Resting. It was a really good talk. Both of us knew right from the beginning that we had to do more. The concept of Intentional Resting is too good and too powerful not to pay a lot more attention to it. Many people, including me, find it to be a great health resource tool!

Now…Dan and I have recorded another energetic program on “how Intentional Resting can help you.” This one is almost an hour long! It’s packed full of good, free information. Hear Dan talk about how to best use the wonderful products that he has created and how other people are using Intentional Resting as a health resource tool. Each thing he has created is designed to show you another way to be healthy through such a simple, easy, and fast concept as Intentional Resting, plus how you can learn to do it for FREE! Surely this will speak to you at a deep level once you study the how, what and where with a goal of resting for your long term health goals.

The podcast airs today of course…it’s Friday! This longer program, I spoke of, airs next Tuesday, Jan 31st, and in honor of this I’m creating a special event on Facebook. If you’d like to join in, to listen and talk via Facebook, go to GET WELL HEALTH and “like” the page. When the event notice goes out, you’ll receive all the information in your Facebook message file.

Also, please take the time to sign up on my Teleseminar List (see below). Every person on this special list gets access to ALL my teleseminars. Right now these programs are free, just like the Health Matters Show blog and podcast! You only need a password to listen to the longer program and you’ll absolutely get it if you’re on the list.

Note: I will send out several email broadcasts with this PASSWORD code. *If you’re new to signing up, be sure to complete the instructions on each email that comes to you. Look for them and follow the steps as requested. This protects your email security and insures that you will get everything I send out.

After completing the sign up process -OR- if you’re already on this list, you’ll receive a notice in your in-box. This is automatic; you don’t have to do a thing except watch out for it. If, for any reason though, you’re signed up and miss receiving it, email me and tell me what you need: cinda(at)getwellhealth.com. I’ll get it right out to you!

Okay…right now, there are only two things to do:

1) Listen to today’s short Health Matters Show podcast, and

(This podcast audio is 10 minutes 28 seconds.)

2) Sign up for my list.

I’m happy to provide this great program for you. I hope you take advantage of Dan Howard’s wonderful Intentional Resting products and short courses. Find his website by clicking the above link.)

Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

Stress Response Hormone: Behind the science of Endocrinologist Wylie Vale Jr.

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:15:41 +0000

Wylie Vale Jr., a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, led the team that discovered the brain hormone that we now call the stress response hormone. At age 70, he is now dead, but research continues surrounding this important work.

“Dr. Vale discovered CRF (corticotrophin releasing factor) in 1981 and the next year found a second hormone, called the growth hormone releasing factor, or GRF (growth hormone releasing factor), which had also eluded the older scientists,” per Nicholas Wade of the NY Times.

Kissing cousin to CRF is CRH, corticotrophin releasing hormone. “Two hormonal abnormalities—a CRH deficiency and the resultant cortisol deficiency would each contribute to the overall symptoms and course of CFS.” You may search Google for additional information and work with the term I used, “crh hormone + CFS”. Be sure to surround the term with quote marks. *Note: it’s possible to have too little circulating cortisol, too much or an imbalance of this important hormone. Any abnormality can cause unpleasant, hard-to-balance symptoms.

The research team found that on average, levels of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, were lower in the blood or urine of the 30 CFS patients studied than in the 72 normal volunteers tested. The body secretes cortisol in response to stress. Physicians have long known that even a subtle deficiency of cortisol can be associated with lethargy and fatigue.

(Today’s audio is 8 minutes 28 seconds.)

We’ve addressed CRH deficiency and how it may contribute to symptoms of CFS. Now let’s look at GRF (growth hormone factor). Why? Because there has been quite a bit of research done on Growth Hormone and it’s connection to Fibromyalgia. Two leading researchers from Oregon State Health and Science University, Dr. Robert Bennett and his wife, Sharon Clark, are two proponents of this important connection. I met them over ten years ago when I invited them to speak at a Fibromyalgia conference in Roanoke, Virginia. With a little digging, you can find lots of related research projects on this important connection.

Any way you slice the work of Wylie Vale, Jr., he was on to something big. We appreciate his contributions to science and to our world. When “our” hormones are out of balance for whatever reason, we (human beings) don’t feel well and our overall health can be compromised. Plus, staying chronically ill can make it tough to keep the stress response hormone equation balanced.

Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

CFS: 2012 Updates

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:15:28 +0000

To start the new year off right, here are some 2012 CFS updates. I hope they inform and help you in your efforts to decide what you want to to do to move forward with your illness. As more updates become available, I’ll surely will forward them on to you. *That’s one great reason to sign up NOW to receive the Health Matters Show RSS feed. (*Do so HERE and you’ll get notices in your in-box all year long! And/or sign up with i-Tunes to receive our Friday, weekly, downloadable podcast!)

It seems like there are almost always things happening in the world of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS. Even so, most people are looking for the wham-doozie news, the we-have-a-cure front-page, barn-burner notice or at least a we-know-the-cause headline! That’s not the case yet. Even so there are people writing and talking about this illness in major ways.

Listen to the podcast and then check out the links below. Keep abreast of the latest news if you can. 2012 might turn out to be a fantastic year!

Thank you, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show

(This podcast is 6 minutes 50 seconds long. Enjoy!)

Link 1: Letter from Llewellyn King

Post in Open Salon, ME/CFS: Into 2012 Without Cure or Cause

Link 2: Newsletter info from Dr. Charles Lapp

December 2011 Newsletter on the topic of a) New Research Opportunities, b) Pain Meds are a problem, c) Disposing of medications, d) Hunter Hopkins Facebook page, e) Ampligen Update and more!

Link3: The wisdom in and need for separating CFS from ME.

Worcester News Letters.

We would join the Worcestershire ME Support Group in welcoming the £1.6 million from the Medical Research Council (Sufferer welcomes ME research funds, Worcester News, 30 December 2011, if it were to be spent on biomedical research and for people with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). Sadly, neither is accurate.

Firstly, some of the projects, said to be, are not biomedical and are led by researchers who do not believe that M.E. is of physiological origin. Secondly, it is unlikely that any conclusions drawn from these studies could be applied to people with M.E. because, contrary to common assertion and repetition, M.E. is not the same as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and attempting to apply recommendations for treatment from a different set of people is mostly ineffective and can be potentially harmful for M.E. sufferers.

We shall make no progress until this wasteful expenditure on invalid and unreliable experimental design is no longer tolerated. Precious funding must first be allocated to separating M.E. as a discrete illness from the indiscriminate CFS bundle, as a proper foundation for any work that can be trusted.

Yours sincerely, drjohngreensmith@mecommunitytrust. org
Dr John H Greensmith, ME Community Trust. org

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to Llewellyn King, Dr. Charles Lapp and Dr. John H. Greensmith for their input on this topic.

Please know that your comments are always very welcomed here at the Health Matters Show. Leave one today. Tell us if you like this kind of post, if you needed the info, if you’ve read it before and, especially, what you’d like to read about in the future.

Keeping a Health Diary: Planning for 2012

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:15:21 +0000

Keeping a health diary and planning for 2012 may seem like two different objectives at first, but they are quite related if we’re talking about the importance of a health diary and how your planning now to make 2012 your healthiest ever. I always suggest that people keep a health diary. Now that’s not the kind that you necessarily write down everything. Keeping such a work of art at least needs to involve keeping a record of your health with your most important data.

*Please check out the 3 great resources below. One, today’s podcast; two and three are “free” gifts.

If you have Fibromyalgia or CFS and you keep a health diary with the intention of having it be a useful health tool, here’s the information it should include and also why it may be the best and most dynamic thing you can do for yourself “free of charge” in 2012:

1) Begin with your name, address and phone number. Put in a note that if anyone finds it, to please return it to you. Your life and health depend on you having access to your health diary. (Here is one online resource.)

(Note: you can keep your record on your computer and may feel safer doing so. You can print out sections of it as needed. Either way, this work can be valuable to you now and in the future, when you’re looking back at your illness path, how you walked it and measuring your successes and failures. Otherwise, the who, why, what and when questions can be fuzzy and frustrating! This health diary can be a really useful tool.)

Today’s Health Matters Show podcast is 11 minutes 33 seconds.

2) List your data, such as your diagnosed health problems, the prescription drugs you take and the supplements. List the timing involved in taking daily doses and if you irregularly take something, state why and when you take it. Go through your medicine chest, your gym bag and your purse. Make this list as complete and thorough as possible. Leave a couple extra pages before you begin the next section so that you have room to add and subtract as your medications and supplements change.

If you go ahead and start on this part of the process now, you’ll be ready to go with the main part of your journal January 1st of the new year!

3) DREAM and imagine how you can feel better. Pie in the sky is okay here! What will you do to achieve your health and life goals?

*For this part of your diary, check out something I did last year for you, which can still work. Simply change the dates to reflect the new year coming up. Print out a copy of your first gift, Getting Started When You’re Sick with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Re-write it to reflect your personal needs. Just know that nothing you do in your own book is wrong, but if you keep your thoughts and aspirations high and positive, you’ll likely have a better outcome.

4) WRITE, Write, write => your life, symptoms and how you feel either each day or at least every week. If you make a change in medication that affects your symptoms, note that too. If something unfortunate happens that throws you off track emotionally or physically and leads you down the ole’ proverbial rabbit hole, surely note that, too.

Such a written record is proof of how you feel for your doctor, the insurance companies and possibly Social Security disability. As a matter of fact, if you write out a list of your questions and concerns (or print out or copy a portion of your health diary) and take it to your doctor during an office visit, he is obliged to make your document a permanent part of your medical record. Need I say the word “proof” again?? (Remember this if you’re scrambling to come up with medical validation of how you’re suffering and your medical condition.)

Assembling your documentation to build a case for Social Security Disability can be tough. Old records can become scare unless you give a lot of forethought to the process of “what” will constitute your health records and do this in advance of needing them. Remember, this health diary is your book and it can serve many purposes. You can ask that your doctor provide you a copy of every lab test, x-ray and, maybe even, every office visit. Some will do this and can set it up automatically. And lastly, before you leave the doctor’s office visit, don’t forget to have him actually “answer” your questions! Use a list or take a sticky note with you, if it’s necessary to remind you of what you want to ask, especially on your days when you’re suffering with more brain-fog.

Your second and final gift today points you to a Facebook public project called the My M.E. Diary 2012 Trial. Personally, I’m not joining it because I don’t have ME (or symptoms of CFS any longer). But that doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile project. I encourage you to check out and evaluate this health tool for yourself. Below is the letter to the editor of Co-Cure for worldwide distribution on December 4, 2011.

Best wishes on your personal plans for the New Year 2012. Be sure to keep a health diary of some sort in your process of planning for 2012!

Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show
*Check out my new Facebook page at GET WELL HEALTH

~~~~~

Letters to the Editor.

Many people affected by the illness M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) have been keeping a diary for decades. It is an ideal way to record symptoms, experiences and feelings, as they happen and look back to see if anything can be learned from it. But individual M.E. sufferers are losing the best opportunity there is to compare all their observations with fellow patients, from all over the world, simply by not sharing them, as they could so easily do.

To achieve this connection, for everyone’s benefit, the M.E. Community Trust.org is inviting M.E. sufferers, to keep a diary in a uniform way, in order to attempt to better understand the cause, onset, progression and possible outcomes, using the benefit of a much bigger population for statistical analysis and mutual support. Safety and confidentiality is insured by each diarist, assuming an alias and saving data to their own computers to avoid any hacking or personal abuse.

A more thoroughly explanatory press briefing has been sent to every national and local newspaper in this country,in the hope that features editors and health journalists will want to give it the further coverage it deserves. In addition, we have “ambassadors” in every country in the world – including Europe, USA& Canada, Australasia, the Middle East, Asia and Africa – who are publicising it in the same manner. It also appears on our companion Facebook page, My M.E. Diary 2012 Trial – http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-ME-Diary-2012-Trial/186206768135247.

As a prelude to potentially the most ambitious longitudinal study of M.E., on every continent, M.E. sufferers are invited to send an e-mail from their assumed name to mymediary@mecommunitytrust.org with “My M.E. Diary 2012 Trial” in the subject line today, or lose one of the best opportunities ever for combined co-operative strength. Think of it this way: If you don’t do it, why should you expect anyone else to.

Everyone who does makes the collective M.E. voice more audible and this awful illness more visible.

Yours sincerely, drjohngreensmith@mecommunitytrust. org, Dr John H Greensmith, ME Community Trust. org

Some countries still without ambassadors to distribute letters and press briefings for this project. Some M.E. support organisations conspicuous by absence of support. Too few diarists signed up. Please don’t lose a good chance like this by leaving it to others — who may be doing the same!

Fibromyalgia Interview Dan Howard; Week 3 of 3

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:15:28 +0000

During the previous two programs on Fibromyalgia, I have been encouraging you to think about and determine what is making you sick. In today’s interview we will look at why it so often happens that a major factor can be the stress of a job, family issues or virtually everything in your life! I know when I got so sick, it was all of those things combined.

If you’re suffering with physical stress, you need to take some time off and probably relax.

If you’re being bothered by mental and emotional stress and anxiety, you need to relax because your perceptions about this topic are housed in your mind, but often expressed in your body.

If life in general is getting too much to handle,
YOU REALLY NEED TO RELAX
more than anything else!

If you don’t relax and allow your system to re-balance itself, you will be headed towards worse illness symptoms of some sort. One person may suffer migraine headaches; the next, a backache. The next, Fibromyalgia or more. Think of the 3-legged stool we’ve talked about so often. Work to balance yourself in body, mind and spirit.

Now, I can hear you, “I don’t have time to relax. It’s two days before Christmas!” Well, I’m here to tell you that you can and should relax. As a matter of fact, time spent in rest and relaxation is a wonderfully positive way to make it through the holidays and start off your new year without feeling that you’re climbing out of the gutter!

Please join me today in welcoming and interviewing Mr. Dan Howard to the Health Matters Show about this topic of Intentional Resting.

(Today’s podcast interview is 18 minutes 2 seconds long.)

Today instead of thinking about some abstract “cause” of Fibromyalgia, let’s concentrate on what we do know: it’s crucial that YOU make it through the holidays (no worse for wear) and begin 2012 on as positive health note as possible. If you take this ands-off and indirect approach to your problem of “being sick with Fibromyalgia,” (or any illness), you may get further ahead faster. Listen to today’s podcast and hear Dan Howard and I talk about how to lower mental and emotional stress by using his “Intentional Resting” technique.

Your body wants respect, time spent “honoring” it and the necessary components that bring about your long term, good health. If you become less distracted with the stuff in life that does not matter, you have a better chance of getting this right and getting healthy again. Surely better health will follow you right into the 2012 New Year.

Speaking of that, be sure to keep tuned in to all that’s going on here at the Health Matters Show. I’m starting a new Newsletter and I will be interviewing Dan Howard for a longer, tell-all seminar. I can’t wait! He has so much more to tell us. Today on the broadcast, he goes over “why” his fabulous Intentional Resting technique works. In the longer seminar, he’ll share more goodies, plus help you learn to self-practice intentional resting. As I said, stay tuned right here.

Okay, that’s it for today. Congratulations, dear ones, for making it as well as you have this year. By listening to, following and acting upon what Dan Howard has to offer you, such as his 30-day email Intentional Resting program, you will be several steps ahead and moving forward towards your good health and eliminating a whole lot of mental and emotional stress. You need to relax and there is no better time than now.

Many blessings, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

CFS News: What’s Happening?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:40:22 +0000

If you’re like me, your life is busy, your health demands that you pay attention to your self quite a bit, but even so, you would really like to know: What’s Happening with CFS News? Today you can find many resources here. Before you do, let’s talk a minute about where you see yourself.

There are four discussion points today plus the link to the CFS Advisory Committee page with the 28 videos… .

Today’s audio podcast is 5 minutes and 20 seconds

1) Do you keep up with everything CFS? I’m betting, “No.” You’re more likely a person with CFS or you’re the caregiver of a patient (child, teenager or adult). You’re doing the best you can to figure out what’s wrong with “you” and you’re trying to get well!

2) You only have so much time and energy available to pay attention to a specific topic, such as what’s really happening in the world of CFS News. You’re glad to know that real and important issues are being discussed, but unless your life allows the activity, you may miss a few things from time to time.

That’s assuming you don’t have such severe brain fog that you can keep up at all. If you can’t, I do my best to bring you the highlights. Such services as either reading and accessing the information here on the website or signing up for my RSS feed, and you’ll still get everything and miss nothing! The information will simply come to you easier, where and when you’re ready to consume it. Find the RSS sign up box with (orange with white stripes) in the right-hand column of this page. Sign up today!

3) You want to lend support to advocacy, awareness or research issues, as best you can. But can you do everything you want to do? Some days, can you meet any of those goals at all?

4) For most people, it’s difficult to feel that we’re getting ahead, especially in the area of research. It’s there; it’s significant. It’s there; it proves nothing. The money is not there at all…because past government officials tried to pull the wool over everyone’s ideas and abscond with the research money for their own pet projects. On and on the story goes. Where or where does the money go?

I urge you to bookmark this page right now: The 2011 November CFS Advisory Committee meeting. There are quite a few videos posted on this page. If you do this, you can watch some now, some later when you have down time. Example: when you’re suffering through your husband’s ball game. Instead, you can quietly don a pair of headphones and really learn something instead! I’m not saying that every bit of this material is worth writing home about, but there is good stuff contained within these multiple video presentations. Over the Internet is a great way to see and hear it, if you didn’t attend the CFSAC Advisory Committee meeting and conference in person.

Stay tuned for more and learn what’s happening in the field of CFS News.
AND LEAVE A COMMENT!

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

“I Am Thankful For…” by Cinda Crawford

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:15:40 +0000

As I sit down to think of all the things in my life that I am thankful for, I’m also narrowing it down to what may appeal to most people who suffer with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia or other illnesses. Now, that may seem odd, but I’ll share with you why I think it is important to look at this topic. One, it’s Thanksgiving, a time when we’re stuffed full of good food and probably had a pretty good day sharing our bounty with family and friends. And two, it’s time to be grateful for what we have. We’re alive, we have time to grow and become the people we really want to be and with the growing, doing and becoming, we can look forward to a life that carries its own rewards.

Let me explain a little more. As strange as it may sound at first,

I’m thankful that I got ill.

“What?” you say. “Are you nuts?”

(This is short audio today, 2 minutes 48 seconds. I hope you listen to it & read the rest of the post. Then, leave a comment for what you feel thankful for. Many blessings, Cinda Crawford)

Nutt-y maybe, but not nuts. If I had not gotten so ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I would never have acquired the ability to have the compassion that I do now for people who cancel out on a fun outing (even a Thanksgiving Day meal!) at the last minute because they’re suffering with an unexpected symptom flareup -or- for people who can’t manage a part-time job because they can’t get out of bed for days at the time.

If I had not gotten so ill with Fibromyalgia, I would never have had the compassion to deal with people who have trouble thinking of the right word to say in a sentence, or who insist on telling you about the different “spots” that hurt in their body, but their doctors can’t seem to find out what is wrong -or- treat adequately.

If I had not suffered so many years in chronic pain myself, I would think a chronic pain sufferer might instead be a chronic complainer and not a worthy person to get to know or be around as a friend. If I had not had such a dysfunctional immune system, I might think that people who regularly get sick with cold or flu-like symptoms, etc., (*I know a lady who marks her calendar… . After twenty years, she’s sick for one week of every month!) are putting on airs or possibly are hypochondriacs.

After suffering for so long and now living well on the other side of illness, I can honestly say that I’m thankful for the tough and convoluted path I took to get well. My walk through the valleys was surely challenging. I’m sure yours is, too. Surely there were times when I doubted if I could or would get better.

I can assure you that having compassion and feeling grateful are not only great skills to acquire, they’re a blessing. Taking empty, non-important moments and replacing them with an attitude of gratitude is a blessing worthy of paying such a steep price.

“That could be me.
I still…could feel that badly.
I could be that sick today if it weren’t for
The many blessings I have received.
I feel grateful.”

Now, at some time during each holiday season, I give thanks. For each family visit and the shared time together, I give thanks. For each desire in life that I am lucky enough to accomplish, I am elated. For each friend I meet and each person I help, I am humbled, yet bubbling with joy. I feel grateful and I Am Thankful For YOU!

Thank you so much,
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

Relaxing for Health

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:25:03 +0000

We’re entering the busiest season of the year and that’s all the more reason to consider relaxing for health. I know this because I’m as prone to getting caught up in the hoo-ha as anyone else. Just yesterday I went to the mall and stayed too long. That’s when I officially became my own worst enemy. I lost my keys!

Well, you know how the tiredness and pain of Fibromyalgia and CFS can take you to that really bad place and you truly need a transport machine to instantly “poof” you back home? I didn’t have one and I began to get frantic as I walked around, overly tired, with an aching back and legs and surely a big frown on my face. Why me? Why did I have to lose my keys in the middle of the 8th row of sweaters in the store’s last display? It happens.

So today, dear ones, I have a treat for you. Click on the Health Matters Show podcast link below and hear me read a creative visualization to help you relax and help your health be all it can be. The title of it is Healing Firemen. I believe you’ll like it, plus I know you can benefit from such a nourishing experience. Block out a portion of your day to do this. Find a quiet spot for a few moments to really do some relaxing for health. Don’t let people or responsibilities distract you from taking care of yourself. But,…don’t drive while you’re listening either!

You should get an immediate benefit from this experience. If you’d like to create some of these visualizations for yourself, check out Julie Lusk’s great book below.

(12 minutes 18 seconds jewel of an audio- Be sure to DOWNLOAD and keep this one!)

I hope you enjoyed my creative visualization reading from Julie Lusk’s wonderful book, 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing. Get your own copy at Amazon.com…

Thanks so much me for joining the podcast today. Please leave a comment if you like this type of broadcast -and- about how your “relaxing for health” needs are or are not being met!

Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

Memory Problems: What impaired memory has to do with Fibromyalgia and CFS

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:24:33 +0000

If you suffer with Fibromyalgia or CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), you likely have a major symptom that drives you bonkers at times and it’s called memory problems. It’s much more than an occasional lapse in memory. Today let’s explore a way to look at this that will make better sense than thinking you’re dumb, getting old, losing your mind, or not able to remember anything! And, if we’re successful at this, you should come away with useful knowledge and lesser degree of feeling frightened and helpless with what this illness symptom implies.

If you’re faced with a health challenge like Fibromyalgia or CFS, it’s not uncommon for your body to experience impaired memory functionality or cognitive dysfunction such as memory loss, jumbled memories, forgetting appointments, getting lost on familiar roadways or losing time.Having experienced an episode similar to that, a client recently shared with me her moments of horror… .

(Audio podcast is 8 minutes 45 seconds long)

“I felt so dumb when it was happening…so helpless. My mind just wasn’t there, you know…with me. It was like it had checked out and left my body. And worse than that, I had no idea what to do to get out of the trouble I was in. Plus, I couldn’t figure out why everyone was looking at me so strangely.” At that point, she cried and we hugged a long time.
~~~~~

When I, personally, was so sick for fifteen long years, I found myself in situations like the one my client described many times. I would feel scared, humiliated and definitely worried to the bone, worried that I might lose every cognitive ability I had ever had. In the beginning months, all I could do was read and retain the meaning of the headlines in the newspaper. Sentences strung together in a paragraph no longer made sense and forget about remembering the content. I was lucky to keep general impressions only; details were non-existent.

If this sounds like similar memory problems that you have experienced, ask yourself the following questions, but do so in the comfort and security of your home or in a quiet moment. These are thought provoking, for sure, and you’ll want to take your time to answer them.

I know I’m not crazy, but WHY has my body and brain apparently stopped working together?
WHAT has happened to drive them so far off course? Like the connection between them has been broken?
And WHEN will I feel better and more like myself again? Or will I be in this condition…forever??

The answers to what is going on, what to do about it -and- if it’s possible for you to get significantly better are not simple. Scientists actually have few answers to memory problems. But even so, I urge you to keep reading the following, important background information.

At birth a newborn infant’s immune system usually functions well, maybe even for several months before the first taste of sickness arrives. Doctors tell us this is a carry over of the biological influence and immunity of the mother. As the baby grows and matures, that immune system protection dissipates and, in some cases, the baby’s own system doesn’t function as efficiently. If so, sickness ensues.

Your and my health, as we keep growing from babies to older children, to teenagers and finally to adults, encounter times when the immune system is negatively affected by tough and sometimes virulent disease-promoting entities, like viruses, bacteria, spirochetes, mycoplasmas, etc. And when one of us gets sick, a common symptom is some degree of cognitive impairment of the brain. [Whether we're talking about disease mechanisms actually attacking tissues of the brain (e.g. a herpes virus) or simply the person's central nervous system not working well (e.g. a functional breakdown of the cerebral process, nerve conduction and pathway damage such as what is seen in cases of Multiple Sclerosis), a sick person can be left at one end of the spectrum with a short, mildly dysfunctional physical situation all the way to a totally dysfunctional memory system that would disturb the hardiest of souls!]

And getting back to you, if you have Fibromyalgia or CFS, know that memory problems are extremely common problems. Not rare, not occasional nuisances, but very common problems. If you’re fortunate, the symptoms may come or go, but when significant cognitive dysfunction appears, you, the patient, feel as if your brain is barely functioning. As mentioned in the last paragraph, this could be from the inflammatory process of the body and brain fighting a (example) herpes virus or it can be something else entirely. Either way, your immune system is likely on guard, active and sometimes too active.

Your best bet is aiming to improve and bolster the functionality of your immune system while calming it at the same time. Think about it. In this case, y our immune system is doing the hard work, all the heavy lifting here. Your brain is simply the organ that is most affected when you suffer with significant memory problems. *To find out more about how I help clients successfully refine and re-tune their immune system, I invite you to visit my Free 15 Minute Health Consultation page. I’m happy to help you if I can.

Thank you for joining the Health Matters Show today,
Cinda Crawford, your host

Who Doesn’t Have Fibromyalgia?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:34:05 +0000

Travel through this world enough or even tool around in your hometown with an awareness and openness to people who are chronically ill and suffering with chronic pain conditions and you may find yourself wondering or asking, “Who Doesn’t Have Fibromyalgia?” That’s because their are literally millions of people suffering with chronic pain conditions that resemble Fibromyalgia! Some of them have been diagnosed and treated accordingly, but a large portion of them go un-diagnosed and worse, under-treated, if treated at all.

Almost every week or at least every month, I am amazed to see different doctors in my geographical area who are being hounded by the medical profession for treating and prescribing drugs in some supposedly unorthodox or illegal way to people suffering with some form of chronic pain. Maybe those docs are guilty…I don’t know. The newspapers report stories of professional people being sent to jail for knowingly or unknowingly prescribing Oxycontin (etc.) to others who either re-sell the drug illegally or take it themselves, thus overdosing and dying!

I do know that some of these doctors are caring and concerned about their patients. They didn’t get into the medical profession to push drugs to drug-seekers or supply drug dealers, so I ask you:

(6 minutes 4 seconds long)

Why lump every one of them in one assumed-to-be-guilty group?

Are all seekers of pain relief legitimate? Is each hurting person valid and worthy of having his or her pain needs met?

I cannot vouch for everyone; no doubt, there are drug-seekers. But I am sure that many times, the majority of hurting people are going untreated or are under-treated. Thousands of people are not getting adequate pain relief (for a multitude of reasons) and their lives are being shattered because of it. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM!

Thank you so much for visiting the Health Matters Show today. Please share this info and then leave a personal comment about how you handle illness and pain. Example: if people don’t understand your level of pain, do you continue to try explaining your predicament to him or here =or= do you give up and quit trying? (I posted similar thoughts on this issue at Get Well Health this week by way of Lizzy’s blog and her writings about RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis, patients.)

None of us can afford to slink away into obscurity. Whether pain is your main symptoms or it’s something else, speak up. Find you a good doctor and get the help you need to get well!

Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

An App for Healing Illness: Steve Jobs, Where Are You Now?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:20:04 +0000

Is there an app for healing an illness like Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme disease, Lupus, or Arthritis? If not, why not? As I wander through my mind today, come with me and let’s explore the thought process involved in why a large population of people are sick, stay sick, and continue to go to doctors without finding success for healing their illness.

It makes me miss Steve Jobs already. Yes, he was a technological guru, but he was so much more. He dreamed up technologies before we knew we needed them! He not only envisioned the end result product, but he made it, invented the technology to support it and then, as the super marketer, told us our lives would never be the same unless we owned it!

What we need now…

Answers based on where we are now in terms of knowing more about the illness(es) that we face everyday.
Answers based on thinking forward…into the future. What is missing? Are we on the right track for coming up with the answers of tomorrow by relying so much on medicine, drugs, etc., the so-called answers of today? To pursue this line of thought, we must first be brave and ask the right questions…out loud! (First, to ourselves; then, to others.)

Go ahead. Envision the end result of your longings: Being Healed. Rejoining Life. Having a smile on your face. Okay, this is your assignment. To get there, that is…if you choose to accept this mission…figure out the real problems surrounding your illness:

Why did I get sick? Why can’t I heal? Where should I be looking for ‘my’ answers?

CONCLUSION: Let’s find the answers and come to the right conclusion based on outcome results of what we want to experience: improvements in health status. What end result would you like to have? How do you see yourself next week, two months from, two years from now or two decades?

Well, I hope that’s not sick and trending in the direction of ‘more well’ and certainly happier. Take a moment to check out the audio podcast today for some additional information. Let me know what you think of all the proposed questions. How will you answer them if you don’t have “an app for healing illness”?

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

Is it time for winter again?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:30:19 +0000

For many of us, it is time for winter again. That could be good or bad depending on your view of the season, your ability to get out and enjoy it or your confinement to bed or home. I like the fall season with its colors, but I know winter is coming soon. So, what do you and I do to prepare?

That question came to me a few weeks ago after I watched the Virgina Tech football game when they played Miami. The stadium was packed, the fans were antsy for a win and the day was right for making a lot of noise, stomping, jumping and probably causing the whole stadium to shake! Yes, with seconds left, the crowd went nuts. The whole place was surely rocking!

Now…how is that like or unlike you or me? If You and I are ready for what comes our way, we have reason to make a lot of noise and celebrate, too! (Please listen to the Health Matters Show audio podcast today; then watch the VA Tech video below. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a video that is hard to believe.)
(Audio podcast 5 minutes 11 seconds)

Below I grabbed this VA Tech video off of YouTube. I urge you to watch it closely as the game comes down to the wire. Two opponents compete, both wanting victory.

*Your opponent is illness/ sickness/ Fibromyalgia/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, etc. You fight long and hard, but the battle comes down to the wire and the question comes down to… is illness or wellness better prepared for victory? Which party consistently makes good use of time, resources and the people around them?

In this case, the winner was VA Tech. Other times, that’s not the case, but that day they won the ball game.

On days when your own game is down to the wire, you want to win and I want to see you be victorious, too. So I’m asking, how prepared are you? Are you spending your time fretting over the illness or learning how to get well? Do you have good resources to help you succeed? Who do you have on your team (side) helping you? When are you going to get off the bleachers (the couch) and take a brave, new step towards doing something different?

So, even if you’re asking, “Is it time for winter again?”, be prepared and ready. You’re in the game for the long haul. It’s what you make of it along the way that counts.

Thanks so much for joining me today,
Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

An Argument Against ME/CFS

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:30:47 +0000

In the following argument against ME coming under the same classification as CFS (and therefore substantiating a person’s diagnosis of ME/CFS), the author makes some valid points, in my opinion.

What does that mean? How does it affect you if you have a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? How does it affect other people with fatigue symptoms and related illnesses (i.e. Fibromyalgia)? Well, let’s see.

(9 minute 41 second podcast)

The illness known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has always had a lousy name. That name implies a condition that hangs around long enough to become chronic, where fatigue is a hallmark symptom and is so poorly-defined and regarded as to not be considered a true disease state, but rather a syndrome only.
The illness known as ME or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is not well know in the US, but considered the primary name of the similar (if not the same) illness in the UK and throughout the world. It’s definition and symptoms fall within the neurological realm, obviously garnering much more respect in the medical world because of this tie-in. (Exception: within the UK, some psychological professionals choose to say ME is not a neurological illness but “all in the person’s head”. Go figure.)
If we choose to combine the illnesses and names into ME/CFS, we will irrevocably intertwine the two now (somewhat) distinct illnesses. Surely the patient numbers will increase many fold, but what else will we gain? If we can prove they are the same, we have immediately expanded the scope of knowledge, research and people working on medical issues surrounding the medical problems.
Having made that choice though, there may be some long term outcomes that are not so pleasant. Check out the following copied information from a note Jill McLaughlin submitted to Co-Cure and then my thoughts following hers.

ICD codes determine the diagnosis. We have recognized “It’s the name, stupid” and even “It’s the definition, stupid.” But perhaps it should be “It’s the diagnosis, stupid.” They all come into play, especially for advocacy.

The name sets the public awareness scene. The definition is most important for research purposes to define a reliable and representative patient cohort. The diagnosis is for the clinical setting.

More importantly, they all have to match and be used specifically and consistently with the same terminology and meanings. This
is where things have spun out of control and lost the plot as terms all used differently or to mean different things.

For practical purpose, the ICD code determines the diagnosis. ICD codes are beyond obscure codes used for billing purposes
or gathering statistics. With the overreach of electronic records, the code IS the diagnosis that is in your record and follows you.

The ICD codes are the diagnosis, but do NOT determine what that diagnosis actually is (which is what the disease definition does).

This is where the Coalition 4 ME/CFS (Pandora, Marly Silverman, Phoenix Rising, Cort Johnson, WI and a few other online or
support groups) proposal to change the ICD codes fails to do what they say they want or what claim it will; in fact it will
do the opposite.

Changing the code to neurological will not make a difference. It will still be a fatigue syndrome diagnosis of exclusion. CFS
does not define or describe a neurological illness so fudging the codes will not help. The code will not override the definition.

However, the information that the Coalition 4 ME/CFS are giving to the patient community seems to be misleading and deceptive.
They claim that their recommendations to NCHS will not affect ME and state that it is only to reclassify CFS as neurological. But
their actual recommendation to NCHS was to classify CFS to the same ICD code as ME at G93.3, which will combine them both under a single code (see info below).

To change the code for CFS to the same code as ME will only make them the same (diagnosis) and will be viewed as synonymous terms. Adding the term ME will still not change what it is. True ME will not exist. The ME-ICC will be for naught, and this proposal does the opposite of what the ICC calls for.

This clearly reflects their intention for ME=CFS=ME/CFS which they have promoted and advertised all along. Hint: this is what
Wessely does: it allows him to study fatigue and pretend to be studying ME. ME is not a fatigue syndrome. This proposal would deprive ME patients of their rightful diagnosis by keeping it officially as and connected to CFS.

ME is coded correctly as it has been for 40 years and should remain as is and not be changed or subdivided. CFS is coded
correctly as is to fit the current definition.

Those with ME should oppose the changes put forth by the Coalition 4 ME/CFS.

Contact:
NCHS review committee: nchsicd9CM@cdc.gov and Donna Pickett, RHIA, MPH, Medical Classification Administrator National Center for Health Statistics email: dfp4@cdc.gov

=============
The Coalition 4 ME/CFS proposal, summary, FAQ etc. say that it is only to reclassify CFS as neurological. NCHS report states that the Coalition 4 ME/CFS recommended that CFS be added as an inclusion term along with ME under code G93.3.

*The Coalition 4 ME/CFS has said that there were doctors or medical professionals involved or who supported this proposal. Yet the only basis of support I have actually seen them produce as evidence are CFSAC recommendations. But again, the only CFSAC recommendations I have seen are to change CFS to a neurological code, but not code it to ME *as they have actually done.

Per: Jill McLaughlin

~~~~~
Thank you so much for joining the Health Matters Show blog and podcast today. It’s a sticky wicket for sure to figure out a) what to call the two illnesses and b) whether it’s prudent to irrevocably join them together. It seems more prudent to me that we determine exactly what each illness is, its basis in the body (neurological, neuro-endocrine, or something else) and make sure we have a handle on each one before we make the move to simply combine them. Let’s not make a confusing situation worse in desperation. An argument against ME/CFS is not necessarily wrong at this moment in time.

Considering fatigue, pain and a host of other symptoms, this issue is of great importance to each individual/ suffering person. Here in the US, many people are diagnosed with CFS and then re-diagnosed later with Fibromyalgia. The exact opposite is true, too. Some believe they have Fibromyalgia, but the illness turns out to singly CFS or a combination of the two. Very few US doctors are capable of diagnosing an outright case of ME. These facts should make it obvious: our doctors are already confused with all this and to throw another huge issue into the pot could be catastrophic. Symptoms? Diagnosis? Name? Treatments? No one has all the answers.

Let’s make a point of getting this right!

Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

*****Please leave an appropriate comment!*****

Health Matters Show: Summarizing ME/CFS Information by a Doctor

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:38:08 +0000

Along with the Health Matters Show podcast today on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and some personal references to the level of sickness I overcame, see the links and information below highlighting Dr. Richard van Konynenburg and his work. You simply must check out this incredible resource for have-to-have-it information and videos on ME/CFS.

Listen to my podcast. I hope my words of encouragement give you hope to keep on…keeping doing what you’ve got to do until healing is on the horizon for ME/CFS.

Next continue down the page for the link to the extensive videos featuring Dr. Richard van Konynenberg of Sweden. He talks about the similarities and differences between ME and CFS and so much more. He demonstrates why he and many of his colleagues believe that these two health problems are really one single illness, ME/CFS. And because “chronic fatigue syndrome” is such a vague term, how and why the illness called ME, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis may be a better, overall name.

And, before you leave, don’t forget the October 15, 2011 Wellness Seminar by Laura Gentile & her cohorts. I’ll be among the speakers that day!

(8 minutes 54 second podcast)

Now…for Dr. Richard van Konynenburg, his documents, presentations and more brought you in several revealing videos:

Definition and history of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ME, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis <= Click the main link to get access to the videos.
The ME International Consensus Criteria
How ME/CFS relates to Fibromyalgia
Onset characteristics
Possibilities of epidemics or clusters
Severity of the patient’s illness state
The variety of symptoms that seem to affect to many organs and body systems
The possibility of genetic predisposition
Estimates of how many people worldwide are sick with this illness; prevalence
Likely causes or stressors
Body’s biochemical response
The abnormal glutathione response (depletion) and molecules affected by it
How this relates to findings in autism research and treatment
The role of folates in the body
The pathogenesis (disease development) of most cases of ME/CFS
Diagram of energy metabolism and mitrochondrial dysfunction
Post-exertional fatigue and why too much exercise can damage the individual
HPA (Hypothalamus/ Pituitary/ Adrenal Axis) dysfunction
Brain Problems, such as connection of brain and hypovolemic (low blood pressure) balance
Evidence of white spot lesions on the brain as evidenced by MRI testing
Defect in neurotransmitter synthesis and metabolism, plus blood flow to the brain
And actual infections in the brain
Altered immune response for the whole body
Abnormal Digestive system
Thyroid abnormalities (e.g. Hashimoto thryoiditis)
Nerve abnormalities (*see remarks about electromagnetic radiation)
Possible test: Methylation Pathways Panel (from Sweden and one branch in US)
Recommended dosages of products he suggests

He also talks about a clinical study he and his colleagues did. The fact that such distinguished scientists and researchers want to get rid of the name we’ve shunned since it all began = Chronic Fatigue Syndrome = should give us encouragement to consider the better name, ME/CFS.

Thank you so much for joining the Health Matters Show podcast today!

Cinda Crawford, your host