Link: http://www.kccommunitynews.com/miami-county-friday-community-living/28257976/detail.html

Excerpt:

Kathryn Puvogel never saw the tick that infected her, but she felt the effects of its bite long afterward — losing her job, most of her health and much of what she knew of as her life.

link: http://www.medicationsense.com/fluoroquinolone.html 

Excerpt:

Levaquin and Cipro Reactions

In 2001, Dr. Jay S. Cohen published a ground-breaking article* on the severe and often disabling reactions some people sustained while taking Levaquin, Cipro, or another FQ antibiotic. Dr. Cohen says, “It is difficult to describe the severity of these reactions. They are devastating. Many of the people in my study were healthy before their reactions. Some were high intensity athletes. Suddenly they were disabled, in terrible pain, unable to work, walk, or sleep.” 
The 45 subjects in Dr. Cohen’s study reported the following side effects*.

Peripheral Nervous System

: Tingling, numbness, prickling, burning pain, pins/needles sensation, electrical or shooting pain, skin crawling, sensation, hyperesthesia, hypoesthesia, allodynia (sensitivity to touch), numbness, weakness, twitching, tremors, spasms.

Central Nervous System:

 

Dizziness, malaise, weakness, impaired coordination, nightmares, insomnia, headaches, agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, disorientation, impaired concentration or memory, confusion, depersonalization, hallucinations, psychoses.

Excerpt:

Lyme disease is rare in the U.K. but there is evidence of an increase in
both prevalence of, and patient concern about, the infection. There are no
published data characterising Lyme disease as it is seen in the U.K. The
clinical and laboratory features of 65 patients diagnosed with the disease
between 2002 and
2007 were recorded and their clinical presentation and response to treatment
documented. In total, 34% of patients acquired the infection in the UK, 20%
in North America and 46% in Europe. Exposure to ticks was reported by 58% of
patients. Erythema migrans was seen in 91%, systemic upset in 62%, headaches
in 31%, arthralgia or arthritis in 28%, radiculitis in 11% and cranial nerve
palsies in 4.6%. Screening enzyme immunoassay tests were negative in 39% and
reference laboratory immunoblots were negative in 31% of patients,
principally those with early infection. The majority of patients were cured
with one course of antibiotic treatment, three patients had evidence of
persistent infection after treatment and two required intravenous therapy.
No cases of chronic Lyme disease were seen.

Excerpt:

17 Sep, 2010 04:00 AM

A LAURIETON doctor says he has “absolute proof” two of his patients have a tick-borne disease that health authorities say does not exist in Australia.

GP Dr Peter Mayne said two of his patients had the bacterial illness Lyme disease.

He urged medical colleagues to keep an eye out for the infection.

“I’ve taken tissue samples at the bite sites, and sent them off for DNA analysis, and they were positive,” Dr Mayne said.

Debate continues about whether Australian ticks can carry Lyme disease.

“There are perceptions that Lyme disease doesn’t exist here in Australia, and the medical profession have been lulled into thinking that they don’t have to worry about Lyme disease,” Dr Mayne said.

In its later stages, the infection can spread through the bloodstream and affect the brain, heart and joints.

Earlier symptoms can include a rash, fever, headaches, tiredness and joint pain.

Lyme disease made headlines this month after an autopsy showed a Sydney man had the disease when he died.

The dead man’s wife planned to launch a class action against NSW Health, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Dr Mayne said he had a list of about 30 patients – from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour – with the disease.

Excerpt:

Suspected Needle Stick Transmission of Bartonella vinsonii

subspecies berkhoffii to a Veterinarian

1. A.M. Oliveira¹,
2. R.G. Maggi¹,
3. C.W. Woods²,
4. E.B. Breitschwerdt¹

Article first published online: 2 AUG 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2010.0563.x

Were you on aspartame before you started using Splenda?  Before
Splenda we thought never could anyone ever create another poison like
aspartame that is so toxic it destroys the brain, the central nervous
system, the optic nerve and the immune system, and ravages every
organ in the body.  From taking the case histories for 19 years I
can’t imagine anything more poisonous.  Even with testing on
aspartame the FDA wanted them indicted for fraud because there was no
way to show safety and its a carcinogen.  But when Splenda came along
consumers were aghast they had made something else that poisons the
system.  To make matters worse, Dr. James Bowen says that
if  consumers go from aspartame to Splenda they will maintain the
reactions from aspartame and pick up those from Splenda.

Using Splenda is like drinking bleach and today reactions and severe
ones are showing up on Splenda.    You might want to read
this:  http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/splenda-adverse.txt and
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/03/31/splenda-reaction.aspx
In today’s society with companies poisoning our food supply you have
to become a label reader.  The FDA doesn’t care about the food supply
being safe.  So you must be responsible for what you put in your mouth.

One thing we know is that Splenda interacts.  The company admitted to
Marianne Lamar that  Splenda does cause headaches and seizures.  That
means you are using a deadly drug, its not inert.  This came directly
from the company itself although there are many reactions to Splenda
from rashes to cardiac problems.  As to joint pain, yes it has been
reported with Splenda.  Read this report:
http://splendasickness.blogspot.com/2006/03/joint-pain-or-swelling.html

Also, Citizens for Health and James Turner, DC attorney filed a
petition to ban Splenda and they haven’t received an answer although
there is a time limit on the FDA answering citizens petitions which
is 180 days.  They haven’t answered my petition for ban of aspartame
in almost 7 years.  So you know the FDA is serving above the law and
giving their loyalty to Big Pharma and the chemical industry.  This
is something Congress needs to deal with.  In fact, I’ve petitioned
the FDA to ban aspartame based on an imminent health hazard and they
only have a week or ten days to answer that.  That was over two years
ago.   So you have an FDA way out of control who is ignoring
consumers  and scientists.  Dr. Stoller also petitioned the FDA to
ban aspartame and its not been answered.  In fact, twelve
toxicologists have written the FDA to ban aspartame, and I doubt that
they have heard either.

The email for Citizens for Health is info@citizens.org and I’m
sending a copy of this to James Turner.  On the Aspartame Resource
Guide I sent you the physicians have detoxification help.  Then you
could have prolotherapy which cures chronic pain. www.caringmedical.com

Here are some symptoms reported on Splenda:

Sucralose aka Splenda Can Cause Pain & Tension

Sucralose Can Cause These Symptoms

Abdominal pain, achiness, back pain, chest tightness, dizziness, eye
pain, fibromyalgia, headache, joint pain, leg cramps, loss of
equilibrium, migraine, numbness & tingling of hands & feet, shooting
pains in extremities, swallowing pain, tingling, unsteady gait, weakness, more.

You can subscribe to the Aspartame Information List on
www.mpwhi.com   (scroll down to banners) as we also take Splenda
reactions and its discussed.

Just Like Sugar (www.justlikesugarinc.com) is safe and can be gotten
in most Whole Foods.

I would definitely fill out the MedWatch form on the FDA to have your
complaints on record. Do send me a copy. Remember that Sucralose has
already been found in drinking
water.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=that-splenda-youre-drinking-will-be-2009-03-09
Read about detoxification using distilled water.

All my best,
Betty

Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum, Founder
Mission Possible International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770 242-2599
www.mpwhi.com, www.dorway.com, www.wnho.net
Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS)––or you know someone who does––you probably remember how long it took to make the diagnosis.  You also may remember a lot of blood tests, a lumbar puncture, at least one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, as well as many visits and examinations by various doctors.  You may wonder why it still takes so long to make the diagnosis in this modern age of MRIs and other sophisticated tests.  We are going to try to explain why it can be so difficult for even the most expert MS neurologist to determine that someone has MS.  You have to live with the diagnosis and face the disease and the treatments.  You should understand and have confidence in the diagnosis.  Also, if your case of MS does not fit the typical pattern, you need to be aware of the other disorders that can mimic MS.  This is important because the treatments may be very different and, just as in most cases of MS, treatment begun early in the course of the disease is the best way to prevent or slow further neurologic damage.

MRI and new laboratory tests have definitely helped speed the diagnosis, but it still takes longer than anyone would wish, even in easy cases.  This is partly because of the variable nature of the disease in its many signs and symptoms. But it is also because a rather long list of other medical disorders can cause neurologic symptoms and signs that resemble MS. Furthermore, the “white spots” on brain MRI can be caused by a number of other conditions that also need to be ruled out.

The diagnosis of clinically definite MS requires that a person experience at least two neurologic symptoms of the type seen in MS, in two different areas of the central nervous system (CNS), at two different times (‘disseminated in space and time’).  Most typically, the symptoms are optic neuritis plus either an abnormal sensation or a problem with movement.  It can also be numbness in one part of the body and weakness or lack of coordination in another.  But in every case, there can be no other explanation for the symptoms, the changes seen on the MRI, and the abnormalities in the spinal fluid.  Many “mimics” need to be ruled out in order to make the diagnosis of MS. 

Excerpt:

RALEIGH — As the weather warms and walks through tick-laden woods beckon, state officials have confirmed that Wake County is among the North Carolina counties where Lyme disease is a known threat.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that in 2009 two cases of the tick-borne disease were found in patients who had not left the county during the 30 days before they contracted the infection.

Four similar cases were confirmed in the state last year, health officials said: one each in Wilkes, Wilson, Pitt and Carteret counties.

Angel Huggzzz
Linda

Is Mercury Toxicity an Epidemic?
Author: Joseph Pizzorno, ND
Source: Vitamin Retailer Magazine, June 2009

Conventional medicine has dismissed mercury toxicity as a clinical concern except in cases of obvious poisoning. This is due to the poor correlation between the various measures of mercury body load and clinical symptoms. It is also the reason the dental community has in the past so consistently denied that amalgam fillings are a health risk. (Although called “silver” fillings, they are actually about 55 percent mercury.) However, the integrative medicine community has for decades believed that chronic low-level mercury exposure is the root cause of many chronic diseases ranging from autism to heart disease to “brain fog.”
This controversy became very personally relevant when I discovered, as part of an innovative corporate wellness program I helped to design, that my RBC (red blood cell) Hg level was 59.3 nmol/L over twice the “safe” level of < 24.9. This was quite surprising as I live a very healthy lifestyle, have no amalgam fillings, only consume small, wild-caught fish, eat 75 percent of my food organically grown, etc. I then had the same test done on my wife and found her level was almost as high as mine. This lead to the obvious questions: Was the test valid? Is the mercury damaging our health? Where is the mercury coming from? How do we get rid of it?

Mercury Exposure
There are three types of mercury in the body: elemental, ionic and organic, typically methyl mercury. All are toxic to humans, although each is more toxic in different tissues of the body. The primary sources of human exposure to mercury are: occupational, environmental, fish, high fructose corn syrup and amalgam fillings. As you might expect, dentists and dental assistants have a high level of exposure, although they have become much more careful in the past few years. Nonetheless, a large study of several hundred dentists and dental assistants in Washington state found that almost all of them had four or more symptoms consistent with mercury toxicity.
The major environmental source is the air near electricity producing plants that burn coal. For most people, the major sources are mercury amalgams and fish. A large number of studies have now shown a clear, direct correlation between the number of amalgam surfaces and amount of mercury in the blood, hair, urine and, unfortunately, the brain. However, the correlation between the number of amalgam surfaces and symptoms is not so clear. This is probably because of two major factors: the great variation in a person’s ability to excrete mercury from the body and the equally great variation in genetics that determines the amount of oxidative stress a person gets from mercury. Mercury from fish turns out to be more complicated. Without question, body Hg is proportional to the amount of fish consumed (hundreds of studies show this). However, neurological symptoms do not typically correlate well with fish consumption because of the brain-benefit effects of omega-3 fatty acids. I think that only high-mercury fish such as tuna or low-omega-3 fish such as those that are farmed are problematic.

Mercury Toxicity Symptoms
For long-term, chronic exposure at moderate to high levels the evidence is very clear that mercury is a serious neurotoxin. A 2008 report provides for the first time long-term data on the Japanese people living in Minimata who for years ate fish contaminated with industrial mercury waste. The researchers found more than 50 symptoms.
The challenge for most of us is to determine at what levels mercury becomes toxic and what are the most sensitive symptoms. Looking at several studies that examine symptoms produced by only modestly elevated levels of mercury, I compiled the following list of common symptoms: depression, memory loss, anxiety, unintentionally dropping things and headaches.

Laboratory Assessment of Mercury Load
Mercury is measured in hair, saliva, spinal fluid, serum, RBCs, urine and stools. Unfortunately, these tests do not correlate very well with each other and none are a reliable or sensitive measure of brain mercury where most of the symptoms are produced. This is one of the key reasons the issue of mercury toxicity is so controversial. At this time I think whole blood mercury is the best general measure. However, for best sensitivity a mercury challenge test is needed where the person is given an injection of a chelating agent like DMPS and then collects their urine for several hours.

Mercury Elimination
Normally, about one percent of the body burden of Hg is naturally excreted every day through the bile into the stools. Unfortunately, 95 percent of the cleared mercury is reabsorbed. Those who eat a high fiber diet reabsorb less since mercury binds to fiber. About the same amount of mercury is also excreted every day in the urine, bound to sulfur containing compounds. The way the brain gets rid of mercury is by binding it to the antioxidant glutathione. This is a very slow process, which explains why it is so hard to get mercury out of the brain.
When trying to decrease mercury load in the body, obviously the first task is to identify and eliminate the source—amalgams, contaminated fish, industrial, air, etc. Also to be considered are household goods such as fluorescent lights, old thermometers and ayurvedic medicines to which mercury is intentionally added. A very disturbing recent study found mercury in high fructose corn syrup. The most highly contaminated samples had 25 micrograms of mercury per can of soft drink, the equivalent of eating two ounces of fish, without the benefits of fish’s omega-3 fatty acids.
For those with high levels of mercury contamination, I recommend seeing a doctor skilled in chelation. The agents most often used are DMSA and DMPS. Discussion of their merits and risks is beyond the scope of this column.
Several nutritional supplements, such as zinc, selenium modified citrus pectin, glutathione, alpha lipoic acid and NAC have been studied to see if they increase the rate at which the body excretes mercury. As near as I can tell, the most effective at getting mercury out of the body, especially methyl mercury, is N-acetylcysteine (NAC). It has been shown to not only increase the kidney elimination of methylmercury (which is especially toxic to the brain) by a remarkable 500 percent, but it even increases the excretion of mercury from the brain and fetus. The typical dosage is 500mg twice a day and it appears very safe.
Those who would like to read more about the mercury epidemic will find a lot more information in my two-part editorial at www.imjournal.com. I also encourage you to visit more of this site for information on this article, get my “Ask Dr. Joe” newsletter and to benefit from the NHI tradesite.

References
Heyer NJ, Echeverria D, Bittner AC, et al. Chronic Low-Level Mercury Exposure, BDNF Polymorphism, and Associations with Self-Reported Symptoms and Mood. Toxicological Sciences 2004;81:354–363
Kingman A, Albertini T, Brown LJ. Mercury concentrations in urine and whole blood associated with amalgam exposure in a US military population. J Dent Res 1998;77(3): 461-471
Guzzi G, Grandi M, Cattaneo C, et al. Dental amalgam and mercury levels in autopsy tissues: food for thought. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2006;27(1):42-5
Takaoka S, Kawakami Y, Fujino T, Oh-ishi F, Motokura F, Kumagai Y, Miyaoka T. Somatosensory disturbance by methylmercury exposure. Environ Res. 2008;107(1):6-19
Holger Zimmera, Heidi Ludwiga, Michael Baderb, Josef Bailerc, Peter Eickholzd, Hans Jˆrg Staehled, Gerhard Triebiga. Determination of mercury in blood, urine and saliva for the biological monitoring of an exposure from amalgam fillings in a group with self-reported adverse health effects. Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health 2002;205(3):205-211
Clarkson TW, Vyas JB, Ballatori N. Mechanisms of mercury disposition in the body. Am J Indust Med 2007;50:757–764
Dufault R, LeBlanc B, Schnoll R, Et al. Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar. Environmental Health 2009, 8:2
Ballatori N, Lieberman MW, Wang W. N-acetylcysteine as an antidote in methylmercury poisoning. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 May;106:267-71

Dr. Joe Pizzorno is the founding president of Bastyr University and editor-in-chief of Integrative Medicine, A Clinician’s Journal. He is the co-author of seven books including the internationally acclaimed Textbook of Natural Medicine and the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, which has sold over a million copies and been translated into six languages.