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September 24, 2005
Coping Skills for Scleroderma
It's Saturday so I'm taking a break. Here is some info that I'd lke to share from the website http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/cliffs/29445.html
Author Cliff Garner 1/10/2000, says: "Henry Dreher authored an interesting article titled “Immune Power Personality," which appeared in the Autumn 1996 issue of the Noetic Sciences Review. He reminds us that psychological factors influence the immune system and the body's network of defense and healing. We blame much on stress, but stress is inevitable and sometimes a positive force. It is not stress itself, but how we cope with it that determines how our bodies are affected. How we cope is largely dependent on our personalities (and I would add, on our spiritual beliefs). Dreher presents the findings of seven researchers each of whom has studied one immune power trait. These are given below.
1. Psychologist Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., addresses what he calls the "ACE factor," attention, connection and expression. He showed that people who are in tune with their mind-body signals of fatigue, pain, discomfort, distress, anger, sadness and pleasure cope better psychologically, exhibit a better immune profile, and have a healthier cardiovascular system.
2. Psychologist James Pennebaker, Ph.D., focused on the capacity to confide. He found that people who confide their feelings, traumas and secrets to others and to themselves have healthier psychological profiles, greater immune responses, and fewer incidences of illness.
3. Psychologist Suzanne Ouellette, Ph.D., developed the concept of personality hardness, which includes a sense of control over one’s life, health and social conditions, a strong
commitment to one's work, creative activities and relationships, and looks at stress as a challenge rather than as a threat. These people have stronger immune systems and fewer illnesses.
4. Psychoneuroimmunologist George Solomon, MD, studied assertiveness. His finding was that people who assert their needs and feelings have stronger immune responses, and the ability to overcome a range of diseases usually associated with immune dysfunction. He also noted that the ability to find meaning in “stressful circumstances" also promoted immune enhancement.
5. Motivational psychologist David McClelland, Ph.D., focused on what he called affilliative trust or the motive of unconditional love. He showed that people who are strongly motivated to form relationships with others based on unconditional love have enhanced immune function and reduced illnesses.
6. While heading the Institute for the Advancement of Health, Alan Luks carried out a large survey which showed that altruistic people who commit themselves to helping others suffer fewer illnesses.
7. Psychologist Patricia Linville, Ph.D., focused on self-complexity. People who explore many facets of their personalities, so-called "self-aspects," are better able to handle stress, depression, physical symptoms, etc., and have fewer illnesses. These people have strengths to fall back on when one aspect of themselves is wounded or lost."
Posted by Sclero Crusader at 6:31 AM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2005
Scleroderma - Scaryderma!
I'm kinda bummin' today. The misconceptions about this "illness" are like a never ending tide. I heard from someone whos sister is just about on her death bed with scleroderma. She refers to it as "end stage" - like it's cancer. I'm sure that's what the Drs. are telling her. People, this is AUTO immune. Self-caused. PART of what you are. It doesn't metastasise, it sprouts from your own cells, malfunctioning. It's not like the Blob, coming up behind you and engulfing your whole body. It comes from inside YOU. OK - my theory - the meds that help the most in this have only been recently discovered. They are just the tip of the iceberg. The substance Nitric Oxide is inside your cells and it controlls your blood vessels and muscles and who knows what else. There is some as yet undermined process in that Nitric Oxide that has gone haywire in Scleroderma. Some researchers say it is a matter of too much and some say it is too little. Either way, the best drug for it right now is Viagra, a Nitric Oxide enhancer. It also has the least side effects. But be careful trying to obtain it from your insurance company! It is easier for 70 year old men to get it for their sex life than for a 30 year old woman to get it to save her fingers, lungs and maybe even her life. TODAYS LESSON: If you have sclero and your Dr. hasn't offered you VIAGRA - ASK HIM FOR IT!
Posted by Sclero Crusader at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2005
Scleroderma World
I have had an interesting morning. When I checked my emails I heard from several people in the sclero world who are facing some pretty mindboggling resistance from the established medical community. One is a woman who cured herself thru nutritional supplements and, dare I say it - prayer. Who has gotten a large supplement company to back an actual grassroots research study to see if it has any affect on sclero. The company is being taken to court, now, to supposedly stop them from making unfounded claims. Hey, they are TRYING to do the clinical trial! The other contact is a fellow who suffered with childhoold sclero who just wants to get the message out that it's not a death sentence. Again, he's being frustrated by the establishment who doesn't want him to talk about how he did it. What is up with this? Any ideas? Maybe we should remember that old addage and "follow the money"? Look, I understand how it sounds to the scientific mind that these folks consider prayer just one more item in their medicine cabinet - but how about if we look at it another way and call it "positive thinking"? Does it sound so radical then? By the way, today's advice: DON'T GIVE IN TO THIS "DISEASE". POSITIVE THINKING WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD ALLOWING YOU TO LIVE YOUR LIFE LONGER. Sure, this "illness" stinks and, especially if you have what is called "Diffuse" scleroderma, your body is hardening all over, all at once. You are being attacked and knowledge will help you to fight back.
Posted by Sclero Crusader at 7:20 AM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2005
... wait, DON'T give me any of those things, PLEASE!
I am a woman in my early 40's who has lived with a few mysterious health problems for almost 20 years. I started with a severe lung infection that just wouldn't go away. It sapped me of my stamina, at 24, and I developed numbness and color changes in my fingers the following winter. I went to my family Dr. and he prescribed antibiotics, which didn't work, so I had to go back several times. I also went to a Lung Specialist, who said I didn't have anything wrong with me. My GP finally ran a test for Lupus and it came back positive so I was sent off to the local teaching hospital. It took several months to get an appointment so I used the time to study Bernie Siegel, take vitamins and stayed out of the sun. When I finally went there they said I was sent "on a wild goose chase". Yay, for me! Some time passed and I realized that I still hadn't regained my stamina and I still had the circulation problem (Raynauds). Looking at the medical books of the period, one disease that came up repeatedly with this condition (Raynauds) was Scleroderma. Sounded just awful! Your skin was supposed to encase you like a "hidebound" book and you'd be dead in 7 years or less, unable to open your mouth or use your hands. Whew! I knew I didn't want that, but without a final diagnosis, how could I be sure? Well, 7 yers passed and I didn't die or harden so I thought I was home free. I had a cousin die of Diffuse Scleroderma during that time and he did harden. I KNEW I didn't look like that! My raynauds worsened to finger ulcers (painful open sores that take months to heal and get infected easily) and I started to get red spots on my hands and face (telangiastica). Then heartburn. I did some interet research and found that there had been great advances in Scleroderma research over the last 20 years and one of the notable things was that it was now recognised that there was a "limited" form of the disease. Oh, oh! It had the symptoms of: Calcifications, C; Raynauds, R; Esophageal problems, E; Sclerodactly, S (hard finger skin); and Telangiastica (red spots). I had 3 of those items. But not all, so, hey, still safe, right? Wrong! More research, you only need 2 of the 5 for a diagnosis. Supposedly. This leads me to the turning point at which I will ask my readers to stay tuned. I intend for this blog to focus on the difficulties one can face when dealing with established medicine with this medical condition and the helpful things that you can do for yourself. I also intend to share the resources that I have found helpful in my research into this medical condition. LESSON 1: Limited Scleroderma is not a disease, it is a medical condition that can be lived with and, hopefully, eased by science and lifestyle. Stay tuned!
Posted by Sclero Crusader at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)
