Diet

Immune System Boosters

This is the Internet, so everything must be tempered with common sense.  There are good and bad things said about most things...there is always someone with a differing opinion, so most of my recommendations are based on averages of opinion rather than fact.

The list

In order of its benefit as I believe it:

water
lemons
mushrooms
peppers
salmon
spinach
broccoli
fruits
fish and seafood— whiting, tuna (in water), shrimp, oysters
onion
tomatoes
leafy greens
coffee and tea
beans
whole grains
oranges
chicken
assorted vegetables
garlic
beef

Water: Staying hydrated helps the blood flow easily thus delivering more oxygen with less effort on your heart.  I've reasoned that thinner blood causes the organism to spread out making it more susceptible to the immune system.  White blood cells (phagocytes) carry the immune system's antibodies.  When they encounter an invasion they chemically signal for more phagocytes to join the fight.  When blood flows easily the white cell army is more responsive.  Water improves your entire system, helping in memory, cognition, muscle function, digestion and much more.

Lemons:  Google "lemon, health" and you will be amazed at the work a lemon can do.  In addition to cleaning the liver, lemons assist the immune system by delivering essential nutritional elements like zinc, magnesium, calcium and pectin.  Lemons are said to reduce anxiety and improve sleep.  I have found lemon water to be more effective in my recoveries than is water alone.

Mushrooms:  I eat crimini and white mushrooms which seem to top many benefit lists.  They are inexpensive and easy to find.  Portabella are of the same species— called button mushrooms.  I have found sites that claim button mushrooms are the worst and are even carcinogenic, which is in conflict with other studies claiming that white mushrooms help prevent breast cancer.  The mushrooms those sites claim to be beneficial fall under 'exotic'.  They are harder to find and cost more.  No matter the topic, there is always a conflict to be found.

Peppers:  All peppers are healthy but it is the hot peppers that are best for immune boosting.  Hot peppers have capsaicin— the chemical that makes them hot.  Capsaicin has been attributed to killing cancer cells, reducing inflammation, assisting in weight loss, and helping to relieve gastric distress.  Hot peppers contain high volumes of vitamin C which is essential for tissue repair, immune system strength, circulation, and brain function. Vitamin A is the most abundant which helps red blood cell form for more oxygen, immune system function, and vision.  Vitamins B2 and B6 in hot peppers help blood production and nervous system health.  Hot peppers are said to improve metabolism.  They also contain small amounts of vitamin E and potassium.

Salmon:  Of all the fish, salmon is the greatest source for omega 3 fatty acids.  While omega 3s are currently controversial, it is unanimously accepted that they are essential for normal metabolism.  A diet high in fish has been found to decrease the risk of stroke.  And while the jury is still out, there is evidence that omega 3s might be beneficial in treating depression, ADHD, and pain from arthritis.  Salmon also delivers antioxidants which are vital in preventing free radicals from causing cell damage.

One caution about salmon, wild caught Alaskan salmon is your best choice.  Salmon farming results in sick fish and there is suspicion that these sick fish have affected the Atlantic salmon population.

Spinach:  Spinach is a powerhouse of vitamins.  It is good for immune functioning, the eyes, assisting red blood cells and stimulating production of white blood cells.

Broccoli:  Broccoli is an immune system booster as well as providing greater bone health.  It contains vitamins C and K.  Have a cold?  Raw broccoli is supposed to be more effective against cold and flu than oranges.  It is good for flushing the system and is said to wash out many carcinogens.

Fruits:  Grapefruit are said to increase fat burning.  Saturated fats are linked to cardiovascular disease.  I am assuming that since it is the saturated fats that our body most readily stores that these are the fats that p-myxzoa likes to use for protection.  Dr. F says to stay under 20g of fat daily. I try for under 15g.  Grapefruit is likely a great complement to a low fat diet.

Lemons are great.  I don't think you can eat too many.  Caution, lemons can be hard on tooth enamel.

You've heard of an apple a day...well, maybe you shouldn't.  Apples are a good source of fiber, but so are many other foods.  Apples have vitamin C but it seems most fruits do.  The thing about apples is apples/apple juice is the number one contributor to tooth decay.  Maybe two or three apples a week would be better.

Bananas have potassium and manganese but are also highest in saturated fats.  They also contain melatonin, making them a better before bed snack than fruit with lunch.

Strawberries are good for skin and hair. More importantly they are ranked as a super fruit for their nutritional value.  They are loaded with antioxidants and aid the immune system.

When it comes to fresh fruits versus dried fruits and fruit juices you need to understand that a small glass of fruit juice is the equivalent of many fruits.  Without the pulp you don't get the fiber.  Fiber helps slow down absorption of the fruit's sugars.  A glass of juice is a sugar rush from the equivalent of three to six fruits.  Dried fruits are most often pumped full of added sugar.  With the water removed the smaller volume can encourage us to eat more.  While dried fruits retain the majority of their nutrients and fiber, eating sweetened dried fruit in larger portions is going to increase sugar intake.  P-myxzoa loves sugar.  Eat fresh fruit.  One exception, dried apricots are said to be even better for you than are fresh apricots.

Fish and Seafood:  Shrimp is loaded with beneficial nutrients but is said to increase cholesterol.  Whiting is a good alternative as a break from salmon.  It costs less and still provides an abundance of nutrients.  It is much lower in fats than is salmon and might be a better alternative if you have weight concerns.  Tuna is another beneficial fish.  If you buy canned fish make sure it is in water and not oil.  Oysters are another health power food but I can only find them canned in oil so I buy a can monthly and eat it on a low fat day.

Kelp is a sea plant that is high in iodine.  Many people with a hypothyroid condition eat kelp or take kelp supplements to improve the thyroid's absorption of iodine.  Kelp increased my thyroid symptoms which implies I was absorbing too much iodine.  Creating the T3 hormone is where my thyroid fails and I have no option but to supplement it pharmaceutically.  You should be aware of what seafoods increase your iodine intake and how it effects your thyroid.

Onion:  There is nothing like an onion to open your sinuses.  Yellow onions seem to top the list in health benefit.  Some suggest the white onion is second but others put it nearer the bottom.  My favorite, vidalia onions, are said to be last, but another source said that vidalia country (central Georgia, USA) has half the mortality rate from stomach cancer than the national average.  Additionally, onions help keep the blood flowing, which might not be so good for a hemophiliac, but it is great for the rest of us.  Thinner blood reduces risk for blood clot and stroke.  It moves oxygen faster and speeds the response time of the white blood cells.  Pungent onions are supposed to be more beneficial than the more popular mild onions.

Tomatoes:  I started eating raw tomatoes because of their tendency to control free radicals.  They contain the four major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene.  Together they provide greater health benefits.  Tomatoes have been proven to work with broccoli to prevent prostate cancer.  Tomatoes increase lycopenein in breast milk passing antioxidants to the infant.  Eating tomatoes with olive oil increases the bodies absorption of carotenoid phytochemicals by 15 times.  Phytochemicals are said to reduce risk of cancers.

Leafy Greens: A source of minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the Bs.  Salad greens are said to help the eyes to resist the effects of aging.  They are a guard against blood clotting and can reduce inflammation such as from arthritis.  Most of this is credited to the vitamin K, which most of us do not get enough of.  Eating salad with olive oil increases the absorption of vitamin K.

Coffee and Tea:  When I told Dr. F that I had quit coffee he asked me not to.  "Coffee has flavonoids," which are said to have anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant properties.  They are attributed to reducing many cancers including mouth cancer.  Decaf is proving to be as beneficial as regular coffee.  As for caffeine, it has long been know to boost mental activity as well as energy.  There are doctors that say four cups a day is fine, and others who say drink as much as you want.  I do.  It is my one substance abuse.  It is a natural blood thinner and reduces the chance of stroke as well as kidney stones.  Caffeine is controversial in memory testing having both positive and negative results.  There have been tests suggesting caffeine might improve memory recall.  While you'll never prove that by me, I do think more clearly with coffee.

Though green tea has the better rep, green and black teas are very much the same.  Green tea is picked and fired immediately while black tea is allowed to age before firing, creating a difference in oxidation giving each a different benefit to health.   Drink both.  They may lower blood pressure and cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar and reduce tooth decay.  There is evidence that teas might inhibit cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Chamomile tea is one of my regulars.  Reading has suggested three cups a day is beneficial.  It is said to help relax you and aid in sleep.  Science is concluding that the old claim that it relieves menstrual cramps is true.  It is found to calm muscle spasms in general.

**Chamomile is related to ragweed so consider your allergies.

Beans:  Legumes are high in zinc which helps your immune system function.  They are among the best sources of proteins and can be a fair substitute for meats.  Among the highest rated is the black bean.  A dish of black beans served with brown rice is suggested to be even more beneficial.  The pair make a complete protein.  The high fiber and protein of black beans help move your bowels along which can ease digestion by spreading the work out.  The evening out of the digestion helps to regulate the uptake of simple sugars and avoids blood sugar spikes.  On the opposite spectrum, it avoids the blood sugar drops often encountered after a spike.  The soluble fibers in black beans helps lower cholesterol.

The abundant volume of folate (B6) in black beans helps the nervous system to produce the amino acids it needs to function.  Black beans are said to be particularly helpful during pregnancy.  Their folate and iron help the fetus to develop a normal brain and spinal cord.  Black beans are said to reduce risk of colon cancer.

Green beans, soy beans, black eyed peas are regulars on my table but the black bean is almost a daily contributor.

Whole Grains:  Studies suggest that whole grains are a component in reducing the risks of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Whole grains help maintain healthier blood pressure.  They reduce risk of stroke and help to better maintain weight management.

Me being a celiac, it is hard to find whole grain foods that are gluten free.  Granola has been my best source for multi-whole grains, but even with that it is difficult to find a granola that doesn't have flavor enhancers like honey, vanilla, nuts and dried berries.  When I do find a product I use it sparingly for the occasional breakfast, but mostly I use it as a sprinkle on steel-cut oats which I have two or three times a week.

A note on oats.  Rolled oats break down the fiber and thus the carbs are delivered into your system faster.  Steel cut oats retain their fiber and so regulate the carbs.  Oats are another good source of natural melatonin.  Mom always said to start your day with a hot bowl of oats.  Maybe mom was wrong.   Melatonin is the hormone that signals your mind to shut down and your brain to sleep.  That exam might be easier if you have eggs for breakfast.  A bowl of oats and a banana before bed makes for a great nights sleep and can make dreams more vivid.

Oranges:  One orange can have more than a whole days supply of vitamin C.  It is somewhat sad that the greatest benefits that the orange has to offer are generally tossed out with the peel.  The white membrane under the peel is also more beneficial than the pulp.  Save some peel and allow it to dry.  Put some in a cup of black tea and clove.  Not only is it flavorful, it is a triple benefit beverage.

Chicken:  When I'm not eating fish I'm eating chicken.  Niacin-rich chicken provides protection against Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline due to aging.  Chicken is a source of protein and selenium, vitamin B6, and phosphorus which is necessary for bone health.

Assorted Vegetables:  What can I say beyond this.  Eat your brussel sprouts.  Don't forget the okra.

Garlic:  It has been suggested that Garlic might assist in the management of blood pressure and cholesterol.  Studies have shown it to be a broad spectrum antibiotic without the danger of creating resistive bacteria.  It is said to be a powerful antioxidant and can help control free radicals.

Garlic should be farther up the list.  There is a wives's tale that says eating garlic will interfere with your reaction time for days to follow.  I can almost validate this from experience.  I've weighed its benefit against its interfering with such a vital system and dropped its importance.  While I don't suggest that you eliminate garlic, you might want to lay off of it a few days before that big lacrosse game or ping pong match.

Beef:  Dr. Fry's favored McDougall diet excluded beef because of it's fat content.  But McDougall's own recommendations urge the use of B12 supplements due to the lack of beef.  Advantages of beef are its high iron, B12 and zinc which are many times over that of chicken.  Beef is also a great source of protein.  There are many cuts of beef that are quite lean at only about 1 gram of fat per ounce.  That's less than many low fat diet dishes. A beef dinner can be planned for by limiting other fats throughout the day and can come in well below the 15 gram limit.  I'm not a dedicated beef eater and have it only once or twice a month.  I do feel it is important to give your body red meats.  Our ancient ancestors evolved on a diet of red meat and vegetation.  Given Darwin's theory of evolution where advantages are inherited, we are genetically primed to eat it.


My Routine

In the mornings I chop up a large (or two small) Anaheim peppers.  Often I toss in a couple small jalapeno peppers.  I use the entire pepper (well, not the stem) because the seeds and membrane hold the highest levels of  capsaicin.  I chop half of a medium onion, usually a yellow but sometimes a white.  I slice up a half dozen crimini mushrooms— a wire type egg slicer will save you a lot of effort.  Make sure the wires aren't resisting against the guides, the extra stiffness of the mushroom can misalign them.  I put a tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and sauté the mix.  In a separate skillet I spray a bit of fat free no-stick and cook three egg whites either fluffy or firm.  It wouldn't hurt to cook everything together, what ever is your preference.

On peppers...they can be uncomfortably hot and I urge you to start small.  My wife cannot tolerate any hot peppers so when I prepare her meals I use bell peppers.  The red bell pepper is reported to be particularly beneficial.

When piled on the plate it seems like a lot, but I am maintaining a constant reasonable weight so I must be using it even though I am not very active by my standard.  For curiosity sake, I've always loved hot peppers, mushrooms and onions.  I find that interesting since they are three of the top immune boosting foods.  Your body knows what it needs, ask any pregnant woman with cravings.

After breakfast I squeeze one lemon and two cutie oranges (the dinky ones) into a half gallon of drinking water.  The oranges offset the bitterness.  I drink this throughout the day.  I find it easy to consume the entire half gallon before dinner.

For midday I get two dinner plates and pile garden mix salads on one with a tablespoon of olive oil.  On the other I set out carrots, grapes, cherry tomatoes, radishes, strawberries, spring onions, hot pepper, cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower (raw).  Most days I'll open a can of black beans too and eat them a little at a time with the rest.  All this I graze on until it is gone...usually in about 6 hours.

There is a saying I heard that had a lot to do with designing my diet; if you want to be healthy, eat like a cave man.  What they mean is natural fresh foods that can be picked and eaten, and perhaps the occasional mastodon.  Basically, if it comes in a package don't eat it.  A friend told me once to stay to the outside rim of the grocery store— that she never shops in the middle.  In most stores this works...except for the bakery.  But I thought about how a cave man would have to eat.  He didn't have a refrigerator.  They wouldn't finish building the local grocery store for another 50,000 years.  He grazed.  When he found it he ate it.  Granted, when he found a lot he ate a lot.  The stomach can double as a storage tank.  But generally, his nourishment was delivered slowly and more or less constantly giving him easy even absorption of nutrients.

I have to share dinners with my wife so they are mostly traditional, but always from the list.  Usually it is chicken, fish, chicken, fish alternating through the week. Occasionally brown rice or baked potatoes (or sweet potato or yams)  but most often it is a starchy veggie like yellow squash, Lima beens, etc, with a green veggie— spinach, asparagus, broccoli, green beans.  Now and then I get creative and do something fancy with mushrooms, and there is my chicken onion soup, shrimp kale/broccoli.  Sometimes I create whoknowswhat that I might never be able to duplicate.  Changing it up makes dinners more interesting, but always from the list.

You will notice there is no dairy in the list.  No chips or soda or pasta.  The list is of reported immune boosting foods, and foods that repair the body and ease the burden on the immune system.  Your body is a unit.  Fixing one part will help another to function better.  Things like corn products and cheese are hard to digest.  I no longer agree with limiting night shades (peppers) and legumes (black beans) like Dr C had me doing, but keeping a mind on how hard your system has to work to get your nourishment is only smart.  Be nice to your gut.


Why I think the diet works

I'm afraid I've let us all down a little.  I'm not diligent toward keeping my routine routine.  I don't often stray from the list but, more often than I care to, I forget to eat entirely.  When I have work planned I can walk right through the kitchen and out the door without ever a thought of food.  After a few hours I'll crash and usually keep right on working until the job is finished.  By the time I remember to eat I'm too exhausted to cook and I'll grab something easy and go lie down.

Clinically speaking, this isn't a failed process.  After an hour, and sometimes only minutes, I'm up again and, while tired, I am functional.  Compare this to pre-diet activities where an hour or two of work, even after having eaten, would send me to the bed for three days with the most uncomfortable sensations that defy description.  This was not improved during the year on Dr. F's treatment and diet.  I did have a nearly complete recovery during that time but it only lasted days and then I plummeted to near bottom, was in exceptional pain and the ataxia and mental fatigue returned to a greater degree.

In all fairness to Dr. Fry, his diet advice was sharing time with two other doctors.  I had my celiac diet to contend with, and Dr. C was concerned with healing my digestive tract in order to improve my immune system.  It was the hardest dieting I have ever done.  Basically I was left with a few fruits, lettuces and chicken.

A year into it the antibiotics stopped working.  The diet combination was killing me.  I couldn't work or even sit through an entire TV show.  I spent most of my time in bed being miserable.  Frustrated and angry I quit everything.  When my self pity and depression began to ease I surfed the Internet looking for alternative treatments.  That was when I stumble on lists of immune boosting foods.  I realized that for the past year I hadn't fed my immune system...at all.  During that short period of remission, if my immune system had been healthy, I likely would have beaten protomyxzoa.  My doctors were concerned with their small areas of treatment and none broached the subject of feeding my immune system.

Today I've been on my immunity diet for about 3 months.  When I've eaten properly, I can wear myself out from working (hours and hours now and almost every day) and recover completely only hours later.  For this I consider my diet a success, and more beneficial than antibiotics with the McDougall/celiac/gut healing diet.  Antibiotics are active only for about two hours.  The immune system is all day and night.

I'm not yet cured, but I'm better than I've been in decades.  The pain is gone, save the occasional short term recurrence.  The ataxia is still present and much more prevalent than I care to mention.  Mental systems are improved but still impaired; I am getting around town without the GPS now, but I still find language difficult.  I keep telling my wife to hear what I mean, not what I say.

Largely, the pain was an issue of infected body tissue.  My immune system seems to be keeping up with that now.  The ataxia and mental impairments are all beneath the blood brain barrier.  It is difficult even for the immune system to work below the BBB.  But while improvements are slow they are there.  That's a positive thing.  I don't know how long it will take to eradicate decades of established organisms in my brain but to think it would be quick is unreasonable.  What are my choices...I feel better so I'll keep on this path.

A day off from the diet is a day backwards.  Your antibodies aren't an army battling a foe.  The white cells are the army.  The antibodies are the ammunition.  Once fired they are spent and need to be replenished   If you don't resupply your troops everyday your foe advances.  To my observation, benefit from eating the immune boosting diet goes on for hours and hours but not days.  When I've skipped a day, after the first meal I can instantly feel improvement, but it takes about two days of diet to get back.


Am I right?

I don't know but it seems to be working for me.  If you suspect something here might adversely affect health, please let us know.  Being sick is hard enough without complicating it with bad information.  Everything here is, "according to sources on the Internet...."  We are each responsible for our own safety.  I took the time to develop this blog in hopes I could help others cope and heal.  But though I've been ill since the Eisenhower administration, I'm just a babe in the search for self healing. Please feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions in a comment.  We need to share information to improve it.

Symptoms: Page Three

Stuff of the Mind


Brain Fog

Everyone with Lyme, protomyxzoa or just a slight cold complains of brain fog.  Thoughts don't quite form right, or quickly enough, or they stay just out of reach.  During the awake state there is an overall heaviness like gravity has increased.  Sluggish not-up-to-it feelings.  While limited oxygen will hinder thought— after all, you are breathing for several billion, I believe the brain fog is due largely to pollutants in the blood.  We are feeding the entire population(s) of organisms with no sewage service.  It is the livers job to clean up the mess, but in the meantime our thoughts are left to wallow in the muck.

Drinking plenty of water is key to washing your system.  Lemon juice is said to be good for cleansing.  Squeeze a fresh lemon into your drinking water for extra scrubbing power.  Lemons are not only high in vitamin C but contain B12, B3, magnesium and potassium.  Help your liver out.  Lemon juice, not lemonade.

A word of caution, lemon juice is hard on tooth enamel so not too much.  Some suggest drinking through a straw.


Uncertainty

I know my own name, but the certainty of it is sometimes vague causing me to second guess myself.  My certainty of your name would be even harder to maintain.  Spelling is hardest.  Right or wrong, there can be a strong uncertainty to even the simplest words.

The brain uses several different areas for storage of information pertaining to any single idea.  Names, for instance, have to relate to faces— hundreds of facets for faces; and then the relationship, the history, on and on accessing thousands of points of information just for me to know your name.  If access to one or more of these areas is limited or denied, the certainty of the thought is going to lose intensity.  Large portions of these areas being unreachable would leave me so uncertain of your name that I would avoid it all together.  I relate this to oxygen limitations because they come back.  Even though I forgot it today I might easily know your name tomorrow indicating there is no damage to these areas.  There just isn't always enough juice to boot them up.

While you would think a good cardiovascular workout would help increase oxygen levels, it also increases CO2 which signals a constriction of vessels to decrease oxygen in order to reduce the CO2 levels.  If uncertainty becomes an issue try relaxing, clearing your mind and use slow steady breathing.


Decision Making

I was a few miles from my rural home, sitting in my car at a traffic signal.  There were two possible ways home and I often switched between them, the only difference being scenery.  When the light turned green I had not a clue to which way to go.  It was sudden.  I hadn't forgotten the way home.  I knew both roads would take me there.  But I couldn't pick one or the other.  I sat at the green light puzzled for a minute and out of frustration and on the verge of panic I went straight simply because it was easier than turning.  A few miles later I had no decision to make, there was only one way home.

The intensity of deciding between a right turn now or a right turn later was overwhelming.  I failed to make it and if it hadn't been for feeling foolish for sitting at a green light I might have been there a very long time.  It suggests there is a part of the brain specifically for decision making, and an impedance in this process will make two simple choices too many.  That happened once about ten years ago.  I didn't stay completely indecisive, but today decisions still take a great deal of thought, as though I need to process each criteria separately and at length.  Perhaps this is an issue with speed of thought more so than loss of process, or perhaps there isn't enough memory accessible to hold the criteria for proper comparison.  I've found no remedy.  All I've been able to do is work through it.  Some days I have little or no problem.  Other days I struggle over simple decisions like tee-shirt colors.


Panic

I'm not sure if panic is a symptom of protomyxzoa or if it is a result of unrelated traumas I've endured.  Certainly any psychologist would favor the latter.  I have triggers involving each of my senses, so in the least trauma is an issue.  I've been able to manage my panic through rationalization which further suggests a psychiatric involvement.  But what if these triggers are enhanced by the infection?

Panic is a do or die response that is prompted by external elements processed through the amygdala— a paired organ resting somewhat behind the eyes like a set of testicles.  The amygdala might be thought of as the brain's router, sending impulses to brainsites based on sensory input.  It is the determining organ for emotions like fear, arousal, aggression, and anxiety as well as  happiness and sadness.  Imagine the havoc that could be raised by an inflamed amygdala, the one organ that plays a part in every brain activity.  I'll admit my emotions are irregular.  I become jocular after a car crash.  I over react when angry.  I can become teary at TV commercials.

Inflammation of the amygdala could also effect cognition, memory, recall, and motor function.  Again, the blood-brain barrier comes into play and leaves us without an effective treatment other than doing what we can to improve the body's immune system.


Paresthesia

Pins and needles.  You sit at length with your foot propped on your knee only to find you've limited circulation and it's gone numb.  You move and blood rushes to replenish oxygen and suddenly you feel an almost painful tingling as the nerves reactivate.  Some call it falling asleep but clinically it is called paresthesia.

I spent several years with a nearly global sensation of pins and needles all over my body.  Not the intense painful kind, but a constant and annoying sensation of prickling.  Doctors failed to explain this sensation medically so naturally they diagnosed it as the one condition that needs neither medical nor scientific explanation; psychosomatic.

Inflammation within the capillaries that feed oxygen to the skin is a completely practical explanation, at least on an isolated scale.  Global sensations would more likely suggest a brain involvement.  Consider that, although we touch and feel through nerve endings, without the brain there is no way to process it.  When that cup is too hot, nerves— clinically the somatosensory system, send impulses to the brain where it registers as heat and pain.  Is the pain in your hand, or is it in your brain?

An inflammation where the paresthesia sensation is processed could result in a constant global tingling sensation as long as the inflammation was active.  To this day I retain a small amount of global tingling, quite lessened from the disturbing sensation of a decade ago but still it is there.

There is little to do beyond ponder which of the two possible sources might be causing it.  On the one hand, low oxygen levels at the dermis would account for the sensation but logically that should result in a bluing of the epidermis.  My blood oxygen level is routinely low but not so low as to need an oxygen tank, so I doubt the problem is completely within the skin.

On the other hand, I am certain of the inflammation beneath the blood-brain barrier.  It could singlehandedly explain the sensation.


Sleep Vibrations

I've encountered a hundred or so individuals posting on the web that have accurately described what I call sleep vibrations.  It is like waking up while riding a jackhammer.  It lasts five or ten minutes as it slowly subsides.  Doctors have suggested it is just a psychological sensation of vibration.  I've not found anyone to take it seriously.  In reality it is a physical reaction that is detectable by others touching me as a mild but rapid vibration throughout my body. My wife has said hugging me during an attack is like hugging a vibrating pillow.

The vibration would have to be caused by a rapid pulsing of the muscles— about 180 thumps per minute.  It is separate from pulse rate, which is near 60bpm, during.  It is at it's worst when I am awakened from a dream.  For that I've wondered if it could be related to the REM sleep mechanism.  There is a condition called synesthesia where stimulation of one sensory pathway involuntarily crosses over to a second pathway.  Most common is text appearing in colors, but there are other types of short circuits too.  The problem with the REM theory is that the sleep vibrations are ten times faster than Rapid Eye Movement.  The vibrations only occur when I wake up.  The quicker I awake the more I vibrate and the longer it takes to go away.  I did a sleep study hoping to get physical evidence of the vibrations but the clinics equipment was designed to record kicking limbs, not rapid pulsing.  It was a waste of time.  To date, the infection being responsible for REM-musculoskeletal synesthesia, while not technically a crossing of senses,  is my best assumption.



Processing the Abstract

I encounter great difficulty with things not of a physical nature.  While I am capable of having my own abstract thoughts, trying to interpret those of others is nearly impossible.  I need things to be straight forward.  The new formats of social networks like Facebook, Google+, and even here on Blogger seem so convoluted and off the wall that I accomplish little of nothing.  I muddle through the long arduous links searching for what used to simply be called PREVIEW and POST but now has so many screens, conditions, pop-ups and virtualisms that all I can manage is to hit cancel on everything that doesn't give me a specific view of what is about to happen.  Don't expect me to friend you or follow you...I simply do not understand the process.  It is too abstract and I've never seen results for what I've managed to do.  Cause and effect are physical; I do it, I see it, I understand it, but without that I'm lost.

Edit and publish, I get that.



Cognition Buzz

Like a hand buzzer in my head...

Colors get bright.  I see things going on.  I understand I am someplace.  I retain an acute sense of self.  I stand without falling, and once I had an attack while driving a long, straight interstate without mishap where  I recall thinking, "No, not now," so I can communicate my thoughts to myself, but beyond that there is nothing.  Everything else is completely foreign.  Listening to someone talk is worse than Greek.  Greek has recognizable patterns.  What I hear is like someone pretending to speak Greek that doesn't know how.  I do not think I could actively respond to the simplest external stimulus.  I'd watch a truck run me down.

There was I time I thought it was a form of epilepsy.  Doctors seemed uninterested, or simply oblivious.  With the many times I've explained these attacks I've never been offered explanations or testing.

They last seconds, a minute, minutes.  There is no time so I don't know.  My only clue to duration is no one present has ever been more than mildly concerned; "buzz buzz buzz...buzz buzz buzz...Are you okay?"

The attacks have been occurring since my teenage years, several a week for over a decade, but for the past twenty or so years they occur only once or twice per year.

Knowing my body is host to a variety of invading forces gives some explanation but I cannot vaguely understand what is being effected.


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

I've had a few doctors suggest this but they have never handed out an actual diagnosis.  I believe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a name given to a condition that has little understanding.  I think CFS is in a category with brain fog whereas pollutants from organisms effect systems both in the brain and in the body.  Does having CFS mean you have mirob infections?  I don't know, but having microbe infections certainly can make it seem like you have CFS.

Drink lemon water to help wash the dirt out, and eat a diet designed to boost immunity. You have to beat the bugs to get over it.  Get exercise to oxygenate the blood, but not too much or you could reverse the benefit with CO2 buildup.  Mall walking would be great...use the stairs.


Spasms and Twitches

I remember thinking a twitch was a spasm until I had a real spasm.  Twitches are rapid repeating contractions which can be intense but usually minor.  A spasm is a muscle or group of muscles that contract on their own and stay contracted, limiting movement for the duration.

The cause of twitching and spasms could be local or it could be a rogue signal from the brain.  Somewhere along the control wiring is a malfunctioning nerve; e.g. for a twitching toe the cause might reside anywhere along the length of the body.  My twitches come and go in the course of about an hour or less.  It's hard to say.  While I know when they've occurred for a long time, I'm never aware of the precise time they stop.

Swimmers toe is a spasm, a painful cramp that lasts minutes or less. But that isn't what I'm talking about. The spasms I get can last months.  They can be annoyingly tight or they can be a vise grip clamped hard enough and long enough to have had me diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia— a genetic condition (but I was labeled as 'spontaneous') where a certain protein goes missing and axons (nerve bundles) can't flush impurities and they become clogged.  Muscles tighten, usually the legs but, as in my case, sometimes the arms,  what they call complicated.  So my diagnosis was Complicated Spontaneous Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.  It took me a year just to learn how to say it.  It is crippling and for those unfortunate people to actually have it, it is painfully life long.  It's one of those diseases you never hear about.  I hadn't.  Mine went away.

HSP is caused when the proteins responsible for cleaning axons of the Upper Motor Neurons aren't produced.  The nerves get dirty and cease to function.  In my case it was more likely an infection of the same axons causing a similar congestion.  It lasted about 2 years.

A second theory is related to the 'death grip' where the brain dies before the muscles can be told to relax.  Like a hydraulic piston that needs a valve opened to release pressure, muscles need to be told to relax.  If the signal to relax is not interpreted due to failure to send (brain) or failure to receive (local muscle) it could result in continued stiffness.  Certainly Borrelia (Lyme Disease) can block a nerve signal; being a spirochete it can drill through and destroy nerves.  Likely p-myxzoa can block nerves also, though I've yet to understand the responsible mechanism.  Perhaps colonizing along a nerve might suffocate or destroy the nerve much like kudzu invading a forest.


Insatiable Deep Itching

Itching comes from an irritation against nerves in the skin, thus itching is only skin deep.  I often get an itch that feels deep into the muscle.  If the deep layers of skin are vastly irritated— perhaps by p-myxzoa, then I imagine there might be an illusion of a much deeper itch.  More likely it is a false itch having nothing to do with an actual irritation.  An infection of the receptors employed to process itching might create a sensation of itching nearly anywhere.  Regardless of its origin, it is insatiable.  Scratching hard and long does no good.  I recall duration to be less than a day.


*Updates*  Symptoms not previously listed


Eyesight

I have minor cataracts and floaters.  I have no way to know if these are caused by infection.  They can result in double vision and poor focus.

More significant is improper vergence or tracking.  Tracking in binocular vision is the act of both eyes pointing to the same object.  Generally, improper tracking is corrected through optical wedges.  I was tested over the course of several visits and was found to have variable vergence.  For that, my eyes could not be corrected with wedges.  I can effectively force proper tracking through effort, strain and concentration but it is tiring and as yet it hasn't helped to correct the condition.

With the condition being variable, it strongly suggests it is due to inflammation of the brain's visual control center.

To test your tracking, have someone block one of your eyes with a card while you focus on a distant object.  With a second card, they need to quickly block the open eye while unblocking the other.  The idea is to quickly switch eyes.  If you have to shift your eye to look at the same object it indicates your eyes are not properly tracking.  Another example- if trying to watch a 3D movie through electronic 3D glasses seems more than just a little difficult your tracking might be off.

My focus is also variably poor.  Most often when one eye is focused the other is not.  Being variable has made getting proper glasses impossible.  I have four pair with different prescriptions.  I wear the pair that works the best at the time.  Often I have to close one eye in order to focus the other.

Bifocals are useful sometimes but usually result in one eye improved and the other worsened.  Mostly my close work is best accomplished without glasses and I just tolerate the blurry vision.

An oddity to my vision is I generally wake up with crystal clear vision, lasting only a few minutes.  This could indicate dry eyes, or it could mean p-myxzoa retreats to richer oxygen when brain functions sleep.  If that is the case, antibiotics might be most effective when taken just before bedtime, allowing them to effect concentrated gatherings of the organism.


Slurred Speech and Facial Droop

Before I began having motion impermanent I went through a long period of facial droop and slurred speech.   Doctors never suggested causes.  I was left to imagine I'd had a stroke, though MRI revealed nothing.  Bell's Palsy is another cause of facial droop.   The muscles of the face cannot get signals from the brain due to swelling of the facial nerve.  With the muscles impaired slurred speech  is pretty much a given.

Facial droop is listed as a symptom of Lyme disease.  I knew nothing of Lyme back then, and I had tested negative five times over two decades.   Only since I've tested positive for protomyxzoa and spent time investigating did I learn that Lyme tests are more unreliable than reliable.

I have found no suggestion of p-myxzoa causing facial droop, but since it is apparent the organism can affect nerves it must also be accepted that it might cause facial droop.   Or I could have undetected Lyme disease.


Weak Neck

There were times when holding my head up was akin to wearing an anvil for a hat.  While I was neither tired nor overworked and the rest of me felt fine, trying to keep my head up left me with a burning exhaustion in my neck muscles.  I could not keep my head from falling to my shoulder.  I would struggle to pull it up only to have it fall again.  This was not a constant condition but occurred dozens of times over months with attacks lasting from minutes to hours.

I found one cause of this to be a broken neck.  A case of a young boy having aged a decade with an undetected broken neck until one day he went paralyzed was reported to have lived with the same problem.  My having been in a number of severe car crashes left me wondering about this with considerable concern.  It was nearest to the time of  the facial droop.  The facial nerve is supposed to have some relation to the neck muscles so I assume it was due to the same impediment.


Lichenoid Keratosis

A biopsy identified this skin disease.  Lichenoid simply refers to the hard crusty feel of the skin— it is likened to lichen.  Keratosis relates to Keratin   Keratin is the chemical that builds fingernails and hair as well as the skin.  My body rejects keratin creating a few very small mosquito bite-like sores that are always in the same place, sometimes irritated, sometimes open and sometimes only dark spots.  I've had some for over a decade, coming and going like a restless volcano.

Health professionals have suggested lichenoid keratosis is related to sunshine, proteins and sweat.  I cannot confirm or oppose.  I've not noticed a pattern there.   I have reason to believe it is related to the hypothyroidism.  When the keratosis is at its worst I have brittle hair and nails as well as chills, all of which increase when I've neglected my thyroid medication.  Neither cause seems conclusive.

This might be significant to some people since it is suggested that the hypothyroidism is connected to p-myxzoa.


Recumbent Discomfort

I don't know if there is a name for this.  I have a difficult time lying flat. It feels like I'm in a bowel.  Oddly when I raise the head of my bed a few degrees it goes away and I feel like I'm lying flat.  I believe it is often associated with an illness suffered by athletes of contact sports— something called mild cognitive impairment (MCI); said to be a forerunner to Alzheimer's.

I can't associate the recumbent discomfort directly with an infection.  I've been in a number of car crashes which might contribute to the sensation.  No one has been able to say how many impacts one might suffer before developing MCI.  In any case, I mention it because I believe p-myxzoa can colonize injured areas and thereby complicate the pathology.

Symptom Recap

This is a long list.  I've done it in this manner in hopes that anyone entering a particular symptom might locate this blog.  So many people are suffering without a clue to what is going on inside of them.  It is frightening to not know why your body and mind are failing.  Many more are misdiagnosed.  My hope is to educate but also to help relieve some stress.   Stress only complicates illness.  While all of these are uncomfortable, I've lived with them for decades or longer.  There is nothing urgent...nothing life threatening so far as I know.  The best thing for anyone to do is to relax and focus and try to understand their body and what is affecting it.  There are things we can do to get by.  Ultimately we do get by.

Some of my symptoms might be due to undiagnosed illness, but for the most part they suggest a relationship to protomyxzoa rheumatica, or Lyme disease, or toxoplasmosis, or celiac disease, or hypothyroidism, or all the above.  I personally believe I wouldn't have any of these if I hadn't lived with this infection my entire life.

This list and its descriptions are here to offer some direction.  Having any of these symptoms does not conclude that you  are dealing with an infection, but if you suspect,  you might do well to have your doctor contact Fry Labs in Scottsdale, AZ.

Personal Note:

I've not updated this blog in a month.  I'd like to update weekly: it takes, on average, three days for me to compose one of these posts.  Due to illness and lack of energy, and still having to endure life in general, I've been working on this one for more than two weeks.

About a month ago I started a new diet geared entirely toward supporting the immune system.  Change was slow but then I began to have some really good days.  And then, like a whiplash, I fell into more intense illness.  Up again, down again.  The changes in me are much more rapid and intense than anything I've ever experienced on antibiotics.  A good many of my long ago symptoms have reared up and the pain I've been in reminds me of how bad this disease can actually get.

P-myxzoa is angry.

I have a good hope for this diet and while the bad days are really bad, the good days are better than I've seen in a long time.  I need to continue to explore the benefits of this diet before I can responsibly pass it along, but I think I've found the beginning of a cure...and without antibiotics.  Time will tell.  Hopefully I'll feel confident about it soon and then I'll post my insights.

JJ

Symptoms: Page Two

Ataxia


Ataxia is not a disease.  It is a description.

Taxi, as in the cab you hail —move from place to place.

A-taxic, difficult (or unable) to move.


It took ten scary years before I found where my motion disturbance lay.  As I look back, I am disappointed in the scores of neurologists I've seen.  You would think one might have realized a connection between my weird motion and the process of proprioception.

Last year, finally, one did.  After my responding to an ingested compound, a recent doctor confirmed  there had been a breach of my blood brain barrier (BBB).  Afterwards, a simple examination led him to be certain of inflammation of the cerebellum, which is responsible for the proprioceptive process.

Even though I told him of protomyxzoa (which was not new to him) he believes it to be caused by Lyme disease, though I never received Lyme as a diagnosis.  For that matter, though I tested positive for protomyxzoa, my other doctor made a point of saying "this is not a diagnosis," and listed me simply as having multiple protozoan infections.  Apparently, unidentified co-infections are easier to slip through insurance.


Proprioception:

Imagine yourself in a strange city.  You have a map, but without knowing where you are currently, you cannot begin to understand which direction to proceed to get to where you are going.  Proprioception is the term used to describe the process by which your brain understands where your body is in space and so understands what it needs to do to move your body where it needs to be.

You might understand it a little easier this way.  Ever been drunk?  Alcohol affects proprioception.  When the officer asks you to close your eyes and touch the tip of your nose, he is testing your proprioceptive process.  You can cheat and peek and get away with it —if you don't get caught.  Visual perception is a second process which tells your brain where your body is.  But if you can't peek then you'll likely touch your nostril, your cheek...your forehead.  This is because the brain cannot accurately read the position of your joints to know precisely where your limbs are, so your result can be way off.

Intoxication is a global impedance in the system and though you might wobble, all parts of your body are working with the same sluggish delay.  They still communicate at the same speed.  Inflammation is not necessarily global and communications within the process can become sporadic and cues can be missed resulting in unsteadiness, jerking and sometimes freezing in place.  This happens most often when something changes; an unexpected dip in the sidewalk; taking a step up or down; changing direction.

It takes a minute.  I look, I concentrate and with a total lack of any grace, I manage to continue.  After a moment my brain understands the new series of motions and some gracefulness returns...until the next change.  One of my oddities related to this is I have the darnedest time washing the edges of a spatula —wipe up, across, down...my hand goes completely out of control and my entire arm goes tense.

That our bodies move is truly remarkable.  The complexity is so vast and any one malfunctioning part of the system is going to be noticeable.  Motion requires complete signals from many parts of the brain; the frontal lobe; the cerebral cortex; the amygdala to name a few.  Proprioception is only a small part of it.  There are also the central and peripheral nervous systems to consider, to say nothing of the affect from fatigue or exhaustion.  The extent and location of the inflammation will determine the sort of motion disturbance that presents.  It is my belief that any of the microbes that are related to the diseases referenced in this blog are capable of causing any movement disorder and quite possibly mimic many diseases, throwing your diagnosis and treatment way off track.  I was diagnosed with Spontaneous Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia and for two years I built my life to deal with that end.

What a relief to find out it was only brain damage.

I can only speak with regard to my own experience but here are some things for you to help your doctor decide if your motion impairment might be related to proprioception.


Less obvious symptoms:

• Loss of gracefulness; dance, sports, craftsmanship.
• Tasks become 'just harder to do'; e.g., stacking blocks, dealing cards.
• Difficulty performing easy, familiar tasks with eyes closed.
• Loss of coordination when something changes; surface grade, or travel direction.
• Loss of coordination during repetitive motions (as in an assembly line).
• Extreme changes in handwriting or artistic ability.
• Concentrating improves simple motions.

More obvious symptoms:

• Jerky motion that smooths if you slow down.
• Difficulty in targeting an object when you reach to grasp it.
• Standing to walk begins with difficulty but quickly becomes easier after several steps.
• Regular stumbling without loss of equilibrium (no vertigo or feeling of falling).
• Feeling as though there is physical resistance against your motion.
• Sudden momentary loss of control resembling the surprise reflex of a baby.
• Unable to stand perfectly still without constant corrections.
• Needing to be in contact with a stationary object to feel relaxed; e.g., merely touching the counter stabilizes you.
• Puzzling results in neurological strength testing; as in uniform loss of strength in opposite appendages, but only in one direction (e.g., can't lift toes against light opposing force although other results are normal).
• Long term motion disturbance without loss of strength or atrophy.
• A particular motion becomes easier or harder depending on body position; e.g., easier to walk with arms raised, easier to stand still with chin down.
• Freezing in place, which can be alleviated with concentration, time, or rocking or swinging to 'get things going'.

If you suffer more than a few of the lesser conditions, or any of the more sever symptoms you might want to pay closer attention to some of the others.  You just might have bugs in your brain.

Symptoms: Page One

These examples are to be considered 'expected to be' and not absolutely due to p-myxzoa.  I'll use p-myxzoa for the sake of this article but there are likely a number of organisms that could be considered in kind.  Celiac disease or Toxoplazmosis might cause or contribute to any of my symptoms as well as unsuspected causes.

A quick list of symptoms:

Ataxia
Body pain; fibromialgia
Brain Fog
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Decision making
eyes; tracking, focus
insatiable deep itching
panic
breath starved; shortness of breath
muted taste
paresthesia
sleep vibrations
skin sensitivity
spasms
Twitches
uncertainty
hearing, tone, pitch
Memory
Processing the abstract
Swollen knees; aching joints
Cognition buzz



Memory: Effect and Affect

This would be the oldest of my symptoms dating back as long as I can remember to early childhood.  While, 'I remember not remembering,' sounds like a setup for a comedy routine, you must understand that there are many kinds of memory.  Any single recall is a tree of connections that can relate to time memory, color memory, smell, sight, sound, feeling....seemingly endless attributes to a single experience.  Pick any of your memories and try to recall everything related to it.  To do so you will need to access maybe hundreds of memory locations in your brain.  Should any of these locations be compromised, the memory will be incomplete, or even compounded with other memories.

Memory is existence.  Without it we are looped in a single moment never knowing where we've been or where we are going.  We cannot function without memory.  For this I believe memory impairment is the most life altering symptom you can suffer.

Labels— This would be my most significant long term memory impediment.  A label would include a word or a name used to identify a person or thing.  Aside from forgetting every ones names, a simple example would be the word 'car'.  Car is a label that is associated with the idea of a big machine that moves people— your Dad's car.  If you were to say to me "Get in the car," I would have no difficulty understanding and could even reply, "Which car?"  Hearing the word triggers the association and I am able to recall the label to say it.  However, without hearing the word it would be lost to my recall.  I'd still understand the big machine and what it did.  Trying to initiate the label myself would be like, "I can't find my...uh...my...that thing I ride around in."  The odd part is, hours or even days later, the word 'car' would pop unexpectedly into my mind as though some mental subroutine had continued to search for the word I needed to complete that sentence.

This memory issue would impact general conversation, school testing and essays, writing of any kind, effecting grades and work quality.  Label misuse and definition confusion are common in society.  I don't think it is all a lack of education.  When speaking, a good many of my everyday words revert to old misconceived meanings.  I try repetitive retraining but even that tends to backslide.  What is first learned becomes strongest.

Inverting positives and negatives is a difficulty I suffer.  Instrumental vs detrimental is one of my many sets of inversion malfunctions.  I am fully aware of what each word means, but in conversation the one might come up in place of the other. Later the mistake will pop into my head, much too late for me to make myself properly understood.

There are human interaction issues related to label association impediment, what might be called fallout.  Once while being questioned by a policeman I paused to recall a word.  He assumed I was taking time to make something up and from then on he believed I was guilty and that anymore that I said in my defense was a lie.  Policemen are trained to suspect, but this could be our teachers, our bosses or a parent influenced by our inability to deliver conversation quickly and accurately.  Those trained in lie detection are taught that stalls like these are a sign of a lie.

Label association impairment changes your life in more ways than you can imagine.

An unrelated but reveling aspect of this same mechanism would be the stroke victim.  Often their labels are mixed up and lost.  "Get in the car," is understood but the reply might be, "Which typewriter?"  Or looking bewildered in a parking lot, "I can't find my typewriter."  The label 'car' has been deleted and 'typewriter' has slipped into its place.  In hearing themselves they know they erred but repeating simply repeats the same mistake.  This indicates actual brain damage where the braincells that held (or pointed to) the label 'car' have died and the association to the big machine that moves people now recalls 'typewriter' instead.  Car has to be relearned.

As a side note, this indicates that hearing a word, verses saying that word require access to separate parts of the brain, the latter seeming to be more vulnerable than the first.  Understanding what we hear while failing to say what we mean is an obvious language center impediment.  Is everyone with this difficulty fighting an infection?  Perhaps.

Opposed to a stroke, with p-myxzoa infection the label is still recallable, just not readily recallable.  It's there.  It comes eventually.  The impediment must be a temporary instance of nerve blockage due to congestion, or more likely, localized oxygen deprivation.  Curing the illness should restore the functions, as I recall fighting the bug back on a few occasions and my speech becoming sharper.

A final language impediment is the temporary loss of word definition and also word appearance.  While writing this I had to look up 'many' because I couldn't recognize it as correct.  Single words come and go from my understanding, the worst of which having been my own name.  There is enough recollection to apply the word but it seems foreign and uncertain.

This all seems like a "get over it" sort of thing, but it is no small issue.  Language center impediment is due to real-time malfunctioning of the association processes of the brain.  Communication is the mainstay of civilization and our real-time reactions count the most to society.  When impaired it affects our social ranking and respectability, impacting our educations, our jobs, our friendships, and our social defenses. Those with impairments are easy targets, while eloquent speakers are less likely to be accused or bullied.  Even though there is no actual relation, people associate intelligence with how well one expresses them self.  This one impediment is a handicap in its own right and will greatly limit our quality of life.  That's difficult to get over.


Facial Recognition— Or face blindness is another socially damaging memory impediment.  Our minds record the subtle differences between faces as different people.  When these differences are lost due to memory impediments it creates a long list of difficulties.  Strangers seem familiar.  New acquaintances are not easily recalled.  Friends are strangers.

I once met a friendly man in a park only to discover that he and I had been working together for nearly a year.  Naturally my failing to recognize him was insulting and ultimately damaged the relationship we had at work.  The odd thing about this sort of memory failure is I recognized him easily so long as he was in the environment I was accustomed to seeing him.

Some faces are recalled easily.  I find it curious that while we each have two eyes, a nose and a mouth that they can be so extraordinarily different.  The subtleties in the shapes of facial elements cause us to find one person attractive and another ugly.  Logically there would be some relationship between how we appreciate a particular face and how it is recorded.  Some of these subtleties are recalled easily, some after repetition, but others simply don't record.  There are people whose apperence I simply cannot recall.

Feeling that you recognize people that you've never seen, associating them with a previously recorded personality or face, would seem like a nuisance but not so big a deal— "Pardon me, I thought you were so-and-so." ...unless you are a witness in a courtroom and wrongly identify an innocent person.  Sitting on a jury would be another place facial recognition impairment is devastating.  We are expected to recognize and catalog people without effort.  For those that can, it is difficult to understand those of us that can't.

Failure to properly recognize a face affects how you respond to the person beneath it.  This affects how they respond to you.  It affects social blending as well as easiness with people.  Without familiarity there are few reasons to go anywhere.  We tend to avoid places that caused us discomfort, like the uncertainties caused by lack of recognition.

Conceptual Memory—  Reading a book, writing a play, planning a website, designing a space shuttle, organizing a wedding,...to do these things efficiently you must be able to process the concepts in large portions.  To read a page only to have forgotten the contents of the previous page; to write a scene and forget where it needed to lead; to have difficulty envisioning the cake and the table cloth and the table in a single concept— let alone the chairs and the guests and the caterers...it is a case of the whole being divided forcing us to deal only with tiny sections at a time.  There is no plan, we merely deal with what is visible.  It is difficult for me to read a book; every page is a micro story seemingly disconnected from the rest of the book.  I find writing non-fiction— such as this blog, is something I can accomplish (quality notwithstanding), but writing the fiction I so love to do is nearly impossible.  Fatigue sets in almost instantly.  Sentences seem disassociated.

I can no longer see a big picture.

I describe this as, "My mind has gotten small," which might not be too far from the truth.  The memory warehouse that used to hold all the details for instant retrieval is now little more than a bus locker.  My theory on this relates to oxygen depletion.  It takes a lot of fuel to push the mental engine and when it starves for breath something must compensate.  You might relate it to a car with a dirty fuel filter, it will idle fine but as soon as you give it the gas it bogs down.

My decent into shrinking conceptual memory was slow and started the same time as the ataxia, which will be discussed in the next update. With the latter being a matter of a breached blood brain barrier, since they seemed to have developed synchronously, I believe conceptual memory impairment is also a blood brain barrier issue.

What are the reasons for memory failure?   A microbe is tiny but still hundreds of times larger than a synapse so they can't directly block the thought process.  Aside from cell death there can only be a limited number of causes.  Since the brain is an electro-chemical processing plant, microbe excrement will introduce numerous gases and compounds into the system that might alter brain chemistry.  A good brainwashing could be in order.  High CO2 levels might affect memory function.  The bug has to breath too.  It steals oxygen and replaces it with CO2 which might prevent red blood cells from absorbing and transporting oxygen to downstream systems.  Nerve impediments from a colony's pressure against it might block signal impulses across neurons.  These are temporary as well as migratory conditions.  What functions one moment might not the next.

I'm not up on my herbs but I know a good many claim the ability to enhance memory. I don't see them as a fix for this, or even a crutch.  There is little effect from enhancements on a crippled system. You're putting octane booster in water. Restoring memory health requires nothing short of getting the bug out.  Since the attack is behind the blood brain barrier which blocks antibiotics the best thing is to keep your natural immune system as healthy as you can.  Diet is the key to that.

We are but a collection of our memories.  We perform only as well as our memories function.  Memory is everything.

Understanding Protomyxzoa Rheumatica

    I am a patient of Dr Stephen Fry, operator of Fry Labs in Scottsdale, AZ.  The information I have is as I understood it by speaking with him directly. Much of what I believe is from assumption and is here to garner thought and opinions.  Those assumptions are based on my living with this disease, and reading what I can find.  I am not affiliated with any medical or research organization and what you read here should inspire your own discovery, but not lead you to believe that any of this is absolute knowledge.

First, a clarification.  There are several Internet sources that refer to Fry Labs' FL1953 organism as protomyxozoa (note the O that follows the X).  There is a fish parasite called myxozoa, and I assume this is the source of confusion.  Myxozoa is a metazoa while protomyxzoa is a protozoa. The differences are vast. If you want to learn about eels then don't look up snakes.  Please, Google responsibly.

Rheumatica refers to pain and swelling.

For the sake of this blog, protomyxzoa will also be labled as p-myxzoa.

The significant characteristics of protomyxzoa rheumatica:

Rather than a virus, or a bacteria which we think of when we consider illnesses, p-myxzoa is a protozoa, like an amoeba.  It's classified as an animal, sometimes said as animal-like.  It thrives in oxygen rich blood and thus enjoys surfing the circulatory system.  You can deduce from this that p-mxzoa can go everywhere.  It lives in small colonies surrounded by a biofilm.  A biofilm is a protective layer p-myxzoa creates from our own body's fats and minerals.  Our immune systems and antibiotics have a very difficult time penetrating the biofilm and thus p-myxzoa is very hard to kill.

P-myxzoa is a strong survivor with the ability to retreat into red blood cells and bone marrow where it hides from attacking autoimmune cells.  As such it is mentioned as incurable.  It is my belief from my own experience that this method of evasion can allow the host to feel completely healthy, perhaps for years, until p-myxzoa decides to emerge again.

I somehow got the notion it has a life cycle of about four weeks— lengthy for a microorganism.  As it divides it becomes vulnerable.

It is capable of anchoring its protected colonies within blood vessels, perhaps at the mouth of smaller veins.  The adverse effect of this is a reduction of oxygen to minor system areas due to blockage, and as I believe, also creates a competition for oxygen between the organism and body systems.  It might further result in an increase in carbon dioxide levels; any animal that uses oxygen emits CO2.  The body's reaction to increased CO2 is to constrict veins to reduce oxygen usage so CO2 levels will drop, further limiting oxygen to body systems.  I believe it is this mechanism that causes all day tired fatigue, as well as an inherent restlessness.

Colonies are intended to grow.  For this I assume there is a possibility of completely blocking a vein, cutting off oxygen to that body system but also to a good portion of the colony.  When an organism is threatened it changes its operandi in favor of survival.  An oxygen starved colony will break up due either to desperate flight of living organisms, or the rejection of dead organisms.  This of course would restore blood flow to the endangered system.  I believe this might be significant to a condition called transient ischemic attack or TIA, which appears as mini strokes. The condition is alleviated once the colony disperses.

Dr Fry has publicly stated that many of his patients with such diseases as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Autism, Attention Deficit, and more have tested positive for p-myxzoa, and he considers that my own ceiliac disease and hypothyroidism are also a direct result of the p-mxzoa infection.

P-myxzoa lives harmoniously with other protozoan organisms, as indicated by my positive tests for both protomxzoa and toxoplasma (gandii), but it is aggressive against bacteria and viruses.  While my classmates were sick for days, I always got over cold and flu in a matter of hours...sick in the morning and playing happily in the afternoon.  I suppose I can't blame my mother for thinking I just wanted to get out of school.  To my recollection I have never had symptoms of a virus attack for an entire day.

Any organism must consume nourishment to sustain life.  As yet, I am uncertain to the specific diet of p-myxzoa but it stands to reason that it would eat organic matter within body systems.  I am certain p-myxzoa travels freely throughout the body, and as evident from my symptoms over the past ten years, it can even breach the blood-brain barrier, the body's natural firewall against inflammation of critical brain systems.  This leads me to wonder if p-myxzoa is capable of consuming body tissue.  Should it be, the list of illnesses it can cause is understandable, particularly with consideration to demyelinating diseases such as MS, Lupus, PLS and ALS.

A colony could interfere with nerve impulses in a number of ways including constriction and consumption.  While this train of thought points more toward symptoms, which will be examined in a future entry, it is imperative to understand that a consuming, growing parasite that is without bounds can present an unending list of symptoms. It is another of my beliefs that favored vacation spots for p-myxzo is within  preexisting and degenerative damage such as spinal compressions and fractures, making the effects of a minor condition more severe.

In breif:

• Protomyxzoa rheumatica is a protozoan parasite sometimes referred to as FL1953.  
• Its existence is ancient, still it is largely unknown due to it's discovery being within the last twenty years.  
• Although its DNA has now been mapped the CDC does not yet recognize it as a disease.
• Information is not readily available pending establishment of patents and credits.
• Detection is proprietary and 99% of doctors will have no clue to it's existence or where to go for testing.  (Fry Labs, Scottsdale, AZ)
• Its symptoms are most often diagnosed as other illnesses.  
• It is believed by some researchers that it will eventually prove to be one of the most common infections.  
• It is a vector born parasite, meaning it can be passed by animal or insect, usually through direct contact with blood— most commonly, ticks and mosquitoes..
• Being a blood hosted organism, it is reasonable to assume that until it is widely known and tests are licensed that transfusion will be a source of infection.
• It may be dormant for years, making point of infection difficult to determine. 
• It is difficult to treat and nearly impossible to eradicate. 
• Treatment will take months or years to show results at which time it will be reduced but remain life long.

While all this seems overwhelming and horrifying, I believe in general, the body's natural defense system will not permit p-myxzoa to establish itself in most people.  Proof of this is, while p-myxzoa is ancient, largely unknown, and easily transmittable, people continue to test negative for it. P-myxzoa is likely a co-infection depending on an already compromised immune system to flourish.  My research into this parasite has suggested that those that have tested positive are usually also positive for other illnesses.

The ideas of 'incurable' and 'life long treatment' are daunting.  But after getting p-myxzoa under control and symptoms subside, keeping it under control is a simple matter of an oral antibiotic once a week.  Incurable means 'as yet incurable' and while it is a resourceful little bug, as we get stronger it gets weaker and in the chance that your body can kill those last few stragglers before they go underground, cured is a possibility even now.

Please continue to visit and comment as you see fit.  Future blog entries will regard symptoms, treatments, diet, alternative treatments and more.


JJ

The Enemy

   Call them bartonella, borrelia, protomyxzoa rhuematica or what have you— they are all enemy invaders.  A simple walk in the woods, a picnic by a lake, or a tear in a window screen could set you up for a lifetime of pain and sickness.

Commonly, vector illnesses are transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks.   They excrete a lubrication to ease penetration and increase blood flow.  It's possible that this natural adaptation can transmit microorganisms but ordinarily we inject ourselves when we slap that little sucker.  Burning a tick off with a match or cigarette is a good way to have their last few meals regurgitated into your bloodstream.  To remove a tick use tweezers to grasp it as near your skin as possible and gently pull it away. Ideally you'll want to remove the tick whole, without leaving tick bits in the bite.

Mosquitoes should be shooed away.  If you have a sense of vengeance then slap that SOB in mid air, but not during the bite.  Wash the area with disinfectant quickly after any bite.

This blog is going to detail my life of illness.  I doubt you care much about me so we both know you are reading this in hopes of reveling causes of your own discomforts— or someone you know.  That's fine.  It's my primary goal to pass on what I've learned/believe.  While there is no sure way to know, I think I have been infected since I was a kid; more than forty-five years.  I know the symptoms, and I can recall them all the way back to grade school years.  I didn't know what was wrong until testing positive for protomyxzoa and toxoplasma gondii in summer of 2011.  My education started then.

Our bodies are designed to fight these invaders.  If you have a strong immune system your symptoms might come and go.  But these microbes are masters of evasion and often hide from both the immune system and antibiotics.  Without extensive and continued effective treatment you can expect a recurrence.  How long of a treatment?  Perhaps years.

I need to express, no one should self-diagnose, especially from this blog or any source on the Internet.  Be smart.  The best way to health is understanding what might be, and intelligently eliminating possibilities.

Realize health care givers are limited.  No one has all the answers.  The day after graduation, they forget 60% of what they were taught . Your best chance is to listen to them and then make competent suggestions.  If I might give a couple examples...

1) When my son was little he suffered severe eye welting and other allergy symptoms.  When he was taken to see an allergist, the doctor avoided several possibilities, stating he didn't think they were the case.  In time my wife insisted he perform a wider range of testing.  Ultimately, my son was allergic to almost every grass and tree in Virgina— where we lived at the time.  Also he had allergies for soy, corn, peanuts and citrus.  None of these had been among the doctor's suggestions.  The doctors experience wouldn't allow him to make those connections.  After the results he admitted he never would have thought any of them.

2) I have gone through seven wrong diagnoses and failed treatments to match.  A dozen doctors claimed psychosomatic causes.  Apparently they were not aware that in the past two decades there have been more than forty new microorganisms discovered.  How could they possibly understand symptoms for those?

I've had doctors who were certain I had an autoimmune disorder, one stating it was likely a compound issue but he didn't want to look for them.  Another top neurologist simply said she couldn't help me.  I appreciated her honesty, but she charged me all the same.

When a doctor is wrong it robs you of any possible chance of recovery.

When a doctor insists you are suffering with a somatoform disorder it's worse than a wrong diagnosis, it effects you emotionally.  Before you get upset you need to ask them for proof.  There will be none.  It is a diagnosis of convenience.  The lack of proof of anything else is all the proof they have.  Once a doctor says psycho anything...find another doctor because that one will never examine you seriously again.

The thing for you to do is stay educated.  Keep an open mind.  You aren't diagnosed until your treatment is working.  Your doctor isn't going to be able to cover all the bases.  Tests are not all conclusive, especially a negative.  I've read an ELISA test for Lyme disease has as much as a 90% failure rate.  Understand, they do not test for microorganisms.  They have to test for specific antibodies or proteins, not only, but they have to test while the immune system is active.  If you're illness is autoimmune suppressive, the pertinent test will likely be negative.  That is why there are so many clinical diagnoses.  The tests can be unreliable.  Look up Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD).  Even if you don't have Lyme disease these doctors understand microbe inflammations and your chances for a fast recovery might just double.

When you are sick you know it.  Your best chance is to list your most severe symptoms and afterwards answer your doctors questions honestly and briefly.  Think of yourself as a researcher and you are on the clock.  Only being educated will lead you to a proper diagnosis when one of these bugs takes up residence in your body.

Best of luck to you.