I just wanted to say: it's unfair to judge all drugs by the side-effects of Prednisone. We all know it's nasty stuff. You and I are lucky: our MG symptoms aren't life-threatening, so we have the luxury of turning it down.

Yes, death is a possible side-effect of Prednisone. It's also a side-effect of not being able to breathe. When you can't breathe, or can't swallow without choking, you need a treatment that is likely to work, and work quickly. You can put up with double vision for six months while waiting to see if the raw-food diet is going to work, but you can't put up with not being able to breathe for six months.

I'm on Imuran. No side effects yet that I know of, though I realize I'm taking a risk. It's made me a lot better. My doctors have not recommended Prednisone for me because of its side-effects. Your doctors should have discussed other options with you, too.

Abby

they did and i turned it all down.

i agree with what you are saying but the problem is getting off the cocktail bandwagon.

most never do..........

once the liver blows out from years of filtering chemicals thru you do not need to worry about it any longer.

as soon as they allow me to post weblinks, another side of real heath care will be revealed.

s



s

Just a reminder for all to stay on the main topic here and avoid negative personal remarks.

Imuran .........

" Azathioprine is an immunosuppressant, that is, a drug that is used to suppress the immune system.

The exact mechanism of action of azathioprine is not known.
Safety and efficacy of azathioprine in children has not been established.

The most common serious side effects of azathioprine involve the cells of the blood and gastrointestinal system.

Azathioprine can cause serious lowering of the white blood cell count, resulting in an increased risk of infections.

All patients taking azathioprine require regular testing of blood for blood cell counts and liver toxicity testing....."
.................................................. .........

As i previously stated in this thread, all drugs surpress the immune system and slow down / stop the metabolic process.

" The exact mechanism of action of azathioprine is not known.......... "

so its ok for adults to take it even though we really do not understand what it does in the body but do not give it to smaller versions of the human race because it will probably be toxic and kill them.

carry on.

s

I thought that the whole point was to suppress the immune system. Autoimmune disorders are the result of an overly ambitious immune system.

.....................................

t he human body is a sea of metabolisms.

anything that helps this process, strengthens your immune system and reverses disease.

but............
the " fraud and deception assoc. " aka the FDA, is fully responsible for getting a " safe food and drug sytem " in the USA.

they need to be fired.

" metabolic syndrome " is fully alive and well in america and it is linked to over 75% of all diseases.

if metabolic syndrome is present, there will be high levels of lipids( fats), high sugars, high proteins and high triglycerides in the blood of all americans.

every cell in the body is dependant on the quality of the blood.

high proteins gives you kidney disease. ( undigested proteins )
high lipids gives you heart disease and stroke. (undigested fats )
high sugars gives you diabetes (undigested sugars )

so all undigested nutrients = toxic blood.

if your blood is healthy, your body will be healthy.

if your blood is sick and toxi, you get to die early.

health is when your body can build cells faster than it can break them down.

sickness and disease is when you are breaking down faster than you are building up.

pure and simple, that's it.

.................................................. ........

so we remove the metabolic enzymes from healthy fresh raw food by processing it.

the digestive enzymes are now gone.

in order to make this " inert garbage " taste better for retail consumption
the FDA allows a neuro toxin that punches holes in your brain and makes it look like swiss cheese to be added in.

we all know it as MSG or 35 other " covert under the table names " allowed by the fraud and decep. lads in order to disguise it to the consuming public masses.

so now we have enzyme devoid franken food with neuro toxic additives going into the body with zero enzymes.

the body is starving for real food with enzymes, cannot find any, so it starts to break down.

if you go to your heath care professional and he tells you he is going to " strengthen you immune system............"

you then say " wow, that's a damn good idea.........where do we start......? "

but if he says " you have xyz disease, hi blood pressure or high blood sugar, take this drug ....."
you then need to fire him and run for the exit door.

that is not health care.
every medication slows or stops the metabolic process.

metabolism is your body building up
every drug breaks you down faster than you build up, bar none.

if you supress the immune system with any drug , you are rolling backwards, not forwards.

.................................................

the " standard american diet " is 90% processed food that is enzyme deficient with no nutrients so you body cannot rebuild.

processed food should be labelled " not for human consumption........"

and it is not fit for your dogs either.

university of cal. irvine study:
children who eat 3 hot dogs a week have a 12 fold increase in lukemia and brain tumours.
a 1200% increase.

you read that right, look it up.

all hot dogs and fast food national chain burgers and chicken nuggets are made from hormone laden, genetically altered beast and fowl that is fed grains with a ton of antibiotics added in to keep them standing up just long enuf to get to the slaughter house.

not in my gut.

s

Actually I grow a lot of my own food and it is all natural. It hasn't cured me yet. I do believe in avoiding fried foods and processed foods.

It really is my understanding that autoimmune disease are the result of your immune system attacking your body. It reminds me of the family dog biting the kids. Well that dog may need a muzzle. I am not on any immune suppressants at this time. If I get worse, it may happen.

I am not only in this life for quantity of time. I want quality. If I can't do the things that I want to do, then I'll take whatever drugs help me, even if they only help for a short while.

As far as diet, I used to eat fried foods. I never ate vegetables. I ate bags of chips. I was too fat. I drank way too much liquor and beer. And I was perfectly healthy. This dang myesthenia gravis came on two years after I improved my lifestyle. Maybe I should go buy some beer and fried chicken.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ultrawel.../1/ZAhu6oa_2Ss

Mark Hyman, MD is what medical care should be in north america.

sadly, the pill pushers are still the status quo.

I do not know Mark Hyman Personally. I have had no academic discussions with him and was not under his care.

From looking at some of his you-tube videos, His list of publications, and trying to learn a bit more about "functional medicine" and the functional university ( I read some of what they have on their site, and also asked them to send me some of their teaching cases).

I have reached the following conclusions:

1. This is a very well-spoken charizmatic physician.

2. There are very few original thoughts or ideas in what he says or in his publications. He mostly writes very good reviews about what is known.

3. the vast majority of his publications are in a journal in which he is on the editorial board.

3. He is making an excellent academic (and I believe also well-paying) career out of this.

4. There is nothing novel in the "functional medicine" approach. It is based on studies published in the medical literature (some out-dated) and scientific journals. They do put more emphasis on nutrition and environmental exposure, but again they do not have any novel data or their own original research. Much of what they suggest is based on reasonable and intelligent assumptions. Yet, they sell it as the "medicine of the future".

5. the kind of medical practice they encourage is very time consuming (so unfortunately not practical without major and required changes in the health care system), and expensive to the patient ( much of it will probably not be covered by most health care plans). They do suggest health care reforms, but not in the position to do much about it. (and in that they are not different from many physicians around the world).

6. They do not advocate abandoning medications, but do advocate carefully reading the medical literature and using them wisely (and in that they are no different from many good physicians around the world).
Although, some of the you-tube videos may be interpreted in that way.

If I summarize what he says in plain language (without the spins and hypes) it would be:

The combination of being overworked, having significant emotional stress (due to a hard divorce), poor nutrition (like most american physicians I was grabbing junk food which I quickly ate, not to waste precious time) and an infection made me collapse.
instead of understanding this, I went to numerous physicians, who looked at me like pieces of a puzzle. They gave me names that meant nothing and symptomatic treatments without trying to seriously understand what is wrong with. Even the psychiatrist just gave me antidepressants.
None of them bothered to look at me as a person. None of them realized that what I need is some rest, proper nutrition and emotional support. None of them realized that I was not ill or depressed just overworked and under enormous stress. I too (being an over-ambitious person failed to understand that).
Trying to understand what is wrong with me, I went back to what I learned in medical school (well, I know I said what I learned there didn't help, but where the heck do you think is my knowledge in biochemistry and metabolic cycles from?). I realized how important it is to have proper nutrition and letting my body rest.

It also made me realize that the american medical system is treating so many people in my condition as suffering from diseases which require medications, instead of advising life-style changes and proper nutrition.
Going back to basic biology (which I failed to realize its importance in medical school) also made me read some more. I found out that while I was busy working as a GP, there has been enormous amount of research going on.
I learned about systems biology, epigenetics and numerous other biological research. I was fascinated by it (even though I never got a very deep understanding so failed to understand the current limitations of applying this kind of research to medical practice). I also realized (like many other physicians, among which are the former editor of the prestigious journal NEJM) that many of the medications I was giving my patients on a regular basis are based on poor evidence. And that there is too much influence of large pharma companies. (what a revelation!)

As I gradually recovered (with better nutrition, rest and emotional support), I started to realize that this is a true gold-mine. I can treat (basically healthy) people or people with relatively mild chronic diseases (in which the harm of pharmacological treatment clearly outweighs potential benefit) and make their life better, I can teach other health care professionals and share my "insights" with them, and I can join the editorial board of a journal which advocates what I have learned and publish numerous papers that way.

There is nothing wrong in any of that, as long as it doesn't lead to people reaching wrong conclusions and as long as he is aware that he too is selling a product and has a lot to gain from it.

..........................