PCB's and Peripheral Neuropathy

MelodyL · 12-31-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyclelops

Marlene has a point. Blood will only tell you what is circulating. And if they do find something in blood, in general, no ranges or limits have been established on these compounds.

Most of them are ubiquitous. Polar bear cubs are full of PFOAs. Male fish are estrogenized, and it isn't pretty.

Most of these compounds are very hard to get rid of. As Marlene said, most are stored in fat, which makes them stick around a very, very long time. We are stuck with this garbage in our systems. I think all we can do is try to minimize our exposure to the substances we can control, such as in our food, in our cookware, perhaps in some of our clothes. Problem is that is very expensive and laborious to do.

Unless you grow your own food, which is horribly labor intensive (believe me, I know), it is hard to know what you are getting. 'Oregon Tilth' certification is the best certification out there as far as I know, and I don't know how well they enforce it. It is the premiere certification in 'green circles'.

Joining a CSA, or community supported agriculture will likely get you pretty natural food. Buying from farmers that use organic or natural food is good. I sell my fruits and veggies. I have yet to make a real profit....maybe next summer. I cringe at the prices at 'organic' stores. Thing is, organic is very expensive to grow. Horribly labor intensive. If you go straight to the grower, you eliminate the middle man and it is cheaper.

I would not do chelation or any other expensive treatment when their is no evidence it helps.

Hi. I agree, we probably can never do anything about Alan's PN. But we can do SOMETHING about what we now put in our bodies, and that's why I SPROUT!!!

I cannot tell you the difference in the way I feel and how easy it is. I simply grow my own baby plants (all organic), and I make the most colorful salads and foods. Alan loves them (thank goodness).

Alan once weighed over 300 lbs and used to drink (when he was in his late teens and early 20's), and he smoked rather heavily until he was 31. He quit for one simple reason. He was an insurance investigator and he read all the reports and all these people who had died had one thing in common. THEY ALL SMOKED. So he threw away his pack of butts and that was it.

But maybe the damage to his nervous system had already begun. Hasn't drunk or smoke in over 30 years but what we do early in life, can sometimes come and bite us.

At least we eat good NOW!!

Thanks for all the good links and good info.

Hopefully 2010 will bring us great strides and better treatments and solutions for PN.

Melody

cyclelops · 12-31-2009, 10:50 AM

I know being in a huge city, you may not have CSAs available, but you can join a local organization that can direct you to locally grown food. A good thing about big cities, is that you DO have access to lots of organic food stores. For me, it is a 30 mile drive. I have no choice but to grow my own or buy local.

I am struggling with acquiring some laying hens at this point. Hubby is not happy about that, lol. He doesn't want to take care of them in winter, (I seldom do outside work when it is below 20 degrees-can't take it.) and I won't butcher them in the Fall, since they can lay quite well for two years, and I am loathe to kill a young animal. He has to chop their heads off, after I hypnotize them.....then I have to do the 'processing'. I can't kill a bug.

Hubby says just buy eggs and meat from my friend....eh, I hate to bug her all the time and half the time she is sold out.

Here we have access to a lot of organic eggs, bison meat, chicken, oh, and honey. We have lots of local organic milk producers, but you have to buy milk at the store, since farmers here can not sell raw milk. I buy 'Organic Valley', which comes from a lot of farms in our state.

I am so glad you are growing things! You can do something no matter where you live!

You are completely correct, we must do something. Do nothing is not an option.

Now if I could get rid of those 100 butternut squash in my basement!

nide44 · 12-31-2009, 11:07 AM

Mel,
There is no published study or hard evidence
that relates neuropathy to smoking - none whatsoever !
Probably because no study has ever been done, relating smoking & PN.
All the docs say stop, but that is general in preventative measures or because of existent problems.
I am scheduled for a CT of my chest in Jan, because an x-ray of my chest earlier this month showed evidence of my 45+ yrs of smoking. I know I'm gonna haveta stop in the near future, because my doc said emphysema was showing on the x-ray.
I thought it was bronchitis, but now I know its all (COPD ??) related.

cyclelops · 12-31-2009, 11:13 AM

Oh Mel, I forgot to mention that many large cities deliver organic milk to your door. In glass bottles no less. That beats buying a cow!

MelodyL · 12-31-2009, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nide44

Mel,
There is no published study or hard evidence
that relates neuropathy to smoking - none whatsoever !
Probably because no study has ever been done, relating smoking & PN.
All the docs say stop, but that is general in preventative measures or because of existent problems.
I am scheduled for a CT of my chest in Jan, because an x-ray of my chest earlier this month showed evidence of my 45+ yrs of smoking. I know I'm gonna haveta stop in the near future, because my doc said emphysema was showing on the x-ray.
I thought it was bronchitis, but now I know its all (COPD ??) related.

Bob:

When you are ready to quit, YOU'LL QUIT.

All I know is that when I go for a walk around the corner, and I walk up 18th avenue, all I see is people smoking, and when they walk past me, I have to inhale all their smoke. I cross the street, only to find the same situation. To me, (and I don't understand this at all), MORE people OF ALL AGES, seem to be smoking. And I have to breathe in what they are breathing out.

Makes one want to go out and by a face mask.

And a person came up to me and said "Merry Christmas and I almost died for the smell of smoke". But I gather that because I'm a non smoker, I will smell smoke on someone and they don't smell it on themselves because they are a smoker????

And while there is no direct link to smoking and PN, there is carbon monoxide in smoke, (as well as tar and other lovely stuff), so why someone WOULD TAKE UP THIS HABIT is beyond my comprehension.

I mean, I can fully understand YEARS ago, when it didn't give the warnings on a pack of cigs. But they do NOW, and they have all these commercials showing the people's lungs and harmful effects.

I have asked many women why they continue to smoke and the answer IS ALWAYS THE SAME.

I don't want to be fat.

You gotta love that response.

Mel

echoes long ago · 12-31-2009, 02:35 PM

While you can change your eating habits and stop smoking, just living we are surrounded by a vast array of toxic chemicals. Upholstery, coolants,preservatives, electronics, etc. the list is endless. There is only so much you can do unless you live off the grid and even then you have to get water from somewhere.

Starglow · 12-31-2009, 06:32 PM

Has anyone tried fasting on a regular basis?

Fasting is supposed to help the body eliminate the buildup of toxins and other crud that builds up in the body over time to promote better health and healing.

I also drink pure aloe juice to help the "innards" stay healthy.

nide44 · 01-01-2010, 10:03 AM

"....Has anyone tried fasting ......"

No....... but I've done my share of 'slowing'

(barr-rump-bump!!)

echoes long ago · 01-01-2010, 03:11 PM

if i slowed anymore id be in reverse.

It is a no proof, overall no win type situation. Levels of PCB's appear in basically everyone because of its ubiquitous presence in our daily lives. There is no level set to determine how much causes damage, its on an individual basis. Unless you are blood tested right after an exposure, the levels will drop off anyway either by elimination or storing in fat. There is nothing you can really do about it. Chelating or fasting may actually be harmful because of rapidly releasing the pcb's into the rest of the body from the fat that they are stored in. Much like one of the diseases it causes, peripheral neuropathy, pcb damage varies with the person. People can and have been in the same place as other people , had the same exposure, yet some have had no ill effects, some develop cancer, some develop nerve damage, some develop autoimmune diseases and some respiratory. The whole thing is very frustrating.

mrsD · 01-01-2010, 03:13 PM

Chelation is only for certain heavy metals. I don't think there is a substance to absorb or remove PCBs.

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