Another New Member Needing Advice
 

Back in 2008 when I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy with no explanation of why or how I got it, I decided to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. After an incredible amount of testing and wasted time, I received the same diagnosis. And no cure.

The burning pain in my right foot is worse than in my left, but somehow neither is as bad as when I first got it. But it's still plenty bad. I can't walk anymore than 20 minutes and I can't stand more than 15. In addition, I have spinal stenosis(arthritis in the spine). I am also developing joint problems from being on my back so much due to both the above problems. I am almost 70 and in reasonably good health otherwise.

I am anxious to start on some of the supplements mentioned on this forum to see if I can get some relief. I have taken 40 mg each of statin and reflux medication for over 3 years. In addition, I take Caltrate 600mg + D and glucosamine chondroitin w/MSM. I used to take omega 3 fish oil soft gels from Omapure but stopped when I read the results of a major study that determined that only oil consummed directly from fish flesh could help avoid heart attacks.

I recently read thru several posts about supplements on this site but based on a previously read local newspaper article, I had already started taking 600mg of alpha lipoic acid(1/day). I have also received a bottle benfotiamine (250mg) which I haven't started yet. I am now thinking that maybe I should stop the acid and go to a physiatrist. He could check my level of B12, D, etc. and, hopefully, get me started on on the right track.

What do you think? Is there anything I'm missing. Is there any harm in continuing the AL acid or starting the benfotiamine. Can they be taken at the same time? Is there any combination of drugs, supplements etc. that should not be taken at the same time? By the way, I took the fish oil daily for at least 3 years and it never had any effect on the feet.

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

I see some glaring problems right off the bat....

1) reflux medication depletes many nutrients that are dependant
on acid in the stomach to get absorbed:
B12
folate
calcium
magnesium
iron
zinc
some trace minerals.

2) 40 mg of any statin is alot...and very damaging. Every day we get new information on how statins hurt nerves. Just this week, an article in Science Daily showing in photos nerve damage:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0510150143.htm

Anyone taking a statin has to supplement with CoQ-10. This vital nutrient our livers make, is blocked by statins so that the mitochondria in our muscles and nerves cannot make energy anymore. So right off the bat you need to do this first!
There are new versions that have be solubilized chemically to be absorbed better. Qunol is one and affordable at Costco and WalMart. Another is Q-Gel...available on line. If you use this type 100mg a day is enough for most people. If you choose an oil gel cap type with soybean oil in it, you'll need at least 300mg a day.

Next up in priority is magnesium. You need this because of your reflux drug. Most Americans (up to 70%) do not eat foods that supply this essential mineral. Taking that drug besides, makes you very vulnerable and very potentially low.
Magnesium can be had orally with a good supplement called SlowMag... one twice a day (available affordably at WalMart), and also can be used topically or with epsom salt soaks...to your feet. Topically there is a nice new lotion made by Morton, called Epsom lotion, and it is so far very new and on Amazon ($7.98), or at WalMart (again)... for $5.98. I try to find the most affordable quality things for people here and for myself too.
WalMart has been a savior of sorts for me in this regard.

Get your B12 tested at the doctor's and get the numbers for the result. Then supplement if you need it (400pg/ml or lower).

You can think about lipoic acid and benfotiamine too, but these others should be first because of your history and lifestyle.

To get the best results here, there is no substitute for reading the Subforum above, the B12 thread, and other posters questions. You will find yourself already on this forum, thru the words of others. ;)

Hello Kemokimo
 

Welcome to Neuro Talk. I have PN too. I went to a physiatrist, and she got me on suppliments. I seem to be better one year later. Take B12 shots, and that was one of the first things she checked on. She also treats effectively for pain. I hope you can find this kind of doctor, I think it is a great idea. I wish you all the best. ginnie:hug:

Mrs D and Ginnie, I am so grateful to you for responding so quickly to my post and for providing such high caliber input on my problem. I have started taking Qunol and Slow Mag. The Qunol has soybean oil in it so I will be taking 300mg/day. I also bought the Epsom lotion and it was only slightly effective but every little bit helps. I had my level of B12 tested by my internist at the end of November of 2012. It was 725 pg/mL or at the high end of a range of 200-1100 pg/mL. Do I need a more recent reading?

Should I hold off on the lipoic acid and the benfotiamine or take both of them along with the other supplements? Also I am having some difficulty finding a physiatrist in Houston via the internet that specializes in reducing pain. Most seem to specialize in other areas. Maybe I should just pick one associated with a good medical school and not worry about his specialty or just go to my internist. What do you think?

Hold off on the others for a month or two. Did you get Vit D measured as well? Do you know that result?

Your B12 looks good. You may hold off on that too unless you want to try 1000mcg a day of methyl type on an empty stomach.
That would be your choice.
The testing does not separate out the methyl from other forms, so you could have inactive B12 that is showing up on the test. By taking 1000mcg of the active methyl form and seeing improvement that would tell you that you probably are not methylating properly. Since B12 is not toxic, this would be an inexpensive test. After 3 mons you should have some answer either way.

Qunol may have some soybean oil in it, but it is not like the 100% soy liquicaps that preceded it. Qunol uses a solubilizing technology to improve absorption.

http://www.qunol.com/
So you probably don't need the 300mg a day.

Don't use the mag lotion on the bottoms of the feet, the skin is too thick there for absorption. Only do the tops and ankles.

As far as using statins, the tide is really turning on this subject.
Since Lipitor went generic, pro-statin news is less than ever. In fact today I was sent a new link to a story in Nature magazine suggesting that the statin theory is changing:
http://www.nature.com/news/cholester...lustre-1.12509

And research is ongoing at MIT... by Stephanie Seneff PhD on cholesterol and how crucial it is for health:
http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/

There are some very compelling interviews on YouTube with her and Dr. Mercola where she explains her research. The bottom line from that series should you watch them (several parts to it all) is that the only benefits to statins show up in the first 2 yrs on them, and then they actually do serious damage to the body.
This is part one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QUChSlUEH0
Her research is mostly on cholesterol sulfate.
you can link to the rest of the series from this first part.

Also Dr. Kendrick has a short video illustrating how cholesterol is not really associated with heart disease at all:
This is based on a study from WHO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SSCNaaDcE

As Big Pharma loses their patents on statins, we will see more and more of the truth about these drugs, IMO.

This information about statins is seriously depressing. I've been taking it for the better part of 30 years with the last 5 or so on 40mg. Is it that it doesn't do what it's purported to do or that it does things that were never contemplated that are harmful? Guess I'll just have to read the research to find out.

Historically statins first came out by Merck company, to address an uncommon genetic defect where people have huge elevated cholesterols (familial hypercholesteremia). I only know of one person in fact...in my 40+ yrs working who had this... a level of 800! Once the drug was on the market they decided to target others. So studies were done, and the first one by Dr. Keyes the data was altered by removing results that didn't fit their hypothesis. (this is explained and the data shown in the book The Cholesterol Myths). Merck also knew about losing CoQ-10... and they initially thought :
1) people won't take this if they know it damages CoQ-10 synthesis etc sooooo we won't tell doctors or patients.
2) they patented a tablet with both Lovastatin (Mevacor) + CoQ-10 in it. The patent can still be accessed online in fact. But the solubility factor of CoQ-10 could not be solved quickly so they dropped the combo product....and kept the secret. This information came out about 8-10 yrs ago, but many doctors still do not know or understand even what CoQ-10 is for!

As the complementary aspect of medicine grew and people became more interested in things and the internet grew, all this came out. Now you can find information about CoQ-10 loss and statins if you look for it. But most doctors don't look for it and hence unless a patient tells them---NOTHING is shared.

Big Pharma tends to sit on negative or disturbing data, and only release positive things --which can often have been even ghost written, fraudent, or data manipulated. Merck for example even published a fake medical journal in Australia, with fake papers to promote their drugs!

So being in that occupation, seeing everyone on drugs everyday, I became very upset, and determined to share the truth and facts not supplied to doctors. (once a drug goes off patent, salespeople do not advise doctors anymore so they are then totally out of the loop in all ways).

The bottom line is that the "goals" for statins, that everyone now believes, were fabricated and created by Big Pharma to sell their drugs...which were blockbusters and made BILLIONS for them.
This is my statin thread here...

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post665830-5.html
I have many other posts scattered on NeuroTalk here with more links...if you search "statins" you'll find them.

Not everyone gets PN from statins. But a study in the Netherlands claims many more do than reported. Basically statins damage the cells' ability to repair damage. This happens in the brain, like the memory damage. This was found when MS patients were given high dose statins in the hopes of staving off MS damage, and in reality this caused them FURTHER damage so they don't do this treatment anymore.

Doctors do not know the other side of this subject, so I provide the information gathered by reputable independent researchers so people reading here can study it and decide for themselves.

If you had cholesterols really high --over 300-350 or more, then yes you may need some help. But you don't need 40mg IMO.
You could get by with much less, according to Dr. Jay Cohen MD who I link to very often.

By the way, my D3 and D2, 25-OH levels at the end of November 2012 were 42 and <4, respectively. An endnote said the reference ranges have not been established.

So can you boil it down on the 40mg of Lipitor? I not only have the PN problem I am also experiencing significant memory loss. Other than cut my dosage in half with a pill cutter (my cardiologist told me as recently as a year or so ago that I should stay on the 40mg dosage) and take the CoQ10, what else should I do? Is damage already done irreversable?

I would think it boils down to your initial cholesterol levels, and if you have already had a cardiovascular event before starting Lipitor.

If you are borderline, do not have blocked arteries already, you are not in a bad place to start with.

40mg of Lipitor is a significant amount. Some patients see lower LDLs on only 5mg of Lipitor a day!

Here are studies on geriatric patients:

Dr. Beatrice Golomb MD has done the most work with geriatric patients on statins:

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/jun/12...owering-stati/

https://www.statineffects.com/info/

http://www.theheart.org/article/1412605.do

You can search Dr. Golomb and find research articles going back several years. She specializes in older patients, who are seriously impacted with side effects from statins, and who may do better without them.

Hello Kemokimo
 

You can go on line and research doctors through the American medical association. Also keep posting here, and someone may know of a physiatrist near your area. I would keep looking, and ask each one you talk to by phone, what they specialize in. My physiatrist treats pain first. Reduction of pain happened even when weaning off morphine! (I have cervical issues too). She does provide enough relief. The other thing was the suppliments. This doc. makes an attempt to really try to heal the whole person. I sure hope you can find this kind of doctor. When my fear of the pain went away, and I knew there was help, my anxiety went down, and so did the pain.
Your B12 sounds pretty good. I take 1,000 by injection weeky as mine was lower. I do take alpha lipoic acid, and CoQ10 as well. I sure hope that you get the right doctor, that can lower your pain. Take care of yourself, be good to yourself. We will be here for support. ginnie

I don't think physiatrists will all be equal in the realm of nutrient support. It may be ginnie's experience is rather unique.

The MDs around here who are physiatrists, do not do what she describes. Chiros do however.

I think checking out an intergrative physician would be a better route to take. (sorry ginnie).
Sally here uses a physician like this. These are often M.D.s and can also address the cholesterol issue and statin use.

This search engine may help:
http://www.abihm.org/search-doctors

no worries MrsD
 

Yeh maybe I got lucky with the physiatrist I have. I actually researched her and questioned what her education really did. She has several more letters on the back of her name, and she did get extra education for pain management, which is what she specializes in. Also that holistic approach she believes in as much as possible. She is definately integrated medicine. Wish there were more of these kinds of doctors. I think asking the physiatrist what they do by phone maybe would be the best way for people to find out about their local doctors. Also in my community, there is a doctors referral list, that tells about each doctor in my area. Take care all. ginnie

Apparantly my vitamin D levels are fine. I have not had a heart attack. I did experience atreal fibrilation many years age, perhaps 20, due to over exertion and emotional strain.

With regard to my initial cholesterol level, maybe what I should do is get off of Lipitor just long enough for my cholesterol level to reach its unaided (by statins) level. I don't know how long that would take. I have no idea what my cholesterol was before I started taking statins 25 or 30 years back nor can I recall who my doctor was at the time.

When you say 1000 mg of the active form of B12, what do I look for at the pharmacy.

When you say an integrative doctor, are you referring to an internist?

Hi kemokimo
 

It was my primary care doctor who got me to look into my physiatrist. The internest usually does not prescribe any pain medications. At least this is true in my neck of the woods. From there I did research and found out what her specialty was. I sure hope you find the best possible care. don't settle for someone you are not absolutely confident in. I will be thinking of you. ginnie

Thanks for your support Gennie. Since I had so much trouble finding a physiatrist who emphasized pain management, I started looking for doctors that are certified in pain management, at least that's what they claim. I realize that this is an area that many people can be taken advantage of because they are desperate. I have been living with this problem for some time and I have adjusted to it because I believed there was no solution. I will find the right doctor. I have the motivation, the time and the skills. I used to do research for a living.

I bought Nature's Bounty, Quick Dissolve, Advanced Active Form B-12 Methylcobalamin 1000 mcg/preconverted Bioavailable Form. I hope that's the right one. What a mouthful.

Yes, Nature's Bounty is fine... take it on an empty stomach..always. This is the first excursion into a local pharmacy that I know of. 6mos ago you'd still have to get it online.

Costco has their own brand now, too.. a big bottle of 5mg. Since hubby and I both use it twice a week at the 5mg dose, this saves us more money than even Puritan's did!

I think it takes about 3 months for cholesterol to return to pre-statin levels. Since you were on it so long...it might take longer. Typically suppressing enzymes is a problem in the body...and it can take a while for them to wake back up. There might even be a rebound effect if the body wants MORE cholesterol to get you back to its designed "normal".
It can also take a long time to recover from the PN if that is what your trigger is. We have some members here who recovered some after stopping statins, some who refused to stop the drug, and left, and some who did recover at least 50% within a year.
A poster friend of mine on the PD forum has posted some genetic studies that show some people are more prone to statin damage than others. If you search "statins" on there here, you'll find alot more than what I post about. The poster's ID is olsen, if that helps. We exchange links fairly often.

Because the negative effects of statins have been suppressed,
by Big Pharma... there is still a lack of enough data to give a more accurate estimate for you specifically. The CoQ-10 will help with your heart muscle and other muscles, but the jury is still out about nerve damage per se. Statins do so much damage all over sadly!

Yes, integrative MD's have been the only doctors that understand hormone balancing, autonomic neuropathy, blood testing, etc. Wonderful to have them, they keep learning safe ways to help and most important, prevention!!! That is how I found out about the infrared dome hothouse.

After my father died of a heart attack in 1987, I had a complete physical. While we could find no record of what my cholesterol was at the time, my wife and I independantly remember that it was north of 300. If I stopped taking statins at this time for say, one month, I suspect that my cholesterol would return to an even higher level due to my age. I'm just guessing. In any case going cold turkey is out of the question. So what would you, or if I could find someone more knowledgeable, recommend my maximum should be?Is there some kind of expert but unbiased physician that could recommend a more or less safe but reduced level? I don't of course want to get rid of the neuropathy just to have a heart attack a year after I reduce my Lipitor intake,for example, to 20mg.

I am having the same problem with finding a doctor that specializes in intergrative medicine that I had in looking for one that specializes in physiatry. So I'm back to looking for one with some decent credentials that specializes in pain manageament. As I said before, it's a field that is ripe for exploitation.

If you go off the Lipitor, you will not die instantly. It does not work that way. It is not helping control blood pressure, blood sugar or seizures.

It takes time to develop clogged arteries. When you go off, get retested and see what your level is. If it is high to you, Then you can start at 5mg a day for a couple of months and see if that works. Dr. Jay Cohen recommends this approach in his cholesterol book. He believes that the drugs today are given in much too high a dose, and that lower doses can work.

This is his book:
http://www.amazon.com/about-Statin-D...en+Cholesterol
This is not expensive and a very useful helpful book.
It might guide you enough for you to make a better informed
decision.

For example, new studies using the potent Crestor, have shown that only 5mg TWICE A WEEK lower cholesterol enough for most patients.

Have you stopped sugar and bad carbs? They really make cholesterol much worse. When I stopped, all of my numbers came down. :)

And--
 

--there are certainly ways to lower cholesterol that are not pharmacuetically as dangerous--niacin, for example, works for many, as do fish/krill/flax oil. Have you tried any of those?

Still looking for a doctor that practices integrated medicine. So far I have found those who received degrees in third world countries and practice alternative medicine such as acupuncture, t'ai chi etc. or cater only to women. It seems to be a form of medicine in Houston at least that is not in the mainstream. Am I on the right track? Maybe I need some more narrow parameters in my search.

Here are two places to look for integrative MD's. Some of these are in different areas, so look for MD's. I am sure there are other areas to search areas for integrative MD's. also.

http://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/

http://www.anh-usa.org/

I used the search function at Sally's first link:

http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Ana...on/credentials

I'd call there and ask about the integrative approach.
PN, statins/cholesterol etc.

Glenntaj, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner on your suggestions for lowering my cholesterol. I have tried niacin in the past and could not tolerate it. Maybe I need to try it again. Also, the latest research as I understand it, does not show that fish oil(without the fish) is effective in preventing heart attacks. They recommend fresh salmon or some other oily fish 3 times a week at a minimum to do the job.

On the subject of doctors, I found a Dr Gilbert Manso who has a medical degree from the University of Texas who practices the integrated approach and claims to have also studied medicine in europe and asia as well. I will also check out Ana Blackmon.

Stress, and the heart, and fish oil:
 

This is an interesting article:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/05...ess/55173.html

Dr Blackmon is no longer taking new medicare patients. I hope this isn't going to be a continuing problem. Would one of you mind taking a look at Dr Gilbert Manso on Regency Square Blvd in Houston? His interests and focus seems to be somewhat different than Dr Blackmon.

Being a Medicare patient, may be a problem. Medicare limits testing, and testing is the heart of integrative medicine.

Your next step may be to find an internist who is not 100% cholesterol brainwashed. That might be tough. Get that book I suggested and arm yourself with it, take it with you and see if the new doctor will allow what Dr. Cohen suggests...starting at very low doses. It may be that Medicare will only allow one test a year...for cholesterol. So that alone will be a problem, in order to see progress with a new dosing regimen.

You should also know that Lipitor increases risk of hemorrhagic strokes.
http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/10199

I take it that no one took a look at Dr Manso or, if they did, concluded that he was really "out there".

I really want to follow your advice, Mrs. D. But the road you have described is fraught with land mines. My main complaint coming into this forum was and is the peripheral neuropathy in my feet. Inasmuch as the Mayo Clinic in 2008 said there was no cure, partial or otherwise, I assume that will be the reaction of any legitimate doctor I find. That will probably prohibit any further conversation on an actual cure meaning a significant and long lasting reduction/elimination of pain. My statement that statin drugs could be the cause of my neuropathy will no doubt fall on deaf ears even if I bring and quote from the book. I'm sure that any doctor I visit has a firm belief that he is the expert based on his education and training. I could also give him the book but I doubt he would read it. I wouldn't hesitate to try both.

In order to get anywhere with this, I might have to do some self-doctoring inasmuch as I prudently follow the forums and book's advice. I will, of course, follow up with blood tests.

Hi MrsD
 

If you have medicare it isn't so good with testing as you said, even worse if you have medicaid also. Many doctors are now refusing to treat at all, as they are not getting enough payment from the system. I do not know what the answer is to this problem. . ginnie

Well, I took a quick look, but I don't feel comfortable judging one individual - as far as it is possible - doc.

It's also very personal. When I read...

... I slowly walk backwards to the door. But your mileage may vary.

I'm a skeptic. I read about Big Pharma, but I also read about Big Supplement (it's quite a big industry these days...) However: almost all of the advice I read here is based on science (and a lot of experience). You don't have to follow it, but just know that the link between statins & PN is very solid. I doubt any clued up doc would dispute that. My doc didn't.

This forum offers you an insight, but you can't really expect it to say: "throw away the statins, take omega3 and you'll be fine". It doesn't work that way, which is a good thing.

The only advice I can give is to keep on reading - both here, and the books that are referred to.

I'm currently having a cholesterol problem myself, but because I know I don't want to go anywhere near statins, I decided to look for a different route. In my case, the route that seems to help greatly with my PN will most probably also help with my cholesterol. I will get checked again in a month (2 months into the process) to see where I'm at.

B12 and YouTube on Cholesterol
 

My first comment relates to the amount of B12 Mrs D suggested that I take. You suggested one pill twice/day while the directions on the bottle say 2 pills once or twice a day. I assume that you cut the amount in half because my B12 tested OK at the end of 2012. I would like to point out, however, if it makes any difference, that in addition to the 40mg of Nexium, I also take 75 mg of Xantac on the nights before I go swimming (3Xweek).

Secondly, I am having some difficulty hanging my hat on the comments of Stephanie Seneff. While she is a brilliant women, I don't see the title or credentials to support the statement that a major cause of cardiovascular disease is too low a level of cholesterol sulfate, even though she might be right. The study by WHO is more convincing in that it shows that there is no positive correlation between high cholesterol and death from cardiovascular disease in many countries throughout the world. While I will probably greatly reduce my Lipitor or maybe even stop taking it at some point, I,m not convinced it's OK to choke down as much real butter,greasy bacon, egg yolks and chicken fried steak as I might want.

I don't recall suggesting B12 twice a day to you. Something else maybe? SlowMag is twice a day. B12 once a day is the typical way to take it... first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Twice a WEEK at the high dose, however, once you reach your goal is what we do here in this house, hubby and I. If I typed twice a day regarding B12 please, show me where, so I can fix it.
It was a typo...and I apologize.

Dr. Seneff's work is far more compelling than the initial work by Dr. Keys, who threw out data to make things fit his theory.
This is explained in The Cholesterol Myths, by Dr. Ravnskov.
Dr. Seneff is doing actual biochemical evaluation of the role of cholesterol in the body....The Cholesterol Myth, has never done that! They only did statistical evaluation of patient populations up until now.

http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm
looks like his book is out of print at this time.
But there is quite a bit on his website still like this:
http://www.ravnskov.nu/myth7.htm
It might still be available on Amazon in their used book section.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Cholestero...9985942&sr=8-2


This link is about a possible consequence of drugs like Nexium:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22781139
besides causing bowel dysbiosis, these GERD drugs are
hard on nutrients... B12, folate, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc.
The osteoporosis they cause is directly attributed to the calcium and magnesium disruption in absorption that they cause.

Medicine is really built upon odd factoids. It is difficult to wrap your head around the concept of messy beliefs or distortions. But it wasn't so long ago that arsenic and strychnine were common tonics.
When I was first licensed in the beginning of the 70's, these products were still on the shelf..prescribed by doctors.
In fact they go back to the early 1900's. I just saw some vintage antique Parke Davis products on Ebay (to be subjects in art works I am planning) ...here is a photo of them I copied.
The second photo is a really puzzling one. Blaud refers to Dr. Blaud's pills...which was a popular iron compound at the time.
A tonic with poisons in it...including mercuric chloride O.O.
These two photos I suspect are about 1930-1950 era. The Bakelite caps are dating. Most caps by the 70's were metal.
Prior to Bakelite, bottles like this had corks. ;)

It won't be long now that statins will be "historical" too. Things today are not much better.
Proton pump inhibitors:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/758268


Only the terminology is more complex... still there are iatrogenic consequences to treatments even today.

So if you have that link handy to the B12 that perhaps has the typo...please post it so I can fix it. ;)

Mrs D, thank you once again for responding to my post with so much great information. What I meant to write was SlowMag, not B12. I thought that since I'm taking so much acid reducer, I should perhaps take the higher dosage indicated on the directions. I would love to stop taking reflux altogether but I don't think that's possible. Anti-acid tablets don't work any more. When I swim for exercise without an extra 75mg of Xantax, my food starts working up into my esophagus. Too much information?

You said that "Dr Seneff is doing an actual biochemical evaluation of the role of cholesterol in the body". When the findings of her study be published will she be able to get it published in a journal prestigious enough to get the worlds attention including the American Heart Association? I hope so. I would like to know with certainty that I can stop worrying about cholesterol, stop taking any statins and start really enjoying what I eat.

By the way, before he died, my wife's father used to be an accountant for the Star Drug Store in Galveston. I don't know how long it was in business but I'm sure it was there in the 50's. She inherited a quart bottle that used to contain an elixir that was given to her dad before the store closed. It still has most of the label on it. It says "ELIXIR- LACTOPEPTINE With Iron, Quinine and Strychnine"

Dear kemokimo
 

I is important to keep that acid reflux under control. There is a great medication my upper GI got me on called Dexilant. I left my reflux go too long and wound up with a worse condition called Barretts esophagus, in which the DNA has changed. Do hesitate to ask your doctor about this med. It works! ginnie

That is very interesting... I found an article about strychnine being used to increase motility in the stomach.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2283756/

This link is to a paper explaining what cholesterol sulfate is for in the body, the actions it performs.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/E...y-14-02492.pdf

There are no new statins in the Big Pharma pipeline... soon they will be gone.. and their empty bottles will be sold on Ebay...worth alot of money... ;) One can find lots of Lipitor pens for sale (used to be free to doctors, etc)... on Ebay today.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-New-LIPITO...item43bc0eff2f
This link is only one of many... some fancy ones are there too.

The gears in medicine grind very slowly.... I don't expect much for a few more years yet. It took a decade to get the harmful transfats out of the American diet, after all. I believe that the old Crisco was one of the most common cardiovascular triggers for heart disease we had!

By the way the first draft of my last post used better grammar, punctuation, etc. When I hit "send reply", I was switched to a page that said that I was logged out or did not have permission to be on this site. My post was still in place and complete when I went back to the message window.

What's up with that. I have started creating my posts in Word and copying them to this forum to avoid this happening. Is anyone else having this problem?

Ginnie, I will look into Dexilant. Thanks for the tip.

To avoid being logged out making a long post reply, click the little box called "remember me" when you log on. It is right next to where you type in your user ID. This will prevent you from being "timed out".

Dexilant is just another PPI.... no added benefits.. it is just like any other including Nexium.

There are sites on the internet with suggestions to get off GERD drugs. Using apples every night...and apple cider vinegar and other agents works for some people.

You can search these remedies.

For myself I used essential fatty acids (flax oil, evening primrose and fish oil) daily over a decade ago, and it fixed my chronic GERD. (I have a severe hiatal hernia too).

This is the essential fatty acid thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=6092

Much of the GERD people have is from undigested protein when you use the GERD drugs, from causing gas and fermentation in the bowel. This gas rises and causes belching and night time
movement of stomach contents into the esophagus, which cannot tolerate the burning because it does not have mucus like the stomach does to protect it.

GERD is a vicious cycle.

Basically removing acid does not correct this problem. It makes it worse. Search Google and you will find some good information about.

Head problem
 

Starting yesterday, I have developed a strange feeling in my head. It happened toward the latter part of Monday and today. It may have been a hangover from one 200mg tablet of Celebrex(first ever) that I took on Sunday but I thought I should also check out the possiblity of a reaction to some of the supplements/drugs I'm taking. Those include Caltrate, Glucosamine Chondroitin w/MSM, Slow Mag, B12, 81mg aspirin, CoQ10, Nexium and 5mg of Lipitor.

My head doesn't hurt, it just feels kind of spacey and makes it harder to remember things than usual. Any thoughts? I will go to my doctor if this persists.