EiR Blog

So here we are folks with the third and final part of my 3-part blog series about my journey linking Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori) infection to my environmental illness. To get up to speed please take a look at Part I (The Science) and Part II (My Personal Pylori Project).   H. pylori and EI The general theme of bad bug overgrowth wasn't new to me – I'd already been dealing with Candida and SIBO issues. Obviously, it won't be new to most people with EI either. It seems that lurking infections of all kinds – Lyme, EBV, herpes, strep, pylori, candida and many others – can often be 'the elephant in the room' that we need to address to fully recover. Maybe sometimes when we work on resolving some of these other infections, we make progress with any lurking pylori issues too, as many herbs and probiotics are effective...

Hi again! In Part 1 (The Puzzle of H. pylori: The Science) I explained what Helicobacter pylori is, how it invades the body, the symptoms it causes - basically, all the science stuff. Here in Part 2 of my trilogy of posts on my H. pylori experience I'm going to talk about my own personal H. pylori project i.e. my experiments with various foods and herbal remedies in my efforts to come up with my own treatment and eradicate the little pest from my body!   My personal pylori project The core of my plan has been the rather fantastic mastic gum, a herbal remedy from a Greek pistachio tree with potent anti-pylori activity. A little goes a long way – my pot of 13g lasted me 3 weeks. I'd just like to run through some more of the details of my plan, to give you an idea of the...

Hi there! I'd like to share my recent experiences with a new healing venture – a plan for dealing with H. pylori. I started this little experiment in November and it's proved to be one of the best health improvement projects for me so far. Believe me, I have done a lot of different initiatives over the past 8 years and this one has produced improvements with quite remarkable speed. OK, don't let's get too carried away now, I'm not 'normal' yet, but when you've been pretty incapacitated, any improvement is cause for celebration! This is a fairly long story folks, but if you're not in the mood to sit through the full details, maybe flip through to The bottom line, where I've provided a summary (Part 3). So what's the problem with H. pylori? Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an intriguing beast – of the large proportion of people who play host to this bacteria, only some notice any unpleasant...

After being chronically ill for 20 years, having been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) at the young age of 11, I have grown increasingly interested in psychology and particularly the traits required to survive an illness that robs sufferers of so much (what I would give to be able to just go for a run). My ill health has also included multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.), and adrenal fatigue, which are all terrible things to deal with in themselves and have forced me to draw on every last bit of inner strength I could muster to keep going despite a distinct lack of enjoyment in life. Rather than crushing my spirit however, these trials and tribulations that have shaped my life, have actually strengthened my resolve, given me greater confidence in myself and my abilities, and changed my outlook on life for the better. When one...

 [The following is an open letter from renowned environmental illness expert Dr. Doris Rapp. Posted with Full Permission. Permission further granted for recipients to foward.]     August 18, 2010   Dear Friends, I wonder if you would be willing to help me. Together we might be able to help tens of thousands of children. Alone I seem to do able to do very little. We Need To Get The Following Information To Our Schools:   Dear ------,   Dust, mold, pollen, foods and chemicals certainly can cause much more than cause asthma and hay fever. As you all know allergies can take on many forms and often affects how children feel, act, behave, walk, talk, write, draw, and especially learn. Many different areas of the brain can be affected. There is no doubt that it is possible to raise academic performance and attendance, while lowering infection, allergies, hyperactivity, behavior...

As an environmental illness sufferer myself and someone who is in the final stages of clinical training to become a Nutritional Therapist having obtained a bachelor's degree in nutritional health, I have become interested in genetic testing.   In the past genetic testing of any kind has been extremely expensive and has tradtitionally looked only for genes that identify hereditary diseases. Now however there are commercially available tests that many naturopathic doctors and other functional medicine-orientated health care practitioners are utilising to better help patients with environmental illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), as well as those with chronic unexplained ill-health but no diagnosis. Such testing allows for the detection of single nucleotide polymorphyisms (SNPs - pronounced "snips"), small sections of genetic code that determine, for example, the efficiency with which an individual can neutralise and excrete toxins or synthesise neurotransmitters by affecting the functioning of various enzymes...

 I feel I must apologise for my recent lack of blogging activity but I'm sure when I explain why you'll understand - plus the reason has given me the inspiration for this post! As regulars will be aware I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for a long time - since I was 11, so 20 years now. Like many ME/CFS sufferers I am also burdened by adrenal fatigue, low thyroid function, hypoglycaemia, Candida and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) amongst other things. I also suffered from severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for a number of years in my early 20s but thankfully was able overcome it (touch wood)! Like most suffering from environmental illnesses (or more appropriately here 'invisible illnesses') I have been constantly frustrated by the absence of any abnormal findings on conventional medical tests over the years. After all, if the standard lab tests are normal there can't possibly be anything wrong...

Hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) is something that those suffering from environmental illnesses often struggle with. Poor thyroid function has been linked to many of then illnesses covered on this site and is often the hidden cause of a host of chronic symptoms including fatigue, poor cognitive function, low mood, low sex drive, cold intolerance, weight gain or inability to lose weight...and many others. Assuming you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (not easy in itself), unless the cause is obvious such as a tumour or autoimmune disease and is detectable using routine tests, chances are you will simply be given a prescription for thyroxine (the main hormone produced by the thyroid gland and also referred to as 'T4') and have your blood levels monitored, along with levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) - a pituitary hormone that stimulates production of T4 by the thyroid gland. Unfortunately many patients find that T4...

  Invisalign:  A Near Death Experience I would like to tell my story of a near fatal experience wearing Invisalign braces. I was 54 years old at the time, and have always been active and in great shape. I didn't even take any medication, except, Estrogen.   I am, overly sensitive to chemicals and medications.  I might be one in a million to have such a sever reaction, but even if I help one other person I will feel good.  My dentist said that it would take two years with Invisalign because my teeth were so crooked.  I started with them in November of 2007.  My dentist was proud of me because he knew I was very disciplined and kept them in the required time.  He said most people cheated and didn't wear them as many hours as suggested. In early 2008 I started feeling poorly, tired, and achy.  I went to...

 Once upon a time Facebook was the domain of students who used the social networking site to keep track of friends and share their academic and non-academic exploits. However, since Facebook opened its cyber-doors to the the online community at large it has grown into much more and believe it or not it now has much to offer people who are struggling with what we call 'environmental illnesses' on this site, but may also be termed 'unexplained chronic illnesses' or 'invisible illnesses'. We're talking chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and others. On Facebook you will now find a multitude of interactive pages and groups devoted to these illnesses that both provide information and act as support and advocacy groups. Since many suffering from these illnesses are housebound these are ideal as an alternative to support groups in the real world where you might...

 Many people suffering from environmental illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and particularly multiple chemical sensitivity, lead very lonely existences. This blog entry will look at how pets can offer valuable company for some.  The symptoms of these disabling conditions such as fatigue, pain, and cognitive difficulties such as confusion, poor short term memory, and inability to focus, mean that sufferers are often unable to remain in their jobs or enageg in social activities. To make matters worse these symptoms and many others are aggravated by both physical and mental exertion, as well as environments that are noisy or have bright lighting - typical of work places and coffee shops, bars, and other places where people typically socialise. It is a sad fact that people unaffected by these types of illness find it very difficult to comprehend what sufferers are going through, or even that they are ill at...

 Browsing through the online news looking for stories about multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) yesterday, I came across a review of a play which features a main character with the illness. The review features in the The Record, a local newspaper serving Troy and surrounding areas in New York state. The play is titled 'Sick' and features a 17-year- old character called Davey who suffers from MCS. Davey's family live in a New York apartment and protect him by turning their home into a chemical-free zone - something anyone who suffers from MCS knows is a necessity. Reading the review got me thinking about the exposure MCS gets in the media and how it is portrayed. It seems to me that there is a steady increase in awareness of the condition and it is beecoming more and more a part of the public consciousness. Just a few short decades ago virtually...

As I was browsing my Google Alerts emails covering multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) yesterday I came across what looked like a very interesting article in the New York Times which looked like it would be useful for those suffering from MCS and environmental illness (EI). The article is titled 'An Environmentally Friendly Mosquito Repellent?' so I thought, great, this sounds like great news and perfect material for my blog tomorrow. Unfortuately when I actually read the article this morning it was not what I was expecting at all. First off, the author talks in considerable length about how during her childhood in New Jersey she would chase farm machinery spraying the highly toxic pesticide DDT (note pesticide, as in kills pests, it is not an insect repellant), breathing it in and having her clothes and skin covered in it. The fact that as far as she knows her expsoure to DDT in this way...

Hi everyone. My time is currently very limited due to just returning from a trip to California and having a backlog of studying and assignment deadlines for my degree course. I didn't want to leave another week "blogless" however so I thought I'd just draw your attention to a potentially powerful therapy known as 'phospholipid exchange' which Helen64 posted a question about in the forums this week.  Read the forum thread on phospholipid exchange therapy To explain the principal of the therapy we first need a little bit of biochemistry. Basically, cells in the human body have a cell membrane made up of fatty substances called phospholipids along with fatty acids. These fatty substances give the cell membrane a level of fluidity that allows them to efficiently allow nutrients to enter the cell and toxins to be expelled amongst other important functions such as maintaining the structure and shape of...

I am lucky enough to be spending two weeks in California having arrived on Wednesday of this week.  So as a UK resident I had planned to write a blog entry about how the extra daylight hours and sunshine had improved my mood and energy levels as they always do when I visit at this time of year.  ....the only problem being that as soon as I arrived a major storm system also did so! After weeks of 80 degree temperatures and wall to wall sunshine in California I am yet to see more than a glimpse of the sun. Typical! So with little time to come up with other blog ideas I thought I'd discuss a subject that I believe is important not just in environmental illnesses but in illness in general. As part of my degree in nutritional therapy I recently heard a lecture by Khush Mark, Ph.D. Khush is...

What is body odor? What makes someone smell clean? In our society, we equate a perfume-y, fragranced smell with clean and normal body odor as dirty. My boyfriend has not washed with soap in five years. He was nervous when we first met that I would think he smelled bad. On the contrary, I actually really loved his smell. That's because his diet is pure and he has minimal exposure to toxins in personal care and other types of products. So there is no bad smelly stuff to sweat out. Just normal human smell. I much prefer it to nasty chemicals in fragrances that are just masking over dirt. If you smell bad enough to want to use perfume, take a good look at your diet and lifestyle and start cleaning those up before you reach for the carcinogenic chemicals in fragranced products.   reposted from http://planetthrive.com/members/blog/earthwalker ...

This is a post from my Planet Thrive blog from last month. Thought it would be good to share here so people can see how others are living with MCS.   Not sure how my life came to this. I have 3 outfits, all thin and worn, ripped and stain, unwashed for 4 months, not warm enough for winter. I have no bedding except 1 thin and narrow shawl that does very little to keep me warm. I sleep on a 1" thick chair mat on the cold tiled floor. My pillowcase is stained brown from not being washed for months and months. I don't tolerate the water in my home. I have to go to a friend's house to get drinking water, 1 gallon a day. I get filtered water from the local stinky supermarket, then heat it on a hot plate and wash my hair in the tub...

Yesterday I received an email from Steve Johnston at Liverpool Court Studios, an audio/video production house in Canada. Steve had stumbled across The Environmental Illness Resource and kindly attached a video he had made about EI for a client some time ago. The video is a short environmental illness awareness piece. It talks about environmental illness in very broad terms by pointing out that chemicals that surround us in our daily lives can have serious consequences for our health and that of those we love. Steve kindly said I could post the video on the site so here it is: http://www.ei-resource.org/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=32&task=videodirectlink&id=32   The video was only made as an example on a shoestring budget but I found it extremely powerful. The storyline, visual effects and soundtrack that are used make it highly emotive and ensure it has an impact on the viewer. I'm sure the video would make many people stop for a minute to...

Hi all, I wanted to use my blog this week to give you a quick update on the things I am currently working on on the site and things planned for the future. For those who don't know, The Environmental Illness Resource is essentially a one man show run by myself, Matthew Hogg (Maff). I suffer, or thankfully in some cases have sufferered, from a number of the conditions the site addresses. The pace at which I can work is therefore limited and a site of this size and scope really needs more than one person working on it......unfortunately something outside of a very limited budget at the moment! I hope then that you will have patience while the full potential of the site is realised. For 5 months in summer 2007 I worked non-stop to develop the current version of the site. This version provides for a number of interactive features which...

Back in February of this year the US government admitted that in the case of young Hannah Poling, a reaction to vaccinations she received had resulted in her developing autism. This admission sent the media, bloggers and online autism forums into a spin with many seeing it as concrete proof that vaccines are the cause, or at least a cause, of the developmental disorder. Medical experts however maintained that Hannah had an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which they said, was extremely rare and so the same process could not account for a significant number of other cases of autism. It now turns out however, that the medical experts may have been wrong! Results of a new study announced on Monday by the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) reveal that at least one in 200 healthy humans "harbors a pathogenic mitochondrial mutation that potentially causes disease." The landmark study is published in the current issue of the...

Hi All, I recently had a conversation with my E/I doctor that made me realize that many MCS/EI people are sick all the time for a very simple reason; they don't have a safe place to sleep. He was telling me that I was lucky because I did have periods of time where I did feel OK. I told him what I am going to tell you now. I got sick in November of 1991. My primary concern over the years since then was to find and maintain a safe place to sleep. My day is about something like walking through a minefield (can you relate?); trying to avoid the perfumes, cells phones, fabric softeners, computers, TV's, etc. that are everywhere. This is not an easy task. My x-wife and I were married for nine years but lived together for only four. This is probably why we stayed together so...

Having just returned from a trip overseas at Christmas, which involved a total of four long flights, I thought I would write about the considerable challenge that flying poses for those suffering from environmental illness.

I'm sure most people would agree that travelling by air in itself is a stressful experience. There's checking-in with the long lines and security interrogation and then there's the waiting around before it's time to board the plane.

Earlier this week as I was browsing through news updates in my email inbox I came across a story which put a big smile on my face. It seemed that a member of the US House of Representatives was taking a stand against a medical board who were staging a witch hunt for doctors who dare to treat people suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

As someone who has suffered from severe

Last week I finally started studying for a bachelor's degree, 10 years after I would have done so if I hadn't been ill.

I am happy to report that I have now moved past feeling anger towards my situation and instead am glad my life has turned out the way it has thus far. I now have a new purpose in life that started with the founding of The Environmental Illness Resource and now continues

After more than 5 months of solid work I am delighted to welcome you to the new version of The Environmental Illness Resource!

When I decided it was time for a new site I really didn't appreciate the work it would involve. The original site which I started in 2004 had grown to a total of 1200 pages which all had to be copy and pasted to the new site once I'd got the design and database