Resources for my Supplements, Toiletries, Foods, Videos, Books

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So many people have called or emailed asking where I get my supplements, what do I use instead of makeup and shampoo so I don't get toxins and hormones into my body from the storebought stuff, and how much it costs to deal with my illness. So, I am posting it all in one blog post so that the resources can be found here. So here goes:

SUPPLEMENTS (vitamins, minerals, herbs, glandulars, etc.):


ConcenTrace Mineral Drops I use 60 to 70 drops per day. The link to this only shows the product. I don't buy it from Amazon because I can get is straight from local health food store for $18.99.


Isocort I am currently tapering off this glandular and will slowly start using ACE (Adrenal Cortical Extract) under my doctor's supervision. I purchase the Isocort from Natural Healthy Concepts online for $28.00 and get free shipping with their minimum purchase requirement.


ACE (Adrenal Cortical Extract) $32.00 from Clymer. I have not started this product, but will this week to replace the Isocort. It's an adaptogen so it will help me make cortisol when I need it and lower it when I don't need it.

Vitamin E (Unique E) is $40.50 from Clymer. I've looked all over for a better price, but this is it! And this is by far the best Vitamin E I can find.

Magnesium Malate I use both this product and a transdermal magnesium for now. I might switch to transdermal completely, but then I'll be missing the malic acid for my fibromyalgia. I use 3.5 tablets of this product daily, but get about 1,000 mg. more from the transdermal, so I'm loaded up on magnesium! From Natural Healthy Concepts for $5.39 each bottle and there's free shipping when I order $50 or more at a time from them.


Ancient Minerals Magnesium (the transdermal magnesium). I don't actually get mine from their website. There's a seller on eBay who sells it for the same amount but free shipping. $55.00 for the flakes and more for the acutal "oil" which is just pure water. I really want to get the book, "Transdermal Magnesium Therapy" by Mark Sircus. If anyone has a copy and wants to let me borrow theirs, let me know!


Pregnenolone Pure Encapsulations I'm taking 2o mg of this now, but started out the first 5 weeks on only 10 mg. It costs about $20.00 for a 3 month supply for me.

Seriphos $20.00 for each bottle of 100 capsules. This is the most expensive of the products I buy. My husband and I found that the best price is if we get it at Natural Healthy Concepts because if we buy 3 or 4 bottles at a time, we get free shipping and the bottles are a tad cheaper anyway. My doctor had me start using about 5 of these a day for panic attacks (adrenaline rushes from my HPA not working properly) and insomnia. We've moved me up slowly to 15 capsules a day (sometimes I need only 9), but it's something that has helped me get off the benzodiazepine and help with sleep and panic attacks. And just imagine... it's all natural. God made it... fancy that huh? I have had no problems with this company and wish I could buy all my supplements through them! If I'm not well, I need about 450 of these capsules a month which means over 4 bottles of it. As my HPA Axis calms down more (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis), I'll be able to use a lot less of this product.


Symplex F by Standard Process This has been a great product for me to help heal the hormonal problems and support for my adrenal glands. The doctor has me taking 3 each day. Found that I get 2 weeks free if I buy it in bulk from Amazon for $49.50 plus shipping.

Pantothenic Acid my doctor has me taking 3,000 mg. a day to balance my hormones. It's just Vitamin B-5, but has been helpful. I was buying it at the local health food store, but my doctor is sending me a bottle of what they have because it has ingredients that are more helpful (apparently more of something I'm neeeding in it). The cost is higher, so I'll see if I can get the same brand elseshere unless his is the least expensive.

Thymuril I cannot say enough about this product for me! We are even getting my husband on it. It's boosted my immune system greatly. If I could get only a few products into my system, this would be at the top of my list for sure. I found the best place to get mine is through PlanetRX for $11.14 for each bottle (they have free shipping with a minimum order too). I use 3 tablets or 6 capsules (the tablets have twice the amount of supplements in it). I am not struggling nearly as bad with chemical sensitivities now whereas before the Thymuril, I coulnd't breathe, my chest would tighten, and I would get very dizzy and confused if I even smelled perfume, much less nasty soaps and bleach!

Vitamin C Buffered 500 mg. I am trying to find a good Vitamin C, but for now, I have een using what my doctor has which is a buffered Vit. C for $13.50. I'm taking about 2,000 mg. a day of Vitamin C to boost my immune system.


Vitamin D Thorne D-5000 60 Capsules for $12.00 is what I use. Doctor has me taking 10,000 IU a day. This is good for my Calcium and Magnesium and helps with depression caused by hormonal problems.

Licorice Root Powder $16.00 to raise my cortisol in the mornings to "get going." Nice instead of coffee. This is organic and tastes great. One bottle lasts me about 3 months.

Passionflower Organic Powder I get in bulk and buy the vegetable caps and use this for insomnia. It does not have an effect on benzos or benzo withdrawal for me and from what I understand, it doesn't take the same CYP Pathway as Klonopin (benzo). They do sell non-organic powder, but I prefer knowing I'm not putting pesticides in my body, so I definitely get the organic and so far, the middle sized bag has lasted us 4 months and I'm sure I have another 4 months to go. This is a very inexpesive way to get passionflower.

FOODS:


Flax Seeds I buy from our local health food store in bulk. I crush them up in a coffee blender and use 1 to 2 Tb. a day.


Psyllium Husks I'm starting this week for a soluble fiber which I found will pull out the extra hormones (especially extra adrenaline), toxins, sugars, and all the bad stuff from my body by binding to the bile that needs to get out of my system. The BEST information I have ever seen on this is found HERE.

KAL Organic Stevia Extract is awesome! I've used stevia instead of sugar for a couple years now, but there's always a little aftertaste, but then I found KAL Organic and oh my! What a difference. I spend $9.85 plus shipping for this and it lasts a while.

Coffee Substitute I use instead of coffee because 1. coffee is very hard on the adrenal glands and all systems really, 2. it's hard on my blood sugar levels with the hypoglycemia, and 3. it is known to have pesticides that I don't want to consume which is hard on the liver (though there are organic coffees that use a Swiss Water Process). I use Kaffree Roma as a substitute buying at our local health food store and the canister lasts one month for me.

Ezekiel Bread I use because 1. it's organic, 2. I actually know what is in the bread (go look at your loaf of bread and see the sugars and words you can't pronounce!), and 3. it is good replacement of the bad breads for hypoglycemics and diabetics as it's lower in carbs and there's good fiber in it. I buy mine at the local health food store.

Redmond RealSalt is what my husband and I use now after reading what's wrong with regular table salt and what's right with the stuff God has made. Here's a good book on this subject called "Salt: Your Way to Health" by Dr. David Brownstein. It was such an eye-opener about the lies I've been told, "don't eat too much salt!!!" Now I understand and my doctor has me drinking saltwater in order to raise my aldosterone levels (kind of a "duh" moment for me when I read this book). Book can be found HERE. I think the next book on my list as far as nutrition and getting over this illness is going to be on Iodine which can be found HERE or HERE

Wonderslim Fat Free 99.7% Caffeine Free Cocoa Powder I've not tried this yet but have heard great things about it. I don't know if they use a good water process to remove the caffeine or do what most companies do and use formadehyde. I ordered the Wonderslim recently, but have yet to try it.

TOILETRIES:

Body and Hand Soap I use the Natural (Fragrance-Free) (Milky White Soap) from Sappo Hill Soapworks as it doesn't have toxins and hormones in it like storebought soap. $1.65 per bar of soap.

Tooth Chips I use instead of toothpaste. Toothpaste has fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate, dyes, artificial sweeteners, silicates (sand), stabilizers or an addition of 60% glycerin found in it. What's all that? Google the words on the back of your toothpaste and see if that's what you want in you and your family's mouth each day! *smile*

Makeup (other than mascara and lipstick) I buy from a lady who makes mineral makeup.

Lipstick I use Ecco Bella so I don't get the toxins and hormones into my system with my makeup.

Macara is Ecco Bella also because I can't stand using mascara with carcinogens which is "is any substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the exacerbation of cancer or in the increase of its propagation."

Laundry Soap is handmade by my friend Dana. If you want laundry soap that doesn't have carcinogens in them, contact here HERE or email me and I can get you contact with her. She makes the soap and it lasts and lasts and lasts and I don't have to worry about harmful chemicals for my husand and I.

What I use for shampoo is baking soda and for conditioner, I use vinegar. They both work fine and there's not nasty chemicals that cause cancer in them.

OTHER:

Power Mixer for my benzo withdrawal water titration I have to do each day to get off this medication. This is the best little blender for doing this. I spent $11.75 plus shipping for mine.

The most helpful books I've read to help me understand my illness, how to get better, and overall how to live healthy even if I wasn't sick are:

1. Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000 by Gerald Poesnecker, N.D. (free chapter can be found HERE)

2. Salt: Your Way to Health by Dr. David Brownstein

3. Benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdrawal by Dr. Heather Ashton (free online)

3. The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

4. Sugar Blues by William F. Duffy

5. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by Dr. John R. Lee

6. When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada

The most helpful videos I've found have been:

1. Karen Hurd's LECTURES

2. Videos done by the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights HERE.

3. The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 1 through 4 found HERE.

4. A man going through Klonopin withdrawal without tapering slowly and addressing the other problems related to withdrawal such as adrenal insufficiency (this video is what commonly happens when getting off of benzodiazepines... it happened to me too). It's important to learn how to taper safely. Video HERE and HERE.

5. Ruth's Story of getting off (safe... yeah right) antidepressants.

6. Peter Breggin reports on psychiatric drugs HERE.

7. Food, Inc. was the most helpful in understanding our foods.

8. Super Size Me was helpful in knowing how the body responds to good food and bad food. This man had tests done to see his levels prior to eating fast food. The doctors are in this video too!

9. The Future of Food ... the title says it all! A must see if you are still breathing and require food to exist!

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

Tamara Slack


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9 Minutes of Your Time, Please?

Two videos of people going through Klonopin withdrawal. Please take 9 minutes of your time to watch and listen to what these people are saying. This is exactly what I went through when I stopped Klonopin cold turkey (had to go back on to taper down safely later though). I know it's a lot to ask people to stop and take 9 minutes to understand what's going on with people who are trying to get off medication they trusted doctors with, but please do it. If you know doctors who can start learning about benzodiazepines, please forward these videos to them. Hopefully one day there will be more doctors who are willing to say that this is not okay. There are many videos, but I just picked out two for now:

For the next one, you might have to turn up the audio:

The videos can be found HERE and HERE.

Please also pray for them and for anyone suffering through benzodiazepine withdrawal. It can last months or years. It's much worse than any street drug and is killing people too. A helpful resource is The Road Back Program where you can learn to taper off benzodiazepines (and other psychotropic drugs) safely. Thank you for your 9 minutes.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack

005 Snippets of Chapters 1 - 3 of Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000 Book

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October 29, 2009

005

I thought I would post some of the highlights of the book I'm reading on Adrenal Fatigue / CFS. It's called "Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000." It was written by the doctor who taught my doctor (Dr. Neville in PA) all about this disorder. The author is Dr. Gerald Poesnecker. So here's some snippets I've gleaned from this book that have been very helpful (the quotes are in brown below):

"Whereas six years ago most CFS patients were still considered to be malingering or just downright lazy by most physicians, they are not looked upon as "depressed" and placed on a variety of antidepressants. The use of antidepressants in CFS is like the use of NSAIDS in arthritis. They treat the symptoms but do nothing to correct the real cause of the condition... Thank goodness that there are medical men like Drs. David S. Bell, Paul R. Cheny and Charles W. Lapp who do understand CFS and know that it is not just another form of depression." (pgs ix-x)

Ha! Not just by doctors have I been considered lazy. I've got a host of people who have me down as "lazy" or "crazy" or "depressed" who have given up on me. Good thing Jesus never gave up on His promise to take care of me now and throughout eternity! He cares for the weak and sick. He tells us that He actually chose the weak and despised to inherit life. See:

1 Corinthians 1.26-29: "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

Also see my post about HOPE.

"The more these patients are given regular treatment, the worse they eventually become." (pg xi)

"I don't know if it's practical to attempt to differentiate between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction. The mere fact that a virus is the stress factor that triggers the Chronic Fatigue reaction does not seem to me now to be such an imortant distinction." (pg xiv)

"The most common symptoms produced by this condition are unexplained exhaustion sometimes alternating with spells of anxiety or panic, a tendency to be oversensitive and/or allergeric to certain substances or environments, a lessening of the ability to reason rationally and to make decisions readily, a tendency toward low blood pressure, sensitivity to cold, poor circulation (cold hands and/or feet), and brain fog or other mental aberrations which can mimic a large variety of mental diseases." (pg 1)

"Personally, I think that much of this medical apathy has been produced by the general vagueness of this disease's character, by the neurotic-like symptoms of its victims and by the slow and tortuous path of its correction even with the best and most advanced therapies. " (pg. 2)

"The "scientific" physician, when confronted with a patient who displays the symptoms of CFS, has a ready answer: "The patient is depressed, neurotic, mildly psychotic, unmotivated or just bored with life." This that self-satisfied stance that can be a "badge of our trib," the patient is given a tranquilizer, antidepressant or both, and with the fatherly advice to stop worrying and to go to work he is sent home. It is just as impractical to tell a tubercular patient to go and play football as it is to tell a CFS patient to stop worrying. Am I exaggerating? Am I a little too hard on my medical contemproaries? One has only to remember that a short time ago patients were literally bled to death in an efford to satisfy this medical ego." (pg 3)

Here's what Wikipedia says about George Washington:
"George Washington asked to be bled heavily after he developed a throat infection from weather exposure. Almost 4 pounds (1.7 liters) of blood was withdrawn, much of it without a doctor's supervision, contributing to his death in 1799."

Yeah! And now docs are telling us to take a bunch of anti-anxiety (benzodiazepine) drugs and anti-depressants which are killing us. See videos HERE.

"Most chronic CFS patients are considered by their friends, relatives and health practioners - the people from whom they seek aid - to be suffering from some form of mental or psychological disturbance... One of the first and most important tasks of our therapy is to convice them that this is not true. Unless we accomplish this, treatment is difficult and sometimes nearly impossible. Many of these patients are called schizophrenic, some paranoiac, some manic-depressive, and most are called neurotic... chronic CFS can mimic the symptom patterns of all of these medical conditions." (pg 53)

I've been diagnosed with everything under the sun by doctors who never tested anything in my body. I was given about 12 different kinds of drugs including the very addictive drug, Klonopin for nearly 15 years, hospitalized (yes, mental hospitals!) and told I would probably kill myself. Had they just looked into the endocrine system and asked, "why is this happening?" they would have seen I've been very, very sick for a long time and needed their help, not their destructive drugs.

"Counseling, even by the best of physicians, often has little effect on these patients. About the only help at the present time for this patient is an active treatment of the general adaptive system to improve the oxygen-carrying power ot the tissues of the brain so that it can again function in a more rational manner." (pg 57)

"Somewhere in the life of a CFS patient there has to be a rock-stable person to offer support and sustenance, or his whole existence is built on constantly shifting sands... One of the most common symptoms of the chronic CFS patient is a feeling that he has an illness that no one can understand ant that no one has had before. Friends and relatives assure him that they have never heard of anything like it." (pg 60)

My husband, Roger, is that rock-stable person the Lord has given me. He does everything he can to alleviate the stresses in my life, even if that means he has to cook something for me and let me lay in bed or hold me while I'm crying and in pain. He defends me when his family members have called me names and laughed at me. I love him very much for all the sacrifices he has made on my behalf.

"Many individuals who are drained of energy by those around them feel that they are victims of agoraphobia, that is, fear of crowds, mainly because when they are in a crowd, they find they they grow weak and anxious. Generally this is not true agoraphobia, but merely the draining effect, or what I call the "leeching effect" that crowds have on CFS patients. This is one of the earliest symptom patterns I usually notice in CFS cases... If there is a function the CFS patient wishes to or must attend, however, we suggest that he remain for as short a time as possible... even events and circumstances that the patient enjoys or that might be a happy surprise fatigue and weaken him. A surprise birthday party, a visit from a long-forgotten friend, or a telephone call from a sweetheart - all of these things strengthen the body and spirt of almost everyone except the CFS patient. This is perhaps the saddest component of the entire condition." (pg 61-63)

It is interesting that agoraphobia is one of the first things I had from my late teens on through the years. It's even worse now, but now I realize it's produced from weakened adrenals (that will heal!). Psychiatrists always said it was fear I had and that I could talk myself out of it. For over 15 years, I tried what they said. Fail! It didn't work. I would tell them it wasn't until I got into the group of people or whatever that I started feeling drained and anxious. Anyway, now I know what's going on in my body. My weakened system just can't handle the normal stresses of life (even good stresses) until I heal these little adrenal glands. Then I will be able to handle the normal stresses that non-adrenal patients can handle. Until then, I cannot put myself in those situations because I would be going backwards in my healing of my body.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack

004 Received ASI Test Results October 2009

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October 28, 2009

004

Long post! I apologize, but it was necessary for the ASI Test results. My internet has been down, so I have not been able to post on the Daily Post until now. Look at it as if I held all this info back for several days and voila! Lots of CFS info all at once *smile*

Well, the test results are different than I thought they would be, but that's the nature of the condition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome anyway: lots of strange endrocrine changes and stresses on the body that are uncontrollable by the person with CFS. My February 2009 test results showed low cortisol whereas yesterday's results show high and normal cortisol. You can see the Seyle chart HERE which explains a little, but each individual chart with cortisol and DHEA levels are shown HERE beginning with "normal" all the way to Stage 7. Those are must-read charts for anyone suffering with this disease or who know of people who do. I must have Dr. Neville read my lab results when we are able to have another appointment with him, but from my test results in February and this past month, it looks like I moved from Stage 6 to Stage 4 which could be a good thing.

Tamara Slack
Collected: 10/18/2009
Received: 10/20/2009

Cortisol Readings (in parenthesis is "normal" values):
06:00 - 08:00 AM (13-24), Result: 17 Normal
11:00 - Noon (5-10), Result: 7 Normal
04:00 - 05:00 PM (3-8), Result: 8 Normal
10:00 - Midnight (1-4), Result: 5 Elevated

(NOTE: Not only has my cortisol increased into "high," but the normal reading at the 04:00 - 05:00 PM was at the highest normal there is. We'll have to talk to Dr. Neville about why I'm showing so much cortisol and yet I feel sicker with more fatigue and have so many panic attacks without much stimuli.)

DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone):
Reference Value 3-10, Result: 4 Normal

Falling in the reference zone does not preclude the occurence of high or low cortisol at any specific time on the circadian.

Insulin
Fasting <3 (Normal is 3-12)
Non-Fasting <3 color="#ff0000">Depressed (Optimal is 5-20)

Depressed Post-prandial insulin within four hours after meal. This may becaused by a small carbohydrate load in the preceding challenge meal or areduction in pancreatic insulin release or synthesis. Consider a closer examination of challenge meal composition to rule out pre-diabetic tendencies.Why Test for Insulin?Insulin activity is affected by the stress and cortisol responses. Chronic stress with cortisol elevation antagonizes insulin, and may cause functional insulin resistance. Furthermore, chronic hypercortisol causes hyperinsulin responses to carbohydrate intake. Chronic insulin resistanceand overproduction lead to pancreatic exhaustion.

(NOTE: Let me say, I'm so tired of this hypoglycemia! I was diagnosed with it years ago and the doctor said, "just have some raisins and nuts in your purse at all times." Yes, that's the help I received at the time. Dr. Neville said in my first appointment that once my adrenal glands are under control, the hypoglycemia will go away. That, my friends, is great news!)

P17-OH 17-Progesterone
Optimal is 22-100, Results: 23 Normal

(NOTE: Compare with April 15, 2008 which was off the charts low at 18 and on February 22, 2009 which was 342. Something is seriously wrong with how my body makes progesterone.)

MB2S (Total Salivary SIgA)
Normal is 25-60. My results: 6 Depressed

The main functions of SIgA include Immune Exclusion, Viraland Toxin Neutralization, Plasmid Elimination, and Inhibition of Bacterial Colonization. SIgA immune complexes are not inflamatory to the mucosal surfaces.

F14, Gliadin Ab, SIgA (saliva)
Borderline is 13-15, Positive is >15. My resulte is 6 Negative

So basically, my cotisol numbers have changed. making me in a different Selye Stage than before. My immune system is shot, which I already knew, but now we have test results to show this.

I'm in bed more than 50% of my day now with a mixture of fatigue and panic / anxiety, depression, low blood sugar, tachycardia, and insomnia that I hope to get help with soon. No, my dishes and laundry cannot get done. No, I cannot drive, visit anyone, do the grocery shopping, etc. I am unable to do just about everything now including making food for myself or my husband (my hope is that my doc is right and that I will be well in about year). Please pray for my husband as this, I'm sure, is a strain on him, though he never complains. Any type of plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas are non-existent, but hey, I would much rather heal and have a normal Christmas next year and every year and let go of this year completely! It's really not fun to be this sick and not be able to serve my husband or do anything "worthwhile." But I read a lot! I don't think I can handle hearing one more person say that I should stop thinking about this illness, go get some fresh air, or ask if I can at least do this or that. My body is not functioning. It has nothing to do with choice; I cannot choose for my HP Axis, adrenal glands, and thyroid to work or not. I cannot choose for my Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis to not overstimulate my adrenal glands at this time. My body is too whacked out for that right now! Sometimes too much epinephrine will be produced and cause a panic attack or sometimes I'll have a lack of hormones which causes severe fatigue or depressed emotions.

I rest in knowing that God created this body of mine and He surely can handle all the misfiring my glands are doing! He knows my house is a wreck and that I can't make it to church on Sundays. He doesn't require me to be a stoic and "pull up my bootstaps" to get better. He doesn't require me to adhere to Epicurian philosophy which looks for peace of mind by not letting things bother me by having a stoic kind of mind. You know the mentality for boys: "son, take it like a man!" and for girls, "can't you stop crying like a sissy?" This is not what Christ taught at all! He taught that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that peace comes from Him alone, not from anything within (especially not faith in faith which is what I was taught in so many churches before God opened my heart to His true Word). By the way, if you do believe in stoicism and call yourself a follower of Christ or born again, be sure to read the Psalms and see how many times David wept on his bed at night. Not much of a manly kind of a guy, 'eh? No, just a man after God's heart. My aim is the same, to be that be that bruised reed or that messed up rose that is accepted by Christ. You can see a beautiful portrayal of what that rose looks like HERE when accepted by God and not by man.

So, if you would like to help me with advice, encouragement, or to "just be there" while I go through this, please read this article (a chapter from the book) and buy the book, "Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000" by Dr. Gerald Poesnecker. It will help anyone understand the nature of CFS. Thank you and forgive me if I sound harsh. I truly care about people's advice, but usually I find it's based on psychology rather than the true nature of this illness and I'm pretty much done with what psychology and psychiatry has offered me seen HERE. Some have asked how I am doing and said they are praying and then they change the subject; I'm sure it's from a lack of knowledge, feeling uncomfortable talking to me, and just want me to get better. Thank you to those who have stuck around and showed your care for me. I know it's only coming through some phone calls and emails, but it makes a HUGE difference to know I have friends who would do anything for me and not require anything of me except to be me! Not one person in my family except my son has shown any care over the many years with this illness and so I appreciate my friends all the more!

I believe I've vacillated between Stages 3 through 6 of the Selye for over 20 years now being misdiagnosed with mental illness which is common for the CFS patient as CFS mimics many mental illnesses including bipolar, anxiety disorders, schizoprenia, etc. It's a very (very!) sad fact that those who suffer with Adrenal Insufficiency are being treated as if they are crazy in mental hospitals and on lots of medications that are not only not needed, but very harmful to the CFS patient. I was one of them since age 24, but more on being misdiagnosed at a later date. (If you would like to see a list I've compiled for adrenal fatigue symptoms from various doctors, click HERE)

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE. The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack

001 Taking ASI Test and CFS Book

October 18, 2009
001

I've decided to keep a diary (Daily Post) of how I am doing with the Chronic Adrenal Insufficiency. I'll post the whole story in one long post later and then go back through the years as to what was happening to me from age thirteen on as I find time to sit and work on this project. I have an email into my mother right now who knows which year it was I had mononucleosis which I'm seeing as a possible link to when my immune system started weakening. I believe this can be traced back to about age eleven to thirteen. That's when I started having kidney problems, the mononucleosis (but still need an age on that one), and, of course, when puberty happened - oh joy!

I've found Chronic Adrenal Insufficiency is also called other things: Hypoadrenia, Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal Fatigue, and Addison's Disease, with it being diagnosed about a hundred years ago as Asthenia, but since our medical doctors in the U.S. don't know what to call this neurohormone problem yet, I'm just going to go with what they call it for now: CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Feel free to click on the words that are highlighted. I am trying to cut down on the length of posts so it may be necessary in order to understand what is meant by terms to click on the actual words.

Today, we are testing to see how much my adrenal glands are producing cortisol. Back in February of this year, I was tested by ZRT Labs and results show low cortisol and low thyroid (T3 only) so we finally have it figured out as to what is not working in my body. What is working is still questionable! Of course, we are hoping that my adrenal glands can restore themselves and my doctor, Dr. Andrew Neville, N.D., has told me that after I do the ASI Test and start the therapy he suggests, he believes in one year, I will be pretty functional. At this point, I'm still unable to even walk all the way down to the mailbox and back yet, but can do the dishes and pick up the house about five days a week now. I've also had some better days since the end of September and have been able to ride in the car to the store with my husband. This is really good!

So today is the big day! With the ASI Testing, they require me to do in-home saliva testing for morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight. I did the first one this morning at 6:45 a.m.

I also received my book, Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000, written by Dr. Gerald Poesnecker yesterday which is very informative about this disease. You can read one chapter online called The Nature of the Condition to get a little better understanding of adrenal problems that cause CFS.

I'm not yet sure if I should called this a syndrome, disorder, or disease at this point. It depends on who is talking, I suppose. Most doctors in our day don't understand it, so it sits on the shelf while they tell their patients to go see a psychiatrist. I realize doctors are doing what they can, what they are told to do, but to send a patient to a psychiatrist for a biological, neurohormonal problem is not helpful. In fact, it can be very harmful as it was for me (I will post about this in upcoming days). It just doesn't work to not test patients who have severe anxiety, fatigue, shakiness, confusion, hypoglycemia, etc. for endocrine problems and to tell them some common things I've heard:

• You need to think more positively
• Maybe exercise more, take some walks or take up jogging
• You really should just pull yourself up by the bootstraps (as one doctor I had said, "next time someone tells you that, tell them they don't make bootstraps anymore." I have looked up the actual definition of what it means to pull myself up by the bootstraps. Here it is: "to succeed only on one's own effort or abilities." So in other words, when I was hurting for help, they were saying, "no, pick yourself up."
• You should go out and get some fresh air and have a little fun in life
• Maybe you need to start a hobby
• You sound like a hypochondriac; maybe don't look at the PDR and concentrate on something else (one doctor threatened to not refill my prescription if I don't stop reading medical material that is for "doctors only" as she stated in Columbus, Ohio)
• You have four suicides in your family, so you probably will do the same (Nice! That's my all-time favorite from psychiatrists when they don't know where to turn, but to leave someone in a hopeless state)

Now I ask, would this be good advice for someone suffering with cancer or any disease for that matter? No. A few of them might be helpful, but won't cure the actual disease, wouldn't you agree? In all the years (twelve total), not one doctor ever tested my cortisol or thyroid levels, never helped me learn about hypoglycemia and what is happening with my brain without glucose, but put me on many (many!) medications which has compromised my immune system and adrenal glands even more. One of the medications I'm still taking which has completely messed up my HPA Axis has many side effects I have to deal with daily. I've been seen by so many doctors and psychiatrists, I can't count them, and like I've said before, they are all fired due to incompetence.

With all this said in my first post on the matter, I don't think what I have is Addison's Disease because in February, my test results showed some cortisol in my body, so though my adrenal glands are misfiring all the time, shooting off too much epinephrine (read adrenaline) causing severe panic and anxiety, blood sugar problems, body weakness, insomnia, body pain and such, it seems the glands are making some cortisol, but we'll see when I get the results this coming week.

I'll be giving these daily posts different titles, but will number them so they are easily accessed. To help search in sequence, I'll mark them with a number starting out with 001 as seen in the top of the post and they can all be found under the TOPIC "Daily Post." My reason for doing this daily (or as often as I can) is not only to help myself remember what has been helping me, but I hope this will reach men and women along with mothers and fathers who want to learn about CFS for themselves, other loved ones, and their children through this little diary. If you have suffered the heartache of family and friends not understanding what you go or your loved ones endure and have had that label of "hypochodriac" or "lazy person" put upon you, I know the struggle. I pray almost daily for the people out there who don't know where else to turn and it breaks my heart. I hope I can help some with giving resources like the links in my posts so they can figure out with a doctor's help if they too have adrenal problems that have been misdiagnosed.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

Coram Deo,

Tamara Slack

Psychiatry, your opinion please

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death

All I ask is that you do study this topic yourself and form your own opinion. Some people think psychiatry is the way to go. I do not. Check out this 5 minute video and post your comments if you don't mind. THANKS!

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 1

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 2

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 3

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 4

Tamara Slack

Dr. Heather Ashton Videos

Dr. Heather Ashton's Benzodiazepine Videos

Overview of Benzodiazepines:

Benzodiazepine Withdrawal:

How to Taper off Benzodiazepines:

Peter Breggin

Peter Breggin MD Psychiatric Drugs

Part I:

Part II:

Part III: