Sulfur Soap Sauna

Here's an idea I had late last night. As always try it at your own risk. I will once I move back into my house (it along with my sauna are currently being rented).

Dr. Hilga Clarke recommends sulfur soap to assist in removal of heavy metals (it binds with many of them...including mercury) . I figure combining it with a sauna could be extra effective.

So, take a hot shower under whatever filter system you have(I have an Aquasauna filter which I believe works well...but there are probably others). Sud up with sulfur soap and leave the suds on your skin. Relax in the heat of the sauna and get your pores to open up. Whatever metals are being released should bind with the sulfur. Shower off after your session. Simple, eh?

If you try this, let me know what you think. Thanks, Joe

Communications

Wouldn't it be great to have sufferers and Morgellons medical researchers sit down together and talk? What a concept, eh? People who are experiencing the symptoms (or have experienced) having discussions with people who are trying to end the suffering. There are some really great people out there trying to help understand Morgellons. Let me mix the old and new.

Trish Springstead has spoke with me on the phone and endlessly via emails. We have become friends. She has had success in helping many people and continues to help. She has been a constant supporter of my efforts and gave me exceptional support in my overseas venture. Thanks, Trish!

Another good, good friend is Mr. Commonsense. He has put endless time and effort into the blog Morgellons- A Mundane Approach at: http://morgellonspgpr.wordpress.com/ . His blog is well followed and offers endless resources to the Morgellons Crowd. If you haven't visited him, take a look!

In the last couple of days, I've been able to have productive communications with several others connected to the Morgellons community. Vitaly Citovsky, PhD, a biochemist from SUNY at Stonybrook, had been assisting in some of the research through the Charles E. Holman Foundation. He was willing to read some of my research and offer several comments (I'm certain he is a busy man, so I was impressed with his response).

I also connected to Dr. Dan Harper this morning on the phone; we actually spoke for quite awhile. I emailed off links to my research. He strikes me as someone who sincerely listens to his patients...and truly knowledgeable on all facets of Morgellons. I'm excited that he will be doing a study related to Morgellons...and hopeful for some answers!

I sent off some materials to Dr. Andrew Weil also (why not?). His website suggest the CDC will offer answers sometime soon (anyone holding their breath on this, please stop). He's popular enough and he'd make a good Morgellons liaison.

I'm not certain how to end this entry. I guess it pays to keep trying goes without saying.

Educating Politicians

I've been back in my hometown for a couple of days. I've decided to see if I can rent a room for four months and substitute teach until summer (a many faceted decision). Wandering through downtown, I wondered if Matt Baker, State Representative in Pennsylvania, had received an email I'd sent some weeks ago.

I used http://www.congress.org/ to send off notes to congressional members, state representatives, and even President Obama; with a single click you can send off a note to all of them. My note related to the Morgellons Disease research by the CDC (asking to pressure for the release of their findings).

Anyhow, I went into Matt Baker's office and spoke with his secretary. She took down some notes and rushed down a hallway.

"Hey, Joe, come on back," it was Matt Baker himself. "What can I do for you?"

I stepped into his impressive office and sat at my side of the boat sized desk. "I wanted to see if you'd gotten my email related to the CDC and release of their Morgellons Disease study."

"That's federal. I'm state. I really couldn't do much about it." Then he explained, "I get from three hundred to five hundred emails each day."

So, we discussed it for a couple of minutes. He gave me his card and said, "Email it to this address." I shook his hand and thanked him for his time. When I got back to my friends home I emailed him and attached my account of recovery and my historic research connecting Morgellons to mercury (both of these were published in the peer reviewed medical journal Explore!). He emailed a response say, "Nice to have met with you."

Did my words go anywhere? Do my efforts have any effect? I may never know. I do know though it is important to try. I'm certain the number of citizens bringing up an issue may justify further action by a politician. Generally politicians aren't my kind of people, but Representative Baker was attentive and seemingly interested; it'd be great if he passed on these concerns to someone who can have effect.

We do need to educate politicians on Morgellons Disease. We need to make the situation crystal clear and keep pressuring those who have been chosen to represent us.

Recovery Account Volume

The internet has been called the information highway. While I agree there is much information, there is also much misinformation. Morgellons Disease is a still not well understood and yet opinion on cause and cure seem endless (certainly my blog being one, as it is dedicated to the view of cause being toxicity).

I would like to create a volume of a dozen or so accounts of recovery from Morgellons (I'd be willing to edit and include my own). The volume could be made available free of charge online.

I'd like to hear from you on this topic. Does such a volume make sense? Do you have your own story of recovery? I do think patterns could emerge from creating a collection of recovery stories.

It's a short blog entry, but I'm hopeful it will prove fruitful.

Family Dysfunction or Remembering Who Holds the Reins to Your Life

I have been back from Africa for almost two weeks. Without going into details, I have been pulled back into some family dysfunction in a major way (never pleasant). I do feel I have made some strong decisions though and in a strange way have benefitted from the situation.

Until our very last breath, we hold the reins in our life. We get to make decisions for ourselves along the bumpy road. I know with Morgellons or other serious health challenges it doesn't feel that way; in fact, it feels like we have absolutely no control.

For myself, I remember making the decision to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. I had days four years ago when I could barely pull my pants on because of the exhaustion. I learned to count out ten things I was thankful for upon waking (and I still do this regularly). A simple sunbeam or bird song became built up to-- God life is great!!

And it is. Life is great! I've just returned from a jog in my sister's neighborhood. My health, since returning to the US, has improved in leaps and bounds. I have been taking the parasitic cleanse of wormwood, black walnut, and cloves (it is available in a tincture made by Gaia); I am convinced it has helped considerably. I also feel the air quality and lower altitude has allowed me to breath proper (I was gasping and gulping air for much of my stay in Tanzania). The stress levels are much lower in my current situation and this is a good thing.

No matter where your health or other life matters sit at this point, you hold the reins. Ride on! Ride on!

Self Care

Last year I had an ongoing dialog with a biochemist from Mansfield University. I was trying to get a better understanding of the internal mixing of mercury with toluene and/or methamphetamine (I wanted to better understand--would this change the properties of mercury to allow it access beyond the blood/brain barrier?...and cause the Morgellons symptoms?). While he was initially interested, he distanced himself when I proposed Morgellons symptoms are likely "the tip of the iceberg". He did make one statement which has stuck with me; "With toxicity it is all about amounts," he stated.

In my recent extended stay in Africa, I believe my internal environment was effected. I'd had two heart racing episodes in the last two weeks (which could be caused by an increase in mercury levels); one of these was midway over the Atlantic (I had some Xanex with me to slow my heart down). While these symptoms were terrifying to me, it seems some would question whether I even had any.

Here's a point anyone who has dealt with Morgellons symptoms can related to. Imagine going to your family doctor and saying, "I have a stomach ache". The doctor is likely to tell you to take some antacids. If you go to the same doctor and say, "It feels like bugs are crawling under my skin", it is more likely than not they will say you are delusional. Why is it people, whether medical professionals or not, feel justified in questioning others when they state symptoms they are experiencing?

My sister-in-law, who is a respected biologist, professor, and general kind person, talked with me about Morgellons when I was in the thick of symptoms. I remember her saying, "I watched a special on it. They concluded 'It's all in your head'." She meant to be helpful and objective.

I told her, "Yes, it is in my head...and my arms, legs, intestinal track. In fact, it is all over my body." How can you be angry with anyone when the majority of the medical community still sees these symptoms as fiction?

Sufferers rely on other sufferers, those who have recovered and/or a handful of medical researchers to find a path to wellness (by the way, could somebody please call the CDC and wake them up!). I've said it before and will say it again- the person who can greatest help you recover is right in the mirror. We have got to take care of ourselves!

Taking care of myself at this moment means getting feedback from a doctor (I am waiting for test results and may do follow up testing), keeping stress low, and finding a setting with clean air and water (related to this I just read some discouraging news for North Central Pennsylvania (see http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=1&hpw)). I'm not certain where this will take me. I've taken the "breathing time" over the last week to build my online presence as a writer (thank you Liz!! please take a look at: jwkeleher.com or cliffhuggins.com). Remember every moment of every day--take care of yourself!

Pondering the Dark Continent

Tomorrow I fly back to the United States. I face the unknown again, but it is not nearly as frightening when you've got friends and family near. I have come full circle as many of my Native American friends would say.

I came to Africa for a job, but truthfully I had more compelling me. A graduate school friend used to say in reference to being an archaeologist, "We're trained pattern recognizers." It's true. I had noted and written about symptomatic patterns in large scale African studies related to use of mercurial skin cream; the symptoms mimic Morgellons Disease. It seemed it was my destiny to take the teaching position in Tanzania. I'd hoped to connect with medical professionals who could look at the patterns more closely.

I did connect with a mental health professional. In April I was to present my recovery and research to one of the local hospitals. Then I got sick. For two days I found myself on some roller coaster. Maybe it was the flu, maybe more. I found myself contemplating leaving. I made it through a couple more days at work. On the weekend I started getting pins and needles in my left half. I decided it was enough to be concerned with (and others agreed).

I went to one of the local hospitals. There were mosquitoes swarming me, as I sat on the worn rustic bench outside listening to calls to prayer from the local mosque. An hour later, the "doctor" scanned my paperwork and in broken English said, "Yes, I know this. You have urinary infection." I nodded as he told me to go to their pharmacy and, "Buy drugs and come back in one week." A light went on in my head as I recalled a local friend warning me about a particular hospital which told everyone they had a urinary infection. I crumpled the test results in my pocket and caught a taxi back to my residence.

I contacted my primary detox professional, Dr. Bruce Shelton in Phoenix, and am having medications I couldn't get shipped to Tanzania sent to my mother's. I also am getting recommended herbals for parasite removal as outlined on Dr. Hulda Clarke's website (and recommended by a local homeopathic doctor). I will follow all the good stuff I recommend on this blog and get my system up and running again ASAP!

I will relax and reconnect with family and friends for a week or so. I have a good friend in New York City who is cyber-savy; she will help me get my website jwkeleher.com and a new website related to my YA Cliff Huggins series (introduction to 12 steps work for young people) up and running. I also hope to assist Patrica Springstead, RN in some extremely important research related to toxicity and the BP Oil spill. As always, I will seek the light path ahead of me (that is Quakerism. We talk a lot about the light).

I have come full circle. As I fly from the Dark Continent across the "Big Puddle" I will keep health in mind.