I thought you'd be interested in the following posts that Jo, Sleepydust Forum Manager has moved over to the new Sleepydust Forum (the forum has moved in the past couple of days).

It sparked my attention because a sufferer had reported that they had been found to be allergic to green vegetables. This to me was very strange so I asked Lesley, my nutrionist/kinesiologist, who also kindly replies to questions at the nutrition/diet/kinesiology board (at the Sleepydust forum), to take a look at the post and share her opinions. Her answer was very interesting! She says it is all to do with 'sensitvity to salicylic acid'...

To read the thread, and Lesley's answer (3rd post down), visit:

http://www.sleepydust.info/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=59

Please note that although the posts say they were all posted by Jo, this is because she has had to move the posts over the the new board. She has written who posted what, and when, at the bottom of each post. Thanks Jo for doing such a fab job in setting up the new forum by the way :)

Claire
Editor of sleepydust.net

The Sleepydust Forum has a new bigger, better and brighter home:

http://www.sleepydust.info/phpbb2/index.php

Please note that as of 5th May all of the posts at the old Sleepydust Forum have been locked, and all existing posts up until this point have been manually transferred to the new forum. As of now all replies will be posted at the new forum instead.

Unfortunately it wasn't possible for us to transfer everyones username and password, so sadly users will need to re-register at the new forum, but once registration has been completed users will be able to access all areas of the forum, such as the new 'Chatterbox', 'Teens Talk', 'Good News', 'New Research & Treatments' boards and many more.

The sleepydust team would love for you to come over and visit us! Our new address is:
http://www.sleepydust.info/phpbb2/index.php

[If you've bookmarked the old Sleepydust Forum perhaps you might like to change the link to reflect this?]

Look forward to seeing you there!

Claire
Editor of sleepydust.net

Jo, Sleepydust Forum Manager has recently made an interesting post at the Sleepydust Forum about antidepressants. You can read her post here:

http://www.sleepydust.info/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=62

Claire
Editor of sleepydust.net

Last month I got a question from a sufferer asking:

"I would like to know is there anything I am able to do for these violent cleansing reactions I have when using herbs or supplements to remove toxins from my body."

This was my reply:

Hi!

Thanks for getting in touch. I am a sufferer myself, and although I have spent years researching CFS/ME/PVFS, I am not a qualified health professional, so I can't really advise you in a professional capacity.

I can, however, tell you what my nutritionist/kinesiologist told me, and that was that when we have this condition, we are likely to become sensitive to things we put into our bodies, including herbs and other supplements. I learned that even the brand of the supplement can have a bearing on how well you react to it.

So the aim is to take a 'softly, softly' approach and to take supplements in cautious doses, introducing them over a period of time, instead of taking everthing all at once.

If you are experiencing 'violent cleansing reactions' so to speak, then I would guess that the mixture of supplements you are taking is either:

- not balanced enough for you right now, or
- you are taking too many all at once, or
- the dosage is too much, or
- you are simply taking the wrong supplements (or a wrong supplement), at least at this point in your illness.

If you are experiencing adverse effects, it might be worth seeking the advice of a qualified nutritionist.

Better still, if you can find a nutrionist who is also a trained kinesiologist, they can test the supplements on you to see which ones make you stronger at that point in time, and which ones have no effect or even have an adverse effect on you. They would then also be able to determine the right dosages for you to take.

In my own personal experience, this has worked very well for me, and I now understand how important the process of testing is, to making sure I'm taking exactly what I need.

You may be interested in the following pages:

1) At the bottom of a page of reviews of some of my favourite supplements for ME/CFS, I write about kinesiology and the use of supplements (scroll down to the bottom):

http://www.sleepydust.net/ME-CFS.html

I also wrote about my visits to my nutritionist/kinesiolgist in my online diary here:

http://sleepydust.diaryland.com/20041106.html
http://sleepydust.diaryland.com/20050212.html

http://sleepydust.diaryland.com/20050223.html

http://sleepydust.diaryland.com/200503262.html
http://sleepydust.diaryland.com/200504142.html

Hope this is helpful to you!

All the best

Claire
Editor of sleepydust.net

I recently got an email from a PVFS sufferer who has been suffering symptoms for about 8 weeks. He was concerned because his doctor had given him no indication of how long PVFS can last.

He had previously led a very sporty lifestyle and wanted to know if his illness was something he was likely to overcome soon... or would it take more time?

His main concern was that he would never be able to play sport again and as a result of this he was feeling very depressed.

This was my reply:

Hi

So sorry to hear that you have PVFS. There's a section about recovery here.


If you have only had this for 8 weeks then, from what I have learned about the condition, I would say that your chances of completely recovering are good.

However, it is very easy to get worse with PVFS, especially if you don't know what you should and shouldn't do (I know this from experience - when I first developed PVFS I was none the wiser and unknowingly made myself a lot worse!).

So I would say, try to make it your priority to:

- rest as much as possible - slow your lifestyle down if need be;
- sleep when you need to sleep;
- pace yourself;
- minimise your stress levels (important);
- eat healthily (a CFS diet is the best), and juice as much as possible (you'd obviously need a juicer for that);
- cut out ALL caffeine including fizzy pop;
- reduce your amount of sugar intake;
- and perhaps most importantly, focus on remaining positive and hopeful, because it's extremely difficult to recover from any chronic illness when you are depressed.

Regarding the last priority, I recommend you perhaps consider writing a gratitude journal (which personally helped me immensely when I myself was depressed when I first developed the condition), and has helped millions world wide. It's easy to do, takes up only a minute of your time each day, and it costs you no money.

Click here to find out more about gratitude journals!

And there is a full section on depression here!

I have also recommended and reviewed some supplements and items for PVFS/CFS that you might find useful, including a good book on CFS diet. You can access that page here!

Lastly, I find that support and friendship from those who know what you are going through is essential, particularly because this illness is not well understood by the community at large, and even much of the medical community. So please feel free to use our forum here!

All the best

Claire
Editor of sleepydust.net