Wondering

[pberggren1]

Lisa,

The last time I was down to MN was when I was about 3 or 4, close to 30 years ago. I would like to come to visit my relatives and you as well. I hear southern MN is very beautiful.

Over and Out,
Phil of the north

[coffeelover]

Phil,

Tell me when you will be down this way and I will be glad to meet with you. I could put you up at my motel if you'd like, just let me know.

LIsa

[pberggren1]

Lisa,

I would love to do a road trip this fall. Do you own a hotel?

Over and Out,
Phil of the north

[coffeelover]

I do. In Mankato. This forum is not for advertising, so I will not name the hotel.
LIsa

[Shannon T]

I am 63 and had been healthy all my life. Moderate exercise, not overweight. Last November I was walking my dogs and had a serious fall that pulled a groin muscle which failed to heal for 5 months. During that time other medical problems started and in April got this diagnosis.

I feel that I might have been balanced before the fall and something changed as a result of the trauma. Not a physicians so don't know.

[Sangye]

Shannon, I had the same thing. Mine started with a bad fall--straight down on my spine. Actually, about 6 months before that, I took a horrible fall (same thing, but worse) on rollerblades, and the next day became seriously ill with some weird virus. I lost hearing in both ears and was very sick for about 6 weeks. Then last year, another big fall, and Wegs symptoms flared again.

I'm a chiropractor, and we know for a fact that rattling the spine like that affects one's immunity. Many people get colds, flu, etc... right after a bad fall. Was my Wegs already brewing? Dunno. But the first and second falls sure turned up the heat!

Good idea to see a chiropractor in your area and get some good adjustments. I'm not saying it will cure Wegs-- that egg is probably already boiled-- but it may reduce your symptoms and bring down the Wegs fire. If you want more info about how to find a good chiro, what you must tell them about Wegs, etc... let me know.

[coffeelover]

Nice to know Sangye! Prior to my trach and diagnosis, I was seeing a chiro because it DID make me feel better. Since my trach I have been avoiding the chiro as I am not sure how he will maneuver around the trach? Can you give me some guidance here?
Lisa

[Doug]

Ah ha! I thought our Sangye was awfully well informed for a layman! A chiropractor! You hold your light under a bushel very well, my friend!

[Shannon T]

Sangye,
I would appreciate a referral. I live in Houston.

Did your hearing return?

Shannon

[Sangye]

(Well, sheesh... I wrote this big long reply last night and I guess I didn't hit "Post" because it ain't here!)

Doug, that's a very funny expression! But nah, I've outed myself as a chiropractor on this forum a bunch of times. Maybe that plant got in your way?

Lisa, your chiropractor will know how to protect your trach. There are many ways to adjust someone. There are some chiros out there who are so stuck in their particular ways that they'll say it's impossible. If that happens, find someone with proper training-- we're trained to safely adjust people of all ages and sizes, with all kinds of complications, physical limits, surgical changes, etc....

The most important thing to explain is that you can't mess with the immune system. This will take some 'splaining, because treating autoimmune diseases by suppressing the immune system is the exact opposite way holistic docs treat them. When you explain your Wegs treatment, don't be surprised when your holistic doc rolls his/her eyes, and behaves just as obnoxiously as your medical docs do when you talk about using holistic medicine.

They will say, "Holistic medicine has treated all kinds of autoimmune diseases successfully--sometimes even cured them." That's true. However, it's important to point out that they can't extrapolate from the successful holistic treatment of most other autoimmune diseases like RA, MS, etc.... Those will not kill you and their symptoms are more obvious. So you can afford a little trial and error. We don't have that cushion with Wegs. It can silently cause damage and can become deadly quickly. There is not a single case in the literature of a Weggie being treated with holistic treatment. I nearly killed myself by treating it exclusively holistically. (I didn't know I had Wegs.) I've heard from others who almost died or suffered permanent damage doing the same.

There are many, many ways holistic medicine can help you. They just have to avoid two things :
1) Boosting or "modulating/regulating" the immune system. Both counteract the drugs.
2) Detoxing you-- this can release deadly amounts of residual drugs into your system, and make your body dump the drugs you are currently taking.

Basically, your holistic doc has to "buy in" to what you're doing, or they'll make you miserable. This is a complete paradigm shift for them, so it may take a few visits. If they don't relent, I suggest you move on. I know how stubborn "my people" can be!

Recently I fired a chiropractor who constantly said or insinuated that the Wegs treatment was killing me. No matter what I came in with-- even simple things that had nothing to do with Wegs or the drugs-- he'd say, "Your body is giving out because of the drugs. The treatment is killing you. You need to tell the MDs to stop the treatment." He ignored the fact that I've actually gotten stronger on the drugs, compared to pre-treatment. He didn't want to hear that--couldn't hear that.

My chiro from Arizona, however, understood the situation right away and helped me tremendously.

Because I know that sometimes it's easier to hear this from a peer (who happens to have Wegs), I'm happy to talk with anyone's holistic doc about it. Just send me their name, phone number and US time zone. I won't discuss your particular case-- that would involve more complicated legalities-- but I can help them understand Wegs in general and how they can help.