Some interesting & inspiring info

[Maya23]

Hi everyone

I hope lupus isn't treating you too badly today? I am enjoying a quiet period (I seem to be a lot better in the winter months). I thought I'd share with you some inspirational and informative things:

Here is a link to an interesting article about how people who suffer from chronic fatigue have measurable differences in their brains:

nydailynews.com/life-style/...

And here is a very interesting & informative video by John Bergman, a chiropractor who works with people with autoimmune conditions, with some great results. (It's good to know that functional medicine is showing some good results for treating the root causes of autoimmune conditions - something that conventional medicine seems slow to address).

youtube.com/watch?v=T_Re4ja...(Not working as expected?)

And here is a radio program that talks about the new research into treatments without drugs. Here's what it says about it:

"Many people are living with chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel conditions in which the body attacks itself. Although drug treatments have improved over recent years they do not work for everyone and can have serious side effects.

Now researchers such as neurologist Dr Kevin Tracey of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and rheumatologist Professor Paul-Peter Tak of Amsterdam University, are trying a new approach to improving the lives of these patients. They are firing electrical pulses along the vagus nerve, a major nerve that connects the brain with all the organs. The technology to do this has been for some decades as stimulating the vagus nerve has been used to help people who have epilepsy that isn't controlled with drugs since the 1990s.

Gaia Vince talks to these pioneers of this new field of research. And she hears how there may be ways of improving the tone of the vagal nerve using meditation."

Listen here: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pv6kq

Take care

Dryad x

[Nightjar]

Thanks

[Natura]

Thanks dryad....very interesting stuff. Maybe in 20 yrs there will be a greater understanding and better treatment options. Maybe even a cure...who knows.

There's always the possibility...

[Maya23 in reply to Natura]

Yes I hope that in the near future we'll look back on this time as we do on the dark ages and think "how could we have been just throwing drugs at this instead of addressing the root cause?". Of course drugs can save your life and give you more time to find the root cause in acute cases, so they may still have their place in the future, but for long term health I think the emphasis will change to a different approach as we understand the causes of autoimmune disease.

[misty14 in reply to Maya23]

Hi Dryad

Thanks for sharing such interesting articles. Gives us all good hope for the future!. X

[Natura]

Dryad....just heard the vagus nerve conversation. Amazing! I would love to see the medical field go in this direction. I always thought there was something wrong with my brain! ha! I took a course on the parts of the brain and their functions. This is very understandable. I would much prefer this than take medicine to treat symptoms. Find the cause I always say, and treat that. Old story John Denver told in one of his concerts, an ambulance would sit at the bottom of the hill where cars would fall off because there was no fence. Don't put an ambulance at the bottom of the hill. Put up a fence at the top of the hill. Still love that story he told. Hope you are feeling ok today. I have had a flare for the past week...scratchy head, kidney problems...feeling better finally...pounding green, ginger and camomile tea every day. Plus taking my d,b vitamins and enzymes...I think I am going to try acupuncture. A lot of people say it's good. I tired 2 x and didn't notice anything, but I wonder if it could stimulate vagus nerve. Also, very interesting about study in NC regarding positive social emotions. Social closeness. I have a problem with this. Take care!