I took this picture a few weeks ago at our park downtown - what a lovely place!

"I found your site www.fms-help.com most interesting. I have fibro, deteriorated vertebrae, and arthritis in most of my body."

"I'm in my early 20's and have had fibromyalgia for 6 months. I feel depressed and stressed out. I was a very active, athletic girl. Now I can't do any of the things I once loved without hurting."

"re: www.fms-help.com/040813.htm - Borax is extremely toxic. It is no longer sold on shelves in South Africa and it is kept behind the counter and only available at chemist. I am very concerned that in your latest newsletter it sounds like an OK thing to use. It's why it kills everythiing. Boracic powder on the other hand is ok to use. I put it into my dogs ears when they have mites. Please warn in next newsletter."

FROM DOM: Wow. This sounds like what I've experienced even in my teen years. The insomnia, agoraphobia, panic attacks, depression, etc. all started when I was about 14. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism only a few years ago, however.

http://www.fmcpaware.org/ - Snippet: "CARE & Make Fibromyalgia Visible. We'd love to support you in creating a memorable event in your community. That's where your efforts really make a difference. Fibromyalgia events occur all through the month of May. This year the NFMCPA pulled together all of the best tips and advice--plus tools, from the pros. Putting on an event can be easier with a ready-made kit that includes a step-by-step check-off list and a Guide to Creating Local Fibromyalgia Awareness Events for more time-tested considerations. It's all free and ready to be sent to you! FM Awareness Day activities around four topics have a special emphasis on raising public FM awareness, not just awareness to those who have fibromyalgia, their families and friends. The NFMCPA created materials for people with FM, Support Group Leaders, and other advocates to create awareness and education of fibromyalgia and chronic pain illnesses."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/02/autism-rates.aspx - Snippet: "It’s official. Even the conservative CDC states the latest stats show one in 50 US kids now has autism. Boys are also four times as likely to be diagnosed with autism as girls, according to the new data. This means there’s one child with autism on just about every school bus (one school bus holds about 50 kids).
The majority of autism cases appear to result from environmental factors that activate the expression of a number of different genes, along with multiple epigenetic factors that produce the traits of autism."

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" - Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

Getting excellent medical care is difficult. Sometimes impossible. We should talk about how we got here. The large pharmaceutical companies, Big Pharma, took over medical schools in the 1960s, replacing nutritional approaches with an all-drugs-all-the-time curriculum. And they got government to ride shotgun for them so they couldn’t be held responsible for the results of their misguided, money-first approach. For instance, there’s no science behind vaccinations. Big Pharma talks all day long about correlations they dig up–as if they correlations proved anything–but real research says otherwise. As part of their riding-shotgun role, the government holds vaccine-makers harmless no matter how much destruction they cause. So they pump children full of the poisons mercury and aluminum, the brain toxin glutamate and various untested materials–all the while trumpeting what a good thing they’re doing. They even shoot up newborns with a vaccine to “fight” Hepatitis B, a virus spread by sexual contact and sharing needles. This a good thing? How can it be good if it’s not even logical? And somehow or another, vaccine-pushers forget to mention the fact annual flu shots skyrocket dementia risk for senior citizens. Another “good” thing, do you suppose?

And lest Big Pharma get all the gravy, your government-in-action cut Big Insurance in. Insurance companies have the final say about which tests are medically necessary and which are not. A doctor who orders “medically unnecessary” tests can end up with a revoked medical license. Even go to jail. Really. That’s what the law says. There’s never a health reason behind the necessary/not necessary decision. And results can be devastating. For instance, thyroid problems create low stomach acid, which creates digestion problems, which causes loss of nutrition, which causes loss of muscle, rapid aging, wrinkles and all sorts of fun. Half the world has thyroid problems. And the rest of the populace joins the low-stomach-acid brigade once their 40th birthday becomes history. Low stomach acid is common; high stomach acid is not. However, the symptoms are the same. And testing stomach acid levels has been ruled medically unnecessary. Why is that? The plot thickens. Big Pharma makes a bundle with prescription antacids, while the fix for low stomach acid is nutritional. There’s no money in nutritional solutions. If you mention heartburn, etc. to the doc, guess what you’re getting, Bunky: A prescription for an addictive antacid that will make everything worse. Oh, nobody mentioned it was addictive? Surprise! Surprise!

Besides the drugs-only approach and erratic testing, medicine make the whole mess worse with “Standard of Care,” best defined as standards that protect doctors against law suits no matter what happens to patients. For instance, the standard of care for thyroid patients is a remarkably unreliable blood test, the TSH. If by some miracle the results say you’re hypothyroid–which your symptoms have been announcing for years–you get a synthetic T4 medicine that doesn’t work.
Thyroid standard of care leaves you vulnerable to all the health issues that come from an untreated, underactive thyroid–cancer, diabetes, heart, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea, and on, and on. Meanwhile, the thyroid just happens to control whether you live each day in misery or joy. And here’s a news flash: The medical care that’s coming down the road is even worse. If we want to live long and prosper, we have to learn how to become our own health advocate.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/13/salmon-confidential.aspx - Snippet: "Fish farms breed pathogens that can spread like wildfire and contaminate any wild fish swimming past. Wild salmon that died before spawning have tested positive for a number of salmon viruses, including the highly lethal “salmon influenza.”
Farmed fish, purchased in stores around British Columbia have tested positive for at least three lethal fish viruses, including the dreaded ISA virus (aka salmon flu), salmon alpha viruses, and Piscine reovirus, which causes the salmon to have a heart attack, preventing them from swimming upriver. I recommend buying locally-grown foods, and wild fish only. Fish farms are a breeding ground for disease and toxic waste, and produce fish of inferior quality. Due to the dramatically increased disease risk—a natural side effect of crowding—these animals are further contaminated with drugs, and in the case of salmon, synthetic astaxanthin, which is made from petrochemicals that are not approved for human consumption."

FROM DOM: Our friend Paul Ernst, a former atheist of 50 years, just published a scholarly book called "YOU BET YOUR LIFE: A TOOLBOX FOR MAKING LIFE'S ULTIMATE DECISION." What happens after you die? Is there a credible way to know? The book is on amazon at www.amazon.com/You-Bet-Your-Life-Ultimate/dp/1483962768. Paul was my brother's rock climbing friend when they were in college in Colorado 40+ years ago. Paul was an atheist until 12 years ago. His conversion story is at http://ccmusa.org/read/read.aspx?id=chg20060103 (published in Challenger magazine in 2006). In 2007 Paul's heart stopped beating while he was roller blading. He had been an accomplished athlete all his life - boxing, skiing, etc. He was without a heartbeat for 40 minutes (37 with CPR) while paramedics tried to revive him. They shocked his heart 11 times with paddles. He was put into a medical coma for 7 days - 2 days on a ventricular assist balloon. What he experienced was not a heart attack but sudden death from VT caused by cardiomyopathy (due to years of excessive exercise). Since then Paul has had numerous heart procedures. He and his wife Mary live in Boulder, CO. I have a page on my site with a description of Paul's book: www.fms-help.com/YouBetYourLife.htm. It would be particularly of interest to those who are skeptic, agnostic or atheist.

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body, temporarily." - Good quote (source is not C. S. Lewis, per internet).

http://softubexpress.com/blog/?p=59 - Snippet: "Hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of years to help with all types of aches and pains. The Greeks and Romans treated an array of conditions through the utilization of water to both invigorate and massage the body. By taking advantage of three of nature’s most powerful relieving agents: heat, water and air, a home spa can have a marked difference in people’s lives. Hydromassage and hydrothermal therapy are two forms of hydrotherapy that are comprised of heat, buoyancy and massage—all of which take place in a hot tub. Simply put, immersion in hot water raises the body temperature and causes blood vessels to dilate, which results in increased circulation. Buoyancy of the water reduces body weight and relives pressure on joints and muscles. Finally, the spa jet’s massaging action helps relax tight muscles and stimulates endorphin release."

FROM DOM: I invested in a hot tub many years ago upon the advice of a fibro friend who had one. Unfortunately, the house I was living in at the time had well water, and I could never get the chemicals balanced correctly. I only used my hot tub a few times before selling it (like new). Except for the maintenance issues, I loved it...the hot swirling water was a wonderful treat for the body. But I did worry about soaking myself in chemicals, since these enter the body through the pores. Anyone want to comment on the use of hot tubs for fibromyalgia? Write dombush@bellsouth.net.

"Patients should never, never, never use the words "chronic," "fatigue," or "syndrome" in front of a doctor -- or anyone else for that matter. Even if you have been given the diagnosis. Even if you've seen the doctor 100x and actually like them. Even if the doctor still uses it.

• "I have an idiopathic illness."
• "Can you help me figure out my idiopathic illness?"
• "What can we do to treat my idiopathic illness?"
• "My doctors cannot figure out my idiopathic illness."
etc., etc., etc.

Doctors like mysteries, and no longer follow "CFS" treatment protocol (esp. if its a new doctor). They will probably also be impressed that you know the word. Never, Never, Never use "C," "F," or "S." You will receive vastly different response AND ACTION from your doctors (and family and friends) with this one simple word --> IDIOPATHIC! If you subscribe to their terms, then you play by their rules. BUCK-THE-SYSTEM --> STOP FUELING IT!"

Used by permission from Joni and Friends International Disability Center www.joniandfriends.org--

"Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'" Matthew 26:38

Jesus and His disciples had slipped out of the Upper Room and into the darkness, through a city gate, down the steep ravine, and up into the hill of olive trees. He trembled with a deep sense of foreboding. Would His three closest friends mind coming just a little further to pray a stone's throw away? His soul was "overwhelmed with sorrow" and so, for the only time in His life, Jesus asked for something for Himself: Be with me... stay beside me... stay awake with me... please, would you?

Jesus had often asked His disciples to do things for Him. Organize the people on the hill in groups. Pass out baskets of loaves and fishes. Find a boat in which to cross a lake. Go two by two and preach the message in the towns of Judea. Always and always, He had others in mind. Even on the night He was betrayed, He dispensed instructions for others; in His own prayers that same night, He interceded for others (John chapters 14 to 17).

But on this night, in this lonely olive grove, He asked His disciples for something from them. He wanted human comfort. Instead, Jesus' need was answered with a yawn, and in no time everyone's prayers had degenerated into dreams. Eleven men - some, accustomed to working all night on their fishing boats - could not keep awake to lend moral support to the Son of Man.

"Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. 'Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?' he asked Peter" (Matthew 26:40). In His moment of greatest need, Jesus asked His disciples to watch with Him for just one hour. He asks the same of you. Can you say with David Brainerd, "Oh! One hour with God infinitely exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world." Spend an hour alone with God this week.

Yes, Lord, I will stay with You... I will be with You, remaining beside You in prayer.

"re: www.fms-help.com/040813.htm - Yes, that inflammation stuff!!! My deceased brother did not “just” die of failed liver, as I read over his health papers again a year ago it was “inflammation.” When he was about 13, he got real ill, in the hospital.... he couldn't feed himself or walk barely... Mom said it was poly- neuritis, I never found that term, but poly means many, and he had INFLAMMATION... seems not coincidental that this is the brother that had allergies the most (me too) and then got BAD rheumatoid arthritis.. (knee operations) and his arthritis meds doctor said could destroy liver, which the liver did go BAD and killed him!!!(kidney shut down after liver. My point..... I realize after all these years in my family (dad’s side, arthritis and diabetes and cholesterol) adds up to inflammation!!!! I’ve been feeling terrible lately, sometimes I hurt all over, sometimes more like tendonitis.. fatigued even with naps.. no ambition, so I hope my body is not getting worse (Just visited that brother's wife. she is well at 71, and takes care of her 90s parents in the same house.. Genes, genes!!)

I ask that you join me in prayer right now:
Lord, we come to you in shock and in prayer for all those tragically killed and injured just now.
We pray for their friends and families...that they will be comforted during their horrible time of grief.
We pray for those who witnessed this horrific scene.
We pray for the safety of the first responders.
We pray that no one else will be hurt.
We pray that the hearts of those who seek to do harm to others may be turned. That their minds and souls will be healed.
We pray that you keep us, our friends and our families safe.
We pray for the day when the head of satan is crushed and all darkness is gone from this world!
Lord in your mercy, please hear our prayer! Amen!

II Corinthians 1: 4 - "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Visit Dominie's FMS/CFIDS Homepage at www.fms-help.com for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers and their families.