Hello Nicole and the Group,

Would love to hear from anyone who is experiencing anything similar to me and especially on how they are dealing and coping with it.

I have a type of arthritis, especially bad in my lower back (sacro-illiac joints), that the doctors say is associated with UC. Although my UC is not that bad I have had it for quite a few years. The arthritis however is a more recent addition and by far the more debilitating one for me. When it is really bad I can hardly turn over in bed or get out of bed and would be unable to bend to get my pants or socks on in the morning. If I do more and push through the pain the kick back gets worse the next day.

I have had to stop riding altogether and felt it only fair to resign. As riding was such a large part of my job it simply was not on to expect them to go on accepting this situation indefinitely especially when i could give them no idea when i would be able to ride again. To be honest it is s a load of stress gone.

I read the article Jini posted on the MAP bacteria and Crones. It was incredible.

I have a few questions?

If as Jini suggests Crones is just a continuum of UC, could the same bacteria also be responsible for it in UC?

If as they suggest there is an infectious element to this disease and the bactera migrates to the joints and elsewhere in the body it would seem to follow that by sorting out the digestive system the bacteria would still be present elsewhere in the system and continue to do damage there?

Has anyone found that their arthritis started to clear up as their digestive system improved?

Is there anyone out there who has experienced an improvement in their UC or Crones and yet no improvement in their arthritis?

Is MAP one specific bacteria or associated types of bactera? Are there any other articles written about this?

They suggest that it is very difficult to eradicate this bacteria from the system. How therefore do I know if I should use wild oregano oil or something else to treat it.?

Is what is going on on my joints degenerative? Will my body be able to repair the damage given the right conditions or will the joint always be damaged?

Any advice on how I might better deal with this disabling part of this disease would be much appreciated.

Laura

Hi, Laura.

I feel I can only answer some of your questions well, as I have not experienced arthritis and so have no personal experience to share.

However, here's what I can answer.

MAP is a specific bacteria. Other diseases caused by mycobacteria are leprosy and tuberculosis, but in each case, they are caused by different strains of the bacterial species. (Just as a horse is a horse, and yet, you run the gamut from Thoroughbred to Shire....each is a horse and yet has it's own breed-specific characteristics.)

I have never read of a link between MAP and ulcerative colitis. However, here is what I can say. They (Crohn's and UC) both seem to be characterized by an unbalanced gut flora. That's why they both typically improve as people follow the Wild Oregano Oil and/or probiotic supplementation.

Remember that the Wild Oregano Oil (or any other antimicrobial), although it's taken via our digestive system, reaches throughout the body. That's why you can take it orally for a cold or the flu, for instance. So answering intuitively, I would say that if bacteria is present elsewhere in the system, the active ingredients in the Wild Oregano Oil will still have a positive effect.

Unfortunately, there haven't been any clinical studies done on Wild Oregano Oil and MAP. However, to quote Jini, "based on it's effectiveness against other pathogenic microbes, I think it's a good bet that it does work." The only way to know for sure if it will help you is to try it....

I've never been tested for it, but I do think it's likely I would test positive for MAP. I still have setbacks every three to four months, when I'll go back on Phase One of the Wild Oregano Protocol for two weeks or so. This coincides with the dormant/active lifecycle of this micro-organism. However, I feel that the Wild Oregano Protocol is working (along with everything else I do to support health in myself) because each setback is less of a setback than the one before. So overall, there's upward progress. (When I had a consultation with Dr. Dean [www.carolyndean.com], she validated my belief that this a sign that healing was taking place and that switching to the various phases or the Wild Oregano Protocol according to my symptoms was a good guideline to follow.) It will be a year in May that I first began taking Wild Oregano Oil.

I really can't say whether what you have going on in your joints is degenerative....I'm going to give an intuitive answer here, but that doesn't mean I'm right; use your own judgment. My belief, based on how my own body has healed from various things (including, but not limited to Crohn's), is that the body heals, but it's not necessarily the same as it was before the damage took place. You may improve to the point where you have no or very little pain, and yet the susceptibility to pain there may remain....you may have to watch how or how much you do certain things so as not to aggravate your back, for example.

My parents have both had arthritis for many years. They both say that the best thing they've found is to keep moving, but to keep things gentle. So they're not running any marathons, but they both garden, walk, chop wood (my Dad actually likes to do this and just had two big truckloads of logs delivered to his house....that'll keep him busy for awhile!, although these days he's slowed down a little and has a tractor and a log-splitter to help him). It's not that they're pain-free, unfortunately, but they both told me that they feel the worst (the joints get really painful and stiff) if they're inactive for too long.

Because any chronic physical pain can also grind you down emotionally (and vice versa, for that matter), I'd also utilize EFT or some other mind/body healing modality.

I hope this helps!

Nicole

thankyou Nicole,

Thankyou for your reply and your valued opinion once again.

I have just ordered the wild oregano! also mutli vitamins and more fissure heal. The piles are never gone for long!

When it says of the probiotics, work up to one level teaspoon, is that the quantity that is held inside the clear capsules. If this is so, it is a smaller amount than my teaspoon holds so would be good to know.

Not feeling too bad.

Thankyou

Laura

Hi, Laura.

Following is a link I found with some interesting info regarding anti-inflammatories and pain, including arthritis pain. Maybe something in there will also be helpful.

http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/5/anti_ ... tories.htm

Regarding the probiotics, one level teaspoon of any of Natren's powdered probiotics contains 4 billion colony forming units (cfu). So if you're going with the capsules, I would figure it by the CFUs, rather than by a volume measurement, to determine your dosage.

I hope this helps and please do post your experience with the Wild Oregano Oil after you've used it for awhile, so that other people may also benefit. Keep up the great work!

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

Thankyou for your reply.

I have recieved my oregano oil.
My dosage on probiotics now is just over half a teasponn 3 times a day. On phase one of the oregano protocol it says to reduce the probiotics to one tsp. at night. Do you think it will be OK for me to switch to this dosage?

I thought that i might start the oregano with 5 drops twice a day?

What am I likely to experience in terms of cessation of symptoms and how will I know if the infection is gone?

The article you attached is extremely interesting. iI am going to send it to a couple of people who take painkillers like sweeties. It made me very happy that I have not taken any painkillers in quite some time now.

The bit about fish oils was also intersting and I did think of taking these but did I read tha they made diarrhea worse?

Will post my experience re oregano.

Laura

Hi, Laura.

Since your body is already accustomed to 1-1/2 tsp. of each of the probiotics each day, I don't think it will cause any problems switching to the one tsp. at night. Just make sure to take them on an empty stomach and apart from any other supplements.

Yes, I think your idea of starting off slowly on the Wild Oregano (5 drops 2x/day) makes sense. You may find that you need to work up to a higher dose, but that's no reason to start off that way. Really, you want to take the least amount that is effective; you'll know when you've found what works for you.

You may find that your symptoms worsen temporarily. (Look in the index of LTYG under Herxheimer Reaction for more info.)

You already know the feeling of healing taking place. When you're getting over an illness like a cold or the 'flu, you can feel strength and well-being returning to your body, even if some of the symptoms are still there, albeit abating. Because by the time we show IBD symptoms, it's likely that we have long-standing gut flora imbalances, it can take awhile to completely rebalance everything. But that feeling of rising health is the same. You'll recognize it.

The illustration Dr. Dean (www.carolyndean.com) used when speaking with me during a consultation was climbing a set of stairs. There are a lot of steps between the bottom and the top and they are cyclic, in a way, by nature. Up, plateau, up, plateau, and so on. Likewise, you may need to cycle between the various phases of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol, but each cycle should bring you closer to that state of balance in the gut flora. Of course, life has a way of intruding, too, so you aren't likely to see a perfectly modulated pattern like a staircase, but you get the idea of what you're looking for.

It's also very helpful to learn to dialog with your gut, which Jini provides instructions for.

Yes, fat of any kind can worsen diarrhea, taken in excess (and where that line between tolerable and excessive resides is a little different for everyone and is likely to change as the body heals). But these Omega-3 rich oils are so beneficial to the body that it is well worth taking as much as you can tolerate. That same Dr. Mercola who has that article about anti-inflammatories on his website has recommended as much as one teaspoon of high-quality cod liver or fish oil per fifty pounds of body weight for people in a disease state; I've seen one teaspoon per day recommended as a maintenance dose. Whatever you can tolerate, however small, is still beneficial.

I hope this helps and if any other questions come to mind, don't hesitate to write with them.

Nicole

Hi Laura,

Taking cod liver oil - even if only 2 capsules per day, should help you a lot. If you can, take 4-6 capsules per day until your arthritis is no more. The brand I recommend (Nordic Naturals) comes in these actually tasty lemon-flavored gelcaps (see www.holistichealthshoppe.com). I find absorption and tolerance is really good if I eat some food, then chew 2 capsules (chew until all oil is swallowed and then spit out the capsules) then eat some more food, etc. I was VERY squeamish about taking fish oil and still cannot imagine swallowing a straight teaspoon of it. But taking it this way is almost like candy - even my 4 and 6 year old will take it by chewing up the gelcaps and I assure you, there is no fishy taste or smell at all.

Next, here's the main treatment for your arthritis: Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide therapy.

5 days after the birth of my third son, Hugo, I developed 7 different bacterial infections - even my blood was infected with 2 different bacteria. Since there are no emergency naturopathic hospitals in my city, I had to go to a regular hospital - since this really was a life and death situation. I was on 4 different IV antibiotics for 10 days. I took my Natren probiotics to the hospital and took them 3 times/day whilst there and thank god didn't catch anything else.

However, upon discharge, I then had to recover from the damage done by the antibiotics and prevent secondary or opportunistic infection from setting in. And, like you, the infection had resulted in "infection induced arthritis" or "reactive arthritis". I know exactly the kind of pain and loss of mobility you're describing!

So, after researching, I began intravenous hydrogen peroxide, alternating with intravenous vitamin C and high mineral dosing at my naturopathic's clinic (my doc is an ND and MD). Yes, this is an expensive therapy. Cost me about $4,000 total as I was also doing glutathione through a nebulizer (inhaling it) to clear up remaining fluid in my lungs from pneumonia (one of the infections).

This therapy also takes time to see results. We started with 3 hydrogen peroxide treatments per week for the first week, then I went 3 times per week, but alternated hydrogen peroxide with vit.C (50 grams per IV), until I'd had 10 treatments of each.

I started to feel a difference in the arthritis after about treatment #5. The other thing is that hydrogen peroxide can also cause headaches due to the increased oxygen in the blood. And with 3 kids under age 6, this was not a nice side effect!

By the end of treatment 10, the arthritis was completely gone. You can do more research on IV hydrogen peroxide on the Internet, but like wild oregano, it is antiviral, antibacterial, antiyeast, etc. And because it's administered via IV it really travels quickly throughout the whole body.

You should hopefully see really great results from this therapy.

I think you should also do EFT on your career choices - why did the arthritis manifest in a way that made riding impossible? Is your higher self trying to send you a message about your career, etc? Are you trying to liberate yourself to go in a new direction, etc?

all the best,
Jini

Hi Jini,

Thankyou so much for your long missive. My, but you have been through so many wars! I am so glad you are in better health now I am immensely grateful that you are helping me and so many others to heal.

My arthritis has improved somewhat over the last two months. The shoulder pain and knee pain is less and my lower back has been a bit better( helped also from not riding)

I started Wild Oregano just over a week ago. I started on 2 X 6 drops per day. After the first few days I was happy as I had felt no side effects at all. However on day six I felt very very tired (but had done no exercise) and my back was so sore in the morning I could hardly get out of bed. It has continued like this for the last few days and seems to be getting worse. I am wondering if this could be anything to do with the WO but did not think I was yet taking enough to affect a reaction??

The fish oil sounds good but I thought it was better to avoid these while stools are still loose. Mind you this might not be a bad idea as my stools, being sightly more solid, are playing havoc with my rectum and the piles are the worst I have experienced yet!

The HP and vit C therapy sound a bit scary and i will defintely read up on this. However this kind of cost is out of the question. I am hard pushed to afford my probiotics and other supplemnets. We have very good health cover but they will entertain none of this. I am also being hit by high import taxes and handling costs by the carrier.

Ireland is a long long way behind other countries in holistic health care and the health shops that are around do not even stock most of the products that you prescribe.

Regarding the pain from this sort of arthritis? What and where exactly is it in the back? The pain I experience would be somewhat different from the pain I experience from my original back problems. I am so used to pain in my back it took me some time to realise this. The pain is largely experienced as extreme muscular stiffness in the long muscles that run down either side of the back from mid back down to the buttocks and especially the area over the two pelvic bones that can be clearly felt at either side of the back low down. It will often wake me during the night and I will have to do some exercises to relieve the spasm. On waking it is most severe and I will do loosening exercises on the floor before I attempt to stand upright or get dressed. During the day it is not too bad but at night it will start to stiffen up again and will often then stop me from sleeping. If I exercise my back as in riding or bending it will feel loose immediatly after the exercise but the kick back will be much worse the following day and even worse the day after. Is this typical?
There are times I have thought I might have something much worse than arthritis and worry doesn't help things at all!

I have resolved the issue of career. I had a long talk with my husband where I asked sincerely for this help. I explained your holistic method of healing and what was involved. He seemed to approve of not going down the pill popping route! I also think he realised that i just could not go on fighting through the pain every day. For the moment I go nice walks with my daughter, the dog and the two horses, I ride one of them occassionally, we mosey together. It is a big relief.

Once agin thankyou Jini

Laura

Hi, Laura.

I can only imagine what you're going through with the arthritis, but I certainly sympathize. No health problem is much fun to deal with.

When you're pursuing holistic healing from any malady, you have to expect some ups and downs. Symptoms will come and symptoms will go; the best way I've found to deal with this is to keep grounding myself (because it can indeed be upsetting when symptoms come, especially when they recur after you thought you'd already "dealt" with them)....basically by finding some quiet time and "checking in" with myself at the deepest level I can access. This has invariably helped me. Sometimes, I find the message to be patient and stay the course; sometimes, I find myself asking for some change or adjustment....this could be a change anywhere from switching between the phases of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol to some change in my lifestyle or the need to deal with some emotional event that's been left hanging.

Like any exercise, it is hardest to do this in the beginning. As you grow in experience listening to your body/self, you become more confident and trusting in the answers you find. I don't know how many other people share my experience, but at least for me, this was new ground. Most of my life, I just did whatever I thought I was "supposed" to....I really didn't even know what I wanted, nor did I think my wants were that important in the "larger scheme of things".

I think this is something we're all capable of doing, though (and I feel that I know you are). Check in with yourself about the wild oregano oil and implement what you find into action.

I want to express my sympathy on the cost factor, too. I think that's something most if not all of us experience: that our health coverage is willing to pay all kinds of money for "standard" treatment and little or nothing on less expensive, but "alternative" therapies that work with the body. Just wanted you to know that you're not alone on that.

I have to tell you, I gave a big sigh just reading about the walks and nice, relaxing "moseys" on horseback. I can imagine that must be a relief! Now that the weather is starting to get nicer, I'll have to give one of my horse-loving friends a call and see if we can get together for a hack on the trails. In the end, I didn't enjoy it so much as a job, but when it's for fun, there's just nothing like being on horseback.

Take care,

Nicole

Hi Laura,

Please go to the EFT site:
http://www.emofree.com
and read some of the articles there on back pain. In fact, here's the link to their articles on back pain - this will really inspire you:

http://www.emofree.com/articles.aspx?id=7

The EFT manual is free and there is no cost whatsoever when you do it yourself.

Take care,
Jini

Dear Nicole,

I have now been taking the wild oregano oil for four weeks and am now up to full dosage of three x 10 drops.

I am also taking the probiotics 1tsp.of each at night.

Prior to this I was on proboitics for two months and reached full dosage in the last two weeks before I started the wild oregano oil.

In the last few weeks my digestive system has definitely improved. I now go to the loo only once a day, very occasionally twice. I no longer have diarrhea and my stools are soft but formed. I am truly delighted with my progress. I just came back from a week in Tenerife where we ate out all the time and my digestive system did not deteriorate.

However I am going through a very painful period with my back, this has coincided with the taking of the WOO but I am unable to ascertain if this has anything to do with it as I have also been riding more.

I would really like to acertain if what I am experiencing is in fact the arthritis associated with Colitis or Chrones and would therefore welcome a description of the type of symptoms experienced by people who have experienced this? I know Jini has had problems like this.

I am concerned that it is not this type of arthritis but a further development in my long history of back problems. From my last scan it would appear that there is practically no disc left at my second operation site and it is possible that five years of riding, which was so painfult to begin with that I could sustain it for only a few minutes and then it would take me four days to recover. However I persisted, as is my wont, until now when I can somedays ride for two hours no problem. I often feel good and loose after riding but as time wears on my back begins to cease up and if I don’t ride again for a few days it will get progressively worse. If I ride evey day as long as I do not go mad I do not do too badly but it can be very unpredictable and I do not always get the balance right.

It is possible that the constant riding has resulted in almost totally fusing my vertebra. This could be causing inflammation and could possibly give rise to experiencing the pain in the sacroiliac area and up the erector spinae.

I no longer get much pain in my knees and my ankles, which were really bad a few months ago. However if I use any an area of my body , even something as simple as ball throwing in a swimming pool for twenty minutes, my upper shoulders and arms will ache afterwards.

A bisceps injury sustained over a year ago has still not healed. Even my quads can hurt with little excertion.

This all suggests very poor muscle tone which also suggests digestive problems does it not?

When my back is bad the muscles of the back from lower back to shoulder blades will ache and feel very stiff. It is almost impossible for me to lie on my back , knees bent and drop my legs to one side then the other. This was an exercise I have often used to relieve back pain when my back was bad over the years but it is now very difficult to do as I am so incredibly stiff and sore.


I would really welcome your experiences, comments and thoughts on all this?

You say Oregano oil should be taken on an empty stomach, how long should I wait say before eating after I take the oil?

I also went to practicioner for EFT and did two sessions. It was very very good. I was holding quite a lot of guilt for something that happened not long before my back first went when I was twenty six.

I am trying to incorporate it into my daily life now and also teach my daughter. I will go back and do another session soon too as the thereapist was very fluent and caring.

laura

Hi, Laura.

I'm so glad to hear that you've made some progress and that you're enjoying the EFT. I've found that to be a tremendously beneficial therapy as well.

My instinctive answer (but don't take it as a hard and fast rule) is that if the arthritis were related to a flare that you would be experiencing other symptoms of IBD (digestive) at the same time. So I tend to think that where you are experiencing definite improvements in your digestive system that your back pain is probably not IBD-related. But definitely go with your own conviction, if it differs from my opinion....

The only way to know for sure whether the Wild Oregano Oil is related to your back pain is to do some experimenting. Keep everything else the same (the riding), but take the Wild Oregano Oil out of the equation. (Make sure you take the high dosage of the probiotics, though.) Give it a few weeks to ascertain any changes and then add the Wild Oregano Oil back in again (if you feel you need it) and again, watch for changes. It takes time and it may take more than one trial, but you will see a pattern emerge.

You should take the Wild Oregano Oil at least 15 minutes before eating and two hours after eating.

The poor muscle tone could be related to digestive issues. Some reading I've done suggests that distress in an organ can indeed cause muscular pain. However, it seems to me that poor muscle tone could also have other possible causes, so that's a tough one to answer.

I will also ask Jini if she has anything she would like to add about her experience with arthritis and of course, it will be great if anyone else who's experienced this symptom threw their two cents in, too....

Take care,
Nicole

Hi Nicole,

I guess that i really didn't want to hear that my back might have nothing to do with my IB but there is definitely no flare going on.

Now that I have stopped riding my back is improving again so it could be that i am just doing too much.

I would like to know more about the muscular thing though. Recently I have had both bisceps muscles strained and a quad muscle from doing very little. I would like to know more about the possible causes of this. Can you give me more info or suggest any reading.

I do not know how long to continue the WOO for? I have been taking it for over a month now and am up to full dosage for a couple of weeks. i am just starting my third bottle. I cannot say I really feel any different. I have had two instances, one near the beginning and then again yesterday when I felt very tired during the day and then developed a really bad headache in the evening. It feels like heavy pressure bearing down on the top of my skull and then it seems to move all over the head from sinuses at front to the back of skull too. Both times it was there all night and in the morning and slowly disipated throughout the day. I do not as a rule suffer from headaches.

You said before that i would know when i was getting the benefit of the WOO as i would feel as if i was getting better from a cold or flu but if i don't feel that bad now will i just feel i have more energy? Sorry if this seems a silly question but I am just trying to find my way.

My digestion seems to be slowing down more. Having returned from hols i am now back on a plainer diet and yesterday I did not go to the tiolet at all, which is quite unheard of for me.

Another thing that is beginning to change is the sole of my left foot. It was always very scally unlike the right one. This is defiinitely improved.

Don't the state of your feet reflect health in certain organs?

Again thankyou for your advice. it is so good to know you are there.

Laura

Hi Laura,

It's obvious that the WOO is doing your digestive and holistic health a lot of good.

The other thing you may be suffering from is Lupus or Fibromyalgia - again, these are both auto-immune, systemic illnesses and following a natural, holistic healing path will automatically resolve these. Likewise, the WOO and probiotic therapy will also help heal these conditions.

I think you're expecting to see improvement more quickly than is realistic. If you've spent 10 years (for example) developing and entrenching an imbalance, you can't expect to clear it in a few months. Personally, I think your progress has been amazing - and perhaps you need to take a step back on focus on that.

You may wish to experiment with lowering the WOO dosage, or just taking it once or twice per day and see if you can still maintain your existing level of health, keep going with the probiotics though and try to increase probiotics as you lower WOO. It is common to be on the WOO for 2-3 years or longer.

It's great that you've pursued the EFT and again, it can often take years of daily tapping to resolve long-entrenched issues - again holistic healing means healing everything.

An intuitive thought for you: have you tried riding bareback? And then really getting into your body whilst riding and letting it assume whatever positions it wants - whether that means slumping, or laying back over the horse's rump or forwards over the withers, etc. Let your ride be a sort of yoga. Riding in a saddle really forces the back to remain ramrod straight and this could be aggravating for you - it is also not very good for the knees (which then leads up and into the back).

Which reminds me, if you could find a relaxing or restorative yoga class - look for one specifically for injured people or an instructor with therapeutic yoga or restorative yoga experience - this would only benefit you as well. Keep going to class until you know the routines well enough to do them at home.

Alternatively (or in addition) I encourage you to check out a yoga technique called Yamuna Body Rolling. It was developed by a yoga teacher who healed herself of a broken back. I have scoliosis, and this is the BEST technique for back pain I've ever tried. You can order books, videos and the balls (make sure you buy a pump too) and do it at home. I did it every night before bed for six months straight and eventually woke up with no back or neck pain - something I had never previously experienced. Her website is:

http://www.yamunabodyrolling.com/

scroll down to the bottom of the page and she's got some upcoming workshops in London you might be able to make it to. I'm sure your daughter would really enjoy this too.

all the best,
Jini

Dear Jini,

Thankyou once again for your advice.

I tried to decrease the WOO and up the probiotics. perhaps i did it too fast. i just got diahhrea again. So back on 3xWOO plus pros at night to try to get things back on track.

I am confused about one thing. If traditional medical antibiotics are so bad for us why is taking WOO long term good for us?

Have you had anyone tell you that they have had to urinate more often on Woo.? I feel i am going more often and have developed a dragging feeling around my bladder and at he sides where you would experience period pain. It is not pain, just discomfort. I have only just had a routine gynocolgical examination, breasts, lower abdomen scan, smears etc which said ovaries and cervix clear but one fibroid in womb, too small to warrent any intervention.

I have done a lot of reading about fybromyalgia and my symptoms seem to be alarmingly similar, my Mum has been diagnosed with it!

In my research i came across a man in Spain who has a history a bit like yours. He was very very sick (diagnosed with fybromyagia and alkalysing spondalytis) After several years of traditional drugs and getting worse not better he started research into what factors are important for musclular movement. He healed himself by good diet and supplememting with sodium, pot, cal ,and mag. in specific quantities, contains 740mg sodium, 200mg potasscium, 15mg calcium and 15mg mag. There are no other additives. Recomendation one to six sachets per day disolved in water.

This supplement is sold in chemists in Spain as Recuperat-ION but is not available in Ireland.

Have you any idea if trying this product this will do any harm to my digestion, or do you think it might be worth trying.

It could be a total con of course but the theory behind the whole thing was convincing but then i am not a medical person.

Re the whole back thing. I have used Yoga extensively, ( I am a qualified gym teacher and am very aware of the do's and donts of exercise) Yoga is how I got myself supple enough to ride. l always felt better and looser after it, if i didn't do yoga i would stiffen up, if i didn't ride the same would happen. Now however this has all changed, last nine months or so. Now when i exercise the stiffness just gets worse and if i perservere and work through the pain, the kick back will be even worse the next day.

This is in complete contrast to the usual and previous effect of muscles becoming looser and stronger over time as exercise progresses. One would expect a certain degree of resistance to muscles being used that have been ignored for long period. however this is not the case here as all these muscles have been in use for the last five years.

There is something else going on here and i would dearly like to know what it is. If you saw me try to get out of bed in the morning you would say i was 100 not 50!

I feel such a complete mess, it is almost five years since i embarked on this alternative health plan (not just the few months with you Jini) and i am in many ways worse than when i started.


Laura