This afternoon I opened the latest e-newsletter from Phoenix Rising, and I have to admit, I may have gotten a little teary-eyed...it's been far too long since I read a page as chock-full of hope and good news as this newsletter was! From a couple of stories I'd already read, regarding Obama keeping his promise to ask that CFS/ME research be made higher priority & a new CFS Treatment Primer, to new medications for helping w/cytokine responses, the news that Ampligen may be FDA approved by the new year, and a fascinating Mast Cell theory that may help explain part of the process that causes just about every symptom I & my fellow CFS/ME & FM sufferers have, from IBS, to POTS, to such random things as itchy skin, and even Interstitial Cystitis! (A fascinating part of this article has to do with "Exercise Anaphylaxis", which a friend of mine w/FM & IC recently described her experience with perfectly, though I had no idea what it was when she explained it to me.)
Anyways, do check out Phoneix Rising; if you haven't signed up for their newsletter yet, I highly recommend it. I'm including a link to the Mast Cell article I'm so excited about. It just makes so much sense and explains why I'm constantly fighting this seeming cascade of symptoms...and why stomach & bladder pain can seem to be connected. Has a good section on POTS, too, explaining that perhaps Beta blockers are not the best thing, and there's also information about meds to treat the mast cell problem & natural alternatives. It may just be part of the puzzle, not the cause or the cure, but it looks like we're actually getting somewhere, if we can find one or two meds to keep all that in check? The possibilities of how much that could improve our quality of life are very exciting! Happy reading!
http://phoenixrising.me/archives/13083
On a side note, if you follow the link to the natural alternative the doctor mentioned has created, I thought it was interesting that the Quercetin and at least one of the other ingredients is derived from Sephora root, the same root that's a key in used to make Dr. Chia's Oxymatrine supplement. (Which I happen to be taking at the moment.)
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