Today, right now

Your post left me wondering what could possibly be a common thread for all of us with this "imaginary" disorder. I mean, there are all kinds of theories as to cause, neck trauma, medications, abuse trauma....but we don't all have the same histories, do we? And then I thought about ever ubiquitous flouride. Who doesn't brush their teeth? Does anyone here with FMS not use toothpaste?

So I googled fibro and flouride and what do you know? It seems there's a connection. Flouride, chlorine and bromine all bind with iodine receptors more readily than the iodine we all need for good health. Flouride and chlorine in our toothpaste, in our water, chlorine and bromine in our swimming pools. Who isn't being exposed to these chemicals on a regular basis?

But if this is the cause then why isn't everyone affected? There are some foods, like tamarind, that bind flouride out and allow it to be flushed away in our urine. Maybe some people are taking in enough of the good stuff, or are somehow avoiding enough of the bad stuff to not get symptoms. Or their symptoms are so non-specific, or "imaginary" that they just write it off as normal pain and never get diagnosed.

There's an interesting discussion here http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?s=174b28d271f6812eb17300648db7ac57&t=13427&page=2

Any thoughts?

Interesting comment. At one time I looked into Bromine or its chemical compound containing Bromide when I was being tested for a pituitary gland tumor. What I found was shocking.

In the last few decades manufacturers added bromine to bread, an every day food that we consume. However, manufacturers took iodine out of the bread. Most people are iodine deficient. "Bromine, although similar to iodine, interferes with human thyroid functioning by blocking it. Iodine is a vital element for humans. What's the reason, or in this case the motivation?"

Bromine, or bromide, can cause chronic toxicity resulting in bromism leading to multiple neurological symptoms. From Wikipedia: "Bromide ion concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid are about 30% of those in blood, and are strongly influenced by the body's chloride intake and metabolism."

Btw, dye enhanced MRI showed no tumor, however, my thyroid tests usually come back just below normal and I am having to take thyroid meds now. I have not looked into bromine and flouride since (10 years ago). So many things are likely to have changed and maybe time to look for new findings.

Good thinking, kudos to you!

Also, if you believe in the chemtrail hype, higher amounts of bromide and aluminum (among other things) have tested positive in areas being affected. I found that way back when while looking at the chemtrail, I dont know, conspiracy?

THANK YOU, for the thread link. Very interesting discussion.

Would just like to mention that foods containing Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG has adverse affects if you are sensitive to this widely used flavor enhancer.

Then, of course, we have genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism widely sold on grocery shelves. The grain harvested from GMO crops is genetically altered to produce pesticidal proteins from within the plant.

Check them out and check your grocery item labels. Keep in mind, these are also used in restaurants and fast food.

Not sure where I stand on the chemtrail theories but I can tell you this. For as long as I can remember jets have had jet streams. Always. Now, in the past couple of years as people have started to talk about chemtrails, I see jets with no jet streams. If jet streams really are just the emissions of the engines, then where have they gone? Just sayin'.

We've been avoiding MSG for years, though I honestly can't remember why but I know it's bad and that's enough for me. GMO's are scary, for sure and it's infuriating that they can be in all kinds of products with no labelling required. We choose whole foods, even going as far as to mill fresh whole wheat flour; a lot of trouble some days but 'convenience' foods have a high price tag in both financial and physical terms.

There was something in the thread I linked to that mentioned bromine (I think?) being added to white flour, so it would be in all commercial breads. Interesting that I ended up with what we assumed for years was gluten intolerance, now to have it turn out to be a completely different substance in the same product. It made me bloat like crazy, and I always felt like no matter how much I ate I just couldn't get any energy out of my food. Lo and behold, it interferes with the ability to absorb nutrients!!!

It's upsetting on the one hand to realize this is being done to us, but on the other hand a great relief to think I've finally found some answers that make sense. I tossed all our toothpaste tonight and got a flouride free dental rinse which we will use with baking soda, just like I used to use years ago when I was well. I hope you'll let me know if you have any success with these ideas. I hope we're on to something big that will be positive for lots of people here.

Thanks for the great discussion. I havent given all these things much consideration because I been lost in a fog for quite a while.

Being diabetic, I can tell right away the foods laced with MSG because it makes my sugar levels rise and I feel like crap for days, sometimes for weeks, and I will have a FMS flare. Check out MSG on Wikipedia and drill back on the chemical composition. It reduces itself down to a carcinogen.

I neglected to add that the products dont require GMO to be stated on the label. Good point. GMO products are also used in experimental drugs.

You're right about the toothpaste. I got out of the habit of buying toothpaste without checking the label. I was actually glad to see mouthwash on the shelves that didnt contain flouride. That is a big plus.

I think if people want to feel better (including myself!) watching out for these kinds of additives, including aspartame and saccrin (in diet drinks, etc), we need to change what we eat. This IS a lifestyle altering disorder.

What is your position on tap water versus bottled water?

Brain fog. I fogot you mentioned tamarind. That sounds so familiar but I cant rememer where I've read about it. I will take a closer look.

It is great to talk about all this with someone who doesn't think I'm a crazy hippie. I come across so many sheeple who are willing to go along with whatever the doctors say. The trouble is that nutritional chemistry is not part of a doctors training, they're over worked and under paid, and nobody pays them to research any of this on their own. What they do get paid for is pushing whatever will put big dollars in the pockets of big business. Even the most well intentioned doctor, without good information, can only offer a band aid solution at best.

Tamarind is an Indian bean pod, usually a sweet and sour sort of fruity paste. You can find it in the ethnic section at a grocery store, if you're not living in a town that only has a Walmart :( I just happened to have a package of dry tamarind in my cupboard, bought it for a recipe I can't remember (brain fog) years ago. So, lucky me, I just happen to have the solution sitting on my stove getting turned into a chutney as we speak.

I've been thinking about water. We used to get reverse osmosis bottled water and stopped because there are trace minerals that we need which are removed in that process. As with any other food, processing tends to ruin it. Fortunately our local water board publishes it's test results online, and I know of couple of people who work there who know where our water comes from and are still willing to drink it, so I feel like the information is pretty reliable. We don't have flouride added to the water as is done in some places, but there are trace amounts, about 1/6 of the 'acceptable' limit. We have a local water treatment plant that the whole city drains to, where all the solids are composted and the liquids are treated until clean and then used for agricultural irrigation on the surrounding hillsides. Here's the catch though, all that treated water eventually filters through the the soil and back into our streams, lakes and then back into our taps. So at least part of the flouride that gets spit down the drain today will find it's way back into our tapwater, so those 'acceptable' traces are only going to increase over time.

The same goes for hormones from birth control pills, anti-depressants and every other type of medication that our population is popping in one end and pissing out the other. That's the stuff that our local water board isn't measuring at all, and I don't know if reverse osmosis pulls any of it out. What we do know is that amphibians and plant life in our lakes are slowly morphing from exposure. And our 'fresh' water is being trucked out of here in huge tankers every day being sold to our unsuspecting southern neighbors (we're in Canada) who are grateful to have any water at all.

Maybe I'll start collecting rainwater and find ways to filter it myself :(

Oh yeah, we can pick another time to blow sunshine up arse's but this is a serious matter where our health and well being is threatened.

Okay, your tamarind explaination reminds me of my massage therapy training. That is where I recall learning, briefly, about its benefits. Indian medicine has a vast history but the foods they eat also have a spiritual connotation. Unlike eating a Big Mac, LOL.

You are quite versed in what your water supply contains. When I ask questions, I get that funny look like either Im crazy or Im some kind of tree hugger looking for something to protest. Paranoia stops me from asking- "they" just might put something in my water to keep me silent. ( ;

(sorry, feeling a little silly today) All jokes aside, you've sent me on a mission to look into these two topics.

OK, ponyboycurtis, I went grocery shopping this evening at walmart. I went with specific foods in mind. Looking at labels and reminding myself if I eat this I'll probably get sick and so on. And, although my daughter has plenty to eat, I find myself stuck with very little. I wanted to replace whole wheat bread with lettuce leaves but they had the area blocked off for maintenance. Managed to gets some local fresh fruit and raisin bran crunch for my next few days' menu tho.