Bright Shining Yellow Pinpoints of Light

Am I really getting better?  Did a mirror check this AM.  Looks better to me. Less redness. The bumps that come with this rare medical disease seem to be getting smaller. Definitely not worse and at this point I am happy to be just stable. It would even be OK if I experienced a slight decline since I have cut back on the Prednisone drug and am on this rigorous juicing diet - nothing but fruit and vege fluids. and time should be allowed for this to kick in . Actually I have not had any Protein in 4, now going on 5 days except for the limited amount in the veges in my juice .  I don't recommend that and

My Killer App

Time flies.  I'm on day 4 of my new treatment plan.  No you didn't miss any posts.  The last dealt with the first day. So we'll catch up with this one.  It's early morning 6:30 AM and I just
stood up from my computer here to go get a snack.  Whoops. Can't do that.  Why?  I am on a "juice fast". What's that. Well that's where you consume nothing but juice. In addition, I'm consuming vegetable broth and will be drinking herbal teas, but haven't gotten to that yet.  I call this juice a "Killer App" because it is so powerful and will, I expect (and hope), not only cure my mysterious rare disease, but help me achieve a new level of health, even beyond that I enjoyed before this disease suddenly struck without warning.  Here's how it works.  You buy a juicer.  Not a blender. Blenders

Choose the Alternative?

9/26/13
I'm on my new plan, recommended by my Nova Scotia Naturopath Doc who helped me years ago deal with the Prostate Cancer issue (See I Bet My Life on Alternative Medicine).  I am going to treat  this sudden and mysterious  rare disease very aggressively and proactively, but Naturally. Let me tell you first why and then how. As for the why.  I am an healthy: 76 year  old guy, living a very happy and fortunate life style, physically active, lots of interests, great family and friends, good diet, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, exercise-gym and tennis, sleep 9 hours a night (until lately), don't smoke, do drink but very little.  Then this comes out of the blue.  So you say a lot of good all that healthy

Day of Decision and Surprise

9/24/13
Big day today. I have an appointment with Johns Hopkins Derm Doc.  I see (on their great site where I can look up all my stuff) that it's scheduled for just 15 minutes (previous appointments have been 1/2 hour).  I assume that, in her mind, the visit will be quick.  She will take a look at how I am (she hasn't heard from me, so she will expect no surprises) and then go over the treatment plan which is to go onto Methotrexate (MTX), the next drug, and phase out Prednisone, the current drug, over time.  We've already discussed this.  So nothing new will be expected by her.  Except, what she doesn't know.  My plan is quite different: to go off all prescription drugs - (Prednisone - pills  and Triamcinolone -  steroid cream). I want to  go all Natural. So this will be interesting.  My objective is

If Only I'd Known

If only I'd known helping others could be such a high.  I'd read that helping others made you feel really good and was good for your health, but I'd never really experienced it.  Maybe simply because I hadn't tried it? I had thought I ought to do some volunteer work, but hadn't .. just too selfish I guess .. or maybe ..well who knows .. I  don't want to indulge myself in too much self criticism - Ha!   But

Don't Tell Me You're Sorry

I'm not sorry so don't tell me you are.  Or you'll make me feel guilty for having told you about my disease.  I feel really good as you know if you're reading my blog. Why?  Well, this is a worthwhile mission and I'm in a position to carry it out successfully.  I see progress with what I'm doing and have

Health Care is Broken

   9/21/13
You already know that. So what's the big deal?  Talked today with a guy who's graduating with a Public Health Degree from a very  prestigious local University. Asked him how he liked his studies .. kinda shook his head, no apparent enthusiasm for what he's studying .. spoke about how bad the system is Big Pharma, Insurance Companies etc.  This guy is going on to study Pediatric Medicine.  That's great. What's awful is before he gets to med school, he's spent 4 years of his life and accumulated $150K in debt .. and for what? .. to learn about an inefficient,  politically based, blouted wasteful system.  A system overripe for creative destruction.  And now I'm real excited about some ideas stemming from these experiences that I think could make a real, maybe huge, difference. And even more exciting? I think I can launch these ideas and get them implemented.  More on this later.

My Body is a World Class Lab

I'm conducting ground breaking research on a rare skin disease - (PRP). And I have a great lab - My Body.  It is immediately accessible -24/7...  it reports test results instantly-(no bureaucratic system or Doc filtering delays). . and I have total control in administering, viewing and interpreting results.  Currently, I'm performing tests with Coconut Oil, Vaseline, Acidophilus, Triamcinolone steroid cream, and Prednisone.  The left side of my body excluding head, hands and feet is covered in Coconut Oil and the right side in Triamcinolone Steroid Creme.  Head (hair and face) have Coconut Oil. Hands  have Vaseline.  Feet currently have coconut oil covered with Vaseline.

I crack up.

  9/19/13
 Yesterday I noticed soles of my feet are cracking and flaking and have gotten a bit tender.  Uh oh --Is this going to stop me walking?  Best exercise of all they say is walking 30 minutes a day we should all do.  I  do a lot of this.  But then I noticed that my hands which started peeling a week ago are getting much better.  Why? Vaseline.. which I'm liberally applying.  So now I'm hoping this will keep

I Bet My Life on Alternative Medicine

9/18/13
Rejecting Conventional Medicine, I bet my life on Alternative Medicine and am here to tell the tale 8 years later. In April 2005 I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer and began a journey which had me seeking answers in Baltimore (my home town), Phoenix, Arizona, New York State, New York City, Portland-Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada.  It started with a somewhat elevated PSA (6) resulting in me getting a biopsy which indicated I had prostrate cancer. The indications were moderate but still

9/17/13
My negative test result is positive?  I get an email from John Hopkins that I have new test results.  Log in to the Hopkin's great system where I can see my test results, send and receive messages, see appointments etc. In encounters in previous years with hospitals including Hopkins I have always had to yell at them to get my results in a timely way .. the usual bureaucratic confusion and wanting to have the doc look at them first. This time I got my blood test results the very next day (except for PSA)  so this is a major improvement in the health system.  I log in and see that this new test result

9/16/13
Woke up several times in night with terrific itching. Finally got up and reapplied ointment. Angst about Blog. Decided for time being to restrict to family and close friends and exclude docs. Major objective of Blog should be to promote healing which will be made more difficult if time spent on how to say things diplomatically. And time spent being concerned with viewers reactions can inhibit

Should I do a Blog?

9/15/13
Had dinner with friend Russ last night..mentioned I'm thinking of doing a blog .. he urges me to do it .. could really help others with my newly discovered rare disease as I journey thru the medical system and seek recovery .. I am resistant .. do I have time for this .. a lot of research to do .. and I have other things I want to do in my life ... not become consumed with this disease. Wake up at 4 AM. Maybe