Sunday, February 14, 2016

Down but not Out



For the last week I've been putting up a ferocious battle against these prevailing factors/conditions:

Neuropathy
Inverse Psoriasis
Radiculopathy
Gout
Laryngospasms
Autonomic Dysregulation
Uveitis / Iritis

(Information about each is shared below, hopefully no one will ever need to reference)

If you spend time anywhere, you must visit (mito website) that ties together everything I've researched & discovered through our maternal family tree in conjunction with my ailments & diagnoses ..  http://www.mitoaction.org/mito-faq#whatare

An individual can become symptomatic at any time in life despite the fact that it is inherited.

* mtDNA (DNA contained in the mitochondria) inheritance. -- There is a 100 percent chance of the trait occurring in other siblings, since all mitochondria are inherited from the mother, although symptoms might be either more or less severe.

Treatment of mitochondrial disorders is centered around vitamin, supplement and co-factor therapy which improves mitochondrial function, and helps reduce symptoms in many patients.  Nutrition, hydration, and energy conservation are also critically important!

++ I resist biologics & spinal surgeries with HLAB27 typically have poor results, & A to G mutation at position A8344 of mitochondrial DNA cannot be detected in patients with Dercum’s disease.
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Neuropathic pain
is difficult to control and can seriously affect emotional well-being and overall quality of life. Connective tissue disorders and chronic inflammation can cause direct and indirect nerve damage. When the multiple layers of protective tissue surrounding nerves become inflamed, the inflammation can spread directly into nerve fibers.

Chronic inflammation also leads to the progressive destruction of connective tissue, making nerve fibers more vulnerable to compression injuries and infections.

Joints can become inflamed and swollen and entrap nerves, causing pain. Some neuropathies are caused by inflammation resulting from immune system activities. Inflammatory neuropathies can develop quickly or slowly, and chronic forms can exhibit a pattern of alternating remission and relapse.
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 Inverse Psoriasis
is a skin condition that is marked by increase turnover of epithelia cells and is more common in obese individuals with thick and deep skin folds. It is characterized by appearance of fissures and primarily involves arm-pits, shins, elbows, under-skin of breast and similar sites.
Lesions in this case are usually shiny, smooth, and red with well-defined borders.
 Inverse psoriasis is caused by an abnormality in your immune system, just like other autoimmune diseases. However, moisture (in the form of sweating) and friction are secondary causes of this particular type of psoriasis. 
(the inappropriate sweating is not helping)

A variety of treatment options are available that ranges from low dose steroid therapy to disease modifying drugs and Phototherapy

Home Remedies for Itchy Armpit Make sure to maintain cleanliness of your skin. Discontinue using irritating products, it is recommended to totally eliminate the use even after the itching has resolved.
Ditch old razors.
Always test your deodorant or other skincare products for allergy test before switching to a new brand. Using vitamin-e oil can help keep the skin healthy and heal the rash. It can also reduce armpit discoloration.
At the same time, consume more Vitamin C-rich foods. In case of severe rash, use ice-cubes to cool down the irritation.
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Gout
is a type of arthritis that is caused by having too much uric acid in the joints. Uric acid is a substance that forms when your body breaks down a substance called purines.
Uric acid usually dissolves in your blood and passes through your kidneys into your urine.

In people with gout, uric acid builds up and forms sharp crystals that can collect around the joints. This causes pain and swelling in the affected joints.

The pain can be very intense and can occur suddenly for no apparent reason. It often affects the big toe joint and it usually occurs at night. The affected joint becomes red, feels hot and hurts a lot. It will be more painful if you touch it.

Other parts of the body where gout attacks occur include the top of the foot and the ankle joint. Gout can affect other joints in your body but it is most prevalent in the foot.

Gout is most common in people who are overweight, drink alcohol or have high cholesterol. Men have gout more often than women do, although women are more likely to have gout after menopause. Some people who eat foods that contain a lot of purines are prone to gout attacks.

Some of these foods that are high in purines include:
Beer & other alcoholic beverages.
Anchovies, sardines in oil, fish roes, herring.
Yeast.
Organ meat (liver, kidneys, sweetbreads)
Legumes (dried beans, peas)
Meat extracts, consomme, gravies.
Mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, cauliflower.

Some medicines are also believed to make gout more likely. These include: 
• certain diuretics (“water pills”) 
• niacin (a B-complex vitamin) 
• aspirin (taken in low doses) 
• cyclosporine 
• some drugs used to treat cancer

++diet recently rich in spinach, mushrooms, dark chocolate..
Even had red meat & lobster

14 Slides:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=90062
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Cervical Radiculopathy
Patients with cervical radiculopathy typically feel pain, weakness or numbness in the areas served by the damaged nerve. Pain can be in one area only, like the shoulder, or progress along the entire arm.
The type of pain also can vary. Some patients describe dull, all over pain; others describe the pain as severe burning or sharp. Patients may feel tingling, "pins and needles," or numbness.

Certain neck movements, like bending the neck back, side to side, or rotating it, may increase the pain. Some patients report that pain decreases when they place a hand behind their head; the movement may be relieving the pressure and traction on the nerve root which then lessens their symptoms.

Causes of Cervical Radiculopathy
Any condition that injures or somehow irritates the cervical nerve can cause cervical radiculopathy. The most common causes include:

Cervical Herniated Disc.
If the inner material of the cervical disc herniates, or leaks out, and inflames and/or impinges on the adjacent nerve, it can cause a cervical radiculopathy.

Cervical Spinal Stenosis.
As part of the degenerative process of the cervical spine, changes in the spinal joints can lead to tightening of the space for the spinal canal. When the cervical spine degenerates over time, it can result in degenerated discs and a pinched nerve.

Infrequently, cervical radiculopathy can be caused by other conditions, such as a tumor, fracture or sarcoidosis, which can compress or cause damage to the cervical nerve roots.
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Laryngospasm
(luh-RING-go-spaz-um) is a brief spasm of the vocal cords that temporarily makes it difficult to speak or breathe. The onset of vocal cord spasms is usually sudden, and the breathing difficulty can be alarming. However, the problem is not life-threatening, and it's generally brief and self-correcting. Your vocal cords are located in an upper part of the airway called the voice box (larynx).
A vocal cord spasm limits the flow of air through the larynx. The cause of laryngospasm is often not known, but certain conditions may be contributing factors or triggers:
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which acid from the stomach backs up into the food pipe (esophagus)
Laryngopharyngeal reflux, in which the stomach acid backs up into the throat or back of the nasal passages
Anxiety or stress
If you experience episodes of breathing difficulty, see your doctor. Because the signs and symptoms of laryngospasm are similar to those of other conditions, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
These conditions may include: Asthma
Exercise-induced asthma
Other vocal cord dysfunction

Relaxation and breathing techniques may relieve symptoms and lessen the frequency or severity of laryngospasms in the future. 

Your doctor will also want to determine if underlying problems, such as GERD or anxiety, may be contributing to vocal cord spasms.
Treating these conditions also may lessen the frequency or severity of laryngospasms.
Also note, some of the swelling of the cartilages and of the epiglottis combined with the exaggerated inspiratory effort increases blood return to the pulmonary vascular bed. This could account for the increased likelihood of pulmonary artery hypertension
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Autonomic Dysregulation
An under-appreciated aspect of mitochondrial disease is the autonomic dysfunction (Zelnik, 1996; Axelrod, 2006) which can impact life on a daily basis. Patients often have some dysregulation of temperature, in which the baseline body temperature often measures in the 96s and 97s and sometimes lower; temperatures can drop even lower during the night.
Less often, temperature values at baseline run higher than normal. This is a particularly important piece of information when assessing a mitochondrial patient who is sick with infectious symptoms. An apparent "low-grade" temperature of 100°F may be dismissed as being insignificant. However, if the patient's baseline temperature runs at 96°, such an impression may represent a mistaken conclusion.
Autonomic issues include the following, and may present or worsen together with significant trigger factors such as heat or excessive activity, inadequate calorie or fluid intake, or with generalized fatigue:
Vascular dysautonomia with lability in heart rate and blood pressure. This can occur with orthostatic changes in position, but symptoms can also occur following exercise or activity, in temperatures that are too extreme, or sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

Associated symptoms can include dizziness or lightheadedness, syncope, palpitations or irregular heart rate, dyspnea, and anxiety. Heat intolerance is not uncommon and may be associated with fatigue, lethargy, irritability, and usually flushing or blotching although some may display pallor or mottling.

Cold intolerance is not as common a problem but can be associated with a worsening of fatigue or muscle pain. Some show color changes akin to Raynaud syndrome; in some cases, the color changes can be associated with pain or peeling of the skin. This intolerance of temperature extremes resembles a "cold-blooded state" in which a person is dependent on a satisfactory ambient temperature to remain comfortable. 

Inappropriate sweating. Patients may not sweat even in hot weather (which contributes to heat intolerance). Instead their skin might only become "clammy." However, some of these patients might instead sweat in inappropriate settings - in cold temperatures or at night in comfortable conditions. Excessive sweating may be an important factor when considering a patient's fluid requirement. 
Skin temperature variability. Patients may complain of feeling very hot or very cold. This self-impression (like the patient's body temperature) may not correlate with the way their skin feels to the touch. Pallor, flushing or blotching, mottling of the skin. 

These changes can occur in association with temperature changes (heat or cold), activity, emotional distress, infection, and general fatigue; however, they can also occur spontaneously without any particular triggering factor. Raynaud syndrome-like changes may occur especially with temperature changes (usually cold), as well as erythromelalgia-like penomena with the appearance on the fingers and hands of painful, red lesions that are hot to the touch. It is postulated that erythromelalgia may represent a feature of vasomotor instability (Davis, 2002).

Autonomic issues of the gut and bladder. 
The gut and bladder can show evidence of dysfunction, with bowel dysmotility more common, manifesting with any combination of esophageal dysmotility, gastroesophageal reflux, delayed gastric emptying, and constipation. Symptoms include anorexia, early satiety, pain and distension after eating, and difficulty passing bowel movements even when the stools are soft in texture (though may be large in volume). Bladder dysfunction may be associated with urinary retention, incomplete emptying and "double-voiding," urgency and frequency, incontinence, and when severe, vesicoureteral reflux and/or urinary tract infections. These issues at least in part are due to autonomic dysregulation. 
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Iritis/Anterior Uveitis 
Signs and symptoms may include: 
Eye redness
Discomfort or achiness in the affected eyeSensitivity to light (photophobia)
Blurred vision
Floating specks or spots in your vision 
Iritis that develops suddenly, over hours or days, is known as as acute iritis. Symptoms that develop gradually or last longer than six weeks indicate chronic iritis. 

Iritis (i-RIE-tis) is inflammation that affects your eye's iris, the colored ring surrounding your pupil. The iris is a part of the middle layer of the eye (uvea), so iritis is a type of uveitis, sometimes called anterior uveitis. The cause of iritis is often unknown. Sometimes iritis results from an underlying systemic condition or genetic factor.

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