just a quick update

[Linda in BC]

I am back from travelling but have been sick with a cold and in a bad flare (which is the WORST COMBINATION as I am sure you all know!... cough ) for the last 4 days. So much for the perceived improvement with the L-glutamine :-) . That isn't exactly accurate tho. I had this weird thing happen with my blood pressure two days after I started the L-glutamine.. it went quite low and I was thinking that maybe I was absorbing more of the BP medication than I usually do. Has anyone else ever had this happen?
Because I was away from home and working, I didn't want to have to deal with this as well, so I stopped taking the L-glutamine until I got back home. Blood pressure is still on the low side but it does that when I am sick with a cold. (It was just weird that it started before I got sick.) Have been taking the L-Glutamine again for two days now, stopped all the Lopermide and petpo ( I usually try not to take anything when at home so that I can really monitor what is happening with my digestive tract) and have been in the worst flare that I have had for a couple of months. And, of course, I am reacting to things that don't normally bother me. It is probably because I was not able to eat properly at this last conference (we were in remote location and you ate what they served .. and everything they served seemed to have something I should not have in it. Well, ya.. you all know the drill... )

Anyhow, after a miserable weekend, I am back to work tomorrow and will have to take something for the D if I am not better by the morning. I am hoping that this is not a reaction to the L-Glutamine and that it was not just initially masked because of the little bit of Lopermide and Pepto I was taking while travelling.

I still have not received my Enterolab test kit or the LDN. The kit was mailed on the 23 of April. It seems like it is taking a long time! Has anyone else had one mailed to Canada, and if so, do you remember if it took so long to arrive?

I know that everyone is saddened by Jodi's devastating news, as am I. Hugs to all of you. Please don't feel you have to respond to this if you are not feeling up to posting.

Linda

[starfire]

Linda,
I do hope you are at least some better today. I truly feel so bad for those who have to work with this disease, especially during a flare. I was lucky enough to be retired before it came to live with me. I don't know how I would have dealt with having to go to work as usual. I so admire those who do.



Love, Shirley

[tex]

Linda,

Sorry to hear about the problems. As usual, problems usually come in groups, which makes it somewhat difficult to determine exactly what is causing which symptoms.

Regarding the L-glutamine, and it's possible synergistic effect on your BP med, I don't know if an interaction is possible, but be aware that L-glutamine may have an anti-hypertensive effect. The article at the following link is about L-theanine, (not L-glutamine), but L-glutamine is mentioned, as a control drug. Look at the chart, comparing the blood pressure-lowering effect of L-theanine and L-glutamine. The text says:

Although L-glutamine is similar in chemical structure to L-theanine, it did not exhibit an anti-hypertensive effect (Fig. 2). (3)

but that is obviously not what the chart shows. The chart shows that L-glutamine lowered the systolic blood pressure by approximately 22 mmHg, in the experiment cited by the article. 22 mmHg is definitely not an insignificant amount, as far as blood pressure is concerned. IMO, it's a big change, and it's in the range of the effect that one would expect to experience from the use of a conventional drug, used to control hypertension.

Also, it's certainly possible that individually, you might be much more sensitive to the anti-hypertensive effects of L-glutamine, than the average "spontaneously hypertensive rat".



http://www.web-us.com/l-theanine_anxiety_reducer.htm

I hope you recover from both the flare and the cold, quickly.

Tex

P. S. Customs is surely the cause of the holdup on the Enterolab kit. My experience with imported items has been that it usually takes slightly over 2 weeks, 3 at the most, so you should receive it any day now.

[JLH]

Are you taking vitamin D-3?

[Linda in BC]

Shirley, thanks for your kind words. I am fortunate that my current job allows me the freedom to do a lot of my job from my home, and I only have to go into town when I need to meet with people, run programs, or drop stuff off, etc., so I can set my own schedule and plan accordingly, without having to medicate all the time. That sure makes it bearable. I agree that working a nine-to-five job with this disease (which I did for the first 4 years) is almost insufferable. I cannot imagine Olivia's burden of 24 hour shifts! She is such a brave, spunky girl!!

I seem to be bit better this morning..I think it's thanks to that coedine I took for the cough
Linda

[Linda in BC]

Hi Tex:

When I got home I tried to do some research on the anti-hypertensive effects of L-Glutamine , and I too came across that study on L-theanine with L-glutamine as a control. But I did not look closely at the chart, nor could I understand it as you did, so I just took them at the their word that the L-G had no effect. Thank you for pointing that out, and yes, agreed! There obviously was some effect for the L-G! I am super sensitive to any treatment I take, so would not be surprised if I outdid the rats

re:

Customs is surely the cause of the holdup on the Enterolab kit.

I had never thought of that. Makes sense. Thanks again. I can just imagine those customs officers wondering what kind of a drug paraphanlia/ manufacturing kit I was receiving, going over it thoroughly and then realizing .... oh, it's a poop analyzing kit! Yuck!

Linda

[Linda in BC]

HI Joan:
Yes, I am taking Vit D3, a 1,000 iu /day. I just had all my levels tested and everything came back within normal range, except the Dr. did not have the D3 results yet. I remember reading somewhere to make sure that the "normal" value they use for D levels is the "new" one (reflecting the new research on this that has increased from what they used to think we needed.) Does anyone know what the new level should be?

Linda

[Stanz]

Linda,

I'm sorry to hear you are experiencing so many negative things at the same time, it only adds to make things more confusing.

It took a few weeks for the L-G to stop my symptoms. I started out taking Pepto, but had a bad reaction fairly quickly where I felt like I was on speed. I think I was also taking immodium at the time, which I continued until the D stopped. I don't have BP issues, my BP has always been on the low end of the scale, so would have no idea if there is a connection there.

Hopefully once your cold symptoms clear up, you can get a handle on this.

Connie

[tex]

Linda,

Your 25(OH)D, (25-hydroxy-vitamin D), level needs to be between 30 and 100 ng/ml, according to Dr. Cannell, of The Vitamin D Council. If your doctor ordered the 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D test, then that is the wrong one - it's a common error for doctors to do that.

For all I know, that article may have only been concerned about diastolic blood pressure, (because their assessment of that effect was correct), but as far as coronary events are concerned, most doctors focus on systolic pressure. Diastolic pressure is usually only of significant importance in certain special situations.

Tex

[teagirl]

Hi Linda, I'm just north of Toronto and I received my boxed kit 8 days after ordering (that included a weekend). It's a cardboard box about 12 x 10 x 3, the kind of size customs might take a look at.

[Joefnh]

Regarding the vitamin D I was told last November that my level was 2 - quite low - I was pt on 50,000 I.U. / week for 16 weeks. After that I tested again and was at 33. My doctor did not mention taking any additional vitamin D afterwards as he felt that my low numbers were a result of less sunlight in early winter.

Should I be taking a vitamin D supplement?

--Joe

[tex]

Joe

I take 4500 IU per day during the winter. Starting in May, I cut down to 2500 IU per day, which I will probably cut to 500 IU per day by July, since I live in sunny Texas, (low latitude), and work outdoors in the summer. The reason for the 500 IU yearround, is because my multivitamin contains 500 IU. LOL.

The further north you live, the less vitamin D you get from the sun, of course. Polly lives in Maryland, and I believe she takes either 5000 or 6000 IU daily. She initially brought the D3 issue to our attention, after researching the situation. As you are probably aware, she's an MD.

An adequate 25(OH)D level will virtually eliminate colds and flu viruses, and it's protective of most types of cancer, (including skin cancer, believe it or not).

Tex

[Joefnh]

Thanks again Tex. I was wondering since I am low in vitamin D, could that be related to MC or Crohns (small intestine involvement) If so should I be tested for other minerals as well?

I am thinking about a new website called www.Texipedia.com

Unfortunately it is already a website.


--Joe

[Gabes-Apg]

what about www.intestinewhisperer.com

[Joefnh]

That one still makes me laugh...

--Joe

PS: Thanks for the Dilberts, I needed those today. I printed a couple of those out to put on my office door.