Quantum Relex Analysis is a system of testing the bio-energetic status of the body's key organs and glands. It uses Omura O-ring testing of medically accepted reflex points. Jan, my practitioner, says this testing is much more accurate than the standard arm kinesiology testing (deltoid muscle) that I was doing with NAET. Apparently that is only accurate about 50% of the time.

When I heard that little fact I really had to come to grips with the fact that I basically wasted a year and a half just trying to attack my symptoms. It seems that your chances of having the clearings last probably depends on your strength and state of health at the time you do them. I am finding that most of mine have not. Turns out I'm still allergic to so many things that I thought I had cleared. Here I was wondering why my nose was still running etc., etc., if I had cleared all my allergies. Well---I hadn't. Or if I did, it didn't last. Maybe if you are basically strong and don't have too many problems then NAET will work for you. But I'm not strong enough yet because I haven't addressed the causes of my allergies.

Still listening to Marshall's radio show online everyday, and have my husband, who is already pretty healthy, on his basics. Went to the doctor and found out one of the nurses is using his products. I mentioned to her what I was doing and she said, "Oh, I take some of his products and so does my husband." Small world.

Marshall's basic philosophy is that the Standard American Diet (SAD) is indeed "sad". Our food is no longer very nutritious, most of us make poor choices on top of that, we stop digesting our food as we age, and set ourselves up for poor health and disease. He believes we can get back to good health by making good food choices, balancing our urine PH, taking digestive enzymes and HCL, and taking "living nutrients" targeted to specific sites. That's a little oversimplified but is pretty close I think. QRA practitioners can test your body to see where the weaknesses are and tell you which nutrients will heal.

I'll write more this week about all the things I have learned. Especially the exciting fact that you can clear your allergies by yourself at home!

I think it has helped with some of the allergies, but I have been having to come to terms with some basic facts.

I spent a year and a half of misery clearing all those things (NAET is hard work) and spent thousands of dollars. After my last treatment with Lisa I was not feeling well and called her for advice. She was in a hurry and basically dismissed me. I thought we were "friends" after all that time. But I was obviously wrong, because she has never even called to see if I was O.K. I never made another appointment. So I guess it was basically just business for her after all. I should know as much by now. Stupid me! I usually always think the best of people.

So bottom line: Yes, I think you can clear some allergies with NAET. But the whole time I was thinking that once my allergies were gone I should be better. But that has not been the case. I forgot something. Why have I developed all these allergies? What is the cause? I have just been attacking the symptom, not the problem.

I have always believed that all the penicillin, birth control pills, allergy shots, etc., caused this, but I still thought I could just rid myself of the allergies and be fine. (Can never get rid of all the outdoor allergies with NAET because they change everytime the wind blows.) Now I have to figure out where to go from here to get to the root cause and attack that. I have been miserable for almost twenty years now. But I will not give up.

Lately I have been listening to Dr. Robert Marshall's radio show online. Very interesting. There is a new half hour every day and an hour on Saturday. Give it a listen and explore the site if you have a chance. Interesting bio on him. I have been listening for weeks to get a feel for his philosophy, and am considering finding a practitioner.

He wants me to go to an allergist. I have tried to tell him about NAET in the past but of course didn't get too far. He was probably thinking to himself, "What on earth is she talking about?" He didn't pursue it so I dropped it. I'm not sure what to do about this chest stuff now. The thought of seeing a regular allergist again just doesn't apeal to me. Skin tests, allergy shots? I did that 20 years ago and it didn't work. I'm sure things have probably changed after all these years, but I don't want to do it again. So he could give me different allergy drugs to try? I've also done that and haven't had much luck. I have been spending over a year doing NAET and here I am still trying to manage these outdoor allergies. Unbelievable.

So I'm considering going to go to a Naturopath and see if he can help at all. I have always wanted to see one but never knew anyone who had been before. Now I have a recommendation so we'll see.

That was a surprise! Guess it's not just me. But she has no symptoms from it and said she is never tired.

Nothing horrible in the chest X-ray so we're trying another round of antibiotics to get rid of the "stuff". Amoxicillin again. I'm back on the antibiotic merry-go-round. I'm trying to do everything to not be so tired and antibiotics for 10 days will not help that. It always wipes me out.

"White-coat syndrome is a fear of going to the doctor's office that causes many people to have an elevated blood pressure. (The name refers to the white coats that medical personnel often wear.) Usually, a second blood pressure measurement at the end of the visit will be normal, assuming you haven't been given any alarming news. This is not a problem and doesn't raise your risk for developing any of the problems associated with chronic high blood pressure. A good way to make sure your blood pressure is normal is to make an occasional unscheduled drop-in visit to the doctor's office to have the nurse check your pressure, or to check it at the machines available in pharmacies and grocery stores. Don't be obsessive about it, however!" (HealthandAge.com)

He actually said if your blood pressure gets down to the 80s you should go to the emergency room. He wanted to do a panel of blood tests for hypotension (low blood pressure) and wanted me to get another chest X-ray since I still have this stuff in my chest.

So I went straight from his office to the lab for bloodwork and then over to the X-ray lab at the hospital for the chest X-ray. I go back tomorrow for results.

"Dr. Watkins tells patients to drink eight to ten glasses of water a day and get more salt, which makes the body hold onto water. (You don't need to worry about driving up your blood pressure too high since it's already so low to begin with.) He also instructs them to cut out caffeine, which stimulates adrenaline production and prevents the body from hanging on to water, and to exercise, which keeps heart rate and blood pressure in check. If these lifestyle measures aren't enough, he moves on to one of two medicinal remedies: a beta-blocker, which curbs the response to adrenaline, or fludrocortisone, a drug that has the same water-conserving effect as salt, only more so."

The other thing I think I have done is cut my magnesium. Magnesium deficiencies are common in people with MVP.
I had cut out some calcium supplements and forgot that it would also cut my magnesium. And I also cut my salt intake. If you have very low blood pressure you should keep your salt intake at normal to high levels. If you limit salt your blood pressure will fall even further. So I think I haved basically sabotaged myself. No wonder I'm tired all the time. We'll see what my doctor says.

Here are the common symptoms of MVP and Dysautonomia (from the book mentioned above) and the ones I have:

Fatigue.....yes
Heart Palpitations.....yes
Premature Ventricular Contractions......Don't know. Had my heart checked but didn't mention it.
Tachycardia.......no, (except in a panic attack)
Headaches.....no
Irritable Bowel Syndrome.....no
Gastoesophageal Reflux Disease.....no
Chest Pain......yes, occasional twinges
Sleep Disorders......no
Dizziness....yes
Fibromyalgia......no
Premenstrual Syndrome....no
Tinnitus....yes

Secondary Symptoms:

Feeling hot or cold.....yes
Intolerance to heat and cold....yes
Sensitivity to drugs....yes
Shakiness.....yes
Swelling of arms and legs.....no
Shortness of breath......yes
Numbness in any part of the body......no
Excessive perspiration or inability to perspire......yes, the latter
Fibrocystic breast disorder.....yes
Skin trouble or rashes......yes
Trouble concentrating or memory problems.....no
Heightened sensitivity of smell or hearing.......yes, hearing
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ).....yes
Scoliosis.....yes
Exaggerated startle reflex.....yes
Low body temperature.....no
Endometriosis......no

Other Secondary Symptoms:

Nausea, neck aches or pain, arm and leg pains(no), backaches (yes),aches or pains in hands and feet, excessive gas (no), hay fever or other allergies (yes, yes, yes!).

And then there are the psychological symptoms:

Generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks (yes), social phobia (no), specific phobias and depression (no).

Dr. Ronald Hoffman: "People with mitral valve prolapse seem somehow to be wired differently. Their autonomic response can be much more volatile and unstable, as if set on hair-trigger, so that normal stresses and surprises set off an exaggerated response, flooding their systems with stress hormones called the catecholamines. In fact, there may not be a specific stressor—autonomic fluxes may occur unpredictably like internal weather changes. In some ways this could be defined as a catecholamine disorder. The principal catecholamines are epinephrine and adrenaline. People with mitral valve prolapse are intermittently and unpredictably awash in their own catecholamines. This leaves them alternately innervated and exhausted—"wired but tired" is a common feeling." (ConsciousChoice.com)

I have known for a long time that I had this, and I think I just stopped doing the things I should be doing to control it. I have been so caught up in the NAET and allergies lately that I lost sight of the basics. After reading more I am beginning to understand what may be causing the low blood pressure. But I'll have to write about that tomorrow.

If you are interested in how this all started and how I learned about this syndrome at Mayo Clinic you can go to my first post titled Some Background.

Low blood pressure is blood pressure that is so low that it is causing symptoms or signs due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. When the flow of blood is too low to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidney; the organs do not function normally and may be permanently damaged. It should be noted that unlike high blood pressure, which is defined on the basis of blood pressure alone, low blood pressure is defined primarily by signs and symptoms of low blood flow. In fact, some individuals may have a blood pressure of 90/50 and have no signs or symptoms of low blood pressure, and, therefore, not have low blood pressure while others who normally have a blood pressure of 130/80 may develop symptoms and signs of low blood pressure if their blood pressure drops to 100/60." (MedicineNet.com)

I guess it depends on whether or not you have symptoms, but I think 80's is too low.

Is this why I'm so tired??? I've been taking the pressure every hour and it stays in the 80s. There was even one in the 70s. I'm becoming obsessed. Can't figure it out. I thought it was fine. It's always normal at the doctor's office. Maybe the machine is faulty, but I doubt it because my husband's numbers are fine. I'll take it to the doctor's visit and compare to their machine.

I haven't been back to Lisa for any NAET treatments. Sure wish she hadn't moved so far away. Guess I'll give that a rest for awhile while I try to get control over this infection, or whatever it is.

I'm at the tail end of another bout of bronchitis and antibiotics...5 day Z-Pak again. Just can't seem to stop this cycle. Post nasal drip from allergies goes to my chest and causes an infection. Add that to a little asthma and I end up in bad shape. I could continue to treat the outdoor allergies with NAET but it just seems impossible to keep up with the changing things in the air.

I try to get rid of it without asthma inhalers and allergy medications but am not having much luck. My doctor gives me stuff like Zyrtec and I come home, look up the side effects, freak out, and don't ever take it. I really don't feel well when I take any of this stuff. I have heard that people with mitral valve prolapse are more sensitive to medications. Not sure if it's valid, but sure seems to apply in my case. Years and years ago a doctor gave me 2 drugs for allergies. I took them both and ended up almost in a catatonic state. I could barely speak and my daughter had to call my husband to come home. Not fun. I just sat on the sofa until it wore off. When I told the doctor what had happened he just looked at me like I must be making it up. Why can't some doctors figure out that all patients are not the same and may respond differently to medications?

Obviously I believe in alternative therapies but I had a little trouble believing this could work and so did my husband. He continued to be up at night working out the cramps. One morning he informed me the cramps had been bad, (I slept through it) and he got a bar of soap, put it in the sheets at the bottom of the bed and lo and behold....it stopped them! It has worked ever since.

Check out this article. Even Ann Landers used to recommend it!

"Slipping a bar of soap into the bed as a leg cramp prevention has been advanced by a number of authorities, both medical and otherwise. Ann Landers has mentioned the soap cure in her column on a number of occasions, with each airing prompting a load of letters from readers thanking her for this information because it worked wonders for them. "They were thrilled and grateful to be liberated from those leg cramps," said Ms. Landers."

So if you suffer from this, give it a try!

I still have the cough but it really isn't too bad. I will need to clear ouside stuff again. They are still doing construction across the street and will be for some time to come unfortunately.

Bah Humbug to my eye doctor who did send me a bill after dilating my eyes by mistake for 12 days. I was really hoping it wouldn't happen and I haven't decided what to do about it yet.

Have a wonderful holiday and a Healthy New Year!

A man and his wife were sitting in the living room and he said to her,

"Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all of his beer.