@Aethelflaed if the surgery is elective or unnecessary, maybe it can be postponed (possibly indefinitely). Nothing like surgery to increase stress and stress hormones including estrogen.

@CrumblingCookie that is very interesting, first time hearing about this aspect of "auto"immune disease. What you describe about the cortisone treatment pretty much summarized the attitude of my doctors, absolutely no interest in the underlaying process, just hoping it'd go away in the meantime. I don't blame them tho, it's a hell of a job. Actually think it might not be the worst course of action: let the cortisone keep it down while I get healthy in the back. Just gotta find out how to do that

@polba don’t let it bother you. as miles davis said, if you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake.

@Mulloch94 true about the importance of balance. while I have vitamin E, it's not something I take. daily but only when I would need it therapeutically. I think that keeping PUFA intake low and free iron low with the help of histidine in a progesterone rich setting enabled by good mitochondrial respiration should keep the oxidative stresses of peroxidation chain reactions minimal, and ensuring enough collagen and sulfur intake gives me enough reserves of glutathione for intracellular protection from oxidative stresses, while antioxidants such as albumin and uric acid, to name a few, protects me from extracellular oxidative stresses. I could be wrong though, but in the times I. take vitamin E regularly, it is hard for me to detect any improvement. Which led me to just keep a bottle or two of vitamin E in reserve.

@winters2, I felt really hot while hypothyroid, due to adrenaline compensating for poor thyroid function. However, my lethargy wasn’t caused by high prolactin. My prolactin has never been high.

I’ve had it solved a couple times from deep tissue massage in the forearms especially the meat right under the boney inner part. The same nerves will light up when hitting the right spots of tension

@Wabi-sabi I will give it a try. @wester130 I have not tried it yet. Just trying to be careful about taking multiple herbs/enzymes at once since I'm not trying to make the situation worse.

@lobotomize-me during valsalva maneuver is it still noticeable? Did you confirm its disappearance with an ultrasound while standing up and performing a Valsalva maneuver? Or was it symptom relief / not being able to feel the swollen veins anymore?

@DavidPS thanks for reposting! When I post stuff no one looks at it! Ha! Maybe I smell? This was a fantastic interview I thought!

@mm33 methylene blue is a neurotoxin, It has the same basic chemical composition and harmful clinical effects as the oldest monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Don’t fall for the massive push seen everywhere to take it. Look deeper.

@winters2 a google search (https://www.google.com/search?q=palmar+erythema&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari) says “It's generally benign and can be primary or secondary, resulting from an underlying systemic disease”

@serotoninskeptic where do they cite that high carb diets leads to obesity? Any proof of this detached from processed food and pufa fats?

@16characterstwas thanks

@Meursault said: would eat one meal all day often and it was just when we had time. Also wouldn't drink much water. then try make up for it on days off. That's not how sufficient drinking and good homeostasis of bodily fluids and electrolytes works btw. If you are on of those people who simply don't drink water because they forget and/or because it tastes boring I don't know how that can be taught. @Meursault said: Liver markers (Bilirubin, ALP, ALT, GGT) all came back within range That never excludes functional liver issues. It simply means whatever's going on is not killing the liver cells very much. Since I've currently been reading up on B5 pathways ("hammer") everythings looks a nail to me as in lack of B5 causes strong somnolence, irritability, insomnia. Its transport protein also carries biotin and iodide into all bodily tissues hence there's a lot of possibilities wrt wakefulness, energy and endocrine and thyroid hormone secretions. Depending on the parameters range of the urinary organic acids test you have ordered there should be a lot of insight to be gained about which steps of the TCA aren't running well enough. E.g. elevated lactic/pyruvic/3-hydroxyvaleric/-propionic/oxalic/xanthurenic acid etc. Will be interesting to see what that shows.

@Mulloch94 Thank you

Useful info for other readers to optimize weight (prevention) Sweeteners and their impact on the microbiota + possible weight gain Dr Philippe Veroli – SCE 10/23 Poison for your "good" gut bacteria Most sweeteners pass through the digestive tract undigested and therefore arrive unaltered in contact with the intestinal flora, on which they have a direct impact. The population of beneficial bacteria decreased, while that of eleven opportunistic bacterial genera increased. In addition, Butyrivibrio bacteria, associated with blood sugar control, were less abundant! ( 8 ) Artificial Sweeteners Help You… Gain Weight Studies show that consumers of so-called diet drinks also have an increased risk of obesity (9). In fact, their risk of premature death is similar to those who consume sugary drinks (10)! A recent American study (11) even showed that the combined consumption of a sweetener (sucralose) and sucrose significantly disrupts carbohydrate metabolism and causes a chronic increase in blood glucose and insulin levels, which is not the case with the consumption of sucralose or sucrose alone. However, diet products are always consumed with other sources of sugar (bread, fries, pastries), which explains why products containing sweeteners can contribute to excess weight gain. This disruption is very rapid, as it was observed after consuming the sweetener only seven times over a two-week period. Furthermore, the absence of calories prevents satiety and increases sugar cravings. There is therefore no reason to consume light industrial products, neither for body weight management nor for general health. (…) Sweeteners manipulate the brain Normally, the brain's reward system is activated when it receives sugar. With sweeteners, this system is disrupted: the brain no longer receives its usual dose of sugar, and the craving for sugar is increased, leading to snacking, preferably on fatty and sweet foods, to compensate for the disappointment registered by the neurons. We have seen that aspartame consumption leads to the formation of phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. These substances enter the brain and can inhibit the synthesis and release of several neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin), which normally regulate brain neurological activity (16). Furthermore, aspartame alters the expression of genes regulating the excitation-inhibition balance in the amygdala, a brain region that regulates anxiety and fear. Excerpt from this article: Prise de poids, diabète : les substituts du sucre sont-ils tous cancérigènes ? (Weight gain, diabetes: are all sugar substitutes carcinogenic?) Dr Philippe Veroli – SCE 10/23 https://mirzoune-ciboulette.forumactif.org/t1998-microbiote-info-diverse#29338 Sources & References 8. Dorin Harpaz D, Yeo LP, Cecchini F, et al. Measuring Artificial Sweeteners Toxicity Using a Bioluminescent Bacterial Panel. Molecules 2018, 23(10), 2454. doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102454 9. Fowler SP et coll. Fueling the obesity epidemic? Artificially sweetened beverage use and long-term weight gain. Obesity 2008; 16: 1894-900. 10. Mullee A et coll. Association between soft drink consumption and mortality in 10 European countries. JAMA Intern. Med. 2019; e192478. 11. Dalenberg JR et coll. Short-term consumption of sucralose with, but not without, carbohydrate impairs neural and metabolic sensitivity to sugar in humans. Cell Metab. 2020; 31: 493-502. 16. Choudhary AK, Lee YY. Neurophysiological symptoms and aspartame: What is the connection?. Nutritional neuroscience, 2018, vol. 21, no 5, p. 306-316.