Newsgroups: alt.med.cfs
Date:         Sun, 27 Dec 1992 20:36:00 CST
              <CFS-L@NIHLIST.BITNET>
From:         ACKERMAN DAVID J <ACKERMDJ@MEMSTVX1.MEMST.EDU>
Subject:      glagyl and symptoms

Beki and Kathryn:

        I'm combining my answer as there are common threads to both responses
and I hate to load up mail boxes with duplicate messages.

        The dermatologist that I am seeing is the same one named in Dr Crook's
book on the Yeast Symdrome... he has been researching the problems of psoriasis
for a number of years and has become convinced (and his  results support) that
it is caused by chronic long-term strep and/or yeast infections. He uses
the anti-biotics and anti-fungals in combination as they seem to yield the
best results. I'm not entirely sure why except perhaps it prevents the
problem that Kathryn raises - that using one or the other just about
guarantees a run-away version of the other.

        I'm beginning to suspect that yeast and other fungal type diseases
are a lot worse than most of the dotors are wiling to admit. Just look at
the numbers of anti-biotics versus the number of anti-fungal agents and
it gives a pretty clear indication that fungi get ignored.

        What I have begun to wonder about is if the combination  of a
chronic bacterial infection in combination with a chronic yeast/fungal
infection does some weird stuff that we don't understand. Both secrete
toxins and i'm wondering if they don't interact in some way to either
change the immune response or to block a chemical path. (And I have to
give Pat Wilcox credit for the latter idea - she's got some interesting things
to say about glutathione inhibitions and multiple chemical sensitivities...).
Anyway, Given the problems in nailing down a good diagnostic test for a
number of theses diseases (CFS, FM, MCS, etc), I have begun to look for
some common threads. One seems to be some of the symptoms of a low grade
infection - ie, screwed up immune responses, periodic low grade fevers,
joint problems, etc...

        BTW, I have had peiodic bouts of elevated temps, severe night sweats,
joint pains, etc with the psoriasis... My wife has a collection of
symptoms which so far have eluded the efforts of about every flavor of
specialist possible to nail down, but which seems to be responsive (at least
in a limited sense to some combinations of antibiotics/antifungals...

        Anyway, I may be wrong, and I certainly would not tell people to rush
out and start bombing their bobies with *any* drugs (including herbal cures),
but I do have a sense that *maybe* it's an interesting possibility... (and
yes, I know that the antibiotics that I am limited to due to allergies all
imply a certain level of danger for liver problems - a risk that I am
willing to take as the damage to my body from not trying it is worse...)

        I appreciate the answers and hope that as other folks come back on the
net from vacation, they will continue to contribute their ideas. I said before
that we have a lot of experience and information gathered together among us.
If we can't get answers from the established medical programs, maybe if we
keep sharing what we each discover, we can find some possible cures on our
own...

Best wishes for a healthier 1993....

Dave Ackerman
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