Three years ago I nearly died from a sepsis infection. An antibiotic called Levaquin saved my life. That same antibiotic, which is in the fluoroquinolone class, poisoned me from head to toe. I am still trying to recover from the damage it did to my connective tissue, nervous and digestive systems. I thought as long […]
I am many things: a writer, a researcher, a women’s health advocate, a teacher, a yogi. I’m also a few not so great things. Add my persistent desire to help with my passion for research and sprinkle in my ego-driven need to be right and you have a recipe for a real know-it-all. At best […]
“Have we fallen into a mesmerized state that makes us accept as inevitable that which is inferior or detrimental, as though having the will or vision to demand that which is good? Such thinking, in the words of the ecologist Paul Shepard, ‘idealizes life only with its head out of water, inches above the limits […]
I’m not old enough that I actually remember ads for “Lickable Lead Paint” like the one above. And as a disclaimer, I’m not even sure this particular ad isn’t a spoof (lead acetate/lead paint taste sweet) of the very real “Dutch Boys Lead Party Book” which came out in the early twenties. I am old […]
Awareness ribbons looped on lapels. Around trees. Through chain-link fences. Yellow for missing children and bone cancer. Red for heart disease and HIV/AIDS. Blue for chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis. Even ribbons spotted like Holstein cows raise awareness of birth defects.The best known ribbons of all; pink for breast cancer.Tangles of ribbons reminding us of […]
I have been studying thiamine metabolism since 1969 when I published the first case of thiamine dependency: Intermittent cerebellar ataxia associated with hyperpyruvic acidemia, hyperalaninemia, and hyperalaninuria. The case involved a 6-year old boy experiencing recurrent episodes of cerebellar ataxia (a brain disease resulting in complete loss of a sense of balance). These episodes, occurring intermittently, […]
For DES Daughters, Conception and Pregnancy Are DifficultMy first pregnancy, now 30 years back, was difficult. I am a DES daughter and after years of trying to conceive naturally, we tried in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which was pretty new at the time. The first IVF attempt led to a miscarriage. The second IVF attempt was successful […]
Lifelong Hearing LossAt the age of nine years old, I was diagnosed with progressive sensorineural hearing loss. At that time, I already had a 60% loss in the high tones. No one knew I was deaf because I had adapted and learned to lipread. I suspect most people I encounter these days don’t realize how […]