Dear ones,

I have resumed my studies and research on alternative methods for curing muscular dystrophy, in particular, FSH. I have run across a couple of authors who mention having success with treating or curing MD. I am on a trail which may lead nowhere, but I feel it is a trail worth pursuing, if only to rule the trail out as a possibility.

I personally do not care "who" discovers the cure for muscular dystrophy. As a sufferer and the mother of seven children to whom I have passed the FSH gene, I just want there to be a cure. Like Ryan Levinson, a fellow FSH sufferer who is experimenting with lifestyle habits and vigorous exercise, I am a "guinea pig," willing to try various non-traditional methods to see if they work.

As I posted below, I started on the path to a cure in June of 2004, using Dr. Richard Schulze 's Incurables Program. I was amazed that within 30 days I had small, palpable muscles in my biceps which I had not recognized before. Those muscles are still there, although having gradually gone back to a standard American diet and lifestyle over the past fall has caused some of my old symptoms of pain and weakness to return. Nonetheless, I have not returned to pain relievers such as Advil or Tylenol except for the week before my daughter's wedding, when sleep deprivation and constant "on-the-go" activity really affected my lower back to the point of tears and absolutely not being able to pull myself up the stairs to my bedroom. The heavy schedule of wedding planning also precluded my daily walk of nearly a mile in my suburban Waco, Texas neighborhood. I did continue a program of 1/2 gallon distilled water, Superfood as a vitamin/minerla supplement, and Deep Tissue oil for spot treatment of pain. I also took my homeschool "classroom" outdoors for most of the day until the weather turned too cool in mid-October.

As I mentioned above, I am searching for clues to the treatment and cure of muscular dystrophy through the use of old medical textbooks, journals, and writings of naturopathic doctors. One such naturopathic doctor is a woman named Hulda Regehr Clark, PhD, ND. Dr. Clark was listed on Quackwatch at one time for her use of an electronic device supposedly used to cure cancer. She moved to Mexico to avoid trouble with the FDA. I do not believe she has The Cure For All Diseases . I do believe her protocol for removing toxins out of the home environment in order to prevent cancer is worthy of following, and I have been fascinated by her study of parasites and metal poisoning.

The hypothesis among the NDs I am beginning to study seems to be that in non-congenital diseases, we have done something against Nature to cause disease in our perfectly created bodies. We must back-track, so to speak, in order to find the offending cause and eradicate it. There seems to be a running theme among these master herbalists: 1) kill parasites, fungi, viruses, and bad bacteria; 2) remove pollutants and molds from the environment; 3)flush the liver/gallbladder and kidneys of all stones; 4)do herbal repair for specific ailments; and 5)seek medical attention if the above protocol does not cure the problem (Clark, The Cure For All Diseases , pp. 48-49).

There are two specific medical ailments in Dr. Clark's book that I think warrant investigation. One is "Leg Pain in Adults" (pp. 70-71) and the other is "Muscular Dystrophy" (pp. 218-221). Leg pain, according to Dr. Clark, can be caused by cadmium poisoning from corroded galvenized plumbing pipes or joints and can be corrected by having plumbing replaced with PVC pipe. She suggested having tap water tested for cadmium if someone has leg cramps. She said cadmium poisoning can be made worse by smoking cigarettes.

Dr. Clark also says that extreme leg pain can be caused by thallium poisoning. She has found thallium in toxic levels in mercury dental amalgams, disposable diapers, cotton balls, sanitary feminine products, cotton gauze, the cotton in Q-tips, Bandaids. dental floss, toothpicks, and paper towels. Evidently the product used to sterilize these products contain mercuric chloride, which contains thallium. On page 417, Dr. Clark says thallium is "on the Community Right to Know List", is "extremely toxic", "effects are cumulative." "Acute poisoning results in... partial paralysis of the legs with reaction of degeneration, ...wasting and weakness, ... fatigue, severe pain in the calves of the legs...."

For muscular dystrophy, Dr. Clark offers an interesting hypothesis that I wonder if the researchers have considered. FSH and other dystrophies have proven to be genetic. But what if the offending carrier was a parasite? The hypothesis here is that the solvents xylene and toluene have built up in the body tissues to toxic levels (remember the theory that if the liver and kidneys are overloaded, toxins appear in other body tissues). In the case of MD the solvents have accumulated in the muscle tissues. Heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses have accumlated there as well, according to Dr. Clark. The muscles, instead of the kidneys, liver and bowels, have taken on the duties of toxic waste dumping. The toxic state of the muscle tissues invite parasites such as the intestinal flukes and liver flukes to show up in the muscle tissues and begin consuming them.

I would love to know what the researchers at the University of Rochester in New York are finding out about the tissue samples they are receiving from FSH patients!

Dr. Clark writes about one of her patients, who had undiagnosed muscle weakness despite being under the care of a neurologist. A muscle biopsy revealed liver flukes, intestinal flukes, pancreatic flukes, Leishmanias, several dog Tapeworm cysts, and pinworms. He also had assorted abcteria and the solvents propyl alcohol, benzene, touene, and xylene. A cancer test came back positive (ortho-phospho-tyrosine). He had lead (drinking water was tested and that's where the source was), high levels of mercury, and some thallium (from tooth fillings).

The 18 year old was put on an herbal anti- parasite program, his diet was changed and his body products were changed to exclude solvent problems. He drank no commercially prepared beverages at all except for boiled milk. He was able to gain weight, a skin rash disappeared, pain was gone, muscle tics were gone, joint achiness was gone, his mood improved, and he was able to not only walk, but run upstairs. Soon the young man was participating in athletics.

So this is an anecdote and the muscle weakness was undiagnosed. I still believe it is something worth checking out, and I am going to spend the next six months or so experimenting with natural treatments such as these.

Many blessings,
-Donna