Fluoridated Drinking Water - An Idea Whose Time Has Come...And Gone.

Trials and tribulations of getting and keeping my thyroid stable have lead to finding interesting web pages. Antagonists to the thyroid are well disguised, and sometimes wear a "seal of approval". I hope "Big Fluoride" doesn't carry a lot of sway in the US government....

Here is a statement from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment's Statement on drinking water fluoridation (http://www.fluoridealert.org/cape.html)

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) does not support fluoridation of drinking water for the following reasons.

1) The decline in caries in communities that are fluoridated has been highly significant -- but so has the decline that has occurred in non-fluoridated communities. There has, in fact, been a general decline in dental caries throughout the Western world, and the decline in fluoridated cities has not exceeded that in non-fluoridated communities. For example, BC drinking water is 95% non-fluoridated, whereas drinking water in Alberta is 75% fluoridated; yet the two provinces have similar rates of caries. Furthermore, Europe is 98% non-fluoridated, but global European dental health is generally equivalent to or better than that in North America. Whatever the reason for the decline in dental caries, it can not be concluded that it is the result of drinking water fluoridation.

2) The incidence of toxic effects in humans from fluoridation may well have been underestimated. The most serious potential association is with osteosarcoma in boys, which appears to have been loosely associated with age of exposure to fluoride. It is true that the CDC has (as has the original researcher) acknowledged that current data are tentative, but a further larger-scale study is pending from the Harvard School of Dentistry. At the very least, such data are grounds for caution.

3) Animal studies have shown a wide range of adverse effects associated with fluoride. It has been shown to be a potential immunotoxin, embryotoxin, neurotoxin and harmful to bony tissues, including both dental and ordinary bone. In addition, it can damage (inhibit) thyroid function in several species, including humans. Its effect on ecosystem balance has been little researched, but is unlikely to be positive.

4) The intake of fluoride from drinking water is uncontrolled, and can lead to dental fluorosis in children who are inclined to drink large amounts of water. Both natural and artificially flouridated water can cause this effect, which is, of course, simply a visible representation of an effect on the entire bony skeleton. The cost of repairing teeth damaged by fluorosis is not trivial; moderate to severe effects can require $15,000 or more in dental fees.

It seems clear that
a) fluoridation is unlikely to be the cause of the decline in caries in Europe and North America
b) the potential for adverse effects is real, and
c) current evidence points in the direction of caution.

Over the last decade, recommendations with respect to acceptable fluoride exposure have steadily declined, and cautions have increased. Any dental benefit that may accrue from fluoride exposure is fully achieved by controlled topical application of fluoride compounds by trained dental professionals, not by fluoride ingestion. [The analysis of Dr. Hardy Limeback, Head, Preventive Dentistry, at the University of Toronto, further clarifies these points.]

On the basis of this "weight of evidence" we believe that fluoridation of drinking water is scientifically untenable, and should not be part of a public health initiative or program.

Sep-08.

The Book of Negroes aka Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

I have just finished reading this book. I highly recommend it. Lawrence Hill writes in such a fluid manner that his story enters your consciousness easily and smoothly. And his subject matter is compelling. For me personally, whose ancestor left the US after the Revoluntionary War, and came to Nova Scotia, I found myself pulled in all the tighter, at unexpectedly finding similar detail in the book. That is where the similarity ends, though, as the woman in The Book of Negroes is black, and her experiences here were nothing like my those of my white ancestor's.

In the US, Australia and New Zealand, "The Book of Negroes" is published under the title "Someone Knows My Name".

Now I want to find more info, like how much of what Hill portrayed in his novel was actual fact. I have some googling to do.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

It is a new day in the USA

As an outsider, a Canadian who has lived in the USA full time for the past 13+ years, I can truthfully say that I have not felt as welcome here in the past 8 years, as I do today. To the majority of US citizens who voted for Mr. Obama, I doff my chapeau to you. You. Are. Awesome. I was tickled to reside in your country as you chose this articulate, talented man, who happens to have a drop or two of "black blood", as your leader.

Snippet: So, I'm watching the recording of last night's Steven Colbert show, and he was interviewing the adorable and learned Rachel Maddow of MSNBC when I find out ... Holy Mackerel (or possibly Holy Cod...) Rachel Maddow's Mum is from Newfoundland!! How cool is that?

Just one little picky thing: if he would just start pronouncing her name properly: Maddow as in rhymes with shadow, not Maddow as in Dow-Jones. But they are both just as great as a Hello Heather square on your first day back in Cape Breton, so I'm not really complaining. Glad he had her on and acknowledged her grooviness.

Whew! I'm back from a wonderful vacation, back home in Cape Breton. Every day was busy and happy and filled with relatives. I watched and laughed at Ron James (via dvds) with Dad, listened to the nephews play the piano, and went to Celtic Colours shows (insert lots of hopping toes here). And each morning was lovely - as all of us in the house gradually would meet up at H and L's breakfast table, we drank pots of coffee, munched toast and jam (and Miss Auntie and I would share a pear), read the papers, and, especially, chatted and laughed together. I loved it!

I was in the airport in Toronto on the way home, and picked up part of a National Post. I came across this comic, "Pooch Cafe". This is for you, John! So, what was your animal population when you got home, and how many raccoons were there, pretending to be cats?!

This Hockey Mum is supporting Obama!

Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Will I see you at this year’s Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton? I’m packed and ready to go!

Geography quizzes! They even have a test of flags of countries visited, from seasons of The Amazing Race...bet you can't play just one! (...cause I sure can't...)

Travel Pod

Inflatable self-assembled electric car can safely drive off cliffs

This…is cool. Hopefully it will be available by 2010:





Creators of the first roll manufactured vehicle. Proprietary aerospace engineering & novel power systems bring you the best priced, safest, longest-range-electric, most durable, vehicles on Earth!
(The above pic is from this website)

snippets from this website, and also from this article "Inflatable electric car can drive off cliffs"

“… maybe it's the fact that you buy the car online, it gets shipped to you in two cardboard boxes, and the estimated assembly time is less than two hours.

Perhaps it's that the car is made out of "airbags" - the same polymer materials used to cushion NASA's rovers when they landed on Mars.

Then again, it could be the company's claim that you can drive the car off a cliff without serious injury, and that it will float in a flood or tsunami.”

“The key advantages over competitors are that these are the safest, longest range, lowest cost vehicles which can be flat-pack shipped directly to users.”

The Difference Between Cats and Dogs

I found the following explanation on the internet, unattributed. Obviously penned by someone with experience living with both cats and dogs. :-)

The difference between dogs and cats?

Dogs look up at their human and think, "They feed me. They pet me. They love me. They must be God."

Cats think, "They feed me. They pet me. They love me. I must be God."




Pic: Molly, Madeline (a.k.a. Catilla the Hun), Max

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

In Which The Antiques Roadshow Comes to Dallas...and I have a Front Row Seat.

The PBS show The Antiques Roadshow came to Dallas on Saturday. KERA is Dallas' National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Station. I've been volunteering at KERA, answering the phones at pledge drives, for almost a year now. A couple of months ago, a call was sent out to their regular volunteers to work the Antiques Roadshow, and I got my response in early. Even though they needed 100 of us, I'm glad my response was quick, because they got all their volunteers quickly, and had a list of others waiting to take our places if we couldn't do it.

We had training on this past Friday afternoon, with the show to be on Saturday. Below is a part of a pic of my volunteer group from Friday's training. (I'm in the back row, to the very left of the pic). No pics were allowed to be taken on the Saturday, and even on Friday we had to get permission from the lighting people, and couldn't use a flash, to take this pic. Russell, the volunteer kneeling at the front of the our group, had the presence of mind to bring the camera and get the pic taken. Our ARS "boss", Justin, took the pic.



You can see the set being assembled behind us...the large panels are attached to make a circle, with the tables of appraisers at the inside perimeter, and the filming done in the center. We had a few spaces between panels to bring in our visitors.

Back to the Friday - we were given blue/gray polo shirts to wear, with the "Antiques Roadshow" emblem on the left breast. You can see, some of the volunteers are already wearing them in the pic. ARS employees wore black ones. The 100 volunteers were divvied up for different jobs - my group was "triage"; there were 20+ of us in that group.

The visitors to ARS start out in a huge room, in long lines, and in groups according to the time indicated on their ticket (11 different times, 7am to 5pm, on the hour). Mid-afternoon, I peeked into that area, and it was a veritable sea of humanity - I think there were about 5-6000 people there over the day, each with 2 items. I'm not sure how people got the tickets, but one couple I was chatting with, as I was walking with them to their first appraisal, said they paid $400 for theirs, and they were as happy as could be to have gotten them - I think they had more than 10,000 requests for tickets. And I think I'm lowballing, it might have been a 2 instead of a 1 in that number, I'm just can't remember all the producer said about it, during our training.

The next step is to enter the main room, where their items are seen by "generalist" appraisers, and they are given tickets for each item. The ticket indicates which category they are to go to. For example, at the end of the day, I had a book appraised (nothing exciting, I've sold my most interesting books!), and here is the ticket for it:



Clutching their treasures and their tickets, they come up to us, at the pink line taped on the floor, where we are standing, waiting to ferry them safely to the correct appraiser....or to the end of another line.

... and end of part 1, off to do life stuff. Everyone have a wonderful day!

Captions & Animal Pics Induce Smiles

Can't shake the blues, Calgon isn't taking you away (this from an old, OLD commercial), need some animal fun?

Here are some happy sites that should bring on a smile or two:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

http://www.cuteoverload.com/
Cuteoverload was originally sent to me by that Novel Woman, thanks again, Pammy!

http://www.dogfessions.com/

http://www.dogvice.com/

And here are some fun non-animal sites:

http://punditkitchen.com
Captions to pics of politicians - Warning: I liked some captions to these pics, but punditkitchen is WAY too hard on Hillary for my enjoyment.

http://graphjam.com
Graphjam has graphs about all sorts of things. For example, the amounts of different brands of beer imbibed in Springfield...hint: Duff's does well.

Grammar Quiz from mental floss

The mental_floss Grammar Quiz



Score: 40% (4 out of 10)

I'm embarrassed to say that the 40%, that's my score. Not so good, but then I didn't know what one of the questions even meant (this is probably not valid as a reason, though...I actually should probably have more points deducted...). The quiz is a challenge! Only 10 questions, so just touches on a few points. Click on "The mental_floss Grammar Quiz" in the box above, to take the test yourself.

Mama Lion and Cubs Live Cam from Norway

Adorable cubs being cared for by their Mama Lion, in a zoo in Norway, via live camera:

http://atvs.vg.no/player/?id=16995

Grief. Guilt. Dealing.

This week I had a couple of revelations presented to me, that expanded my understanding - of myself, and of life in general. (I thought that sentence without irony, but typed it with rolling eyes. Will I always think in platitudes, I wonder?)

Grief. Guilt. Dealing.

Dr. Waltrip, a remarkable psychiatrist here in Dallas who, in addition to prescribing medications, also practices therapy on his patients, said to me this week,"We have two brains, an emotional brain, and a logical brain. When we feel emotions, our logical brain tries to make sense of them. When a loved one dies, sometimes those who are still alive feel survivor's guilt. Their logical brain tries to ascribe a reason for this feeling of guilt."

He was explaining to me a reason that I might have felt guilty for not closing my mother's eyes after she died. I didn't think of it at the time, but worried afterward that I should have done it, that she would have wanted it to be done, that others expected me to, that I should have protected her and didn't. I have felt this guilt for almost 4 years, and could only admit it a few weeks ago - I was so scared I would be told I indeed should have done so, that I was a bad daughter.

He continued. "Your neurons need to be fired - the ones that are telling you that you feel guilty and the ones providing the reason you feel guilty. Write a letter to your mother, and tell her you are sorry you didn't close her eyes after she died. Then, a week later, read your letter. That will fire those same neurons, in case they need any more stimulation." I said I would.

Then he said, "The next step will be to say good-bye." "Oh", I said with great certainty, "I'm not ready to do that." And continued to myself "...and I never will be."

He smiled a kind smile and said, "When you're ready..."

The Belief-o-matic

Not sure what religion you are? Feeling an uncomfortable fit of your spiritual needs in your spiritual home? The "Belief-o-matic" may be able to give you some guidance.

Although it has a wacky name, it isn't a joke, it is a serious and helpful tool.

Here is the introduction:

"Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-Matic™ knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing."

They do have a sense of humour, however - the caveat at the top is "Warning: Belief-O-Matic™ assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul." Or maybe they're not joking.

Here is the first question:

1. What is the number and nature of the deity (God, gods, higher power)? Choose one.

Only one God--a corporeal spirit (has a body), supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator.

Only one God--an incorporeal (no body) spirit, supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator.

Multiple personal gods (or goddesses) regarded as facets of one God, and/or as separate gods.

The supreme force is the impersonal Ultimate Reality (or life force, ultimate truth, cosmic order, absolute bliss, universal soul), which resides within and/or beyond all.

The supreme existence is both the eternal, impersonal, formless Ultimate Reality, and personal God (or gods).

No God or supreme force. Or not sure. Or not important.

None of the above.

Then you rate your chosen answer: "What priority do you place on this selection? High Medium Low

A later question:
7. Why is there so much suffering in the world? Choose ALL that apply.

The original disobedience of Adam and Eve caused all mankind to inherit mortality, which includes bodily imperfection, illness, and decay.

Suffering is part of God's divine will, plan, or design (to discipline, test, challenge, strengthen faith, strengthen character, promote moral growth, or for reasons that we cannot or may not know).

Suffering is a state of mind (or illusion); only our spiritual nature is real.
Spiritual or cosmic imbalance and disharmony may result in suffering.

Unwholesome thoughts and/or deeds (greed, hatred, and violence) in this or prior lives return as suffering (karma).

None of the above; human suffering has nothing to do with the supernatural or karma.

After my dear Mum passed away, I found it was life-reassessment time. I happened upon this test, and it helped me a lot. I'd recommend it.

Use GMail? There May Be Some Good E-mail Security News for You.

From a July 25, 2007 blog, George Ou, of Real World IT has some interesting, and important, information for you about e-mail use and privacy.

In "Email security has been around forever, you just need to turn it on" , he says it may be possible for you to ensure your e-mail communications remain private, depending upon who your server may be, that is. I am using large bits of his exact wording, as I don't want to make a mistake in explaining.

"To enable Server to Client encryption", he says, "you simply check a simple option to enable SSL and type a different port number for your POP3 (inbound) and SMTP (outbound) Mail Server settings in your email client...AT&T like most ISPs supports SSL encryption on POP3 and SMTP and it’s as simple as a checkmark and using ports 995 for POP3 and 465 for SMTP instead of the usual ports 110 and 25."

However, AT&T "doesn't disable unencrypted mode" and Google doesn’t "disable http mode", so the vast majority of the users will continue to use un-secured e-mailing, and Hotmail "doesn’t support payload encryption".

If you use Gmail, you have a ready solution at hand. "...typing in https:// mail.google. com (not http://) and your entire authentication and web mail session is encrypted with export-restricted grade SSL encryption." I believe the "s" in the "https" stands for secure.

Please see Mr. Ou's article for more information. His colleague, David Berlind, offers an opposing view.

Who is correct? I dunno, but it seems to be an important topic to be aware of. As Sargeant Phil Esterhaus of "Hill Street Blues" used to say, "Hey, let's be careful out there."

Thyroid disease

I don't think medical science knows all it needs to know about thyroid disease.

I can't speak to all the different thyroid diseases, just mine, hypothyroidism. For this, and over the past 18 years, I have been treated by, first, an internal medicine doc, then a general practicioner, then an endocrinologist, and back to an internal medicine doc.

My hypothyroid symptoms have been fatigue, mind fog, muscle weakness, depression, joint pain, and increasing weight gain with age. My thyroid disease was stable with the use of Synthroid for years, although I now realize it also made me jittery.

Traumatically emotional events have had an adverse effect on my thyroid disease, which causes an increase in the symptoms. Six years ago, I was having such trouble with symptoms of hypothyroidism that I left my gp, who was telling me my thryoid was doing fine, and went to an endo, who said it wasn't. I had a lot of thyroid inflammation, and the amount of inflamation was fluctuating. But the only treatment she had for me was to do my bloodwork every 2-3 months, and change the amount of synthroid I was on, to try to retroactively adjust to the thyroid needed for that period when the blood was taken (7 days prior), no matter what the current need might be, or what the need might be when the synthroid meds would have their full affect, 4-6 weeks later.

Towards the end of my time with the endo, I begged her to remove my thyroid, which she refused to do. I began to read webpages about fellow thyroid sufferers, and asked her to let me try Armour Thyroid. (ironically, I had asked her to prescribe Armour Thyroid for me when I first went to her, but she said my problem was this inflamed thyroid, and the solution was still Synthroid.) She refused to prescribe it, claiming it wasn't a standardized amount, from pill to pill. This is a claim the Armour Thyroid people refute, saying it is standardized from pill to pill, but not necessarily within the pill itself, i.e. if a pill were cut in two pieces, the two pieces would not necessarily hold the same amount of active ingredients.

So I left my endo. I hated to do it, I had thought she was going to help me. Instead, I learned what many fellow sufferers have discovered, according to the info I read on the internet - that if you have ongoing hypothyroid symptoms and problems, adjustment in Synthroid dosage may be all you get from an endocrinologist. They are generally not flexible, or very interested in helping you treat your symptoms. I told her I just couldn't live like this anymore.

I now weigh 60 lbs more than I did when I started seeing my endo. I have had serious mental health problems (clinically diagnosed depression, suicidal ideation, panic attacks, despair...). Muscle weakness and joint pain were my almost-constant companions, and I wasn't thinking too well of myself in general, or anticipating the future with much optimism.

I also hadn't been able to properly sleep through the night for years, often waking after a few hours, and not being able to sleep again until the next night, leading to poor functioning during the waking hours. Three and a half years ago, I began taking Seroquel in tiny doses to help me sleep, and that it did the trick. How wonderful it was to know that I would be able to sleep for hours at night, and would do so every night.

In Dec of 2007, I went to my internal medicine doctor, and explained my then-current state to her. She immediately offered to give me Armour Thyroid. I have been on it for 5 months now, and after a month, I tried to go without my sleep medicine, Seroquel. I had tried this before, during the past 3.5 years, but was not able to sleep without it. Once I was on the Armour, I was able to sleep through the night, and even if I woke up, I could go back to sleep again.

Another symptom I had I thought was just a function of being fat, but I think it was either a reaction to the Synthroid, or a symption of improperly treated hypothyroidism: I had swelling at my joints. I now can see the bones in my ankles and wrists, and indentation in the line between my neck and shoulders. I now have the energy to exercise, and started Jazzericse last week. Prior to this, it felt like gravity had a stronger effect on me than it did on most people, it held me down so strongly. Gravity's effect is less strong on me now.

My psychiatrist is currently reducing my dosage of the antidepressant that I feel saved my life a few years ago, Effexor XR. I first tried to go off it three years ago, but after being on a reduced dose for less than a month, all my depressive symptoms returned, and when I went back onto the dosage I'd had, it wasn't enough anymore, and I'd had to increase it, and add Wellbutrin to augment it. For the past 3 months, I've been reducing it steadily and successfully, but in very small increments. I actually feel better as I'm getting off it.

I feel a lot of the symptoms I've had have been caused by the thyroid problems and lack of proper treatment. I'm thinking there may be others out there who are have similar problems. This is why I've gone into such detail, in case there is someone else like me out there, not knowing what is wrong, and not being helped by their medical doctor, and looking for someone else with the same problem.

Excellent websites and chat forums for further info:

http://thyroid.about.com/mbiopage.htm

www.stopthemadeness.com

http://thyroidhost.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=Talk.

To those of you also dealing with this disease, the best of luck to you, and don't give up.