Im luckily rather immune to that. food list I could not believe the foods I reacted to already & it goes undiagnosed, one girl she is allergic to her braces in her mouth she has the illness she is also Allergic to stainless Steel products knives forks spoons pots pans etc. Kaiser Permanente Inglewood Medical Offices is a medical group practice located in Inglewood, CA that specializes in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine. Thanks for the informative article, Cort! These symptoms may include allergic-like symptoms (skin itching, flushing, hives, or anaphylaxis); gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation (often diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome), heartburn, reflux, and difficulty swallowing; connective tissue symptoms such as hypermobile joints and scoliosis (often diagnosed as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobile type); heart symptoms such as a racing or pounding heartbeat or blood pressure swings sometimes with fainting (frequently diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS); as well as behavioral problems. It is wonderful to see these kinds of stories, and for so many reasons. I had severe post-viral myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Apparently she had the surgery here and then went to Dr. Bolonesse (sic) in Europe for followup surgeries which failed. Jen has said she will tell her story, and Jeff was lucky enough to find Dr. Kaufman. When doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me, I faced intense medical skepticism and neglect. I think its a shame that folks with ME/CFS have been convinced that there is no cure or theres no hope. Dean, I couldnt agree with you more. The collars do not always improve symptoms, however. Cervical Traction: Jeff reported that a trained physical therapist who applies cervical traction is the gold standard for home diagnostic efforts. She was playing to be seen to do the right thing but in fact didnt. Sometimes, hope shows up where you least expect it and we are reminded that all things are possible. We will work together . Often the drooping brain stem will not be apparent unless a patient is upright. It requires a keen eye, and the ability to think outside the box. Previously, she was a freelance journalist in China and East and Southern Africa. Jennifer Brea is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He didnt consider himself a candidate for the surgery but was living near a center in Germany which could do the tests. My daughter is still mentally recovering from the CCI and suboccipital craniectomy. So absolutely nothing is lost by knowing this new information, except of the hope for a quick, easy and simple solution for the masses of us. He did also say the Royal Free outbreak he documented as he was a physician there when it happened seemed to resemble previous documented atypical polymyelitsis outbreaks. There it can help moving blood in the capillaries (as CBF pressure should mechanically speaking help determine amount of blood flow in the brain) and even better help removing debris in the capillaries as oscillating movements often are better at getting stuck debris unstuck. Colby said enteroviruses can be cultured from stools at beginning of infection as was done in polio. But the short shot effect felt to be beyond just having more oxygen in the blood as the effect lasted a few seconds only each time. Both were classic ME patients with all that implies (post-exertional malaise (PEM), viral infections, MCAS, POTS, sensory sensitivities). Besides all her ME symptoms, she was having trouble breathing, had flaccid limbs, numb, painful and weak legs, and was experiencing difficulty speaking and thinking. Brigitte: how is your financial situation? In fact, the tryptase from the mast cells will likely continue to degrade the collagen, to my understanding, so such a surgery would only be a temporary band-aid for *some* symptoms, not all. amzn_assoc_link_id = "YV25CNBNF26YD2J5"; The neck issues or lack of them, at least at times, in this spinal issue are so interesting. If I could choose a way to recover which I obviously cant neurosurgery would be one of the last options on my list. Jennifer Brea is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. In the end, my dream is that all of the suffering caused by this disease and the large effort needed to combat it will increase understanding of this disease as a series of mechanisms, learn how to differentiate between symptoms that drive this disease and symptoms that are the result of fighting this disease and result in a sort of extensive diagnostics and treatment plan that gets to the root of our health issues. With all of us working together who knows what will happen? If you really think you have CCI, go to a if you really think you have cc hi, go to a neurosurgeon. Each of these could trigger a different (and less invasive) treatment approach. Alsocheck out the website, Hormones Matters, and all the articles about Thiamine Deficiency. So is the muscle twitching, the air hunger, the restless legs, the brain fog, the short-term memory issues and the flu-like symptoms, For the first time in eight years, shes walking for exercise and, well, for the thrill and joy of walking. Directors Jennifer Brea Starring Jennifer Brea, Omar Wasow Genres Basically its do-it-yourself re-validation therapy like someone with brain injury would receive. If theres x amount more symptoms its eds. In 2014 I went to Workwell and my 2-Day CPET showed cardio-pulmonary abnormalities in every category. I had 3-level spinal stenosis surgery with fusion and decompression 5 weeks ago and am wondering if this might give me an ME improvement/recovery? They have a specific focus on the neck. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; His partner, Dr. Chedda, now regularly checks for CCI/AAI. try and summon all means to restore liquid balance in the brain, even if these have devastating side effects like providing so few blood pressure that standing up from a chair can be enough to faint and fall down. I imagine there may have been quite a blockage there. I was told I had anterior osteophytes on my cervical spine along with arthritis. Unlike Mestinon, it only needs to be taken once or twice a day. Jeff will interview Mattie again in a couple of months. The people said it was very lucky. We have a very different lens in looking at chronic conditions vs internal medicine. Who knows what will happen if the nanoneedle provides a diagnostic test? Required fields are marked *. Huperzine A caused tummy issues with me, as did mestinon. Well said, Michele Brown. The next week, the chief led a war party against another tribe. Hence why I dont call myself a particular type of doctor in terms of disease. I just consider myself a facilitator of healing. So, if you have some of the more exaggerated symptoms that Jennifer had (more on the uncommon side of ME/CFS), be sure to go to a doctor who has access to this specialized imaging! I built new model of ME/CFS through my own research. The ceremony is to be led by Henry Louis Gates Jr . Its great that this worked for her, BUT the very fact ME/CFS has had clustered outbreaks in many places makes it evident that this is some kind of infection. After ten weeks of treating his gut microbiome, he has improved out of sight, and it is now a whole year and two months that he has not had any relapses. Neurosurgeons advocating surgery of this nature are preying on ill people with ME who are desperate for cure. Doctors are still in the mode of one-cause-one-disease. NARROWING OF VENTRAL CSF SPACE FROM DISK BULGES; no significant overall spinal canal narrowing secondary to sufficient dorsal CSF space. She has an AB from Princeton University and was a PhD student at Harvard until sudden illness left her bedridden. I think the really compelling thing about mechanical explanations relating to the neck and spinenot just CCI, but mechanical Intracranial pressure, cervical spinal stenosis, etc etc. is that it can potentially speak to two of the biggest puzzle pieces in ME: Talk about a head trip! I still suffer with fatigue and PEM but I can at least manage my symptoms better with this supplement. I immediately recognized her CFS the first time I saw her by the way she sits. The fact that only four neurosurgeons in the world can be trusted to do this procedure doesnt help. I recall a time when if i could have gotten out of bed i would have went to the basement and got the gun. They did several surgeries trying to fix it and get her out of pain. With ME we can safely say that the range, strength and control of our skeletal muscles is below par. If you have a diagnosis of ME or CFS, meet the Canadian Consensus (CCC) or International Consensus (ICC) criteria, and have already been assessed for a mechanical/structural craniocervical or spinal problem by a neurosurgeon, was the result positive or negative? Narrower everything? You deserve it so much more than me. So sorry to hear that Deb. If so, how.Thank you. Its not hard to see how someone elses recovery story could trigger some issues. Once the toxins are cleared, the hypothalamus functions normally again and the CFS/ME disappears. Sounds like I am like you Cort. The most important thing for ME/CFS researchers now is to try and write a narrative that makes it appear as if they had. My insurance will not cover this operation, which is estimated to cost approximately $150,000. I am glad for Jen Brea but hope it lasts. Happiness that someone who has been so ill may no longer be suffering. I was told by a Woman last night to look into a condition called Systemic Nickel Allergy Syndrome I was very surprised she said this to me, a Doctor a few years back told me I was Allergic to Nickle he never said anything to me about foods, vitamins, minerals, medicines that contain NickleI was reacting very badly to belt buckles, wrist & neck chains, watches I would break out in severe itchy hives & itch until I would bleed. Were complex beings and even a remarkable story like hers can bring up a mix of emotions. I am in the same place as debs. * There is a small but enduring cycle of spinal fluid being moved from the bag to the tail and vice versa. Then, in 2018, after surgery for thyroid cancer, I developed central apnea that caused me to stop breathing every time I turned my head or laid on my back, whether I was asleep or awake. Her spine is still healing, but it seems its just a matter of time before Jen Breas ME/CFS is totally gone. Hip, on the Phoenix Rising Forums, pointed to five structural conditions which can cause brain stem or spinal cord compression and ME/CFS-like symptoms: Other spinal conditions that could cause or contribute to ME/CFS/FM/POTS include cerebral spinal fluid leaks and intracranial hypertension. Maybe not probable but at least possible. Three months post-surgery hes nowhere near healthy but he is no longer mostly bedridden, his POTS, dysautonomia, headaches and neck pain have disappeared and he has more energy. I just want to put out there that as a physiatrist CCI is a diagnosis that were extensively trained in and we dont miss. Havent we been through this before? . The title is triggering and I am sure it is for people like me who were broken by the process and people who did not find relief and people fearing they cannot manage this physically, emotionally and financially. Having skills retrained makes them (much) more energy efficient too so it has part in a slow process of increasing the energy envelope too. Again, none of this has been a cure but with pacing, infection and stress avoidance, and staying within preset limits (total daily steps and anaerobic heart rate), Im less sick and have an improved, albeit still limited, quality of life. .adding to the above.. i know this only pertains to some of us. I have had ME for almost 14 years but am not bed bound. She was recruited to the faculty of the Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurological Sciences, in Glasgow, where she remains to this day, and now has British and Canadian citizenship. I couldnt find any information on that so maybe it doesnt. I send you love and every wish that you will get help soon. Finding one or more such core problems necessitating pro-active hibernation and solving it could in such cases yield near full recovery with very few permanent damage left. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; Maybe, he said. I am slowly getting improving, but it has been several years now and I am nowhere near 100% It is very discouraging at times as I used to be a highly active person, Encouraging story, but shes not totally recovered. antibodies for c. pneumoniae and epstein barr Thank you for all of your work, and for your tireless advocacy efforts. Neither are required. Then in 2018 I did another recovery program for 3 months, bringing me to 100% functioning. What is very different about the Ayurvedic training and Western Medical Doctor, is as you alluded to calling a symptom or collection of symptoms a definitive disease. I am happy for Jeff and Jan! I was incapable of seeing, walking straight, or talking right some days but yea not serious enough. I myself had pectus, which was brushed off as a cosmetic issue. -scrub typhus (since treated) I am so happy for Jen Brea and I hope that she extracts every ounce of joy out of her newfound health and second chance at life. A 2003 study suggested that reduced motor cortex output was reducing muscle recruitment in ME/CFS and causing fatigue. This improved blood flow may well be a big part of the fresh shots of blood flow in the brain I experience. One of these docs talked to me about people like us having angry or unhappy brains and he can do procedure on someone and they have major improvement and on another and no major improvement. I am absolutely thrilled to hear such wonderful news! Ive been taking it for over a year and it has been a miracle, not a cure, but I couldnt live without it since it keeps many of my symptoms, especially the cognitive dysfunction (e.g., short term memory problems and brain fog, etc.) Brea, Jennifer (May 20, 2019). (A patient of Dr. Kaufmans reports that the extremely strong 3Tesla MRIsmay be the best and are more readily available. If you have a diagnosis of ME or CFS, meet the Canadian Consensus (CCC) or International Consensus (ICC) criteria, and have already been assessed for a mechanical/structural craniocervical or spinal problem by a neurosurgeon, was the result positive or negative? But it works in the body differently at low doses (aka to calm microglia and reduce brain inflammation rather than suppress coughing). Glad she is feeling better but the vast majority of CFS / ME patients do not have this and some have died in this surgery. Is it necessary to have headaches or neck pain to possibly have CCI or AAI? Dr. Nigel Speight, is one . Jen Brea, Steps per day Jen Brea before and after surgery (see blue line) (From https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/my-me-is-in-remission.76324/). When I try to support the body in resolving the problem I believe to perceive I often get a modest amount of improvement. It did worsen my instability, which is how I got diagnosed and treated. I also wonder if the long term bed rest could contribute to ligament laxity (?). High oxidative and nitrosative stress can also damage the brainstem. But if people are having improvements from cervical spinal stenosis surgery, why would we not count them all together? Hope Jeff & Jen & other cases do get documented. @jenbrea Ruhoy describes her long-standing interest in integrative medicine, natural approaches, and environmental medicine. Even though I have a super sensitive digestive system, and always have, Ive had no adverse affects. Its a definitely recovery if Jen can get away with 30-90 min of weight exercise, light or otherwise. Brea also co-created a virtual reality film which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. I'm here to answer your questions! Its so unrealistic for the rest of us to think that well get any help in our lifetimes. If anyone is curious, there's a new short documentary series following people with "chronic illness".I thought it would feature people with real Press J to jump to the feed. Hi Ruth Neurosurgeons and other EDS specialists have expounded on the connection between CCI and forms of dysautonomia such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) . So so happy for her! Likes: Hope4, . After reading Jeffs account Mattie thought he didnt have CCI/AAI but got it checked out anyway and found, to his surprise, that he did. Cort, A lot of us are going to have these presentations or one of them or none of them because the SYNDROME presentation of Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia (a mast cell disorder) and the SYNDROME of MCAS is: Hereditary alpha tryptasemia syndrome is a condition characterized by high blood tryptase levels, and by several symptoms associated with multiple organ systems. in belgium. For those of us still with ME/CFS, look to others who are not flashes in the pan. Now that I am walking down this pathway myself, Im experiencing some very contrary feelings, as you discuss. Sometimes Im winning, sometimes I definitely arent. Confounding things I was also exposed to mold right around the same time (and I tested as mold susceptible). She said it can also cause countless symptoms, when I saw the. Not sure where to go from here. Like the blog you're reading? Amy, not knowing truly more about your situation, you did not have the correct type of imaging. I hope not. My bedsheets were brown in a week with toxins..still are. After 10 years of search for advice I eventually managed to get a scan, and it showed I had a very severe case with heart and liver compression. Find Jennifer Brea's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Can you make a correction to your article? So if this mechanical pumping action were important enough for brain blood flow and waste removal then having ME rigid neck and back muscles (and other stuff like connective tissue problems) should pose a challenge to the health of our brains. The USA funding is minimal and she quoted $5 p.a. Just think about how you try to get stuck objects unstuck: not by keep pushing onto it but by alternately push fort back forth back. Dear Cort Best of luck! Alexander Technique is big in the UK and the US, and probably Canada. Maybe it does then. It could also explain why a certain type of back surgery (i.e. It is clear that there is no single cause and we need to learn whatever we can from individual cases that may be of help to various subsets of patients, whose lives have been blighted by this dreadful illness. 1 2 43 Jennifer Brea @jenbrea Dec 8, 2021 She was in Miami dealing with another project while coordinating and gazing in the film Unrest. It means we get to see people like Jennifer Brea as being new or hybrid types in the context of both CCI surgery and future treatment. This line holds the long tail of the spinal fluid bag. Currently she is practicing Ayurveda and for the first time in 6 years she is getting improvements in many symptoms. Hope that it could happen to us. As you highlight, this type of surgery is very risky it should only be undertaken where the evidence is clear and the surgeon is competent. At one end is simple hypermobility which causes no symptoms, is not a disease and is a trait, like height. and am even sobedridden I could not go to see a specialist or getting at a hospital. All of us know that any level of ME/CFS robs us all of so much of what we would want for our lives, this is the one place we dont have to explain that. It triggers me (pardon another pun) just like the mold topic does. Every bad turn this disease gave me went hand in hand with randomly losing certain factual memories and certain abilities, both mental and motoric. I have had M.E since developing Adult on-set Stills Disease in 2011. Not sure how available nutritional supplements are in NZ, but Huperzine A is well known in Chinese and Indian medicine. We may have weird neurological symptoms that do not squarely fit onto any list, and a growing number of us (not without some controversy!) Two more people on PR, @mattieand@StarChild56 have recently had fusion surgeries to correct CCI. It amounts to success for everyone that I have worked with. Maybe, he said. They may experience pain and dislocations, have a poor sense of where their joints are without looking, be prone to injury, have curvature of the spine, and degenerative joint and bone disease. After other possible conditions are excluded, a diagnosis of generalised hypermobility spectrum disorder may be made here. I also agree that spinal fusion, especially such a highly specialized procedure as craniocervical fusion, would not be my first pick for treatment. I am still amazed each morning when I wake up symptom free, and I marvel at how much and what I am capable of doing with only normal healthy responses. So, I dont know if its gonna last, I fear Im like Cinderella and its gonna stop working suddenly, I enjoy wile it does work, and keep looking for clues that help me. Thatll kill you within days. Lacking those things, a doctor can simply pull the patients head up off the spine in the doctors office, and see if that helps! from being able to remember and repeat physical movements after one or two demonstrations and having no trouble recalling them days or weeks later, to flat out forgetting them entirely within a few minutes. I dont know if prolotherapy is an option for treating CCI/AAI, but it is used to treat ligament laxity which is found in CCI/AAI and a number of neck and spine issues. She has major problems with neck instability, swallowing difficulties, vertigo, nausea, nystagmus, being over whelmed with thoughts, anxiety, fear, She suffered a lot of trauma from the medical system here in New Zealand. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "responsive_search_widget"; Jeff and Jen Brea are leading examples. Doctors told Jen Brea that her symptoms were psychosomatic, so she filmed herself and turned to the Internet for guidance. I was called crazy by doctors ..neighboursfriends.my parentsit didnt sit with me too well. For some people it follows a virus, for others it comes on after a car crash or stressful life circumstances; for others its due to mercury poisoning etc. Ive been working on intentionally breaking that suspected cycle at multiple points within it all at once whatever parts I can most easily get my own two hands on and have had far more success with that approach than my previous, more scattered, attempts.). We could not avoid the unsafe people during this process that took us at least 3 years and only one surgery accomplished. That plus certain types of medical marijuana have definitely helped. I believe two things are at work here: Showing up at doctor appointments with published information is the only way I have persuaded doctors to do testing or try treatments. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck and most likely not MECFS. Jan 17, 2019. Jennifer next went to Scotland to pursue fellowship training in general neurosurgery, complex spinal surgery and paediatric neurosurgery (1998-2000). My name is Jennifer Brea. Such waves travel to the entire jelly brain structure. Around 2000, a group of Fibro and CFS patients, including myself, were diagnose with Arnold Chiari Malformation. Slightly off topic, but just to let others know that diphenhydramine as per Dr Younger has made a huge difference to my cfs. EDS does run in his family. Surprisingly, I find I sleep best with my legs higher than my head. And I also wanted to express how much I love how you write, Cort with this example being particularly resonant (and delightful): When (recovery/remission) occurs, it often occurs using nontraditional approaches found teetering on the skinny branches of the medical system. The hypothalamus is unable to function properly which results in toxins back-flowing into the brain and spinal chord (both of which dont have a proper lymphatic drainage system) instead of being eliminated efficiently and quickly by the liver. But it would mean that every single Jennifer, Jeff and the many others help shed light on a single aspect of this complex disease and help pull all of us bit by bit out of this swamp. This is another interesting bit of research that . ____________________________________________________________________________, An X-ray of an neck being flexed back and forth to check for instability. I found them after PT worsened by double cervical herniated discs, a few years ago. Not a destiny. Director Jennifer Brea in the documentary Unrest, about chronic fatigue syndrome Leslie Felperin Thu 19 Oct 2017 05.00 EDT Last modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 07.00 EST Recently, after reading an article on the HM website titled, Thiamine, Epigenetics, and the Tale of the Travelling Enzymes, I added Thiamine (a bariatric formulation) to my vitamin and supplement regimen.