One Sick Mother

Waiting. Again.

So it is over two weeks since I had a ton of bloodwork taken for #30 and I have not heard the results back.  I figure #30, who is pretty highly specialized, went beyond the CBC and ran a bunch of unusual tests. I know these take some time, but still.  I have never been good with waiting. Its the whole ADHD thing.

Wait and see: He'll probably call tonight just because I moaned about him.

I haven't been blogging much because I messed my back up pretty severely last week, and I wasn't really able to do ...anything, really. It is mostly back to abnormal now, but I now have something else going on, which is impairing my ability to think very well. I am waiting for that to get resolved.

I need to apologize in advance to my regular readers for the next series of posts. I am about to put up a whole series of scam posts, not on new scams, but on existing ones (specific to each disease this time). Sorry to repeat myself, but I am still getting a lot of e-mails and hits from people who find this site too late. I hope, by doing this, more people will find OSM first, and not waste their time, money and Hope on evil scammers.

Gardasil, The First Frankenvaccine

A friend, a young lady of college age,  recently posted a link to this video on her Facebook page.  It is the story of Gabrielle Swank, who has become very ill after receiving her third Gardasil vaccination.  Aside from the obvious impact such a story would have on anyone; two particular aspects of it struck me very hard:

1. Many Of Gabrielle's symptoms are very similar to mine; although hers are  more severe and sudden in onset.  I checked out some other stories and a similar list of symptoms emerges.  Hmmmm.
2. My daughter, Grace is nine years old. Very soon, I will face the Gardasil decision on her behalf. (Ugh)

 

So I decided to investigate Gardasil. Like you do. And to share my findings with you.  Because there is a lot here and it is interesting, while at the same time; kind of scary:

The first thing I found out is this: Gardasil is the very first of a new breed of vaccine, which is manufactured by a completely different process than traditional vaccines have been.  There are two new vaccines in a similar vein racing through the FDA as we speak: Cervarix, by GSK, another HPV vaccine and a direct competitor of Gardasil, and a new H1N1 "swine flu" vaccine by Novavax.

Hello, Big Red flag!

Traditional vaccines are made using a live virus, which you then put into the embryo of a developing hen's egg. You leave it for three days for the embryo to develop  some more, replicating furiously and making new virus as it goes. Then you crack the egg,  extract the virus, kill or disable it so it won't cause the actual disease, clean off the bits of dead chick, and voila!  One single vaccine dose!  So you can't make a vaccine without breaking some eggs. (idle thought: Do vegans get vaccinated?  Hmmmm.)

Here is a video explaining the process.

There are several problems with this method: It is slow, labor intensive, expensive and is very dependent on the supply of chickens/eggs.  Apparently they prefer to use young hens in their first laying season, then they "sacrifice" them before the next virus season, presumably rearing a batch of their offspring as a replacement. ('nother idle thought: You know, reading all this, I wondered how they would make an avian flu vaccine? What if the flock got infected with the bird flu virus? ...Or would that be a good thing, and save the trouble of introducing the virus to the eggs artificially?).

The Gardisil vaccine is made using a brand new process -long overdue-  using something called VLPs, which stands for virus-like particles.   I know, right:   WTF is a virus-like particle?  Well it is a fancy,  state-of-the art piece of genetic engineering.

Best as I can understand; it works like this (this is my over-simplified and somewhat over-dramatized version, but it is not entirely inaccurate):

You take a virus, remove it's brains, and then put it in a little bath of yeast and nutrients. The virus will reconstitute itself into something mute that looks and walks and like a virus, but isn't technically a virus anymore. Therefore the name "Virus-Like particle".  

 

I prefer to think of it as a Frankenvirus.  

 

With the brains removed, the Frankenvirus  cannot cause that specific illness,
but it can still reproduce  (similar to  many man I know, no brains, but ready to reproduce with anybody not fast enough to get away)!  And so it does just that, merrily making more Frankenviruses without the lab needing to use any hen's eggs at all (and I bet all the vegans reading this are heaving a HUGE sigh of relief and queuing up to get Fraknenvirus injections...).

Because VLPs -or Frankenviruses as I now prefer to call them (it is less cold) LOOK very similar on the outside, the human body reacts to them as it would to a regular virus, generating antibodies and therefore immunity to the original virus. Apparently the process can be further tweaked, adding bells and whistles in the form of protein coatings that may trigger different immune responses in the "host" -which is the drug company's preferred term for "person" in this scenario (it is more cold).

Frankenvaccines are believed to be safer than traditional live or killed vaccines because there is no way they can inadvertently cause the illness for which they were designed. This all sounds very well and good.

But what about causing NEW illnesses?  Did anyone think to check that one out?  -Before Gardasil went into mass production on our next generation of mothers, I mean?

Yes, there were clinical trials, but this is brand new technology. There have been NO long-term trials -intended to be run "post-marketing" (i.e. we'll inject it into all of your little girls and let's see what happens!).  I wonder how many parents were informed that the Gardisil vaccine that was being injected into their daughters was the very first product in a brand new generation of vaccine technology? Because that is information I would want to know, and I think I have a right to know it before I am guilted into making a snap decision in the pediatrician's office

 As a former software person, I know that  "version 1" of any product is usually loaded with bugs (pun intended). Every person in my business knows that you have to get to at least version 3 before they get most of the glitches out of the software. So generally, we install our new code on our colleague's computers befire our own (Really. it's mean, but we make an excuse and we do it).

The big th 
ing about new software code (and presumably new vaccines and Frankenviruses), is that they may work just fine in the lab, but you never know what kind of conditions they may encounter out in the real world. W hen you release them into the world, there can be all sorts of actions, reactions and interactions with other entities and other ...stuff that you could not possibly have predicted under lab conditions.

...not to mention the long-term effects, which have not been studied at all.  

 

 

 

Eventually, we iron out all the little glitches and we release a cleaned-up and safe product in version two or three.

 

 

 

 

Did the FDA, the doctors or ANYONE warn patients or parents that Gardasil is a 'version 1.0' -not just of a vaccine, but of a whole new technology and  processing methodology?  If anyone has been offered this vaccine, I would appreciate them letting me know if they were told this (thanks).

 

OK now to completely change the subject back to me for just a second.

I have been told I might have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).  This was based on the fact that my system contains an abnormal number of antibodies against a virus. In my case, it is Epstein-Barr, but other cases of CFS have been linked to the HPV viruses.  I was very struck by the fact -as I mentioned earlier, that many of the people who got sick after the Gardasil shot had very similar symptoms to mine. Scarily similar.

And this got me thinking -funnily enough (in light of earlier descriptions)- of chickens and eggs:  Namely can CFS or a similar illness be caused by an immune response, rather than a viral infection?  In other words, could a Frankenvirus, which cannot cause illness in itself, cause a different kind of illness by triggering an unexpected immune response in some individuals?

Good question, no?  I wonder if anyone with any actual say in these matters has asked it?

..and I also wonder if IVIG or similar might help some of those girls and women who have had their lives destroyed by Gardasil?

Another big question surrounding Gardasil and other FrankenVaccines, -quite apart from the Frankenviruses therein, are the other additives, called  adjuvants, which are  chemicals added to the vaccine, supposedly to make the virus more effective.  The main one used in Gardasil is approximately 225 mcg of aluminum (as Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxyphosphate Sulfate adjuvant).  There have been many questions raised in the medical community, asking if this additive is really necessary?  The Frankenvirus has been shown to work perfectly fine without it.

Gardasil is not the only HPV Frankenvaccine out there. Cervarix, which is GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) version, has been approved for use in the UK and parts of Europe. Cervarix only contains two Frankenviruses, (as opposed to Gardasil's four) but  GSK have been bragging hugely about their adjuvant,  known as AS04, saying it provoked an even better (i.e. stronger) immune response than Merck's boring old aluminum salt.

'scuse me, but is that a good thing?  Just how much immune response can a body take before it goes into overdrive or starts to shut down?

The one death which had  initially  been linked to  Cevarix, now turns out not to have been linked at all. The 14yo English girl who died had undiagnosed cancer, which had become quite widespread. OK fair enough, but I still think the shot thing was probably a bit more than a coincidence. What else had changed with her?

I don't want to create mass panic here.  I know millions of girls and women have received the Gardasil shot and been fine.

So far. 

But is their long-term health being monitored?  How many have gone on to have babies?  How ha  v  e those babies been?  Really. Enquiring minds want to know: 

What are the long-term effects of Frankenvaccines?

There have been thousands of serious adverse events reported and several deaths have been attrib  uted to Gardasil. I don't think the FDA is looking at this as anything more than just another vaccine. I don't think the FDA has said to itself (as I would if I were in charge) "This is the very first in a brand new generation of vaccine technology and processes. We think we'll follow it up more closely than if it were a traditional vaccine".  No.  The FDA, the CDC, the AMA and everyone looking at the cost of cervical cancer treatment and are pushing hard for us to have our little girls injected with this stuff -which -let's face it- is to prevent against a sexually transmitted disease (it is NOT a cervical cancer vaccine. It is a HPV vaccine. Yes, HPV can and does cause cervical cancers, but HPV is transmitted sexually. How many NINE YEAR OLD GIRLS -other than the abused- are sexually active?).

Several things need to change : The FDA needs to instigate some kind of process to more actively monitor and follow up on brand new technology such as genetically engineered viruses and proprietary adjuvants. Currently, they only audit every two years. I would be more comfortable with every six months in cases like these.   Sorry if that's a lot of extra work on an already-stretched agency, but the public needs to be protected.

But instead, the FDA is pushing through more and more Frankenvaccines. Cevarix is set to be approved any day now and a new H1N1 Frankenvaccine, developed by Novavax in Maryland, is being watched with interest. They were the first to put a swine flu Frankenvirus together after the CDC released the sequence, taking less than a month to do it. This is impressive and could change the whole face of the industry.

But at what potential human cost?

Frankenvaccines  have only been in production for three years. They have NOT BEEN FULLY TESTED. The pharmacutical industry is forging ahead nonetheless. I did a little search on VLP patents which are in development or approved:

Over 3,800 of them, including at least one for HIV.

None of this is bad in itself. it would be great to have a safe and effective vaccine against HIV.   However,  I am reminded of the whole Thimerosal thing in the 90s, where vaccines were tested and approved individually, with no thought given to the overall load of virus and chemicals injected into tiny babies. This meant that many babies were injected with mercury at many times the adult recommended levels, because most of the vaccines contained it and no-one had done the math on the cumulative levels (It sounds unbelievable, but it is true. This is the kind of shit the FDA routinely overlooks).

Who is studying potential Frankenvaccine cumulative load and interactions with other Frankenvaccines, I wonder...?

I remember the 90s and it seems to me the whole Frankenvaccine issue - as it is currently playing out, has a much greater potential for interactions and adverse long-term effects than anyone in the pharmaceutical companies or the agencies that are supposed to regulate them are letting on.

So I won't be giving my kids a Frankenvaccine anytime soon.  -especially in light of my own health problems. I already have some of the reported side-effects of Gardasil already, possibly due to my immune response to a different (non franken-) virus. 

What if whatever I have is genetic?

Therefore, Grace will be "one less" person getting Gardasil.

 

Where Was I? ...Oh Yes: #30

So, in my unrelenting quest to find a diagnosis and treatment for my disabling medical condition, I took myself off to see doctor #30 last Wednesday.  This guy is a metabolic endocrinologist and works mainly in pediatrics. I found him through a buddy of Joe's, interestingly enough (long story). I had called  #30's office, hoping to see him, or at least to get a recommendation for an adult version of him -if you know what I mean (because he is an adult, obviously).  I mentioned before that he had called and after a long conversation, agreed to take my case.  Hurray!  Most doctors who see me coming start crying for their Mommy.

So I packed the kids off to school and undertook the 2 hour walking-and-public-transport commute to the hospital where #30 practices, which is big and internationally recognized. And far away.

What with public transport, hospital red tape and my appalling sense of direction, I was an hour late. #30 is a very kindly mature gentleman and he agreed to see me anyway. He spent a lot of time with me. He had copies of all the stuff I had faxed to him, but no printouts of the documents I had e-mailed. Now, I usually bring copies of all correspondence, but my printer had chosen that morning to run out of ink, and had crapped out right before the most important document: the one depicting the timeline and sequence of events leading up to my first fit (ugh).

Nonetheless, #30 took a detailed history, although he concentrated more on stuff before I was sick than when I was sick -we kept getting sidetracked and I had a few minor seizures, which didn't help with anyone's concentration. So with the afternoon well advanced and no-one fed, he finally sat back and told me what he thought.

"I think you have a variant of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.."

(whaa...?)

"...and none of the treatments for it work..."  (I nodded, speechless. It is known there is nothing you can do for CFS) 

"...except ours..."

He went on to explain that there are some variants of CFS that present with right-sided weakness, facial droop, seizures and pretty much all of the symptoms I had presented with (except the drug reactions). He invited me to Google it.

I did, of course and I found this piece, which is excerpted below. I have bolded the part that I think pertains to my symptoms:

Research on subgroups of CFS is underway, but is still in very early stages. To date, however, clinical experience and limited data suggest that subgroups of CFS may include the following:

• Post-ADD CFS: Young adults who had attention-deficit disorder as children, who have flipped from hyperactivity to fatigue. Such patients have severe hypersomnolence (sleeping too much, sleeping any time or anywhere). Such patients respond well to psychostimulants.
• Neurological CFS: Patients have more severe cognitive symptoms than patients in the other groups, including trouble thinking, remembering, and paying attention. While cognitive difficulties affect the vast majority of patients with CFS, this group experiences significantly more severe symptoms. Visual-spatial problems are common as are sensitivities to light and noise. Other symptoms in this group include seizure-like episodes and other abnormalities suggestive of temporal lobe seizures. Patients in this group tend to have severe sleep problems in which they never achieve stages 3 or 4 of the sleep cycle, awaken unrefreshed, and respond well to sleep-improving drugs.
• Post-viral CFS versus gradual-onset CFS: According to some experts, an estimated 70% of patients are healthy until a particular illness strikes at a definite time. In gradual-onset patients, however, symptoms develop gradually, and patients are unable to recall any specific viral or infectious illness that initiated the process.

Further delving into my medical records, which I had brought with me, uncovered some unusually high titers for Epstein Barr (AKA infectious mononeucleosis AKA Glandular fever), which #26 had uncovered almost two years ago (but done nothing). #30 said that many people with CFS have antibody profiles that look like mine.

Then #30 went on to explain that their treatment for CFS is a structured regimen of exercise therapy and nutritional support, which would have to be undertaken diligently for several weeks before any results would start to show.

Now I have no problem starting a monitored exercise program. I would love to lose a bit of weight and my response to exercise has been a bit ...um ...unpredictable in the past. I was fired from Physical Therapy for having too many seizures in their office.  But I asked the Big Question anyway (already knowing the answer):

"Could I do this program near my home, or does it have to be in the hospital?"

"It has to be here, in the hospital"

Fuck. I was afraid he would say that.

Here is my problem: Himself and myself are (legal) immigrants with two special-needs kids. We have no family or close friends nearby who can help us. The hospital is two hours away, only accessible via public transport and there is no-one who can accompany me on these trips. Therefore, if I go to the hospital, do my thing and then have a massive seizure on the NYC subway going home (or there!), I am basically screwed. -An epileptic lady I once struck up a conversation with on the subway said that if you have a fit on the subway, they call 911 on on your mobile phone and then take off with all your jewelry and belongings. At least they call 911!

Even supposing I don't have a fit: Grace gets on her bus at 9am and Joe gets off his bus at 3:10pm:

Allow an optimistic two hours to get to the hospital: 11:am

Allow 40 minutes for hanging around, getting registered and prepared etc: 11:40am

Allow 40 minutes to do the exercise program: 12:20 am

One hour (at least) cool-down and monitoring: 1:20pm

Two hours to get home and discover a hysterical Joe on the doorstep: 3:20pm

...and all this is assuming no problems or delays. There is no way I can do it.

Himself has been good about working from home on days when I have to schlep into the city for a doctor's appointment, but he can't do it three days a week for three months. And there is the other question:  What if I am in the hospital, and I get a call from the school, that Grace has dislocated a hip, or Joe has had a meltdown?  I will be two hours away and Himself -if he is at work- will be over an hour away in a different direction. There is on-one locally who would be able to deal with either of them under those or similar conditions.

That won't do.

In a way, I am stressing out prematurely about this. I had seven or eight vials of blood taken yesterday for #30 to review. Maybe he will find something not indicative of CFS therein and will change his treatment plan?

I guess we will wait and see....

Another Day, Another Doctor

I am going to visit a new doctor today. This will be #30 as counted in this blog (but #32 actually, as I left out two in the initial count).

This guy -so far- seems a little bit different: First of all, he called me before the initial appointment, asked many questions about my condition and spoke to me at length. He asked me to send him copies of bloodwork and other tests for review before the appointment.

...and  then  ...THEN he said he thought he might be able to figure out the problem.

WOW!

Most doctors just look at me -like I'm mental (although maybe he was doing that -hard to tell over the phone) and tell me to see ...someone else (doesn't matter who. ANYONE but them!)

But this guy... He said he had some ideas. 

I kinda wish he hadn't said that.

Because now my old stalker: Hope, has been all over me like a rash.

Maybe this guy will be the one to make Hope finally go away?

Or maybe he will have the answer?

I feel right now this guy is my last shot. I know that probably isn't logical, but feelings seldom are.

I will let you know...

The Language of Scammers

I am still receiving comments and e-mail from people who find it hard to believe that some treatments I have exposed as scams are really as bad as I make out. 

I understand where they are coming from. I really do. If you or a loved one has a persistent and difficult to treat condition, as I have had for over three years now, you really, really  WANT to believe that a solution you found on the Internet is going to give you some of the relief promised. Because you want to Hope. And as I have said before, Hope is a cruel bitch.

...and all these herbal remedies are 100% guaranteed, Right? What could go wrong?

Lots could go wrong. Lots and lots.

Let's just clarify what a "100% guarantee" means in this context:

It does NOT mean the product is 100% guaranteed to work.

It means that you will get 100% of your money back if it doesn't work.  

...Maybe.  

...unless you happen to be in another county far away and you don't happen to speak the language, or you contact them with questions and they can con you into trying the product for another few weeks -blasting out the time limit for a refund, or any more of a hundred different ways they can wriggle out of paying.

Or they can just ignore your letters and e-mails (because they don't have a phone number, you know).

And let's explore that guarantee in a little more depth. Say you have a condition that is caused by a bacterial or other infection such as tetanus, and you choose to take tetnatab instead of antibiotics, you will probably die.  But that's OK!  If it doesn't work and you DIE, you can get your money back!  That is, maybe your estate can make the claim for the $80 on your behalf.

And yes. Many of the false claims are for terminal or potentially dangerous conditions

OK: Let's say your condition isn't as immediately serious as tetanus. Let's say it is something non-dangerous but painful and or unsightly, such as Hidradenitis Suppurativa . We'll take Suppuratec from Botanical Sources as an example, because their guarantee is one of the most squirrely.

 

Money Back Guarantee - Valid for 60 days!

After placing your order, if you believe for any reason that Suppuratec is not suitable for you or you do not find it meeting your health expectations, you have nothing to worry about. All you have to do is to send us back the unused portion (or the empty bottles if you have used the whole product) and all amount that you have paid us would be refunded immediately without any delay. It is completely up to you if you want to give a reason as you will not be asked for any.

This guarantee is valid for 60 days from the date of purchase, thus allowing enough time for delivery to your door and to experience results.

Sounds good right?

Except I have not heard of a single person who got their money back from Botanical Sources without going through their credit card company first. Which means they probably got their money back from Visa or American Express, not from Botanical sources at all. So BS gave them crap product and didn't refund the money.

I particularly love Suppartec's little "guarantee" sidebar, which tells you not to take their word for it and try the product (I think that's what they mean, the English needs work).  Hold on a second here. Don't take their word for it:

If you are trying the product without seeing any test results or research data, whose word are you taking? Only theirs! There is no-one else's word to take! Botanical Sources (BS) doesn't even have fake testimonials like some of the other rip-off sites have. 

But anyway, If you don't like the product they will guarantee to refund in full, including delivery fee and they give you 60 days to do it.

Then ...THEN there is a little box with a picture of a plant, including the roots and it says 100% Guaranteed All-Natural ingredients". But that just means the ingredients are 100% guaranteed to have been found in Nature; Sand, poo, mold, weeds, fungus, lichen, rocks and swampwater are all found in nature, but I wouldn't feed them to anyone with Hidraden... ...with anything.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't feed them to anyone at all.

But I love the tie-in of the graphic with the money-back guarantee.It's almost like they think a widdle plant is going to make a fake guarantee real.

It's not.

The other point I want to make, although I made it before, is that the claims these products make are -without exception- seriously unrealistic.

I have explored this before, but I think it is worth saying again. These rules of Scamming are excerpted and slightly modified from a previous post I wrote:

1. Lie Big:
   It is a concept con-men have down cold, but one that most decent people can't get their heads around:  If you are going to lie to people: Lie big. Don't bend or massage the truth.  People are expecting that. Most normal people lie small, They exaggerate or use words like "almost" or "virtual".  But the truth is usually somewhere underneath. People expect this and watch out for exaggerations and small lies. People generally don't expect a lie to be totally bald-faced and to have no relation to the truth. Therefore we see the grandiose claims scammers  make and we expect there is some truth to them. This is why scammers are so smart in their pitch. They understand this about people and therefore they sold so high, but delivered so low, they seem to have flown right underneath most radars.  
    
2. Divide and Conquer: 
   People with specific illnesses don't generally go looking for herbal treatments for other illnesses, so if one product was exposed as a fraud, then it is just that one out of ...what?  ...about 60 now that I have found?... I figure the scammers simply dump the product that was exposed, find a new disease, re-brand the website and labels as "new disease-Tab (fax, cal, ton) and then carry on selling the exact same product to a different market.
   
   
3. Avoid well-organized groups:
   There are no 'guaranteed tratments" for Multipls Sclerosis, Breast Cancer or Autism/ Asperger's. There is no Alzheimer's cure and I think there is a very good reason for this. It is probably the same reason Cardio-tab no longer exists:  These conditions are highly public and have well-populated organizations and lots of support groups surrounding them, the jig would be up pretty quickly with most of these conditions. -I was actually surprised to find "guaranteed treatments for Muscular Dytrophy, Lukemia, and Parkinson's, as they are also have quite well- organized groups surrounding them. 
    
4. Use the Global Market to confuse your  umm... "customers":
   If you set up shop based out of a small, little understood country in Scandinavia, then ship your product from Pakistan, most normal sick people won't be able to figure out how to take action against you from halfway around the world... 

Back to the language of scamming:

Another word you find a lot on the scam sites  is "treatment". Not "cure". Treatment.  So they claim to "treat" some symptoms but totally ignore the underlying cause. Say you have a bacterial infection that causes swelling and redness in your knee and you buy a scam product to "treat" it. The scam product may contain some herbs that may reduce redness  and swelling.  But it will do nothing to kill the bacteria that are causing the problems in the first place. Therefore any result will be temporary and the infection will spread.

But you can't sue, because Pakistani herbal products are probably not regulated in your country. (Yes. Even if the company claims to be based in Scandinavia, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Italy or Germany, the product is shipped from Pakistan).

Here is another problem with scam products -actually with any herbal remedy:

You don't know what you are getting. Yes, there may be a list of ingredients on the Internet. But how do you know that the product you received in dirty packaging from Pakistan contains what it claims to contain, without contaminants, heavy metals, or new bacteria?

You don't.

And even if they do contain the ingredients as advertised, some of the listed ingredients are downright dangerous. -especially in combination with some medications. Here is another example of the language of scammers: Using a fancy name to describe shit. Some examples of ingredients I have found in scam products:

• Arsenic (listed as arsenic!)
• Hairballs (listed as Serpentine Bezoar)
• Strychnine  (listed as "nux vomica" or "strychnos/strychos nux vomica")
• Mercury (listed as "cinnabar", which is much more romantic, donchathink?)

There are more, but these were the ones that stuck in my mind

I hope by spelling some of this out to you, I will further convince some people that the companies listed under "scam" on the left are all fake. They are scams, liers, dangerous.

Please don't waste your money.,

And if you DO choose to waste your money, please don't give these preparations to anyone who is sick.

I Shouldn't Know..

...that Caster Semenya may (or may not) have male sexual organs internally.

As Ms Semenya and I are not related, in a relationship, and I am not on her medical team; I have absolutely no need or right to know her medical details.

And it is none of my business whatsoever.

I should not be bombarded with medical details about her internal organs -details either real, rumored or  speculated- when I switch on my telly or open my e-mail. 

I just shouldn't know anything at all about her medical condition unless she says it is OK.

Period.

That I even know there has been speculation is wrong, wrong, WRONG.

It is a huge invasion of her privacy. Invasion on -quite literally- a global scale. And whichever persons at the IAAF and other organizations who are responsible for (grossly mis-)managing this debacle and leaking information should be made an example and jailed for a long time.

I'm serious.

A person's gender is probably the most deeply-held aspect of their identity. More than their name or their immediate family, a person's perceived gender is a huge key to who they are. And indeed to how the world interacts with them. Ask anyone with a gender identity disorder, or indeed anyone who cross-dresses for work or play, and they will tell you that they feel, act, walk, talk and are treated very differently depending on which gender they are projecting at a given time.

And if you speak to any transexual or cross-gender person who has had to deal with being "outed" in public, you will understand that many people out in the world -especially men, have a very, very, very difficult time comprehending and dealing with ambiguous gender.  In fact, many men seem to feel threatened and will respond with hatred and violence. I have seen this reaction firsthand: When I was younger, a couple of my friends were tranvestites (i.e. a person who dresses the the clothes of the opposite sex. Two of my friends were men who dressed as women. One was actually pre-op transsexual). I saw how men could switch from sexual interest in my friends to outright screaming hostility (maybe feeling that their own gender was somehow threatened?) in the blink of an eye. It was quite scary to witness.

I can't imagine what it would be like to live.

I believe that the very poor handling of Ms Semenya's case may actually put her life in danger. Some people have speculated that news like this may put her in danger of deep depression and of taking her own life. And while I see their point, I somehow doubt she would off herself. She seems too centered for that. 

I feel the greater threat to her life may come from third parties; from people who feel they were somehow deceived or cheated by Ms Semenya simply being who she is and doing what she was obviously born to do. This threat is larger, more diffuse and much more difficult to defend against.

And even worse: she comes from South Africa, from a place where people are often considered cursed or "bad luck" because they are different. A place where Albinos face discrimination and marginalization. And now Ms Semenya -who is only 18- has this great big DIFFERENCE" question mark over her head. And even if time proves this to be a big red herring, you can't un-ring the bell on this stuff. She will forever have to prove herself. As she now a high-profile person with a potentially rare difference,  who lives on a continent where albinos and some others with differences are killed and their body parts sold for superstisious reasons, can the IAAF, who originally started this whole mess, now guarantee her safety?

No. I thought not. Like I said, Someone should be locked up for this.

Elizabeth at Screw Bronze wrote about the Semenya case recently, making the point that male athletes are not subjected to the kind of degrading scrutiny of their gender as females are. And she is right.

But rather than focus on the inequities of gender (which are rampant). I feel that really this case is about medical privacy.  Here in the US. a person's medical records are protected by law. By law, a person has a right to their own medical file. Doctors are not allowed -by LAW, to share a patient's medical details with anyone unless the patient OKs it first. I think there are fuzzy areas with minors and people who are not capable of giving consent -say if they are in a coma. But overall, the rules are pretty clear. And Ms Semenya is neither a minor nor in a coma. She is perfectly able to assign or withdraw consent to share her medical history.

But was consent sought and given?  I seriously doubt it.

I don't know much about medical laws in other countries -or indeed about international athletics. But I know right from wrong.

..and this is all wrong.

Wrong in so many ways and on so may levels that I can barely comprehend the wrongness of it all. In fact. I think we may need a whole new scale to measure "wrong" based on this incident.

In the end it boils down to this: I know too much about a South African stranger. I should NEVER know about a person's  sexual organs unless that person says it's OK for me to know. 

And Caster Semenya didn't give me permission to know.

That's the bottom line.

Something Smells Fishy

I was rummaging through the medicine cupboard (outgrew a 'cabinet' long ago!) and a pack of Zicam nasal swabs fell down and hit me on the head.

 

Oops! thought I to meself. I forgot this was here. I need to throw it out.

But before I did, I decided to check on the current status. Has Zicam actually been recalled yet?  Because the last time I checked (which was some months ago), people were complaining that Zicam had caused them to lose their sense of smell, and the manufacturer of Zicam, Matrixx Initiatives, was pushing back pretty hard, saying it was perfectly safe and the hundreds of complainants were all making it up.

Around that time, I got quite engrossed with the unearthing all the herbal remedy scams I had found and I stopped following the Zicam stuff. I actually forgot about it until one fell on my head.

(Hello, Mr Newton)

So it turns out, I had stopped following the story right before the FDA stepped in. Sometimes the FDA, being big and lumbersome, is a bit slow to respond.  Anyhoo, the FDA set a letter to Matrixx, telling them to cease manufacture of three products, and on the same day, they issued a consumer warning about the same three Zicam products. The following is only an excerpt:

On June 16, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using and discard three zinc-containing Zicam intranasal products. The products may cause a loss of sense of smell.

Intranasal products are administered through the nose.

What products are affected by this warning?
FDA's action affects Zicam’s three intranasal products that contain zinc. The three Zicam products claim to reduce the duration of the common cold and the severity of cold symptoms.

The products (listed with their size and product numbers) are

• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel (15mL, NDC 62750-003-10)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-20)
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (20 swabs, NDC 67250-003-21)...

...Why did FDA take action?
The agency has received more than 130 reports of anosmia—the loss of sense of smell—associated with use of these three Zicam products.

So yes, I should officially throw out that Zicam. And unlike my secret (and dwindling) stash of VIOXX, I actually will.

But I still had some questions about how Matrixx Initiatives have handled this whole incident and continue to handle it. They did not immediately recall the product when the complaints first started. Instead they waited until AFTER the FDA sent them a letter TELLING them to withdraw the product. And even then, they were protesting all the way!  See this story from US News, particularly their response to the writer's e-mail.

And on their website, in the Frequently Asked Questions page, there is this little gem (the question is "what research has Zicam done to show that its Cold Remedy nasal products do not cause loss of smell?")

The safety of Zicam Cold Remedy is substantiated with multiple studies:

(1)    An epidemiological study demonstrates that three of the most common conditions associated with anosmia are the common cold, sinusitis, and nasal injury.  This population study in 3.7 million patients demonstrated statistically significant associations between anosmia and numerous medical conditions and multiple classes of drugs.  These factors confound any attempt to attribute an association of anosmia with Zicam Cold Remedy zinc gluconate nasal gel.

(2)    Anatomic and behavioral data obtained in animal studies showed no detrimental effects on smell associated with single doses of Zicam intranasal zinc gluconate gel equivalent to between three and 6x the recommended dose for humans.  Even at doses up to 15x the recommended dose, little or no effect to detect odors was uncovered.

(3)    Human in vivo and cadaver studies using our dosage form and nasal pump delivery device confirmed that Zicam intranasal zinc gluconate gel does not reach the upper area of the nasal cavity where smell reception occurs.

(4)    Four peer-reviewed clinicals of intranasal zinc gluconate gel products showed no difference in olfactory function between the treated and placebo subsets.

...and another answer to an FAQ (in response to a "frequently" asked question about the "unpecedented" FDA action:

We believe it is unfair for any Federal agency to take the kind of precipitous action it took against the company in a situation like this.  Had it talked with us, we would have shared with this regulatory body the compelling data and information showing that Zicam Nasal Gel and Gel Swabs are not unsafe.

WHAT? 

As I brought it up already, let's look at the VIOXX recall in comparison to this one: Merck noted in their OWN data that there was a small chance that VIOXX caused heart problems, so it voluntarily recalled the product first, then told the FDA and everyone else. Even though this decision probably cost them billions of dollars, they did the right thing. I don't usually have much good to say about Big Pharma, but I have to hand it to Merck here. They realized there was a chance that  people were being hurt by the product, and they did the right thing. They put people and reputation before money. ..and yes, OK: They probably thought it might avert some lawsuits (It probably didn't. This is America, people).

Unfortunately, the FDA needs to rely on manufacturers to do the right thing. They have limited resources, so they can only audit every two years.  If a problem is noted right AFTER an FDA audit, there is two-year window before the FDA will find it (unless complaints direct from the public or medical community start flooding in). Therefore, the FDA needs to rely on the decency of the drug companies to report issues, because most people and doctors who find a problem with the drug will report it to the drug company first, and may not report it to anyone else. As I pointed out before, Many people -particularly consumers- don't know they can report directly to the FDA and many doctors won't bother -particularly as Zicam requires no prescription.

So, this is directly to Matrixx Initiatives about their whining: The FDA took this action because they had no choice. You were not only ignoring the complaints, you were trying to dispute them. The FDA had to step in to protect people (and children -there was a children's version on that list!) because you refused to.

And now you have the nerve to whine about it? 

Grow up!

But I'm not finished. Here is another little gem from Zicam's FAQ page. This in response to a question about consumer complaints being withheld from the FDA:

Matrixx has always cooperated fully with the FDA, willingly shared all information requested by the FDA, and fully complied with its understanding of the FDA’s regulations. Any reports to the contrary are simply not true. As required by FDA regulations, Matrixx has always maintained detailed records of all consumer complaints and followed up with them. In the past four years the FDA has conducted two audits of the company, most recently in May 2009. During each audit, Matrixx made available to the FDA all adverse event complaints received by the company, along with complaint trends. These included all consumer complaints alleging loss or diminishment of the sense of smell.

Let's read between the lines here, and remove some of the spin.

...and fully complied with its understanding of the FDA’s regulations

Translation: we didn't KNOW we had to report adverse reactions to the FDA (yeah, right)

As required by FDA regulations, Matrixx has always maintained detailed records of all consumer complaints and followed up with them.

...but not actually SHARED them with anyone, like other consumers or the FDA.

In the past four years the FDA has conducted two audits of the company, most recently in May 2009. During each audit, Matrixx made available to the FDA all adverse event complaints received by the company

OK that makes sense, the FDA audits biannually. The timing is very interesting here, don't you think? The FDA audits them in May '09, then issues the warning in June '09.  Why?  Because Matrixx didn't report the adverse complaints voluntarily, that's why. Instead, they waited for the FDA to go in there and find them.

Let's just imagine the scene:

FDA Guy:  "hey, Mr. Matrixx Executive, What's in this folder tucked in here at the back of the drawer?"

Matrixx Executive (breezily):  "Oh that's nothing.  Just some positive consumer feedback.  ...er.  Have you any plans for the weekend?"

FDA G.: "Well let's take a look." (starts to remove the folder and open it)

M. E.:  "No!" (starts to move towards the FDA guy, hand outstretched to take the folder, thinks better of it, stops and clasps hands awkwardly) ...it ...it's nothing really..."  (sees the FDA guys face) Oh. You mean THAT folder?  The red one? That's the complaints folder. I was just about to show it to you..."

FDA guy: (scanning the contents) "Some of these are pretty serious. Loss of smell? How come I have no record of these?"

M.E. "but we followed up with all of the customers. We're not supposed to tell you about this stuff, are we?   I thought that.. I mean, well... (claps hands, smiles, attempts lightheartedness; -fails) ...you know about it now!

...Hang on a tick. I need the bathroom..."

(Matrixx executive rushes from the room, looking ill. However, he heads towards the CEO's office, in the opposite direction of the bathroom)

(I should write for (bad) TV. My friend AM always said it.)

And so the FDA action was taken.

One might wonder why Matrixx were so reluctant to report this adverse data and recall the products. Well the answer is very easy: Money. Have a look at their stock price. 

June 15th: $19:24
June 16th: $05.78.

Note that the volume spiked hugely too, in what was obviously an enormous selloff.

If I take into account that MTXX now have about 9.46 million shares out there,  we can estimate that the company was devalued by approximately $127 million dollars in one day in the US alone. (there are at least two other listings on other exchanges, but I didn't check them. I am pretty confident the Matrixx stock price didn't rise anywhere in June).

That's $127,000,000.00.  Just in the US.

Ouch.

So unlike Merck, Matrixx put money before people or reputation.  But you know, I bet if they had done the right thing, they would have lost less money. In fact, as a former Wall Streeter, I can almost guarantee it.  believe it or not, the market does actually take notice of things like corporate responsibility.

Speaking of corporate responsibility: I noticed when researching the stock price stuff that there was a change in principal officer. Great!  I thought They are cleaning house. But no. Instead they are promoting the guy who was acting helmsman at the time of the FDA action, to official helmsman.

Nice.

I have now decided not only to throw out the nasal swabs. But I will also throw out the (not-recalled)  Zicam tablets I got for the kids, too.

I'd rather deal with a cold than use their product

P.S. I had to laugh: When spellchecking this piece, the spellchecker, which did not recognise "Zicam" as a word, kept suggesting "Scam" as the alternative! 

P.P.S. Matrixx have until Sept 15th to respond to a class-action lawsuit (the first?) Let's watch the stock price then, shall we? 

Just for a laugh...

Taking a Break

I am taking a much-needed break from the computer. I won't be blogging or answering OSM e-mail for the next ten days or so.

I will be back in early September (09), hopefully refreshed and ready to take on some new topics.

In the meantime:  Stay safe.

OSM

Why I Care

As most people who have read this site for more than three seconds will know, I have directed a lot of my time and energy to tracking down and outing scammers.  My ultimate goal is to shut these guys down, which is proving a lot more difficult than it should.

Why is it so hard?

Multiple reasons. For one, the Internet isn't a place. So who has jurisdiction on the Internet?

No-one.

Different countries have jurisdiction over their own "bit" of the Internet (and their own rules regarding it). There is some international co-operation regarding Internet use for very serious stuff, such as child pornography rings or human / human organ trafficking.  However, something as relatively "minor" as healthcare scams is way down the list of priorities for these guys.

So we look at the local enforcers.  Let's imagine a hypothetical situation:

Say you live in New Jersey and buy a product from a company that claims to be based in Norway. The product never arrives or doesn't work. Who do you contact?  The company. If they don't respond, to whom do you then turn? The FDA?  They won't get you your money back and they don't regulate supplements. Also, the company was based in Norway, right?  So the FDA will probably tell you to contact whoever in Norway regulates these guys.

Buy you don't happen speak or write Norwegian.

Nonetheless, you persevere and contact the Norwegian peeps, who do have English speakers on hand. They do a pretty rudimentary investigation on your missing $90, which is small potatoes to them, tell you that no such company as Oslo Health Solutions is registered in Norway, regardless what the internet says. But a search they did on the domain registration points to a US Domain site. You need to contact the US authorities.

You contact the US authorities with the domain information you got from the Norwegian folks. The US people check and they say the the US domain registration is a holding site, masking the real domain (many registration sites will offer this service). However, because the company who scammed you is based in Norway (or maybe Pakistan, from whence the dodgy product arrived), but not in the US, they have no grounds on which to investigate the real domain information. You need to go back to the Norwegians.

So you contact the Norwegians (again) and they insist that the domain company is a US one, and they have no jurisdiction. You need to contact the US authorities.

And so you are stuck.  You just went in a great big circle to end up precisely nowhere. For someone with a chronic health condition, this is probably familiar territory after dealing with the medical world.  But "familiar" does not mean "good".

So to whom do you turn?  Your credit card company. They are global too, and they will fight to get you back your money.

And so you eventually get back your money and you go on your way. 

However, no complaint has been registered that stuck, so the scammers are free to defraud indefinitely. 

But OSM. I hear you say  The imaginary person got their money back. So why do you care about all of this?

I care because the primary issue here isn't about the money. It's about the exploitation and mistreatment of sick people.

I care because people have their hopes raised (and you know how I feel about hope) and then dashed by callous predatory subhumans.

I care because if I don't care, and don't try to do something, it won't stop. More and more people will have their hopes raised and dashed.

I care because someone is profiting from their pain and desperation.

I care because the longer I do this, the less these medical conditions are lists of unpronounceable words, and the more they are associated with real people with real lives and families. Like:

• My friend, whose son has Muscular Dystrophy
• My stepmother, who has Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Stephen Deal, who also has MD
• Elizabeth, who has MSA
• Blake, who has SMA
• Janice who suffers very badly with Syringomyelia
• My friend Betsy who had Pseudotumor Cerebri
• The woman from whom we bought this house, who had Parkinson's Disease
• My friend's ex, who had Bell's Palsy
• Another friend's child, who was born with severe Cerebral Palsy and requires 24/7 care
• Another friend who has alopcea, which has impacted his self-esteem for years
• My great-aunt Nora, who went blind from Glaucoma

...and then all the people who have contacted me because they were scammed or almost scammed:

• A lady  in England with painful ganglion
• A man whose girlfriend has been blinded by Retinitis Pigmentosa
• A woman in Australia who has Melasma
• A man in Europe whose girlfriend has narcolepsy, and who has bad side effects from the conventional drugs used to treat it
• A man with Myasthenia Gravis in the States
• a very nice person -not sure wherefrom, who e-mailed me to ask me if I had any information on Scleroderma treatment, as the one product which had seemed to show promise had been outed as a scam by me.

There are many, many more.

So to me now, when I see these scams operating, I don't see words on a screen. I see my stepmother's hands, Or Elizabeth's vivid imagery. I see my friend pushing her son in a wheelchair, turning away from the Memorial Day parade because she cannot look at so many able-bodied kids parading down the main drag, while hers is the only one in town in a wheelchair.

I see evil, money-grubbing, bastards preying on and playing with my friends.

Behind these long disease names and behind every one of the links, there are real people with real challenges, who have to face each day and carry on. I care about that. I care about them, which is why I won't rest until the scammers are shut down,

The really sad thing is this: 

I seem to be the only one who cares this much.

Towards Natural Health: Scam

Do you know where the expression "Let the cat out of the bag" came from? 

Well, it came from the practice in Old England of selling piglets in a bag (i.e. "a pig in a poke") at the market or fair. Sometimes, people would buy a piglet only to find when they got home that the wriggling animal inside the bag was actually a worthless cat. So if you were wise, you would open the bag before you hand over any money and  "let the cat out of the bag". That is, you would reveal the scam.

Many pig sellers would leave the pig's tail sticking out of the bag, so you would know it was a piglet and not a cat. However, in a less well-known variation on the old scam, some unscrupulous bastards would cut off the piglets' tails and tie them onto bags, which each contained a cat.

So there was a 'level II' on the pig scam, if you like.

I see Towards Natural Health as a Level II internet scam.  They went through all the trouble to cut the tails off the poor piggies. But it is still a freaking scam; albeit a much prettier one than some the previous scams uncovered here on OSM.  And  keeping in a porcine vein, the expression "putting lipstick on a pig" very much comes to mind here.

Here is an example of one of their sites:

 

 

Wait a sec: To get the full impact you have to load it. Click here and come right back

It's really gorgeous lipstick,  isn't it?  The zooming graphics, the spinning-around globe thingy, the leaves, the starry things, the slick "shick" sound when you roll over a menu item, the persuasive language (although I am never sure what might "suite" me best.  A bathroom installed on my ass, perhaps...?), all the links that they post... 

But look at those links again. Notice they are all general. There are never specific links to the actual condition for which you seek relief. The links are the pig's tail.

Don't be fooled: It's a scam.  They try to cover their asses  by saying things like "This particular website is aimed at helping Motor Neuron Disease patients..."  I guess if you happen to come across the exact same site for ...say Grave's Disease, or one of the 62 or so other sites that I have found (so far), they think their asses are covered.  

Now, unlike SPAH, or Herbal Product Reviews, which are identical scams to this one; Towards Natural Health even has a main site, that goes on about their humanitarian mission to save the world or some such hogwash.

But it is all bullshit. A total and complete scam.  A con. A fraud. Please don't waste your time and money on these guys or on any of the products that they recommend.

Here's how I know they are a fraud:

First off,  all of the products that they recommend are either by Solutions by Nature, Gordon's  Herbal Research Center or Healing Plants, Ltd.  ALL of which have been outed here on OSM as scams.

Often, Towards Natural Health (TNH) will recommend the Solutions by Nature Product.  Hmmm.  I wonder why? 

Well, Here is TNH's address, taken from their main site. It is also the address to which all their  domains are registered (the ones I checked, anyway). PO Box 2175, Paleagade 7, DK-1231, KBH K, Denmark

Here is Solutions by Nature's Address:

 

PO Box 2175, Paleagade 7, DK-1231, KBH K, Denmark

I included both screen grabs so you can see for yourself that they are exactly the same, with no sleight of hand by this Sick Mother. 

 

Towards Natural solutions does list a different address on some of their sites.

Does that address: 115 Abercorn St, M0013, Paisley, PA3 4AT, Scotland; look familiar to you?  

It should.

It is the exact same one as is listed on the domain registration for Herbal  Product Reviews,  which OSM has previously outed as a scam.

 Don't listen to a word that tortoise says.

He is a lying wee bastard. 

And he wants to trample your ice cream, apparently.

Now some of you; -the more trusting among you- may be thinking "It can't possibly be a scam! Why would people go through all this trouble for a scam? "

For the same reason that people would mutilate baby pigs. Because it might make them money. These guys OWN all of these fake herbal sites. There are hundreds of them because they are carpet-bombing the "sick people" market with fake solutions in the hope that some of us will be sick or desperate enough to fall for the ploy. They  are professional con artists. Scamming people it is what they do, and -judging from the number of e-mails I get from people who were scammed or who narrowly escaped because of this site; -they are pretty good at it.

And maybe there is another reason:

Maybe they like it.

Maybe they have such disdain for people with illness and disabilities, that they get some kind of kick out of messing with our heads and our wallets.

And that is really sick.  

 

Help though creating awareness?  Yes. It's what I plan to do. Thanks for the tagline.  It works far better when applied to One Sick Mother than when applied to Towards Natural Health.

Here is the list of TNH scam sites that I have found (updated Sept 6th 2009):

Abdominal Adhesions	http://www.adhesionshelp.org
Achlasia	http://www.achalasiahelp.org
Actinic Keratosis	http://www.actinickeratosishelp.org
Alopecia	http://www.alopeciahelp.org
Atrial Fibrillatin	http://www.fibrillationhelp.org
Bell's palsy	http://www.palsyhelp.org
Benign essential tremor	http://www.tremorhelp.org
Blepharitis	http://www.blepharitishelp.org
Bronchiectasis	http://www.bronchiectasishelp.org
Bullous pemphigoid	http://www.pemphigoidhelp.org
Burning mouth syndrome	http://www.bmshelp.org
Cellulitis	http://www.cellulitishelp.org
Costochrondritis	http://www.costochondritishelp.org
Delayed Ejaculation	http://www.delayedejaculationhelp.org
Emphysema	http://www.emphysemahelp.org
Epididymitis	http://www.epididymitishelp.org
Eye Bags	http://www.eyebagshelp.org
Flatulence	http://www.flatulence-help.org
Folliculitis	http://www.folliculitishelp.org
Ganglion cyst	http://www.ganglionhelp.org
Gastroparesis	http://www.gastroparesishelp.org
Granuloma annulare	http://www.garanulomahelp.org
Grave's disease	http://www.graveshelp.org
Grover's Disease	http://www.grovershelp.org
Guillain-Barre Syndrome	http://www.gbshelp.org
Hand tremors	http://www.handtremorshelp.org
Hernias	http://www.herniashelp.org
Hidradenitis Suppurativa	http://www.hidradenitishelp.org
Hydrocele	http://www.hydrocelehelp.org
Hyperhidrosis	http://www.hyperhidrosishelp.org
Ichthyosis	http://www.ichthyosishelp.org
Inclusion body myositis (IBM)	http://www.myositishelp.org
Keloids	http://www.keloidshelp.org
Keratosis  Pilaris	http://www.keratosishelp.org
Lichen Planus	http://www.lichenplanushelp.org
Lipoma	http://www.lipomahelp.org
Melasma	http://www.melasmahelp.org
Motor Neuron Disease	http://www.mndhelp.org
Myasthenia Gravis	http://www.myastheniahelp.org
Myelitis	http://www.myelitishelp.org
Narcolepsy	http://www.narcolepsyhelp.org
Osteomyelitis	http://www.osteomyelitishelp.org
Pemphigus	http://www.pemphigushelp.org
Peripheral Neuropathy	http://www.neuropathy-help.org
Peyronie's Disease	http://www.peyronieshelp.org
Polycystic Kidney Disease	http://www.pkdhelp.org
Polycythemia Vera	http://www.polycythemiahelp.org
Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)	http://www.polymyalgiahelp.org
Porphyria (All 6 kinds?)	http://www.porphyriahelp.org
Post-Polio Syndrome	http://www.postpoliohelp.org
Premature Gray Hair	http://www.grayhairhelp.org
Prickly heat	http://www.pricklyheathelp.org
Rectal prolapse	http://www.rectalprolapsehelp.org
Retinal Vein Occlusion	http://www.rvohelp.org
Retinitis Pigmentosa	http://www.retinitispigmentosahelp.org
Scleroderma	http://www.sclerodermahelp.org
Sebaceous Cyst	http://www.cysthelp.org
Seborrheic Keratosis	http://www.seborrheickeratosishelp.org
Sjogrens Syndrome	http://www.sjorgenshelp.org
Tinea Versicolor	http://www.tineahelp.org
Trigenimenal Neuralgia	http://www.trigeminalneuralgiahelp.org
Urethritis	http://www.urethritishelp.org
Uveitis	http://www.uveitishelp.org
Vocal Cord Nodules	http://www.vcnhelp.org
Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia	http://www.wmghelp.org

 

NOTE: While compiling this list, I realized that there are many More Solutions By Nature sites than I had  found previously. I will update that page when I get a chance. Really, there is too much out here for a single person to track  (I bet that is a large part of the plan)