Posts: 8,104
5/18/12 11:44 A

Hey Trish!

Good story!
DE actually can be used as a physical/mechanical pesticide.
The disadvantage is that it has to be dry for it to work.
It only works on insects that have hard chitin shells.

This is what happens:
Silica is the raw material from which glass its made.
The shells of the diatoms in DE are made from from silica... glass.
When insects with hard chitinous shells crawl thru DE, its like crawling thru broken glass, the silica shells nick the insects exoskeleton creating holes in their "armour".

Unlike humans, insects can't repair a nick in their skins.. they have to shed the entire exoskeleton.
So these "holes" created by the DE in the hard "container" in which they live, act as as portals for bacterial to enter, and moisture to leave. They basically die of dehydration, infection, or both.

I wouldn't buy DE that was sold for pesticide use either.
You never know what "secret ingredients" are in there to help make that brand of DE more effective in killing insects than food grade DE specific to human consumption.

I had a similar "scary" experience with a salesperson in a distant (not my local) Spouts.
Woeful, the ignorance of this one salesperson... and to be advising others... totally irresponsible.

Remember to always do your homework and Caveat Emptor!
Lots of adventures out there... and misadventures too!

: )
Mzzchief

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5/18/12 10:25 A

I had problems with anemia until I went through menopause. Now - no trouble at all!

I can't wait to get the DE, and I have a funny story to share.

Now, I am not your normal "crunchy granola" kind of woman. I bleach my hair, cut short and pouffy, have hot pink acrylic nails, multiple piercings (ears only!) moderate makeup, and I'm usually in jeans, heeled boots, and if the weather permits, black turtleneck sweaters. Well, I went into the local Health food store to look for "Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth". They looked at me like I had 3 heads, and found something in the pet department (of all things) and tried to convince me that was what I wanted.

I had already priced the stuff online so I knew what to expect - I would certainly hve bought it there, even if it cost a few dollars more; I like to support local businesses. This 9 ounces cost $9.79, and even if it did say food grade, the directions were for insect control. Not for me!

Then they brought out the big guns---Leslie----I shouldn't be so catty (meow) but, the typical Health Food /patchouli/dark bags under the eyes/no leather vegan (no insult meant, some of my beloved family members are vegan) who proceeded to tell me I should be eating beans and whole grains to lower my cholesterol. Honestly, I could give her an education about nutrition.

The thing that got me was that she didn't offer to special order (another store did) and didn't have the honesty to admit she had never heard of it!

This particular store has been complaining in the local press about other "chain" organic markets coming into the area, but as long as their sales "consultants" continue with these condescending attitudes, I'm afraid their days are numbered.

I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks!

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5/18/12 9:58 A

"The pill organizer is the reason I know I forgot the cholestero pill the next day... "
Too funny, Jane!

Glad that the stomach is feeling better today... might just be a case of getting that regulated.
I'm still concerned on how taking your Lovastatin with your other medications may effect things like your thyroid hormone levels, particularly if you've got a case of the rapid transits.

How about putting you pill case right under your bedside light when you travel?

: )
Mzzchief

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5/18/12 9:47 A

The pill organizer is the reason I know I forgot the cholestero pill the next day...

I am trying the pill by the light when I go to bed. There are times I have forgotten that pill 3 or 4 times a week! But taking it in the morning did not work!

Stomach is better today.

Thanks for the suggestions. Now to remember the last pill every night when I travel.

Jane

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5/18/12 9:37 A

Frannie
I have had problems with anemia, on and off my whole life as I'm not a big red meat eater... my symptoms were fainting (most notably blacking out on a trail while climbing a steep incline and waking up at the bottom of it LOL ) and heart palps... which is which is why I know about it! This was long before thyroid disease.

Trish
I love those pill organizers! That's a great idea for Jane.

I have one for my supplements and just recently went to a smaller, separate one for my thyroid meds that I keep in my nite stand... I take my thyroid meds at nite, some nites I was having the "did I or didn't I"s... which was solved with a quick look at my weekly container.

About seeing an advert for DE on this page... Spark either puts a cookie on your computer which tracks which sites you visit... and suggests things to buy when you come back to Spark. Or picks up on what words you type in Spark posts, blogs, threads. Haven't figured out which one it is, or if its a combination of the two. How very considerate of them. LOL

I got some DE off Amazon.... was unable to find any here at the right size and price.... looking forward to trying it to see if it lowers my LDL. My BP is super low already... but I have an enlarged heart and bad veins, so I'm hopeful that the silica from DE might help strengthen them along with my skin. Hey I can dream!

Will be good to have someone to compare notes with... especially since our situation is different with the one commonality of higher than we'd like LDL.

Congratz on your weight loss... a 40 pound loss is just incredible... you must feel so much better now that its gone! I remember when I was at my highest now tiring it was to carry that extra weight.
: )
Mzzchief

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5/18/12 6:54 A

This may seem silly, but I put my meds in one of those 7 day pill organizers and leave it on my bedside table. I fill it every Sunday. Then, on Sunday night, I take the Statin an BP med at night, leaving the Thyroid pill to take early the next morning. I never miss a dose of anything.

This seems eerie, but RIGHT NOW the advertisement above this screen is for Diatomaceous Earth.

I ordered some yesterday, and am looking forward to trying it. Getting my BP and cholesterol down are most important to me. I have lost almost 40 lbs (from my hightest ever) I excersize regularly, my HDLs and LDLs are good, so I hope the DE will help. I can't wait to start!

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5/17/12 10:38 P

Thanks, Mzzchief-I'll try and get my iron checked!

Posts: 8,104
5/17/12 6:41 P

Hey Jane!
Yes, thank you for catching that... did indeed forget to put in the link that sited the loose bowels, I will put it back in the older post.

Hmm, perhaps you can do something to help remind you to take your Statin like putting it by your bedside? Or even attach a note to the light switch that you turn off before bed?

The other problem with morning Lovastatin is that you take your other meds at the same time. These will not be absorbed either, yikes, ! including your thyroid hormone!, if the Lovastatin is hurrying the contents of your gut out faster than normal.

IMO its better to miss a couple of doses of Lovastatin by taking it at night, then it would be to take it in the morning and having it cause so many malabsorption issues as well as the annoyance of loose bowels.

Going to find that link now!
: )
Mzzchief



Edited by: MZZCHIEF at: 5/17/2012 (18:48)

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5/17/12 5:20 P

Mzz, I have taken Lovastatin for several years but because I take it just before bed time I forget so the doctor suggested taking it in the morning with my other meds. I did not have the stomach problem until switching to the morning... Doctor was concerned it may cause drowsiness. I live with drowsiness all the time and have not seemed to feel there was a difference. The stomach stuff is what is different and yes things are going through so fast that digestion is not occurring. Hope I see a change soon because I am not taking the stuff in the morning.

Did you forget to put the link you mentioned? What do I look for if I google what you mentioned?

Thanks,

Jane

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5/17/12 11:15 A

Let us know how you fare, Trish.
This team is one big experiment!

I'm going to see what I can find locally today.
Just be careful to get a food grade source, and when mixing it into liquid... you don't want to get DE in your lungs.


: )
Mzzchief

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5/17/12 10:52 A

Thanks! I'm going to try this. TSH is 1.22, total cholesterol is now 226, HDL 73. I use only coconut oil and butter now, take 40 mg of Pravastatin, 150 mcg. Synthroid High cholesterol runs in my family. I am on a Low Carb diet that seems to work for me. I'm losing, slowly, as are most Hypothyroid people, even with replacement therapy, at least I'm not gaining.

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5/17/12 10:49 A

Purrs,
That's fabulous that you are getting such good results from a simple dietary change. My LDL cholesterol is over what it should be, but my HDL is in the 90s and my triglycerides in the 50s... all good things... but the persistently high LDL brings my total cholesterol to 258, so I'm going to give the DE a whirl!

Frannie Pat,
Have you checked your iron, or to see if you're anemic or borderline? Often that can cause heart palps. You could also try some Carnitine, which supports regular heart function and is often suggested to peeps with hyPERthyroid disease for this reason.

Chibi,
Thx for your support!

Jane,
As for traveling with DE, I'd just put it in a small plastic jar, and pack a spoon, be careful in getting the powder out. I suppose you could wear a bandana over your mouth and nose when you're mixing it with some water.

Jane now that you are taking a statin, you are at risk for low Coenzyme Q10... ubiquinone. This may result in muscle pain and problems with your gums. You may want to offset this by supplementing with Ubiquinol, the reduced and more bioavailable source of CoQ10. Its a bit more expensive but this is one of those cases where its worth plunking down the extra cash.

Hope your stomach issues resolve themselves quickly.
Alternately you may want to print out this Pubmed study,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9533930
show it to your doctor. Get his/her okay to give the DE a whirl. If it doesn't work for ya in 6 weeks, you can always go back on the statins.

But wouldn't it be great if simply taking an inexpensive natural compound helped, without all those nasty side effects? Just my opinion, but I bet you'd have a tendency to take your medicine, if it didn't have such uncomfortable side effects!

Here's a link you may be interested in. You can see that the cases of loose stools jumps from 22% of people age 50 -59 and jumps to 65% of people age 60+. The problem here, other than the discomfort, is that loose stools are caused by rapid transit of food... which means reduced contact time of your food with the villi that absorb nutrients from that food.
www.ehealthme.com/ds/lovastatin/diarrhea

: )
Mzzchief

Edited by: MZZCHIEF at: 5/17/2012 (18:47)

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5/17/12 8:39 A

So how would I travel with a compound I have to mix?

I have trouble remembering to take the Lovastatin, my doctor suggested taking it in the morning, having problems with loose bowels, pharmacist urged me to go back to the evening and just remember to take it! He said that the body processes it better at night because that is when it is used. Stomach problem may not be related to the meds but i sure have been uncomfortable for several days now.

Jane

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5/17/12 12:11 A

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5/16/12 11:26 P

Be nice if they would put it in a pill then! I have that problem with high LDL, despite getting TSH down. It finally came into normal with addition of Cytomel to Snythroid, but TSH went down to .22 and I went hyper, with palpitations. Now only on Synthroid and up to 1.38, but still having periods of palps during the day, then some days none. I have Hashi's, so I think I am fluctuating but my doc wants me to see the PCP. So I go tomorrow and hopefully will get cleared to go on my scheduled trip out of the country Friday! I think it is just very gradually clearing, never had problems like this before.

Posts: 7,821
5/16/12 11:15 P

and fly in the face of conventional "wisdom".....switch your fats to coconut oil and butter. Worked for me!

Edited by: PURRBALLS at: 5/16/2012 (23:17)

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5/16/12 11:07 P

Been doing some research on silica as a beneficial and often overlooked nutrient for proper formation of collagen, skin, hair and nails. While doing this research, I ran into this pub med abstract that supports food grade diatomaceous earth as a possible solution to high cholesterol. Higher than normal cholesterol is a hallmark of thyroid disease, and often persists despite a return to a euthyroid stated via thyroid hormone replacement.

So if you are still having problems with high cholesterol... eating right and exercising, Diatomaceous Earth (DE)may be something you can try.

DE is made of exactly what it sounds like its made of, diatoms. Specifically their silica skeletons, which are a thing of beauty, looking like some design concepts from the 1950s. Diatoms, for the uninitiated, are microscopic single cell organisms that are on the lowest rung of the oceanic food chain....phytoplankton. Additionally they play a critical role in the carbon cycle of the ocean and are also found in fresh water and even soil samples.

DE is also ridiculously cheap.
It does have one downside, though. You've got be be very careful not to breathe any of the dust into your lungs, when you're mixing it up. And to get food grade DE.

Here's the pub med abstract that got me excited:


www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9533930

Its available on the internet, but the postage for 10 pounds of the stuff is often as much as the DE itself. So it may be cost effective if you look for a local source in your health or feed store.


Good health to all!
: )
Mzzchief

current weight: 143.0

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