Janie's Story

My Progress - Multiple Sclerosis
By Janie McDowell
Beaumont, Texas, USA

May 29, 2002

I am a 56-year-old housewife who was diagnosed with MS in January 1985, at the age of 39. My symptoms varied and fluctuated over the years but included hand tremors, balancing problems, trouble walking, legs felt very heavy, knees buckling, frequent falling, leg muscle spasms, loss of appetite, recurring nausea, severe constipation, incontinence--both bladder and bowel, chronic bladder and kidney infections, chronic fatigue, pain in hands, stinging and burning/electric shock sensation in my feet and legs, severe depression, mood swings, temporary partial paralysis in legs, short term memory loss, loss of concentration, confusion, slurred speech, difficulty in making even simple decisions.

My treatments included countless prescription medications, IV steroids (methylprednisolone), chemotherapy (cytoxan), a daily preventative dose of antibiotics for the urinary tract infections, and anti-nausea medication to enable me to eat something because I could not take my other medications on an empty stomach. For over 9 years I followed medical doctors' advice and only continued to get worse. My neuro had told me that the chemo would make my exacerbations less severe and fewer and farther between. It took me a few years to realize that this was not the case.

We had seen the 60 Minutes report about the dangers of mercury poisoning from mercury amalgam (silver) dental fillings that aired in December 1990 and the possibility of a link between mercury poisoning and chronic degenerative diseases. We started checking into that possibility and bought a copy of the book It's All In Your Head by Dr. Hal Huggins. It sounded pretty far-fetched to us and pretty unbelievable. So we asked my neurologist and dentist about it. They both laughed and told us that it was a scam and said there was nothing to it. Both of them said that amalgam removal would be a waste of time and money. We asked my neurologist if nutrition would help. He said, "It probably wouldn't help, but it wouldn't hurt. So try it if you want to."

We continued listening to the doctors for four more years. Then finally my neurologist told me he had done all he could do for me and for me to go home, rest and if I got worse, call him. We were not satisfied with that suggestion! Duncan felt there must be SOMETHING we could do. He began countless hours of research on the Internet checking into alternative medicine.

In April 1994 I went to a chiropractor/nutritionist who started me on juicing fresh organic fruits and vegetables and taking herbal colon cleansers. My nausea cleared up and my appetite began to improve in less than a week. I no longer needed my daily anti-nausea medication. My constipation of six years was gone in less than two weeks. My then-current neurologist had been telling me "Constipation is just part of MS. Learn to live with it and take a laxative of your choice." Well, I learned I didn't have to live with it. When my appetite came back, my strength soon began to improve.

When we asked my nutritionist about amalgams, he immediately said that it would be necessary to get them out in order to totally detoxify my body. This was further reinforced by an organization named DAMS (Dental Amalgam Mercury Syndrome.) They published a book Defense Against Mystery Syndromes: Revealing the Mystery of "Silver" Fillings with many first-hand personal stories about different degenerative diseases that were cured or greatly improved by removal of dental mercury amalgam fillings.

We searched the web and found an incredible amount of information on amalgams. Since I had 15 fillings, we decided to have them replaced. We weren't sure amalgam removal would work, but I was desperate and felt I had to give it a try. I knew that if I didn't try it, it surely would not work. I had my amalgams replaced with non-toxic composites in November 1994.

At first I was disappointed and depressed because there was no immediate change, except for the fact that I was able to gradually taper off taking all of my prescription medications in December 1994. I did not notice any bad effects from doing so. Prior to this I had tried to cut down on my medications, but was unable to.

As recommended by Dr. Huggins, after amalgam removal I began EDTA IV chelation treatments to remove the mercury poison that had accumulated in my body over the years. He had explained how mercury vapor is released from the amalgams as you chew food or gum and drink hot beverages and that it accumulates in your cells, tissues and organs. Not feeling any different after five chelation treatments, we decided not to continue with them. We didn't realize at that time just how significant they could be. In the meantime I kept on juicing and watching my diet.

The change was so slow and gradual that we didn't notice it was happening for a while. Then about 6 or 8 months after amalgam removal we started noticing subtle improvements. Looking back, we realized that my knees had quit buckling. I quit falling and was soon able to walk some without holding on to anything. Then we noticed that the tremors, slurred speech had gone, and short-term memory loss was improving. Prior to amalgam removal I was having bladder infections almost continuously. I've had only one bladder infection in the past 8 years and I was able to cure it without antibiotics. My immune system was beginning to work again! I used CranActin capsules made from cranberry juice concentrate, which are available at the health food store, and I added lots of cranberries in my juices. I have more energy and no longer need to take daily naps. When I realized what was happening, we both got very excited and happy. With the arrival of new hope for recovery, I lost my depression and started being happy and smiling again for the first time in years.

In trying to get even better, I began the Gerson Therapy at home in February 1996. This is an intensive nutrition and detoxification treatment for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other chronic degenerative diseases, including MS. It consists of flooding your body with pure nutrition and live enzymes (building blocks to help the body assimilate the nutrients). It recommends drinking up to thirteen 8-oz glasses of fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices hourly each day, and eating organic fruits and vegetables, and detoxifying your body with daily coffee enemas to cleanse the colon of all the years of accumulated toxins.

On this program, you eat only fresh organic fruits and vegetables, nothing from a can, box, or jar. You eat nothing with preservatives, sugar, salt, white flour, or anything that has had insecticide on it. One drinks only purified water - no chlorine or fluoride is allowed. No insecticides are to be used inside the house. When needed, use a fly swatter. As many toxins as possible are to be eliminated, including hair coloring, makeup, hair spray and perfume. The human body has the ability to heal itself if it is detoxified and fed the right nutrients (live enzymes) for fuel. It's a shame that what we were taught as kids to be "good nutrition" really isn't. Also, you should not cook in Teflon-coated or aluminum cookware. Aluminum is to be strictly avoided, including alum, baking powder and deodorants made with aluminum.

Nine months after being on the Gerson Therapy, I began taking more chelation treatments again until I had a total of 26. Since amalgam removal, chelation and change in diet, ALL my symptoms are either GONE or IMPROVED! I continue to improve. In the summer of 1997 I even got my driver's license after not driving for 9 years. I still have problems. My stinging and burning/electric shock sensation in my feet and legs, although more tolerable now, is still with me. However, it doesn't "put me under" like it used to. I still ride my electric scooter around the house, but less than half as much now as I did eight years ago. I can walk farther from my scooter now, but the more I walk the more my legs hurt. The pain is my worst problem now, although it is nothing like it used to be. At its worst now it is far better than it used to be at its best!

Four years before we were ready to listen, a friend of ours had tried to tell us about the dangers of amalgams. It took me that much longer of going downhill and getting worse before Duncan and I gave up on the medical profession and began listening to our friend. He had been through amalgam removal, chelation and the Gerson Therapy himself and had cured his Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

For the past 8 years since trying alternative healing methods I have continued to get better: including shopping for groceries on my own for almost 5 years now; once again balancing the checkbook, which I had to give up for a while due to my cognitive problems; doing light house cleaning; not only being able to type with all ten fingers again, but regaining my 80+ wpm speed.

I am so glad we finally decided to stop listening to my neurologist. I only wish we had done this sooner. I truly believe I would not have gotten as bad as I did and would have recovered 100% by now.

Last summer we learned from an email friend about an excellent book Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment by Andrew Cutler. He explains that EDTA IV chelation does not cross the blood brain barrier and DMSA and Alpha Lipoic Acid are needed to pull mercury out of the brain. So we are trying that now. I highly recommend that you get this book and read it for yourself. I'm not saying that mercury causes MS, but it definitely is an added load on an already weakened immune system.

We are doing other things to get even more improvement:


I don't jump, but I do what they refer to as the "health bounce". This gets the lymphatic system moving in order to release toxins. I keep my feet flat on the mat and just bounce about 20-40 bounces. I only last about 30 seconds each time. I know my lymph system needs for me to bounce longer, but I do what I can. Since we weren't sure I could do it at all Dunc bought an inexpensive one at first. My legs get very tired and my pain increases somewhat, but I DO IT!!!! I had done water therapy for a couple of years, which consisted mostly of walking in a swimming pool at a Rehab Center. I was not thrilled about the chlorinated water, but I think it did me some good. That's the first exercise I had been able to do since 1984!

We have been using a shower filter for many years now. It removes chlorine from the water.

I've taken several treatments on the PAP-IMI machine. It's an electrotherapeutic device. See http://www.papimi.com that is supposed to help with pain management. I think it has helped some.

I also had a phone consultation and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) with Kallie Miller. See http://www.4optimallife.com/Emotional-Freedom-Therapy-For-Phobias-Depression-Anxiety.htm. It surprised me how much this helped. I am continuing to experience relief even using these techniques on my own.

We're doing all these things and a few other things. We are getting pretty aggressive at fighting MS. It must be working because I've been feeling good, especially the last month or so. I continue to be able to walk farther and farther! When we go out to eat, I usually walk in provided it's a small restaurant and not too far to walk. It makes my legs hurt and it makes me tired, but I DO IT! I can't say specifically which of these things have helped the most because I'm trying so many different things at once. I think all of them together are doing some good. My pain has gotten less intense; and when it does get intense, it doesn't stay that way as long as it used to. Dunc mentioned the other day that he used to push me in the wheelchair and now he's pushing me OUT of the wheelchair!

Heavy detox and nutrition were the basis for my improvements. Any one of these things that I have done is good, but I believe it takes a combination of a lot of things to get the results that I have gotten. I would not have been able to do it without Duncan's help and support. He has definitely been a godsend to me, and I count him at the top of my list of blessings!

There are some people (my previous neuro being one, whom by the way I have not seen since May 1993!!!) who say that I just had a spontaneous remission, that nothing I've done has made any difference. You won't get me to believe that for a minute! There is nothing spontaneous about my improvements. It has been hard work, but well worth the time, effort and expense. Some people will say that I have no scientific evidence that any of this worked. I personally don't need that. I'm living proof that it works! Also medical insurance does not cover any of these alternatives. That's ok. I'd rather have the improvements than the reimbursements!

Once I became convinced that my progress was greatly due to amalgam removal, I wanted Dunc to get his amalgams out. At first he didn't want to do that because it was so expensive and besides he "wasn't sick". As I continue to improve, I finally convinced him to get his out before his immune system crashed like mine did. Once he did it, his allergies and hay fever cleared up. No one can say he had a spontaneous remission!

Please forgive me for such a long post. There was a time when I could not complete a sentence without losing my train of thought. Now, as you can see, you can't shut me up!

Blessings and good health to you all,

Janie McDowell
Beaumont, Texas




Janie's Success Story
By Duncan McDowel
Wed Sep 18, 2002

My wife was diagnosed with Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis over 15 years ago. I took her to the best MS specialists in Houston for treatment for about 10 years. Eventually the neurologists told us, in essence, that they had done all they could for her, but her case was hopeless and there was no need to come back. They had done all they could for her, go home and wait to die. She almost did.

After that, around 1994, we decided to try alternatives and holistic therapies. She eventually wound up on the Gerson Therapy, which consists of heavy detoxification and nutritional therapy. This consists of making a glass of fresh organic juice and drinking it every hour on the hour, for 8 - 12 glasses per day. No other food except things like vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids such as flax seed oil, etc. and purified water. The detox consisted of colon cleanses, kidney cleanses, liver cleanses, coffee enemas, removal of "silver" dental fillings (poisonous mercury amalgam fillings) and chelation to remove the mercury from the body. Also, removal of root canal teeth and repair of cavitations were part of the dental cleanup.

We also got Hulda Clark's book, Cure For All Diseases and tried to do everything she recommends the best we could, including building the zapper and using it, treatment for parasites, etc. She has also been treated with IV hydrogen peroxide, hyperbaric oxygen, and a few other things.

Janie has now recovered her health to about 90% of normal. All of her symptoms are either gone or improved now. To look at her you can't tell she has ever been sick. However she still has a few problems we need help with.

The biggest problem is a stinging and burning pain in the feet and legs, along with an electric shock stinging and vibrating sensation, such as when you hit your funny bone on your elbow. We have been to several MD type doctors and three alternative or homeopathic doctors with no help. She has been treated for the pain in many ways, all were a waste of time and money, except maybe the PAP IMI machine (pulsed magnetic therapy, similar to the Thumpy machine). She just started using it last week and it seems to have helped some, but too early to tell yet, as far as long term relief.



More advice by Duncan:

I think the basic approach to treating MS is half nutritional and half detoxing. Many other people who post on the MSCured Yahoo Group have had good luck with dietary changes. Janie and I now try to eat organic produce as much as possible, either raw or steamed, and limit our consumption of meat. We eat little or no sugar, fried foods, coffee, soft drinks, dairy products or junk food. Good places to start are the Best Bet Diet, books: Eat Right For Your Type and Enter The Zone and Sugar Busters. Also see Foods That Heal - Foods That Kill at www.curezone.com. The book we have used till we wore it out is Dr. Hulda Clark's Cure For All Diseases.

The other thing that causes diseases is parasites. Everyone with a degenerative disease should follow Hulda Clark's program to rid themselves of parasites, whether they think they have them or not. I have spoken with several people who were tested for parasites in the doctor's office and it came back negative, then they did a parasite cleanse anyway and saw obvious results of dead parasites coming out. You can find out about parasites and the treatment at www.curezone.com also.

What made it all work for Janie was that she stayed with the program very strictly for years and never cheated on the bland diet, and she did all the necessary things no matter how unpleasent they were, such as drinking bitter juices or parasite remedies or taking coffee enemas. I think there are very few people who will do so many unpleasant things for so long. Most people are unwilling to even change their diet. And many people won't try anything that their doctor doesn't tell them to do. And we all know how traditional doctors feel about alternative therapies.

I think the most actual improvements that anyone with MS can achieve is with nutritional changes and detoxing that they do themselves at home, not by using pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by neurologists. Treating the whole body from the inside out is the best way to attack any degenerative disease.

I found a good website that I haven't seen before that addresses this very issue of treating MS with nutritional changes and supports research to prove it. Have a look at www.direct-ms.org/info.html.

Treating and masking one symptom at a time is a waste of effort, as far as long term healing is concerned. Giving someone aspirins for recurring headaches does nothing to cure the cause and solve the real problem. And this is the approach that most doctors seem to take. When we asked our neurologist about a MS diet he said, "Do whatever you want to as far as diet, it won't make any difference."



I wrote to Duncan and Janie McDowell to ask permission to place her story on my website after I had seen it on a support group online. This is the reply I received from Duncan. (Marie Flowers)

April 8, 2003

Hi Marie,

Thanks for your nice note.

You may feel free to use Janie's story in any way that will help. It has already been used by Dr. Hulda Clark on her website, DaveQ on his website (which is now defunct), the Gerson Therapy website, and published in the "MS One-to-One" newsletter. Also, it used to be on our website, which is down now. Many people have called her and emailed her to discuss what they could do to heal their MS and other chronic degenerative diseases by the same method that she used. I think almost all of them were unwilling to give up salt, sugar, fried foods, coffee, cigarettes, carbonated drinks, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, etc., like she did. For some reason, they will not give up burgers and fries and other junk food just to cure a disease. Some of them say they will give it a try, but I don't think they stay with it long enough to do any good. Most people want a quick fix, and natural healing takes time and perseverance.

Janie did this program very strickly with absolutely no cheating for about 3 years. The nutrition and detox program included 4 coffee enemas a day for a while, then tapered off to one a day, then 2 a week, then none as her condition improved. The results were almost unbelievable, but unquestionable. But many people have said that would rather stay sick than take an enema.

I think anyone with MS that reads Janie's story can gain some HOPE in their hopeless and depression filled life. It has inspired many people and is a completely true story. Janie was inspired to try it from reading a book by Jaquie Davison, a cancer survivor who used the Gerson therapy of nutrition and detox to cure Melanoma after she was given 3 months to live.

We, too, have referred many people to holistic type dentists and ACAM doctors for chelation, and other health care practitioners.

Feel free to use whatever you want that Janie and I have written.

When we read up on the dangers of mercury poisoning from dental fillings we were misled to think that after the fillings were removed she would be cured within a few hours or days. No mention of chelation or details of mercury detox were ever discussed with us. A close personal friend with an uncle who is a naturopath told us about that. If not for him she would still be sick. (Janie remembers that Dr. Hal Huggins did tell her that she had to detox after removing amalgam. Husbands and wives never agree 100% on a story. Editor's comment.) I have caught flack from other people on some support groups who say that they had their fillings replaced but are still sick. I always ask what detox they did and they either don't reply or say they did nothing and the whole thing is a waste of money. They say they were scammed and got their hopes up for nothing and are still sick. Most of them are now bitter. I always try to get them to do some detox, but they send me an angry reply. Many people hear that replacing their mercury fillings will solve all their problems, but no mention is made of detox.

For mercury detox, we have tried many things, and DMSA is far and away the best, in my opinion. Next would be EDTA chelation, then sweating (sauna, etc.). I'm sure you are familiar with this, but many others may not be.

Thanks again,
Duncan



Dr. Joseph Mercola also states on his site (www.mercola.com) that persons with neurological disease such as MS should remove mercury fillings and must change their diets to achieve success in treating difficult diseases. Dr. Mercola has a very strict food plan on his website.

When I talked to the dentist who poisoned me about people with MS removing amalgam fillings he told me that he had several patients remove amalgam and it did them no good. Now I need to ask my former dentist, "Did they go to you or another general dentist and have him expose them to more mercury vapor while removing their fillings? Did they detox to get the mercury out of their brains? Did they watch their diets and give their bodies a change to recover from years of toxic exposure from your profession?" One day I will invite the dentist who poisoned me to read my website. (Marie Flowers)





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This information is provided for educational purposes only, and does not replace a personal consultation with the health care professional of your choice.