Sleeping Blues

I have been able to keep off pain killers for during daytime for almost a week now but somehow when evening approaches, I do feel a little more painful around the back area. As a result, I have been taking Ultracet (which contains 37.5mg of tramadol HCI and 325mg of paracetamol tablets) to manage my pains in the evenings. Of late, I also noticed that I have been having some breathing difficulties in the evening. The breathing slows down as if I just did a short run. Because of this shortness of breath, I also had trouble sleeping. Somehow by about 3am-4am, my breathing would revert back to normal and it's also around this time I managed to fall asleep. I was wondering if this was due to the tumors in my lungs?

I have been reading about my lumbar spine/right leg problem and I think I have sciatica, which refers to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg. It is caused by injury to or pressure on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is a symptom of another medical problem, not a medical condition on its own. Because the healing pain of the HIFU treatment and sciatica are both on the right side, sometimes, I can't tell which of the two problems are giving me more pain or maybe both of them are jointly giving me the pain. Anyway, while I was reading about the drug Ultracet which I am now taking one tablet at night, I found out that one of the side effects is breathing difficulties besides physical/psychological dependence and a severe withdrawal syndrome. I now understand why I am suffering shortness of breath only at night and why my breathing becomes normal back at around 3am. This is because the effects of the drug wears off by that time. So tonight will be the last time I will take Ultracet. To manage the pain, I would probably take paracetamol or some others instead and see if my breathing improves at night.

I have been thinking of getting another opinion on my lumbar spine problem in respect of treatment options. My existing orthopedic surgeon said if physiotherapy does not help, then the only option left is surgery.

Hoping The Best

The last few days, I was having sleeping problems. During the day time, I spent much of my time resting by lying down in the bed and in the process, I dosed off. By the time night comes, I had sufficient sleep during daytime and therefore could not sleep at night. I am now adjusting my routine by trying not to sleep after 3pm. I would still lie down but for shorter period of time like 15 to 30 minutes max. I need to lie down to help my ease the strain on my back after sitting for too long. This morning, I spent my whole morning sleeping to catch up.

At present, there are three problematic areas for me. The first is my L4/L5 lumbar spine problem that has affected my right leg and giving me a lot of pain. The second is the healing pain from the HIFU treatment. This pain is bearable and not as bad when compared to my first problem. The third problem area is my on/off fever feeling. I don't think I will register a fever temperature when I use the thermometer but I do feel feverish/cold at times. I continued to sweat a lot, so much so I have to change a few t-shirts a day. One problem area that I have excluded is my coughing because it is not causing me that much pain anymore.

The last few days, my healing pain has improved. Touch wood! Every time, I reported some improvement, then the next day the problem came back. Anyway,  I hope for the best and also be less dependent on pain killers.

Learning To Cope With Pain

I have been updating my blog a little late these days. This is because during daytime when I am not taking any pain killer, I feel like a zombie, half dead. I am experiencing a different level of pain since I underwent the HIFU treatment. I have not done any surgery, large or small in my life, so I am learning to deal with the healing pain. Most of the nights, I take a pain killer (normally after 10pm) because without the pain, I would sleep much better. It is also during this time, I feel much alive without much pain and also take the opportunity to update my blog.

Sometime back, I have reported about being seized by constant fever. Well, that fever has not left me and still comes back every now and then. Of late though, I have been having better days. Nowdays I feeling discomfort from the constant wind that blows from my home fan against the skin of my pair of hands and legs. Without the fan, it will be too hot and I will be sweating. So I tend to wear long sleeve t-shirts and track bottom during the day. It seems strange how weak I have become of late.

This evening, I attend my first Chinese New Year gathering at my friend's house which is just two blocks away from my house. I thought I would stay longer and chat with some friends that I have not met for a while but I was not feeling very good and was also feeling some pain at my abdominal area. Some of my friends that I have not met for a while commented that I have grown thinner. Anyway, I managed to stay for about a hour before I had to cut short my stay.

Gaining In Strength

As I said earlier, I have been experiencing healing pains. By healing pain, it does not mean I experience pain all the time. The pain comes and goes. Sometimes for hours, I don't feel any pain but at other times, the pain comes for about 10-20 seconds and then goes away only to come back again immediately, a few minutes later or a few hours later. Each time, the pain only last for a few seconds but it can be painful and uncomfortable. My doctors in China has warned me that they can't predict how long the healing pain will be there. They said because of my large kidney tumor, it is expected that recovery will take a longer time. Most of the time, I do not take any pain killers but if the pain comes in regular frequency, I would take a tablet and the pain would go away. So, I am not taking it on need basis, mostly at night so that the pain if it comes, does not disturb my sleep.

This Chinese New Year, I have been inactive, spending most of my time at home resting. This is because I still can't walk that well though the pain on my right leg is improving. I still have not regain the strength of my right leg to drive. I believe the pain is somehow connected to my kidney tumor. Now that my right kidney tumor is mostly gone, I can feel less pain on my right leg.

Since I came back from China, I have embarked on a modified vegetarian diet plus steamed fish to help in my healing and also to gain back some weight. This plan is going on fine as I noticed I have started  to gain back some weight and and my energy levels have improved slightly. I hope to stay on this diet till end of February 2012 after which I will revert back to the Gerson Therapy.

Organic Germanium Supplement
At the recommendation of my nautropathic physician, I have started to take 400mgs of organic Germanium-132 (Ge-132) daily since yesterday.

In its inorganic form, the trace mineral germanium is used in the electronics industry as a semiconductor, and has no nutritional or therapeutic benefits. However, in its organic form, germanium is being hailed as one of the greatest new developments in the nutritional treatment of cancer.

Organic germanium is a biological-response modifier. Biological-response modifiers are substances that can enable the body to change its response to tumors, resulting in therapeutic benefits. Germanium does not directly attack cancer cells. Instead, it seems to stimulate the body's immune system, making it potentially effective in the treatment of cancer as well as other degenerative diseases.

In its organic form, each atom of germanium is bonded to three atoms of oxygen, making it an efficient carrier of oxygen. According to Dr. Stephen A. Levine, organic germanium seems to be able to partially substitute for or supplement oxygenation in living tissues. Thus, Ge-132's ability to improve the efficiency of oxygen utilization at the cellular level could be of significant benefit.

Ge-132 normalizes and enhances many functions of the immune system. Several studies have reported orally administereredid Ge-132's ability to increase NK cell activity. Ge-132's ability to increase the activity of other white blood cells is also well documented.

A study published in the Journal of Interferon Research concluded that "Organic germanium restores the normal function of T-cells, B-lymphocytes, natural killer cell activity, and the numbers of antibody-forming cells.... Organic germanium has unique physiological activities without any significant side effects."

In his book on germanium, Dr. Asai (who succeeded in synthesizing Ge-123 in 1967) reports that his clinic has successfully treated an impressive range of ailments with Ge-132, including some types of depression, arthritis, vision problems, elevated blood pressure, heavy metal poisoning, and cancer.

It's quite difficult to get organic Ge-132 in Malaysia and even if you managed to get it, the price is ridiculously high. For the price of one bottle (60 capsules of 100mg each) in Malaysia, you can but 4 bottles online from USA and still have a couple of bucks to spare even after paying shipping and 5% import tax. My shipment arrived from USA on the 4th day after I ordered.

New Year Blues

I have not been updating my blog for the past few days, just prior to Chinese New Year. Not that I am busy but rather, I was 'stuck' with some healing pains because I did not take any pain killers. I have been feeling the healing pain daily though I tried to ignore the pain as much as I can. I spent most of my time resting, lying down in bed or sitting on the chair. Where possible, I do try and do some walking around the little garden for some light exercises. But for the Chinese New Year, I decided to take the pain killer tablets, two a day, one on the day time and one at night so that I can have a more comfortable New Year.

Today, I woke up feeling not too well. My head was spinning a little bit and this went on for the whole day. Despite taking naps during the day, my condition did not improve. I also noticed that my left leg has been feeling a little bit cold and also sweating at the same time. My right leg was not affected. Rubbing it with some medicated oil helps for a while but soon the condition came back. I got no idea what's going on. What I did was just keep on massaging my left leg as much as I can.

This feeling of feverish in me still lingers on. Sometimes, I feel good and at other times, the feverish feeling would take over. When I feel cold, I would wear more clothing. Then I would sweat. This also made feel uncomfortable.

Happy Chinese New Year!

I would like to wish all my friends, readers and also  people who celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Like A Yo-Yo

I have been back from China for two weeks now. Three days after coming back from China, I started to feel feverish and ever since, I have been feeling feverish on some days and then normal for a day before feeling feverish again. I am feeling much better now even though I am still afraid of the cold (from the wind blowing from the home fan) even at 32°C! Without the fan, I will sweat profusely. How ironic? This morning at about 4.30am, it started to rain. Suddenly I felt very cold on both my feet and hands as if cold air are constantly blowing on the skin of my feet and hands. I have been using some hot medicated oil to rub on my feet.

I have also been phasing out pain killers preferring to take a little healing pain from the abdominal area. Since yesterday, I have stopped taking any pain killer tablet, which I normally take one tablet at night so that the pain would not disturb my sleep. It's improving a little by the day and I guess it would take at least two months before I would be able to feel normal like just before the HIFU treatment. The pain on my right leg is also improving slowly but I have not recovered to the level just before I went to China. Tomorrow, I hope to try driving around the neighborhood to gauge if I am able to drive short distances.

Since I went China for the HIFU treatment, I have suspended Gerson Therapy (GT) and when I came back, I still have not resumed GT. In the meantime, I have been on a modified diet of vegetables and taking a little fish. I have lost a lot of weight (60kgs) while in China and now I hope to gain back some weight to about 63kgs. When that happens, I will resume back GT. Meanwhile, I am also adding back a therapy that I suspended for over 1 year ago. I will be resuming homeopathy treatment but under the supervision of a local homeopathy practitioner who also happens to be my friend. Another treatment that I am considering doing will be DCA which I have written before and  you can read it here. I consulted a nautropathic physician and he has suggested the recommended dosage of 8mg per day, taken twice a day, 8 hours apart with Purer tea. I am now timing when to start this therapy but it will depend on the progress of my HIFU treatment recovery. A patient will either respond to DCA or not. It's one of the cheapest cancer therapy. Another supplement that I will taking is Germanium.