By Jeann? McCartin September 22, 2011 2:00 AM

There were four ladies at game night, all sniffling. nothing contagious of course. It’s fall after all “and the pollen count is high.”

“I am simply miserable this year,” says Nicci. “The headache is the worst.”

J.Anne suggested an herbal remedy she was using, Nettle and Quercetion. She wasn’t symptom free, but definitely improved over past years.

I was giving the herbal route a go myself. Like J.Anne, I wasn’t reduced to the horrid flu-like symptoms of earlier seasons — a major improvement. I’d been getting increasingly worse, fall 2010 and spring of this year debilitating at times.

With the exception of Nicci, who has struggled lifelong with upper respiratory issues, that was true for all of us — things were getting worse. I was hearing it regularly from others; they’d developed allergies later in their 20s, 40s and older. Today they were not only affected, but for weeks or months dealt with exhaustion and flu-like symptoms.

Maureen was just miserable. She’d tried over-the-counter meds and found they exacerbated some symptoms and came with a few of their own.

“I can’t take it anymore,” she says, as she closed her bloodshot eyes and placed her achy head on the table. “Jeann??” comes her muffled, nasally voice, “There’s some local doctor that is supposed to have a ‘magic bullet.’ before I go to extreme measures please track him down. find out his secret. I’m desperate.” We all knew she, (along with others), was woefully underinsured; it was a tough spot.

All Maureen had to go on was the doc wrote books that had something to do with blood. That of course, led me to Naturopathic Doctor James L. D’Adamo, of Portsmouth, who, as it happens, was more than happy to share his “magic bullet,” which of course was not one at all. no pill. no salve. no chant. It’s lifestyle choices, says D’Adamo.

“Generally speaking, because of a great amount of toxicity in the body we become allergic to things we can normally process,” he says. Things that “were good are now bad,” he adds.

His first suggestion — and main point — is to look at the food you eat. Dump refined carbohydrates and sugars, “like cakes, candy and soda first.” but there’s more. Lots more, yet all of one thing and simple at that.

Much of the American diet is composed of meat and potatoes. It’s generally light on greens, which help cleanse a body, he notes. much of our food is produced with chemicals, which remain in the product. Meats for example are often laced with antibiotics, pesticide and other chemicals. Antibiotics are found in farmed fish and pesticides and chemicals in veggies and fruit.

“American foods are unhealthy,” he adds. “We’re twenty-second in the world for unclean foods.”

Food should be clean and support not tax a body. Add the food chemicals to others in our environment and the body is overloaded before pollen hits the air. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that as food and the environment chemicals increase more of us develop allergies later in life.

D’Adamo pulls out another example. at least one sugar substitutes is made with formaldehyde. “Imagine that going through your system.”

Organic foods are best and today readily available; “So, it’s easier to do this now.”

After addressing food issues, pay attention to the body’s elimination system. If your bowels and kidneys are not functioning correctly there’s lots of morbid matter in the body, “and so good becomes bad. It’s important to make sure that it is working properly.”

“And,” he adds, “a lot of people suffer from (allergies) because of a lack of water. Drinking a lot of water is a very good thing.”

D’Adamo returns to the topic of refined foods. Their chemicals create toxicity in the body, he says. Then circling around to tie it all together, “So the key is removing as much waste from the body as we can and drinking as much water as we can.”

A few foods should be avoided when dealing with allergies, if not permanently. Wheat, which can exacerbate allergies, is one.

“Most people says wheat is good for B-complex. but for most people it’s 80 percent of the wrong acid for the digestive system — it proliferates in the muscle and joints and causes aches and pains and is then interpreted as arthritis.”

Choose wheat-free grains and start reading labels for hidden wheat, he suggests.

He also recommends A and O blood-types cut out animal milk and cheese, “it can cause mucous conditions in the body.” Again, go for soy, almond and other “dairies,” and again read labels for hidden ingredients.

D’Adamo does suggest a few supplements to help with respiratory allergies: Vitamin C and Echinacea and Vitamin A/Cod Liver Oil. “They’re very good for the respiratory system. …; And a good B-complex is always beneficial to strengthen the body,” he says. “You want to boost the immune system.”

The silver bullet? clean. our bodies are struggling with chemicals, preservatives, antibiotics and pesticides in addition to an onslaught of environmental chemicals; makes it hard to tackle the additional pollen onslaught.

“Once you clean it out the allergies are better. The next year they’re less and by the third year they’re gone. it all has to do with how much poison you have in your body.”

“We often look to the physician to cure us. but in truth the most precious thing we have is our health.” Many illnesses that plague us are not caused by viruses, such as cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. We don’t ‘catch’ them, says D’Adamo, they’re food and stress related. The individual can do a lot to foster a strong, healthy, resistant system.

“You need to be more responsible, turn back to nature,” he says. “Your health is everything.”

***********************

House Detective Jeann? McCartin may be reached at .

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My dog was exposed to kennel cough. I took him to the vet and he has been on meds. for 7 days. still not eating or playing the way he did. I am concerned.

I would give it another week and if he is still coughing go back to the vet. he may need a stronger antibiotic. the reason I say this is that I had a pup that contracted a nasty form of kennel cough that did not respond to the first four antibiotics we gave her. she didn't want to eat much or play. the vet. put her on the second strongest antibiotic (erythomyacin-excuse spelling) on the list in fact I had to get it at the pharmacy because vets' don't keep it on hand. she started to get a little better but it still took two rounds of the antibiotic to get her well. I know there was some lung damage because she will cough a little in the winter months but is fine in the summer. one round of meds. may not be enough.

We have a labrador and she has had kennel cough twice, about a year apart each time.

She was sick for about 2 weeks from start to finish so give it until that sort of time frame before you start to worry. As long as he is on the medication he will come good again.

While he is sick don't let him exhaust himself so keep him quiet and well rested. When he is starting to feel better he will run around again on his own. then you know he's on the mend.

She is in hospice, was not expected to live more than 6 mos. that was two years ago. at that time they took her off all meds including the synthroid. she is doing pretty well now, but does have symptoms of hypothyroidism. should she be put back on now?

What were some of your symptoms?

My odd symptoms started a few days after implantation (way before I even knew I was pregnant). I would wake up in the middle of the night very nauseous and extremely thirsty. I had a lot of backaches, cramps & breast tenderness too, but it didn't seem any different than my regular PMS. I also noticed that I started to out eat my husband at dinner, haha. for me, the oddest thing was defiantly my extreme thirst .. that's what sticks out the most to me and the reason I tested!

i was about 7 weeks when i started with the morning sickness and being really emotional and sleepy. it really depends on the person and some times ppl have almost no symptoms and others get them so badly they have to have meds to stop the nausea and vomiting. so it just depends on you

My symptoms started at about 6 weeks. they were:

Extremely thirsty (that started at 3-4 weeks)
Shortness of breath
Sore boobs
Morning sickness
sleepiness (that started at 3-4 weeks)
Dark Nipples

At three weeks with both of my pregnancies.
I had extreme fatigue (sleep 8 hours, but up for 1 hour and sleep for 4 hours!), nausea, sore breasts and very emotional.

I am going to take him to vet, but wondering what this might be? The weather is horrible windy and wet but he will be an inside dog. he was neutered 4 days ago.

Upper respiratory infections are common after anesthetic on shelter animals. Stress, poor nutrition, etc. don't make for the healthiest animals and then they have the stress of surgery. and of course kennel cough is almost a guarantee in shelters. The good news is that both of these are usually self limiting. in extreme cases they can be problematic but most of the time you just need to keep the pup isolated (don't want to give it to another dog) and quiet. Vet will probably put it on antibiotics or other meds as a precaution but usually time and supportive care is all that is needed. enjoy your new friend!!!

I'm desperate, nothing seems to work. Didn't wanna turn to alcohol again but my shyness/social anxiety is ruining my life. Before you say, yes I'm on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, and yes I'm in therapy.

It never worked for me :/ i wouldn't recommend alcohol to solve any of your problems b/c it will just cause more

Alcohol reduces your inhibition, i.e. it allows you to do things you normally wouldn't think of doing. there are other drugs which do this, but most of them are worse than alcohol.

I think long-term therapy is really the healthiest way of overcoming it. It's hard, and it will take very long, but it's better than getting hooked on drugs or doing nothing.

yes, to be sociable. But not to turn into an alcoholic. And they do not mix with drugs. just say no to drugs. I would chose the alcohol.

only if your drunk enough

dont drink booze while on those meds. So if your are in therapy why don't you ask the therapist your question

no, alcohol is never the answer. the best thing to do is just try to move on with life. the thing u lost, u should try to replace the thing u lost

definately not the only way, and if your currently taking any meds i would suggest to not mix the two, instead try to find something else. sorry if im not much help

When I have an allergy attack I take an anti-histamine, but that takes 30 minutes to kick in. is there a way to make this 30 minutes more bearable?

not good idea to mix anything with your meds.

For some people, 1000 mg. of vitamin C really helps.

I cannot afford my Crohns medication and need some help finding natural or less expensive remedies.

Well I'm not sure about where you're at, but here ( and my doctor) offer the less expensive versions of medication.
I don't have Chron's, but I have IBS and I know it must be frustrating with all the expenses of meds and stuff like that.
I did find a website that might be able to direct you in the right direction to finding different ways of controlling your chron's.
crohns-disease-and-stress.com…

I apologize if it's a website that you have already visited
another one is mdjunction.com they may have a support group for you there

My best friend has been in and out of the hospital for several years now. She is experiencing several symptoms that doctors treat then send her home with lots of meds. She had her gallbladder removed a few months ago but are still having "attacks." These are her symptoms: dark/ foul smelling urine, fatigue, nausea/vomitting, irratability, diarrhea and constipation, sweating at night, weakness and dizziness, frequent headaches, changes in the pain she has, sugar problems. Her pain is very severe. It suddenly comes or builds up gradually. It's centered in the upper middle or upper left of her abdomen and the pain radiates to her back. The pain worses after eating, pain lasts for several days and it is worse when laying flat on her back. Please, I need answers!

She could have a gallstone lodged in a duct that was not detected when she had her gallbladder.

hi i don't know if im pregnant or just hormone imbalance .i've got mid cycle period and at first it was heavy then lighter and lasted for 4/5 days, i also got this craving for fatty foods and a LOT of cramping and frequent urination… does anyone know what exactly are the signs of hormone imbalance?? and how long they last?

hormonal imbalances can cause anything under the sun because they affect so many things. some need to be treated with meds. i would talk to a doctor and if you suspect you have a hormonal imbalance or disorder set up appointment with a endocrinologist. there the specialists on that kind of thing. good luck!