Saturday, December 25, 2004

Environmental Medicine

A few discoveries:

  • Low adrenal gland function - most likely from elevated insulin and elevated cortisol levels. Saliva tests showed that I do have hyperinsulimia (no Type 1 diabetes here, folks!) They also showed that I have a pretty flat level of cortisol production. Normally for people, it's high in the morning and low at night. I kind of flat-line all the time. The doctor asked me to take Rhodiola, an herb to help this out... I'm not sure if this is helping, as I think we're treating lab values here.
  • Low levels of pancreatic enzymes. I'm supposed to take enzyme supplements... Actually, my digestion seems a bit worse right now.
  • Candida Krusei - could be from diabetes or vice versa. Kind of a chicken/egg problem. Anyway, to get rid of my Candida, I'm on Caprylic Acid and probiotics. I've also started eating Natto (Japanese fermented soybeans) and Kimchi (the fermented, not the pickled kind). My tounge is less coated now.

Other random health nuggets:

  • Chiropractic adjustments down to once a month. I'm doing OK there, but I'm not sure it really helped the diabetes.
  • Dr. Whitaker's Glucose Essentials (supplements) don't seem to be doing much for me.
  • Teslar Watch to reduce effects of harmful electromagnetic radiation doesn't seem to be doing much for me.

Anyway, just a quick log on this.


Christmas Day 2004

It's Christmas day 2004, and I thought I'd add to a blog entry. I haven't written one in almost two months now. My kids are napping after staying up late Christmas Eve and getting up early to see what Santa brought...

I am learning much better about "being" versus "doing." The original reason I think I started the blog was that some need to "do" something every day. Now, I'm becoming much better about just "being."

Some thoughts on how I want to "be..."

  • Aware and insightful about my inner self
  • Less stressed and just more accepting
  • More journey-focused, not destination-focused
  • Valued by family and friends
  • Helpful
I've recognized I have a tendency to jump through hoops just to be those things. Why?

  • To get less stressed, there's the logic to earn more money to feel more secure, but why not just feel secure?
  • To get more insightful about myself, there's the logic to read more to facilitate discovery, but aren't all the answers already inside of us?
  • What better way to get journey-focused than to start on the journey today?
  • How can you be valued by family and friends or how can you be helpful if you aren't there?
This holiday season truly feels the best ever to me because for the first time in my life, I'm not looking "ahead" to the next thing (like when I graduate from school or when I'm getting the next promotion or etc. etc.), but instead just enjoying the "now."

Monday, November 01, 2004

Truest purpose...

I have often been told in professional life that I have a unique ability to explain concepts and to motivate. Similarly, in personal life, I have found that people naturally turn to me for various forms of advice.

To date, the subjects have been rather superficial. Professionally, they have been around the types of software I have been involved in marketing, and personanlly, they have been around business ideas or even home technology purchases. This dispensing of advice lead me originally down the path of being a technology marketing consultant, but an inner feeling is driving away my motivation to really hustle and get this type of business going.

I believe the reason may be that I don't want to be remembered for giving advice on how to market meaningless products or services. I think my calling may be to figure out a way to help others like me hear to better listen to their own inner knowing...

For me, this has been somewhat of a revelation. I really am connecting more the the theme of The Matrix in that the ship's crew looked to free people from the Matrix one at a time... I think I would feel great if I could both live my life in balance and help others attain that balance as well.

I believe my own bout with a chronic disease is the result of an improper mind/body balance. Is this a uniquely good way to mark a "target market" for whom I might help?

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Been a while since I've blogged...

Wow. I can't believe it's been about four weeks since I last put in a blog entry.

I'll start with an update...

  • I started seeing the environmental medicine (clinical ecology) doctor for my own condition. So far, I've found out that I might be "yeasty" as my tounge is "coated" and that I am allergic to just about everything (except eggs, which my younger daughter has an allergy, too). Also, what is interesting is that I don't show allergies to either apples or bananas, which I suspected I was allergic to. I am awaiting the results of my blood, stool, and saliva tests.

    The allergy technician recommended that I start sublingual immunotherapy, but remain skeptical that this can work in my case.
  • During my food allergy testing at the environmental doctor, I met a very interesting guy. He works for World Vision (his name was "Charlie") now after having an inspiration 22 years ago to shift careers from being a salesperson to working with a charity. He has one daughter (now 30), who was brain injured at birth and one normal daughter. Through life challenges in caring for his brain-injured daughter, he saw how charity can enrich people's lives and decided to devote his career to charity.

    He recommended a book to me which I've now read by Bob Buford called Halftime. Buford also has a Web site - http://www.halftime.org. This book, despite its heavily Christian point-of-view overtones is quite good.
  • I was introduced to another startup company. I enjoyed meeting the founder, who was the inventor of the T9 text input method for mobile phones. Unfortunately, he was more interested in having me potentially part of a permanent management team rather than as a consultant
  • I am happy with my older daughter's school - the new elementary school at the bottom of the hill. Going to the curriculum night and again seeing her principal and meeting her teacher gave me more confidence to keep the kids in their current schools at least through elementary school...
  • The work is done on our house now. We've decided not to sell our house anymore for the time being. The impending event of switching before my older duaghter started this school is over, and we also recognize that we won't get all the money back for the new siding, the roof work, etc. I have already called the person who is staged our home to take her toys home. Unfortunatey, her dad died, so this may take a while.
  • I went to a friend's wedding in Louisiana. It was a decent time. While I didn't necessarily "connect" with anyone in particular, I did enjoy touring through Natchitoches (pronounced nak-a-dish) by myself and took a number of photos. I was also very happy for my friend, the groom, as both his family and her family just seemed like very great people who will get along well. Outside of the last day in Natchitoches after abusin my body at the wedding on meat pies, my waking blood sugars were lower in Lousiana just as they were in Houston.
  • My photo kiosk arrived. I am still working through some logistical issues, so it's not operational yet, but at least I have a unit... Yesterday and Friday were largely spent trying to get everything working...
  • I have discontinued my psychotherapy. I just wasn't feeling like there was new value added from this. I'm tapering down my chiropractic as well...
  • I don't know if it's the new TV season or if I'm starting to stagnate a little bit. While I traditionally haven't watched much television, I kind of got hooked on this show on TV now called Desperate Housewives - basically a nighttime soap. How sad.
  • We're also dealing with some issues with my younger daughter. With her eczema, I think she's figured out that health issues get her attention, and I believe she has been feigning a sour stomach to get attention. My wife and I are now taking the approach of "tough love" which is that we are treating her as if she was really sick - so she can't go anywhere or eat any good stuff right now. I hope it works...

Other thoughts are that I suck at Hold 'Em Poker, I spend more time watching baseball rooting for Boston (weird), and that I am truly torn about the presidential election. I don't like either candidate, but for some reason I think I like Kerry less despite that I know what damage has been done under Bush. Very odd feeling here...

My wife has been in the process of "detox" swapping out tupperware for glass and our teflon cookware in favor of cast iron and enamel...

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Daughter's back soreness

My younger daughter has complained of back soreness twice now.

Yesterday, I took her to the chiropractor, and she was only slightly out of alignment. I've got a follow up appointment for her so she can get scanned. After getting adjusted, my daughter said she felt better.

My wife now believes that the issue may have been associated with the resistance therapy that we have been giving her for molds. The allergist did in fact say that the drops have been associated with some joint soreness.

The chiropractor added that eczema is often a sign of nerve stress...

More credence to the pancreatic allergy theory

My waking blood sugars in Houston were lower than they are here in Seattle.

I took morning measurements on two different mornings - 127 and 126.

Just another data point after the previous Hawaii and Southern California experiences. The other thing to note is that like Hawaii and Southern California, Houston was very warm...

Reverting?

I am wondering if I am reverting a bit. My Timex Ironman Watch broke, and I just bought a Timex IronMan DataLink watch to hopefully carry my calendar in a more convenient form factor than my old Palm.

I also finally caved and bought an Ogo to do wireless e-mail!

So, I am giving into the "gadget culture." Granted, these gadgets aren't expensive, but they are gadgets nonetheless.

At the same time, I'm also finding myself spending a lot more time worrying about finances. Given my photo kiosk purchase, my family vacation, and the siding of our house, there has been a much quicker cash burn than I had originally forecast...

Also, the meditation program has been more lax lately, too.

Future career criteria...

OK, so I'll try to articulate the future career criteria that I've come up with so far...

  1. Time balance. One thing my dad helped articulate is that startup companies will almost never afford you this by the very design of the investment scenario. Investors get their return by getting results faster.
  2. Independence. The business should remain steadfast in its upholding its own principles. Where things go awry is when other interests (e.g., appeasing Wall Street) takes precedence over doing the right thing.
  3. Making a difference. This is vague, I know. I want to be really making a difference in someone's life, not just enhancing some businesses' "productivity."
  4. Financially rewarding. There is still a pragmatic side of me that says that what I do has to be something that is not only worth money but also something that I feel good charging for. For example, while I think that providing alternative diabetes counseling could make money, I wouldn't feel good charging for it.

These are very strict criteria, I know. Interestingly, going back to a startup only meets 1 of the 4 (financially rewarding).

Marketing consulting for high tech startups also only meets 2 of the 4 (time and independence). My photo kiosk business meets the same two. My dad has suggested a career in private equity that meets 2 of the 4 (time and financially rewarding).

Good trip down to Houston

Last week, I was in Houston for my dad's 70th birthday. Overall, it was a great trip.

I think more than anything, I recognized that in my dad's hesitance to join the 70-and-over club, he has gotten quite a bit more introspective. Also, I'm glad that we had a chance to talk a bit given that there has been a dearth of communication in the past. I guess I always knew there was a lot going on inside of his head, but it was nice to hear him verbalize that he thinks of me.

I was especially appreciative of his support and understanding that choices I face are different from the ones he had to face upon immigrating to the US. I think that despite our paths being very different, he appreciates the need to seek other forms of fulfillment other than career advancement.

Like with many, I think my dad is basically on the same page, but perhaps just a tad bit off. He has recommended that I rethink a career in the financial industry - perhaps working for a private equity firm... He has left me with a book on KKR for insight. Candidly, I'm not sure that this is really the direction because of a lack of spirtual angle. In another entry, I'll attempt to articulate what I've learned so far...

Saturday, September 18, 2004

My wife had heartburn again last night...

This heartburn issue has become more frequent as of late, and I believe it could be stress related. Here's what I know about:

  • Our daughter's allergies and the impact this will have on our lives
  • The routine of the kids being in school
  • The politics going on in the stay-at-home-mom crowd in school
  • Cooking for a low-carb diabetic guy separate from cooking for the kids
  • Money - my unemployment status and spiritual growth process
  • The workers around our house ripping off the siding
  • Our inability to sell our home after almost 4 months on the market
  • Stress with our neighbors that built the backyard behind our home and their apparent success in selling their home without a real estate agent after very little time

I could be missing something.

Dream log 09/18 - graduation...

I had this very odd dream last night. The experiences seemed very rich at the time, but at the same time there was a bit of stress of uncertainty.

I was graduating from MIT. My mom and my sister were supposed to be there, but for some reason, I'm not that focused about going to the ceremony. I do other things along the way and things still happen smoothly, but somehow I take little detours.

I start at a party, and I run into a friend of mine who is originally from Rwanda and that in reality I met later in life. I try to ask her about her social life. Then, somehow, I end up talking to this girl with sort of blond kinky, hair, and we chat a bit. We end up going back to her dorm room and hanging out, and generally having a good time. This girl is my friend from school, I know, but for some reason I don't remember her last name right. (Later in my dream when I introduce her to my mom, it was clear that for all that time I never knew there was a second syllable to her last name).

Anyway, in this dream, I am running kind of late stopping to just chill out with her and build a better bond. We go back to my dorm room so I can change to a nicer outfit. I also met up with my good friend (the same one that recommended the special eczema formula). Ultimately, I end up meeting my mom and my sister en route, and they are wondering where I was.

We end up getting to a part of the prepatory part of the ceremony, and there is seating for us, it's just upstairs in this overflow section that is filling up. I don't end up getting to sit with my mom and sister anyway, and we're watching some video anyway. Later, I end up going through a line of rituals they have as part of this ceremony which includes coloring the lips with these herbs and drinking a champagne with berries in it. I feel like I'm chronically late, but there is still a big line of people going through a big line of rituals to graduate, and I'm certainly not the last one...

Later, there's a party before the final event. I think what was going to be a small get-together at my house turned into something where there were lots of people coming and going. One of the people who left was my blond, kinky-haired friend who went to rejoin with her family. She invited me to join them, but I wanted to stay at my own house. One was a fellow in a wheelchair that lived in my dorm at MIT. This particular guy used an electric wheelchair when I was in school and was not in great shape. However, in this dream, he'd modified a razor scooter to get him around and had these huge arms. I also got in a conversation with a friend-of-a-friend who is really kind of out-of-shape but who in this dream was a big skateboarder and rollerblader. I'm having a great time at this party...

Unfortunately, I think I woke up before the final graduation, but this really felt like watching a movie...

I look back at this dream, and I think that what happened in this dream would have been very different from how I would have spent the time with such an event. Normally, everything would be very planned, and I'd have dedicated time to spend with certain people in my life.

What was interesting is that outside of one of my close friends from MIT, none of the other people that I would have expected played a role in my final celebration. Instead, I had a very different experience. It felt a bit stressful at times as I needed to figure out how to get from one place to another, but once I was there, the experiences seemed very rich...

Very unhappy people...

The contractors working on our home felt that our neighbors must be just very unhappy people.

I'm not sure about this, but since our neighbors started their backyard project behind our home, there has been a lot of "dirt" that has emerged about them. It's not confined to the somewhat rude voice mail message she received as we attempted to mitigate their project with some of our own landscaping. We also know that our gardener - and now our contractors - have gotten confronted by the neighbors. Also, others have begun to share their own stories about these neighbors...

Personally, I feel a bit uncomfortable about some of the backtalking going on, and at the same time I only hope that we do not ever come across to others as "very unhappy people."

No Karaoke Revolution for 24 days...

My older daughter is now into day 3 of her "sentence" and I think she's holding up.

She really enjoyed Konami's Karaoke Revolution, and she was excited to hear that a sequel was coming out. We purchased it online at Costco.com and received it in the mail earlier this week. Right before bedtime, our girls were playing the game, and my wife told my older daughter it was time to go to bed. Unfortunately, she was determined to try to get "Gold" on one of the songs, and she started crying because she wanted to try just one more time.

Ultimately, she spun somewhat out of control and accidentally hit her sister on the same arm that got all the allergy testing. Then, my wife had two kids out of control on her, and my older daughter was prohibited from singing Karaoke Revolution for 24 days - one day for each allergy testing site on my younger daughter's arm.

I was gone through most of this, as I was helping my wife's cousin to debug issues with their home Internet connection. That said, at my wife's direction, I did have a chat with my older daughter so that she understood that the punishment was not about having a determination to do better but rather to not to let things get out of control to the point there are other unforeseen consequences...

While I normally don't think that singing would be considered a risk factor for exacerbating pain in someone else's arm, chaos theory can probably explain this. :)

In any case, I think my older daughter is now handling the situation well. I think she'll learn the lesson well.

Dust mite allergies...

My younger daughter has dust mite allergies, too. We discovered this on her second allergy testing appointment. My wife has been doing research on strategies to reduce dust mite allergens in the home.

What I do recognize is that there are now mounting costs to all of this, and her eczema combined with my own mental and physical health care costs are going to force us to make some choices soon.

Our "burn rate" since I quit my job is somewhat exceeding forecasts because of my photo kiosk, my increased use of the alternative health care system not covered by insurance, our home selling costs (not the least of which now is our siding project), our driving vacation, and now my daughter's identified allergies that may be the cause of her eczema.

The lottery streak ended...

I bought a Mega Millions ticket because the lottery was at $55M. It's now at $64M.

I broke my streak. I got NO numbers correct this time. Perhaps I was prescient in saying now I should stop, or perhaps I should use this opportunity to recognize that my growth process has been stalled a bit or taking a different direction.

My older daughter did get one number right (38), and my younger daughter did as well as I did...

Wrong direction?

I keep trying to move forward on the logistics of life. I thought I'd perhaps landed a consulting gig, but I'm not sure this one will work out. I think the entrepreneur who was interested started to see some signs that there might not be a fit. While I think I can help them, I also expressed some of own reservations to my wife on Wednesday night.

Looking inward, I'm probably just being a bit too transparent about the kind of stuff I don't want to be doing.

And, looking inward, I probably have to treat these situations like china in need of some cleaning. It may need some very thorough cleaning, but I need to be gentle with it. Trying to throw it in the dishwasher is something that will clean it but isn't very good with the china. So, the most important thing is love of the china, not love of cleaning.

This is perhaps the spiritual twist I need to take...

Been a bit ill for a bit...

I somehow contracted a case of diarrhea that lasted a couple of days. I'm not exactly sure what happened. It could have been a combination of Steel Pig Barbeque (food poisoning?), black bean chili (bowel irritation?), and some general sensitivity perhaps created through some of the supplements I've been eating (brewer's yeast?) In general, I've read that this kind of thing that doesn't last is generally not worth the time of the medical profession to assign a root cause to.

That said, I've been out of sorts, and my skin was showing some signs of wear. What's interesting is that on my right side, there was a tight spot identified by my chiropractor, and while there could be many causes, including muscular-skeletal issues, she said she could possibly trace it back to my liver working hard to detoxify. She also recommended that I try to eat ak-mak crackers to calm down my system and get some calories in. They taste pretty good, and they did stay down!

Needless to say, I didn't start the running program.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

39 Days until the Dawg Dash

OK, so I haven't been running at all, but I was tagged as the guy in the family that will run the Dawg Dash. My wife ran it last year.

The reason we go to this race is that there is a kids' race called the Pups Run which my girls love to run. They run one lap around an indoor track and receive ribbons for completing it.

It's hard to believe that I've run marathons and a 10K race will be stressful, but I can't remember the last time that I ran that far. Since being diagnosed with diabetes, I've cut all aerobic exercise out of the mix... I guess it's time to put together a mini training schedule!

Siding work will begin on our home today...

OK, so today, our house goes off the market, and we're going to have our LP siding replaced. I love adding this expense to the mix. Hopefully, we'll get it back on the back end when we relist our home.

In other real estate related news, it appears that our neighbors who purchased a piece of land behind us and built a yard that infringes on our privacy have been marketing their home without a real estate agent. They've also seeded a rumor through one of our neighbors that they have an interested party and will most likely get an offer. Let's see how this one goes...

My daughter's slight egg allergy as a possible cause of eczema?

My younger daughter had her first allergy testing appointment, and she reacts to eggs. This could be one of the causes of her eczema. It looks like we're going to have to restrict eggs from her diet and to start giving her low concentrations of egg drops to build a resistance. It could take anywhere from 2-5 years of treatment before she is "cured."

This will present a challenge for my wife who does all the meal preparation and meal planning because she's got the diabetes person on the one side (me) and the food allergy person (my younger daughter) on the other. On the other hand, while eggs themselves aren't bad, most foods that children eat containing eggs (cookies, cakes, chicken nuggets, etc.) aren't good for them anyway. Perhaps the positive spin on this is that we will be forced to live more healthy lifestyles as a result...


More costs with photo kiosk business...

I'm not stressed, per se, but I'm already beginning to see slightly higher costs associated with the photo kiosk business. At a top level, there are still questions as to whether this will "go" as people have to use the machine. So, all these costs remain insignificant compared to the machine investment itself.

That said, there are some costs that are a bit higher...

  • My location is in an old building in downtown Seattle, and the costs to run wires will be more than I'd thought originally. I even have to run my own electrical down to the spot.
  • The outdoor site is windy, and I'll be hanging outdoor signage from an awning rafter. I thought I'd originally get away with a ruggedized vinyl sign, but it looks like I'm going to have to go for metal because I can't secure the sign from the bottom to keep it from blowing up and around the rafter.
  • There will be some fixed monthly costs associated with the merchant account (monthly statement fees, etc.)
  • Even the City of Seattle imposes its own tax structure. At the beginning, I'd only researched Newcastle taxes which only involved a small $25 business license fee. This really only hits me at the low end (fixed cost of a more expensive business license) and the high end (revenue tax) though.

Moreover, I'm thinking here that I'll probably need to invest in some marketing to tell local businesses and residents that this machine is there so that I can offset the tourist business... Probably postcards or flyers or something...

Saturday, September 11, 2004

Cholesterol Myth?

OK, so I've now purchasd a couple of books on the topic of cholesterol, and it's not clear to me that lowering cholesterol is even a good thing to do.

First, there is definitely questioning along the lines of whether the correlation between high blood cholesterol and heart disease even exists. It doesn't appear to be the case in elderly women, or even women at all. Moreover, studies that show the correlation are flawed. The book The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease points this out, among other arguments.

Second, if there is a correlation, the bigger question is whether the relationship is causal. The Homocysteine Theory as outlined by Kilmer McCully suggests that it is homocysteine and not cholesterol that is to blame for arterial sclerosis and that lowering cholesterol by itself does not reduce heart disease. Recent data concurs, such as the study on Merck's Zocor that shows that higher dosages of the compound did not reduce coronary heart disease despite the cholesterol-lowering effects. It is now theorized that some other mechanism that statins like Lipitor induce is what's responsible for reductions in heart disease.

Moreover, because of the known effects of statins, there is certainly an argument that suggests cholesterol lowering should not be a goal.

Still, I will continue eating soy, Omega-3 oil supplements, soluble fiber, and plant sterol supplements. These are lacking in our diets anyway, but I recognize that diet alone is a tough, if not impossible, way to lower cholesterol.

Update about the lot on "The Street"

This lot is buildable.  We've had the City of Bellevue look at it.  We've had a builder look at the plans.
 
The issue here is going to be that it's going to be expensive to lay down foundation and to solve the driveway issues.  We will most likely defer any decisions on this lot while we figure out whether I have environmental allergies in this area...

Slight chiropractic improvements not noticeable

I got my chiropractic re-examination after 10 adjustments, and there are some improvements.  They aren't substantial, but apparently my body is showing signs that it is responding to treatments.  Even though I don't feel any different, I'll give this some more time.
 
I do like the new chiropractor a lot, too.  When I first went to the chiropractor before vacation, I did not get the "warm and fuzzies" from the chiropractor there.  That said, I opted to continue to seek treatment there, somewhat against my wife's feelings on this matter.
 
When I showed up for my first appointment, I find out that they've hired a new chiropractor, and I like her a lot!  It turns out that the chiropractor I originally met with is leaving the office to start her own practice.
 
Anyway, we'll see how this goes, too.  Seems like there are a lot of things going on like this in my life...

Pursuing consulting opportunities...

I still never heard back from the friend of a friend that blew me off for a meeting from Starbuck's.  (See August 31 post.)  I also did not hear back from a friend of a friend that took off to Denver just before my e-mailing a resume to him.
 
I still have a couple of things going.  I have lunch with the CEO of a local company on Monday, and I've got an ongoing e-mail dialogue with the CEO of a company in California that I met with while down there on vacation.  The reality is that I'm seriously thinking about joining his company on a permanent basis should the forces of the universe work that way...

Still building photo kiosk business...

Here's an update on the photo kiosk business.
 
  • Secured a signed agreement with a tourism store in Seattle
  • Posted a Web site to use on credit card receipts and on signage
  • Initiated the process for a merchant credit account to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover
  • Requested quotations for both premises wiring and signage
And throughout the month, I've been making Hillwork Group, LLC a reality.
  • Obtained federal tax ID, Washington UBI number
  • Licensed in Washington and in the City of Newcastle
  • Opened business bank account and received register checks and an endorsement stamper (I need receivables though...)
Right now, this business has been all about spending.  I can't wait for revenue...

House is being delisted...

Today, our real estate agent stopped by.  We are delisting our home.  As of now, we have no absolutely no offers.  The one party that expressed the most interest ultimately expressed concern over the siding.  To obviate this concern, our real estate agent recommended that we do our own inspection.
 
An inspection turned up a need to reside our home, and we told our real estate agent that we would not accept further losses.  She felt the best thing to do was to take the home off the market and list it again in January.
 
The interesting tidbit about the Northwest is that the successful real estate agents here make 75% of their money in January through March.  This is because the serious home buyers - the relocations, empty nesters, and others are out in force, and there is less competition.
 
The home is going to be delisted as of Tuesday.

Environmental medicine

We ended up taking our younger daughter to an Environmental Medicine doctor.  Our traditional pediatrician recommended corticosteroids.  Our good friend provided a recommendation to Julius Roth Eczema Therapy, and we seriously considered this treatment, but we decided we wanted a local doctor rather than one in the UK.  Another friend of my older daughter's from dance class used an Environmental Medicine doctor, and this worked.  The girl is cured!
 
So, we're trying this out, and we had our first appointment.  The doctor said that eczema is caused by three things - nutritional deficiencies, food allergies, and problems in the gut.  The program we are undergoing now is threefold:
  • Supplementation with flaxseed oil, a multivitam, and a zinc supplement.
  • Stool testing - this is a do-at-home test through the mail with a lab in Kent, WA.
  • Allergy testing.  The allergy testing will be for four separate 2 1/2 hour sessions.
Let's see how it goes for her.
 

 
More significantly for me, the doctor also suggested something interesting related to diabetes.  He indicated that allergies often don't actually go into remission but actually move to different organs,  The pancreas is one organ that is known to inherit these allergic responses.  He's noticed that blood sugars can go up as an allergic reaction.
 
This has made me wonder whether my high blood sugar is in part caused by environmental allergies I have to substances native to the Pacific Northwest.  After all, as a child, I had debilitating allergies.  This would also explain why my blood sugar appears to be so much better when I'm on vacation.  While I thougth it might be a "destress" program, it might just be an "away from allergens" problem.
 
I made my own appointment to see the environmental medicine doctor.