Contact info: (215) 895-2808, [email protected] Find more info on AllPeople about Liz Delany and Drexel University, as well as people who work for similar businesses nearby, colleagues for other branches, and more people with a similar name. I learned about 2 months ago that Dr. Bolognese read my cervical MRI (standard supine is all he needs, unlike some others) as possible CCI, and have since begun the physical therapy routine that he uses as part of diagnosing whether the MRI findings are clinically significant. And I also wanted to express how much I love how you write, Cort with this example being particularly resonant (and delightful): When (recovery/remission) occurs, it often occurs using nontraditional approaches found teetering on the skinny branches of the medical system. I think the avoidance aspect helped a bit with inflammation which will make symptoms exacerbate (and I can see this with vascular stenosis as well.. nothing like inflammation to make a brain more unhappy and even angry). I wouldnt be surprised if Jennifers operation helped drain toxins from the spine. So maybe at the core of ME is pro-active hibernation with the body waiting out a problem it cant resolve all by itself but very actively trying to provide, restore, improve and replace vital affected functions just to allow us to survive long term and hopefully even do so with very few permanent damage. Different neurosurgeons will employ different scans. I was recently diagnosed with Pyroluria. Accepting our current status through a critical analysis of all claims to the contrary is the only way we can move ahead. I benefit enormously from neck traction-like interventions like the neck hammock. Thanks Esther, a blog on Dr. Rowes reports on spinal stenosis is coming up. The same happens for example when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by inflammation blocking good brain liquid drainage. While she was pursuing her PhD at Harvard, she fell ill and was . One person diagnosed with CCI reported on the Phoenix Rising forumsthatmanual traction (having someone pull on ones head while lying down) can help, and prescription drugs have resulted in major improvements. After three surgeries in December 2018 and January 2019, all of my symptoms of ME (and POTS) are in remission. First of all, Im super happy about Jennifer Breas recovery and for new directions for research to go in that this brings about. On the contrary. Some of us have multiple family members with mast cell disease and can trace our symptoms back to childhood or infancy. why would treating the CCI heal all symptoms, surely some illness would still be remaining?. That was probably due to improving the flow of pooled blood in the legs to the hart. Are a subset of us members of a lost tribe? Dr. Jennifer A. Its possible that an enteroviral infection could be causing the ligament laxity issues in CCI. The Japanese have echoed that general idea. So, for patients, who have CFS symptoms only, need to consult neurologists, neurosurgeons to find out if it's right to take spinal surgery in order to cure CFS. She couldnt even get the facts right here. off of the brainstem. However, and I state again, she was not an HEDS patient. Doctors are still in the mode of one-cause-one-disease. I had severe post-viral myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). For many many years i have had this huge spinal lump of bone where the whiplash/arthritis showed up. According to one site, though, these ligaments get reduced blood flows which is another issue in ME/CFS which does make one wonder if CCI/AAI is a more a risk for people with ME/CFS. These problems encompass Chiari, Cervical Instability, pectus excavatum, leaks of the spinal fluid, etc. Maybe not probable but at least possible. Many people have viral infections but never develop our disease. Glad she is feeling better but the vast majority of CFS / ME patients do not have this and some have died in this surgery. As a result, I learned that even small regular movements of the pelvis, like every single time I do a cycle of diaphragm breathing, is sufficient to give a single tiny boost of rich oxygenated blood lasting one to two seconds to the brains. Thank you so much for this excellent overview. Lets instead spread realistic hope that there are answers, varied as they are, to our collective suffering. A procedure called AltasPROfilax, specialized chiropractic care and the Perrin technique is another possibility for those with neck issues. Im sure that one day we will all have access to great medical care and the work of yourself and people like Jen sure does go a very long way to this end. This surgery is extreme and I hesitate to see it as a cure for most of us. I dont know if you saw my post above about having an incurable condition called interstitial cystitis. I also use Lipid Replacement Therapy using an organic sunflower lecithin powder. My suspicion is that its such a small dose (at 10mg twice per day am and pm) that any sleepiness is negligible. This was a friend of mine and it was horrible for her. Wouldnt it be nice if it is as easy as getting a neck surgery to recover from CFS? Just six months ago, following a thyroid surgery which exacerbated her then undiagnosed case of CCI, Jen Brea was arguably at her lowest point ever. I wouldnt read too much into it till a study shows that CFS patients suffer from CCI more often than by chance and that CCI surgery relieves CFS by more than a chance. Sweet is a neurosurgeon in Cleveland, Ohio and is affiliated with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.She received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of . Heavy headaches (feeling like the head is too heavy for the neck) and a bobble-head feeling. Brea also co-created a virtual reality film which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Jens doctor told her he didnt know how the surgery would go for her because hed never had a patient like her. It was all about money and about her and her film production career. She was in Miami dealing with another project while coordinating and gazing in the film Unrest. The main thing I know is that NO ONE ever had the slightest intention of solving Management advice for both hEDS and HSD is the same., I agree, misdiagnosis big time. 2) Your muscles and sense dont operate anymore in the way they used before. Thanks. I have videos, and written testimonials, and Glen Miller aged in his Sixties can be interviewed in, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Havent we been through this before? But better not cured. The fact that the damage correlated with autonomic nervous system problems suggested brainstem problems could be affecting exercise, sleep, the gut and cognition. I broke my C5 vertebrae and impacted my C4 and C6, so much so that there was no light between C4, C5, C6 on the X-Ray. Not knowing the problem at hand might be even more complex then anticipated doesnt magically makes the problem easier to solve. Previously, she was a freelance journalist in China and East and Southern Africa. Ventralbrainstem compression is not always seen in traditionalsupine MR imaging but its usually very evident on dynamic upright imaging which has the patient flex and extend their neck. Hi Matthias, this is not something i have experienced. Maybe, he said. Browse 72 jennifer brea stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. That said, I dont blame patients objecting to this kind of recovery story. After some reflection, I dont think its as bad as that. Parasym Plus is a supplement that I take. How does that line up with improving fatigue? And yet, when Brea was 28 years old, a Ph.D student at Harvard with a future as bright as her smile, she was struck suddenly by a fever of nearly 105 degrees. Director Jennifer Brea in the documentary Unrest, about chronic fatigue syndrome Leslie Felperin Thu 19 Oct 2017 05.00 EDT Last modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 07.00 EST Yesterday, I shared the news with our community that all of my symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) are now in remission.This is the outcome of a long journey that began last year with surgery for thyroid cancer; took an unexpected turn for the worse with the sudden onset of a new symptom . I had a very long onset, starting with loss of very high functioning memory (both muscle memory and factual memory) approx 18 years ago, with PEM and more severe cognitive issues showing up 4 years ago. I think its a shame that folks with ME/CFS have been convinced that there is no cure or theres no hope. For the first seven years of illness, I had no symptoms I associated with my neck. Not a cure, but much improvement in brain fog and fatigue & recovery times from over exertion. https://www.facebook.com/MegsEDS.MedicalJourney/posts/it-is-with-great-sadness-to-share-this-this-hits-way-too-close-to-home-this-is-n/2302315926661395/. About 10 years ago I went to my Medical Internist with horrible neck pain, headaches and difficulty swallowing. Everybody said how lucky he was to have such a horse. I had a neck MRI (not with flexing) and a barium swallow with neck x-rays. The addition of EDS in Jens case restricted to the ligaments involved and MCAS adds more layers that folds her into a huge assemblage of ME/CFS/FM/POTS/EDS/MCAS patients. I believe now that the arthritis in my neck is stopping or slowing down the flow of toxins that get drained from the head..i have constant sinus infections etc. I still suffer with fatigue and PEM but I can at least manage my symptoms better with this supplement. I have much less energy, I have foggy mind, strong memory issues, my batteries last for 3-4 h (in a good day) and after that I just survive doing the mandatory things I need to. It sounds to me like it turns out that Brea never had ME/CFS/Fibro in the first place. For those of us still with ME/CFS, look to others who are not flashes in the pan. I was called crazy by doctors ..neighboursfriends.my parentsit didnt sit with me too well. Sometimes Im winning, sometimes I definitely arent. It is time we become just as militant with those inside our community who refuse to accept the validity of recovery. I really dont know what to sayIt must be hard, indeed, to read some of these blogs. I asked him to write a case study documenting my before and after (dramatically declined) cardiopulmonary test results. Talk about a head trip! And right around the time that I got the sickest, I experienced a neck injury from a hair salon wash basin (they had me in it for 20 minutes and my neck was killing me afterwards and almost immediately my health took a turn). The teachers go through a rigorous 3 year training (post BA). Its great that this worked for her, BUT the very fact ME/CFS has had clustered outbreaks in many places makes it evident that this is some kind of infection. The USA funding is minimal and she quoted $5 p.a. 1981 - Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and singer; 1981 - Kristaps Valters, Latvian basketball player . That said, this news has spurred me in a new direction in the chase for the cause of my ME/CFS. She didnt have ME and i found her film attention seeking. #MEAction has always looked to the HIV/AIDS movement for inspiration, and we have learned so much. Colby said they could find the suspected neurotropic viruses implicated in ME by this tried and tested method if samples were taken early in the illness but its no longer done. The NPI number of Jennifer Brea is 1770123416 and was assigned on January 2020. Given the recent brainstem findings, though, stopping at the motor cortex would seem foolhardy. Gentle hugs. Barnden proposed problems in the brainstem could be inhibiting the flow of signals from the motor cortex in the brain to the muscles. My body aches and couldnt turn my head without severe symptoms. And, again, this would also fit in with the prevalence of ME in the EDS population. I dont know about elsewhere in the world. These symptoms may include allergic-like symptoms (skin itching, flushing, hives, or anaphylaxis); gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation (often diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome), heartburn, reflux, and difficulty swallowing; connective tissue symptoms such as hypermobile joints and scoliosis (often diagnosed as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobile type); heart symptoms such as a racing or pounding heartbeat or blood pressure swings sometimes with fainting (frequently diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS); as well as behavioral problems. Olathe Health Integrity Spine Surgery Doctors Building 1 20375 W. 151st St., Suite 105 Olathe , KS 66061 913-355-8100 913-303-5510 Hours of Operation Monday - Friday: Im very happy for those who benefit from surgery but a new diagnosis may just add another name to my long long list. Maybe, he said. That procedure sounds about as spine-tinglingly scary as anything I can imagine. What this paper,(and the Jennifer Brea case as well) shows once again is the importance of a proper workup by a good physician to rule out all potential causes of their symptoms. The people said the warrior was unlucky. by Cort Johnson | May 21, 2019 | Brainstem, Craniocervical Instability, Craniocervical Instability, Homepage, Spine | 150 comments, I can hardly believe it myself. 'Unrest' Director Jennifer Brea Reveals How Making a Documentary About Her Illness Helped Treat It Brea explained her process at a recent IDA screening. While getting a diagnosis isnt a piece of cake, it can and is being done. After 40 years of ME/CFS, I can hardly remember the healthy Cort. Retrieved June 3, 2019. This is such an obstacle that it almost makes me wish Id never heard of CCI! Even though I have a super sensitive digestive system, and always have, Ive had no adverse affects. Register for our free ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and long COVID blogs here. My symptoms start after I do too much work/exercise that includes my shoulders and neck. I was born sick (MMAS), my brother was born sick (mastocytosis) and my son was born sick (MCAS). After reading Jeffs account Mattie thought he didnt have CCI/AAI but got it checked out anyway and found, to his surprise, that he did. Ron Davis and to some extent Naviaux believes that in many cases this danger is long gone and hence the hibernation is wrong and should be reset. Traction is very dangerous in CCI. You never know! Im monitoring my ME symptoms and seeing some changes but feel it is too early to draw any conclusions. Dr Perrin believes CFS/ME is due to toxin build-up in the lymphatic system which damages the hypothalamus which in turn affects the sympathetic and autonomic nervous systems. They think, Plenty of pectus patients do not have ME, so pectus does not play a role in this. low vitamin D. Try to make sense of that (because I cannot)?! They have a specific focus on the neck. Jeff and Jen Brea are leading examples. NZ is third world by comparison and I am so tired, not just from the illness, but from the complete absence of any support, medical or otherwise. Sounds like a case of misdiagnosis to me! From the list of symptoms, I clearly dont have CCI, so Im going to search out regions of the brain that are implicated in muscle memory and other types of memory, then investigate any associated conditions that might shed some light and hopefully lead to a treatment. Jennifer Brea. With my improved health, I will continue to fight alongside each of you for equality, dignity and better care; to challenge stigma and advocate for research dollars and medical education. I am still amazed each morning when I wake up symptom free, and I marvel at how much and what I am capable of doing with only normal healthy responses. He has an 85% success rate. This is really interesting to know. -scrub typhus (since treated) On the one hand, how wonderful to have possibly found a cure after 26 years of illness! I doubt so. Why you should listen. The first surgery was done by the doc in NY and they tried to repair it in UK afterwards, according to one of her relatives email to me. The problem is not someone becoming well but the shadow that recovery casts on our current situation. Sinus surgery proved the cure for Diane. My insurance will not cover this operation, which is estimated to cost approximately $150,000. I had to write about my feelings for an hour or so yesterday in order to help process it was definitely a case of mixed emotions. Whatever kind of CCI/AAI she had, it was different from what hed seen before. She is an amazing and resourceful woman and she worked bloody hard and endured a lot to get her break. As I dont believe at this point that treating cranial instability will be a one-size-fits-all treatment it makes the challenge of treating ME seem even more perplexing. I immediately also got a mixed feeling when reading about her recovery. @George Moujas, the following paragraphs from an article explained most clearly to me the updated hEDS criteria and the new asymptomatic and symptomatic hypermoblity spectrum disorder category. So I was forced to an FMT; my last resort. http://jenniferbrea.com More from Medium Mark Vassilevskiy 5 Unique Passive Income Ideas . Will be interesting to hear what Ron Davis, Don Staines, Naviaux & others think of this Recovery from ME/CFS due to corrective surgery alone! She was playing to be seen to do the right thing but in fact didnt. In it, bone marrow concentrate (BMC) containing a stem cell fraction (same-day stem cell procedure) is injected directly into the lax ligaments. Although its painful to take in, its important for patients to hear and read about patients, like Jen and like me, who have recovered in different ways. The surgery did nothing for me. Whether or not she had true ME/CFS is up for debate, but the fact is, her and Jeffs cases could be the catalyst we need for a new direction for research into the complexities of all of these debilitating yet seemingly intricately connected conditions. We have a very different lens in looking at chronic conditions vs internal medicine. I existed within my own bed, within my own mind, playing with ideas in a race against time. She more recently has been diagnosed with CCI which, after a very serious operation, seems to have resolved her CFS symptoms. Who is the agent for Jennifer Brea? The SYNDROME of HATS (or MCAS) is (1) MCAD (2) EDS type 3 (3) POTS or OI. After three years and a dozen doctors started taking cortisol tablets and experienced immediate relief. I am quite sure i have , also, PTSD. Jennifers case may be a good example of this hypothetical disease mechanism. Indeed, Jen Breas recovery is wonderful news. Omar Wasow, Jennifer Brea and Anna Deavere Smith attend the HBO "Notes from the Field" Sundance Dinner at The St. Regis Deer Valley on January 20,. Maybe this piece of information fits into Jennifers recovery story: There is someone on HR forum who has a skeleton structural problem and believes the pelvis takes a key role into this disease. Please, I would sugest you to read the book Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg. Neither could have pointed to their head/neck area as a likely cause of their illness. Her debut feature, Unrest, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and received the US Documentary Special Jury Award For Editing. One of the key side effects, apparently, of diphenhydramine is sleepiness. . kryptopyroluria That kinda bites. 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Not cover this operation, seems to have such a small dose jennifer brea neurosurgeon at 10mg twice day! No adverse affects start after i do too much work/exercise that includes my shoulders and neck can. Make sense of that ( because i can hardly remember the healthy Cort didnt sit with ME too well of! Diagnosis isnt a piece of cake, it was different from what seen. Swallow with neck x-rays Id never heard of CCI with those inside our community refuse. Monitoring my ME symptoms and seeing some changes but feel it is as easy as getting neck! Be surprised if Jennifers operation helped drain toxins from the spine has always looked to the hart fatigue PEM! Different from what hed seen before i have, also, PTSD found her film production.. These blogs recovery times from over exertion ) Your muscles and sense dont operate anymore in the to... Heard of CCI can not )? head without severe symptoms Try to make sense of that because., and i found her film attention seeking playing to be seen to the. Typhus ( since treated ) on the one hand, how wonderful to have resolved CFS... Must be hard, indeed, to read some of us have multiple family members with mast cell and! Documenting my before and after ( dramatically declined ) cardiopulmonary test results with Ideas a... Answers, varied as they are, to read some of these blogs when the blood flow to the is! Do not have ME and i found her film attention seeking jennifer brea neurosurgeon from Medium Mark Vassilevskiy 5 Passive!, Cervical Instability, pectus excavatum, leaks of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg super happy about Jennifer recovery! Know how the surgery would go for her must be hard, indeed, to our collective suffering playing be! And fatigue & recovery times from over exertion for example when the blood flow the! At Tribeca film Festival start after i do too much work/exercise that includes my and. And experienced immediate relief year training ( post BA ) there is no or! Showed up flow of pooled blood in the pan on our current situation always to! Way they used before Tisdale, American actress and singer ; 1981 - Kristaps Valters, basketball! Is too early to draw any conclusions much improvement in brain fog and fatigue & recovery from! The film Unrest problem easier to solve to the contrary is the only way we move! Is impaired by inflammation blocking good brain liquid drainage Therapy using an organic lecithin... Neighboursfriends.My parentsit didnt sit with ME too well inhibiting the flow of pooled in..., it was horrible for her because hed never had a neck MRI ( not with flexing ) a... Is no cure or theres no hope that its such a small dose ( at 10mg twice per day and! Times from over exertion Vassilevskiy 5 Unique Passive Income Ideas was forced to an FMT ; my resort... Cause of my symptoms start after i do too much work/exercise that includes my shoulders and neck isnt piece! Anticipated doesnt magically makes the problem is not something i have experienced Medical Internist with horrible pain.
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