How many on here are river rats ????

I grew up a few blocks away from the Detroit River. I don’t have CIDP but my daughter does & she has only been to the river once.

We do live by many lakes though. I believe her CIDP was caused by being exposed to mold & then getting vaccines.

Kelly

I have CIDP. I have 2 cousins with MS, 1 cousin with Lupus, 1 cousin with Fibromyalgia and we all grew up around the detroit area. Makes you wonder what is in the water. It is strange that this is coming out in the cousin line, we are all near and in our 50’s. Nothing like this in our past ancestors. I have told my neuro about this, but he didn’t think anything of it. I always wondered why it is coming out in our family so much.
Clare in Michigan

That’s weird. I live in Manhattan, so I’m surrounded by rivers.

-marie

Norman,

It’s good to hear, you are doing better.

I live in Mid TN as well and spend my fair share of time on the water. Persoanlly I think there is alot more autoimmune conditions out ther due to what we eat, STRESS, increased workload, etc.

Our rivers are cleaner than they have been in decades. I think food processing could be an issue, but not the rivers.

Get back out on the river. Swim, catch some fish and if you find the mother lode them call me. I’ll be there in a couple hours!!!

Take care

Kevin

I do believe that the form of GBS named Campylobacter jejuni bacterium is found primarily in China & can be a rather fatal type? I agree with Keven, & tend to believe that in this fast paced world filled with stress, so many preservatives in our food, both parents working or single parent households, etc. probably contribute more to GBS & CIDP than any lake, river or stream. I live in MN where most people up here in the north have either a lake home or a summer cabin on a lake. Of all the people I know who are in this area with these illnesses, these people are NOT lake people.

Beliefs are one thing. Documented case histories and so called ‘intellectual’ publications such as scientific journals present a different picture. Entirely.

“[I]..Abstract – Species within the genus, Campylobacter, have emerged over the last three decades as significant clinical pathogens, particularly of human public health concern, [COLOR=”Purple”]where the majority of acute bacterial enteritis [B]in the Western world[/B] is due to these organisms[/COLOR]….”

Define enteritis: “…Enteritis is usually caused by eating or drinking substances that are contaminated with bacteria or viruses. The germs settle in the small intestine and cause inflammation and swelling, which may lead to abdominal pain…”[/I]

“.[I]..Abstract
Since the eradication of polio in most parts of the world, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has become the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis. GBS is an autoimmune disorder of the peripheral nervous system characterized by weakness, usually symmetrical, evolving over a period of several days or more. Since laboratories began to isolate Campylobacter species from stool specimens some 20 years ago, there have been many reports of GBS following Campylobacter infection. Only during the past few years has strong evidence supporting this association developed. [COLOR=”Red”]Campylobacter infection is now known as the single most identifiable antecedent infection associated with the development of GBS. [/COLOR]Campylobacter is thought to cause this autoimmune disease through a mechanism called molecular mimicry, whereby Campylobacter contains ganglioside-like epitopes in the lipopolysaccharide moiety that elicit autoantibodies reacting with peripheral nerve targets. Campylobacter is associated with several pathologic forms of GBS, including the demyelinating (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) and axonal (acute motor axonal neuropathy) forms. Different strains of Campylobacter as well as host factors likely play an important role in determining who develops GBS as well as the nerve targets for the host immune attack of peripheral nerves. The purpose of this review is to summarize our current knowledge about the clinical, epidemiological, pathogenetic, and laboratory aspects of campylobacter-associated GBS. …[/I]”

from: [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88896/[/url]

“…[I]Campylobacter

[COLOR=”Red”]Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the United States. [/COLOR]Over 6,000 cases of Campylobacter infection were reported in 2009 alone, but many cases are not reported to public health authorities. A 2011 report from the CDC estimates that Campylobacter causes approximately 845,000 illnesses in the United States each year.

Campylobacter is found most often in food, particularly in chicken. Food is contaminated when it comes into contact with animal feces. Any raw poultry may contain Campylobacter, including organic and “free range” products. [COLOR=”Red”]In fact, studies have found Campylobacter contamination on up to 88 percent of chicken carcasses. [/COLOR]Despite the commonness of Campylobacter, however, infections are usually isolated events, and widespread outbreaks are rare. [/I]

[url]http://www.foodborneillness.com/campylobacter_food_poisoning/[/url] hmm, seems to be a law firm advertisement. Wanna bet it’s based on fact?

Maybe this source is more believable: [url]http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g.htm[/url]

“…[I]What are the most common foodborne diseases?

The most commonly recognized foodborne infections are those caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7, and by a group of viruses called calicivirus, also known as the Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses.

Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. It is the most commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrheal illness in the world. These bacteria live in the intestines of healthy birds, and most raw poultry meat has Campylobacter on it. Eating undercooked chicken, or other food that has been contaminated with juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this infection..[/I].”

Oh, gee, I almost forgot. The subject was water…

“[I]…[COLOR=”Red”]An estimated 20% of cases of illness caused by C. jejuni are due to vehicles of infection other than food, including water [/COLOR](6). Waterborne outbreaks of Campylobacter tend to occur in spring or early fall, an association attributed to seasonality of surface water contamination and infection in cattle herds…Excrement from birds and animals, including cattle, has been shown to contaminate surface water supplies used by humans infected with Campylobacter (9)…[/I]”

Facts, amazing, aren’t they?

Was raised in the family’s home on the confluence of two crystal clear rivers and spent the summers of my youth- fishing and swimming in them, writing on the rocks with the DDT bricquettes (dropped from planes and bridges by the DEC.) mistaken for charcoal remnants from the retort ovens of the defunct wood chemical plants upstream. Hands and arms black with the sooty residue that so easily rinsed off ‘next dunk. Countless (although not real frequent, but we are talking 30 years here.) fish taken from the river and consumed over the years. The house is just steps to the river, closest in town.

I live along the Souris River, and our town has long had bad water. We have numerous largescale livestock operations around our town, and we all use reverse-osmosis drinking water for drinking and cooking. The creek and river are often so polluted that the fish is deemed unfit to eat. The taste of rotten fish in spring, and manure and pesticides/herbicides (dandelion killer) is often in the water. There were 5 death-cards per week at the post office one particularly bad spring, when the river stank so badly that the air was fouled in the town. Some farmers with a grandfather clause in their land title were placing their manure on the creek upstream from the water intake area of our town, and waiting for the spring run-off to wash it away.

Within recent years, the entire town has received a grant for a new water treatment plant, and the homeowners are now severely taxed annually just to pay their share of costs. Illness is certainly less than previously, but we still continue to use reverse osmosis water at all times. I was managing ok until that 2007 flu shot, and immediately after that I got all the GBS symptoms. So while I believe that polluted water or food-poisoning are certainly factors in undermining one’s health, and possibly triggering a severe neurological illness, even death, I’m certain it was my flu shot that caused my GBS .

D.U. I am not trying to be flippant, but your post is not exactly a testimonial of how great it would be to live where you do. If I were the Chamber of Commerce, I wouldn’t be hiring you to write the city’s travel brochures, LOL! Just had to laugh when I read your post, sorry but every once in awhile it’s OK to have a sense of humor on the forum.

I live in northern MN, great clean water from our old mine pits, very clean lakes, no smells ever, & I still came down with one of the worst cases of CIDP the Mayo had ever seen. My neuros believe it was from a viral infection I caught from one of my students. Really makes one want to be a teacher, doesn’t it?

GH, I agree with you; because otherwise everybody would get it, not just us.
Pam, believe it or not, our town is a widely-known tourist attraction. I was only stating some of its most obvious problems.:rolleyes: