Mellen.....box got there quick! the one thing i wanted to include i could not find. I wanted to send paula deens bbq sauce or marinade BUT it was no where around here to be found. will have to track some down to stock up. last time i bought it i got the last 2 jars. now i cant find any! the envie should be arriving soon also Woot I got a box from IOWA it arrived Saturday! I got the plants in the ground yesterday. and for life of me cannot remember what they were! Read your lovely note to kiddo. She said wow mom she knows all about her state. We know nothing about ours like that! as i was reading it i showed her the goodies! I had 2 cookbooks - now i have a total of 6 in my collection! (see what you guys got started? lol) nah cant blame it on yall. although ive gotten 3 total from obf trades-my grandmother had like a gazillion when she died but my aunt took them all!)One from Iowas sesquicentennial anniversary. one from the church mellen grew up in - full of her family recipes! ( your note is in the cookbook now so i can remember which are family of yours!) I will quote some from the note maryellen wrote. and tell ya what i got! besides 2 cookbooks. Iowa is one of the top hog producing states - i got a box of ready to eat bacon - heat in the microwave and its ready@! Iowa is one of the top cattle producing states - i got beef sausage made in IA. ( while reading this kiddo said oooo do we get a calf? lol some reason she wants a baby calf. i said NONONO!) lol IA also known for corn - so we got some popcorn grown in IA. Great for movie night next weekend. BBQ sauce made in IA. some new hersheys chocolate truffles! were a little melted but but them in fridge and they are good! OOOOOOo i love a box with food! ty so much mellen!!!

Sorry this is long. I found this message thread very interesting because over 3 and a half years ago I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Rheumatoid Arthritis. My doctor said it was 'triggered' by an antibiotic that I was given that I had an allergic reaction to. In one month I went from hiking 8 miles and not breaking a sweat and doing climbing walls to being so disabled with pain and swelling in my feet, hands, my joints ached and sensations in my legs (needed to sleep on my back with legs up on pillows) that I had to get pants with elastic. The doctor told me that I would be disabled and on meds the rest of my life. He could not explain to me sufficiently how this could happen in one month. I refused meds and toughed it out. The first month I felt sorry for myself and was a couch potato. Then I kicked myself and started to read. That was about the only thing I could do. This is what I found out and how I beat my diagnosis. I found that when we reach around the age of 40 our body slowly diminishes it's production of our super antioxidant glutathione. This is a major player in the proper functioning of our immune system and regulates so many body systems that I am not going to list all of them here. The one I am going to mention is that it does regulate the hormones. When this is depleted via the severe immune response that happens when you receive a vaccination the body's cells and gut (80% of our immune system is regulated from there) is no longer protected because of oxidative stress. When the gut is compromised the body absorption of vit. D is diminished. Now another thing to take into consideration is family medical history. Is there allergies or auto-immune disease in the family? If this is true then there is the possibility that there could be any one or more of these factors: 1) defective GSH (glutathione) gene; 2) elevated levels of free floating IgE in the body; 3) increased levels of histamine release from mast cells. These are the most important. Because I found that RA was an auto-immune issue likely caused by my allergic reaction to the anti-biotic I had to deal with the inflammation and find how I could diminish this. First I started with diet. What foods can cause inflammation and eliminate them? I eliminated all processed sugars and went to honey for a start. Then I found what to add to my diet to increase my body production of glutathione (I was 58 at onslaught of RA). I added more fruits and green veggies (increasing my vit C & E). As I researched further I found that whey protein helps intensify the C & E so I started taking a whey suppliment. With the changes in diet initially I saw slow impovement in 1 month. When I added the whey protein I saw improvement in 2 weeks. It took 2 years for my body to heal itself and I was pretty much symptom free and pain free. The only problem I had left was my gut. I believe I had IBS (irritable bowel symdrome). I never went back to the doctor so this is my diagnosis of the symptoms that I had. My gut would feel funny (I called the five minute warning) and I would have to find a bathroom fast. Every store I went to I knew where the restroom was just in case. Further research was done to find out that Autistic children are glutathione deficient and their gut problems diminished after going gluten free. Hummmmm I pondered this for about 1 day and decided to minimize my gluten and test the foods I did eat to see what reactions I would have. I no longer eat standard breads or pastas. I can eat rye bread and one bun with unbleached white bread for my hamburgers. (I love my food, sorry.) I can also eat the pasta that is labeled semolina pasta. Don't understand why but I can but I do not overdo it. I have been reading labels for 2 years now and I am pretty much (money is a little tight) all natural foods, frozen veggies, etc. As of one year ago I am now totally symptom free. Wohoo! My only problem is that I know I will never be 100% ever again. I do have energy level problems so I do everything in moderation. I have to take a power nap every afternoon. I lost 35 - 40 lbs of muscle mass so I can't do some of the strenuous things I used to. But the upside is that my allergic responses to seasonal pollens are next to non-existant. No flu or colds (this was a concern of mine). Over all with my auto-immune issue it is all under control and people are amazed that I ever had RA and was 95% disabled. This is my story. Do your own research. If your doctor will not test for glutathione deficiency (warning: they will not) ask them to test for magnesium deficiency. Glutathione deficiency goes hand in hand with magnesium deficiency. Foot note: Glutathione supplements do not work because the body does not absorb the glutathione. The best way is to get the body to produce more. Here is a link that might be useful: Histamine

I was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica about three or four years ago and started on 15 mg of prednisone. The pain was gone almost overnight. I was in such pain I couldn't lift my arm to comb my hair, so for me prednisone was a miracle drug. I didn't have any side effects except increased appetite which I managed to keep under a bit of control, although I did put on a bit of weight, but I think I could have managed that increased appetite better. Since starting on 15 mg I was gradually weaned down to 12.5 mg then 10. When I got down to 5 mg. I decreased it by 1 mg. per month and so on. I went up and down for about a year, whenever I had pain I upped my dose to the previous one. I was on each dose for a month before I dropped the dosage. Now I am finally over my polymyalgia and am down to 1 mg. and as of Dec. 1 will be alternating between 1 and 1/2 mg. My doctor told me it would disappear between 3-5 years and thankfully that is what has happened. Hope the same for you. Don't be afraid to increase or decrease your prednisone, but do it very slowly. The disease will go away eventually. Good luck and keep in touch with us.

I am 66 and have had the same problem for years. First they diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, later polymyalgia rheumatica. I finally got to the point that I was on Vicodin. prednisone. I always thought it had to be due to something nutritional. I am a registered nurse. I started my own diagnostics since mainstream medicine doesn't know anything about nutrition and wasn't interested in learning. As some of the other posters did, I started removing medicine that the doctors had me and it began to lessen. Lastly I began taking Youngevity products and within 30 days. no pain. I am no longer on prescribed pharmaceuticals except occasional pain medication at night when I have overdone. I am not sure yet if this will go away or if some of the damage is not reversible. When I stop taking the vitamin/trace minerals, boom it all comes back. You will always have to take the supplements because our soil no longer contains these 90 vit/minerals since we stopped adding wood ash to our gardens once newer methods of heating houses came into practice. But what you save in polypharmacy given to you by doctors will pay for the supplements. Read the Creator of Youngevity's book "Dead doctors don't lie". As a 50 year OR nurse, I concur with most of what he states. Good luck