Comments for Gnorb.NET

Comment on Avoiding CraigsList Scammers by cali_450

cali_450 — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:03:04 +0000

Mine was super similar to yours! I was offered a 2006 Civic for $2,990 too.

Comment on Avoiding CraigsList Scammers by cali_450

cali_450 — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:54:17 +0000

This is the email I got from matthewjunglas@msn.com

Hi; Thanks for your interest in the Honda Civic. I am selling this car because my unit will be sent back to Korea and don’t want it getting old in my garage. The price is low because I need to sell it before the end of May. It’s a beautiful 06 Honda Civic in good condition with low mileage and only one owner. Always get great gas mileage (40MPG Hwy)! Last serviced 4/25/13. I’m a non-smoker and the car has never been in an accident, clean title. I still have the civic for sale and i am ready to sell it now for $2900. The car is in Santa Cruz, California and in case it gets sold I will take care of the shipping charges. Let me know if you are interested; email me back and I’d be more than happy to answer any question you might have. Regards Matthew
Thanks for the warning. I knew it was too good to be true.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by JOYCE M. LATONA

JOYCE M. LATONA — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:34:56 +0000

I TOO GAG ALOT AND HAVE DRY HEAVES, WHAT TO DO W/O MEDS FOR 48 HOURS WILL BE HARD!!! LET ME KNOW HOW YU MADE OUT WITH THIS PROBE??

MAY YEARS AGO WHEN FIRST DIAGNOSESD I HAD THE TUBE, THAT WASN’T TOO BAD.
BUT GOING W/O MEDS I CALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND BEGGED TO TAKE SOMETHING,THE DR SAID NO, YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW MORE HOURS TO GO AND WILL ONLY HAVE TO START FROM THE BEGINNING AGAIN.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Mary Ann

Mary Ann — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:33:10 +0000

I had my Bravo monitor ‘installed’ last Friday, by none other than Dr. DeMeester himself, so I went in a bit worried but knew that I was in good hands. First they tried putting it in through my nose, but it wouldn’t go. It just kept crunching in my nose. I was crying but the nurse wouldn’t stop. By the third try I was sobbing. Decided to try the other nostril, but they couldn’t get a Qtip in, so they finally went down my throat. No problem, except for the gagging. Plus, they had just pulled a tube out of my nose from a different procedure, so my nose and throat would eventually really hurt. I live quite a ways from Dr. DeMeesters Los Angeles office, so I will be mailing my Bravo back. I was told to insure it for $5,000.00! Anyhoo, every swallow, whether its food or spit, has been painful. Nose hurts where they assaulted me (not really). Today I feel lousy and never even got dressed. I am a sick cookie. Not just physically, but mentally. I love to tinker. I can’t wait to extract my monitor (ewww!).
I found by keeping my own journal of times and ph levels over the course of the 48 hours, to be very interesting. Very seldom was my ph low, but it tended to be high, averaging 7+. I guess that that means more iff a regurgitation problem, which is what I suspected. I have never had heartburn or traditional reflux, which would explain why Omaprazole (Prilosec) never did a thing for me. I have been coughing for 3 years, have difficulty swallowing and a problem with food and/or drink coming back up, especially when I bend over. I have a hiatal hernia. I had surgery for it on July 31, 2012. It was an utter and complete failure. Complications. I also had Nissan fundoplasty. Failure, also. Because of scar tissue from that and gall bladder removal the year before, I must now have an extreme specialist (Dr. DeMeester) perform my surgery. I am very confidant now, but I sure do wish this to finally be over and lead a normal life.

Comment on My Positive Disintegration by Gnorb

Gnorb — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:55:56 +0000

Sorry that I missed this comment: It’s been pretty hectic here (I’ll be writing about this shortly).

Dabrowski’s ideas definitely helped. I have one of his books, which is no longer in print, and plan to make it into an ebook for myself and friends. (I’ll have to type it all out by hand, but I don’t mind, since I’ll just treat it as a “deep reading”.) I’ll send you a copy once I’ve done this.

The biggest thing with Dabrowski is that I’ve been able to implement the idea of positive disintegration pretty completely. I start by identifying neuroses when they appear (or rather, when I notice them) and working to find their roots, deconstruct them, and reintegrate the new “programming”, so to speak, into my life. For example, one of my habits is that I start shopping almost uncontrollably as a method of dealing with anxiety, which ironically, in my case, most often comes as a result of financial issues. This eventually leads to full blown panic attacks. In the process, when I’m “bored”, my mind races, and suddenly I become a hypochondriac. Using the techniques I learned from Dabrowski, I’ve been able to identify these behaviors and seek solutions when they arise. In the process I’ve also been able to property channel my thoughts and calm my mind by identifying what’s important to me. (Turns out, for all the tech, there’s nothing I love more than being out amongst trees and enjoying nature. In fact, just by integrating more nature into my life, I’ve been able to calm my mind to the point where I can deal with existential crisis-type thoughts when they arise.)

Anyway, this could go on forever. If you feel like chatting about it sometime, I’m all for it. Just let me know. I’d love to hear about what you’ve learned, too.

Finally, you may be interested in this, from an intellectual standpoint: there’s a Yahoo Groups mailing list that’s for Dabrowski’s ideas. Most of it involves history and recent papers and citations, but there are frequently conversations about the interpretation of certain cases and ideas. If nothing else, it makes me feel smarter just reading it, though I’ve also found it useful at times.

Take care!

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Gnorb

Gnorb — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:06:40 +0000

I wouldn’t dread it were I you. I can’t say I experienced the side effects people here talk about. In fact, the whole experience was pretty enlightening to me, and is actually recommend the study to anyone having GERD symptoms. (Think about it this way/ how many people talk about a medical procedure, maybe raving about it online, when everything goes well? Conversely, how many people talk about it and rant online when things go badly? Although complications are few and far between, they’ll have sisporportionate representation in forums such as these.)

One thing to remember is that both of these are diagnostic tests, therefore they’re not going to fix or cure anything. They’re just to see what’s going on, in order to develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Gnorb

Gnorb — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:20 +0000

Unfortunately, I can’t offer any advice for Crohn’s. A friend’s son has it, and he takes Remicade, but having heard about the side effects… I don’t know. I’m quite sorry to hear about the diagnosis, though. All the best.

Comment on My Positive Disintegration by Nils Geylen

Nils Geylen — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:43:51 +0000

Hey, I never knew you wrote about this. Or I did and forgot. Google didn’t because somehow this showed up in ‘personal results’ when I searched for Dabrowski again — I first heard about him in late 2009.
How did this all turn out for you? I still see you around sometimes of course but you might imagine it’s hard to keep track. Social media are great but they’re not communities.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Carol

Carol — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:56:47 +0000

I forgot to mention that I’m having the Brava thing this coming Monday in conjunction with a EGD. I’m expecting to be put to sleep as usal with an EGD. I didn’t know it took a long time to come loose and to move on out. I wasn’t dreading it till I read this blog! I’m more worried about it not solving any problems. I have “indigestion”, terrible tightness and discomfort in my chest, phlegm in my throat, spitting, hoarseness, etc for years. I had gall bladder tests because fatty foods seem to bother me, but they all turn out negative. I’m 71 and spitting and coughing like an old man…I hate it. It also interferes with my singing voice. C

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Carol

Carol — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:50:41 +0000

My husband (73 yrs. old) has just been diagnosed with Chrohn’s. He has been put on Asacol. He also takes Xanax. But so far the only thing that has helped his nausea is Prednisone. What do you take? We are still in the process of tring to work this out. Any info you could give us would help.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Gnorb

Gnorb — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:42:03 +0000

No, I didn’t. Because my pH exposure was, ultimately, normal (turns out most of my symptoms were from Eosinophilic Esophagitis, and not GERD), this wasn’t warranted. Additionally, I do have impaired digestion (gastroparesis), which effectively disqualifies me from any type of fundoplication.

Good luck with your journey, however.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Goose

Goose — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:30:06 +0000

I recently had the Bravo pH done at Tampa General. I am now planning on having the Nissen done. Did you go forward and have this procedure as well? If so, I’m interested in you experience.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by fwdmotion

fwdmotion — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:11:47 +0000

Thanks so much for your reply. That’s disappointing to hear the doctor’s aren’t giving these elevated numbers much credence. Obviously if the number fluctuates that high, we’re regurgitating SOMETHING that’s causing discomfort – bile or otherwise. Like you, I had pain even when the pH was in the “normal” range. I assumed it was because bile and acid were mixing, keeping the pH normal but still causing irritation. It stinks the doctors don’t explore that possibility further!

Well, we’ll see what my doc says. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better!

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by Gnorb

Gnorb — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:22:20 +0000

Like you guessed, my doc shrugged those numbers off, saying that they went up there for most people, but that there wasn’t evidence of bile reflux. I, however, share your opinion on the matter.

Also, note that while my score was in the normal range, there have been times (like now) where I get esophageal pain so bad that it can’t help be anything BUT some type of reflux. It’s very uncommon, but when it strikes, it strikes hard.

Good luck.

Comment on The 48-Hour Bravo Esophageal pH Test: A Probe to Study Acid via Monitoring Capsule by fwdmotion

fwdmotion — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 05:41:01 +0000

Sorry, I know I’m really late to the party But I just finished the Bravo pH test and am awaiting my follow-up appointment to get my results. The information you provided was really helpful, so thank you! I was curious whether the doctor addressed your pH readings above 7? I gather the DeMeester score and other Bravo score parameters don’t look at those higher numbers, but it seems they could be very clinically relevant. I had numbers as high as 9.2, and spent much of my 2nd day above 7 (with some acid reflux events mixed in) with a horrible “sour stomach” feeling all day long. Those higher numbers often occurred after eating meals, particularly fatty ones (I had a teaspoon of coconut butter and it shot to 9.2). Even after drinking espresso my numbers went up into the high 7′s and 8′s. From what I understand, both fats and coffee stimulate bile production, so I’m wondering whether I’m having both bile and acid reflux but am concerned the doctor is going to blow off those higher readings. Did you ever get any explanation for your 8+pH readings?