--- In morelife@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Kemmler" <kemmler@...> wrote:

[Olafur snipped Bob expression of concern for I and Kitty's well-being and most
of Kitty's response --Paul]

>
> [So, Bob, the lull in MoreLife Yahoo activity is not a result of me
> and Paul slowing down. (I won't speak for what Olafur has been up to,
> but will let him respond on that himself.) **Kitty]

I have not been up to much lately. The reasons for that are that I've
been sick, but also a little lazy and lacking motivation when it comes
to getting certain things done. Lately I have been lifting weights 3
times a week with my twin brother and my cousin. A little more than
two weeks ago (on Wednesday the 7th of February) my cousin noticed
upon meeting me at the gym that my jaws appeared to be a little
swollen. I myself had noticed the same thing the day before but
thought it was just my imagination. My cousin, who happens to be a
doctor, immediately suspected that I had contracted a mumps infection
since this kind of swelling in the jaw area is one of the main symptoms of
mumps. Upon his recommendation I went to see a doctor the next morning. The
doctor I went to also strongly suspected that I had a mumps infection. In
addition I had also suffered from mild edema in the legs and leg cramps which
started a few days before I noticed the swelling in the jaw area. Edema and
cramps are not one of the symptoms of mumps however so in addition to having a
blood test taken to screen for the mumps virus I also had a blood and urine test
that tested for some parameters to track down the cause of the edema and the
cramps. A few days later the swelling had gotten a little worse and I clearly
was sick. I started getting very tired and was sleeping 9-11 hours a day. This
persisted for almost two weeks. I did not contract a fever however and the
swelling never got to the point of being painful as is common in people with
mumps. But I have been taking ibuprofen to keep the swelling down as well as
taking high dose vitamin C, zinc and echinacea for the illness.

As of now I am almost fully recovered. A mumps infection usually takes
about 10-12 days to clear out. I still have a little swelling in the
jaw area but not much. The edema and the cramps have also improved
considerably, and I now have my energy back and am anxious to go back
to the gym:-) I will wait for the swelling to disappear completely
before doing that however. I have now gotten most of the blood test
results. The blood test revealed some antibodies to the mumps virus
which are probably from a vaccination I had against the mumps virus
over 20 years ago. But as the doctor said some of the old mumps
vaccines may not work so well and another blood test is needed later
on to tell if I have mumps or not. I guess this is because it takes
the body a while to produce new antibodies against the mumps virus and
these will not be seen right away. Interestingly the blood test
results did not reveal any cause for the edema and the cramps. Several
electrolytes were tested along with some markers of kidney function
but all of these were fine. Because I was vaccinated against mumps
when I was younger and because I also have edema and cramps which are
not symptoms of a mumps infection the doctor is not completely
convinced that I have mumps infection. Therefore, just as a
precaution, he sent me to a chest x-ray this Friday to see if I have
an enlarged heart and also to check if I have a benign lung tumor as
both of these could be the cause of the edema. The same day I also had
the second blood test done to screen for antibodies against the mumps
virus. The results of that test will reveal for sure if I truly have
mumps infection or not. I have yet to receive the results of these
tests but should receive them this week. I'm hoping that whatever is
causing the edema and the cramps will disappear as I recover from this
illness and so far it looks good, as the edema and cramps have improved
considerably as I've been recovering.

[We were actually concerned about Olafur last week when we hadn't heard from him
since he wrote us back on 2/9/07 that he'd contracted mumps. When he didn't
respond to an email from me last Friday, Paul emailed his twin brother with our
concerns. It was a relief to hear from him yesterday with much of what he's
letting everyone else here know.

It occurs to me that being psychologically down, feeling "a little lazy and
lacking motivation when it comes to getting certain things done" wouldn't be
unexpected for someone who despite spending a lot of effort in researching ways
to optimize hir health, comes down with a disease or disorder. This kind of
discouragement has at times accompanied Paul's periodic mysterious left leg
swelling, chills and fever accompanied by short term mental confusion during the
chills phase - *much* less severe than it was at the beginning in March 2000 and
even 3 years ago, but it will not seem to stop for good. The human body is so
complex and despite the large amounts that he (and even you, Olafur) know about
it's functioning, there is still a great deal not understood.

We're glad to hear that you're well on the mend physically and that your spirits
are rising too. **Kitty]

[Welcome to the club of those who periodically have strange undiagnosable
maladies. The worst part about mine is that it will just not seem to stop
recurring an average of 3-4 times per year. Each episode is now not really any
great trouble because I know so well what is happening, exactly what its stages
are, and that I just have to be patient and within 2 days I will be totally
recovered. Nevertheless, as with any body malady, I cannot help but remember
that each occurrence is likely removing a little from my lifespan. OTOH, as I
more hopefully thought last time, perhaps each episode is having a positive
hormetic effect and making me stronger than ever during the in between times.
Certainly, right after I am recovered I always feel energy levels much higher
than I did before I had the malady. --Paul]