Det har varit en lång & trevlig söndag för oss Dagen började med ett bad & tillfixning (märkligt ihopsatt ord jag vet) och sedan kom Mattias mor & styvfar & hämtade oss klockan 9 då det bar av till kyrkan för Ossians dop. Det va finfint! Efter det bar det vidare till ett församlingshem för mingel & smörgåstårta och en superfin pingutårta som duktiga Lina hade gjort.

Runt 16 var vi hemma & då gick vi direkt och handlade allt vad som behövs till pepparkakshus, och ja nu är klóckan över 22 och vi är nästan precis klara! Hujeda mig!! Barnet har lagt sig och jag får väl försöka hitta krafter någonstans att ta tag i misären som bildades under baket!

The pre-production of my still untitled short film has finally started. Although I’m bit behind my intended schedule, I’m happy that finally things are now coming out of the scripting stage and the ball has started rolling. Regarding the script, I’m satisfied with the way the story has finally turned out. There are still some loose ends to be tied and some more pruning to be done -something which will continue until the rehearsals I presume-, but overall I’m satisfied with the story structure and how each character has turned out to be. Few friends of mine, whose opinions and sensibilities I conform with, have liked the story and have also given some good suggestions and insights which have helped my script. I continue to talk with few more people whose insights might help and tighten the script further.

In terms of casting and crew, casting is almost 75% done and crew hiring & hunting is on. The fact that my story has now seven characters, each equally important to the story, makes the process of casting actors quite daunting. Getting the right crew is equally important too, especially the Director of photography (DOP) and the Editor. Few people I were counting upon earlier have sort of back tracked. But the positive outcome of that is that after I started looking for alternatives, I talked with one DOP who seems now much better than the guy who I was earlier relying upon. So, as they say, problems could be in fact opportunities in disguise.

Till the scripting stage, you are the boss; living in the world of your story/characters and controlling everything. But once the pre-production starts, your different type of skills are tested and you seem to start losing control of things one by one. Whoever said that scripting is perhaps the easiest part of the film making challenges and headaches was quite right. The real battle begins when you start working with other people and with uncontrollable variables to realize your story on screen. But hey, that’s the real fun..right?. I mean I’m doing this because, for more than anything else, I love this challenge of creating something out of all these impossibilities; a challenge which only filmmaking could provide for me.

dOP – das heißt im stehen Keyboard spielen und niemals nüchtern auftreten.

K.

Denna veckan har gått lika snabbt som resten av den senaste tiden…

En vecka sedan känns som igår.. men tiden innan den känns betydligt längre.. Nu förstår ingen mig som vanligt, det är bara mina egna tankar som halvtolkas i skrift.

Besök har det hunnits med i veckan, vilket är mycket trevligt men som gör mig enormt stressad idag när jag får ta igen allt i sista stund. Jens & Leon hälsade på en dag & igår kom min favoritLina med finaste lilla Ossian, han är helt underbar det lilla livet.

Idag har jag precis skrivit prov & ska in med ett arbete innan kl 18  då Isadora kommer hem till sin mamma för tacomys & godis till idol.

I morgon står det pepparkakehusbakning på schemat med samma lilla skrutt, vilket hon ser fran emot & jag också för den delen.

På söndag ska Ossian döpas & då finns såklart vi på plats, hans fars 30 årsdag ska även firas.

Sedan har denna helgen gått & ny vecka påbörjas, men trevligheter har vi absolut hunnit med. Snart är det jul, det finns bara en sak jag saknar…

I Nas di Brescia hanno sequestrato circa 21 tonnellate di Grana Padano Dop a seguito di controlli effettuati in un caseificio della provincia bresciana. Il formaggio era prodotto e conservato, senza rispettare i requisiti di igiene minimi.

Sono subito emerse irregolarità strutturali e gestionali, carenze igieniche dei locali di stagionatura ed parte del prodotto in maturazione era invaso da insetti e muffe. Gli alimenti sono stati subito sequestrati ed è stata richiesta la sospensione dell’attività del caseificio.

Incurante del divieto impostogli, il titolare del caseificio ha però proseguito la produzione. E’ scattato allora il sequestro sanitario di tutto il prodotto in stagionatura, ben 635 forme di Grana Padano e il titolare è stato denunciato. Il valore delle oltre 21 tonnellate di prodotto sottratto alla distribuzione supera i 200.000 euro.

Fonte: http://ilgiorno.ilsole24ore.com

Un paio di giorni fa un infuocato articolo del giornalista enogastronomico Attilio Scotti su Vaol, accusava l’Accademia del Pizzocchero (associazione che si propone di valorizzare questo piatto tipico valtellinese) di aver tradito i propri ideali avendo dato un riconoscimento ad un ristorante nella bergamasca. Cito questo fatto (di certo grave) per trattare una vicenda simile, ma per certi versi ben più penosa, che si trascina in Valtellina da quasi 15 anni: la cosiddetta guerra del formaggio Bitto che ha come protagonisti, da una parte l’ Associazione Produttori Valli del Bitto e dall’altra, il Consorzio di Tutela (CTCB) che “difende” il Bitto DOP. Prima di entrare nel vivo della questione è bene fare un po’ di chiarezza per chi non conoscesse il prodotto di cui stiamo parlando: il Bitto è un formaggio d’alpeggio, grasso, a pasta semicotta (di latte vaccino e caprino in piccolissima parte) che si produce da secoli in bassa Valtellina, più precisamente nelle Valli del Bitto (separate dall’omonimo torrente), in alta val Gerola sopra la cittadina di Morbegno. Tra le sue caratteristiche principali c’è quella di reggere invecchiamenti molto lunghi, fino a 10 anni, il suo sapore è semplicemente unico, inutile descriverlo qui in poche righe. Tornando al nosto caso, qual è il motivo del contendere?

La disciplinare della DOP estese anni fa la zona di produzione a tutta la provincia di Sondrio permettendo di non utilizzare latte di capra e di alimentare le vacche con mais, altri cereali, melasso e soia. I produttori storici , fedeli alla tradizione che voleva l’alimentazione degli animali con mangimi naturali, la lavorazione del latte solo a caldo in calecc di pietra (costruzioni “mobili” caratteristiche che permettono una maggiore vicinanza col bestiame) e l’aggiunta di latte di capra orobica, decise di uscire dalla tutela della DOP. Da allora si combatte una battaglia legale a colpi di carte bollate, multe e richiami tra l’Associazione storica e il Consorzio. Ultimo episodio in questo senso è la multa da 60.000 euro che si è vista recapitare la società che opera la commercializzazione del Bitto ‘storico’ con  la motivazione di non essersi assoggettata ai controlli previsti per la produzione Dop e per aver usurpato la denominazione protetta “Bitto“.

In pratica, il risultato è che nelle Valli del Bitto, dove si produce il Bitto da secoli, il Bitto non può più assumere questa denominazione mentre in tutto il resto della provincia di Sondrio (e in parte di quella di Bergamo) sì. Stiamo sfiorando il grottesco: gli organismi di controllo (come nel caso ad inizio articolo dei pizzoccheri) tutelano chi non dovrebbero, chi rispetta la tradizione non solo non viene appoggiato ma viene anche attaccato frontalmente. E così i pizzoccheri devono essere difesi a spada tratta da un valoroso giornalista e il vero Bitto dall’associazione Slow Food che lo tutela con un presidio. Anche la rete si è mobilitata, in particolar modo il sito ruralpini ha lanciato un grido d’allarme promuovendo una petizione online che ha calamitato l’interesse di molti e che vi invitiamo ovviamente a firmare numerosi.

Qual è la morale di questa storia? La tradizione viene calpestata troppo spesso da leggi che cercano di tutelarla ma in realtà tutelano solo gli interessi economici dei soliti gruppi di potere. Il ruolo delle Dop andrebbe quantomeno rivisto per non intaccare la ricchezza storica delle nostre tradizioni alimentari. Chi esce sconfitto da questa vicenda non è un’associazione od un’altra ma il territorio e la gente che crede ancora nelle buone pratiche tramandate dal passato.

Så var ytterligare en torsdag till ändo. Idag har vi pratat om dop, på eftermiddagen hade vi projekt och jag hade ett snabbt utvecklingssamtal. Jag har känt mig hängig och småsjuk hela veckan, så jag tänkte lägga mig en stund nu och sova. I helgen ska jag vara funkis på ett läger, så jag har inte riktigt tid att vara sjuk. Eller ja, det har jag väl aldrig… Men än mindre nu. Ikväll blir det nog en mathandlings-trip till Arlanda iaf : )

Va prezentam un alt site al SC SF STORE EXIM SRL, Saibe . ro (www.saibe.ro).
Nu uitati ca la Store gasiti o gama larga de organe de asamblare (piulite, saibe, suruburi etc) si intotdeauna veti avea de unde alege!
Va asteptam pe http://www.storeinc.ro – siteul principal.

Va prezentam un alt site al SC SF STORE EXIM SRL, Piulita . ro (www.piulita.ro).
Nu uitati ca la Store gasiti o gama larga de organe de asamblare (piulite, saibe, suruburi etc) si intotdeauna veti avea de unde alege!
Va asteptam pe http://www.storeinc.ro – siteul principal.

dOP LIVE at The Cellar, Galway 31.01.2009

01:23 :49 min | 192 Kbps | 115 MB

Found this Groove Armada mix over at spineshaker. These blokes really know how to pick em. Top site really.
Being a closet sucker for house (especially the tech/circus/gypsy -house that Circus Companys Nôze and dOP are heavy exponents for along with Tartelet Recs, The Gym and Brandt Brauer Frick), I thought it might be time for a post which soul purpose is to promote a little of the ‘housy’ stuff I haven’t allowed much attention on the jacket.

Grove Armada – DataTrasmission Mixtape (download)

dOP – Cum With Me (download)

And to round of things nice and self absorbed, here’s a mix I did meself one of them nights, where just can’t be arsed to do that studying, that one day is supposed to get you out of poverty.

Minging Beige Jacket – Trial & Error Mixtape (download) Tracklist:
1 Keinzweiter – “Boken Wetware” 04:57
2 Claude Vonstroke – “Chimps (Original Mix)” 01:02
3 Keinzweiter – “Boken Wetware” 03:40
4 Claude Vonstroke – “Chimps (Original Mix)” 02:47
5 System 7 / Derrick May – “Mysterious Traveller (Groovy Intent Mix)”
6 Towie – “Molino” 03:49
7 Tim Green – “Mr Dry” 04:02
8 SuperTroels – “Draft1″ 02:20
9 Antislash – “Life is a bitch” 02:54
10 Carl Cox – “Keep The Funk” 02:55
11 Tomas Barfod & Fredski – “March On Swan Lake (Original Version)”
12 Yello – “Oh Yeah oh’ six (Booka Shade Remix)”
13 Hercules & Love Affair – “You Belong (Kevin Saunderson Remix)”
14 Bjørn Svin – “Bamsen Der Gerne Ville Være Bjørn”

Som egentligen inte säger någonting. Men resultatet var ganska väntat eftersom jag inte har ansträngt mig någonting. Jag har prioriterat sonens dop och dopgäster helt enkelt. Dopet blev fantastiskt lyckat och vi hade till och med sol den dagen. Det är den enda dagen i november som jag kan minnas haft en ljusblå himmel. När äldsta sonen döptes var det också jättefint väder. Är det är tecken på att ljuset alltid kommer att lysa över mina barn? Jag vill i alla fall tro det.

By Robert H. Shmerling, M.D.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Doctors can be a skeptical bunch. I have colleagues who flat out deny that a condition can be "real" unless they can observe it or detect it with a test.

Yet, many physicians deal with conditions all the time whose symptoms can’t be measured. For example:

• Depression – A depressed person will usually have normal physical examinations, blood tests and, if necessary, a normal brain MRI.
• Headaches – Most people who have headaches have normal test results.
• Joint pain – People can have joint pain (arthralgia) without any joint inflammation (arthritis). The pain could be due to tendonitis, bursitis, vitamin D deficiency or thyroid disease. But often we can’t find any cause of the pain.

Doctors rarely do extensive testing for these conditions because abnormal results are rare and the tests are almost never helpful.

Millions of people are affected by diseases that have "subjective" symptoms and can’t be confirmed by observation or tests. These include fibromyalgia, most headaches (including migraine), irritable bowel syndrome. So, does this mean that these conditions aren’t "real?" They’re certainly real to the people suffering with them.

It’s All in Your Head

When a symptom can’t be explained, it doesn’t mean that it’s imaginary or due to a mental illness, psychiatric disorder or psychological distress. That’s what is implied when a doctor tells a patient, "It’s all in your head." At the very least, we should assume that the pain or unpleasant experience is real regardless of test results.

In the end, all pain is perceived by the brain. So, in a way, all pain is "all in your head." Yet there is a tendency to relegate unobservable symptoms to the realm of the psychiatrist. Never mind that a psychiatric disease is "real" even when imaging and blood test results are normal. If you’ve ever witnessed psychotic behavior or been with someone who is severely depressed, it is clearly real.

Unexplained symptoms could be due to a disease that hasn’t been detected yet. Ideally, doctors and patients should identify the cause if possible, rule out a dangerous condition, and treat the bothersome symptoms. And that’s true whether the symptom is measureable or not.

What’s in a Name?

We usually expect the doctor to make a diagnosis and recommend a treatment when we have a problem. It’s reassuring to know that your particular problem has a name. It means that other people have experienced it and that studies have assessed the effectiveness of various treatments.

Yet for many conditions, the name is only a label. It’s convenient to apply a name to a particular combination of symptoms, even though the cause is unknown and no clear-cut abnormalities can be found. Examples include fibromyalgia syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome. Assigning a name to symptoms can be reassuring but it does not make the condition more or less "real."

Focus on Improving Symptoms

There are times when even the smartest health care provider can’t come up with a logical, compelling or even reasonable explanation for a person’s symptoms. In those cases, it’s important not to get too focused on explaining or labeling them. Instead, the doctor should focus on:

• Not missing some important clue
• Treating the symptoms

In many fields of medicine, doctors spend all day improving symptoms rather than making a diagnosis. Headache specialists, for example, must be convinced there is no brain tumor, no meningitis, and no other serious and treatable cause of the pain. But once that happens, attention turns toward treatment rather than on sorting out a specific cause.

This can be frustrating for both patients and doctors. But until we understand the specific causes of common conditions like headaches, back pain, ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and chronic fatigue, controlling symptoms, not a name, is what will help the most.

The Bottom Line

Once again this shows that there’s more uncertainty in medicine than most people think. But that doesn’t mean a person is imagining their symptoms.

As I see it, debating the "realness" of symptoms is often a waste of time. Unless a person is deliberately "faking" symptoms (a rare event in most doctors’ practices), they are just as real as for those with an observable, measurable and testable condition.

Having names are nice, but they are not always helpful. All other things being equal, I’d rather have a nameless condition that’s well-treated than a definite, but untreatable diagnosis.

Robert H. Shmerling, M.D. is associate physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He has been a practicing rheumatologist for over 20 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is an active teacher in the Internal Medicine Residency Program, serving as the Robinson Firm Chief. He is also a teacher in the Rheumatology Fellowship Program.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/W/35320/35323/1019194.html?d=dmtHMSContent

Som dere ser i overskriften så har en idiot tatt mobilen min. Dere skjønner at jeg var i bursdag hos ei i klassen min sist lørdag(ei uke siden), å jeg var toskete og uheldig å la igjen mobilen min på stuebordet mens jeg skulle hente noe på kjøkkenet. Etter det så var mobilen min borte! Men vi tror vi vet hvem som har tatt den, siden både bursdagsbarnet sin Iphone og venninnen hennes mobil ble også borte. Samme med kåpa til ei annen i klassen ble borte

Hallo! To mobiler som ikke er verdt ei krone ble tatt av noen narkohuer! Jeg ble så sur! Gud altså. Men slik er det vel. “Velkommen i klubben” fikk jeg høre av de eldre søstrene mine.

Så jeg fikk heldigvis en ny mobil og nummer av pappa. Thanks <3 =D En blåsvart Sony Ericsson.

Den er veldig bra faktisk! Jeg aner ikke hvor mye den kostet, men jeg trengte en ny mobil så. Jeg er fornøyd for og si det sånn.

Så om du leser dette, så er det folk som krever tingene sine tilbake!

spighe di farro

A Monteleone di Spoleto

È arrivata la tutela comunitaria per “Farro di Monteleone di Spoleto” a denominazione di origine protetta (Dop) che diventa quindi il primo farro protetto dalle imitazioni a livello Europeo. Lo rende noto Coldiretti Umbria nel sottolineare che è stata infatti pubblicata sulla Gazzetta Ufficiale delle Comunità Europee C/217 del 12 novembre 2009 la domanda di riconoscimento e, se non verranno sollevate obiezioni entro i prossimi sei mesi, si procederà alla sua iscrizione nell’Albo delle denominazioni di origine dell’Unione Europea. La zona di produzione della DOP “Farro di Monteleone di Spoleto” ricade – sottolinea Coldiretti – nell’area montana dell’area sud est della Provincia di Perugia e comprende l’intero territorio amministrativo dei comuni di Monteleone di Spoleto e Poggiodomo e parte del territorio amministrativo dei comuni di Cascia, Sant’Anatolia di Narco, Vallo di Nera e Scheggino, di altitudine maggiore o uguale a 700 metri sul livello del mare. Il “Farro di Monteleone di Spoleto” - spiega Coldiretti – viene immesso al consumo, nelle tipologie integrale, semiperlato spezzato e semolino di farro, in sacchetti di plastica garantiti per l’inalterabilità delle caratteristiche organolettiche e di salubrità del prodotto, del peso di mezzo chilo e di 1 chilo e in sacchi di carta o di nylon del peso di 25 Kg. Il prodotto confezionato in sacchetti di plastica viene immessIl “Farro di Monteleone di Spoleto” che si trova in commercio è ottenuto per molitura del farro integrale, si presenta con calibro più fine dello spezzato ma non polveroso per la sua caratteristica vitrea, al palato si dissolve con una sensazione di pastosità, il colore è marrone molto chiaro. Il logo è composto da un rettangolo nel quale compaiono in una parte la sagoma di profilo di un leone rampante con due spighe di farro sulla zampa e in un’altra sei spighe di farro. La coltura del farro nell’area Appenninica ed in particolare di Monteleone di Spoleto è - precisa Coldiretti – sicuramente molto antica. Se ne trova documentazione, infatti, negli scritti dei classici romani e poi, ancora, durante tutto il Medioevo e Rinascimento, o al consumo con la tecnica del sottovuoto.

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Amici di Goodmorningumbria

HOTEL RISTORANTE LA ROSETTA****

Centro Storico di Perugia  p. Italia tel. 075 5720841

larosetta@perugiaonline.com

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OTTO Abbigliamento Donna

di Maurizio Giorgelli

via Bonazzi 8 Perugia tel. 075 5729084

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PARAFARMACIA EMALFARMA

di Emanuela Coreno e C.

via Settevalli 208/b tel. 075 5004777

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Franske dOP har efterhånden overvintret en del somre i de københavnske gader, men selvom gadefesterne foreløbigt er sat på standby, så vil de helt sikkert fortsætte deres rotation på anlæggene vinteren med hos skaren af jazzlovers og -clubbers. Og hvis du ikke har dyrket dOP før, så giv dem nu lov til at vække dine promilleminder fra i sommers, hvor de spillede til Distortion Festival. Jeg anbefaler I’m Just A Man, Cum With Me og ville desuden ikke tøve ved at pege på deres utal af remixes; deres bidrag til den franske elektroscene er toneangivende i en grad, der omdanner enhver anden kunstners nummer, de piller ved, til deres eget.

The Dust er ude på Enliven Music og er et af deres mindre clubvenlige numre. Ikke desto mindre er det et charmerende et af slagsen, og selvom det personligt ikke får mig helt op at ringe i stil med storebrødrene, så har dOP stadig formået at føde endnu en lille vidunderunge, der gør det godt og luner hos jazzentusiaster, der har lidt for meget krudt i rumpetten til at begrænse sit repertoire til ALL THAT søndagsjazz.

Buy dOP on Beatport // dOP på MySpace

Azienda Agraria Batta Giovanni
Via San Girolamo, 127 – Perugia
Tel. +39 0755724782 – e-mail: giovanni.batta@tin.it

Azienda Agraria Carini Carlo e Marco
Strada del Tegolaro – Colle Umberto (PG)
Tel. +39 0755829103 – Fax +39 0755837856
e-mail: info@agrariacarini.it

Az. Agricola F.lli Palombaro S. s.
Monte del Lago – 06063 Magione (PG) – Tel./Fax +39 0758400122
e-mail: monte_del_lago@tiscali.it

Consorzio Olivicolo “Macine del Trasimeno”
Loc. Le Balze, 28 – 06060 Paciano (PG)
Tel. +39 075830538 – Fax +39 0759656230
e-mail: macine.trasimeno@libero.it

Cooperativa Oleificio Pozzuolese
Via Croce, 3 – Pozzuolo Umbro – Castiglione del Lago
Tel./Fax +39 075959151

Frantoio Berti
Via Trasimeno Ovest, 173 – Olmo (PG)
Tel. +39 0755178992 – Fax +39 0755178643
e-mail: frantoioberti@frantoioberti.it

Mulino e Frantoio del Trasimeno
Loc. Bottinaie, 7 – 06060 Paciano (PG)
Tel./Fax +39 075830227 – e-mail: oleificiopaciano@libero.it

Frantoio Faliero Mancianti S.r.l.
Via della Parrocchia, 20 – San Feliciano – 06063 Magione (PG)
Tel. +39 0758476045
www.frantoiomancianti.com – e-mail: frantoiomancianti@gmail.com

Frantoio di Isola Polvese
Gestito da Oleificio Coop. Il Progresso – Tel. +39 0759659548-9
e-mail: turismo@provincia.perugia.it – polvese@provincia.perugia.it

Frantoio Mencaglia S.n.c.
Via Pantanella, 7 – Castelvieto – 06073 Corciano (PG)
Tel./Fax +39 0756978488 – e-mail: frantoiomencagliasnc@virgilio.it

Molini Popolari Riuniti Soc. Coop. Agricola
Piazza della Solidarietà, 2 – 06073 Corciano (PG)
Tel. +39 0755179245 – Fax +39 0755179246

Oleificio Coop. “Il Progresso” Soc. Coop. a r.l.
Via Olmini, 8 – 06064 Panicale (PG)
Tel./Fax +39 075837289 – e-mail: oliosansebastiano@alice.it

Sai Agricola spa
Via Badia, 316 – Umbertide (PG)
Tel. +39 0759413501 – Fax +39 0759411964
montecorona@saiagricola.it

Per informazioni relative alla  ”Strada dell’Olio DOP Umbria”:
Piazza Mazzini, 1 – 06032 Trevi (PG)
Tel./Fax +39 0742332269
www.stradaoliodopumbria.it – e-mail: info@stradaoliodopumbria.it

It was the summer of 2006, whether it was July or August I can no longer recall. What I do recall is the sheer terror I was experiencing. I was in the garage, sitting in a lawn chair and at the end of my rope. Tears were streaming down my face and I kept saying, “I don’t want to be here … I don’t want to be here …” over and over again. I was experiencing something so horrifying that even now I cannot convey it through words. I had an extreme fight or flight feeling, it was an unbearable feeling that I could no longer endure. Under my skin (I thought at the time)  were thousands of worms crawling, squirming, and biting me. It was painful, scary, and extremely unnerving. I was literally coming unglued.

Suddenly my wife came into the garage with the cordless phone, it was our pastor on the line. When she handed me the phone I couldn’t speak. I could only cry. My pastor kept saying “What is going on …” and each time I tried to speak I burst into tears, this went on for quite some time until I finally got it together enough to tell him I had what folks were calling Morgellons. He hadn’t heard about it. So I explained it and told him my body was absolutely infested with parasites (because that’s exactly what it felt like). Now he had been on mission trips and was not unfamiliar with parasites and had taken antiparasiticals himself in order to travel to certain areas. I was taking them too at the time (on my own which I DO NOT recommend). He told me he knew a doctor that I could see and then made me promise I wouldn’t do anything foolish (things were worse than I’m letting on here but I need to be sensitive to those who might be in that dark place right now). I felt extremely relieved, help was on the way. It was the first time I had told anyone other than my wife that I had what appeared to be Morgellons (and even she didn’t believe).

So much transpired before the events described above that I could write a book, strange things were happening to me. I had what appeared to be glitter pouring from my forehead. The glitter would cover my shirt and people would actually ask me about it at work (I could see it fall past my eyes as I worked). Tiny black gnats were around me constantly, and indoors at work. You cannot imagine the embarrassment. I am sure they were hatching out of me, in fact, I know they were. When I walked into the team meeting everyone immediately began to scratch their nose and face, it was instantaneous too as soon as I was in their line of site. I was afraid they would put things together and realize the reaction they were having was emanating from me. And there were other things too that I simply cannot mention as they are, quite frankly, to disturbing to recall. The mere suggestion that I caught this by reading an article on the internet is utterly ridiculous. I will be writing a follow up article that will destroy that argument on its face.

I went to see the doctor my pastor set me up with. He asked me the typical questions, “What countries have you traveled too …” and so on, you know the drill. By the time the appointment was over he asked me if it was okay if he could call my wife. I knew what he was thinking, “This guy is off his rocker” and I was at the time, at least in part. I fully admit that. I told him “No” and left. From that point on I knew I was on my own. What was happening to me was beyond imagining or believing to someone who wasn’t experiencing it.

Fear

If you Google “Mans top ten fears” you will find “Fear of Spiders” and “Fear of Disease” in the top ten which is an interesting perspective on human nature. What I was experiencing were both of these wrapped into one singular horror, only it wasn’t a phobia, it was a real physical “thing” occurring inside my body. I had what felt like bugs crawling under my skin, and sometimes, the movement felt like big things moving, as if there were worms several inches in length beneath my skin. I’m sure by this point in this blog post any doctor reading along has already made his or her decision that I’m either delusional, a drug addict, or simply plain old crazy. But none of these are the case. I am a software architect, a very good one, and the President of a successful software company to this very day.

I could barely function I was so frightened (at this point I hadn’t really become sick yet but that day was coming and is not covered in this post). Imagine the absurdity of my wife asking me what I wanted for dinner as I sat there feeling what appeared to be hundreds if not thousands of “things” crawling under my skin. I mean “How you can you talk about dinner? Do you know what the hell is happening to me!” Of course, I did not say that out-loud. No, instead it was representative of what was racing through my mind whenever anyone spoke to me. I have no idea how I managed to keep functioning professionally. What was happening to me overwhelmed my “normal” life and I found myself living another “secrete” life. A life I couldn’t (and still cannot) tell anyone about. And this “secrete” life was full of fear, but I had to maintain the illusion that everything was alright or else lose everything. Now, mix into this an incredible feeling of panic, of flight or fight, and the realization of knowing that no one was going to help me, not doctors, no one. The world that once made sense to me, that was fun and safe seemed to be slipping away. Not knowing exactly what it was that was causing the crawling, biting, and stinging I began to suspect anything and everything. Yes, when doctors see a Morgellons patient they (we) are messed up, fearful, half delusional, no doubt about it. However, this comes after Morgellons and is the effect, not the cause. It is a direct result of the horrifying experience we are thrust into.

To the typical Morgellons patient that has been dealing with this for a while the fear of parasites has probably worn off. You realize most of the world deals with them and suffers from them. It is really only here in North America where the very concept of parasitical infection is almost always denied outright. Amazing how this one continent is simply devoid of them. This even though the CDC states that 14% of pet owners are infected with their pet’s worms (and you know the real number is much higher because testing misses most parasites). Considering how many homes in America have pets (if the CDC statement is correct) then we are talking tens of millions of people in America alone infected with their pet’s worms (but I digress). I am not saying Morgellons is worms by any means, only that it often feels like it and it’s dismissed outright even though this is fairly common in the most of the world, including our own as it would appear according to the CDC. Who is going through life with blinders on, me or the doctor? But don’t let me frighten you. I am only saying this because given the statements from the CDC above and the fact that it “feels” like we have worms the refusal to even examine us is well, negligent at best.

Anxiety

It’s hard to separate anxiety from fear but if you suffer from anxiety (and I didn’t before Morgellons) you know the difference between fear and anxiety. Since I was on my own I did what most in my situation would do, I started looking for answers. I researched and posted on forums. The forums were good from a support perspective but also bad in many ways. People love to post every new scary parasite article, ponder every horrible thing this could be, post conspiracies about population control, and intentional infection. They like to share horrifying photo’s of things coughed up, pulled out, or dug out of a stool sample, everywhere is some bizarre parasite (or so it is said). Also, sometimes dangerous things are suggested as protocols, and I did some things I really regret, things that could have really hurt me. Now, before you get mad at me, I also did those all of those things at times, I was right there in the thick of it all. I am condemning no one. We are on our own having been kicked to the curb by the enlightened ones.

All of the above can lead to extreme anxiety and fear (which will deplete you of Magnesium and minerals your body needs). Some boards are safer than others however. If you find yourself hitting a forum in an almost addictive fashion and yet you hate doing so because it fills you with fear then you probably need to stop surfing that or those forums. It’s more important to heal than to find the cause. Instead pour your energy into getting better rather than reading technical documents you barely comprehend.

Isolation

Unlike a cancer patient who is diagnosed, offered a range of treatment options, and then surrounded by compassionate, lovinig family members we are mocked and abandoned, not only by the medical community but often by our family members. I have a wife and 3 children, had I been alone things would have been so much harder. However, this caused a ton of angst between my wife and I at one point. If you live alone my prayers are with you, I know it must be terribly difficult for you.

Because of my contacts with certain folks I receive letters and emails from sufferers from time to time, they are heart breaking, sometimes scary, and make me realize how in the midst of all this I am very lucky. Others have and do suffer far worse than I ever did or have. They are often totally alone, unable to comprehend what is happening to them, without health care, single mothers adrift with no one to help, abandoned by their families, some have even walked away from homes sure that they were so infested they had no other choice. Finally, many have been treated most wretchedly by doctors they turned to for help. Many a times I have ducked down in cube and wept upon reading them, and at times, I have had to leave work and sit in my car in the parking lot to regather myself. A few of you know what I am talking about and have seen those letters. There are many working silently behind the scenes that you never hear about, I just feel it’s important to let you know about such things because it’s comforting to those suffering.  All I do is write about things, others are in the trenches, actually doing things, offering their time and energy, like Trisha Springstead and many, many others.

For every one of us here reading this there are a thousand out there right now who cannot get a handle on what is happening to them, and that is probably an understatement. Many will lose their homes and every dime they have to their name before this is all over. You have all read such stories.

The Battle for your Mind

If you suffer from this then you know there is something almost unholy, menacing, and terrorizing about Morgellons. To top it off we get to go through the experience scorned and alone. You might end up labeled DOP or worse. What the doctors refuse to realize is what Amelia summed up so well in her response to the Psychiatric Times.

From a psychiatric standpoint, it is inappropriate to use the term “psychological aberrations” instead of a specific psychiatric diagnosis or condition.  Next, the allegation that the patients “drift” from one physician to another implies a judgment on the nature of the quest to find a health professional who is committed to finding relief for the patient’s suffering.

Such patients are further maligned for waiting until they present as “an emergency” (sic).  If a patient is repeatedly turned away by one practitioner after another, it is understandable that they might be reluctant to seek help until the condition is perceived as an emergency.

By the time we get into a doctors office we are extremely upset, stressed out, anxious, fearful, and maybe even partially over the rainbow. This is quite understandable and I say a completely natural response given the experience. It’s astounding that doctors cannot understand this basic human reaction to such a horrible situation.

The fear that mounts up and rides side by side with Morgellons can in fact be worse than Morgellons itself.

Deciding to Control What You Let Your Mind Dwell Upon

At times, fear is going to wash over you like a wave, you might even be gripped by it right now, unable to escape its grasp. Fear still sweeps over me even now at times. It is extremely important to your recovery that you begin to overcome this fear. You might find that counseling or psychiatry helps and should feel no shame for seeking such help. For me, I simply fight the battle in my mind each day when presented with the choice to panic or stay rational.

When the crawlies hit me I can panic and start thinking about what horrible thing this crawling sensation might be or I can simply choose not to entertain such thoughts. I can control Morgellons with my protocol for the most part but if I let my mind run wild with speculation and again become obsessive about finding the root cause, wasting every waking hour on the hunt, I know I will get worse. The stress, fear, and anxiety alone will ensure that things begin to go downhill for me again.

You can push so hard and freak out so bad that you can end up like Gillian Penkethman in this article and be involuntarily committed. I have corresponded to people that have been locked away and there have been some mothers on forums who have had their children taken away. If you need medical help by all means seek it, but be calm. I never mentioned the word Morgellons after that doctors visit mentioned above. After that I merely talked symptoms.

The other day I watched a video of a person holding a lint roller up to a thread that was coming off her couch, and the thread (which was a frayed thread the from the couch) was attacking the lint roller (as it was stated). And then several folks chimed in stating to stay away from it and such. Now, I’m not trying to be cruel here, believe me, I was over the edge at the onset of Morgellons. But clearly in that video the thread was attracted to the lint roller by nothing more than mere static electricity, it was painfully obvious. Don’t let yourself get into that mindset where you are obsessively examining every thread, fiber, and spec and seeing the boogie man where there is none. I realize that sounds condescending but I’m merely relaying what has proven to be so important in my feeling better. If you are spiraling down that path it’s time to pull up.

So what is your Decision?

Start today letting go of Morgellons and begin to reclaim your life back, laugh, have fun, don’t be afraid of the outside. Sure, if you’re a sufferer you have it, but you aren’t controlled by it unless that is you choose to be. Each and every day you need to resist the fear until you reach the place where you are no longer temped to “stay in wonderland and see how deep the rabbit hole goes …” I am in no way making light of Morgellons, it is a serious physical problem and very real.

There is so much left unsaid here, we will touch on this topic much more in the future. If you are a family member helping those with this condition hopefully you have gained some insight into what your family member or friend might be going through.

Mr. Common Sense

Det här hör inte till vanligheterna i vår tillvaro, men nu ska vi alltså bli gudföräldrar. Eller, snarare att en av oss ska bli gudmor till denna unga dam.

Nu undrar ni vad hon har gjort för ont för att förtjäna detta och saken är ju att hon inte gjort något ont alls, det är bara det att hennes föräldrar är inte gifta och lever inte heller tillsammans så inte en endaste själ som blev tillfrågad ville ställa upp som gudförälder på grund av detta.

Och så kan man inte ha det, eftersom utan gudförälder så blir det inget dop.

Och mamman ville så väldigt gärna döpa sin dotter.

Så… “går det bra att ha en utlänning (eller två) som gudförälder?” frågade vi.

“Ja, det gör det”

“Ja, men då så.”

Dopet är preliminärt nästa söndag morgon. Vi har fått order att “ni måste köpa nya kläder för ni kan inte se ut hur som helst”.

Och vi tar vår nya uppgift på största allvar. Nu ska vi starta ett bank-konto till lill-tjejen och spara lite pengar till henne så när hon blir myndig har hon ett startkapital.

Och annat vuxet som gudföräldrar ägnar sig åt.

A dark october night me, ky-jelly & Rob Love hooked up to prepare an interview with hyped minimal dou Nôze. We sat down at the hotspot Metro at Möllan, Malmö City.

Freshened up by some nice beers and absinthe we went to meet up with the guys behind Nôze one of this years hottest minimal artists & producers.

They were eating dinner at a local italian restaurant, Siciliana.

Together with them sat DJ Adeline Supreme another of the many djs that would spin same night at the rumble. Read the interview with her later on this blog.

We ordered in some more beer and started to small talk. Before the interview we knew very little about the guys and i think their intensions where to not let us know more.

But finally we started.

LJL: So whats your names?

Nôze:

(Very diffuse names popped up so we decided to call them Nôze A and Nôze B. Now afterwards we know that their names are Ezechiel Pailhès and Nicolas Sfintescu.)

Rob Love: Hey guys, lets go to another bar!

Nôze: (just looking at each other)

LJL: We have a small quiz as a icebreaker, you should answer ass or mouth!

LJL: First word is Rihanna.

Nôze: (Big language confusion, but after a while they answered.) ASS

LJL: Absinthe

Nôze: Mouth

LJL: Love and Marriage (We tried a couple of TVshows but it seems like they dont watch TV in France)

LJL: Lil Jelly Love

Nôze: Mouth

LJL: Dick

Nôze: ASS / MOUTH !!!

Rob Love: Dont you want to see more of Malmö? Lets go to another bar?!

Nôze: No lets just stay here.

LJL: How did Nôze start and when?

Nôze: Ezechiel started with Jazz music and I was producing and DJing. We met up 2000 after i started the label Circus Company 1999. We started doing good music together and our 1st release was “EP1″ in 2004. From then to now we have released a lot of tunes. Our latest release is “Meet me in the toilet” this year.

LJL: What would you work with if you didnt work with music?

Nôze A: Pimp

Nôze B: Comedian and Jacuzzi Dancer

LJL: What 3 favorite producers do you have at the moment?

Nôze: Koze, Losoul and dOP

Rob Love: Hey, i know we can go to a really nice bar, thats real close (LJL :Close for Rob Love is very different from what close means to the ordinary reader)

Nôze: No lets just stay here!

LJL: What is the worst and the best gig so far?

Nôze: Worst gig was at Debaser in Stockholm (Saying this giggling and looking at DJ Adeline Supreme from Stockholm). No but seriously we never have a bad gig. The best gig is tonight!

LJL: What are you cooking at home in between tours?

Nôze: Pot-au-feu!

The time went fast and they had to leave for the tonight´s show at The Rumble, so they drank up the beer and got ready to leave.

Our first impression of Nôze was that they were really ignorant, but afterwards when we researched a little they seem to be just a couple of guys having their best time of their lifes and enjoying it.

And they left us all with a shout out to all you lil jelly love readers.

Rethinking Delusion of Parasitosis
Joseph Keleher

In 1946, Wilson and Miller introduced the term Delusion of Parasitosis to “…attempt to suggest a better name” describing medical conditions previously labeled acaraphobia, parasitophobia, and dermatophobia (Wilson and Miller 1946:39). The term Morgellons Disease was recently reintroduced (originally coined by Sir Thomas Browne in 1674) by Mary Leitao in 2002 as a “practical ‘place holder’ because of its dermal similarities to The Morgellons described by Browne” (Harvey et. al. 2009: 1). This paper compares Delusion of Parasitosis (DOP) with Morgellons Disease (MD) to establish if they appear as the same symptom set. The findings of this comparison along with repercussions are discussed. Finally, shifts in associated medical protocol are suggested.

Comparison of Delusion of Parasitosis and Morgellons Disease

The medical conditions of Delusion of Parasitosis and Morgellons Disease can be compared by viewing patient descriptions, medical descriptions, physical evidence, and other variables. The comparison is not meant to be exhaustive of the sources of these medical diagnoses; instead, it is hoped to represent the general documentation.

Patient Descriptions

The primary source of information for DOP and MD is the descriptions given by individual sufferers. A difference between the generally earlier accounts of DOP and later accounts of MD is the medical trend to move from individual accounts (found frequently in DOP related articles) to discussions of general trends (accepted mode for much of MD).

In reviewing numerous cases of DOP patients, “Predominant symptoms (include)…pruritis…(as well as)…creeping, crawling, movements, biting, scratching, sticking, digging, burning, clicking, irritation and…aggravation” (Wilson and Miller 1946:55). Over sixty years later, the DOP patients, “frequently describe cutaneous symptoms of crawling, biting, and stinging sensations as the first evidence of infestation” (Lee 2008: 2). One patient described it as, “Worms have spread all over the body and are causing itchy black specks to appear” (Tullett 1965: 451).

Patient descriptions for MD, “…report disturbing crawling, stinging, and biting sensations, as well as non-healing skin lesions, which are associated with highly unusual structures” (http://www.morgellons.org/symptoms.htm).

The patient descriptions of symptoms associated with the medical diagnosis of Delusion of Parasitosis and often self-diagnosed Morgellons Disease are nearly identically.

Medical Descriptions

Tullett describes Delusion of Parasitosis as, “…the favoured diagnosis being a monosymptomatic hypochondriasis arising in an obsessional personality” (Tullett 1965:455). He further shares with medical peers, “Particularly characteristic is the production of specks of matter which are thought to be the insect or material derived from its activities” (Tullett 1965:448). A presently accepted clinical definition is, “…a psychiatric disorder in which the patients have a fixed, false belief of being infested with parasites” (Lee 2008: 2).

For Morgellons Disease, medically accepted parameters and variability may be found in the recent study by Morgellons Research Foundation (Harvey et al., 2009). This study presents measurable physiologic effects and patterns associated with Morgellons Disease confirming that the condition is not delusional. The study describes DOP and MD as truncations of the same. The concluding remarks suggest the symptoms of this condition eventually lead to the effect of delusion (however, lack of sleep and stress are known factors effecting thought processes). The study reflects on an accepted medical approach, while lacking the benefit of patient input.

The medical descriptions of each appear as the same. In fact, “Most dermatologists, psychiatrists, and other medical professionals view Morgellons as a new name for a well established condition, delusional parasitosis, also known as ‘delusions of parasitosis’ (DP and DOP) and Ekbom’s Syndrome: Morgellons is ‘a pattern of dermatologic symptoms very similar, if not identical, to those of delusions of parasitosis’” (wikipedia citing Accordino, et. al. 2008).

It appears that the majority of the medical community considers Delusion of Parasitosis and Morgellons Diseases as the same phenomena.

Physical Evidence

In both DOP and MD accounts, the patient often provides physical evidence associated with their medical condition. The materials, especially fibers found by MD sufferers, have been the focus of several studies (see “research” on Morgellons.org).

A DOP document shared that, “Early in consultation she produces…fragments of skin…keratin, crust, or miscellaneous debris” (“Delusion of Parasitosis” British Medical Journal, March 1977- no author listed). Another study states, “Often they bring to the physician a container holding bits of debris or crust from their skin lesions” (Aleshire 1954: 15). In one particular case it is described as, “When the patient pulled them off they left fine threads, at the end of which there was a tiny egg” (Wilson and Miller 1946:51).

Fibers found in association with MD have been a major focus for research. Randy S. Wymore of OSU-CHS Center for the Investigation of Morgellons Disease states that, “100% of the patients, that were felt to genuinely have Morgellons Disease, have large microscopic to small microscopic fibers visible under the outer layer of skin” (http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/morgellons/docs/Wymore-position-statement-2-19-07.pfd). Mogellons.org describes the physical evidence as, “These structures can be described as fiber-like or filamentous, and are the most striking feature of this disease. In addition, patients report the presence of seed-like granules and black speck-like material associated with their skin” (http://www.morgellons.org/symptoms.htm). In checking Morgellons fibers against known fibers contained in the FBI National database, Mark Boese concluded, “These cannot be manmade and do not come from a plant. This could be a byproduct of a biological organism” (http://morgellons.org/docs/Tulsa_Police_Crime_Lab.pdf).

The physical evidence presented by DOP patients and Morgellons sufferers as described in numerous accounts sounds identical.

Other

For both DOP and MD there is additional information falling outside of the categories of patient description, medical description, and physical evidence.

DOP cases are, due to a diagnosis including “delusional” as an accepted label, typically referred for psychiatric evaluation. The patient is often prescribed antidepressants or their kin. In a recent publication, Lee acknowledges, “…certain drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines can induce…a delusional state clinically identical to that of idiopathic delusion of parasitosis”; ironically, she presents another drug, Pimozide, as the “treatment of choice” (Lee 2008: 3).

MD symptoms appear to be ever expanding. Morgellons.org outlines “Morgellons Disease Characterization”; besides fibers or filaments and movement sensation, the list includes: Skin Lesions, Musculoskeletal Effects and Pain, Aerobic Limitation, Cognitive Dysfunction, Emotional Effects, Shifting Visual Acuity, Numerous Neurological Symptoms, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, Acute Changes in Skin Texture and Pigment, Arthralgias, as well as many Laboratory Abnormalities. Associated physiological symptoms have recently been documented (see Harvey, et. al. 2009).

Discussion

The overlap and similarities between DOP and MD are undeniable.

The descriptions documented for DOP from 1946 until the present appear to fit within the variable parameters of Morgellons Disease. Given they appear as the same set of symptoms, Morgellons Disease described as a recent phenomena is false (see Harvey et al 2009 for justification of reintroduction as a “placeholder”). As DOP was itself described as replacing other medical terms, it follows that the symptoms existed pre-1946. As reviewed in Kellett 1935 and expanded on in Keleher 2008, it is possible this syndrome has been documented as early as the mid-1500s. This possibility should be further explored (as should a possible mercury connection found in reviewed DOP accounts).

Necessary Shifts in Medical Perspectives

Having experienced many of the symptoms myself, along with thousands of others, the willingness of medical professionals to use the word “Delusional” in describing a serious medical condition is disturbing. Please end the use of Delusion of Parasitosis for this set of symptoms and replace it with a more appropriate label such as Morgellons Syndrome.

As it appears most in the medical profession accept DOP and MD as the same phenomena, it is remarkable that most in this profession would intentionally ignore over 60 years of physical evidence! Some answers from fiber studies have proven fruitful and analysis of specks may prove very informative. This evidence must be treated as such.

It is important for the medical professional to understand the typical MD patient is exhausted from lack of solid sleep, has likely read there is little hope of recovery, and fears what they are experiencing could be passed onto others; they are not following an easy road. They may have been struggling with these horrifying symptoms for days, months or even years. If ever you needed to have empathy and an attentive ear, it is with these sufferers!

Conclusion

Recent studies have shown the MD sufferer has a long list of associated physiological symptoms (Harvey, et. al 2009). The physical evidence in the form of fibers, threads, plugs, specks and such appears to have consistently been presented in association with the symptom set since at least 1946. The documentation of these symptoms goes back far in time; an in depth review of these by a qualified medical professional could provide further information.

Given the current understanding of this medical condition, now is the time for the delusion of Delusion Of Parasitosis to end.

Sources:

Accordino, RE, Engler D, Ginsburg IH, Koo J. "Morgellons Disease?." Dermatology Theory 21, no. 1 (2008): 8-12.

Aleshire, Irma, MD. "Delusions of Parasitosis: Report of Successful Care with Antipellagrous Treatment." Journal of the American Medical Association 155 (1954): 15.

Boese, Mark. "Tulsa Police Crime Lab Report." morgellons.org. Available from http://www.morgellons.org Internet; accessed 27 October 2009.

"Delusions of Parasitosis." British Medical Journal 26, no. 1 (1977): 790-791.

Harvey, WT, Bransfield, RC, Mercer, DE, Wright, AJ, Ricchi, RM and Leitao, MM. "Morgellons Disease: Illuminating an Undefined Illness: A Case Series." Journal of Medical case Reports 1, no. 3 ( July,2009): 8243. http://www.morgellons.org/docs/Case_Series.pdf

Keleher, Joseph W.. "Patterns in Early Morgellons Disease Considered as Effect of Mercury Exposure." Explore! 17 no. 6 (December 2008):  http://joewritesslow.blogspot.com/2009/06/morgellons-mercury-article.html

Kellett, C.E.. "Sir Thomas Browne and the Disease Called The Morgellons." Annals of Medical History, n.s., VII 1935, 467-479.

Lee, Chai Sue. "Delusions of Parasitosis." Dermatologic Therapy 21 (2008): 2-7.

http://www.morgellons.org Internet: accessed 27 October 2009

Tullett, G.L.. "Delusions of Parasitosis." The British Journal of Dermatology 77 no. 8-9 (Aug- Sept): 448-455.

Wilson, J. Walter and Hiram E. Miller. "Delusions of Parasitosis." Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology 54, no. (1946):

Wikipedia.com accessed 27..October 2009.

Wymore, Randy. “Position Statement” okstate.edu Available from http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/morgellons/docs/Wymore-position-statement-2-19-07.pdf

Igår sjöng jag på dopet ja. Det gick ok. Jag tänkte lägga ut filmen här på bloggen men tyvärr sjöng jag så falskt på ett ställe att det är omöjligt. I övrigt gick det bra. Jag blev nervös alldeles innan och hade ingen kontroll över rösten men under omständigheterna får man säga att det gick bra. Faktiskt.

Sen var det fest. Jag blev nog ganska full, men gick hem innan tolv som planerat. Såg ett rådjur på vägen hem. Det var fint. Sen ringde jag till… åh, vad ska vi kalla honom? Kalmariten, får det bli. Sen ringde jag till Kalmariten och pratade lite. Längtade och saknade, somnade gott, sov några solida timmar för att vakna av mig själv strax före nio.

Idag har jag varit på dagsutflykt till Valbo Köpcentrum. Äntligen köpt tyg till ett draperi till hallen. Och en jacka. En finfin svart jacka med dragkedja och allt. Classy, när det behövs. Cool, när det behövs. Ungefär som JAAAAAG.

Här får ni en liten bildkavalkad från igår. Pöss.

I was given permission by Amelia Withington to post this letter which was written to the Psychiatric Times as well as their subsequent response. The Letter to the Editor was written in response to an article that was published in the August 2009 issue of the Psychiatric Times. I decided not to include a link to that article because the pictures in the article are very disturbing and explicit (you can find it if you search, but be forewarned). Unfortunately, the Psychiatric Times did not publish the Letter to the Editor shown below, but instead, wrote a response to the letter which is also shown below as well.

In a bit of unrelated news here is a very positive comment I received from Amelia …

There was literally a "swarm" of interest in our Morgellons booth at the LDA/ ILADS meeting–I can’t tell you how many health care professionals would do a double-take and say, "that’s what my patients have been showing me/telling me about".  We thought we had brought too many materials, but gave most of them away by the end of the first day.

All one has to do is pop over to LymeNet.org and do a search on “skin crawling” to know how wide spread this is in that community alone. Rest assured there are many laboring hard on our behalf, including those whose names you’ll find at the bottom of the Letter to the Editor shown below. I would like to say thank you to those who wrote this letter, we are grateful for your efforts.

Letter to the Editor of the Psychiatric Times

September 20, 2009

As a group of concerned physicians, nurses and scientists who work with patients who have chronic infections, including skin manifestations which are difficult to diagnose and treat, we were appalled by the verbiage which accompanied the photo essay on psychocutaneous disorders in the September 2009 issue. 

First, from a psychiatric standpoint, it is inappropriate to use the term “psychological aberrations” instead of a specific psychiatric diagnosis or condition.  Next, the allegation that the patients “drift” from one physician to another implies a judgment on the nature of the quest to find a health professional who is committed to finding relief for the patient’s suffering.

Such patients are further maligned for waiting until they present as “an emergency” (sic).  If a patient is repeatedly turned away by one practitioner after another, it is understandable that they might be reluctant to seek help until the condition is perceived as an emergency.

An important concession in the “essay” reads “pharmacological intervention may benefit such patients”, as an appendage to the admonition that “traditional mental health interventions are almost always required if the aberrant behavior is to cease”.

The dermatologists who wrote the article go on to define factitial dermatitis as being self-induced, for secondary gain.  Given that scratching oneself is often a response to itching, it should  come as no surprise that  lesions are most often seen in “easy to reach” areas.  However, the fact that patients complain of accompanying pain and itching bears further investigation, particularly if such symptoms preceded the scratching behavior!

“Patients who self-inflict neurotic excoriations are more likely to admit to manipulation of the skin than those with factitial dermatitis”.  The patient who caused the scrotal lesion in figure 6 “simply because it itched” most likely did not view his symptom as “simple” at all!  He did not conceal that he scratched the area.  The value judgment inherent in this caption projects scorn onto this patient’s presumed “weakness”, as well as onto the patients who used  “caustic disinfectants” or who “created dramatic lesions with manicure instruments to gouge out the ‘chiggers’ she believed had infested her scalp for years”.

We contend that none of these patients set out to create “dramatic lesions” or to superimpose infections on areas of severe itching.  We have seen many non-delusional patients who have been to many doctors, desperately trying to find someone who will believe in the suffering they endure.  For most of these patients there is usually a reason for their itching, the nature of which is usually anything but “simple”.

Ruling out substance abuse and related skin sensations is important, as the article notes.  It is extremely rare to see a patient with true delusions of parasitosis in the absence of a pre-existing psychiatric illness.   It is also notable, as Dr. William T. Harvey has observed, that discussions of “delusions of parasitosis” have come into the medical literature primarily in the last 50 years.  The reasons for this are likely multifactorial, and may have to do with ecological changes, exposure to toxins, antimicrobial resistance, and a host of other factors.

Above all, we implore medical professionals in all specialties to resist the urge to belittle the patient whose diagnosis and treatment is not straightforward.  We doubt very much that any of these patients intentionally set out to torture themselves in order to gain satisfaction from baffling doctors.  What we saw in the photos as well as the accompanying commentary are nine patients with a long history of suffering, who still failed to find any understanding or relief after seeking medical attention.

Sincerely,

Amelia Withington MD
Attending Psychiatrist
Crozer-Chester Medical Center
Upland, PA

Raphael B. Stricker, MD
Past President
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
Bethesda, MD

Randy S. Wymore, PhD
Director, OSU-CHS Center for the Investigation of Morgellons Disease
Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology
Oklahoma State University, Center for Health Sciences
Tulsa, OK

Cindy Casey, RN
Director, The Charles E. Holman Foundation
Austin, TX

Ginger Savely, FNP, DNP
TBD Medical Associates
San Francisco, CA

Response to the Letter to the Edtior

To The Editor:

We appreciate the concerns expressed by Dr. Withington, et al, regarding our recent photo essay.  The co-signatory healthcare providers and researchers are to be commended for their dedication to and efforts on behalf those who suffer from disorders which are difficult to diagnose and/or treat. That said, and with all due respect, we feel that the correspondents completely over-read, grossly misinterpreted and shockingly over-analyzed our presentation. Moreover, for individuals allegedly concerned about the “scorn” heaped upon patients, the letter-writers certainly approached this subject with what might well be interpreted as a total lack of respect and professional decorum. One might even say scornful.

Let us clarify a few points. It is appropriate for dermatologists to say that “psychological aberrations” are present and allow those more qualified to determine the nature of same.  Conversely, it might be appropriate for mental health providers to allow those who have specialized training and expertise in disorders affecting the skin, hair and nails to determine an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan for those problems properly within their purview.

Secondly, the description of common patient characteristics associated with factitious skin disease stand as a statement of fact devoid of the judgmental implications that the letter writers ascribe.  Including those adjectives helps alert healthcare providers who may not be attuned to these characteristics.

Unfamiliarity with skin disease is patently obvious when the authors take issue with our statements regarding excoriations being located in “areas easy to reach.” The point of that statement was this:  traditional skin diseases (psoriasis, for example) do not spare regions of the anatomy beyond the easy reach of fingernails, whereas self-inflicted lesions, by their nature, often do. That is not a commentary about the importance of whatever pathology caused the patient to seek medical attention. It does, however, help completely or partially eliminate a myriad of diseases from the differential diagnosis.

The authors take offense at several of our patient descriptions. No value judgment, especially not “projected scorn” was intended when we described the massively destructive scalp lesion resulting from self-gouging with manicure instruments as being dramatic! Isn’t it dramatic? Do the authors use a different dictionary than the rest of the universe? Why was it “scornful” to explain how and why the lesion came to pass? The authors also imply that the diagnosis of “delusions of parasitosis” is somehow either always inadequate or inaccurate. We agree: that particular diagnosis doesn’t tell the whole story; it does, however, imply that specific, universally recognized organic skin diseases (again: think of psoriasis) are not etiologic, and that proper referral to a qualified mental health professional (a major point of our essay, seemingly missed by the letter writers) might well in order after non-cutaneous pathology has been diligently but unsuccessfully sought.

Lastly, for the authors of this letter to suggest that we belittle patients with ailments that are not straightforward is demeaning and insulting. We neither said nor implied that patients consciously set out to “torture themselves” in order to “baffle doctors.” What we did say, and would reiterate unapologetically: there are unusual patterns of skin lesions, amply illustrated in this essay, which represent important problems that deserve suitable investigation and sound intervention based upon reproducible and widely accepted scientific principles. That often, if not invariably, includes mental health assessment in addition to any skin-directed therapy.

Ted Rosen, MD
Professor of Dermatology
Baylor College of Medicine
(on behalf of all co-authors)

I find it telling that the Psychiatric Times refused to even publish the Letter to the Editor. I also believe this comment taken from Ted Rosen’s response to be far from representative of our treatment.

We agree: that particular diagnosis doesn’t tell the whole story; it does, however, imply that specific, universally recognized organic skin diseases (again: think of psoriasis) are not etiologic, and that proper referral to a qualified mental health professional (a major point of our essay, seemingly missed by the letter writers) might well in order after non-cutaneous pathology has been diligently but unsuccessfully sought.

I’m going to hold my tongue on that remark above.

Please refrain from going to their site and writing a nasty response. That will get us nowhere. The tide is turning in this debate (much more on this later), however it takes time. If I were to list the ailments that at one point were thought to be merely in a persons head you’d be shocked.

I think you are going to find the next several months here on the Mundane Approach very fascinating as we are going to be taking on this very notion of DOP.