This thread is totally making me :lol: :lol: :lol: my head off. :D

http://www.mnui.com/ This is what we have. We didn't have insurance for years and years. This costs a fortune, of course ... but don't have much of a choice.

I have info on arthritis (which I hope it's not, and actually I doubt that it is). Here's the info I have on achy joints. Sorry if some of the info has already been mentioned here. Rather rushed this morning. Peela, I'm sure you know most of this already. I hope you find relief soon. :grouphug: SUPPLEMENTS Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Carlson’s Fish Oil – Omega 3s are anti-inflammatory - Carlson's is pretty much the only one I will take. It's actually the only fish oil I've ever taken. 1500 mg Glucosamine and 1200 mg Choindrotin Sulfate 3 times a day- try it for 3 months and see if you notice a difference 40-80 mg Hyaluronic Acid (HA) – “Hyal-Joint” 5 grams of the sugar D-ribose twice daily will stimulate the production of ATP, the fuel that powers your body’s tissues and muscles. People who suffer from excessive joint and muscle pain and fibromyalgia (widespread muscle pain) often have low levels of ribose. More illnesses are caused by a need for magnesium than for calcium. Arthritis and joint pain are caused by excessive calcium and insufficient magnesium. If you have symptoms of magnesium deficiency (which most of us do) – if you’re feeling edgy, have muscle cramps, suffer insomnia, crave chocolate, or notice increased urination, adjust your calcium-magnesium ratio, so that you’re taking at least as much magnesium or—ideally—twice as much magnesium as calcium. 400-1200 mg daily of Magnesium is helpful but use according to bowel tolerance. Your body knows how much magnesium you can tolerate from bowel tolerance – take as much magnesium as your bowels can tolerate Some say to not take magnesium with calcium - I think that that is preferable. Calcium, magnesium, and many other minerals are best absorbed when they are bound to an acidic carrier such as citrate, aspartate, picolinate, or amino acid chelate. Minerals need an acidic base to break down and get used. The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Kreb cycle chelates (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good. Avoid magnesium carbonate, oxide, sulfate, and gluconate. They are poorly absorbed (and the cheapest and most common forms found in supplements). Side effects from too much magnesium include diarrhea, which can be avoided if you switch to magnesium glycinate. People with kidney disease or severe heart disease should take magnesium only under a doctor's supervision. For more magnesium, see my tip below on Epsom Salts. NUTRITION Often, dehydration causes joint pain, which progresses to stiff pain. Make sure you’re drinking enough water! Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Chia Seeds, Walnuts – these are naturally anti-inflammatory Green Tea - 4 cups of green tea daily with a squirt of lemon juice. Green tea can help reduce joint pain greatly. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Some studies suggest it works to ease the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also help with other inflammatory conditions, such as tendinitis. Try to consume a soupspoon of turmeric every day, with a pinch of black pepper and olive oil. You can use it in all your cooking. Eat 1 cup a day of red or purple fruits, such as berries, cherries, pomegranates, red grapes – or drink 1 cup of juice without added sugar – these food-based antioxidants help ease inflammation and joint disease like arthritis Eat cherries as often as possible. Consuming 20 a day (about 2000 mg of cherry fruit extract) has been proven to provide more pain relief than aspirin and other painkillers. Eat them fresh or dried, and mix a bit of tart cherry juice with water, particularly when you’re working out—to lessen joint inflammation from exercise. Sesame Seeds provide plenty of copper, a nutrient essential for joint health – just don’t overdo copper EXERCISE, SLEEP, ETC. ACUPUNCTURE helps with all sorts of pain. This would be my first option. :thumbup: CHIROPRACTIC/MASSAGE – both help immensely with pain Be aware that you should wait for any inflammation to subside before starting either. HYDROTHERAPY has been proven to help with arthritis. No medicine on the market can rival the physiological effects of water. Warm to hot water eases joint pain by reducing swelling and increasing blood flow to fight inflammation. Begin with a daily 10-minute walk, take up a gentle yoga class, or try the slow movement of Tai Chi. Doing Tai Chi twice a week reduces knee pain, as does strengthening your hips with conditioning exercises. Water aerobics, gentle yoga, and swimming help also. LOSING WEIGHT is key – even 5 extra pounds of weight increases the load on your knees tenfold. But you don't have knee problems and I know that your weight is at an ideal level. SLEEP - Get enough sleep. Your body needs a full night of quality sleep to fight pain. EPSOM SALTS Take a hot bath with up to 2 cups of Epsom salts and 1 cup baking soda to help draw impurities out of the body – try to do this once a week! To make a strong Epsom salt bath, double to quadruple the amount of Epsom salt. No more than 20 minutes ---- Epsom salt baths are the oldest and cheapest ways of relaxing muscles and settling nerves. Epsom salts is one of the most highly absorbed magnesium compounds known (easily absorbed through the skin or digestive tract). Epsom salts are routinely used for: soothing relief from • Arthritic pain; reducing stiffness, soreness, and tightness of joints • Improving discomfort from muscle aches, pains and tenderness • Soothing painful bruises, sprains and strains • Alleviating pain from over exertion during sport activities • Improving the body's sleeping and resting productivity • Increasing and improving body energy levels • Improving the rate of natural body healing • Soothing away stress • Deep cleaning skin and pores • Taking the sting out of insect bites and drawing out splinters HTH. :grouphug:

My first labor took 50 hours ... solid, screaming, excruciating pain of 50 hours. I totally hear you. :grouphug:

Faith, I'm in the middle of a 43-day round with homeopathic hcg (hhcg) and absolutely loving it. Any questions or details, feel free to ask. 1. Cosmetics - I never use much at all - but many have found no difference. When Dr. S wrote the guidelines, it's possible that many cosmetics were far more oil-based than they are today. Here's what some posted on the hcg forums that I visit every single day, which, btw, I HIGHLY recommend. Either these forums, or any helpful forum, You're going to need all the support you can get. Curel Lotion and Olay are both oil-free You can use conditioner, but not the amount you would typically slather on or for the length of time you normally do. Whatever you do (re: lip balm, oil, etc) BE INTENTIONAL. i.e.: Don't smear on lip balm 20 times a day. Make it an intentional 1-2 times a day. Detergents, cleaners, etc. - no changes whatsoever. I've never heard of such a thing in all my months of reading. Where we live, there is no Melba or Grissini or whatever the breadstick is called. Sometimes, I've had a Ryvita cracker (no sugar, etc - very pure) - but on days that my weight has stalled, or on days where I find that I don't need it, I skip it and feel totally fine. Many don't have the breadstick. You can basically eat as much veggies as you can - 1 to 1 1/2 cups at lunch and dinner. Just don't mix them. I usually have a large cucumber at lunch and try to have a different veggie at dinner. Proteins - you must weigh them carefully. No fat. Fruit - only from the list. Mine are mostly apples or grapefruits. 6 hours apart. Not closer. Follow the protocol and guidelines and you should be fine. I have a long word document with detailed tips. I don't know when you plan on starting and also if you're going the Rx route or homeopathic. Here are just some of my tips: FACTORS FOR SUCCESS ON HCG 1. Pick a right time in your life to do this - this diet is very mental and you have to be mentally ready - don't do this say, before a vacation, holiday, or major stressful event, etc. I waited till after a whole bunch of dinner parties, etc. I don't like to tell very many people IRL about my diet/weight struggles/etc. It gets boring and annoying. Again, this diet is extremely mental and the timing has to be good for you Otherwise, if you’re tempted with something – birthday cake or major event – you’ll be giving yourself a pity party or heading towards failure. Like any other plan, your head HAS to be there. 2. Read, read, read ... and be organized ... plan your meals ahead. I weighed and froze my proteins into Ziplocs during my two loading days. The key for success with hcg is research, reading, and being organized. 3. There are 2 loading days - load, load, load! On lots of healthy fats especially, not so much sweets and junk. But lots and lots of fat - fish oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc. Those who don't load well are starving within the first few days. This is absolutely essential. Those who don’t load and who don’t load on healthy fats are usually starving and usually fail. I have more info on this. 4. This is a diet where one absolutely must not cheat. One must very carefully follow the directions. You can't just eat whatever you want and whenever you want on the plan. There is a very strict food list and in order to succeed on this, very little or should I say, no, variation is allowed. Only a few fruits are allowed. That’s it. The rules take some getting used to. But then it’s super-easy. Also, following the steps for maintenance is a critical component as well (gradually adding foods back into your eating once done with the drops). That’s in Phase 3 (P3) and later in P4. I can’t believe that I have not cheated one iota. I guess the structure of this plan and the lack of hunger have helped me a lot. Plus, the fact that I loaded really well. 5. If you do get hungry, you can, snack on some sliced cucumbers. Some keep a bowl in their fridge. I do this from time to time or snack on some celery sticks.

Rushing out the door, but hope to definitely post tomorrow morning. :grouphug:

I know. I would love to ask questions like book/read-aloud suggestions. Moderators? Is such an idea possible? I even dreamed about it this afternoon during my nap. :lol: We ourselves don't travel very often, but it would be so nice to have a sub-forum ... :)

I think it would be a lovely idea, if the moderators are up to it. We always plan on budget. It would be so helpful to those who make any sort of trip - within the U.S. and internationally. I hope it can be done. If not, I think that you should feel free to post here. I have similar questions to yours. Not much time to post right now, however.

Yes, I used to visit them also. Thanks for the reminder :). We also LOVE Priceline. In the U.S., unless we're staying in a big city (NYC, San Fran), we've always been very lucky with 1 room for the 4 of us. For Europe, we'll just do 2 rooms. Yes, we pay more ... but in many of these cases, we're actually paying the same or even less - and they're for far better places in better locations. Thanks for these. Saving them for future reference. Yes, the Paddington area was never that good. Even when I was growing up back in the early and mid 70s.

Will be looking into the most recent links, but right now, we're leaning towards getting 2 rooms on PL. Tried and true. You can't go wrong with PL, particularly 3.5 and 4 stars and I'm a pro at PL bidding and have been doing it for years. At least with PL, you know that you're getting a particular standard. And interestingly, when I sat down in the past few days and compared costs - 2 rooms with PL can actually work out cheaper or about the same - as many of these B&Bs, apartments, and other hotels. Yes, I know that a B&B gives breakfast ... I was "this" close to booking a B&B for $153 US for the 4 of us per night, when dh reminded me to go on trip advisor. Some of the reviews and pictures were really not good, quite bad actually. I mean I could imagine paying $50 US for some of those dumps, but how on earth do they get away with charging that much for those sorts of places? That's London for you, I guess ... :confused: Last time we were in London, during both our stays in London, we got 4-star PL rooms - really nice hotels with fabulous locations - at around the $75 or so range per night. Yes, it was only for one room - and we had to pay extra for 2 beds. This time, dh and I are willing to pay for 2 rooms. So just thought to share where we're at. If anyone ever needs tips on how to bid on PL, let me know. I just go to biddingfortravel.com - you get to see all the hotels listed AND the winning bids. Love it. Please feel free to keep sharing and sending in stuff to me, however. Just thought I'd update everyone. :)

Absolutely LOVE these. Just love HP. :D I can totally relate to not doing laundry ... ;) I absolutely love these books. I've read a few by her. Did you see the BBC/A&E version of the movie. Absolutely the best! It comes in a lovely boxed set - the Romance Collection. Costco might have it for cheaper, if anyone is interested. We love this collection. They're all done so well. :iagree: Added this to my wish list. :) I liked this a lot. Obviously. Since I live here ... ;)

Just finished A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George. It was good, not great, but good. I think I'd still like to read some of her other books. This was her very first one. Not sure what I'll be reading next. I have a few on my Kindle.

Thank you all so much once again. :) Still looking. Trying to debate whether to - they all, so far, cost about the same ... get 2 rooms on PL - lovely 4-star or maybe 3.5 stars B&B - full English bfast - not as nice rooms, but fine - will only go if we have our own shower and TV - most of the ones I'm looking at do. an apartment - washer, dryer, fridge included, most are fine - some have sneaky cleaning fees, so I need to be careful Premier Inn, etc. - not as nice as PL hotels, and some either cost the same OR maybe even more That's where my brain is at at the moment. Right now, given that B&Bs give a full bfast (some give continental, but most give full, such as the George Hotel that prairiewindmomma suggested), that maybe be a better option. One less meal to purchase ... This is a bit overwhelming and I don't have much time to prioritize all this for at least the next few days.

Thanks, Laura. Doesn't work for me. Either I'm inquiring too far in advance OR they just don't have anything available.

This London thing is driving me out. of. my. mind ... :lol: I'm beginning to look a bit funny - stressed look where everyone keeps asking, "Are you okay?" :lol: I just really do appreciate everyone's helpful input, however. :grouphug: Thank you all so much. Their site doesn't seem to have any info for the summer. Although this is just one of many options, and probably not our first choice, quick question if you don't mind : are there TVs in the rooms? Doesn't look like it. I would hate to visit the U.K. without TV. After all, British TV is my absolute favorite thing. I hardly ever watch any other TV. ;) I checked out The Blades, but the cost is a bit ridiculous, I think, for a family of 4 anyway. $254 per night :confused: ... I know breakfast is included, but with such a high rate, we'd be better off going with 2 rooms on PL or renting an apartment if we can get a decent one. Some of the apartments seem to have ridiculous cleaning fees, which I'm not thrilled about. :glare: Thanks, Jeanette. That would likely be one of our last options, since we would really prefer, as Catwoman mentioned earlier, to be close and convenient. I guess the last time we were in London, five years ago, we were so spoiled and stayed in two very nice PL hotels ... excellent locations ... we can't imagine being demoted ... ;) I'm copying and saving your post just in case.

I want one of those. :) I dry body brush with a loofah pretty much every single morning. My parents do this also. My dh as well. Now and again, I force my dc ... they think I'm out of my mind. :lol: I do it either before showering OR before working out - whichever comes first. I have noticed many benefits - ranging from cleared sinuses, more energy, better-looking skin ... and on it goes. I used to sweat excessively. No more. I have a ton of info on the lymphatic system (so very, very important for overall health). For now, I'll just include the info on dry body brushing. It's one of the few methods of clearing up the lymphatic system, which is so often overlooked. http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/HealingTechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm Helps to expel toxins from the body’s largest eliminatory organ, the skin Improves lymph flow to carry toxins and waste products out of the body Stimulates circulation Stimulates blood flow to increase nutrient delivery to cells Helps combat cellulite and fatty deposits Removes dry, dead skin cells Encourages cells to regenerate Results in smooth glowing skin Stimulates production of sebum (oil), to nourish dry skin Increases energy and stimulates the body – I LOVE doing this first thing in the morning either before showering OR before exercising, whichever comes first :D Feels great! Technique The lymph-rich areas you want to stimulate include the arms, armpits, chest, face, neck, behind the knees, and towards the groin. Always brush towards the heart. Use circular or long sweeping motions – whatever feels right to you. Start with the soles of your feet and work your way up. Overall it should take between 3-7 minutes to brush the entire body. I don't do the entire body every single day. I tend to alternate between the lower and upper body. That's just what I prefer doing.

Are any of these secular?

Thank you all so much. :) You are all such an incredible and wonderful help. :grouphug: Thanks so much for the very detailed and helpful review. Stephanie, thank you for this reminder. Had heard of them. Will look them up also. This is wonderful. Thanks. Will look them up right away. Cat, thank you for reinforcing how I really feel deep inside. Thanks for being so sweet. :grouphug: Lucy, thanks for the link. Will look into it.

Forgot to thank you also. Taking note of all your suggestions as well. If anyone else has more suggestions, please, please share. Thanks so much. :)

Thank you all, so much. Do you have a link or name? I hate to sound snobbish, but I only do this sort of thing, if we can have our own bathroom. I cannot, at the age of 43, stand to share bathrooms. Makes me feel like a teenager all over again. Again, sorry to sound snobbish. I'll look more into the Pimlico area. I guess I have been truly spoiled. The last few times I stayed in London, it was so very central. I'm not even familiar with Pimlico. Taking the train in will only be worth it if it doesn't take too long AND if the train fare for all 4 of us works out very reasonable. Unlikely. London is horribly expensive. Sophie, I've taken note of all your suggestions and am going to look into them further. My first choice right now (followed by whichever of your suggestions works out) are to just get 2 rooms on PL and be done with it. Last time we were there and the kids were smaller, we got one room through PL and were very happy with the hotels on both our arrival into London and our return. The kids were smaller, so it wasn't that big of a deal to stay in ONE king bed. But now ... we need to get 2 rooms. I'll see. Youth hostels, are truly my last choice. Sorry to sound like a snob. Dh says that I am. I know that I am. Sorry ... I wish there was a nice and user-friendly site for reasonable apartments in London. I have yet to find one. Paris, I guess, is just a more reasonable place to stay. London is shamefully expensive. :confused: This looks like a good option. Do you mind if I ask: 1. When you went, was it very crowded? What time of year did you go? 2. Did you have to RUSH down to bfast every morning? Some reviewers on trip advisor keep mentioning that. I mean, if I'm paying for bfast, I want to make sure that it doesn't run out if you KWIM. ;)

I guess so ... :lol: So, if you're not sick and tired of me asking continuous travel questions ... if you know of any good places to stay in London for a family of 4 for possibly a week, please do share. My Rick Steves London Book is taking forever to get here ... London is soooo expensive. Here's what I'm thinking: 1. Staying in one of the London Heathrow Airport Hotels through Priceline. Airport hotels with PL are cheaper (MUCH cheaper) and they tend to be more nice with families - giving you 2 separate beds (I think and I certainly hope). It costs a few pounds per person to ride the Tube, but it also takes an entire hour to get there. I don't particularly care for that. 1 hour each way. For about a week - can really drag on ... I love the energy of London - the buzz and atmosphere. The Heathrow area is quite dull and depressing. Mind you, if we do go with this option, it's just for sleeping. 2. Apartment Rentals - all the ones I see are expensive. But I would love an apartment - having a fridge, a washer and dryer - I don't plan on cooking. 3. B&B - they can be quite expensive also. 4. University Accommodation - does not appeal to me. Reminds me of my teenage years. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please do share. Thanks so much. :)

Great job!!! :D :grouphug:

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I love that about Australia and, I think New Zealand, and many European countries. I am so European in many ways (most ways). Every time I see a homeless person (and it's usually in the U.S, since that's where we travel the most, I'm close to tears. I've lived in cities with lots and lots of homelessness - NY, OR, CA - I will never, ever get used to it. It affects me horribly. You don't see much homelessness here in the Caribbean. There's no social welfares system really. But families just stick out for one another.

Absolutely brilliant and I couldn't agree more. :iagree:

And I first heard it mentioned here. :confused: