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Hi everyone:

I wanted to share two pieces of information which have both been extremely
beneficial to me recently and I hope someone else may have the same
experience.

First, I have been reading several posts about the antibiotic Biaxin on the
list lately. I found myself in the emergency room about 3 weeks about with a
raging fever of over l03 degrees; I was practically in shock according to the
ER doctor. I knew I had a bad case of flu coming on but the physician wanted
to be sure and ran some on the spot lab tests which were positive for a
strong strain of influenza bacteria. Now came the challenge of which
anti-biotic to use (I only resort to this sort of medication when it's very
serious and no other choice will knock the bacteria out). I was lucky enough
to have been assigned a nice doctor who was willing to work with me on
finding a GF antibiotic. I had had the presence of mind to have the Stokes'
Pharmacy list with me and wouldn't dare go anywhere without it. The problem
for me and I'm sure alot of others on this list is that the medication also
has to be lactose and corn free. We called Stokes' just to make sure (Abbott
lab was closed since this was at night). The info was that Biaxin 250 mg. had
some sort of undetermined starch in it, but the 500 mg. was starch free. I
took this home with me and the fever was eradicated in 6 hours which was
fantastic; I would recommend this medication, although I was warned that it
is "hard on the stomach." I did have some mild cramping for a few hours but
it was certainly worth it under the circumstances. If you can tolerate corn,
Cipro has been a literal life-saver for me in the past somce it is a terrific
GF anti-biotic when your situation calls for something potent. I took a round
of Biaxin for the full l0 days and got completely well with no other bad
effects.

The other thing I want to pass along to women who take HRT or feel they may
need it. I have found an all natural progesterone which is just the hormone
in an olive oil base in a capsule form; the capsule is l00mg. and the usual
dose is one twice a day with a meal with some fat in it; I'm only taking one
capsule and I feel like a new person! I had been taking progesterone for
several years; first I was prescribed synthetic HRT which I now read can be
carcinogenic and it also did me no good at all. I later took a sublingual
progesterone which turned out to have lactose in it which I can't tolerate.
The cream version has a scary side effect which causes depression and
insomnia. I just realized this was happening to me and thank heavens I had
been warned of the possibility by my health care provider or I probably would
never have tracked down the cause; as soon as I stopped using the cream all
the wierd stuff went away in 24 hours.

If you want to explore the all natural progesterone, you can get it from
Women's International Pharmacy (800-279-5708) but you have to have an MD
prescription. People keep telling me that their doctor won't give it to them
or they are afraid they won't be able to get it from the physician they use.
If you call the number and go through their convoluted voice mail until you
get a live voice, you can ask to speak to someone about getting them to send
you their list of doctors who use their products in your area; this will tell
you the progressive thinkers in your location, as a rule. You can also ask to
speak to one of their pharmacists about your questions or concerns; they're
all women, I believe. I have no financial interest in this company; I have
just found this product to be unbelievably helpful and it actually has cut
down on food allergic reactions and helped my digestive tract a great deal.

Best of luck ...Leslie