One thing about having a chronic illness is that you're fair game for the host of suggestions you receive about cures from diet improvements to herbal remedies; from specialist doctors to vitamin (etc) supplements. This morning I was accosted by another person with advice. Always well meaning, I'm sure and always offering that little glimmer of hope that *this* could be the thing that changes everything. I've long 'believed' in the 500mg Vitamin C tablets I take daily knocking all the colds I used to get on the head. I used to catch everything going and one 'in between'. But since starting the Vitamin C some years back have barely had a cold since. But in addition to that I've had my Mum recommending Vitamin D [1], a Christian lady I meet on the bus swearing by coconut oil [2], a friend of my wife's suggesting a couple of things I'd need a presecription for. It's hard to keep track and I endeavour not to try everything at once so that I can see if it makes a difference - not that it is a very scientific trial with just one patient and no 'control' subject. This morning's enthusiasm was for specialists 100 miles away who focus on CFS, immune systems and 'environmental factors' and can test for a whole host of things that aren't normally looked for apparently. My accoster's husband had 18 blood samples taken. Of course, none of this is cheap. $2000 just for that much... not to mention what any course of (daily) injections subsequently might cost. I shall wait to hear of any results with interest. None of this, is to say, of course if you're reading this that I *don't* want to hear of any miracle cure you might have come across. But it might explain why it gets treated with a certain amount of - if not sceptism - at least patience. Yes, I do want to hear, but it can go in the queue... [1] Perhaps not so unwise having heard a doctor on the radio the other morning saying that in this particular climate/latitude none of us obtain Vitamin D from the amount of sunlight we receive between October and April. Of course, neither is this suggested as a 'cure' for CFS - just as a support to a compromised immune system. [2] I had thought this was a medicinal kind of thing - you know - take a spoonful before bed or something. I'd imagined some oleaginous liquid such as cooking oil, or ground nut oil. But it turns out to be a dietary thing. Comes in sizeable jars or tubs of a white solid 'paste' - more like butter. It can be used as oil to cook, butter to spread, or lotion to rub into skin. Two snags: firstly since a poor experience with illness from bites of coconut sold off trays on the heads of kids in Nigeria, I've never really been fond of the taste of coconut; secondly, used as butter it makes everything taste of coconut! Whether it will make the tiniest bit of difference I don't know, but I heard twice in the same week of it being a 'miracle' cure for an alzheimers patient.