Fake Disease Created For Viral Movie Campaign?

Comments

It's much more likely that the suggestion that it is a viral marketing campaign IS the marketing campaign.

For one thing, Dick descibes hallucinations of giant aphids, induced by drug use. Totally different to Morgellons.

Morgellons has a large number of belivers. The people who organized the press campaign are NOT anonymous, it was Ken Cowles (http://morgellons.org/mediapr.html).

Morgellons has several quacks who offer treatment for a price - they have many patients wasting money with them.

Morgellon's itself is BS, but it's not a viral campaign.

I know nothing of this movie or anyone affiliated with it, but I've been a Morgellons sufferer for decades. Morgellons is real and should be recognized as the serious and possibly contageous disease that it is. I guess if someone decided to make a movie containing a similar disease, it can't be the worst thing to happen. However, people need to know that anyone can get this disease and I truly wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Please do some research before judging; I am only one of thousands who are deathly sick from Morgellons disease. Believe me, it's real but I'd almost give anything to have it all be one big nightmare concocted for movie press. We should be so luckly.

I have this disease and if you think it is not real why don't you come over to my home and hang out for a while and see if you catch it. It is real it is scary as Sh__i and it is being ignored. e-mail me and you can have experts come to my home. Please know what you are talking about before you write such damaging stuff.

Well this is not a hoax and it really upsets me to see such a ridiculous comment.

This disease has ruined my life, my career and my family as well as the lives of friends/community I have met on the internet who have this.

I have had this infection for two years and it has been devastating. I spent a ton of money trying to survive this, to no avail.

My three doctors had no clue and because of their ignorance, prescribed Zoloft without even doing any tests to see if I had anything.

We just had one of us commit suicide.

Your link is pretty sad.

Joanne

Well this is not a hoax and it really upsets me to see such a ridiculous comment.

This disease has ruined my life, my career and my family as well as the lives of friends/community I have met on the internet who have this.

I have had this infection for two years and it has been devastating. I spent a ton of money trying to survive this, to no avail.

My three doctors had no clue and because of their ignorance, prescribed Zoloft without even doing any tests to see if I had anything.

We just had one of us commit suicide.

Your link is pretty sad.

Joanne

I'd like to clarify that I (and I would assume Steve as well) in no way intended to belittle the disease or those infected. In fact in my story I pose the question of whether this is an existing disease that has been "latched onto" for purposes of this campaign.

It has some similar symptoms, so rather than being the ACTUAL disease...it is similar enough to create buzz for disease in the upcoming movie.

Again, this was meant in no way to disrespect any who may have the actual disease, we're just taking a look at facts and drawing conclusions, not in any way trying to anger people.

I'm with Michael on this as well. I did not mean to belittle a legit disease nor make light what may be a serious issue. What I do make light of - as you can see from my quip (intended as in industry inside joke) about Michael's involvement - stems from my distrust of some marketers and their veiled intentions. As Michael says, perhaps marketers latched on to this. Perhaps not. Perhaps we're all cooking up a ridiculous conspiracy theory. But, and this is a positive for those suffering the disease, we are bringing publicity to the issue.

Personally, I am thrilled that Hollywood has taken this on!!! Hell, if the CDC still keeps ignoring this disease, and the media continues to fail to see/report the seriousness of this disease than I hope Hollywood runs away with this.

I have no reason to believe that they will disrespect the victims of the Fiber Disease or discredit this illness. Remember Tom Hanks in Philadelphia? Great flick as I remember it and good things came from that movie to the AIDS campaign.

Yes, Mr. Movie producer, run with this!!!!! Our cause needs truth so please research as much as possible as I know you will. Our government agencies and the medical establishment has failed us time and time again so you have a great burden on your shoulders should you pursue a project like this.

I lived in L.A. for several years and have no ties or contacts with anyone in the industry however, I have found people in L.A. to be some of the kindest people I have ever met in the entire world, I have much faith that they will do the right thing and I still have my fingers crossed that Michael Moore is in charge of this project. God, we need him!

I hope they make tons of money!!! $$$$$$$$$ !!!

"To have created a viral campaign in 2002, four years prior to the movie's release and when viral was barely in a marketer's toolkit, is amazing and commenable."
======
Except, with just a little bit of fact-checking, discussion of this disease started before 2002. Many people posted on NUSPA's 230 page message board of ~ 25 threads per page discussing this disease. The posts on NUSPA started in 2001 (use link below to go back to last few pages to fact check dates)

http://216.122.128.184/dc/dcboard.php?az=set_linear_mode&
forum=2&page=&topic_id=64847&prev_page=show_topics

The Morgellons / Lymebusters message board lost some of their messages and had to start fresh, so they don't have a complete archive.

http://lymebusters.proboards39.com/index.cgi

And, there were other message boards that some of the "oldtimers" would be able to point out.

The NPA's collembola study: http://www.headlice.org/report/research/index.html

In the collembola study, it is stated that " . . . The clinical portion of this study was conducted at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma between June 28 and July 20, 2000 . . ."

One of some individual website that focuses on this disease is Ever Hopeful's:

http://www.dpref.com/index.html

I'm sure there are many references and discussions and websites that pre-date 2002 and this implied connection with The Scanner Darkly movie.

To try to piggyback marketing for an upcoming movie on this is a shame.

Here's what's really happening, in the real world:

http://www.morgellons.org/rwupdate.html

Click and listen to "Dr Wymore Speaks" - an mp3 file which is a brief interview where the scientist researching Morgellons discusses the fibers, patients and doctors.

Thank you Michael and Steve. As you can see, we get a little defensive but it's only because we've been ignored for so long and many are dying because of this ignorance.

You will be seeing much publicity about Morgellons in the near future and I hope that you will research it for your own curiosity, as well as our need to get the word out to as many as possible.

Thank you again and no hard feelings meant!

Patti

Steve, I have to say I find it a bit odd that most of the comments on this site that were angry over this story seem to be a bit odd. The majority were all posted within a 5 minute time period between 1:10 and 1:15.

In addition one of the comments is a dupe posted by a different person.

However the oddest thing is that we would have so many sufferers reading your site and commenting.

Now, not to add more fuel to the fire....my previous comment here still stands, I am not intending to anger anybody who ACTUALLY HAS THE DISEASE.....but which do you think is more likely....several people who have the disease all post within a few minutes, or someone who is working on this campaign and monitoring it is reading this site as it is a popular web destination in our industry and now they are trying to diffuse the rumor?

Before I make baseless accusations....Steve, if you have IP logs and some way to look at what sites referred those IP addresses of the commentors who have the disease, it might be worthwhile to double-check and make sure the rabbit hole doesn't go any deeper if you know what I mean.

Unless of course both Steve and I are in on it. In which case the world may never know!

Well, I think it just MIGHT be a small hint to this mystery that both the "Morgellon's Research Foundation" website, and the movie's website were designed by one Andreas Viklund.

Case solved?

There is no (legitimate) research to date that confirms the existence of Morgellons, nor have any parasites been conclusively identified in the skin scrapings of supposed victims. All the sufferers reading Adrants, sorry but you're either lying or delusional. Feel free to call John Hopkins for verification. Please do not send me a link to the 2004 New York Entomological Society's completely bogus "academic" journal article.
-The Spaghetti Monster

Hmm. Somebody's been reading VICE and stealing ideas?

http://www.viceland.com/issues/v13n2/htdocs/worms.php

I have personally been in contact with Ginger Savely and referred a dear friend of mine with Morgellons symptoms to her care. Ms. Savely's prescriptions have improved my friend's health. She has even been able to go back to work part time, although she is still very sick.

Whether Morgellons exists or not, and whether my friend has it or not, I have no doubt that the people behind the Morgellons Research Foundation are sincere, and I am 99% sure that the disease itself is legitimate.

As for a flurry of comments--I'm sure I'm not the only person who has an interest in the disease who has set up a Google alert to inform me of any new news articles or other publicity surrounding Morgellons. I find it no surprise that many people with Morgellons symptoms have found this article already.

The people that think this disease is fake are
either clueless or have an agenda.

I'm based in the UK. I run my own business.
I have had this disease for 4 years now.
Check your IP log to confirm where I'm posting
from.

The Morgellons Foundation is 100% legitimate.

Please listen to the following interview with
Randy Wymore, a scientist who is researching
this disease.

Dr. Wymore is professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Wymore is a scientist's scientist and has joined the foundation, donating his time, to research the causative agent(s) of this disease.

http://healthsciences.okstate.edu/morgellons/Wymore_1-2.mp3

This article is deeply insulting and another
example of the misinformation being pushed
about this disease.

The Morgellons website was based on a template
that Andreas Viklund sells from his website.
He made the template, not the website.

The Scanner Darkly website was NOT built by
Andreas Viklund.

Pure BS.

In response to those saying that there is no way this is part of a viral campaign because it was talked about back in 2002 (or even before then)....

Nobody is saying that this isn't a real disease. If you honestly have it, my heart goes out to you. What we ARE saying is that it is very likely that the marketers for this movie "latched on" to this rare mysterious disease and are trying to use it to raise the public awareness of "a strange new disease" that happens to be similar to one in an upcoming movie.

And citing one of the Morgellon's websites that is in question because of its anonymous registration as proof of the disease is not the best way to go about proving your point.

To those suspecting that I am part of this viral effort...I don't know what I can say to prove you wrong. I'm an avid Slashdot reader which is where I first started piecing things together. I'm an ad geek who is very interested in viral advertising and thought something fishy was going on. If you can think of any methods of me proving my innocence in this, by all means present them and lets get on with it.

The original fiction and the Morgellon's don't really track.

(yoinking an excerpt from the book)

A SCANNER DARKLY -- CHAPTER 1

A frequent hallucination is 'speed bugs' or 'crank bugs'. The user believes bugs live under his or her skin and becomes desperate to get them out. -- Tony Thompson, Crime Correspondent for the Observer

Once a guy stood all day shaking bugs from his hair. The doctor told him there were no bugs in his hair. After he had taken a shower for eight hours, standing under hot water hour after hour suffering the pain of the bugs, he got out and dried himself, and he still had bugs in his hair; in fact, he had bugs all over him. A month later he had bugs in his lungs.

Having nothing else to do or think about, he began to work out theoretically the life cycle of the bugs, and, with the aid of the Britannica, try to determine specifically which bugs they were. They now filled his house. He read about many different kinds and finally noticed bugs outdoors, so he concluded they were aphids. After that decision came to his mind it never changed, no matter what other people told him ... like "Aphids don't bite people."

They said that to him because the endless biting of the bugs kept him in torment. At the 7-11 grocery store, part of a chain spread out over most of California, he bought spray cans of Raid and Black Flag and Yard Guard. First he sprayed the house, then himself. The Yard Guard seemed to work the best.

As to the theoretical side, he perceived three stages in the cycle of the bugs. First, they were carried to him to contaminate him by what he called Carrier-people, which were people who didn't understand their role in distributing the bugs. During that stage the bugs had no jaws or mandibles (he learned that word during his weeks of scholarly research, an unusually bookish occupation for a guy who worked at the Handy Brake and Tire place relining people's brake drums). The Carrier-people therefore felt nothing. He used to sit in the far corner of his living room watching different Carrier-people enter -- most of them people he'd known for a while, but some new to him -- covered with the aphids in this particular nonbiting stage. He'd sort of smile to himself, because he knew that the person was being used by the bugs and wasn't hip to it.

I am pleased to see you have come to the conclusion that perhaps Hollywood is feeding off of the literal blood of the sufferers of this horrendous disease. I assure you with every ounce of my being that not only the foundation , but the disease is very real.......and spreading quickly. As in AIDS, SARS, Legionnaire's and all those so called "Mystery Diseases" to come before it, it won't be long before either you or someone dear to you will be very aware of the horrific symptoms and loss of every aspect of quality of life.

Your original article does make light of the disease and yes, we do have quite a network alert system set up...AS SUFFERERS...to find hopes of a treatment, something to ease the torment for a while, a glimmer of hope in research, in reaching the media or the medical community which has so poorly treated us. And as in AIDS, it may take years to find the answers and it may be much too late for many of us. This IS no laughing matter. I agree with the comment that if no one else will take the ball and roll with it.....go Hollywood! We've been trying to get Michael Moore's attention for quite some time. So every time we are used, in a public forum as a vehicle of debate or ridicule, we do defend ourselves, but there's also an inner "hurrah" because even when presented in the fashion in which it was on this format, it is reaching someone, somewhere, who might be wondering.....why am I so tired? Why do my joints ache? Why can't I see and think clearly? What are these strange rashes and bumps on my skin? Why are my clothes disintegrating? Why is my hair falling out? What the Hell is WRONG with me? Need I continue?
All I have to say is....you're not alone and when one of us falls, another hundred join us. Come on over to my house....stay awhile.

Nobody is saying that this isn't a real disease.

Actually, I would argue that the headline "Fake Disease Created For Viral Movie Campaign" is saying that this isn't a real disease.

It's a very provocative statement from the perspective of those who are sick with these symptoms and who put their hopes for a cure (or even treatment) into further research into Morgellons.

There is no (legitimate) research to date that confirms the existence of Morgellons... you're either lying or delusional.

The fact that there has been very little research on the subject is hardly an argument that it doesn't exist. In fact, the main goal of the Morgellons Research Foundation is to initiate this "legitimate" research. I agree, research needs to follow certain guidelines to be taken seriously--but the fact that it doesn't exist YET does not prove anything.

Getting this research done is not so simple as throwing a tenner at some doctors and saying "research this." For example, the laws of this country require government approval before human testing can be done. They have initiated the process of acquiring this approval. And then, of course, you need more money than the occasional 10 spot.

While it is true there are no scientific studies to prove it is real, there are no scientific studies to prove it isn't, either. There are no scientific studies on it, period. I, for one, want there to be. That is what MRF is working on.

Steve, did you check Michael's request to go down the rabbit hole and check the IP addresses of responders? We are simple, common folk. Most of us used to be professionals, unfortunately those in the medical community outnumber the rest 3 to 1. Nosocomial? You betcha! We have many nurses, physicians, and scientists among our ranks, and teachers are the number 2 statistically prevalent group. Please verify for your viewers that these comments are not coming from Hollywood or Bollywood for that matter. The largest majority of Morgellons patients were "givers" and "helpers" in the community and God help you all if it continues to lessen their ranks.
As to the defensiveness of the group....we have to deal daily with something that is excruciatingly physically and mentally painful, having taken nearly everything from us. Our health, careers, homes, savings, credibility, relationships, energy and the simple joy of living that you all take so easily for granted. Be grateful for all you have while you can and please, don't slam this group without doing the essential and very available research. I wouldn't wish this on the devil himself, if there were one, it is THAT horrid. It'll make a great sci-fi movie. If you want a REAL story, you might look into the WHY of the unwillingness of this administration to look into a disease that is debilitating and killing thousands of Americans.
Check it out Steve, and post the truth. This isn't Hollywood calling (and actually the Bay Area is much harder hit than L.A.) ask Feinstein about it. She knows.

KC Ridgewalker

In answer to KC Ridgewalker, three people in the first 12 or so comments, it seemss double posted using different names:

woodenlunch 64.47.127.2
Bob 64.47.127.2

Randy 65.147.141.163
Raskell 65.147.141.163

Joanne 12.152.83.119
Wendy Summers 12.152.83.119

The above three people appeared to have commented differently two times based on IP. Or, they are individual people at the same company or something.

However, both "Bob" and "woodenlunch" have commented many times before on other article here and I see no reason not to trust them...or, they happen to both (or singularly) happen to work for an agency/marketer with the same IP and read Adrants all the time.

I'm not sure any of this is conclusive yet but I thought I'd share.

I haven't checked all the comments and I'm not going to bother. It appears, in my opinion, there are certainly sufferers here and, as one poster said, no one wanted to talk about AIDS in its early stages. Perhaps it's all a coincidence. Perhaps the movie studio thought they'd just co-op an existing disease. Perhaps it's nothing. And, in answer to another commenter, yes, it was a poor choice of words for the headline but my early research led me in that direction. Trouble is, if I change the headline, the link to the article will break.

Steve

Thanks Steve, just curious. Seems some of the dupes were the detractors. Oh well, every eye opened however it is achieved, is a good thing in my opinion. I understand your "naming" conundrum. No offense....this thing has taken on a life of it's own and we've been called worse. If anything, you've been a great help! Thanks again for your forthrightness. Peace, KC

http://www.google.com/trends?q=morgellons%2C+%22a+scanner+
darkly%22&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all

Steve, I absolutely did NOT post as "woodenlunch" (or double-post at all). I swear.

Out of curiosity, Woodenlunch, do you work for a company/parent company that has a "star" in its name? If so, that would explain things.

all it takes is to have an "alert" with google or yahoo and anything out there with morgellons mentioned in in will be sent to your e-mail. So get over the fact that your stupid site is being monitered by anyone. I am one of many who have watched and waited for some publicity to enter the internet and we all knew there were going to be many hurtful people out there but it still doesnt make it any easier when your family is suffering. It isnt my job to convince you or to make you think it is real because if someday your child gets this or you loose your husband to this and no one listens then it will be to late. At this point all I really want is to survive and be able to help my children continue to be the leaders they were meant to be- one thing I do know is they will be a more compasionate and helpful leader than the ones they have encountered in the past 4 years.

I will reiterate what was said before but possibly may have been overlooked. The Morgellons website is maintained very well by Ron Wells. The fact that Morgellons gives credit to Andreas for some of their designs is a curious coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless. I do not know the validity of the other comparison made as I'm too ill to waste time on worthless research escapades.

The reason so many responded here in short order is because it was posted on our message board and we were directed here to read about this movie. After what we've been through and after reading some of the comments, it's very difficult not to respond to accusations and judgments that simply are not true. Granted, I do not blame you one bit for being initially skeptical as it took me years to realize this was not an ordinary textbook disease. None of it made any sense yet I was convinced there had to be a rational explanation for my illness......there was none and nothing fits except what we are calling Morgellons. And since photos from all over the world match photos that many of us have taken even though we do not know each other, at some point you have to stop and wonder why they all are very similar. Why are our symptoms identicle to thousands of others, many of whom are entire families with babies also infected. I have never taken street drugs in my life and I'm sure those babies haven't either. As a matter of fact, there are even many documented cases of pets having Morgellons, and I'm sure most of them aren't on drugs.

I will again apologize for the harshness of some of our comments but you must put yourselves in our shoes. It's been a horrible journey and probably not unlike the first years of AIDS' patients before their disease was nationally recognized. We all know what happened there when the medical community failed to react promptly......be prepared for something similar as it could likely happen again.

I absolutely agree with Ridgewalker and it would not be prudent to change your heading, Steve, but thanks for the thought. If nothing else, I guess you have more traffic at the moment and we have had referrals to our website due to conversations here....a good thing for all. Hopefully this movie will also be a good thing for us, but I suspect its creation was only due to the amount of infectious diseases in the news over the last decade, nothing more.

Patti

Patti,

Thanks and no need to apologize. It is I that should be apologizing and I do.

Steve

I have never posted on this website with a name other than 'woodenlunch.' Also, my company doesn't have the word 'star' in it. Additionally, I stand by my previous assertion. If there were bugs in peoples' skins, high resolution electron microscopes, magnifying skin grafts up to 2,000,000 times, would see them, and photoshop wouldn't be necessary.

woodenlunch, please do your research. The research says "sensations of bugs", not the EXISTENCE of bugs. No one is asserting that any bug is present, however many, not I, but many, experience this sensation which is attributable to a host of diseases with neurological impact. Since there are many researching this disease at this time there has been plenty of imaging done and it is ongoing.

The CDC announced today that they are beginning a formal study of Morgellons Disease if that will add any validity to OUR side of the story. If the CDC seems to think it is worthy of investigation then I would make the leap of assumption that they are receiving numerous inquiries from patients, health providers and politicians combined. Here is a link to the announcement and a story regarding Morgellons that was very recently run (as in yesterday) by KENS news in San Antonio, TX.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA052206.
morgellonsfolo.KENS.12913d3a.html

Steve, you have been a gentlemen. Thank you for your kind considerations, but as Patti said, no apology is necessary. That is the initial response of most folks, even ourselves. It takes a while for the reality to sink in. I still have days, after four years, that I wake up and think, Oh, what a terrible nightmare that was. Then I feel the pain and realize it is a waking nightmare to which I have returned.

I appreciate your openmindedness in handling this most sensitive issue.

KC Ridgewalker

One visit to the CDC's official site, Search for Morgellons in their search bar... nothing matches.

It does not exist on the CDC's own site. Please show me a direct link to this announcement that they are reviewing it.

I would also love to hear how a coloured, synthetic fibre comes to be implanted under the skin in the first place. I cant' even begin to think how a person could possibly become infected with this, and I don't want to discredit or poke fingers at those posters with very real and serious medical symptoms. I'm just curious, and trying to make objective decisions about what I'm reading.

This is my very first visit to Adrants, linked from a site trying also to make heads or tails. I'm just trying to do some homework.

Andie,

I too, tried to search the CDC site, however, being that the announcement was just made on the 23rd (please see the San Antonio news broadcast link shown above) and having certain materials in my possession that include correspondence from senators, medical researchers and myself, I am well aware that the CDC is taking action and prepared an alert for health providers and health depts. in April and announced their formal inquiry this week.

I would recommend to you the most convincing way of determining if they are researching or have issued an alert, which they indeed have, and that is by making a personal inquiry to them. Either Mr. Dan Rutz, their media / PR representative or Dr. Julie Gerberding, their clinical director. If nothing else you will receive a "canned" response letter as to the status of their inquiry into the disease. It's been my experience that personal experience is the most believable teacher.

KC Ridgewalker

ps. Andie -

Somehow you are misinterpreting the information you are getting. No one has ever asserted that these are "synthetic" fibers or that they are "implanted" in the skin. The fibers, some which have shown cellulose DNA are produced by the body. Sometimes I believe fibers is not a good word to describe them. I personally prefer structures or matrixes. Please carefully review the Morgellons.org website and perhaps view some of the images and you will see what I mean. It is a matter of semantics. Again, fibers is how patients explain what they seem to be seeing. I would also recommend the link (which I believe was posted above, but can be found in the registration link of the Morgellons.org website) of Dr. Randy Wymore, Director of Research, in which he explains the role of the fibers and what is known of them to date. You must also understand that although patients have been suffering from this terrible disorder for many years, research is in it's infancy.
Thanks for your interest. I hope this helps!
KC Ridgewalker

I KNOW THIS......I MYSELF WROTE THE CDC and told them of this horrible disease. I told them that we will write to our politicians and tell them that the medical community and the CDC are all ignoring the ones suffering from this horrid affliction. I told them they will all look very foolish when it 'comes out' in the vast public finally, and that it IS real and they are doing nothing! They wrote me back the SAME DAY and told me about the task force, though likely not everyone at the CDC knows about it yet. I will keep checking the CDC web site to see if they even mention it and you do the same. If enough people GET THE WORD OUT TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN, the media, and all of it's forms such as the local TV and radio stations, national news and radio shows, the major networks and their hosts, the politicians, then eventually it will be taken seriously. Just one spot on say 20/20 or Dateline could be the silver bullet. So, get to E-mailing and make your voices heard and your suffering known. This is a medical war and you can win it. You have the RIGHT to be diagnosed and treated in your own country! The U.S. spends millions curing the sick in other countries, and diseases that are "politically cool" so make them use YOUR tax dollars on researching those ill right here in the USA. They don't know what this is and they HATE admitting that, so they brush you aside and make it seem you are to blame. Or worse yet they know what it is and for God knows why, won't tell you. Does the government already know what it is and it is being kept a secret from the public? Funny that the doctors say the same thing to everyone nearly to the letter, and have the same knee jerk reaction. Don't take it anymore, you are going to have to fight for your rights to be healed! You are Morgellon survivors and heros in a strange battle. Good luck and
God Bless, Grace

I have a dumb question. Why don't any of the web sites have pictures of the actual people with the disease, like the hands or something? All I can find are the magnified pictures of the fibers. Maybe I didn't look hard enough? Not trying to suggest anything here, just curious.

If you have streaming video, go to the morgellons.org website and hit the media button and you will see all of the recent television and radio station interviews with real, live Morgies! They will show you lesions, emaciation, researchers and even a coffin or two. Most of these interviews have been done in the last few weeks, some within the last few days and if you listen very carefully you will hear them say that the CDC is investigating the disease. Just about all of us look the same or worse, so it should give you an idea of what the disease looks like and you might just see it on the guy standing next to you in the grocery store or your next door neighbor.
Here to answer any and all questions (except for the cure, I'd be one rich sucka),

KC Ridgewalker

The Morgellons Research Foundation is a real non-profit organization.
Search for it here: http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78

Registering a non-profit organization with the IRS for the sole purpose of covering possible backstory holes in a viral marketing campaign would be a bit too extreme even for Hollywood.

I saw this on Drudge Report about two weeks ago. They said it was mostly in southern Texas. It still seems fishy - if there were thousands of patients with this disease, believe me, there would be pharmaceutical companies looking into it! It will be interesting to see what the CDC says, IF, they have ever heard of it. Sorry to be skeptical but "thou dost protest too much!"

Thou wouldst protest yourself if you were covered with painful lesions, had excruating joint pain, blurred vision, siezures, muscle spasms, insomnia, memory problems (as in what was I doing 10 minutes ago?) and you lost your job, insurance, savings, home, belongings and at the medical community's hands, your dignity. What would you do Liz? Shut up and take it? I thinkst not! That the government that is sworn to serve and protect us has been reluctant to engage in research into this disorder ought to be what is in question here, not the very, very consistent symptoms of the patients. Perhaps the pharmaceutical companies may have a known connection (as in Vioxx causing TENS a necrotizing skin disorder that is very similar).

I don't get you. Thou dost prostest too much???? What would you do Einstein? I personally ask you. Maybe you might give me some fresh ideas, 'cause I've contacted senators, congressmen, health depts., media, CDC, NIH really everything short of the president himself. Put yourself for one moment in one of those folks shoes in the video links and you tell me......what wouldst thou do?

Sorry to be so irate, but the idea of not protesting our treatment and the idea that this is some kind of conspiracy because we protest the ruination of our lives and the neglect of the government and the medical community is complete idiocy!

KC Ridgewalker

yes it will be interesting to hear what the CDC has to say- their reply 2 years ago was that it sounded like some neuro-toxin exposure and it was my responsibility to find out what it is. The state of florida said they didn't have the resources and the health department didnt know what to do but give me different directions to go in. This was after several doctors contacted them saying it was out of their league and they were only private practice physicians. Oh- and this was after we were cleared by neuro-psych as not being depressed or delusional but my husband did have frontal and temperal cognitive issues that did get better after anti-parasitic medication was used for 5 days. The media did know about this 1 1/2 years ago but instead went with the "bug" approach and neglected the real issues that we have faced.

Tourism is the state of Florida's main attraction and where the almighty dollar will always win. Just think- I live on a lake and we had visited several beaches the summer before we all became ill. This I will keep saying until someone listens to us and treats us with the respect we
deserve.

The CDC also had the oppertunity to collect samples when my husband was hospitalized at Christmas. Well, it's to late now..... Then they also lost another at the autopsy.
www.annedill.funtigo.com

Hi Anne - it's Karen from Oklahoma....you go girl! I know what you've been through and you of all people have the right to be righteously indignant about the inhumane treatment of our patient population.

I just popped in to add a ps. to Liz that South Texas IS NOT the primary location of this disease. What is wrong with you people that you can't read some basic informational statements? This UNDERREPORTED disorder has been reported in all 50 states and 18 countries. Learn to read and understand before your open your mouth.

You hang in there Anne, you're in my prayers more than you know,

KC Ridgewalker

Sorry to offend anyone with a disease. However, I still think it's a hoax (don't go crazy just yet - I end with why I think it's real and may offer some help!).
The ARTICLE read on Drudge stated that it was occurring in TX - I was just repeating the information cited in THAT article - yeesh. The ARTICLE stated that red, white, black and blue "fibers" of a completely unknown "mysterious substance" were sprouting. That's hogwash - of course you can find out what they are composed of! Granted, you may not know what is causing it or the mechanism by which it is occurring, but any decent lab could identify what the "filaments" are made of.
Another ridiculous statement stated that they found "cellulose DNA" in one of the fibers. Now, that may sound creepy to a lay person but anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of science knows that DNA only occurs in living things... so a cellulose is a what??
Regarding treatments, one person stated long term treatment with "antibiotics" helped but when he went off, it came back. So, what is so strange about that? Why can't he take antibiotics - which one?? (there are hundreds) I suffer from a chronic disease (asthma) and if I don't take my medicine, I will get it...so I take it. Yes, it may have some mild side effects...but it's better than asthma. If I left my asthma untreated I would be ruined as well - couldn't work, etc. So what gives?
And, please cut the crap on the "pharmaceutical company conspiracies" - Yeah right. Merck decided it would be a good idea to invent TENS and inflict it on people - that is so ridiculous, it's laughable. TENS (and similar ailments such as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, angioedema) are (thank goodness) a very rare occurring, but fairly common, adverse effect of just about ALL drugs. It is an immunological reaction of unknown origin which causes the death ("necrolysis") of the skin (epidermis). It is probably driven by an upregulation of pro-inflammatory substances such as cytokines.
So, why do I think it's not a hoax?
I swear that I saw a Mystery Diagnosis episode on the Discovery channel. Again, I am quoting what I saw (which I believed was fact) so please don't jump down my throat!
Several fisherman in a seaside town (I think Florida maybe?) were getting sores that wouldn't heal and these sores would emit a black tarry substance. They also had the skin crawling sensation. They had severe short term memory loss and many of the symptoms these patients report. The fish they were handling also had the sores. It also seemed infectious to close family members or people who lived in the same houses. The doctor could not identify it. Test after test, they found nothing. It turns out it was some sort of a microscopic hydra that emits a neurotoxin. The only name I can remember is that they had to contact a marine biologist to identify the thing. His name was Dr. Donald Shmeckel and he was from Duke University. I wish I could remember more about this because if this helps someone, that would be great.
I really do hope anyone reading this message finds health and happiness in their lives. I really do wish you well and hope you find your answers.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/9264350/detail.html

The media has clearly fallen down a rabbithole.

Black specks, fibers, glitter, sand like granules started coming out of my hands, wrists, face, arms, abdomen, chest, and legs. It would start with a sarcoid-like bump that would develop into a lesion spewing tons of the long blue, red, black, clear fibers, and the aforedescribed garbage. The fibers just kept increased in quantity over time. I would use tape to remove them. I could use a whole roll of tape on just on lesion. The garbage just would not stop coming, lesions would not heal. Also, I felt creepy crawlies all over me. I felt pricks that made me feel like the fibers were fiberglass.

My primary care physician refused to examine me, insisting that noting was coming out of me skin - that I was just imagining it and doing this to myself. She was so concerned that she immediately found a psychiatrist to see me. Although I was skeptical, I was willing to consider the possibility that a psychiatrist could help. At that point, I was suffering beyond belief and just wanted the living nightmare to end.

The psychiatrist suspected that the lesions were excoriations and the fibers were enviromental contaminates getting stuck on the lesions. I insisted he examine a spot with a fiber embedded in the skin. He looked with his dermascope and said it was just a fiber from my pants. He used an alcohol swab to try to wipe it off. He could not. Then he thought it was a strange ingrown hair, but could not see any hair root. He tried to remove the "hair" with tweezers. He could not get it out. I told him I think the fibers are in every single one of my lesions. He looked at them all with his dermascope and sure enough, he found them at the base of every single lesion. He could also see black dots in my skin, even where there were no lesions. He did not know what to do, except send me to a dermatologist.

The dermatologist looked at me and said I had acne and to stop picking at it. I asked him to look closely at the lesions, but he only had a unlighted weak magnifier so could not see any black dots or fibers. He prescribed acne cream. My psychiatrist was in disbelief, this was not acne - how could he have better skin looking tools than a dermatologist? Anyway, he was stumped and had convinced himself it was just black hair (btw... my hair is honey blond).

I told him he was wrong, but would be willing to consider that possibility, if I could see under a microscope that my fibers looked like my hair. I wanted to see that it had all the parts of hair (cuticle, cortex, and pigment). He lent me his microscope. I looked at my fibers and they looked nothing like my hair.

Immediately, I googled "fibers embedded in skin" and the first page that came up was images from the Morgellons Research Foundations. OMG! They looked just like me! I notified my doc and he was shocked. He saw the photos and thought they were pics of my skin. He was convinced that Morgellons is what I had. It was a Friday and he set up an appointment for me to get a biopsy on my lesions the following Monday.

He prescribed Doxycycline and Ketoconazole cream. I started the med on Saturday, by Sunday I had no more creepy-crawlies and the lesions started to heal. Monday I went to my appointment for the biopsy, but my lesions had healed so much that there was nothing to biopsy (except a couple bad ones on my face, but they refused to biopsy my face.) The black dots in my skin had also disappeared. Amazing.

As of now, I am 98% recovered. I barely have any fibers and no lesions. I am still taking antibiotics. I feel well.

(Forgive me if this shows up as a double post; I tried to preview it and couldn't figure out how to go back and hit "Post.")

I don't pretend to know whether Morgellon's is real or a hoax, but I do have a couple comments. Before I start, let me note that my mother suffers from Sjogren's, an autoimmune disease similar/related to lupus. For years she was told it was "only in her head," then for more years she was misdiagnosed (and hence mis-treated) as having rheumatoid arthritis, and then for more years she was active in the Sjogren's patient support/research community... so I'm well aware of the frustrations faced by patients suffering from poorly understood conditions. That said...

1. Outraged patients should remember that saying an illness is psychogenic is NOT the same as saying it's not real (or that the patient's suffering is not real). When presented with a patient who has real symptoms for which he can find no physical, organic cause, is it unreasonable for a doctor to consider psychogenic causes? Why assume the doctors are ignoring and/or belittling you?

2. The fact that an illness has physical symptoms does NOT mean it isn't psychogenic. Depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia have physical, as well as behavioral, symptoms: If you presented with symptoms of one of those conditions and your doctor offered you psychoactive drugs, would you go away complaining that s/he was ignoring you or blowing you off? (Assuming you're not Tom Cruise, that is!)

3. Many skin disorders, in particular, are either caused or exacerbated by psychological stress and/or other psychogenic causes.

4. My daughter (a 15 year-old survivor of pediatric cancer) stumbled across Morgellon's on the web (probably one of her LiveJournal friends thought the gross pictures were "cool"), and it scared the living p!ss out of her. She lost a whole night's sleep feeling bugs under her skin and looking for fibrous lesions. If just a passing awareness can create these sensations in a slightly suggestible but otherwise healthy young girl, it doesn't strike me as unlikely that full-blown symptoms might be psychogenic as well. (She hasn't mentioned it since that night, happily.)

5. When I did some web searching to find out what it was that had so terrified my daughter, I thought it was curious that all hyper-roads seemed to lead back to the same handful of doctors and nurses, and to (relatively) small clusters of patients around those practitioners. (OK, yes, I read the comment earlier about all 50 states; I'm just reporting what my Googling turned up.) I'm not suggesting anyone -- patients, practitioners, or reporters -- is lying or deliberately perpetrating a hoax; I am suggesting it doesn't seem unreasonable to think the "contagion" might be psychological or informational rather than bacteriological or virological.

I wish everyone who is suffering with this condition well... but wishing you well includes getting to the bottom of the situation, even if that means finding out that the cause of your pain isn't what you imagine it to be. I have more experience than I would wish with the medical establishment; while I know there are some doctors who can't be pushed out of their well-defined comfort zone, I don't find credible the suggestion, implicit in some of the arguments here, that the broad community of clinicians and researchers is uninterested in understanding and treating new diseases. The doctors I've had the (unfortunate) privilege to know have without fail been seekers of truth; to suggest that you can find nobody outside a handful of angels -- nobody at CDC, NIH, or any of the major hospitals and medical research establishments -- who's interested in the (relatively) new and puzzling condition just doesn't strike me as credible.

Bill,

I am not offended by your suggestion that this could be psychosomatic in nature. As mentioned before, if not witnessed or lived first hand it is very difficult to perceive the odd nature of this disorder. I have been fortunate to have very caring and compassionate physicians but they are truly puzzled and all agree (have seen many specialists, including psychiatry and the psychiatrist was the first to rule out a psychological disorder. She is a Board Certified Psychiatrist, Geriatric Neurologist and Chief of Staff at our local hospital) that until the proper research is done that a cure or anything that even seems to provide relief will be viewed as a remission and not a cure. Not until the causitive agent is identified. Having reliable information of the status of current research, I do believe that the causitive agent will be identified soon. The physical structures and unusual components of the disease have been identified, but there is a lot of ruling out to do. Human studies will begin soon.

Neither am I offended that the CDC has placed a psychologist on their team of investigators. That aspect must indeed be ruled out officially and the disorder itself, whether physiologically produced or situationally, due to the stress of loss of quality of life, careers, status, isolation etc. makes each patient certainly worthy of treatment.

I would like to inform you however, that after spending many hours of my time volunteering support for patients and from my own experience, I did not begin to have these symptoms after hearing about Morgellons, I found the MRF website by googling for answers. And I have not spoken with a person that found the website and then developed symptoms.

As my personal physician puts it, "he is learning" and he is treating me in earnest to give supportive treatment until the causitive agent can be identified.

At the risk of sounding like a paranoid delusional, I will stick my neck out here and suggest that perhaps there are certain interests that do not want this disorder brought to light. There could be many reasons for this. Theories abound, from the absolutely absurd to the very reasonable, yet frightening.

I mentioned cellulose in a previous post that was questioned by another poster. Cellulose is a plant product. What is cellulose doing in the human body? Well, if you check the recent bill passed alotting monies to be spent for the upcoming "pandemic flu" you will also see that within that bill was an allowance for vaccines and innoculations to be prepared in a quicker, more responsive (to viral mutation) manner by utilizing recombinant plant DNA and bacteria.

Why did the French not contract Gulf War syndrome? Was there a problem with the vaccines. If you follow politics closely, you are also aware that 250 million dollars was just allotted for the FAMILIES of GWS sufferers as they are now becoming as ill as the veterans themselves.

Perhaps a genetically modified biopesticide either in use or in the laboratory began to mutate (and if you don't understand the incredible genetic work that has been done in this field, do a little research. It is fascinating and most of these products are easily purchased for your commercial, agricultural or military needs!) and escaped it's target area or field testing. I know this sounds like sci-fi, but it goes on every day at universities and DOD labs across the country. Perhaps this is a product produced by a chemical or pharmaceutical giant with much lobbying power and persuasion. Perhaps knowledge of this kind could cause a panic as it seemed to so disturb your daughter.

Although Dr. Wymore states that it crosses all socio-economic backgrounds, the true majority are educated, primarily medical, doctors, nurses, scientists, or social, teachers. prison workers, social workers, lawyers, for example.

In working for over a year in supporting Morgellons sufferers, I have not met one, myself included that was not in very good to excellent physical and mental health, most being at the peak of their careers, the prime of their lives, with no unusual stressors.

There are some commonalities. Every patient I have discussed histories with has experienced mold or water leakage or swimming in what they considered to be polluted waters, All seemed to feel they came down with what felt like a viral or flu-like symptoms at onset and as for myself, I was being treated also with Lupron an immunosuppressive drug which works through the pituitary gland on the endocrine axis, in attempts to shrink a fibroid tumor prior to a successful hysterectomy.

In essence, what I am trying to say is the very normalcy and successful nature of the lives of the patients prior to onset is in and of itself curious if this is a growing mass delusion. Why would highly intelligent and well integrated professionals, most within the same time period all decide to commit socio-economic suicide?

Just food for thought. Not fact, just many, many long hours of observation and information gathering. Certainly wasn't what I had planned for myself during the best years of my life and it took me 3 years of disability to discover the link to Morgellons, as in ALL cases I have researched.

One last bit to chew on. Why are the Morgellon's support websites being hit daily and repeatedly by the Dept. of Defense, the VA Admin., the CIA, the Dept. of Justice, the NIH....the DOD again, this list goes on. Just what would their interest be in this matter? Is this "delusion" a security threat to our nation?

I'll leave that for you to decide. As Mrs. Dill said, who has lost several members of her family to this disease. It's not her job to convince you. We know this is real. Unfortunately, as with AIDS, I'm afraid, soon, so will you.

Posted by: KC Ridgewalker on May 30, 2006 06:19 PM

I'm not sure how I found this site, but I'm glad I did. I am especially glad to have read the last post by KC Ridgewalker. I too have been plaqued by symptoms of this disease for the past 10 months. I was a healthy individual who worked out six days a week, swimming,walking,gym. Suddenly I end up sick with severe back pain,myoclonus seizures,flapping of shoulders at rest and muscle spasms and twitching to this day. I have been to over twenty Dr.'s in the San Francisco Bay area. I have been to both ALS clinics and told I don't have Lou Gehrig's but I have obvious twitching and spasms. I have been to UCSF dermatology and told my brown spots are sun spots and the skin thinning on my legs is skin crepeing. I have a jerking in the left side that the Dr.'s of neurosurgery say is a herniated thoracic disc, need I continue?

I know my body and something is up. I am going to see Ginger Savely who is now in the Bay area and seeing people who believe they may have this Morgellons. I too sometimes question the internet and knowing too much. I also believe that if I don't have to live with my skin crawling and muscles spasming all day long because someone out there found relief through the internet than it can serve a good purpose as well.

KC Ridgewalker:

I'm glad I didn't offend you with my earlier comments; it was certainly not my intent to do so. I hope you will accept my further comments in the same generous spirit.

First, note that I carefully took no position on whether Morgellon's was "real" or not... or more properly, whether its cause is organic or psychogenic, since I have absolutely no doubt that the patients' suffering is real, regardless of its source. In any case, I'm neither a physician nor a psychologist (nor a doctor of any sort, for that matter), and I haven't had any contact with a Morgellon's patient, so I'm really not qualified to comment on the disease per se. I can, however, comment on how the available information appears to a layman. You must realize that, fairly or unfairly, it seems a bit dodgy: A (relatively) small patient community supported by a handful of medical practitioners (all my web searches seemed to lead to gigner Savely, Dr. Wymore, the MRF, and very few others) who believe passionately in an organic disease that no other doctors or researchers seem to be able to find and empirical evidence of.

If this is a true physical ailment with an organic cause -- and again, I'm not asserting it isn't -- then you must realize the infomation available to laymen isn't doing your cause any favors: It's very difficult, for instance, to look at those graphic photos (the ones that so frightened my daughter) and imagine that any reasonably competent physician would ignore or minimize it (I know none of the doctors who've treated me and my family over the years would have), or that biopsies would reveal no hint of an organic cause.

Further, stories (like the one in this thread) of lesions that suddenly clear up (after only 2 day's treatment! isn't this supposed to be a persistent, nearly untreatable condition?) before they can be biospied or -- forgive me -- your own speculations about dark Government conspiracies and coverups tend to undermine the credibility of the case for Morgellon's. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who likes the current administration less than me, but I don't believe even the Bushies are capable of unleashing a disease like this on the public, or of deliberately supressing attempts to cure it. (And if the Government were supressing doctors' attempts to study Morgellon's, why are Dr. Wymore and Ms. Savely uniquely immune to their machinations?)

A few direct responses:

"I did not begin to have these symptoms after hearing about Morgellons, I found the MRF website by googling for answers. And I have not spoken with a person that found the website and then developed symptoms."

That doesn't necessarily mean the symptoms aren't psychogenic. Psychogenic symptoms are different from imagined ones: Again, I don't doubt the reality of the symptoms; I only wonder about the cause. That you found a community of people with a diagnosis that matched your symptoms does not automatically mean that diagnosis is correct. My mother's diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis fit her symtpoms perfectly; it was only years later, when the expected progressive effects of years of RA failed to appear, that that diagnosis broke down, creating the context for a new (and correct) one.

"...if you don't understand the incredible genetic work that has been done in this field, do a little research. ... I know this sounds like sci-fi,"

I'm fully aware (in the sense that a well-educated layman can be) of the amazing recent advances in genetics and biotechnology. What does, I'm sorry to say, strike me as a bit "sci-fi" (those of us who are actual fans of science fiction literature prefer that term, or "SF," to the vaguely pejorative "sci-fi," BTW) is the notion that these advances are in the hands of reckless, or perhaps even wilfully evil, Government-sponsored/protected "mad scientists."

"In working for over a year in supporting Morgellons sufferers, I have not met one, myself included that was not in very good to excellent physical and mental health, most being at the peak of their careers, the prime of their lives, with no unusual stressors."

I would argue that being "at the peak of their careers" is an unusual stressor, especially when the careers in question include "medical, doctors, nurses, scientists, or social, teachers. prison workers, social workers, lawyers"... all high-stress fields, and most of them fields that involve a significant awareness of medical issues. Why do you suppose the condition isn't equally present in blue-collar workers, retirees, children, etc.? I can imagine answers to that question that would be consistent with an organic cause... but I can also imagine answers that wouldn't.

"There are some commonalities. Every patient I have discussed histories with has experienced mold or water leakage or swimming in what they considered to be polluted waters, All seemed to feel they came down with what felt like a viral or flu-like symptoms at onset...."

Who hasn't been exposed to mold or dirty water? Who hasn't had the flu or some other virus? I'd be willing to bet that a very large percentage of juveniles convicted of crimes had chewed gum in their past; does that mean chewing gum causes juvenile crime? This is a case of looking at facts through a lens of expectations... which is what I was talking about above.

"Why are the Morgellon's support websites being hit daily and repeatedly by the Dept. of Defense, the VA Admin., the CIA, the Dept. of Justice, the NIH....the DOD again, this list goes on. Just what would their interest be in this matter?"

Assuming this is so (I have no reason to doubt it; I just don't have personal knowledge of it), why not take it as a sign that the Government is at least seriously considering the case for Morgellon's... that they're evaluating the possibility that it might be some new kind of organic disease (which would explain the interest of public health agencies such as NIH and the VA) or that it might be some chemical toxin, perhaps related to criminal activity or terrorism (which explains the interest of the security and military agencies). Much as I abhor this administration's penchant for spying on its citizens, monitoring public websites related to a phenomenon that might be a public health or safety concern strikes me as prudent rather than sinister.

Look, I don't really "have a dog in this fight" -- the only reason I'm even aware of the issue is dealing with one night of teen anxiety -- and my belief or disbelief is ultimately irrelevant to those of you dealing with this concern. For what it's worth, I'm perfectly willing to believe, despite my admitted skepticism, that this is truly some new, mysterious, difficult-to-detect disease-causing agent, and that it will be discovered and proven in time. I'm far less willing to believe in scenarios that involve Government perfidy or a medical research establishment that would turn its back on such a juicy mystery.

But in the end, whatever the cause of your symptoms, I wish you and your fellow sufferers wellness and peace.

Bill - thank you for your candid and open minded opinion. If you are interested in the political aspects of these types of debilitating diseases you might check out the work of Dr. Garth Nicolson. He is the most published scientist in the country and was involved in and now supports treatment and cure of mycotoxin diseases such as is Gulf War Syndrome. Through the freedom of information act it has been openly ascertained that mycotoxins or mycoplasmas as they can be called were weaponized as early as WWII and continue to be to this day. A certain strain developed by the US gov't was provided to Saddam Hussein when he was placed in power, during the Iran / Iraq conflict. This is all old news, public knowledge. Mycotoxins are too minute to be detected by a typical ER or MD's blood work up. The weaponized strain is mycoplasma fermentan incognito and I don't believe the incognito held no significance. These toxins have no cell wall and break down the mitochondria causing malfunction at the cellular, molecular, DNA level. Mold also produces mycotoxins, even common household molds such as Aspergillius which in certain individuals, especially those that are immunocompromised for any reason, can lead to serious systemic disease and even fatality.

I don't believe your lack of returns on treating physicians is any surprise or mystery. This is a newly recognized disorder, whatever it's origins and there are very few that do treat it. There are 3 here in Oklahoma (whose population is less than that of Orange Co. California) that I personally know of and as open minded physicians become more knowledgeable, they become more willing to treat. There are certainly many more than Ms. Savely as I had (luckily I suppose) quite a number of treatment options and still do. I will be part of the human studies when they begin hopefully in June as I am fortunate to be in close proximity to Oklahoma State University where the study is being performed. It is there that my personal hope lies as Dr. Wymore is a very dedicated researcher who has multiple Phds. is a very compassionate human being and does not have any vested interest in the disorder other than believing these thousands of sufferers and being the humanitarian that he is, taking Morgellons on in addition to his duties as a teaching professor.

I was honored to speak to Dr. Nicolson earlier this evening. He is a true giant in the world of science and he has dedicated his life as a molecular biologist in assisting patients with mycotoxic infection, lab created mutations and especially the approximately 112,000 GW Vets that suffer symptoms amazingly similar to ours.

No, Dr. Wymore and Ginger Savely have no magic shield and I do believe, having conversed with both that they do hold certain concerns for their health and safety as well as their families. These are truly selfless individuals however and that is simply my impression.

Obviously, due to much recent media coverage and especially continued pressure from both patients and the esteemed Senator Feinstein from California who has relentlessly pursued and demanded action from the CDC, the issue is finally receiving the attention it deserves, but even as Ms. Savely mentions in her interview, if she were to hear a single story from a single patient she would think they were crazy too. It's the extreme similarities, not just anectodally, but in preliminary studies that have shown that something physiological is being consistently demonstrated by this patient group as a whole.

One begins to wonder about the government's lack of response when logs show they are constantly monitoring patient messageboards and websites, yet my veteran husband, upon visiting the 2nd top rated VA hospital in the country finds the word doesn't exist in their database and cannot even gain their cooperation in performing cultures or assays on the known toxins that we were exposed to in our condemned black mold house. That is the type of mold damage of which I speak. Many have had substantial damage and even the Katrina survivors are developing something that is being coined the Katrina Rash. The skin has it's own unique immune system/function which can be severely impaired by mold allowing many opportunistic infections and organisms to take up residence in the body after prolonged, untreated exposure.

To say that the powers that be have turned a blind eye to this malady is a sad but true understatement. I truly don't know why, I was tossing out scenarios as I said. You might want to look at Dr. Nicolson's work and search the Institute of Molecular Medicine and find some answers there. I truly pray I'm wrong about this. From the time we are small children we are reared to put our trust in the medical and governmental establishments to protect us in times of severe crisis but regarding Morgellons this truly has not been the case and I suppose only time and continued testing and research will tell.

Thank you for your gracious best wishes and I will continue to work diligently towards educating the mainstream on the subject and pray that this horrific disease remains contained to a specific patient group, perhaps with certain predelictions, no one knows yet, the formal epidemiology study is just beginning.

BTW - I loved my job, my ranch, my antique business, sailing, hiking, canoeing, community outreach work, organic gardening, painting, poetry and music. I'm not saying the blue collar workers have been overlooked by this disease either and for children it is particularly devastating. It is just that to date healthcare workers outnumber the rest of the patient base approximately 3 to 1 and my guess is nosocomial exposure. Many doctors and researchers, they are not immune, but sadly most are too ill to use the old adage "Physician heal thyself.

Best to you and thank you for your support!

Barbara - so glad you are getting help and fortunate enough to be able to see Ginger Savely. She seems to be a warm and compassionate woman who is very dedicated to this cause. She has helped many restore their lives to a level of wellness and function that prior to beginning treatment at times is even hard to remember. Wellness, how we took it for granted! Oddly enough, this disease has opened me, on the good days at least, to see things I have never seen before. Beauty where it never existed, gratefulness for friends and family. Humility and learning to accept the help of others. Many lessons learned and more to come I'm sure! I wish you the very best in your treatment. Don't get discouraged, sometimes it takes adjustments, sometimes just the toxins leaving the body / bloodstream will make you wonder if anything is working at all. It's a slow process to rebuild the immune system, but it is worth it and you will meet some very wonderful and loving folks along the way on this strange journey. Know that you are never alone and help is just a mouseclick away.
Wishing you healing and many blessings,
KC

K.C.

I gather from reading this page you suspect you may have morgellons. I would like to give you my e-mail address and would rather take our conversations off line if you might be interested.
I read a few posts up where you also mention seizures and muscle spasms. Maybe in an e-mail to me you would elaborate?

My e-mail address is pabtj@aol.com

When and if you get the time you might let me know a little more about your situation and I'd be happy to fill you in on mine.

Barbara

Bill,

BTW, I forgot to apologize about the science fiction reference. I looooooove the genre myself so nothing derogatory meant. Just coining what many physicians, practioners and disbelievers say when discounting this disease "sounds like sci-fi to me". It was meant to be a quote. Don't ever stomp on Heinlein or Silverberg or Bradbury, Asimov (sp - I still DO have brain fog!) or any of 'em with me, 'cause I love those old timers, even Verne and Conan-Doyle. So absolutely, I respect your feelings about it. I find it to be some of the most intelligent and educated writing around, that some folks seem to still relate to "pulp fiction". So from one hardcore fan to another...........gulp........sorry!

KC

Try using spell-check and while you're at it take some grammer lessons.

I get what you were trying to say. But you did come off ignorant of the fact that there do seem to be real facts to this syndrome/disease. I also found the article had many grammer and speclling issues.

Dear Hmmmmmm:

This I find particularly amusing and evidence in and of itself. I've been a researcher and writer all my life, did editing also. Sorry I didn't use my spellcheck, but this disorder causes all kinds of dyslexia, brainfog and memory problems and unfortunately the spellcheck doesn't work on my computer for this format.

In fact, I am so fussy about my spelling and grammar that usually I won't even send out a message I can't check even if I have to run and get a hard copy dictionary or thesaurus (sp). See, I don't remember how to spell it and you must keep in mind that I am permanently disabled from this disease from a very high profile career that included intensive technical and report writing, contractual and agreement preparation and review, with regular, extremely detailed project status reports.

Also I don't always wear my glasses which have increased 2 1/2 point in correction plus right eye astigmatism since the onset of my illness and since this forum is not a grant request or a scientific paper, I haven't been extremely concerned about my unfortunate, but frequent errors. So sorry if it offended you and I hope it did not lead anyone to question my character. I did have a MENSA plus IQ, but probably couldn't pass the test if my life depended on it at the moment. Regardless, I am quite pleased with my state of wellness, since 2 years ago all I could do was babble or not concentrate long enough to construct a sentence. I really don't think you needed to be so rude about it however and I hope it might help you understand a part of this disease process that often goes undernoticed.

I know of a nurse who was cleared to go back to work in a critical care ward with the same or worse memory and construct problems that I am having, with her hospital just believing it was a small thought disorder (as in DOP). Pretty scary when you think about it, 'cause the numbers of registered member families is rising every day and I do believe it is the tip of the iceberg.

As you probably noticed, some of the other Morgellons patients posts were even worse than mine. Tend to use purely phonetics because you are constantly in that state that you encounter sometimes when you write a word and it just doesn't look right even 'tho you've written it your entire life. For us, that's kind of how functioning in the world feels.

No need to be cruel. Writing is my passion and if anything I can tend to be obsessive about grammatical correctness and have won my share of poem, short story and spelling bee awards. I'm just sick my friend. Let's play nice!

So besides picking on my writing Mr/Ms. English professor, did you have anything of importance you wished to discuss?

Peace,

KC

ps. to Hmmmmmmmmmmm,

You don't make any sense at all in your second statement. I come off completely ignorant of the fact that there seem to be real facts (the word "fact" being overused) to (preposition? How about for, or regarding, that would flow better) this syndrome/disease. And your reference to "the article" was non-specific, which is never grammatically correct. Which article? There has been a plethora.

Now you tell me my friend, what in the Hell you are talking about! If you are calling me ignorant, I'll challenge you fact for fact about this disease, because if you aren't living with it and spent the time I have with researchers, sufferers, media and putting in literally thousands of my own research time getting to the "facts", I would say you are the ignorant one. Considering that I have an encaphalitis like condition, your grammar is atrocious by comparison.

Still Peace, but still don't know what the Hell you're trying to say but to try and get my dander up and us Morgies already have plenty of that.....quite literally.

It's a beautiful day in the Midwest, hope it's a beauty in your neighborhood,

KC

speclling issues? Is YOUR spellcheck working?

Hello, KC:

I am sorry to hear about your suffering as well as anyone else who has this disease. It's interesting about those in the medical profession contracting it more. It makes one wonder if it's something being used at those places. I don't have much time, so I can't read all the posts here. Do you know if this is being checked out?
Thanks,
Tiza

Ridgewalker= Karen Marsh
search google using keywords "Karen Marsh" and fraternity.
Bad news.
"Members of the Pi Kappa Al-pha fraternity were involved in an-other altercation, last Friday at the Redmen Studio apartments. Pledges Tyler Brown and Victor Bartels and another man Paul Marsh were all ac-cused of assault and battery.Marsh stated he went outside of his apartment and confronted Brown and Bartels about a noise dis-turbance. All three of the men were involved in an argument. Marsh said the two men then pushed him down and started kicking him in the head.Brown said he and Bartels were in Karen Marsh’s apartment on and off all night, drinking and listening to music. Brown said they opened the door to leave and Paul Marsh was standing outside listening.Brown said Marsh confronted them, asking them what they were doing with his wife. Brown said that he and Bartels walked down to the second floor and Marsh was behind them. When the three men reached the landing of the second floor, Marsh swung a cane and hit Brown on the head. Brown said he then hit Marsh three or four times with...."
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=
cache:i5ToyeqTVRYJ:arapaho.nsuok
.edu/~tne/tne_pdfs/tne110805forweb.p
df+%22karen+marsh%22+fraternity&hl
=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5

Jay -

I must say, you are quite the investigator and have sunk to the lowest of lows. This incident did indeed happen. However, this report was written (and read the other report on the page about the fraternity in question...they are hoodlums and I am not a member, I lived in their apt. complex) by the Redmen newspaper which we are currently in litigation with for defamation of character as I was neither drinking with them all night (I have more than 2 dozen witnesses to that) and this was an attempted rape via a hazing that the pledges were involved in. That my husband (who has Morgellons and was walking with a cane, showing his disability) came to my rescue is admirable. My husband was jumped, held down and I lost count at 16 kicks to the head. All charges against my husband were dropped and Mr. Bartels and Brown are facing aggravated assault charges for which they were arraigned last month (they did confess) and are going to trial 6/5. Check the ODCR or Oklahoma District Court Records, Mr. Investigator. This incident is not over by any means as litigation is being prepared (at the civil level) against Bartels, Brown, the apartment complex and the newspaper. Our local newspaper, the Daily Press, had the sense not to run a piece because this piece you have quoted was taken from the statements of the "Pikes" as they are called and after meeting with the Dean of Student Affairs, Dean Cambioni (you can check this all out Jay), both the fraternity and the paper were reprimanded. They will be sued.

The reason this was all RAISED to aggravated assault was 1) due to witness testimony contradicting the fraternities claims, who by the way were living in our complex because they were thrown off campus. 2) We are both 100 percent disabled and those that attacked us knew it which makes it an especially heinous crime and 3) The idiots admitted what they did.

The assailant who's report that excerpt is from, had one small scratch on his face from pulling my husbands "bullpecker", yes it really is a bull pecker, cane which is weighted with 3 lbs. of rebar from underneath him as these wrestlers weighing about 250 lbs. held him down and beat him until he looked like a squashed plum. Had a child even swung that cane at someone's head they wouldn't have been left standing to continue the incident. My husband also has torn ligaments in both shoulders and COULD NOT have swung the cane. The cane and all his medical reports have been submitted to the courts. Funny, the cane was in Bartels and Browns' apartment when the police arrived and they were feigning sleep? Doesn't make much sense, does it? Paul had been in physical therapy for a year and now all this time after the event he has not recovered and has a double whiplash and permanent damage to his discs.

I was with friends that evening, with so many testifying to that fact that it never even came into question with the police and district attorney. You are simply hearing Mr. Brown's version of a story that didn't hold. They did enter my apartment under the pretense of wanting to listen to / puchase CD's of my sons' who are recording artists and local celebrities. Google The Shacks....or Justin Castro. Or just go to their website Shacksrock.com.

This was really, really sick of you to post this and I have to assume you ARE a Pike or associated with the fraternity to even stoop that low, because that is what they are known for. Terrorizing the weak and the innocent. Bad news, me? No, you've got the wrong party. And the courts will show the truth and justice WILL be upheld.

At their arraignment, they were even denied a court appointed attorney and the judge was quite stern to put it mildly. He told them if they had the money to rent the apartments, pay their tuition and make their bail then they damn sure had the money to pay for their own attornies. They don't have a snowball's chance in Hell in winning this case they were caught in so many lies. Me a member of a fraternity? Not me. I was a victim of attempted rape and my husband of a horrible assault.

Check your facts Mr. Investigator. I'll be glad to tell you all you want to know about this incidient. There were 6 other folks in that complex that came to me immediately after the assault who also had been assaulted by the Pikes but were afraid to do anything about it. We are not. Our key witness was threatened to have her head blown off. She WILL testify and I had the President of the Pikes stick his extremely large upper body and torso in my sunroof and tell me to stop talkin' smack about the Pikes 'cause they'd been in enough trouble in the first place (read the whole page of the paper....and that's only ONE night around this town) and I told him he didn't frighten me in the least, they'd brought it all on themselves and to get his f ing head out of my car or I'd have it in my moonroof latch and he backed off hollering something about me getting it. They are a bunch of ignorant, gun toting, intimidating bullies, and I for one, am not frightened by them. Ultimately all bullies are cowards at heart, that's why they run in packs. And ultimately their National fraternity will hear of their conviction and that should be the end of the Pikes at Northeastern State University.

Anything else you want to know, Jay?

KC

Hmmmmmmmmmm.....the more I think about it, the name Jay Reynolds sounds very familiar to me. I think I'll google ya back and if that doesn't turn up anything, I'll go to NSU records and if that doesn't bring anything up, all I have to do is ask around town. You know how news travels in this town, don't you Jay? A writer perhaps? For a paper about to be sued? Although this damned disease messes with my memory, I do believe you were involved in this mess. A forum for you to defend the Pikes?

My husband just walked in and he is more than PO'd. Glad you mentioned your name. One more to add to our list of defendants. What caused you to google my name in connection with fraternities since I never belonged to one in my life? Huh? Insider information. Ridgewalker being Karen Marsh....where'd you get that from? Has to be insider, either here or a couple of other postboards. Very narrow choice. Also illegal use of information.

To bring up this terribly emotional event in our lives, that we still have to live with day in and day out, my husband being permanently disabled for life, is more than sick. It is inhumane and sociopathic, kind of like Mr. Brown and Bartels.

I'll find you Jay. Bells are ringing. If you are associated with the Northeastern or the University at all, this is harassment and you should have the sense to know it. If you are, you won't be much longer. I am getting on the phone to the Dean as soon as I make this post. If you so much as ever stepped foot on that campus, your ass is grass and you never will again. You will be added to the suit and this postboard is now in my history as proof.

Adrants, are you watching? Is this one of your employees? If so, better cough him up. I was a researcher myself, I'll find him. This is straight up slander and harassment and you as a media avenue yourselves should know that. Very unwise to misuse personal information without getting the facts.

So my position remains the same. If you want to know more about Morgellons or need support, I'm here to help you. You want to try and slam my charachter, bring it on, there's nothing there to find. Is that the best you could do Jay? If I were less of a lady I'd tell you exactly what I think of you and your tactics. I think the viewers can make up their own minds.

Dear hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm:

ps. grammer is spelled grammar. So check your speclling and grammer you idiot! Jay.

Or should I say Ron? Your crucifixion of the English language preceeds you. Spoke to the Dean. He's aware of what's going on here.

What the heck happened to this thread? Is this some sort of college prank? It's degenerated from a thoughtful discussion to a spellcheck war, who can google better contest!
OK, Adrants, I think this one is a viral marketing campaign for selling god-knows-what. The "patients" are literally and figuratively falling apart.
Please don't get me wrong - if anyone is suffering from anything, that's just not cool and I wish you peace and happiness. However, these patient accounts are ridiculous! So, a person is spewing long fibers, using a whole roll of tape to extract them, and when they go to the doctor, all they have is a lesion with a little blacm speck that they're picking away at with a magnifying glass and tweezers?? Come on - sorry, if you believe that, and all the government and pharmaceutical company conspiracy theories as well, I have a beautiful bridge in Brooklyn I'd like you to take a look at....I'm selling it real cheap!
Bill D said it best (see his previous post). I itched for a week and had nightmares about this - and I am in the medical profession so I don't get creeped out easily!
Should we guess the product they're selling? Is it a movie or an anti-itch cream (hmmm, must be a pharmaceutical company conspiracy ;) )

My parents in law and my sister in law have all had theis since last October. They have suffered very badly. Their worst symtoms are the fibres comin out of my mother in laws nose and the constant crawling feeling on their skin. I havent seen them for 7 months because of how contagious it is. My sister in law has passed it on to her friends who have passed it on to their frinds. This was without telling them that they had it, only to be told by their friends about the symptoms. We live in London UK and we know it is rare here, but I know 10 people that have it, including 2 of my parents in laws cleaners who were sadly not told of the problem while they were cleaning their house. Also a maid in a hotel where they were staying caught it from them and told them she has been itching for the last few days. By the way, my relatives are not spitefull people, they passed it on before they know what it was, don't forget the fact that all the doctors they went to see when it started told them they were all dellusional. Thats why they didn't take it seriously and didn't go into isolation. It was 5 months later that they found out what it was on the internet. They have seen their grandchildren once in the last 7 months which was through their car window. We are all going through hell as we love them dearly.

Nobody knows what this is, sadly not may people have been cured, our only hope it that please God they should discover a cure soon as my husband doesn't know if he'll ever see his parents or sister again.

It really winds me up when people say it doesn't exist.

Should be removed due to the many suffering with this mysterious malady.

Jay reynolds is govt. spook, debunker who will stoop to the lowest of low.

right jay?

been at it for years. Just google his name.

It was for real, I had it for 4 months, then I found the guy who I work with from Tampa Florida, his name PAUL.

He cured me and many others, ask Joanne on the site and some others.

The so-called Morgellons is a mix of parasites and affects ONLY weakened immune systems.

So, if your sick and somehow you get stung by the right preditor, you could be screwed. The American DIet sucks, try Pauls way.

Good Luck and Jolley Ho!

Marc Milners

I can tell you one thing. The horror Morgellans photos currently featuring on Rense are a hoax. The captions are increasingly absurd, but the address including Funtigo and Anne Dill is a giveaway.

The web is full of s#it!

I am actually looking forward to standards being set up by the US FEDS, most of this web business is out of control and is BS. Those pictures I never saw on me, or some people Paul & I spoke to, except one women who completely let herself go. You are what you eat, and this why we have 80 % of our population as fat slops. The sickest nation in the world. Take action for yourself. Get on a nutrious diet. Go to our site for real answers and real help. Tampa Doctors recomend us to their patients. Parasites are real. www.be-healthy-forever.com

Have a great day.

pieprzycie glupoty !!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Morgellions Disease Findings and Lab Photos

Dr. Staninger / Dr. Karjoo

10/24/06

http://rense.com/general74/morgfind.htm

______________________________________

And Jay Reynolds is a LOOOOOOSER !

Be-Healthy-Forever.com is a diet-plan that anyone with a basic knowledge of food can think-up in an hour. Morgellons disease is a very real and terrifying ordeal to live with. BUT, a good diet and healthy immune system is not a cure by any means! The CDC must look into all the aspects of why this is happening and IF they blame this on mass delusion then something is being hidden for a serious reason. I have SUFFERED every day for 3 long years. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Be-Healthy-Forever.com is a diet-plan that anyone with a basic knowledge of food can think-up in an hour. Morgellons disease is a very real and terrifying ordeal to live with. BUT, a good diet and healthy immune system is not a cure by any means! The CDC must look into all the aspects of why this is happening and IF they blame this on mass delusion then something is being hidden for a serious reason. I have SUFFERED every day for 3 long years. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

the only people who are delusional are the doctors and those who think i am crazy. im sick but more so i im sick of people who have a explanation for my symptons that dont even care to listen to the facts

Biopsy specimens are often taken from part of a lesion when the cause of a disease is uncertain or its extent or exact character is in doubt. WBR LeoP

Whether ruin of medical clinics is possible in general at a correct management? WBR LeoP

The diet does not lead to health and cannot result in it because at present there is no still a worthy not medicamentous program on loss of weight. WBR LeoP

Here's to wishin it had something to do with a Hollywood movie. Do they take your children away for something like that?!
http://tinyurl.com/2edsd2

FOUR true, medical professionals observed my so-called "delusions".

aaaaand SPORES...come on now!
Common sense tells you this IS contageous!

It would spread no different than Athletes Foot fungus (except more so)

anj

mr. milner......u r right! I musta ate a red, white and blue.......spore-forming protozoa......I. belli (modified strain!!!!)

I'm thinkin it has alot to do with FECAL-CONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER!

get ur head outta ur.....or u might catch it!

anj

Here is s recent news story out of Florida that may be related:

http://tinyurl.com/2joj44

The PROBLEM IS.......the (WHAT & HOW) of what sufferors are describing!

They are describing in terms of what their PERCEPTIONS are!

They (we) are SCARED as HELL
which leads to the HOW of what they are describing.

the HOW of what they are describing...is what MAINSTREAM doctors dont GET! Majority of Morgellons sufferors dont know any other way to describe it other than "bugs" and "worms"

Bugs under skin? no f-n way!
Worms coming out of our eyes...please take a MAGIC PILL!

Well that WAS my perception at the beginning! It is NOT, NOW! THERE ARE > NO ONLY PERCEPTIONS THEREOF!

"Bugs"...They are seeing GAMETES, MACROGAMETES (female) and MICROGAMETES(male). And where there are gametes there IS a NUCLEUS. and where there is a NUCLEUS......there is a PROTOZOA (Apicomplexan)!
WHERE is there NO NUCLEUS?! in bacteria or virus.

"Worms"....They are seeing larger manefestions of of the HALF-SPORE (SPLIT LONGITUDINALLY) by FISSION ...aaand...the TROPHOZOITE Stage LOOKS like a worm.

Essentially, we have become infected with an organism in the same family as MALARIA.
it is also behaving like a deep fungal infection and reacting on the brain with its neurotoxins...kinda like ERGOT???????!!!LSD...

so, yes there may be >somesome with this fd up, REAL DISEASE!

Clongen Lab in Germantown,MD is listening to me and setting up ASSAY for my theory.
How many has MALARIA taken out???!
(and this one is contageous.... too).

with all this debate and IGNORANCE hindering.. (and yes, sometimes it helps to bring it to forefront) and it will be too late! unless you dont mind having LONG-TERM chronic and debilitated health!

KNOW the ORGANISM... KNOW the CURE!

Alkalinity!!!

(it ate up my words)....
after LSD...

yes... there may be some (many actually) with distorted descriptions and ya, quite a few real delusions (like ERGOT??!!!!!!)....especially at the ONSET...but the REST is REAL, from a REAL DISEASE!

http://tinyurl.com/3y6f2d
(a ferromagnetic spore/entity propelling)
a recreated 3-D model
of which i have observed....
is this the same as Dr John Martins' ACE Particle theory or Wilhelm Riechs' Bion theory? (bion theory...I prefer)
i have more, but dont wish to bombard if not really interested.
anj

and Mr Rutz would be DEAD WRONG.....Morgellons is NOT a SYNDROME!!!

It IS (and HAS BEEN) the UNDERLYING CAUSE

of BS SYNDROMES and DISORDERS,
for too fn long!
its just that no one makes a habit of looking at their skin with a magnifying glass or MICROSCOPE LENS (at PARTICULAR TIMES of the MONTH)
maybe NOW they will!
7 days after Full moon and New moon..... alignment of earth, moon and sun
(electromagnetic pull).
it affects the tides and the dinoflagellates, why NOT us, who are infected w an electro-magnetic organism?
Its ALL connected

(what r u afraid of?)

So sad that care takers, including parents, would prefer to drug their children rather than deal with mental or behavioral issues. I can't judge because i have never been faced with anything like it WBR LeoP

Anyone that is asinine enough to actually state that the condition currently known as “Morgellons” is not a “factual medical condition” is an idiot. The fact is,, a medical condition exists that has been tagged with the name “Morgellons”.. one of the many symptoms involved are the sensations of constant movement within or beneath the skin, be it due to living organisms or what ever the reason, it “feels like” a full body invasion of constantly moving maggots!! Those “arrogant morons” that will stand and say it’s just “BS” truly deserve this never ending nightmare,,, then “I ASSURE YOU” your laughing will come to a screeching halt!!

you're all going to be sooo damn horrified and regretful that you didn't listen to the sufferers testimony of their experience of this... when you get infected...

you'll flip the hell out and suffer.. as you should for being so damn ignorant.

I read the wikipedia entry, looked at the 'evidence' and wow, someone must be bored collecting lint like that.

Every image is a multi magnification or a 'skin scraping', or of fibers, etc. Let's see it right in the skin, not hidden by zooms. If this is a scientific inquiry, get scientific already. Pseudo science at it's best.

If this is a real disease, prove it. If you have images of fibers sticking out of your skin, let's see it. Better yet, show up to a teaching hospital with the fibers sticking out. Finding a new disease is publishable and sought after.

I don't think this is viral marketing, I think this is more of a nice hoax someone cooked up. Congrats.

Beware, Morgellons seems to be aggravated by dihydrogen oxide.

I am a virologist and this Morgellons disease is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard of. Sure you may be feeling tired and have pain, but those fibers you are finding are from your clothing. There is no virus known to man that can spin wooven fibers.

One case I did study however involved a man who felt that his skin was crawling and had all the symptoms of chronic fatiuge/fibro maligia, it turns out that anti-malarial medicine did the trick. As you may know malarial paricites make your skin feel as if its crawling and some of the medicines available know treat that, as well as some chronic fatigue symptoms.

I cant tell you how many people I have heard of and and studied invloving the typical "Lyme" symptoms. 90% of the time its in your head, im sorry to be so blunt but its true. There is no virus that can do what some of you are claiming.

Trust me, there is no such thing as Morgellons disease, there never was and never will be.