$600k is nothing compared to the millions of pounds and dollars wasted on chasing the non-existent vaccine/autism link.

Diogenes: The fibers thing is interesting. So they were scratching, creating sores, and fibers from clothes/bedding/etc. were getting stuck in the scabs?

Meth's a helluva drug

Itch. Scratch. It's all in the mind!

I guess but those who "have" it claim they can see bundles of those fibres under the skin before the sores appear (I believe)

Maybe if we took mental health seriously, people wouldn't get so offended when you tell them their phoney-baloney syndrome is all in their mind.

mavexe: Diogenes: The fibers thing is interesting. So they were scratching, creating sores, and fibers from clothes/bedding/etc. were getting stuck in the scabs?

Meth's a helluva drug

Don't meth users usually "see" or "feel" bugs?

Every time I buy a new pack of Hanes Sports Briefs I get various colored fibers coming from my hoohoo

While I don't think this disease is "real", I think it is arrogant And wrong of many doctors to presume that every new disease is in the patient's head and to assume every disease the world will ever see is already in existence.

Flakeloaf: Itch. Scratch. It's all in the mind!

Is that a PaRappa the Rapper reference? Colour me impressed

atomsmoosher: Don't meth users usually "see" or "feel" bugs?

Pretty sure that one's been associated with every 'scare' drug in the last few decades. I heard it about barbiturates and various others. That people now say meth users get this doesn't surprise me, some myths are just too appealing to kill.

Or maybe people beyond a certain level of farked-up-ness see bugs under their skin regardless of the cause... who knows?

Certainly was a scary episode of "The X-Files" though...

This is weird, I just spent the last hour reading about Morgellons. On one hand, it sounds completely bogus and on the other hand the google image search makes my skin crawl. Are all of the studies saying the fibers are human tissue just forged or what?

I hope I never have some condition that is not already known, it seems like everyone works really hard to prove it is not true instead of the other way around.

They probably have the same thing those vets from gulf war 1 had. Which was also all in their mind.........right?

badhatharry: Sometimes people that are crazy don't know they are crazy. It's real to them, dammit.

Seven-year-old Jani Schofield (q.v.) said of her schizophrenia: "Most people don't see what we see." Strange how you don't really understand something until you hear a child explain it.

Caelistis: Like fibromyalgia?

Quite possibly. It seems that many fibromyalgia types respond well to antidepressant or psychotherapy.

Seems like a mixed bag, of real conditions and bored housewife symptoms.

Gothnet: atomsmoosher: Don't meth users usually "see" or "feel" bugs?

Pretty sure that one's been associated with every 'scare' drug in the last few decades. I heard it about barbiturates and various others. That people now say meth users get this doesn't surprise me, some myths are just too appealing to kill.

Or maybe people beyond a certain level of farked-up-ness see bugs under their skin regardless of the cause... who knows?

Certainly was a scary episode of "The X-Files" though...

I don't know to be honest, but meth users tend to have really awful, picked-at skin.

Joni Mitchell claims to have this, I think.

Caelistis: Like fibromyalgia?

Try saying that when u are awake night after night with your mother who is screaming in pain & spent 10+ years trying to find out what is causing it (both mental & physical). Maybe fibromyalgia may turn out to be something else but the horrific pain is real enough

rhondajeremy: I guess but those who "have" it claim they can see bundles of those fibres under the skin before the sores appear (I believe)

Crazy people claim to see lots of stuff - so what?

Relieved

IamPatSajak: Are all of the studies saying the fibers are human tissue just forged or what?

Have there actually been any studies that say that? Everything I've seen so far suggests it's not a real (physical) condition, though likely is a real psychological or psychiatric condition. And some of the people suffering from it seem to claim that it's yet another government conspiracy (yawn)... maybe it's caused by chemtrails, or vaccines, or fluoride or something.

atomsmoosher: mavexe: Diogenes: The fibers thing is interesting. So they were scratching, creating sores, and fibers from clothes/bedding/etc. were getting stuck in the scabs?

Meth's a helluva drug

Don't meth users usually "see" or "feel" bugs?

I saw some documentary on it a while ago, where patients would typically bring in "samples" of the fibers growing from their skin. The only thing they initially found that all patients had in common was drug use.

Wiki has some good info...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_parasitosis

From TFA:

"Among those with additional questions is Randy Wymore, an Oklahoma State University pharmacologist who for years was the most reputable scientist to look into it and who has concluded Morgellons is not a psychiatric disorder.

On Wednesday, Wymore said he had not seen the CDC paper and was unable to comment on it. But when the study began, he questioned whether Kaiser patients with Morgellons would participate, especially if they were unhappy with how they were previously handled by their Kaiser doctors.

"There is always the question: How many of the study participants actually have Morgellons Disease?" he said, in an email."

While I understand the guy hadn't read the paper yet, that's a hell of a red flag to the credibility of any researcher making that comment. He's basically saying that while I haven't read the study, and I'm unaware of its parameters, the findings are questionable because the people they recruited to study a particular disease (that nobody is really able to diagnose) might not have had that disease? That sort of reaction from a researcher generally makes me smile politely and back slowly away. The proper response is: I'm glad it's being taken seriously by others. I haven't read the study yet. When I read it I'll get back to you with my position.

IamPatSajak: This is weird, I just spent the last hour reading about Morgellons. On one hand, it sounds completely bogus and on the other hand the google image search makes my skin crawl. Are all of the studies saying the fibers are human tissue just forged or what?

Well, this study said they were common fibers -- cotton, nylon, etc. -- which means that these people are basically scratching over their clothes and embedding bits of fabric in their sores.

Gothnet: IamPatSajak: Are all of the studies saying the fibers are human tissue just forged or what?

Have there actually been any studies that say that? Everything I've seen so far suggests it's not a real (physical) condition, though likely is a real psychological or psychiatric condition. And some of the people suffering from it seem to claim that it's yet another government conspiracy (yawn)... maybe it's caused by chemtrails, or vaccines, or fluoride or something.

Every study I've ever seen on samples usually find that they're, at best, clothing fibers trapped in sores. I'd like to see these studies IamPatSajak.

rhondajeremy: Caelistis: Like fibromyalgia?

Try saying that when u are awake night after night with your mother who is screaming in pain & spent 10+ years trying to find out what is causing it (both mental & physical). Maybe fibromyalgia may turn out to be something else but the horrific pain is real enough

My mom's fibromyalgia turned out to be lupus. Just saying, your mom might want to get tested.

/cue House jpegs.

And yet everyone is perfectly happy to suggest that we have minds. Which is kind of funny, in a way.

Once someone makes up their mind that they have this (and/or several other illnesses) you CANNOT tell them otherwise.
Used to work for a woo woo website and it just has to be a coincidence, but gather thousands of the most bat-shiat crazy people you've ever imagined and 95% of them will have a story about Morgellans.
And for every one of those people absolutely CONVINCED this is real and that there is a conspiracy to cover it up.
You see, the true cause is chemtrails *rollseyes* - so if the government admitted there was Morgellans, that would lead to research showing it comes from our government spraying us with chemicals, which would make them look bad. Therefore, Morgellans must be covered up.
*sigh* Just so many times you can beat your head against the wall after listening to these people.

Litig8r: While I understand the guy hadn't read the paper yet, that's a hell of a red flag to the credibility of any researcher making that comment. He's basically saying that while I haven't read the study, and I'm unaware of its parameters, the findings are questionable because the people they recruited to study a particular disease (that nobody is really able to diagnose) might not have had that disease? That sort of reaction from a researcher generally makes me smile politely and back slowly away. The proper response is: I'm glad it's being taken seriously by others. I haven't read the study yet. When I read it I'll get back to you with my position.

That's problem with a made-up disease? How can you tell who has it. Morgellons seems to have been invented out of whole cloth by a bored mother and propagated on the Intertubes.

I seriously wonder if bored, white, upper-middle class women with Internet connections are somehow the leading source of medical hysteria in the last 15 years. The vaccine/autism connection, fibromyalgia, chronic-fatigue syndrome (which began as a yuppie disease in the 80s and still somewhat muddled), Morgellons...

The fiber thing is weird. Nylon? Sprouting from sores? How does that even work? Anyway, I saw something in the news where the fiber was still attached to the sore on one person, like it was growing out of it. I didn't see a follow up on it so I don't know if they were able to determine if that was a hoax or not.

PsyLord: The fiber thing is weird. Nylon? Sprouting from sores? How does that even work?

You have itchy sores. You scratch the sores through nylon clothes. Threads get stuck in the blood clots.

PsyLord: The fiber thing is weird. Nylon? Sprouting from sores? How does that even work? Anyway, I saw something in the news where the fiber was still attached to the sore on one person, like it was growing out of it. I didn't see a follow up on it so I don't know if they were able to determine if that was a hoax or not.

It works by wearing clothes, whose fibers get trapped in the lesions you've created from endlessly scratching.

I wonder how prevalent this disease is in people who have to work for a living?

The only time I've ever had the sensation of bugs crawling all over my skin was after drinking two bottles of robotussin. I scratched my hand so much it swelled up to twice its size. Let me tell you how bizarre it is to trip while looking at your one giant oversized hand.

As I said, we spent 10+ years running every test in the book (lupus, MS, U name it). She saw 5 different mental health profs & tried 5+ different anti-depressants. Finally diagnosed with Parkinsons but pain is not a symptom of it. Has had more than one professional diagnose the fibromyalgia.

rhondajeremy: While I don't think this disease is "real", I think it is arrogant And wrong of many doctors to presume that every new disease is in the patient's head and to assume every disease the world will ever see is already in existence.

Very very few doctors presume this. There is just no scientific evidence to support the existence of Morgellons as a legitimate disease.

But clearly, something made them miserable. "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," said Felicia Goldstein, an Emory University neurology professor and study co-author.
Personally, I think these people get so frustrated with not being able to find an explanation for their real symptoms that they start making things up (not consciously) for a pseudo placebo effect.

HeartBurnKid: rhondajeremy: Caelistis: Like fibromyalgia?

Try saying that when u are awake night after night with your mother who is screaming in pain & spent 10+ years trying to find out what is causing it (both mental & physical). Maybe fibromyalgia may turn out to be something else but the horrific pain is real enough

My mom's fibromyalgia turned out to be lupus. Just saying, your mom might want to get tested.

/cue House jpegs.

Well, ok. You asked for it.



/hot

atomsmoosher: Caelistis: Like fibromyalgia?

Quite possibly. It seems that many fibromyalgia types respond well to antidepressant or psychotherapy.

Seems like a mixed bag, of real conditions and bored housewife symptoms.

Actually I've read that it's very common for them to be perfectionists who refuse to accept the limits of their body because things have to get done. There's nothing odd about extreme stress and constabtky pushing your body and mind to the limits causing physical problems. Especially if you still feel inadequate after all that and stressed about not being able to do more.

There's a point where something stops being "just in your head" and starts affecting your body.


/don't know anybody with it and don't have any personal stake in fibromyalgia
//treated like a hypochondriac for years, though, for having vague but severe fatigue
///thankfully I got a solid answer from a test
//narcoleptic

So I shouldn't worry about these triangles? I knew they wouldn't lie to me.

atomsmoosher: Litig8r: While I understand the guy hadn't read the paper yet, that's a hell of a red flag to the credibility of any researcher making that comment. He's basically saying that while I haven't read the study, and I'm unaware of its parameters, the findings are questionable because the people they recruited to study a particular disease (that nobody is really able to diagnose) might not have had that disease? That sort of reaction from a researcher generally makes me smile politely and back slowly away. The proper response is: I'm glad it's being taken seriously by others. I haven't read the study yet. When I read it I'll get back to you with my position.

That's problem with a made-up disease? How can you tell who has it. Morgellons seems to have been invented out of whole cloth by a bored mother and propagated on the Intertubes.

I seriously wonder if bored, white, upper-middle class women with Internet connections are somehow the leading source of medical hysteria in the last 15 years. The vaccine/autism connection, fibromyalgia, chronic-fatigue syndrome (which began as a yuppie disease in the 80s and still somewhat muddled), Morgellons...

To a certain extent, I know chronic-fatigue syndrome exists.

However, it's not a disease you "get", it's our bodies response to our modern lifestyle:

-Mental Stress
-Lack of Physical activity
-Long hours working
-Too much caffeine
-Not enough sleep
-Crummy diet
-Over-stimulation

This is the typical middle class/yuppie lifestyle. What Doctors should do with chronic fatigue syndrome is look over the patients lifestyle and work with them to address these problems. Not yet another pill, it may address the symptoms but not the cause of all these problems.

doloresonthedottedline There's a point where something stops being "just in your head" and starts affecting your body.

We as a society really need to stop drawing a line between the mind and the body. We're not meatbags with a processor sitting on top, we're fully integrated machinery. If one has a problem it is not compartmentalized to only that area, it affects many levels of the person. May sound like new age bullcrap, but it's pretty true.

Like this? (new window)

It is in your head, but it's part of a complex set of mechanisms that are slightly disconnected from your conscious mind. Apparently you need to reset them by tricking those parts of your brain, but I would bet deep meditation would work too. It's not something that is easily dismissible just through thought and willpower.

Shyla: Once someone makes up their mind that they have this (and/or several other illnesses) you CANNOT tell them otherwise.
Used to work for a woo woo website and it just has to be a coincidence, but gather thousands of the most bat-shiat crazy people you've ever imagined and 95% of them will have a story about Morgellans.
And for every one of those people absolutely CONVINCED this is real and that there is a conspiracy to cover it up.
You see, the true cause is chemtrails *rollseyes* - so if the government admitted there was Morgellans, that would lead to research showing it comes from our government spraying us with chemicals, which would make them look bad. Therefore, Morgellans must be covered up.
*sigh* Just so many times you can beat your head against the wall after listening to these people.

I can confirm this. A friend of mine who believes in the chemtrails thing one day told me that he had Morgellons. Well, isn't that a farking coincidence. He also told me that despite the fact no one knows what it is, it's not contagious.

After spending a couple of hours trying to convince him that it's bullshiat, I gave up and left him to his thought process.

But who knows, maybe Morgellons is actually caused by reading rense.com. That's the strongest correlation.