John's Blog

Thursday 31st January 2008

We were putting in a new gas fire at home recently, and when the plumber removed the old fire, there was a pigeon, head tucked under a wing, feet clinging to a gas pipe, stone dead. It must have died in its sleep. We never heard a thing. Makes me feel guilty though - you know, if we had been listening more carefully, perhaps...

But I guess that's the thing about guilt - you feel it even if you are not to blame. We are having a cowl put on the chinney to prevent future accidents of that sort. And that's got me thinking about life in general. The things we feel guilty about most of the time, are not the things we do, but the things we don't do. The person you haven't called back. The person who died before you had told them how much you loved them. The time you could have helped, but didn't. The misunderstanding you didn't clear up, out of pride.

Okay - I could go on like this all day, but I won't. I'm going to resolve these things by not thinking about them.

Friday 14th December

Thursday 4th October

I mentioned in my last entry that we are going to have to take down some of this website . The MRHA explains that 'You may either promote Waterfall D-Mannose and Xylotene as treaments for adverse medical conditions or sell them, but not both.'

Is that rational?

Nevertheless what it boils down to is that we will have to comply, so please every customer with any internet ability, start copying info from our website and publicising it, promoting it, and putting up your own websites. You are allowed to do that. We, the suppliers, must soon remove all of our helpful advice. You could also write to your MP and ask him/her to create a private members bill to have the 'sell but not promote' law changed, as being unhelpful to trade, and discriminating against health product companies, who basically, according to the law, aren't allowed to tell people what the product they are making can be used for, how to use it, and how to optimise the use of the product.

We will of course still be selling the products, but must rely on word of mouth and our loyal customer base to spread the word.

If you have any influence, please use it. Fight for us. Write to your MP, and to the MHRA asking them to reconsider forcing us to remove our advice. If you are a legal beagle, give us a call or write with advice. If you are our average wonderful customer, please go straight to your local independent health store and ask them to stock Waterfal D-Mannose.

Worse - this will cost lives. Only by knowing how to properly use our product have many people (including Anna) got over antibiotic-resistant infections that could eventually have caused kidney failure.

The MHRA are not interested in the truth - to quote them - 'Our enquiries are not concerned with the truth of any statements that are made..."

We are interested, and that's why we have dedicated the last five + years to the battle against cystitis, UTI's and the side effects of antibiotics. We have made enemies along the road to truth. But we also know we have made a lot of friends. More (Yes, we want you to notice it so put it into this page twice.)

Monday 27th August 2007

The time might come when we are obliged by 'regulatory authorities' to take down parts of this website.. Did you know you can download the entire website using some free or cheap tools such as the one here:(If you click the link it will download the tool to your computer.) http://www.filedudes.com/Website_Puller-getfile-46094.html

Moving on, we've been getting calls from people saying that Waterfall D-Mannose has been recommended by their therapist as either an apppetite suppressant, or to reduce sugar cravings. We don't know how anyone got that idea, but if it were true, we'd know about it. Unfortunately it's unlikely to work for those purposes. It's a cystitis remedy, not an appetite supressant. It has very specifically focused areas where it works exceptionally well.

If, on the other hand, it were some kind of panacea, you could use it for anything. So, although you might have heard people referring to Waterfall D-Mannose as their 'magic powder', it can't cure baldness, make you slim, make you irresistably attractive to the opposite sex, or boost your IQ. But if you have cystitis, it's probably going to be the best thing you've ever found..

Wednesday 22nd August 2007

Sunday 19th August 2007

This is apropos of nothing really, but I've never been able to accept something just because it has become the predominant belief in some area. Millions of people believe what they've been told, but I'm with Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living. I don't get on with everyone, because people get uncomfortable when you question their 'established' beliefs. And I often question them. I just can't help it. If I hear someone utter an absurdity, I want to hear why they believe that thing. It boils down to the fact that beliefs are not necessarily true.

But what got me going down this rant line was the current 'established' belief that the universe underwent a period of rapid expansion in the first 10^-35 seconds of it's existence. The inflationary period lasted, according to the dogma, about 10^-02 seconds. That's a lot faster than you can blink.
So, faster than a blink, the universe reached almost it's existing size, they say. Then, the universe is supposed to have 'settled down' to the ordinary rate of expansion that can be observed today. But aren't they forgetting something? Aren't they forgetting Newton's First Law: Any object tends to continue its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless acted upon by an external force. So if the universe expanded at such a rate, why isn't matter still shooting along in a straight line from the 'centre' of the big bang? I don't feel Relativity is going to play much of a part in this since there is no explanation there for anything travelling faster than light, and you can't work out relative space-time curvature or time dilation, or anything relative, at faster than light speeds.

And don't tell me gravity has come into play to stop the sudden expansion. I mean, we, or the particles we are made of, were traveling at an enormously fast rate - around 18 billion times the speed of light. That's faster than 'escape velocity' isn't it? And don't tell me it was the strong nuclear forces between the elementary particles either. That would just have clumped the particles together, but they'd still have been traveling together at tremendous speed away from the centre. There is just no way of stopping that bus they were on to oblivion.

Anyway, it's not as if I've got nothing to do...

Sunday 5th August

Wednesday 1st August

Is D-Mannose hard to say? I didn't think so, but I'd better make the pronounciation clear after hearing manitose, demanosing, and manoosy in the same day. Mannose is pronounced like man and nose put together like this 'man-ohss'. I don't think its wrong to say 'ma nose' like a Glaswegian taking about his olfactory organ. But it's not manoosiono or anything like that... :)

Wednesday 18th July 2007

If you've been following this blog, you'll know that it is a great relief for us to at last be operating from our new premises. We are here! We are here! We are here at last! We've still got to sort out the office properly, but we are here at last.

Sunday 15th July 2007

Famous people are getting on board with us. Jan de Vries, for example, (from Jan de Vries Health Care Ltd) is now regularly ordering for his clinics. And the Manchester radio personality and pharmacist, Dennis the Chemist (Dennis Gore Pharmacy Ltd. is also one of our stockists. We feel we are starting to make some major breakthroughs.

But it's a major day for us in another way too. We have at last got the computers working properly at our new premises, so will be changing our address soon (we will still get the mail to this address...) Plus, I think this is the last Sunday we'll be working. We've done weekends for the last five years, and never missed one. However, we are exhausted with it, and we need to get on a properly controlled regime of working business hours. So in the new premises we'll be working 10am to 6 pm. We think anyway, that what we post after 6pm often doesn't get to our customers the next day. Please order in advance - that way you won't run out and be desperate for a Monday delivery after ordering at the weekend.

Harrison Builders of York Ltd. - We would not recommend them. Read why!

Friday 21st June 2007

Well, nearly there with the new premises now. We've had to do an amazing amount of the work ourselves. I was working until late last night putting in work surfaces. Anna is currently down at the premises painting the toilet.

Who'd guess we already paid two separate lots of people to do the painting...

The carpets are down. Phones are working (currently diverting to the existing numbers). Soon I will upload some photos. Still gathering invoices, evidence, etc. to take action against Harrison.

House falls through... We were going to move to a village called Skirpenbeck, but the house we were after turned out to have a lot of drainage problems, and we're not going to move somewhere where the drains become a dominating factor in our lives. Drains have that in common with teeth - when you have to think about them, you've already got problems.

Tuesday 29th May 2007

We'd love people to send us their photo when they send in letters saying how much Waterfall D-Mannose has changed their lives. If you've not noticed before, there are some Here. I think it makes a big difference. When people can see your picture, as well as read your story, they know it's not something we have made up ourselves. And by the way men, come on... We have a lot of male customers, but only two men have sent in their photos...

But blogs are supposed to be personal so I'm probably due to have an insane rant about something. Or to ask some rhetorical questions.

Why do politicians think we are so stupid that we can't see through all their manipulations?

Why is it so hard to get workmen who are competent?

Why can't there be 48 hours in every day?

Where have all the years gone?

Monday 21st May 2007

There are some brave souls in this world, and we are lucky enough to come into contact with quite a few of them. We speak to brave fighters every day - people with terminal cancer, side effects from the drugs they are taking, and cystitis to top it all off. Sometimes people are in a real dilemma - they are taking something to try to fight the cancer, and that thing is a known cystitis trigger. The cystitis can hurt them more than the cancer, but the cancer is the thing they've got to concentrate on fighting. It brings tears to my eyes sometimes. We do our best to help.

Monday 21st May 2007

Sigh... you learn from your mistakes. I take full responsibility for being an idiot and trusting Harrison Builders of York Ltd. But he's made a mistake too. If you do the right thing, you thrive. If you don't, you don't.

Wednesday 9th May 2007

A customer was having problems trying to identify her infection, to treat it in the most effective way. Her doctor sent her urine off to a lab to be tested. It came back, 'Lactose fermenting coliform'.

"So is it E.coli or Klebsiella", she asked her doctor.

"No," he said, "it's a lactose fermenting coliform."

"But those are very common lactose fermenting coliforms," she said.

The doctor went red, blustered a bit, and said, "Well, just take this antibiotic," giving her yet another three days of Trimethoprim.

I'm wondering if he opened a textbook when she went out of the surgery, or did he just think, "Bloody annoying patient...thinks she knows more than me..."

Thursday 17th April 2007

We are very pleased to welcome another doctor on board as a distributor.

He is in Belgium, and has taken a large stock of our half-gram Waterfall D-mannose tablets.

Dr Mark Elsen
CVBA Prana
kanaalweg 15
3550
Heusden-Zolder
Belgium

tel: 0031 (0) 11 436635

Tuesday 10th April 2007

Did I mention we have new premises? We are still waiting on the builders finishing, so aren't changing our address and phone numbers yet, but we will let you know in plenty of time. And of course, no problems, we will have number forwarding, and will still be picking up the mail at our usual address. We'll keep that going for a long time because some customers only order once a year.

It's going to be good having more space, and with the room to have more people in helping us, it will let Sweet Cures focus more on product development. We are already working on some exciting new products, and have long needed the space.

One thing though - for the past 4 years Anna and I have been 'open for business' from 9 in the morning to 7:30 pm, with rarely a break. That's got to stop, because it's killing us! We are going to adopt new hours from 10am to 6pm in the new premises.

+ Very Sad News +     Tuesday 20th March 2007

I am deeply distressed to report that Paulina Zandstra, our 'Your Own Choice' Netherlands distributor, has passed away after a long illness. She was a very brave woman who suffered for many years with Crohns disease, and cancer. She continued to distribute Waterfall D-Mannose until the end because she wanted to help as many people as possible before she passed away. Her partner is now bravely keeping it all going.

Pauline, you will be sadly missed, and were an inspiration to us and everyone who knew you.

Conspiracy theories

And by the way, you'll think I'm a nut, but all the conspiracy theories - I firmly believe that most of them are true - Diana was killed because she was becoming an embarrassment to the royal family. The 9/11 twin towers were demolished to give George Bush a good excuse for war. The Argentineans were tricked into thinking they could have the Falklands just so Britain could throw them out and Maggie Thatcher could get re-elected. Cures have been buried by the pharmaceutical industry because a cure is less profitable than a temporary allopathic treatment - especially if you need something else to counter the side effects that gives you.

I'll add to this if if I'm not first eliminated by one of the aforementioned...

Friday 16th March 2007.

People following this occasional blog may be interested to hear of Pusskas' progress. She adopted us late last year - half bald and covered in sores. Now she is as sleek as any well looked after cat, and spoiled to bits.

Update! Aargh, she's a monster - she just brought a dead bird in as a present! And it was one of those cute little yellow and blue finches, with no bigger than about five inch wingspan.

Friday 9th March 2007.

Last week we were fairly innundated by letters telling us how much people's lives have changed because of Waterfall D-Mannose, but one in particular stood out and warmed our hearts - a little girl whose parents started giving her Waterfall D-Mannose in October, (when they were told that the child would need a bladder operation) has now been told that her bladder is so healthy she doesn't need the operation. That's what keeps us going here. That's what it's all about. That's what makes us work late.

Sunday 18th Feb 2007.

Can't believe how busy things have got. Apologies to anyone following this occasional blog. Hope you had a good Valentines day, unmarred by cystitis problems...

Well, we've taken a giant leap this month, and applied our discount prices to the main order page. This means that there is no more hunting for our famous 777 order page, which some people don't seem to be able to work out how to get to - you get the discount prices from the start. Also, and a very important step for us, we have put our wonderful new product, Xylotene™ onto the ordering page. It is not a substitute for Waterfall D-Mannose™, but it has its own benefits.

To summarise some of these, it's an excellent mouthwash, it may help solve and prevent gum disease, and it is great for use before sex because of the way it is said to attach to Streptococcus - a common inhabitant of the mouth that can causes dental plaque and can cause real problems if it gets up the urethra. Both partners should mouthwash with it before sex... Clicking any of those links will take you to the information page on Xylotene.

Moving on, the past few months have seen some major new developments for us. We've decided not to sell the business after all; we are going to be moving to brand new bigger premises, and we now have new chewable half-gram tablets on board. Sadly, we've had to compromise a bit with them - and include some natural excipients to allow the powder to flow into the compressor, but we will still be supplying 50g of Waterfall D-Mannose in every pack - you'll get 100 of the tablets. They will also only be supplied in tubs - necessary to help us keep costs down.

Finally on this Sunday, a rant - a certain company who shall remain nameless is trying to associate with our product values by putting a picture of a Waterfall just before the advert for their d-mannose. It's just not on! We don't 'white box' supply to anyone.

Tuesday 28th Nov. 2006

We have a lot of Italian customers, and we love them, but 'non parliamo Italiano'. That means that no matter how loud you say it in Italian, we are still not going to know what you are saying. I might also say, prego paga in linea - it's easier all round. When you do it takes away all the hassle, and we get the order through immediately. You don't need to send bank drafts, fax documents, email back and forward and call us to find out how to pay. It's done 'just like that'. You can even get a temporary credit card type of thing called PostePay from the post office if you don't trust our totally secure WorldPay payment system.

Friday 3rd Nov. 2006

We've been let down badly by someone who kept us on a string for six months. But you win some, you lose some, life goes on.

We've been adopted by a stray cat. Poor thing was in a terrible state, with sores all over, and looking like a big, half-bald rat. Now a month later 'Pusskas' is double the weight and has a shiny new coat. She still looks a bit patchy from the rear, but she is coming on a treat. I wouldn't have believed a stray waif could be so fussy - she won't eat microwaved chicken, refuses all fish, and won't eat anything that has been down for more than a few minutes. Not fresh enough for the fierce little madam.

Anyway - another rant due : pets are for life. People who give them away on a whim, mistreat them, abandon them, or carelessly let them suffer ought to be trimmed in height by a foot and banned for life from keeping pets. And I'm being very restrained here.

Sunday Sept 24th 2006

Another rant due: we all need doctors, and most of them are great. However, as in every walk of life you get the occasional unthinking individual who really should be in a less demanding job. This rant is aimed at that type of doctor - the type that actually make good doctors angry.

How to create a lifelong urology patient...

1. Take a normal healthy patient presenting with a urine infection. Give her a dipstick test and three days of Trimethoprim without knowing what bacterium is involved. This is an especially good start against a patient with an E.coli infection, since they cause up to 90% of bladder infections and are often already resistant to Trimethoprim. Remember, Trimethoprim is the cheapest option.

2. Don't forget to lecture the patient on wiping her bottom carefully, and from front to back. This will help her to feel small, and boost your ego. It's probably never crossed her mind that it's not a good idea to introduce faeces to her urethra.

3. When the patient returns with a recurrence of the infection, repeat the lecture, and give another three days of Trimethoprim. You are doing a good job. The bacteria are getting tougher and tougher. You can repeat this cycle a few more times, then..

4. Become thoroughly exasperated. She really must learn how to wipe her bottom properly. Tell her so. Then send her urine off to be checked at a lab, but go for one of the cheaper options - does it really matter what type of coliform she has?

5. Prescribe her the next least expensive antibiotic according to NHS guidelines, while you are waiting for the lab results. Then, rather than a targeted antibiotic, give her a broad spectrum. Don't actually do any research - after all, you are already a qualified doctor and probably know all there is to know already.

6. If the patient dares to bring in any of her own research, dismiss it out of hand - you are the doctor, not her. After all, where would the medical profession be if patients started curing themselves? It's just not the sort of thing to encourage.

7. When the patient returns, it's time to raise your eyes to the ceiling, shake your head in annoyance, and send her away with nothing. Tell her it's just her age, no matter what age she is. That will usually put her off for a week or so whilst symptoms worsen. Then, when she returns, you can prescribe a big-hitter like a fluoroquinolene, in the safe and certain knowledge that you are creating a multi-antibiotic resistant superbug. But ensure that you give her the lowest possible dose to begin with - this will ensure that some bacteria survive to pass on the resistant genes. If it has not already done so, it will soon start invading her kidneys. Time, perhaps, to send her into hospital for a five day course of intravenous antibiotics. You really want to get rid of that immune system of hers if you want a reliable patient.

8. Now she is out, and all the tests are coming back clear. But she is still in a lot of pain. Ignore all the research about bacteria embedding themselves in the bladder wall behind biofilms. They wouldn't do that just to get away from antibiotics, would they - surely bacteria are not that smart? So she's now got all the pain of cystitis, but less bacteria in the urine than can be considered an infection.

9. Congratulations are in order. Do enough of this and you will have a busy, busy practice. You'll be able to try out different combinations of antibiotics, and eventually pass her on to your friendly local urologist who can then start experimenting with urethral and bladder stretches, bladder washes, and surgical interventions.

10. To the urologist, this is going to look pretty much like a case of incurable interstitial cystitis. It's far too early to start talking about removing the bladder - there's a lot of experimentation to be done first. But at least it's time to get her started on catheterising twice a day - this will help to make sure she doesn't actually get better on her own by repeatedly introducing fresh bacteria. What an interesting and complex subject this patient might turn out to be.

Friday Sept. 22nd 2007

Okay - so it's a VERY occasional blog. There's not a lot of free time, with one thing and another... But you know what makes me mad? Lots of things... too many to mention - you'd think I was mad! But here's a few:

• People who don't do what they say they'll do.
• Arrogant self-important loudmouths.
• Cruelty and indifference to suffering.
• Experimenting with sugical procedures just to get them on a CV/resume.
• Prejudice in all its forms. People who prejudge, by definition, jump to conclusions - usually the wrong ones. Not that I'm blameless in this - sometimes I make the same mistake - but not on the fundamentals. But I tend to cross the road if I see a big bald guy with a tatooed face, carrying a machete.
• Bad food hygiene! I've picked up food poisoning in most of the best restaurants in York. The Tung Hing in Gale Lane is the exception.
• People who call us 10 times when we are out or busy, and don't leave a message on the answering machine! We love you - you are our valuable customer, but please don't do this... So all the answering machine is used up with blank messages, and we have to listen to ...

'Message five ....................silence............................beep'

'Message six......................silence.............................beep'

'Message seven................silence.............................beep'

etc. etc.

I could go on, and very likely will some time.

Friday, August 4, 2006

First day of my new blog. Just an opportunity for me to share things.

Middle of the night!

Good news today from a customer called Mrs Munn. She was due for a bladder removal operation within two weeks when she found Waterfall D-Mannose. That was about two months ago, but she asked the surgeon to hang on while she tried our product. She was sceptical but desperate. She had been independently assessed to have untreateable Interstitial Cystitis by two different urologists. Yesterday she went to see another urologist who put a scope up her urethra (ouch!) and told her that all traces of Interstitial Cystitis had gone, her bladder capacity was now normal, the bladder looked healthy, and she should go away and keep her bladder.

You know, its that kind of thing that keeps us going. Anna and I struggle to keep up with all the phone calls and orders, but it's worth it.

Now for a rant : in the same day last week, two different customers told me that when they asked their doctor what was causing their bladder pain, the doctor said, "It's just your age...."

One customer was 74, the other was 19.

But with the warm weather something new is in the air - now customers are saying that their doctors are blaming the weather. Reminds me of last winter when we had a number of customers saying that same thing. Hey, if you are a doctor, no offence, but just stop and think a minute. Just think. Stop and think. C'mon, do it...

Friday, August 4, 2006, 13:37

Some days are funny. We get three customers called Smith in a row, two of them called Mary, one called Marie. We get four calls in a row about using Waterfall D-Mannose to try to defeat prostate infections. People are telling us it has worked for their bacterial prostatitis, but I have to explain to men that they have to 'use' the prostate at least twice a day while doing the treatment. Ejaculate, that is. It's a good way to clear out the infected fluids. Also worth 'backflushing' the prostate with mannose bearing urine. This process involves squeezing the penis to stop the flow of urine halfway through urination. It creates a pressure that forces some urine around the prostate tissues, and can help to clear out infection. However, this is not something to be done when the bladder is infected and the prostate is not. Otherwise, you infect the prostate - an important distinction in the treatment.

Wednesday, August 16th

I can't believe 12 days have passed since that first entry. Today, we amended our standard short disclaimer to our email advice to add the words 'if you can find one' to the sentence, 'You know we just give advice based on our experience, and it's no substitute for a thorough investigation by a competent and caring doctor.'

This was after multiple enquiries from customers asking where they could find such a creature. It must be admitted that some of them can be elusive, but unlike the haggis, they can sometimes be found in daylight, although you will have trouble geting any of them to eat from your hand.

Otherwise, a fairly momentous day for us. We may have come to an agreement about selling Sweet Cures. If we do, it will be with great regrets.... but Anna and me are working 12 hour days now. Our last holiday was 4 years ago.

Wednesday, August 23rd

Regrettably, we are finding it harder to keep up with all the phone calls. But we do our best. We still get all orders out the same day, and believe me, that takes some doing. The new postal charges have taken their toll on our time, and we've decided to absorb them rather than passing the additional cost onto customers. But it makes me angry that the post office have started to charge like couriers - based on volume as well as weight. It's not as if they provide anything like the same service. With all their resources they should be able to provide the best service in the world, but when mail goes missing, it's just gone into some black hole and they never find it. I'm in the middle of working on something technical that will help to address that issue for us and other businesses, but it'll be a while in the making. First of all, I'm going to try to get them to disclose some 'secrets'. That is going to be tough.

Thursday, August 24th

We have another therapy centre on board...

George A Petry
Nutri-Balance Health,
Eden Health Centre,
85-87 Commercial Rd,
Bournemouth,
Dorset, BH2 5RT
07831 258 789

They are a nutritional health screening practice.

" We test screen people for all sorts of conditions and try to help them optimise their health through nutritional and lifestyle changes, as well as supplementing where we think this will help."

Monday, Sept. 4th

Another busy Monday for us. Currently, I'm ranting mad about a spammer who is making serious attempts to ruin our forum by posting porn links. I take them off every day, and they are back up again. It might come to the point where I have to just disable the message board entitrely, but I don't want to have to do that because people find it a useful way to share with others who have gone through the same experiences.