The following case definition has been developed by Tall Cotton. It is an evolving document, like everything else regarding Morgellons, and is updated for review by patients, practicing clinicians and interested health agencies, thus it will continue to be refined as new symptoms are added.

The Following Signs or Symptoms are The Basis of Morgellons Disease as defined by Tall Cotton. These symptoms overlap “known” diseases. The initial three characteristics parallel a much more entrenched illness, Delusions of Parasitosis (DOP) named decades before today’s laboratory technology and infection/immunity knowledge proved that were, in fact, symptoms of this delusional disorder. The more recent, outside the box, findings listed below provide a far broader and more consistent evidence base, strongly supporting the likelihood that DOP is synonymous with Morgellons Disease, both purely psychiatric diseases.

1. Skin lesions, self-generated, often with pain or intense itching. Lesions appear as linear or “picking” excoriations, because that’s what they are. Sometimes the unreachable regions of babies’ skin must be excoriated by the child’s mother. Lesions often progress to open wounds that are never allowed to heal completely or properly.

2. Movement sensations, both beneath and on the skin surface. Sensations are often described by the patient as creepy-crawlies. Involved areas can include any place where there is skin remaining. The regions may be limited to the scalp, nasal passages, ear canals, face, or somewhere else.

3. “Filaments” are reported on skin lesions and at times extruding from scabs. White, blue, red, and black are common on days that clothing of those colors are worn. They also report black or white granules, similar in size and shape to bug eggs, on or in their skin or on clothing. Most clinicians willing to waste their money on a simple hand held commercial microscope have thus far been able to consistently document environmental fibers.

4. Musculoskeletal Effect is usually present, manifest in several ways. Pain distribution is broad, and can include joint(s), muscles, tendons and connective tissue, especially when hung over or during drug withdrawal. Both vascular and “pressure” headaches and vertebral pain are particularly common at these times.

5. Cognitive dysfunction with illogical thinking as well as short-term memory and uh.. uh..

6. Emotional effects are present in all patients. Character typically includes obsessive/compulsive states, hallucinations, delusions, MSBP, BDD, NYPD, Schizophrenia and virtually all states of psychosis. Degree varies from bad to worse. Noteworthy is the newfound strong possibility that emotional presentation precedes physical symptoms.

7. All symptoms subject to change without prior notice.

I challenge the Morgellons Research Foundation to either update their case definition, or explain themselves.

I hadn’t even noticed that when they updated their website, at the end of January, OMG, they updated the case definition…AGAIN!

http://www.morgellons.org/

I was addicted to methamphetamines, and I was using them heavily. I was also going several days and nights without sleep, real often. I wound up in a hospital with bleeding on the brain. I was in and out of consciousness for two weeks, and I came very close to death. After that, I quit using, but I almost waited too long to quit. But I know what happens as the kidneys reach the point of failing and the toxicity in the body is at a dangerous level. But, how could this apply to you?

It probably wouldn’t if your kidney and liver are functioning properly and you aren’t putting toxins into your body. But when the live quits metabolizing toxic waste, and the kidneys quit filtering, the toxins in the body quicky reach critical levels. At this point it’s up to the skin to dump the trash, and there’s a surprizing quantity and assortment. I had clear gelatinous material extruding through my pores, solidifying into filaments as they touched the air. I had black yarn-like stubbles coming out of my pores also. A lot of them were coming out, all at the same time.

There were long, hard, crystal-like needles under my skin, and yes, there was a lot of pain. My epidermis was expelling black, charcoal-like bits of material, and there was a hugh amount of reddish-brown rocks. Some of these were larger than the head of a pin. And yes, I heard the snap, crackle, pop, like a tiny popcorn machine was popping. I had lesions all over the lower half of my face. There were also multi-colored fibers. I was a mess. And this is not the half of it. My point is this. When the body reaches a toxic state and the organ aren’t funtioning optimally, these are some of the things one will see. And yes, were real, but it wasn’t Morgellons. Morgellons is a myth.

Read that link I provided for you to that Pittsburgh’s article. That’s the woman with her child that started it all.

You said, about your mother ….

“It would be totally out of her character, and would run against the grain of the person I’ve known for 32 years. She has had the symptoms of this disease for 3 years. I have seen the symptoms first hand. She has been decribing them to me as well for the 3 years she has suffered through. I did not even know of another person or a diagnosis or name for this disease until July 24th, 2006(yes that was yesterday) when I read an article about it in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. I was absolutely stunned to read about a disease that was to an absolute T exactly what my mom is physically experiencing and none of the doctors she has gone to see can cure or figure out. AND just so you know, yes they treated her with skeptism and thought she could be “imagining things” or having physical manifestations of lesions from psychological troubles and asked that she meet with a phychiatrist for an evaluation. She did and the phychiatrist had her take a battery of different tests and gave her a clean bill of mental health(and as a side note agreed with my mom that she most definitely had a physical and not a metal illness in her opinion.) You will all see this disease in time become recognized as a very real disease. A disease that is very physically real and is not a figment of the imagination.”

And..

“My mom really seems to be of sound mind and functions just fine as she goes about her daily life other.”

But more specifically…

“They treated her with skeptism and thought she could be “imagining things” or having physical manifestations of lesions from psychological troubles and asked that she meet with a phychiatrist for an evaluation. She did and the phychiatrist had her take a battery of different tests and gave her a clean bill of mental health(and as a side note agreed with my mom that she most definitely had a physical and not a metal illness in her opinion.)”

All right. Who is “they”? Were you present? What year was this? What did the “battery of tests” involve? And I hate sounding this way, but it does happen (I’m not implying this was the case with her, though) was your mom honest when she was referred to a mental health professional, or did she withold information to just cheat herself and fool everyone? Did you hear the psychiatrist with your very own ears, say what you stated them as saying about being in agreement with your mom? Does your mom keep specimens that come from her skin? How long has your mom been in a depressed state due to her appearance?

If I seem to have asked a lot of questions, I just figure that since you brought it up, that you’re open to discussion.

Did you have anything wrong with you at all then? A physical ailment of any sort or where you just messed in the head and your all better now? I’m guess I’m not following you. Please take time to explain to me. If it is worth it to you that is.

Tall Cotton and I DO NOT HAVE anything!!! That was several years ago for both of us!!!
Forget it. I’m sorry, no offense intended, but it’s far better to not read things when you can’t interpret what you’re reading. I didn’t realize.