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#1 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 12 March 2011 - 02:13 AM


Several months ago I called up Life Extension clinical research and told them, "I have discovered a probable cure for lung disease". Excited, they connected me to Dr. Hirsh.

I began to tell him the story of my lung disease. He gave me his email address and phone number, and told me to write up an email explaining in detail what I had done.

After I sent the email he scoured the internet looking for preexisting clinical trials similar to what we would be doing, to no avail. He asked me to do some digging, but I didn't find anything either.

Meanwhile my brain continued to deteriorate:

aromatherapy disaster

Finally after the slight exposure to disinfectant fumes I sent him an email telling him to please pull the plug on the whole thing. He replied with a very friendly sympathetic email.

I then called LEF's Dr. Walker for help. He said, "O-phenylphenol is an oily substance. So my educated guess would be that massive doses of psyllium will clean it out. Again, this is a complete shot in the dark, little is known about this."

It worked!!!

Unfortunately I suspect that popping psyllium pills like peanuts drained all the good stuff from my brain as well. I was temporarily in a bipolar-ish state.

Most of my thoughts of invincibility I was able to push out of my head. "Thinking about jumping out of a building? No, no, fight it off". "Thinking about going and trying a cigarette? No, no, fight it off." But one of those impulses did get the better of me...

I went and sent him a crazy email.

Now that my manic psychosis is gone (high-oil diet and various oil supplements), I feel HORRIBLE about what I did!!!

Even though I want him to forget about the lung disease study (what I am going through now makes my COPD seem like a walk in the park, I would gladly have it back any day) it is still very bad that he cut off all contact with me. If we were still talking I could at least keep him updated on my progress so that he could figure out what on earth happened, and someday warn the world of the dangers of aromatherapy before more precious brains are destroyed.

(And yes, I suspect that I am not the only one out there going through this suffering. On herbalism forums numerous people who do aromatherapy direct inhalation complain of "brain fog". Somehow the word MUST get out that this is bad!!!)

So...

I would like to make amends with him. Not sure how to go about doing this.

I have one idea: have the doctor who will be treating me (found her on the LEF directory) talk to him about the situation. But I am sure that the people reading this will have better social skills than my Aspie self. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

#2 niner

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 02:26 AM

Automatic message


This topic has been moved from "Round Table Discussion -> Other Conversations -> Unrelated to Life Extension" to "Round Table Discussion -> Other Conversations".

#3 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 04:39 AM

I also have COPD. What medication did you find that was helpful for lung disease ?

Edited by Lufega, 14 March 2011 - 04:57 AM.


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#4 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 05:45 AM

I also have COPD. What medication did you find that was helpful for lung disease ?


Sorry that my post was confusing. The aromatherapy direct inhalation cured my COPD. (Not sure if you clicked the link to the "aromatherapy disaster" thread.)

Before you get any foolish ideas: whatever you do, DO NOT do what I did! This horrific state makes my COPD seem like a hiccup in comparison, I would gladly have it back any day.

(Crosses fingers that you don't get impulsive and try it... :unsure: )

#5 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:05 AM

So inhaling tea tree oil cured your disease? How again did you come up with this ? When you say cured, do you have any evidence in the form of before/after imaging (Xray/CT scan) ? Or is this based on something more subjective like less shortness of breath, etc ? Your approach doesn't sound too far out there although it seems you over did it. I found a study last week on rosemary oil decreasing inflammation in the lungs. So you see, other researchers are toying with the same concept. I myself use inhaled magnesium sulphate (epsom salt) when I get shortness of breath. It works like a charm.

Effects of volatile constituents of rosemary extract on lung inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles.
Inoue K, Takano H, Shiga A, Fujita Y, Makino H, Yanagisawa R, Kato Y, Yoshikawa T.

Environmental Health Sciences Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan. inoue.kenichirou@nies.go.jp


Abstract
Epidemiological and experimental studies have implicated that diesel exhaust particles are involved in increases in morbidity and mortality from lung diseases. Recently, we have demonstrated that rosmarinic acid, a polyphenolic liquid component in perilla, inhibits lung inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles in vivo, partly through its antioxidative property. We have also shown the antioxidative activities of volatile constituents of rosemary extract, the gaseous component in perilla, in vitro. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of intratracheal administration of volatile rosemary extract on lung inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles. ICR mice were treated with intratracheal administration of volatile rosemary extract before intratracheal exposure to diesel exhaust particles. Twenty-four hr later, diesel exhaust particles exposure elicited lung inflammation characterized by the infiltration of neutrophils and eosinophils, which was confirmed by cellular profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histological examination. Diesel exhaust particles enhanced the protein expressions of interleukin-1beta, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and keratinocyte chemoattractant in the lung. Pretreatment with rosemary extract significantly inhibited the diesel exhaust particles-induced lung inflammation. Rosemary extract treatment also suppressed the diesel exhaust particles-enhanced lung expression of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and keratinocyte chemoattractant. These results suggest that intratracheal administration of rosemary extract can prevent lung inflammation induced by diesel exhaust particles. The preventive effect is mediated, at least partly, through the inhibition of the enhanced lung expressions of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, macrophage chemoattractant protein-1, and keratinocyte chemoattractants.


Edited by Lufega, 14 March 2011 - 06:23 AM.


#6 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:11 AM

Was this the study you found ?

Mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory action of inhaled tea tree oil in mice.
Golab M, Skwarlo-Sonta K.

Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Warsaw University, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland. golmat@biol.uw.edu.pl


Abstract
Tea tree oil (TTO) is well known as an antimicrobial and immunomodulatory agent. In the present study we confirmed the anti-inflammatory properties of TTO and investigated the involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the immunomodulatory action of TTO administered by inhalation. Sexually mature, 6-8-week-old, C(57)BI(10) x CBA/H (F(1)) male mice were used. One group of animals was injected intra-peritoneally (ip) with Zymosan to elicit peritoneal inflammation and was then submitted to four sessions of TTO inhalation (15 mins each). Some of the mice were simultaneously injected ip with Antalarmin, a CRH-1 receptor antagonist, to block HPA axis functions. Twenty-four hours after the injections the mice were killed by CO(2) asphyxia, and peritoneal leukocytes (PTLs) were isolated and counted. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) activity in PTLs were assessed by fluorimetric and colorimetric assays, respectively. The results obtained show that sessions of TTO inhalation exert a strong anti-inflammatory influence on the immune system stimulated by Zymosan injection, while having no influence on PTL number, ROS level, and COX activity in mice without inflammation. The HPA axis was shown to mediate the anti-inflammatory effect of TTO; Antalarmin abolished the influence of inhaled TTO on PTL number and their ROS production in mice with experimental peritonitis, but it had no effect on these parameters in mice without inflammation.


Full study: http://ebm.rsmjourna...print/232/3/420

Edited by Lufega, 14 March 2011 - 06:11 AM.


#7 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:17 AM

I recently figured out a bad-ass supplement strategy to deal with COPD. Not only does it reduce inflammation, mucus production and shortness of breath, but it actually promotes healing of the lung. (Not sure if this will work with smokers though). I'll get around to writing my "definitive guide to treating COPD" when I get sometime. I even started a blog in an attempt to keep a journal of my research but I can't seem to get myself to write on it !

http://proteaseinhibitor.blogspot.com/

#8 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:36 AM

This is a proposed mechanism on how Tea tree oil modulates the immune system. It does seem to cross the BBB rather well so you could have induced some type of oxidative stress in your brain leading to your brain fog. You could try to counter this with neuroprotective agents. Lithium orotate, taurine and methylene blue come to mind.

Ethereal oils, which can be detected in the serum within 15 mins of inhalation (28), have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and can influence CNS function by acting directly on neurons (29, 30). A second way in which ethereal oils (including TTO) may influence CNS function is through the stimulation of olfactory receptors and neurons in the olfactory epithelium. Most ethereal oils are thought to modify CNS functions via this system, which senses and processes odors (31).



Posted Image

Edited by Lufega, 14 March 2011 - 06:36 AM.


#9 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:44 AM

So inhaling tea tree oil cured your disease?


Tea tree oil and Olbas inhaler.

How again did you come up with this?



I was washing my hair with a tea tree oil shampoo and noticed that my lungs felt great the entire time. So I went "Aha!", ran to the health food store, and bought a bottle of straight tea tree oil.

When you say cured, do you have any evidence in the form of before/after imaging (Xray/CT scan)? Or is this based on something more subjective like less shortness of breath, etc?



Subjective (lung pain, lung stiffness, and airway constriction completely gone). My doctor, uninformed about lung conditions in freedivers, called me a hypochodriac and sent me on my way.

I can cut-n-paste the story I sent him if that would explain things.

I myself use inhaled magnesium sulphate (epsom salt) when I get shortness of breath. It works like a charm.


Glad it makes you feel better :)

Edited by Destiny's Equation, 14 March 2011 - 06:46 AM.


#10 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:49 AM

Was this the study you found?


I have never seen that one.

#11 Lufega

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:50 AM

These might help explain what's happening to you, if you can get the full version. I quickly glanced over a few abstracts and toxicities all report drowsiness, sedation and some ataxia. All the patients made a full recovery in a short period of time. Lastly, this study has a brief write-up on tea tree oil toxicity. Again, everyone recovered without sequelae.


Fragrance compounds and essential oils with sedative effects upon inhalation PMID: 8331544


Melaleuca oil poisoning PMID: 8057407


#12 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 06:53 AM

I recently figured out a bad-ass supplement strategy to deal with COPD. Not only does it reduce inflammation, mucus production and shortness of breath, but it actually promotes healing of the lung. (Not sure if this will work with smokers though). I'll get around to writing my "definitive guide to treating COPD" when I get sometime. I even started a blog in an attempt to keep a journal of my research but I can't seem to get myself to write on it !

http://proteaseinhibitor.blogspot.com/


Awesome! I can help proofread if you like :)

#13 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 07:06 AM

It does seem to cross the BBB rather well so you could have induced some type of oxidative stress in your brain leading to your brain fog.



It had remarkable short-term brain benefits: ridiculously resilient to stressful situations and sharp as a fox.

Bit of a Flowers For Algernon experience!

You could try to counter this with neuroprotective agents. Lithium orotate, taurine and methylene blue come to mind.


Thank you :) I will get them as soon as I can.

#14 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 07:16 AM

Melaleuca oil poisoning PMID: 8057407


I did not notice any acute toxicity, it temporarily made me feel just great. That is why I didn't stop what I was doing; it was a gradual downslide.

Worth noting that the boy took relatively massive doses.

#15 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 14 March 2011 - 07:54 AM

Once again THANK YOU for your replies to this thread!!! :)

Here is an excerpt from the first email I sent Dr. Hirsh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My story.

For a period of several months I was inhaling polyvinyl chloride fumes, talc dust, and mold.

This led to airway constriction, lung stiffness, burning lung pain (sometimes of nightmarish proportions), throbbing lung pain, and a “dead” feeling in the lungs. During the time period I was exposed to the stuff the symptoms started out slight, then gradually got worse and worse.

And no, I’ve never smoked.

I went to a conventional doctor. But he blew me off as a hypochondriac. “Your lung function test came back low normal, so this is very minor, nothing to worry about”, he insisted.

I knew better. I had read on the internet about lung conditions in freedivers. Our increased lung volume compensates for any lung damage, rendering lung function tests useless. It’s like putting a professional body builder on a scale, then calling them obese.

He put me on medicated inhalers. At first they reduced (not eliminated) my symptoms. But eventually they started to do the exact opposite, making the pain/constriction worse every time I used them! Finally I said “to hell with this”, and stopped taking them.

When I told my doctor that I had discontinued the medications, he said, “No problem”. I asked what else could be done, and he said, “The 2 month period is over. You have no lung problems, you are completely recovered at this point!”

No, I was not completely recovered. I was still having lung pain and airway constriction.

Finally I picked up a bottle of tea tree oil at the health food store, poured it into a bowl, and held it up to my face to inhale the vapor. It killed the pain and constriction dead!

Excited by this effect, I started sniffing it regularly, in addition to leaving the bowls lying around so that the air in my apartment would be full of it.

Big mistake.

Now my place smelled like a crack lab. Whenever I walked in the door my head and lungs would hurt. When I left the apartment that went away. Spending time in there gave me a dramatic “brain drain” effect.

I read on the internet that natural oils cause plastics to break down. Then I realized: the tea tree vapor in the air had reacted with the carpeting, accelerating its offgassing process.

(This stuff is very powerful. I used it to dissolve a plastic cup.)

I confined my vaping to outdoors only, and ventilated the place out. But it was too late, that stinky gas kept emanating from the carpet for ages afterwards.

Then I discovered another problem: contaminants.

I bought a new brand of tea tree oil. This one made my lungs very sick very quickly. (Only used it for a few minutes, and the pain/constriction was exacerbated for about a week.) My friend identified the creepy smell: solvents.

(Ha, I wouldn’t know what solvents smell like. In chemistry class I had chronic sinusitis.)

Another brand didn’t have the same disgusting effect as the solvent one, but it did make me cough. I picked it up and looked at it: not organic.

Now I stick to the Herb Pharm brand.

In addition to inhaling the tea tree oil, I got an Olbas natural inhaler. (Ingredients: menthol, peppermint oil, cajeput oil, and eucalyptol oil) The directions say to inhale through the nose (it’s marketed for sinus problems), but I sucked on it directly like a cigarette.

I frequently returned to my perch on the balcony to use both the tea tree oil and the Olbas inhaler. (I ended up favoring the inhaler most of the time; I can’t exactly read a book or use the computer while sticking my face in a bowl.)

And now…

No more lung pain.

No more airway constriction.

No more “stiff” feeling in the lungs.

In fact, if I do it often enough, my lungs become ridiculously flexible. (Even more so than when I was a young child. It seems that the lung aging process can be significantly reversed.)

I still have polyvinyl chloride poisoning. But at least I am keeping the lung disease symptoms from rearing their ugly head.

When I tell people that thanks to inhaling plant oils my lung problems are no more, they ask, “Are you sure that is safe? You really don’t know what that junk is doing to your lungs.” But I personally am not worried. Animals that live in the forest are exposed to large amounts of plant oil vapor, yet they don’t all have lung disease. I think that evolution knows what she is doing.

More disturbing is the fact that these people think that lung disease can be cured by inhaling DRUGS. Sure, synthetic substances will mask the symptoms temporarily. But in the long run they exacerbate the very disease they are intended to treat! Is it worth it?

History.

Using plant inhalation for lung healing is nothing new.

The Maori tribe cures bronchitis by sniffing bowls of manuka oil.

Shamans use mullein cigarettes to stop asthma attacks and improve breath hold times. Obviously the long-term damage from the combustion makes the short-term benefits from the plants a moot point. But it does suggest that inhaling certain plants has healing properties.

Some herbalists recommend that former tobacco smokers use mullein in a cannabis-style vaporizer to “clean the accumulated gunk out”. (My friend did this and said it was an unpleasant process; he coughed up a lot of black phlegm.)

Aromatherapists recommend eucalyptus oil to improve the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen.

And of course we have the medical cannabis advocates, touting the anti-asthma and anti-lung-cancer properties of their controversial substance.

#16 niner

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Posted 15 March 2011 - 02:21 AM

Hard to say what was going on in your lungs, Destiny's. I don't see how it could be COPD if you had normal lung function. I know that you're a freediver, but I think you're attributing too much to that. Freedivers undergo a number of physiological changes as a result of training, but it's my understanding that increasing the physical capacity of the lungs (by a significant amount) isn't really possible. You might have had a bronchitis, and maybe the aromatherapy helped there, but it doesn't sound like you have any evidence that you had COPD in the first place, much less cured it.

#17 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 15 March 2011 - 02:31 AM

Hard to say what was going on in your lungs, Destiny's. I don't see how it could be COPD if you had normal lung function. I know that you're a freediver, but I think you're attributing too much to that. Freedivers undergo a number of physiological changes as a result of training, but it's my understanding that increasing the physical capacity of the lungs (by a significant amount) isn't really possible. You might have had a bronchitis, and maybe the aromatherapy helped there, but it doesn't sound like you have any evidence that you had COPD in the first place, much less cured it.


I thought that chronic bronchitis was a form of COPD? Confused

#18 niner

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Posted 15 March 2011 - 02:44 AM

Hard to say what was going on in your lungs, Destiny's. I don't see how it could be COPD if you had normal lung function. I know that you're a freediver, but I think you're attributing too much to that. Freedivers undergo a number of physiological changes as a result of training, but it's my understanding that increasing the physical capacity of the lungs (by a significant amount) isn't really possible. You might have had a bronchitis, and maybe the aromatherapy helped there, but it doesn't sound like you have any evidence that you had COPD in the first place, much less cured it.

I thought that chronic bronchitis was a form of COPD? Confused

It can be, if it's really chronic for a long time and results in sputum production and ultimately, fibrosis. I'm guessing that you had a non-chronic bronchitis. They can still last a long time, like weeks or even a couple months. Were you coughing up junk on a regular basis? How long did it last? Clinically, COPD shows up as a reduced flow rate. If you have a normal flow rate (FEV1, typically), then you don't have COPD, more or less by definition. Also, the lung changes associated with COPD would show up on an X-ray.

#19 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 15 March 2011 - 03:26 AM

It can be, if it's really chronic for a long time and results in sputum production and ultimately, fibrosis. I'm guessing that you had a non-chronic bronchitis. They can still last a long time, like weeks or even a couple months. Were you coughing up junk on a regular basis? How long did it last? Clinically, COPD shows up as a reduced flow rate. If you have a normal flow rate (FEV1, typically), then you don't have COPD, more or less by definition. Also, the lung changes associated with COPD would show up on an X-ray.


Oh ok. I thought it was chronic because it lasted for many months.

I was coughing up yucky brown junk. X-rays were clear.

(By the way that doctor NEVER EVEN bothered to tell me what the diagnosis was. He just went "Hi-how-are-you-here's-your-prescription-take-this-lung-function-test-I-have-to-go-see-a-new-patient-bye").

#20 Destiny's Equation

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Posted 16 March 2011 - 04:16 AM

A few:

Explore (NY). 2008 Jul-Aug;4(4):264-6.
Essential oil diffusion for the treatment of persistent oxygen dependence in a three-year-old child with restrictive lung disease with respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia.
Hedayat KM.

Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Advocate Lutheran Hospital, Park Ridge, IL, USA. kmhedayat@aromand.net

Altern Med Rev. 2010 Apr;15(1):33-47.
Immune-modifying and antimicrobial effects of Eucalyptus oil and simple inhalation devices.
Sadlon AE, Lamson DW.

dr.a.sadlon@gmail.com

[Effect of Spearmint oil on inflammation, oxidative alteration and Nrf2 expression in lung tissue of COPD rats].
Zhao CZ, Wang Y, Tang FD, Zhao XJ, Xu QP, Xia JF, Zhu YF.
Zhejiang Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2008 Jul;37(4):357-63. Chinese.

J Ethnopharmacol. 2008 Apr 17;117(1):166-9. Epub 2008 Jan 19.
Antispasmodic activity of essential oil from Lippia dulcis Trev.
Görnemann T, Nayal R, Pertz HH, Melzig MF.

Institute of Pharmacy, Free University Berlin, Koenigin-Luise-Str. 2+4, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

Abstract
AIM OF THIS STUDY: To investigate the essential oil of Lippia dulcis Trev. (Verbenaceae) that is traditionally used in the treatment of cough, colds, bronchitis, asthma, and colic in Middle America for antispasmodic activity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a porcine bronchial bioassay to study contractile responses to carbachol and histamine in the absence or presence of the essential oil.

RESULTS: The essential oil showed anti-histaminergic and anti-cholinergic activities at 100 microg/ml.

CONCLUSIONS: The anti-histaminergic and anti-cholinergic activities of the essential oil of Lippia dulcis support the rational use of the plant or plant extracts to treat bronchospasm.




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