354 replies to this topic

[Raccoon]

Thank's for the information about Ginger. Works like magic on my belly.

Found some interesting research:

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and the gingerols inhibit the growth of Cag A+ strains of Helicobacter pylori.
Mahady GB, Pendland SL, Yun GS, Lu ZZ, Stoia A.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood St, MC 877, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. mahady@uic.edu
BACKGROUND: Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) has been used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments such as motion sickness, dyspepsia and hyperemesis gravidarum, and is also reported to have chemopreventative activity in animal models. The gingerols are a group of structurally related polyphenolic compounds isolated from ginger and known to be the active constituents. Since Helicobacter pylori (HP) is the primary etiological agent associated with dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease and the development of gastric and colon cancer, the anti-HP effects of ginger and its constituents were tested in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A methanol extract of the dried powdered ginger rhizome, fractions of the extract and the isolated constituents, 6-,8-,10-gingerol and 6-shogoal, were tested against 19 strains of HP, including 5 CagA+ strains. RESULTS: The methanol extract of ginger rhizome inhibited the growth of all 19 strains in vitro with a minimum inhibitory concentration range of 6.25-50 micrograms/ml. One fraction of the crude extract, containing the gingerols, was active and inhibited the growth of all HP strains with an MIC range of 0.78 to 12.5 micrograms/ml and with significant activity against the CagA+ strains. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that ginger root extracts containing the gingerols inhibit the growth of H. pylori CagA+ strains in vitro and this activity may contribute to its chemopreventative effects.

[Dorho]

Funk: Again, sorry if this has been asked before, but why did you stop supplementing with R-lipoic acid? I thought people consider it to be one of the better anti-aging supplements out there.

[rwac]

Funk: I guess you're not around here that much anymore.

Why did you stop the GTE ?
You were saying something about it being part of every regimen before...

Edited by rwac, 03 April 2010 - 12:38 AM.

[aaCharley]

Thanks for the info.

Curious about flax... what is the benefit using it over fish oil though? Besides the ALA-EPA evolutionary design theory.

Does it oxidize less, or are there any studies showing a benefit that couldn't be found from marine omega 3s? I've considered using it, but the ALA-prostate thing has always scared me off.

Oh, and for Multi-Basics, I just asked AOR about their switch to 5-MTHF, and they said it should be making it on the store shelves now (if you haven't already gotten that version of Basics). They say all of their recent batches have been using it. So if any Core/Basics/Mix people need to restock, probably best to see who has new batches.

Forget about the flax and start eating or drinking(mixing it in water or juice) Chia seed. Flax has phytoestrogens, Chia doesn't. Chia may be superior to flax for other reasons as well.

http://www.google.co...M7f0sAYZ5TA2sFA

I had only recently read the information on Chia. It seems to be a bit higher in protein and ALA than the flax. Another benefit is that it is digested from the seed form and does not have to be ground before eating it. I've been adding about a Tbs of ground flax seed to the morning oatmeal. I suppose I will finish it off, but am going to change to the Chia.

[FunkOdyssey]

Funk: I guess you're not around here that much anymore.

Why did you stop the GTE ?
You were saying something about it being part of every regimen before...

I was drinking green and white tea.

[FunkOdyssey]

Made changes to regimen post on the first page. The big news is the introduction of LDN which is going really well this time around compared to the last attempt two years ago. I don't know if its agreeing with me because I've killed off alot of the Lyme already, or because I'm ramping up so slowly, or a little of both. Whatever the reason, its causing only some mild exacerbation of Lyme symptoms about 3-4 days after each dose increase, which then disappears just in time for me to raise the dose again on day 7. I can't wait to see what happens when I finally reach 4.5mg and stay there.

LDN should help provide better feedback regarding the efficacy of various antiobiotic therapies, because it seems to exaggerates herxheimer reactions, in addition to helping the immune system clear infections and maintain remission. Although LDN is described as immune-modulating I generally regard it as immune-boosting because if you look at the effects of beta-endorphin on white cells, its all about release of additional cytokines. Within the brain it does dampen down microglia activation (hence MS benefits), but in general it makes the immune system more aggressive.

Added:
Low Dose Naltrexone - I've been increasing this by 0.25mg or 0.5mg weekly for some time now and have reached 3mg currently.
Green Tea Extract - haven't been drinking green tea lately.
Focalin (dexmethylphenidate) - I take this as needed to get things done. Its effective for me in surprisingly small fractions of ordinary doses. I split the contents of a single 15mg Focalin XR cap into two or three empty capsules, and a 10mg tablet into 3-4 roughly equal chunks, depending on whether I want 7 or 3.5 hours of duration respectively.

Changed:
Levothyroxine - reduced from 50mcg to 25mcg as I attempt to wean off thyroid hormone replacement.
Doxycycline - reduced from 600mg to 400mg. Just want to maintain the status quo until I can reach the full dose of LDN safely, not trying to obliterate Lyme right now.
Lithium Orotate - reduced from 2.5mg to 1.25mg. Only want RDA lithium at this point, not trying to do anything therapeutic with it.
Magnesium - switched from Glycinate to Citrate to save a little money.

Removed:
Tinidazole - did not seem to have much effect, was causing some odd pains, will revisit this again in the future after stabilizing on LDN.
Flaxseed Oil - getting enough ALA in canola oil mayonnaise used in chicken salad.
Theralac - stomach has been fine with VSL#3 alone, trying to save money.
Pycnogenol - expensive, and don't want its immune-modulating effects to interfere with LDN
Inositol - worsens ADD

I guess the other big news is that I'm getting divorced. In February, I found out my wife had been cheating on me during the majority of our 4 1/2 year relationship, with more than ten different guys in total, like a little Tiger Woods. She had everyone fooled into thinking she was the sweetest, most innocent thing while she led this double life. I'm moving on though, back in the dating scene, and generally took the entire thing really well if I do say so myself. Might be difficult to avoid trust issues in the future though.

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 14 April 2010 - 05:19 PM.

[tunt01]

I guess the other big news is that I'm getting divorced. In February, I found out my wife had been cheating on me during the majority of our 4 1/2 year relationship, with more than ten different guys in total, like a little Tiger Woods. She had everyone fooled into thinking she was the sweetest, most innocent thing while she led this double life. I'm moving on though, back in the dating scene, and generally took the entire thing really well if I do say so myself. Might be difficult to avoid trust issues in the future though.

gdd, i hope you got tested. wtf knows what you have besides lyme disease now...

nice that the LDN is working out, hope all goes well.

[FunkOdyssey]

I did get tested for everything and results were negative.

[Dorho]

I wouldn't discard the flax seed oil. It's a good source of linoleic acid (as well as alpha linolenic acid). Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid. (EDIT: I checked linoleic acid from Wikipedia and found out that canola oil is actually a better source of linoleic acid than flax seed oil. Sorry)

My opinion is that 'dating scene' is not be the best place to look for a girlfriend.

Edited by Dorho, 14 April 2010 - 06:16 PM.

[nameless]

Any concerns taking the multi at the same time as Doxy? I've been avoiding doing that, due to mineral interactions. Even though they are lowish in dose, could they still cause a problem?

I'll assume your insurance won't pay for VSL DS anymore? Partial dose of DS for a co-payment saves a lot of money.

And how is your liver holding up with so much green tea? Isn't 800mg EGCG too much to take daily?

Edited by nameless, 14 April 2010 - 06:31 PM.

[sentrysnipe]

God wow what a twist of events. I'm sorry, sir.

Get tested again after 6 months. HIV may not come up until after 6 months from first contact.

On your T4 meds, did you also get your Free T3 tested? There's a huge consensus amongst hypo patients and select endos (Blanchard, M.D.) that a glandular T4 and T3, not just T4 alone, is best. Otherwise, you may take a cheap Selenium supp (if you haven't yet) to convert sufficient levels of T3 from T4.

Now I get why you feel much better with Tyrosine.

Best of health.

[FunkOdyssey]

Any concerns taking the multi as the same time as Doxy? I've been avoiding doing that, due to mineral interactions. Even though they are lowish in dose, could they still cause a problem?

I'll assume your insurance won't pay for VSL DS anymore? Partial dose of DS for a co-payment saves a lot of money.

And how is your liver holding up with so much green tea? Isn't 800mg EGCG too much to take daily?

Doxy interactions with minerals are minimal compared to tetracycline. Even when given with a ton of calcium (worst case scenario), absorption is still only reduced 20% IIRC.

Right, new insurance will not pay for VSL DS anymore. :(

Liver is fine so far -- I think 800mg EGCG as a single dose would be more problematic than the way I'm spreading it out. Its not far off what you could achieve with green tea drinking. I continue to monitor liver enzymes because of the antibiotics anyway so I'll keep an eye on things.

[tunt01]

Get tested again after 6 months. HIV may not come up until after 6 months from first contact.

you can get a high sensitivitiy PCR viral load HIV test (that they give to people who already have HIV) and that will be as accurate as the standard western blot antibody test, without having to wait 6 months. the viral load test looks for the virus TODAY as opposed to waiting to look for antibodies in 6 months. they use it to monitor how far HIV/AIDS has progressed in addition to things like T-cell count.

insurance companies dont always cover it, because its more costly and in some ways more precise.

i got one done once, when I had a g/f cheat on me (been there, done this like Funk... haha) came back negative.

Edited by prophets, 14 April 2010 - 06:44 PM.

[FunkOdyssey]

On your T4 meds, did you also get your Free T3 tested? There's a huge consensus amongst hypo patients and select endos (Blanchard, M.D.) that a glandular T4 and T3, not just T4 alone, is best. Otherwise, you may take a cheap Selenium supp (if you haven't yet) to convert sufficient levels of T3 from T4.

I also take 1gr or 60mg of Thyroid-S which is an Armour-like dessicated thyroid product. I just reduced the dose of the separate T4 I was taking. I was planning to wean off that first and then see if I could eliminate the Thyroid-S afterward.

[Thorsten3]

Made changes to regimen post on the first page. The big news is the introduction of LDN which is going really well this time around compared to the last attempt two years ago. I don't know if its agreeing with me because I've killed off alot of the Lyme already, or because I'm ramping up so slowly, or a little of both. Whatever the reason, its causing only some mild exacerbation of Lyme symptoms about 3-4 days after each dose increase, which then disappears just in time for me to raise the dose again on day 7. I can't wait to see what happens when I finally reach 4.5mg and stay there.

LDN should help provide better feedback regarding the efficacy of various antiobiotic therapies, because it seems to exaggerates herxheimer reactions, in addition to helping the immune system clear infections and maintain remission. Although LDN is described as immune-modulating I generally regard it as immune-boosting because if you look at the effects of beta-endorphin on white cells, its all about release of additional cytokines. Within the brain it does dampen down microglia activation (hence MS benefits), but in general it makes the immune system more aggressive.

Added:
Low Dose Naltrexone - I've been increasing this by 0.25mg or 0.5mg weekly for some time now and have reached 3mg currently.
Green Tea Extract - haven't been drinking green tea lately.
Focalin (dexmethylphenidate) - I take this as needed to get things done. Its effective for me in surprisingly small fractions of ordinary doses. I split the contents of a single 15mg Focalin XR cap into two or three empty capsules, and a 10mg tablet into 3-4 roughly equal chunks, depending on whether I want 7 or 3.5 hours of duration respectively.

Changed:
Levothyroxine - reduced from 50mcg to 25mcg as I attempt to wean off thyroid hormone replacement.
Doxycycline - reduced from 600mg to 400mg. Just want to maintain the status quo until I can reach the full dose of LDN safely, not trying to obliterate Lyme right now.
Lithium Orotate - reduced from 2.5mg to 1.25mg. Only want RDA lithium at this point, not trying to do anything therapeutic with it.
Magnesium - switched from Glycinate to Citrate to save a little money.

Removed:
Tinidazole - did not seem to have much effect, was causing some odd pains, will revisit this again in the future after stabilizing on LDN.
Flaxseed Oil - getting enough ALA in canola oil mayonnaise used in chicken salad.
Theralac - stomach has been fine with VSL#3 alone, trying to save money.
Pycnogenol - expensive, and don't want its immune-modulating effects to interfere with LDN
Inositol - worsens ADD

I guess the other big news is that I'm getting divorced. In February, I found out my wife had been cheating on me during the majority of our 4 1/2 year relationship, with more than ten different guys in total, like a little Tiger Woods. She had everyone fooled into thinking she was the sweetest, most innocent thing while she led this double life. I'm moving on though, back in the dating scene, and generally took the entire thing really well if I do say so myself. Might be difficult to avoid trust issues in the future though.

Sorry to hear that man, plenty more fish in the sea though. The dating game is worth a shot, I'm doing it myself at the moment. It can be a good way of meeting people who want the same thing. Not for everyone though!

[Rational Madman]

Made changes to regimen post on the first page. The big news is the introduction of LDN which is going really well this time around compared to the last attempt two years ago. I don't know if its agreeing with me because I've killed off alot of the Lyme already, or because I'm ramping up so slowly, or a little of both. Whatever the reason, its causing only some mild exacerbation of Lyme symptoms about 3-4 days after each dose increase, which then disappears just in time for me to raise the dose again on day 7. I can't wait to see what happens when I finally reach 4.5mg and stay there.

LDN should help provide better feedback regarding the efficacy of various antiobiotic therapies, because it seems to exaggerates herxheimer reactions, in addition to helping the immune system clear infections and maintain remission. Although LDN is described as immune-modulating I generally regard it as immune-boosting because if you look at the effects of beta-endorphin on white cells, its all about release of additional cytokines. Within the brain it does dampen down microglia activation (hence MS benefits), but in general it makes the immune system more aggressive.

Added:
Low Dose Naltrexone - I've been increasing this by 0.25mg or 0.5mg weekly for some time now and have reached 3mg currently.
Green Tea Extract - haven't been drinking green tea lately.
Focalin (dexmethylphenidate) - I take this as needed to get things done. Its effective for me in surprisingly small fractions of ordinary doses. I split the contents of a single 15mg Focalin XR cap into two or three empty capsules, and a 10mg tablet into 3-4 roughly equal chunks, depending on whether I want 7 or 3.5 hours of duration respectively.

Changed:
Levothyroxine - reduced from 50mcg to 25mcg as I attempt to wean off thyroid hormone replacement.
Doxycycline - reduced from 600mg to 400mg. Just want to maintain the status quo until I can reach the full dose of LDN safely, not trying to obliterate Lyme right now.
Lithium Orotate - reduced from 2.5mg to 1.25mg. Only want RDA lithium at this point, not trying to do anything therapeutic with it.
Magnesium - switched from Glycinate to Citrate to save a little money.

Removed:
Tinidazole - did not seem to have much effect, was causing some odd pains, will revisit this again in the future after stabilizing on LDN.
Flaxseed Oil - getting enough ALA in canola oil mayonnaise used in chicken salad.
Theralac - stomach has been fine with VSL#3 alone, trying to save money.
Pycnogenol - expensive, and don't want its immune-modulating effects to interfere with LDN
Inositol - worsens ADD

I guess the other big news is that I'm getting divorced. In February, I found out my wife had been cheating on me during the majority of our 4 1/2 year relationship, with more than ten different guys in total, like a little Tiger Woods. She had everyone fooled into thinking she was the sweetest, most innocent thing while she led this double life. I'm moving on though, back in the dating scene, and generally took the entire thing really well if I do say so myself. Might be difficult to avoid trust issues in the future though.

From what I've read, the effects of immune system activation aren't usually significant in autoimmune cases, and pale in comparison to the remarkable improvements in cognitive symptoms. Anyway, I hope the divorce is resolved amicably, and without significant expense.

[Mia K.]

Sorry to read of the "little Tiger Woods" despicable behavior, FunkOdyssey. I do wish you well through what I hope continues to be an amicable parting of the ways.  Have to agree with Dorho about the dating scene, though.

Also, glad to read LDN is working well for you.    I've been taking it @ 4.5mg. nightly, stacked w/ DPA, for a couple of years now; it's been something of a life-saver for me. 

Regards, Mia

[FunkOdyssey]

From what I've read, the effects of immune system activation aren't usually significant in autoimmune cases, and pale in comparison to the remarkable improvements in cognitive symptoms. Anyway, I hope the divorce is resolved amicably, and without significant expense.

What I find remarkable is that LDN makes the immune system more aggressive toward pathogens and cancer, and yet less prone to autoimmunity and allergy, simultaneously. It really is a wonder drug.

Sorry to read of the "little Tiger Woods" despicable behavior, FunkOdyssey. I do wish you well through what I hope continues to be an amicable parting of the ways. Have to agree with Dorho about the dating scene, though.

It would be amicable except that I can't seem to restrain myself from sending nasty text messages. I'm working on it. As far as dating, I'm not looking for anything serious right away -- it will probably be quite some time before I'm ready for that. I'm just getting the rust off and having some fun.

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 14 April 2010 - 09:33 PM.

[Lufega]

Funk, take 20 mg manganese in one single dose. You'll be the king of the social scene. Worked for me like a charm

[Rational Madman]

Funk, take 20 mg manganese in one single dose. You'll be the king of the social scene. Worked for me like a charm

Although individual needs for manganese may vary, that dose seems a bit excessive. Especially since increased manganese levels have been causally linked to cognitive dysfunction.

[Lufega]

Funk, take 20 mg manganese in one single dose. You'll be the king of the social scene. Worked for me like a charm

Although individual needs for manganese may vary, that dose seems a bit excessive. Especially since increased manganese levels have been causally linked to cognitive dysfunction.

Is this from oral use or from inhaling manganese dust? There is a big difference.

[meursault]

Funk, take 20 mg manganese in one single dose. You'll be the king of the social scene. Worked for me like a charm

Although individual needs for manganese may vary, that dose seems a bit excessive. Especially since increased manganese levels have been causally linked to cognitive dysfunction.

Is this from oral use or from inhaling manganese dust? There is a big difference.

http://www.washingto...e/k060903a.html

I thought that high manganese is one/the reason for the Parkinson's/Cacao connection...

Edited by czukles, 15 April 2010 - 10:27 PM.

[chrono]

http://www.washingto...e/k060903a.html
I thought that high manganese is one/the reason for the Parkinson's/Cacao connection...

This abstract (12796527) only mentions manganese as having a joint effect with iron in this regard, but I'll have to wait for the full text to see if they considered it by itself.

For those curious about manganese and sociability, see lufega's SAS thread on the subject. Lots of discussion about the toxicity issues. I'd say not to take more than 10mg daily in a supplement to be on the safe side, but occasionally taking 20mg at once does have a noticeable effect on mood.

Funk, sorry to clutter up your thread with discussion of something you're not even taking Hopefully it can be continued elsewhere...

[FunkOdyssey]

Continuing to ramp up LDN, going very well, began memantine at 5mg and will increase every 3-4 days until reaching 20mg.

Added:
Jarrow NAC Sustain - for additional liver protection, planning to add more antibiotics soon
Tetracycline - this is the only drug that brought my low platelets into the normal range thus far, dropped back low when I stopped
Doctor's Best Ubiquinol - decided to get serious about coq10 again for immune system
Memantine - in addition to preventing tolerance to focalin, it may do the same for the enhanced sense of well-being provided by LDN's endorphins
Nattokinase - may help antibiotics, my lab reports always complain about platelet aggregation, think I have some hypercoagulation going on

Changed:
LDN - up to 4mg
Exercise - 3x weekly full-body workouts with low reps and heavy weight were getting too hard on joints, made some changes

Removed:
Green Tea Extract - started drinking tea again
Doxycycline - replaced with tetracycline
Jarrow CoQ10 - replaced with ubiquinol

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 26 April 2010 - 04:11 PM.

[Sillewater]

Have you looked at the Max Pyramid Protocol. It saves the joints and works the muscles.

[Ephilation]

Funk:

I noticed that in a lot of your older posts, you talked about some of the different anti-depression/anti-anxiety/anti-MAO drugs like deprenyl, agomelatine, and wellbutrin. I see that you've come off of those altogether. Did you just find that you didn't need them anymore or what? If you were staying on one or a few, which one(s) would that be and why? You seemed to really like agomelatine when you were on it.

[FunkOdyssey]

Funk:

I noticed that in a lot of your older posts, you talked about some of the different anti-depression/anti-anxiety/anti-MAO drugs like deprenyl, agomelatine, and wellbutrin. I see that you've come off of those altogether. Did you just find that you didn't need them anymore or what? If you were staying on one or a few, which one(s) would that be and why? You seemed to really like agomelatine when you were on it.

Agomelatine was expensive and I could not definitively pin any great benefit on it with the exception of improved sleep quality (which wasn't worth $60/month alone). The effects on mood were so subtle I was not really sure if it was placebo or what.

Wellbutrin worked great for me temporarily and then after about 2 months it made my head feel like it was going to explode. I felt like I had a great deal of pressure in my head and behind my eyes. If you've seen Total Recall, you may remember the scene where Arnold gets tossed out on the surface of Mars and his eyes start bulging out of his head due to the low pressure of the atmosphere. That's what it felt like, my eyes were bugging out. I blame this strange reaction on Lyme.

Deprenyl basically causes adrenal fatigue (not actually tired adrenal glands but that constellation of symptoms as they're commonly known), irritability, and other problems. Its no panacea.

[mike250]

Funk are you still using trialpha?

[TigerMask]

Note: The first two questions are regarding supplements, while the last one (towards the middle of the post) concerns LDN and is one I just thought to ask while I was writing this post. That one wound up being more important than both of the previous questions, and though I realize it is a bit of a stretch that you will know the answer, I thought I'd ask anyway considering your knowledge of the subject.

1) Funk, regarding zinc citrate, how do you feel it compares to zinc picolinate? Does one of them have a more positive effect on your mood or sleep quality?

2) Also, regarding l-theanine, awhile back you wrote that it positively effected your mornings when taken the night before -- what dosage did you take and do you still stand by this statement?

Thanks for taking a look at these questions; I appreciate the time and effort you put into participating in this forum. There's actually another that I just thought of: I will be trying LDN soon (through a doctor and compounding pharmacy), and I hope it helps me as much as it seems to have helped you (your positive posts regarding it were one of the many things that pushed me to finally try it).

3) The one problem I have is this: I will be discontinuing subutex (similar, in fact nearly identical, to suboxone, both contain the same partial opioid agonist for discontinuing other opiates), and I need to know how long I have to wait before taking the LDN (subutex has a very long half-life). I was thinking about signing up for an LDN forum and posting my question there, or simply confessing to my doctor (fact is, I just want to keep that arrangement as simple as possible), but I just thought, right now, perhaps Funk will know the answer or can point me in the right direction.

Thanks.. The first two questions were my original intention but hopefully you can answer the LDN one as well (or at least direct me to a more appropriate forum -- if you know of one). Thanks!

[chrono]

3) The one problem I have is this: I will be discontinuing subutex (similar, in fact nearly identical, to suboxone, both contain the same partial opioid agonist for discontinuing other opiates), and I need to know how long I have to wait before taking the LDN (subutex has a very long half-life). I was thinking about signing up for an LDN forum and posting my question there, or simply confessing to my doctor (fact is, I just want to keep that arrangement as simple as possible), but I just thought, right now, perhaps Funk will know the answer or can point me in the right direction.

Are you tapering off buprenorphine? Half life is 20-70 hours (mean 37). Waiting a week or so should be enough? OTOH, I don't know if naltrexone is capable of precipitating withdrawal from bupe. They can be combined in the treatment of opioid dependence: see here and here.