raven's blog

Immunomodulatory principles of Pelargonium sidoides

I guess it was my turn to catch the current bug going around (I hear you chuckling, Mac) Just a result of the stress of returning to work and being surrounded by all those sick kids. The sore throat was pretty bad. I know from experience that it is a really bad bug when I get this for more than a day. Baking soda and peroxide gargle helps.

Doing the Sauna twice a day and went back on the Iodoral. I had gone off for a few weeks because of an itchy rash--thinking it might be some kind of reaction to the iodine. So far so good. But I am always afraid given my history that any respiratory infection will hit my lungs and dig in.

Skin Issues Continue On

Last time I wrote about my skin problems was in August. Since then, I have the same itchy bumps that appeared on the back of my head and now include the upper back. I keep thinking they are hives but there are in addition to raised lumpy areas some small round raised areas like pimples. No blistering (I was thinking it might be shingles but no pain--just itching) Gets worse when I wake up in the morning or later in the afternoon.

I have tried Benedryl, topical cortisone, tea tree oil, red thyme oil, peroxide, baking soda and sauna (ah, not all at the same time). Nothing seems to help.Washed all the bedding and pillows in super hot water just in case it was some kind of mite.

Results from Using Varied Forms of B12

Yesterday I took Hydroxycobalamin 5mgs in the morning, and Methylcobalamin 5mgs and also Dibencozide Coenzymated B-12 8mgs in the afternoon. By late afternoon, I was feeling super-charged. Not like caffeine (I only had decaf tea)but smoother.

We went out for sushi and to an art opening. I was so alert, energized and awake. Did not have any trouble falling asleep when we got home. But I remember this is the way I used to feel in my 30's and 40's when I would go out to openings and dance clubs in LA and feel good about being active.

Methylation Pathway Testing Results

Today I received a fat packet of paperwork from the Yasko group. It is going to take me a while to sort out the info and relate it to the book. Here's the short of it--here are all the mutations:

+/- is one mutation and +/+ is a double mutation

COMT V158M +/-

COMT H62H +/-

VDR- Fok +/+ (this is the vitamin Di receptor)

MAO A R297R +/-

MTHFR 3  +/-

MTHFR A1298C  +/-

MTR +/+

MTRR K350A +/-

MTRR 11  +/-

BHMT (1,2,4,8) +/-

CBS A360A   +/-

SUOX   S370S +/+

SHMY  C1420T +/-

Sulfur is my new friend

Last time I blogged I was having some skin irritation on the back of my scalp. I thought I might have picked up some kind of mite or fungus so off I went to the pharmacy. (After consulting Dr. Google of course!) I bought a topical that has sulfur in it. It is a homeopathic treatment for Rosasea called Prosacea. After a couple of applications to the scalp, I noticed that all the red areas on my face had faded away. Duh! Seems it really works-even though I only applied it to the back of my head.

Weird skin symptoms

Last two pulses brought some renewed stiffness and pain in the muscles on the right side of my scalp. Then I had a skin irritation in the same area that began itching somewhat. I saw my dermatologist for my annual check up and she gave some topical cortisone cream for it. She couldn't figure out what caused it. I haven't tried the cream yet as I thought I would ask if anyone has had this problem.I am thinking it has to be related to Cpni and dieoff. Good news is that spots on my face I thought might be pre-cancerous were not. So I did not have to go through the ordeal of having surgery on my face like I did in '06.

After Effects of Post-Pyruvate Pulse

After taking Pyruvate for a month (6 gms a day), the subsequent Flagyli pulse was a different experience for me. I have become accustomed to pulsing with a bit of feeling groady on the third day and not much fall out afterwards. This pulse had the same pattern during the pulse but afterwards it was very different. For one, I haven’t had much of a problem with secondary porphyria this past year but post pulse this time, it was clear I was getting a significant hit of it. I was slammed with fatigue, headaches and muscle heaviness as well as some heat sensitivity. Too bad I decided to pulse during the latest heat wave and at the end of an intense workweek. Anyway, glucose took away the headache, I bumped up the B12 and lots of water.

Sunshine Vitamin "May" be Nature's Disease Fighter

Oh, I'm so sick of the weasel word "may". If this writer had done his homework, he would have a different slant on this article. But at least it was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. All the folks at work who hear me preaching about D came up to me and mentioned it. http://tinyurl.com/56s8do Raven CAPi since 8-05 for Cpni and Mycoplasma P. for MSi and/or CFSi Also EBVi and HHV6

Is Iodoral Anti-Viral?

This is what I have been reading in Dr. Brownstein's book on Iodine. I had a chance to find out this week. I have been working way too many hours with lots of stressful deadlines and extra tasks to do. It finally caught up with me at the end of the week. My HV1 flared up. Slight fever, a little fatigue and a cold sore just inside my nose. Took some extra Lysine but I think it was the extra dose of Iodoral I took that hit it and kicked it out of action. I had been taking 50 mgs a day and feeling great on it. So I was a little reluctant to up the dose but I added another 25 mgs today to see what would happen. Within a few hours the burning and tingling inside my nose went away and I felt more clear and energetic. Body temp normalized.

Medicinal Mushrooms

For the past year I have been reading about medicinal plants. I recently came across some interesting information about medicinal mushrooms. There was an interview on one of the web newsletters I get with the owner of a medicinal mushroom company. I was impressed by the things he had to say in the interview. You can read part 1 here: http://www.naturalnews.com/022865.html So I began doing some reading about the subject. I recall a friend who had a Hepatitis C infection and found relief using medicinal mushrooms to stimulate his immunei system. So I became interested! Here's some info from the mushroom man's web site. http://www.mushroomharvest.com/extra_pages/med_mushrooms.htm

Checking In

I haven't written a blog in a long time. Have been way too busy with work. This week I am off and very busy moving stuff out of the house as we are preparing for a major remodeling job on this old house. I am amazed at the amount of work I am able to do this week. I moved boxes and bags of stuff out to the garage, furniture and books. Slept hard and got up and did it again. Today is day three of the big move and I do feel a little tired. I also began a Flagyli pulse on Sunday so this is day three. Just a little head ringing so far.

A New Henchman Revealed

Had some time last week to check in and have a talk with my doctor. He had ordered some blood tests and we discussed the results. My immunei function is now at the low end of normal. He would like to see it come up in the numbers. But I guess this is an improvement from what it was before. My vitamin Di levels are normal now---quite a change from the VERY low levels I had when I began treatment. But the shocker for me was an elevated reading for HHV6 which I had never been tested for.I guess this makes sense looking back at my low white cell counts. From the reading I have done, Valtrex appears to be somewhat effective but not as effective as a combination of an antiviral and interferon. So of course, I went looking online and found information about

It's the Journey

When I last checked in the early November, I had begun taking an iodine supplement called Iodoral. It clearly had a very positive effect on my energy levels. I was able to keep up a pace that I haven't sustained for years. I gave a workshop on a complex software application and felt entirely sharp and on target. It was a joy to experience. Then right after Thanksgiving, I did a Flagyli pulse and have been aching a bit ever since. I also think I had a few encounters with viruses--not getting sick but feeling like I was fighting them off. 'Tis the season for lots of bugs going around.So this weekend I did a couple of days of sauna and when the weather cleared, sat outside and soaked up the sun. Did make me feel better.

Flushed by Mistake

My poor husband found out about the vitamin C flush the hard way. He's been on a self improvement program of diet and exercise and has been taking some of the supplementsi like NACi (he had a Cpni ELISA test when I first began the treatment that showed old infection. He's not sick but he's taking NAC as a precaution) Well, I keep my supplementsi in a pullout drawer in the kitchen and he was digging around early one morning for the vitamin C. I had run out of tablets and was taking the powder. He said he dropped a heaping teaspoon in water and drank it down. Later that morning, he had to make multiple runs to the bathroom. He said he later looked at the label (with his glasses on) and was shocked to see how potent the powder was.

A Few New Things

It's been a while since I last posted a blog. Back to work in Sept and this year has been a real workathon so far. Grant money came in and was used to upgrade my computer lab. Big can of worms as as any tech person knows. But things are working so far with a few glitches here and there. The big move was accomplished this week and I put in many hours of moving equipment, cleaning desks and setting up the new machines. Usually I am wiped out on Friday afternoon but not so this time. I started taking an iodine supplement called Iodoral on Friday morning with my T3. I felt energized all day long--very strange for a Friday. Second dose was this morning. So far, the only side effect has been an increase in nasal mucus. And a few sneezes.