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Artista
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Posted: Wed Jun 3rd, 2009 15:58 |
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I just started the MP last month. I originally did not intend to post here unless I had questions. I changed my mind, however, when I reflected on the enormous number of posts that I read while researching the MP. I realized that my story & information may be of value to others who are considering the MP.
While I am not particularly "ill", I have experienced symptoms of hormone imbalance since my early 30's & entered premature menopause a couple of years ago (in my mid-40's). I still experience symptoms of hormone imbalance in spite of several attempts at bio-identical hormone replacement. Estrogen replacement has absolutely no affect on my body while progesterone & testosterone replacement actually make me feel worse. I have speculated for years that my estrogen receptors are blocked but could not find any answers as to why this might be so or how to remedy the problem.
In addition to hormone imbalance & premature menopause, my body overreacts badly to carbs. I have known for years that insulin & female hormones somehow influenced each other based on my observation that avoiding carbs helped to reduce my menopausal symptoms. While I could live with the idea of avoiding pasta & potatoes for the rest of my life, I became increasingly frustrated as my body's carb reaction continued escalate. It had gotten to the point that even a small serving of cooked carrots would throw me into a 3 day tail spin of hot flashes, sleepness nights & 2-3 pounds of fluid retention.
After years of internet research about how & why my hormone receptors may be blocked, I finally stumbled upon the MP. Dr. Marshall's research into how TH1 disease can influence hormones is the ONLY explanation I have found for what is going on in my body.
I began the MP on May 12, 2009. I am currently in Phase I - 40mg Benicar 4 x day & 50mg Mino. During these 3 short weeks, I have experienced more sypmtom relief than I have been able to manage in the last 19 years! Here is my report so far:- The number, duration & intensity of hot flashes has improved by about 80%
- Excess facial hair has been reduced by about 60%
- Sleep, which was primarily disturbed by night sweats, has improved dramatically
- My body now reacts normally when I consume a moderate amount of carbs
- My mood is more stable & I generally feel happy & cheerful
- Negative thought loops no longer play in my head
- Chronic neck stiffness improves off & on (ok, so this probably isn't related to hormone imbalance but could be another sign of TH1 disease)
Some notes about how I am approaching the MP so far: While I have given up high vit D content food such as fish & supplemented milk, I still have an occassional egg or bacon & regularly indulge in non-supplemented milk. Also, I am one of those people that Dr. Marshall talks about who is reluctant to give up sun exposure. I understand that continued sun exposure may delay my progress on the MP but I am ok with that. I am willing to drastically reduce my exposure if my body starts reacting badly to the sun. In the mean time, I am doing well with 2% NoIR's outdoors, "normal" sun exposure & regular indoor lighting.
The one lesson that I've learned so far on the MP is about dehydration. When they say "drink, drink, drink", they know what they are talking about. I realized that the increased brain fog, light headedness, muscle fatigue & clumbsiness that I initially attributed to IP was in fact due to dehydration. I have never been much of a water drinker but have changed my ways on the MP in order to avoid dehydration.
Best wishes to everyone associated with the MP -
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Cynthia Schnitz
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Posted: Wed Jun 3rd, 2009 17:53 |
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Artista, the concept of normal light exposure is something we are a bit incapable of interpreting. So, do you wear long sleeved/legged clothing, and a large brimmed hat, don't linger in the sun, and just don't wear gloves. Or, do you wear a tank top and sandals because of the heat, and spend time like this outdoors gardening or bicycling. Well, you can see what I mean by how far different normal sun can be.
And one also has to make a clear distinction about sun exposure being exposure to the eyes, or exposure to the skin. They are very different in the kind of effects they produce, eyes producing neural effects, and the skin giving systemic effects.
Cynthia
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Ph1 10/08 Ph2 12/08 Ph3 6/09 125/25D 47/43 preMP 25D14 12/09 Calcium anomaly(gone?),Spondylitis,early Diverticulosis,early AMD,TypeII Diabetes(?) MyStory
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Artista
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Posted: Wed Jun 3rd, 2009 20:36 |
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Cynthia,
My concept of "normal" sun exposure is wearing long pants & short sleeve blouses in the spring during regular things such as going into & out of buildings. I have also spent a few hours each week gardening in the shade. The temperature here hasn't risen much above 80 degrees yet so I haven't been tempted to wear tanks & shorts so far this year.
I am an avid outdoors person & normally spend many hours each week in the summer engaging in activities such as swimming while wearing a bathing suit as well as hiking & gardening in tanks & shorts. I interpret this amount of sun exposure as an above average amount for most middle age folks. The amount of sun that I now receive reflects a huge reduction of light for me & I believe is more representative of the amount of sun that most middle age folks get on a weekly basis.
I used to wear sun glasses only when I was in the direct sun & while driving during the day. I now wear my sunglasses every time I go outside when the sun is up. I believe that the improvements in my mood & mental function are the result of receiving less sun in my eyes.
It is entirely possible that I have been able to tolerate this much sun since starting the MP because my 25d level is pretty high. I am prepared for the fact that my body may begin reacting badly to the sun as my 25d level drops. I hope to avoid photo sensitivity altogether since I am not nearly as ill as many people on the MP. If photo sensitivity does set in, I hope that it will wait until autumn when I naturally cover up more. I'm in a wait & see mode right now.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Artista
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Posted: Wed Jun 3rd, 2009 20:50 |
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BTW, Cynthia, I thought your information in another post about drinking water every time you feel an organ IP was excellent. In addition to drinking more water myself, I have begun drinking an additional glass of water any time I feel as if an IP may be setting in. So far this strategy has worked for me. I have yet to feel a need to increase my Benicar above 40mg 4 x a day but am open to doing so if the water trick does not help in the future.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Cynthia Schnitz
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Posted: Wed Jun 3rd, 2009 23:09 |
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| I think the term "Photo Sensitivity" should really apply to the eyes. I think if you continue to get as much sun on your skin as you expect, you may progress very slowly because the sun will probably suppress the normal productive IP. But if that is fast enough for you, who am I to say that is a problem. I also have a very mild bacterial load, as I am going thru the MP fairly rapidly, and I suspect my bacterial load was dealt a great setback by my 6 years of a very low carbohydrate diet that no doubt killed off many bacteria dependent on sugar in the blood stream. But in my case, I want to get thru fairly quickly, as there are many things waiting on my progress that I want to get started. For me, just having sun on my bare hands for about 3 hours shut down my IP completely for several days. So there really is a down side to more than just a casual but short exposure to the sun. A compromise might be in order for those days when you spend a lot of time outside. You will also see for yourself just how much the sun effects your progress if you will pay close attention to the effects as you get exposure. Good luck working this all out, Cynthia
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Ph1 10/08 Ph2 12/08 Ph3 6/09 125/25D 47/43 preMP 25D14 12/09 Calcium anomaly(gone?),Spondylitis,early Diverticulosis,early AMD,TypeII Diabetes(?) MyStory
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marion villa
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Posted: Thu Jun 4th, 2009 18:26 |
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Artista:
I want to tell you. the guidelines about MP are not given to us to make us miserable but to deal with the ilness symptoms and the healing process symptoms in the best way for us. Maybe you are one of the fortunate ones who doesnt react too strongly to the sunlight, but maybe not.
I think it is soon yet to know. Be prepared to notice the daylight effect in you and to accept it, avoid sunlight for some days in a complete way and compare how do you feel , and how this affect you.
The MP has been proven with amazing results for us , but there is no such "I do it in my own way" because this can be dangerous and spoil the sucess in the healing.
regards
marion
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RA,SLE,skin problems fatigue and pain. noirs,well covered if going out, PHASE 3MP| My Story| ABC of MP| Bacteriality|
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Artista
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 03:47 |
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Hi Marion,
I'm afraid that you may be misinterpreting my approach to the MP. This is not about "I do it in my own way". I have based my decision to continue with sun exposure on the following quote from the post titled "What are the latest recommendations regarding sun exposure?"
"There have been members on the MP who've had considerable sun exposure and still made progress. Some have tolerated significant sun exposure symptoms yet persisted.
Now that the MP is becoming better known, we need to encourage anyone who thinks it might help them, to try it regardless of their intentions relative to sun exposure.
Some will do just fine because their disease is not well advanced. Others will tolerate increased symptoms periodically in order to maintain a more normal lifestyle."
One of the reasons that I decided to post about my progress, including reporting on how my body is responding to a significant amount of sun exposure, is that I was able to find little information on how less seriously ill people with a normal life style are doing on the MP. This is information that is sorely lacking but can only be remedied if folks like me begin reporting on their MP experience. It is entirely possible that those of us who attempt a normal life style will be stymied by our sun exposure. On the other hand, if we are successful in spite of our sun exposure, our experiences may help encourage other "less symptomatic" folks that the MP could help them, too.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Cynthia Schnitz
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 16:36 |
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| Looking forward to your observations. Cynthia
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Ph1 10/08 Ph2 12/08 Ph3 6/09 125/25D 47/43 preMP 25D14 12/09 Calcium anomaly(gone?),Spondylitis,early Diverticulosis,early AMD,TypeII Diabetes(?) MyStory
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Artista
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 18:02 |
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Thanks Cynthia. I keep a personal, daily log of my MP experience but it's pretty boring right now. My intent is to post only monthly about my progress unless I experience a change that could be interesting or helpful for someone else to know about right away.
On a different subject, are you still eating low carb? If so, do you foresee a day when you'll add carbs back into your diet? If you have ventured into carbs since starting the MP, have you noticed any difference in how your body reacts to them?
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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marion villa
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 18:16 |
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Artista.
thanks for replying. As far as I can understand, light sensitivity is not related always with if you are slightly ill or severely ill, but with how each person reacts individually.
There are folks, who havent been very ill which are very light sensitive and react in a terrible way, others,like myself, that have been severely ill for more than15 years which arent as sensitive.
The point that I see is that the guidelines and the recommendations are based in light avoidance. If somebody wish to try to do the MP,but can´t completely stay away from the light, can have a chance to do it, try it, knowing about the sun flare, and taking the risk of having a strong one (which feels like hell, by the way), but would be cured at last.
but it is up to each one of us and some folks unfortunately, cant expose to sunlight at all, you wont know if you are like them until you experience the MP.
regards
marion
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RA,SLE,skin problems fatigue and pain. noirs,well covered if going out, PHASE 3MP| My Story| ABC of MP| Bacteriality|
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Cynthia Schnitz
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Posted: Fri Jun 5th, 2009 20:56 |
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Artista, since I have gone on the MP, I have about doubled my carb intake, just because of the logistics of avoiding so many more food types. I was limiting myself to about 10 gms of carbs separated by about 2 hour periods, for most of the six years. Originally it was 20 gms of carbs, started because of symptoms of diabetes, but I discovered that my hypoglycemia, previously a problem before the diet, and still at 20 gms of carbs, went away at 10 gms. So now I am back to about 20 gms in a 2 hour period, and the hypoglycemia has not come back. At 20 gms every 2 hours, you can eat quite a few carbs in a day, but it keeps the blood sugar and the insulin down.
I am never going to go back to a moderate to high carb regimen ever again, I just think it is not healthy. Also, I am planning to live to at least 140, yes, I really am, and maybe beyond, based on the mouse studies that had mice living to 140 equivalent when given a low calorie diet. Well, gee whiz, rodents are carb eaters, and a low calorie diet for mice is a low carb diet, but the researchers sort of over looked that. Well, there can be no life extension so long as there are auto-immune diseases that take us out early, and I sure had my share, but no more. Cynthia
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Ph1 10/08 Ph2 12/08 Ph3 6/09 125/25D 47/43 preMP 25D14 12/09 Calcium anomaly(gone?),Spondylitis,early Diverticulosis,early AMD,TypeII Diabetes(?) MyStory
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Marysue
Moderator
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Posted: Sun Jun 7th, 2009 07:06 |
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Artista,
Welcome to the MP. I started on Benicar 4/26/09--so I, too am in the beginning of the protocol. I enjoyed reading your initial post at three weeks--my experience was similar with numerous improvements right from the start.
You mentioned chronic neck stiffness in that post. I had chronic neck stiffness for years but it has mostly gone away on the Benicar. Occasionally, I'll get a stiff neck if I get a little too much light exposure to my eyes (like from the computer). I also saw it was listed as a symptom of hypervitamin-D. So it may be related to the neurololgical influence from light exposure?
Anyway, good luck on the MP. I look forward to hearing more about your progress.
Marysue
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Thanks Dr. Marshall and staff for all the support!
CFS/FM '95; infert/endomet '02; hypotension; cardiac IP; start light restrict. Oct08; 125D=70 25D=30 (Feb09); Benicar26Apr09; NoIRs, low light, no sun; 25D=10 (Jun09); 25D=5 (Nov09)
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Artista
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Posted: Sun Jun 7th, 2009 16:39 |
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Interesting stuff, Cynthia. Thanks for sharing. I also believe that a constant, high carb diet is not healthy. I am certain that I will never revert to a high carb diet but I'm pleased that the MP has allowd me to indulge in an ocassional potato or a couple bites of dessert without suffering for days afterward.
Marysue, I must have missed the info about neck stiffness being related to hypervitamin-D. That could explain a lot. My mother & grandmother both suffer(ed) from chronic neck pain which the physicians always attributed to arthritis. I've often wondered if our neck problems were coincidence or genetic. Now I'm leaning toward the opinion that we all suffer(ed) from similar "bugs" that affect our necks.
I haven't noticed a correlation between continual light exposure, ocssional consumption of vit d foods (eggs, bacon, etc) & my neck stiffness but as Marion said, it may still be too early to tell.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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ammc
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Posted: Thu Jun 11th, 2009 17:54 |
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Arista
I am very glad you posted this as well I too am not very ill I work out 5 days a week and work a full time and part time job, travel.. My only issues are foot pain, dry eye and dry mouth. So according to my Dr I likely won't have the same reaction as someone who has been sick for 10+ years has been with multiple issues. I am prepared though to deal with that fact that something could be infected that I don't know about yet time will tell. I have made a friend who is on her 3rd year of MP 2 years on phase 3 and DOES NOT post here at all ever as it scared her into not wanting to do it as people who are here are unfortunatly for the most part very sick.
Well she decided to ignore the boards and just do it alone with her MP Dr. She is doing great and moving on to stage 5 now and didn't have any sun sensitive issues and wore her glasses outside and likely always will but wore pants and t-shrits as well and is better as she was on disability leave and now works full time. He D25 was 11 last time she tested. Her CRP was 45 and now 1
So I agree it's very important to head the warnings but realize not everyone is the same and so I like to hear both sides.
Appreciate the post
Last edited on Thu Jun 11th, 2009 17:55 by ammc
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Sicca Symptoms since Jan 2007/ 37 years old /dry eyes/mouth/foot pain in arch|work full-time/exercise daily am highly functional/ 25-D positive Ricketssia/Olemetec Q6 10/20/09 mino q48 11/1/09
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Artista
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Posted: Fri Jun 12th, 2009 16:05 |
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My husband has suffered from uveitis for years. While the pain from the flare-ups is his most noticeable symptom, it is chronic inflammation in the back of his eyes that most concerns his ophthalmologist. My husband has tried everything from diet modification to methotrexate in an attempt to reduce/control the inflammation. Avoiding carbs had the best affect on reducing his outward flare-ups, however nothing has had any impact on the deep inflammation in his eyes. We are thrilled that my husband's physician just agreed to help him with the MP, too.
Ironically, it was my research into my husband's uveitis that introduced me to the MP in the first place. I have been doing internet research on uveitis for years but never found much worthwhile information. Finally, I googled Reduce Eye Inflammation & found Amy's Bacteriality website with the best article on uveitis that I've found so far. I felt as if I had struck gold with a treatment plan that offered the potential to cure my husband's uveitis. And in the process of researching the MP, I discovered that the protocol had the potential to remedy the hormonal imbalances that have affected me for years. So we're going to be an MP couple for quite awhile.
My husband is a civil engineering inspector & will be unable to avoid light exposure during the MP. Fortunately, he is one of the rare uveitis sufferers who is not bothered by the sun. If he develops sun-sensitivity on the MP, he will either have to ramp up the antibiotics very slowly & tough-out any sun induced IP or consider abandoning the therapy altogether. He is a computer-phobe so I'll include some info about his MP experience in my thread.
Hubby starts his Benicar Sunday. I'll keep everyone posted on our progress.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Artista
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Posted: Sat Jun 13th, 2009 15:06 |
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Now I know what MP'ers mean by having a dose "kick in". So far, my antibiotics have caused such minimal IP's that I wasn't sure that I really had very many bugs to kill. I thought I was playing it safe by staying at each Mino level for 3 doses to be sure that an intolerable reaction wouldn't catch me off-gaurd. Everything was fine until my 3rd dose of 75mg. That one kicked my rear yesterday!!! The IP felt like the first few days of the flu. I would have considered the IP to have been intolerable if it had lasted more than one day or if it occurred more than once every few months.
I'm guessing that the increased IP from the 3rd, 75mg dose of Mino was due to falling levels of 25D. My plan of attack is to drop back to 50mg for a few more doses & then move back up to 75mg if I still feel well. Then I'll stay at 75mg & finally 100mg for a minimum of 6 doses each to kill as many bugs as possible before proceeding. And, I now understand the importance of getting my 25D level way down before starting Phase II.
I'm going to suggest to my husband that he stick with at least 6 doses at each level of Mino before moving up, regardless of how well he feels. It is my hope that he'll be able to kill more bugs at the lower Mino doses, & while his 25D level is falling, & possibly avoid a very uncomfortable IP reaction.
This stuff really does work with way they say it does. Lesson learned -
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Artista
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Posted: Fri Jun 19th, 2009 15:31 |
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Hi All,
I have a quick question. Yesterday, I smashed the corner of my finger pretty badly with a hammer. I'll save everyone the gory details but suffice it to say that the injury involved a fair amount of blood & now a partially black fingernail.
In the past, I would have expected quite a bit of of swelling & pain from an injury of this sort. My experience with this injury has been quite the opposite - virtually no swelling & just enough pain to keep me from overusing my smashed finger finger.
It makes sense to me that if Benicar helps contol IP, that it would also have a positive influence over a non-IP injury like this. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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Cynthia Schnitz
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Posted: Fri Jun 19th, 2009 23:36 |
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| I had a very heavy table fall over onto one of my insteps, had the foot swell up from trying to walk on it until I couldn't walk at all, and it was aching terribly. Shortly there after I loaded up on Benicar, took one Tylenol, and wrapped the foot in a ace bandage. An hour later the pain ceased and the swelling started to go down. I slept that night with no pain, and by the end of the next day, I walked with hardly any limp. That table came down so hard, I should have had some broken bones. Cynthia
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Ph1 10/08 Ph2 12/08 Ph3 6/09 125/25D 47/43 preMP 25D14 12/09 Calcium anomaly(gone?),Spondylitis,early Diverticulosis,early AMD,TypeII Diabetes(?) MyStory
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Artista
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Posted: Sat Jun 20th, 2009 05:40 |
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Ah-ha!!! I wonder if Benicar could be a miracle drug for surgery patients & people with severe injuries. It obviously has the potential to reduce or eliminate pain & swelling. I wonder if it promotes faster healing, too. Guess I'll have the opportunity to assess that over the next few weeks.
Artista
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Premature Menopause, Hormone Imbalance, Carb Intolerance, 4/09 25D 30, Began Phase I 5/12/09, 2% NoIR Outdoors, Normal Sun Exposure, Normal Home Lighting
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DNStog
Moderator
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Posted: Sun Jun 21st, 2009 07:26 |
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I had three falls within a month that should have caused some real damage. Believe they were IP related. Anyway, one left some really black bruises which normally take weeks to go away. They disappeared in three days. --Donna
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MP started 12-27-04
Sarcoidosis Systemic/Uveitis/ Hypothyroidism/ Raynaud's Phen/Paraesthesia/rhinosinusitis/ asthma/depression
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