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janicew
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Wed Oct 1st, 2008 20:43 |
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I am observing my 4th year anniversary on the Marshall Protocol today so I decided to post my progress for those who don’t have access to Phase 2 and 3 threads.
I was incapacitated with chronic disease many years ago, FM, CFS, thyroid disease, and osteoarthritis being the most prevalent. Besides the usual “standard of care” treatments from doctors, I have also tried many supplements and other remedies over the years.
I took flax and fish oil supplements per the recommendation of the digestive disease doctor who was treating me. I took Calcium with D and Magnesium per the guidance of another well-meaning doctor. I tried the guaifenesin and doxycycline protocols for FM without any noticeable effect.
I watched the Internet for years for reports of something, anything, that would offer true hope for a real cure. I had come to accept the fact that there wasn’t one. I would read about other people who thought they had found some supplement combination, or drug, or treatment, or something and watched and waited, only to see that in time they didn’t work either.
Just prior to beginning the MP I was taking the following 16 prescription drugs plus additional supplements:
2400 mg Neurontin daily for pain
400 mg Ultram (Tramadol) daily for pain
75 mg Effexor twice daily for fibromyalgia (pain and sleep)
50 mg? Wellbutrin daily for depression
.1 mg/.125 mg (alternating) Levoxyl for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Beconase nasal spray, 2 sprays ea nostril twice daily for allergies
Allegra 180 mg daily for allergies
2 mg Estrace daily for HRT
Estring for pelvic pain associated with IC
10 mg Ambien nightly for sleep
Zomig 5 mg 3-4 times per month/as needed for migraines
100 mg. Topomax twice daily for migraines (preventative)
Reglan 5 mg (for migraine “cocktail”)
Nexium 40 mg daily for reflux
Ranitidine 150 mg prn for reflux
Vioxx 25 mg for arthritis
Calcium/Magnesium w/Vitamin D added (1000 mg, 600 mg, 400 iu respectively)
Flax & fish oil
Numerous extra vitamins, herbs, and supplements
Despite all my efforts things were going downhill at an increasing rate and there wasn’t anything else left to try. I lived with overriding pain, fatigue, very poor sleep, a headache that never went away, and frequent migraines.
I often suffered constipation or IBS. I experienced hormonal problems from a young age and had an ovary and uterus removed at the age of 37. (I didn’t begin HRT until about ten years later.)
I had cystic, painful breasts with calcifications and for a time had to have mammograms every 6 months to keep a watchful eye on things. (After 3 ½ years on the MP, my latest mammogram was NORMAL.)
I had osteoarthritis with deformed knuckles in my fingers and painful wrists, knees, ankles, right hip and great toes. I had carpel tunnel in both wrists and I had surgery on my right wrist because it became so unbearable. (Since the MP I no longer have carpal tunnel in my left wrist.)
My legs, lower back, and right hip were so painful that I could not walk very far or stand for very long at a time. Some days I needed a cane to assist me for walking. (Now I’m able to go for nice long walks after dark with my husband without slowing him down.)
For well over a decade I received a friendly annual warning letter from my doctor about my high cholesterol, which peaked at 311 while on the MP and is now in the normal range thanks to the MP.
Four years before the MP (in 2000) I had surgery for a large hiatel hernia and Barrett’s esophagus. The hernia and Barrett’s was discovered just after my bout with Guillian-Barré (1999), which paralyzed me and put me in ICU for 20 days, requiring 13 rounds of plasmapherisis (plasma exchange). While in the hospital for my hiatal hernia surgery, I fell and received a head injury that severed the olfactory nerve, leaving me with a permanent loss of smell and taste and injured both inner ears, leaving me with severe vertigo. I was treated for the vertigo and it is greatly improved.
I then developed severe pelvic and lower back pain and was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis. Despite being on maximum pain medication for fibromyalgia, arthritis, and headaches, the IC pain was unbearable. (I no longer have the pelvic pain. This was the first symptom to resolve early in the MP.)
My daughter and I learned about the Marshall Protocol in the summer of 2004. My daughter began first because she was the most disabled, but once we saw how long the process was going to take, and how fast I was deteriorating, I decided to begin the MP also. On October 1, 2004 I took my first Benicar.
In 2006 I slowly weaned off of Neurontin, then Wellbutrin and Effexor. In 2007 I began weaning off Ultram, switching to a half tab hydrocodone every 6 hrs for pain relief. I then weaned off the Topomax. I have lowered my thyroid med, estradiol, and Ambien doses several times over the years on the MP. I stopped the allergy meds early on, along with the Nexium, and other meds.
I am now taking:
Benicar and current 3 abx dose
½ tab 25 mcg Levoxyl daily
½ tab .5 mg estradiol daily
½ tab 5/325 mg hydrocodone every 6 hours for pain
¼ tab 10 mg. Ambien
1000 mg Calcium daily
My joints are not painful anymore. I have a few finger knuckles that are still deformed, but I don’t have any pain when they are touched anymore and they don’t ache terribly.
I sleep well most of the time. Occasionally I will be wakeful, but that is due to the explainable circumstances of IP (immunopathology response a.k.a. ‘herx’), or light exposure. However, I do still use the fraction of Ambien nightly.
I don’t have a headache all the time anymore and I haven’t had a migraine in a very long time. I do still get headaches now and then, either from IP response or light exposure, but they are manageable with Tylenol and I don’t need the big gun cocktail of medications which I used to take 2-3 times per month prior to the MP.
Since starting the MP I developed adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) in both shoulders. This was probably IP. I went to physical therapy for this and it improved over time. Adjusting the MP meds was helpful in controlling the discomfort.
When I began the 2nd abx I began having intolerable IP responses in my gall bladder and it was discovered that it was full of hundreds of gallstones. I took a pause from the abx and had my gall bladder removed (October ’05).
One of my greatest challenges on the MP has been the extremely slow decent of my 25D levels. Even with concentrated adherence to the dietary guidelines it took me 3 ½ years to get my 25D into the “therapeutic range.”
I have had to progress very slowly in ramping the abx. In fact, I have only this year been able to take the three of them on the regular 48 hour/10 day schedule without intolerable IP, and I am still on very low doses.
While weaning off of Ultram (which was very difficult for me) I got into an intolerable situation after a fall down the stairs. In Feb. ’07 I took a one month break from the MP abx but I found I felt better once I got back on the minocylcine and Benicar schedule. I’ve been more careful to keep things tolerable since and have progressed slowly.
I am currently in a phase of light sensitivity. (I was having strong neurological reactions including depression, sleeplessness, confusion, anger, and crying easily.) I have had to stay home from my weekly attendance at church on Sundays for the last 4 months, a big sacrifice, in order to “stop the madness.”
Overall, I am doing better than I was before starting the Marshall Protocol (and without all the drugs I was taking before!) My body is on the road to recovery and not on a steady decline with increasing dysfunction. Although it’s taken me longer to get to where I am now than I’d originally hoped, I am quite pleased with the results so far. Not everyone has as much trouble lowering their 25D as me and we all have different levels of disease involvement. Everyone’s MP experience will be different.
The MP is not something everyone can do. It is hard. You can’t just dabble with it, or think it will make you completely well in 3 months. Or even in one year. For some of us it takes years of being diligent to see improvements. Some improvements seem small or maybe not the ones we would have chosen to see first and fastest. Patience is required. And you MUST follow the MP guidelines and the directions of the moderators. They have the advantage of experience, knowledge, and perspective. You cannot do the MP “your way” or deviate from the guidelines and be successful.
One of the greatest gifts the MP has given me is hope. I have hope for a brighter future. Though it’s slow going, I am seeing improvements. What palliative drugs, supplements, and other treatments have never been able to do for me, the MP is doing!
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FM/ME, OA. Hashimotos, Barrett's, Guillian-Barre 9/04 1-25D=47| Ph1 10/04; Ph2 5/05; Ph3 6/27/06 |10/08:25D=11 |2% NoIRs/10% ZO cream| low lux home, cover up. Hydrocodone, Ambien (Zolpidem), Levoxyl, Estradiol, Calcium
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Jeannine R.N.
Board Staff
| Joined: | Sun Aug 28th, 2005 |
| Location: | Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 901 |
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Posted: Wed Oct 1st, 2008 21:22 |
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Janice,
Happy Birthday! You have done some great hardwork and I commend you for it!
I have a mother who is sick...many of the things that you have. She doesnt want to live with the restrictions of the MP and this saddens me as I have to watch my best friend die a slow death. However, I will be sharing your story with her as her doctor is just now starting to give her many of the medications you were on....Thanks for sharing your story!
Your words below sum it all up and I feel the same way....I told someone the other day that they couldnt give me a million dollars to get off the MP.
One of the greatest gifts the MP has given me is hope. I have hope for a brighter future. Though it’s slow going, I am seeing improvements. What palliative drugs, supplements, and other treatments have never been able to do for me, the MP is doing!
Jeannine
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CFS FM Lyme Morgellon's 125D49 Ph1Aug06 25D <4(april 08)Prozac Valium Aleve ModPh2May07 Ph2Apr08 NoIRs limited outings covered lo lux home
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Sunbeam
Member in Phase 2
| Joined: | Thu Dec 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Perth, Australia |
| Posts: | 216 |
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Posted: Thu Oct 2nd, 2008 05:27 |
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Hi Janice,
Thank you for your post it has given me such hope for the future.
I can cope withtaking MP for a long time so long as I am eventually able to do some form of activity and be sociable. I don't expect to have the life I lived before I became ill, given another chance I will take life at a slower, easier pace. I think the most important thing for me is that I haven't gone backwards since starting MP, that is a very positve sign.
It is wonderful to see that one does eventually have a quality of life.
Onward, onward, Janice May you continue on that long road to full health.
God Bless, Lynn
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CFS. gen neuro. muscular tightening whole body pulsates|ADL's limited| 125D 30 MP 4/07 Panadol Mersyndol Noirs. Low lux home homebound. ph 2 1/2/08 25D <6 8/08
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Afternoon Tea
Member in Phase 2
| Joined: | Wed Dec 12th, 2007 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
| Posts: | 42 |
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Posted: Sat Oct 4th, 2008 22:24 |
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Janice, thank you for taking the time to post. This is extremely helpful to those of us who are still in the early part of this process. Six months feels like an eternity when those around you keep asking how you are doing!
Thanks so much!
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Palindromic RA (Probably early classic RA) | 125D39 |Ph1 3/08 | 25D31 | Synthroid (.088mg due to thyroidectomy) | NoIRs | covered up, reduced lux home | Ph2 16/Jul/08 | 25D10(Jun08)
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janicew
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Mon Oct 20th, 2008 23:58 |
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I can add another interesting development since beginning my cruise on the good ship MP- a change for the better in my vision!
Jan/05 my script was: OD (R) -1.75 / OS (L) -1.50 (D.V.) 3 months into the MP
Sept/06 my script was: OD -1.50 / OS -1.50 (D.V.) After 2 years on MP
Sept/08 my script was: OD -1.25 / OS -1.25 (D.V.) After 4 years on MP
My near vision has changed from +2.25 to +2.00 over these last 4 years.
Maybe some day I'll be able to get rid of the trifocals!  
I never needed any vision correction until I reached my mid-thirties, which happens to be about the time my health took it's biggest nose dive. My distance vision went first, followed later by "typical" age related presbyopia. In reading about presbyopia I found this statement: "Presbyopia is a vision disorder that develops as we age. This condition occurs at approximately 40 years of age. Everyone will eventually develop presbyopia."
Perhaps, once the world sees what the MP can do, the presbyopia presupposition will be discarded, along with all the other "inevitable" losses that are expected and accepted as part of aging.Last edited on Tue Oct 21st, 2008 00:00 by janicew
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FM/ME, OA. Hashimotos, Barrett's, Guillian-Barre 9/04 1-25D=47| Ph1 10/04; Ph2 5/05; Ph3 6/27/06 |10/08:25D=11 |2% NoIRs/10% ZO cream| low lux home, cover up. Hydrocodone, Ambien (Zolpidem), Levoxyl, Estradiol, Calcium
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salam
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Tue Oct 21st, 2008 04:16 |
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Thank you for posting your story. It is touching and convincing. I translate it into Arabic to show it to some friends who have RA. This peace may help showing them what MP is about.
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Diagnosed with Early RA in March 2007. benicar Sep.07; ph1 Oct.07. Ph2 Dec.07. ph 3 Sep. 08.D-25 2.8 Nov 07;7.5 April,08.Less than 7.0 June 08; 9.5 Aug 08 (all in ng/ml).
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