Glutathione and ATP - my new labs

I've been taking acetylglutathione for the past three months to heal my mitochondria
and the results so far are interesting even though they are not amazing.


my first glutathione test showed a level of                         3.2 mmol/l

I started taking 1.200 mg of acetylglutathione per day

6 weeks later my levels were at                                          5.3

so I took less: just 400 mg of AGL per day

7 weeks later my levels were at                                           5.6

I think these numbers are pretty impressive and that gives me a lot of hope.
since I am aiming for 5.8-6-0 of glutathione I'll continue with 400 mg for the next 4-6 weeks and get another blood test done and then I'll probably go on a 100-200 mg maintenance dose


Glutathione is supposed to boost ATP production through protecting mitochondria from oxidative damage. The theory is, that once intracellular glutathione levels are restored through taking acetylglutathione (the masked version that actually manages to reach the cells) the mitochondria can heal and then start producing more ATP. This realtionship seems to be less direct than I was hoping for, since my ATP levels have only reluctantly followed the trend set by the glutathione levels:

first measurement of ATP showed                                         0.46 nmol/l

6 weeks later                                                                           0.50

7 weeks later                                                                           0.52


but it's a 8% increase between the first and second and a 4% increase between the second and third test. slow but still it's moving in the right direction.

Now,I do not feel any better but the changes are probably still too subtle to register clearly but I do hope, if i manage to continue this trend the day will come where I will feel it.

so, I am very cautiously optimistic today and I will reboot the whole Gesswein protocoll since I've slipped a bit on it recently. for the protocol see my earlier blogpost : 

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1919903102337610179#editor/target=post;postID=1950664008712364699



(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I didjust on a whim. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

Lissa Rankin: a wholistic approach to health

A very important talk about the foundations of physical health:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tu9nJmr4Xs

Lissa Ranking proposes a model of wholistic health where the physical health is an expression of all the other underlying aspects of a whole life.
I think her approach is brilliant. I just don't believe that it's this one way street where the physical is the symptom of the other areas. I am convinced that the door opens in both ways, the physical influences all the other aspects as much as these influence the physical side of things.

But anyhow, real good food for thought!

gut flora and weight

Just read this article about the relationship between gut flora and weight.
Absolutely worth reading!

Balancing gut flora can help you lose weight

http://www.nyrnaturalnews.com/weight-loss-2/2012/12/balancing-gut-flora-can-help-you-lose-weight/



(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I didjust on a whim. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

how I got rid of my muscle pain / fibromyalgia

For many years, I had slowly increasing muscle pain, especially in my legs and shoulders (from 2001 to 2010 to be exact). It was diagnosed as fibromyalgia in 2005.
In the autumn of 2007 it got so bad I couldn't walk down the stairs without gripping the handrail on both sides, which made carrying a full bin bag really difficult. Shopping in big supermarkets where I had to walk a lot was a painful hell and the only help the trolley. I felt like 105 year old lady needing a walking frame.

In January 2010 I changed three things:

- I upped the amount of magnesium I was taking to 800mg/day
- I went gluten free
- I went low carb

One of these actions must have done something special to my muscles - and I suspect
the magnesium, as it is the most likely candidate - because 90% of  the muscle pain
went away. Now, three years later I am still 90% muscle pain free.

I cannot exclude the other two factors as playing a role in it but I don't feel like experimenting
to find out. I am just glad it worked so well.

I know it sounds so easy and I am myself confused about it and sometimes I doubt the diagnosis and all that, but I do remember the pain and how disabled I felt on a daily basis. Maybe muscle pain can have lots of differnt causes like CFS. But trying the magnesium is quick and easy and cheap.

For everyone who is tempted to try the magnesium:

- start increasing slowly because it can cause loose bowels
- give it 3-4 weeks to see if it works
- go up to at least 800 mg a day because 200 or 400 are not going to cut it
- and make sure to balance it out with the other 3 big electrolytes:
       * calcium (apparently a 1:2  ratio  mag:calc  is good but I don't think so much calcium is
          necessary I only take 1000mg calcium daily with the 800 mag and that's ok for me.
       * potassium (green juice is ideal) taking potassium supps can be dangerous
       * sodium (use liberal amounts of high quality salt like celtic sea salt or pink himalaya salt)
- and of course ask a doctor or somebody else who is qualified.

Good luck

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I didjust on a whim. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

the Superbetter game by Jane McGonigal

I just watched Jane McGonigal's Ted talk about games and resilience in the face of illness and how you can build it up to get better.

Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbgsB_VzxxY

I am very inspired now and just signed in at:

The Superbetter game:  https://www.superbetter.com

it's really fun and interesting!

a system to cure CFS: be your own guinea pig

This is what I  mean about having a systematic approach: test, try, test, try, test and try again

1. select one of the aspects that could contribute to your CFS
                   example: disrupted sleep
                             
2. write down the relevant symptoms that you have
                   I wake up every 2-3 hours
          
3. get a blood test done
                   I got my Vitamin D (25-hydroxy vitamin D) tested
            
4. take action
                   I took Vitamin D (at first I took 15000 sublingually which was too much)
                                       
5. take notes
                  sleep cycle is changing i.e. longer stretches of sleep
                          
6. get a second blood test done
                     Vitamin D levels were too high     
       
7. compare how you feel and what the blood levels say and adjust your action plan
                      I started taking less
8. continue testing and trying until you are feeling better
                   I am now in my second cycle trying to get the Vitamin D sorted. In my first try I went
                   too quickly and my level were too high. I started taking less. And quickly my sleep
                   pattern deteriorated. So I started again and I am slowly beginning to sleep better.
I'll test again soon and see how I'll continue.

Unfortunately lots of aspects are linked and difficult to treat in isolation and some supplements are good for one thing and problematic for another (i.e. good for the mitochondria bad for the thyroid)
So it's important to choose the simpler ones like vitamin D, magnesium and calcium and the neurotransmitters first to start experimenting with oneself. And it is very important to read a lot about the differnt approches to the problem one is trying to sort out.

and I think that the gut disbiosis has to be treated first and foremost even though that's exactly what I am struggling with in particular at the moment.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I did. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

Biohacking -- you can do it, too

I just watched a ted talk about biohacking and I am really curios and amazed. Since becoming ill I have spent so much money on blood tests already and I think to get better I will have to test even more often. And it's not only about the money but also about understanding what's happening to me and what effects all the supplements have that I am taking.
Wouldn't it be amazing if I could do some of the lab work myself, like counting my ATP for example or following my Vitamin D levels more closely?

Now I am searching for a genspace lab somewhere near where I live. I'll be posting more about this soon.

Check this out:

Ellen Jorgensen: Biohacking -- you can do it, too

http://www.ted.com/talks/ellen_jorgensen_biohacking_you_can_do_it_too.html

my system to cure CFS: Vitamin D

I wrote about a more sytematic approach yesterday and today I would like to
concentrate on one aspect: Vitamin D because it's so important for sleep

Before taking Vitamin D I woke up every 2-3 hours during the night
then I started taking it and after 4 weeks I noticed that I slept 6 hours in one go
(I took 15000 to 18000 IU sublingually a day)
but then my levels were to high and I had to stop taking the Vitamin D for a while
and then, very quickly I was back to 3 hour sleep portions only
so now I am taking it again but much less (6000 - 9000 IU daily)
very slowly I am noticing that my sleeping pattern starts to shift again
I am up to 4-5 hour chunks now after 4 weeks of the new protocol

and I'll have a blood test done next week to compare my levels with me sleeping pattern

I think Vitamin D (and yes, I know it's a prohormone) is absolutely essential for healing because it promotes deep sleep and that's the phase where the body heals itself. Of course, many other factors have to be sorted out as well but sleep is very very important. 

If you haven't yet done so, check out Dr. Gominak's Vitamin D talks

part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7cbBB1c0IM
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwaFn7D3anY
part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFkKkLB6rpM
part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7U8BIsBBrI
part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoixHlGMAI


(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I did. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

The causes of CFS and a system to beat it

So, I read more than 100 books  (I am planning to write some reviews soon)

So, I tried lots of stuff and some helped a little and some didn't

But I am still really unwell

I am sure that I need a more systematic approach, I am still all over the place with my treatment tentatives even though I recently started a more thought -through approach

I think that CFS has many causes and that everybody who suffers from it has their own very individual combination of multiple causes. The trick is to find out which ones combined to wreak havoc and then test and treat and test again and treat and test again and treat and so on ...

So here's my system in an early version that's not complete at all but really just a starting point which will be updated and added to over time:



Causes                 Tests                                Treatments                     best book or website
..................................................................................................................

gut disbiosis          comprehensive stool         probiotics                          Underground Wellness
                              analysis                             prebiotics = heaps of veg        

..................................................................................................................

thyroid                  TSH                                   armour                               Dr Nathan
problems               free T3                              slow release T3                  Julia Ross
                              free T4                                                                         STTM website       
                              antibodies                                                              
..................................................................................................................
adrenal                 DHEA                               nature identical DHEA     Dr Nathan
problems              Cortisol
..................................................................................................................
sex hormone         DHEA                              nature identical                Dr Hertoghe
imbalances            Progesterone                    hormone replacement      Dr Nathan
                              Estrogene
                              Testosterone
.................................................................................................................
Vitamin D            D3                                D3                          Dr Gominak                                    
.................................................................................................................
blood sugar          fasting blood sugar          low carb  diet     blood sugar 101 website
 problems             post prandial blood sugar
                             Hb1Ac
.................................................................................................................
neuro transmitter  serotonine                        tryptophan or 5HTP       Julia Ross
imbalances            dopamine                         tyrosine

................................................................................................................
impaired               intracellular ATP            acetyl- glutathion               Dr Sinatra
mitochondrial                                               D ribose                             Dr Conley
function                                                        Co Q10                              Dr Wahls
                                                                      Creatine                             Dr Gesswein
                                                                      Carnitine                            Dr Myhill
                                                                      Magnesium
                                                                      NADH
                                                                      alpha lipoic acid
                                                                      9 portions of veg a day
                                                                      PQQ
                                                                      folinic acid
                                                                      B12
                                                                      antioxidants
.................................................................................................................
nutrient                                                        Vitamins A-K                      Julia Ross
deficiencies                                                  Omega 3                             Dr Ali
                                                                      iron, iodine etc...


and more specifically                                   Calcium
electrolyte imbalances                                  Magnesium
                                                                      Potassium
                                                                      Sodium
.................................................................................................................
liver problems      I know next to nothing about this

................................................................................................................

viral load           I  have to read a lot more about this                                   Dr Nathan
problems

.................................................................................................................

other causes I haven't yet heard about

................................................................................................................


The books mentioned in this post:

Neil Nathan, MD  (2010)  'On hope and healing for those who have fallen through the medical cracks'

Terry Wahls, MD  (2010)  'Minding my mitochondria'

Stephen Sinatra MD  (2005) 'Metabolic Cardiology'

Julia Ross (2002) 'The mood cure' and 'The diet cure'

Edward Conley, MD (1998)  'America exhausted'

Majid Ali, MD (1994)  'The canary and chronic fatigue'

Lorenz  Gesswein  (2012) 'Wieder neue Kraft' (only in German)

ThierryHertoghe ,MD (2002) 'The hormone solution'


The websites:

STTM : stop the thyroid madness   http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

blood sugar 101:   http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

Dr Myhill:   http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/

Underground Wellness:  http://undergroundwellness.com/

Dr Gominak:   http://drgominak.com/



(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I did. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

How to heal my mitochondria

I am always researching mitochondria because I am so worried about my ATP count. I am convinced that the mitochondrial dysfunction lies at the centre of my fatigue problem. so what exactly are the causes of this dysfunction and how can I get this problem sorted and get my energy back?

I am still folowing the Gesswein / Nathan protocol and I'll get new blood tests done in a week or two. Fot the moment I can't say if it helps or not because I was so miserably sick over christmas and the new year that I'll need a few weeks to at least come back to 'normal' (my rather modest baseline of next to no energy).

I now read Terry L. Wahls, M.D. book Minding My Mitochondria

and found her website      http://www.mindingmymitochondria.com/

she also gave a TED talk about her recovery from MS and it is well worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KLjgBLwH3Wc

now, thankfully I don't have MS but I think that what she writes about mitochondria is applicable to quite a few other health problems as well. And I am very impressed by her recovery.

The book is really good because it explains mitochondria and their functioning in a way that's accessible to everybody. At first I was a bit disappointed in the book because it's two thirds recipes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Now that I am trying to eat all these huge heaps of vegetables I really need new ideas for cooking.

Her approach to healing the mitochondria in a nutshell:

eat 9 cups of organic vegetables a day:

     3 cups of leafy green veg    (kale, spinach, parsley... ) 
     3 cups of sulphur containing veg   (onions, broccoli, cauliflower, spring onion, leek  ...)
     3 cups of colourful veg    (red and yellow peppers, carrots, tomatoes, red beets....)

plus organic grass fed meat and organ meat and fish from sustainable sources.

She also used supplements, especially B vitamins, to get her mitochondria to heal but her main focus was on using vegetables to get all the necessary nutrients.

And yes I am now trying very hard to eat 9 cups of veg a day. I already do eat about 3 on average but since that may not be enough I am now struggling to triple that. And it's really difficult. I'll try and post some pictures over the next few days.



(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I did. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)

Tryptophan 500mg takes the edge off

I have been taking one capsule of 500mg Tryptophan for the past 4 weeks.

I take it every morning on an empty stomach with a cup of roibos tea, so that it dissolves quickly and reaches the intestines before anything else. The problem with Tryptophan is that it's a fairly big molecule and it competes at the blood brain barrier with other amino acids who are much smaller. That's why it has to be taken alone and on an empty stomach.

And even though it did not turn me into a happy, smiling ball of sunshine, I have to admit, it really took the edge off things and for that I am very grateful. (What puzzles me is that I tried 5 HTP before and it didn't help me at all.) I don't know how I would have survived the last three weeks with a nasty sinus infection, a car breakdown, an electricity blackout and a new and worrying tendency of mine to constantly drop things and burn myself...

I just read a post on the Underground Wellness blog mentioning that too much tryptophan without enough tyrosine can lead to a lack of dopamine. Here's the post:

 http://undergroundwellness.com/the-podcast-about-balancing-the-brain-naturally-and-stuff/

unfortunately it's a bit long and vague. But I'll do more research on this topic soon.


(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am only searching for solutions and trying out things to improve my quality of life. Do not try anything I did. Always ask a qualified doctor for advice before trying something. All I am writing about are my personal experiences as my very own guinea pig. Everybody is different and I cannot be held responsible for anything anybody tries out.)