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Guss Wilkinson
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Mon Sep 10th, 2007 23:08 |
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Written to New Member:
Hi L...
Welcome to the MP forums. I am not a moderator and I have nothing whatsoever to do with the administration of this site.
At the end of next month, I will have been on the Marshall Protocol for 4-years and I am now very well indeed – and I continue to improve, reaching new levels of wellness that I was unaware was possible.
You have a number of health issues of which I have no experience, but there are a number of similarities too.
I felt fit and ‘well’ up until about a year prior to my Sarcoidosis diagnosis. I, too, started to feel symptoms similar to yours: running sinuses; a tickly throat (which developed into a persistent dry cough). I was also an exercise fanatic and ran (I still run) a very successful karate club here in New Zealand.
To add to all this, I suffered quite badly from Psoriasis, the treatment for which was sun therapy and large doses of fish oils etc.
About a year prior to my diagnosis, my downhill slide started to accelerated at a very alarming rate to the point where I was unable to walk more than 5-steps without stopping for breath. I would urge you not to wait until your body shuts down.
The interesting thing is that I had a number of other symptoms that I did not connect with my condition. These were: kidney stones (I had 24-attacks in one year); insomnia; night sweats; increasing short-term memory losses; mood swings (that I did not recognise myself); transient aches and pains (that I put down to my body slowly wearing out from a lifetime of exercise); mild panic attacks; frequent colds; uncontrollable hypertension; a high cholesterol ratio; headache-less migraines (zigzag patterns in my vision) and other stuff.
My physician put me on two consecutive 9-month courses of prednisone which, although they worked at first, caused a rebound effect that left me in a worse position than I was before.
Meg contacted me and alerted me to the MP after I left a cry for help on one of the other sarc forums.
At the time, I felt I had no choice but to give it a go. I won’t, at this stage, bore you with details of how I experienced the protocol in the early stages other than to say, it has been a long and tough road to travel.
What I will say, though, is that every one of the symptoms that I have listed above have gone. All I wanted was to treat my Sarcoidosis, but the real bonus for me is that the other problems (which I had not connected with Sarc) have also gone.
My advice to you is to get onto the protocol, stick with it and follow it exactly. If you do so, you will have a future very different to one that is ahead of you if you don’t. Your values are going to change…for the better.
Following the MP will impact on your wife and she needs to understand exactly how and why.
I was very lucky in that respect as my wife, Helena (and my two teenage boys) have been very strong and supportive.
I suppose the difference is that I already was very ill before I started (and I felt terrible) - my two failed prednisone courses is something my wife definitely did not want to see repeated - the steroids turned me into an angry, short tempered monster, who they had to tip toe around.
The MP will stress test your relationship as well. Some of the emotional herxes with their mild neuroses will be an issue. I had to get used to apologising to a lot of people that I cared about for things that I said or did (or didn't say or do).
Sometimes, I feel that this site needs an MP supporters section where our loved ones supporting us have a chance to compare notes and vent their spleens about their situation as carers and supporters.
Changes in habits, such as not eating fish (or anything with vitamin D) and avoiding light will require a change in life-style that your loved ones will need to be aware of and support - there are no short cuts and no compromises with the MP. The science is very unforgiving.
Those are the down sides. On the up sides: In the past year, my wife has and kids have often commented that it is so nice to have their old Guss back - so full of energy, who takes the initiative, who has patience, is happy, good humoured and is there for them.
I wish you the same and I wish you well.
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions from me.
Cheers
Guss
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Dx Sarc May 2002 Stage 2. Estimate Sarc since 1987. Lungs, Joints, Kidneys & GI. Two failed Prednisone courses. (Started MP: Oct 2003 - D25...31ng/ml, 1-25D...76 pg/ml), Phase III since July 2004; BP 100/60. Feeling pretty good!
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The_Seeker
Member in Phase 3
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 102 |
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Offline
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 22:32 |
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Gus:
Thanks for your posts about your progress. I am a spouse to someone with Sarcoidosis who is now at the 6 and 1/2 month mark in Modified Phase II and is growing weary of feeling bad most of the time. Having someone like you (and others) who has been thru the myriad of symptoms, the pre-MP prednisone regimen(s) and now MP phases I, II and III and reports what sounds like very successful results provides us both with a beacon of hope (a lighthouse of sorts) to stay the course that we've begun.
The_Seeker
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MP Phase 3 as of 11/01/2008; posting for wife; sarc dx 02/2006; Ph 1 start - 2/23/07. Latest D25: < 4 (1/24/2008). NoIRS when out of home and when on PC. Sun exposure - ~ 1 hr q2wks. Usually in home behind heavy curtains and 15 watt lighting.
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Guss Wilkinson
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 23:48 |
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Hi Seeker and thanks for your kind words.
I fully understand how both of you feel. I had two strategies that helped me to keep going though the really tough bits (and I am not suggesting that this will work for everyone):
- I took up a course of study which required my full attention (a master’s degree in Management Systems). It really helped me by forcing me to remain in my office at home (when I wasn’t at work), thus avoiding the temptation to go outside and be exposed to light. It also helped time to go faster and gave me very little time to wallow in my own misery. It is amazing what you can achieve even when you feel as if you have no energy – I think that the body says stop well before it has to.
- The second strategy was more of a mindset: I refused to be remembered by my children (and other family & friends) as a bad tempered, sickly, lethargic person who was no fun to be with. I knew that if I didn’t stick with the MP, that this was the future that was waiting for me. The MP offered me the hope of a way out of my suffering, and it has more than delivered.
I keep joking that a long journey starts with a lost bus ticket  . Of, course, the real saying is that a long journey starts with one small step. It is small steps all the way. Days have a habit of turning in to weeks; weeks into months and months into years…it does get easier.
I hope this helps.
Cheers
Guss
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Dx Sarc May 2002 Stage 2. Estimate Sarc since 1987. Lungs, Joints, Kidneys & GI. Two failed Prednisone courses. (Started MP: Oct 2003 - D25...31ng/ml, 1-25D...76 pg/ml), Phase III since July 2004; BP 100/60. Feeling pretty good!
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Guss Wilkinson
Member in Phase 3
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Posted: Mon Nov 17th, 2008 20:57 |
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Hi All
The chest and sinus herx associated with stage 5 has been quite powerful, and I have been very limited in the amount of exercise that I have been able to do.
I have been cycling between the phase 3 antibiotics without any let-up in these two symptoms. This reaction now seems to be waning and I am starting to feel quite a bit better.
The funny thing is that now that I seem to be feeling a bit better, the psoriasis has started to flare. It seems angry and aggressive and I would now estimate that I have around 5% coverage – the most I have had in years.
It is now 5-years on the MP for me and every corner turned brings a new experience.
Having said that, I would never trade where I am now, for where I was when I started – I have come so far. Other than what I have described, I have no other symptoms.
Not out of the woods yet though…
Cheers
Guss
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Dx Sarc May 2002 Stage 2. Estimate Sarc since 1987. Lungs, Joints, Kidneys & GI. Two failed Prednisone courses. (Started MP: Oct 2003 - D25...31ng/ml, 1-25D...76 pg/ml), Phase III since July 2004; BP 100/60. Feeling pretty good!
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