The Saga continues, just not as I hoped..

Well here we are in December, and I have been off the protocol for an extended period of time because of the calcium levels contained within my blood. i understand why it has been necessary for me to take this break from the protocol. Recovering from  battle with MS is significant, but my health is important as well. So the first break brought the calcium levels down to 10.3, with 10.2 being the upper limits for high. I agreed with Michael when he suggested that I continue to remain off the protocol for an additional two weeks, which would would hopefully bring the calcium levels even lower. My lab work was scheduled for the 17th of December. Yes, that would be a little more than two weeks, but my doctor here was hesitant to write me more lab work so quickly. Well, I was impatient, and found a clinic in town that wold do the lab work for a nominal fee. The clinic here take 2 days before I can get my results, and that is only possible through my doctor. This clinic in town, had my results posted for my to view on the internet that same afternoon. So much easier, unfortunately, my calcium levels rose again. It took some investigating, but it turns out that the neetle that I was taking to help treat my kidney and bladder contains significant amount of calcium. Avoiding calcium if far more complicated than one might thing. So know, hopefully the lab work will show that my calcium score is once again acceptable. So while I am disappointed that this break from the protocol continues, there are some silver linings.

1) Have located an additional clinic  to complete my lab work, one that I can obtain the results without assistance from others.

2) If I had continued with the nettle util the 17th, who knows how high my calcium score would have been

3) While the pain has returned/increased, my balance is less, and walking has become more difficult during this break...I am taking all of this as an indication that the protocol has been effective for me.

So I need to be patent, and diligent in avoiding any additional source of calcium. I am really looking forward to resuming the protocol once again. Remaining hopefully, and I believe that is an important starting point.

Unfortunately, it's been awhile...

Well it has been awhile since my last posting here. There are several reasons for my absence. Partially because I was hoping to have positive, uplifting, encouraging material here. Unfortunately, as I have learned: when things go right with the protocol, they go very right. The opposite is equally true, when things go wrong, they go very wrong. I have actually been off the protocol for over 6 weeks now because of elevated calcium levels in my blood. As a precaution, and to get the number back down to an acceptable level, Michael has instructed me to take a break from the protocol. I am feeling better, and hope that in a couple weeks to have another blood test with results that will let me to resume following the regiment. I will be sure to do a better job of updating this blog.

Taking baby steps

Well here it is now the month of August, so a new month on the protocol. As I mentioned previously, there were some dramatic changes made to to the protocol in July that did not seem to be effective. So I went back to what had worked previously, and now incorporating some of those previously suggested changes, but one at a time.  I am still taking the Vitamin B from Brazil, but now I have included Magnisum Citrate. Previously it was evident fairly quickly that the changes were not having a positive impact. So while it may be too early to say for certain that the addition is having a positive impact, but initially it does seem to be. At the very least, it does not seem to be having any negative affects. This is only the second day of including Citrate as part of the protocol. Hopefully next week I will be able to give a more definitive response to the effectiveness. Other than that, there is not much else to report at this time. Things are just progressing along as well as could be expected. I am still feeling hopeful and optimistic about the protocol and hopefully managing my MS symptoms.

How does that saying go?

There is that expression that if it was not for bad luck, I would not have any luck at all. Admittedly that is how I am feeling lately. A little while ago tried doing some kayaking, a fairly common summer activity. As I reflect upon it now, something that happened before my MS, but stopped because of a lack of opportunity and not because MS. I figured that the difficult part would be getting into the kayak, without remembering the significance for balance.  Getting into the device was fairly straightforward, and pushed off from the dock without any problems. A few moments later I found myself upside down, submerged in the water. A few moments later, I managed to get back to the dock and out of the water. Unfortunately, I did not have a change of clothes, so stayed out there on the dock, dripping wet, as the kids continued enjoyed themselves out on the water. It should not come as any surprise that I managed to catch a cold in the middle of the summer time.

A couple of days later, I crossed paths with someone who had a case of pink eye, which I caught of course. So coughing, hacking, and squinting in one eye. What a wonderful summer. So like said previously, luck seems to be pretty negative lately.  

Lessons about activated B2

A quick history, I was officially diagnosed with MS on Feb 14, 2007. As is common with most, there was a significant amount of time from the first symptoms to the actual understanding of the problem. So, there were 4,093 days from the initial diagnosis to when I started the protocol. Today is the 84th I have been on the protocol. The difference of the two needs to be kept in mind as I am hoping, wanting, to feel improvements from the protocol.

It is difficult to explain, but during the first 6 weeks it was possible to feel myself getting stronger, better, daily. At that time Michael told me about a different type of B2, one that was already activated. With this type of B2, it would not necessary for my body to convert the vitamin from inert to active. I was told to expect even more significant improvements as there is no real method to determine what percentage of the previous type was actually being convert and therefore used as part of the protocol. Michael also suggested that I decrease the amount of vitamin D by 30%, which I did. While I did not feel worse, or anything negative, I also felt a more substantial level of improvement previously. For this reason, after a couple of days I increased the amount of vitamin D by 20% to see if the decrease was the reason for difference. Above I mentioned the number of days that passed before I started the protocol, and while I did feel significant improvements initially, I kept trying to tell myself to be patient. After a month, I decided to revert to the previous type of B2, the one from Brazil. So once again I felt myself improving, getting better.

I just completed talking with Michael, where I explained my experience with the different types of vitamin B2. He has given me another type of activated B2, Swanson, to try, but until then I will continue taking the B2 from Brazil. He also recommended my taking PectaClear, but at over a hundred dollars a bottle and my being content with the results, I will hold off for the time being. I am slightly disappointed that the past month did not include the level of healing that I was hoping for.

Update related to protocol

 Well so far, my recent updates have no really touched upon any substantial updates upon my medical condition as it relates to the protocol. So, I am planning to discuss that a bit more at this time. Michael has suggested that I include magnesium citrate, which I have done for a couple of weeks. I have not noticed any significant improvements with the addition of the citrate, but there has been something notable. With the addition of the citrate, my body reacted in a similar way to when I took too much vitamin d3. So, I decreased the amount by 10% which seemed to mitigate the negative feeling. I am guessing that my body is now activating an additional amount of the vitamin d because of the citrate, which was previously inert within my body. Once more, Michael indicated that the citrate could be beneficial, combined with how I felt afterwards, I am making this assumption on my own. It is not something that Michael said before or afterwards.

On a related note, with the replacement of the vitamin B2 with the activated formulate, Michael suggested that I decrease the amount of my vitamin D by 30%, which I did for a week; however, I did not like the way I felt on the reduced amount. I did increase the quantity back to the previous amount, and have kept it there. Once again, my own thinking, and it may be completely incorrect. It’s possible that Michael’s situation is different because of the amount of inert vitamin d present. An alternative option is the protocol has already performed a significant amount of repair, so the amount required is less in his situation.

Michael seems to do much testing of the protocol on himself, and I have been having some of a similar attitude for myself on the protocol. While Michael has suggested things such as Boron, I have started taking D-ribrose on my own to see if that helps with fatigue. I really just started taking this vitamin on my own today, so it is too early to tell if it has made a difference. The boron was suggested to help counteract the calcium. There has been a slight decrease in my calcium, but it is too early to conclude that the difference is because of the boron. Future lab results are necessary to help- determine if there really is any benefit to my taking boron.