Started Equilibrant...

[coolron33]

Try acupuncture.

 

[cigana]

I have been on Equilibrant for 3 days now. I never react in any way to supplements, so I started on the full dose (6 tablets) immediately. I feel no different.

 

[CallieAndToby]

I am having some issues with equilibrant and wanted to get some feedback if others have had similar experiences.

The first time I tried it was at ½ a tablet in the afternoon. Within 20 minutes I couldn’t keep my eyes open, I felt extreme sleepiness and fatigue and just overall very sick. I lied in bed unable to fall asleep (CFS took away my ability to nap).

So I decided after that incident to take it at night, maybe it would help me sleep; my doctor also said it was fine to take at night. For a week ½, I took it at 1/8 a tablet. After a week or so it wasn’t making me so fatigued so I went up to ¼. Soon after, the feeling that I hadn’t slept all night, the non-restorative aspect of my sleep, was heightened and made much worse.

I continued taking ¼ and it made me feel so sick and fatigued it was hard to actually fall asleep. The feeling of having not slept became unbearable so I was told to stop taking it and see a specialist about my extreme sleep problems (though I’ve been seeing specialists about that for the past 10 years without any real benefit).

I don’t think I need to mention that I am EXTREMELY sensitive to medication and apparently, herbs. Another suggestion made to me was to dissolve 1/16 in some kind of liquid and sip it through-out the day. I am still concerned that it will make me very fatigued during the day and I don’t want to be bedridden again. I also paid a lot of money for this and am desperately trying to find relief.

My immunovir should be in the mail soon, so any other tips regarding administration of that would also be greatly appreciated. I am in the process of finding a new psychiatrist to help with my massive sleep issues. Did anybody find that the E disrupted their sleep?

Thanks in advance. I've been sick for 10 years, extremely disabled for the past 5. I already have extreme daytime sleepiness. Perhaps this isn't the med for me, but neither was LDN or Xyrem.

 

[Adlyfrost]

Hi Callie and Toby: I too am extremely sensitive to herbs and had similiar problems with equilibrant. So far I have had some success with my latest regimen: I started with 1/16 tab EVERY-OTHER-DAY. After three doses (six days) I went up to 1/8 tab, then 1/4 tab, then 1/2 tab, etc. I am now on 3/4 tab every other day. Each time I increase my dose my symptoms get a little worse but as long as I stay at that dose they level off eventually. I do not increase the dose until they level off. Giving myself an off day has been helpful so I can experiment with other supplements and not feel as fatigued. Taking equilibrant now is starting to be pleasant- it is like an anti-depressant until it wears off. I think it just takes a long, long time on a very low dose titrated over many months to work for some people. It has not cured me but I definately see many benefits esp. with sore throats and aches and pains. Good luck.

 

[vwprts4u]

Hello,
I am in my 4th month of treatment with Dr. John Chia. I have been pain free for over a month and in two more months will undergo a week of treatment with Rifampin. I firmly believe that this four year nightmare is coming to a close. I cannot thank Dr. Chia enough for his dedication to helping those afflicted with ME. I tolerated the equilibrant with the normal hit with a truck symptoms after every dose increase. It does not work for everyone, I thank God it has worked for me.


Thanks

 

[Xandoff]

Sushi,
I am so happy for you. Are you still taking GcMAF?

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Any updates from folks who have tried or are currently trying equilibrant?

 

[SOC]

Any updates from folks who have tried or are currently trying equilibrant?

I took it for about a year at the low dose of 1 pill daily. My doc recommended it to help with Coxsackie virus -- or was it the parvovirus? Oh well, it doesn't matter. Both of them showed up inactive on labs about 3 months after starting Equilibrant. I stayed with it for a year for the immune benefits and to make sure those suckers stayed down.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Thanks, no I didn't even know about Dr Chia until I found this discussion board a week or so ago and am just in exploration mode. My great good fortune was to at least find Drs. Kogelnik and Montoya what appears to be really early versus how long it seems to have taken others to even get a diagnosis. I'm about 18-20 months into this. Would love to get updates on the Equilibrant. I'm considering herbal antivirals but I don't want to put myself into a tailspin either. I have read so many different things so far here where some people were helped and others said it was living hell -- doesn't matter what the approach was. So hard to make choices when there's such inconsistent responses to various inputs.

on edit: I would certainly consider seeing Dr. Chia if I thought I could survive a plane trip. But just going to my local PCP last week and getting a blood draw has me completely flattened. I can't imagine a longer trip, just beyond my capacity at the mo.

 

[Adlyfrost]

Sparrowhawk : IMHO, nothing to fear taking Equilibrant on your own. I think you just have to listen carefully to your body. Equilibrant REALLY helped get me out of a rut where I was fighting viral symptoms and felt I had nothing left to fight with. My panic attacks and bad side-effects (listed in my previous posts) from Equilibrant have to do with an autoimmune response in my intestines to food or pathogens and yes, Equilibrant can make this worse. That is why it is important to start with the SMALLEST dose possible. If a reaction like mine or other side-effects happen at any time during your treatment you can always just stop it for a while- I had to many times. For me, I never had to take more than a tablet ( or much less) EVERY OTHER DAY. I was just that sensitive. And it worked VERY slowly- but it worked! And when NOTHING else seemed to. After 2 months, NO more sore throat. It is not effective against herpes simplex sores though, but in treating the viruses that activate herpes simplex, it helps get it manageable. I also think it is important to really work on the damaged gut- at least for me, with diet and nutrition. The better my diet, the side-effects of Equilibrant were dramatically less.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Sparrowhawk : IMHO, nothing to fear taking Equilibrant on your own. I think you just have to listen carefully to your body. Equilibrant REALLY helped get me out of a rut where I was fighting viral symptoms and felt I had nothing left to fight with. My panic attacks and bad side-effects (listed in my previous posts) from Equilibrant have to do with an autoimmune response in my intestines to food or pathogens and yes, Equilibrant can make this worse. That is why it is important to start with the SMALLEST dose possible. If a reaction like mine or other side-effects happen at any time during your treatment you can always just stop it for a while- I had to many times. For me, I never had to take more than a tablet ( or much less) EVERY OTHER DAY. I was just that sensitive. And it worked VERY slowly- but it worked! And when NOTHING else seemed to. After 2 months, NO more sore throat. It is not effective against herpes simplex sores though, but in treating the viruses that activate herpes simplex, it helps get it manageable. I also think it is important to really work on the damaged gut- at least for me, with diet and nutrition. The better my diet, the side-effects of Equilibrant were dramatically less.

Thanks so much, yes I'd put myself in the microdoses/very sensative system catagory as well, so really appreciate the detail you shared on what worked for you. Do you intend to keep taking it over time? The CFS folks who take lomatium (an antiviral herb found in the Western region) say they have to pulse it, take it for a while, then not, then resume. One guy in HI drove down his HHV6 long term antibodies with it, but when he stops taking it, they go back up (isn't that intersting yet odd?).

 

[Adlyfrost]

Because of the autoimmune problems in my gut I am unfortunately going to have to go with other treatments. I just feel that Equilibrant would be too much for me. Even at low doses it gives me a very 'caffeinated' feeling. It didn't at ALL at first though. At first it made me feel sleepy and relaxed and a hair flu-ish like it does most people.

But now that it does (make me feel caffeinated), and I am feeling better- and addressing the root cause of my CFS (damaged gut), I feel it would be detrimental to me now. But I am not in the shape I was in last winter when I started- and I hope I never will be again.

From what I have read from Dr. Chia there is a 'potential' danger in starting and stopping Equilibrant, esp. if it really makes you better. Then you should taper down to a maintenace dose- one pill/day(which is larger than my treatment dose). The potential danger is that the virus could come back and if one starts and stops enough, it could become ineffective. (He warns not to do vigorous exercise with it too.) But I have learned that my own intuition trumps all when finding what works best for me individually. And what may work one day may not work the next. One can develop sensitivities. And as long as one does not abuse a treatment I don't think there is much danger in stopping it.
I

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Adlyfrost wrote "I have learned that my own intuition trumps all when finding what works best for me individually. And what may work one day may not work the next"

Amen to that. Completely agree. Well said.

 

[PGHCFS]

I'm still taking Equilibrant (started 7 per day today), inosine, and lysine. I feel the best I have in years. This week I have started walking everyday. Fall is usually not a good time for me, so I am hoping this will last.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I'm still taking Equilibrant (started 7 per day today), inosine, and lysine. I feel the best I have in years. This week I have started walking everyday. Fall is usually not a good time for me, so I am hoping this will last.

Hey that's excellent! Glad to hear you are doing better and can get out. I did half a block and back today which was my first outside walk in over two weeks. Will take our progress where we find it. I'm curious, did you go through the whole process of biopsy etc. to determine enterovirus involvemnt for you, or did you just jump in with both feet to try Equilibrant? Also, how long did you take it before yous started feeling better, and did you have any period of feeling poorly before this improvement? Thanks.

 

[PGHCFS]

Hey that's excellent! Glad to hear you are doing better and can get out. I did half a block and back today which was my first outside walk in over two weeks. Will take our progress where we find it. I'm curious, did you go through the whole process of biopsy etc. to determine enterovirus involvemnt for you, or did you just jump in with both feet to try Equilibrant? Also, how long did you take it before yous started feeling better, and did you have any period of feeling poorly before this improvement? Thanks.

No, I never had a biopsy -- I just feel that mine started with a virus and is not stress, mold, yeast, food allergy related, so it made sense to me to try it. I have had big ups and downs since starting back in, I think it was, February. I think adding the Inosine made a big difference for me. I still feel like I'm walking on eggshells, but I went on a 3 week vacation with lots of walking and didn't crash, so when I got back I started walking more, so far so good.
As a side note -- I was taking Jarrow B-Complex but I now think something in that (B6) may have been making my tingling and numbness in my legs much worse.
How are you doing with the Equilibrant? Do you feel it is helping?
I also forgot to mention that for four days now I am also on Oreganol -- I take whatever my wife give me! I'm her Guinea pig.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I'm still considering Equilibrant among several options and do appreciate your full response. The plus for me is it seems likely more gentle than straight up pharma antivirals. The downside risk for me is I'm not sure I would tolerate the herbal components as they seem in categories that affect adrenals/cortisol (which for me is very jacked).

FYI, I had been advised to take high levels of B6 which I did for many months, and now think that was the root of my muscle twitching because when I stopped it that symptom decreased markedly. I'm just dipping my toes in the water of the 23andMe/Methylation stuff, but read somewhere in all those threads that certain mutations mean you don't process the b6 as well, which means it stacks up like planes at Laguardia. I had been reading the wikipedia article about B6 and when I saw the cautions about overdose I realized I probably fell in that category and stopped it that day.

So you could just take a week off the Jarrow b-complex and see if you notice any difference.

I swish a few times a week with a dilute liquid oregano essential oil (I think it is 1:8 diluted in olive oil) which is still pretty strong and keeps my gums happy and mostly bacteria free. I'm not at a point where I can do Oregano internally, gut is still fragile.

Thanks again for the response.