AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES CAUSED BY AN INFECTION?

[Gaby]

A Review on Antimicrobial Activity of Mushroom (Basidiomycetes) Extracts and Isolated Compounds

_https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0032-1315370

Mushroom bioactivity

For a long time, mushrooms have been playing an important role in several aspects of human activity. Edible mushrooms, for example, are used extensively in cooking and make up part of low-calorie diets. Mythology is extensively garnished by mushrooms and is typically associated with gnomes, fairies, and other fairytale personages. The psychedelic and consciousness expansion properties of some species have pushed mushrooms to become part of some religions. Even toxic mushrooms have found a place of relevance, because of the uniqueness of their compounds that evolved naturally as a protection against consumption [1].

Wild and cultivated mushrooms contain a huge diversity of biomolecules with nutritional [2] and/or medicinal properties [3], [4], [5]. Due to these properties, they have been recognized as functional foods, and as a source for the development of medicines and nutraceuticals. Fruiting bodies, mycelia, and spores accumulate a variety of bioactive metabolites with immunomodulatory, cardiovascular, liver protective, antifibrotic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiviral, antioxidant, antitumor, and antimicrobial properties [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14].

[...]

In particular, mushrooms could be a source of natural antibiotics, which can be LMW and HMW, respectively, compounds. LMW compounds are mainly secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpenes and other terpenes, steroids, anthraquinone and benzoic acid derivatives, and quinolines, but also primary metabolites such as oxalic acid ([Fig. 1]). HMW compounds mainly include peptides and proteins.

It is estimated that there are about 140 000 species of mushrooms on earth, and of these only 22 000 are known and only a small percentage (5 %) has been investigated. Therefore, there is much to explore about mushroom properties and potential applications

[...]

Concluding Remarks

The present review focuses on the antimicrobial effects of mushrooms from all over the world, and their isolated compounds. It will certainly be useful for future scientific studies. Both edible and nonedible mushrooms showed antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria associated with nosocomial infections (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas maltophila, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Morganella morganii, Proteus mirabilis, Serratia marcescens) and multiresistance (MRSA, MRSE, VREF, PRSP, ERSP).

Data available from the literature indicates that mushroom extracts and isolated compounds exhibit higher antimicrobial activity against gram-positive than gram-negative bacteria. Among all the mushrooms, Lentinus edodes is the best-studied species and seems to possess broad antimicrobial action against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Species from the genera Boletus, Ganoderma, and Lepista appear promising for future studies, if one considers the positive activity and limited number of publications. Considering the low number of studies with individual compounds, Plectasin peptide, isolated from Pseudoplectania nigrella, revealed the highest antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria.

The comparison of the results reported by different authors is difficult, due to the diverse methodologies used to evaluate antimicrobial activity of mushroom extracts or isolated compounds. Therefore, the standardization of methods and establishment of cut-off values is urgent. The knowledge about the mechanisms of action of different compounds might lead to the discovery of new active principles for antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, the application of cytotoxicity assays is also important to evaluate the effects on humans in the range of the in vitro tested concentrations.

The research on mushrooms is extensive and hundreds of species have demonstrated a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antimicrobial activity. Although there are a number of studies available in the literature, they are almost entirely focused on the screening of antibacterial properties of mushroom extracts. In fact, there is a gap in the identification of the individual compounds responsible for those properties, and only a few low-molecular weight compounds and some peptides and proteins have been described. After elucidation of their mechanism of action, these mushroom metabolites or other related compounds could be used to develop nutraceuticals or drugs effective against pathogenic microorganisms resistant to conventional treatments.

 

[Beau]

And you have to be careful with the CS as your skin might turn blue-grey if you take too much.
Don't take it internally if you don't have to.
It's a jungle out there!

Everything I've ever read about colloidal silver turning your skin blue seemed like a scare tactic, an urban legend without any real proof behind it. Can you provide any sources for that claim? What's wrong with taking it internally?

 

[Tristan]

Regarding alternative treatments I've stumbled upon this document about Ayurvedic herbal preparations and tested results FWIW

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217688/

Abstract

In Ayurveda, various herbal preparations are clinically used to prevent or cure infectious diseases. Herbal preparations such as Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna, Manjistadi churna, Sukhsarak churna, Ajmodadi churna, Shivkshar pachan churna, Mahasudarshan churna, Swadist Virechan churna and Pipramool churna were investigated by preparing their organic solvent extract for antibacterial potential against enteric bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhimurium and Proteus vulgaris, respectively. In the present study, Triphala churna, Hareetaki churna, Dashmula churna were potent antibacterial agents against S. epidermidis, P. vulgaris, S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. typhi. The study supports the use of these herbal preparations not only as dietary supplements but also as agents to prevent or control enteric bacterial infections.

Results
Results showed that Triphala churna possess strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus while moderate against Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and weak against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus subtilis. Acetone and methanol extracts of Hareetaki churna was strong antibacterial agents against S. epidermidis, S. aureus at 5 mg/disc while moderate against B. subtilis, P. vulgaris, S. typhi, P. aeruginosa and mild against K. pneumoniae, E. aerogenes, S. typhimurium and E. coli. Hareetaki churna is used as mild laxative, detoxifier and improve digestive functions. Herbs used in Hareetaki churna possess antibacterial properties; Terminalia chebula antibacterial against E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, P. vulgaris, S. epidermidis, S. typhi, S. typhimurium [14–16] and methicilin-resistant S. aureus.[17] Mahasudarshan churna is an excellent remedy for the complication associated with fever, liver enlargement, spleen, fatigue and nausea, etc. Holarrhena antidysenterica is one of the important ingredients of Mahasudarshan churna has reported antibacterial activityagainst S. aureus, S. flexneri, S. typhosa, B. subtilis.[18,19] Studies have indicated the antibacterial potential of Mahasudarshan churna against S. typhi, S. epidermidis, E. coli, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris and P. aeruginosa [table 2]. Mahasudarshan churna is useful to control infectious diseases such as typhoid fever, intestinal infection, urinary tract infections and respiratory infection which are associated with the above-mentioned bacterial pathogens.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggested that, ayurvedic herbal preparations extracts have great potential as antimicrobial activity against enteric bacterial pathogens and they can be used in the treatment of infectious diseases. The data obtained in these studies justify the use of these ayurvedic herbal preparations in medical practice by majority of the populations in India. The study also supports the use of these herbal preparations not only as the dietary supplement but also as agent to prevent or control the enteric bacterial infections.

Also:


Deta Elis – Star Trek Medicine – Bioresonance

http://drsircus.com/medicine/deta-elis-star-trek-medicine-bioresonance

Thought doctor McCoy had it good with his equipment on the Starship Enterprise? Wait until you get a load of what is coming to revolutionize the world of medicine. Medicine just got exciting thanks to Russian scientists and over 17 years of in-depth research. The future has arrived and just as three-dimensional printing will revolutionize manufacturing, this technology will revolutionize the practice of medicine.

This groundbreaking medical technology is making many people a lot of money in Russia. Why? Because it destroys the pharmaceutical paradigm and the doctors that practice it, using electromagnetic vibration to diagnose and cure without side effects yet with pinpoint precision. Deta Elis Electromagnetic Bioresonance Therapy Devices will be sweeping the globe just like cell phones and computers.

Who has endorsed this technology? President Putin of Russia uses it and the Department of Health in Russia has approved it for wide use across their nation, which amounts to three hundred million people. The Russian space program uses this technology because it enables convenient and non-invasive monitoring and enhancing of the health of their cosmonauts. Medicine just became more affordable, more accurate, and infinitely safer with Delta Elis technology.

The first stop in this revolution is Hepatitis B and C as well as herpes. Russian doctors are claiming a ninety percent cure rate for these incurable infections. Everyone is familiar with the fact that you can shatter a glass with sound.

One of the Deta Elis machines, called the “Deta AP” will shatter viruses, bacteria and fungi, coming to us just as antibiotics become more of a terror than a help. This phenomenon where we can kill microbes with frequencies is called BIORESONANCE, and this is the principle that these Deta Elis devices use to cure.

[...]
Those who know of preceding technology like Hulda Clark’s Zapper will soon be able to afford Deta Elis machines, which will be like cell phones and soon even smaller, that will wipe out every infection imaginable with laser precision. Let us consider it a Zapper on steroids times 1,000 for starters!

In the future, after practitioners are trained, Deta Elis diagnostic machines will reveal the exact parasite, virus, bacteria or fungus present and then the treatment device is programmed to destroy, and destroy it does. Though most of this is preprogrammed into the device diagnostics takes wings to a new level that pins down a patient’s overall chronic problems, translates that into a frequency, and then an exact positive outburst from the device will, over several hours, shower the wearer with the perfect healing frequency.

First we destroy everything that does not belong inside of us with one Deta Elis device and then we set upon the task of rebuilding our organs and numerous biological systems with another called the Deta RITM device, which helps to heal and rejuvenate organ pathologies and physiological systems such as the immune system, circulatory system, hormonal system and the like.

 

[Gaby]

Deta Elis – Star Trek Medicine – Bioresonance

Interesting. Notice how Dr. Sircus said he couldn't afford one... That would be a costly experiment.

 

[Persej]

Just wondering, if colloidal silver could replace the whole bunch of antibiotics. Its nano-particles are much smaller and probably could reach many tissues without killing good bacteria. Or perhaps colloidal silver in combination with herbs?

Read how limited its effects are in the above cited articles. I've never had any serious issues solved by colloidal silver.

Yeah. I also tried it and it didn't solve anything.

 

[Laura]

So, are we all supposed to start eating lots of mushrooms?

Hopefully, some of ya'll can read these things and condense the salient points and we can collect together suggestions for various situations/conditions.

 

[SeekinTruth]

And you have to be careful with the CS as your skin might turn blue-grey if you take too much.
Don't take it internally if you don't have to.
It's a jungle out there!

Everything I've ever read about colloidal silver turning your skin blue seemed like a scare tactic, an urban legend without any real proof behind it. Can you provide any sources for that claim? What's wrong with taking it internally?

Yeah, that's my take on it too. The only evidence that I've come across is that the person was taking silver salts, not colloidal silver, that made his skin blue. FWIW.

 

[wanderer]

By now nearly everyone has seen the story about Paul Karason who the news media has dubbed "The Blue Man". Although the news media has continually said that he was taking colloidal silver, nothing could be further from the truth. The Blue Man story became a major media disinformation event which was produced by a public relations firm and paid for by a pharmaceutical interest. The purpose of this campaign was to scare the public away from using colloidal silver products. The tactic was to claim that the Blue Man's condition was caused by his use of colloidal silver thus implying that anyone who uses colloidal silver would suffer a similar fate. The entire story as presented is a study in blatant misrepresentation. The fact is that Paul has a condition called argyria that turns the skin a blue-gray color. He got this condition by taking his homemade silver compound that was mostly a highly concentrated ionic silver solution. When he prepared the solution he believed he was making colloidal silver. He was not making colloidal silver. To make the solution even more dangerous, he added salt to the brew and then used electrolysis to make a high concentration of silver chloride with large particles which is well known to cause argyria. He further applied the compound to his skin causing him to become an internal and external photographic plate. To finish himself off, he used a tanning bed to "fix" the silver in his body. The moral of the story is to know the difference between true colloidal silver and ionic silver or silver proteins, and don't try to make either at home! (True colloidal silver cannot be made at home.)

_https://www.purestcolloids.com/blue-man.php

There is no danger of argyria when consuming normal therapeutic doses of colloidal silver.

 

[Hesper]

So, are we all supposed to start eating lots of mushrooms?

Hopefully, some of ya'll can read these things and condense the salient points and we can collect together suggestions for various situations/conditions.

Or maybe supplement with mushroom broths? Hard to say that it could be anywhere near as effective as what you're doing, but could still be useful. Here's some info from Mercola:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/31/organic-mushrooms-for-immune-support.aspx

Hanging with Fungi Increases Your Odds of Survival

We're more closely related to fungi than we are to any other kingdom. We share the same pathogens, meaning bacteria and viruses. As a defense against bacterial invasion, fungi have developed strong antibiotics, which also happen to be effective for us humans. Penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline all come from fungal extracts.

The predominant mushrooms displaying antiviral activities are the polypores, sometimes called bracket fungi or woody conks, tough and fibrous fungi characterized by many tiny holes on the underside of their caps. Polypores have been dubbed the "frontier" of new medicines and are thought to be the ancestors to most of the gilled mushrooms. Interestingly, there are no known poisonous polypores, whereas there are more than one hundred poisonous gilled mushrooms.

Paul Stamets recently discovered that a very rare polypore called Agaricon is effective against the poxviruses—including smallpox. This has the Department of Defense very interested, as smallpox is one of the most feared bioterrorism agents. Agaricon was also found to be effective against flu viruses.

History tells us that living in cooperation with fungi will increase our odds of survival. After major extinction events, it was the fungi that thrived because they didn't need light and lived on dead organic matter. Organisms pairing with fungi flourished, and those that didn't fared poorly.

Many of the mushrooms valued for strong medicinal properties grow on trees, as opposed to the ground dwellers you've likely seen.

These tree fungi concentrate the unique elements that the host tree has absorbed over its lifetime, which may be ten or twenty or even HUNDREDS of years. Many of these mushroom species are long-term residents of Old Growth Forests and play an essential role in nutrient recycling by decomposing old trees. The mushroom wraps itself around these special nutrients, capturing them in the fruiting body of the organism and turning it into a little medicinal powerhouse. Maybe it's time for us to embrace the mushroom and harness it's medicine the way the Asians have done for thousands of years.

Blends of Mushrooms are More Effective Than any One Mushroom Alone

It is therapeutically best to utilize a blend of several mushroom species, because "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." For one thing, it is easier for pathogens in your body to adapt and become resistant to one mushroom than to several. Secondly, each mushroom species has a unique arsenal of anti-infective and immunomodulating agents.
[...]

Now that you have the overview, let's take a look at a few of my favorite health-enhancing mushroom species. We'll start with a delicious little mushroom you have probably seen on your dinner plate or at your local market—the shiitake.

Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)

Shiitake is a popular culinary mushroom used in dishes around the world. It contains a number of health-stimulating agents, including lentinan, the polysaccharide for which it was named. Lentinan has been isolated and used to treat stomach and other cancers due to its antitumor properties, but has also been found to protect your liver, relieve other stomach ailments (hyperacidity, gallstones, ulcers), anemia, ascites, and pleural effusion.

One of the more remarkable scientific studies demonstrating shiitake's antitumor effect was a Japanese animal study, where mice suffering from sarcoma were given shiitake extract. Six of 10 mice had complete tumor regression, and with slightly higher concentrations, all ten mice showed complete tumor regression.

Shiitake mushrooms also demonstrate antiviral (including HIV, hepatitis, and the "common cold"), antibacterial, and antifungal effects; blood sugar stabilization; reduced platelet aggregation; and reduced atherosclerosis. Shiitake also contains eritadenine, which has strong cholesterol-lowering properties.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)

Reishi is known as Lingzhi in China, or "spirit plant." It's also been called "Mushroom of Immortality"—a nickname that kind of says it all. Reishi has been used medicinally in Asia for thousands of years. One of its more useful compounds is ganoderic acid (a triterpenoid), which is being used to treat lung cancer, leukemia and other cancers. The list of Reishi's health benefits includes the following

Antibacterial, antiviral (Herpes, Epstein-Barr), antifungal (including Candida) properties
Antiinflammatory, useful for reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Immune system up-regulation
Normalization of blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure
Reduction of prostate-related urinary symptoms in men

Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris)

Cordyceps, also called caterpillar fungus or Tochukasu, is a favorite of athletes because it increases ATP production, strength and endurance, and has anti-aging effects. This parasitic mushroom is unique because, in the wild, it grows out of an insect host instead of a plant host. Cordyceps has an enduring history in both traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.

Cordyceps has hypoglycemic and possible antidepressant effects, protects your liver and kidneys, increases blood flow, helps normalize your cholesterol levels, and has been used to treat Hepatitis B. It has antitumor properties as well.

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)

Turkey Tail is also known as Coriolis, or "cloud mushroom." Science is showing that Turkey Tail mushroom holds an arsenal of cancer-blasting compounds. Two polysaccharide complexes in Turkey Tail are getting a great deal of scientific attention, PSK (or "Kreskin") and PSP, making it the most extensively researched of all medicinal mushrooms with large scale clinical trials.

A seven-year, $2 million NIH-funded clinical study in 2011 found that Turkey Tail mycelium improves immune function when dosed daily to women with stage I–III breast cancer. Immune response was dose-dependent, with no adverse effects.

In addition to breast cancer, Turkey Tail has been found to hold promise for other cancers, including stomach, colorectal, lung, esophageal, nasopharyngeal, cervical, and uterine. PSP has been shown to significantly enhance immune status in 70 to 97 percent of cancer patients. Turkey tail is also being used to treat many different infections, including aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, E. coli, HIV, Herpes, and streptococcus pneumonia, and is hepatoprotective. It may also be useful for CFIDS.

Himematsutake (Agaricus blazei)

The last mushroom I'd like to mention is the newcomer on the block: Himematsutake, also called Royal Sun Agaricus, a relative of the common button mushroom. Himematsutake was not cultivated in the East until fairly recently but is now a very popular natural medicine, used by almost a half million Japanese.

Himematsutake mushroom is attracting many scientists worldwide due to its remarkable anticancer properties related to six special polysaccharides. Like many other medicinal mushrooms, this fungus can also protect you from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy. But its benefits don't stop there—Himematsutake can also decrease insulin resistance in diabetics, normalize your cholesterol, improve your hair and skin, and even treat polio.

There are many more mushrooms deserving mention—far too many to include here. But at least you can begin to appreciate the scope of benefits mushrooms have to offer, based on the handful of examples above.


Final Thoughts

A carefully designed blend of medicinal fungi can deliver a powerful therapeutic punch, whether you just wish to help protect yourself from seasonal colds or flu, or you have a more serious condition such as cancer. Either way, these special mushrooms can be an excellent adjunct to a healthful diet and lifestyle to improve your immune health. If you are interested in more information about medicinal mushrooms, you might consider visiting the following sites:

Healing-Mushrooms.net is an encyclopedia of medicinal mushrooms with a searchable database, abundant resources and fungi photos
MedicalMushrooms.net is another encyclopedic database with information about many of the medicinal mushrooms
MushroomExpert.com can help you with mushroom identification
Paul Stamets' YouTube video channel has about 30 videos of wild mushroom hunts and all sorts of informational videos, including mushroom identification and cultivation

And there's this about mushroom broths:

Boosts Immune System: Not all mushrooms are the same, similarly not all mushroom broths are the same. The mushroom broths prepared from shitake mushrooms are found to have a very positive effect on immune system; they demonstrated high anti-cancerous activity and helped body to fight against infections.

http://fawesome.ifood.tv/health/357084-mushroom-broth-health-benefits

And here's a pretty interesting book on mushrooms. It's on Google Books so if you click on the link it will take you to the section that lists the different antibacterials isolated from different mushrooms:

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

 

[Gaby]

I was looking for more info on mushrooms and I stumbled upon an interesting discussion where someone who did the protocol over 10 years ago was sharing his experience. This is his background:

In my case, I was fortunate enough to have had the mycos show up in a blood test because I was very sick with what I thought was the flu and saw my doc. It was the initial active stage of the myco infection. At the time, I lived next to a military facility where soldiers were being vaccinated prior to deployment to the first Gulf War. I got sick Dec. 24, 1990. The war started in Jan, 1991. I will always believe that I got my infection out in the holiday shopping crowds from a soldier who was actively sick. Evidently, mycoplasma infections are contageous in the active stage. Many of the sick vets have family members who became sick as well. I will always believe that what I have is GWI but I believe GWI and CFIDS/ME are one and the same. I was given two cycles of ABX and appears to recover slowly but I've never been the same since. It left me crippled for months.

He used at least doxycycline and aciclovir as an antiviral. Aciclovir is the most widely available anti-viral, more than famciclovir.

Not very encouraging, but one must keep in mind that this was over a decade ago and possibly he didn't tried several things.

All in all, it took 2 1/2 years, part of that time pulsing the ABX, for me to get the infection under control.

I have never been tested for Lyme but because the treatment is basically the same, it really didn't matter to me. For all I know, I could have Lyme and mycoplasma infections. Because I did test pos. for the mycoplasma when I was first infected and it was active, I think it's a safe assumption to believe the dieoff included mycoplasmas.

Before the ABX, AV, TF, and Heparin treatments, I often felt as though I had the flu. Each of these treatments can cause all kinds of reactions, including cognitive. If you notice in this excellent article, mental fog is mentioned. I still get cognitive problems when I am sick or run down. I have a bladder infection and have noticed that I am having problems typing and understand what I read and hear. My memory is shot too.

Fri. night, I became really ill after I started the Bactrim I'm currently taking. Yesterday and today, I have been purging. I'm assuming that the bacteria causing the infection is dying off in some pretty large numbers.

Just prior to getting sick with the cold I caught at work and the bladder infections, I was feeling quite well. In fact, I thought I could work. That was about seven weeks ago and I've been sick ever since. I'm seeing a urologist and we will get this UTI thing taken care of and I'll feel well again.

I have not gone after the cysts because they, like Herpes-Family Viruses, lie dormant and do not appear to cause problems. {Maybe that was his mistake?} I keep Doxycycline on hand and if I suspect the mycoplasmas are trying to reactivate, I will do a cycle or two of them. I also keep acyclovir on hand. Usually, I don't have any problems. Until this Klebsiella Pneumoniae infection, which I believe is responsible not only for the UTI but also for the start of pneumonia when I had the cold, I was making good progress.

There is no way to know for certain if all traces of the mycoplasma are gone or gone latent. I judge by how I am feeling. For years, I felt as though I had the flu and that has been gone since the treatment regimen I mentioned above. I think when one gets to the pulsing stage of the treatments, it is easier to see the return of symptoms when one goes off the meds. This isn't an exact science and one has to learn to listen to one's body.

This article makes an excellent point: One must simultaneously treat the immune system to strengthen it so that when the mycoplasma population is small enough, one's own immune system can take over and kill the stragglers. As you know, all the while I was on these treatments, I was also taking probiotics, undenatured whey, and colostrum. All these will help rebuild the immune system.

Dr. Nicolson recommends colloidal silver, along with the ABX. I used my zapper as well, hoping to catch some of the pathogens in the bloodstream.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I think your article is of more help than I can be. We all react differently to the treatments and, as the article states, mycoplasmas can cause all kinds of different illnesses and symptoms.

If the body gets too sick, one cannot work at all. That is what happened to me. I thought I couldn't afford to stop working. Well, my body didn't care that I couldn't afford it. One day, I just couldn't get up and go to work. I had some savings but it was my Mom who came to the rescue. I am on SSD but it doesn't pay the bills.

Until I got this Klebsiella Pneumoniae, I had tried to return to work. I had to quit but will try again as soon as I am able. I'm on an ABX but it appears that I will have to be on it longer than the docs had anticipated.

Good luck to you. Again, I'm not trying to scare you but I think if you have a chronic mycoplasma infection (or any other chronic stealth infection) you need to become knowledge about it and your treatment options.

The more I read, the more I get the impression that any "alternative" supplement or remedy is just complementary and that it would hardly kill the microbes on their own.

From the same discussion, here is another experience from a different person:

I actually think there's a case to be made for merely keeping a lid on the pathogens that we have rather than attempting to eradicate them totally with drugs.

Most or all of us with "classic" CFS have a variety of infections....numerous viruses (e.g. HHV6, EBV, CMV, PIV-5, enterovirus), bacteria (e.g. chlamydia pneumoniae), lyme, parasites, mycoplasma, fungal infections.

Some of these are totally debilitating. Examples are lyme (and related parasites) and toxoplasmosis. Treating these aggressively seems essential to having any sort of life whatsoever, it seems to me.

However, unless we figure out how to make our immune systems entirely well, we're never going to get rid of all this stuff. There's a lot of it (e.g. PIV-5) that has yet to have a pharmaceutical product targeted at it. And no drug is going to be really effective at keeping any pathogen at bay if our immune systems aren't working.

I went for 10+ years at a moderate level of functioning without doing any pathogen killing at all (except for yeast). Working a stressful full-time job was beyond my ability, but a moderately stressful part-time one or a non-stressful full-time one was within my capacity.

This is despite the fact that I recently have learned that I am full to the brim with pathogens. I spent almost a year targeting viruses (with all the classic and extreme die-off symptoms). I now have found that I get an extreme die-off reaction when using doxy as well (suggesting that I have huge amounts of mycoplasma and/or chlamydia pneumoniae....I don't think lyme is something I have, or at least that I have yet).

Once you start using pharmaceuticals to kill pathogens, it can seem that there's no end to it. I've been doing this for nearly a year and am not sure that I'm doing any better, or for that matter that I ever will do any better. I hope so, but there certainly is no guarantee.

I have taken this time to do this experiment because I can afford to do so. If I needed to earn enough money to live on a day-to-day basis, I never would have done it.

What I think is more important for all CFS sufferers is to do as much as possible to help one's health through the "basics". I did this consistently throughout my illness. If I hadn't, I would not have been able to maintain the level of health that I had attained. (Click on my bio for more specifics.)

The basics are designed to make the system as a whole stronger. This should allow the immune system to function as well as it can within its constraints, thus keeping the pathogens as much at bay as possible. It doesn't work for everyone, but I am convinced that it does do something for at least some of us.

The other important thing is not stretching one's limits. It is easy to get into the mode where we feel like we "have to" work more than we feel up to doing, or where other "responsibilities" cause us to lose strength. As CFS sufferers, we need to be able to step back when we start feeling bad, even if it means taking a job that is less well-paid or "fulfilling," or not doing things that we think are really important or otherwise would enjoy. Our systems are delicate, and pushing them too hard can cause us to lose our health entirely.

I think often of my grandfather, who came down with what seems clearly to have been CFS in 1927 at age 20. He had to drop out of the Naval Academy and move back with his parents in Cincinnati. He got a low-stress 9-5 job as an accountant (with no commute) and limited his other activities.

Eventually he met and married my grandmother, who was a whirlwind of energy. When his parents died, he and my grandmother took over the family floral business.....he handled the "paper" part of the operation and did floral arranging while she interacted with customers and ran the day-to-day stuff. He meticulously woke up at 8 a.m., got to work (the shop was next to their house) at 9 a.m., often took a long nap in the afternoon, stopped working even on busy holidays at 6 p.m., and went to bed at 10 p.m.

Obviously this was not the life he had planned to lead.....he was an ambitious and intelligent young man, especially for his day. But it turned out to be a reasonable life. He had a good relationship with my grandmother, did fairly well financially, raised my mother, had friends, went on trips to Europe and other places (always meticulously resting up in the afternoons so as not to overexert himself), and remained in consistently fair health until getting adrenal cancer at age 74.

Of course, he was lucky to not have been sicker than he was (some people on this board are much sicker) and to have had my workaholic grandmother as a partner in life (though that may have been more smart than lucky on his part). But I think it was his constant choice to live life within what he knew were his limits that made him able to do it. He never wavered from that, never allowed himself to fall into doing stuff that was too much for him no matter what the pressures were. That's a very difficult position to take and stick to, but I think that many or most of us CFS sufferers would be much better off if we did.

I don't know whether my grandfather would have waged an aggressive fight against pathogens if the option had been available to him during his life. Maybe he would have decided that it was a good thing to do, maybe not. But he did manage to live a good life--throughout his life--without having waged a battle against them.

It wasn't coincidence that he managed to do that though. He didn't know what he had, but obviously he knew he was sick and developed an effective strategy to deal with it. All of us need to figure out how to do this too, in whatever ways work--really work, long term--for us.

On another note, I ordered some of that Myco stuff from Raintree (rain-tree). I'm not going to take it right away, but will comment on it on my status report thread when I do try it.

(I likely will try the Mycoplus TF too, eventually. I will report on that as well.)

Again, they probably didn't tried what this forum had tried for years: keto or low carb diet, FIR sauna, cryotherapy, heavy metal chelation, iron chelation, ETC. Still, it is good to read the experiences of those who tried it.

The rest of the discussion is available here:

http://forums.prohealth.com/forums/index.php?threads/what-kills-mycoplasmas-besides-antibiotics.183284/page-2

Last entries updated on June 9, 2015. There is a link to this website:

_http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C670329.html

Where it says that up to 600mg of doxycycline was needed in some cases. It also highlights the importance of treating both the affected person and its partner, like any sexual transmitting disease.

They discuss a supplement called "Mycoplus Transfer Factor" which later changed its name and claims, possibly to conform with FDA requirements (?). I'll look into that. It is pricey, like most supplements of that kind.

 

[Gaby]

They discuss a supplement called "Mycoplus Transfer Factor" which later changed its name and claims, possibly to conform with FDA requirements (?). I'll look into that. It is pricey, like most supplements of that kind.

Several points on this supplement.

1)Mark Hyman from the UltraMindSolution promotes it, as well as other functional medical doctors.
2) Its cost makes its use questionable. You need to have PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests positive for mycoplasmas before using this supplement. If you have taken any antibiotic recently, the PCR might come back negative.
3) It can be acquired through websites, although it is recommended that a functional doctor prescribes it. In some website, it is available for purchase only through a doctor's code.
4) It is derived from chicken's "transfer factor", an immune component.
5) It targets mycoplasmas and other related microbes.

I don't know, it might be an option for those who absolutely don't want to take antibiotics.

More info at:

_http://store.ultramind.com/Store/Show/ListAlphabetically/611/Transfer-Factor-PlasMyc
_http://forums.prohealth.com/forums/index.php?threads/what-mycoplus-covers-plus-a-couple-others.257846/
_http://www.jescollection.com/trfapl.html
_https://www.researchednutritionals.com/store/item.cfm?code=CRN116
_http://forums.prohealth.com/forums/index.php?threads/transfer-factor-plasmyc-covers-everything.212259/
_http://forums.prohealth.com/forums/index.php?threads/ebv-positive-anyone-knows-what-to-do.213250/

About transfer factor:

_https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_factor

A second use of the term transfer factor applies to a likely different entity [3]derived from cow colostrum or chicken egg yolk which is marketed as an oral dietary supplement under the same name citing claims of benefit to the immune system.[4][...]

Henry Sherwood Lawrence discovered that blood cells could 'transfer' antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity even after the cells had undergone lysis.[2] This lymphocyte product is sometimes referred to as "dialyzable leukocyte extract" in the scientific literature due to being an extract from white blood cells undergoing dialysis to remove all molecules larger than ~5000 Daltons.[8] Studies on cellular transfer factor have involved mostly animal models and small human clinical trials. These studies have demonstrated preliminary evidence of immune modulation as well as some clinical benefits in a handful of diseases, but the studies not been assessed beyond primary sources and the trials should only be considered pre-clinical.[9][10]

 

[aragorn]

Inspired by this recent SOTT-article, I started reading Bald's Leechbook, looking for possible clues. I almost finished it today, making some annotations. The poor quality of the complete text (translated to English), that can be found here makes it impossible to copy-paste parts directly, which makes things slow. I'll quote more parts in later posts.

Here are some interesting snippets from the Preface:

COLLECTED AND EDITED BY
REV. OSWALD COCKAYNE, M.A. CANTAB.
LONDON:
LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, AND GREEN.
1865


Preface

When the Saxons got possession of Britain, they found it, not such as Julius Caesar describes it, but cultivated and improved by all that the Romans knew of agriculture and gardening. Hence rue, hyssop, fennel, mustard, elecampane, southernwood, celandine, radish, cummin, onion, lupin, chervil, flower de luce, flax probably, rosemary, savory, lovage, parsley, coriander, olusatrum, savine, were found in their gardens and available for their medicines. Among the foreign drugs, or the like, mastich, pepper, galbanum, scamony, gutta ammoniaca, cinnamon, vermilion, aloes, pumice, quicksilver, brimstone, myrrh, frankincense, petroleum, ginger (xii, 1865).

The Glossary appended to this work exhibits, from among a still wider list, a large number of names of herbs ; and materials exist for determining most of these to full conviction. The change of residence produced doubtless some confusion, by depriving the Saxons of specimens of the trees and plants answering to their names. The Germanic races had not before their arrival here pushed down upon the Mediterranean shores, but we all know historically that they had not been confined to cold climates, and one very curious proof exists that in some instances the name they fixed on a plant was appropriate to its aspect in warmer countries [I regret I cannot here explain this fully]. It is true that the oak, beech, birch, hawthorn, sloethorn, bore native names, but elm, walnut, maple, holly [The old Latin name is Aquifolius : the Ilex was glandiferous, the evergreen oak], are equally native names; and, except the walnut, native trees (xviii, 1865).

The sycamore, which has been alleged to prove the Latinism of the Saxons, is merely a maple. Yet the great influence which a Latin education, and scarce any instruction in old English, has upon ourselves, is traceable even among the Saxons : the true signification of some native names was passing away, and the plants supposed once to have borne them began to be known by some Roman denomination. For so common a plant as mint, seen in every running ditch, on every watery marge, there seems to be no name but that which is Hellenic, and Latin. The Germanic races, on the contrary, were the original patrons of hemp and flax, as against wool.

In the Preface to the first volume it was admitted that Saxon leeches fell short of the daring skill of Hellas, or the wondrous success of the leading medical men of either branch in London or Paris. […] The volume consists of two parts ; a treatise on medicine in two books, with its proper colophon at the end, and a third of a somewhat more monkish character. The book itself probably once belonged to the abbey of Glastonbury, for a catalogue of the books of that foundation, cited by Wanley, contains the entry ”Medicinale Anglicum”, which is rightly interpreted, ”Saxonice Scriptum ;” and this book, rebound in 1757, has preserved on one of the fly leaves an old almost illegible inscription, " Medicinale Anglicum.” Search has been made for any record of the books, which on dissolution of the monasteries, might have found their way from Glasonbury to the Royal Library, but in vain (xix-xx, 1865).

The owner of the book, Bald, may be fairly presumed to have been a medical practicioner, for to no other could such a book as this have had, at that time, much interest. […] We read in two cases that ”Oxa taught this leechdom ;” and in another that ”Dun taught it ;” in another ”some teach us ;” in another an impossible inscription being quoted ; the author, or possibly Cild, the reedsman, indulges in a little facetious comment, that compliance was not easy. I assume that Oxa and Dun were natives, either of this country or of some land inhabited by a kindred people. Any way, we make out, undoubtedly, a bookish study of medicine ; the Saxon writers, who directly from the Greek, through the medium of a Latin translation studied Trallianus, Paulus of Aegina, and Philagrios, were men of learning not contemptible, in letters, that is, not to say in pathology. […] It sufices that Saxon leeches endeavoured by searching the medical records of foreign languages to qualify themselves for their profession.

The character of the writing fixes, as far as I venture, on an opinion, this copy of the work to the former half of the tenth century ; some learned in MSS, who have favoured me with an opinion, say the latter half, 960 to 980. My own judgment is chiefly based upon comparison with books about 900. The inquisitiveness of men at that period about the methods in medicine pursued in foreign countries is illustrated by the very curious and interesting citation from Helias, patriarch of Jerusalem. The account given has strong marks of genuineness. We will assume that King AElfred had sent to Jerusalem requesting from the patriarch some good recipes ; for it would not be in the manner of mens ordinary dealings for the head of the church in the Holy Land to obtrude on a distant king any drugs or advice of the kind. He returns then a recommendation on scamony, which is the juice of a Syrian convolvulus, of gutta ammoniaca, a sort of liquid volatile salts, of spices, of gum dragon, of aloes, of galbanum, of balsam, of petroleum, of the famous Greek compound preparation called {unclear}, and of the magic virtues of alabaster. These drugs are good in themselves, such as a resident in Syria would naturally recommend to others. The present author drew his information, we may fairly suppose, from that handbook which the king himself kept, in which were entered ”flowers, culled from what masters soever,” " without method, ”according as opportunity arose,” and which at length grew to the size of a psalter; whence also most likely came in due time the voyage of Othere.

[…] Thus, Oxa, Dun, perhaps some others of the same sort, and Helias, patriarch of Jerusalem, are sources of some of the teaching in this book. To these we may add a mixture of the Hibernian, and of the Scandinavian. Some of the recipes occur again in the Lacnunga and in Plinius Valerianus, who, from his mention of the physician Constantinus, was later than this work. Large extracts are made from the Greek writers (xxii-xxvi, 1865).

The correspondence is so close as to leave no doubt but that the work before us drew from Paulus, or from one of the Greek authors, from whom he compiled his work. The number of passages the Saxon thus draws from the Greek is great ; they would make perhaps one fourth of the first two books, and the question of course occurs strongly to the mind whether they came direct from the study of Greek manusripts (xxvii, 1865).

Perhaps in dissecting the curious mosaic work of this Leechbook, we may be as much struck by the Old Dansk, or as people now say, Norse element in the words Torbegete, Rudniolin, Ons worm, and the herb Fornets palm, as by its Irish admixture, or its Greek and Latin basis, or its fragments from King AElfreds handbook (xxxii-xxxiii, 1865).

 

[Ocean]

Tristan, Deta Elis (Bio Resonance)
I think this is brilliant!

I found a real Russian version here :-http://www.biomedis.ru/en/

BIOMEDIS is a medical device indicated for application of low frequency electromagnetic therapy. BIOMEDIS will help you to improve your health and immune system, and prevent diseases in time.
How does impact by the device BIOMEDIS take place?

The device BIOMEDIS reproduces informational signals of our body. Electromagnetic oscillations of low intensity which are generated by the device cause resonance response in the organism. Thus, the following processes take place in the body: activation of physiologic oscillations which correspond to healthy cells and organs, and neutralizations of pathologic oscillations caused by ill cells and tissues, viruses, bacteria and fungi. As a result, the organism restores normal functioning of ill organs and homeostasis of its systems. Applying BIOMEDIS, we run body's natural mechanisms of self-regulation.

Effectiveness of applying bioresonance therapy is explained by impact on regulatory links of adaptation system through biophysical processes which are above biochemical ones in the hierarchy of body's regulatory system. Thus, not only symptoms but also causes of diseases are exposed to the impact.

Post-clinical trials and experience of applying by patients with various diseases display high efficiency and complexity of impact by bioresonance therapy. Applying the device for getting health, it is possible to prevent irreversible changes in the body. Since the device is widely used, it is applied together with any other methods of treatment, prevention and rehabilitation, improving these processes.
Indications linked with usage of BIOMEDIS

According to Methodical recommendations of Ministry Health of Russian Federation №2000/47, bioresonance therapy is indicated in the following cases:

functional disorders of different genesis;
diseases of central nervous system and sense organs;
diseases of vegetative nervous system;
pain syndromes of various localizations and genesis;
diseases of cardiovascular system;
diseases of respiratory system;
diseases of digestive system;
diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissues;
diseases of musculoskeletal system;
diseases of urinary system and reproduction;
poorly healing wounds and ulcers.

BRT not only restores body’s damaged functions but also has destroying influence upon parasitic agents. The device contains a large list of anti-parasitic programs.

I have researched prices
They range from USD $170 - $370

I have some Russian friends who travel back and forth regularly. I think I will ask them to get me one of these and give it a try.

 

[luke wilson]

Soooo... I decided before diving wholeheartedly into the thread, I'd do some of my own searches and post before my mind started to get diverted by others lines of thoughts... brainstorming! I have been doing some cursory reading of the thread since it appeared months ago but not in-depth... obviously the last Cs session changed that... Who wants to be stuck here forever... damn you mycoplasma!!!

Anyways, moving on ... Regarding mushrooms... They are also a good source of Vitamin D, if left in the sun for abit

_http://www.powerofmushrooms.com.au/health-nutrition/health-nutrition/vitamin-d/

Placing regular mushrooms in direct sunlight for an hour (winter) will generate your daily needs of vitamin D in a serve (100g or three button mushrooms) - See more at: http://www.powerofmushrooms.com.au/health-nutrition/health-nutrition/vitamin-d/#sthash.sd4HvIgs.dpuf

On top of all else said about mushrooms, vitamin D is also quite effective at fighting off bacteria

_http://www.livestrong.com/article/212866-what-vitamins-are-best-for-fighting-harmful-bacteria/

In the site, they list Vitamin A, D and C as effective. More as preventatives than nuclear options.

Manuka Honey or honey in general...

_http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/04April/Pages/manuka-honey-mrsa-superbug-bacteria.aspx

What has the new research found?

Overall, the researchers found that manuka honey affected the structure and activity of different bacteria.
In the study of MRSA, the bacteria were susceptible to “relatively low” concentrations of manuka honey. Combining honey with the antibiotic oxacillin (and to a small extent vancomycin) altered the structure of these drugs, making them potentially more effective. This was measured as the minimum inhibitory concentration or minimum bactericidal concentrations, which are each a measure of the concentration of drug needed to slow growth or kill the organisms.
In the study of Pseudomonas bacteria, the honey induced “significant changes” in the bacteria’s protein expression, which is likely to be detrimental to its survival.
In the study of Streptococcus pyogenes, honey inhibited the growth of bacterial biofilms.

It's also stated to be

- anti fungal
- anti microbial

Though as it's honey, it has sugar!

I used to use manuka honey before keto and back then I had problems with my teeth constantly getting infected. I used it for a year or so and didn't have any problems, no more dentist and generally good health all round. I ditched it because of the sugar though... may be worth looking at to bolster the castle walls in small dosages.

Epsom and Himalayan salt baths

_http://empoweredsustenance.com/himalayan-salt-benefits/

The salt water carries the electrical charge of the salt, along with the dissolved minerals. A salt bath helps draw out toxins, deep cleanses the skin, and helps cleanse the body energetically.

Generally reading up on both, they are meant to be good at drawing out toxins though this is not scientifically proven!

I have some experience with epsom salt as this is what they use to make you float in flotation tanks... generally feel like the baths are good and nourishes the skin and body. Over the long term you feel mental benefits which I attributed to sensory deprivation but I wonder if it's the salts messing with the frequency fence created by pathogens in the body... who knows?

I doubt it actually does any killing though...

They are also good for muscles and help with arthritis.

Going off on the arthritis tangent... came across an interesting doctor, Dr John Bergman.... he explains what arthritis is, and how it develops... basically, lack of joint movement and toxic blood...

https://youtu.be/-uUgsGsPviY

There is no magic cure in the video - just healthy blood, healthy movement and healthy nervous system... rather he explains the situation in an easy to understand way... seems to make sense if you ask me. He explains that healthy blood is vitally important and so is the transportation of this blood through the body and a healthy nervous system. He seems a bit of a vegan though but anti-grains, anti-all processed foods etc.

His whole channel seems to be full of interesting videos actually. Might check some out to get an idea of what he is all about.

Below is a forum with posts made in 2004 of some people dealing with mycoplasma infections and on some of the antibiotics discussed i.e. doxycycline... Seems to be month upon month of treatment plus all this 'herxing' which seems to be an ordeal... also, good bacteria gets nuked as well so have to supplement them as a matter of course.

_http://forums.prohealth.com/forums/index.php?threads/any-alternative-treatments-for-mycoplasma.112206/

Here is Dr Mercola pretty much repeating the title of this thread

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/mycoplasma-bacteria-tied-to-chronic-illness.aspx

Also, reading generally, it seems heavy long term anti-biotic use is the go-to way of getting rid of these critters... Not sure how effective it is as most don't say...

The below link seems to indicate that this bacteria can be used in warfare..

_http://www.newtreatments.org./doc.php/Mycoplasma

Over here we have what looks like an antibiotic protocol from the above link

_http://www.newtreatments.org./doc.php/Mycoplasma/12/antibiotics_recommended_when_indicated_for_treatment_of_gulf_war_illness_chronic_fatigue_syndrome_fibromyalgia_syndrome_rheumatoid_arthritis_and_other_autoimmune_illnesses%0D%0Aby_prof._garth_l._nicolson

Final Comments


Recovery will be gradual not rapid, and almost all patients experience
initial Herxheimer reactions that can be quite severe and can last for
weeks. You will have to be patient and not abandon therapy prematurely,
because few patients recover in less than one year of therapy. Do not take
antibiotics at the same time of day as vitamins, minerals, supplements,
etc. Vitamins and minerals should be taken 3 hrs after antibiotics to
prevent interference with antibiotic uptake. Stop antibiotics if adverse
reactions continue. You will experience cycles of relapse when severely
physically or mentally stressed, and you should not be alarmed if some
signs and symptoms occasionally return or worsen. This is not unusual.
Eventually you will be off antibiotics but you will need to continue
various supplements to maintain your immune system

and what appears to be an alternative...

_http://www.newtreatments.org./doc.php/Mycoplasma/29/one_of_the_first_successfull_alternative_treatments_for_mycoplasma_s

PS: This Prof Garth L Nicolson (of the above site) is the same one mentioned by Dr Mercola in the link I gave,

Two federal efforts based on Dr. Nicolson's results are now underway to seek to determine whether antibiotics can cure chronic illness. One, conducted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, looks at the blood of Gulf War veterans for signs of mycoplasmas. The other, conducted at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers nationwide, involves giving some mycoplasma-positive Gulf War Syndrome patients antibiotics and others dummy pills under rigorous experimental conditions designed to ferret out the true effectiveness of the therapy.

God, from the short reading I've done... this mycoplasma seems to be an absolute nightmare. Jesus Christ! 100% doesn't feel good knowing they may be in your body... arghh! How to get them out quickly...

Oh yes, Krill oil and Turmeric also popped up as being good in the fight against these nasty creatures.

Also this is interesting from the above site

_http://www.newtreatments.org/cfs

Mycoplasma is an anaerobic bacteria-like organism.
This means it thrives in places where there is less oxygen and it primarily feeds on glucose.
* Use the low-carb or even zero-carb diet to take away the glucose from the mycoplasma.. All other cells will happily go on using fatty acids and ketones. The mycoplasma will starve or will at least stop to thrive..
* Use DMSO as an alternative way to get oxygen to the cells
* Use hydrocobalamine (Vitamin B12b), which is a very potent nitric oxide scavenger *AND* it filters the cyanide in the blood

Finally, I read something about arginine (type of amino acid) and mycoplasma... seems to be ominous...

_http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/uncategorized/okay-to-supplement-l-arginine-with-mycoplasma/

Dear Stephen,
I read an article on the Rain-Tree website about supplementing l-arginine with mycoplasma, saying: “supplementing back the depleted amino acids has been reported to be helpful in some recovering from these infections. These include L-cysteine, L-tyrosine, L-glutamine, L-carnitine, and malic acid. Remember, however, that mycoplasmas thrive on arginine! Avoid L-arginine supplements and multi-amino acid formulas containing L-arginine, as well as foods rich in arginine to avoid feeding the mycoplasmas. The richest food sources of arginine (to avoid) are nuts and seeds, including the oils derived from seeds and nuts which should be eliminated or drastically reduced in the diet.” Under these circumstances, is the use of L-arginine when treating mycoplasma still okay? Also, would it be okay to take milk thistle, which is a seed?

Stephen’s response:
Here is the skinny on mycoplasmas and arginine: many mycoplasmas take arginine from the body to grow. THINK ABOUT IT: many mycoplasmas take arginine from the body to grow. WE, their human hosts, NEED arginine to be healthy. The mycoplasmas are going to get arginine no matter what. In fact what they do is scavenge if from your body’s tissues. That depletes your body of that substance and believe me, it is a crucial substance that you really do need. Some websites share horror stories About FEEDING the mycoplasmas if you take L-arginine. No matter what they will get it one way or another, so it matters not, for them, if you take a supplement or not. However FOR YOU, it is rather crucial to keep your arginine levels high since it is essential to your healthy functioning. Further, a number of mycoplasmas are actually sensitive to arginine, it can reduce their numbers in the body. So no matter what, you should be taking an L-arginine supplement or else eating foods high in arginine. Several score peer reviewed journal papers have noted that the only way to resolve cellular problems in infected mycoplasma cells is TO REPLACE THE ARGININE. So, yes, take the arginine. And the milk thistle is good to take as well.

The comment section seems to be interesting as well as a person did well by staying away from the additional supplements, adding to the weight of the Rain-Tree website to stay away from arginine supplements during the treatment. Seems to be inconclusive though what a person should do...

If I am not mistaken though... this study shows that they do indeed feed off this amino acid..

_http://www.jbc.org/content/241/10/2228.full.pdf

The presence of the arginine dihydrolase pathway is not limited
among Mycoplasma to M. hominis 07. Barile and Schimke (43)
have recently surveyed 18 different species of Mycoplasma and
have found that 10 contain the enzymes of this pathway. Such
a widespread occurrence of a pathway among a specific group of
microorganisms is to be contrasted with its lack in animal tissues
and its limited distribution in bacteria (12). Such a finding may
suggest a common origin for a number of J4ycopZasma species.
According to one theory, Mycoplasma originate from parent
bacteria by the irreversible loss of certain metabolic properties,
including the ability to synthesize cell wall constituents (5).
In view of the small amount of DNA per Mycoplasma cell’ (2),
this loss presumably also involves loss of DNA from the chromosome.
The marked similarities in properties of the enzymes of
the arginine dihydrolase pathway of M. hominis 07 and those of
Streptococcus as discussed under “Results” suggest that a Streptococcus
would seem a likely “parent” of Mycoplasma containing
this pathway (8).

The reason for the relatively unique and extensive utilization
of arginine by such a large number of Mycoplasma is unknown.
A possible suggestion for this finding might be sought in the
uniquely small size and limited DNA content of Mycoplasma.
Thus, with the arginine dihydrolase pathway only three enzymes
are required for the synthesis of ATP, as compared with the
generally far greater number of enzymes required for fermentation
and oxidative metabolism. Thus, if physiological conditions
involved in growth of Mycoplasma in cells and body fluids
were such as to impart survival value to an organism with small
dimensions and a small DNA content, then an organism with a
functioning arginine dihydrolase pathway, with the necessity of
coding for only three enzymes for energy metabolism, might have
a greater chance of survival.

 

[Shared Joy]

Hi,
I would like to stress the importance of healthy stomach acid production which helps contain the proliferation of unfriendly bacteria, viruses etc.

Here's an article of dr. Mercola:

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/06/24/heartburn-drugs-side-effects.aspx

Proton Pump Inhibitors Were Not Designed to Treat Heartburn

PPIs, the most powerful class of antacid drugs, were actually designed to treat a very limited range of severe problems,9 such as bleeding ulcers, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (a rare condition that causes excess stomach acid production), and severe acid reflux, where an endoscopy has confirmed your esophagus is damaged.
......
For example, reported side effects of PPI drugs include:

Pneumonia
Bone loss
Hip fractures
Infection with Clostridium difficile, a harmful intestinal bacteria (this risk is particularly heightened in children11)
It's also important to realize that while PPIs suppress the production of stomach acid—which in some severe cases may be warranted, short-term—the vast majority (about 95 percent) of heartburn cases are not caused by too much stomach acid, but rather from having too little.
...
How to Normalize Your Body's Production of Stomach Acid

Additionally, contrary to popular belief, heartburn is often associated with having too little stomach acid to begin with, and one simple strategy to address this deficiency is to swap out processed table salt for an unprocessed version like Himalayan salt. By consuming enough of the raw material, you will encourage your body to make sufficient amounts of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) naturally. Himalayan salt will not only provide you with the chloride your body needs to make hydrochloric acid, it also contains over 80 trace minerals your body needs to perform optimally, biochemically.

Research17 has also shown that sauerkraut or cabbage juice is among the strongest stimulants for your body to produce stomach acid. Another benefit is that it can provide you with valuable bacteria to help balance and nourish your gut. Having a few teaspoons of cabbage juice before eating, or better yet, fermented cabbage juice from sauerkraut, will do wonders to improve your digestion. Fresh raw cabbage juice can also be very useful to heal resistant ulcers.

Another option is to take a betaine hydrochloric supplement, which is available in health food stores without prescription. You'll want to take as many as you need to get the slightest burning sensation and then decrease by one capsule. This will help your body to better digest your food, and will also help kill the helicobacter and normalize your symptoms. Now, while hiatal hernia and H.pylori infection are unrelated, many who have a hiatal hernia also have H. pylori18 and associated symptoms. If you have a hiatal hernia, physical therapy on the area may work, and many chiropractors are skilled in this adjustment.

N. Gedgaudas also recommended Vitamine C, Zinc, and B vitamine B compitamins (maybe one should watch for SIBO cases when taking B complex).

FWIW
Joy