He’s a 43 year-old from Hamilton, New Zealand. First diagnosed with the lung disease sarcoidosis in 2002, he started Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol in October 2003. Guss Wilkinson will now take your questions.

1. What kind of condition were you in before starting the Marshall Protocol?

Granuoles of Borellia burgdorferi, Kersten 1995

I was pretty miserable. I couldn’t take more than five steps at a time before stopping to gasp for breath. Then I had a slew of other symptoms. I was just 8-years old when I started to be plagued by psoriasis (a skin disease) and mild arthritis. Then, in the eighties I developed kidney stones and started to have frequent night sweats. I began to have terrible problems with insomnia. Around 2000 I began to experience short-term memory loss and concentration problems.

2. How did those memory and concentration problems affect your ability to work?

It was embarrassing. My boss came up to me one day and said, “Have you finished your report”? I thought to myself, “What report”!? I had absolutely no memory of my boss having asked me to write the report. But then, what was even more offsetting was that when I checked my files I realized that I had written the report, I just had no memory of writing it. I also had big problems remembering names and often confused simple terminology when I was writing.

3. What treatments had you tried prior to the Marshall Protocol?

Before starting the MP I did two different nine-month courses of the steroid medication prednisone. Of course, they both failed. After the prednisone my health started to go downhill really fast. The prednisone also made me gain a ton of weight which I’ve finally been able to work off since 2005. Before the MP I was so hungry. I just couldn’t stop eating – it felt like what I imagine pregnancy cravings might be like. I remember that once I went to the barber to get my hair cut, and when I looked in the mirror I was horrified – I didn’t recognise my own reflection.

4. After four years on the Marshall Protocol how do you feel?

I have felt completely normal for about the past year or so. And as Trevor Marshall predicted, my perception of “normalcy” has completely changed. Since I started to get sick at such a young age, I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt what it is to live without a certain level of symptoms. Now I think I may be reaching a stage where I feel better than I ever perceived was possible.

5. So you don’t have any more symptoms?

No, no lung symptoms at all. My insomnia is completely gone. Sleep is blissful, it’s wonderful. No kidney stones, no night sweats. The only thing left is a very small amount of psoriasis. I would say maybe 1% of my body is covered with psoriasis. But before I started the MP I had psoriasis over about 70% of my body. A host of other of symptoms are gone as well.

6. Any other improvements?

I have so much more energy and my mood is better. I think my wife and kids have nearly forgotten my grumpy, sickly and lethargic cocooning days. Also, before the MP, I had an uncontrollably high blood pressure, which averaged out at about 170/105. After a while on the MP, my blood pressure settled down to an average of 90/60.

7. Do you have lung x-rays which show that your sarcoidosis granulomas have disappeared?

Yes. I do. I have clear before/after lung x-rays. I have granulomas in the x-rays taken before I started the MP and no granulomas are visible in my current x-rays.

8. Tell me about a memorable time during your recovery.

Around year three I found that my phlegmmy cough and sinus flow had pretty much gone away. As a result, my tolerance to exercise increased. It’s great to be able to exercise more because in my free time I teach karate. Of course, during the toughest times of illness I was able to only coach from the sidelines. But during year three I once again had the energy to train for my 5th Dan Black Belt in Karate. It was especially exciting because I hadn’t done a Karate grading since four years before starting the MP and that grading practically killed me, despite the fact that I tried to train very hard for the event. I didn’t realize how much my bacterial load was wearing me down at the time

9. What did you find the hardest about doing the Marshall Protocol?

I was really worn out during much of the time I was on the MP so it was very difficult to be there for my family. The IP reaction also brought on a certain level of neurosis. It meant that sometimes I’d say nasty things that I really didn’t mean or I’d apologize for things that I didn’t need to apologize for.

10. Was it difficult to be one of the first people to do the treatment?

In some aspects yes. The guidelines weren’t as clear as they are today. When I first started the treatment my GP and I misunderstood how to dose my antibiotics. I started with 200 mg of minocycline and my immune reaction was way too strong. But Dr. Marshall quickly told me to lower the dose and I was back on track. Also, not much was known at the time about how sun/light affects IP so I didn’t block light for a while. It was also hard to justify my decision to do the MP to others, who of course had never heard of the treatment.

11. What has been the best part about doing the MP?

Well, the MP literally cured ALL my health problems. Before starting the MP I had no idea that all my symptoms were connected and were all the result of bacterial infection. So it was a real eye opener when all my symptoms responded to the treatment. So although I started the MP for sarcoidosis, it fixed everything else as well…a real bonus! My experience certainly discounts the torpedo theory – the idea that each health problem needs to be solved with a different intervention.

12. What advice would you give to patients who are currently on or starting the Marshall Protocol?

If you understand the MP you will stick with it. Educate yourself. Read as much material as possible on the site and elsewhere so you can understand the reasons behind what you are doing. Then persevere. It helps also to take up an activity that distracts you from your misery. I continued my education on a part time basis, starting off with a post graduate diploma in Management; then onto a Masters of Management Studies and I am now studying towards my PhD.

13. What are you doing now that you have your health back?

I am making up for lost time with my family and having as much fun as I can with my Kids while they are still teenagers. I am much more actively involved with my karate club and I am, once again, able to lead by example. I am also very much involved with the community and I am currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at our local High School.

14. Tell us about your poetry.

I think the poetry I wrote before the MP was an unconscious expression of farewell. At that point my downward slide was so fast and aggressive that I didn’t think that I had all that long left to live. Now if you read my poetry I think you will definitely notice a difference in tone.

Interested in doing the Marshall Protocol yourself? Visit curemyth1.org and your questions will be answered free of charge by experienced patient advocates.