There is no set length for the MP. See these articles:
http://mpkb.org/doku.php/home:patients:mp_duration
http://mpkb.org/doku.php/home:mp:break

If you want to stop the treatment completely, I agree with your approach. Stop the antibiotics and wean your Benicar. It may take a while before your body adjusts. There is the absence of an anti-inflammatory effect that takes time to adjust to. Also, it may take a while for your immune system to slow down to pre-MP levels. And, keep in mind, you’re doing this without the benefit of the anti-inflammatory effect.

Naturally, you’re going to want to work with your doctor.

Best,
Paul

(MCS/CFS and general funky health stuff)

Already requested MD list, and none in Hawai’i : (

The key is to now gain the courage to ask my doctor, presenting him with the pubs and presentations… (I appreciate the link.)

I find it a little challenging, as after the numerous trials on allopathic medications, I have avoided seeing him. (Nothing seemed to help.)

Any tips on how to advocate for myself and the MP?
(I’m with an HMO.)

Thanks in advance…

Glad you have been enjoying the patient interviews.

In case you don’t know, you have two options for finding a doctor. One is to ask your current doctor. Present him with some of the publications and presentations by the Autoimmunity Research Foundation research team. The other is to ask for a list of local MP physicians at CureMyTh1.org.

Best,
Paul

Now to find a doctor willing to prescribe… In the meantime, I will follow the diet recommendations and consciously avoid sunlight.
(It is a relief to find out my photosensitivity has a cause other than depression!)

Again, thank you for sharing hope…

The MP is not just for people with horrible illnesses. It’s probably good advertising to have the sickest of the sick turn things around, but the future of the MP may be for people with considerably less severe illnesses as a therapeutic. I’ve seen a lot of such people benefit from the MP. Naturally, it’s much easier for them. The earlier you treat yourself, the better.

Photosensitivity is not absent in people who take Benicar. Note that photosensitivity is occurs with sufficient frequency that it is listed as an adverse side effect for patients who take it once daily. The reason why it is not more common is that people who take Benicar irregularly (by MP standards) have not taken it consistently enough for a full Benicar blockade to be in place.

Light sensitivity is probably too inconsistent to be used as a diagnostic tool. The best bet is a therapeutic probe. You can read more about photosensitivity in this nearly completed Knowledge Base article.

Can vitamin D perform any beneficial function? In people with a proper metabolism of the secosteroid, small amounts do activate the immune response. You’ll forgive me if I don’t go into too much more detail than that. Suffice it to say, the metabolic pathways are much more complex than most people think.

Best,
Amy

I’m trying hard to understand all this. How widespread is L-form bacterial infection? The folks in your Patient Interviews are all recovering from amazingly horrendous illnesses. But it sounds like th1’s may also be involved in the slow deterioration many people experience which is only recognized as the ‘normal’ symptoms of aging. Is the Marshall Protocol something that would be beneficial to a wide range of folks with lesser maladies? (And I’m including myself here–overweight yet not obese, but always craving carbohydrates; ‘normal’ peri-menopausal symptoms including sluggishness; ongoing granulosa annulare for nine years, a ‘harmless’ autoimmune symptom–but nothing debilitating like these other folks…)

Sorry to be so long-winded here, but I still have more questions:

Peter reports (4th paragraph) that his eyes became sensitive to light years before doing MP. I am trying to understand whether light sensitivity is a symptom of L-form infection (in which case, could light sensitivity be used as a diagnostic tool?) or whether it’s the body’s response to the Marshall Protocol (in which case, why isn’t light sensitivity reported by Benicar users who happen to be taking it for high blood pressure?) Is light sensitivity less with a lesser bacterial load?

And, what IS the function of vitamin D for health, aside from avoiding it for years while doing MP, or getting healthy enough to be able to “tolerate” it? If vitamin D suppresses our immune system, is it EVER healthy??

Thank you so much for your time.

Maria

Yes, you should definitely start the Marshall Protocol as soon as possible. Regardless of whether you have been officially diagnosed with CFS, it very much sounds as if you harbor the chronic bacterial forms that cause many different forms of inflammatory disease. When it comes to killing these pathogens, killing them as the early as possible is key. This is because in order to kill them you will need to experience a bacterial die-off reaction, and the reaction will be much more subdued if your bacterial load has spread to a lesser extent.

While I cannot guarantee that it will not be too difficult for you to work if you start the MP, generally those people who are able to work before starting the treatment are able to continue working while on the MP. You may become a bit more light-sensitive, and in that case, you may have to get permission from your workplace that would allow you to wear dark glasses when working on a bright computer.

Stress often reveals chronic infection because a stressful event weakens the immune response. So while the bacteria you harbor have probably been accumulating for a while, it was a stressful event that revealed their presence.

I understand what it’s like not to be able to sleep. I had great difficulty sleeping when my CFS was at its worst. I took sleep medication the during my first years on the MP in order to ensure that I at least got adequate sleep. I recommend trying to find a sleep aid that works for you and using it while on the treatment. Gradually you should find that you don’t need it anymore, but it’s helpful at the start.

Once again, it sounds like your bacterial load is relatively low right now. So if you start the MP now the treatment should take a shorter time to complete and your immunopathology should not be as strong. Bottom line – start now, and you will have your full life back more quickly.

If you have any more questions about the MP the best place to ask them is at the following website:

http://www.curemyth1.org (Th1 refers to diseases caused by bacteria).

The patient advocates on the site will answer your questions free of charge and hopefully help you find an MP physician you can work with in the UK.

Best,

Amy

I have been suffering from mildest muscle and joint pain (moving all around the body), unrefreshing sleep (trouble falling and staying asleep) along with fatigue (I can do all the things but I feel sleepy and keep yawning all the day). I have tested negative for HIV, Hep B,C,e (due to moderately elevated SGPT). All these started whed I started stressing about one issue in the mid May and still continuing. Now I believe I have mild CFS. I am in UK. Should I start MP now? Daylight isn’t a problem for me. I just feel that I need to sleep and I can’t. I am about to start my full time job (in September) with an accounting firm. Will it interfere with my job ? early reply will be much appreciated….