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….

So sorry not to write you back more quickly. I’m in the process of applying to graduate school and was very busy over the last few days.

In any case, there is definitely something to the MP! The treatment is part of an open internet phase II trial monitored by the FDA and effectively treats CFS. Unlike the other treatments your daughter has probably tried, the MP does not “cover up” symptoms with palliative drugs. Rather, it targets the root cause of CFS, which has recently been determined to be chronic intracellular and biofilm bacteria. You can read more about the pathogens on this site.

Three years ago I was in your daughter’s shoes. I too was young girl suffering from a severe case of CFS. Today I am living essentially a normal life again and feel like a completely different person. I have resiliency again that is indicative of true recovery. With another year of treatment under my belt I am confident I will be completely healthy again.

Your daughter should definitely start the MP as soon as possible. I generally note that younger patients progress through the MP at a faster rate so your daughter is in a good place.

In order to start the treatment, first read as much information as possible about the MP on this site and on the Marshall Protocol study site itself - http://www.marshallprotocol.com.

Then, if you still have questions about how to start the MP you can post them at the following website where they will be answered by experienced patient advocates:

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

Your will need to find a physician who is willing to prescribe your daughter the necessary MP medications. Hopefully the advocates on curemyth1 may be able to point you towards a doctor who uses the protocol in the Indianapolis area. If not, would your daughter’s current doctor be willing to put her on the treatment? The study site contains numerous materials on the MP to present to physicians. So you may want to pass some of them by her current doctor.

Good luck!

Amy

Well, CFS can cause a person to feel stressed out because it’s very difficult to manage the symptoms of the disease, but stress does not CAUSE CFS.

CFS is a chronic inflammatory diseases that is caused by bacteria that live inside the cells of the immune system and inside protected colonies called biofilms. You can read more about these bacteria in the following articles:

http://bacteriality.com/2007/08/15/l-forms/

http://bacteriality.com/2008/05/26/biofilm/

I also highly suggest that you watch the following video about inflammatory diseases such as CFS which describes how they are caused and how they can be treated:

http://bacteriality.com/2008/05/07/mpintro/

Good luck on your project!

Amy

It’s tough to predict how light sensitive you will be next summer. A lot depends on how light sensitive you are now. Do you find you really have to avoid light this summer? Does just a short period of time in the sun significantly flare your symptoms now? If so, it will probably take a few years before you will be back in the sun again.

Then again, if you can tolerate some light this summer next year should get easier. I can’t say that you will be planning a beach vacation, but you could probably plan a vacation to somewhere where you could be in the shade at most points.

I was extremely light sensitive when I started the MP. Three years later, I still cannot be in the direct sun. But Paul and I go to Central Park later in the day and play frisbee in the shade. I hold up just fine. I also can walk around the city during the day even when it’s sunny as long as I’m wearing long sleeves.

So it’s possible that by next summer you could still cover up but be able to spend more time with your kids outside. But I just can’t tell you for sure.

I also get the sense that you are resourceful, so hopefully if you can’t get as much sun as you’d hope for next summer you can think of more activities to do with the kids that don’t involve direct sunlight. I’m a fan of swimming after dusk, going to museums during the day, etc. This year I’ve been on several fun vacations where I’ve had normal light exposure and been fine. But I still can’t seek the sun.

Paul can tolerate much more sun then I can. But even now, it affects his sleep sometimes ( he suffers from more insomnia). But he’s largely able to be outside during all times of day without worries. During his second year on the MP he could also tolerate a fair amount of sun. Hopefully you will follow a course more like his than mine.

Best,

Amy

In the second summer could you go out at all, or is the second summer very likely to be lost as well? I started Dec 2007 and so next summer will be running from the 18th to the 21st month of the protocol.

I know it is unpredictable, and that it depends on my own dilligence, but I am dilligent, and I’m likewise suprised at many similarities for those with CFS, so any feedback from our famous leaders would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Kelly