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Equilibrant

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I'm starting Equilibrant tonight or tomorrow. Can anyone share their experience with it? Is there a better time of day to take it? Can I expect any temporary reactions? How well did it work? Anything?
 

CBS

Senior Member
Messages
1,522
I've been on it for since October. Surprisingly strong side effects ("hit by truck" muscle and joint pain) in the first 6-8 weeks on doses as low as 0.5 pills once per day. I DO NOT recommend taking six/day to start. I was warned me of possible side effects. I've talked with others who have experienced the same side effects. Side effects recurred and lasted for 1-2 days every time I increased my dose (each week increased by one pill/day). I increased my dose each Thursday so that by Saturday I wasn't dealing with side effects (and grumpy while my wife was home from her office). Didn't really see that the time of day did much to change the side effects. They took 12+ hours to start and last 24-28 hours.

I've been on Valcyte for 12 mos. Tracking Sxs very closely for three years. Definitely improved with Valcyte. Equilibrant has nearly eliminated some significant Sxs that Valcyte helped with but didn't completely control. SIBO and "Heart" pain (not generalized chest pain) almost entirely eliminated. Haven't needed Xifaxan (antibiotic for SIBO) since starting Equilibrant. I have high coxsackie B and echovirus antibody titers before starting Equilibrant (and highly positive stomach and duodenal tissue samples tested with IHC). I'll be retested for these in 4 weeks. Very interested to see if they've changed.

Good Luck,

Shane
 

clive powney

Senior Member
Messages
206
Location
coventry
eqilibrant

Hi,

I have been on these for nearly 3 months now and think that I am starting to notice a pattern (but was going to leave it a few weeks to make sure it wasn't a co-incidence). I increased my dose every week or so starting from half a tablet and am now just up to 6 a day. The following is what seems to be happening:-

after increasing a dose I seem to get 3 or 4 days of very loose stools which settles down until I increase the dose again.
I did notice a slight increase in muscle and joint pain , then after about the first 4/5 weeks , I had 4 days of feeling much better - this then went back to square 1.
After another month I had the same thing but more like 5 or 6 days of feeling quite a bit better then again back to square 1.
I am nearing the time that I am hoping I get a boost again (should be about 2 weeks if the above pattern repeats)

I also noticed an increase in blood pressure which I need to keep an eye on as I already have high blood pressure,.
I spoke to my GP and he took baseline blood tests and then again after 2 months - my potassium had dropped significantly from the baseline so he is doing more tests this week

I must make it clear though, I have not been tested for any viruses as others may have done under Dr Chia. The reasons I am taking these are
1) I have tried many 10's of other things without any success (10 years ill - progressively downhill)
2) My GP has always kept mentioning coxsackie B virus through my whole illness
3) Dr Chia has said that if no improvement has been noted after 3 months or so then there will not be any - so what the hell!

I also read somewhere that Dr Chia had noticed a cycle of symptoms when his patients take these tablets , but I can't now seem to find his comments anywhere - not sure if any viruses have a monthly cycle of reproduction and die off - perhaps I dreamed it?

I am happy to keep updating this thread every month or so to blog my experiences , it would be great if others could too

Clive
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Thanks, guys! I'll be prepared in case the side effects hit. I may need to schedule my increases so I don't have the worst side effects when I have students. I don't want to become The Tutor From Hell when I feel like crap.

How the heck are you cutting these things in half? I looked at them this morning and it looks like I am going to need a hammer and chisel. I'm supposed to start with 0.5 pill for two weeks, then 1 pill daily after that. No hurry to increase the dose, apparently.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
SOC,

Were u told not to do more than 2 a day too?? That is What Dr R told me, just to go up to 2 a day. Also, this is my only antiviral. I do not notice any bad side effects, It lowers my HR so I like it. I do drink Kefir to protect gut.

7
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
SOC,

Were u told not to do more than 2 a day too?? That is What Dr R told me, just to go up to 2 a day. Also, this is my only antiviral. I do not notice any bad side effects, It lowers my HR so I like it. I do drink Kefir to protect gut.

7

So far, she's only told me to go up to 1 per day. My coxsackie infection may not be huge since my titres are not extremely high and I don't have GI symptoms. I will be really happy if Equilibrant lowers my heart rate, though. That would be enough to keep me on it. ;)

I am taking some probiotics because I'm taking an antibiotic for C. pneumoniae. I've been avoiding kefir because I don't do very well with much dairy. Hope the probiotic pills are enough to do the trick.
 

penny

Senior Member
Messages
288
Location
Southern California
Funny I started taking Equilibrant today too! It's great to hear how others are doing with it, thanks CBS and Clive!

I don't have any personal experience yet (clearly) but I can do a brain dump of what I was told regarding it:
- Don't take too close to bed time (though dinner time is ok)
- If taking more than 1, it might be better to split it up in to multiple doses
- Since it is supposed to help the immune system fight badies, when starting (or presumably increasing dose) there will probably be some flare of symptoms - this should be temporary
- Can take with food if it upsets your stomach

Shoot, that's all I can remember...

Personally - I don't have any significantly high viral titers (but my understanding is that they can only test for a small percentage of viruses so that doesn't mean they aren't there), I'm starting at 1 a day and this is my only antiviral.

I think it would be great if folks update every so often -- I'm in :)
 

clive powney

Senior Member
Messages
206
Location
coventry
monthly updates

I will provide a monthly update on 15th of each month - how about anyone else? Seems we have a small trial going on - it may be interesting for us and others in the future
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
I bought a box of this a few weeks ago. Completely unable to use them. My MCS doesn't like them at all. Any Australians want a box of Equilibrant?

hixxy
 

penny

Senior Member
Messages
288
Location
Southern California
I will provide a monthly update on 15th of each month - how about anyone else? Seems we have a small trial going on - it may be interesting for us and others in the future

Sounds good! I guess I'll update around the 25th (since I just started) - and am going to put it in my calendar because otherwise I'll definitely forget!
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I'll update on the 15th with Clive. That way I can use his memory instead of mine to remember. :D

BTW, has anyone else had swollen lymph nodes early on?
 

Patrick*

Formerly PWCalvin
Messages
245
Location
California
This thread is very timely. I started taking Equillibrant today at the suggestion of Dr. Chia. I started with just one pill today and will slowly titrate. I'll report back my experiences later.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
PW, how many pills will they take you up to, 6 a day?? Also, what virus is he treating you for???
 

Patrick*

Formerly PWCalvin
Messages
245
Location
California
Inester, I can take up to 6 per day eventually.

Dr. Chia says has treated over 800 patients with Equillibrant and 53% have improved. Some, according to him, have gone completely into remission.

Regarding what virus he's treating me for, he suspects an enterovirus. What type? I don't know. I'm going to have a biopsy soon to try to confirm this. But based on Dr. C's theory, it shouldn't matter what virus you have. The Equillibrant is supposed to tilt your immune system back toward Th1 so that it can effectively deal with viruses in general. I did a write-up on my appointment and Dr. Chia's theories here if you're interested. I warn you, though, it's long.
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
Is Dr Chia testing patients for enterovirus before treating them or treating them based on assumption?

What is the best alternative to Equilibrant? I have pretty horrendous reactions to the ingredients in Equilibrant (MCS sucks).
 

Patrick*

Formerly PWCalvin
Messages
245
Location
California
Hixxy, I wouldn't characterize it as assumption. He's treating based on biopsy and/or clinical observation. But regardless, Equillibrant is supposed to balance the immune system, so it's not just for enteroviruses.
 

clive powney

Senior Member
Messages
206
Location
coventry
appointment write up

Pwcalvin,

Thanks for joining in - the more the merrier!
Can you forward on the appointment transcript as I am not under Dr chia and any additional info will be helpful to me
Hope all goes well

Clive
 

jstefl

Senior Member
Messages
250
Location
Brookfield, Wisconsin
I have been on Oxymatrine and Equilibrant for over three years now. I started on the Oxy and switched to Equilibrant after it came out.

At this point, I am able to handle only three tablets a day. Any more, and bad things happen, headaches, extreme tiredness, etc.

It took me some time to get up to the three a day level. My advice is to start very slowly, and take plenty of time before you increase the dose.

Dr. Chia feels that you should see a difference in a few months if it is going to work for you. In my case, I didn't notice any difference for over a year. After three years, I definitely am benefitting from it. I ran out a couple of weeks ago, and noticed my stomach distress returning in a big way. I immediately needed one to two Zantac a day. Once my new supply came, things returned to normal.

I have had two separate biopsys and a blood test. The blood test showed two coxsackie and one echovirus present. Dr. Chia's testing showed more than 50% of my cells were infected.

I have also had a part of my colon removed due to recurring polyps. Is this due to the enteroviruses? I can't prove it, but I believe that it is.

John
 

xrunner

Senior Member
Messages
843
Location
Surrey
Is Dr Chia testing patients for enterovirus before treating them or treating them based on assumption?

What is the best alternative to Equilibrant? I have pretty horrendous reactions to the ingredients in Equilibrant (MCS sucks).

There are several antiviral synergistic components like astragalus, selenium, shiitake, olive leaf etc. but astragalus is the key ingredient, in my opinion.
There are lots of studies on this herb as anticancer, immune stimulant and heart problems, including fatigue states. There are specific studies showing it inhibits Coxsachie viruses which are one species of the enteroviruses Dr Chia found.
It's supposed to enhance Th1 cytokines, increase CD4+ count, stimulate macrophages and natural killer cells.
Astragalus is mainly contraindicated for autoimmune conditions and chronic late-stage Lyme disease if there's an already raised Th1/autoimmune state.
I use the whole herb, which is supposed to be more effective than extracts, in soups and teas.
 

clive powney

Senior Member
Messages
206
Location
coventry
I know this disease is very difficult to understand and there are many contradictions everywhere we look. What I thought was that olive leaf extract was used to treat chronic lyme disease, so I dont understand fully xrunners post??