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Mitochondrial encephalopathy

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Although there's still lots of room for improvement, there's been definite benefits. Cognition has improved. I'm sure it will improve more as I can tolerate increased doses. Muscle pain clears more with each increase. I'm also able to be upright for short periods of time more often. Perhaps digestion has improved somewhat....
Hi Shannah,

Thanks much for sharing your experiences. About 5-6 years ago, a poster who went by the username woofmom posted extensively on the ProHealth board on her experiences with baking soda. She no longer posts there, but left quite a legacy of sharing the things she learned and the improvements she experienced. Here's a link to a search query with the parameters of "Posts by Woofmom in Threads with Baking Soda in Title". One of her posts I just ran across succinctly describes many of the benefits she experienced from using it. Here's a Link to the following post:
I no longer get any type of headaches. My blood pressure and heart rate are now excellent. I no longer have to wear an odor control mask or respirator when I go to stores. The lump on the back of my neck is shrinking. I very seldom have any allergy type symptoms. I no longer have pain in my spleen area. My eyelids no longer swell. My red eyes are clearing up. My energy level is back to where it was 20 years ago. I wake up refreshed and alert. I no longer get shooting pains in different areas of my body. I can breathe much deeper. My excess fat is disappearing......

I asked the pharmacist where my BF gets his prescription meds if a weak solution of baking soda and water would hurt my eyes if I used it for an eyewash. He said not unless I dumped a whole box in my eyes. Unless I'm mistaken pharmacist are required to know about chemistry. Therefore when I need info, I ask him. Because I've eliminated most of the toxins from my brain I not only do my own research but I can understand what I read. Therefore I very seldom need to ask this pharmacist about anything. In fact, he sometimes asks me about some of the things I use. He has also suggested a few times that I go back to college and get a PhD. I tell him I'm not interested.

But we both agree that clearing poisons from the brain does wonders for mental and physical health. And we both agree that using things that are natural to the body is a lot safer than putting foreign substances in it. This man is a pharmacist and he told me that it is quite possible that I may never need prescription or over the counter meds again. He has watched me go from being bearly able to function to being vibrant, active, funny, personable, extremely intelligent, and happy. Apparently what I'm doing is working better than anything I could have ever imagined, baking soda and all.
 
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shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Thanks Wayne,

That's quite the testimonial for baking soda!

I can honestly say it's the single most beneficial substance or therapy I've tried and there's been many over the years. I'll explore that nice listing of threads you put together.

Thanks again,
shannah
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
thanks shannah and wayne. how interesting. i tried 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda in water today and i felt kind of strange afterwards...a little nervous ..wirey....shakey.... i am also worried about diarrhea, which i sort of have anyway due to all the antibiotics i am on. i was told to take it between meals and before bed. i can't help but wonder....are there any downsides to doing this long-term??
 
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shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
There could be a downside long term but when I researched it, I couldn't find one. I'm not done reading Wayne's links he so helpfully provided. There may be something in there.

I wouldn't have been able to take 1 1/2 teaspoons at a time. In fact, I'm still not able to after 6 or 9 months. The reaction you describe seems the same as experienced here. You may indeed want to stay close to home for a while.

Was it a medical professional who recommended this to you Daff? I'm curious.

It seems to be recommended to take it away from food so as not to interfere with stomach acid and digestion of food. I'm currently taking it twice daily - morning and bedtime. I did have a third afternoon dose in there for a while but backed off of that one.

Looser/liquid bowels is one of the detox side effects if I increase too much. I have these teeny, tiny specialty measuring spoons and unfortunately can usually only increase 1/128 tsp at a time. It takes forever to carve out any improvement but improvement is thankfully happening.
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
@Daffodil
I don't know anything about this daff but all I would say is start lower and just once a day first thing in the morning - 1/4 of a teaspoon in a glass of water perhaps?
 

Elph68

Senior Member
Messages
598
Mitochondrial dysfunction, which seems to be prominent in ME/CFS, disrupts aerobic energy production. When this happens, the body reverts to (very inefficient) anaerobic energy production, which produces a by product of lactic acid. Lactic acid is thought by some to cause brain fog, PEM and the pain of fibromyalgia.

A therapy I'm learning about is to take baking soda dissolved in water to quickly reduce lactic acid levels. Apparently there's a term "soda doping" which some athletes will do to counter lactic acid buildup from strenuous exercise. I've heard the Olympics has outlawed this practice because it's so effective.

The dosage I heard is 1/4 tsp baking soda (non-aluminum) to 1 cup water. I just tried it tonight for the first time. Felt slightly woozy for about half an hour, and then started to feel better than before taking it. So am in just the initial stage of testing this for myself.

Best, Wayne
Hi Wayne,

Mitochondrial dysfunction can be caused by Hydrogen Sulphide poisoning. Hydrogen sulphide is produced by lactic acid producing bacteria such as streptococcus, enterococcus and lactobacillus. They form biofilms in the gut and bombard the intestine wall with hydrogen peroxide causing leaky gut. Hydrogen sulphide is also a neurotoxin.

Cheers.
 

Aerose91

Senior Member
Messages
1,400
Hi Wayne,

Mitochondrial dysfunction can be caused by Hydrogen Sulphide poisoning. Hydrogen sulphide is produced by lactic acid producing bacteria such as streptococcus, enterococcus and lactobacillus. They form biofilms in the gut and bombard the intestine wall with hydrogen peroxide causing leaky gut. Hydrogen sulphide is also a neurotoxin.

Cheers.

Is there any way to test for this? I use apple cider vinegar almost daily and haven't seen any improvements- my brain is so bad now I live in a state of psychosis- never fluctuates, never improves. If I have even the slightest bout of PEM the effects are permenant. I'm wondering if baking soda is safe to try because I don't know how much more of this torture I can take.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Just thought I'd make a quick mention of one possibility as to why baking soda can be helpful for some people. When food arrives in the stomach, it's saturated with hydrochloric acid (HCL). As it enters the small intestine, the highly acidic food is then saturated with highly alkaline bile from the gall bladder to neutralize it. Here's a link to a thread I created which explains this in greater detail: --- Acid / Alkaline Burns --- Could They Cause Leaky Gut Syndrome; Other GI Issues ?

A health gall bladder should release over a quart of bile a day to neutralize the acids, and to release toxicity the liver has processed for elimination. Apparently, most people today have liver/gb stones and sludge that clogs up the works, and only allows about a cup of this highly alkalizing bile to be produced. Soooo, is it possible alkalizing baking soda is actually substituting for the lack of bile being produced by the average person? (I suspect there are reasons as well).

Another quick mention: The inexpensive amino acids taurine and glycine are primarily responsible for keeping the bile thin and liquid. Too little allows the bile to coagulate and turn into liver/gb stones and sludge.
 
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Aileen

Senior Member
Messages
615
Location
Canada
Been paying attention to all this talk about sodium bicarbonate and, in other threads, potassium.

As Christopher mentioned above, Alka Seltzer Gold somethimes helps with reactions to both chemicals (odours) and foods. Alka Seltzer GOLD (not the one in the blue box - it contains aspirin) contains sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate and citric acid. For some reason taking the salt combination without the citric acid does not give me the same results. Something to do with Krebs (aka citric acid) cycle maybe?

I'm now wondering if instead of simply taking a tablet (dissolved in water) after a problem starts, maybe I should be taking it as a supplement daily. Any thoughts on this?

Might it be better than just salt or just sodium bicarb alone? Potassium and sodium are both very important and this way you'd be supplementing the potassium too.
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
just wanted to report that taking some baking soda in water is helping my brain fog quite a bit. this is incredible. if someone had told me this years ago, i would not have tried a lot of the toxic drugs, whose effects are causing me so much trouble now.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
just wanted to report that taking some baking soda in water is helping my brain fog quite a bit. this is incredible. if someone had told me this years ago, i would not have tried a lot of the toxic drugs, whose effects are causing me so much trouble now.
how much are you taking?
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
hi inester. I am taking about 1/2 tsp in a glass of water...usually twice a day but sometimes once. I take it maybe an hour after and an hour before eating....
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
just wanted to report that taking some baking soda in water is helping my brain fog quite a bit. this is incredible. if someone had told me this years ago, i would not have tried a lot of the toxic drugs, whose effects are causing me so much trouble now.

Hi Daffodil, congratulations on your great results from taking baking soda! I speculated in This Post whether Himalayan salt might be a better alternative to baking soda, since it seems to effectively address both HCL and Bicarbonate pH issues. I've started taking the recommended dosage using THIS Technique (4 1/2 min. video), and for the the past 2-3 days have noticed improved sleep and somewhat better cognition. Amazing how such seemingly simple things can sometimes make a ton of difference for us. --- Thanks for your update! I always find these kinds of testimonials encouraging.
 

wastwater

Senior Member
Messages
1,270
Location
uk
Is it worth getting a lactic acid test done.Is lactic acid high in mitochondrial disorders