The ingredient that caught my attention is elderberry. That seriously increases my symptom severity. Whenever I find a multi-ingredient product that affects me, I try the ingredients separately to find out which is the active one. If elderberries are the useful ingredient for you, you can probably find a cheaper source, and one with fewer potential side-effects.
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Sick but never sick
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JaimeS
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As per above, @Wishful , I only take it in small quantities when I need to boost immune function. Otherwise I don't touch it at all. 
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same! i do get colds but they’re always very minor. i also don’t think it’s a sign of good immune function. recently i caught a virus, and it was the first time since 2019 when i had a full blown immune response, fever and all. and compared to how i was before, i feel fantastic. still severe but not very severe. dreading the potential relapse.
this makes me think, does that mean treatments and supplements that activate the immune system could be beneficial? i used to think i should avoid them bc of potential autoimmunity involved in CFS. do you have any experience with treatments like that? i’m thinking i should try the staph vaccine if i can get my hands on it.
Tammy
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Not sure by what you mean by treatments that activate the immune system? Maybe you could give an example. I take a number of supplements that support the immune system. Mostly herbal anti-virals, B12, Zinc, C to name a few. I'm not a proponent of autoimmunity theory as I don't think that our own body attacks itself. I do believe though that our immune system attacks pathogens. Personally, I don't feel comfortable with vaccines. Do you know how the whole staph vaccine for CFS got started and what is the explanation for why it could help?
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Never getting ill Here either. First time i cought a Cold was 3 days after a thymosin alpha 1 injection. I Had horrible Side effects so i am afraid to do it again but yeah. I will at some Point.
Anyone in the never getting ill hive mind tried astralagus?
Never getting ill Here either. First time i cought a Cold was 3 days after a thymosin alpha 1 injection. I Had horrible Side effects so i am afraid to do it again but yeah. I will at some Point.
Anyone in the never getting ill hive mind tried astralagus?
never getting colds or flu - even when surrounded by people who have them - is common in people with chronic Lyme -
i didn't get a single one for the first 5 years i was ill with Lyme and bartonellosis - and only started getting them again when i was past 50% recovered
around 30% of chronic lyme patients also develop hashimotos thyroiditis - so that's another potential indicator - i developed that also
unfortunately this is not an indication that the immune system is working well - but is instead dysregulated - it just happens to be dysregulated in such a way as the normal response to viral infections is not taking place.
remember - the immune system is not a single scale like its made out to be on TV adverts and the backs of supplement bottles -as it it were like your hi-fi volume knob and you can simply turn it up or turn it down - at will - instead its a very complex and sophisticated system with maybe 50 different cytokines and chemokines - 30 different cells types and additional neuroendocrine elements also.
some are pro-inflammatory - some are anti-inflammatory - some are regulatory - and all are supposed to work together in a complex interconnected dance in response to your changing environment.
any spanner in the works will stop it doing what its supposed to do - cause it to over react in some places and under react in others - of just get stuck in one mode rather than following its usual cycle.
i didn't get a single one for the first 5 years i was ill with Lyme and bartonellosis - and only started getting them again when i was past 50% recovered
around 30% of chronic lyme patients also develop hashimotos thyroiditis - so that's another potential indicator - i developed that also
unfortunately this is not an indication that the immune system is working well - but is instead dysregulated - it just happens to be dysregulated in such a way as the normal response to viral infections is not taking place.
remember - the immune system is not a single scale like its made out to be on TV adverts and the backs of supplement bottles -as it it were like your hi-fi volume knob and you can simply turn it up or turn it down - at will - instead its a very complex and sophisticated system with maybe 50 different cytokines and chemokines - 30 different cells types and additional neuroendocrine elements also.
some are pro-inflammatory - some are anti-inflammatory - some are regulatory - and all are supposed to work together in a complex interconnected dance in response to your changing environment.
any spanner in the works will stop it doing what its supposed to do - cause it to over react in some places and under react in others - of just get stuck in one mode rather than following its usual cycle.
while of course i do treat and try to approach my suspected infections, garzie i still doubt its my ONLY problem.
maybe i am naive but i just cant wrap my head around the idea that bartonella is the only thing wrong in my body. they found it in the smear so its most likely there and i of course do not ignore that.
i treat with herbs mainly at the moment. but i have a Rx of rifampin and minocycline here. if i improve on that its cristal clear i would say.
My current idea after apheresis is to go with: lactoferrin, ku shen, taxifolin and cryptolepis.
maybe i am naive but i just cant wrap my head around the idea that bartonella is the only thing wrong in my body. they found it in the smear so its most likely there and i of course do not ignore that.
i treat with herbs mainly at the moment. but i have a Rx of rifampin and minocycline here. if i improve on that its cristal clear i would say.
My current idea after apheresis is to go with: lactoferrin, ku shen, taxifolin and cryptolepis.
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