• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Is the Marshall Protocol a good or dumb idea?

This is a very boring blog, I'm afraid, but so important for me.

I have finally found a doctor who is interesting in treating my CFS. BUT I think she's wrong. She wants me to do the Marshall Protocol...personally, I KNOW I have POTS that has been caused by herpes viruses (ie. Epstein Barr and Herpest Zoster). And I KNOW that the POTS is causing me massive stomach problems. She knows less than myself about these issues...maybe I should just go and get my own degree?

Is the Marshall Protocol insane? Is it worth it?

Comments

There is only one answer to both your questions: yes.

Yes its insane, and yes its worth it - it all depends on the situation. Some patients do very well, some do badly, some don't respond. Some respond but have bad side effects. Which are you? I don't know the answer to that. There is no simple answer. If you are a good responder, it might be fantastic. If you are one of those who do badly it might be a nightmare. Maybe you should do more reading and see how other patients have responded, then discuss this with your doctor again.

One thing I can say is that I have not heard of very many who fully recover on it - like most therapies it can improve some patients, but full recovery seems to be more by chance than by any protocol. A good number do improve, but I am unable to give you an idea as to whether or not improvement it worth it. I have never been on the Marshall Protocol, but have talked to many who have, including doctors who have used it.

For me, I think it has a poor cost/benefit/risk ratio. If I had chronic Lyme disease I might be tempted though.

Bye
Alex

PS there are a few good doctors in Aus, where are you? I am just outside of Brisbane.
 
I would look into Prof. Marty Pall's theories as well as the MP. The Marshall protocol, like most other 'sometimes successful' CFS therapies, uses drugs/supplements that help regulate NO/ONOO- levels. In the case of MP, there are multiple studies showing that minocycline uniquely helps manage NO/ONOO-
 
Hi kurt, I would just like to say I agree with you, I am a huge fan of Marty's work. If a patient has MCS or lots of intolerances that fall short of MCS, the anecdotal reports I am reading suggest that Marty's protocol can work very well. Bye, Alex
 
I saw a doctor about 5 years ago who wanted to treat my CFS as well, but again, only with the Marshall Protocol. I decided against it, which was somewhat easy given that she was offended that I wanted to take a week to think about it.

Earlier this year I had an infection that required many, many weeks on minocycline (which I had never taken before), and I was surprised to find that my overall stamina improved, got more rest from my sleep and was able to do minor exercise. It was a great trial because of the length of time I was on the meds, and I could follow how long the improvements lasted. I was impressed with the overall results (although I did have the side effect of strong vertigo that did not subside substantially) and it made me realize that the inflammation and low-level infections were very much a part of my CFS, always. It didn't change my mind about the MP though, partially because my low blood pressure just would not make sense with Benicar, and I still haven't seen/heard evidence of being on these meds for years/months as being any more helpful than being on another antibiotic(s) for a prolonged period. It's also serious to take any abx for that amount of time, and it hits the digestive system hard for some people and is okay for others... but it's the luck of the draw. One thing I had not heard about prior to taking minocycline is that it generally permanently stains the teeth dark if used for months. Luckily I was off of it before anything like that happened, but I can't recall having heard much about that before.

And, maybe most importantly, you need to feel really confident about your doctor and really heard before you make any substantial changes or take on any long-term protocols!
 
Definitely worth a try. It has helped me alot. I have lyme and cfs and standard lyme treatments did nothing (I mean nothing); nor have traditional nor alternative treatments helped, the exception being pain control and sleep control. The MP got me off 20+ years of sleep meds, and now i sleep deeply without any aids. Pain levels and pain meds have been reduced too. Improves the whole nervous system and endocrine system. It helps if you can read a lot on the site before you start.

The science, molecular biology, is technical and cutting edge. There are areas on the site where things are things are simplified for the general reader. I think someone was asking about the immune system. The idea is the innate immune system is not working well, this is corrected. I also have problems with the adaptive immune system, this gets improved too. You have to get the VDR receptor working (and a cascade of other things that change) or nothing much helps. That was my case; regular antibiotics or lyme protocols did nothing until the VDR got fixed.

After being very ill over 30 years, and trying most everything that came along, this is the ONLY thing i can recommend to people ( along with pain control and sleep control of course, that goes without saying). Good luck to you.
 

Blog entry information

Author
Nermalina
Read time
1 min read
Views
819
Comments
6
Last update

More entries in User Blogs

  • Daily doodal dandy
    Just testing this out
  • Covid day 75
    Well since my last few updates I started to suffer from exhaustion and...
  • Pray
    If you pray, will you pray for me please? I have covid pneumonia and...

More entries from Nermalina