Super report, Joey. Thanks for being so diligent with the notes and details of your meeting! On the heels of the videos I just saw of the WPI grand opening, I'm really encouraged.
I would also agree with you about the diagnostic capability of these three Doctors- Dr. De Meirleir, Dr. Peterson, and Dr. Lapp. They have been doing this so long, they really don't need dozens of tests and workups to see if you are a candidate or not of Ampligen. With or without an XMRV panel, these guys having been in the game for 20 years or more, and after hundreds of patients, can just tell.
A few more comments about AMPLIGEN from my research and experience:
1. Ampligen works. Dr. Peterson's consideration of the age of the patient is something very few talk about, and I am elated he did with you. To me, stem-cell therapy in Panama would be the last resort for a young man like you- and only AFTER you'd given Ampligen a good shot. I say this only because of my own research- I have personally communicated with almost a dozen patients who have been or are on Ampligen now, and just like you said, none has died, none got worse, and almost all got better. Yes, there are a few who have had to go back and get "boosters", like our dear friend Mary Schweitzer, but I know three of the original 1991 group of patients who have lived almost 2 decades of "normal" lives after their treatment on that first "trial"- an have needed no boosters.
2. Ampligen starts working fast. I was on Valcyte for 6 months and never felt like it was working. The first time Ampligen entered my veins, I knew it was the real deal for me. I got hunger pains within 10 minutes. I remembered Spanish words I had long since forgotten. That night I slept and dreamed like a baby in REM- something I hadn't done in years. Over the next months of Ampligen, yes, the side effects hit you- you feel like you have the flu, there are muscle aches etc. as the Rnase levels rise and fall, and the cytokines race. But your family and friends will say, "even though you are feeling sick, you seem more cogent, more lucid!"
3. Ampligen is expensive, but you can go back to work. When I decided to fly half way around the world and start Ampligen 7 months ago, and essentially spend my retirement savings for this drug, the money was never the issue for me- because I knew that if I got better, I could make the money back. So many who have been treated with Ampligen have gone back to regular, full time paying jobs. Just this week at our clinic we will say goodbye to a woman from Europe who has finished her year here on Ampligen. When she arrived, she could barely walk they tell me. Today she does 12 hour days, including 1 hour of exercise each day! She'll go back to Europe and likely work in the legal field. So in the final analysis, I had to monetize the remaining years of my life, and my equation/conclusions were these:
Question: Is it worth $30,000 and 1 year of my life to try the treatment that has the MOST reported success to date? Answer: Yes
Question: If I spend the $30K and 1 year of my life and get better, would it have been worth it?
Answer: Yes
Question: If I spend the $30K and 1 year of my life, and don't get better, would it have been worth it?
Answer: Yes- because it was the best option I had.
Thanks again, Joey. Please keep us posted on your next steps.