Pun intended.
I have just updated my blog about the lactic acid/PEM problem in ME, as I have had great success with Chinese skullcap, basically becoming functionally normal.
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/blo...-understanding-of-me-part-4-lactic-acid.2184/
NB// I think the link should work when the edit is approved. I will then post the relevant portion here for those who don't feel up to reading or scrolling to the end of my blog.
My blog also points out that it occasionally causes hepatoxicity.
Edit: I have put the correct link in now. Here is the section of my blog on Chinese skullcap:
Second Update for 2020:
I have found something that is much more effective than ALA: Chinese skullcap. When I wrote above that ALA allowed me to exercise like a normal person, this was only true in a certain sense: I could manage a fairly strenous one hour work out, but I would have to be careful with cardio, and would use the breathing exercises popularized by Wim Hof (actually the less stressful alternative where you breathe in and out deeply). Anyway, with Chinese skullcap I do not have to be careful anymore, as long as I take it beforehand, and do not need to do the breathing exercises to keep my heartrate within a certain limit, while working out actually feels healthy now, like it does for normal people, rather than something that I am pushing my body to do.
Rationale: I started taking Chinese skullcap on the basis of the recent article that showed that people with ME only have a problem with the fifth step in the energy chain, and discovered that ALA only affects the downstream ones, while Chinese skullcap exerts its effect on the fifth. The analogy I came up with for this is that ALA in ME is like putting higher-grade fuel in a faulty engine: it will increase the performance but the engine is still inefficient; while Chinese skullcap basically corrects the problem with the engine itself.
Things to be aware of: Just as with DCA and ALA, overuse of Chinese skullcap seems to make my peripheral neuropathy flare up again. So far, it seems to fit between DCA and ALA in terms of this effect, so I think I will try to reserve Chinese skullcap for when I really need it (such as before exercise) and use ALA the rest of the time. Another reason to do this is that Chinese skullcap is a rare but likely cause of acute liver damage, according to an article I read summarizing this effect, whereas ALA seems not to have any very deleterious effects. The liver damage thing is reversible if it is caught early enough and the use of skullcap is discontinued, so this is something that anyone taking Chinese skullcap should keep in mind. I really don't want to not be able to take the single most effective treatment I have found for the lactic acid problem because I have overdone it and harmed my liver.
I have taken skullcap for over a month so far, and this has pretty much made me functionally normal, which has always been my goal in terms of pursuing treatment; I like to think that I am the normal person version of Henry Slade, the diabetic in the England rugby team who is able to play one of the most physical sports at an elite level, as long as he takes his insulin before the game. As a 35-year old with ME though, I am just happy if I can stay in shape and enjoy exercise again.
NB// I will post some links to the studies I mention soon. If anyone has any questions about anything relating to this, please just ask. I hope some of the long hours I have spent reading medical articles will prove helpful to others as well.
I have just updated my blog about the lactic acid/PEM problem in ME, as I have had great success with Chinese skullcap, basically becoming functionally normal.
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/blo...-understanding-of-me-part-4-lactic-acid.2184/
NB// I think the link should work when the edit is approved. I will then post the relevant portion here for those who don't feel up to reading or scrolling to the end of my blog.
My blog also points out that it occasionally causes hepatoxicity.
Edit: I have put the correct link in now. Here is the section of my blog on Chinese skullcap:
Second Update for 2020:
I have found something that is much more effective than ALA: Chinese skullcap. When I wrote above that ALA allowed me to exercise like a normal person, this was only true in a certain sense: I could manage a fairly strenous one hour work out, but I would have to be careful with cardio, and would use the breathing exercises popularized by Wim Hof (actually the less stressful alternative where you breathe in and out deeply). Anyway, with Chinese skullcap I do not have to be careful anymore, as long as I take it beforehand, and do not need to do the breathing exercises to keep my heartrate within a certain limit, while working out actually feels healthy now, like it does for normal people, rather than something that I am pushing my body to do.
Rationale: I started taking Chinese skullcap on the basis of the recent article that showed that people with ME only have a problem with the fifth step in the energy chain, and discovered that ALA only affects the downstream ones, while Chinese skullcap exerts its effect on the fifth. The analogy I came up with for this is that ALA in ME is like putting higher-grade fuel in a faulty engine: it will increase the performance but the engine is still inefficient; while Chinese skullcap basically corrects the problem with the engine itself.
Things to be aware of: Just as with DCA and ALA, overuse of Chinese skullcap seems to make my peripheral neuropathy flare up again. So far, it seems to fit between DCA and ALA in terms of this effect, so I think I will try to reserve Chinese skullcap for when I really need it (such as before exercise) and use ALA the rest of the time. Another reason to do this is that Chinese skullcap is a rare but likely cause of acute liver damage, according to an article I read summarizing this effect, whereas ALA seems not to have any very deleterious effects. The liver damage thing is reversible if it is caught early enough and the use of skullcap is discontinued, so this is something that anyone taking Chinese skullcap should keep in mind. I really don't want to not be able to take the single most effective treatment I have found for the lactic acid problem because I have overdone it and harmed my liver.
I have taken skullcap for over a month so far, and this has pretty much made me functionally normal, which has always been my goal in terms of pursuing treatment; I like to think that I am the normal person version of Henry Slade, the diabetic in the England rugby team who is able to play one of the most physical sports at an elite level, as long as he takes his insulin before the game. As a 35-year old with ME though, I am just happy if I can stay in shape and enjoy exercise again.
NB// I will post some links to the studies I mention soon. If anyone has any questions about anything relating to this, please just ask. I hope some of the long hours I have spent reading medical articles will prove helpful to others as well.
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