for me, nothing helps until I get a lot of rest when I need it... I've been on a push-crash cycle my whole adult life, and when I crash, I need to just go to bed.. If I haven't been eating right, then that's part of the first step, too...Then I slowly start trying things to replenish and detox.
Any way of tricking the immune system into "revving up"?
1. Anti-oxidants are helpful for me... I struggle w detoxing pollution / particulate matter, even though my city is mostly hovers between "yellow" and "green" for a pollution rating .... Here are the things my body responds to, listed in order of frequency:
Magnesium - heavy metal chelator, and good for mito.... I take this often
Zinc - fairly high doses of a bio-available form
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Vitamin C - from tapioca (non-corn derived). I use ecological formulas brand
astaxanthin - anti-inflammatory, too
Vitamin D - don't take it every day, but I take it for a boost.
Methylfolate - can increase SOD, and I just got a nice boost from it this week.. However, you need to ensure that you have manganese, zinc and copper, so I suggest rotating. I don't take it very often, but I keep it on hand and it was helpful this week
2. Anti Inflammatories
wobenzyme or vascuzyme - these were a big help, and I don't read much about it on CFS forums/literature, so I think it's an over looked anti-inflammatory
betaine hcl - goes hand-in-hand w wobie and vascuzyme
DHA - EPA lowers NK cells, so I don't take both...
3. miscellaneous
glutamine - one of the few things that helps w brain fog, albeit only for a little while; makes my sinuses/head feel clearer; listing it because I think gut supps help w inflammation and immunity
oregano oil - primarily for gut/sinuses, but helps w inflammation, too
4. Immune modulators
I just had a bad experience w mushrooms (chaga, reishi, cordyceps) in June-July... However, the inflammation in my respiratory system and head was so much better at first... I felt like I could take a deep breath for the first time in a long time.... I think I over did it, so I'll try again at a very low dose... Inosine did nothing, but a lot of ppl like it.
And if that were possible, would it lead to further related problems after a while?
start low and go slow is the PR mantra, and in my experience, this is particularly true for anything affecting the immune system..No miracles, unfortunately.. Most things that made me feel much better really fast also made me crash (except wobenzyme, which is not a miracle but has been excellent for inflammation)...
Arginine made me feel incredible, and particularly helped concentration and brain fog... I have never felt so organized in my adult life! one of the worst crashes I've ever had
Prednisone is evil, but it's the only thing that would bring the swelling down in my throat after mono in 2001... I think that the bad effects lasted much longer than any doctor would believe