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Crash after taking ALA

Messages
66
Alpha lipoic acid really helped my brain fog and overall energy but unfortunately it gave me insomnia.

I have stopped taking now for nearly a week and have crashed back to my old energy levels.

How can a supplement make so much difference yet the body can't work by itself to reduce inflammation or do its job properly!!

I feel so useless, was due to go back to work in 3 weeks, just did 1 call this morning and am absolutely wiped out and back in bed!

Apparently according to the covid recovery programme after 4 to 5 months you are no longer post viral but infact CFS?

I am pretty devistated and really don't see much point in living if all I do is lay down and can't even use my brain properly
 

lenora

Senior Member
Messages
4,913
Please bear in mind that symptoms come and go. If you can't work perhaps you can do it from home. It does take time to adjust to having not just this illness but so many, as I can attest at age 73. Exhaustion is one of the big unknowns of this disease, but I can also assure you that we now have more researchers working on the problem than ever before in our history.

I've been in almost the worst shape imaginable from this illness, and now I sit for and do small chores the entire day, walk around the house and exercise (mildly) a few times/day, I spend a lot of time in Doctors' offices (ugh!), still do a large amount of volunteer work via computer, read voraciously....not fluff, but serious books, have friends visit me and we'll sit outside so we can enjoy nature, minus the mosquitoes. True, I was never able to return to work, but it was a combination of many serious diseases and illnesses that combined to cause that.

It will take you time to adjust, just like it does most of us. Some have a harder time doing that than others. I found that if I lay down for a bit after getting dressed, I can then take the next number of steps. I no longer have to do that, and can do my hair and make-up and be ready to go and still able to function. I don't know the turns your life will take; and you don't know either. I just know we have more control over how we handle things than we think. Tomorrow may be a better day for you. Just be. Wishing you well. Yours, Lenora.
 
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ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
I feel so useless, was due to go back to work in 3 weeks, just did 1 call this morning and am absolutely wiped out and back in bed!

Apparently according to the covid recovery programme after 4 to 5 months you are no longer post viral but infact CFS?

I am pretty devistated and really don't see much point in living if all I do is lay down and can't even use my brain properly

If you do have CFS, you can still improve or even fully recover. I know of 2 people that I use to talk to, one on this forum and another on a different forum, that have both fully recovered and are no longer at this forum or the other one.

I have improved my health from being bedridden most of the time and only able to shower once every 4-5 days or so, to almost never taking a nap, unless I didn't get at least 7-7.5 hours of sleep.

I have a fairly normal routine but am not able to work and maintain cooking 3 meals a day, doing laundry, making my bed, doing dishes, keeping my apartment clean, showering and more, every day.

So this illness can be improved and even recovered from. Hang in there. Keep asking questions, looking for answers and finding things that help you improve your health.

You might need to take very, very low doses of supplements and very slowly increase them over time to get to a good dose. That's what I need to do or I get massive anxiety and insomnia. It takes time but the benefits I have from doing this are enormous.
 
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gbells

Improved ME from 2 to 6
Messages
1,491
Location
Alexandria, VA USA
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a very strong anti-oxidant. What happens in ME with strong anti-oxidants (ie. ALA, vitamin E) is that it tamps down the elevated immune response so you temporarily get more energy but then crash the next day. It encourages you not to pace energy use (spoons). That's why I don't take them. The suppressed immune response also puts you at increased risk of cancer which is what we saw with Vit E in smokers.
 
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uglevod

Senior Member
Messages
220
Alpha Lipoic Acid is NOT an antibiotic.

I know its commonly referred as an antioxidant, metals mover, but according to pubmed research alpha lipoic acid has some antibiotic properties too. So my bet is on its abx effect, since its typical to have a return of the symptoms(even a temporal spike) once abx is withdrawn.

For example insomnia is a very classic herx - I got it constantly from abxs capable of crossing BBB, and ALA is small enough molecule to pass. Fatigue too(especially on withdrawal).
 

gbells

Improved ME from 2 to 6
Messages
1,491
Location
Alexandria, VA USA

uglevod

Senior Member
Messages
220
I got some and I am still scared to- launch that. If I start to dump metals- this all gets much worse.

Dr. Andy Cutler "chelation" using mini dosage of ALA is usually well tolerated in all ages and all cases.

It's also anti-inflammatory. That's probably causing the temporary improvement.

Yep, as many other abxs: anti infl. short term(first hours/days depending on half time) - pro infl. long term(up to several days/weeks).

P.S. forgot to add: again according to PubMed it works against biofilms too. All things considered and given a history of its usage and safety profile it could be an excellent drug to clean out some infections/biofilms/metals out of the brain.
 
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gbells

Improved ME from 2 to 6
Messages
1,491
Location
Alexandria, VA USA
Dr. Andy Cutler "chelation" using mini dosage of ALA is usually well tolerated in all ages and all cases.



Yep, as many other abxs: anti infl. short term(first hours/days depending on half time) - pro infl. long term(up to several days/weeks).

P.S. forgot to add: again according to PubMed it works against biofilms too. All things considered and given a history of its usage and safety profile it could be an excellent drug to clean out some infections/biofilms/metals out of the brain.

What biofilms? You haven't established a bacterial infection is present.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Alpha lipoic acid really helped my brain fog and overall energy but unfortunately it gave me insomnia.

I have stopped taking now for nearly a week and have crashed back to my old energy levels.

Alpha lipoic acid is a supplement that helps the mitochondria, the energy producing organelles in each cell.

It's possible other mitochondrial supplements might help. These include Q10, acetyl-L-carnitine, malic acid.

You can also try reducing your dose of ALA to say a quarter.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
P.S. forgot to add: again according to PubMed it works against biofilms too. All things considered and given a history of its usage and safety profile it could be an excellent drug to clean out some infections/biofilms/metals out of the brain.

I'm going to try working on this and include the proteolytic enzyme, serrapeptase. It improves biofilms as well.
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Alpha lipoic acid is a supplement that helps the mitochondria, the energy producing organelles in each cell.

It's possible other mitochondrial supplements might help. These include Q10, acetyl-L-carnitine, malic acid.

You can also try reducing your dose of ALA to say a quarter.

Yes, Alpha-lipoic-acid is a mitochondrial supplement. It is a natural part of the human mitochondria.

It is also used as a chelator to remove heavy metals such as mercury or lead, but I don't know how safe or effective that may be. There are reports of people developing iron deficiency from excessive use of ALA. (ALA also chelates iron, zinc, and copper.)

I have never heard of it referred to as an antibiotic.

For me personally, I have used very low doses of ALA, CoQ10, and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR). Higher doses give me more energy, but eventually lead to insomnia.

Hope this helps.