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how can I stop getting cold viruses?

Messages
54
Location
Australia
I need help to stop getting cold viruses that last for 12 weeks!! These days I am never without a virus, as soon as one peters out I come in contact with someone who has a virus and down I go again for another 12 weeks. I just get out of bed for a few days and then I get another one.

I've had CFS/ME/FMS/for 28 years, and Addisons disease for 3 years.

After having IV gammaglobulin 25 years or so ago I began to catch viruses easily and frequently. 15 years ago I took glutathione and 'voila' stopped getting viruses. BUT then couldn't tolerate glutathione any more so then took moybdenum and again I didn't get any viruses.
But I again became intolerant to molybdenum and most other supplements and got more viruses coninually.
I tried to do the chelation thing via my holistic doctor after having my amalgums out but couldn't tolerate the meds (NAC, lipoic acid). I also gave myself B12 injections monthly with no effect good or bad.

I want to try the simplified methylation treatment and think I'll send for the meds from America, but have grave doubts about tolerating them. I wonder if there is perhaps one or two of the meds (such as the b12 Guard in the protocol) that would more likely stop me getting viruses ? Does anybody know?

thanks Anne
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Hi Anne...

Glutathione helped me too, I was getting mine from undenatured whey.. but then i became intollerant to it.

I found B12 injections done once monthly no good.. I had to take them twice weekly (some with CFS/ME take them even more then that!)

What i find helpful to help stop viruses (if your viral flares arent the actual ME itself).. is to immediately take vitamin C powder with bioflavinoids in large doses, twice per day, IMMEDIATELY on viral symptoms. In my own case i can usually ward off a cold like that. (someone today posted a link to a study which said that vitamin C helped glutathione ... so maybe that's why the C helps me).

best luck
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
I agree with taking heaps of vitamin C. Personally I can use up to 6,000 mg a day when fighting an active infection.
If you have phenol intolerance or leaky gut, don't take bioflavonoids though as they'll have the same effect on you. (If you feel ill when spelling perfumes, smoke or other things, that's phenol intolerance).

Also, it is worth getting fussy about meeting people. Before visiting, ask friends if they are germ free. You could even wear a mask when going out. I have done that sometimes (feeling a total idiot, obviously) and it makes a big difference.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I agree with taking heaps of vitamin C. Personally I can use up to 6,000 mg a day when fighting an active infection.
If you have phenol intolerance or leaky gut, don't take bioflavonoids though as they'll have the same effect on you. (If you feel ill when spelling perfumes, smoke or other things, that's phenol intolerance).

Athene.. i have MCS and are very bad with perfumes and smokes (and have IBS) ... but the vitamin C and bioflavonoids in my own case still helps some (i was taking a powdered mix which had the bioflavonoids in it). Without bioflavonoids.. we dont absorb much of the vitamin C. I find supermarket vitamin C doesnt work well for me due to this reason.
........

Anne.. Athene's post made me aware that my post on taking "large doses" of vitamin C was rather vague. In my own case I actually take the same amount as Athene.. 3 grams morning and 3 grams at night. (any more then that and i get diarrhea and tummy pain from it... its a case of experiement to see how much you can tolerate.
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
Hi tania,

I know there are different types of bioflavonoids... maybe some are OK and some not? We'll have to look into this!!!

Re. Diarrhoea, have you tried spreading the doses out throughout the day? I take mine 1000mg at a time allthrough the day, and I seems to be easier on my intestine. I think that makes you absorb more too.
 
Messages
54
Location
Australia
Hi Tania and Athene,

thought I had replied but it is missing. Thanks for the suggestions. Think I will try vitamin C again even though in the past I was intolerant. Anything to raise glutathione is what I want.
 

anne_likes_red

Senior Member
Messages
1,103
Another Vit C user here :)
I can tolerate 1000mg hourly and I've taken 16 - 20 grams in a day without ill affects (managed to avoid using antibiotics on more than one occasion!). I've taken 45 grams intravenously in the past...no negative side affects.

Lypospheric (sp?) Vit C is supposed to be especially effective, and you need less of it for the same effect - it's more readily absorbed I think. I haven't tried it myself.
There was a recent 60 minutes story here about a man who seemed to beat Swine Flu, and a type of leukemia into the bargain, using Lypospheric C. He was 48 hours away from having his life support turned off when his family convinced to hospital to administer Vit C intravenously. I was interested because the type of leukemia he had was the same type (hairy cell leukemia) I was found to have a "profile for". without actually having the disease, in the early days of my ME/CFS investigations. I've heard of others with CFS being told they have that same "profile".
I've gone a bit off topic..but basically...Vit C. Worth a try!
I find this time of year - Spring here - especially bad for virus flares. Hope you find something that helps.
 

Emootje

Senior Member
Messages
356
Location
The Netherlands
I can confirm that vitamin C is helpful to prevent colds.
After many years of taking large amounts of vitamin C I decided to research why vitamin C is so helpful for me. To make a long story short... it was the laxative effect of vitamin C.
I'm now taking psyllium/inulin fiber without vitamin C and it has the same effect.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
Hi Tania and Athene,

thought I had replied but it is missing. Thanks for the suggestions. Think I will try vitamin C again even though in the past I was intolerant. Anything to raise glutathione is what I want.

How about Vitamin D and perhaps Low Dose Naltrexone(LDN)?
 
Messages
68
I have three grand kids that all live close by and all go to day care. One of them always is sick with something. I am sick constantly, I catch everything and it sets me back for weeks, sometimes months. I have found B12 shots, Vit C Vit D and mushroom supplements help some. They don't prevent me from catching everything but sometimes they seem to help with recovery. I think I might feel better if I could just go six months without catching a bug. Maybe I need to live in a bubble.

Kathy
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
this doesnt sound very sexy when it comes to treatments but washing your hands regularly go's along way in preventing colds. I agree with the vitamin c, i keep a jar of them near the computer when i have a cold and munch on them like they were peanuts. Astragalus is a herb that can help strengthen your immune system to help prevent colds/flu's. I keep meaning to take this a month before winter but always forget until i get a cold. And of cause theres lots of rest, us with cfs are usually good at this one, lol
 
Messages
1
I need help to stop getting cold viruses that last for 12 weeks!! These days I am never without a virus, as soon as one peters out I come in contact with someone who has a virus and down I go again for another 12 weeks. I just get out of bed for a few days and then I get another one.

Hi, Anne,
I have had severe CFS/ME for over 30 years, Addison's diagnosed for 25 years, Environmental Illness, etc. I was already deeply involved in alternative medicine when I became ill and had knowledge of many protocols that have helped over the years; I have not been using pharmaceuticals at all my body cant tolerate their toxicity. It was 14 years before I knew what I had, so treatment was pretty much up to me. I also had my amalgams removed, many, many chelations, etc. You name it, Ive probably done it and am the better for most of it. As for B12, I find sublingual methylcobalamin helpful.

I too am plagued with infections, especially recently, having moved from the environmental safety of my own home to an apartment building where I am being exposed to all sorts of phenols, etc.

The reason I am responding to your posting is that last Monday I began taking lypo-spheric vitamin C, having read about the case of the New Zealand farmer who recovered from Swine Flu (and leukemia) with IV Vitamin C and lypho-spheric C. I have a number of infections (some very persistent and rather long-standing), and I am seeing rather remarkable changes in just days. At this late stage with ME, Ive not been seeing much that my body responds to anymore, so this is a pleasant surprise. I didnt start out slowly as is recommended, but thats just my nature.

I took 3 packets the first day, 5 the second and have remained on 6 since (this is the dosage the New Zealand patient was on I wont stay on it long-term, but I wanted to see if I could improve my quality of life.) I am also taking one lypo-spheric glutathione per day. (I was taking whey source, but this is much better, as its delivered right to the cells without being affected by the digestive system.) This is in addition to a host of other supplements (as well as an absolutely pure organic diet and juicing). I will add that I had been taking capsules of Vit. C (about 6 - 10 grams/day min. since I was constantly battling infections) over the years and in my case it made little or no difference.

One infection was gone by Thursday (in 3 days). A lesion on my back has almost disappeared. Its been only 6 days; I'm my own guinea pig, and watching carefully. Its expensive but I wanted to give my body a chance to experience this. I find my bodys response hopeful (I have a little more energy, I sleep very, very deeply and much longer, and I wake actually feeling refreshed for a little while, all just since beginning L-S Vitamin C). I hope this information is helpful to you.
Gabby
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I had the best luck not catching everything that came my way with ProHealth's Transfer Factor Essentials, which has several immune boosters in it, including astralagus. That said, I also take MVM-A (a multivitamin -mineral antioxidant from Dr Pall's protocol) and NAC from Dr Pall's protocol. I also take 35mg B-12 daily sublingually. B-12 shots (cyanocobalamin) weren't nearly enough. I take an extra 1000mg of vitamin C if I feel like I'm coming down with something. And then there's the hand-washing and the required hand sanitizer for the students that come to me.

So I guess I take most of what people have already suggested in addition to the Transfer Factor Essentials, lol. I get lots of rest, too. Like Kathy, I encounter germy kids as well as a PWC college student, so I need all the hlep I can get. Before all the supplements, I was catching everything that came anywhere near me.
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
My son's doctor put him on an immune booster called immunozima (in Italy). I've found it in America called Immunozyme.
His blood tests (three over 6 months) showed a significant increase in white blood cells, especially neutrophils and lymphocytes. Last week he got a cold that lasted him just 2 days. His immune reaction was fast and furious and he bounced back amazingly. I really think this stuff works.

I have found a few research articles by Googling Immunozyme which also report great results in children with leukaemia, but they all say the effect stops quite rapidly after you stop using it, so it seems you need to keep on going permanently with the stuff. Luckily it's really cheap and you can buy it over the counter.

My son has been on it for 6 months now and that 2-day cold was the only one he's had the whole time, so I am going to start using it myself.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
I need help to stop getting cold viruses that last for 12 weeks!! These days I am never without a virus, as soon as one peters out I come in contact with someone who has a virus and down I go again for another 12 weeks. I just get out of bed for a few days and then I get another one.

thanks Anne

Hi Anne,

First you need to go back and be sure this is what is happening. Usually a cold virus lasts seven days. Immune problems can extend this, but there are other possibilities. Do your cold symptoms include lots of sneezing, for most of the period? If you are not sneezing then it is something else, which can then be discussed.

Bye
Alex
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
Usually a cold virus lasts seven days.

This is not my experience at all. Viruses mutate and can last MUCH MUCH longer than a week.

If you are not sneezing then it is something else, which can then be discussed.

What? :eek::confused::confused:
I almost never have sneezing colds, probably because I eat very little dairy. My cold symptoms include: sinus pain and pressure, chills, some post nasal drip, and of course the dreaded mental and physical exhaustion.

Lauricidin has been helpful for me, in addition to some of the already mentioned remedies like Vit. C and D, and Health Concerns Astra 8--a Chinese herb formula.
 

anne_likes_red

Senior Member
Messages
1,103
I've always thought my viruses - the coldy types - hit frequently and sometimes last so much longer because my immune system is tied up pretty permanently on other, Bigger, Business.
Also my iron levels are generally good, but occasionally drop a bit lower and a doctor once suggested this may be why I pick things up more than other people......this was a long time ago and that doctor was spectacularly uninformed about ME/CFS ;)

Athene - great news about improved blood test results. And a 2 day cold in 6 months...impressive! :)
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Hi Dreambirdie,

In viral research, if I am recalling correctly, the cold virus usually lasts seven days give or take one or two. Influenza is different, and doesn't always cause sneezing, but nearly always has muscle aches and pains (whereas a cold usually does not). Most of the "cold" symptoms are not the cold virus, they are from our immune system. So the virus is typically gone at seven days, but a hyperactive immune system can prolong symptoms for months. This is an entirely different problem and needs to be thought of in immunological terms, not viral terms. Calming the immune system is the goal, not something you would want to do at the height of an active viral infection. Indeed, for many of us it might be the case that XMRV becomes active and it is prolonging symptoms, long after the cold virus is beaten. There are many many possibilities.

One that hits me regularly if I am not careful is over-consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. These can induce flu-like symptoms that can persist for weeks to months, but I never sneeze from this problem. The solution here is to avoid omega-6 fats, consume more omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fat, and rest. Please note this is one out of many possible causes, which is why it is important to identify the cause as much as we can.

Bye,
Alex