One long COVID patient cured, and another makes massive improvement, from high-dose vitamin D at 20,000 IU or more daily

[Hip]

This reddit post says:

I met a guy who’s a scientist about a year [ago] who cured his long covid through taking extremely high doses (upwards of 20,000IU, sometimes 40,000IU a day). I’ve started taking similar amounts over the last few months and I have to say it’s making a massive difference.

This is reminiscent of the Coimbra protocol, which uses very high doses of vitamin D3 (40,000 IU to 200,000 IU per day) to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Prof Cicero Coimbra hypothesises that some people have vitamin D resistance, and so require high doses of vitamin D in order to obtain its physiological benefits.

 

[Treeman]

Do you know if they slowly increased the dose? And how long before they saw benefits? Thanks

 

[Hip]

Do you know if they slowly increased the dose? And how long before they saw benefits?

I only know what was written in the Reddit post. The fact he said he was taking high-dose vitamin D over "the last few months" but only posted his success now suggests it took a few months to work.

 

[cfs since 1998]

Prof Cicero Coimbra hypotheses that some people have vitamin D resistance, and so require high doses of vitamin D in order to obtain its physiological benefits.

I looked into this. He said if you have Vitamin D resistance you would have elevated parathyroid horome (PTH). Mine is normal.

 

[pamojja]

Suppressed parathyroid hormone otherwise could indicate too high doses of supplemental Vitamin D3.

I, too, had a remarkable correlation of a too high vitamin 25(OH)D3 serum level, and remission from post exertional malaise (without ever having had elevated PTH). From looking at correlations then, from an old post:

In below table I added max. pain-free walking distance (PFWD; in kms at about 4/hr), Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive Protein (CRP), and Ankle Brachial Index (ABI; normal ≥9). Vitamin D intake (mcg), serum level (25-OH-D), whole-body sun-exposure (hrs/year), and total testosterone (TT) for their very strong correlation. The very high inflammation in '06, 2 years before the PAD diagnosis, was caused by a Myopericarditis.

year:   PFWD   ESR    CRP   ABI    mcg    hrs    25-D    TT    CIMT

2006:    -     74    96      -       -      -      -      -     -
  -      -      -     -      -       -      -      -      -     -
2008:    0.3    5     -     0.7      -      -      -      -     -
2009:    1      8     1.6    -      50      -      -      -     -
2010:    4     15.5   3.4    -     160     60     63     399    -
2011:    6      4     2.4   0.5    240     60     43     220    -
2012:    3      -     5.2   0.8    300     60     62     262    1.3 mm
2013:    3.5   68.5   3.7    -     200    220     84     320    -
2014:    5      9     4.8   0.7    190    220     50     340    1.9 mm
2015:    8     11.5   2.5    -     210    220     78     351    -
2016:    9      8     1.1   0.7    170    240     72     468    1.8 mm
2017:    9     18     1.7    -     220    340    101     631    -
2018:    -     32     5.1   0.9    160    340     93     681    1.0 mm
2019:    -     18.5   2      -     190    340     85     368    -

Seems the high inflammation with the year long chronic bronchitis in '12 progressed CIMT quite some further (a 20% yearly increase), and only around the time I lost my walking-disability it started to regress.

(note: above are yearly averages if more than 1 data-point was available, for example highest hsCRP in '12 was 7.6 mg/l, following ESR in '13 actually 130 mm/hr; highest 25(OH)D 135 ng/ml, lowest total testosterone 187 ng/dl)

I experienced a remission in walking-disability from PAD around 2015, where my carotid intimal thickness paradoxically was at its worse. Which only regressed after substantially overdosing by whole-body sunshine-exposure with an accidentally highest 25(OH)D3 serum level at 135 ng/ml. After which PEMs ceased too.

Still do have the same limitations (not more than 4 hours work and at least 10 hours sleep), but exhaustion, pains or fog isn't carried over to the next day (or actually days, if I wouldn't find time to completely take off a full day).

Other confounders to the remission of PEMs had been the extraction of a root-canal treated tooth. Mg-Sulfate IVs (against a intractable Mg deficiency) and LDN above 2 mg/d.

However, nothing stands out in my regular lab-work as 25(OH)D3, raising total testosterone along with it.