Hello,
Bit of a summary:
I was on the full protocol until last week.
I had been having various side effects for a long time and I couldn't figure them out but I was doing all sorts of experiments to get to the bottom of it. Side effects:
1. Declining sex drive which went to zero
2. Feeling hyper slightly wired but tired
3. Heavily disrupted sleep for months which never calmed down
4. Depression which gradually got worse and worse
5. Very tired eyes, very tired in the evenings. Not a symptom of ME as far as I'm concerned. Fatigue and exhaustion yes but tiredness like this...no
6. Increased brain fog
So some good news. Most of my symptoms which disappeared are still gone:
1. Virals symptoms, sore throat, lymph nodes swollen, getting a cold all the time and feeling sick all the time.
2. Cranial cervical spinal and muscular issues. Spinal issues are still gone proper methylation appears to have been the answer, haven't had any inflamation below my skull or in the occipital area for months. As for the muscle issues if I stop b12 they come back.
3. Fatigue: eventually it stopped and I haven't had it that bad for at least a month or two.
4. PEM is not blocked but substantially reduced 80%
5. I can go out 3 times a week now.
6. Until last week I was doing 40 minute walks 2 or 3 times a week. But then I had a sudden bout of gastrointestinal distress and now I am much weaker. No idea why. Suspect change in probiotic experiments ongoing.
So explanation on side effects:
1. 5-ar inhibitors: my prolactin came back very high, which means dopamine is low usually. My sex drive was zero, I was very depressed, I had no motivation to do anything. 2 weeks ago I removed lion's mane and this seemed to fix the problem. I'm fine now really sex drive normal, depression gone.
2. Wired but hyper: egcg was the culprit. This stuff is honestly brilliant but man it's hard to tolerate long term. It has so many awesome properties. It even helps my neck stiffness remain at bay. But it's another 5-ar inhibitor and it makes me feel off anyway.
3. Sleep: primarily b vitamin driven. Experiments ongoing but much better since I started removing and compounding my own b vitamin's.
4. Tiredness: the first few months of taking Thorne b complex my sleep was crap but my energy levels gradually improved. Then about a month ago when I had to start coming off it due to terrible sleep problems I noticed that my voice which had been rough and super croaky and my eyes which had become extremely tired disappeared. Both symptoms just vanished. For some reason b12 does this to me. Not got a clue why. It's nothing to do with potassium or too little folate. Experiments ongoing. Next to try bioavailable cofactors from b12oils.com.
5. Much worse brain fog: the b vitamin's give me brain fog simple as that. However on Friday last week before my gastro intestinal meltdown I got 5 hours of totally free brain fog from some b12 I took. The next day I took b12 and went to sleep for 4 hours. But I was sick by then so that night have been immune activation. Today is Monday I took b12 and didn't get much of a boost. Experiments ongoing: my bottle is a year old and running out fresh oil on the way!
Also I feel like I have symptoms of a bacterial issue all the time now. Like I can't concentrate easily I feel foggy drained or have little motivation. I want to buy anti biotics because I had an infection in my throat and I'm convinced it never cleared. I was feeling amazing until I got my second jab and subsequent throat infection. Felt like shit ever since. So another possibly experiment is a week of anti biotics. But I need to find the right one. Doxycycline possibly.
Basically my body works much better. Assume th1 potentiation and anti viral action. But my brain does not. Assume th2 suppression causing bacteria to proliferate more easily.
Re th2 experiments ongoing: try 150 billion cfu probiotic with over 30 strains and see if these symptoms improve. Solar ray 24 strain did wonders for me before I started the protocol.
Hope that helps.
