Updated 23
May 2008
Gulf War Illness
A Treatment Plan that's Working
The following physician supervised, Doxycycline based, treatment plan took me from a couch ridden invalid to a
reasonably active parent of two school age kids able to maintain a part-time
job in 5 months time. I have improved dramatically, recovered an active
life, and continued to improve steadily for the ten years I have been on this
program. Overall, I am about 98% recovered-- dramatically improved!
With medical insurance that pays 90%, 100 Doxycycline tablets cost me $9.00 (more or less a month's supply).
(Note: I am not a medical professional.
This is simply a factual report of what has worked for me. Any program of
medical treatment must be supervised by a qualified physician and tailored to
your specific needs.)
Here are the basics of the treatment program that has
worked for me:
2. Took Doxycycline 100 mg tablets 3 times a day (capsules didn't work, Azithromyacin appeared to work for my kids, but not for me). I didn't notice visible improvement for a few weeks, but somehow I knew at a deeper level that I was being healed right away. The first couple weeks I actually felt worse. This is the Herxheimer reaction caused by the toxin released by the germs as they die - it is normal and to be expected. Remember, you are fighting for your life here, as well as those of your family. Don't "chicken out" or draw any hasty conclusions during the first few weeks.
3. Eliminated every stressful aspect of my daily routine possible (some will remain of course)
4. Mild exercise only, 5 times a
week, starting at 15 minutes daily. Increase gradually as stamina
builds. Intense exercise makes symptoms worse in the early months. There
appears to be a ceiling of activity which increases as your recovery
progresses, but beyond which symptoms will be aggravated even to the point of a
major relapse.
To avoid any misunderstandings, I want to make it clear that my exercise routine remained very mild for the first two to three years of treatment. Now, at the seven-year point of treatment, I can do practically a full workout at the gym. I just have to ease back into it every time I fall off my medicine routine or slip into sugar consumption, either of which produces a short-lived relapse. During the minor relapses I cut down to less exercise, or none. Contrary to everything we have been taught and even experienced about the beneficial effects of exercise, with GWI too much of it can hurt you. The trick is to get just enough exercise to increase your circulation and general health without exhausting yourself. After a year or two of treatment you will develop the ability to read the illness and tailor the ratio of exercise and rest to the way you feel.
5. Took a lot of extra C, E & B vitamins, as well as extra basic vitamin/mineral combos.
6. I noticed that I felt better when I ate a lot of good protein source food, mainly eggs, so I added eggs to my diet 4 times a
week. (Note: I have since reduced my egg consumption somewhat out of
concern for long-term cholesterol management (2 or 3 times a week).
However, during the acute phase prior to seeing any real improvement, I felt
strongly that the eggs did in fact boost my strength to the point that I could
accomplish more of my essential daily routine as a parent. Good quality meat, cheese and lots of fresh
vegetables are now the mainstay of my
diet and I strongly feel they are needed in large amounts to maintain strength
with this illness.
The following foods & supplements have also helped a lot: ginseng & echinacea tea (both in the same cup, 2 cups a day), fresh garlic,
grape seed extract, extra fruits and vegetables. The lemon and olive
drink recommended by Dr. Nicolson also helped during the first 3 weeks of
Doxycycline treatment, and is great for an occassional boost. I also
recommend ProLabs Lean Mass Matrix sports
drink supplement (low sugar), Champion Nutrition's MET II sports drink
supplement, or Glucerna from
Ensure. Glucerna helps
me dramatically. The vitamin-mineral mix in Glucerna appears to match the GWI
deficits very closely.
Such products are enormous strength and energy
enhancers for GWI patients who need the extra vitamins and protein because of cell
damage. Taking these products once a week, even at half the usual serving, will
keep you strong all week.
During the Herxheimer period (the first three weeks
of antibiotic period) sipping the lemon olive drink as needed helps reduce the
bacterial toxin induced fatigue. To prepare the lemon and olive drink, put a
couple cups of cranberry juice (or a juice of your choice) in a blender with
some crunched ice. Slice a lemon (leave the pealing on it) and put the slices
in the blender. Put in a tablespoon or two of olive oil, then chop and blend it
with the blender. Use a strainer to filter the lemon peal from the mixture and
sip the rest slowly: it helps.
7. Rest when you are tired, don't push it. Let the
body tell you when your stamina is sufficient for further activity.
8. Drink a lot of extra
water (No caffeine, period - makes
symptoms worse. Unfortunately so does sugar and chocolate.) Avoid these
things like the plague. NO
SUGAR. Along with stress and too
much physical activity, they are the things that will cause a serious relapse
and negate the positive effects of the rest of your treatment plan.
9. A good quality prescription antihistamine helps tremendously. I have had
good results from Claritin. My allergy season lasts from May through October.
I get a systemic type of sick fatigue in addition to the more minor problems that
these medicines counteract quite well. I think that anytime your allergies act
up and invoke your immune system the Gulf War Illness is aggravated.
Consequently you may be surprised at just how much better you feel when taking
one of these antihistamines regularly.
10. Pray! I believe prayer can have great benefits to your
health and impact the course of world events. Pray for relief and note what changes.
11. Seek out positive interaction with friends and family (not intense physical sports - maybe later). Laugh and have fun as much as you can - this actually changes your body chemistry. Laughter is still the best medicine.
Note:
If you start the doxycycline or one of the other antibiotics Dr. Nicolson
recommends, eat a serving of yogurt with each meal to
replenish the gut flora that the antibiotic kills. Acidophilus tablets can be
used in the absence of yogurt and works just as well. They are available in the
vitamin section of stores or in health food stores. The refrigerated chewable
tablets are the best, but the others work OK.
Knowledge is power.
My
response to the Doxycycline tablets (and the fact that other medicines did not
work) have led me to conclude that I am suffering from an infection from some
kind of "germ" which is extremely hard to clear from the body 100% -
in other words something "new". My symptoms were precisely
what Dr. Nicolson describes for Mycoplasma, and the recovery phase tracks
exactly as he describes it.
I
understand that many Persian Gulf War veterans may have other serious health
problems derived from exposure to chemical warfare agents and other toxic
substances in the Gulf. Given my own experience though, I would recommend
seeing a private physician to discuss
a trial period of Doxycycline (at least a year) to see if it helps.
Be careful not to fall prey to the disinformation overload on the Net. A good site to stick with is Capt. Joyce Riley's American Gulf War Veterans Association.
What is this disease and where did it
come from?
My
own situation suggests that it is indeed an infectious disease, not a toxic
chemical exposure. I say this because I did not deploy to the Gulf.
My team was diverted to Europe after receiving the shots for deployment to Saudi. It is possible to pass germs via contaminated
vaccines. I was involved with processing personnel for deployment, both
in the U.S. and Europe. I came into contact with personnel and equipment
returning from the Gulf. I was also issued a gas mask that had recently
returned from the Gulf (after the air war started). I had no exposure to
chemical attacks, pesticides, PB pills, oil well fires, fallout from our
bombing of Iraqi munitions dumps etc. -- or to excessive stress for that
matter. We worked exceptionally long hours, but did not serve in a
hostile fire zone.
PS: Why this treatment plan works.
This is essentially Professor Garth Nicolson's treatment plan (Institute for Molecular Medicine, Huntington Beach, California). He is the hero of the battle to find the truth about Gulf War Illness, one of the few scientists and doctors to recognize the illness as real. Nicolson has conducted and published peer reviewed scientific research that explains the germ involved and identifies the antibiotics that are effective against it. At the time of the Gulf War Dr. Nicolson was one of the top ten microbiologists in the world, and was nominated for a Nobel Prize.
The germ involved, Mycoplasma fermentans incognitas (MFI), has no cell wall and therefore the immune system cannot identify it. Normal germs have a protein coat on the cell wall that has a unique signature for each germ, something like Braille writing.
The primary component of the treatment plan, doxycycline, stops the germ population from reproducing. Continued use of doxycycline (or ciprofloxacin) generates a continuous improvement in health up to a point where the patient feels and acts normally. However, these antibiotics are incapable of reaching into the cells where the MFI hides to kill the germ directly. Consequently, it is almost impossible to eradicate all of these germs from the body. The course of treatment is normally for life. On the other hand it restores our health and gives us our lives back.
My version of Nicolson's treatment plan builds off of one his dietary guidelines, and I feel it can make a very significant additional improvement in the health of the GWI patient. The guideline in question is low sugar intake. Sugary foods seriously aggravate GWI, and closely restricting sugar intake in a very consistent and disciplined fashion can make an amazing difference in how a GWI patient feels. I don't know if Dr. Nicolson has fully explained why this is so, but after seven years of treatment and careful tests, I know that it is so in my own situation.
In any case, it is important to avoid sweets and eat solid high protein food, meets, eggs, and cheeses with lots of quality salads. I suggest going a little further to get even more results by choosing one day a month to fast: no food at all for the first six to twelve hours, followed by a light sugar free meal in the evening. This should generate further improvement in how you feel.
I have a theory about why low blood sugar helps GWI. I am not a scientist; so don't take it as an established fact, but rather a layman's reasonable speculation. The important thing is that the treatment works, not why it works. My theory is that low sugar affects the germ population in at least two ways and also greatly reduces side effects of long-term antibiotic treatment. First by lowering the germ's "fuel" it gives them an environmental signal that conditions are less than optimal, food source wise. The germs lower their reproductive rate in response.
One side effect of long-term antibiotic treatment that I know of is an overgrowth of yeast in the body: Candida albacans. A Candida overgrowth results from the yeast having no competition in the body. The doxycycline is so effective that it vastly reduces the bacteria that compete with yeast for control of our internal real estate; each normally holds the other in check as it were. Even the bacteria that aid digestion of food are taken out by doxycycline. As mentioned, GWI patients have to eat yogurt with meals or take acidophilus/bifidus tablets with our food to ensure the bacteria needed to digest properly are present. This is a minor inconvenience compared to being deathly ill with GWI and nearly fully incapacitated, not to mention contagious to friends and family members.
Candida overgrowth produces symptoms of its own such as gastrointestinal irregularities, headache, nausea, and fatigue. Limiting sugar in the diet seems to eliminate all of these problems. Apparently Candida albacans cannot thrive in low blood sugar. GWI patients must avoid sugar at all costs, and limit yeast products, such as donuts, yeast rolls, etc.
Another way low blood sugar may help reduce the MFI germ population is by evoking apoptosis, a self-destructive process in cellular systems. When something is detectably wrong within a cell, the cell has the ability to trigger its own death to preclude a defect from being replicated into many other cells, such as in cancer. MFI is an intracellular parasite, so an MFI infected cell is already getting some aberrant signals that could potentially trigger apoptosis.
By eating a strict high protein and salad diet and occasionally fasting enough to lower blood sugar dramatically, the already abnormal internal chemistry of an MFI infected cell may be damaged further, satisfying one of the trigger thresholds for apoptosis, and causing the infected cell to self-destruct. The self-destruction of MFI infected cells would release cellular debris into the blood stream along with the resident parasitic germ.
If the germ is released prematurely when it is not ready to reproduce and find a new host cell, it may successfully find a new host less often and the population of MFI within the body may then gradually decrease over time.
Also, by releasing a lot of cellular debris into the bloodstream apoptosis may trigger an increase of the nonspecific immune system components, such as macrophages and antinuclear antibodies. An abnormally high ANA rate is one of the few clinical signs my doctor has been able to find in my laboratory tests. These kinds of immune system components are the only ones that can find and kill MFI because the others key off of the identifying signature of the cell wall protein coat, something MFI does not have. By releasing the MFI from its hiding place inside the cell into the blood stream where the nonspecific components of the immune system can find it and simultaneously stimulating a higher level of immune system activity, low blood sugar triggered apoptosis may gradually reduce the population of MFI in the body.
This is just a guess, of course. I am not a scientist. But one thing is certain, avoiding sugar is very important in the first few years of treatment while your body heals sufficiently to regain a tolerance for occasional dietary indiscretions and physical overexertion. Avoiding sugar will make a big difference in the way you feel.
This
phenomenon may or may not be unique to a subset of GWI patients. GWI seems to
affect different people differently, so be alert to your body's signals and
tailor your treatment program to what you learn. If your body seems to be
responding negatively to something, cut it out of your routine for a few
months, notice how you feel, then put it back and check again. Ultimately you
will find some things that make a big difference, and will be able to customize
your regimen for optimal results. Don't make any assumptions with this illness.
Do what works and never look back.
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About the Author
Rick Harrison is a retired MSgt, United States Air Force. He is newly converted to the Catholic faith, having been raised a Methodist. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, cum laude, with research honors, from Illinois Wesleyan University. Air Force assignments included Chief, Officer Appointments, Air Reserve Personnel Center; Chief Personnel Readiness, Air Force Flight Test Center; Chief, Manning Control Edwards Air Force Base, Asst. Quality Assurance Evaluator MAGNUM Munitions Storage Area, Kwang-Ju AB Korea; and Missile Maintenance Crew Chief, George Air Force Base. His two proudest achievements are pictured above.
