Holistic / nutritional support for GBS
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February 21, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Hi Everybody,
I posted a previous thread on a TV health program that I follow called “[B]Your Health”, by Dr Richard Becker[/B]. It’s an hour long show about holistic and preventive medicine. It’s broadcasted from Texas but available nationally on the WHT (World Havest) channel. The format of the show allows for folks to call in and Dr Becker will address their health issue.
The show on Tuesday (2/20/07) had a caller that described symptoms that Dr. Becker surmised was GBS. Imagine my surprise!
Dr. Becker went into some detail explaining how GBS can be caused by different viruses and how once you’ve contracted it, it stays with you forever — just like the chicken pox virus. If you get the chicken pox, the virus will stay with you forever. He went on to explain how “harboring” this virus affects the body, especially the liver. He suggested supplements like “[B]Milk Thistle[/B]” and others (that I can’t remember right now) for the liver. It was really a great little overview.
I’ve done a lot of research on GBS in the last couple of months and no where have I read anything about nutritional support suggestions for GBS patients. I’ve TiVo’d the show, so I’m able to make a DVD to give to my brother.
If anybody here is interested in getting a DVD copy of this particular show you can call their company’s [B]Customer Service Line: 1-888.442.6161[/B] and reference show [B]#07010[/B]. It costs $19.95 The show’s topic for the day was actually about “Sugar / High Frutose Corn Syrup” — which is good information also.
Or… I think an even better idea is to watch the show and call in yourself. Here’s a link about the show and Dr Becker:
Best wishes…
Jann -
February 21, 2007 at 3:24 pm
In response to the post about the TV show on holistic medicine – please do not rely on a doctor that has never seen you for a diagnosis. It could be quite dangerous. Additionally, before taking any supplements, discuss it with your physician (neurologist). Even holistic/alternative medicines can be dangerous if they interact poorly with another therapy/medicine.
Barbara Katzman
Associate Diretcor
GBS/CIDP Foundation International -
February 21, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Thanks Barbara…. I should have posted a caution about checking with your doctor as part of my post.
All of my doctors are well aware of the supplements that I take. I have a spreadsheet that I maintain with a list of each supplement’s ingredients etc. One of my doctors will not see a patient unless they bring in a printed copy of the list of supplements that they take.
Jann
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February 22, 2007 at 7:18 am
:confused: :confused: Doc David and others, please let me know if I am wrong, but, GBS is not a virus?!
He is comparing it to the chicken pox et etc. GBS is a syndrome, which means it is not caused by a virus or bacteria etc etc… I mean GBS is something than can happen “after” an infection, but GBS is not a living bacteria or virus itself. So where this doctor is getting this info from, is beyond me. Please correct me if Im wrong.
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February 22, 2007 at 7:28 am
Cara,
Yes, you are right, as far as I know……. GBS is not a virus itself, just triggered by viruses. There is obviously some “bogus” information out there! :confused: Be careful of what you read.
Per
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February 22, 2007 at 3:14 pm
To be clear….
Dr Becker didn’t say GBS was a virus — he said it can be caused by a virus — for example, mononucleosis, Epstein Barr. And LIKE the chicken pox virus it (GBS) will stay with you forever.
Jann
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February 22, 2007 at 7:52 pm
[QUOTE=janz]And LIKE the chicken pox virus it (GBS) will stay with you forever.[/QUOTE]
Janz, did he explain how he knows that? There are a lot of people here who have difficulty getting diagnosed [i]during[/i] an attack. So I’m unclear how Dr. Becker knows GBS is present 40 years later (for example) without doing any tests?
It’s true that GBS patients are more likely than the norm to have a recurrance — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that whatever caused GBS lingers in the body.
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February 22, 2007 at 10:08 pm
The bad news us that I did get it 20 years later…..worse the second time.
Good news is that it was 20 years in between. That’s a long time. Both times I fried my nervous system with stress and that brought it on. This time I really overloaded my system. I had enough of points for several nervous breakdowns…but instead my nervous system just died on me like a battery.
Good news is that my bloodwork has been fine for my liver for 20 years. Only once did I get a scare about the liver and that was when a friend had a heart attack and I overdosed on Hagen Dasz ice cream. Comfort food! But after that Becker article, I am going to do milk thistle. I have it in my kitchen.
I agree that you should always use caution with anything you put in your body. But I wonder how many interactions occur with prescription drugs??? I disagree on thinking that most physicians know about supplements. I have had doctors tell me they get very little training in it. So, I think they would err on the side of caution. WHen I got GBS, I was frightened as I watched my body deteriorate so I took megadoses and stayed out of the hospital both times. I took 16 grams of vitamin C and did not overdose because that would have only caused bowel intolerance – one trip to the bathroom. The side effects of supplements are nowhere near the side effects I read about pharmaceuticals.GBS Sept. 2006
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February 22, 2007 at 11:31 pm
To offer a little more info I’ve been playing back the comments Dr Becker had for this caller and I hope I’m able to accurately report some of what he said, but please remember… this is MY interpretation… yours could be different.
Dr Becker explained that GBS is a neurological-autoimmune response to whatever the triggering event was — and he cited mononucleosis, Epstein Barr, campylobacter (sp) and also the hepatitis type viruses. He explained that because these triggering type viruses remain with you, it’s important to that you keep healthy and strong so that your immune system can keep the harboring virus suppressed. Since the immune system needs to be working harder to keep this virus suppressed, you need to support (boost) the immune system.
I know some folks (doctors) will argue this perspective — boosting the immune system in an autoimmune disease. I know this to be a “holistic” view which is different than the “allopathic” view…. and this topic / debate could be / should be a whole other discussion.
ANYWAY… Dr Becker went on to describe how the liver is an immune organ and therefore you need to support liver function. That’s where the milk thistle comes in. I’m very familiar with milk thistle. My husband takes it because he’s on a statin drug. He also mentioned “endol 3 carbonol” for liver function — which is a cabbage extract however, I’m not familiar with this one. He also went on to mention probiotics, oil of oregeno…. and more. I’m understanding that his suggestions wouldn’t be just for GBS sufferers, but for anyone harboring a virus like hepatitis C for example.
I want to make clear, that before anyone decides to act on this information, please check / validate it with your doctor. My research and y’all’s comments here talk about the lingering effects of GBS, the fatigue etc. Dr Becker comments about the importance of a healthy and strong immune system make perfect sense to me, however he is just one source. His information should be researched / validated.
Also, while I’m really comfortable with Dr Becker — he’s very spiritual and I believe in his calling. I’ve been watching his program for almost two years now and I have learned a lot. However, having said that — I never forget that he is also a business man — he does has a supplement company.
The VERY best thing would be for those affected by GBS to call into the show and talk to him directly. He makes it clear that he is NOT your doctor and cannot make a diagnosis, but he can provide information to you that you, the caller can then decide to act on. In fact if a number of people did call it might make an impression where maybe they would do some expanded coverage — ??? — who knows??? I just know that no where else did I see information about targeted nutritional support for GBS and that’s why I wanted to share.
I hope this helps… really… I’m not pushing supplements… not pushing Dr Becker. This info is just for those that are interested in researching a nutritional aspect to their health issues.
Best wishes…
JannPS — Olay: To answer your question about how Dr Becker KNOWS about a virus remaining in the body — he didn’t address that in his comments. He acted like it was common knowledge. I’ve had extensive testing done that revealed that at some point in my life I had mononucleosis / epstein barr — I have no idea EXACTLY when though. The doctor told me it will always be there and could have been why I was having the autoimmune symptoms I was having. Once you have one autoimmune disease you’re susceptible to others — I have three — which is why I’m always researching… especially the nutritional aspects.
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February 23, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I appreciate the information! Thank you!!!
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June 9, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Jann, I am also researching nutrition and vitamins. What 3 autoimmunes do you have?
Peggy
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June 11, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Hi Peggy,
Wow… I haven’t “checked in” with my GBS forum in quite awhile…I’m glad I did to be able to see your comment / question.
The three autoimmune diseases I have are Hashi’s (thyroid disease), vitiligo, and Sjogren’s. I’m a 53 yr old woman and I’ve come to understand that women around my age seem to have a bullseye target on them for autoimmune.
What specifically are you researching about nutrition / supplements?
Jann
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