After meeting with my orthomolecular doctor last month to update him on my current status, and to discuss the goals I hope to accomplish this year, I found myself sitting in a chair in the laboratory draw station, waiting for Brad, the phlebotomist, to prepare all the paperwork necessary for the long list of tests […more]
97. That’s my latest CD4+ count, less than half the count from six weeks ago.
That’s it. I have tried as many alternative treatments as I can think of to reverse the decline. I will be starting my third round of pharmaceutical ARVs as soon as I can get a prescription and fill it.
This decision has been a long time coming, and in hindsight, I probably should have restarted a few months ago. There’s nothing magical about 97, or being below 100, but it’s as good a breaking point as any. I’ve long argued that there are two things to keep in mind about CD4 counts: one is the long-term trend; the other is single- or low double-digit counts.
I first learned of ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) a few months ago from a mutual friend. UBI is also known as extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) in the medical literature, and most recently BioPhotonic Therapy and Photoluminescent Therapy. Photopheresis been around for more than a century, and started gaining attention in medical circles as early as 1902. Like many alternative protocols, the spectacular success of antibiotics to fight battle field infections in WWII captured the hearts and minds of physicians and started the West’s love affair with pharmaceutical solutions to disease.
Today, as best as I can tell, UBI is approved by the FDA for only two purposes: cutaneous t-cell lymphoma and graft-vs-host disease. It’s use is far more widespread in Europe, Russia, China and South America for a variety of conditions, though it is currently being studied in the U.S. as an alternative treatment or adjunctive treatment for malignancies, auto-immune disorders, and yes, AIDS.
I’m still trying to wade through the results of several tests that have been done, and I summarize some of the important things I’ve discovered in a youtube video. While I have a lot of new information, I don’t necessarily have the answers yet, just more questions. At least I now have a better idea […more]
As I have reported previously, high dose intravenous vitamin C seems to improve my energy, my mood and my sense of well-being, if not the laboratory markers often associated with HIV and AIDS. Because the infusions are so expensive, I was intrigued by the possibility of preparing my own IV sodium ascorbate ala Dr. Robert […more]
Thanks to those of you who have been prodding me for an update on my experiment. A severe case of Spring Fever, along with a touch of procrastination has helped keep me from posting sooner. Now that the rain is keeping me inside, I’ll try to catch up. When I first started this blog, it […more]
Mark A. Hicks, illustrator I made a commitment last month to give intravenous vitamin C (IVC) a serious shot at resolving some ongoing health concerns I have, especially these mysterious lymphatic masses, or cysts, or whatever they are on the side of my face. I made that decision during my latest visit to the Riordan […more]
This feels like déjà vu. Nearly thirty years ago I helped organize hundreds of AIDS activists to demonstrate at FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, as well as organized die-ins at the agency’s regional headquarters here in Kansas City, to demand faster access to experimental new drugs to fight AIDS. I doubt if any of […more]
Since I first mentioned on Facebook that I was going to do high dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC), friends there have been asking me to describe what the experience is like. How odd that I have had to think so hard about how to respond to such a seemingly simple request. Maybe I’m just not […more]
I’ve fallen behind on sharing quite a bit of information about my recent medical adventures. I don’t know where to begin, or how much to divulge publicly. Not out of concerns for privacy—I’ve chosen to be an open book about my experiences—but because I don’t want to bore folks with the myriad of details. If […more]