My Primitive Cocktail: Regimen

Sunday, July 10, 2011

My Current Regimen

Since being off med's I've tried many different supplements. And the one supplement that I can say has truly worked is Olive Leaf. I've changed my regimen many times, but have never taken out Olive Leaf. I've used OLE (Olive Leaf Extract) along with other natural supplements that claim to have antiviral qualities, and seems I can never get my viral below 29,000. But keep in mind OLE brought my viral load down from 200,000 to the lowest of 29,000. And has kept it around that for 4 years now. So that shows it does work...

If you were to read up on the benefits of OLE for HIV, you would see that HIV can not become resistant because of the manner in which it works. And not only can OLE reduce your viral load, it has also been shown to boost the immune system. But with using OLE, you need to make sure you buy a brand yielding 17% to 23% pharmaceutical grade Oleuropein. 17% to 23% is the highest I've come across.

I recently found another supplement that has made a significant impact on my T-cell count. Between July 2010 & April 2011 my T-cell count dropped from 850 to 599. I began to panic and started researching. I then came across an ultra strength powder form of Cell Forte's IP-6 & Inositol. I had used IP-6 & Inositol in the past, but in a lower dose pill form. So, on April 21, 2011 I began using Cell Forte IP-6 & Inositol Ultra Strength Powder. On June 20, 2011 I went for my lab work and found my T-cells went from 599 to 845. I was ecstatic! ...So I'll be keeping IP-6 with Inositol in my regimen and hope that my numbers from my lab work was not just a fluke. (I'll be letting you know at the end of October..)

You'll see in my current regimen that I'm taking Osteo Bi-Flex Triple Strength. It's a new supplement I just added in June. I recently read that "Chondroitin sulfate has been shown to inhibit reproduction of certain viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, by blocking the viral ability to infect a cell. In HIV specifically, chondroitin sulfate interferes with reverse transcriptase, a protein enzyme of the virus. Glucosamine shows similar activity."

So I'm hoping that the Osteo Bi-Flex might help bring my viral load down even lower. I am taking 1 pill more than the bottle suggests, but I feel pretty safe after reading that there aren't many side effects from higher doses.. Or I should say I haven't felt any that they've mentioned. If anything, it'll help with my aching knees.. lol

Here is my current regimen, as of April 21, 2011. Each supplement below is linked to a site that I've found (at the present time) to have the best price. I personally use Whole Foods & Vitamin Shoppe.

Osteo Bi-Flex Triple Strength: 3 capsules a day (Glucosamine: 2250mg - Chondroitin/MSM: 1875mg)

EGCG Green Tea Leaf Extract: 600mg 3x's a day

CoQ10: 1 capsule in a.m. 200mg

Vitamin C: 1000mg (2-stage, timed release) 2x's a day

ROEX Oleuropein: 1 gram in a.m., 500mg middle of day, 500mg @ night

Cell Forte IP-6 & Inositol Ultra Strength Powder: 3 grams 2x's a day

Jarrow Formulas N-A-C sustain: 1 capsule in a.m. of 600mg

Vitamin Shoppe Liquid Vitamin D3: 5000IU 1x a day

Multi-vitamin

At the end of October will be my next lab work results. I'll then give an update, and will be curious to see if the Osteo Bi-Flex helps bring my viral load down even more.. Cross your fingers! :)

My Story

I believe it was 1994 I became positive, but didn't find out I was until 1995. I didn't have insurance at that time so I was tested anonymously. A few years later, I received insurance through my work & then found a local Infectious Disease Doctor. She then sent me to have blood work to see where my numbers were.

Two weeks later I had an appointment to find out my results. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but it was something like my T cells at 1,800 & my viral load was 200,000. My viral was somewhat high, but my cell count was way up there! She told me I was in a grey zone for beginning a cocktail regimen. At that time I was scared & didn't know much about the whole HIV thing. I thought "Well, I have a son in elementary school. I need to be here & healthy for him." So I told my doctor I wanted to begin treatment.

I wasn't too good at swallowing pills so I chose the simplest cocktail at that time. And that was Trizivir (Trizivir contains three different medications: Abacavir (Ziagen®, ABC), Lamivudine (Epivir®, 3TC), and Zidovudine (Retrovir®, AZT, ZDV). Before taking the drug I told her "I wanted the drug that was the least one to cause lipodystrophy." She then told me I would be safe with Trizivir. After two weeks it had brought my viral to undetectable. So yeah, it kicked butt. It kicked butt for about 9 years keeping my viral undetectable and my T cells between 800 and 1,200.

During the last 3 years on Trizivir, I began having odd feelings of being overly hungry. That nausea feeling you get when you’re hungry but more intense. I recall a time after the gym I was in a drive through line ordering food and had to open my door because I felt like I was going to vomit. And it seemed I would get that feeling once a year for a couple of months the last 3 years.

I then started to notice a little bit of lipodystrophy in my legs & face. Nothing others would pick up on at that time but I know my body well and I could see it. After noticing that change I became scared & stopped taking Trizivir. Of course my doctor wasn't happy. So being scared of dying, I began the cocktail again after 3 weeks of being off of it. The next year there were times at the gym I thought I was going to vomit and/or pass out. So here we are again (and now that I look back, I feel those times of feeling nauseous & wanting to pass out was probably a build of toxicity from the Trizivir.).

My Primitive Cocktail

Sunday, July 10, 2011

My Current Regimen

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