Grouppe Kurosawa: HIV - Letters From Blanche Vol. 3, Part 2 (print)

Letters From Blanche
Vol. 3, Part 2

Blanche,
Did you check your bulk or spam folders? This happens to me all the time. People send me emails with funny subject lines and the software thinks it is spam.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Yeah. They're just... gone! -- Blanche

Dear Dr. Steve:
I lied. They are indeed lurking in my spam folder, for some reason. I'll try to fix this.

The first time I checked I must have gotten the wrong folder. Duh. -- Blanche

Blanche,
You are treating my messages as spam? I am the OVERSEER for goodness sakes. Sorry but you must be destroyed. Nothing personal.

Dear Dr. Steve:
Gotcha. 2 grams EGCG twice a day, with, as it happens 3grams Quercetin, also twice a day. That's 4 grams EGCG and 6 grams quercetin total.

I'd love to see a major improvement in my blood work next month; this has all been rather discouraging, you understand. The Chantal creme I suppose is for any water-based compound? 'cuz I'm not using EGCG on my hide any more. The last active herpes were on my behind, and the stuff wouldn't stick. Perhaps with the Chantal it might soak in fast enough? No matter, that appears to be over.

Must, must, must find out how to prevent a shingles outbreak in the future! The next one might do me in. – Blanche

Blanche,
Chantal cream is an inexpensive cream sold in some stores. If you go to the National Vitamin Company website, they make a sell the stuff. Anna found it in a store. Its 72% aloe vera and the cream dissolves immediately in the skin. I thought you might try it with egcg for the shingles. Anna dissolved quercetin in it and it works great. Goes right into the skin.

I found some cool stuff about EGCG and curcumin. New scientific papers. I am very excited. It could easily explain how your CD4 cells disappeared so quickly. Yes, you are back on EGCG, 4 grams a day, 2 grams twice a day. The quercetin stays. HOW much quercetin are you taking? Everyone I work with takes different amounts. I shouldn't have panicked and taken you off the EGCG, etc. HBV and zoster are two totally different diseases.

So get back on the EGCG today.

I'll fill you in on some of the scientific details later or tomorrow. I have to go on my morning walk now.

Stay cool Blanche and get busy.

Blanche,
I can't prevent psychological stress Blanche. Melatonin is an anti-stress hormone and it’s the best I can do right now.

It’s unfortunate how underrated stress is as a cause of disease.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
It wasn't until I actually drank the kocktail last night that I realized you had doubled the EGCG. Was that intentional or do we have a small misunderstanding? I was taking 5 grams curcumin and two grams EGCG DAILY before the shingles and change of protocol. Now I'm taking two grams per dose, or four grams per day. Is that because of no curcumin? Doesn't the quercetin count for anything?

Problem is, the extra EGCG manages to render the entire kocktail virtually undrinkable. I'll be the first to admit that I've gotten spoiled by the quercetin, which actually tastes good, but this new kocktail is... is... yucky! Tossed it down last night and it almost bounced. Darn near crossed my eyes. Ick!

Please let me know if the 4 grams/day dose is correct, or if I'm unnecessarily torturing myself. If I'm actually stuck with the 4 grams/day, I am assuming there is no problem with more dilution; that is, adding a LOT more coconut milk or other liquid to s...t...r...e...t...c...h the EGCG until it's drinkable? -- Blanche

Blanche,
I was worried that mixing the two might have had some effect on your shingles. Since we are holding our breath that neither EGCG or curcumin had a role in the shingles, mixing the two is fine. In fact, the tremendous results we had with Adam and his rapid increase in CD4 counts was with EGCG and curcumin, but no quercetin. I want the quercetin also.

In fact, since we are using both curcumin and EGCG, lets cut back the quercetin to 4 grams total a day.

2 grams of each three twice a day in 1/2 and 1/2. Boiled and cooled. No olive.

Another thing I was thinking about was mixing the nasty EGCG in really oily smooth peanut butter for kids. I'll try it myself to see if I gag.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Argggh! Peanut butter! You HAD to say that!

I've been dying for peanut butter and am afraid to get it past my lips until the shingles are totally gone (as in all spots are gone) 'cuz of the arginine. Now you're mixing EGCG with peanut butter! Argggh! And I can't have an olive in my kocktail. You are a cruel man, Dr. Steve.

So:

2 grams curcumin

2 grams EGCG

2 grams quercetin

All twice a day, in coconut milk with whatever mix tickles my fancy. Gotcha.

Note: I have been putting brown sugar in the kocktail with the EGCG and it helps tremendously to cut the bitterness. I don't know if you wanna dose a kid with more sugar, but if it will get the stuff down... Blanche

Blanche,
Good tip about the brown sugar. I will pass it on.

Actually, EGCG would be good for kids with asthma, etc. and the arginine would improve breathing because it promotes dilation of the bronchi. Something to think about. My nighttime snack is always really good peanut butter on rice crackers.

You have my permission to have peanut butter.

OK, formula is set, plus usual supplements.

Stanley complains about the cost of curcumin, etc.? Does he know the current price of HIV meds? Holey moley, Batman.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Peanut butter! Yay! Ever since the shingles hit and I've been watching my arginine intake, I've had mad cravings for peanut butter 'cuz I couldn't have it.

Stanley complains about the cost of everything. Don't take it personally. He was bitching mainly because I bought it and then couldn't use it. This way I get to use everything and he'll shut up! -- Blanche

Dear Dr. Steve:
I SAID I was forgetting something when I listed my protocol: Indole-3-carbinol. I'm taking 200mg 2X daily. I'm now also taking glucosamine-chondroitin cause my joints are stiff. A multivitamin (centrum silver). No other vitamins at this time, just the multi. I'm probably getting more vitamin E 'cuz I'm slathering the oil on various body parts. Some simply must get into my system, no?

Your email address is now a "trusted site" on my spam filter. Hopefully I won't have to chase down any more missing email. Maybe the OVERSEER won't think I need to be destroyed. One can hope – Blanche

Blanche,
If you have any itching or anything weird happens, I want to know about it immediately.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Sho 'nuf, boss. I've been on the revised protocol since Friday, and so far, so good. I still itch in places, but it's a healing itch and is inevitable.

The only remaining problem I have is not new; it started several weeks ago and just goes along. My face is incredibly dry and flakey. I also have those weird spots in my "legpits" that are red and irritated and don't seem to want to go away. I'm a leetle concerned about "opportunistas" like a low-flying staph getting its grubby mitts on my skin, or something like that. It's not serious enough to panic over yet, but I am somewhat concerned because it shows little change or improvement.

I've signed up for a Wednesday night class. Since I can't do a lot of exercise yet I thought it would keep me from going bonkers. Remember, I'm on the bus, so getting to class and back constitutes exercise in its own right. One step at a time... Blanche

Blanche,
Do you have eczema?

Dear Dr. Steve:
Beats me. What does it look like? There are no bumps. My face is very dry, with somewhat red patches and a lot of overall flaking. The other end is quite red around the tops of the legs and a tad on the inner thigh. This sometimes itches mildly. Gold Bond powder seems to help with that.

Wouldn't mention it but it's been going on for a couple of weeks on the legs. The face bit started somewhat later. Any ideas? -- Blanche

Blanche,
You could have a vitamin deficiency. Buy vitamin b12 tablets. Also buy folic acid tabs. Take one a day of each and make note of changes in your skin. Changes aren't going to happen overnight, but def. of both these vitamins cause skin problems. What about vitamin E pills also? Vitamin E is an oil based vitamin that is NOT included in a multi-vitamin tab.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Sounds good. I used to take Vitamin E all the time, but reduced my extracurricular pills when I started the protocol for monetary reasons. I wasn't sure how much the protocol was going to cost me and didn't want to listen to Stanley bitch 'cuz he's good at it.

There are B complex in the multivitamin; are you saying I need more? Perhaps a decent B complex with emphasis on folic acid and B12?

I've got to place another supplement order shortly; I'll check out the prices and see what I can do. The B's are very inexpensive. Will 400 IU do on the E's? -- Blanche

Blanche,
Yes, a good B complex pill would be good. Also find one that includes niacin also. This is also important. I don't know how much vitamin E to take. Vit E is relatively cheap so buy one that has the big capsules. These vitamins will help. Remember, infections suck the nutrients out of your body.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Infections suck, period. -- Blanche

Dear Dr. Steve:
Just a note. My Centrum Silver, which is a multivitamin tablet (yes, tablet) contains what are probably inadequate portions of Vitamins A, D, E and even a smidgeon of K. It has, for instance, a whopping 45 IU of Vitamin E in each tablet! I don't really expect that much from these multis; it's just insurance.

Apparently there is some kind of clever packaging trick that allows the inclusion of oil-based vitamins in a tablet. How "accessible" they are once so packaged is of course anybody's guess.

I have a pill organizer. It's overflowing. I feel like a hypochondriac. Two questions:

1. Can any of the other supplements I'm taking be incorporated into the kocktail?

2. Will I truly regret doing so because it tastes like somebody already drank it?

Inquiring minds want to know. -- Blanche

Blanche,
Sure. The ALA is fat soluble and will readily incorporate into the coconut milk. The NAC is relatively water soluble so it can be dissolved in the milk as well. In fact, it is preferable to drink them this way. Taste wise, I don't know. Experiment, Blanche. (Editor: never dissolve NAC in milk or coconut milk. The stuff is so sour it is undrinkable).

Most multivitamins contain only the minimum and aren't much good. I am not a vitamin fanatic, but I do believe we need more, in our stress filled environment, than the RDA recommends.

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
Oh, goody! More experiments!

I'll try one, then the other, then both. See if my lips fall off. Film at eleven. – Blanche

Blanche,
Stop complaining. You are a Mouse, remember. Experiments are what mice do. I am checking out a few other options for your skin condition that might help. I do know that ceramide is a major component of the skin and that fatty acid is derived from palmitic acid, a common fatty acid in milk and meat products.

Steve

Blanche,
This abstract is interesting. If you buy niacin, it is called vitamin b3. You want the form called niacinamide. It is also called nicotinamide. Do not buy the form called nicotinic acid. Niacin exists in two forms in nature. The Niacinamide is real cheap on the Net. Get the 500 mg pills, preferably capsules. Might be useful for the AIDS according to this abstract. Nicotinamide inhibits the ability of the HIV virus to incorporate into the DNA of fresh cells.

Note: Scientific abstract sent to Blanche by Dr. Steve, the Big Cheese.
HIV infection decreases intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [NAD]

Murray MF, Nghiem M, Srinivasan A.
Department of Medicine, Univ. of PA School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.

"We report that HIV-1 infection of human cells in vitro leads to significant decreases in the intracellular concentration of NAD. This decrease varies with viral load and HIV strain. In tissue culture, cells lacking CD4 receptors or cells incubated with heat inactivated virus do not demonstrate this decrease in NAD. Nicotinamide, the amide form of the vitamin niacin, increases intracellular NAD levels in uninfected cells as expected. Our data demonstrate that nicotinamide also maintains increased intracellular NAD concentrations in HIV infected cells. We conclude that HIV induces a state of intracellular pellagra which is reversed by the administration of nicotinamide.
PMID : 7611995 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Steve

Dear Dr. Steve:
I'm not sure I want to be a mouse. I've heard about you and mouse spleens, and I wanna keep mine!

500 mg Niacinamide or Nicotinamide. (but not nicotinic acid!)

B12

Folic Acid (another happy B vitamin)

Pills up the Yongie! Let me see what I can do in a B complex first; it's amazing the combinations you can find. Sometimes you can even find one that works. My pill organizer is outta room.

Squeak! -- Blanche