Friday, June 28, 2013

4 Years Normal Liver Tests using Low Dose Naltrexone for HCV!

4 Years Normal Liver Tests using Low Dose Naltrexone for HCV!

I started using 3 mg. Low Dose Naltrexone in Feb/March 2009 and got back my first labs in  June of that year.   My Hepatitis C viral load had been at 1,400,000 and my ALT was at 174 - AST AT 90.   After 3-4 months of being on the LDN, my viral load dropped down to 49,000 and my ALT was at 23 and AST at 30.  That is when I started recording my lab results and progress.

Since that time, every lab test has shown liver enzymes within the normal range (maybe a point off of normal) and my viral load has remained low.

I consider myself as a human guinea pig - or that I have been conducting my own "clinical trial" using LDN to treat my Hep C.  I have more or less been using the same 3 mg. dosage - sometimes taking it every night or as now, taking it every other night.  I have been getting the same prescription from Skip's Pharmacy for the entire time, except at the beginning when I used the prescription that I got from Dr. Berkson - and that pharmacy used lactose as a filler, which did not work for me.  Skip's uses Avicel.

I had new labs done last week and saw my great integrative doctor, Dr. Kashi Rai at "For Better Health."  She has been my doctor since 2007 and is the one who steered me towards Dr. Berkson.  Since then, she has prescribed the LDN as well as ordered whatever labs that I needed for my "trial."  She is also a genius at reading lab work and how to correct any imbalances by using mostly supplements and diet - she will also prescribe medications if the situation warrants - but that is not the case for me. She also suggested that I change my ALA from Metabolic Maintenance (Dr. Berkson's recommendation - or a European sourced Lipoic Acid)  to Jarrow Alpha Lipoic Sustain - 300 with Biotin.   I fought her tooth and nail over this as it would be almost a sacrilege to go against Dr. Berkson!  But, she said that she had seen terrific results in other patients labwork - so I started taking it last November - during the last few months, was only doing 1 daily.  New customers to iHERB can use this code for a discount:  KOV896  -   All labs done since 2007 via Quest Diagnostics:

                                                New Labs June 2013

                                   
                                          06/2013                                01/2009


Alpha Fetoprotein -               3.8                                          5.2

White Blood Cell count        5.0                                           6.0

Red Blood Cell count         3.82                                          4.21

Platelet Count                     149                                          186

Urea Nitrogen - BUN           12                                            9

Sodium                              136                                          138

Potassium                         4.3                                            4.6

Chloride                           103                                           103

Calcium                           10.2                                          10.5 (H)

Protein total                      7.2                                           8.9 (H)
Albumin                           4.9                                           5.2 (H)                                                                                               
Globulin                          2.3                                            3.7
Bilirubin                         0.6                                            1.1
Alk Phospatase              54                                              72
AST                              30                                             99(H)
ALT                              31                                             174 (H)

Ferritin                          83  (not been taking IP6)             115

Iron, Total                    122                                            165 (H) 9/2009
Iron Binding Capacity  308                                             352  9/2009                
Saturation                     40                                              36 9/09

HCV RNA                13.393                                        1,280,00

Lymphocytes Subset Panel

                                      06/2013                                09/2009

%CD3 (mature T cells)     76                                       77
Absolute CD3+ cells       1552                                    1008
%CD4(helper cells)          58                                       52
Absolute CD4+cells         1162                                   720
%CD8 suppressor t cells  20                                      24
Absolute CD8 cells          396                                    333
Helper/suppressor ratio    2.94                                  2.17
%CD16+CD56 NK cells   10                                      10
Absolute NK cells 16+56  207                                   128
%CD19 (b cells)               12                                     11
Absolute CD19+             248                                    134
Absolute Lymphocytes   2033                                  1308


TO BE CONTINUED!  bear with me folks - dealing with cat with cancer dx - and trying to post complete labs

1 comment:

Puddleg said...

Wow, those are fantastic results! If I take ALA again it will be the one with biotin. I used to like the effect of biotin by itself. You need it to make essential fatty acids, as well as to drive the TCA with ALA and B1,2,3.