Dear Lloyd,
Just read your book. Laugh out loud funny. Thanks for that.
Only if you've been thru it though. Half way thru the year
treatment on Rebetron, covered with hives from head to toe,
two weeks without sleep from the Claritin D and steroids the
emergency room gave me for the hives, Dr. J. said that he
had patients who were fine and played golf every day. Said
people who have problems are weak mentally.
If I had a golf club in my hand I am sure I would have beaten
someone to death and right at that moment it would have been
the little Indian doctor.
I got up and went to work every day, feeling like death eatin'
a cracker. At night I wept at the sight of a toothpaste commercial.
They said there was no connection between the welts all over
my body and the retched drugs I was taking. They'd never seen
that before they said. I paused for
a moment considering the penalty for murder in California
and realized I was indeed quite strong mentally for not acting
out on the impulse.
Instead I calmly explained to him that I was a martial artist,
ran marathons and had not long ago hiked to the top of Half-Dome
in Yosemite, from the valley to the top and back down again
in 7 hours. I worked full-time as a nurse while putting myself
thru graduate school and did two years of supervision beyond
that in order to obtain a license to practice as a clinical
social worker in California. As such, I didn't think it was
a function of weakness, but rather side effects to the meds
and I really wished he could provide a little something more
to help me thru this horrible experience.
He recommended I see a psychiatrist.
The interferon/ribavirin worked
while I was on it. Soon after the year in hell, the virus
came right back. Dr. J. said in his thick Indian accent,
"Rrreeely a bummerrr huh?" Went from 5mil to under
200 and shot back up to 3mil at last count over a year ago.
I've quit going to doctors, it's just too annoying. There's
just no end to the many ways they can add insult to injury
and in the end, they write prescriptions. The last doctor
I saw wanted to give me an amphetamine for my fatigue. Instead
I have done my own exploration. I'm taking 3,000mg of buffered-time-release
vit. c, cats claw, a combo herb Ecliptex from my acupuncturist,
Liverite, low dose of vit. e, glucosamine and chondriotin
for the joint deterioration, Ginko for the memory problems,
and an ayurvedic product for liver that contains all the herbs
for liver health plus neem oil. I felt tiny increments better
with the addition of most, especially the vit c. The most
visible barometer is the red eyes that have lessened with
the addition of these products. My acupuncturist says there's
a connection between liver and vision.
Okay, I was curious about the thymic products so I asked
our doctor here, an endocrinologist. Of course she gives the
party line about herbs. Bad for a sick liver, may have pesticides,
no hard science (oh, like interferon is this great science
and its sooo good for you!). She
said there has been some research done with stem cells and
thymic cells. She says the cells must be injected or they
will be digested. How do you think the thymic products you
are recommending might circumnavigate this?
Thanks for listening. I'm quietly and calmly desperate.
D. R.
Huntington Beach, Ca.
D. R.
The chapter in my newest book, Triumph
Over Hepatitis C, 2002 illustrated edition tells and references
how thymus works and goes thru the digestive system and
still works.
In good health
Lloyd
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