COVID-19

Narrative

The motivation to compose this webpage came from my experience with COVID-19. The short version of what I went through is as follows:

I came down with what I thought was a serious case of the flu just before Christmas of 2020. However, it turned out to be COVID-19. My condition worsened into gastroenteritis and pneumonia by the second week. By the third week, I was seriously ill, using an oxygen machine almost around the clock, unable to eat, and experiencing terrible nights with uncontrollable coughing during the first part of the night, followed by cycles of cold sweats and chills throughout the rest of the night. By the fourth week, the gastroenteritis went away, but I could only eat bland foods for several weeks thereafter. The pneumonia symptoms also ceased to worsen. However, recovery from pneumonia is a multi-week, if not multi-month, process. I'm still recovering from the pneumonia. Also, during this time, I developed symptoms of hypercortisolism, which include dry mouth, constant urination (especially during the night), irritability and fatigue. I suspect the hypercortisolism came from the use of the drug methylprednisolone (a corticosteroid) which was used to control the inflammation from pneumonia, but there is no way to know the cause for sure. Recovery from hypercortisolism is also a slow process. Knowing what I know now, I would have immediately started the FLCCC Alliance protocol for early outpatient treatment discussed on this page.

COVID-19 Treatment Protocols (FLCCC Alliance recommendations)

For the treatment of COVID-19, the first and foremost drug to consider is ivermectin (see below on "Ivermectin's effectiveness against COVID-19").

• FLCCC Alliance. Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance. Organization of doctors and researchers focused on prophylaxis and treatment protocols for COVID-19. The links to the I-MASK+ (prophylaxis and early outpatient treatment) and I-MATH+ (hospital treatment) protocols are found on their home page. Both include ivermectin as the main ingredient and other over-the-counter items like vitamins C and D3, Quercetin, Zinc, etc.

Treatment items to purchase

These are the minimum items to purchase for the recommended prophylaxis and early outpatient protocols:

• Ivermectin. See below on "How to purchase ivermectin." Try to get enough of this medicine for two-to-five dosages. FLCCC Alliance recommends 0.2 mg/kg of ivermectin per dose for the prophylactic and early outpatient protocols. This corresponds to 13.6 mg of ivermectin per single dose for a 68 kg (150 lb) man--calculated by multiplying 68 kg by 0.2 mg to equal 13.6 mg. If, for example, the drug you purchase comes in tablets of 3 mg each, then a single dose for a 68 kg (150 lb) man is approximately equal to 5 tablets (i.e. 13.6 mg divided by 3 mg equals 4.5, or rounded up to 5 tablets).
• Vitamin C. 1,000 mg twice a day (prophylaxis) or 2,000 mg 2-3 times a daily (early outpatient). To consume large quantities of vitamin C, consider including it in your Electrolyte water.
• Vitamin D3. 1,000-3,000 UI/day (prophylaxis) or 4,000 IU/day (early outpatient). Best to take in the morning with a meal.
• Quercetin. 250 mg twice a day. Quercetin acts as a zinc ionophore, meaning that it increases the transport of zinc (cations) into a cell (see Zinc ionophore activity of quercetin...).
• Zinc. 50 mg/day (prophylaxis) or 100 mg/day (early outpatient). Zinc inhibits the replication of the COVID-19 virus within a cell even at very low concentrations (see Potential interventions for SARS‐CoV‐2 infections: Zinc showing promise). The ability of zinc to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV (and now SARS-CoV2) replication has been known for many years (e.g. Zn2+ Inhibits Coronavirus...and Zinc Ionophores Block the Replication of These Viruses published in 2010).

Treatment items to purchase (optional)

• Nebulizer. A nebulizer changes medication from a liquid to a mist so you can inhale it into your lungs. Portable nebulizers work Ok; countertop varieties are better but noisy. The "medication" Dr. Mercola recommends to use in a nebulizer for the flu is just salt and hydrogen peroxide. His nebulizer solution formulation is as follows: In a 16 oz container of distilled water (he uses a Mason jar for the container), add one level teaspoon of salt and three-quarter teaspoon (i.e. three one-quarter teaspoons) of 12% (food grade) hydrogen peroxide. You can skip the hydrogen peroxide if all you want is to breath in moisture. I purchased a portable one, Mini Handheld Nebuliser, which has worked reasonably well this past year. (There are many similar varieties all around the same price point.)
• Humidifer. This adds moisture to the air which can help ease some of the respiratory symptoms caused by the COVID-19 disease. Inexpensive varieties sold at Walmart.
• Diffuser. If you intend to use aromatherapy (like eucalyptus oil), then you will need an Aromatherapy or Essential Oil diffuser. Inexpensive varieties sold at Walmart.
• Oxygen Concentrator. The hospital or emergency room may send you home with an Oxygen Concentrator like they did with me. You should know how to use it. In particular, make sure a humidifer bottle is included. Mine did not come with the (optional) bottle and I was breathing dry air for weeks, resulting in dry, irritated and bleeding nasal membranes.
• Far Infrared Sauna. Expensive but highly beneficial. Specific to COVID-19, the sauna will help in healing of damaged lung tissues as a result of pneumonia or lingering COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Make sure it's a "far" infrared sauna, the "near" varieties will not have the same beneficial effects. In a far infrared sauna, about 20% of the heat goes to heating the air and the other 80% heats your body. This radiant heat penetrates the skin more deeply than traditional saunas. Read the following: The Benefits of Far Infrared Sauna Therapy which explains the many medical benefits. This is the one I purchased: RELAX SAUNA 95% Pure Far Infrared on eBay.

Ivermectin's effectiveness against COVID-19

• NIH Revises Treatment Guidelines for Ivermectin for the Treatment of COVID-19. Published 1/15/2021. Ivermectin is now a therapeutic option for doctors & prescribers. The NIH (i.e. National Institutes of Health, the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research) has upgraded their recommendation on ivermectin, making it an option for use in COVID-19. “Ivermectin is one of the world’s safest, cheapest and most widely available drugs,” noted Dr. Kory, President of the FLCCC Alliance. “The studies we presented to the NIH revealed high levels of statistical significance showing large magnitude benefit in transmission rates, need for hospitalization, and death. What’s more, the totality of trials data supporting ivermectin is without precedent.”
• WHO-sponsored review. A WHO-sponsored review suggests ivermectin can reduce COVID-19 mortality by as much as 83%.
• Ivermectin as a prophylaxis. While Ivermectin can be useful at all stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection, its real strength appears to be as a preventive approach. An example of this is India's four-month trial using ivermectin as a prophylaxis. Of 58 health care workers who took ivermectin once a month for four months, only four (6.96%) came down with mild COVID-19 symptoms during the May through August 2020 trial period, compared to 44 of 60 health care workers (73.3%) who declined the medication.
• India's experience with ivermectin. In August 2020, India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, added ivermectin to its recommendations and distributed the drug for home care free of charge. The state of Bihar also started recommending ivermectin, and by the end of 2020, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had the lowest and second-lowest COVID-19 fatality rates in all of India.
• References: Mercola.com

How to purchase Ivermectin

• Ivermectin is purchased by prescription in the United States and Canada. In most countries of the world, ivermectin does not require a doctor's prescription. However, this is not the case in the United States and Canada. If your doctor will not prescribe it for you, look for one who will. Consider using this website, PushHealth.com (Ivermectin Online Prescription), if you need help finding a doctor who will prescribe it for you.
• Ivermectin for pets and farm animals. It turns out that ivermectin was initially developed and brought to market in 1981 as a veterinary antiparasitic drug. Six years later it was registered for human use. Ivermectin is widely used for pets and farm animals (i.e. cats, dogs, pigs, rabbits, chickens, sheep, goats, horses, fish, etc.) as a dewormer. For pets and farm animals, it is sold in paste, powder and liquid forms. Here is one vendor selling the liquid (injectable or drinkable) form: TractorSupply.com (10 mg of Ivermectin per mL).
• Ivermectin Safety: Oops! I Just Took My Dog's Heartworm Medicine. "Over 300 million people take ivermectin each year. To date, ivermectin has been shown to be a safe and well-tolerated drug. Most adverse reactions are mild and temporary, such as loss of appetite, headache, muscle aches, lack of energy, and fever." Please read the side panel under the heading, "This Really Happened," for case studies on the toxicity of ivermectin.

Dealing with hypercortisolism-like symptoms

My symptoms included dry mouth, constant urination (especially during the night), irritability and fatigue. I was drinking as much as 3 liters of water during the night because of the dry mouth and terrible thirst. After over three weeks of these symptoms, I read about Ashwagandha and began taking this supplement. I believe Ashwagandha is what cured me (see below).

• Metabolism Test. I took an at-home Metabolism Test from EverlyWell.com which tests for Cortisol, Testosterone and TSH levels. (Search online for a 25% discount coupon.) The results came back in a week and the levels were all within normal ranges.
• Ashwagandha supplement. Dramatic improvement when I began taking this supplement (Premium Organic Ashwagandha Capsules 5200mg). From the day I started taking it, I went from having to drink 3+ liters of electrolyte water a night to a little over 1 liter a night. After three weeks of use I stopped taking this supplement since all my symptoms practically disappeared. A week later, everything was back to normal. In addition to 5200 mg of Ashwagandha per capsule, this supplement contains: Turmeric Root (185 mg), Rhodiola Rosea Root (100 mg), Ginger Root (100 mg), and Black Pepper Extract (15 mg).
• Chamomile tea. Has a calming effect for an hour or two. I was taking it in the evenings for several weeks, but now I've stopped taking it.
• L-theanine supplement. Not recommended. I stopped taking this supplement after only a couple of days of use because all it did was speed up my brain, something like what caffeine would do. It seemed to have no effect on my frequent urination.
• Dark chocolate. Not recommended. Somewhere I read that dark chocolate would help. The only thing it did for me was give me an upset stomach, nausea, and indigestion.

You can read more on Ashwagandha in this blog, Ashwagandha: Ancient Medicine for Modern Adrenals. Here are some highlights:

In addition to improving subjective symptoms of stress and anxiety, Ashwagandha may help regulate cortisol levels. Clinically and anecdotally, we observe Ashwagandha and other adaptogens to modulate both high and low cortisol levels and support a normal diurnal cortisol curve, which is highest in the morning upon waking and falls throughout the day, reaching the lowest cortisol level around midnight. Most clinical research has focused on Ashwagandha’s effect on down-regulating high cortisol levels and less on helping the adrenals raise cortisol levels when low. In one study, 64 subjects with a history of chronic stress were randomized to receive either 300 mg of Ashwagandha root extract, or a placebo twice daily for 60 days. Not only did the treatment group exhibit significant reductions in scores on all the stress-assessment scales, but their serum cortisol levels were also substantially reduced to within normal ranges relative to the placebo group [3].

In a small study exploring the safety and tolerability of Ashwagandha in healthy volunteers, a significant percentage reported improved sleep quality [4]. There is currently a prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study underway to examine the effects of Ashwagandha on nonrestorative sleep, which is often both a result of stress and a direct cause of high cortisol levels as the body attempts to cope with chronic sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality [5].