** NEW** SB's Story

SB's Story - May 2013

Hi. My name is SB and I live in British Columbia, Canada.

In 1983 I found myself at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Vancouver with Melanoma Carcinoma. I had noticed a growth on my chest and a week later I was in the hospital waiting for surgery. The surgery was successful and I later found out that if I would’ve waited another month, I probably would have died.

I came to Vancouver from Montréal, arriving with a very unhealthy lifestyle. I considered this experience with cancer a wake-up call. Being a hypnotherapist and supporting people in my practice to become healthier, emotionally and physically, I thought it was time to start practising what I was preaching. I had already been using hypnosis to help with pain and healing while I was in the hospital and it seemed to make sense at the time to continue that process and learn everything I could about nutrition and exercise in order to be as healthy as I could be. I cut out sugar, ate mostly organic food and slowly started moving towards being vegetarian. I had been playing tennis most of my life, so it wasn’t a big jump to join a gym and get into even better shape. I seemed to be doing everything right: my energy level was high and overall I felt pretty good, with some exceptions. It seemed that whatever I did I would get the flu and colds too often. I also noticed that I had a very hard time fighting these things off when I did get them. I had heartburn and digestive problems as well, even when I ate good food. My life shifted into phases, the good healthy energy phase and the dragged out flu phase. These phases comprised of about half a year each.

In 1986 I started a hypnotherapy school. Part of that job requirement was to travel around B.C. and Alberta giving weeklong workshops in hypnotherapy and counseling. In keeping with my phases, I had to teach while sick on a regular basis. As much as I liked the traveling and meeting people, teaching a class while draped over a chair was not enjoyable. I couldn’t understand why this was happening. Considering the changes I made, it didn’t seem to make sense. My doctor didn’t have a clue. It was at that time that I started blood tests on a regular basis to see if that would provide any insight into this mystery. I wondered if there was a way to test my immune system and discovered that you could test for IGM [immunoglobulin]. It is not commonly done, but I insisted that my doctor add that in to the blood test requisition. I had a blood test and anxiously waited for the results. My IGM was .19 g/l. The normal range is .4 – 2.3. Why was my IGM so low? No one could tell me. Not my doctor and not two of the top immunologists in Vancouver, one who told me that I was getting so many flus because of bad luck. This occurred in 2002 and started me on a journey that I never would have predicted. Over the next six years my phases continued and so did my research. The highest my IGM level ever got to was .22, still half the low end of the normal range. I tried the following therapies:

·         Wilson's low body temperature syndrome, T3 protocol

·         QXCI computer program

·         Colostrum, oil of oregano, vitamin C, garlic capsules, Stemtech Stem enhance, Turmeric and Bromelain, red Korean ginseng

·         Saliva testing, allergy testing, Glandulars, Biopath machine, intravenous Vitamin C and other nutrients, Homeopathy

·         An assortment of other immune boosting therapies which I can no longer remember

Other than on my wallet none of the above had any effect. My IGM was still .19–.22— and I was still getting the flu on a regular basis. In 2006, I developed some surprising new symptoms: even though I was getting enough sleep, I started to have periods of total exhaustion. This started to occur more and more often, eventually getting to the point where I did not have enough energy to work out anymore. Sometimes when I would try to tie my shoe lace, I would have to sit down to rest afterwards. This was accompanied by constant sore throats and occasional coughs, joint pain, anal fissures and occasionally canker sores at the back of my throat. Curiously enough, all of these things related to inflammation, which I found out later was a key factor. Nothing I did up to that point had had any effect and  I wondered why that was. One would think that of all those therapies, at least some of them would have some effect, but this wasn’t the case. I not only didn’t know what to do next, but it used up a lot of energy just to have to think about it. Any traveling I thought about doing was put on hold. In fact, most things in my life at that point were put on hold. On a deeper level I felt strongly that if I didn’t find a solution, no one else would. The “experts” certainly didn’t know and I gave up on them.

I think most of us have a deep need to be in control of ourselves and when we feel we are losing that control it can be quite scary. Here I was doing everything “right” and the result was all “wrong”. One important lesson I have learned over the years is that the body doesn’t lie; my body was telling me something was very wrong and I needed to discover what that was. Another thing I have learned is that sometimes when we feel most desperate we are close to finding an answer. I didn’t know it at the time, but that answer was around the corner. Unfortunately, answers like the one I needed can be very difficult. Over the next few years the truth of that statement would become very clear.

On December 1, 2008, after much research on the Internet, I came across something called the Marshall Protocol, based on the work of Dr. Trevor Marshall, specifically a website called http://bacteriality.com/ run by Amy Proal and Paul Albert, both of whom went through a program and which Paul was still going through. What I read on this site was very different from anything else I had come across previously. What struck me was how many people who were starting or who’d already done this program consistently talked about “nothing else working”. This was the first time I came across people who were relating what was essentially my story. The best part of all was that some of them were actually getting better and some were completely better.

I spent the next week learning everything I could about the Marshall protocol. I asked many questions on the forum and Paul and Amy offered valuable support in helping me make my decision. On December 8, 2008, I saw Dr. Greg Blaney, an osteopath specializing in the Marshall protocol, and began my roller coaster journey. Dr. Blaney confirmed what I had expected from my own research, that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (at last, a diagnosis!).

I greatly reduced my vitamin D intake and limited my exposure to the sun as much as possible. I started taking 40 mg Olmetec, a blood pressure lowering medication, four times per day. I also stopped all vitamin and herbal supplements. Over the next year all of the symptoms I had experienced would come back from time to time, quite often more intensely. These periods would be interspersed with occasional days of feeling very good. About six months into my first year I introduced the first small dose antibiotic (part of the Marshall Protocol) into the program. I immediately felt worse, which, according to the Marshall Protocol is, not uncommon. Over the next two years, I continued my roller coaster ride with a variety of symptoms, sometimes worse and sometimes better. However, overall I felt I was on the right track and was determined that, no matter how difficult it was, I would persevere. Many people, friends included, were concerned and questioned what I was doing, but I just kept reassuring them that I was on the right track.

On December 8, 2010 I woke up and felt fantastic, better than I had felt in years. I had tons of energy and my first thought was to get to the gym. I felt so good that I decided to go skating first and then do a workout at the gym, but I would be very careful and only work out lightly for half an hour. Afterward, I arrived home still feeling really good. I began to believe I was cured! This was amazing! Two years and I beat it. I no longer had Chronic Fatigue.

I woke up the next day to incredible pain. I felt like a truck had hit me, like I had made zero progress and was just starting my first day on the program. I was devastated and confused. In retrospect, and only in retrospect, I find it amusing that I would completely ignore any previous warnings not to push too hard when you feel good on the Marshall protocol. I couldn’t have imagined a truer statement. Back to the drawing board.

I once again began to see my situation more clearly and realized that I had to stay with the program in spite of any setback I might have had. Gradually, I started to feel that things were coming more into balance and I was continuing to heal. I had chosen to stop the antibiotic part of the program as new research by Dr. Trevor Marshall began to show an option to do so and still have the program be effective. As I looked back I began to see that period when I felt so great and then relapsed from a different perspective. I realized for a short time I had felt better than I had felt in years. It seemed to be a strong indication that I was healing and as a result, it gave me more incentive to continue.

Over the next year, I still had a consistent sore throat and constant fatigue plus had a kidney stone attack and developed gout. The thought of never being able to be healthy again was becoming worse than the pain I was experiencing. For the first time in a while I was concerned that I might not get better. It was definitely a low point in my journey. However, I chose to keep going, besides, what else was I going to do? One of the ways I dealt with the gout was to start on a drug called you Uloric. As my uric acid levels lowered from the drug gout crystals would dissolve, which caused severe gout attacks, though eventually, as the crystals were cleared out, the attacks subsided.

In early 2011 I started to notice that I wasn’t getting colds and flus as often and when I did get one it would be very intense but last for much shorter time. I did another round of blood tests. I was especially interested in seeing if my IGM had changed. Much to my surprise, it had not only changed, but tripled, going from .21 to .65. My IGM was now in the normal range, which explained the difference in how my body was dealing with infectious disease. At this point, I feel it’s important to make something clear: when I started the Marshall protocol I stopped all supplements and did no other therapy. All I did was take Olmetec four times per day and the Marshall Protocol antibiotics for a period of six months at the beginning. Based on that, I believed that the improvement to my immune system was due to the Marshall Protocol. I was starting to feel encouraged once again. Maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I began to notice my energy coming back which allowed me to get out of the house. I would go for long walks in Stanley Park and sometimes feel very exhausted afterward, especially after going up the hill, but still better than before. Gradually throughout 2011 I improved. I wasn’t getting sick nearly as much and I would bounce back much sooner. Towards the end of 2011, much of the inflammatory disease that I had been experiencing started to subside. I actually was able to do light workouts and be okay. Also towards the end of 2011 I did another series of blood tests. While many things had gotten better, the tests showed that I had diabetes. Fortunately, by this time (early 2012) I felt well enough to devote much of my energy to getting my blood sugar level back to normal. I knew that exercise and diet was the key, so as I continued with the Marshall protocol I began to more intensely focus on those two areas. Within six months my diagnosis changed from diabetic to pre-diabetic and one year later my blood sugar was in the normal range. During the last half of 2012, all of my symptoms seemed to fall away. The only way to describe it is that it was like coming out of a dream. Sometimes I look back and it doesn’t seem real, but it was.

At the time of this writing (April 28, 2013), I feel better now than I have in 25 years. I get a cold or flu approximately once per year and it only lasts a few days at the most. After years of extreme heartburn and digestive problems, they are now nonexistent. My energy level has never been higher. My diabetes and gout are gone. I work out intensely every second day with no adverse effects. I no longer have symptoms of a sore throat or canker sores. In the last five months I have lost 22 pounds and 5% body fat, attributable to a program I created which I would have never had the energy to follow if it wasn’t for the Marshall Protocol.

I realize that my story presents anecdotal evidence based on my unique experience. I believe everyone has to find their own way in their healing journey. No two experiences are alike, nor should they be. My hope is that in reading this article about my healing journey, others could possibly get new ideas about alternatives they could choose in their own journey.