SISTERS AND BROTHERS of severe Post Interferon Syndrome
THERE IS HOPE! I AM PROOF.
48 weeks of Interferon/Ribavirin treatment torpedoed my life. I spent 12 years post-Interferon treatment with debilitating spine, joint & muscle pain, fatigue, brain fog, zero memory, vision problems, migraines, nausea, lesions from head to toe, abdominal pain, increasingly unable to walk and eventually bed-bound. I had cataract surgery from long term use of high dose steroids and I was addicted to Fentanyl (an opioid 50x stronger than heroin.)
FINALLY, in 2018 I discovered FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE. [Learn more here: IFM dot org]
After a very thorough medical history, thorough review of 12 years' of conventional medical specialists' labs, tests, images, and reports, my Functional Medicine Doctor ordered new labs, including bloodwork and nutritional status, and did a whole-body assessment.
My FM doctor identified the underlying 'root' causes:
1.) Post-Interferon Syndrome
2) Nutritional deficiencies
3) Zoster Sine Herpete (ZSH) - Shingles without Rash; both of which had gone undiagnosed for 12 years. [The ZSH was due to my immuno-compromised post-interferon body.] Google it. Very painful.
I then received Functional Medicine treatments which revived me within 4 months:
1) IV Nutrition,
2) Ten-Pass IV Ozone Treatments 2-3x/week for 14 weeks,
3) Nutritional Supplements,
4) One Embryonic Mesenchymal Stem Cell injection,
5) One Exosome injection.
6) I ate a strict 'whole food plant based' diet, and
7) Juice fresh vegetables daily.
I also used a Far Infrared Sauna daily to detox through sweat and increase blood flow.
The Zoster was treated with the common anti-viral Acyclovir.
NOTES:
1) This was all very expensive (about $45,000) and not covered by insurance, but I re-gained brain and body functions, and essentially got my life back. Worth every last cent.
2) I still have some residual pains and difficult mornings, but still gradually improving and I'm completely grateful for Functional Medicine.
HOW TO LEARN MORE - AND FIND A FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE DOCTOR:
Go to: IFM dot org and click on "Find a Practitioner". If you cannot afford this, please consider starting a fundraising campaign at go fund me dot com. If I were back in that position, I would sell everything I own, if I had to, in order to receive these treatments and overcome the constant pain and suffering that I know you are enduring now. I urge you to at least go talk to a Functional Medicine Doctor. Many will see you for the first visit without charge.
Ps - Don't believe the 'pseudoscience' claims about Functional Medicine. They attack because they are protecting their lucrative interests in Big Pharma and they don't understand how our cells and body systems work together to heal - when given exactly what they need to do their healing job. In my experience with Post Interferon Syndrome, what my body needed was:
1.) Detox,
2) Nutrients,
3) Oxygen (Ozone), and
4) Help from stem cells (which become whatever type cells the body needs).
Your healing needs may be different. All bodies, genes, and illness progression are different. But that's what Functional Medicine does at its core - find the root cause and treat everyone as a unique, complex web of inter-dependent biological systems. I post this in the spirit of giving you an option. It worked for me.
I pray for your recovery.
Lisa
Hi Fitsister, your message is a welcome glimmer of hope for people with post interferon syndrome. I noticed that you wished to post a URL to a resource with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the link you wanted to post is not spam. Please allow me to post it for you.
The Institute for Functional Medicine https://www.ifm.org/