GABA, GABA, Doo, Part 3

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

So far, we’ve gone over neurotransmitters in general and the direct connection they have to our gut health. If you are just picking this series up with this third installment, I suggest you start at the beginning with GABA, GABA, Doo, Part 1. You’ll be doing yourself a large favor.

By the way, I mentioned last time we were going to get into GABA with this article, but I’m holding off on that until next time. You’ll see why in a minute, so keep reading.

I cannot stress enough that what you eat and drink is where much of your health starts and ends because there are things in your genes that have predetermined the types of ailments you may suffer if you do not take care of your body. When I began my journey roughly two years ago, I “enjoyed” terrible eating habits (for decades). I ate anything I liked and would go back and forth from drinking regular sodas (sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS), to diet sodas thinking they were better.

I had ballooned up to 255 pounds with a nearly 44 inch waist. I’m only 5′ 7″ tall, so clearly, I was obese. Not good. Today, I am down to 193 pounds (and still losing), and almost into a size 36″ waist. To me that’s remarkable especially when I tell you that I have not tried to lose weight. Once I began eliminating things from my diet that were and remain harmful, the extra pounds started to evaporate. All this has led me to believe that our bodies will do what is best for us, if we do what is best. I believe that eventually, my body will simply level off at the weight it is supposed to be at, without me having to worry about “dieting.”

In fact, none of what I’ve done and will continue to do until the day I die is what I consider to be a “diet.” I do not see myself as being on a diet. I have experienced a major lifestyle change, one that I see as permanent. I eat and drink healthy foods and fluids, I use specific and limited supplementation, I avoid plenty of the things I used to fill up on and because of this, my body is acting accordingly. Even where water is concerned, I prefer to use the water from our Reverses Osmosis under-the-sink system or, if I have to, I’ll drink bottled spring water. I avoid so-called purified water because of the chemicals that are added to it to make it taste better.

I exercise moderately, meaning I do not kill myself. I do not do cardio exercises because I still have health issues. My exercise is in playing drums for personal pleasure as well. While playing drums is a bit of a cardio, it’s not over-the-top cardio like jogging, sprinting, rowing, or running. I don’t overdo it, but drumming provides exercise for me on a moderate level.

This past February, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue by a medical doctor via blood tests. (I’m not listing his name because I do not want to appear as though I am personally recommending him to anyone, but we’ll call him “Dr. D”.) He determined over the years that people who suffer from these maladies have something in common. They all suffer from an ongoing virus. Once he determines that his patient has a virus (one of four), he treats the virus with an anti-viral medication. He looks at the readings for the following viruses:

1. Cytomegalovirus
2. Parvovirus
3. Epstein Barr Virus
4. Herpesvirus 6

Most people have had one or more of these viruses as children. What normally happens though is that our immune systems kick in and fights the viruses off. However, in roughly 30% of the population, their immune systems are not able to completely destroy the virus allowing the virus to remain dormant in a person’s system indefinitely. As they go through life, they deal with stress-related issues, become ill, and other things happen that force the immune system to tackle other things. In the meantime, a perfect storm is sometimes created in the body so that the virus they’ve been carrying for possibly decades kicks in comes to the surface. When this happens, the immune system goes into attack mode. However, because the virus is self-replicating (on a continual basis), the immune system becomes overtaxed and eventually is unable to fight off the virus. The virus “wins” and Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue can often be the result.

The scientific community is still learning about these two maladies. Dr. D is in another state and he suffered from Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue in his 40’s (he is now in his 70’s and still practicing medicine). It was so bad that he had to take a one to two-hour nap daily. He thought seriously about closing his practice because of it. Finally, in desperation, he sought out advice from other physicians he trusted. Over time and much personal research, he saw the connection between the four viruses mentioned above and the onset of Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue.

It was only a few years ago that these things were thought to be in a person’s head. Now, the medical community (because of ongoing scientific research), acknowledges that they exist. However, in general, they don’t agree on how to treat it so they often simply treat symptoms, which is what western medicine does best. They will prescribe antidepressants, pain medication, and the like.

Dr. D goes to the heart of the problem and treats the virus, not the symptoms. In my case, out of the four viruses, the results clearly show that I have had past infections with at least one of the viruses. The results also show that I have an ongoing infection with another virus, the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). Dr. D knows this because if I had merely a past infection, the results would have low numerical readings (like the one specifically showing a reading of 1:10, which is less than the highest reading on the scale of 1:20 for that particular virus). Technicians specifically listed this one as “past infection.”

My readings for the EBV are >5.00 and 3.72 respectively. The scales for measuring the EBV are:

•  
• 0.91-1.09 Equivocal
• > or = 1.10 Positive

You can see that my numbers are way over the top reading, far greater than the >1.10, which would indicate a positive. Please notice that my one reading is >5.00 which means my number is actually somewhere above 5.00, but they simply don’t read beyond that number, which is why the use of the “greater than” symbol is present.

These high readings told my doctor that I have an ongoing virus that needs to be treated. Now, some doctors see these readings and discount them because they say the readings mean I simply had a virus at some point. Other doctors who would acknowledge an ongoing virus, would attempt to treat this with antibiotics, which should only be used in very rare situations as antibiotics destroy the bad and good bacteria in our guts. After using antibiotics, measures need to be taken to restore gut health to its proper balance.

Dr. D told me that I would need to be on an anti-viral for probably six months. This was back in late February. He said improvement in my Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue would occur in inches. I would take two steps forward and one step back. The anti-viral medication is designed to literally shut down the virus, which allows the immune system to gain mastery over it, but this takes time. He said it was like taking a small thin wire and lodging it in a zipper. This keeps the zipper from working. In the same way, the EBV self-replicates, continuously. It never stops replicating itself once it becomes active. The immune system has little chance to fight it off without help. The anti-viral medication is the “thin wire” in the “zipper” of the virus disrupting the self-replicating cycle of the virus.

I am in my fourth month of taking the anti-viral medication. It is working. In the beginning stages, it seemed like nothing was happening, but over time, there have been hours here and a full day there where I’ve felt better. I didn’t feel like a man of 80 or 90 with soft tissue that was inflamed and painful. Now, several months later, I note that I am having full days of relatively pain-free living at a time. It will be another several months before things get to a consistently good point for me.

My doctor has said that I’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel good and he’s right. He knows exactly what I’m going through because he’s walked in my shoes. I cannot explain how devastating this malady can be. Depression, painful soft tissue around joints, general aches and pains, stiffness, lack of energy, chronic fatigue, foggy head, and all the rest make you feel as though you are literally dying even though you’re not! Imagine though that during these times, I felt as though I was the worst Christian on earth because of how I acted based on how terrible I felt. I’ve realized it was the Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue talking. That’s not to make excuses because I’m still responsible for my words and actions. However, clearly, the health issues I’ve had certain affected the way I felt about my commitment to the Lord. It cut very deeply.

Dr. D also told me that the anti-viral medication will not kill the virus. Eventually, I will come off the anti-viral and there is a chance that the virus will come back. This will happen if I stop caring about what I eat or drink and/or experience a great deal of stress over time. These things will work to break down my system, causing my immune system to work overtime trying to compensate and at that point, my immune system will once again become fatigued. In that state, the EBV could rise to the surface once again. Dr. D says I must always be aware of the possibility that the symptoms of Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue will return. If that happens, I must then go back on my anti-viral medication.

Over the past two years, I’ve discovered and had to deal with several health-related issues. By God’s grace – hooking me up with the right people, giving me the ability to persevere, and the wisdom to seek out information – I have or am overcoming them all. By the way, the doctor I use has become an expert on Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue as well as food-related allergies. People fly in from all over the world as far away as Australia to see him. I’m fortunate in that I’m only a seven hour drive from where I live to his office. The reason he specializes in food allergies is because there is a known connection between Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue and certain foods for the person who suffers from it. Testing determines which sensitivities to foods exist so the sufferer can avoid them. We’ll talk more about that in an upcoming article.

Additional References:

• http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/how-to-increase-gaba-and-balance-glutamate/
• http://www.drkaslow.com/html/neurotransmitter_repletion.html
• http://glutathionepro.com/mthfr-autism/

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective