Help for my friend with some fairly severe metabolic issues

[Babou]

I have a close friend who ever since we met in middle school has always been quite skinny and frequently fatigued. As a kid he had a bout of raynaud's syndrome, and as a teenager he suffered a collapsed lung. He's now 24, and since early 2022 he has started having some pretty serious health episodes that seem to be happening on an almost biweekly or monthly basis. This month he even had raynaud's symptoms return. This is the list of symptoms that have appeared at some point, usually recurrent but not super frequent:

- slight pressure headaches
- Terrible sleep quality, extreme difficulty falling asleep
- Skin rashes and blemishes
- heart palpitations/arrhythmia
- Intermittent trouble breathing
- An allergy to chicken (this has existed for a long time but I believe it's relevant, possibly because of pufa or tryptophan)
- Poor balance, "feels like I'm in a rocking boat"
- "I get these sudden attacks where some random part of my body goes numb and my pupils become uneven"
- brain fog, difficulty speaking,
- skin turns red easily when any pressure is applied
- sever chest pains at random intervals, usually in right lung (not the one that collapsed
-blood pressure typically above 150
-Very recently, jaw twitches and eye fluttering
- Warped perception, objects often look wobbly or like they are growing closer or farther away. )
______

These issues have been hampering his life severely this past year and I'd really like to get him on his feet. Conventional doctors have been universally supremely unhelpful for him to the point he has also been doing independent research. He suspects is has to do with long covid; he caught covid at some point either early 2022 or late 2021, and he didn't have severe symptoms out of those traditionally associated with covid, but I'm sure it put a lot of stress on a metabolism that was already not doing very well. He has also identified histamine as a possible issue and recently started trying a low histamine diet, but it's too early to tell if that helps. I don't have a precise map of what his diet was before, but for as long as I've known him he's eaten quite normally and always had a fairly big appetite.

I've been doing research of my own in the field of metabolic health for the last year or so out of an interest in increasing my energy and productivity as well as helping my mother with her back pain and fatigue issues, so at this point I can fairly confidently say something has been going very wrong at a quite basic level with my friend's metabolism. I'm compiling a list of the widely recommended treatments like preg, co2, vit k, etc, with explanations for them, but I want to know if any of you have had similar issues and, most importantly, what intervention was highest-leverage, since with diets and supps it's really easy to pack on a ton of things that help a bit but still miss the crucial puzzle piece that is required to truly solve the issue. After reading through some other peoples' cases I'm wondering if Co2 and copper might be the silver bullets here, but really want a range of opinions on this especially if there's a really powerful intervention I haven't heard about yet

Thank you in advance for the help everyone

 

[Jonk]

Has he done any blood tests? My guess would be liver health related but I have a habit of seeing my own problems in others so maybe I'm projecting. If it were me I would do a full liver panel with AST, ALT, ALP and GGT.

 

[Babou]

Has he done any blood tests? My guess would be liver health related but I have a habit of seeing my own problems in others so maybe I'm projecting. If it were me I would do a full liver panel with AST, ALT, ALP and GGT.

Just asked him, if he has had blood work I'm reasonably confident that they wouldn't have been looking for such specific things because >american general practitioners . He did have an MRI that didn't reveal anything helpful.


Also, forgot to mention in original post: He used to like taking very long walks, like a few miles at a time, and would run for portions of them. When he feels no symptoms he still takes walks once in a while. He has mentioned that he researched a condition where apparently marathon runners develop blood issues from the shock to their soles crushing blood cells as they run (but ik there are many other reasons runners become unhealthy)

Edit: He replied, says he has had many blood tests and all of them claimed he was in normal range for all the important things but none of them mentioned AST, ALT, ALP or GGT. Would we be looking for elevated levels of these or low levels? I'm not familiar with any of these acronyms or the substances they refer to

 

[Jonk]

Just asked him, if he has had blood work I'm reasonably confident that they wouldn't have been looking for such specific things because >american general practitioners . He did have an MRI that didn't reveal anything helpful.


Also, forgot to mention in original post: He used to like taking very long walks, like a few miles at a time, and would run for portions of them. When he feels no symptoms he still takes walks once in a while. He has mentioned that he researched a condition where apparently marathon runners develop blood issues from the shock to their soles crushing blood cells as they run (but ik there are many other reasons runners become unhealthy)

Edit: He replied, says he has had many blood tests and all of them claimed he was in normal range for all the important things but none of them mentioned AST, ALT, ALP or GGT. Would we be looking for elevated levels of these or low levels? I'm not familiar with any of these acronyms or the substances they refer to

Okay, taking long walks maybe increases blood flow through the liver and making him feel good because of that, but who knows, there's a lot of reasons why walks make us feel good. I can't really speak much on the tests, but from my limited understanding they are basically levels of enzymes that correlates with liver damage and/or function. For the most part I think we want low levels and there are also ratios to look out for. But this is something a doctor would have to interpret.

Can you maybe ask him how his digestion is? And the quality of his stools, e.g. if they are pale brown it could mean it's a lack of bile production/obstruction from the liver, etc.

 

[Peatress]

So many questions

Was the raynaud’s a result of childhood vaccine injury? I got raynaud’s following a tetanus vaccine.

Which drugs were used for the lung collapse? Certain antibiotics can have profound side effects; some can have long term consequences.
Was he given corticosteroids?
Did he have a lot of x-rays during the lung injury – was he given contrast dye?

Could he have a thiamine deficiency?

What is your friend’s diet like?

 

[Liam311]

Any mercury amalgams?

 

[DMF]

Reaction to vaccines ??

 

[Babou]

So many questions

Was the raynaud’s a result of childhood vaccine injury? I got raynaud’s following a tetanus vaccine.

Which drugs were used for the lung collapse? Certain antibiotics can have profound side effects; some can have long term consequences.
Was he given corticosteroids?
Did he have a lot of x-rays during the lung injury – was he given contrast dye?

Could he have a thiamine deficiency?

What is your friend’s diet like?

1) doesn't seem so as far as he can remember. He is the youngest of 4 children to parents on the older side though
2) he only remembers being given morphine
3) thiamine deficiency is a possibility he ran across while researching long covid
4) mostly a normal american diet and in fairly normal quantities. Eats pb or jelly sandwiches pretty frequently because he recently moved to his own place and doesn't know much cooking

Any mercury amalgams?

He has 1. I just recently learned what a menace these idiotic things are, I have 3 that I want to have replaced soon.

Reaction to vaccines ??

Not that he's aware of. I personally suspect the covid jab played a role because symptoms started a while after he got one, but I don't know if my friend is woke enough to be open to discussing the vax being a mistake. It's also not the full story since it strongly seems his metabolic issues are much older than these current symptoms

Okay, taking long walks maybe increases blood flow through the liver and making him feel good because of that, but who knows, there's a lot of reasons why walks make us feel good. I can't really speak much on the tests, but from my limited understanding they are basically levels of enzymes that correlates with liver damage and/or function. For the most part I think we want low levels and there are also ratios to look out for. But this is something a doctor would have to interpret.

Can you maybe ask him how his digestion is? And the quality of his stools, e.g. if they are pale brown it could mean it's a lack of bile production/obstruction from the liver, etc.

I will ask about digestion, stomach pain wasn't one of the symptoms he reported but he could be under-eating. His thoughts on why walking is relieving is that he believes there is an issue with his circulatory system. Which is definitely possible but I think it would be downstream of an organ or metabolism problem

 

[Nicole W.]

I think magnesium deficiency could be implicated in every symptom he has. Has he tried increasing magnesium along with calcium? As to the chicken allergy, most chicken now contains arsenic as it is used as a natural antibiotic in chicken feed. Chicken routinely makes my throat close up, to the point where I can not swallow. It’s not because chicken meat tends to be dry. And this does not happen with any other meat. Just chicken. I’m convinced it’s the presence of arsenic that causes this reaction.

 

[loess]

Quite a few of these symptoms line up with Lyme disease and common co-infections that come with it (Babesia, Bartonella, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma), especially if standard labs show no abnormalities. Has he ever been bitten by a tick, scratched by a cat, been in contact with an infestation of mice or rats? Lyme is a complicated illness and rife with controversy. There are no perfect tests, but the the best testing for Lyme is through Vibrant Wellness or IGeneX. Unfortunately they are not cheap.

 

[Babou]

Quite a few of these symptoms line up with Lyme disease and common co-infections that come with it (Babesia, Bartonella, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma), especially if standard labs show no abnormalities. Has he ever been bitten by a tick, scratched by a cat, been in contact with an infestation of mice or rats? Lyme is a complicated illness and rife with controversy. There are no perfect tests, but the the best testing for Lyme is through Vibrant Wellness or IGeneX. Unfortunately they are not cheap.

Would an antibiotic address any of these infections if they are present?

I think magnesium deficiency could be implicated in every symptom he has. Has he tried increasing magnesium along with calcium? As to the chicken allergy, most chicken now contains arsenic as it is used as a natural antibiotic in chicken feed. Chicken routinely makes my throat close up, to the point where I can not swallow. It’s not because chicken meat tends to be dry. And this does not happen with any other meat. Just chicken. I’m convinced it’s the presence of arsenic that causes this reaction.

Interesting, I have long been aware of the importance of magnesium and the prevalence of deficiency, I'm sure I've recommended it to him but I think it slipped through the cracks. I believe he has some mag pills but I have to ask him what he currently has and takes regularly

 

[Peatress]

Dr. Peat on Raynauds

Calcium, magnesium, vitamins D and K are closely involved in regulating circulation. The balance of thyroid, progesterone, and estrogen is important, with too much estrogen being a problem. A blood level of vitamin D3, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, around the middle of the normal range, e.g., 50 ng/ml, is desirable.

Rheumatol Int. 2013 Mar;33(3):751-5.
Raynaud's phenomenon and vitamin D.
Hélou J, Moutran R, Maatouk I, Haddad F.
To our knowledge, there have not been studies to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). To test in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, and prospective way whether 8 weeks of 600,000 IU monthly supplementation of oral vitamin D3 would contribute to improvements in RP, 53 patients describing RP were recruited during winter 2010-2011. 42 patients were deficient in vitamin D dosage and randomly assigned into either the vitamin D group or placebo group. Every 4 weeks (for a total of 3 doses), patients received their treatment and answered on a visual analogue scale (VAS) basis about their RP. In the vitamin D group, baseline average blood vitamin D level was 20.9 ng/mL. VAS 0, VAS 1, and VAS 2 were 58.33, 48.09, and 36.2, respectively. At the end of the study, the average blood vitamin D level was 32.9 ng/mL. In the placebo group, baseline average blood vitamin D level was 21.8 ng/mL. VAS 0, VAS 1, and VAS 2 were 58.33, 51.19, and 64.28, respectively. At the end of the study, the average blood vitamin D level was 23.2 ng/mL. Following our observations, we concluded to an objective augmentation of vitamin D blood level and RP self-judgment improvement after 8 weeks of monthly supplementation of vitamin D3. One can ask whether vitamin D has as a vasodilator effect in patients with RP who are deficient in vitamin D. Other studies and researches are needed to answer these questions.

 

[Liam311]

He has 1. I just recently learned what a menace these idiotic things are, I have 3 that I want to have replaced soon

I had it rough with Raynaud's. Amalgam removal was one of major steps in curing it.

 

[Babou]

Update: he has been taking about 400mg magnesium daily for quite a while now. Iirc magnesium needs a few cofactor minerals to be used correctly, right? I will research what those are and see what supps he might be missing. In the meantime the low histamine diet he started is mostly: Fruit, yogurt, honey, sweet potatoes, broccoli, milk. If I were planning it I would ditch the yogurt and broccoli but it's still a good start

 

[loess]

Would an antibiotic address any of these infections if they are present?

A course of doxycycline can be effective with an acute infection, but if it's been a year since his symptoms began, then things become much more complicated; a single antibiotic is unlikely to resolve the situation. Lyme disease is a real rabbit hole, and actually refers to not one but an orchestra of multiple co-infections by pathogens that possess the ability to evade detection and traditional single-course antibiotic treatment in various ways. Here are a few links to explore:

Chronic Lyme and Co-Infections - Learning The Basics

Chronic Lyme Disease

davedanson.com

Treat Lyme by Marty Ross MD - An Online Treatment Guide

Learn how to manage any problem in Lyme disease. Read our Lyme disease treatment guidelines, participate in our Lyme Q&A live webinars, or read our online Lyme guides for treatment plans for any Lyme related problem. Marty Ross MD has the answers.

www.treatlyme.net

Recovery from Lyme Disease - Daniel A. Kinderlehrer, MD

Lyme Disease is a substantial problem. While the CDC reported 427,000 new cases in 2017 based on surveillance criteria, actual numbers based on clinical diagnosis put that number at over one million. It is now well accepted that 10 to 20 percent of these cases go on to become a chronic illness...

recoveryfromlyme.com

Lyme Disease Resources - Symptoms, Tests, Treatments, Rash, Prevalence, History, and Controversy - Compass Chiropractic

The State of Lyme Disease in 2021 - Lyme Disease Prevalence, Signs and Symptoms, Tests, Rash, Resources, Treatments - A comprehensive resource

compasschiro.com

Home - Project Lyme

Project Lyme is a nonprofit that exists to educate and assist patients. This website is an interactive tool to guide you along “Your Lyme Journey.”

projectlyme.org

Episode 165: Giant's Shoulders - an Interview with Doctor Joseph Burrascano - Tick Boot Camp

Dr. Joseph Burriscano is America's first Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD). He began practicing medicine in Lyme endemic eastern Long Island, New York, a

tickbootcamp.com

 

[Peatress]

Adding more fruit and oysters should cover these nutrients.

Micronutrient antioxidant status in patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon and systemic sclerosis - PubMed

Deficiencies of ascorbic acid and selenium may predispose towards irreversible tissue injury in RP patients and cigarette smoke may be an independent risk factor. Micronutrient antioxidant supplements may be of therapeutic value.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[bornamachine]

@Babou I had a bout of a lot of heart palpitations, eye ball pressures etc, chest tightness and a lot of weirdness quite some time ago, the only thing that would help me was buckwheat (roasted brown one, not green) I would boil it with salt, drain the water and fry with butter for a bit to get rid of extra water and salt to taste. Ate by itself. Alot of times at night when symptoms would arise and it would calm everything down. It has alot of magnesium and probably nothing you would ever find in a pill.