Mental, Nervous System And Post Cancer Issues For 75 Year Old Woman

[Tom Xavier]

Complicated health issues: I need your help. It’s not fun and a bit long…

So, my mother had a breast cancer 5 years ago. She hide it from her kids, went for chemo, radiation and surgery. She was already 70 at the time.

• Cancer is gone…But here is the list of what she has been through in the past few years:
• 2 herpetic meningitis. Chemo screwed up the immune system, herpes virus went to the brain.
• 2 stays in psychiatric hospital due to mental problems, linked to meningitis damage
• She has fallen on her back, pinched a nerve. Four month in excruciating pain until back surgery fixed it...4 months later
• Fall again, broke her hips an wrist a few months ago. Recovered

Now, as for the past few weeks, terrible pain in her leg and she cannot seem to walk anymore. Current diagnosis is likely Lumbar spinal stenosis – narrowing between L4 and L5, maybe due to calcium deposit.

Most of her regular symptoms include: loss of balance , difficulties to hold her head still, difficulties to speak and move her jaws, insomnia, mental obsession and anxiety crisis. Nervous system issues make me think of severe B vitamins deficiency (first year I gave her B12 shots).

One of the main problems is elevated blood calcium for the past 2 years but tendency to fracture and now maybe some calcium deposit on disks. So we need to try regulating the calcium problem. More cal + mg + what? Vitamin D or not, thyroid or not?

Both my parents refuse the idea of a nursing home and it’s becoming heavy on my dad. We are not however at the stage of dementia and she regularly has a normal speech and thoughts. Medical system does not care - she has a mix of physical and mental symptoms and every 4 months we are back in hospital for a crisis: they wait and watch, and provide us with zero solutions.

So! Here is what I want to implement. Supplements are from Idealabs + life extension:

• B vitamins, full spectrum, plus A and K2. Both topical and oral
• a bit of zinc for a couple of weeks
• magnesium carbonated water + supplemental Mg
• daily aspirin + baking soda
• more sugar in the diet
• Coenzyme Q10
• 1mg methylene blue daily
• 3grs of niacinamide per day – recommend dose to revert dementia. Worried about the flush and heart rate however.
• daily red light + egg shell powder
• Once a month, then once a week, coarse charcoal for endotoxins. Carrot salad upset her stomach.

We also intend to wean her off her psychiatric, post cancer and sleeping meds and put her on micro dose of an herbal oil that I won’t name, but that is famous for its very relaxing properties. Trying to figure this out to get some and produce it where my parents live…We think it’s our best shot for her anxiety, insomnia and pain.

Any other ideas would be REALLY appreciated. It’s heartbreaking to see a parent deteriorating in such way. Both the narrowing of vertebra and fractures last year indicates that we must make a priority of fixing the elevate blood calcium and its deposit where we don’t want it – and leaking from other bones.

Thank you in advance. I am confident that we can drastically improve her life condition until her time to leave comes, but a bit shooting in the dark here so I appreciate all your help.

 

[Giraffe]

Welcome to the forum, Tom Xavier!

A few thoughts from a non-expert:

You have not written much about your mother's diet. I wonder if you can optimize a few things there.

thyroid or not?

I would be surprised if your mother was not hypothyroid. Are there any recent lab tests?

3grs of niacinamide per day – recommend dose to revert dementia. Worried about the flush and heart rate however.

3 grams is a lot. I got kidney pains from a smaller dose. I would start with 50-100 g twice a day (the dose Peat usually recommends), observe for a few weeks what all these changes you plan to implement bring, and go from there.

Have you considered pregnenolone and/or progesterone?

I am confident that we can drastically improve her life condition until her time to leave comes,

+1 :)

 

[Tom Xavier]

Thank you. Hypothyroid, sure, it's a given - but of course her blood test are "normal" and thyroid is fine (she has cyst on it for years btw). The main issue is rather: is it safe to give small doses of dessicated thyroid considering her state and the effect on heart rate? I understand that it's best to resplenish Mg and up the sugar first before introducing thyroid hormones...
I will put smaller those of niacinamide at first then.
Diet wise: veggies with animals proteins, some starch. Probably too much phosphorus to calcium as she is not keen on any dairy - will need to put more in her diet still. Not enough sugar or salt for sure.
What would be the best way to regulate calcium for her?
As for pregnenolone and progesterone, not sure how to do that (doses, frequencies etc) but willing to try too...

 

[Giraffe]

What would be the best way to regulate calcium for her?

You need to get PTH down. Your plan looks quite good so far (fat-soluble vitamins, magnesium, egg-shell calcium taken with food). Add adequate protein (at least 1 g/kg bodyweight), vitamin D if she can't get enough from sunlight.

Sugar to get stress hormones down, preferably from fruit or fruit juice. As much dailight (outside) as possible.

You could try X-Plus' jello recipe. Kale is a good source of magnesium and calcium (just cook it and use the liquid). Gelatin or bone broth improve the amino acid ratios.

More about gelatin in Peat's article Gelatin, stress, longevity.

Once a month, then once a week, coarse charcoal for endotoxins. Carrot salad upset her stomach.

Have you tried cooked bamboo shoots?

As for pregnenolone and progesterone, not sure how to do that (doses, frequencies etc) but willing to try too...

I don't know if Ray Peat has given specific recommendations for specific health conditions.

As dose for pregnenolone he usually mentioned 50 mg (or 100 mg) per day (can be administered as one big dose per week). A few forum members reported that they got better results from higher doses (up to 1 g per day) for a while. Pregnenolone is a safe supplement even in higher doses provided that the stuff is clean. Usually you see the effect within an hour. Amazing effects are reported sometimes.

If I were you, I would probably go for pregnenolone before trying/adding thyroid and/or progesterone. Pregnenolone is precursor for progesterone and other steroid hormones, and one of thyroid's basic functions is to turn cholesterol into pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA: so the three are connected.

Also the effects of methylene blue and progesterone (and even niacinamide) overlap a bit. See for example Nitric Oxide - KMUD 2014-11-21.

You find more on progesterone dosing/effects in Supplements > Progesterone and/or search the forum Ask for Help or Advice for "progesterone" or "Progest-E".

Edit to add: Check for interactions with her meds (For example: I know that some blood pressure meds interfere with potassium. If someone takes hydrocortisone he could reduce the dose or tapper off completely when supplementing pregenolone.)

 

[Tom Xavier]

Thanks a lot. We have started red light today, for now she is not doing great but hopefull. I will order the pregnenolone....

 

[tara]

Welcome Tom,

I'm glad your mother has you and your dad caring for her. Well done her for recovering from previous cancer and hip fractures and all.

Another non-expert here, with some thoughts, some of them echoing Giraffe's.

Maybe test vit-D and supplement if low? Is she able to get regular sunlight on skin to help with natural vit-D production? That along with the vit-K and Mg you already mention are what I think of wrt calcium regulation.

Niacinamide shouldn't cause the same flush as niacin, IIUC. I second Giraffe's suggestion to try smaller doses to start with, eg 50-100 with meals. If it doesn't cause any noticable issues, you can proabbly keep increasing it, but some of us have had headaches or maybe other issues with large doses.

Maybe see if you can add a little coconut oil? Eg 1 tsp with meals? Some fruit? Would cheese cake tempt her to dairy? Can be topped with fruity jelly, for fruit sugars and minerals and gelatine to balance muscle meat amino acids. Can smuggle in a bit of eggshell powder if needed, too. Probably freezes OK if you want to be able to make a batch and get a slice or two out every couple of days. Green broths can be a good source of minerals.

Hypothyroid, sure, it's a given - but of course her blood test are "normal" and thyroid is fine (she has cyst on it for years btw). The main issue is rather: is it safe to give small doses of dessicated thyroid considering her state and the effect on heart rate? I understand that it's best to resplenish Mg and up the sugar first before introducing thyroid hormones...

Do you have access to the actual numbers from thyroid lab tests? Might help shed light on whether/how much thyroid to supp. Are you able to measure her resting heart-rate and temperature for more data that you can monitor for changes? What about cholesterol levels? It's helpful to have enough cholesterol before supplementing thyroid, acc. Peat.

Pregnenolone seems like it's worth a try. Some people find it very useful. A few of us have not reacted so well - one hypothesis is that we were running on stress hormones and low thyroid, and the pregnenolone reduced the stress hormones so we had less energy to function with. So just watch for that - if the effects are good, by all means use it.
I think progesterone seems as though it would be worth a try too, but maybe have a go with the pregnenolone first.

Is her gut moving along ok? It would probably be important to avoid any prolonged constipation. A little aged cascara sagrada can be one tactic, if needed. Or a cup of coffee might do it.

 

[Giraffe]

@Tom Xavier , how is your mother doing?

 

[Tom Xavier]

Thanks for asking! We totally turned the wheel around. My parents found a good rhumatologist who is taking care of her legs. As for her daily treatment, I have removed all her meds except the blood pressure pill; then asked her doc to put her on tianpetine. Each day she has some Estroban, Energyn, Pansterone, Progestine, Thyromax, vitamin E K2, magnesium glycinate and in carbonated water, B12, avena sativa in tincture, eggshell powder and the "secret" ingredient is a microdose of psilocybin every other day, and if she can't sleep on suppository of can....sativa ;-) Her mind is sharp, she sleeps normally most of the time and they have their life back. No panic attacks either...I was able to design such protocol thanks to the amazing synergy of the Peatarians and my own research, so thanks everyone.

 

[Blossom]

Thanks for asking! We totally turned the wheel around. My parents found a good rhumatologist who is taking care of her legs. As for her daily treatment, I have removed all her meds except the blood pressure pill; then asked her doc to put her on tianpetine. Each day she has some Estroban, Energyn, Pansterone, Progestine, Thyromax, vitamin E K2, magnesium glycinate and in carbonated water, B12, avena sativa in tincture, eggshell powder and the "secret" ingredient is a microdose of psilocybin every other day, and if she can't sleep on suppository of can....sativa ;-) Her mind is sharp, she sleeps normally most of the time and they have their life back. No panic attacks either...I was able to design such protocol thanks to the amazing synergy of the Peatarians and my own research, so thanks everyone.

Thank you for the wonderful update. I'm so thrilled she is doing better. You're post shows that it's never to late to change things.

 

[tara]

Go Tom and Tom's Mum and Dad!

 

[Giraffe]

Thanks for the update, Tom. That's fantastic news!

 

[marikay]

Thanks for asking! We totally turned the wheel around. My parents found a good rhumatologist who is taking care of her legs. As for her daily treatment, I have removed all her meds except the blood pressure pill; then asked her doc to put her on tianpetine. Each day she has some Estroban, Energyn, Pansterone, Progestine, Thyromax, vitamin E K2, magnesium glycinate and in carbonated water, B12, avena sativa in tincture, eggshell powder and the "secret" ingredient is a microdose of psilocybin every other day, and if she can't sleep on suppository of can....sativa ;-) Her mind is sharp, she sleeps normally most of the time and they have their life back. No panic attacks either...I was able to design such protocol thanks to the amazing synergy of the Peatarians and my own research, so thanks everyone.

Hi Tom.

I'm not sure what Progestine is but if it's a pharmaceutical, then it is likely just estrogen that's been chemically tweaked to mimic progesterone and it isn't good. Far, far better for my mom (who is 78) is three small drops of ProgestE in the morning and three small drops in the evening. The results are so amazing I can't even begin to list them. But for an older woman the relief from arthritis (which maybe the least of the problems right now but your mom probably does have some) is the closest thing to a miracle she will ever see. And the bone density increase you get from ProgestE is substantial. I can't recommend it enough for an older woman and I'm a little bit surprised that no one above has mentioned it.

 

[Giraffe]

I'm not sure what Progestine is but if it's a pharmaceutical, then it is likely just estrogen that's been chemically tweaked to mimic progesterone and it isn't good.

I think this was a typo.

Progestene - liquid supplement with progesterone

Great to hear that your mom had so good results with progest-E. By the way, progesterone was mentioned. :)

 

[Tom Xavier]

Hello Marikay
It was indeed a typo and what I am using is Progestene, the supplement from Idealabs, and indeed it was suggested to me to use it for her...So we're all good here

 

[lindsay]

Such an amazing story Tom! Thank you for sharing!! Glad to hear that your mother is doing better and so happy she has a good people taking care of her