LIVING A NIGHTMARE! (8/20/07)
Do you remember Alien, when the creature eats its way out of the man’s stomach? Well, that’s what the pains in my stomach feels like. How about the Exorcist, when she vomits violently? Yup, that’s me. My body feels like I’m in some horror movie, trying to get away from the bad guy, monster, creature (whatever), stabbing me over, over and over. That’s just the pain and fatigue in my body. The pain in my calves, feels like some sort of creepy crawler eating their way out of my skin. Getting the picture? How gross. The delirium from fevers makes my head spin, feels like things are moving and I go to scream, but nothing comes out. I hate that! A strangler is out on the loose and he’s choking me, oh yeah, that’s just my sore throat. It’s all swollen, red and raw. I can hardly swallow. I feel like I’ve been frozen alive. Silly me, it’s just the chills from fever and being stuck in bed for days, or months for that matter. Will somebody pleae wake me up? I don’t know how much more of this horror I can take!
TREATMENTS/MEDS
Gammaglobulin Infusions (IVIG)
Two treatments. The first treatment did not do much and I had a bad reaction to the second infusion. My body went into shock and rejected the treatment. Cost: $8,500 ea.
Interferon Injections
Two 30 day treatments. Four shots in the stomach for 30 days. There were no changes after these treatments. Interferon is a form of chemotherapy. Cost: $10,000 ea. Insurance does not cover this cost because it is a non-shelf usage. In other words, it's a form of treatments that is not commonly known for this virus. It's an out-of-pocket expense.
Liver Biopsy
A biopsy was taken of the liver and it was determined that Hepatitis A was discovered. However, it did not show up in my many batteries of bloodwork.
Acupuncture with Microcurrents
I tried three months of acupuncture all to no avail. I could feel channels opening up, but two hours after my sessions I suffered from severe headaches and the pain was worse than I started out with. My sessions would include 22-48 needles at a time.
MEDS: Morphine 60 mg 4x a day. Dilaudid 24 mg 4x a day. Tramadol HCL 100 mg 4x a day. Estazolam 1mg at night only. Nexium 20 1x a day. Vicadin max dosage as needed. Fentanyl Patch 100 mcg/hr. Oxycontin 80 mg 3x a day. Epivir (for immine system boost) 3x a day. B-12 injections 1 ml every other day. Many of these medications were taken as cocktails three times-a-day.
Two treatments. The first treatment did not do much and I had a bad reaction to the second infusion. My body went into shock and rejected the treatment. Cost: $8,500 ea.
Interferon Injections
Two 30 day treatments. Four shots in the stomach for 30 days. There were no changes after these treatments. Interferon is a form of chemotherapy. Cost: $10,000 ea. Insurance does not cover this cost because it is a non-shelf usage. In other words, it's a form of treatments that is not commonly known for this virus. It's an out-of-pocket expense.
Liver Biopsy
A biopsy was taken of the liver and it was determined that Hepatitis A was discovered. However, it did not show up in my many batteries of bloodwork.
Acupuncture with Microcurrents
I tried three months of acupuncture all to no avail. I could feel channels opening up, but two hours after my sessions I suffered from severe headaches and the pain was worse than I started out with. My sessions would include 22-48 needles at a time.
MEDS: Morphine 60 mg 4x a day. Dilaudid 24 mg 4x a day. Tramadol HCL 100 mg 4x a day. Estazolam 1mg at night only. Nexium 20 1x a day. Vicadin max dosage as needed. Fentanyl Patch 100 mcg/hr. Oxycontin 80 mg 3x a day. Epivir (for immine system boost) 3x a day. B-12 injections 1 ml every other day. Many of these medications were taken as cocktails three times-a-day.
SYMPTOMS
An accute infection may consist of symptoms that include, but are not limited to: fevers (99.1 - 102 on a daily basis), physical exertion elevates fevers, diarrhea, sore throat, gland and multi-joint swelling, debilitating fatigue throughout the body, flu-like feelings, hot sweats, chills, vomiting, short-term memory loss and concentration problems, tender lymph nodes, dizzyness/lightheadedness, disoriented and confuesd, hepatitis, headaches. Sensitivities to noise, light, foods, medications. Gastrointestinal symptoms, depression, mood swings and anxiety.
ENTEROVIRUS (8/17/07)
What is "Coxsackie Virus"? A virus that grows in the gut, especially in the last part of the small intestine, colon, or in the throat, mild or severe symptoms may occur. The infection is often aborted after a few days when the body has developed adequate immune defense mechanisms and has arrested the virus growth--at least by making antibody that neutralize the newly formed viruses.
If the viruses are not arrested in the first phase, these offenders will grow further and enter the blood stream to "seed" other organs of the body. The symptoms may subside temporarily, and patients would often return to exercise thinking the "flu" is over.
Depending on the particular virus, different areas of the body will be affected. These viruses like to go to the brain and other parts of the nervous system, heart, muscles, skin, pancreas, liver and practically any other organ of the body. Some are caught by our white blood cells (monocytes) that carried the viruses into different tissues/organs.
A number of CVBand ECV can infect muscles causing significant muscle pain or weakness of the involved areas. The involvement is usually greater in patients who are physically active. CPK, a muscle enzyme, is often elevated during the acute infection and remains elevated over several weeks to months. In the Spring and Fall, these viruses frequently cause viral meningitis. Conjunctivitis, pancreatitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, parotitis (involvement of the salivary gland) are few other examples. When the immune defense mechanisms start to deal with viruses lodged in tissues/organs, a myraid of symptoms can occur depending on the site of involvement. Normally, the immune system has a self-control mechanism for controlling the angry immune response so to fine-tune the attack on the virus. Excessive exercise, stress and steroid treatment may shift the balance to TH2/TH1 predoninance that would weaken the immune attack and contribute to the persistence of virus. If the immune response is adequate to arrest the growth of viruses in the second phase, the inflammation response and symptoms will subside. This phase may last two-weeks to a few months.
Most of the enteroviral infections are self-limited. In patients with known problems with their immune system, these viruses can persist and cause major tissue damage.
There is no vaccine, medication, or treatments for enteroviruses.
If the viruses are not arrested in the first phase, these offenders will grow further and enter the blood stream to "seed" other organs of the body. The symptoms may subside temporarily, and patients would often return to exercise thinking the "flu" is over.
Depending on the particular virus, different areas of the body will be affected. These viruses like to go to the brain and other parts of the nervous system, heart, muscles, skin, pancreas, liver and practically any other organ of the body. Some are caught by our white blood cells (monocytes) that carried the viruses into different tissues/organs.
A number of CVBand ECV can infect muscles causing significant muscle pain or weakness of the involved areas. The involvement is usually greater in patients who are physically active. CPK, a muscle enzyme, is often elevated during the acute infection and remains elevated over several weeks to months. In the Spring and Fall, these viruses frequently cause viral meningitis. Conjunctivitis, pancreatitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, parotitis (involvement of the salivary gland) are few other examples. When the immune defense mechanisms start to deal with viruses lodged in tissues/organs, a myraid of symptoms can occur depending on the site of involvement. Normally, the immune system has a self-control mechanism for controlling the angry immune response so to fine-tune the attack on the virus. Excessive exercise, stress and steroid treatment may shift the balance to TH2/TH1 predoninance that would weaken the immune attack and contribute to the persistence of virus. If the immune response is adequate to arrest the growth of viruses in the second phase, the inflammation response and symptoms will subside. This phase may last two-weeks to a few months.
Most of the enteroviral infections are self-limited. In patients with known problems with their immune system, these viruses can persist and cause major tissue damage.
There is no vaccine, medication, or treatments for enteroviruses.
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