lassesen 7:32 am on August 20, 2022  

Microclots and Microbiome: Interaction

The recent news of microclots with Long COVID with researchers looking for the same issue with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) caused me to do this summary of my understanding.

Some literature:

And in the ME/CFS world

My response was simple – “Old news, but the new details is interesting“. The reason it is old, is the research from Hemex Labs and David Berg from back in the 1990’s ( Chronic fatigue syndrome and/or fibromyalgia as a variation of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome: an explanatory model and approach to laboratory diagnosis [1999]).

I’ve just realized that since I started working on my ME and working on my microbiome hypoperfusion symptoms are much worse, but they come and go which I haven’t got a handle on.  I often call it brain fog or mild brain fog.  But it manifests as memory loss, difficulty retrieving information, I’ve just been out to the supermarket and I forgot a series of things I wanted to purchase for example, which means I’ll have to go out again and by that point it would be my third trip!

It’s impossible to get a SPECT scan with correct analysis in the UK sadly, but I am more convinced now after reading your blog that hypo perfusion for me is getting worse, hence my dementia like symptoms!  Memory are often wispy or very faint as well from the last few years.

Anyway are you saying here that you recovered fully by adjusting your microbiome?  Or did you do or take anything else to get you there as well.

An email

A Model on Microclots and Microbiome

My first remission from Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) under treatment occur with two “unrelated” treatments being done concurrently. Each treatment had a 80+% success rate reported in conference papers at the time.

  • Treating Hypercoagulation. My MD worked directly with Hemex labs resulting in Heparin being prescribed. Additionally, I hosted some town halls with David Berg and talked with him at conferences. My specific coagulation issue responded well to piracetam and to a lesser extent, turmeric.
  • Treating an Occult Infection. This was doing the protocol for occult rickettsia developed by the Pasteur Institute for Tropical Medicine and applied successfully to people with ME/CFS by Dr. Cecile Jadin (a surgeon in South Africa — her father worked at the Institute which is why she knew of the protocol).
    • “Occult Infection” was likely the persistence of the microbiome associated with the infection (Rickettsia) and not the actual infection.

Later, some ME/CFS specialists connected the dots — the infection (whatever it was) was triggering the coagulation — hence a two prong approach was needed.

Every time that I have had a flare of ME/CFS, I have done both. Typically without any prescription drugs (but if these do not work, it is back to a friendly MD asking for specific things). The items are:

  • Coagulation: Piracetam (#1 preference), Turmeric, Serrapetase, Lumbrokinease, Nattokinease
  • Infections: Triphala, Olive Leaf, Wormwood often with potenators such as bromelain (which allows them to get thru fibrin deposits).

Updated for 2022

It appears that we may have a feedback loop happening.

  • The coagulation results in low oxygen being delivered to the body. We know that fibromyalgia pain points are associated with hypo perfusion (low oxygen) of the tissue there. Pain is produced by chemical release. It is probable that a host of other chemical signals are sent to the body in an attempt to correct this issue.
  • The chemical signals moves across the body, especially to the guts. These chemical signals to the wrong microbiome results in bacteria increasing what triggers coagulation and vascular constriction.
  • The cycle repeats — for some, it quiets down, for some, it becomes uncontrolled feedback (and they keep getting worse) and for others, they are locked into a reasonable stable cycle (the living death).

Treatment Implications

With the above model, we have two goals that needs to be addressed at the same time:

  • Increasing oxygen flow to the entire body. Typically this means one or more of the following:
    • Anti-coagulants – best general one is low-dosage heparin. It’s cheap and if taken sublingual, no injections are needed. For my own coagulation mutation, piracetam works as well.
    • Fibrinolytics: Typically bromelain, nattokinease, serrapetase, lumbrokinese. Fibrin deposits can prevent the passage of oxygen to the tissue.
    • Vascular dilators: My favorite is flushing niacin. I take 400 mg twice a day as a prophylactic. If I get a flush, I know it is warranted. There are others.
    • Anti-inflammatory: Having blood vessels inflamed restricts oxygen delivery. There are many choices here, likely good to rotate thru several and note any that causes significant improvement.
    • Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers: A short term assist but does not address the cause
  • Encouraging the microbiome to reform.

None of the above is likely to occur fast. In my case, I did 8 days of the highest dosage of aspirin suggested on the bottle and ended up running up and down the walls. It persuaded my MD to do testing via Hemex labs. Taking aspirin longer is not viable. In general, it is a slow long trek. I do like to do microbiome testing periodically because it gives an objective measure of progress (i.e. more normalization of the microbiome). This has been seen with several post of people with ME/CFS who has started doing suggestions with periodic retests.

Car Analogy

The human body is fare more complex than a car, but the car analogy is a good starting point. The car is running “rough” – some possible causes:

  • Fibrinolytics – clogged oil or gas filter
  • Anti-coagulants – fuel stabilizer, many fuels will become jelly like or deteriorate if left a long time
  • Vascular dilators – fuel or coolant lines, if pinched, the engine may not work well
  • Anti-inflammatory – fuel or coolant lines have garbage in them or deteriorating or wrong size
  • Feedback loop: Engine timing is off. Sparkplugs are firing too late or early
  • Dashboard Dials: Sending the wrong signals (i.e. fuel gauge is not working), high RPM because you forgot to change gears, etc

Quick Lesson on Coagulation

Often there can be a weakness (DNA/SNP mutation) that makes one part less efficient. Typically, this may not cause any issue –but with the wrong sets of chemical signals, it can either overproduce items “upstream” or inhibit one step.

The diagram shows the cascade, all it takes is one weak link or a different link getting stuck on high.

NedBullets

Bottom Line

The biggest challenge is treating all of the factors concurrently. Many MDs will opt for a “let us try just one thing at a time”. You cannot isolate the parts and deal with just one — the signaling chemicals will keep flowing across the entire body. This approach rarely works when there are multiple feedback loops occurring. Personally, I use the flushing niacin as a feedback loop damping mechanism. If I have a cold, flu or other issues, I will add in other stuff to try to keep the loop from getting re-established.