On the Brink with Covid - The Kitchen Sink Approach

I estimate today is my 21st day with Covid symptoms. It has been anything but mild. My weekly Covid test was finally negative Friday. I am going to tell you what I did to treat it (everything - kitchen sink approach) and to say not one thing worked - but probably the combined effect of these therapeutics were beneficial.

I am in very good health (knock on wood) and in my 70’s, vaccine-free. I take supplements, exercise at the gym, walk, and stay very active, weight 160, height 72”. My vitamin D level is 55. The sudden onset of this virus shocked me. It floored me. Initially, I had a terrible sore throat, achy, no fever, cough, no appetite, and extreme fatigue. I had an earlier bout of Covid in October 2020 and was flat out exhausted for 10 days and then up and about on day 11.

This time the tiredness lingers, but I am better, and stronger and on the mend.

After the initial 5 days, the fatigue and cough lingered, but thankfully the sore throat was gone. I was most worried about pneumonia and had actually been doing deep breathing exercises for a year with my yoga to keep my lungs in shape. Below I share the breathing exercises someone sent me and while difficult, and a bit painful but they keep my lungs open.

Upon realizing I had Covid I started Ivermectin 24 mgs a day for 7 days. My daily supplements included Vitamins - D3 - 10,000 IUs, B- Complex, 500mg 2x, NAC 500mg 2x, Vitamin C - 2000-3000 IUs, Zinc - 60-80 mg - Quercetin, 500 mg 2x, an immune support, herbal tincture immune support OSHO, and fish oil.

I lost my appetite and had daily nausea - awful. I think it is just the body’s way of marshaling all of its resources to fight the virus as digestion takes considerable. energy.

I slept nightly in my bed and all day long on my couch barely moving. I was so exhausted, worn out. That is all I could do.

On day 9 I called a friend and he drove me to a clinic over two hours from my home (FL) to get Monoclonal Antibodies. They give 4 shots, one in each arm and one on each side of the stomach. The attention and care I received at the clinic was so warm and embracing. They were extremely busy but never seemed to lose their capacity for compassion. I felt no noticeable effect from the shots.

My neighbor is a young doc and she checked me daily, paying particular attention to my lungs. At about the 10th day she put me on a 15 day treatment of Prednisone. This helped with the cough and the chest pain and the congestion. Two days later I started a 5 day (200mg 2x) hydroxychloroquine treatment with a prescription I got locally. I noticed no difference. But I am sure this “kitchen sink” approach had some cumulative effect on the virus but not one thing seemed to help directly.

By day 15 I was able to eat more than soup and my appetite slowly began to improve, This was really helpful as I began to have some energy again. The cough was gone by now and the only symptom left was the fatigue so I rested and rested letting my body heal. Given all the immune support I had given it I trusted (hoped) it would rally.

The turning point where I got on the other side of the virus was a remote energy (Reiki) session I did with a woman I have worked with for years. My sister contacted her and she set up a remote face time appointment. She worked for 1 hour and 40 minutes on re-aligning my energy. The next day and then the next day after her work I felt better, like I had turned the corner and was returning to health. I also sat in the sun for a couple of days which also helped me feel better.

Overall, the real cure for me was the love and support and well-wishes from friends and family who were rooting for me to recover. That made all the difference!

Today I am still tired, but worked in the garden yesterday, and trimmed some trees. I overdid it, of course, but my god it feels good to be alive.

This seems a bit rambling for me, but that is sort of how this whole virus unfolded.

Here is the breathing Protocol I was given and used every day.

1. You must keep your lungs moist. Best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis, if you’re wheezing or congested use a real minty toothpaste and brush your teeth while taking the steamy shower and deep breathe through your mouth. This will provide some bronchial dilation and help loosen the phlegm. Force yourself to cough into a wet wash cloth pressed firmly over your mouth and nose, which will cause greater pressure in your lungs forcing them to expand more and break loose more of the congestion.

2. Deep breathe on a regular basis, even when it hurts. If you don't it becomes easy to develop pneumonia. Pursed lip breathing really helps. That's breathing in deep and slow then exhaling through tight lips as if your blowing out a candle, blow until you have completely emptied your lungs. Then you will be able to breathe in an even deeper breath. This helps keep lungs expanded as well as increasing your oxygen level.

   I also want to say a word about supplements. Not all supplement are the same. Don’t buy shit at CVS, Walmart, Costco or Walgreens. These supplments are not good. Buy from reputable companies that have good research and excellent quality control. For example, Pure Encapsulations, Nutridyn, Metagenics, Thorne and Emerson are all excellent companies. The adage. “you get what you pay for” was never trued then with supplements.