Henry Bauer
Darin BrownWHAT REALLY CAUSED AIDS: SLICING THROUGH THE GORDIAN KNOT
Posted by Henry Bauer on 2008/02/20
The hypothesis that HIV causes AIDS fails to explain the demographic characteristics of HIV-positive tests (The Origins, Persistence and Failings of HIV/AIDS Theory); it has generated a large number of conundrums and claims that cannot be reproduced (for example, as to herpes, circumcision, vaccines—see HERPES AND HIV, 8 February 2008). Virions of HIV have never been isolated from HIV-positive people. Nor has the hypothesis led to satisfactory answers to salient questions:
1. Why did AIDS appear first among gay men in the United States?
2. Why in the late 1970s to early 1980s?
3. Why did it manifest in the specific forms of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, candidiasis, lymphadenopathy, and Kaposi’s sarcoma?
Dissent from HIV/AIDS theory has persisted for some two decades, but the dissidents agree only over the inadequacy of that theory; no consensus has formed over a possible alternative among a number of suggestions: drug abuse; multifactorial—a combination of many insults including a variety of infections and antibiotic treatments; undiagnosed syphilis. None of those offer convincing answers to those three questions. And dissidents have an additional question to answer:
4. If HIV doesn’t cause AIDS, why do antiretroviral drugs sometimes make people feel much better, quite quickly? (even if that benefit doesn’t last, and the drugs themselves cause harm in the longer run).
Drug abuse evidently has something to do with AIDS.
John Lauritsen was first to point out that all the early AIDS patients had a history of using “recreational” drugs and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obscured the fact through its misguided “hierarchical” classification of AIDS cases. Lauritsen also argued cogently for nitrites, “poppers”, as the specific cause of Kaposi’s sarcoma (http://paganpressbooks.com/jpl/POPPERS.HTM).
Peter Duesberg has gathered considerable supporting evidence for the role of drug abuse, including different manifest infections associated with different drugs .
Still, acknowledging an association with drug abuse leaves unanswered those same three questions. After all, there had been an epidemic of drug abuse, not restricted to gay men, in the 1960s to 1970s. Then, and also in more recent times with cocaine, crack, and meth, certain consequences deleterious to health are well known—but they did and do not prominently feature Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia or candidiasis.
The multifactorial hypothesis, too, lacks convincing answers for the specificity of the affected group, when it was affected, and what the manifest infections were.
The inability to offer good explanations for these specifics may well be a major reason why the dissidents’ sound arguments against HIV/AIDS theory have been so little attended to. It’s one thing to show that some theory is inadequate, but it’s a well known aspect of science that an unsatisfactory theory is not abandoned until a better alternative becomes available. Non-scientists, too, can only shrug helplessly when they are shown how obvious the evidence is that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS; they need, quite reasonably, to be given at least plausible answers for what caused AIDS and what “HIV” is.
After my book was published, I learned a great deal more from people who got in touch with me, and yet more after I began writing this blog. The most striking discussion that was new to me, something that gave me a “Eureka” moment, came from Tony Lance, whose explanations offer satisfactory answers to all four of those central questions. What we now know as “AIDS” had been described at first as “GRID”: Gay-Related Immune Deficiency. It turns out that it should have been named Gay-Related Intestinal Dysbiosis:
gay-relatedintestinaldysbiosis.pdf
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HIV/AIDS Skepticism 
Henry Bauer said
The Gordian knot, referred to in the subtitle to this post, “may in fact have been a religious knot-cipher guarded by Gordium’s priests and priestesses” (cr. Wikipedia). Somewhat reminiscent of that, HIV/AIDS dogma has increasingly become tied up in exquisitely detailed aspects of immunology and virology, whose white-coated gurus have disdained critiques from secular outsiders. The expert gurus have found intricate, even baffling ways of trying to explain away contradiction after contradiction as to HIV/AIDS theory, conundrum after conundrum, improbability heaped on improbability; all those perplexing puzzles are neatly cut through, explained in convincing and straightforward and coherent fashion, by the intestinal dysbiosis hypothesis.
When told about it, I experienced a Eureka moment, because it resolved some things that had puzzled me about the multifactorial hypothesis which, up to then, had seemed to me the best explanation for AIDS. I had accepted as plausible that recurrent infections of various sorts, recurrently treated with antibiotics, as well as the steady consumption of antibiotics as prophylactics, could suppress the immune system and permit opportunistic infections like candidiasis—thrush, yeast infections—to flourish. The plausibility of that had been confirmed for me because I myself had experienced something analogous. A series of prostate infections brought me a series of quite short courses of antibiotics—Cipro, Bactrim, augmentin—, and each time I developed penile or oral thrush. “Of course”, I had thought to myself, “if a few weeks of those things brings on thrush for me, then naturally months or years of that sort of stuff could break the immune system down altogether”.
What I overlooked was that a few weeks of an antibiotic could hardly inflict serious damage on the immune system as a whole. What it does very effectively, though, is to upset the stomach by killing some of the beneficial resident bacteria; after all, that’s what antibiotics do, they kill bacteria. What finally brought my prostate infections to an end was a course of intravenous antibiotic. Moreover no stomach upset, no thrush. The antibiotic wasn’t harming the immune-system cells that circulate in the blood stream.
Moreover, since a few days of antifungal treatment had vanquished the outbreaks of thrush, the immune system could not have been much harmed in the first place; nor would one expect a damaged immune system to rebound in a matter of days. Similarly, it occurred to me, the vaunted success of antiretroviral drugs is no support for HIV/AIDS theory, because the time scales are wrong. Proponents of the orthodox view recount anecdotes of walking skeletons that regain health within a matter of weeks after starting HAART, while scientific publications describe—at best—quite slow suppression of viral load and quite slow recovery of CD4 counts. How could suppression of a virus that does its work at snail’s pace—unchecked, taking an average of 10 years to produce symptoms of illness—together with slow recovery of the immune system cells supposedly killed by the virus, bring about tangibly rapid improvement in health?
The intestinal dysbiosis theory seems able to answer all the salient questions that have been so puzzling for so long about HIV and AIDS. Much, of course, remains to be elucidated, because the definition of AIDS has been so altered and so distorted by relying on the belief that HIV is the cause. But, as Tony Lance’s article notes, at least some of the AIDS- or HIV-related matters not specific to gay men are also illuminated by the intestinal dysbiosis theory. Many more things must await further investigation—what causes TB patients and drug abusers and hemophiliacs to test HIV-positive so often; AIDS in Africa; how best to treat the various stages or levels of intestinal dysbiosis—but at least the way seems now clear for rational approaches to the needed studies.
Kyle Shields said
Dr Bauer,
If you want to convince the world that the science behind HIV?AIDS is totally flawed, shouldn’t we also be targeting the definition of AIDS as well ?
The dissident view seems to be that if HIV exists at all it cannot cause immune suppression therefore cannot cause AIDS, but to me, we should be stating that AIDS is actually a new name for old diseases.
In my view we shouldn’t be stating that AIDS is something new
Immune suppression can happen for many different reasons, so why do we still keep stating that AIDS exists, as if it is a new syndrome that only started happening in the 80’s.
My view is that we have to get rid of the AIDS terminology as well.
AIDS is only old diseases rebadged
hhbauer said
The definition of AIDS gets a bit complicated, because it’s changed so much. I agree this needs discussion, and I did devote a bit of space to it in my book.
The intestinal dysbiosis hypothesis is actually more radical: it denies that the problem is “immune deficiency” in any overall way, it’s very specific about type of effect on the immune system in terms of components and location in the body.
I think AIDS in Africa is old diseases re-defined, and AIDS in developed countries is old diseases re-defined since about the late 1980s when any illness associated with positive “HIV” tests became classed as “AIDS-defining”. But I think there was a new phenomenon , if not new diseases, in the early 1980s: PCP, KS, candidiasis in clusters among people with some sex-associated practices in common. That’s what set things off in a completely wrong direction, and I think that initial phenomenon has to be explained in order to debunk what “AIDS” later became, something quite different from the initial phenomenon.
James Foye said
Of course! The HIV virus somehow destroys the gut microflora and paves the way for the disease!
Ha, ha, sorry, couldn’t resist the joke. Yet the above will perhaps be the new mantra for a few years, until eventually that little HIV thing will just kind of fade away, leaving Intestinal Dysbiosis. Just as, more and more, we hear about AIDS and malaria in Africa linked together now; one day, maybe, they will just drop “AIDS” and focus on malaria.
I am always amazed to learn yet new things about gay sexual practices. (And I mean nothing judgmental whatsoever by that statement.) I had never heard of a “shower shot” before, and googled it. Here’s one:
http://www.cheaplubes.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=754
Tony Lance talks about the use of these by a hard-core subset of gay men; but looking at this particular version, I suspect that the act of cleaning out the lower intestine with this device might very well be an end in itself, pleasurewise, and not just a means of getting clean enough to do something else. But that’s just speculation on my part.
I don’t judge anyone for what they do to their own bodies, but I do harshly judge the taxpayer-funded buffoons who have wasted billions [by claiming] that the end result of this self-abuse is actually the result of this oh-so-strange virus, HIV. And many of them have the nerve to call themselves doctors. Think of the harm they’ve done. It’s mind-blowing.
Great article, and speaking just personally, I feel it adds wonderfully to my understanding of what is really going on.
Jim
MacDonald said
From Tony Lance’s piece:
“T-cell abnormalities –
There appears to be a connection to be elucidated between gut dysbiosis, glutathione deficiency, and T-cell anomalies thought to be characteristic of HIV/AIDS. Culshaw has discussed the relation between the Th0, Th1, and Th2 subsets of T-cell populations and the balance between reduced and oxidized forms of glutathione (32). A direct connection between the composition of gut microflora and the balance of Th-type cells has been reported by several authors:
‘Certain strains of lactobacillus induce high levels of the Th1 skewing cytokines (IL-12 and TNF-a), while other strains of lactobacillus along with the bifidobacterium genus induce high amounts of IL-10 (a tolerogenic cytokine), but low levels of the Th1 skewing cytokines’ (33). ‘…healthy gut flora keeps the two major arms of the immune system, the Th1 and Th2 immunity, in proper balance . . .’ (34). ‘The beneficial bacteria in the gut ensure appropriate production of different immune cells, immunoglobulins, and other parts of the immune system. But most importantly, they keep the immune system in the right balance. What typically happens in a person with gut dysbiosis is that two major arms of their immune system, Th1 and Th2, get out of balance with underactive Th1 and overactive Th2. . .’ (35). ‘There’s something about lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, perhaps a protein on the bugs’ cell surfaces, that stimulates TH1 immune cell function rather than TH2 function'”.
It is thus not as if the reseachers have not been aware of the “intestinal dysbiosis connection”. But it seems to be more than borderline heretic to go down that road for mainstream researchers. A study which claims to be the first of its kind(!!!) was recently published online to no fanfare in “Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology”. Article here:
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=82984-probiotics-hiv-aids-diarrhoea
Please note the humble scope of the study and the humble authors’ repeated self-effacing assurances that their new “discovery” is only meant to enhance quality of life for certain HIV/AIDS patients, not meant as any form of cure. The fear of being seen as claiming that just ONE! out of a number of vitamin and nutritional supplements might reverse certain AIDS-defining conditions is all but palpable. But take a peek at the title:
“Yogurt Containing Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 Helps Resolve Moderate Diarrhea and Increases CD4 Count in HIV/AIDS Patients”
Immediate positive clinical AND chief marker effect (viral load is not mentioned) in HIV/AIDS patients — a veritable Lazarus effect — from a cup of yogurt!
PS. If you go to “More news articles on this subject” at the bottom of the linked page, you will not surprisingly find reference to another “first of its kind” study that says selenium has a beneficial effect on viral load and CD4 count — IF used in combination with ARVs obviously. . .
CathyVM said
Dr Bauer:
I think the intestinal dysbiosis theory can also be expanded to include the lungs. A SCID paper (a long time ago) [SCID = Severe Combined Immunodeficiency] documented a string of case studies where SCID babies were admitted with pneumonia and given standard broad-spectrum antibiotics, whereupon they deteriorated considerably and many died. The cause? Apparently rampant PCP! The similarity between the roles of lung and intestine in immunity may suggest that the lung also has ‘normal flora’, which when disturbed/unbalanced, causes overgrowth of bacteria/fungi not normally present in amounts thought to be pathogenic. Interestingly, they are currently experimenting with lowering lung CD4 cells as a treatment for reducing the frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
McDonald:
Depleted glutathione also seems to be a common denominator in many if not most of the other conditions that can cause a false positive HIV test — perhaps testing positive in HIV is simply an indirect marker of glutathione deficiency?
James:
I ceased to be amazed at some homosexual practices (also no judgement implied); I once had a patient in a London hospital with a dead hamster in his rectum that had to be surgically removed.
Tony Lance said
Jim,
Thank you for commenting. I want to reply to one thing you wrote. You called the use of shower shots “self abuse.” Though it may seem as such, the fact is that most gay men I’ve talked to have NO IDEA how dangerous these things are, and the abuse is certainly not intentional. On the contrary, they feel they’re being considerate and hygienic by using them. I think this is what has allowed douching in general and these contraptions in particular to go unrecognized for the harm they do.
MacDonald,
Yes, while writing this paper I was struck by how close so many researchers seem to be to the recognition that intestinal dysbiosis is the prime factor in “HIV/AIDS”. Do they intentionally look away when they get so close to the truth? Or can they not see because of the pall of “HIV”?
Also, the study by Anukam et al. that you note is included in my paper—it’s the last thing cited.
T.
Martin Kessler said
The practice of “douching” leading to Intestinal Dysbiosis is a good start. It explains a lot of why a small portion of the gay community who did such things as fisting [became ill]. I would gather that this practice compounded with recreational drug use and a lifestyle (poor eating and sleeping habits), etc., probably added up to what happened. But what of other groups that didn’t have Intestinal Dysbiosis?
Joe said
My friend has AIDS, and is one of the Lazarus type. He’s also a HIV skeptic, but the ARVs worked wonders for him AND the beneficial effects were felt by him within three days of commencing treatment. Obviously he himself knew that the benefit could not be coming from the causative route claimed by HIV-theory. Now 2 years later his CD4 count is back in the normal range. However, what is really interesting in this regard is that he and I have been convinced throughout this that his problems stemmed from his digestion — for years before he finally collapsed and was diagnosed with AIDS, he had been having increasing and worsening digestive problems, resulting in him being totally anemic (white and red blood counts were extremely low). But after multiple gastroscopies/colonoscopies had found nothing, he ran out of options and took the ARVs. Also, of note is that he had been taking a strong combination of paracetamol/codeine daily for about 10 years (so it’s very likely that his glutathione levels were also extremely low).
With regard to douches, hamsters, etc., I know for sure he never took part in any of those bizarre activities, so I doubt that that is truly significant. I’ve never known any gay men who were involved in such things. However, I do think that there is a rampant usage of recreational drugs among gay men (poppers, ketamine, ectasy, cocaine, canabis). Again, my friend was only a very infrequent user of any of those substances.
I’m grateful for people like Henry and Tony for continuing to push these unusual ideas forward. I remember studying biology at school 25 years ago, and seeing a TV programme about a maverick biologist who was ridiculed for his claim that stomach ulcers were caused by a bacterium. Fifteen years on from that, and ‘medicine’ and ‘science’ act like they never believed otherwise. Hopefully in my lifetime the madness and inconsistencies around the current theories of AIDS will also be assigned to the dustbin. I guess it will take the retirement of people like Gallo and Baltimore.
hhbauer said
Martin:
Tony says, more or less in passing, that his article focuses on one aspect of HIV/AIDS that’s particularly pertinent to gay men but also may be pertinent to others. The whole range of the HIV/AIDS mess includes, maybe begins with, the fact that HIV-tests are so extremely NON-specific ; the leaky gut syndrome is only one cause—though an important and general one—of testing HIV+.
From the mid-1980s on, CDC began to classify any disease where a significant number of people tested HIV+ as “AIDS”. I think Tony’s argument, stunningly supported by scientific publications in so many aspects, is the first fully satisfactory explanation I have come across for the 1980s AIDS phenomenon. It also explains why gay men continue to test HIV+ at a high rate even when they may not be ill and may indeed be fit and healthy throughout a normal lifespan: as Tony points out, dysbiosis surely exists on a continuum.
“AIDS” other than the original 1980s AIDS is the result of the CDC’s acceptance of HIV as the cause, and the consequent misclassifying of hordes of people as having “AIDS” when they are really suffering from TB, say, which seems so frequently to yield a positive “HIV” test. The Perth Group view that testing HIV+ reflects oxidative stress surely captures, explains, much of what’s going on in non-1980s AIDS.
heja said
This approach seems to have a good explanatory power when it comes to so-called AIDS, but less so when it comes to testing “positive” (e.g. the very age or race profile of positive tests in Henry’s book or reported situations of partners testing positive when one is afflicted by TB, for instance)–maybe this is yet another hint that the two are two different things!
Any thoughts?
hhbauer said
Heja:
See my reply to Martin. Tony’s article explains what happened in the early 1980s. “HIV” is irrelevant to that. Almost all the data in my book are for low-risk groups, for whom something like the Perth-Group explanation holds: testing HIV-positive reflects an immune-system response to the stress of a health challenge that may stem from a large variety of different sources. The age- and race-dependences reflect the manner in which immune systems apparently change with age and vary with racial ancestry, in terms of how strongly they respond to a given stimulus.
Martin Kessler said
I did a little research on Intestinal Dysbiosis and its causes — which may be multifactorial. But one of the causes that struck me was the chronic use of antibiotics. To prevent catching the prevalent venereal diseases, that was very typical of the fast-track gays who frequented the bath houses for casual sex. I believe (assuming they were not also into douching) they were also unaware of the damage such drugs caused.
hhbauer said
Martin:
SURELY they were unaware of the damage that antibiotics can cause; how many people even nowadays are aware of it? For that matter, how many doctors are clear about it?
CathyVM said
If you read the adverse effects for Rapamycin on the full data-sheet, they read like a shopping list for AIDS; “Increased susceptibility to skin cancer, lymphoma and other malignancies; increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections, sepsis and fatal infections; anaphylaxis, angioedema, vasculitis; hyperlipidaemia; reduced renal function; pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; testicular atrophy; and reduced sperm count.”
Rapamycin was developed as a “semi-synthetic” anti-fungal antibiotic in 1975 and it was not until 1989 that its suppressive effects on T-cell activation were noted. They changed its name to SIROLIMUS and began to use it as an immunosuppressive agent in organ transplantation. How many MSM used Rapamycin chronically in the late 70’s?
Kevin said
I have not yet read Tony’s article, but I certainly intend to do so; however, after reading through the comments here, I feel compelled to offer my opinion on the matter, anyway.
I agree that understanding and properly treating intestinal dysbiosis is the key to helping so-called “AIDS” patients recover their health. I have posted regarding my personal experience with this topic on various websites, and I have discussed this personally with Tony, offline. As someone who has experienced severe health problems, including a few AIDS-defining illnesses, while remaining HIV test-negative, my discovery of the role of intestinal dysbiosis in my own ill health was life-saving.
This is not an easy condition to treat and had I had access to ARVs, I might have tried them, especially in the beginning, when I wasn’t sure what to believe. Of course, as an HIV test-negative patient, ARVs were “off the table” for me. Given what I know now, I’d estimate that most can recover their health without ARVs, provided they have the discipline to make some rather uncomfortable lifestyle changes for 2-3 years. Once the damage is done, ending one’s drug use will not be a panacea. The uncomfortable changes that I am referring to are primarily related to extreme dietary restrictions, coupled with living a virtually stress-free life while recovering. Stress is incredibly important, especially since intestinal dysbiosis creates a multitude of symptoms that negatively affect one’s physical ability to process stressors.
The bottom line is that the greatest threat with intestinal dysbiosis is the development of a severe, systemic fungal infection (both in the gut and in other organs, including the respiratory system). Once this occurs, the classic early signs of “AIDS” will surely be the result without proper treatment, most notably, the appearance of thrush. I should also point out here that allopathic medicine has been criminally negligent in consistently ignoring the emerging role of fungal infections in compromising human health. Perhaps it is no coincidence that this “fungal” emergence has coincided with allopathic care models that increasingly depend solely on drug therapies that cause dysbiosis. In my situation, it was frequent antibiotic use for chronic sinusitis that caused my systemic fungal problems and all of the subsequent health problems.
All that said, what I initially wanted to respond to was the apparent claim by Tony that “shower douching” plays a major role in causing intestinal dysbiosis. All I have to go on is my own experience and that of a few others who I have helped to regain good health, and in that experience, colon hydrotherapy has proven to be absolutely instrumental in re-balancing floral health, particularly for those patients who are the most ill. Of course, hydrotherapy must be combined with aggressive anti-fungal treatments (ARVs, anyone?) and equally aggressive probiotic supplementation. Now, there are a few notable differences between colon hydrotherapy and “shower douching”, but the result is similar; therefore, I find it difficult to believe that shower douching plays a primary role in “causing” intestinal dysbiosis. If anything, it can help alleviate the symptoms. Nevertheless, perhaps daily douching is harmful if it is not accompanied by anti-fungals and probiotics. Furthermore, colon hydrotherapy is an even more “extensive” cleaning of the intestinal tract than “shower douching”. As a result, it is in my estimation exceedingly effective at physically removing the toxic organisms, namely candida, that frequently colonize the intestines in immuno-compromised patients. Removing these toxic organisms and their organic by-products immediately improves vitality for those who are very ill, particularly combined with potent anti-fungals.
Well, I’ve certainly written a long enough post, but I really feel that understanding this issue is key to helping others get well. I guess I should read Tony’s article now and see if my assumptions are proven wrong.
Kevin
Tony Lance said
Kevin,
Men who used a shower shot in preparation for extreme forms of anal sex in the ’70s & ’80s certainly were not doing so while engaging in “aggressive anti-fungal treatment” and “aggressive probiotic supplementation.” I suspect that few do so even today.
Women are warned of the risk of disrupting their vaginal flora by douching. Rectal douching involves more water than vaginal douching (particularly when a shower shot is used) and affects more mucosal tissue. If vaginal douching is harmful to women because it disturbs their microflora, it’s reasonable to expect that rectal douching is damaging to men for the same reason.
That’s not to say I don’t believe you’ve gotten benefits from colon hydrotherapy performed in conjunction with anti-fungal treatment and the consumption of probiotics.
Tony
CathyVM said
Is it possibly fungaemia associated with intestinal dysbiosis causing a ‘positive’ HIV WB?
[[Fungaemia is “The presence of fungi circulating in the blood. Opportunistic fungal sepsis is seen most often in immunosuppressed patients with severe neutropenia or in postoperative patients with intravenous catheters and usually follows prolonged antibiotic therapy”, credit http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Fungaemia.%5D%5D
We have had this child re-tested anonymously. The ELISA was reactive, so now we are awaiting the WB result. He was administered several months INH [[Isoniazid, isonicotinyl hydrazine]] and rifampicin as a baby as TB prophylaxis (he’s now 2.5 years) so he could have a chronic intestinal problem.
The paediatrician is trying to have the child removed to state care (possibly even tomorrow) and re-instate the drugs (even abacavir, when the MSDS categorically states not to). If we are lucky and he isn’t removed, I know an excellent naturopath who even 15 years ago believed intestinal dysbiosis was at the root of most diseases. I am also wondering — antihelminthics, followed by fluconazole (OTC here) and then probiotics might kick-start the process. I’d be very grateful for your thoughts.
Ray said
Here’s my question — exactly what are we recommending as “aggressive antifungal therapy?” Does this refer to intravenous drug therapy, some sort of holistic approach, or a combination? Does anybody have any idea of what specifically can be done, so that someone could request such a therapy?
hhbauer said
“We” can’t recommend anything. Tony Lance pointed out in his article that he is offering information. This blog has the same aim. Individual comments about personal experiences can only be that, not recommendations to others. One can’t make general recommendations that would be appropriate for everyone, because no two people are likely to be in exactly the same situation.
What the various lines of evidence indicate is that anyone who tests HIV+ should ask a physician to look for every possible cause other than the hypothetical “AIDS virus”. They should also examine their lifestyle and dietary habits, keeping in mind the possibility of intestinal dysbiosis.
heja said
Kevin’s post and other evidence suggest that if Intestinal Dysbiosis is the main cause it must be multifactorial. What we have not really discussed here, and what is sometimes brought up in related forums, is the nature of practices by sexual orientation. If it was only those practices then we would see more AIDS in the straight community–this community is much larger and practices similar things, perhaps with a lower intensity on average…but I actually do not know it for sure–may be it is another false belief?
Kevin said
— Here’s my question — exactly what are we recommending as “aggressive antifungal therapy?”
Ray, while Dr. Bauer may not be comfortable recommending “anything”, I can certainly tell you what constituted “aggressive antifungal treatment” for me and my situation:
I tried virtually every natural antifungal (except for wormwood but more on that later) and I found that none were effective at resolving my advanced condition. Based on much personal research, I learned that prescription antifungals–prescribed at a much higher dose and for a longer duration than most doctors are comfortable prescribing–was the best treatment for advanced cases. So, I set out to find a doctor who would treat me, off-label, with Diflucan. It took several months of “interviewing” doctors, and I had to travel a few hundred miles for the initial office visit, but I finally found a doctor who was familiar with treating systemic candida, aka persistent intestinal dysbiosis. He started me on the lowest recommended dose (100 mg of Diflucan), but after an initial improvement, my symptoms returned within a few days, which he said is typical. I then went to a 200mg daily dose, then 300 and finally 400 before I saw significant improvement. It took 16 weeks of total treatment with diflucan, which is far more than most doctors use to treat fungal infections. The 16 weeks break down like this…3 weeks @ 400mg (followed by a 1 week break), 3 weeks @ 300mg (1 week break) 3 weeks @ 200 mg (one week break), and finally 3 weeks@ 100mg. I had one recurrence which was easily treated with 3 more weeks @ 100mg. One caveat: my liver functions were monitored during the treatment breaks to ensure that my liver was not being destroyed by the Diflucan, because it is a fairly toxic medications, perhaps on a par with HAART. However, like HAART, it should only be given short-term to resolve acute infections, but I digress…
I have been recovered for 1.5 years now, and my health has never been better. Discovering the proper treatment for this condition and finding a knowledgeable physician has been life-changing. As such, the whole ordeal is what opened my eyes to dissident views on HIV. Anyway, to get back on point, the high-dose Diflucan immediately improved my health. Within a month, I had regained almost all of the weight I had lost–over 30 pounds and I’m a naturally slim guy. I still lead a healthy lifestyle, but my physical tolerance to stress is now in the normal range, I’d say.
I should also state that I continued using colon hydrotherapy for several months after I recovered. It was the second most effective treatment, behind the Diflucan. I should also note that some people don’t tolerate Diflucan well, but there are other Rx antifungals that might work, too. I firmly believe that patients who are long-time sufferers from systemic yeast problems (and that includes virtually all “AIDS” patients) WILL REQUIRE prescription antifungals to get well, and that should be our goal. ARVs seem to work well as antifungals, too, but to me, their numerous side-effects are far too risky–to say nothing of the political morass that their current use entails.
As for natural antifungals, I can recommend fresh, crushed garlic, without any reservations (beyond the unpleasant odor). However, wormwood is the most effective natural antifungal that I have used. Had I known of its efficacy earlier, I would have tried it before the Diflucan. For less severe cases, it may bring total recovery. One note of caution: it can be dangerous if used long-term. Also, you need to gradually increase your dosage to establish tolerance. I feel like total hell while taking it, but others seem to tolerate it much better and it does seems to be highly active against candida.
This is an interesting discussion and I am certainly glad that Tony has brought it to the forefront. I have much more that I’d like to add but that’ll have to wait for another day. I hope my explanation gives you some insight, Ray, into what constitutes “aggressive anti-fungal treatments” because systemic candida is absolutely pernicious.
Kevin
José said
Hello Kevin,
Where is the doctor that treated you for the candida. Did you experience any bad reaction with the Diflucan? or wormwood? I’m currently using fresh crushed garlic. Been thinking about wormwood……I been trying to regain the weight i lost. But i’m not having much luck. Whatever information you share will be appreciated!
Joe
hhbauer said
Ray:
I hope Kevin won’t mind my emphasizing that he sought out a doctor who not only prescribed for him but also monitored his liver function and doubtless could help with other health issues that might have arisen. That illustrates why I feel unable to recommend anything specific as to treatment. Each individual case is likely to be at least a little bit different. What I am comfortable recommending is that one try to find an experienced, empirically minded and open-minded physician.
Tony Lance said
Kevin’s mention of Diflucan (fluconazole) above jogged into my memory one of a number of studies about the antifungal properties of protease inhibitors that I looked at when writing the article. In this particular one they investigated the effects of several PIs against 100 variants of Candida albicans. They found that “All 100 isolates were susceptible to Saquinavir…”. (This drug was taken off the market a few years ago, incidentally). What’s more, they said, “From 17 C. albicans resistant to fluconazole, all were susceptible to Saquinavir.” That’s pretty remarkable. They’re saying that one of the PIs most commonly prescribed during the time we were hearing about AIDS patients making Lazarus-like recoveries had antifungal properties exceeding those of the drug most frequently used to treat fungal problems.
Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone should go out and use PIs to treat fungal problems (although some researchers HAVE suggested looking into the possibility of using them for that purpose), I am saying that the effects of some of these drugs against fluconazole-resistant C. albicans might offer yet another explanation for the extraordinary claims of recovery heard in the mid-’90s.
Mata-Essayag S et al. “In vitro” antifungal activity of protease inhibitors. Mycopathologia. 152:135-42
Alex said
Kevin:
Prior to 1996, I had major cravings for bread and sweet things … I would have lots of pasta and bread for lunch and such and would constantly get sinus infections … then i had sinus surgery, which clearly didn’t work … one day, i ran across a book called Sinus Survival and i subsequently went on a no flour, no sugar diet along with some supplements (can’t remember the names) … and i haven’t really had a sinus infection since.
Since i moved to Bangkok 4 years ago, i’ve had some stomach problems … the first two years were bad because i would often eat food from the food stalls and some were not very clean … i got several bouts of diarrhea … i stopped eating out much so that helped … but i think the meats here in thailand are not very clean … and my craving for sugar (i.e., flourless cookies, ice cream) has returned … but i still never eat bread or any flour products … mostly fruit but i think too much … i sometimes get “hot flashes” and tingling in my fingers/toes along with some numbness … i’m feeling more tired and fatigued these days.
Since 1999, i have been following the Eat Right 4 Blood Type diet … recently, i’ve changed my diet to include much more vegetables although i did always eat vegetables before … and eating less meat and only brown rice and NO SUGAR AT ALL! … and i started taking a multivitamin … i love eating pumpkin seeds and i eat them often even before i read that they are anti-parasitic.
I’m 40 yrs old now … and this past weekend i did my first colon hydrotherapy! 🙂 good experience! haha … i’m feeling much better but i’m not clear about whether i should be taking probiotics now or after i finish my weekly colon hydro treatments … any suggestions?
also, i wnat to do a parasite cleanse afterwards … should probiotics be taken during or after this cleanse?
lastly, any recommendations for a probiotic? so many out there … not sure what’s good or better.
Thanks!