Lauren (Toronto, Ontario) on 10/26/2021
Thank you for the interesting/informative article on thiamine for IL-17 (inflammation).
Will thiamine worsen candida overgrowth? Thiamine in the B vitamin family is yeast based? I'm also sensitive to yeast.
Thank you, Lauren
Replied By Jolie (Kansas City, KS) on 10/26/2021
Replied By Art (California) on 10/26/2021
Candida causes thiamine deficiency which is bad for the the body and brain in particular as thiamine is needed to control neuroinflammation and eventual mitochondria and neuronal damage in the brain. This could potentially increase a person's chances of getting neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or Wernicke's Encephalopathy. The body definitely has need for thiamine as it produces it naturally in a healthy gut microbiome, but not so much when gut dysbiosis is in play as seen in cases of Candida Albicans overgrowth.
Because Candida causes this thiamine deficiency, it is possible that candida uses thiamine as part of its survival mechanism.
Given the importance of thiamine in humans, it may be better to first knock down the Candida Albicans (CA) overgrowth back to normal body levels, possibly by using Bill Thompson's protocol for that specific purpose or other ideas suggested here on EC for that specific purpose. His protocol is available through EC. Once you have the CA back to normal levels, then you can add thiamine in to protect the brain and body and lower inflammatory levels back toward normal. It is highly unhealthful to live with CA overgrowth in the short and especially in the long term!
Keep in mind that one of the studies I linked to said this:
>>> ' Providing a thiamine supplement to elderly persons who still have normal cognition but who have deposition of either amyloid or tau may prevent subsequent cognitive loss and eventual dementia. ' <<<
............................................................
That quote is a definite clue as to the great importance of thiamine in people.
Art
Replied By Elsa (Rancho Cucamonga, California, 91701) on 02/23/2022
I am taking prednisone 5 mg daily for 20 years and didn't help too much and 20 mg of Arava for one year and don't help too much, but I start taking B complex for the last 3 months and I am feeling 80% better, should I stop prednisone at least 5 mg every other day? The doctor is thinking to put me on Humera, but I don't have the money for my copay of over 1,000,00
Or should I stop Arava?
Please help
Elsa
Replied By Art (California) on 02/23/2022
Elsa,When it comes to withdrawing from Prednisone, it should be done very gradually and precisely to try and avoid a serious rebound reaction and your doctor can prescribe the dosing and the dosing schedule to try to do this.
You don't say what your health issue is, but is it rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? If so, have you tested Borax? With your doctor's supervision, you could try borax and if it works then it might be safer and easier to withdraw from Prednisone and possibly Arava too. You say that Arava nor Prednisone are helping very much and this may be useful if you test Borax, because if your symptoms improve while your doctor helps you test Borax, then that will be a clue that Borax may be working for you and then your doctor can consider trying to wean you off of Prednisone and possibly Arava too. If your doctor is hesitant to let you test Borax, show him the studies I linked to below because in that study, Borax was used in conjunction with arthritis medication to good effect. In the other study, Boron is suggested to possibly be useful for arthritis.
Arava is easier to withdraw from than Prednisone. Borax is inexpensive at just pennies per year to use, but not everyone tolerates Borax or gets benefit, but the majority seem to benefit. Borax has kept my severe psoriatic arthritis in remission for about 14 years and is reported to work for multiple forms of arthritis of which there are many.
Borax has a very good safety profile that is similar to the safety profile of table salt. Be sure and mention that fact to your doctor.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10050929/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26511087/
Here is a study that shows that it is useful for arthritis :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5289089/
In addition, Earth Clinic has a dedicated page for Borax that gives dosing info as well as other uses than arthritis here :
https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/borax.html
One last thing to mention, Boron is considered to be the main active component in Borax that is helpful for arthritis, and according to the doctor who discovered the use of Borax for different forms of arthritis, Dr. Rex Newnham, Boron can also be effective as he saw in his patients. Some people who are not able to tolerate Borax, are sometimes able to tolerate Boron. In terms of studies regarding Boron, studies show that areas of the world with the lowest levels of Boron in the soil, have a higher incidence of arthritis and areas of the world that have the highest levels of Boron in the soil, have lower incidence of arthritis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC1566627/
Art
Replied By Carmel (Essex England) on 05/26/2022
5 ml of prednisolone is a very small dose, especially when you've been on it for years. After a while, that small dose does nothing or very little and needs to be increased to make a difference anyway. But if you stop your body misses it. Hence it must be gradual. That won't take long and would be very easy if it is only a 5 ml dose. Forget about paying a doctor to monitor it, he can only work this out and supervise you, guessing, you can do that just as well yourself. A .lot of people on fibromyalgia have to do this on a regular basis with their steroid doses, they cannot rush to the doctor or speak to him every time they feel they should increase or decrease the dose. For one thing, they would not be able to get an appointment to speak to him quick enough, for another it would work out very expensive, for another, he is only guessing. I know, I've been in this situation for many years. Most doctors are so clueless about this it amounts to negligence or putting you in danger of never feeling any better. If something is not working why take it for years anyway? Give it enough time to find out if it is working and then stop if it is not helping. 5 mg is probably far too small a dose anyway!