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Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 02/26/2013

Hi. Our family suffered a near tragedy seven weeks ago when my husband nearly died in a car from carbon monoxide poisoning. Since that time we have noticed increased memory problems (he's always had some memory issues but they are worse now), fatigue, and even a loss of his normal voice. He used to have a lovely singing voice but can't hit many of the notes any longer.

He is 59 years old, overweight, high blood pressure and borderline diabetic. He suffers from depression (since he was a child) and has recently been diagnosed as bipolar. I've been reading online about carbon monoxide poisoning and realize that is what's causing his symptoms. The doctors will only say that we should give it 6-12 months and the effects may reverse.

Is there something he can do now?

Replied By Art (Tustin, Ca.usa) on 02/27/2013

In reply to Linda: Try researching melatonin and its protective effects on the brain after damage from different insults. Carbon monoxide poisoning will probably have some similarities with stroke damage as both involve lack of oxygen to the brain for a period of time resulting in increased oxidation and free radical production which will damage the cells. Melatonin has been shown to be safe in humans at pharmacological dosing and is a potent antioxidant that can readilly cross the blood/brain barrier to get to the damaged areas. Melatonin has shown some benefit in diabetes also, but you need to consult with your doctor and get his/her approval before using melatonin for any medical purpose as the suggested dose is likely to be 20mg to 70mg per night, not the usual 3 to 5 mg dose used as a sleep aid. I can tell you from my own experience at 60 mg per night, my main side effect was morning drowsiness, which slowly declined over three weeks of use, but I had this same effect at 20mg per night and it too dissipated over a couple of weeks.

More specific to CO poisoning, Russian scientists have been testing a combination supplement called "Cytoflavin", as an injection/infusion.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22997755
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22665729
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22238986

Cytoflavin appears to be composed of the following: Succinic acid, Inosine, Nicotinamide and Riboflavin Sodium Phosphate. Here is a link to the only website I found that has information on it: http://www.polysan-ru.com/products/cytoflavin/injections/

It looks like your doctor would have to contact them about local availability.

Lastly curcumin has shown some benefit, but curcumin requires high dosing and I'm not sure that curcumin can traverse the blood/brain barrier very easilly. As a potential alternative, Meriva, a liposomal form of curcumin that is available in capsules from most major online vitamin suppliers may be more useful as it is promoted as being able to enter body tissues readilly and have longer staying capabilities than regular curcumin while requiring a significantly lower dose than standard curcumin. Again, you would need to get your doctors approval before using meriva or melatonin or cytoflavin, assuming cytoflavin is even available here.

Good luck with your research!

Art

Replied By Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 02/28/2013

Thank you Art, for pointing me in the right direction. I'll start my research! Linda

Replied By Timh (Louisville, Ky) on 03/01/2013

If I might add, I get best results by taking NAC and Selenium in combination with Melatonin, as used together, significantly boost the body's master antioxidant Glutathione.

Replied By Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 03/01/2013

Timh: Regarding "NAC and Selenium in combination with Melatonin", how much per dose, how many doses per day and for how long (days, weeks, months, or till symptoms disappear) shall he take these? I want to be sure not to over or under dose him.

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

Linda

Replied By Art (Tustin, Ca. Usa) on 03/02/2013

In reply to Linda:

I did not recomend NAC in my previous post to you, even though it is well known to improve glutathione production in the human body as well as detoxify because the following abstract implies that it may cause other issues when used for the purpose of carbon monoxide poisoning. This abstract is suggesting melatonin did not have the same problem as NAC:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20586144

The problem is this is a rodent study and may or may not translate into human use, but I was thinking to err on the side of safety and melatonin has a very good safety profile. This abstract does not go into much detail as to what the exact problem was with NAC.

Art

Replied By Timh (Louisville, Ky, Usa) on 03/02/2013

Linda: Follow the recommended dosage on the product labels. The NAC probably 1 or 2 500mg on empty stomach once day. Selenium 200 mcgs once day. Melatonon at least 3 or up to 9 or more mg once daily before retiring. These recommendations are safe for long-term defense.

As for your report of husband's chronic conditions, the above will help, but I would also recommend a very good health food store brand mens mult. W/ every meal. Extra antioxidant supplements you might consider is vit-a, vit-e, zinc, vit-c. The mineral Chromium (as Picolinate) in combination w/ Cinnamon will help prevent diabetes. ACV will help the hypertension.

Also, to boost the body's natural defense and restore cellular vitality, try Wheat Sprouts. The Wheat Sprout Enzymes will breath new life to the sick cells.

In addition, I would very much recommend hot baths w/ 1/4 cup Epsom Salt and 1/4 cup Baking Soda, as these salts will help neutralize toxins as well as eliminate them through sweating. One main bad side effect of chemical exposures is acidosis. Acidosis prevents the production and utility of enzymes and coenzymes. The salts reverse the acidosis and greatly improve oxygenation (which is the goal of all the antioxidant supplements). 2 or 3 baths per wk. untill substantial recovery.

My apologies on the lengthy recommendations, but events (chemical exposures) like these plus the aging factor, plus the preconditions you detailed, could spell a rapid or irreversible decline. Hopefully the protocols will restore your husband's health.

Please update us any progress or changes.

Replied By Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 03/02/2013

An update on his condition: He came home early from work (he stands at work for 11.5 hrs a day). While at work he used the men's room and discovered his urine was the color of cranberry juice. I had him call his doctor and she told him she was "worried" and wanted him to go for a urinalysis. He arranged to leave work early so he could go to a lab this afternoon. Unfortunately the lab won't have any results for us till Mon or Tue. Why do things always seem to happen on the weekends?

Art: Thank you for the link. I understand your thoughts regarding the rodents. It's often difficult to extrapolate to humans, isn't it. I will continue my studies and present all I have learned here and elsewhere to my husband for his thoughts. I appreciate that you are trying to cautious.

Timh: My thanks to you as well for the clarification as to strength, dosing, etc. My husband already takes ACV (although due to his memory issues, not as often as he had). With the help of ACV, his blood pressure improved so much his doctor cut his blood pressure medication dosage in half last summer. She was quite pleased.

He does take Vit C now - 1,000 mg twice a day. I will look into purchasing the rest but I'm afraid to start anything till we know why his urine looks so bloody. I am really concerned and wonder if this is related to the poisoning or something else entirely? He's been quite tired but we had assumed it was going back to a difficult job after nearly four weeks out due to his health.

I'll keep you both advised.

Thank you both - Linda

Replied By Katy (Lv, Nv) on 03/02/2013

Hi Linda, I read your post last night and I am sorry to hear about your husband. It reminded me of a situation that happened to me and my family about 40 years ago, I was about ten and I remember it pretty clearly. It was winter and the house was kept closed up pretty tight, we had a problem with our heater. The entire family (5) of us were very ill. We thought we had the flu and my mom and I went to the Dr. Of course we were "fine" in his opinion. My brother and father felt better when they were outside, but me, mom and my sister in law were really hit hard, kept passing out, stumbling around, headache... Just sick. Finally my mom told my brother to call an ambulance.... An hour later we were in the emergency room, x rays and oxygen... Come to find out we were a few hours away from death. Long story short, we all recovered so I'm hoping your husband recovers as well.... just want to give you some hope.

Replied By Art (Tustin, Ca.usa) on 03/03/2013

In reply to Linda: I'm sorry to hear about this new complication for your husband.

Since you have the weekend to "research", I am attaching links to studies about melatonin that you may find helpful. I wanted to attach a chart that shows how melatonin declines as we age, but I don't know how to take it from "my documents" and place it into this message. Basically it shows a steady rise from the age of 3 months until the age of 6 years followed by a relatively flat period from 6 to 12 years of age followed by a fairly steep decline from the age of approximately 12 to 14 years when it peaks around 125 pg/ml to the age of about 57 where it starts to flatline around 5 pg/ml on into the 70's and 80's....... basically a negligible amount.

The following link discusses melatonin and how it is much more than just another potent antioxidant:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582546/

This next link discusses at length the anti-inflammatory effects of melatonin as well as interactions and protective effects to the brain and central nervous system:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001216/

The following link is to a human study that used 10mg of melatonin per day combined with Omeperazole to treat gastric and duodenal ulcers and h. pylori intestinal infection:

http://www.jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/10_11/pdf/521_10_11_article.pdf

This next link is to an abstract of another human study that shows that the increased antioxidant potential caused by melatonin supplementation continues for more than a week after discontinuation of supplementation:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20577026

This next link is to an abstract of a double blind placebo controlled study of COPD in humans where melatonin was shown to have some benefit, however the dose was quite low at only 3mg/day. Further studies at higher doses for COPD seem warranted:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22507631

A quick word about melatonin as a radioprotectant:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22185900

The next two abstracts are from a two stage study of melatonin in the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy using 70 mg of melatonin per day for at least 9 months with significant results:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20210854

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21515247

There is quite a bit of research regarding melatonin and its beneficial effects in cancer as well as its synergism with multiple chemo agents. Melatonin also has the ability to help protect the human body against some of the negative effects of chemo and radiation therapy. One scientist (Lissoni P. ) that I have read some of the studies has been researching melatonin since the mid 1980's and has done the majority of these studies in the relationship of melatonin and cancer. The last study I could find was dated, in 2012, so almost 30 years of studying that cancer/melatonin relationship. I think it says a lot that a scientist has basically devoted their career to mainly researching one substance, melatonin!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22933147

So that should give you some good study material to research and help you understand the true value of melatonin in many health conditions. These links that I have posted here are just the tip of the iceberg as far as the total potential of melatonin. The more you research it, the more you will realize just how much potential melatonin has. I hope melatonin will be helpful and your husband will make a full recovery!

Good reading to you.

Art

Replied By Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 03/03/2013

Katy, your family did have quite a scare! I have hope for an answer to my husband's issues with all the help from the good people at EarthClinic. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

Linda :)

Replied By Linda (New Haven, Ct, United States) on 03/03/2013

Art, Wow! This will be a lot of reading and I look forward to it. I start back at my work tomorrow so I will have a little less time than I've had these past 6 weeks. I've been on FML (Family Medical Leave) in order to help my husband since his release from the hospital but I must return to work. I won't have access to the internet at work so I will read what I can once home in the evenings.

I can't thank you enough for all the links you have sent. The medical doctors he has seen are all taking a "wait and see" attitude. My feeling is that his brain and other affected organs need help and support now, not a year from now!

I'll pass on the results from his lab work as soon as we hear - that should be tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday.

Thank you again and God Bless, Linda

Replied By Timh (Louisville, Ky, USA) on 03/04/2013

Linda: I have suffered w/ Chemical Injury for many years, and have almost died twice. I can tell you from personal as well as others experiences, that 98% Medical Doctors (MD's) DO NOT treat Chemical Injuries except as Emergency Medicine. Environmental Illnesses are not legitimate, and the people who live to deal with them almost always get diagnosed as psychosomatic and are prescribed mood altering medications; this is the sad reality of how the system works. As for the 2% MD's that do treat environmental diseases, they constantly brace themselves against harassments and lawsuits. I think the majority of these Dr's are listed under Occupational Medicine. You might also search for "Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy" as this helps people recover from chemical exposure.

As all the info you'r reading can be confusing and you don't seem to be able to adopt any simple "safe" ( it is very common for people to view Nutritional Supplements in the same category of "safe" as prescription & otc drugs, when in fact nutritional supplements a way very much more safer and in large quantities compared to drugs) solutions for treatment, try and find a Natural Doctor (ND) in your area. ND will get your husband on a regimen of Natural Medicine that will likely save his life.

Replied By Rsw (Uniontown, Oh) on 03/04/2013

Hi Tim, I couldn't agree with you more as a result of personal experience. I worked in an office where there was a safety person always checking the air, and I repeatedly heard him say the gas is a little high. The doors would be opened and that was it. I didn't think much of it. I began to feel sick and hot at work, and by the time I get home I couldn't eat and thought I was getting the flu. By the next morning, I felt well again and the whole thing would start over. It suddenly occurred to me that the high gas levels were CO, which I couldn't actually believe, so I called the safety guy at home one evening and he confirmed it was CO! I went out and bought a CO detector, and when I put it in my office, it went off detecting lethal levels. There was a crack in the furnace that was venting into my office and other places in the plant. We got it fixed immediately. But, to my astonishment, my doctor (former doctor now) would not see me. She had no appointments, even two weeks out and said evening appts. We're for chronic illnesses, like headaches, when a sore throat would normally get you in that day. I could get no one to see me, just for advice in case my heart or liver had been damaged. It was too late to go to the ER because I had been breathing oxygen by this time, and they said that is all they would do for me anyway. I have been distrustful of the medical community ever since. And I never had any inclination to sue anyone, if the Worker's Comp issue was the problem. I just wanted some information and advice, but no one would help me. So you are exactly correct in your thinking.

Replied By Timh (Louisville, Ky, USA) on 03/05/2013

Addendum

... I think the majority of these Dr's are listed under Occupational, Alternative, Complementary, or Integrative Medicine.

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