Art (California) on 09/25/2025
You might consider using both Borax Lotion (BL) and Melatonin Lotion simultaneously as they will work together to help the knee joints and gradually relieve pain and stiffness in the knees. Here is how to make BL :
https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/borax-lotion.html
Here is how to make ML as well as what it has shown benefit for :
https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/melatonin-lotion.html
Good luck and please keep us posted on how you do.
Art
Art (California) on 09/24/2025
In my previous reply, please change #3. from Stinging Nettle to Astaxanthin (AST) as AST is generally very well tolerated and more studied for the purpose as a kidney protectant. I'm thinking that the very good safety profile and more kidney related studies may make it a more desirable choice for your doctor over the less studied stinging nettle for kidney issues.
Art
Art (California) on 09/24/2025
The 160 is high, the 80 is normal, but the 160 is concerning and very concerning with stage 4 CKD. Your doctor should be working on trying to normalize that. You can ask your doctor about possibly using beet root powder capsules (BRPC) to try and further control that 160. BRPC has also shown potential benefit for CKD, so it seems worth having that discussion with your doctor. Given that longer term use of some blood pressure medications are known to cause kidney damage, your doctor may be more open to BRPC to improve your blood pressure. Here is a brief abstract mentioning beet root as possibly beneficial for CKD :
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34613396/#:~:text=Abstract, All rights reserved.
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' Growing evidence indicates that diet is an indispensable ally in the prevention and management of CKD and its complications. In this context, the root vegetable beetroot (Beta vulgaris rubra) deserves special attention because it is a source of several bioactive compounds, such as nitrate, betaine, and betalain, and has shown beneficial effects in CKD, including reduction of blood pressure, anti-inflammatory effects, and antioxidant actions by scavenging radical oxidative species, as observed in preclinical studies. Beetroot consumption as a possible therapeutic strategy to improve the clinical treatment of patients with CKD and future directions for clinical studies are addressed in this narrative review. '
The BRPC could also lower the 80, but there is some play room there if it does go lower.
They were using sodium bicarbonate in the study I linked to, not magnesium.
What they are giving is a dose range, so apparently not everyone got the same dose and perhaps it was based on weight or some other measure. The dose they showed is 1.82 +/- .80 g per day. I take the g to be grams. So I read that as a dose range of 1020 mg - 2620 mg per day. This is a very wide dose range and that is why I say your doctor will have to determine the proper dose for you or possibly start you at the lowest dose and steadily increase the dose over a period of time while monitoring your blood pressure and kidney function regularly. The last option seems a safer way to go, but your doctor will have to make that determination. It may help for you to make a copy of that 2024 study to give to your doctor so he can be clear on the study parameters and findings. Here is a link to the full study :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11843131/
There is no way your doctor is going to consider or even review a list of 30 supplements to consider for your use, but on the other hand, your doctor may seriously consider the three I mentioned to you previously and all three should be beneficial toward your needs. Again those three are :
1. Blueberry Extract
2. Silymarin
3. Stinging Nettle
No matter what you decide, your doctor's approval and supervision along with regular testing are absolutely needed for everything you are taking or planning to take. Stage 4 CKD is a severe stage of kidney damage and I don't take that lightly.
Art
Manuel (Argentina) on 09/24/2025
I am not a doctor obviously.... so can you tell me the milligrams of Magnesium corresponding to the dosage of 1.82 ± 0.80 g/d, you mention? ..I have no idea what that it is.Yes, as you say Miligrams of available Magnesium in the compount/supplemen
You, who different from the 90% of doctors, do RESEARCH, and in my opinion are far more capable of finding solutions..Never did I find a doctor who looked at Earh Clinic.. They smile and disegard when I mention it.
Can you post the 29 other supplements you have founwhich are positive for the kidney?
Many many thaks as usual, Manuel
Art (California) on 09/24/2025
What can be helpful for muscle repair is melatonin lotion (ML) and oral magnesium glycinate. Both offer reparative effects and can be used at the same time. Here is how to make melatonin lotion :
https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/melatonin-lotion.html
Here is a link to a typical magnesium glycinate product :
It will require 4 of the above capsules per day in order to reach the RDA for elemental magnesium for men as each capsule delivers 100 mg of elemental magnesium and the RDA for men is 400 mg for men ages 19 to 30 and 420 mg for men age 31 or over. The magnesium will also help to relax the muscles.
Both work together and may have synergy due to different methods of action. The following link discusses the reparative effects of melatonin on muscles :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10008686/
Here is a relevant quote from the link:
' Our data support the hypothesis that melatonin rapidly rescues skeletal muscle differentiation and the melatonin/Pax7 axis could therefore serve as an important therapeutic target to optimize muscle healing after injury. '
Here is a link discussing the positive effects of magnesium for muscle repair :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6723322/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' We conclude that magnesium supplementation seems to exert a protective effect on muscle damage.'
You will need to get your husband's doctor's approval and supervision before using these two options to be sure they will be safe for him and compatible with all of the medications your husband is taking.
Assuming it is muscle damage, muscle repair takes time. He will likely still need his pain relievers for sometime while the magnesium and melatonin help to heal his muscles.
Art
trichaj (San Francisco, CA) on 09/24/2025
They did nothing but give him pain killers. They wouldn’t give him an MRI. They said he has a strain or possible tear on a lower lumbar muscle, not a slipped disc. He left with oxycodone. He denied the heavier fentanyl and morphine, maybe because he denied it they didn’t think his back was that hurt.
Anyhow I have him on some herbs from acupuncturist friend, he’s still has to take the oxycodone + Tylenol/Ibuprofen to his dismay. He will get off them as soon as he is able.
I have been rotating between arnica hemp pain cream and comfrey salve, and heat pad. He can get up and walk a little, and does laps around the house before back to resting.
I’ve never seen him in such pain. DMSO is out with the pain killers, which are just dulling the pain, but with it’s being so significant it gives a little relief.
I’m wondering if Borax can improve the muscle repair??
Any thoughts on any other remedies?
Many thanks in advance.
Vera (Colorado) on 09/24/2025
Art (California) on 09/24/2025
Just a quick thought about the EP, the ear crystal displacement referred to as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is very common in seniors as discussed here :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6223343/
Here is a relevant quote from the link :
' One third of elderly patients with vertigo were diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of dizziness in both primary care specialist Neurology and Ear Nose Throat settings. '
Also of importance is that the proper vitamin D level has been found to help prevent further occurrences of BPPV as discussed here :
Here is an important quote from the link :
' While earlier studies did not establish a link between low vitamin D levels and initial BPPV occurrence, they did associate recurrent episodes with low vitamin D levels. Recent research indicates that vitamin D supplementation in BPPV patients with deficiency or insufficiency decreases both the numbers of relapsing patients and relapses per patient. '
This is why, earlier, I mentioned the importance of having a high enough 25 OH d level.
Unfortunately many doctors do not use the EP and instead will sometimes refer the patient to physical therapy where they generally will use the EP, but the video link I sent you is definitely one of the better videos I have seen for self deployment of the EP at home and he speaks in a clear and understandable way. Given how common this issue is as a cause for vertigo, it seems like EP should just be the first option to eliminate at the beginning of any doctor visit for vertigo, IMO.
Art
D Pole (Qld) on 09/24/2025
Cam (georgia) on 09/24/2025
Ruralady (Illinois) on 09/24/2025
I take this in the form of gummies, two in the am. But I also take Omega 3 in the form of algae, taking the fish form didn't help me. I also take Qunol Brain, there are two types, one for memory and another for focus. It took a month for me to notice the difference. I have severe fibromyalgia so I can no longer take my three cups of caffeine in the am like I used to. This has helped a lot but I still have trouble focusing but not as bad.
EUGENIA (Europe) on 09/24/2025
EUGENIA (EUROPE) on 09/24/2025
I thought it might be sarcopenia, but I didn't act until now.
I really wanted to buy leucine, but I didn't until now.
Seem as you were in my thoughts.
Thank you for motivating me.
I will try to do exercises with her and this maneuver.
Thank you.
View Entire Thread
EUGENIA (EUROPE) on 09/24/2025
judithb (New England) on 09/24/2025
Art (California) on 09/23/2025
You didn't say in what you wrote if the concussion('s) was the cause of the Empty Sella Syndrome (ESS)? I ask because sometimes the cause of ESS is unknown or idiopathic.
The long post concussion syndrome (LPCS) can be considered a milder to moderate form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). You didn't mention any specific symptoms, so I can't address that, just speak in very general terms about it.
I can't tell you what to use, but I can tell you what I would use for myself if I had a form of TBI. I would use supplements that can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB), have potent anti inflammatory properties to try and counter neuroinflammation, potent anti oxidative stress effects and if possible, have anti apoptotic and mitochondrial protective effects. The intent being to potentially afford brain reparative and protective effects through multiple methods of action simultaneously. I would also give consideration to the idea that this particular group of supplements are likely to offer other potential health benefits not related to TBI.
Seven supplements that could show at least some of those benefits are :
1. Melatonin - At higher dose or to tolerance if very sensitive to melatonin, which I am not sensitive at all.
2. NAC - At 1200 mg/day in two divided doses of 600 mg at breakfast and 600 mg at dinner. A dose that has been used in multiple human studies.
3. Omega 3s - especially DHA and to a lesser extent, EPA at higher dose levels used in human studies in the area of 3 to 4 grams per day.
4. Magnesium - In a form that can effectively cross the BBB such as Magnesium L Threonate or Magnesium Taurate at the RDA for elemental magnesium For the magnesium l threonate form this could be in the 2 gram to 2.5 gram range per day depending on the manufacturer.
5. Astaxanthin - At higher dose of 24 mg/day. A dose that has previously been used in human studies.
6. Vitamin D - At a high enough dose to bring your 25 OH d level up to at least 60 to 70 ng/ml, a level that is considered high by doctors, but not too high. Lab testing will be required to reach this range.
7. CoQ10 / Ubiquinol - At 400 mg per day, a dose that has been used in human studies effectively.
I am only pointing out what I would do for myself if I had a form of TBI. If you are considering any of the above supplements, you will have to get your doctors approval and supervision before doing so, to be safe and to make sure they are compatible with any medications you are taking.
Art
Gloria (Boerne, Tx) on 09/23/2025
Jackie (South Carolina) on 09/23/2025
Art (California) on 09/23/2025
If you have not tried the Epley Maneuver (EM) on your mom and would like to try it, here is a link to one of the better videos on how to do the EM properly :
https://youtu.be/2NmXXPZFHnc?si=o6DwMBfVcjdh28O8
It will be best if you do it with her to give her confidence while doing it.
Art
Art (California) on 09/23/2025
Another consideration for your mother at her age is she likely has sarcopenia, which is a dangerous combination with vertigo. If it is possible, some type of strength training/exercise program with an amino acid such as L Leucine at approximately 3 grams per day would be worth discussing with her doctor to strengthen her muscles.
Sarcopenia = the age-related loss of muscle mass, strength, and function, which can lead to weakness, fatigue, poor balance, and difficulty with daily activities.
As you can see, this would not be good with vertigo. Even modest exercise combined with the L Leucine and a higher protein intake would be good in this situation. She could use something like a whey protein shake and add the L Leucine to offer increased muscle building potential.
Going back to the vertigo, have you done the Epley maneuver with her to rule that possibility out?
