ILLNESS
An Alternative Approach to Chronic Illness
Chronic illness can have a number of causes: genetics, dietary habits, allergies, autoimmune disorders, toxins, chronic infections, and sometimes even cancer. Many chronic illnesses have similar symptoms making diagnosis difficult. Here at Vance Medical we look at these illnesses through different lenses to present the patient with multiple alternative treatments for their disease. Because most chronic illnesses have common symptoms such as decreased oxygen, increased acidity, nutrient deficiencies and inflammation, many of our treatments work for a variety of conditions. See some examples below of treatments we have available at our clinic.
Using a very low dose of this “anti-drug” can often boost people’s immune systems,
fight chronic illness, decrease pain, and much more.
ABOUT LDN
Naltrexone is a medicine that historically has been used for the treatment of addictions. The medication blocks receptors and stops the effects of addictive substances on the body. A researcher, Dr. Bihari, found that using the lowest dose of naltrexone had other benefits such as keeping patients with infectious diseases from getting ill. Today these low doses of naltrexone are used to treat various types of unresolved pain such as fibromyalgia, chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and tenderness, and in essence, operate as an anti-inflammatory agent in the central nervous system.
HOW IT WORKS
At the regular dose, naltrexone blocks the opioid receptors in the body for a full 24 hours. At a very low dose, it blocks them for only 2-4 hours, during which time the body makes more endorphins. When the naltrexone wears off, this new, larger supply of endorphins is available to help cut down on chronic pain. Endorphins also help modulate the immune system, allowing your body to better fight illnesses such as infections or diseases.
SOME CONDITIONS TREATED
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/RSD
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Cancer
- Migraines
- Lyme
- Covid
- Long Covid
- Fibromyalgia
- Crohn’s disease
- Inflammation
- And more
DISPENSING OF MEDICINE
Because LDN is a lower dose of a standard medication, it requires a prescription from your physician and is formulated at a compounding pharmacy. Each patient has their own particular dose that works best for them; the pharmacist and medical provider will work with you to determine your specific needs and dose.
DOSING AND SIDE EFFECTS
LDN is usually taken at night time just before going to bed, however, occasionally patients take it in the morning. Most people tolerate the medication very well with the only common side effects being:
- Decreased sleep for the first couple of nights. After this, patients often sleep better than they’ve slept in years.
- Vivid dreams but not nightmares. These may or may not go away after a while, but are typically not a concern to patients.
With Low Dose Allergy (LDA) therapy we have the ability to
treat most forms of allergies: foods, inhalants, chemical sensitivities, etc.
ABOUT LDA
Low Dose Allergen Therapy (LDA) is an amazing option for treating many conditions. This includes most forms of inhaled, environmental, and food allergies and even chemical sensitivities.
LDA therapy stems from the research of Dr. Leonard McEwen, a British researcher in the 1960’s who developed Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization (EPD). This was used quite successfully here in the U.S. for many years. Starting in 2002, Dr. Butch Shrader continued Dr. McEwen’s research and developed a next-generation form of the same kind of therapy he named LDA.
HOW IT WORKS
With LDA therapy, hundreds of different antigens are premixed and injected into the skin along with an enzyme called “beta glucuronidase.” This enzyme tells your body to quit overreacting to those irritants. It does this by raising the levels of the T-Regulator cells, which calm down the immune response to that particular antigen.
NOT AN "ALLERGY SHOT"
At first glance, LDA appears similar to regular allergy shots. Both involve intermittent injections to treat allergic conditions but that’s where the similarities end.
Differences include:
- Working by a different mechanism
- MUCH lower concentrations, making it safer
- Hundreds of premixed antigens
- No need for allergy testing
- Shots given much less often
CONDITIONS TREATED
- Hay Fever
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Perfumes
- Pollen
- Pet Dander
- Chemical Sensitivities
- Food Allergies and Sensitivities
- And More
Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) aims to treat different
autoimmune disorders, Parkinson’s disease, Lyme disease, among others.
ABOUT LDI
Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) is a almost identical to the Low Dose Allergy (LDA) therapy. While LDA works very well for many types of allergies, LDI can work for various autoimmune disorders and chronic infections.
After Dr. Shrader developed LDA for multiple types of allergies, he noted that various autoimmune disorders tended to be associated with possible low-lying infections caused by various bacteria. He produced LDA formulations using antigens designed for these infections, and had success treating several autoimmune disorders including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s, and others. Dr. Ty Vincent later extended the idea to treat Lyme Disease and developed several other formulations to treat other diseases and infections.
LDA VS. LDI
Probably the greatest difference between LDA and LDI is who developed the therapy. Dr. Shrader trademarked LDA and later, Dr. Vincent coined LDI. There are also differences in how they are dosed and used. LDA typically has fixed doses while LDI requires individualized doses.Typically with LDI, if you give a dose that’s too high it may make the disease symptoms worse, too low a dose will usually do nothing, and “just right” can potentially work wonders. Because of the possibility of dosing too high, we often start at a dose we suspect will be too low and increase from there until we find the dose that is “just right” for each patient.
MTHFR is a common genetic deformity that has been found to contribute to illness in many patients.
WHAT IS MTHFR?
MTHFR stands for MethyleneTetraHydroFolate Reductase. This is an enzyme that processes an essential nutrient, folic acid – Vitamin B9, into a form more readily usable by the body. The disruption of these chemical processes may cause a multitude of issues for patients who contain this gene problem.
MTHFR was discovered while working on the Human Genome Project. Defects in the gene producing this enzyme were found to be very common in the population and warranted further research. While there are many possible defects in the gene, the most common ones are C677T and A1298C.
WHAT DOES MTHFR DO?
- It processes folic acid into a form usable by the human body allowing methylation, an important chemical process, to occur.
- It is essential in the making of proteins, utilizing antioxidants, and processing fats
- It helps synthesize neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin which influence your mood, sleep, cognitive function, and memory
- It is involved in the growth, repair and maintenance of your cells
- It is needed for the elimination of toxins and heavy metals
- It helps control inflammation
- It activates and regulates the immune system
SOME ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS
- Depression and anxiety
- Other mental disorders
- A variety of cancers
- Stroke
- Heart problems
- Congenital defects
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Miscarriages
- Migraines
- Chemical sensitivities
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Diabetes
- Sleep issues
- And many more
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT
Diagnosis can sometimes be made by looking into family history but often it requires bloodwork. Elevated folate and B12 levels can be suggestive of this disorder. Treatment consists of prescribing pre-methylated vitamins – ones that are already in a form your body can use. Not uncommonly people will do remarkably well with these therapies alone, although some people need additional assistance with their various diagnoses.
Also known as Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome,
this is a protocol designed to target symptoms that seem to have no cause.
ABOUT
Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome (WTS, also known as Wilson’s Syndrome) is a protocol designed for treating patients with symptoms of low thyroid but who have normal labs. It also tends to work well for many other symptoms not typically associated with thyroid, but which are associated with low temperature.
In the 1990’s, Dr. Denis Wilson noticed that treating people with standard thyroid regimens often required increasing doses of medication and sometimes made their symptoms worse. Because of this, he developed a different way to treat patients using T3 – the active form of thyroid hormone made by the body. This resulted in the Wilson’s Protocol (WT3).
HOW IT WORKS
Most thyroid treatments use either T4 (the less active form of thyroid hormone) or a mixture of T4 and T3 (the active form). T4 can be converted into T3 in the body’s tissues when needed. Unfortunately, that conversion doesn’t always work as well as it needs to, and for many people much of the T4 gets converted to Reverse T3 (RT3, a form that blocks the action of T3). This can lead to symptoms of low thyroid, while tricking your brain into thinking that everything’s just fine. While treating with T4 can often help with symptoms, it does nothing to fix this problem and can actually exacerbate the problem. In the Wilson’s Protocol, we treat patients with just the T3, allowing levels of both the T4 and the Reverse T3 (RT3) to slowly fall. Because of this, it’s not uncommon, with the Wilson’s Protocol for patients to progress to the point where they can taper off the medicine completely and still do very well – something that almost NEVER happens with other thyroid treatments.
RELATED SYMPTOMS
- Low temperatures
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- PMS
- Irritability
- Fluid Retention
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Hair loss
- Depression
- Decreased memory
- Decreased concentration
- Decreased sex drive
- Unhealthy nails
- Low motivation
- Constipation
- Weight gain
- Dry skin & hair
- Insomnia
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Muscle aches
- Itchy skin
- Elevated cholesterol
- Ulcers
- Heat & cold intolerance
- Bipolar
- Irregular periods
- Severe menstrual cramps
- Low blood pressure
- Frequent colds
- Frequent UTI’s
- Light-headed
- Easy bruising
- Frequent yeast infections
- Low Blood sugar
DIAGNOSES AND TREATMENT
In addition to evaluating symptoms and analyzing lab results, patients are asked to monitor a sampling of their temperatures over the course of a few days. If the diagnosis is confirmed, patients begin a specific protocol involving the use of custom formulated T3 (liothyronine) in a way that assists in resetting the thyroid and achieving optimal temperatures. Typically, if a patient’s temperatures are able to be normalized, 80% of their symptoms resolve.