Reviews written by Maff

Like the previous reviewer I used the Immunpro product but definitely found it helped. I suffer from CFS not cancer however which is no doubt a significant factore here.

I found my energy was improved after a few weeks of taking 5g every morning in water. I do not mind the taste but others might wish to add it to fruit juice or use it to make a smoothie. Other benefits over the 6 months I used it included fewer infections and just generally feeling less drained and sick. I have also had borderline low white blood cell count since I got sick and this had improved slightly on my last blood test.

The only negative of the product itself was that it caused digestive upset if I tried taking 5g twice per day so I stuck to once.

Unfortunately this product is quite expensive ($40 - although that lasts 2 months at 5g per day). I have no job so had to quit taking it. If I had the money I would be back on it in a shot!

For CFS at least I would recommend people try this - if they can afford it.

It sounds like I used St. John's wort for very similar problems to the reviewer below but unfortunately I didn't experience any improvement after using it for 3 months at the same dose of 300mg/day. I do have many other underlying health problems stemming from chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) however which can certainly effect how medications and supplements work (or not).

I have found the only supplements that improve my mood are those that have an immediate stimulatory effect. These include vitamin D, ginseng and n-acetyl-tyrosine.

Having found St. John's wort was no help for me I have still given it an 8 in the 'Would you recommend?' category purely because the substantial body of medical research on this herb points to it being helpful for many people for mild to moderate depression. In fact the conclusions many review studies draw is that it is at least as effective as antidepressant drugs - Adam72's experience seems to support this!

I should add that I experienced no side-effects while taking St. John's wort but this may not be the case for everyone. Also this herb should be used as an alternative to antidepressant drugs NOT as well as them. Please discuss with your doctor.

This test is very popular among those who suspect they have Candida-related health issues on many forums and chat rooms online but I can find no explanation or scientific evidence that supports its use.

I took the test myself and got none of the strings and other indications that supposedly indicate a Candida problem. My saliva simply sat on the top of the water for a while before mostly dissolving. Despite this negative result I clearly had intestinal Candida overgrowth and this was later confirmed as a diagnosis by Dr. Keith Eaton and Dr. Sarah Myhill, both prominent doctors practicing environmental medicine in the UK. These diagnoses were made with the aid of comprehensive digestive stool analysis (CDSA), gut fermentation profile and Candida antibody testing. I would recommend particularly the gut fermentation profile/alcohol profile and Candida antibody testing if you can afford it to confirm or rule out Candida-related health problems.

Alternatively if finance is a problem you can simply do a trial of the antifungal diet and take antifungal medications and/or natural products along with probiotics as outlined in books such as The Yeast Connection (Crook) and The Yeast Syndrome (Trowbridge) and see if your symptoms improve.

It may be interesting to the spit test but please don't put much faith in the "results".

Many people today suffer from the chracteristic symptoms of hypothyroidism yet when they go to their doctor and have blood tests carried out everything appears normal. Modern doctors have been trained to rely more on bloodwork than what their patients are telling them about their symptoms so the patient is usually dismissed as being healthy or perhaps given some antidepressants.

The problem is that one-off blood tests for thyroid function are notoriously unreliable and not only that but doctors often fail to test for T3 - the thyroid hormone that actually does the work.

The Barnes Basal Temperature Test (BBTT) is relatively simple to carry out at home and is a resonably reliable indicator of how well your thyroid is function. It can be considered a better test than blood tests because it tests one of the end results of thyroid function - body temperature regulation. Instead of just knowing levels of various thyroid hormones in the blood it tells us if they are actually doing their job at the cellular level.

In my personal experience I have ME/CFS which has been linked to thyroid dysfunction and I have many of the typical hypothyroidism signs along with the symptoms of ME/CFS. After blood tests had repeatedly come back normal, including T3 levels, I decided as a trial I would try a low dose of T3 medication myself having obtained some from the internet (Please don't do this - see your doctor). Surprise surprise I quickly felt more like myself than I had in many many years. It was like someone had flicked a switch and turned my brain back on. Everything seemed brighter, more interesting, I had motivation etc. I decided to stop the medication trial and try the BBTT. Sure enough after a month of readings my average basal temperature was around 35.5C indicating a quite significant degree of hypothyroidism according to Barnes.

With my blood tests appearing normal (including T3) I can only assume that there is a problem with the thyroid receptors on my cells - perhaps from oxidative stress and inflammatory processes that are part of ME/CFS. Confirming this is not something that can be done routinely outside of a research setting unfortunately!

My experience however demonstrates that the BBTT is a very useful tool that can identify treatable hypothyroidism even when it has been previously ruled out by blood tests.

I had a Heidelberg pH Test back in 2001 following a Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA). The CDSA flagged up a number of abnormal results regarding digestion and absorption so I had the Heidelberg test to help pin down the cause(s).

The test has a long history and proven track record so I have confidence in the results. As it turned out my stomach acid output was fine - in fact it was 103% of normal so definitely not a cause of my poor digestion. In hindsight and with more knowledge of medicine and my own health it is likely the CDSA showed poor digestion due to stress, which increases transit time therefore reducing the amount of time food is in contact with digestive juices. I subsequently found further evidence of fungal and bacterial dysbiosis which the CDSA had strongly indicated and this could certainly impair digestion.

As for the Heidelberg Test procedure itself I didn't find it too unpleasant. The pH monitoring capsule really is the size of a large nutritional supplement so if you're used to swallowing these you'll have no problem at all. After this you just lay back and wait while the capsule sits in your stomach sending back data. I actually had a vfersion of the test that also tests pH in the small intestine to determine bicarbonate output from the pancreas as well so I was lying on the clinic bed for about 2 hours. Testing stomach pH only takes 30-40 minutes. In either case you can just sit back and read etc.

The test is obviously not cheap as the equipment is expensive and it takes a significant amount of the doctor's time but if you have the hallmark symptoms of low stomach acid or other reason to believe it may be a problem then this test is the best way to get a definitive answer. Recommended if you can afford it.

I have used valerian on and off for a number of years in capsule and tablet form and find it can be a useful herb.

My symptoms tend to vary with the seasons due to the involvement of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) so I am able to sleep better during some periods during the year than others. When I need help with sleep I find valerian to be quite helpful in getting me off to sleep. I take 1000mg-1500mg for this purpose. Another supplement I use for sleep is melatonin (the body's own "sleep hormone") and I would rate melatonin above valerian for this purpose. Just 1mg of melatonin has me drifting off in 15 minutes and I can really feel myself drifting into unconciousness with it.

I have found that valerian however is also useful for taking the edge off anxiety and states of irritability and restlessness if taken throughout the day. It is nowhere near as powerful as prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines for this purpose, but it does have an effect.

I would certainly recommend anyone suffering from mild insomnia, anxiety, or stress-related symptoms give it a try as it could be a cheap and drug-free solution.

I have suffered badly from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) for around 10 years as a secondary illness to chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Over the years I have found many effective ways to combat SAD and help me through the winter months and the Dawnlite Natural Alarm Clock is one of these. For those suffering from SAD others include - bright light therapy, vitamin D3 supplements, negative air ionization....and simply getting out in the available sun as much as possible.

Back to the Dawnlite. It has a great range of features including the ability to set the length of time it takes the light to reach maximum intensity, which is certainly sufficiently bright enough to wake most people. I prefer to use the longest duration setting of 90 minutes for dawn simulation. I find myself starting to come around at about 60 minutes into this cycle.

This dawn simulator lamp also works well as a bedside clock with an easily readable display and also as a bedside lamp. The inclusion of a battery backup facility is excellent and sets this apart as a quality product.

The Dawnlite looks slightly unusual with its bulbous "lamp on a stalk" design but won't look too out of place in most modern bedrooms.

It's unlikely that any dawn simulator will cure full-blown SAD alone but as part of a broader treatment program they can certainly help and I'd rate this model highly. For those with milder forms of "winter blues" it may be just the thing to help you get out of bed during the dark winter mornings.

Having suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 18 years and had other tests strongly indicating gut dysbiosis I was intrigued to hear about Professor de Meirleir's work and very interested in taking the Neurotoxic Metabolite Test myself.

Living in the UK, I obtained the test from ME/CFS specialist Dr. Sarah Myhill, M.D., at a cost of a little over £20. You can also obtain the test directly from Protea biopharma or a handful of distributors in other countries.

The test itself was a very simple matter. I collected a sample of urine in the container provided the first time I visited the bathroom on waking. I then used the pipette type tool to take a smaller sample and add this to the vile containing a special chemical (known as a reagent) that reacts with hydrogen sulfide metabolites. I then turned the vile upside down a couple of times to mix the reagent and urine together and started timing for 3 minutes.

So the test itself was quick, simple, and relatively inexpensive. The tricky part I discovered is interpreting the results. The instruction sheet provides pictures which show viles with sample colours indicating negative, moderate positive, and strong positive results. The problem is that my sample showed a definite change of colour within the 3 minute period but did not match up to any of the pictures. My sample had more of a brown hue than any of the pictures show. Despite this, based on how dark my sample turned I believe my result to have been borderline moderate-strong positive.

After reading others' experiences with the test on various websites and forums it seems my experience is common. Perhaps it is simply a matter of the colour rendering when the instructions leaflet is printed but it is certainly something that Protea biopharma need to look at if the test is to become an approved diagnostic test I would have thought.

Still, I saw a definite colour change towards a darker colour so will take this as further evidence of gut dysbiosis in conjunction with various other tests I have had including CDSA and gut fermentation profile.

If you are a ME/CFS patient and have not had any testing regarding gut dysbiosis I'd certainly recommend the NMT as a cheap and easy home test which can be regarded as an initial screen. A positive looking result could then be followed up with further testing such as those I've mentioned.

As yet I am not lucky enough to have any children but I do have a cat....who loves to be outside and is forever picking up fleas.

For a while despite suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) I just used to use regular pesticide-based flea control products. I'd wear my carbon filter mask to apply the liquid then just kick the cat out for the day. Obviously not ideal (for me or the cat!).

I then started using a flea comb which worked but of course you have to do it outside so as not to infest your home with the fleas and eggs. Very difficult when you live in England where the weather can never be replied upon.

I noticed Androv Medical had started selling this product so thought it might be worth a go on my cat, although it is strictly a lice comb for kids' head lice. I have to say it works very well for pets too and it not only gets the fleas out of the coat but does kill them too, as well as the eggs.

Yes, it's more work than applying a pesticide, but it is completely chemical-free and much more economical - a one-off price of £19.56 instead of £10 every month for the "good" brands of regular flea control products.

I have been variously diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fungal-type dysbiosis (Candida overgrowth), and leaky gut syndrome. It is fair to say my digestion is not optimal.

I frequently see large chunks of recognisable undigested food in my bowel movements and also frequently see an "oil slick" on the surface of the toilet water indicating that my fat digestion and absorption is poor.

Much of this is a result of a fast transit time due to nerves/stress, but I have found that digestive enzyme supplements make a huge difference as well. I use Best Digestive Enzymes by Doctor's Best which has a whole range of digestive enzymes for aiding digestion of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

While taking one capsule with each meal I find my stools contain much less undigested food and fat, which obviously means my body is absorbing more of the nutrients from my food which can only be a good thing. I also find that digestive enzyme supplements reduce my symptoms of bloating and gas after eating.