Introduction

No one knows the specific cause(s) of ALS, but one of the theories is that it is caused by toxins. We have toxins all around us and there is no way to live completely toxin free, unless you live in a bubble. Back in the 1930's there was not as much cancer, or life threatening diseases as there are now. There are chemicals and toxins all around us, from the pesticides that help grow the food we eat, the growth hormones that are given to the cattle our meat and milk come from, right down to the exhaust we breathe everyday from our vehicles. There are many ways to help get your body toxicity lower and help remove the free radicals that are causing havoc with your body.

Most of these things are common sense. It should not be very costly as long as you do your research and shop around for good products at a good price. Beware of the websites that promise a miracle cure. There are a lot of them out there trying to take advantage of people who are desperate to try anything to find a cure for a supposed death sentence. You are the only one who can take control of your health, no one can do it for you. Everybody is different and you have to do what feels right and what works for you.

The following is an outline of what I am doing for myself. Other than the weakness and other side effects of ALS, I have never felt healthier.

Toxin Removal

1. One of the first things I did after receiving my diagnosis was to remove my amalgam fillings. Mercury does leech out from these fillings into your tissues every day. It is only a small amount, but after years of being in your mouth it adds up. Mercury is toxic and doesn't belong in our bodies. Remove them and replace them with composite. Make sure to do your home work on this as well, find a dentist who knows the right procedure for removing amalgam fillings.

2. I had a hair analysis done right after removing my fillings. This is very important to have done. This test shows you what heavy metals you are toxic with and the minerals that you may be lacking. It comes with a complete report and explanation of any imbalances you may have. These tests should not cost any more than $75. Retests are less expensive. Beware of the sites that charge more or try to sell you the supplements that correct your imbalances, they are usually overcharging you. Check with your local doctor or chiropractor. They can usually supply both for a lot cheaper.

3. I have a deep muscle massage twice a week,

• Helps remove toxins from tissue by stimulating blood flow
• Reduces muscle spasms and cramps, increases blood circulation to the muscles, and reduces muscle fatigue and tension.
• Can also be effective in reducing stress which will have an overall effect on your well being.

4. I have a lymphamatic massage every other week. I stumbled upon this treatment by accident one day while looking for a place to steam. It's called the Lymphormation Center, owned by Debra Matthews. She has two other massage therapists that work with her, Megan Riegal, and Angela Moore. They have taught me a lot. Megan, my therapist, is not there just for the paycheck. She has turned me on to meditation, self healing, and bringing me back into a positive mode of thought after a bad day or week. She is an indispensable part of my team.

• These massages are very important for your immune system. Light lymphatic drainage therapy is a technique that uses varying pressure to soften and breakthrough blockages in the lymphatic flow in localized areas of the body and direct lymphatic flow to the most beneficial drainage routes. A vital function of the lymphatic system is cleansing metabolic wastes and detoxifying the body by moving these through the system and out of the body through elimination via the bowel, bladder and perspiration. It is a 25-30 minute total body treatment after which, one is required to rest for at least 24 hours while keeping the body well hydrated.
• Megan's analogy: "Imagine a war being fought in your body. Your immune system is dispersing killer t-cells and b-lymphocytes... to fight the enemy agents causing the symptoms of ALS or other disease. Your immune system is winning, but it requires a healthy, flowing lymphatic system to disperse the garbage trucks to clean up the debris from the battle and send them to the garbage disposal. Your body requires lots of REST for this clean-up process to occur."

For questions or more information on this you can contact these wonderful women at lymphctr@verizon.net

5. Steam baths

• The best way to detoxify your body is through perspiration. I do this by steaming before or after my massage depending on which massage I am having. Studies have shown that steaming is a more efficient way to keep your body at the temperature it needs to be at to have the greatest amount of perspiration. Dry heat allows the perspiration to evaporate and cool the skin while at the same time allowing the toxins to dry back on your skin. Steam doesn't allow evaporation and therefore no loss of body heat. Steam also doesn't take as long to get your body to the temperature it needs to perspire.
• Steam also relieves inflammation and congestion of upper respiratory mucous membranes, relieves spasmodic breathing, relaxes muscles and is a natural expectorant. Which are all helpful with ALS bulbar symptoms.

6. Chelation is a process that uses an amino acid complex called EDTA, it attaches to the metals in your body and removes them. About 95% percent through the kidneys, and 5% through the bile. Once again it is very important to drink lots of purified water to flush out everything you are trying to remove. You don?t want this stuff staying in your kidneys and being reintroduced to your body. There are three different types of chelation, oral, suppository, and IV. Through my research the IV is the most potent form. 100% gets into bloodstream, but it is very expensive and time consuming. It can run you anywhere from $2,000 on up. You usually have to go 2-3 times a week and sit for 3-4 hours while it is administered. Usually it takes approximately 30 visits, depending on your situation. The oral is the least effective. Only about 40% gets into your bloodstream. This is alright for maintaining health if you are pretty healthy already. It's a very low dosage and could take up to a year to equal the IV therapy. I chose to use the suppository. About 90% makes it into your bloodstream, it costs about ¼ of what the IV will run you and a lot less time consuming. You insert it right before going to bed and you're done. Three suppositories are equal one IV treatment. I did this for three months which equals 30 IV treatments. I am now able to retest my hair. I will let you know how well it worked when the results come back.

7. Now that I am done with the first round of chelation, I am going to start taking some magnetic clay baths. These help rid your body of toxins and heavy metals also. I didn't do these while I was chelating because I didn't want to over stress my kidneys. Especially with doing the lymphamatic massages as well. You can either do foot baths or full body baths. The foot baths are easier on your body depending what you health status is.

8. No Stress!!!

This is put very simply. Get rid of as much stress in your life as you can. It's the worst thing for this disease. Having the disease puts enough stress in your life. Learn to let go of stressful things, it's just not worth it. This doesn't mean getting rid of the kids. Let them know what is going on and what they can do to make the home a more peaceful place. Our 8 year old gets a kick out of opening things for me that I can't and he loves to help out. It makes him feel important and also makes him a part of what will help me to get better.

Like I said, this is what I am doing to make myself healthier and pull me through this terrible part of my life. Always check with your doctor first. It's time consuming on a daily basis, but it's what I need to do right now. I still find time to do other more fun activities, but I know in the future there will be plenty of time for that.

STAY POSITIVE!!! People do make it through this and get better.

Diets & Supplements

1. Your diet is very important. Stay away from any foods that are processed or contain preservatives. Eat as many organic foods as possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always good, but make sure to wash them well. Cut down on your meats and stay away from fish (mercury). I am lucky enough to have a father-in-law that supplies me with fresh caribou from northern Canada. So I know my meat has no hormones added to it, and is not fed with anything that had pesticides sprayed on it. Stay hydrated with water, lots of it, but make sure it is purified. City water has too many additives and well water may night be so pure, unless you have a really good purification system.

2. Vitamins and Supplements:

• I have creatine every morning and within 90 minutes after exercising. It has not been proven to help slow ALS, but it does help to improve muscle performance for those muscles that have to take on the additional workload as ALS progresses.
• Flax oil every morning and evening, very important to get your essential fatty acids.
• I take a supplement made up of a special blend of organic oregano, onion, garlic, and Rhus coriaria powder. It?s very good for the immune system. You must keep the immune system strong.
• I take all natural multivitamins that contain all the important vitamins and minerals in one capsule plus a multitude of other natural ingredients that help boost the immune system and fight oxidation and free radicals.
• I take ambrotose (glyconutrients) 2-3 times daily. These are 8 essential sugars that your body doesn?t normally get. They have very powerful effects on the immune system and help retain muscle mass. This is the up and coming supplement, very important to your health. Taking this does give you a definite boost to your day and helps your cells communicate as well. This also can be expensive. Be wary of the cheap knock offs that tell you they are less expensive. Check the amount of servings per container before purchasing.
• Vitamins C and E are very strong antioxidants. These are included in the multivitamin but with what your body is going through, a little extra helps, just don't over do it.
• Vitamin B12 is another very important nutrient for your muscles. It is required for normal activity of nerve cells. Again it is already included in the multivitamin. Same rules apply.

Coenzyme Q10 is a powerful antioxidant. It is found in every cell of the body. This one is expensive. I am on a 9 month high dosage trial with this one through Mass. General. CQ10 was also shown to increase the lives of people with Parkinson?s by 40%.

Mind & Body

1. Physical therapy, exercise as much as you can without tiring yourself.

• I walk as much as I can at work even though I can send most of the information to the other offices through our printer network.
• I exercise in a 4' pool 2-3 times a week during my lunch hour.
• I exercise my hands and fingers with a latex workout tool almost every night and sometimes at my desk at work.
• I have a 6lb rubber ball with handles that actually gives me a good workout doing different exercises that help the core muscle group all at once. I use this three times a week.

The place I go for physical therapy is called Huber Associates in Auburn, Me. Steve Huber is the owner and my therapist. He is another important link in my positive chain of support. When I first started there, he had just been certified in kinesiology taping. It looks like medical tape but on the sticky side it looks almost like a fingerprint design and has some elasticity to it.

Let me back up a bit and explain about my twitching. As everyone knows who has ALS, one of the biggest problems we have is never being able to forget you have this disease because you are in a constant state of twitching that never lets you have a break. My wife use to say that when we lie in bed close together it was like I was massaging her from my twitching.

Steve Huber looked at me on my first visit and said lets see if we can get rid of the twitching. He used the kinesiology tape on my back straight down my spine. I woke up the next morning and the first thing I noticed was all the twitching was gone except in my upper arms which still had decreased considerably. The first thing my wife said we she woke up was that she noticed a big difference in the amount of twitching. I couldn't believe it! I was finally getting a break. I still have him put it on once in a while when the twitching starts to return and it works every time. For questions or information on the tape, you can contact Steve at shuber@huberpt.com

2. Meditation and self healing through imagery.
It is very important to get your mind in sync with your body to help in the healing process. A positive attitude will do a lot more than any pill will ever do for you. I use 4 or 5 cd's that use guided imagery that help you help your own body to heal itself. They are relaxing and do a wonder for your attitude. I am a firm believer that if my body started this problem, my body should be able to take it back over.

Test Drugs

In addition to the Coenzyme Q10 I have begun to experiment with FDA approved drugs to create a cocktail therapy that addresses what I believe to be the three most effective areas to address. They are;

1. Clearing the body of excess glutamate
2. Protecting nerves from further damage
3. Re-growing nerves that have been damaged by ALS

Because I am still experimenting I will hold off publishing the results until I can get a better handle on the impact of this self-medicated regimen.

Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These protocols are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.