[Marlene]

First...the bladder. John's bladder was a mess from the cytoxan and the BK virus. He was bleeding a lot from his bladder and nothing helped. They transfused platelets and were able keep them above 50K but the bladder just wouldn't heal. Six months out from treatment and finally it stopped. We attributed this to introduction of cranberries. It was November and cranberries were in season. I kind of went nuts....cranberry chutney, cranberry tart, cranberry jam... you get the picture. Well, to our surprise, his bladder finally healed within 3 weeks of eating these precious berries. There was no change in white count or platelet count during this time and he was not on any other drugs for it. I new, but apparently forgot, cranberries were good for the bladder. I just wish I remembered this earlier.

Next item to tackle was the nerve damage. Not only did he get shingles, but he had peripheral nerve damage, mostly to his feet. He was at 8 or 9 on the pain scale. He was miserable and the only thing they could offer was an off-label, anti-siezure med which was not an option for John. He did not want his brain to shut down again from meds. We approached this with nutritional supplements. When I investigate vitamins for the nerves, I found that they were also good for the blood and bone marrow. The main focus were B vitamins, esp B12. I then introduced alpha lipoic acid. Within 3 weeks, it brought his pain level down to a 4 or 5. This was significant. We did this about 8 months out from treatment. Then we used a device called the Rebuilder which is a foot bath with electrical stimulation. Bingo....this brought the pain level down to about a 2 immediately. We used this at about 14 months out from treatment. So we pretty much saw a direct relationship between the ALA and the Rebuilder and his pain.

Finally...at some point, he went to a Chiropractor. The first treatment helped his feet, his gait and balance. All are off when you have PN and the risk of falling is high, which he did and broke his wrist. He walked so much better after his first treatment. His breathing also improved after the doc adjusted a rib that was out of place. I know some of this sounds odd and like minor stuff, but it all contributes to overall healing.

We continue to work on the feet....reflexology and essentials oil have been very good treatments also. And 7 years out, his feet are still healing. Nerves take a really long time to heal. You also have nerves in your bone marrow.

Next post will address what we did with acupuncture and herbs.

Marlene