Alternatives to guai

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Alternatives to guaifenesin

I've been studying the effect of agents like guaifenesin since 1985 and I

believe that it is one of a number of plant extracts (guai was originally a

plant extract before it was synthesised) which have the effect of cleaning up

the walls of small blood vessels. These can become covered in a thin layer of

fibrin, which does not clot because the other factors required for clotting are

not present in sufficient quantities, but impedes the passage of nutrients into

the tissues and waste products back into the blood.

What happens over a long period of time is that the mineral levels in the

tissues are affected with higher levels of phosphates and lower levels of

magnesium for example, and there are studies which have demonstrated this. Also,

levels of toxins build up in the tissues and this, together with the incorrect

mineral levels and poor transport of oxygen, produces the pain and tissue damage

on exercise that we're all familiar with in FMS.

I should say here that FMS is not, as the medics are quick to point out, a

distinct disease entity, so not everybody who has been diagnosed with it will

actually be suffering from the condition that I'm describing here. However, I

believe that this is the problem for most Fmers and is the problem for everyone

who has responded to guaifenesin.

I've already written about the importance of getting the right intake of

minerals and vitamins but I have not so far said much about these plant

extracts. In addition to guaifenesin, the most prominent ones are standardised

extracts of bilberry, cat's claw, feverfew, garlic (there is a very powerful

patented garlic extract called Allimax), ginkgo biloba, grape seed, hawthorn,

rutin and turmeric.

While you're taking guaifenesin, it is difficult to take any of the others

because they tend to 'block' it. However, if you are one of those who find

guaifenesin hard to tolerate, you are then free to take any or all of the others

instead. This is important, because none of these agents is completely effective

and it is a great advantage to be able to take several.

We all have different constitutions and we all tolerate some things better than

others. Individual doses will have to be determined by trial and error and as

with guaifenesin, if you cannot tolerate one of these then you should stop

taking it. Having said that, as fibrin is removed, toxins and microorganisms are

released into the bloodstream, so feeling a bit lousy and fluish is part of the

treatment, and there are twinges in affected tissues as mineral balances are

corrected and all of this will be well known to anyone who has responded to

guai.

The phytochemicals are best used in rotation. In the same way that each hair

shampoo is said to leave behind different residues, there are subtle differences

in the ways that fibrinolytics work and each seems to leave behind fibrin that

is resistant to it, so taking just one or two becomes increasingly ineffective.

The same is true of platelet aggregation inhibitors.

I cannot tell you what you will experience when a fibrinolytic is working, but

here is an extract from my own notes.

'If a fibrinolytic worked, I would also get eye and eyelid redness and

irritation in a characteristic pattern. Then I noticed that some, like B12 and

rutin, would also give rise to the same skin eruptions - tiny blisters in weals

that itched and burned - on my forearms and especially on my lower legs, where

they appeared directly above the worst-affected areas as toxins had found their

way to the surface. My socks also had a strange burnt smell from substances in

the sweat. Furthermore, the eye and eyelid redness was being produced partly by

the tears, which I could feel burning the tissues, and the effect was greater

during a hot bath. After reading up on toxins, I realised that these were

intermediate substances produced by phase 1 detoxification, which are in a more

toxic form than they are in when stored.

'The process of removing fibrin was accompanied by fatigue, closure of my left

sinus and increased bronchial and nasal mucus. I reasoned that the fibrin must

also contain the microorganisms that were responsible for recurrent flu-like

symptoms and that my immune system seemed incapable of eradicating. I later

discovered that fibrin affords not only a hiding place from the immune system

but also an anaerobic environment, and that this is so amenable to some

pathogens that they are capable of stimulating coagulation to protect

themselves. This would mean that once they had established themselves, it could

be difficult if not impossible for the host ever to recover. This would also

exactly describe what we see in the 'fatigue' syndromes, where the immune system

is in a state of permanent hyperactivity yet is unable to rid the body of

opportunistic infections that are common in the population and normally

successfully dealt with.

'Now I knew the answer to the question that had puzzled me for years - why

things as diverse as phytochemicals, alcohol, exercise and a hot bath could all

produce identical effects. It is because by dilating the blood vessels and

increasing circulation, and/or reducing platelet adhesion, and/or fibrinolysis,

they are helping to break down accumulations of fibrin, leading to fatigue,

pains, mucus, eye redness and the rest. As I understood these effects better, I

acquired what I needed most - the ability to assess the effectiveness of the

agents that I was testing without having to wait and see to what extent my

condition would eventually improve.'