PAD and additional Remissions

The main stenosis as MRI gif (2009 - click to enlarge and rotate):

Psoriasis picture (don't click, if you can't see open wounds - 1996):

https://www.dropbox....mshala.jpg?dl=0

addendum (3rd July):

.. it was possible:

• first of all - to reverse a 60% walking disability from PAD
• ...

Only left to work on are CFS symptoms..

Meanwhile could get a 50% disability due to the CFS/ME symptoms again. Helps with yearly tax returns due to high health expenses.

For that reevaluation the investigating Neurologist ordered a brain MRI, which found an old stroke in the left cerebellum.

Therefore, one more potentially deathly condition not only survived, but not even mentioned its occurrence. ..thought it a miracle to have already outlived the 30% five-year mortality prediction from PAD, but now additional a much worse 50% one-year mortality with stroke!

- Chondroitin Sulfate - though not taken consistently as recommended here, after some months on about 5 g/d my intermittent symptoms from PAD completely ceased. And a 60% government-certified walking disability due to that has been revoked since!

When further analyzing which intakes have at least 30% increased during the 8 months before this substantial improvement - compared relative to my average intakes during these 9 years (leaving out Ayurvedics, since they all been added later and therefore all higher):

126% condroitin sulfate
117% paba
91% inositol
90% glutamine
85% medium chain triglicerides
82% magnesium sulfate
81% menaquinone-7
71% phyloquinone
59% rutin complex
59% kelp
55% cysteine
53% boswellia ext.
49% gingerols
44% tyrosine
44% lycopene
42% grape seed ext.
42% citrulline malate
41% lecithine
39% silica
39% pantothenic acid
39% milk thistle ext.
37% pomegranate ext.
37% methylfolate
36% potassium
36% copper (reduced after, since it caused to high than normal lab values)
35% silymarin
33% manganese
32% beta-carotene
31% punicalagins
30% trimethylglycine
30% ascorbic acid

And at the beginning of the 6th year, though with in many respect worse lab results, intermittent claudication symptoms have completely gone for the first time during all these years.

 

...To summarize - through the synergistic effects of lifestyle modifications, nutrient and herbal extract supplementation it was possible: ...

Interestingly, right after the time intermittent claudication ceased I came across the work of Kelly A. Turner, which summarized pretty well for me in a different context the different realms of lifestyle-modifications possibly involved. Since my stack doesn't talks much beyond point 4 of this list - and supplements alone are definitely not enough against severe chronic conditions - I add her whole list here:

During the course of the study, Kelly identified more than seventy-five factors that cancer survivors said they used as a part of their healing journey. Nine of these factors were used by almost every one of them. They are as follows:

 

1. Radically change the diet
Let your food be your medicine, and medicine your food (Hippocrates)
- avoid sugar, meat, dairy products and processed foods
- eat lots of fruits and vegetables
- limit to organic food
- drink only filtered water
 
2. Take control of health
Action is the basic key to success (Pablo Picasso)
- actively participate
- be prepared for change
- resolve resistance
 
3. Follow your own intuition
In vital matters, the decision should come from the unconscious, somewhere from within (Sigmund Freud)
- listen to body signals
- activate the intuition
- find the right change
 
4. Take herbs and food supplements
The art of healing comes from nature and not from the physician (Paracelsus)
- help digestion: digestive enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics
- boost the immune system: e.g. Vitamin C, other vitamins (B12, D3, K2), fish oil, trace elements, certain edible fungi, aloe vera; and hormones (melatonin)
- detoxify the body:
- antimycotics (eg olive leaf extract, celery, nettle)
- antiparasitic substances (eg wormwood, yellow root, black nut husks)
- antibacterial and antiviral (eg garlic, oregano oil, Pau d'Arco)
- liver detoxification (eg milk spotted dwarf, dandelion root, sweet tooth root)
- supplements alone is not enough
 
5. Release oppressed emotions
Anger is an acid which can cause much greater damage to the vessel in which it is stored than to what it pours (Mark Twain)
- disease is blockade
- what are suppressed emotions?
- stress and cancer
- anxiety and cancer
- the waterfall solution
 
6. Enhance positive emotions
The meaning of life is to be happy (Dalai Lama)
- what are positive emotions?
- what are the positive emotions in the body?
- happiness must be practiced daily
- but one does not have to be permanently happy
 
7. Allow social support
In poverty and misery, friends are the only refuge (Aristotle)
- experience love
- do not feel alone
- physical contact
 
8. Deepen the spiritual connection
This is the greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases: that there are doctors for the body and physicians for the soul, where both can not be separated (Plato)
- experience spirituality
- a third kind of love
- the relationship between the physical and the spiritual
- it is important to exercise regularly
- it is important to calm the mind
 
9. Have strong reasons for life
People say that it is the meaning of life that we all seek. I do not believe that this is what we are really looking for. I believe what we are looking for is an experience of being alive ... (Joseph Campbell)
- placing deep trust in one's inner being
- the mind directs the body
- find one's calling
 
http://www.radicalremission.com/

This April I finally quit one of my two part-time jobs, because it has become merely a stick it out feat, and below devastating effects didn't change even half an hour in working-ability or sleeping needs all these years:

2 years later its time for an update:

• At the end of 2017 I got my only root-canal treated tooth extracted. (Instead of the precautionary prescribed antibiotic I only took a DSMO mouthwash, and already on the second day no pain from the extraction.)
• At the same time found a GP who gave me inexpensive Magnesium-sulfate IVs almost monthly. After the 6th the pain-full muscle cramps ceased completely. However, retesting whole blood after the 10th IV showed whole blood Mg only raised about 3 mg/dl, still 2 short of normal between 34-36 mg/l. (All the while continuing my high oral intake.)
• Used LDN more consistently above 2 mg/d.

No more postexcertional malaise since! Hallelujah :-)

Though I kept very strict at pacing, at occasions I couldn't - or with much less sleeping hours - it still caused no real PEM anymore.

Also my maximal carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) for the first time last year remarkably regressed. Normal would be below 0.9 mm.

In below table I added max. pain-free walking distance (PFWD; in kms at about 4/hr), Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive Protein (CRP), and Ankle Brachial Index (ABI; normal ≥9). Vitamin D intake (mcg), serum level (25-OH-D), whole-body sun-exposure (hrs/year), and total testosterone (TT) for their very strong correlation. The very high inflammation in '06, 2 years before the PAD diagnosis, was caused by a Myopericarditis.

year:   PFWD   ESR    CRP   ABI    mcg    hrs    25-D    TT    CIMT

2006:    -     74    96      -       -      -      -      -     -
  -      -      -     -      -       -      -      -      -     -
2008:    0.3    5     -     0.7      -      -      -      -     -
2009:    1      8     1.6    -      50      -      -      -     -
2010:    4     15.5   3.4    -     160     60     63     399    -
2011:    6      4     2.4   0.5    240     60     43     220    -
2012:    3      -     5.2   0.8    300     60     62     262    1.3 mm 
2013:    3.5   68.5   3.7    -     200    220     84     320    -
2014:    5      9     4.8   0.7    190    220     50     340    1.9 mm
2015:    8     11.5   2.5    -     210    220     78     351    -
2016:    9      8     1.1   0.7    170    240     72     468    1.8 mm
2017:    9     18     1.7    -     220    340    101     631    -
2018:    -     32     5.1   0.9    160    340     93     681    1.0 mm
2019:    -     18.5   2      -     190    340     85     368    -

Seems the high inflammation with the year long chronic bronchitis in '12 progressed CIMT quite some further (a 20% yearly increase), and only around the time I lost my walking-disability it started to regress.

(note: above are yearly averages if more than 1 data-point was available, for example highest hsCRP in '12 was 7.6 mg/l, following ESR in '13 actually 130 mm/hr; highest 25(OH)D 135 ng/ml, lowest total testosterone 187 ng/dl)

1. Radically change the diet
Let your food be your medicine, and medicine your food (Hippocrates)
- avoid sugar, meat, dairy products and processed foods
- eat lots of fruits and vegetables
- limit to organic food
- drink only filtered water

Some of the cancer patients interviewed by Kelly did actually the opposite, and added meat back in. Same in my case, having been low fat vegetarian (only cheeses) for more than 30 years since age 10, I added loads of healthy fats (~70% of calories), daily eggs and weekly fish short after my PAD diagnosis back in, much later some occasional meat. Due to low budget, I limited to organic food where it counts though (like the dirty dozens veggies and fruits, as well as all animal based food).

The effects of such a diet change to my basic lipo-proteins during the last 10 years:

 

 

One framework to explain such differences in bio-chemical individuality would be different autonomous-nervous system metabolic types, used for example by the late pancreatic cancer doc Nickolas Gonzales (the following notes taken from an interview):

Dominant sympathetic types: Typ ‘A’ personalities, disciplined; mostly solid cancers; do good on much plant based foods: fruits, vegies, seeds, grains, nuts, plant based oils: hemp, flax; Vitamin B1, B2, B3, 8:1 ratio magnesium to calcium, high vitamin C & D; but not on much meat protein, no b12, no choline, no B5, no zinc, no selenium, no fish oil. Yes to beta Carotene, chromium, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamin,& niacin

Parasympathetic: types are rather creative with unconventional ‘formal’ education; mostly blood-based cancers; do good on lots of meat and a ketogenic diet, saturated fats, fats from fish oils, Calcium 10-15 ratio to magnesium (high magnesium causes depression), Vitamin B12, B5, Choline; not as good on grains or seed. Need zinc & selenium, not good with other large Vitamin B doses.

Mixed or balanced types: suffer rather from allergies and fatigue.

One fact I did come across at the beginning of my health journey which really piqued my interest is, that some traditional diets still contain about a 100 different plants per year, each containing again up to 100 phyto-nutrients, often most not identified yet. Before the agricultural period humans consumed even up to 200 different plants per year. One impact of such a varied diet seems to become apparent with the micro-biome research:

http://ucsdnews.ucsd...ats-in-your-gut

Big data dump from the world’s largest citizen science microbiome project reveals how factors such as diet, antibiotics and mental health status can influence the microbial and molecular makeup of your gut

Emerging trends
All of the data collected by the American Gut Project are publicly available, without participants’ identifying information. This open access approach allows researchers around the world to mine the data for meaningful associations between factors such as diet, exercise, lifestyle, microbial makeup and health. Here are a few observations that have emerged so far:

Diet. The number of plant types in a person’s diet plays a role in the diversity of his or her gut microbiome—the number of different types of bacteria living there. No matter the diet they prescribed to (vegetarian, vegan, etc.), participants who ate more than 30 different plant types per week (41 people) had gut microbiomes that were more diverse than those who ate 10 or fewer types of plants per week (44 people). The gut samples of these two groups also differed in the types of molecules present.

Antibiotics. The gut microbiomes of American Gut Project participants who reported that they took antibiotics in the past month (139 people) were, as predicted, less diverse than people who reported that they had not taken antibiotics in the last year (117 people). But, paradoxically, people who had taken antibiotics recently had significantly greater diversity in the types of chemicals in their gut samples than those who had not taken antibiotics in the past year.

The participants who ate more than 30 plants per week also had fewer antibiotic resistance genes in their gut microbiomes than people who ate 10 or fewer plants. In other words, the bacteria living in the guts of the plant-lovers had fewer genes that encode the molecular pumps that help the bacteria avoid antibiotics. This study didn’t address why this might be the case, but the researchers think it could be because people who eat fewer plants may instead be eating more meat from antibiotic-treated animals or processed foods with antibiotics added as a preservative, which may favor the survival of antibiotic-resistant bacteria...

In my case counted up to 70 different plants eaten a year (and sure forgot some):

• 30: sauerkraut, red cabbage, kimchi, natto, cucumber, olive, carrot, bell pepper, red beet, tomato, potato starch, celery, chickpeas, bitter gourd, lady finger, garlic, onion, salad, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, chard, eggplant, onion, radish, kohlrabi, drumstick, lentil, green bean, other beans
• 25: coconut, macadamia, walnut, hazelnut, pekan nut, almond, brazil nut, cashew nut, flax seed, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, black seed, chia seed, sunflower seed, hemp seed, spirulina, chlorella, cocoa powder, coffee beans, tulsi tea, red wine, black tea, fermented rice, maize, barley
• 15: blueberries, apple, orange, avocado, pear, black currant, red currant, blackberry, papaya, strawberry, grapefruit, apple vinegar, pineapple, mango, mulberry
• 11: eggs, curds, aged cheese, ghee, mackerel, sardines, honey, salmon, cod liver, mollusc, beef

And my only ubiome-result from 2 years ago seems to confirm: http://tinyurl.com/mircrobiome. In that my microbiome was more diverse than 93% of all tested at that time.

Since it would probably take me days to enter my actual regimen with up to 500 ingredients (dietary and supplemental), something much more accurate: All that as it changed over the 8 years - click the below link for the detailed regimen -

https://docs.google....#gid=1308885060

That high number only came about by counting each macro- and micro-nutrient, phyto-chemical, and their respective sources noted in my spreadsheet. Without such at times multiple count it's about half. And actually taken also about 250 individual supplements (caps or pills) or powders (spices, herbs..). In about a half/half ratio. Therefore really not that far off in filling in gaps and replicating a pre-agricultural really varied diet.

2. Take control of health
Action is the basic key to success (Pablo Picasso)
- actively participate
- be prepared for change
- resolve resistance

I guess point 2 is already a big stumbling block for most patients. My GP tells me that I'm his only of his patients asking for particular lab-tests, and taking copies of all. Additionally, for most conventional docs met, that alone is already offensive, that as a patient one has to be prepared to receive a lot of abuse.

My worst example, asked the cardiologist who pushed an invasive vascular prosthesis on me: What would be the risks compared for example to a simple balloon angioplasty? (the later being in use for the longest time). On which the only answer was, that balloon angioplasty wouldn't be performed in our country anymore. To get at least some response about risks and being enabled for an informed decision, I dared to challenge: If this preference for vascular prosthesis could in any way be influenced by its higher financial profit? On which this cardiologist ended the conversation. With the remark that he actually isn't a cardiologist, but just stepped in for an other.

Half a year later I tried again, in the hope the first cardiologist not being on duty. In vain, I met the same again. Now he refused any conversation with the excuse, that he already explained everything in detail at the first occasion. My question: Why then the last time he denied being a cardiologist? - his face turned red - and said: I actually would suffer from personality disorder, and for that should better show up at the psychiatric department! - However, I still insisted to be informed of any risk to the pushed procedure, and had to wait a whole 4 hour for finally an other cardiologist showing up. Though staying a bit more professional, the second cardiologist could only inform me of acute risks during the procedure (1 in a 100; for which he had to phone a colleague to get the information).

Really both showing so much ignorance or lack of integrity, which alone would be enough reason not to ever have such an invasive procedure with any of them.

On the German wikipedia I finally found the simple answers, and I even suggested in my own words during the consultations with the cardiologists, for being enabled for an informed decision:

The most frequent complications after the use of vascular prostheses are blockage (occlusion) due to excessive tissue formation in the neointima region (hyperplasia) or due to detachment of parts of the pseudointima, infections of the implant, problems with the material structure, as well as the development of aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms in the anastomosis region.

 

Five to ten years after implantation, around 90 percent of prostheses still function in the aorta area and the adjacent vessels, while prostheses with a diameter of less than six to eight millimeters have a success rate of less than 50 percent after five years. In general, the higher the flow resistance in the implant area, the lower the prospects for short-term and long-term function.

 

(translated with DeepL)

A very good resource for someone not used to verify primary research yet, is http://www.thennt.com. The risk/benefit ratio found there for the prescriptions/intervention intended for me till my deathbed (docs never advised, even denied and ridiculed):

Statins Given for 5 Years for Heart Disease Prevention (With Known Heart Disease)

 

83 for mortality

 

In Summary, for those who took the statin for 5 years:

 

Benefits in NNT

• 1 in 83 were helped (life saved)
• 1 in 39 were helped (preventing non-fatal heart attack)
• 1 in 125 were helped (preventing stroke)

Harms in NNH

• 1 in 100 were harmed (develop diabetes*)
• 1 in 10 were harmed (muscle damage)

*The development of diabetes is one such unanticipated harm found in a recent large study and it seems likely therefore that this applies to the data above, although this is a best guess.

Aspirin to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Known Heart Disease or Strokes

 

333 for mortality

 

In Summary, for those who took the aspirin:

 

Benefits in NNT

• 1 in 50 were helped (cardiovascular problem prevented)
• 1 in 333 were helped (prevented death)
• 1 in 77 were helped (prevented non-fatal heart attack)
• 1 in 200 were helped (prevented non-fatal stroke)

Harms in NNH

• 1 in 400 were harmed (major bleeding event*)

*Required hospital admission and transfusion

Blood Pressure Medicines for Five Years to Prevent Death, Heart Attacks, and Strokes

 

125 for mortality

 

In Summary, for those who took anti-hypertensives:

 

Benefits in NNT

• 1 in 125 were helped (prevented death)
• 1 in 67 were helped (prevented stroke)
• 1 in 100 were helped (prevented heart attack*)

Harms in NNH

• 1 in 10 were harmed (medication side effects, stopping the drug)

*fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and sudden or rapid cardiac death

Clopidogrel Added to Aspirin to Prevent a Second Heart Attack Or Stroke

 

None for mortality

In Summary, for those who took the clopidogrel:

 

Benefits in NNT

• None were helped (cardiovascular problem prevented)

Harms in NNT

• 1 in 167 were harmed (major bleeding event*)

Coronary Stenting for Non-Acute Coronary Disease Compared to Medical Therapy

 

None for mortality

 

In Summary, for those who received the stenting:

 

Benefits in NNT

• None were helped (life saved, heart attack prevented, symptoms reduced)

Harms in NNH

• 1 in 50 were harmed (complications such as bleeding, stroke, kidney damage)

For me enduring such resistance and even adverseness, as well as being prepared for lifestyle changes, wasn't an issue - it's as if my life depended on it.

This study sums the state of cardiology up:

JAMA. 2019 Mar 19;321(11):1069-1080. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.1122.

 

Levels of Evidence Supporting American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology Guidelines, 2008-2018.

 

Fanaroff AC¹, Califf RM^2,3,4, Windecker S⁵, Smith SC Jr⁶, Lopes RD¹.

Author information

 

Abstract

 

Importance:

Clinical decisions are ideally based on evidence generated from multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating clinical outcomes, but historically, few clinical guideline recommendations have been based entirely on this type of evidence.

 

Objective:

To determine the class and level of evidence (LOE) supporting current major cardiovascular society guideline recommendations, and changes in LOE over time.

 

Data Sources:

Current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and European Society of Cardiology (ESC) clinical guideline documents (2008-2018), as identified on cardiovascular society websites, and immediate predecessors to these guideline documents (1999-2014), as referenced in current guideline documents.

 

Study Selection:

Comprehensive guideline documents including recommendations organized by class and LOE.

 

Data Extraction and Synthesis:

The number of recommendations and the distribution of LOE (A [supported by data from multiple RCTs or a single, large RCT], B [supported by data from observational studies or a single RCT], and C [supported by expert opinion only]) were determined for each guideline document.

 

Main Outcomes and Measures:

The proportion of guideline recommendations supported by evidence from multiple RCTs (LOE A).

 

Results:

Across 26 current ACC/AHA guidelines (2930 recommendations; median, 121 recommendations per guideline [25th-75th percentiles, 76-155]), 248 recommendations (8.5%) were classified as LOE A, 1465 (50.0%) as LOE B, and 1217 (41.5%) as LOE C. The median proportion of LOE A recommendations was 7.9% (25th-75th percentiles, 0.9%-15.2%). Across 25 current ESC guideline documents (3399 recommendations; median, 130 recommendations per guideline [25th-75th percentiles, 111-154]), 484 recommendations (14.2%) were classified as LOE A, 1053 (31.0%) as LOE B, and 1862 (54.8%) as LOE C. When comparing current guidelines with prior versions, the proportion of recommendations that were LOE A did not increase in either ACC/AHA (median, 9.0% [current] vs 11.7% [prior]) or ESC guidelines (median, 15.1% [current] vs 17.6% [prior]).

 

Conclusions and Relevance:

Among recommendations in major cardiovascular society guidelines, only a small percentage were supported by evidence from multiple RCTs or a single, large RCT. This pattern does not appear to have meaningfully improved from 2008 to 2018.

Comment in

• The Evidence Supporting Cardiovascular Guidelines: Is There Evidence of Progress in the Last Decade? [JAMA. 2019]

3. Follow your own intuition
In vital matters, the decision should come from the unconscious, somewhere from within (Sigmund Freud)
- listen to body signals
- activate the intuition
- find the right change

Again, a bid difficult for those of us less intuitive to even understand what this could mean. In my case was always attracted to explore beyond linear reasoning, and had long trainings in body-signal oriented focusing and mindfulness meditation practice.

With the later more intended to train in 'letting go', also the '..it's as if my life depended on it..' came from such a different place. Total alien to how I usually organize my life.

4. Take herbs and food supplements
The art of healing comes from nature and not from the physician (Paracelsus)
- help digestion: digestive enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics
- boost the immune system: e.g. Vitamin C, other vitamins (B12, D3, K2), fish oil, trace elements, certain edible fungi, aloe vera; and hormones (melatonin)
- detoxify the body:
- antimycotics (eg olive leaf extract, celery, nettle)
- antiparasitic substances (eg wormwood, yellow root, black nut husks)
- antibacterial and antiviral (eg garlic, oregano oil, Pau d'Arco)
- liver detoxification (eg milk spotted dwarf, dandelion root, sweet tooth root)
- supplements alone is not enough

 
The 60-thousand-dollar question about taking so many supplements (= what this all costs for 10 years; also the price of the vascular prosthesis declined), is always: Which part of it is essentially most effective? (- or belittled right away, since it allegedly could never been known anyway.)
 
The answer is of course always, that it depends on bio-chemical individuality. All the genetic susceptibilities, medical history and present conditions, deficiencies or overload, varying toxic exposures, diet and every other life-style factor, different metabolism, etc. In my case with difficulties with the heart, lung, liver, kidneys, spleen, androgens, thyroid, glucose metabolism, etc., - one could simply not hope ever to reverse the usually considered non-reversible main condition, if one didn't tackled even the slightest dysfunction of any body-system.
 
The best way for feedback I found in my case to be regular lab-work, after having educated myself about all the nutrients. Last year a new online-service: https://www.labtestanalyzer.com/ started, which after analyzing one's lab-work gives suggestions in respect having to get immediate medical attention, possibly helpful life-style and supplements interventions. All claims with scientific references right there to verify. Since this subscription service became too expensive after 1 year - with what I already learnt from it - in the end I entered all my average values for the last 10 years. The result: from 113 individual supplement suggestions all tailored to my lab-results, I already was taking 100 all these years (missing mainly probiotic strains). In the order of their importance by the number of individual lab-test, each supplement could affect beneficially in my case.
 

Vitamin D: Platelet Count, Eosinophils (Absolute), RBC, ALP, CRP, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Triglycerides, Insulin fasting, Albumin, Glucose fasting, HOMA-IR, Testosterone total, Triiodothyronine (T3) free, LDL-Cholesterol, Eosinophils (%), Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Abs, Lipoprotein (a), C-Peptide fasting, Glucose random
Zinc: Neutrophils (Absolute), RBC, ESR, CRP, Ferritin, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Triglycerides, Albumin, HOMA-IR, ACTH, Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Vitamin C: Neutrophils (Absolute), RBC, ESR, CRP, Ferritin, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Triglycerides, Albumin, HOMA-IR, ACTH, Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Green tea + EGCG: ALT, ESR, Transferrin Saturation, TIBC, Glucose fasting, HOMA-IR, VLDL-Cholesterol, TSH, ACTH, Glucose random, Transferrin
Fish Oil: ALP, ESR, CRP, Triglycerides, IgE, Albumin, VLDL-Cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol, ACTH
Curcumin: BUN, ESR, Transferrin Saturation, TIBC, Insulin, Fasting, Albumin, Growth Hormone, Lipoprotein (a), Transferrin
Vitamin E: Neutrophils (Absolute), CRP, Hemoglobin, IgE, Albumin, Lipoprotein (a), Oxidized LDL, Apolipoprotein A1
Magnesium: Globulin, Reticulocytes, CRP, Triglycerides, Insulin fasting, Glucose fasting, Testosterone total, Glucose random
Vitamin B12: MCH, MCV, Platelet Count, RBC, Homocysteine, Vitamin C, Lipoprotein (a)
Selenium: WBC, CRP, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Albumin, Triiodothyronine (T3) free, Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Abs
Alpha-Lipoic Acid: ALT, Creatinine, Insulin fasting, Glucose fasting, VLDL-Cholesterol, Glucose random, Oxidized LDL
Lactobacillus plantarum (Probiotic): ALT, Homocysteine, Triglycerides, Bilirubin, Total, Insulin fasting, Glucose fasting, Glucose random
Calcium: CRP, Transferrin Saturation, TIBC, Testosterone total, Lipoprotein (a), C-Peptide fasting, Transferrin
5-MTHF: MCH, MCV, Platelet Count, RBC, Homocysteine, Albumin
Vitamin A: Eosinophils (Absolute), Ferritin, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Triiodothyronine (T3) free, Eosinophils (%)
Chromium: CRP, Insulin fasting, Glucose fasting, Glucose random, Resting Heart Rate, Apolipoprotein A1
Fenugreek: Triglycerides, Glucose fasting, HOMA-IR, VLDL-Cholesterol, Testosterone total, Glucose random  
Garlic: Eosinophils (Absolute), CRP, Glucose fasting, Eosinophils (%), Glucose random
N-acetylcysteine (NAC): Neutrophils (Absolute), Homocysteine, Albumin, Triiodothyronine (T3) free, Oxidized LDL
Copper: RBC, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Vitamin C, Oxidized LDL
Bifidobacterium longum (Probiotic): ALT, CRP, Triglycerides, IgE, Glucose random
Resveratrol: Homocysteine, ESR, CRP, Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Beta-carotene: Homocysteine, Hematocrit, Hemoglobin, Albumin, HOMA-IR
Ginseng: Creatinine, Triglycerides, Albumin, ACTH, Oxidized LDL
Grape seed extract: Transferrin Saturation, TIBC, HOMA-IR, Oxidized LDL, Transferrin
Cinnamon: Triglycerides, Insulin fasting, Glucose fasting, HOMA-IR, Glucose random
Omega 3-6-9: Monocytes (Absolute), Homocysteine, Apolipoprotein B, Resting Heart Rate
Ginkgo biloba: Eosinophils (Absolute), CRP, HOMA-IR, Eosinophils (%)
Sulforaphane/Broccoli sprouts: ALP, BUN, HOMA-IR, Oxidized LDL
Ginger: BUN, Triglycerides, HOMA-IR, VLDL-Cholesterol
Vitamin B3: CRP, Lipoprotein (a), Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Red yeast rice extract: Triglycerides, Lipoprotein (a), Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Beta glucans: Glucose, Fasting, Apolipoprotein B, Glucose, Random, Oxidized LDL
L-carnitine: TSH, Lipoprotein (a), Apolipoprotein B, Oxidized LDL
Boswellia serrata: Eosinophils (Absolute), ESR, Eosinophils (%)

Zink: Uric Acid, Transferrin Saturation, Hemoglobin

Vitamin B6: RBC, Homocysteine, Lipoprotein (a)

Milk thistle: ALP, ALT, CRP

Ashwagandha: PaCO2, BUN, Testosterone total

Caffeine: PaO2, Bilirubin, Total, Growth Hormone

Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Probiotic): ALT, CRP, Glucose random

Pomegranate: BUN, CRP, Oxidized LDL

Cocoa: CRP, HOMA-IR, Oxidized LDL

Amla (Phyllanthus emblica): CRP, Triglycerides, VLDL-Cholesterol

Manganese: Transferrin Saturation, TIBC, Transferrin

Biotin (vitamin B7): Triglycerides, VLDL-Cholesterol, Lipoprotein (a)

Black Cumin Seed Oil (Nigella Sativa): Triglycerides, Bilirubin, Total, Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Abs

Vitamin B1: Albumin, Glucose fasting, Glucose random

Vitamin B9 (Folate): MCH, MCV

Rosemary: Eosinophils (Absolute), Eosinophils (%)

Spirulina: RBC, Creatinine

Lactobacillus fermentum (Probiotic): ALT, Glucose random

Lactobacillus delbrueckii (Probiotic): ALT, Glucose random

Bifidobacterium infantis (Probiotic): ALT, Glucose random

Flaxseed oil: BUN, HOMA-IR

Astaxanthin: CRP, Apolipoprotein B

Fructooligosaccharides (Prebiotic): CRP, Lipoprotein (a)
Quercetin: CRP, Oxidized LDL

Tongkat Ali: Hematocrit, Testosterone total

Soluble fiber: Albumin, Oxidized LDL

Pistachios: Glucose fasting, HOMA-IR

Arginine: VLDL-Cholesterol, Oxidized LDL

Phytosterols: Lipoprotein (a), Apolipoprotein B

Coenzyme Q10: Lipoprotein (a), Oxidized LDL

Inosine: Uric Acid

Glutathione: RBC

L-glutamine: RBC

TUDCA: ALP

Lavender: PaCO2

Cannabidiol (CBD): PaCO2
Melissa officinalis (lemon balm): PaCO2

Betaine (TMG): Homocysteine

D-ribose: BUN

Suma root: BUN

Astragalus: Creatinine

Salvia miltiorrhiza (red sage): Creatinine

Nettle (Urtica dioica): Creatinine

Chamomile: Creatinine

Chitosan: Creatinine

Goji berries: ESR

Black tea: ESR

B-complex vitamins: Hematocrit

Blueberries: Triglycerides

Apple cider vinegar: Triglycerides
Apigenin: IgE
Luteolin: IgE
Yellow pea flour: Insulin fasting
Whey protein: Albumin
Vinegar: Glucose fasting
Vitamin K2: Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy
Shilajit: Testosterone total
Forskolin: Testosterone total
Tribulus terrestris: Testosterone free
DHEA: Testosterone free
Butea Superba: Testosterone free
Taurine: Triiodothyronine (T3) free
Iron: Triiodothyronine (T3) free
Kelp: TSH
Potassium: Aldosterone
Genistein: Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Abs
Phosphatidylserine: ACTH
Molybdenum: Ceruloplasmin
Soy Protein: SHBG
Boron: SHBG
Red clover (Trifolium pratense): Lipoprotein (a)
Mastic Gum: Lipoprotein (a)
Konjac glucomannan: Apolipoprotein B
Berberine: Apolipoprotein B
Bacillus coagulans (probiotic): Glucose random
Cranberry: Occult blood Urine
Nicotinamide: Apolipoprotein A1
EPA: Apolipoprotein A1
DHA: Apolipoprotein A1

 
Labtestanalyzer, due to sieving through the whole of the scientific literature manually for 1 year only, is still far from comprehensive or really reliable (always check their references), though they'll get there, one day.
 
By having to address virtually all dysfunctional body-systems, my targeted approach appears like the 'kitchen sink approach'. It isn't, and in most cases much less would have to be addressed.
 
 
In my case in retrospect, Linus Pauling's recommendations, along with K-vitamins, D3, CoQ10, omega-3, more magnesium, some aminos (taurine, carnitine, arginine..), most common plant-extracts (Garlic, Tea, Pomegranate..) , and a glucose-intolerance addressing diet - already improved my intermittent claudication limited walking distance from PAD the first 3 years from 10 minutes to 2 hours! When I stopped everything during that time for a 1-week water fast, intermittent claudication was temporarily back with vengeance. Only with a year long chronic bronchitis and COPD all that progress reversed it to half-hour again, and needed definitely a whole set of other interventions.

5. Release oppressed emotions
Anger is an acid which can cause much greater damage to the vessel in which it is stored than to what it pours (Mark Twain)
- disease is blockade
- what are suppressed emotions?
- stress and cancer
- anxiety and cancer
- the waterfall solution

Through my extensive training of the past in mindfulness meditation and focusing therapy, I gladly already had many skills for inner-work with body, emotions and mind. However, whatever therapy, meditation or any other self-help method has in common, is the need of conducive circumstances: a safe place. Be it for allowing unskillful emotions, cultivating beneficial emotions, acknowledging help, spiritually reconnecting or finding a reason to live. All the remaining points up to the 9th on Kelly's list (of factors usually in place for remission in cancer-patients happening) really do need to a certain extent conducive circumstances.

The reality with chronic disease is very often the exact opposite. Living in a small city-flat not even knowing the names of one's neighbors, or being overwhelmed by the demands of modern day occupations, with little time for any respite, or having forgotten all this was meant for.

Not everyone is in the position to quit detrimental jobs or relationships yet. But what in my case really helped to create more space, was my yearly vacation for recuperation to a South Indian beach. Doesn't have to be expensive. For my mud-hut I pay about €1.50/day, a traditional meal with chai already under 1.-. The most expensive about my vacation is the running rent for my flat at home, not the flight.

Such a little yearly intervention for me (who already traveled India extensively in my youth, with absolutely no desire left having to see this and that, and thereby stress again) was conducive for so much all at once:

• More whole body sun-exposures then ever possible the whole year in central Europe.
• Swimming time not limited through colder water temperatures.
• Direct contact to nature: earth, water, wind and animals 24/7. Minimal online time.
• Leisurely and meaningful social interactions, I very rarely find at home.
• Access to affordable traditional Ayurvedic preparations. Also LDN.
• Plenty of time to immerse in the here and now.

This is my main solar panel after 200 hrs/50 days in the South Indian sun this March:

 

 

6. Enhance positive emotions
The meaning of life is to be happy (Dalai Lama)
- what are positive emotions?
- what are the positive emotions in the body?
- happiness must be practiced daily
- but one does not have to be permanently happy

Think not lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good. - The Buddha
 

Dhammapada 122

Or as in the also very old saying: "Gutta cavat lapidem" - Constant dripping hollows the stone.

7. Allow social support
In poverty and misery, friends are the only refuge (Aristotle)
- experience love
- do not feel alone
- physical contact

The friend who appropriates, the friend who renders lip-service, the friend that flatters, the friend who brings ruin, these four as enemies the wise behold, avoid them from afar as paths of peril...

 

The friend who is a helpmate, the friend in happiness and woe, the friend who gives good counsel, the friend who sympathises too — these four as friends the wise behold and cherish them devotedly as does a mother her own child."

 

— DN 31

8. Deepen the spiritual connection
This is the greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases: that there are doctors for the body and physicians for the soul, where both can not be separated (Plato)
- experience spirituality
- a third kind of love
- the relationship between the physical and the spiritual
- it is important to exercise regularly
- it is important to calm the mind

Many of us are probably like me repulsed by superficial religious types, who only argue their religious superiority, but can't follow their proposed lifestyle themself. There are of course in every religion the opposite, not arguing but silently and contently following their paths.

In this respect, and just as my example - not do propose any superiority over any other religion or agnosticism - I found the old Pali text translations the closest I could identify with, where they talk about 10 fetters gradually and possibly to get free of:

• Personality-belief
• Skeptical doubt
• Attachment to mere rules and rituals
• Reduction and disappearance of greed and hatred
• Craving for fine-material existence
• Craving for immaterial existence
• Conceit
• Restlessness
• Ignorance

Even beside other implications, for example just to become free of conceit would mean not considering oneself, better, worse or equal to any other. Just philosphically/poetically the only realistic stance for me possible, for not to perpetuate self-affliction in the one form or the other.

The proposed path through suffering/stress is straightforward:

Lawfulness of Progress, Anguttara Nikaya X, 1-2:

 

For one who is virtuous and endowed with virtue (Sila), there is no need for an act of will: 'May non-remorse arise in me!' It is a natural law, monks, that non-remorse (Kusala-sañña) will arise in one who is virtuous.
- For one free of remorse, there is no need for an act of will: 'May gladness arise in me!' It is a natural law that gladness (Pamojja) will arise in one who is free from remorse.
- For one who is glad at heart, there is no need for an act of will: 'May joy arise in me!' It is a natural law that joy (Piti) will arise in one who is glad at heart.
- For one who is joyful, there is no need for an act of will: 'May my body be serene!' It is a natural law that the body will be serene (Passaddhi) for one who is joyful.
- For one of serene body, there is no need for an act of will: 'May I feel happiness!' It is a natural law that one who is serene will feel happiness (Sukha).
- For one who is happy, there is no need for an act of will: 'May my mind be concentrated!' It is a natural law for one who is happy that the mind will be concentrated (Samma-samadhi).
- For one who is concentrated, there is no need for an act of will: 'May I know and see things as they really are!' It is a natural law for one a concentrated mind to know and see things as they really are (Ñanadassana).
- For one who knows and sees things as they really are, there is no need for an act of will: 'May I experience revulsion and dispassion!' It is a natural law for one who knows and sees things as they really are to experience revulsion and dispassion (Nibbida).
- For one who experiences revulsion and dispassion, there is no need for an act of will: 'May I realize the knowledge and vision of liberation!' It is a natural law for one who experiences revulsion and dispassion to realize the knowledge and vision of liberation (Nibbana).
...Thus, monks, the preceding qualities flow into the succeeding qualities; the succeeding qualities bring the preceding qualities to perfection, for going from the near to the far shore.

Or again in more detailed words:

Upanisa Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya XII:

 

'Just as, monks, when rain descends heavily upon some mountaintop, the water flows down along with the slope, and fills the clefts, gullies, and creeks; these being filled fill up the pools; these being filled fill up the ponds; these being filled fill up the streams; these being filled fill up the rivers; and the rivers being filled fill up the great ocean

 

- in the same way, monks, ignorance is the supporting condition for kamma formations, kamma formations are the supporting condition for consciousness, consciousness is the supporting condition for mentality-materiality, mentality- materiality is the supporting condition for the sixfold sense base, the sixfold sense base is the supporting condition for contact, contact is the supporting condition for feeling, feeling is the supporting condition for craving, craving is the supporting condition for clinging, clinging is the supporting condition for existence, existence is the supporting condition for birth, birth is the supporting condition for suffering,

 

- suffering is the supporting condition for faith, faith is the supporting condition for joy, joy is the supporting condition for rapture, rapture is the supporting condition for tranquility, tranquility is the supporting condition for happiness, happiness is the supporting condition for concentration, concentration is the supporting condition for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are is the supporting condition for disenchantment, disenchantment is the supporting condition for dispassion, dispassion is the supporting condition for emancipation, and emancipation is the supporting condition for the knowledge of the destruction (of the cankers).'

But again, consider this just as example, how spirituality could be straigthforward experienced and integrated through an ethical and meditative practice. If one doesn't naturally inclines, these words could mean nothing more than gibberish. Follow your own inclination to free yourself from this schizophrenic reality split into body and mind, and by extension between physical and spiritual, me and others, holiness or sinning, etc. Choose a path you feel inclined.

.