Epstein-Barr Virus

A lifetime of feeling awful and not knowing why was driving me crazy. After a few decades of searching I finally figured out it was Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) causing many of my problems. Below is my take on EBV and what to do about it.

Epstein-Barr Virus is wreaking havoc on people’s bodies and they do not realize that this is making them so miserable. It shows up in many ways after being dormant for a long time.

Signs you may have EBV:

If you (or a parent) ever had strep and/or mono. Are your organs burdened/not working properly? Liver thyroid, adrenals, spleen? For instance, we chase thyroid numbers, go on meds and leave it alone, but something is pulling on them. It’s not your organ failing or attacking itself. Do you have fatigue, tinnitus, vertigo, aches and pains, swollen glands, problems with your tonsils, feeling like you “got hit by a truck”, liver issues, hormonal changes hit you hard or depression? Where you vaccinated as a child? They all may trace back to EBV. The same goes for devastating illnesses and autoimmune diseases like MS, Chronic Fatigue, RA, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Lyme’s Disease and Lymphoma. If you know anyone who can not figure out what is wrong them, has never felt the same after being sick, has been to dozens of doctors, had endless tests, tried different diets and potions and has not been able to get better, there is a good chance the root can be traced back to EBV.

According to the Medical Medium, EBV also releases waste by-products and toxic by-products from cell die-off which both create neurotoxins. The virus is not the only problem. Coupled with EBV you will usually see parasites, heavy metals, nutritional deficiencies, a problematic digestive system, a sluggish liver and sub-optimal organs.

I have been on a mission to figure out what was wrong with me since the ‘90’s. No matter what I did or where I searched, or what medical or holistic expert I saw, I could not find an answer. No one knew what to do with me because my body was always “freaking out” which is what showed up in blood and muscle testing. The pain, fatigue, organ problems, chronic fatigue, weight gain, digestive issues, feeling on the verge of a flu all the time, breathlessness and so much more plagued me my entire life, getting worse as I got older. A very clean diet, supporting my organs, exercise and various other techniques and lifestyle changes helped me to a point (I could have been SO much worse), but never fixed my growing list of ailments. THEN, I saw THIS article from goop.com about Mystery Illness. Anthony Williams, aka, The Medical Medium, goes through the Stages, varieties and consequences from Epstein-Barr Virus. That was a major “A-Ha” moment for me. Going down the list I said, “that’s me, that’s me, that’s me…”. Phew, I finally had a starting point, but everything is a process, so it took me a little while to figure out what was best for me.

While the Medical Medium has brought the severity and complexity of EBV to the surface, conventional medicine does recognize that it can become a major problem, such as spleen issues, cancers like Lymphoma and they are even recognizing its connection with MS and lupus. EBV, however, is generally believed to be done once your mono symptoms are gone (sore throat, fever, weakness, swollen glands, etc). The problem is that when it’s done and forgotten, it may be causing many more problems in your system that you would never guess is related.

How do you know if you have it?

1. Symptoms. Read The Goop article mentioned above. A good indication is when you start to have so much go wrong with you and there is no explanation to why. Did you have mono? Do you have a mystery illness? Do you get “flares” that pop up for no reason and make you miserable? Do you have an autoimmune disease or Lymphoma? 

2. You can get a comprehensive EBV panel blood test which includes and what it measures:

Epstein-Barr Virus Viral Capside Antigen (VCA) AB (IgM): Early phase, acute, reactivated

Epstein-Barr Virus, Early Antigen D Antibody (IgG): Acute, past infection, reactivated

Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen (EBNA) AB (IgG): Acute, past infection, reactivated

Epstein-Barr Virus Viral Capsid Antigen (VCA) AB (IgG): Past infection, reactivated

Immunoscience Labs also adds the antibody EBNA IgM.

The problem with the tests are that most doctors, even functional, are confused by them. They will tell you that it only shows you have had EBV in the past and do not recognize that is chronic and causing all of these seemingly unrelated health issues. If you do not have active mono, chances are you will be dismissed.

Another problem I saw with the test are once you start treating it and feeling better, your numbers may be through the roof. I see other people in support groups saying this too. I’m guessing that we are driving the virus out of the organs and that is why we start seeing such high serum numbers. Another thing it could mean is that your levels were so high that they did not register, and you are just working your way down to a readable range.

If you find you really want to get tested, you can order the EBV Panel yourself at requestatest.com $199, lifeextension.com $102

Quest and LabCorp also do the testing.

3. My approach to guide you to healing is to look at symptoms, history, visual cues from your body and I do a body scan to see exactly which pathogens you have, which organs are affected, emotions tied to it and which treatments your body wants to support this. It is much easier and less expensive than a test. Plus, when virus is living deep in your organs, a test will not show it.

How do I treat it?

Food:

Get serious about a clean diet. Tons of fruits and vegetables. Base your meals around them.

Lemon water and 16 oz of celery juice in the morning.

No eggs, cheese, corn, soy, canola oil, pork, farmed fish, gluten, MSG, natural and artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, processed food…these all feed the virus.

If this sounds daunting, Work with Me to ease into it.

Supplements:

Supplements are used to keep viral load down, immune system up and support your organs, mood and energy if needed. Viral support should be rotated so your body does not get used to them. Start slow with supplements and detoxing as you may release toxins too fast. It can make you feel dehydrated, achy and leave you with a headache.

I used and love MediHerb’s Stealth pathogen protocol (purchase through holistic health practitioners). It includes myrrh, Artemisinin (sweet wormwood and sarsaparilla), Viranon (licorice, St. John’s Wort and Thuja) and Echinacea Premium. You will rotate these herbs for a few months. My goiter/thyroid reduced by an inch after a few rounds!

Other herbs and supplements to use: Cat’s Claw, garlic, Silver Hydrosol (I like Sovereign Silver), Lemon Balm, Monolaurin, L-Lysine, Olive leaf, zinc, selenium, elderberry to name a few. Do not try to do all of this at once. Rotate your supplements with this in mind: keep the viral load down and the immune system up.

 Other Therapy:

Detox

You most likely have a build-up of heavy metals, parasites and a very tired liver. Drink the Heavy Metal Smoothie and/or TRS (Toxin Removal System) to remove metals and other toxins. There are many ways to clean your liver with food. Make sure you get lots of cruciferous vegetables to keep the toxins moving through and eliminated by your body. Once again, Medical Medium has an amazing liver cleanse in his Liver Rescue Book. I have done it several times and will continue to do it often to really get in there and get to all the levels.

Infrared Sauna

They have been proven to help with pain reduction, COPD, blood pressure, weight loss, dementia, immune system (it increases white blood cell production). A variety of environmental toxins, including heavy metals, were shown to be released by infrared sauna. Dr. Christiana Northtrup has a comprehensive article on the benefits.

Energy work/Release trauma/Relax

I believe that physical (like a break, surgery or accident), chemical and/or emotional stress is what activates EBV.

We hold on to things that no longer serves us. It is in those stressful times in our lives that are the exact reason for our flares. LET THAT STUFF GO! You need to be as stress free as possible to heal.

Give these a try: reiki, NET, Acupuncture, sound and light therapy, yoga, meditation, deep breathing, chakra balancing, tapping and chanting to name a few. Look for local classes and healers near you. Facebook is a good place to find local events.

If you are in the Charleston are, come to one of my Release or Calm classes!

Sleep

You can not heal if you are not sleeping. Do not feel guilty if you sleep a lot. Let your body do what it needs to do.

If you are having trouble sleeping, try mango or tart cherry juice before bed, CBD/Hemp oil, chamomile tea, minerals (calcium/magnesium), meditation/breathing, obviously turn off the screen and keep phones away from your head before bed and while sleeping. A clean liver will give you a better night’s sleep too! There are many different factors and solutions depending on if you are trying to fall asleep or stay asleep or if your mind is racing. Start with the clean diet and the above recommendation as a start (and be consistent!).

Breathe

Deep belly breaths everyday! I have some videos on my YouTube playlist to follow.

Move Your Body

Instead of going full throttle on the workouts, take it easy on your body. Walk a lot, do yoga, dance, even lift weights, just keep it gentle. You are working towards healing which requires your body to be nurtured, not beat up.

Know and Act

You can beat this. Your mind can determine if you are going to heal. If you say that “nothing will work”, “I’m never going to get better or have a normal life”, then you are right. Turn the thoughts around. Turn your self talk into “I am healing”. BE the person you want to be.

UBI/Ozone Therapy

UBI/O3 is Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation with ozone.

It’s a therapy where about 30-40cc of blood is taken out and mixed with saline, the RN injects it with ozone (O3 which is different than Oxygen O2 ), the blood and ozone goes through the ultraviolet blood irradiation machine and then back into me. This boosts the immune system and kills infections, improves circulation and oxygenates, among other healing properties.

This should be main stream treatment! Make sure you do both UBI and Ozone together.

Be an advocate for yourself.

Don’t give up. It takes time, but you will start to feel better and have a normal life back.

I’m here to help and support you.

Please let me know what you have done to successfully heal from EBV and if this blog offered you any help, hope or new tools to implement.