10 Excellent Natural Treatments for the Epstein Barr Virus

For people using coconut oil for the anti-viral action it has, you might consider combing a monolaurin supplement with the coconut oil. Monolaurin is the main anti-viral fatty acid in coconut oil that is responsible for its anti-viral effects. Coconut oil by itself has very little monolaurin in an ordinary dose. Monolaurin has shown some good results in treating Epstein-Barr/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and related viruses.

I heard watercress is an EBV Killer as well as monolaurin!

Serrapeptase eats the outer coating off of virus (someone said chanca piedra does that too?) so the body can fight it and castor oil gives the liver relief from swelling and pain, milk thistle tended to make back pain meds get cleaned out of liver and pain came back with a vengeance. When not needing to use meds for back pain, milk thistle is wonderful for the liver.

I find Lysine, which is anti-viral, helpful for EBV and for cold sores, which are both in the Herpes family. I contracted EBV 1 1/2 yrs ago, and can have flares where I feel exhausted and my throat feels inflamed/swollen. Sometimes my spleen and/or liver hurts. I then rest and take it easy while starting up on Lysine and a Warrior blend which I purchase at the big online giant. It contains Olive leaf, clove, oregano, elderberry, etc. rest and healthy eating is key to speedy recovery. Cut back on gluten, sugar and junk....

This report is perhaps a bit premature, but the results have been so good that I am trying to get the information out there.

Firstly, I never received an official diagnosis of EBV, but I am pretty certain that it, and possibly other viruses are at fault. It has been building for several years and peaked last year. I have very low vitamin D for years which destroyed my immunity, and I got shingles 6 months before the first lymph node was discovered (the shingles cleared up on it's own). Only now have I found any relief from the multitude of symptoms that prevent me from doing anything at all. Even walking or just reading would usually bring on an attack of fatigue, photophobia, dizziness, nausea, and what feels like meningitis. I have had swollen lymph nodes in the classic EBV spots for over a year.

After trying virtually everything else, I gave BHT a try. For a few weeks I did not believe it was working. For the first 5 days I took 500mg per day twice per day on an empty stomach; against the recommendations I have read everywhere because I was desperate (I weigh nothing and eat a low fat diet). After 5 days I developed a nasty rash on my legs and systemic joint pains. It cleared up in 4 days and I started on 250mg.

No problems there.

After 2 weeks I was frustrated with the lack of results, but decided to run an experiment. I would make myself sick and then take the BHT at the height of an attack. To my complete surprise it completely reversed the symptoms in one hour. I repeated this each day, gradually going back to 500mg per day (this time with no complications). Each time it made me feel better and allowed me to do the activities I had been unable to do for even a few minutes for the past year. I could play guitar again, walk again, read again for hours. Eventually the symptoms would return, but by then it was time for my second dose.

After another two weeks we come to the present. I am now pushing myself for the entire day like I used to before I got sick, and am only experiencing a bit of heat in my head, and perhaps some mild general malaise a few times per day. This has been the case for the past 4 days. Absolutely remarkable! I am terrified that the virus might build a resistance so I am now taking biofilm enzymes. I am pushing myself because I want to bring the virus out whenever I can so I can stomp it out. This is just me guessing very unscientifically of course, but it appears to be working. I am hopefull that I will not have to take this the rest of my life but time will tell. If I go for months without any sign of symptoms I will ween myself off of the BHT slowly.

I am still symptomatic, but with the BHT I can actually function. I have not tried actual exercise yet, but that will be next.

TLDR: After 5 weeks of BHT I went from being completely useless to almost my old self again with (probably) EBV. After trying every reasonable supplement including Monolaurin, BHT was the only thing that had any perceivable effect, and the effect was miraculous.

How are you doing after this long with this treatment? I have been diagnosed with this. Need some hope and a solid direction.

Does the Epstein Barr Virus Cause ITP?

I have mentioned here at Earth Clinic my history of ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenia – or, low platelet count for no known reason.)

It appeared that regular use of coconut oil “accidentally” cured my ITP.

Apparently, coconut oil kills lipid coated viruses, like Epstein Barr.

And if you look at a symptom list for Chronic Active Epstein Barr, it includes the symptoms below.

• Anemia
• Thrombocytopenia
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Mouth ulcers
• Hypersensitivity to mosquito bites

There are other symptoms as well. But I had each of the above symptoms for many years.

I know that Dave has mentioned the viral connection to ITP before and it made sense.

Now I may have narrowed it down to a specific virus for me, anyway – Epstein Barr. I wonder if I was ever tested for it back when I had a gazillion tests for my ITP (including a bone marrow biopsy! ) Of course, I suppose it is irrelevant as I wouldn't have been prescribed coconut oil as a treatment. 😊

And my original question doesn't quite make sense. Idiopathic means the cause is not known. If it is known that Epstein Barr causes ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenia) it wouldn't be “Idiopathic” thrombocytopenia, it would just be thrombocytopenia, which is a known symptom of Epstein Barr.

I have mentioned before that my children had mono several years ago. Only one was tested (the child who was not getting better from a “cold.”) and he tested positive for mono. Coconut oil was his amazing cure. A different one of my children (now an adult) seems to get mono like symptoms now and again. (Even though you “can't” get mono twice.) EVERY time, coconut oil turns him around in 12-36 hours. So I suspect he is dealing with an Epstein Barr Virus flare up.

I know this is an old post, but I have improved my health, lungs and eyes by taking cod liver oils capsules. You need the A and D together to heal mucus membranes. Read up on the recommended amount so as not to overdose, then cut back to a maintenance routine. When I started I probably took 1500 mg for a month, then cut back to 650 daily. Now I might take them less.

When I tried D3 on it's own I felt a bit depressed. They have helped so many I have recommended them to as well as work colleagues children with bad asthma.

Hi! Just got done reading what you did for EBV, I hope this message finds you........and finds you with health restored! I loved reading your post! I do pray, if you only knew how much and for how long! Its been a nightmare. If, this so happens to find its way back to you, would love to hear how your doing now. Good or bad, I can be a good encourager

Have you come across some info for Mitochondrial dysfunction since you wrote this email?

Hi Mikaela, while I was searching Ground Ivy I found this

"A 1986 study found that Ground Ivy's ursolic and oleanolic acids inhibited the Epstein-Barr virus and protected mouse skin from induced tumor growth. A 1991 study showed the species fatty acid stimulated enzyme activity in blood platelets."

Souce: http://www.eattheweeds.com/ground-ivy/

Hi john, I pray you are doing better i see you wrote this on 2008. I was looking to find if colloidal silver 500 ppm would help if you had epstein barr and came across your message and if you don't mind me asking how did you find out you had epstein barr and has it gotten better? i have been struggling with having seizures for a few years now and a few months ago i was told by a holistic dr that i have the epstein barr virus and told me to take some cilantro (with yellow doc) 4 times a day and mi - epa = good epa fish oil concentrate a natural source of omega -3 1000 mg 1 capsule 4 times a day.

I am on the third month now and I am still having seizures, not as bad as they used to be but still having some :( what are the side affects you were having? Do you have any suggestions for me? Thank you and my God bless you with great health Mikaela

Mama,

I get my equipment and supplies from the same vendor. Works perfect and great customer service. Also articles on the site very helpful.

Dear Nadine,

I got mine from here. I have made many batches with it and have been happy with it so far!

~Mama to Many~

Mama to Many, Could you tell me with a good colloidal silver generator to buy? Thank you

I have chronic Epstein Barr which causes ME/CFS symptoms as well as frequent infections. I have had this for several years, although worsening of symptoms led me to see a doctor, who diagnosed me 1.5 years ago.

Once I get sick, I can remain ill for months. I recently got bronchitis. Before I had EBV, I could cure bronchitis within a week by taking glutamine, megadosing Vitamin C, and taking extra zinc and vitamins. I started my usual regimen, but I was still sick with bronchitis nearly 3 weeks later.

I saw the post on Essiac tea and decided to try it. I purchased Ojibwa tea from NOW, which is a lot cheaper than other brands and contains the same ingredients (Caisse based the recipe on one from an Ojibwa Native American).

I make the tea by clipping together 8 tea bags in a 2 qt glass pitcher. I pour about 1L boiling water in the pitcher and let it sit on the counter for about 12 hours (recommended steeping time according to various sources). You can probably remove the tea bags at this point but I just leave them in. I then add about 2 Tbsp raw honey and fill the rest of the pitcher with water. Then the pitcher goes in the fridge.

I drink 6-8 oz of this tea morning and night. I felt a lot better in a few days. It has been nearly 2 weeks since I started. I am still coughing up some stuff in the morning, but it is not so plentiful and it is not thick, yellow, and bloody as it was before, so the bronchitis seems to be gone.

I am still quite fatigued, but I am doing well enough to at least get some work done. I don't think this tea will cure chronic EBV, but it will probably help an active infection. I will continue to buy the tea in hopes I will slowly get better.

Also if you are going to drink this tea, I highly recommend that you stay well hydrated throughout the day. I get cramps if I am not careful to drink enough water.

Sarah,,, did you ever overcome your EBV?

The problem with silver retailers is that you don't know what is in their products and the only thing you have to go on is what they tell you it is and there is no practical way to know if what they are saying is correct or not. Consequently, like many others I make my own with a high quality generator so I know exactly what went in it and what the finished product is.

The second issue is that most available already made products are so expensive that it almost forces you to make it yourself if you plan to use it at effective doses or for more than one person. If it is for a family then a generator is definitely more practical.

Many manufacturers make a big issue out of the fact that they sell their products in amber or blue bottles or in glass bottles, but the fact is that if the product really is "colloidal silver", then there is no need for that. Colloidal silver that is properly made does not change or degrade by ultra- violet light exposure or exposure to proper type plastic bottles. Often times these products are ionic silver and ionic silver can change when exposed to uv light. Most silver studies are done using colloidal silver and occassionally they will include ionic silver as part of the testing process, but the majority of publicly available studies use CS. Both forms have beneficial health effects, but in the majority of studies the ionic form seems to be more toxic to normal human cells. My preference would be to use nano colloidal silver and that is what I make at a moderately high ppm for the sake of convenience.

Another consideration is parts per million. Some manufacturers make a point of making 10 ppm as opposed to the more commonly available 20ppm, but they charge about the same price as their 20 ppm counterparts. If you want 10 ppm it will probably be more cost effective to buy a 20 ppm product and then add an equal amount of distilled water to it to make 10 ppm. If it is true cs, it will still be true cs once the distilled water is added.

Most products that look like clear water are likely to be ionic, but cs that is of very small particle size less than 5nm can also look clear, but I doubt that there are many manufacturers producing that size cs because that would raise production costs considerably. In many studies, cs in the 10 to 25nm particle size is generally a good effective size range. Going much smaller can have adverse effects on human cells and going much larger can be less effective. Most products are actually in a particle size range and are not all the same size. A well made product might be in the 10 to 20nm range where many studies show good effect. When a manufacturer states a specific particle size, I would assume that it is an average or a mean. To get just one specific size particle would be difficult and would probably require filtering that would add considerably to production cost. Some labs will sell such a product, but it is very expensive.

I use a relatively expensive generator setup, but it has features that I wanted and so I was willing to pay up for those features and convenience because I make a significant amount of cs, but there are reasonably priced generators out there for less. One feature that I would consider a must for any generator is "constant current" because this will allow you to fairly accurately determine the parts per million of every batch you make and should help you to make uniform batches with repeatable results each and everytime.

Once you start making it on your own it is easy and your generator should pay for itself fairly quickly.

Art

Dear Karen,

I wonder if the reason you are not getting an answer regarding a good brand of colloidal silver is that most people on this site that use it often and recommend it make their own? That is the case for me, anyway.

I have had different brands in the house before I started using colloidal silver in earnest. (I know I have used Meso silver and Sovereign Silver.) I would say that I never noticed amazing results. That may not be because the silver wasn't good but more likely because I didn't have a lot of confidence using it and didn't use it much, or used several remedies and was never sure quite what was helping a particular problem.

Also, when dealing with a serious problem, you may end up going through several bottles of store bought silver in a short while and that stuff is expensive...for the price of 2-3 bottles you can buy a colloidal silver generator and make gallons and gallons to use and give away.

I KNOW the stuff I make is effective. It cured my dog of Erlichia (a tick born disease) when doxycycline only had worked temporarily. But I was using a LOT of silver for him daily. 1/2 cup in his water twice a day for weeks, I think? He is a big dog. (He did not turn blue, either. :) )

So, my best advice on this is to buy a generator.

Next best advice is to read amazon reviews, or check with a local health food store. Sometimes people that work there will have some experience with the products they sell. (Hopefully! )

~Mama to Many~

Mama To Many, which brand of colloidal silver would you recommend? Seems no one on this site is putting forth that info when people ask. Thanks! :)

Sorry to be so pessimistic, but you really don't know what you are buying with colloidal silver and other supplements. We just don't know the quality and purity. I know from personal experience then there's ionic, who are we to believe? I must say the 3 brands of silver I've had in the UK have had no noticeable effect on anything. So beware.

Julia, I'm not sure where Chris is coming from. He certainly has no background in natural health and nutrition. Keep doing what you are doing and feel free to add additional natural therapies. Luckily, natural therapies at worst, cause no harm, at best they keep us at a very high level of wellness. <3

Deirdre, how is the BHT working?

Hi there, how much essia tea should I have a day for Chronic Fatigue? Cheers, Andrea

Hi Oscar,

Thank you so much for your posts yesterday. Just wanted to let you know that the BHT side effects subsided after the 2nd night. I even managed to take 175 mg twice yesterday, totaling 350 mg.

Would like to mention that, after one of my clients who travels a lot mentioned it to me and then after reading TimH's posts on the subject, I did a humaworm parasite cleanse a couple of months ago. I wanted to do it before undertaking the BHT protocol. I highly suggest a parasite cleanse to everyone! The humaworm site suggests doing a parasite cleanse before kidney and gallbladder cleanses as well as taking any anti-viral herbs. But just be forewarned, these herbs are very, very potent. I almost didn't make it past day 4, but once I did it was smooth sailing. Days 2 -5 are the most intense if you've never done a parasite cleanse before. I was really overdue for one, my God!

Oscar, thank you again for all of your expertise regarding BHT! Looking forward to reporting results from a blood panel in a few months!

Deirdre (EC)

P.S. Am 5'4 but would prefer not to give my weight, lol.

Dear Deidre [ Atlanta, GA ]. Hello again. I checked into what causes " Epstein-Barr syndrome ". As you probably already know, it is one of the most common HERPES family of viruses that causes this condition.

And this is a serious problem and BHT has been shown to be an effective treatment for all the different herpes viruses.

So where does that leave you ? You have a serious side effect using BHT, but you also NEED a viable treatment. Something that really does work.

Hopefully: with careful dosing you can use the BHT. Very often the initial adverse side effects do clear up within a very few days.

There is at least one book written about the use of BHT to treat the different herpes viruses. Here is a link to: Steven Fowkes " The BHT Book ".

http://www.projectwellbeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/BHTbook-StevenWmFowkes-100903.pdf

That book is FREE and online at the above link. Mr. Fowkes does discuss adverse reactions to BHT and strategies for coping with said adverse reactions.

Basically you simply ramp up the dosage over time as your body adjusts to the BHT.

So: If you are still having these headaches: Lower the dosage used [ take 1/2 as much ] and over time ramp up to the desired dosage.

How much do you weigh? How old are you?

Let us see if we can come up with a dosage plan that works for you....Oscar

Dear Deirdre [ Atlanta, GA ]: BHT has been known to lower blood pressure with some people. BHT is also known to act as a stimulant for some people. Sometimes adverse reactions DO occur with the use of BHT. Usually but not always these conditions clear up within one week or less. Some people can not use BHT. If these headaches persist you should lower the dosage used or STOP taking BHT....Oscar

Dear Oscar,

I wanted to let you know that I am on day 2 of trying BHT for Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). I haven't been able to find much information about whether BHT will work for EBV, but figured I'd be the guinea pig and give it a try for a few months if possible.

I got mono in high school decades ago now and have felt intense sleepiness descend on me rapidly every day since that rough time. I finally got a blood panel a few months ago and asked the doc to test me for EBV. Sure enough, I have a high EBV viral load, with the markers indicating a chronic (rather than a new) infection. No big surprise there, but I am sorry I didn't test for this much sooner! My immune system was really clobbered last fall with a series of viruses and a mild shingles outbreak, so I want to work on lowering the EBV viral load to help my immune system.

I bought 350 mg food grade BHT capsules and started with 1/2 capsule in water on an empty stomach yesterday morning and then again this morning. Within 20 minutes, I got a pressure in my head and then a headache. It lasted all day yesterday but got better overnight. But then again this morning after taking a new dose of BHT, same side effects returned. I have NOT taken any aspirin as I don't want it to interfere with the BHT. I will hydrate even more today and see if that helps. Hopefully these side effects will ease after a few days!

I plan on waiting 3 months before doing another blood panel to see if my viral load drops unless you recommend another time frame.

I know you don't recommend taking any other supplements whilst on BHT, but there are a few that I'd like to continue taking, at least a few times of week (ie potassium iodide and a b-complex liquid). Is that okay?

Thank you so very much, Oscar!!

Deirdre

David,

Do you know a clean reliable brand of the colloidal silver? Thanks, Ellen

Has your wife ever been tested for lyme disease? Even if she has tested negative, she can still have it and any/all co-infections. You should read Dr. Horowitz new book, Why Can't I get better. Good Luck.

How can eating correctly, taking vitamins we can't get from our now nutrient-deprived foods, taking natural supplements to restore proper pH to an acidic gut, stopping steroids, and taking antioxidants and natural anti-virals to kill a virus "too much"?

That is ridiculous, you are overdoing it. Have you ever heard that too much can be just as bad as not enough? That's crazy what you are doing.

My wife has been diagnosed with EBV, and looks like she is experiencing HLH (lots of inflamation and pain).

I have found that turmeric is helping, along with pineapple bromeline. Also, there is a herb I ran across which may help. Mandrake root (aka Mayapple). I found a homeopathic remedy that has this, it is Boiron's podophyllum Peltatum. It appears that may apple is the plant that etoposide is derived from. Etoposide appears to help ameleorate HLH from EBV.

Thanks for the oregano oil and olive leaf extract suggestions, we will give them a try as well.

Blessings.

Hello Sarah,

If the Essiac Tea doesn't help kill the EBV, try colloidal silver. Since this EB Virus is, as you say, re-occuring, that means it's likely system wide and if this were me, I'd be taking the CS for a year or longer.

Good luck on the Essiac though. Let us know how it worked.

Dear Sarah,

I have heard of people using Essiac Tea indefinitely. Since you have been sick a long time, it seems to make sense that you would take it for a good while. I believe Essiac has Burdock Root in it? Herbalist Philip Fritchey says that Burdock Root needs to be taken long term (at least 3 months) to do its job as a blood purifyer. Personally, I have seen it help in a short time, but when I took Burdock, I took it for at least six months.

You will probably be the best judge of how long to take it. If you feel better and wean yourself from it and begin to feel worse, go back on it and wait longer to go off of it.

Also, you might consider adding extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil to your treatment plan. My son had mono a few years ago (also cause by EBV) and was very sick. I did lots of natural things but nothing was helping. Within 2 days of starting him on coconut oil he was significantly improved. I had him taking 1 Tablespoon twice a day, though some recommend you start with less and build up th that. (He was 17 at the time and probably weighed 130lbs.) Anyway, our experience was that coconut oil (a great anti-viral) was effective against EBV.

Hope you start to feel better soon. Please keep us posted on your progress!

~Mama to Many~

I have just been diagnosed with reactivated EBV, have no idea how long this has been going on but I can say I have felt awful for at least a year. I am beginning essiac tonic today and was curious if this is something you do indefinitely or until you feel better?

Dezi: to reenergize the mitochondria supplement with these nutrients: Quercetin, Calcium Pyruvate, and Magnesium Malate.

Dear Kate from MA.. Mitchondria are a structure within a living cell that is responsible for ATP which is a fancy word for energy.. anyone with a basic class in biology would know that.

Alternative treament for HLH (Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis). Please stop chemo and taper off the steroids. These are toxic and ineffective. Follow protocol below... try for three weeks and you should see the effectiveness......

2 to 3 oregano oil softgels 150mg after meals or 2 to 3 times a day.

2 Olive leaf extract 750 mg after meals or 2 to 3 times a day.

These herbs can save your life. You should see the ferritin levels drop and platelets go up. Nothing to lose, just give it a try. God bless you!

Mitochondria are not organisms that live in cells... They are part of your genome.... Handed down from your maternal relatives (maternal dna) (as opposed to nuclear dna, which come from dad).

Anyone know how to treat Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis caused by EBV virus?

Hi Terri from Fresno, Ca. Please try Aloe mucilaginous polysaccharides (AMP) for ulcers. IT worked for my friend.

On any viral infection, if other remedies and medical treatment fail, try colloidal silver. Silver can kill a virus. You can buy silver at a health food store. For a virus that is "system wide" you'll have to take the silver solution daily for many months to knock the virus out body wide.

Also, any virus that is system wide is likely in the sinus and ear canal. Place about a tablespoon full in the palm of your hand or use an ear syringe, and sniff up sinus on both sides. May sting a bit on more dominately infected side. Will sting a lot with a bad infection. Use syringe to squirt into ears also. Basically, this is a sinus "irrigation."

I have battled chronic fatigue for more than 20 years. Sometimes it's baffling; it comes and goes. However, I have managed to keep working all this time because of the natural remedies I've used. The XMRV viral connection makes sense to me. I had Epstein-Barr virus. I treated this with the essiac fomula very successfully, and I am due for another brewing. It might be worth a try. It turns my energy around with a week of taking the brew morning and night on an empty stomach. Essiac is said to kill viruses and cancer cells in the bloodstream. I'd like to add that I took the essiac formula to my cousin and his partner, who had come down with AIDS many years ago. To this day, they still take it, and it has been a literal life saver for them. Chronic fatigue can also have a thyroid component, and also adrenal exhaustion may play a part, or a combination. A homeopathic doctor told me years ago that my mitochondria were dysfunctional. The mitochondria are organisms that live in our cells. They consume sugar and release energy, giving us energy at the cellular level. If this is not working correctly, you will not have any energy being supplied to your body. The mitochondria can be effected by viruses, candida, etc.! I'm currently looking into how to support the mitochondria. Anyone out there have any suggestions for that?

Coconut oil seems to work for many people however it has never helped me! In fact I get bad stomach cramps if I ingest even a teaspoon and if I use it on my skin it feels like my skin is on fire! I have dealt with Epstein Barr virus for 25 years and the only thing that has ever worked for me is 2000 mg of vitamin ester C per day during my mono like sypmptoms then back to 500 mg a day when pain and swelling are over. In a few cases I had to take 5000 mg for 3 days in a row when I had a liver inflamation problem due to Epstien Barr virus it only took 3 days on 5000 mg and 2 weeks of 2000 mg vit C to get rid of all signs and symptoms of MONO to include returning my liver back to a healthy state.

Angel

I am a 59 year old woman. I have ulcers in my colon for at least 2 years. I try to stay on a very clean diet. No bread, sugar, processed foods ect. I've tried every natural remedy I can find to try to cure this. It there any thing someone has tried that worked?

In response to mentioning cortisol treatments for chronic fatigue. I did this, but only for 9 months, as I was suffering from chronic fatigue after mold exposure which caused adrenal burnout. I would not suggest this for everyone. You have to realize that when you choose to do this, it shuts down your adrenal glands. And you risk the possibility of having them not be able to function again on their own. I did not know this when I started the treatment. I gained over 50 pounds as a side effect which was not fun. I can honestly say, it was a temporary help on an energy level, maybe in fact much needed, but I still was not able to function up to par. After 9 months and finding out I risked not having a functioning adrenal glands at all if I stayed on the drugs, I chose to go off of the, I consulted my M.D. about weaning me off of the cortisol, and he agreed. (Note: I did a saliva adrenal test first before being placed on the cortisol). As I weaned off the cortisol, I took a regiment of Adrenal support, Cod Liver oil was also taken 1 tablespoon in the a.m. (as EFA's are important),other supplements, Traditional Weston A. Price Diet, as well as Phosphatidylserine at bedtime, along with a pill called 7 flowers. Sleep is very important...So getting to bed at 9:30 or 10 the latest....was part of my regiment. (your body repairs itself from 10 pm to 2 am) Avoid caffeine and sugar as this stresses and stimulates the adrenals. And if your adrenals are not functioning...caffeine stays in your body much longer, because the body can't function properly to get it out.

If your adrenals are not functioning, then chances are neither is your thyroid, or hormones. It's all CONNECTED. Adrenal fatigue, I have found can not be self diagnosed or messed with without first getting adrenal saliva testing, hair analysis, thyroid and hormone testing. And all has to be addressed according to each persons body chemistry. It is all a delicate balancing act. I tried many avenues of trying to help myself, but found relief after finding the right holistic doctors who understand natural therapies and proper testing. Doctor who helped me Dr. Bogazot.

I am in month 8 of fighting a reactivated Epstein Barr infection. I am gradually starting to feel better, although not 100% yet. Here are my strategies for combating the illness:

1) Cut way back on sweets, sugar hampers your immune system.

2) Ate a lot more fruits and vegetables.

3) Limit caffeine, switch from coffee to green tea.

4) Quit alcohol.

5) After about month 5, I quit using my steroid nasal spray. Steroids lessen your immune function. Also I believe it was adding to my anxiety.

6) From month 3 to month 6 I took L-lysine - 2 500mg pills 3 times per day.

7) Olive leaf extract, 1 500mg capsule 4 times per day for its antiviral properties (started in month 5).

8) Monolaurin, 1 capsule 4 times per day - antiviral (started in month 4).

9) Astragalus, 1 capsule 4 times per day for immune help (started in month 6).

10) A multivitamin 1 per day.

11) I take about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil every day.

12) Apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon in a pint of water daily.

13) I recently started magnesium, 1 250mg tablet 4 times per day. It is supposed to have a calming effect and promote restful sleep.

14) Also, I recently started fish oil, 1 1200mg capsule 4 times per day. Among its many benefits, fish oil is said to help brain function and lift one's mood.

15) Pray...a lot. ask others to pray for you too.

16) Rest.

I am not sure which, if any, of these supplements/strategies helped. Maybe it is just the passage of time and my body's own healing process that is making me feel better, but I want to help that process along as much as I can.

Thanks for adding the page! I am trying alot of different things on my friend with EBV will let you know if anything works! :)

Hi Emmy, I would be trying L-lysine 2000mgm. (2 grams) 4 times a day for EPS or any other virus first. It hits a lot of viruses. Of course this is the adult dosage. I would also be hitting the Vitamin C 1 gram every hour while awake up to 10 grams per day. You will get some GI upset with more than l0 grams per day.

I recently read that people who suffer from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia benefit remarkably from cortisol treatments (75 per cent showed significant improvement, and 62 per cent reported substantial improvement). This is because they have adrenal dysfunction, meaning their adrenal glands, which produce sex hormones and cortisol, don't work effectively. I suspect this is due to viral damage. Cortisol is that stress hormone...you get a shot of it in fight or flight situations for a quick burst of energy, decreased pain sensitivity, etc. Proper levels are important for proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, insulin release for blood sugar maintanence, immune function and inflammatory response. Maybe this is why when you exercise it makes it worse because your cortisol levels should increase with aerobic exercise to help deal with the wear and tear. The bulk of cortisol release happens when we sleep, which would also explain why you might not wake up feeling refreshed. If you read up on cortisol, you'll see that if you don't have enough, you just don't have access to energy to burn.

I would definitely try the cortisol therapy, but perhaps there is a more natural way to stimulate the adrenal glands. Research has found that the nutrient Phosphatidylserine (PS) helps balance both high and low levels of cortisol. Usually our brains manufacture sufficient levels of PS, but if there is a deficiency of folic acid and vitamin B12, or of essential fatty acids, the brain may not be able to make sufficient PS levels. So get lots of fish, ridiculous amounts of dark green vegetables, and even rice and soy (or lecithin, I imagine). You can find PS supplements...they used to make them from cow's brains, but now they make a soy lecithin-derived one. (Phew!) At the very least, this nutrient would help with brain fog.

(My interest in chronic fatigue stems from having the Epstein Barr virus. I couldn't shake the fatigue for years and years. I did find getting fish oil and a teaspoon of chlorella everyday finally produced some results, which I would recommend to absolutely everyone!)

The easiest treatment and simplest treatment for herpes is to use fresh olive leaf or use olive leaf extract. However, in practice I used more than one just to make sure they don't come back again.

Since I am talking about olive leaf, this is also used against Epstein-Barr Virus and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as well, due to its antiviral properties. As a result, I have cut and paste portions describing in more details the oleuropeins found in olive leaf -- see below. I suspect that olive leaf extract when mixed with apple cider vinegar would increase its antiviral potency, especially when you have the common colds or pneumonia coming.

For those already against vaccination the olive leaf can be eaten regularly as a protection against other deadly viral diseases as well.

Hi how come you don't have a section on Epstein Barr Virus? I would really like to know what people have been doing for it. Thanks!