5 ms·

I've battled with CFS/ME multiple times in my life, each triggered by different ailments. First, it was Epstein-Barr at the end of my tenth grade, leading to tw

I've battled with CFS/ME multiple times in my life, each triggered by different ailments. First, it was Epstein-Barr at the end of my tenth grade, leading to two solid years of chronic CFS. Then, at 31, Chicken Pox knocked me out for roughly 18 to 24 months. More recently, from January to August 2021, I experienced "Long Covid," and this July, a bout with RSV left me grappling with CFS once again. My symptoms include daytime fatigue, necessitating frequent 40 to 120 minute naps. The brain fog is especially frustrating, causing confusion and lack of focus. This recurring condition has undoubtedly impacted my professional trajectory. Interestingly, the only regimen offering relief has been consuming two crushed garlic cloves daily, which I started two weeks ago. I have hypotheses about why this is effective — possibly related to garlic's blood-thinning properties, but no concrete clinical evidence to back it up.

spuz 3y ago
To what extent does your regimen relieve your symptoms?
- mjsweet 3y ago
  I feel clear headed, no longer require naps in the day time and just seem to have higher energy levels. I got out this weekend and completed some long overdue garden maintenance.
cl3misch 3y ago
Garlic is commonly seen as (strongly) stimulating metabolism, right?
- mjsweet 3y ago
  Look I think so, curious to know if the blood thinning properties of alician would enable to body to better repair itself, improve important metabolic processes?
- Tao3300 3y ago
  It also wards off vampires. Which cause fatigue. Of course I'm joking, but also wondering if there isn't a fragmented memory of a folk remedy buried in that bit of lore, alongside the "people with <disease> hated the smell" explanations.
DoreenMichele 3y ago
Adult onset chicken pox is brutal. It can permanently change you.
- mjsweet 3y ago
  Honestly, it was the worst 6 weeks of my life. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. Three weeks of incubation, two weeks of breakouts and a week of recovery. My employer terminated my employment two weeks after that. In retrospect, I should have pursued legal action.
  - patates 3y ago
    > My employer terminated my employment two weeks after that. In retrospect, I should have pursued legal action. I assume you're from the USA? I really hear the high-life stories with some envy and respect but oh boy is there another side of the coin... In any case, I'm sorry to hear that, and hope that it becomes an insignificant unfortunate moment not even worth mentioning in your otherwise happy life story.
    - bowsamic 3y ago
      I mean, even here in Germany you would probably get fired for being ill for so long unless you had already passed your 1 year probation. My wife had a boss who used to fire people for absolutely anything
      - morsch 3y ago
        It's true that you can be fired during the probationary period, for any reason including "excessive" sick leave. But the probationary period is limited to six months, by law.
        bowsamic 3y ago
        The probationary period at my wife's job here in Hamburg was a year
Mistletoe 3y ago
Try some aspirin as a control and see if you get the same result.
- bigbacaloa 3y ago
  [dead]
- mjsweet 3y ago
  I forgot to add a potentially relevant detail: garlic contains a compound called allicin, which has blood-thinning properties akin to aspirin. Intrigued by this similarity, I decided to run an N=1 experiment. I bought some aspirin from the pharmacy and tried it out. The results were astonishing — almost euphoric — and I felt like a new person.
  - mmsimanga 3y ago
    Could you please elaborate, are you saying taking aspirin was better than the garlic?
    - mjsweet 3y ago
      The answer is yes, I think it is better. Personally I’m just not prepared to take Aspirin for more than a few days. So garlic for me. Also I think that anyone who is already on blood thinning medication should consult their doctor.
      - alex_lav 3y ago
        My partner eats raw garlic every morning and feels great. I definitely think there's something to it, so much so that I'll probably start. It seems like the type of thing that has almost no real negative side effects, so worst case my breath just smells in the morning.
        mjsweet 3y ago
        A friend of mine recommended it over a month ago, and I marked him down as “the garlic crowd”. But after some careful reflection I decided to give it try. Glad I did!
lelanthran 3y ago
Where can I find out more about the garlic that isn't a homeopathic or alternative medicine site? Would ginger have a similar effect? As I understand it, they share many properties.
- mjsweet 3y ago
  I know what you mean, I was frustrated by all the pseudo crap out there... But I did find this article that helped a bit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/ Does it have a positive effect on the vascular system? Crumbs IDK, not a clinician but I sure do feel a lot better.
- caesil 3y ago
  Just Google "garlic blood thinner"; it's not pseudoscience, it's a very well documented effect. In fact it's not advisable to eat a lot of garlic if you have low blood pressure or bleeding disorder.
- andrekandre 3y ago
  > Would ginger have a similar effect? As I understand it, they share many properties. recovering cfs sufferer here, and n=1 but for me, yes it seems so. from my experience garlic is definitely the more potent one (personally i prefer ginger) > Where can I find out more about the garlic that isn't a homeopathic or alternative medicine site? difficult, but fwiw in japan we have something here called "gatlic injection" which you can literaly just go to a medical clinic and get some of the uses are for tiredness, hangover, skincare etc [1] [1] https://jsaps2017.jp/guides/article/1097/ https://jsaps2017.jp/guides/article/1097/ * you might try some searching on japanese sites and google translate ** i'm not advocating for this btw, just sharing ^^)
ljf 3y ago
The garlic is very interesting - given some of the 'blood clotting' theories about long covid - really hoping it brings you long term recovery.
- mjsweet 3y ago
  Me too, Covid is a vascular disease and if garlic has the effect on the vascular system that I’m hoping for then I hope to live a longer life.
vl 3y ago
>daytime fatigue, necessitating frequent 40 to 120 minute naps Few years ago I started to feel really sleepy, even fall asleep during daytime, especially at winter. Turned out to be vitamin D. Taking it helped tremendously. Measured recently - normal, but still slightly low. Increased dose. So the advice for everyone is: do full blood panel, including vitamin D in particular.
2-718-281-828 3y ago
> consuming two crushed garlic cloves daily how did you find out about that? did this affect your romantic life?
- Tao3300 3y ago
  Have your partner eat two as well. Problem solved!
  - 2-718-281-828 3y ago
    that's not exactly how it works ... :/

spuz 3y ago

To what extent does your regimen relieve your symptoms?

mjsweet 3y ago
I feel clear headed, no longer require naps in the day time and just seem to have higher energy levels. I got out this weekend and completed some long overdue garden maintenance.

cl3misch 3y ago

Garlic is commonly seen as (strongly) stimulating metabolism, right?

mjsweet 3y ago
Look I think so, curious to know if the blood thinning properties of alician would enable to body to better repair itself, improve important metabolic processes?
Tao3300 3y ago
It also wards off vampires. Which cause fatigue. Of course I'm joking, but also wondering if there isn't a fragmented memory of a folk remedy buried in that bit of lore, alongside the "people with <disease> hated the smell" explanations.

DoreenMichele 3y ago

Adult onset chicken pox is brutal. It can permanently change you.

mjsweet 3y ago
Honestly, it was the worst 6 weeks of my life. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. Three weeks of incubation, two weeks of breakouts and a week of recovery. My employer terminated my employment two weeks after that. In retrospect, I should have pursued legal action.
- patates 3y ago
  > My employer terminated my employment two weeks after that. In retrospect, I should have pursued legal action. I assume you're from the USA? I really hear the high-life stories with some envy and respect but oh boy is there another side of the coin... In any case, I'm sorry to hear that, and hope that it becomes an insignificant unfortunate moment not even worth mentioning in your otherwise happy life story.
  - bowsamic 3y ago
    I mean, even here in Germany you would probably get fired for being ill for so long unless you had already passed your 1 year probation. My wife had a boss who used to fire people for absolutely anything
    - morsch 3y ago
      It's true that you can be fired during the probationary period, for any reason including "excessive" sick leave. But the probationary period is limited to six months, by law.
      - bowsamic 3y ago
        The probationary period at my wife's job here in Hamburg was a year

Mistletoe 3y ago

Try some aspirin as a control and see if you get the same result.

bigbacaloa 3y ago
[dead]
mjsweet 3y ago
I forgot to add a potentially relevant detail: garlic contains a compound called allicin, which has blood-thinning properties akin to aspirin. Intrigued by this similarity, I decided to run an N=1 experiment. I bought some aspirin from the pharmacy and tried it out. The results were astonishing — almost euphoric — and I felt like a new person.
- mmsimanga 3y ago
  Could you please elaborate, are you saying taking aspirin was better than the garlic?
  - mjsweet 3y ago
    The answer is yes, I think it is better. Personally I’m just not prepared to take Aspirin for more than a few days. So garlic for me. Also I think that anyone who is already on blood thinning medication should consult their doctor.
    - alex_lav 3y ago
      My partner eats raw garlic every morning and feels great. I definitely think there's something to it, so much so that I'll probably start. It seems like the type of thing that has almost no real negative side effects, so worst case my breath just smells in the morning.
      - mjsweet 3y ago
        A friend of mine recommended it over a month ago, and I marked him down as “the garlic crowd”. But after some careful reflection I decided to give it try. Glad I did!

lelanthran 3y ago

Where can I find out more about the garlic that isn't a homeopathic or alternative medicine site? Would ginger have a similar effect? As I understand it, they share many properties.

mjsweet 3y ago
I know what you mean, I was frustrated by all the pseudo crap out there... But I did find this article that helped a bit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/ Does it have a positive effect on the vascular system? Crumbs IDK, not a clinician but I sure do feel a lot better.
caesil 3y ago
Just Google "garlic blood thinner"; it's not pseudoscience, it's a very well documented effect. In fact it's not advisable to eat a lot of garlic if you have low blood pressure or bleeding disorder.
andrekandre 3y ago
> Would ginger have a similar effect? As I understand it, they share many properties. recovering cfs sufferer here, and n=1 but for me, yes it seems so. from my experience garlic is definitely the more potent one (personally i prefer ginger) > Where can I find out more about the garlic that isn't a homeopathic or alternative medicine site? difficult, but fwiw in japan we have something here called "gatlic injection" which you can literaly just go to a medical clinic and get some of the uses are for tiredness, hangover, skincare etc [1] [1] https://jsaps2017.jp/guides/article/1097/ https://jsaps2017.jp/guides/article/1097/ * you might try some searching on japanese sites and google translate ** i'm not advocating for this btw, just sharing ^^)

ljf 3y ago

The garlic is very interesting - given some of the 'blood clotting' theories about long covid - really hoping it brings you long term recovery.

mjsweet 3y ago
Me too, Covid is a vascular disease and if garlic has the effect on the vascular system that I’m hoping for then I hope to live a longer life.

vl 3y ago

>daytime fatigue, necessitating frequent 40 to 120 minute naps Few years ago I started to feel really sleepy, even fall asleep during daytime, especially at winter. Turned out to be vitamin D. Taking it helped tremendously. Measured recently - normal, but still slightly low. Increased dose. So the advice for everyone is: do full blood panel, including vitamin D in particular.

2-718-281-828 3y ago

> consuming two crushed garlic cloves daily how did you find out about that? did this affect your romantic life?

Tao3300 3y ago
Have your partner eat two as well. Problem solved!
- 2-718-281-828 3y ago
  that's not exactly how it works ... :/