156 Comments
Jan 9, 2022·edited Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

My episode w CoVid had similarities. Just a couple of days after Christmas w extended family, both of my sons said they had started to feel a little sick. One is vaxed (Navy required), one is not. The Next evening my heart started pounding. 120-130bpm and I felt a little achy as I got into bed. About an hour later, I had a slight cough and a worsening sore throat. I felt febrile and started having ridiculous shivering. Seriously, I’ve never shaken like that before! The places I normally ache started hurting more, and in general I had all muscles and joint aches. Got out of bed, took IVM and HCQ (and cont’d x 7 days), and all the other supplements I normally take. I had had plans to drive to Colorado early the next day but slept in instead. Continued to rest and take meds (added mucinex and full dose aspirin), pushed fluids, and within 36 hours of onset of symptoms, I felt 90% normal (slight aches, cough, sore throat, easily fatigued). My sons tested positive. My sister. Her son. My parents (88 and 89! And not in good health at all!). All positive, too. And none of us is vaxed. W the exception of my navy son who had to return to base, all of them were on the same regimen shortly after onset of symptoms. They’re all fine. The one who stayed sickest the longest was navy son, vaxed x 2 per requirement, and no IVM HCQ. He also didn’t want to take supplements. He’s fine now, but he was sick at least a week longer than his brother and me w similar onset of symptoms. I drove to Colorado 36 hours after symptoms started, hiked 2 miles at altitude in knee deep snow the next day (which wasn’t easy at all, but I didn’t feel sick at all so I went). Count me as a firm believer in the early treatment plan!!!

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Our youngest is vaxxed by the US Army and I sent him back to post after New Year's with ivermectin for the inevitable case of covid he's going to get. My husband, eldest son and I already got covid over with, unvaxxed.

Expand full comment

I cannot say this enough; my son too is in the military and currently deployed in East Africa. He got the Omicron cold and beat it in 1 day. Healthy, non immunocompromised people do not need any of these medications. I know you think that you are taking the opposite narrative by suggesting early treatments like Ivermectin because CNN did all they could to discredit it. You are not, you are adding to the fear. This thing is over. How many times have you or your children taken Ivermectin for a cold prior to COVID? I am guessing zero. Please extend our appreciation for his service!

Expand full comment
author

There is a hidden risk group: 20% of people who died from COVID-19 have rogue autointerferon antibodies. It's a genetic condition, and for the most part essentially random since nobody really knows if they have it. It may still be wise to take simple, cheap, effective medicines. If nothing else, keeping the amount of spike in the body at a minimum seems like a reasonable precaution.

Expand full comment

I sure appreciate your work, Mathew. I got long-haul covid for almost 2 years and as I read and study what is happening, I wonder if a factor has anything to do with cholesterol levels (in addition to deficiency in Zinc and vit D). I was tested in college over 30 years ago for my cholesterol levels and came up over 400's. I never could tolerate meds so no statins for me and I have always had a healthy diet with bmi of around 20, familial high cholesterol. I wonder if those like myself with high cholesterol might be more prone to serious infection, inflammation after infected with covid? I came upon a curious detail somewhere that people's cholesterol levels spike hugely after covid infection, like 800 or even 1,000 level. So, you "hidden risk group" might include this cohort.

Expand full comment

Have you ever taken a look at Dave Feldman's cholesterol experiments? https://cholesterolcode.com/ (Many people in the high-fat/low-carb community--e.g. me; bias freely acknowledged!--reject the notion that high cholesterol is harmful.) ... High cholesterol during infection is actually needed; cholesterol is a basic building block of cell walls, so when there is a lot of tissue damage, the body up-regulates cholesterol in the blood stream so that tissues can repair themselves/regenerate. Very high cholesterol levels are also seen in burn victims, as obviously there is a lot of tissue regeneration going on. So the cholesterol is more of a result of damage than a cause. In the case of covid, seeing elevated cholesterol would be a sign of a severe infection. There are generally two phases in severe covid: 1) the viral replication phase; and 2) the inflammatory phase. What happens in phase 2 is that an immunologically naive person (never before infected) has only their innate immune system to rely on during early days (phase 1) to keep the virus in check. Many people (particularly those consuming a Western diet--there's my bias showing again ;-) ) have chronic inflammation that, among other things, disrupts their immune system. The immune system overreacts, causing collateral tissue damage. This generally doesn't get really bad until several days in, which is why the bad cases tend to be hospitalized after already being sick for a while. That inflammatory phase is what lands people on ventilators--not so much the virus itself, which has usually been cleared by then (the adaptive immune response w/antibodies takes about 4-6 days to develop). A lot of folks theorize that even in patients who don't end up in hospital, they experience some degree of this runaway cascade of inflammation that damages tissues, and that's what's causing the long-covid. (How do you find out if you have chronic inflammation?--C-reactive protein is a key marker: https://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/c-reactive-protein.html)

Expand full comment

Thank you for your sharing this with me. I will look into what you suggest. I just read Malcolm Kendrick's "The Great Cholesterol Con" and it was fascinating to learn from him the opposite of what is still today considered medically true, i.e., high cholesterol bad. I had two serious illnesses as a child, Typhoid and hepatitis, hospitalized and bed ridden for extended period, and had stressful family life, and maybe all together contribute to my biology.

Expand full comment

Any research data? I was not aware of this, 20%? That number seems very high. Where did it come from? Does it reflect Delta and Omicron? I am guessing not. Having said all that I agree with your premise of better safe than sorry. BTW: I have been trying to contact you. Please look at my profile. I can get you tons of data for your stats. pdg@winternet.com

Expand full comment

I agree with you. I have a son now sick with Omicron. It's a basic cold. I have IVM on hand but would not give it to him as it is unwarranted. Dec. 2020/Jan. 2021 three in my family got the original covid and we needed help but it was not available from any of our health care professionals and we each suffered for 3 weeks. IVM and the other protocols would have been helpful then because what we had was way worse than a cold or even a flu. Summer of 2021 my oldest son got sick. When I found out he was 10 days in. We managed to get IVM and HQ to him and within a day he was feeling better. The medical profession has certainly done us wrong by withholding protocols that would have alleviated so much suffering and death. My family remains unvaxxed. One son with LAPD is holding firm that he won't take it. So far they are only testing and not forcing the jab. Three in my family have been living in the same proximity and spending time with my sick son. We are testing our immunity by spending as much time with him as we can. It's been a week and so far none of us have been affected.

Expand full comment

My wife and I got COVID after Thanksgiving and went to alfds.org, scrolled down to the 3 Steps to Obtain COVID Medication section, followed the 3 steps, and got my medication the next day, my wife the day after (essentially the Zelenko protocol). We started feeling better 2 days after starting the medication.

Expand full comment

That's great that you got your meds so quickly. Too bad that Fauci & Co. didn't serve the people well by making these treatments available to the public. Rather they have pushed and demanded a jab that has hurt more than they have helped and in the end they have prolonged their Plandemic. But then maybe that was their plan all along.

Expand full comment

What dosage HCQ did you take?

Expand full comment

200mg BID

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Hope Bret Weinstein can Zoom you into that conversation. Hydrogen peroxide 1.5% is an alternative to povidone iodine on the McCullough and FLCCC protocols. We mix it with saline spray for the nasal rinse or application with a q tip. There is a lot of evidence that fasting, at least from carbs, is a good thing to do while sick, as high blood sugars have been associated with poorer outcomes. Check out the papers on PubMed about metformin and COVID risk reduction and mechanisms of action. Thank you for your posts.

Expand full comment
author

My wife had Zicam sticks, so I used that.

The great thing is, this virus is weak...if you just do something about it.

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

And I just signed up for an annual subscription ($) to your Substack.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you. That is greatly appreciated.

Expand full comment

Xlear! Nasal Rinse with GSE and Xylitol does it, chem free, and tasty!

Expand full comment

Love Xlear!

Expand full comment

Xlear nasal spray is another alternative.

Expand full comment

Where did you get the 1.5% solution from? Is that from Dr Levy's protocol? I've read his work and use the 0.1% or 1% Povidone-Iodine as a nasal rinse.

Expand full comment

Hydrogen Peroxide. Easily bought in 3% solution at drugstore you can dilute with one part water. But there are mouthwashes out there with 1.5% H2O2, some minty and similar to traditional mouthwashes like Peroxyl.

Expand full comment

I've heard both Peter McCullough and Joseph Mercola advocate the use of 1.5% H2O2. I use it myself as a prophylaxis.

Expand full comment

As a gargle I could do that but it would be way too harsh for nasal irrigation. The 0.1% mix is tolerable. If nebulized then the mix can be stronger?

Expand full comment

Yes, sorry I didn't clarify that. I add a teaspoon of 3% H2O2 to 3 oz, saline solution for nasal irrigation and nebulizer. I have gone slightly stronger for the nebulizer but prefer the other. I got that mixture from the directions with a bottle of food grade hydrogen peroxide.

Expand full comment

I've never had food grade. Just the standard 3% is all I've seen. They had an insert with recipies? LOL. I never new they did that. Cool. Thanks

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

So glad to hear you appear to have got a handle on it quickly.

I had something funky about a week ago (fatigue, sinus drip, but the strangest thing was weird body tingles in my hands, arms, and legs).

I've been on 10,000 IUs of D for months, now. At the earliest signs, I took high doses of vit C, zinc acetate lozenges several times a day, and did the neti pot sinus wash with saline and hydrogen peroxide that Dr. Mccoullough mentioned, as well as gargling with the Scope+Crest mouthwash. I have ivermectin, but am saving it in case my mother in law (80) comes down with anything.

I don't know if it was my D levels, or the zinc, or the C, or the washes. But, I've *never* recovered from a cold as fast as I did this time. It's usually 3 days getting sick, 3 days sick, 3 days recovering, and sinus issues for weeks. But, within 36 hours I felt great. Still have some weird tingles, though.

In retrospect, it's shocking how little I've done in the past to help my body fight off bugs. Even these simple things, like getting those lozenges and the nasal wash, make so much sense. It's a silver lining of this covid BS -- hearing this basic, common sense, advice from Kory and Mccoullough. Very grateful to them, and all the good Drs. out there sharing this knowledge.

It's crazy to me to think, at age 46, I've never had a doctor take my D levels or share any advice about how early treatment for colds/flus beyond "rest" and "fluids". I'm changing my PCP to a naturopathic doctor and am going to avoid the pharma pipeline as much as I can going forward.

Expand full comment

Just FYI...those D levels you are taking are a little high and too much D can cause neuropathy (which may manifest as tingles). 4,000 IUs/day is probably sufficient as a preventative unless someone is just starting supplementation from a place of severe deficiency. Neuropathy caused by excess D is apparently reversable according to one of my neurologists...too much B6 can also damage nerves but possibly more permanently. So don't overdo on an ongoing basis. Glad you got better!

Expand full comment

D3 taken in supplements is mostly stored in adipose tissue. Once calcifediol levels reach 150 ng/ml, it begins to be toxic. As most people are well below 30 ng/ml, supplementing with D3 is not a public health problem. When D3 is used in creams for treating skin disease, there can be a problem with calcifediol levels.

The body can produce 20,000 units of D3 in only one exposure, to give you some context.

Expand full comment

Wish someone would spell out how and what exactly to do about a nasal wash.

I have bought iodine but how to get it up my nose without drowning myself or making my teeth go black.

It is described on the bottle as: Oral drops, each drop contains 25mcg and adults take 10 drops in water daily.

This is the only iodine I could find in this godforsaken archipelago in which I live. No povidine or anything fancy.

Everyone acts like everyone knows what to do.

Any specifics appreciated.

Expand full comment
Jan 10, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Disclaimer: I'm hardly an expert.

I got something called a "neti pot". You can find them on amazon, etc. I have a ceramic one. It looks like a baby teapot.

You either boil water and let it cool down to a nice warm temp, or buy distilled water and warm it up a bit (you don't want non-sterile water going in your sinus cavities).

From there, I put a 1/4tsp of sea salt and a 1/4 tsp of hydrogen peroxide (you could also use iodine) in the pot with the water. Then (I know it sounds strange), you lean over a sink and tip the stem of the little pot into one nostril and tilt your head the other direction. The water flows into the nostril and...out the other! (seriously).

Then, swap nostrils. That's about it.

Expand full comment
Jan 11, 2022·edited Jan 17, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Very good of you to explain it all so thoroughly; thank you Tommy.

Expand full comment

Me too, I had never thought much about treatment before. A few years ago, I had a hacking cough for a couple of weeks, and took nothing. Now I know better.

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Such a huge bummer that you'll miss Hereticon (what a great name) but the mildness of your bout of Covid is great news for you and for all of us. :)

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

So glad that repurposed meds work…

Or, maybe it was the “ice cream” cure that cinched the healing? Be well❤️

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Brain fog, loss of smell and taste, lingering "long covid". Let's open up a search engine and specify the date range to stop at 2019.

cold brain fog https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cold+brain+fog&atb=v280-1&df=2000-01-08..2019-01-09&ia=web

cold loss of smell https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cold+loss+of+smell&atb=v280-1&df=2000-01-08..2019-01-09&ia=web

lingering cold symptoms https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lingering+cold+symptoms&atb=v280-1&df=2000-01-08..2019-01-09&ia=web

You can do the same with the flu, and it's instructive.

Here, let's do it with tents and overflowing hospitals

2018-

"Overwhelmed by flu cases, some E͟R͟s͟ t͟u͟r͟n͟ a͟m͟b͟u͟l͟a͟n͟c͟e͟s͟ a͟w͟a͟y" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/overwhelmed-by-flu-cases-some-ers-turn-ambulances-away-california/

"Hospitals Overwhelmed by Flu Patients Are T͟r͟e͟a͟t͟i͟n͟g͟ T͟h͟e͟m͟ i͟n͟ T͟e͟n͟t͟s" https://time.com/5107984/hospitals-handling-burden-flu-patients/

"CDC reports that the flu epidemic is the w͟o͟r͟s͟t͟ i͟n͟ n͟e͟a͟r͟l͟y͟ a͟ d͟e͟c͟a͟d͟e" https://youtu.be/YL5cSNblNqw

"she hadn't even gone into her lab since before Christmas" What does that tell us about the value of this test? What is it really even testing for?

Expand full comment
author

This is the kind of information we need wikified at www.campfire.wiki.

Do you have wiki credentials, yet?

Expand full comment
Jan 10, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

No sir. I've looked around on the wiki before. I'd be happy to give it a go.

Expand full comment
author

Email OperationUpliftTeam@gmail.com

If all the work you do collecting resources gets organized into the wiki, that's a big win for humanity.

Expand full comment

The university of Mainz does some wide-range, long-term monitoring (in German):

https://www.unimedizin-mainz.de/GCS/dashboard/#/app/pages/AktuelleErgebnisse/ergebnisselc

- Around 40% of Covid cases (even if they only learned about the infection later) report long Covid symptoms (BIG story in German media)

- Around 40% of the (much larger) control group report "long Covid" symptoms (was not mentioned in German media)

We human beings are a little complicated. And, sorry Ladies, 40% overall means 35% for men and 45% for women.

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Wishes for a complete and speedy recovery! Rest is an important part of the protocol.

Expand full comment
author

I fully plan to nap on the couch again in the very near future. The only problem is that it takes me 20 minutes to find a movie or show that's good, which I'll then watch for 2 minutes before falling asleep. Me and TV have not gotten along so well these past few years.

Expand full comment

The Queen's Gambit is pretty good if you have not seen it and the book is even better.

Expand full comment

Try Turner Classic movies…the old-timeys are good to snooze by….

Expand full comment

They are my favorites.

Expand full comment

57 channels and nothing on— hahah

Expand full comment

😂 me too not neither

Expand full comment
Jan 10, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Just watched Brett and Heather's latest live stream yesterday. Apparently Heather is also suffering from a slight case of Covid and they have also cancelled their trip to the Hereticon event.

Expand full comment
author

Yeah, Amanda and I texted with Bret and Heather about the trip. We were looking forward to meeting them in person, and then found out that they were also in a similar situation. Hopefully they don't have cases any worse than we did. They know what to do.

Expand full comment

I too recently tested positive. Not because I had any noticeable symptoms, but work is requiring us “pure bloods” to test weekly. I had already been boosting my vitamin D and zinc levels because I was traveling and knew chances were good I’d pick something up in the airport. Started taking ivermectin since I have some on hand. My symptoms: mild sinus congestion. So mild in fact, yesterday before I got my test results back, I went for a hilly 7 mile hike, while carrying added weight. COVID, I am unimpressed. I’ve had other head colds worse than you.

Expand full comment

So glad you whipped this thing, Mathew,. As you can tell from missing Hereticon, the world can hardy t afford to lose you for 24 hours.

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Thank you for sharing your experience. Can't wait to read the book. Pre-ordered it some time ago. Be well.

Expand full comment

Get (all the way) well soon, Mathew!

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

The details of your symptoms and your meds/supplements is super helpful. Thank you!

Expand full comment
Jan 10, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Not Covid related, but important nonetheless - Firefly is (still) excellent. I can also recommend these more recent notable contributions to the field: Succession and White Lotus. And previous worthy contributions are Bojack Horseman and Mad Men. All highly intelligent, incredibly crafted TV! For next time you are in need.

Expand full comment
author

Too late. I'm almost all better, so it'll likely be months before I turn on the TV again.

I did watch some of Mad Men, and it was well produced, but I never got a sense of purpose from it and I don't like to watch for the sake of drama.

I have enjoyed 2.5 seasons of the Expanse. Utopia was interesting little series.

Expand full comment

A quick update! Have you watched Dopesick? Based on the work of journalist Beth Macy about the drug company (Purdue Pharma) that got America addicted to an opioid medication. Nothing especially new for the likes of us, but amazing to see a truly damning depiction of big Pharma on TV!

Expand full comment
Jan 9, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford

Hopefully, the cameras will be rolling in Miami. When safe for all, hope to see. Wouldn't all the rest of us love to be the fly on the wall in THAT room? Happy to hear you're improving, best wishes for your continued recovery.

Expand full comment

PS glad you're feeling better and that the protocol works.

Expand full comment