Starting around the beginning of 2016, I believe, I began to ween myself off of the supplement Equilibrant. (Equilibrant is an immune-modulating supplement that I have written about on this blog--recommended by one of my ME doctors.) For about 4+ years, I had taken Equilibrant at the full dosage of 6 tablets per day. During that time, I saw my condition stabilize and I experienced fewer and shorter "crashes."
Equilibrant is expensive and I wasn't sure if continuing to take it was necessary to maintain my level of functionality. So by about mid-Summer, I had reduced intake all the way down to nothing. I was completely off of Equilibrant. And for the first month or two, I didn't notice any change in my health.
But then my monthly health rating averages fell significantly. I also developed shingles during that time--possibly related to stopping taking Equilibrant. Over the same period of time, I also stopped taking daily vitamin B complex tablets. My energy waned.
In late September I decided to resume Equilibrant and B complex. October has been by far my best health month of 2016. I feel fairly certain that those supplements are helping and that I should continue to take them indefinitely, with occasional breaks or "holidays."
I also found that my sleep was worse during the time when I was not taking vitamin B complex. It occurred to me then that many patients say vitamin B12, which is part of the B complex, helps with sleep. My sleep did improve after resuming B complex.
So here I am again, stuck in a "holding pattern," very thankful that my case of ME has remained moderate compared to many patients, but also not as hopeful as I once was that I might recover without a breakthrough in ME treatment options.
