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Is it too late?

by Eugena O'Cull
(Vanceburg,KY )

My stepson was involved in a car wreck November 28,2010 he sustained multiple fractures and a TBI. He had spent the Thanksgiving Holiday with us, as he left our house to return to his home he was hit by another driver, who lost control of his vehicle.There is a contempory Christine song that says" We are all one phone call from our knees," that certainly proved true that evening.

I had not heard of the progesterone treatment until today, it was on the national news cast. From what I have read this evening, it is effective when given close to the time of injury. I am wondering if there is any promise for help in recovery several years post trauma.

My stepson, Lance, is 27 years old and had just finished his masters in international diplomancy. He is very motived to get better and has worked hard physically to recover. He is still making impovements but the process has been so very slow. Lance have been involved in therapy 3-4 times a week since the accident, except when he has been hospitalized and them it was daily. We have had two stays at the Shephard Center in Atlanta, and one at Cardinal Hill in Lexington,KY. We live in north east Kentucky.

Lance has come a long way but still is unable to communicate verbally effectively, walk any more than a few steps, or perform much of his ADLs. His short and longterm memory are effected, although it seems to be the short term more so. Would be interested in any input you would have.

Thank you for your research in this field, it has been devasting for our entire family.

Eugena

Comments for Is it too late?

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Sep 17, 2013
 Is it too late?
by: Wray

Hi Eugena The studies done on Traumatic Brain Injury do indicate it should be used within 11 hours or so. But you've probably read the story on this page, also about a stepson. He'd been in a coma for 6 days before she discovered progesterone. Apparently the hospital had given up all hope, but she rubbed the Natpro, which she herself used, all over her stepson, and he recovered the day after she'd applied it. I feel nothing is ever too late, and all things natural should be tried to heal a person. Progesterone has multiple functions, it regenerates nerves, it's an antioxidant, it reduces oedema. It's an analgesic if he has pain, an anti-inflammatory and an anxiolytic too. Anyone suffering from TBI has all or some of these problems, so it's certainly worth trying. I would also suggest high doses of antioxidants too, as the oxidative stress which accompanies TBI is often not addressed, leaving the person with an overwhelming number of free radicals. These only compound the problem, and the Inflammation continues. Please could he have a vitamin D test done, this is the most critical nutrient of all. Studies on TBI patients found a low level reduced the benefits of progesterone, or it barely worked. Vitamin D alone also helps TBI, but the synergy of the two is remarkable, see here, here and here. Has anyone ever checked his glutamate levels? This is our most excitatory neurotransmitter. Although vital to our functioning, in excess it's highly destructive. Progesterone protects against glutamate toxicity, it also increases BDNF (brain-derived neuroptrophic factor) in itself protective, see here and here. If glutamate is too high, it allows calcium, an excitatory mineral, to enter the cells. This only makes matters worse. Progesterone also protects against calcium induced excitotoxicity, see here. His magnesium levels could be too low too, this is the most important co-factor for vitamin D, a lack of this makes vitamin D less effective, which in turn would make progesterone less effective. It's a domino affect. Continued below
Sep 17, 2013
 Is it too late? Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Eugena If he has high calcium, this would also suppress magnesium, were his levels checked? Calcium causes muscles to constrict, magnesium to relax. You say he has difficulty walking, which sounds like possible nerve damage. But myopathy or muscle weakness is helped by both Progesterone and Vitamin D. See here, here, here and here. And see here, here and here. This last abstract has nothing on it, so I've pasted a passage from the paper which I bought... 'Substantial relief of myopathic disability by progesterone therapy'.....
(We report about a 41-year old woman who was suffering from a general muscle weakness since her early childhood....From July 1998 until July 1999 the patient was treated with progesterone suppositorium 0.4 g once a day from the 14th to the 25th day of the menstrual cycle. In July 1999 her gait had improved significantly and she could get up from a chair more easily, even her ability to walk up and down stairs had improved....Progesterone dosage was increased from 400 mg to 600 mg. In January 2001 the patient reported enthusiastically about the improvement she had gained from progesterone-therapy. The patient reported a clear increase in strength in all affected muscle groups resulting in dramatic functional improvement.) Although she hadn't suffered a TBI, she had suffered myopathy since early childhood, and yet she was still helped by the progesterone. I wouldn't suggest anything less than 500mg/day, in the TBI studies they gave over 1200mg/day via IV transfusion. I would also get his vitamin D level up high, to between 70-100ng/ml. Plus his magnesium too. And to take high doses of the antioxidant amino acids, minerals, vitamins etc. Continued below
Sep 17, 2013
 Is it too late? Part 3
by: Wray

Hi Eugena Please could he reduce his sugar intake to as low as possible. There's nothing more damaging to our cells than sugar in any form. Be it fructose, sucrose, glucose or the artificial sweeteners. Or the carbs we eat, found in grains, legumes, and sweet starchy fruits and vegetables. Excess sugar causes glycation. Glycation occurs when a sugar molecule binds to a protein or lipid molecule without the control of an enzyme. This impairs the function of the molecule, leading to advanced glycation endproducts or AGEs, see here. This results in oxidative stress, see here. Which in turn leads to inflammation, see here and here. Resulting in many of our inflammatory diseases, which are the end result of long term oxidative stress. He might consider doing a Ketogenic Diet. And possible get hold of "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It" by Gary Taubes, see here. Ignore the title, it's an excellent book which explains the role carbohydrates and insulin play in our body. And how damaging both are when in excess. In it's strictest form the Keto Diet is very difficult to adhere to. But this is usually only used for people with epilepsy and cancer, which it does help, see here. It reduces glucose levels to the barest minimum, and the body uses ketones for energy. It's a very high fat, moderate to low protein and very low carb diet. Only the good fats should be used, i.e. MCT oil, coconut oil, butter, olive oil or macadamia oil. The first three are saturated fats, the other two mono-unsaturated fats. The best is the MCT oil, an extract from coconut oil. The body converts the fatty acid into ketones, in fact the brain does better on these than glucose. MCT oil forms ketones more efficiently than the other oils. The diet varies from a 4:1 ratio of fat to protein/carb down to a 1:1 ratio which is the easier to follow. It's also essential to eat enough protein. This is based on 0.9g to 1.0g of protein per kg per day of lean muscle mass. Contrary to what is generally believed a lack of protein leads to bone loss. Continued below
Sep 17, 2013
 Is it too late? Part 4
by: Wray

Hi Eugena One final thing he could try and that's EFT. They've found it's helped men with brain injury after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. There's an introductory video at the bottom of our Stress page. I can't say if any of this will help, but I feel it's so worth trying. Thanks for the kind words, I'm so aware of how devastating it must be, and I wish you every success. I find it so saddening that the first major study came out in 2006, and still 7 years later they don't use progesterone, or vitamin D. How many people could have been spared the suffering. Take care Wray

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