Colostrum: A Regenerative Hormone for Arachnoiditis
/By Dr. Forest Tennant, PNN Columnist
Persons with adhesive arachnoiditis (AA) and other severe painful conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) have multiple tissues that become damaged, painful and dysfunctional.
Healing those damaged tissues and reversing the pain and neurologic impairments will require regenerative hormones. This is in contrast to other types of hormones that control inflammation (cortisone), metabolism (thyroid) or sexual functions (estradiol).
The human body makes some natural regenerative hormones, and they are now available for clinical use. Our first realization of their value in treating AA was with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Other regenerative hormones that can be used to treat AA include colostrum, pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), nandrolone, and human growth hormone (HGH). We have used all of these and believe that persons with AA should use at least one of them. But our first choice is colostrum.
Colostrum is in mother’s milk produced during the first few days after birth. It contains high levels of tissue growth factors, anti-inflammatories, pain relievers, and anti-infectious agents. Its natural purpose is to allow the newborn baby to initiate growth, protect against infection, and provide pain relief from the trauma of birth.
Colostrum supplements are sold by a number of companies and are usually made from the milk of cows that have recently given birth. Colostrum is recommended for use at least 3 to 5 days a week by persons with AA or EDS, who may wish to double the labeled recommended dosage. Colostrum is non-prescription, relatively inexpensive, and has few side effects. It can be taken with opioids and other drugs.
Regenerative hormones work best when they are used simultaneously with a high protein diet, collagen or amino acid supplements, vitamin C, B12, and polypeptides.
If a person with AA is not doing well or deteriorating, we recommend adding a second regenerative hormone such as nandrolone. A significant reversal of AA symptoms may require one or more regenerative hormones.
Several times a week we get inquiries from people who have just been diagnosed with AA and are pleading for information on what to do.
The Tennant Foundation recently published an inexpensive short handbook for persons with newly diagnosed AA that gives a step-by-step plan that can hopefully slow progression of this disease.
If you have had AA for a while and aren't doing well, you may still benefit from some of our most up-to-date knowledge and recommendations in the “Handbook for Newly Diagnosed Cases of Adhesive Arachnoiditis.”
Forest Tennant, MD, DrPH, is retired from clinical practice but continues his research on the treatment of intractable pain and arachnoiditis. This column is adapted from bulletins recently issued by the Tennant Foundations’s Arachnoiditis Research and Education Project. Readers interested in subscribing to the bulletins should click here.
The Tennant Foundation gives financial support to Pain News Network and sponsors PNN’s Patient Resources section.
