MAY 13, 2020 COVID ANTIBODY TESTING

The government needs to focus on antibody testing. There are many tests out there.  The FDA authorized the first COVID antibody test that can be done at home with saliva The bad news is that The Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory is the only lab that can perform the test and capacity is limited (but good news if you live in New Jersey)

Our Connecticut Integrative Medical Center now has IgG & IgM COVID-19 Antibody testing available. Our lab is using and FDA authorized test with a specificity of 97.5% and a sensitivity of 95.6%.
This test differs from the nasal swab, which only looks at active infections. While this is a new test, and we are learning more every day, antibody testing for viral infections can help identify both active and past infections. We are seeing more and more individuals who have had past infections with mild or no symptoms. Having a past infection can potentially mean one has some level of immunity now.
Think you were exposed to COVID-19 or got sick months ago? You might be a good candidate for this test. Please contact our office at 203-717-1339 or connecticutIntegrative@gmail.com to schedule your blood draw. The test costs $175 up front. We will provide a copy of this bill. We are being told insurances will reimburse for the testing. We are spacing patients out, to minimize any contact when entering our office. We ask that patients wear masks, and gloves if you have as well.

Dr Ryan Attar and I have done over 100 tests so far. Yes, we have both positive and negative results for our patients. I would urge you before you return back to normalcy ( as we once knew it ) get an antibody test

Until tomorrow…

MAY 12, 2020 COVID UPDATES

As of Monday May 11th , the unofficial total . was 1,329,799, with 79,528 deaths, an increase of about 5% apiece from May 8, 2020

On Facebook I posted a video entitled “ Plandemic” Although it is a conspiracy theory video about this epidemic and more , it offers the viewer another side of the story. I am a physician but also one who educates. I felt it had good information which can be substantiated. I know it is against the grain. The video talks about “who” in the political arena knows a lot about COVID and the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s

There are a lot of unanswered questions. I don’t understood if we as Americans have freedom of speech— why are all these videos being removed from public media.

Isn’t it ironic that CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, MD are self quarantining after being exposed to a White House staff member who tested positive for COVID-19. Yet they are not getting tested.

Until tomorrow…

MAY 11, 2020 LDN FOR COVID

    Naltrexone has been around since the 1960s. It is an opioid antagonist useful in drug addiction In the last few years NYC police officers can use it in the field for suspected drug overdose. It has been used as low dose naltrexone 1 mg to 6 mg for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases for the last 24 years.

LDN and another 1960’s drug called Ketamine has now found its way to combat COVID 19. A small study is being conducted called SINK COVID 19 to the use of both of these drugs to combat COVID 19. It is believed that these drugs will reducing symptoms by reducing the autoimmune hyperinflammatory stages of the disease. These stages are destructive to body tissue that rapidly leads to death. Ketamine is an anesthetic that also shows anti inflammatory effects early in the stage of a disease

I use a lot of LDN in my patient population with autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme, and cancer . I find it so interesting that that group of my patients on LDN have not had COVID. For those that have COVID taking LDN for these conditions above, they have only had mild symptoms

This drug combination could be useful. More needs to be studied

Until tomorrow…

    

MAY 9-10, 2020 COVID 19

Thank goodness we have Governors Cuomo and Murphy. We have Dr Anthony Fauci. I do know what to listen to and what to read. Yet I read many different websites

Dr Fauci states that the virus behind this epidemic was NOT made in a lab in China. I am not sure I believe this Was it made in a lab somewhere else. I would like to hear Dr Fauci talk about how this virus is different from other respiratory virus. I would like him to talk about the strokes/blood clots that the virus has caused. He states strongly that this virus could have not been artificially or deliberately manipulated. I cannot accept this at this point.. The virus is aggressive and virulent more than any other respiratory virus known today.

There will be a second wave of the corona virus after we lift restrictions and this Fall and in the Winter. I would hope that masks are mandatory by law. I also hope that fines will be given for those who do not wear a mask. We need an adequate supply of testing, protective gear and ventilators before the second wave hits the United States We were definitely not prepared for COVID 19.

I do agree with Fauci that this virus will not disappear any time soon. It will linger for years. We all will look back on 2020 in the future., We have not seen an adequate decline. There needs to be social distancing for a long time

A vaccine ? Sometime in 2021. There are good laboratory testing with vaccines right now. Fauci states that a vaccine could be available by January 2021. Do you want to be the person to get this new vaccine? Who will get the vaccine? Who is benefitting financially from the vaccine? Does all individuals who have tested antibody negative be mandated to get the vaccine ? To date NO type of mRNA vaccine has been licensed for use in humans. A vaccine has to work better than the body’s own natural response. We have learned a lot about HIV which can be used to the development of the COVID 19 vaccine.

GOD help us

Until tomorrow…

MAY 8, 2020 REMDESIVIER

Gilead holds the market for the HIV medications as TRUVADA and BEKTARVY. The New England Journal of Medicine published the preliminary data of 53 patients treated with the anti viral drug remdesivir for compassionate use. There was a 68 % improvement with these patients

The amount of Americans who will die and the expected death toll will go up. We need a drug The majority of patients in this small study demonstrated clinical improvement and no new safety signals were identified. There were more than 64% of the patients in this small study were on mechanical ventilators. These were very ill patients. 57 % were extubated and 47% were discharged.

You will read a lot about this drug. This is an important point. Remdesivir is yet to be licensed or approved ANYWHERE globally. It has not demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of COVID 19 More needs to be studied. There need to be a large number of patients in a study

Until tomorrow….

MAY 7, 2020 CONFINEMENT DURING COVID 19

We all have faced long periods of confinement in our homes during COVID 19. Your stress levels may disrupt sleep patterns and worsen your overall mental health. You need to focus on a project or a hobby to ease your mind.

There are those with financial insecurity who will experience stress. I suggest getting on the phone with certain companies you owe money too. Most of the time you will hear “ Don’t worry” “ We understand “ You can have your stress relieved

For sleep issues control the amount of caffeine and alcohol intake, exposure to bright light, and try to do some form of exercise. I would start to do breathing exercises and some form of meditation. I would try to avoid benzodiazipines ( like diazepam, clonepin and Xanax ) during this time unless you are having an acute insomnia for days.

There are adaptogenic herbs to help control your cortisol levels. Cortisol is one of your stress hormones. I prescribe many adaptogenic herbs to help stress. I use ashwagandha, rhodiola and gota kola and many more

There are complex formulas you can obtain from Botanical Bounty Check them out on www.botanicalbounty.org

Until tomorrow…

MAY 6, 2020 ANTIBODY TESTING FOR COVID

You could of predicted that antibody testing would flood the laboratory market. And it did There are 160 antibody tests for COVID 19 now on the market without prior review. This is ridiculous. Now the FDA is cracking down on fraudulent tests.

Accurate testing is vitally important . This is the tool that government officials can access how extensively the corona virus has swept through a city and a state. The more accurate testing that is in place, the more you will how many people are infected. Now I have read that the FDA is having companies submit emergency use authorization and require them to meet the standards of accuracy. In my mere opinion this should have been done from Day 1.

The front line need to be tested . For example, for those doctors and nurses it can tell a hospital which of their front line workers are positive, had the illness and now recovered. The other problem I see is that we do not know what precise level of antibody is sufficient to result in immunity This is so vitally important. We need to know that antibody level that will give the individuals peace of mind and allow them to go back to living Ant antibody test have always gauged the presence in the body of disease fighting bodies that linger after a patient has been sick. We do not know enough about this ‘ supposed’ virus.

Until tomorrow…

MAY 5, 2020 COVID: WHY STAY CLOSED

There are many states that are going to start easing up on ‘ shut down’ or quarantine. On many levels I can see why the population at large wants this. It has been quite an ordeal for some individuals. There is a bigger economic or financial incentive. I know there is a need to make an income. I personally understand as I still have to pay a New York City rent as well as a mortgage. I have no income from closing my medical practices

For those that are protesting for the above reasons—let me tell you why we should NOT ease precautions.

The US death toll has exceeded 70.000. This is higher than the high end estimate of deaths from the flu since October. This pandemic has killed patients much faster than the flu in just three months. The complications from corona virus are far worse than we have seen from the flu. The new numbers now show death toll could hit 134,000 by August. I still feel it will go much higher than that. You know that vaccine is ,much further away than the government is saying. The model for New York is stating that an additional 7800 people are not expected to die. The only model that makes sense is Governor Cuomo 4 stage plan. That might even have to curtailed depending on the spikes in deaths.

Research has shown that person with the flu infected about 1.28 other people whereas corona infects an average of 2-3 other people.

We do not know what the summer will bring . I believe this winter there will be mixture of flu and corona causing more deaths than any other year.

As a physician who has seen people get intubated on a ventilator it is very distressing and depressing.. There is a 87 % - 91 % mortality for those patients placed on a ventilator

Until tomorrow…