CIRS
CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is a multisystem, multisymptom illness characterized by life debilitating symptoms such as brain fog, chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pains weight gain, headaches, shortness of breath, hypertension, mood changes etc. This condition is hard to diagnose and has been shown to occur in response to environmental injuries such as water damaged buildings.
There are specific lab tests, visual contrast test, brain scans and epigenetic tests that can help identify and monitor the progress of treatment.
You have probably reached this page because you have already been diagnosed with CIRS or are being worked up for it!
I have CIRS – now what??
We know that the symptoms, diagnostics and treatment planning can be very overwhelming.
We can be with you every step of the way BUT it does require a lot of work both from you and us.
For this document, we are only providing a very broad overview of how we approach the various steps of treatment.
We cannot provide the complete details of the protocol because each protocol has to be customized to each patients needs (symptoms, home, labs, genetics etc).
Many of you have asked us the why and the how of various steps. While we cannot dive into the complete pathophysiology of the why and how, we will attempt to broadly simplify the various steps.
1. Removal from exposure and cleaning the work or home environment.
We will discuss these details as a part of the treatment plan based on your environmental testing results. However, please know that this is key to allow your body to heal and remove a constant stimulus for your immune system. Again, specific details will be discussed at one of your visits.
2. Reducing initial inflammation to get your body ready for detoxification
This phase will usually last 4 weeks or so depending on your medical condition and your lab results. We know you are anxious to move on to the next steps but also remember that it took years of accumulated injuries to for your body (and the brain to get to where you are today. The reversal of the injury to your body will also take time. There are no guarantees for anything in life. While we cannot promise a complete reversal, we can work together on this long road that will require an extensive commitment from you (and of course us).
This phase is essentially to prep your body for the next phase which will be focused on removing the CIRS causing toxins from your body.
During this phase we will provide you with a very detailed list of customized supplements, peptides and other custom medications (including therapeutic IV recommendations) so that your body can handle the detoxification process.
Step 1 and 2 can be initiated simultaneously depending on your situation.
3. Removing the major toxins (lyme/ mold/ actino/ glucans)
During this phase, we will add specific medications and some other agents to your regimen from Step 2 that will help pull out the toxins that resulted in the injuries of CIRS. Adherence to the regimen is important.
We understand that we are all busy people with work, family and travel commitments and juggling such an intense regimen can be challenging. Feel free to view our videos to learn how you could plan your day around the regimen.
Some symptoms that you might experience
- Shakes and chills – hydrate and Tylenol
- Bloating
- Loose bowel movement or constipation
4. How long will the Step 3 continue?
As long as it takes.
We need to make sure that the body has been successful in removing the major toxins. We can confirm that by checking your VCS (Visual Contrast Sensitivity test). Once you pass the VCS, we can move on to the next phase.
It’s time to celebrate. Passing the VCS is a huge milestone!!
5. Nasal (upper respiratory tract) clearing
Now, we move on to the rest of the body starting from the upper respiratory tract.
If your nasal swabs showed the presence of Methicillin resistant Staph species and certain other pathogens then we will initiate the treatment for that. The treatment will include a nasal spray. This phase will still include some of the already initiated anti-inflammatory regimen and may include some new additions as well (again all depending on your progress).
6. Gut restoration and repair
Now we can move downwards. We know that for some of you, your gut health may be in a huge disarray so some measures may have already been recommended to you.
This is where we truly attack the gut pathogens (if any) and work on restoring the healthy and diverse flora that you gut needs in order to produce all the required enzymes and be able to run the biochemical processes to enable the entire body to run its physiological and chemical processes efficiently.
As you probably know, gut is where all the action happens. It’s the first portal of entry of any nutrition into your body. If the food is not broken down and reabsorbed appropriately then your body will not be able to get the correct parts to make the mega machine run smoothly.
In order for the gut to be fixed, we need to follow these steps:
- Remove- We need remove any pathogens that don’t have any business being there (this may also have been addressed in the beginning if the pathogen needed to be exterminated sooner).
- Rebuild- This involves specific dietary and supplemental recommendation to assist in building the gut lining.
- Restore- Now we move on the rebuilding the health flora. This means introduction of healthy and diverse microbiome with high quality probiotics and other supplements such as butyrate which helps sustain them.
- Sustain- This is self-explanatory. Rebuilding – restoration and maintenance cycle needs to be kept going and you will be on this regimen for a long long time.
7. Environmental and organic detox
Now that the gut is in somewhat of a harmonious situation, we need to rid the body of other toxins such heavy metals, organophosphates, plastics etc. These plastics/ organophosphates and their siblings do not allow the body’s hormones to be balanced since they go and block the receptors inducing symptoms of estrogen dominance, testosterone deficiency, weight issues and so much more.
This phase can involve oral supplementation and chelation through intravenous or even rectal methods. We will walk you through all of it.
Again, this can last weeks as well.
8. Hormone restoration
Now comes the big one, especially for all of you who have been suffering from symptoms of perimenopause, PCOS, PMS etc. A lot of work can now be done to start sorting out that imbalance. Remember the medications or natural herbal remedies prescribed to you during this time will now start to be more effective but will still take months to truly balance the imbalance. But you made it this far.. Its only onwards from here.
9. Water/ electrolyte balance restoration
CIRS can particularly effect your kidney’s ability to regulate the fluid and electrolyte balance. Some of you may have been experiencing dizziness on sudden movts, or shocks or excessive thirst. That is due to the inability of the renovascular system (kidneys and blood vessels) to be able to do their job correctly thanks to the torture placed upon them with CIRS.
10. Balancing abnormal inflammatory elements (complement and enzymes)
Remember some of the initial lab work that we did and discussed with you at the beginning of the protocol. We had asked you to wait for the process to sort itself out. Well, we are here now and we will now work on restoring thos inflammatory markers called C3a, C4a and MMP-9 with the aid of medications or natural remedies.
11. Complete restoration, including cooling the brain and restoring balance.
Once all of the above have been taken care of we work on the final feather in the cap. We need now not only cement the progress that has been accomplished but also turn those pesky genes that had been turned on in the wrong direction leading the body’s metabolic gears being stuck in the first gear all the way! This will include addition of a special compound called VIP in the form of a nasal spray. This spray has to be used very very carefully and started in office under our supervision. The dose is slowly increase as tolerated and as per protocol. This may need to continue for 3-6 months (with breaks in between).
We then would like to repeat the GENIE test to ensure that the genes have truly been flipped off so we can feel safe and celebrate the long hard victory that has been achieved.
Everything else
…like weight control/ loss programs etc can now be implemented.
We know that this is an emotionally, mentally and physically stressful process and can be overwhelming. We are offering a 360 degrees approach. Please stay tuned for a full all inclusive package that includes nutrition and mental health coaching, support group calls and treatment recommendations. If you would like to be the first to know, please email us at wellness@functionalgyn.com
A deep and needed reminder – It took you years to get to this health condition and then years to find a practitioner who could diagnose this condition, it will not get better overnight. The treatment journey for CIRS can take anywhere from a year to two years. There are no quick shortcuts. If you are looking for a shortcut, please seek care elsewhere.
True wellness comes from within,
Dr. Gupta