I'm not making any claim. Just reporting my personal experience.
(Photo: my weekend project. )
On Feb 19, 2021, I began the Ivermectin prophylaxis protocol for Covid protection, as outlined by FLCCC doctors. I have not had a single Afib episode since commencing this protocol. Prior to that, I had an AF episode approximately once every 2-3 weeks since I starting keeping an Afib Diary last year in Jan 2020.
(Ivermectin is a 40-year old anti-parasitic drug used in both humans and animals. While CDC & WHO do not recognize the validity of ivermectin as effective prophylaxis and early treatment for Covid, many doctors and various countries the world over are using it for just that purpose. There is literature supporting its effectiveness as an anti-viral. It's a very hot potato politically right now.)
The prophylaxis protocol involves taking a single dose of ivermectin (12 mg for my body weight) once every 2 weeks, after an initial loading period over 3 days.
My last Afib episode was Feb 7-9, 2021. 10 days later I started ivermectin prophylaxis and have not had AF since. So I have now gone 10 weeks without Afib! That's a record for me! And I feel so much healthier that I finally got out and painted my front walkway!
Whatever the reason, I am THRILLED to have this respite from Afib and hope it continues!
Possible explanations are:
1. Complete coincidence - no connection to the ivermectin.
2. Ivermectin purportedly has both an anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effect (as well as its known anti-parasitic effect). Perhaps the anti-inflammatory aspect was the missing piece I needed to subdue the Afib.
3. Ivermectin may have cleared me of parasites. And that in turn may have taken a burden off my body & heart in terms of toxins, metabolites, inflammatory chemicals. etc.
I actually think #3 is the most likely explanation because I feel much more energetic and healthy than I have in a long time. At first I thought that was just the absence of Afib. But I am now wondering if a parasite burden has been removed.
Kim
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I am still free of Afib (apart from 2 episodes this summer that I think were triggered by heat wave). I am not on any heart drugs and actually never have been. I am one of the people who had been trying to avoid drugs and fix the problem through lifestyle changes, diet, supplements, etc.
I too am trying to fix a fib and get off the low dose flecainide 40 mg and metoprolol 12.5mg. Fx with afib nov 2020. I have added prayer chiropractic no caffeine no alcohol veggies vitamins d fish oil coq10 multivitamin t3 plant based hormone replacement therapy at 59 years old. I had COVID last fall and have not gotten the shot yet as I don’t want the I nflamatory response to that or COVID. Wondering if I should take ivermectin prophylactic or only if I get it as the flecainide currently prolongs my pr interval?
That is a very important question about whether there could be any bad interaction with ivermectin and rhythm control drugs like flecainide. You could start by googling that combo in drug interaction databases. The databases that pharmacists use are online and we can use them too.
You could also ask a pharmacist. Pharmacists are much more knowledgeable than doctors about drug interactions. However, ivermectin has become so politicized that even though it has always been recognized as an extremely safe drug with a basically pristine safety record worldwide and 4 billion doses administered to humans over last 35 years... if you were to ask a pharmacist today you would probably get a hellfire & brimstone response. lol!
You could always ask a pharmacist about the interaction of the 2 drugs, and say you will be using the ivermectin to treat scabies or head lice... and could that have bad interaction with flecainide.
Wow Kim, I've just read and re-read your post. It's all looking very promising with regard to your AF. Are you taking Ivermectin under qualified medical advice, or have you decided to do so on your own? It will be most interesting to see how you progress over the next few months.
My integrative & functional medicine doctor has prescribed it for me (at my request) for this purpose. But really, the doctors who are very publicly posting their ivermectin protocols and results and published papers, and are interacting with people the world over about it via facebook and mewe ,have been the more significant source of information and guidance for me on this.
Correct. But many many doctors the world over and several countries - a dozen maybe - are in fact using it in clinical practice for Covid and/or as part of the national covid treatment protocol and reporting success. And we as individuals do have the right and the ability to do whatever we think might save our lives. There are political reasons behind western countries refusing to approve ivermectin for covid, not medical reasons.
I’ve experienced that! I’ll talk to the doctors I know who think outside the box. It’s not something I’d consider unless I got COVID, hopefully that won’t happen and I have some immunity since vaccination.
If ivermectin were a successful treatment for severe covid, and patients are being denied it, it would be a shocking thing since so very many people have died from the disease. From what I can read, however, ivermectin needs to reach a certain level in the lung tissues to have any kind of antiviral effect, and this hasn't been shown to be possible even with nebulisation.
Have you evidence that there is a political conspiracy that, effectively, has led to vast numbers of people dying unnecessarily? The figures in this country are appalling. It just seems so very unlikely to me, given what I know of the NHS and its doctors
The numbers of Covid deaths are appalling and tragic. I don't think a conspiracy is required for medical systems in certain countries to decline to use ivermectin. I do think it's unfortunate that hospitals are refusing to give ivermectin even to patients on ventilators when their loved ones are begging for it, and then the patient after 2-3 weeks dies. In New York state, one lawyer has 3 times for 3 different families gone to court to get a court order forcing a hospital (different one each time) to give ivermectin to a vented patient. In each case the near-death vented patient recovers and goes home, pretty much fine.
Yes, I know that just sounds like 3 anecdotes. But if you have been following the ivermectin story for the last year, and the tremendous suppression of legitimate data and studies, you would realize that this is the normal patient response when ivermectin is administered - even in severe Covid.
But this refusal to administer ivermectin actually does not require an organized conspiracy among all doctors. It just requires a nation of doctors saying and believing exactly what you just said and believe - that you have read there is insufficient antiviral effect at realistic doses. Well they've all read that one flawed bogus study too that is endlessly trotted out by the highest level of health authority to dismiss ivermectin.
At some supreme level of authority in all this there has been a determination that the only way out of the pandemic is mass vaccination. Which is fine as an idea. However for that to become reality there literally must be NO effective, safe, early treatment for Covid, or the Emergency Use Authorizations for all the vaccines would be voided. But once again... is that conspiracy on the part of high level health authorities who will not let anything derail vaccine rollout? Or is that them being single-mindedly devoted to a single solution to pandemic when in fact there may be several?
And of course the massive billions in profits of the vaccine manufacturers themselves come into play in all this and would definitely be deflated if ivermectin were widely offered as an early treatment for Covid. Even if the EUA weren't voided, vaccine hesitancy would go up if there were other options, other ways to stay safe and get through this. So the companies themselves may be doing what they can to discredit ivermectin to protect their bottom line.
Plus the companies will be ready with their chequebooks when election time comes round! Macron in 2017 was talked of as the candidate beloved of Pharma.
I understand where you’re coming from. You may well be right. It’s impossible to understand the machinations and reasons behind some decisions. For errors to be made worldwide or for NICE and the WHO to be corrupt or foolish seems unlikely in the extreme, but looking at our current “government” anything is possible.
There’s little doubt that vaccination will be the way out of this mess, not drug therapy. I’m not sure that that is why cheap therapies have been avoided but it might be. Certainly the evidence for some of the expensive new therapies is slim and leaves me wondering.
I’m intrigued that the much more practical seeing and cheaper Oxford vaccine is being sidelined for the impractical and costly Pfizer one but, again, to suggest global corruption? I just don’t know.
Vaccination might be the way out but if there has to be constant tweaking of the vaccines to deal with new variants that might mean yearly jabs as are given for flu or even six monthly. That means a bonanza for the vaccine manufacturers . Pfiizer has already jacked up the price per dose. Are you really so naive that you cannot see that these companies will do whatever they can to guarantee this? Have you never read about the trials where they are fined billions for lying about their products with the consequent deaths of patients? It is the same companies that make the vaccines. I have no problem in believing that there is corruption at national government level and within the WHO. As far as here is concerned that has just been brought to light again with the Servier trial. The people who kept their mouths shut about Mediator were doctors and not just ordinary doctors but professors of cardiology in university teaching hospitals. The brave female pulnonologist who blew the whistle got no end of flack from her fellow doctors. Being in the medical profession does not necessarily give one higher ethical standards so why is it unlikely in the extreme that NICE or the WHO should be free of corruption?
It seems to me that the only way society is able to deal with viruses like this one is by vaccination. Looking at the latest research, there is no reason to believe yet that an annual vaccination will be required, but if that proves to be the case, then that’s the way it will need to be.
Naïveté takes many forms and is surely a part of the human condition; I much prefer it to cynicism. Corruption is a part of life, too, sadly, but, in so far as profiteering is concerned, give me capitalism any day over communism, even if this does mean that the cost of medicines will always be set to profit someone.
To deal with profiteering, the law is there and the ballot box and although both are proving far less effective than I’d prefer, pragmatism trumps dogmatism every time in my book so I’ll put up with what we’ve got.
There is something in between naïveté and cynicism. Realism. I do not think that letting people die from the drugs you make knowing that they are dangerous , so you can go on making a profit and paying out dividends is as innocent as mere profiteering. It is manslaughter. The only way to deal with this is not with fines as these are just accounted in as the cost of doing business but with long prison sentences for chief executives. The ballot box is useless when it comes to multinationals. As for annual vaccinations most people would accept that . I do not get flu jabs and would not like to have to get an annual covid jab. I would object strongly to being denied an effective prophylactic / treatment because it was likely to undermine vaccinalist policies. If Ivermectin works as a prophylactic and is safe then why is a vaccine that has to be tweaked each year better? Especially a vaccine technology that has never been used in humans before and has not completed its clinical trials yet. Perhaps you can give me an explanation.
Where ivermectin and Vitamin D are used, in India for example, it seems that neither are helping to prevent a massive surge in the disease. I’m not sure, either, that ivermectin is safe long term as a prophylactic nor how such usage could work. I prefer a vaccine.
So far as I can see, we need to find a way to avoid this disease completely, if at all possible, perhaps especially to avoid the risk of “long covid” with its potential to leave sufferers with pulmonary fibrosis, cardiomyopathy and other life changing illnesses. A vaccine is our only real hope against this, as I see it.
One thing that seems to be the case is that it’s very difficult to run trials that prove effectiveness of covid treatments. The problem seems to be in recruiting suitable subjects for clinical trials as well as ethics. Thankfully, the vast majority of people get off either completely or very lightly with the disease, and for the relative few who don’t, the speed of their deterioration can be so rapid that only rapid emergency action can help.
The Indian surge seems to be caused by very foolish large gatherings such as political rallies and religious festivals like the Kumbh Mela. The latter is particularly foolish as 25 million people have visited 4 million in the last week alone! I expect that if such large gatherings were held in the uk there would be a surge despite the vaccinations. People are in very close proximity and not wearing masks. Unfortunately the low case numbers earlier in the year led Indians to believe Covid was no longer a problem . A double mutant has not helped but then vaccination might be less effective with this. Given that some of the people who have developed long Covid had mild infections there is no guarantee that the current vaccines would prevent this as their aim was to prevent severe infection and death. It is still not certain that they prevent transmission. I am not against vaccination on principle. I just think that it is wrong to exclude other "weapons" against the virus and this is what is happening at the moment. Long term Ivermectin use in parts of the world that have a lot of parasites has been shown to be safe. Effective prompt treatment is also desirable as some people who are immune compromised cannot be vaccinated and it is thought that problematic mutations are more likely to arise in people who have the virus for a long time because their immune systems cannot shake it off.
I’ve just been reading an FT story and a Twitter thread on the Indian situation. It seems like it might be truly dreadful in many places over there with vastly under-reported official figures.
French drug developer MedinCell is working on long-acting injectable ivermectin for Covid protection. I have heard (but cannot now find) that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding this particular project. I don't know if that's true, but their Foundation has funded other MedinCell drug development projects.
So on one hand we have various national health authorities (US, UK, Canada, most of EU) and WHO saying ivermectin not effective for covid prophylaxis and treatment... On the other hand we have large amount of money being being spent to develop an injectable (ie profitable) form of ivermectin for Covid prophylaxis, since the drug is now long off-patent and generic tablets from India just cost 30 cents each.
Slovakia is the one EU country so far to add Ivermectin to the country's Covid treatment strategy. But there are other countries and regions of countries elsewhere in world that have done likewise.
If Bill Gates is involved, it’s with good reason. “Long acting injectable” sounds weird to me asa product but that is good news.
Your dislike of the profit motive isn’t shared by me as it seems to be what fuels innovation and risk. I truly wish it were otherwise but for reasons I can’t fully understand, altruism and even selfless university research seem to be on the wain.
I'm not completely critical of the profit motive driving Big Pharma. My life has been saved and my health restored SEVERAL times in last 6 years by newly developed drugs that made literally billions in profit for their makers in first year of use. Two different new leukemeia drugs and one Hepatitis C drug. The prospect of such huge profit does indeed drive innovation, and none of those 3 drugs that have saved me would likely be on the landscape today if such profits were not possible. But obviously there is downside as well to have medical protocol and permissible knowledge/practice so closely linked to and driven by the financial interests of Big Pharma.
Life is good. And a journey. I don't really view it with any negativity. Everything I am and possess today is a result of everything that has preceded it.
I read about this in Trial Site News. I was slow off the mark as I was puzzled as to why they would bother if the pills worked ! Also on TSN today is a report that the Philippines are starting a major Ivermectin trial.
If the numbers are real, they are in fact appalling. But we all must wonder what happened to all of the flu deaths that normally happen year after year....overall death counts are in line from 2019 to 2020. They have not increased since Covid so a critical thinking mind might wonder if those Covid death numbers are wildly inflated. I’m so happy that ivermectin helped with your afib. What a wonderful thing!!
Here is a link to a analysis (a database really) of all 89 studies involving ivermectin for Covid: c19ivermectin.com/
It's a little hard to read, with the format the use. But if you click on any one study, a box comes up with the main points, and you could also click on link then for full article or PDF.
If you click on "Adoption" up at top, there is a map of world and discussion of each country that is using ivermectin for Covid.
Thanks for the link. It’s possible the WHO and most world governments are corrupt in various ways, and this is one of them. I tend to doubt that if they were we would be able to prove it so apparently easily, however.
So, will we ever know? I doubt it. Looking at the UK’s “government” this past year, anything is possible - and yet they would be voted back in tomorrow, for sure. It’sa strange old world and all the stranger since the invention of the Internet and social media
The doctors in the end have to do what Nice , MHRA and their hierarchy tell them. The " conspiracy" is at a world level with the WHO involved . They get enormous sum of money from Pharma .Andrew Hill was sponsored by them and an organisation called Unitaid ( headed by Marisol Touraine ex French health minister) to do a meta analysis. His DATA showed a 75 % reduction in death and serious disease with Ivermectin use . His conclusion - more trials needed. He admitted to another doctor he had been working with that that was not actually his conclusion but he was "influenced" by his sponsors. This is no more shocking than the refusal to correct serious vit D deficiency levels in the population or to use the Calcifediol protocol for those already sick. All three of these protocols are cheap as chips and would curb the profits Pharma will make from vaccines or new molecules ( rubbish like Remdesivir) for treatment. Ivermectin has a safety profile better than Paracetamol or Aspirin , it's discoverer got the Nobel prize but Merck who made it started to rubbish it. Why? Well they have a couple of new molecules for covid treatment in the pipeline that like Remdesivir would be given the green light even if their efficacy was a fraction of that of Ivermectin. But what really counts is that the new molecules would have patents and they could coin it bigtime. If you really think there is no corruption at work in all this explain why Gilead got 1 billion euros from the EU for the useless Remdesivir 3 DAYS before the large clinical trial reported showing that not only was it useless but also nephrotoxic for a number of patients? So these ridiculously expensive useless nephrotoxic drugs are being given to patients for a disease that has kidney failure as one of it's possibile sequelae and safe stuff like Ivermectin and Calcifediol are pooh poohed. Lives paramount? No- money is what counts.
Unfortunately big pharma doesn't make money that is part of why not used. I am an RN for 45 years. I can only say that it certainly helped during my Covid
I guess one problem with covid is that it is such a variable disease that working out what helps and what only seems to help is nigh on impossible except using a large-scale study.
The latest evidence for ivermectin confirms what others have found, that it doesn't work.
That is maybe because the sanitary authorities in Europe are in the pocket of Pharma. Well it certainly is the case here as shown by the recent court case against Servier for it's drug Mediator. Our equivalent of MHRA was fined the maximum possible for negligence ( of course the taxpayers will foot this bill) . Servier who are reckoned to have killed at least 500 people and possibly 2000 were fined 2.3 million ( a bagatelle considering they made over 500 million from the drug over the 30years or so it was on the market). A win for Servier and a massive loss for Public Health .The safety profile for Invermectin is far more positive than for Paracetamol. Given that the official advice for those who suspect or know they have covid is stay at home and take Paracetamol till you can't breathe , then call an ambulance - it would be far better to say take Ivermectin. Downside? That it works just fine and might throw a spanner into the ubiquitous vaccinalist policies and upset the future profits of those who contribute to election campaigns.
France Soir has had a lot of info on the campaign against Ivermectin. Read about Andrew Hill's positive meta analysis and his " -need more trials" conclusion that he admits was not his . Ie he was leaned on.
I think you mean they don't asvise it for covid use. They do advise it for general use as its prescribed...which is for parasite ..and maybe we have some parasites we don't know about. ..could well be parasite is anothef underlying condition that's overlooked. Parasites are hard to detect unless they are flukes or something. And flatworms eggs are all over cats and dogs and birds...I mean the amount if gross things animals live with ...humans can get heart worms...anyone with afib ever asked if their dog had heart worms? Anyone ever tested for it. How many afibbers have dogs? How many treat the humans in the house when their dog has worms and get wormed. I've only done it once and it was horrific so I doubt people are deworming themselves regularly. I don't know what heart worms do but if nobody ever checks for them....we should probably all be taking ivermectin every few years if we've been near grass ir animals. Just like our cats and dogs do.
Yes, I think the most likely explanation for my own Afib disappearing for now is that I dewormed myself inadvertently with this ivermectin prophylaxis for Covid protection. Whether it was worms or some other parasite I will never know. But it is all conjecture on my part. lol!
A prerequisite for obtaining emergency approval for the Covid vaccines was that there should be no viable alternatives. For that reason, any possible treatments such as Ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine had to be discredited - which was duly done. Now that the vaccines have been administered on a widespread scale, they are now talking about investigating medications such as anti-virals. They wouldn't do this earlier on for fear of finding something that was viable and losing emergency approval. Makes you wonder what we are not being told and why.
100% right! That is it in a nutshell. Ivermectin and other effective early treatments could not be permitted to be true because by law, the vaccines could not be granted emergency use authorizations and come to market if there were viable treatments available.
Ugh. And by law the who couldn't call a pandemic and use the funds to shut down flights until after it was everywhere ... Christ. these people are allowed to breed and drive cars and hold so much power and yet can't think on the most basic level. They're paid ..millions to come up with a plan and the plan is we can't call the fire brigade till every last stick of furniture is alight ... Ugh. Clowns to the left jokers to the right.
I know from personal experience with my rescue dogs how effective Ivermectin is at clearing their appalling skin conditions. I am so pleased to hear it has also helped you so much . I will be very interested to see were this goes
Interesting. Thanks for posting. I would be interested in your Functional Medicine’s Doctor’s rational in suggesting this treatment.
Were you aware of having parasites or was it suggested purely on a hoped for prophylaxis against COVID?
I just read some of the history of this drug and it seems as though it is being hailed as a ‘wonder drug’ for diverse reasons, not least it’s ability to kill off parasites. It was developed in the 1970’s for Vetinary use and used in humans since 1998.
Having been through a protocol for cleansing - HBOT - I experienced a Herx reaction which made feel very ill for about 2 days, had similar when I took antibiotics for UTI and taking concentrated Tanin to clear bad gut flora.
Did you experience any such reaction? Herx reaction is caused by cytokines and is not without risk. Cytokines will cause inflammation but if you can get through it, then the toxins are cleared from the body very rapidly - in my case I mean VERY rapidly. Not everyone gets this reaction but it is well known in Lyme disease and clearing gut pathogens which cause leaky gut.
Are you now taking any anti-inflammatories such as Resveratrol? I also found Astragalus very helpful post Herx reaction.
My functional medicine Dr. prescribed it at my request for Covid prophylaxis (and early treatment if it comes to that) because he agrees with the research assembled by Drs, Paul Marik and Pierre Kory of the Frontline Covid Critical Care Alliance.
As for a Herxheimer-like reaction, I did not experience anything major. However I did have side effects the first 3 dosings that I have not had since - light-headedness, headache, vision worse than usual, slight nausea. Now I have no side effects. So perhaps those early side effects were somehow result of parasite die-off. Or perhaps not. Perhaps my body just adjusted to it after the first three exposures.
When I dewormed myself with whatever the over the counter de wormer I shat the seven levels of hell through my bum.... For three days. I was like a spray cream can at a four years olds birthday party. I doubt I had worms but since the dog had horrendous worms I thought I'd have a go. Ivermectin sounds a lot less horrible.
Wow, what a breakthrough for you Kim and all sounds very interesting. I love your weekend project btw - lovely colours. I hope that you continue to enjoy the absence of Afib - that very unwelcome visitor! Do you have to continue with the medication, even it has done its job, as it were?
Thank you on the walkway! I am certainly enjoying it.
The idea with the ivermectin prophylaxis for covid protection is to continue it every 2 weeks indefinitely or as long as covid is a concern so that ivermectin is always present in the cells. There is evdience (even acknowledged by ivermectin critics) that ivermectin does stop many viruses including SARSCoV2 from entering cells, thus halting viral replication. While ivermectin clears the blood in under 24 hours, it remains in cells and tissues for 12 days (more by some accounts). So by dosing once every 2 weeks, you keep a cellular level of it in place.
But I assume that as far as parasite die-off goes, that would be done now and the ivermectin could be stopped if that were the only goal. However in my case that was just an unexpected side benefit (if it did indeed happen - all conjecture so far).
Yes, Nobel Prize in 2015. And 3.7 billion doses have been administered to people worldwide over last 30 years (and at the same dosage as is being used here for covid prophylaxis and treatment). So it has a really well documented safety record.
At the moment I am taking a (non-chemo) leukemia drug venetoclax (which I hold for 2 days each time I take the ivermectin, although doctors and pharmacists tell me that's not necessary). I also take small piece of zopiclone as a sleep aid each night. I am not taking any supplements regularly at the moment. Although to do the ivermectin prophylaxis protocol properly according to the FLCCC doctors whom I have much respect for, I should also be taking zinc, quercetin, Vit C, Viit D and melatonin daily. But most vitamins and supplements have problematic effects for me if I take them daily. So I am not doing any supplements daily.
I have chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is now in very good remission thanks to the drugs. I continue with the one drug venetoclax (oral pill daily) for another 9 months, then will probably have a good drug-free remission for long time.
Interesting editorial published yesterday in Open Heart, a peer-reviewed medical open access journal of the British Cardiovascular Society:
Anti-inflammatory activity of ivermectin in late-stage COVID-19 may reflect activation of systemic glycine receptors openheart.bmj.com/content/8...
Article/editorial outlines a possible anti-inflammatory mechanism by which ivermectin has been observed to reduce cytokine storm and mortality in Covid. But also suggests at end that anti-viral effect may be part of the mechanism: "However, in light of accumulating evidence that ivermectin may have important utility for the primary prevention of COVID-19, it is likely that it also exerts an antiviral effect with respect to SARS-CoV-2, as suggested by in vitro studies."
In canada where I am it is most commonly prescribed for head lice and scabies. However in other parts of world : river blindness (onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, and lymphatic filariasis.
I have read that it can kill any parasite that has a GABA component to its nervous system - ie, if the parasite produces the neurotransmitter GABA, then ivermecitn can kill. Humans and other mammals would be affected by this too except we have a blood brain barrier. Some breeds of dogs (collies are among them) have inadequate BBB, and can't have ivermectin. I think it is fatal for them.
Yes I saw that. I had read mention of that before. So when I took my first dose, I actually divided it into 4 doses across the day just to make sure I wasn't going to have a problem or any weird reaction. And if I become symptomatic with covid and need to increase to daily dosing, I will certainly be on high-alert for tachycardia. But I honestly think that is rare. I am in online groups with thousands of ivermectin users, and people are not reporting much in the way of side effects from their ivermectin usage apart from things due to parasite die-off in the beginning. I have not heard one person mention tachy or any other cardiac side effect (except my own case of afib disappearing. lol!).
Ivermectin causes an influx of Cl ions through the cell membrane that results in hyperpolarization of ion channels, leading to muscle paralysis [41]. It is approved for the treatment of head lice, scabies, strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, and lymphatic filariasis [42, 43]. Beyond its anti-parasite effects, ivermectin has also been identified as an inhibitor of interactions between the human HIV integrase protein and the importin α/β 1 heterodimer [44, 45]. Notably, studies on SARS-CoV proteins have revealed a potential role of importin α/β 1 during infection [45]. Nuclear transport of viral proteins is essential for the replication cycle and inhibition of the host’s antiviral response [45]. An in vitro study showed that a single ivermectin treatment reduced SARS-CoV-2 by 5000-fold at 48 h in cell culture [45]. However, there is a lack of clinical evidence.
Drug Interactions
Ivermectin should be considered an inducer of several cytochrome P450 isoenzymes, including CYP1A, 2B, and 3A subfamilies [46].
Cardiovascular Risks
Tachycardia, orthostatic hypotension, and PR interval prolongation have been documented in case reports [47, 48].
I would like an extended period without Afib too! But even if that ends tomorrow, I will still consider this a great victory, because I have gone longer than ever before (3x longer). So it shows Afib can be reversed. It's not just a one-way decline into more and more AF. There clearly are some variables we can control to turn this around, if we know what they are.
This is so interesting Kim. Thank you for posting. I’d never actually heard of ivermectin before you shared this. Fingers crossed for you that the AF stays away so you can do more projects 😀
WOW,This is so interesting, thank you for sharing your knowledge on this . Look forward to an update. Hope you stay without Afib. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this could reverse Afib.
It would indeed be amazing! Of course, it's all just speculation on my part that the ivermectin is connected to afib stopping at last temporarily. It sure seems like it is connected. But it could be coincidence. Still, I suspect we are all harboring some parasite burden at any given time, which in turn will have a variety of adverse effects on our health. And ivermectin will kill many different parasites...
Very very interesting. I have Babesiosis, a tick borne parasitic disease of the red blood cells which messes with my synovial node. I have been told by one of my Lyme doctors that once I recover the AFib may resolve. I do know that a lot of people with Lyme disease are having great luck with Ivermectin as these diseases are very very difficult to treat. Good luck on keeping the AFib away. Yay!
Thank you! Yes, there are whole communities of Lyme people using ivermectin and claiming to get real benefit from it. I encounter them on facebook in some of the ivermectin groups I am in there. Good luck with your own case! Have you tried ivermectin?
You mentioned that you had been reading “The Afib Cure.” I’m wondering if it could be due to your implementing some of the strategies in that book (assuming you have done so)?
I am not sure if I had put anything into practice from that book. Although I found the book fascinating and empowering, I am not sure it gave me any lifestyle optimization strategies that I was not already using or at least trying for past 16 months (the length of time I have been working on this). I can't think of anything specific.
It is true that that my low vitamin D levels have probably been increasing since March. But mainly from sun exposure. I do not supplement D3 daily because it has an agitating effect on me, even when I take just 1000iu. But still, any rise in my low Vitamin D could theoretically help reduce afib. So that's a possibility!
I’ve read the book and am now going to reread it, this time noting down all of the strategies recommended which I will try to implement systematically. It sounds quite demanding- for example walking 10,000 steps a day, eliminating sugar and processed foods completely and so on. Last year when I walked a lot and ate very well, I had episodes which were about 6 months apart, then 5 months - my average is an episode roughly every 2 months. So *perhaps* remission is achievable.
I hope your freedom from AF continues following the use of the ivermectin,
I will admit I don't have enough discipline to pull off some of those strategies. I don't think I get 10,000 steps a day in. And I don't eat anything with added sugar, but do certainly eat fruit and drink fruit juice.
I’m not sure I have enough discipline either but the potential prize is AF in remission, so I want to at least give it my best shot. When I speak to the EP next month I’m going to get his opinion on the claims and strategies in the book.
That's a good idea about asking your EP. I would be interested to know what he says. Is he open to discussion of lifestyle optimization? The 2 cardiologists I have consulted are unwilling to have any discussion on that topic. But they are not EPs.
I don’t know whether he will be open to discussion on lifestyle (I’m not even sure which one I will speak to in May). In the past I’ve found that the attitude of consultants varies considerably. Some seem to just see a generic patient with AF, whilst others may be more willing to look at individual circumstance and history. The purpose of the discussion in May is to determine whether it is reasonable to defer having an ablation for the time being or whether I should have one now. It’s a difficult decision because on the one hand I have AF roughly every 2-4 months and am relatively asymptomatic but on the other hand, earlier ablations before persistent or permanent AF sets in are more likely to succeed.
In your shoes, if I couldn't stop those episodes by lifestyle changes, trigger identification or a medium dose of bearable pills, it would be ablation.
I don't aim for top recommendations when making lifestyle changes but just start on the road as a first step (no pun intended!). Nothing is then a chore and provided you don't need to rush, it is surprising the progress you make with out feeling it.
Hope the afib remission continues. You are lucky to have found a doctor who will prescribe you the Ivermectin. I am making do for the moment with my high vit D level ( 72ng/mL on my last test 2 weeks ago), zinc and quercetin. Some people here are buying Ivermectin online from India. Dodgy and always the risk of confiscation as medicine importation laws here are draconian. Mixture of paternalism and Pharma corruption of the sanitary authorities .
I have ivermectin from 3 different sources because buying ivermectin with prescription from Canadian pharmacy is literally 100x more expensive than buying from India ($38 per dose vs $0.30 per dose), which I also have now. The 3rd method is horse paste from any farm supply store or equine store. A great many people are going that 3rd route (the horse paste), as am I at the moment.
So refreshing that you have kept an open attitude about treatment! Most everyone I know is not interested in pursuing or hearing about alternate yet more vetted modes of prevention!
I think we each really have to be able to look after ourselves, and treat ourselves, when faced with something as novel and unprecedented as this pandemic. The understanding and knowledge about Covid and what is and isn't effective is evolving weekly for doctors as well as the public.
I have asked 2 of my doctors and one nurse to tell me exactly what would be done for me in hospital if I come in with severe Covid. They all gave me the same answer: steroids and ventilator, if needed. That's all. There is NOTHING further here in Canada they can or will do. Canada is not using monoclonal antibodies (despite having purchased a lot and having it sitting in warehouse while people die in ICUs). Nor will they even give me IVIG, which could provide some broad anti-viral benefit.
Worse than giving me nothing, they would not allow me to take the treatments I do believe could save my life if I brought them into the hospital with me.
So my only shot at survival is to be fully versed and equipped to self-treat at home, should I become symptomatic.
Other parts of my treatment protocol, if I need it, will include baby aspirin, nattokinase, famotidine (pepcid), zinc, quercetin, Vit C & D, and if needed hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline, and nebulized L-Glutahione. All sitting in my house. These things actually could save my life. And all of them would be denied me in a hospital.
Of course I will be very cautious about implementing any of that beyond the ivermectin, which would become a daily dose at that point if I am symptomatic.
And I will be self-monitoring closely with pulse-oximeter, stethoscope, BP cuff, thermometer. The pulse-oximeter is our most important tool. Everyone needs to have one at home to check O2 saturation if you become symptomatic with Covid.
I have spent months reading the Covid early treatment protocols put forth by various doctors around the world, and conversing with some of them online to work out the details. Because really, no one but me is going to save me if I get Covid.
Regarding ivermectin ending atrial fibrillation... I just came across the 2017 paper about a horse being cured of Afib with ivermectin and some other drugs. Afib in horse's case was due to parasitic infection Microfilariasis. Ivermectin was dosed at same level I am taking it: 200 micrograms per kg body weight
Hi Kim, Thanks for your attention to this thread. I too, am taking Ivermectin prophylactically. I didn't want to hassle with consulting with a doctor because most of them know less about the medication than I do through internet research. I don't understand the physician's reluctance to use a medication that MIGHT help if it has been shown to be very safe through millions of doses being used in the past. It's not like if you have parasites the drug won't hurt you but if you don't, it will. I think the key to successful use is to give the medication at the first sign of disease before it turns into pneumonia and before the cytokine storm hits. . unfortunately, many studies only begin treatment once hospitalized, and by then it is kind of a different disease.
I ordered my Ivermectin (12mg) from one of those Canadian pharmacies that mostly sell Viagra and Cialis and don't require a prescription. They sell it as Stromectol which is generic but the packaging said Ivermectin. It was shipped from India with very professional packaging so it took 3 or 4 weeks to arrive.
I also have had no Afib since starting the medication, which is a relief. Stay healthy.
That's great daveygravey! I have some from India as well. But am also using other versions (horse paste). I still have no afib after 3 months if ivermectin prophylaxis. Please let us know if your afib disappears too! wouldn't that be interesting if this is an effect that can be replicated in others? Or is your afib controlled to point already where you have no episodes? I would love to hear from someone who was having regular afib episodes as I was, and then who starts the ivermectin.
May 23, 2021 UPDATE: Still no afib episodes after 3 months of ivermectin prophylaxis. My last episode was Feb 7-9. I started the ivermectin prophylaxis Feb 21. Prior to that, I would have an afib episode once every 2-3 weeks,
Thank you! I would be very curious to know. I have posted in some ivermectin user groups to see if any other afibbers have noticed disappearance of their afib. No one has commented on that so far. But there are commonly reports of various inflammatory conditions settling down and even going away when people start the ivermectin prophylaxis. Psoriasis, for example.
Sept. 04, 2021 UPDATE: Still no Afib. I did have a couple of Afib episodes in June and July during extreme heat wave each time. I am pretty sure the extreme heat was the trigger. (I subsequently have had a heat pump installed.) Each episode lasted for 2-3 days, although some of that may have been ectopics. Afib may have only been a single day in each episode.
But basically, apart from the 2 episodes in the June & July heatwaves, I have continued to be Afib-free since I started that ivermectin protocol back in February. I continue to take the ivermectin about once every 2 weeks.
Sept. 19, 2021 UPDATE: Still no Afib, apart from the 2 brief heatwave-induced episodes in summer.
I recently came across this 2017 Japanese study that indicates ivermectin increases mitochondrial ATP production in cardiomyocytes. Perhaps this aspect could also assist in subduing Afib.
Antihypertrophic Effects of Small Molecules that Maintain Mitochondrial ATP Levels Under Hypoxia
Abstract
Since impaired mitochondrial ATP production in cardiomyocytes is thought to lead to heart failure, a drug that protects mitochondria and improves ATP production under disease conditions would be an attractive treatment option. In this study, we identified small-molecule drugs, including the anti-parasitic agent, ivermectin, that maintain mitochondrial ATP levels under hypoxia in cardiomyocytes. Mechanistically, transcriptomic analysis and gene silencing experiments revealed that ivermectin increased mitochondrial ATP production by inducing Cox6a2, a subunit of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Furthermore, ivermectin inhibited the hypertrophic response of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Pharmacological inhibition of importin β, one of the targets of ivermectin, exhibited protection against mitochondrial ATP decline and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. These findings indicate that maintaining mitochondrial ATP under hypoxia may prevent hypertrophy and improve cardiac function, providing therapeutic options for mitochondrial dysfunction.
No, I have not been on any cardiac drugs daily at any time. No rate control, rhythm control or anti-coagulants. I was pursuing lifestyle approaches to ending the afib, and I felt drugs would confuse the equation or obscure when I was making progress. But then I started the ivermectin for something else, and the afib seems to have gone away.
Hope you are still afib free My functional medicine practitioner has ordered Ivermectin for me from a compound company. I will able to start it next week. I did MMS for a few months and it really helped with the afib episodes but it didn't last. I'm hoping the Ivermectin will give me some benefits. I was diagnosed a year ago with ALL of my heart and lab tests being normal. They have NO clue why this is happening. I am a runner and been in the gym for most of my adult life. I can't do either at this point. I refused any heart meds but I take a 1/2 of a xanax when it kicks in. It works great and stops the episode in 1-2 hours. I only take 1-2 tablets per month so they last a long time. I will post once I get started on the Ivermectin . Much luck on your journey.
Yes, I am still afib free, and still taking IVM (12 mg) once every 2 weeks, since February. It seems to me like the IVM is linked to ending my afib. But I have no way to know for certain. Good luck to you! Don't take it on empty stomach. Needs to be taken with or after fatty meal for full absorption and to not cause nausea.
So glad to hear you are still symptom free. Thanks for the tip on how to take it. I'm hoping I can get the script tomorrow. I know when I started the HCQ I had really good results but it only lasted a couple of months. I have really high mold toxins and taking zeolite and other things to bring down the levels. I'm not sure if Ivermectin would help with that but being an anti-inflammatory and parasitic drug it may help. Thanks again!!
So did HCQ reduce afib for you? I have HCQ in my pandemic supply kit but was not sure if i would use it because it can cause arrhythmia in some people. although I don't think that is too common from what i am hearing.
Yes the first 3 months I was on it the episodes really decreased but they started back up. I stopped the hcq and saving it incase Covid pays me a visit!! They usually come out of no where but I notice if I gulp water or drink anything cold it can set it off. I sure wish I knew what was causing this!!! Do you know what is causing yours I'm sure you went thru all the testing as well. My cardiologist didn't have a clue. I was the first fit healthy patient she had that didn't have any health issues and was not on any meds. I never went back. She wanted to give me a script for blood thinners and metoprolol. Nope!!! I'm really trying to get this under control😁
Afib can have many different causes. And even if you identify the cause and remove it (as I did), that may not end it. Because "afib begets afib", meaning that afib makes structural and electrical changes to your heart that predispose the heart to more episodes of aifb. So if you can identify the cause and remove it, you then need to also identify triggers in your everyday life and remove them too. And then hopefully the heart, if free of afib and triggers to afib, will eventually remodel itself back to more normal structure and electrical patterns.
I have leukemia, which - in an untreated stage - made me very anemic in 2015-2016. And the anemia is when my afib began. I began treatment with a good leukemia drug that resolved the anemia and put the leukemia into remission as long as I took the drug. But the drug itself induces afib! So I eventually (after 2.5 years on it) was put on to another leukemia drug that does not induce afib, but my afib continued even so. I think at that point because of the remodeling of heart that had already occurred due to afib since 2015. And then I started the ivermectin for covid prophylaxis in February 2021... and no more afib! haha! It was a welcome surprise.
I was not willing to take any drugs for afib. But I was trying all kinds of lifestyle modifications, supplements, practices... I devised a "rescue cocktail" that at first seemed to be effective in converting me. But as time went on it ceased to work. My cocktail was:
1 small can low-sodium V8
2-3 cups water
400 mg Magnesium
Claritin or benadryl can also be helpful.
One thing you need to determine is whether you are an adrenergic or vagal afibber, because depending on the answer, that will help you identify triggers or identify techniques that will convert you. For example - a strong cup of coffee would be a trigger for an adrenergic afibber, but could actually help convert a vagal afibber and does for some people.
I'm pretty sure I am a vagal afibber. I don't drink caffeine and my diet is really good. I stopped eating gluten dairy and sugar a few years ago. I worked on a cardiac floor for a number of years and afib was the most common issue for our patients. A good friend was a cardiologist nurse. 27 years ago she went into afib after the birth of her child. She gets afib once maybe twice a year. They know what is causing hers. Gulping and cold food and drinks and weight lifting are my main triggers. I avoid them! But I can be laying in bed reading a book and afib can kick in.
I think there are going to be a lot of healing modalities once the truth comes out about the evil that has been controlling this planet. Until then I will keep trying. For now 1/2 xanax will pull me out it and I would prefer that over heart meds. I'm praying the Ivermectin will help.
That's great that the xanax can convert you! I have at times tried Ativan to see if that would help convert me. but in my case it's didn't seem to make any difference.
Adrenergic is initiated/triggered by elevation of epinephrine/adrenaline - ie stress or excitation of any kind - whereas vagal AF is initiated, paradoxically by the opposite - relaxation, which involves increasing the tone of the vagus nerve. Beta-blockers work better on adrenergic afibbers than vagal afibbers because beta-blockers reduce epinephrine.
Adrenergic afib will usually be initiated in daytime, often during strenuous physical exertion, or triggered by stimulants like caffeine, which increase adrenalin, or stimulated by emotional stress, which also increases adrenalin.
Vagal affibers often go into afib after a big meal, or in bed while sleeping, or several hours AFTER big physical exertion when they are in relaxation mode. Anything that puts pressure on vagus nerve in the chest/abdomen can trigger it - like bloat after a big meal. But extreme relaxation after a big meal with feet up in recliner etc. will also trigger, because vagal tone is heightened the more relaxed you are. Caffeine is not likely to trigger a vagal affiber, and for some vagal afibbers a strong cup of coffee is how they convert back to NSR, Whereas an adrenergic afibber would be made worse by strong cup of coffee.
In my case, I assume I am vagal because (when I had afib) I commonly would have it post-meal with feet up in recliner, and bloat was an issue. Also, i frequently would go into afib 2-4 hours AFTER a huge physical exertion, once I was at home relaxing. But I have never gone into afib during physical exertion.
"The adrenergic trigger pattern was defined as follows: initiated by exercise or emotion and/or present mainly during daytime without reported vagal triggers. We classified patients in the vagal group if AF occurred postprandially and/or was present during the night only without presence of any adrenergic triggers. Patients were classified in the mixed AF group when a combination of at least one adrenergic and one vagal trigger was present."
I stopped taking ivermectin at end of October, so basically I halted a month ago. Prior to that I had continued to take it once every 2 weeks since early february. I am still Afib-free! And feeling quite stable heart-wise. Have not even noticed ectopics. Previously, ectopics were my signal that I was heading for an afib episode. But now I don't even seem to get ectopics. It's hard to know for sure if the ivermectin achieved this for me. But it seems like it did, and there is some medical rational supporting that possibility.
Thank you for sharing!! I take TRS which helps with detox including some parasites and I have wondered if parasites could play a roll for Arrhythmias! Awesome that you have had some relief! I pray it continues for you!
I found your story very interesting, because as you know we don't truly know the cause of AFIB and our current treatments really treat the symptoms. In fact, ablation often isn't a permanent solution. Moreover, I have another friend who observed a similar resolution of a heart arrhythmia, lATRIAL FLUTTER. So, I’m wondering if you ever came off the Ivermectin to see if the results are durable. If it indeed killed some infection (not likely given the dosing, but one never knows) then you shouldn’t need to continue on it any longer.
Hi HansSolo. Yes, I did somewhat come off the ivermectin, which I had been taking once every 2 weeks for about 10 months. And what happened was each time I got 4-5 weeks without ivermectin... I had another episode of afib! at which point i then take the ivermectin again.
this has happened several times. but i DON'T seem to have any afib so long as I take the ivermectin once every 2 weeks. So i have recently resumed taking ivermectin once every 2 weeks (12 mg). And I will stick with that 6 months. and if i have no afib in that time, then i will be pretty certain that the ivermectin, at that frequency, is holding the afib at bay.
It determined that ivermectin can increase mitochondrial ATP production in cardiomyocytes, which can prevent (or even repair) congestive heart failure in hypoxic patients.
I think the same mechanism could help stave off afib in some people. It is essentially tonifying the heart muscle by increasing the energy quotient of heart muscle cells. I think that could help stabilize the heart's pumping. Just my theory.
Ivermectin remains in tissues for about 2 weeks. I think that's why I have no afib so long as I take it once every 2 weeks.
How is your husband doing with the afib? Is he using ivermectin? and noticing decrease in afib? I am very intereted in this pattern that seems to be forming.
I initially got ivermectin prescribed by a functional medicine doctor, who is now being investigated and may lose his license for prescribing ivermection to his patients in BC. (Which is ridiculous. It is one of the safest drugs in the world, used more than 4 billion times by humans around the world over 35 years.) I then bought some generic ivermectin via a US outlet that acquired it via India. I have also used veterinary version. Many people do. But obviously get the human pills if you can! lol!
I took Ivermectin prophylaxis in mid 2021 and felt it reduced the frequency of my Afib episodes. I discontinued taking it after a couple months. Frequency of my Afib episodes has increased a lot in recent months and I have restarted Ivermectin prophylaxis two days ago to see if it has an impact. I am taking Hawthorn Berry liquid extract regularly but no prescription medications for my Afib.
Let me know how things go with your restart of the ivermectin, and whether your afib reduces again. My afib is quite infrequent now. There can be so many factors influencing afib. i found out 5 months agao I was low in ferritin, B12 and vitamin D. So I have been supplementing all 3 (but not at high levels of supplementation). And I rarely have afib now. So I wonder if those deficiencies could have been a factor? if I started to have increased frequency of afib, i would consider usign the ivermectin again. Like you, I don't take any prescription medications for afib or anti-coagulation. If I am having an afib episode, I take baby apsirin and nattokinase for the blood-thinning and fibrinolytic effect (clot-dissolving).
Hello Kim, I was most interested in your post about Ivermectin and atrial fibrillation. I have just recently had a very similar experience. I'm 76 and a retired uk family doctor. In my case I was newly taking Ivermectin to treat the older-person condition of 'dry eyes,' - a common problem which has been recently more firmly tied, to a tiny-mite infection in the eyelids called the Demodex mite.
A full dose of Ivermectin for my weight, of 24mg, did help the dryness a lot, - but to my surprise I also found the next day, a sudden marked reduction in the excitability of my heart. I don't get actual atrial fibrillation, - I get long-term 'coupled' ectopic heartbeats, and they stopped happening suddenly.
I agree with your third hypothesis about the Ivermectin having killed something off. I can't see how the Demodex mite can be involved, because it is supposed to be only a skin parasite. Unless that mite shares some molecular-structure with my heart fibres, and so my body's immune reaction to the mite structure, also cross-reacts to my heart. Demodex mite can multiply very widely, so my load of the mite could have been quite heavy.
I don't think it can be, that the Ivermectin is acting through an anti-inflammatory effect, because I myself could not be more "anti-inflamed" already, - I take a regular dose of both aspirin and colchicine !
I'd be interested to know how your Ivermectin and atrial fibrillation have progressed ? Best wishes, Peter.
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