My 5 month trial of Nigella Sativa

[witch]

There are several articles by (Name removed by Joe K) with two remarcable claims:

(Links removed by Joe K)

The major problem of the articles is that the "concoctions" are made by african "herbalists"/shamans and the exact constituents are not known. The shamans state it is "mainly" Nigella Sativa and honey.

The second major problem is that there is no trial of pure Nigella Sativa only. The author Onifade told me that such a trial is in the works but strangely the results are not published. That is kind of suspicious ...

I took Nigella Sativa for 5 months (November 2014 - March 2015), 18 grams/day (3 heaped teaspoons of unground seeds), divided in 2-3 daily doses. I ground it with a coffee grinder and take it with half a cup of water, no honey.

Since herbs are not controlled or standardized, I soon found out that there are DIFFERENT batches of the herb sold, even at the same Mediterranean Store, with different actions on my body. Unfortunately I cannot offer any advice on how to recognize a batch that will "work".

I took the herb while on a Prezista/Norvir mono-therapy. My Dr and I agreed to drop Truvada to see if it will help with side effects (Anorgasmia). It didn't, but I found out that I have much less sensitivity to sugar/sweets when off Truvada. When I took Truvada, I was getting severe dermatitis around mouth, every time I ate sugary food, even fruits.

My results:

1. I am still HIV POZ. Confirmed with a rapid anti-body blood test at end of February 2015 (4 months of Nigella supplementation).

2. I gained about 6 lb after I added Nigella. My weight at end of March, 2015 was 171lb. This effect is described in the Onifade's articles. Gaining pounds has been very hard for me since my AIDS diagnosis. For people interested in that topic, before starting Nigella, I also gained about 10 pounds from "Up Your Mass" - a protein/slow carb mixture for body builders. Unfortunately, the mass I gained is mainly fat, although my muscle strength increased.

3. My total estrogen skyrocketed to 174 pg/ml (normal range 40 - 115) and my back and scalp was covered by constant pimples. This was no surprise to me because Nigella Sativa is documented as an estrogenic herb. I suspect the mass gain is due to the estrogen increase. My mass was keeping increasing at the end of March, 2015 and I became slightly fat. Now that I stopped Nigella, my weight is going down slowly and the pimples on back and scalp disappear.

4. Nigella seems to have increased my CD4 counts slightly. Make sure you measure your CD4 at the same time of day because it may fluctuate a lot during the day. Before starting the herb, my CD4 was fluctuating around 200-250, CD4% was fluctuating 16-17. After dropping Truvada and starting Up Your Mass and Nigella Sativa, my CD4 was 250-400, CD4% 18-19.  Up Your Mass is a nutritious supplement that I have measured on two occasions to increase my CD4 by 100 by increasing the total white cell count, keeping the same CD4%. Note that it is impossible to know if the improvement is due to dropping Truvada, adding Up Your Mass, or adding Nigella. I suspect though that the modest CD4 increase is due to Nigella, possibly by its estrogen stimulation.

5. I made a two-week trial at the end of March of Nigella only, with no anti-virals to see if Nigella by itself can keep me undetectable. It couldn't, my HIV Viral Load increased from "undetectable" to 258 kopies/ml. So the claim that "alpha-zam" is "mainly" Nigella and can keep people undetectable is contradicted.

6. According to folklore, Nigella "can cure any disease, except death". That of course is a bunch of BS. I contracted gonorrhea and chlamydia that Nigella did not even touch.

7. Nigella is documented to increase serotonin in rat's brain, acting like a mild anti-depressant. The problem with most antidepressants is that extra serotonin supresses sexual functioning. The second batch of Nigella that I got from the local Mediterranean Store was so strong in that aspect that it exacerbated my pre-existing Anorgasmia to the point that I could not get an orgasm at all during sex and I stopped having sex, except masturbation. The first batch of Nigella wasn't that bad, so there are significant differences between batches, origin of the herb etc.

I hope all that info helps somebody out there make an informed decision.

[zach]

sounds legit... i know when i need medical treatment, i reach for a "concoction" brewed up by a shaman

and you stopped taking truvada.... well

have a drink on me

[mecch]

5. I made a two-week trial at the end of March of Nigella only, with no anti-virals to see if Nigella by itself can keep me undetectable. It couldn't, my HIV Viral Load increased from "undetectable" to 258 kopies/ml. So the claim that "alpha-zam" is "mainly" Nigella and can keep people undetectable is contradicted.

6. According to folklore, Nigella "can cure any disease, except death". That of course is a bunch of BS. I contracted gonorrhea and chlamydia that Nigella did not even touch.
 ..
I hope all that info helps somebody out there make an informed decision.

Thanks for the heads up as I was just about to switch from Isentress/Truvada to Alpha Zam on the advice of my Cameroonian coke dealer/herbalist. 

Did you treat your other STDs successfully with herbs?

[witch]

This forum desperately needs an "ignore" button.

Monotherapy on a protease inhibitor is proven to work in vast majority of cases by actual studies. But I guess it takes elementary intelligence to admit you are ignorant.

[mecch]

Why aren't more of us around the world on monotherapy, if its proven effective?

[Joe K]

This forum desperately needs an "ignore" button.

Monotherapy on a protease inhibitor is proven to work in vast majority of cases by actual studies. But I guess it takes elementary intelligence to admit you are ignorant.

Witch,

I received your Moderator Report concerning this thread and no we do not allow attacks on any member.  Your comment above is an example of such an attack.  What we also don't allow, are threads that go against the established science of HIV therapy.  This thread is an example of nothing more than "snake oil" with claims that are not substantiated by peer-reviewed science.

Therefore, I am removing the links to the "comment articles," giving you a warning concerning your comment and locking this thread.  DO NOT start another thread regarding this subject, or you will receive a 7-Day Time Out.

Consider yourself warned.

Joe