007 and the Spy who came in from the Cold

This post has Cases 4, Nina, and Case 5 BB.  It links to a Brain Fog post on RxISK.

Case 4 Nina Otulakowski

Nina was referred by her doctor for review of vaccine related problems. He had previously referred her for a possible myocarditis.  The reference came with her medical history, prior treatments and some of the letters from other consults.

When she made contact, her email address included 007, hence the image above of the new 007.

She has a past history of struggling with Lyme disease for a decade, which she knows some doctors will view with skepticism. But this had been resolved five years previously. She was concussed two years prior to the vaccine and gave a good account of the after-effects of this, like swearing more than usual, and brain fog.  These problems had all cleared up pre-vaccine.

She takes Synthroid and bupropion but no other prescription medicines.  In her 60s, she is slim and has been very fit, walking her dogs daily, biking, hiking, cross country skiing and otherwise keeping active – but is less fit post vaccination.

Vaccination

She was not a vaccination enthusiast and had planned to see how others found it first. But she ended up having the Pfizer vaccine in April 2021 before others she knew and without being aware of anyone who had reported significant harms.

She had an immediate reaction and was one of those detained at the centre before being let go home. There was a dramatic increase in heart rate, from her mid-60s normal, to over 100 beats per minute. Her blood pressure also rose from its normal 115/75 to 140/90, where it has hovered ever since.

A month afterwards, she was referred for a review of possible myocarditis post-vaccine.  By this time, whatever specifically inflammatory cardiac effects she originally had were likely to have settled down. There was no evidence for myocarditis but there was some pericardial effusion present.

Hearing loss, Tinnitus and Headache

She had a longstanding sensorineural hearing loss prior to the vaccination, mainly affecting her right ear and relatively mild. It causes her little impairment, and she hadn’t felt the need for a hearing aid.

After the vaccine, she developed a severe headache and tinnitus and hearing problems in her left ear.  Her left ear now gives her more bother than her right ear.

Her headache was present for months but has now become a sense of head pressure rather than headache. The sense of pressure seems to be linked to the stereophonic tinnitus she has and her left ear hearing problems.

POTS

Nina’s tachycardia and blood pressure issues appear relatively consistent. This is inconsistent with a Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).  But she also has temperature dysregulation and an internal tremor possibly consistent with POTS.

Brain Fog 

Nina’s main complaint is brain fog.  Things were fine pre-vaccine but now she loses focus easily and cannot engage with things she cherishes like painting.  After a lifelong career as an artists, she has lost her ‘feel’ for painting even down to losing her feel for mixing paints.

She loses words and her place in conversations.  This is apparently noticeable to people who have known her over time.  It was not the way things were before the vaccine.

Other Problems

She reports other problems from hair loss to temperature dysregulation.  Her hair loss is more likely to be linked to physical stress rather than directly to any auto-immune issues. Her temperature dysregulation may be linked to her prior thyroid problems although she now prefers the cold, whereas previously she was keen on a temperate climate

She has an internal tremor, which has been worse than it is now.  It is especially obvious when she is fatigued.  This is commonly reported by the vaccine injured.

Fatigue is a major problem. She simply does not have the energy to get going in the way she once had. Her dogs help but walking is more like hard work now than it was, and when she is fatigued, she fears she may pass out.  There is a degree of muscle weakness and wasting, which may be the cause of or a consequence of her fatigue.

Finally, she developed a relatively short-lived arthritic problem that affected almost all her joints and led to a referral and a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. This sounds more like a reactive arthritis than fibromyalgia.

Additional symptoms include vertigo, dizziness, sensitivity to lights and certain sounds.

Diagnosis

There is a good case for saying Nina has a vaccination induced set of problems. Tachycardia and hypertension are common effects of these vaccines and in the absence of any history of the problems she has now it is difficult to explain them any other way.

Tinnitus, headache and head pressure are regular features of post vaccine reactions as are temporary arthritic problems, and sensitivity to light and sound, as well as fatigue.

She gives eloquent descriptions of brain fog. This is a real condition but likely arises from problems in her body rather than in her brain.  She is cognitively intact and a very engaging person.  Losing her way in conversations likely stems from unusual bodily signals to her brain rather than any early dementia or related problem.  See What is Brain Fog?

Nina’s condition is likely to have an auto-immune component, but standard auto-immune tests come back as normal. This spike protein, however, targets ACE-2 receptors and tests for auto-antibodies to this receptor and G-coupled proteins are more likely to be positive.  There are a number of facilities that offer this test – one is Cell Trend in Germany.  Another is Washington University’s small fibre neuropathy antibody panel, especially for sensory neuropathy and including TS-HDS antibodies.

At the moment though nothing is sufficiently established to warrant the large amount of money tests would cost.  Bri Dressen and react19.org are working on this.

At present there is no known treatment for Nina’s problems. A positive result on some of these tests might help steer treatment toward IVIg or a monoclonal antibody or at least it might stop us giving her inappropriate treatment.

She has a strong case for a medical exemption from further vaccination for Covid.

Few people in her shoes would willingly take a further dose.  Many are forced to. For some the results are not good.

Two Years Later

Two and a half years later, I have the same symptoms. Trying to move forward is challenging , almost impossible at times

While I make it a point to find joy in the little things each and every day, I grieve those days of dancing my heart out, hiking in the woods, cross-country skiing & daily dog walks. social outings. And of course expressive painting.

I have zero assistance from Niagara Public Health and am on my own, living in a country and community that is blind to vaccine harms.

I have a health coach for support & guidance with post exertional malaise, a reaction of prior infections like Lyme, advice on diet and stabilizing my Heart rate by pacing and monitoring heart rate

I have had to enlist help with housecleaning, Dog Walking, groceries and gardening.

My hearing loss and tinnitus have increased 10 to 20%. I have less brain fog however but it does rear its ugly head with stress, fatigue and over exertion

POTS symptoms increased considerably. My temperature dysregulation, and internal tremors remain the same. Fatigue tripled as did loss of stamina I now have chronic fatigue and post exertional malaise

I became allergic to almost everything, but four or five foods and extremely sensitive to many supplements or drugs, even ones that were not a problem before. I have also had blood clots in my legs.

I have had antibody tests with Cell Trend in Germany and tested positive for anti ACE2 antibodies.  But cardiologists & gastroenterologists here claim not to be able to find anything wrong and don’t know what to make of the tests.

CASE 5 B Comes in from the Cold

Case 5 is anonymous because she works in healthcare. Her story can be told through her blood tests, which she downloaded and sent. There is no need to interview her to be able to give a view as to what is likely going on.

B works in healthcare, is in her middle years and is in good health. She takes bisoprolol for minimal BP rise and Crestor for minimal cholesterol issues.

March 3, the first Pfizer dose.

On April 10, she developed joint and muscle pain in her hands.

On April 12, she had a negative Covid test

On April 13, convinced she had Covid, she went to the Emergency Room (ER) short of breath, with a fever (104F, 40C), and raised white cells (16+). A second Covid test was negative. She was send home on prednisone 50mg and doxycycline.

On April 27, her fever was continuing. Her C-Reactive Protein (CRP) 136 normal range 0-4.  This is a marker for inflammation and is very high.

On April 30, she had a repeat negative Covid Test

In May, she had negative Chest, Abdomen & Pelvis X Rays, Abdominal Ultrasound and Gastroscopy

On June 17, her prednisone was lowered to 15 mg  and she had tingling, and numbness in toes.

June 23, the second Pfizer Dose.

On June 24, she stopped Prednisone

On June 25, she had a fever.

On June 29, her CRP was 260.

On July 8, she restarted Prednisone.

On July 12, her CRP was 3

On July 22, she had burning bright red feet, but they were cool to touch.

On July 30, she was wobbly on her feet (ataxia).  A brain scan was negative.

On Aug 2, she had vomiting, diarrhea, fever.  She restarted Prednisone

On Aug 6, she had burning of hands and feet with difficulty in bending her toes.

On Aug 12, she increased prednisone and the burning and pain in her hands and feet improved.

On Aug 24, she started Actonel to cover the effect of steroids on bone.

On Sept 15, it was suggested she wean prednisone from 15 mg to 12.5 mg

On Sept 18, the fever and joint pain returned and she increased prednisone to 15 mg

On Sept 19, the fever was gone and the pain easing.

On Sept 20, she increased prednisone to 20 mg

On Sept 23, her CRP was 53.

On Oct 9, she had joint pain, redness in hands and feet, and her arms, shoulders and elbows were weak and sore to touch. She was shaky, short of breath, and had difficulty going upstairs.

On Oct 16, she reduced prednisone to 18 mg

On Oct 18, she was feeling better but had muscle contractures

On Oct 20, her CRP was 3.

On Oct 21, she was diagnosed with seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis

On Oct 26, she reduced prednisone to 16 mg

On Oct 28, she had sore hands and feet, fever, and night sweats

On Oct 29, she increased prednisone to 17 mg

On Oct 30, her pain subsided

In Nov, she reduced Prednisone 0.5 mg every 3 days

On Dec 5, she was on Prednisone 10 mg

Dec 6, the third Pfizer dose

From Dec 6-12, she had fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, vomiting, and diarrhea

On Dec 12, she increased prednisone to 10.5 mg

On Dec 13, the fever was gone, and her pain and shortness of breath easing

On Dec 15, her CRP was 75

From Dec 15-28, she had continuing shortness of breath and pain on deep inspiration

On Dec 28, she started Zithromax.

In Jan, she was reducing prednisone 0.5 mg every 3 days.

On Jan 14, she caught Covid

B’s Covid infection was mild. As with so many others, she was told she would have had a much more difficult time if she had not been vaccinated.

During this period B was seen by 3 internists and rheumatologists as well as family doctors. Her rheumatologist said her joint problems pointed to a seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. Peripheral neuritis might be a better option – there was no joint swelling.

When things began, B had a delayed onset of clinical symptoms from the point of vaccination. This initially deterred her from making a link to the vaccine, but she agrees the features of her case are difficult to explain other than in terms of a vaccine reaction.

None of her doctors appear to have made a link to the vaccine. She brought them articles on Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome, which seemed to her to map onto the clinical picture but this was when MIS was linked to Covid and not the vaccine.

In mild form, MIS features map directly onto what is often termed vaccine reactogenicity. This is sometimes passed off as a ‘good sign’ – you are generating a response. These same features however are present in Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) in children (MIS-C) and adults (MIS-A), which are febrile syndromes with elevated inflammatory markers that usually manifest 2–6 weeks after a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) infection.  MIS kills.

These same problems have now been described as being triggered by the vaccine. B’s picture is like Karunya‘s from last week but fortunately for B hers are milder. B’s response to steroids suggests these might have helped Karunya if given earlier.

One of the surprising things is how willing some of us are to get further doses of the vaccine even when confident the vaccine is causing problems. Another is how slow our medical colleagues are to caution even one of their own to think twice about going ahead.

B is now taking bisphosphonates (Actonel), steroids and may start methotrexate in lieu of steroids, none of which are harmless.  Things may look like they are now in control but while she stays on these treatments she risks further injury and has increased her medication burden by 100%.

Two Years On

Two years later B is doing well.  She attributes the improvement in the pain and swelling she had to prednisone but figures time was the major healer.  She has managed to stop prednisone successfully.  She is left with some neuropathic symptoms in her toes that weren’t there before but is otherwise fine.

She’s grateful to me for believing her but in B’s case she was pretty sure the vaccine had caused the problem and it was easy to believe her – the strange aspect to her case is how so many doctors, some how knew her personally, did not seem able to see what looks very obvious. How long can everyone get away with saying its just coincidental?

Pfizer’s – Icon’s – Ventavia’s Clinical Trial

If you look at what is reported about the BioNTech vaccine from the clinical trial, the vaccine seems to have minimal effects on CRP:

• From 0 to 2 at week 1 after dose 1 falling to pre-vaccine level at week 8
• From 0 to 4 at week 1 after dose 2 falling to pre-vaccine level at week 8

B’s case is clearly wildly beyond these levels.

Pfizer and BioNTech apparently had two candidate vaccines to choose from – b1 and b2 – beyond the last minute.  Choosing between these two led to the only delay in the development of the vaccine.

There was lots of data on b1 and very little on b2. In terms of controlling what they were about to do, b1 seemed to make more sense – it would generate antibodies to the receptor blocking domain – the ACE-2 receptor.

B2 would generate antibodies to the whole Spike protein – offering a broader immune response (possibly).

Pfizer opted for b2. This feels from this distance like the kind of decision Lilly and other SSRI companies made in opting for Prozac 20 mg, which was an excessively high dose – adding more Prozac in doesn’t inhibit reuptake any more. So why do it.  Well Lilly and all SSRI companies were scared their drug wouldn’t work in depression trials – it didn’t really work for depression.  Not any better than 5 mg.

The company story was they wanted a convenient once size fits all dose but this is not the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  The b1-b2 week long crisis in Pfizer looks like they were scared that b1, a cleaner candidate, might not work.

If b1 had been chosen, there might also have been more questions about whether it was a drug rather than a vaccine.

If b1 had been chosen, B’s CRP might have been more in line with the figures Pfizer reported to FDA.

Of course, as will be reported next week, who knows what the figures from this trial really look like.