Treating Mitochondrial Dysfunction

i guess we all have mitrochondrial damage because of our chronic infektions. My naturpath said the mitrochondrial function come backs when you immunsystem and infektions are back to normal.
the ways i know what helps are:
-infared light therapy
-methyline blue
-kudzu root
-HIT Oxygen Therapy
-Ozon Therapy
-Fasting
-Clean eating and a lot of fats and oil

Here is advice from Marty Ross's guide.

https://www.treatlyme.net/guide/mitochondria-dysfunction-repair-lyme


Other than methods already listed here my doctor has also advised NAD although I have not tried it yet.

Hi Sara I've sent them to you!

Would you be able to let us know what the naturopath recommends? As it's something I'm keen to revisit!

Yes it’s quite confusing!

I might be wrong but I think that there is mitochondrial disease which is recognised by western medicine and conventional doctors

Then mitochondrial dysfunction which is recognised by functional medicine. Mitochondrial dysfunction is generally thought to be the cause of CFS/ME so there is a lot of information and it’s very well known within the ME/CFS community

There used to be some tests in the UK for mitochondrial dysfunction but the lab either closed down or turned into a research lab (i can’t remember)

So now people use the test I shared above which is a German lab. The tests are expensive though so most people with CFS/ME just treat mitochondrial dysfunction anyway without doing the tests! Which I presume if what Sara you might be doing?

for what its worth i think everyone with long standing fatigue will have some form of mitochondrial dysfunction

will will include the majority of people here with tick borne infections - as something like 80% of us report fatigue as a symptom

i think treatment then depends on what the root cause of it is - and ( aside from the rare genetic diseases caused by faulty mitochondria genes and are usually fatal or at least diagnosed in early childhood ) this is where it gets murky

so many things can and do cause mitochondrial dysfunction:
-intracellular infections are a clear one

-environmental toxins are another ( many have been shown to damage the membrane across which energy is produced in the mitochondria inside our cells )

- nutrient status is another - as energy transport in and out of the mitochondria and antioxidant status are both dependent on micronutrients - the vital membrane inside the mitochondria is made from phospholipids - and this is why some of the intensive lipid infusion type treatments are thought to help - by supplying replacement lipids to help the body make replenish old and damaged membranes.

- antioxidant status is also a key thing here - as it seems that in people with chronic fatiguing conditions - one of the common features is poor antioxidant status - this is particularly relevant because the primary function of the bodies antioxidant system is to deal with the highly oxidative free radicals that are formed as a by product from the mitochondrial energy production. these must be neutralised by the antioxidants to avoid damaging the cells ( primarily glutathione - but CoQ10 and vitamin C and others are needed - and all exit in a tiered supporting pyramid needed to recycle the glutathione at the top).

it is thought that when the bodies ability to mop up free radicals from normal respiration inside mitochondria - then these free radicals damage the all important mitochondrial membrane - and when the membrane is damaged - the mitochondria become less efficient and produce more free radicals for the same energy output - and a viscous circle can be envisioned that helps keep the person in that state( much of this explanation comes from Myhill's book on CFS - i am not sure if she really has all the answers - but she was able to prove toxins become lodged in the mitochondrial membrane and the degree of contamination correlated with the degree of fatigue / mitochondrial dysfunction and i was able to validate much of it from independent primary sources).

-in a similar way chronic inflammation from any cause - will tax the antioxidant system and drive more of the above

-this is where the Ketogenic diet is known to help as the chain of reactions inside the mitochondria when they burn both sugars and then fats ( they can use either) are very well known - and when they burn fats its known that the produce less than half the free radicals - and as a result - adapting to burn primarily fats as energy vs carbohydrates - can break the vicious cycle and help a person recover the integrity of the mitochondria ( i know there is a lot of diet propaganda on the internet - but i think this bit does hold up to scrutiny).

still, the real crux is to determine what is actually driving the mitochondrial dysfunction and keeping it stuck / not repairing itself (the body can regenerate fresh mitochondria just like it can make new cells) so there must be some ongoing insult or vicious cycle to keep it stuck.

-infection,
-autoimmunity ( or other immune dysfunctions that drive inflammation - eg MCAS) ,
-toxins,
-nutrition

these seem to be the main broad buckets - and the detective work goes on from there

this is just a brain dump of what i recall reading some years ago when i had been told i count not possibly have Lyme and i instead had "CFS" or fibromyalgia - depending on the whim of the registrar on the day.

i hope its of some help

Isn’t restoring mitochondrial health Dr. Terry Wahls’ specialty? Didn’t she develop a protocol and write books on this?

Thanks, everyone! This will be helpful preparation for my appointment.

Yes, WBF, Terry Wahls is very big on mitochondria, too!