[akemwave]

Thank you so much Marlene. I will follow up on your first suggestion, to enlist the aid of a doctor. That is a fine thought.

My first 3 day water only fast ended with some cramps. I studied electrolyte balance, a balance more upset by my drinking plenty of water and coffee, and bought some potassium pills at a health food shop. This 2nd round I felt pretty good at break the fast time. Unlike many people my age I have few of what the professional medical folks call co-morbidities. I do have an intermittent heart block, and I read that heart arrhythmia should be on the watch list, which it was. As my ANC is very low, and I understand fasting will suppress stem cell blood production (in ways I do not very well understand) I was on the lookout for infection. I stocked up on amoxicillin just so I could better avoid an emergency room event. I had the feeling that I almost wrote my own prescription. Just call me Dr. Wave. Ha. I did not needuse the antibiotic.

A zero calorie diet is pretty much what is called for if you want to really roto-rooter the damaged HTCs. That is what I take away from reading the research papers. The one researcher I did speak with said the FDA made them set a minimum calorie input. And I can understand that. People with solid tumours on chemo have a very different situation from mine.

Dr. Longo's has contributed for a new company which hopes to sell a product that is supposed to give the effect of a water only fast, at least in terms of killing off damaged HSCs, while allowing people to eat a special diet. The company is L-Nutra. I want to get well, soon, and am willing to suffer a bit to have a better chance to not go through later stages of MDS. Of course, we do not know if fasting will help ME. In humans, or in my case, fasting could make hasten bone marrow failure. Mouse research is all I think we have to go by. At least so far. And we have different genetic/genetic mutation/expression/damage and inheritance what happens for me may not happen for others. Compared to dangers of standard therapy, I will bet on fasting. For now.

You suggest blood chemistry tests. I did have one some months ago. I will review it in light of your wise comments. My neutropenic MDS journey started many years and a lot of tests ago. Although good food is better, I am regularly taking supplements for trace minerals, and so forth. I did not mix salt into my water last fast. Maybe I should have.