BCG Maintenance Series 8 - Uncharted Territory - April 11, 2014

BCG Maintenance Series #8 is now complete.   This is good news - mostly because it's over, but also because there are only 3 more maintenance series to go.  This series was a bit of uncharted territory, as it was the first time with a 1.5 year gap.  It's also the first time I did BCG when recovering from a cold.  My last treatment was back in November of 2012.  Next ones, per Dr. Lamm's schedule, would be in 2016, 2018, and 2020, moving to full 2 year spacing.  Dr. Hopkins is unsure that further treatments are needed, but we have 2 years now to decide about continuing these maintenance treatments.  Feeling pretty abused today, so probably not a good day for such a decision.

One interesting thing to know was whether the BCG symptoms would be better, worse, or about the same with the bigger gap.  The data were mixed.  The first one was about the same, but seemed worse, probably because I had time to forget how horrible it was before.  The second one was also similar to 2012's second one, but perhaps a bit lighter.  I actually ate a small bowl of oatmeal the evening after, for the first time ever.  Usually I have no appetite for 24 hours or more.  The third one had more intense urinary symptoms than 2012, but far less other symptoms - no cramps, abdominal soreness, headache, malaise, etc.  And I ate some oatmeal again in the evening (high in carbs, but easy on the digestive system).  Tiredness and a bit of brain fog, but not nearly as bad as 2012.  That's probably a good trade.  As is normal, each successive treatment was worse, and the one yesterday is still making its presence felt in the bladder area.  Mario, to the right, is illustrating the post-BCG feeling quite well.  

With all the immune system boosting I have done, colds are quite rare for me.  I did have one last year in Argentina, and I had one again in April of this year.  My immune system has made the symptoms far less dire, but the duration, unfortunately, is still the same.  I was on about Day #8 of cold, well into recovery, when I had my first BCG.  I figured that already having some cold systems would make the BCG's job of fooling the immune system into action easier.  This was NOT the case.  The symptoms were magnified substantially by the BCG, and my cold recovery was set back by at least 3 days.  My wife pointed out that the system was stretched by trying to battle two conditions at once.  I am sure she is correct about this.

The detailed data from each treatment in the series is shown below.  As usual, click on the picture for a larger, readable version.  Symptom descriptions are about 3/10 on a gross-out scale.