The Faulkner Protocol

I am doing pretty well with my ALS. Way back in 2015, after my diagnosis in August, I got serious about looking into interventions for my ALS, and I started with the Deanna protocol, which I have since modified quite a bit.

I have been on a plateau since February 2019; I think I am on to something, and I want to share it with others who have ALS.

I think the most important single thing that led to my stopping the decline was a fecal transplant coupled with antibiotics designed to repopulate my colon microbiome with something healthier. I’ve written about my theories; for example, I have chronicled my history around fecal transplants about ALS and I discussed my theory concerning Melainabacteria as a Possible Cause of ALS, due to continuous production of the neurotoxin BMAA in the colon.

The BMAA connection to ALS and Alzheimer’s is described in a TEDx talk by Dr. Paul Allen Cox, and the work of his worldwide consortium is described in a documentary, Toxic Puzzle.

Paul Cox’s consortium has largely focused on dietary sources of the neurotoxin beta methylamino alanine (BMAA), but I myself think that my case is more likely because I picked up a bacteria in 2008 that colonized my colon and was poisoning me with BMAA up until my fecal transplant in February 2019, which I think removed it.

I also think that various supplements and additives to my diet have helped me, and I want to publish that protocol. I should mention here that I have the ambition to move the fecal transplantation theory forward as a treatment for ALS.

I take various nutritional supplements through three different mechanisms. I take pills five times a day, and I have two different drinks every morning that include several different supplements. Table 1 below shows the chemicals I take each day in the form of pills or capsules (some of which are prescription drugs; leave that bit to your doctor). The table below contains hyperlinks to the sources where I get these supplements.

I also ingest a large portion of my supplement intake with my coffee and my psyllium husk-based blended drinks each morning. I am a big guy and in my case, I drink a full quart of each of these two drinks every morning. These drinks are a much more economical way to incorporate these desirable foods and supplements into my diet. Table one also mentions the liquid extract of CBD that I make for myself and take three tablespoons every morning. I estimate that I’m getting 200 mg a day of CBD from this vegetable oil-based extract which I prepare about once every 3 weeks. Doing it this way makes the CBD far more economical, and I have been considering introducing a vegetable oil extract that is thoroughly decarboxylated in an oven treatment as “Grandpa Roger’s Square Deal CBD.”

I use both my coffee and the psyllium husk-based blended drink to get things into my diet in a more economical fashion than if I took them as pills or capsules.

Table 2 describes the coffee that I drink every morning. It contains important prebiotics for maintaining my colon health (inulin and cocoa) and additives like turmeric and green tea that are helpful with neurological diseases in general.

The coffee also contains a fairly large dose of fully expanded chia seeds which are in effect my breakfast. I also use that drink to incorporate L-serine, which is also contained in my blended drink (Table 3).

L-serine is an important additive to help avoid the problems due to the neurotoxin BMAA which I think was the cause of my ALS. I have also noted better memory and more mental clarity since I began taking about 12 grams a day of L-serine. All of this is incorporated in my drinks in the morning, and some elements of the drink formulations have specifically to do with hiding the flavor of the L-serine.

I have continued to take the L-serine even though I theorize that my gut microbiome is no longer poisoning me with BMAA. That is mostly because of the enhanced mental clarity I feel. In addition to that though, there is an indication that BMAA gets incorporated into proteins in the body and when those proteins are recycled, the BMAA becomes available for being reincorporated into a new protein. keeping my blood serum level of L-serine high is an attempt to flush the BMAA out of my body.

My blended drink is based on organic psyllium husk which is blended to remove any grit. This psyllium husk is blended with water, juice, and the additives shown in Table 3. The liquid part of this drink is basically half water and half juice. I have found that pre-blending the psyllium husk with just the water allows for high-speed blending, which is desirable because blending at higher viscosity improves the breakdown of the psyllium husk particles, which can otherwise be mild choking hazard. When the rest of the additives are put in, the blender is slowed down, but note that one needs to blend the second-stage liquids in the blender; otherwise, one winds up with a thick and thin drink (which makes it difficult to suck up a straw).

The recipes I use for both my coffee-based drink and my psyllium husk drink produce enough liquid for a 2-day supply so that I have two quarts to drink every morning. I still have enough control to drink this on my own sitting in my shower chair in the morning.

I have found that both coffee and pomegranate juice hide the flavor of L-serine very well, and that’s why I use pomegranate juice as part of the blended drink mix. Sour cherry juice and red beet juice are also used. In my opinion, you can make it taste good by varying the ratio of these three juices according to your own taste. I also use this blended drink as a vehicle for incorporating lion’s mane mushrooms into my regular diet. I did notice an improvement in my range of motion, especially in my neck after I incorporated the lion’s mane mushroom.

Table 3 shows the ingredients in my blended drink and some of the instructions.

I use L-serine at quite a high dose; I take in 12 grams a day of L-serine. I have included links in the tables to sources for some of the materials that I am using. I get most of the pills or capsules from Swanson.

I should mention that I also get around 200 mg per day of CBD. I do my own extraction into coconut oil, and the procedure is in Table 4. I end up taking 3 tablespoons per day of this extract from legal hemp flowers.

I have considered the possibility of creating packets of my additives that could be added to coffee in a coffee maker (as in Table 2), and also the second sort of packet designed to be added to the blended drinks, as in Table 3. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to take that step but if any of you want to become my entrepreneurial partner to make that so I would be happy to talk to you about that.

In addition to these dietary supplements and pills that I take, I am very careful about getting enough sleep. I have learned some things about all of that myself, how to do self-care, and how to be more comfortable during the day and in bed at night. One particular thing that I think is important is that my range of motion exercises are way beyond what most people do. I used to do yoga so I started pretty flexible, and my roommate who is also my primary caregiver also is a yoga aficionado and she has really done great things with improving my range of motion which makes me sleep better and makes me more comfortable during the day.

I have not had my neck completely flop over onto my shoulder, as was the case with Stephen Hawking, and eventually with most other ALS patients. I know the range of motion exercises help, and I also think that both CBD and lion’s mane mushrooms help in that regard.

I have a sense of purpose as an inventor, and as a father of an eight-year-old. You must find your own passion; I can’t help you there, but I think a sense of purpose is extremely important.