LOW DOSE ALLERGY THERAPY
Dr. W. Schrader
LDA includes mixtures of over 300 allergens that act quite universally. This means that patients
allergic or intolerant to most substances, and with quite diverse medical conditions, can respond to
treatment. Available LDA mixtures include inhaled pollens, danders, dust and dustmites, fungi, yeast,
molds, foods, many food additives, most common chemicals and perfumes and formaldehyde.
An intradermal injection is given every 2-3 months for at least 12-18 months. They cannot be given
more frequently than every 7-8 weeks. You should receive some immediate benefit but the full
effect will take 6-8 injections and you may need boosters over subsequent years. The first 3
injections should be noticeable with a lull in response at the 4th and 5th but continued improvement
after this.
College Pharmacy currently sells an LDA antigen kit comprised of a food mixture at regular dose
concentration (called “MX” or “medium dose foods”), a food mixture with the same antigens but at
a weaker dilution(“LX”) – this one is used for those with anaphylactic or otherwise severe food
allergies, severe eczema, inflammatory bowel disease and possibly other severe types of food
reactions – a mixture of inhalants or environmental antigens from plants, animals and molds (“IC”);
and a mixture of chemicals (“CF”). Certain bacterial mixes are available as mentioned previously, as
well as a mixture of wood pulps useful in certain circumstances. Those mixtures currently come
directly from Dr. Shrader when needed.
Each dose of LDA likely stimulates the immune system in at least two different ways. The first is to
stimulate certain cells to block the early allergic response. This causes the immediate skin response
to the injection and any immediate improvement that may occur usually immediately the day of, or
the day after the injection. The second is likely to produce a new family of T-cells. This “stimulation”
of developing T-cells that suppress allergy or “switching” probably takes place over an
approximately 36-48 hour period after the injection has been given. After 3-4 weeks, when they are
all mature, these cells circulate in the body actively switching off your miscoded T-helper cells – those
cells which cause other cells in the body to produce histamine and other bad cell mediators.
Histamine is a major culprit causing overt allergic or adverse response to various allergens or other
agents. LDA is a natural, extremely low dose method of restoring the self-regulation of the immune
system.
The RULES! (Meant to be broken)
The Diet to follow day before, day of and day after injection (the 3 CRITICAL DAYS):
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Lamb, rabbit, venison or fresh fish.
White potatoes, sweet potatoes/yams, parsnips, rutabagas, tapioca or cassava root.
Cooked carrots, celery and cabbage.
Lettuce.
Tapioca.
Rhubarb
Baking soda
Sea salt
Bottled, purified water.
ONLY!
Could even consider fasting if highly sensitive to foods.
After the 3 CRITICAL DAYS continue to avoid foods you are sensitive to but eat normally.
Dr. Schrader is essentially trying to have the immune system as calm as possible prior to and
immediately after the injection. Don’t use strong smelling toiletries or expose yourself to chemicals
of any kind. Avoid exposure to allergens. No makeup etc. Avoid all drugs that could be having a
reaction on the body. No sex. No exercise. No alcohol. No saunas or hot baths. No sunbathing. These
are tough things to do and the reason I almost did not begin using this therapy.
Medications and Supplements:
Avoid these medications for 7 days before and 3 weeks after injection.
1. Sulfa drugs.
2. Antihistamines (other than Tofranil).
3. Zyrtec
4. Decongestants
5. All pain medications. Tylenol, Advil etc. Even one dose of Tylenol will destroy LDA.
6. Asthma inhalants.
7. NSAIDS
8. Opiates
9. Anti-malarials
10. Synthetic hormones (BHRT okay)
11. Birth control pills
12. Lupron
13. Misoprostol (may be used after injection but not before).
Drugs that probably interfere:
1. Vioxx and Celebrex
2. Proscar
3. MAO inhibitors
4. Antidepressants, tranquilizers and anti-anxiety medictations in moderate to high doses but
not low doses.
5. Feverfew
6. Ginseng
7. Essential fatty acids
8. Cortisol higher than 40mg.
9. Immunosuppressants (Plaquenil).
Drugs/vitamins that may help LDA:
1. Thymulin
2. Magnesium
3. Folic Acid
4. Vitamin D
5. H2 blockers (Zantac, Tagamet)given for 3 weeks prior to treatment then stopped suddenly
36 hours before injection may be helpful.
6. Theophylline
7. Caffiene
8. Cortisone (Prednisone)
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Ketoprofen might be okay to use as pain reliever during treatment as long as steadily used.
Beta blockers – may improve response of LDA.
Asacol might be okay.
Guaifenesin – as a decongestant.
Tofranil to prevent depression can be taken at the time of the injection (5 minutes before).
Take these vitamins to enhance injection:
Multi, Zinc, Folic Acid, Magnesium glycinate, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. IV/IM nutrition with these
nutrients good idea on day of treatment.
Gut preparation and Antifungals:
Antifungal medications and bismuth for 1 week prior to injections if candida suspected.
Do Not do injection if…
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
You are in the first 5 days of a cold.
You are pregnant
You have taken pain killers 5 days prior to injection
If you have just been immunized.
If you have had dental work 2 weeks before injection’
If you have candida.
So many more rules... Dr. Vincent has tossed almost all them out.
LOW DOSE IMMUNOTHERAPY
Dr. Ty Vincent
“Allergy and autoimmunity represent a loss of appropriate immune “tolerance”. The idea behind
this form of immunotherapy is to retrain tolerance to the immune system for specific antigens, either
individually or in very large collections at once. This seems like a very basic concept, but it is truly
profound. Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) is also profoundly different from conventional
immunotherapy used for environmental allergies.
LDI is far safer, more effective, and much more user-friendly than conventional immunotherapy. It is
also able to treat many more conditions than conventional allergy therapy. The doses are so much
lower there has never been a reported case of anaphylaxis from an injection. In contrast, lifethreatening reactions are frighteningly common with the high doses of antigen given during
conventional allergy shots. Adverse responses to LDI are uncommon and usually involve a mild to
moderate exacerbation of existing sensitivity symptoms.
As with many other great discoveries in medicine, this form of immunotherapy was initially
discovered by accident. A physician in Great Britain was treating a patient with nasal polyps by
injecting them with hyaluronidase. This was a common treatment, directed at shrinking the polyps
through enzymatic tissue degradation. In this particular case, the patient noted that his respiratory
allergies dramatically improved. A search ensued as to why this occurred. Eventually the enzyme
solution used was analyzed and found to be “contaminated” with a very small amount of another
enzyme, beta glucuronidase. It appears as though this enzyme acts as a chemotactic signal to
certain lymphocytes in the skin or the floor of the mouth whose job it is to establish tolerance of the
immune system to foreign antigens.
This makes sense to me because we know some normal probiotic bacteria in the human gut produce
this enzyme; and I suspect our immune system has learned that it is a signal for “friend” rather than
“foe”. As I’ve more recently established, the enzyme also promotes tolerance to “self” antigens
administered in the same manner. Tolerance to self more likely develops initially in utero through
some other mechanism that has nothing at all to do with this enzyme.
I have also purchased stock mixtures of microorganisms in various combinations for Lyme disease,
inflammatory bowel disease and yeast issues. This approach has proven to be incredibly effective in
treating some chronic illnesses that previously had no effective treatment options, or only toxic and
expensive drug options.”
The use of customized antigens for Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) is the main focus of this talk
today.
The Rules:
Dr. Vincent has thrown out almost all the rules laid out by Dr. Schrader except that dosing should be
no more frequent than 7-8 weeks once the correct dose has been established and that the
glucuronidase enzyme should always be used.
“Early on I tried to adhere to all the rigorous rules laid out in the infamous “Pink Book”, the
handbook of LDA rules for patients to follow. My wife likes to say “you should learn to follow the
rules before you break them”; and she is a very smart woman. My insistence that patients adhere to
these rules – and I’m sure many of you experienced the same – led to a large proportion of candidate
patients declining LDA therapy, because they felt there was no way they could comply with all the
restrictions. The suggested diet is extremely limiting, patients have pets at home, they work around
chemicals or coworkers drenched in perfume, they refuse to go to work without deodorant or
makeup and cannot afford to miss work, they just plain don’t want to follow these rules… and the
list of reasons goes on. Because of the immense amount of restrictions, I would estimate at least half
of my patients with allergies did not attempt LDA early on. Only the sickest and most motivated
would endure the rigorous protocol; and those typically did very well.
Over time I had some patients tell me they had NOT followed any of the rules and their doses had
worked seemingly just fine for them. I request honesty without judgment from my patients, and
they certainly get it from me; so I get to learn a great deal more about how things really work. After
hearing this a number of times I started to tell patients to read the Pink Book so they were familiar
with the rules, but to only worry about avoiding the foods, chemicals, animals, or whatever to which
they knew they were truly sensitive.
This approach still worked extremely well, just as well in fact, for 80-90% of patients. So eventually I
stopped telling patients that the Pink Book even existed, stopped giving it out at the beginning, and
started offering patients their first dose of antigens “on the fly” at their initial visit even. I can tell
you that this calloused, cavalier approach still yields great success about 80% of the time – and as a
result, I have possibly hundreds of patients benefitting from LDA that previously may not have even
tried it.
For those who don’t seem to respond to treatment without the restrictions, I then explain to them
that they must be an obligate rule-follower and I give them a Pink Book. Most of those who then
follow the LDA rules will begin to respond as well. I do believe that many patients would do better
with LDA if they did follow all those rules; they would probably have better symptom resolution and
longer periods of improvement sooner. But many of them never would have even tried it if we
didn’t start them out “cold” and get them engaged in the treatment first. It’s about working with
human psychology.”
He does agree that a yeast prep is a good idea if candida seems to be an issue for the patient.
Dosing:
A moving target! Initially Dr. Vincent suggested a starting dose between 6c and 12c and as of
February of this year established that a dose titration system works well. In other words, start at a
weaker dose (10 or 12c) and then decrease weekly until the patient experiences improvement in
symptoms. As he is now treating over the phone his starting dose is 20c (a truly homeopathic dose of
the antigen). As is his style – things are pretty loose when it comes to dosing but the goal is either
slight worsening followed by improvement or simply improvement. As those with Lyme know there
are rarely 2 days alike when it comes to symptoms so determining improvement or a flare is
challenging to say the least. As I am gaining experience with this treatment it is becoming more
obvious to me when I have settled on the right dose. I am also starting to use the Vega machine to
help me determine dose with some individuals.
He now allows for boosters within the 7 weeks but not a repeat of the dose that was initially
responded to.
Route of Adminstration:
Either intradermal or sublingual is acceptable.
Customized Low Dose Immunotherapy:
The immune effects of LDA are the same in customized LDI. The immune targets and
individualization of doses are the differences. The diseases in question with LDI are essentially
autoimmune diseases or chronic inflammatory diseases rather than allergies, though the differences
there are debatable. The general concept once again is that we are promoting immune tolerance to
target antigens against which the immune system has mounted an inappropriate and persistent
attack. If someone has a chronic inflammatory condition caused by overreaction of the immune
system, all you have to do is figure out the target antigen and you can theoretically apply this
principal to resolve the disease process.
An excellent example with a long record of successful treatment through standard LDA antigens
available is rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most patients with RA have a particular HLA tissue type (e.g.
HLA-DRB1 or HLA-DR4), have been colonized with bacteria of the genus Proteus, and had some
event or circumstances set off chronic immune activation against the bacteria. Because of their
tissue type, their own joint tissues cross-react with the target bacterial proteins. The presence of an
elevated anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody confirms this reaction and implicates Proteus as
the target bacterium.
A similar rheumatologic condition is ankylosing spondylitis (AS). AS is caused in most cases by
immune activation against bacteria of the genus Klebsiella, rather than Proteus, in patients with the
HLA-B27 genotype. In both of these conditions the patient’s joint tissues are attacked by the
immune system because of antigenic similarity to the relevant bacterial proteins. Even if the
bacterium is completely eradicated from the patient, the autoimmune attack persists because it has
now become a set reaction against “self” proteins.
This is the nature of many autoimmune diseases. A great many of them are initially triggered by
immune activation against a microorganism or a food protein (most commonly gluten) or both. An
important difference between “allergy” and “autoimmunity” in this regard is the persistence of
disease symptoms after eradication of the triggering agent. If a child with eczema stops consuming
dairy and his skin clears up, that’s “allergy”. But, if a child with recurring Strep pharyngitis develops
guttate psoriasis, eradicating the bacteria with penicillin will not resolve his skin condition. Treating
that child with LDI using the Strep antigen WILL stop the skin reaction though.
I have proven the above principle in my practice with two young men who both had guttate psoriasis
caused by Strep. This is a key issue to understand; and it elucidates why this form of immunotherapy
is so much more important in rheumatology and the treatment of autoimmune diseases than it is
even in the treatment of allergies. An allergic individual may be able to avoid cats, dogs, most
triggering chemicals or foods; and if they do they will not stay sick. An individual with an
autoimmune problem however will remain sick even after the trigger has been removed. Once the
fire has been set it continues to burn. LDI using the right triggering antigens can put out that fire and
essentially cure many autoimmune diseases, Lyme disease, and other chronic conditions.
RA and AS can both be very often effectively treated using antigen preparation comprised of the two
bacteria Proteus and Klebsiella provided in a standardized mixture through College pharmacy
(currently shipped directly from Dr. Shrader though). Administering the “PK” antigen at a 0.04mL
volume, along with the beta glucuronidase enzyme at a 0.01mL volume the same as with any
standard LDA antigen mixture, will put the great majority of patients with RA or AS or into remission.
This antigen mixture also works for many patients with undifferentiated Inflammatory Arthritis
“NOS”
The Streptococcus antigen is the second most useful antigen to be distributed with the standard LDA
sets in my opinion. Most all cases of guttate psoriasis and some other forms of psoriasis or unusual
patchy eczematous rashes can be treated with this antigen. PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune
neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep) can be treated with this antigen, as well as older
children or adults with anxiety and OCD manifestations who have an elevated ASO titer or antiDNAse B antibody. I have also seen some people with chronic fatigue symptoms and elevated Strep
serology respond well to this.
Lyme Disease
Many of us have struggled to treat our patients with chronic Lyme disease for years without real
success. I feel this is because the condition has been treated as though it were an “infection”, when
in fact it does not exactly behave as such. The real problem, and cause of illness symptoms in Lyme
disease, is not the presence of these bacteria in the patient’s body. The real problem is the chronic
immune activation against those organisms; that is what makes the person ill.
People will become infected with these organisms (Borellia, Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Coxsiella,
and possibly others) many years before any symptoms develop. It is only after the immune system
decides to attack the bacteria that the symptoms and inflammation begin. There is often some
inciting event that agitates the immune system and sets off this reaction; common examples include
pregnancy and deliver, injury, illness, or great psychosocial stress.
The fact that these organisms are intracellular and can hide from the immune system means that the
battle will never be won if we try to kill the bacteria. Instead you have a person whose life is ruined
by symptoms including chronic debilitating fatigue, mental fog, headaches, joint pains, muscle pains,
neurological symptoms and other issues.
Many Lyme practitioners will give patients aggressive medical therapy including intravenous
antibiotics for years. These patients may see some benefits, but will almost universally relapse some
time after cessation of antibiotic therapy. When treating Lyme disease as if it were an infection it is
not curable, and I believe it is poorly managed this way in most cases. Also, these well-meaning
practitioners are often targeted by their conventional colleagues and state medical boards as well,
because they are using aggressive therapies to treat a condition that is not “real” in their eyes.
Chronic Lyme disease is not seen as a real medical diagnosis by the CDC, AMA, nor the disability
system. They believe a month of doxycycline will cure the problem by eradicating infection from
everyone harboring the spirochetes. This is unfortunately far from reality.
LDI for Lyme disease offers an extremely effective, nontoxic, safe, inexpensive, and user-friendly
means of treating this condition. This is revolutionary in a very powerful sense. This therapy
constitutes a tremendous breakthrough for some of our sickest patients, and represents a paradigm
shift in the way we treat the problem.
The change in thinking involves switching from an “infection” model of Lyme disease to an
“autoimmune disease” model. We know that people can harbor the organisms for decades without
having symptoms of the disease, which argues against the infection concept. It seems that many
have their disease symptoms triggered by some other illness or period of intense stress in their life.
The immune system then begins to relentlessly, but ineffectually, attack these organisms. This
makes the person extremely ill, but never ends.
Through the use of LDI in this context, we are stopping the inappropriate immune activation against
the relevant organisms. This effectively stops the patient’s symptoms, while leaving the bacteria
alone to live inside the body in relative harmony once again. It does not eradicate the infestation
from the body. That should be made clear to the patient.
It is the concept of: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!” There is no reason to worry about the fact that
the organisms are still living in our patients; there are hundreds of microorganisms inhabiting the
human body, harmlessly. My current view is that the bacteria associated with Lyme and similar
syndromes have likely lived in human beings for as long as there have been human beings. What is
different today is the derangement and dysregulation of the human immune system. That is what
we are correcting with LDI. You can stop trying to kill the bacteria!
The use of LDI to stop the unnecessary specific reactions to these bacteria does not reduce the
immune system’s innate immune protection against overwhelming infection and sepsis from these
or other organisms. The same cannot be said for drugs like Prednisone, Enbrel, Humira, and other
immunosuppressants.
The following seventy-four bacterial species are included in the current Lyme mixture provided with
this manual: (29 species of Borrelia)
Borrelia afzelli
Borrelia andersonii
Borrelia ansernia
Borrelia barbouri
Borrelia bisettii
Borrelia burgdorferi
Borrelia caucasica
Borrelia crocidurae
Borrelia garinii
Borrelia hermsii
Borrelia hispanica
Borrelia japonica
Borrelia latyschewii
Borrelia lonestari
Borrelia lusitaniae
Borrelia lymphocytoma
(20 species of Bartonella)
Bartonella alsatica
Bartonella bacilliformis
Bartonella birtlesii
Bartonella capreoli
Bartonella chomelii
Bartonella clarridgiae
Bartonella doshiae
Bartonella elizabethae
Bartonella grahamii
Borrelia mazzotti
Borrelia miyamotoi
Borrelia mylophora
Borrelia parkeri
Borrelia persica
Borrelia recurrentis
Borrelia sinica
Borrelia spielmani
Borrelia tanukii
Borrelia theileri
Borrelia tillae
Borrelia turicatae
Borrelia Valaisiana
Bartonella peromysci
Bartonella quintana
Bartonella schoebuchensis
Bartonella talpae
Bartonella taylorii
Bartonella tribocorum
Bartonella vinsonii
Bartonella washoensis
Bartonella weissii
Bartonella henselae
Bartonella koehlerae
(19 species of Babesia)
Babesia bigemina
Babesia bovis
Babesia caballi
Babesia canis
Babesia cati
Babesia divergens
Babesia duncani
Babesia equis
Babesia felis
Babesia gibsoni
Babesia herpailuri
Babesia jakimovi
Babesia major
Babesia microti
Babesia motasi
Babesia ovis
Babesia perroncitoi
Babesia trautmanni
Babesia vogeli
(6 species of Ehrlichia plus Coxsiella together)
Ehrlichia canis
Ehrlichia risticii
Ehrlichia chaffeensis
Ehrlichia sennetsu
Ehrlichia equi
Coxsiella burneti
These are all dead bacterial specimens that are provided initially in a stock mixture together and then
that mixture is diluted out to the relevant treatment doses. There are no preservatives or other
substances mixed with the samples or added to the dilutions. The dilutions are made simply with
sterile water.
The most commonly effective treatment doses with the Lyme mixture seem to be 7C, 8C, 9C; but
many patients still flare at these dilutions because they are more sensitive. I have had to go as weak
as 13C for a couple Lyme patients. I have needed to go as strong as 5C for a couple folks as well. This
creates a ten-quadrillion-fold difference between ends of that spectrum. The best indicator of dose
requirement is how ill and fragile the patient is. The sicker and more sensitive to treatments the
patient is, the weaker you should start. I am now sending practitioners only a 5C vial, from which you
must make all your own further dilutions; it is too complicated to send every possibly treatment
dilution for this.
With the right dose for the right patient, we have had some see improvements literally within
minutes. Nerve pain, tremors, and limb dysfunction have objectively improved before patients left
the office. It
is much more typical that symptoms will begin to improve the next day, or possibly as far out as 5-7
days after injection.
If the dose given is too strong for the patient, their symptoms (whatever effects they tend to have
from their Lyme disease) will typically flare upwithin 24-48 hours. These flares sometimes last just a
few days, followed by dramatic improvement from their baseline or possibly just a return to their
baseline. In other cases they have persisted greater than two weeks. I suggest prescribing
Prednisone 20-60mg daily and tapering down over 1-2 weeks if someone has a bad flare; that seems
to work.
Dose Selection Approach:
A moving target! Initially Dr. Vincent suggested a starting dose between 6c and 12c and as of
February of this year established that a dose titration system works well. In other words, start at a
weaker dose (10 or 12c) and then decrease weekly until the patient experiences improvement in
symptoms. As he is now treating over the phone his starting dose is 20c (a truly homeopathic dose of
the antigen). As is his style – things are pretty loose when it comes to dosing but the goal is either
slight worsening followed by improvement or simply improvement. As those with Lyme know there
are rarely 2 days alike when it comes to symptoms so determining improvement or a flare is
challenging to say the least. As I am gaining experience with this treatment it is becoming more
obvious to me when I have settled on the right dose. I am also starting to use the Vega machine to
help me determine dose with some individuals.
He now allows for boosters within the 7 weeks but not a repeat of the dose that was initially
responded to.
Route of Adminstration:
Either intradermal or sublingual is acceptable.
Response:
Clinical experience to date has yielded results in more than 90% of patients with confirmed or
clinically suspected Lyme, probably closer to 95-98%. Many of our patients had negative tests and
the majority have had no testing at all, because the tests are frankly a waste of money.
We now use the LDI itself as our “diagnostic test”. Through the use of this technique we have
completely stopped using antibiotics or other bactericidal methods with these patients; we have
found there are many different manifestations of this disease process in different individuals.
The initial response has often been a flare; but we are putting a stop to that with the dose titration
technique. Many patients have been severely afflicted, to the point of disability; and they have in
many cases achieved complete symptom resolution once we’ve found the right dose.
Other conditions for which to consider using the Lyme mixture:
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)
- Inflammatory arthritis, NOS
- Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue
- Autism and ASD conditions
- Bell’s palsy
- Trigeminal neuralgia or burning mouth
- Unexplained Tremors
- Epilepsy
I have tried it myself in some of these, and it is sheer speculation in others. There is no harm in trying
the antigen as an experiment. If the patient does not have the organisms, nothing will happen to
them.