This is an answer to a recent email:

My daily regimen has changed over the years, and now I take somewhere between 150 – 200 pills/day. (daunting, I know) I didn’t start taking them all at once. As a matter of fact, in 2005 -2007 I took none, as I went Macrobiotic. That worked for a while, then I had to make changes. So, yes, I think you should take supplements, but I would start one at a time, and give each a few days to see how you react, before starting another. I have a history of stomach aches and fibromyalgia-type pain. The best test (for me) is the blood test. That tells the real score. I do think, in fact I know that many of the supplements I take are crucial to my health. I will attach a list of what I’m taking now.

Keep in mind (I don’t mean this to be difficult, it’s just the reality) what works for me might not work for you.  I’ve been trying to copy what the others have done to get well, and it hasn’t quite worked for me yet.  But, still, we can learn from each other, on a trial and error basis. That is the good side of slow-going CLL.  I did try Beta Glucan for a while, and it did no harm, and no good.  Many of the supps that frightened me turned out to be good for me.  For instance, I’ve read, somewhere, that people with CLL should not take immune boosting supplements, like echinachea. So I stayed away from them.  Now I take Elderberry, Peak Immune, Olive Leaf (and I’m sure more, but they don’t come to mind). They’ve only helped and not hurt me at all! So give them a try. Just get your blood tested frequently enough so that you can stop taking something before it harms you.  I’ve found that if I stop a supplement, I get right back to stable.

Vitamin D!!!! One supplement you should 100% take, because it WILL help you is vitamin D.  Take 10,000IU a day, get your D levels tested (blood test) and don’t worry about taking too much until you’re over 100. I was at 13 or 19 when first tested (don’t really remember) and my last one was 89.something.  But this is vital. And look that one up. There is a lot of literature about how vitamin D is beneficial for cancer in general and CLL specifically.  This is a big one. You will improve if you take vitamin D.

I recommend what you can buy at Life Extension, the 5000 IU soft gel, and also I love Twinlabs Allergy D product, even thought the dosage is tiny. I take 5 of those a day and the rest in more concentrated pills. (I’ve started recently taking vit D 5000 IU in drops from Premier Labs, but haven’t tested since starting).

Below is my most recently typed Supplement list:

First Morning

Wheatgrass Juice (not pill, the real deal)

Armour Thyroid 15mg

Proteolytic Enzymes 3 pills

Colostrum Prime by Surthrival 1 or 2 pills

Probiotic

Currently Garden of Life or Ohira

(I change this up frequently)

Breakfast

Vit D3 5000 IU Premier Research Labs drops (or Life Extension soft gels)

Ubiquinol 200mg

Krill Oil 667 mg

Astaxanthin 4mg (one pill)

B-17 500mg (laetrile) tjsupply.com

Primrose Oil 1300mg Now brand

Curcumin 500mg

Vit E tocotrienol 1

Reduced Glutathione 250mg

Allimax 1

Olive Leaf 800mg

Pau D’Arco two pills

1 pill Premier Labs Digestive Enzymes

Premier HCL three pills (after each meal)

Biotin 1000mg

Biosil 1

Change O Life 1

Peak Immune 1

Amino Acid Complex 1

L Glutamine 1

Hemp Hearts three heaping tablespoons

Lunch

Calcium Citrate 400mg total

D3 Allergy D Twinlab  5 pills 200IU total

Magnesium Glycinate 200mg

Zinc Carnoisne (Gastric Soothe) 2 pills (have been out of this)

B-17 laetrile 500mg

Selenium 400mcg

Primrose Oil 1300mg

Thyroid Energy by Now 2 pills

B-Complex 1 pill

Glucosamine by Farrow 1 pill

Garlic by Solaray 1 pill

Elderberry 450mg

Pau D’Arco 2100mg

1 pill Premier Labs Digestive Enzymes

Premier HCL three pills (after each meal)

Biotin 1000mg

Change O Life 1 pill

Peak Immune 1 pill

Amino Acid Complex KAL 1 pill

Triphala 1 pill

L Glutamine 1 pill

Dinner

D3 2000mg

B17 500mg

Primrose Oil 1300 mg

K2 MK7 1 pill

Curcumin 500mg

Perfect Iron 2 pills total 100mg Carbonyl Iron

Vit C 1000 mg

Energyzing Iron 1 or 2 pills

Bioflavinoid 1000mg

Garlic 600mg

Olive Leaf 800mg

Pau D’Arco 2100mg

1 pill Premier Labs Digestive Enzymes

Premier HCL three pills (after each meal)

Biotin 1000 mg

Change O life 1 pill

Peak Immune 1 pill

Amino Acid 1 pill

L Glutamine Premier 1 pill

Bedtime

Protelytic Enzymes  working up to pills

Peak Immune 1 pill

Probiotic (switch it out, currently Ohira or Garden of Life)

Magnesium Glycinate 200mg