Birth of a Graphic - on Retinoid Toxicity and Fibromyalgia, via thyroid and liver dysfunction.

*From a post earlier this year.

I posted this graphic in August, feeling like it was a sizeable breakthrough, but I don’t think there was much response. Actually, there are 18 Likes on the post which is pretty good for me. (Substack)

Liver injury & comorbid fibromyalgia, by way of Retinoid Toxicity; also autoimmune thyroiditis

I like my graphic - a 16-page document in one graphic, roughly. Feedback desired - does it make sense? Or is it too busy?

. . . Do you like it better than a 16-page* document? ;-) *random number.

Lack of Antioxidant → Inflammatory Spiral of Damage: Thyroid → Liver → Chronic Fatigue and Pain. (deNutrients.Substack)

The full story or the early development of it, and reference list is in my pomegranate paper, of which I have two versions -

• The later full version, longer Reference List and Tables is here: ‘Pomegranate Products for the Pain of Histamine Excess.’ last update April 9, 2024, Copyright Jennifer Depew, RD (Pom pdf in my sync file) This version has more focus on pomegranate, and also a long section on how it protects against the chimeric spike and SARS-CoV2.*

• The early version was more focused on the histamine excess and ME/CFS story. ‘Pomegranate, TRP channels, nociceptive pain and endocannabinoids’. 10/13/22, (transcendingsquare.com)

  • *Aside, Dear ‘No virus’ community, computer sequencing and generation of transmissible particles does exist, and can cause illness, even if it didn’t really cause a pandemic.

*My pomegranate paper needs an update as I have since learned that Retinoid Toxicity can be really due to a lack of zinc, taurine and protein or other nutrients needed to de-activate the excess of active retinoids. And a case of “Vitamin A deficiency” that is diagnosed based on a blood test, might really be due to a lack of protein or lack of zinc causing an inability to make the protein transport chemicals that are needed to carry retinoids around the body like taxicabs or a little police cars - holding the active Retinoids under control until needed. The liver might have an excess of retinoids while the blood seems deficient.

• See: ‘How can vitamin A deficiency and excess cause the same symptoms?’ That is believed to be what happens, BUT, the symptoms might really be caused by zinc, protein and taurine deficiency instead. Read more: (denutrients.substack)

Pomegranate peel, and/or niacin and butyrate, can block the spiral of escalating damage. This earlier graphic has the solution to the Positive Feedback Loop of Hyperinflammation (lack of antioxidants can be a precursor, but also can result from a sudden increase in stressors).

Graphical Abstract for my Pomegranate Paper. (Substack) (Full paper: Pom pdf in my sync file)

Updated Pomegranate Peel Prep graphic, birthday today, (This one is much nicer than my original. I also updated the post):

New and improved graphic for this post: (Substack)

Why is Retinoid Toxicity as a cause of Fibromyalgia, (or ME/CFS), relevant to post CoV era?

Viral infection from Epstein-Barr virus or SARS-CoV-2 may have caused a gene change in the liver which leaves the person over-activating vitamin A and carotenoids to the active Retinoid forms - for the rest of life roughly.

The solution is both simple and hard - extremely restrict intake of vitamin A and carotenoid foods - roughly for the rest of life. Liver and onions - tomato sauce on anything, carrots in soup or salad, the deep green salad or steamed greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes, dairy products, and many more common foods are good sources of vitamin A or carotenoid precursors.

Fibromyalgia-like symptoms are frequent in the Long Covid community - 30% in an online survey:

Could Long COVID be a Subtype of Fibromyalgia?,

by Cort Johnson, Mar 15, 2023,

“I think people are pretty familiar with the idea that long COVID could be a subtype of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) but fibromyalgia? Not so much. In fact, we’ve hardly heard anything about a possible connection between FM and long COVID. The third most common musculoskeletal condition, FM reportedly affects from 2–3% of the world’s population – making it a huge cause of pain and suffering – yet despite its considerable symptom overlap with long COVID, it’s largely been absent from the discussion around long COVID.” […]

“While we don’t tend to think of FM as a post-infectious disorder, numerous cases of it developing in conjunction in with a pathogen (Giardia, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), parvovirus, or Epstein–Barr virus) have been reported.

Study Shows That Fibromyalgia is a Post-infectious Disease Too”

Read more: (healthrising.org).

ME/CFS also is likely to involve Retinoid Toxicity and may be a post-infectious disease. The virus may cause a gene change in an enzyme that activates vitamin A to active Retinoids which may support viral replication by promoting maturation of epithelial cells, in which the EBV can grow, or endothelial cells, in which SARS-CoV-2 can grow.

Potential causal reasons for Retinoid Toxicity include:

(1) Viral infections; (2) high dietary intake, *Carnivore Dieters are seeing this; (3) overuse of Retinoid medications, *the main body of research is on this cause; (4) liver injury due to trauma or medications or vaccine injury, *a newer line of research; and (5) the graphic’s Spiral of lack of antioxidants > thyroiditis > liver injury & Retinoid excess.

1. Fibromyalgia or ME/CFS may follow some viral infections such as Epstein-Barr virus or SARS-CoV-2, as signaling by active Retinoids to increase endothelial or epithelial cell maturation may support the viral replication cycle. Chronic fatigue syndrome following EBV infections may really be chronic overactivation of Retinoids, which causes flu-like symptoms - chronically trying to fight an infection that had occurred long ago - but left a gene change in the liver enzymes.

   1. ‘New Clinical Phenotype of the Post-Covid Syndrome: Fibromyalgia and Joint Hypermobility Condition’. (Gavrilova, et al., 2022)

2. Carnivore Dieters have been bumping into Retinoid Toxicity as Liver consumption increased among some of them. Liver has high enough levels of active retinoids that regular consumption can lead to dietary toxicity.

   1. Retinoic acid & toxicity - dosing - how much is too much for normal health?

      “Even in normal health, regularly eating too much active vitamin A foods such as liver or Cod liver oil, may lead to toxicity symptoms.” […] “There is an estimated 12,120 mcg of Vitamin A in 100 grams (about 3 ounces) of goat liver curry. (1)” […] “More than 10,000 mcg daily over time may be too much, and lead to symptoms that might include: Bone thinning, Liver damage, Headache, Diarrhea, Nausea, Skin irritation, Pain in the joints and bone, [and] Birth defects." (4)” Read more: (Substack)

3. Anti-acne or anti-aging medications or cancer treatments can lead to Retinoid Toxicity (RT) from the retinoid medication. Medication-related RT is what the body of medical research on the topic is focused on. Vaccine or liver injury or viral infection as a cause of Retinoid Toxicity are newer, cutting-edge researchers - few in number still.

4. A damaged liver leading to Retinoid Toxicity may be an underlying causal factor of negative symptoms following a traumatic injury, or from withdrawal or an adverse reaction to a drug or a vaccine injury.

   1. Psychiatric drugs are frequent causes of akathisia, negative reactions, but other drugs like benzodiazepine can cause negative changes that continue after stopping use of the drug. — It seems to involve histamine excess and Retinoid Toxicity. A low histamine diet and mast cell inhibiting pomegranate and niacin might help.

5. Liver injury due to Lack of Antioxidants > thyroiditis > Liver Injury & Retinoids > Fibromyalgia or ME/CFS like symptoms > worse lack of antioxidants > spiraling into increased risk for Cancer and Alzheimer’s dementia. (*POTS symptoms may also be part of this cycle and can be reversible as methylation cycle function is restored and epigenetic changes are reversed. That is a different post/story.) See graphic for the Lack of Antioxidant/thyroiditis/Liver injury spiral of increasing Retinoid toxicity damage. Retinoid excess can cause liver, kidney and brain damage, in addition to increasing cancer risk over time.

Lack of antioxidants leads to an inflammatory spiral of increasing damage: first thyroiditis can lead to liver injury and elevated activated Retinoids, which leads to fibromyalgia flu-like retinoid response, which may also be seen in ME/CFS, and the ongoing inflammation worsens the lack of antioxidants and increasing organ damage and can lead towards cancer and/or Alzheimer’s dementia. ‘Liver Injury & Comorbid Fibromyalgia?’, (Substack)

Insider peek at my work process. This was my first draft at the graphic, on a Logo Template. I started over with a different, larger, Presentation Template, on Canva.com, unaffiliated endorsement:

First draft graphic. Needs more space.

Reducing other inflammatory things is also a need, whether part of the modern lifestyle, standard diet toxins or personal diet sensitivities and personal stress load. (Substack)

Hyperinflammation - a Positive Feedback Loop leading to Alzheimer’s dementia? *This post goes into more detail about the bullet points. This is the list of negative, inflammatory things. Roughly do the opposite of this graphic. (Substack)

This post has an early version of my pomegranate/niacin graphic.

Hyperinflammation - a positive feedback loop leading to Alzheimer's?

Disclaimer: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

Reference List

(Gavrilova, et al., 2022) Gavrilova, N., Soprun, L., Lukashenko, M., Ryabkova, V., Fedotkina, T., Чурилов, Л., Shoenfeld, Y., (2022). New Clinical Phenotype of the Post-Covid Syndrome: Fibromyalgia and Joint Hypermobility Condition. Pathophysiology. 29. 24-29. 10.3390/pathophysiology29010003. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357964953_New_Clinical_Phenotype_of_the_Post-Covid_Syndrome_Fibromyalgia_and_Joint_Hypermobility_Condition