Joey and Sonya Contreras
Joey and Sonya Contreras are longtime friends of Dr. Aardsma. Their eldest son is married to Dr. Aardsma’s youngest daughter. Joey and Sonya are financial investors in ARP.
Joey: 53 years old; start date 16 OCT 2017.
29 October 2017; 2 drops daily.
Has always slept well without problem; usually gets 5–7 hours sleep. Now wakes up after about 5 hours of sleep, around 3:00–3:30 AM ready for the day for past 5 days. Unable to get back to sleep. Feels rested and not unusually tired or sleepy throughout the day.
After doing a heavier than normal leg workout 9 days ago, his legs started to feel a little sore the next morning. This resolved after few hours and did not recur; his legs normally feel sore 1–2 days after that type of workout.
He has been intentionally working out harder all muscle groups with heavier weights past week, but gets very little soreness, if any.
Appetite still very good. Basically, no change, but has gained 4 pounds.
26 November 2017; first 2 weeks 2 drops daily; 3 drops daily since.
Sleeping 4–5 hours, feeling refreshed and energetic. I plan my early morning and late evening hours differently since I have the energy and motivation to work, study, read more.
Biggest change I’ve noticed is my ability to push myself during weight workouts. Difficult to describe, but when I tell myself to push a little harder, my body responds easily and I am able to perform the exercise with more weights and repetitions. I have been trying to remember if this is what it felt like in my teens and 20’s.
I have rarely run the past 1.5 years, almost nothing. My 2 mile time for the Army Physical Fitness Test was 15:40. (Still in the Army 90th percentile for my age.) My Army 2 mile May 2017 was 15:23. I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving Day, my average 1 mile pace was 7:51, the winner in my age category 50–54 pace was 6:21, age 54. Same as the weights though, my body and mind responded well to push myself.
21 February 2018; 3 drops daily.
Continues to feel rested and energetic on 5–7 hours sleep. Most significant change is not just increased energy, but is motivated to do the task at hand. Often wake up at 3:30–4:00 AM and get to work, either Bible study/sermon preparation, business planning, working out. Not tired or sleepy throughout the day.
Had worst cough and cold in past 25 years or more December 2017, lasted 3 weeks. Treated with over the counter cough/cold medication; did not miss work.
Been driving to Army drill for about 19 years. Typical Army weekend involves leaving home Friday about midnight after 1–2 hours sleep, drives 4 hours, arrives at mother’s house, eats, changes, arrives at unit 6:30 AM Saturday. Gets to sleep about 9:00 PM same evening, averaging 1–2 hours of sleep in a 36–41 hour span. Drives 4.5 hours to get home Sunday evening between 9:00–12:00 very tired. Works next day. Comes home from work, eats dinner, goes directly to sleep. Usually takes 2–3 days to recover.
Since starting vitamin MePA, fatigue and feeling tired is all but gone during an Army weekend. Gets to unit refreshed, drives home wide-awake with much energy. Upon arrival at home Sunday night is usually wide-awake. No recovery needed. No caffeine is involved, except ice tea at times.
16 Sep 2018 Update; 4 drops (8 micrograms MePA) daily.
When Joey e-mailed the following update he wrote, “I am so thankful that my prostate symptoms have basically resolved. Many thanks! My brother, Albee, has had similar results.”
From about age 51 (currently I am 54) I started having symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). Pre-vitamin MePA, my score was 14 points, signifying moderate BPH. Post-vitamin MePA, my score is 3 points, signifying mild BPH. (See the American Urology Association BPH Symptom Score questionnaire at urologix.com [select the menu item About BPH, then BPH Symptom Score Test] for severity index and definitions.)
Pre-vitamin MePA, the main symptoms, affecting me daily, were urgency, frequency and dribbling. Incomplete bladder emptying was also a problem, but not as severe. I discussed these symptoms with my primary care provider early on, but I decided not to take any medications. The symptoms progressively worsened and were interfering with my Quality of Life (QoL). I had to plan what, when and how much I would drink, taking into consideration how close the nearest bathroom or gas station was. Still I declined any treatment.
Five months after starting vitamin MePA (by mid-March 2018; I was taking 3 drops daily at the time) I noticed, over several days, that these symptoms were at least 50% improved. I do not know if the improvements occurred quickly or slowly, but my BPH symptoms were definitely better. By early April 2018 all BPH symptoms were basically resolved.
On 01 May 2018, I intentionally decreased vitamin MePA from 3 to 2 drops daily to monitor any changes to BPH symptoms, energy level and sleep quality. On 11 May, my BPH symptoms recurred, but were mild. Over the next 2 days my symptoms returned to pre-vitamin MePA severity. My energy level and my speed while running, which had improved very much since starting the vitamin, slowly decreased. BPH symptoms continued to worsen, so on 15 May I started taking 4 drops daily. BPH symptoms slowly decreased and by 01 June they had returned to minimal. It took about 1 week for energy level, running and speed to return. I did not notice any change in sleep quality during time of taking 2 drops daily.
BPH symptoms intermittently recur, but never to pre-vitamin MePA severity. These recurrences last 1-3 days about once monthly. I consistently take the vitamin daily about the same time every morning and have never missed a dose. I have not noticed any similar brief recurrences in other areas, such as energy level, sleep quality or workout energy.
Sonya: 54 years old; start date 16 OCT 2017.
29 October 2017; 2 drops daily.
Sleeping more soundly for about 1 week. She noted she does not wake up when I leave for work. This is very unusual, she always was up to see me off. She has never been a sound sleeper.
Her appetite decreased; she does not enjoy Pepsi anymore. She normally has a Pepsi every morning.
Her last menstruation was JUL 2017, but started feeling “odd” several days ago, then started a very minimal menstruation 2 days ago. The “odd” feeling was the same feeling she would get a few days prior to menstruation.
She had menopausal hot flashes for the past month or more. They spontaneously resolved 3–4 days ago. (She is happy the hot flashes resolved, but is hoping her menstruation does not recur.)
Significant daily hand/finger joint pain for many years resolved 1 week ago.
Cramping in hands past 3–4 months, worse when playing piano or writing for long periods, resolved 1 week ago.
No change in long time (years) low back pain.
Dr. Aardsma asked Sonya to elaborate more on her sleep changes.
4 November 2017; by Sonya Contreras.
Prior to vitamin MePA, I would shut down by 8 PM, yawning, unable to concentrate or function. Now I don’t even notice when it’s late (10 PM).
I do still wake up like an alarm’s been set at 1–2 AM and can work till 5 AM. When I go back to “rest” for a while, before I would hear the boys and Joey get up for work, so I could make sure they had lunches, etc. Now I don’t even hear them leave. When I “rest” during the day, before, I could lie down for 10 minutes to get over the “overwhelming, not able-to-function” feeling. My rest would be just rest, not sleep. Now I fall asleep and don’t sense what’s going on around me, (which I don’t like—I’ve burnt the meat 3 times because I’ve slept too long and didn’t smell it).
So I sleep more soundly, unaware of my surroundings. And I don’t need as much sleep.
26 November 2017; 2 drops daily.
Continues to sleep soundly. Feels less tired during the day. Able to be awake and alert past 8 PM without problem. Previously could not stay up past 8 PM without being extremely tired during the evening and the next day. Now she wakes up rested even staying up past 10 PM.
Her appetite decreased, but gained 10 pounds.
She saw our family doctor, who I told about vitamin MePA, to make sure uterine cancer was not causing the vaginal bleeding. “Spotting.”
Pelvic and vaginal ultrasound showed no masses, but endometrium was a little thick at 13mm, normal is 10mm or less. Doctor is not concerned, but will retest in JAN 2018; if no change will do an endometrial biopsy to rule out cancer.
No return of hot flashes, though mild pre-menstrual symptoms recurred this month without any bleeding/spotting. Doctor thinks she may still be peri-menopausal.
Significant daily hand/finger joint pain for many years has not recurred.
Long time (years) low back pain is better; rarely needs to take pain medication.
She takes over-the-counter ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
21 February 2018; 2 drops daily.
Continues to sleep well and feel energetic. She had the kitchen remodeled. Contractor did the skilled work; Sonya and the boys did the rest. She said prior to the vitamin she would not have had the energy to do the work, especially painting the ceilings.
She is willing and motivated to do more. Prior to the vitamin she felt “like I was shutting down.”
(The Anti-Aging Vitamins – MePA and MePiA)
November 2019
We continue taking Dr. Aardsma’s supplement. My need for pain medicine is gone. J’s headaches are gone. Energy and motivation have returned to work on projects— like decluttering. Other issues too many to elaborate here continue to improve.
The thread between aging symptoms and its cure continues to unfold.