"Now working full time and jogging and hiking" - Oxaloacetate CFS Review

We're so grateful to Reddit user "lldw01" for sharing their daughter's in-depth experience with Oxaloacetate CFS. In a comment on a 2022 pilot study of Oxaloacetate CFS published by the Journal of Translational Medicine. They detail significant improvements in mobility, independence, pain levels, work ability, socializing and communal life, including freedom from the need for a mobility scooter. 

lldw01:
Oxaloacetate helped our adult daughter who has ME CFS. In August 2022, she started taking 2000 mg oxaloacetate a day (2 x 500 mg tablets, twice per day). She started because she was curious about the study at https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-022-03488-3.

For her at least, she found that oxaloacetate helped her symptoms considerably. It had a dramatic positive effect on her muscle pain, fatigue and brain fog. My personal notes (written in October 2022) are below. Sorry if too detailed.

So far (as at October 2023) the benefits are continuing and she has not suffered any side effects. She is now working full time and leading close to a normal life. She is even jogging and hiking in the hills. She decided to continue the treatment as long as possible. Unfortunately the treatment is expensive which puts it beyond the means of many CFS sufferers. I'm hoping it will come down in price in future. She may also try and reduce the dose. I understand that there are more ongoing studies in oxaloacetate but I haven't seen the results yet. I am very curious what these larger trials will show.

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Mobility

Before: would only leave house every 2-3 days; needed to use mobility scooter for shopping; sometimes needed wheelchair when out with partner; used priority seats on bus and took taxis; unable to drive; sometimes became confused/disorientated when out alone; worried about becoming stranded; unable to fly alone

Now: leaves house 1-2 times a day; walks to supermarket/library and carries things back home; no longer uses mobility scooter or wheelchair; confident travelling alone; studying for driving licence; able to fly alone and navigate airports

Exercise

Before: needed to use stick after walking 5-10 minutes; needed hand rail to climb stairs;

Now: can walk for more than 1 hour without stick; able to climb several flights of stairs without handrail; doing physio and building up physical fitness

Cognition

Before: only able to read simple text on a Kindle with very large font settings; maximum 10 minutes reading; struggled with forms and administration; emotional setbacks would exhaust her for the day; unable to work or study

Now: able to read normal font size for several hours; able to read demanding books (e.g., mathematic texts); able to study for several hours per day; able to do administration; able to deal with stress and negative events

Pain

Before: stabbing pains; sore shoulders, back, legs, joints; also, nausea, dizziness and balance issues

Now: still some pain but all above symptoms significantly reduced

Daily routine

Before: needed 10 hours sleep but still exhausted when waking; needed several hours to shower and recover from shower; struggled to do basic house keeping and admin tasks; if she attempted too much, then she would have an energy crash and need to recover for one or more days

Now: 8 hours sleep is enough and feels more rested when waking; shower without rest needed after and enough energy to do hair, makeup and get dressed; energy to do tasks and eat regular meals; able to handle multiple events/tasks per day; no crashes since start of treatment

Social life

Before: needed to restrict social contact due to energy level; sometimes had to cancel social appointments

Now: has increased social events; sometimes has multiple social contacts per day; can stay out longer

**Oxaloacetate CFS is a Medical Food intended for use under medical supervision, for the specific dietary management of ME/CFS.