Covid-19: ‘I believe my recovery was thanks to Ivermectin’
Philippa said that she was one of the lucky ones.
Within 48 hours of taking Ivermectin, Philippa Makepeace (68) of Port Edward no longer had any Covid-19 symptoms.
“For the first time in 19 days, I had no nausea, no headache, no body ache, no diarrhoea. It was like a miracle,” she said.
Philippa said that she was one of the lucky ones.
“I woke up on December 26 with a raging sore throat. I went to my GP who sent me for a Covid test. From that point my life became a cascade of Covid symptoms. My body ached so badly I struggled to get comfortable.”
She said it became routine to take two Panado tablets every four hours just to get through the day.
As her nausea was constant and unrelenting, she could not eat anything.
Philippa’s live-in domestic worker refused to leave and watched over her.
“She cooked porridge and stood over me to make sure I ate at least three spoonfuls.”
Friends supported Philippa as she lay curled up in bed and slept fretfully for 20 hours in a day.
“It was a nightmare that I hopefully believed I would wake up from. Each day dawned as awful as the one just gone.”
For 10 days she endured total self-imposed isolation as she became weaker and sicker.
Friends called an ambulance but there were no hospital beds available on the South Coast at the time, so she returned to her bed at home.
At the same time, Philippa had been following the furore on social media about Ivermectin.
“A friend arrived at my house and gave me a dose of this controversial product. I was already convinced of its credibility and history of over 40 years. I was so sick I was grateful to take it.”
For two weeks since, Philippa has been well, aside from fatigue and low blood pressure.
“I believe my recovery was thanks to Ivermectin. I now look at my life differently and treasure my friends, my family, my home and all the simple things that make me happy. My brush with Covid has been a cathartic experience and I am so grateful that I survived.”
Philippa is not the only South Coaster who has used Ivermectin.
When Rudi Bense (56) of Margate recently contracted Covid-19, he initially took medicines he bought at a pharmacy to treat his symptoms.
However, he did not feel any better. “I couldn’t talk without coughing and I struggled to breathe.”
As he had heard about Ivermectin from friends, he purchased it in Port Shepstone.
“It was in liquid form and I drank it 2ml at a time. I took five doses over 10 days,” said Rudi.
However, as he felt he was not getting any better, he consulted a doctor.
When he informed the doctor that he had taken Ivermectin, he was told that the dosage he had taken had killed the virus.
According to Rudi, once he started taking medicines prescribed by the doctor, he felt better.
“I have recovered but I am not a 100 percent, I am still a little weak.”
He believes his use of Ivermectin, along with the doctor’s prescription, helped him on the road to recovery.
Social media has been flooded with anecdotal evidence of the ‘wonders of ivermectin in the treatment of Covid-19.
However, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAPHRA) has stated that Ivermectin used for the treatment and control of parasites in animals has not been approved for use in humans and that there is no confirmatory data available as yet, for its use in the management of Covid-19 infections.
Also, the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19 in a recent memo to the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize advised until more robust evidence is available, the routine use of Ivermectin for either the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 is not justified.
Meanwhile, the University of Free State (UFS) is in the process of preparing a clinical trial protocol to determine the efficacy of Ivermectin for Covid-19 in a randomised controlled study to submit it for approval to the relevant national regulatory authority.
The study is being undertaken by FARMOVS, a wholly owned clinical research company at UFS, along with several medical and scientific experts at the university.
They remain supportive and committed to contributing to the development of treatments and treatment strategies to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The UFS is committed to rigorous science and evidence-based research, and both FARMOVS and the university fully support the published opinions and guidelines of the SAHPRA and the scientific advisory boards established by the scientific community, as well as the stance of the South African government on Ivermectin for Covid-19,” said the university in a statement this week.
A court battle is also on the cards, after AfriForum filed an urgent application on Monday this week against the SAHPRA and Dr Mkhize to ensure that Ivermectin developed for human consumption is available to doctors who want to prescribe it to treat Covid-19.
“Ivermectin is listed by the World Health Organisation as an essential medicine, and it has been proven safe – also in children. Studies undertaken in among others the US, Argentina, India, Egypt and Spain all show that Ivermectin has the potential to treat Covid-19 and reduce deaths. The balance between risk and benefit is evident; this is why we are taking these steps to ensure its availability,” said Barend Uys, AfriForum’s Head of Research.
Earlier this month, a Durban doctor, Dr Naseeba Kathrada, in a petition signed by a number of healthcare professionals appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to set up a special council for a rapid review of Ivermectin.
But the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said the medical community must await guidance from the SAPHRA before using Ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19.
“We understand the desperation for an easy and effective treatment,” said Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of SAMA.
However, she said, despite all the hype around Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19, convincing clinical evidence is yet to emerge from current trials.
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