Who administers

Dissemination work that has always been 100% voluntary and always will be

Former pharmaceutical industry marketing executive with over 10 years of experience in the sector and a patient of Dr. Cícero Coimbra for 17 years.

Her work in disseminating information about this treatment - which has now been active for 17 years on social media - has remained completely independent and as voluntary work, as an expression of gratitude for her recovery from multiple sclerosis.

All content published here is the exclusive responsibility of its author and there are no links with the doctors of the Coimbra Protocol.

Photo of the admin, the voice of the Coimbra Protocol in Spanish.

My name is Yara, I am from São Paulo, Brazil, and I have been a patient of Dr. Cícero Coimbra for 17 years. When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, my world collapsed. At that moment, I had no reference about the disease, and the doctors who gave me the diagnosis were not very careful: they told me that there were spinal cord lesions that would possibly leave me paraplegic in a few years and that, due to lesions in the optic nerve, I could lose my vision.

As I had worked for many years as a marketing executive in the pharmaceutical industry, as soon as I was prescribed Solu-Medrol and cyclophosphamide (chemotherapy) at the beginning of the conventional treatment, followed by daily injections of Copaxone, I realized that my prospects were not favorable.

Something was pushing me and telling me that my life would not end there. I could not handle the keyboard well due to lack of motor coordination and spasticity in my hands, but after a few days of searching, I found Dr. Cícero Coimbra on Google. At that time there were no social networks, only a small group of patients on Yahoo Groups.

I spent three months studying scientific articles (with the little concentration I had left) and talking with some people in this group. I decided to schedule an appointment with him and, from that moment on, a sunny future began to shine on my horizon. Tears come to my eyes as I write this, remembering Dr. Cícero in the first consultation: "Yara, the nightmare is over. In a few months, you will have your life back."

With the Coimbra Protocol, on my own, I abandoned Copaxone (an injection for multiple sclerosis) in the first month of treatment with Dr. Cícero, more than 17 years ago. As you can see in the first photo below, I had horrible reactions to the daily injection, equivalent to a bee sting every day; I could no longer even find a position to lie down.

I always cried at the time of application because the pain was intense; I felt the liquid penetrating every cell of my body. I had tachycardia, a feeling of suffocation, and my blood pressure would rise. I lived in bed, with unbearable fatigue and very strong vertigo (like falling in an elevator shaft, but backwards and with everything spinning), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had tingling all over my body, cramps, lack of motor coordination in my left leg and arm, horrible spasms, trigeminal neuralgia, speech problems, spasticity in the legs, etc. (I could go on until 2035 describing the symptoms).

Because of corticosteroids and eating disorders, I had gained so much weight that I no longer recognized myself. I no longer cared; I was without prospects, and the only thing on my mind was appointing a legal representative to decide for me in a not very distant future, considering what the doctors told me at the time of diagnosis: that multiple sclerosis could cause brain atrophy, that is, dementia. In the photos on the left of the montage below, I had spasms and could not hold the weight of my own head.

Returning to the phrase that Dr. Cícero told me in the first consultation, that is what happened. After 7 months, I began to improve and recover from the sequelae. Little by little, in a very slow process. Between the patient in the first photo and the patient in the last photo, many years passed. There is more than a decade between these photos.

My recovery was not magical; on the contrary, it was extremely tough.

I had to cross a desert of physical pain, cramps, dizziness, tingling, muscle weakness, doubts, uncertainties, and much more. I fell many times, cried and cried. I thought I was not going to achieve anything. But I did not give up and continued with the exercises, within my possibilities.

There is no magical solution or miraculous cures.

My role in spreading the treatment is to transmit realistic expectations, because there are no magical treatments and medicine is not an exact science (1+1=2). Vitamin D does not work like an analgesic, with immediate effects, and only the doctor can evaluate the conditions of each patient and, in a frank conversation, consider a range of possibilities. There is no miraculous cure; there is adherence to the treatment, and this even requires stress management and physical activity (each within their possibilities). This needs to be emphasized in my testimony.

To reinforce the idea: there are no medical treatments that in a few months give us back everything we have accumulated over the years. When we look at people who have succeeded with these diseases, we will ALWAYS find a story of overcoming. Always. And as far as I know, overcoming requires a lot of effort - I am talking about physiotherapy, when necessary. Psychological support, when necessary. Changing the emotional response to life problems in order to manage cortisol. Cleaner eating. In short, lifestyle changes.

The approach in the treatment of a patient with serious illnesses, with sequelae, implies multiple strategies.

Since I started my treatment, I have never had any radiological activity of the disease, that is, it has been suppressed. All of this is proven by annual MRIs. I have also never had a single side effect in all these years. I have strong bones, never had an issue with hypercalcemia, and my kidneys and liver are functioning perfectly. Zero side effects.

An important point that I consider fundamental to highlight: when I left Dr. Cícero’s office after the first consultation, I made a pact with life. If what that doctor had told me really came true, I would repay the opportunity of having practically been born again and I would work until the last day of my life to spread the treatment, without charging a single cent for my work, even if it cost me great effort and personal sacrifice.

I began to spread the Coimbra Protocol at a time when it did not even have that name; it was only known as "high-dose vitamin D treatment." From Yahoo Groups we decided, other patients and I, to create a group on Orkut and, shortly after, on the newborn Facebook (only some years later I decided to open a group in Spanish because I had already lived in Spain and mastered the language).

Dr. Cícero was the only doctor, and many patients came from abroad to consult with him. I welcomed them into my home, picked them up at the airport, accompanied them during consultations, and helped push their wheelchairs and bathe those with motor difficulties. My house even had a small room reserved for patients from abroad.

Over time, Dr. Cícero trained new doctors, and I actively participated in the process of guiding many of them to his office, because I dreamed that several countries would have doctors trained to apply the treatment. Also at that time, I joined a cherished fellow patient from Norway, Sonja, and we wrote to the main universities in the world (we did it within our humility, as benefited patients who wanted to give a voice to the treatment).

Dr. Cícero never asked me for absolutely anything, at any moment, and much of what I reveal here he may not even know. My work has always been totally spontaneous and always will be. Although this may cause much surprise in some people, it is my pact with life, and as long as there is air in my lungs, I will continue working hard. I often say that one knows they are fulfilling a life mission when, if they could choose how to spend their last 24 hours of life, they would continue doing what they do today. Well, I would continue. I would be close to my loved ones and doing exactly what I do today.

To conclude, I wish that everyone can find the best path and the best treatment and be happy in their journey, even if it is not in the Coimbra Protocol. But for those who are in it, in the high-dose vitamin D treatment, I wish you a megadose of courage to overcome yourselves.

I can guarantee you that when we cross obstacles this big in life, we come out different. When we come out of storms like these, we are no longer the same person who entered them. That is what the storm is about: to grow, to become a better person; to expand so much that those who knew us 10 years ago have to get to know us again - this, at least, is my way of seeing life, and I do not expect anyone to agree with it. I do not believe in redemption through suffering; I find construction more honest and human. And I keep choosing the hard work of rebuilding myself every day - work forged in the fire of my own experiences.

A hug of peace,
Yara

Her nearly 20-year history with the Coimbra Protocol

The images above show mild skin reactions caused by Copaxone injections (previous treatment). They are included for educational purposes.

Images from the period when I was under conventional treatment.

The administrator with Dr. Cícero Coimbra during a medical consultation.

In 2014, the physician and then-Brazilian congressman, Dr. Walter Feldman, paid tribute to Dr. Cícero Coimbra through a book about the Brazilian key to autoimmune diseases.

The book addresses Dr. Cícero's life story and also the recovery of some patients, including my story in one chapter. The book launch, titled 'Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis - Brazilian Key to Autoimmune Diseases,' took place at Livraria Cultura in Shopping Iguatemi, São Paulo, and was an absolute success.

The launch was attended by many personalities, including politicians like Marina Silva, João Doria, and José Serra; also renowned doctors, actors, and the press.

The book also contains records of public hearings in which Dr. Cícero, Dr. Walter Feldman, Dr. Michael Holick (one of the world's leading authorities on vitamin D), and other important people met with the then-Governor of the state of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin.

The book only has a Portuguese version and can still be purchased on Amazon.

Media coverage

The launch of Dr. Walter Feldman's book had repercussions in the Brazilian press. Folha de S. Paulo published a note highlighting the event.

Read the original note in Folha de S. Paulo

Click here for the book on Amazon

Book in homage to Dr. Cícero Coimbra

Dr. Cícero Galli Coimbra autographing the book in his honor.

Dr. Walter Feldman autographing the book in homage to Dr. Cícero.

José Serra (former Governor of São Paulo) and Dr. Walter Feldman at the event.

Photograph of João Doria (former Mayor of São Paulo) and Dr. Walter Feldman.

Marina Silva (former Senator) and Dr. Walter Feldman.

Book chapter: among equally distinguished individuals, at the top, Dr. Michael Holick and former Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin, at the vitamin D symposium.

Dr. Cícero Galli Coimbra, the great honoree and savior of many lives worldwide.

In 2014, I participated in the Brazilian Symposium on the Therapeutic and Preventive Potential of Vitamin D in Human Health, held at the Pullman Hotel in São Paulo. The meeting brought together doctors of different nationalities, students, and people interested in the role of vitamin D in public health.

In addition to attending as a patient and representative of online communities (at that time, I managed the Brazilian and Spanish-language groups), I informally collaborated by performing simultaneous translation for some international doctors, thus facilitating their participation in the presentations given in Portuguese.

The event also featured the presence of patient network administrators, reinforcing cooperation between specialists and the community given the importance of the topic for public health. At the end of the event, certificates were given to all participants.

Invitation to the event (in Portuguese).

Participation as an attendee and I collaborated with simultaneous translation for doctors (Spanish & English).

Some of the doctors (yellow credentials) and volunteer administrators at the time (white credentials). The admin is the one in black.

Official Credential of the Symposium (2014).

Vitamin D Symposium