How it went
Did it last?
- 4 of 10 said the benefit wore off (including the 1 who relapsed).
- No one said they needed to keep it up to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 0 | 0% |
| Near-full | 2 | 20% |
| Substantial | 6 | 60% |
| Partial | 0 | 0% |
| Relapsed | 1 | 10% |
| No benefit | 1 | 10% |
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 1 | 0% | |
| Severe | 5 | 40% | |
| Very severe | 2 | 0% |
2 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Ampligen, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1 | 184 | 5.4 |
| 2010 | 5 | 682 | 7.3 |
| 2011 | 0 | 704 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | 12 | 1,491 | 8.0 |
| 2013 | 7 | 1,708 | 4.1 |
| 2014 | 3 | 2,352 | 1.3 |
| 2015 | 0 | 2,158 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 1,431 | 2.8 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,110 | 1.3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2,201 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | 7 | 1,075 | 6.5 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,581 | 2.7 |
| 2021 | 0 | 1,867 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 1,166 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 1,000 | 2.0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 1,237 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 0 | 1,019 | 0.0 |
| 2026 (so far) | 0 | 840 | 0.0 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
Side effects and harms people mentioned
Found by scanning the summaries for side-effect language, so this list is incomplete and may include a mention that isn’t about Ampligen itself. Read the story before drawing conclusions.
- Side effects
Kelvin Lord, "barely able to walk" at the start, took twice-weekly Ampligen infusions for a full year with perfect compliance, enduring about six months of flu-like side effects (tremors, diarrhea, vision loss, depression).
All 10 accounts
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List of ME/CFS Recovery and Improvement Stories
Kelvin Lord is listed moving from severe to mild after a year of Ampligen infusions, per the compiled list.
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A Town for People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (The New Yorker)
LaurelW was on Ampligen for a combined 7 years across two treatment periods and reported the drug "helped me so much." After being dropped from the compassionate-care program in 2016 when it became unaffordable, she maintained her gains for 2.5 years off the…
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A Town for People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (New Yorker) discussion
LaurelW used Ampligen intravenously over a total of seven years across two separate treatment periods, though the thread gives no specific dose or infusion frequency; she was taken off it in January 2016 when the manufacturer discontinued the…
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Ampligen Does the Trick for Anita
Took Ampligen (rintatolimod, AMP-511) for 19 years as part of an FDA clinical trial for severe ME/CFS. Says beyond a shadow of a doubt that the medicine works for her, citing laboratory proof and an exercise record as evidence, and calls for wider access to…
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Ampligen Does the Trick for Anita
Anita became severely ill at 24 after an infection and was mostly bedbound for 11 years, at her worst losing her sight and hearing and needing liquid nutrition. Dr Peterson prescribed Ampligen and she reached 90% recovery. After stopping the drug she…
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Trying Valcyte Again, So Far So Good
niall improved roughly 30% on Ampligen but relapsed about three months after stopping, developing a cough, sore throat and fatigue alongside reactivated HHV-6 and Coxsackie virus. He attributed the relapse partly to under-dosed post-Ampligen antiviral…
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Learning to Fly Again
Kelvin Lord, "barely able to walk" at the start, took twice-weekly Ampligen infusions for a full year with perfect compliance, enduring about six months of flu-like side effects (tremors, diarrhea, vision loss, depression). He reached roughly 70%…
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IVIG and Xiflaxan: A Dr. Peterson Patient Improves
A long-standing ME/CFS patient of Dr. Peterson improved markedly after resuming IVIG and taking a course of Xifaxan in late June for leaky gut/bacterial overgrowth, eventually starting full-time law school with only minor symptom-related difficulties. The…
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Has Immunovir helped you?
Imunovir (inosine pranobex), first attempted during a severe ME/CFS crash spanning 2009 to 2011. She was severely ill, in the midst of that crash, when she tried the drug. She had to stop after three weeks because it made her considerably sicker, with no…
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List of ME/CFS Recovery and Improvement Stories
LaurelW is listed moving from severe to moderate after roughly 7 years on Ampligen, with gains described as maintained even after the infusions were later stopped.