@Mynewfy: You would be amazed at how much doctors either don't know about, or just won't tell us about when it comes to the benefits of things we can use supplement wise to help our condition. The premise behind western medicine is a total reactive approach, instead of a proactive approach. Thankfully we have the cystic fibrosis foundation around to try and get patient trials going regarding some substances that are considered "orphan drugs", and as such not many if any pharm companies are willing to invest real money into a potential product to help us.
There are doctors out there who do have an open mind, but not too many. Then you have the "I'm god, do as I say" ego types out there that further make problems for the patients. If CF patients were started off on (and had insurance pay for) supplements to help them deal with their malabsorption issues in the first place, you would see MANY more CF's now thriving than there are currently. Thank god that Hudson chick had some kids with CF and she took it as a personal agenda to look into every possible way to help our symptoms, or we might not have GSH being looked into now.
As it is, the potential to increase longevity and quality of life is pretty great now, considering everything. If you started to follow (and stuck to) a proper diet, chest clearance, exercise, strength resistance, proper supplement useage, and your standard medicine at a young age before your lungs were hamburger meat, you could more than likely drastically increase quality of life and possibly lifespan as well.
I know antibiotics have their place, but i'm personally sick of how they are used in this society, and especially with chronic illness like CF. Instead of SERIOUSLY putting effort into research to try and find substances that aren't toxic, and have basis in the natural world (from what I saw, GSH are just Amino Acids), they just give us some vitamins and either keep us on preventative antibiotics, or give us more antibiotics when we do get sick, then we get sick again and the cycle continues.
Something that treats the root of our symptoms is what's needed, like very strong antioxidants and natural strong antiinflamatories that both stop the cycle and save our lungs before they are too far gone. The principle behind GSH is awesome, and I hope it turns out to be exactly what they think it will be. I mean look at me, i'm a perfect example of this premise i'm talking about. I've been on conventional CF meds (including all the antibiotics) my entire life, and while I have good lungs for a 35 year old CF patient, if I would have had a medical professional show me the wonderful world of some of these supplements a long time ago, I would probably have much less lung damage than I do today. Look what just Oregano Oil has done for me. CF related arthritis, and my horrible gout 100% gone, where two of the most popular conventional medications couldn't help me. Look at my lungs now, as opposed to before with just the antibiotic approach. I'm like a completely different person now, and thats with not even trying GSH yet. In my opinion, our approach is totally flawed. Regardless if you believe in god or nature or whatever, everything we could ever need was put here for us to use (regardless by what), and all we need to do is look around and do research to find what works on what. Manage our symptoms with substances that don't totally disrupt our entire bodies ecosystem, and save the real antibiotics for when we are really in trouble.
Antibiotics are like using a daisy cutter bomb on a wonderful underwater reef, just to kill one fish. But the rest of all that wonderful marine life that is almost always killed off with that bomb, many are helpful to our health. Sadly, western medicine sees nothing wrong with killing the entire reef to kill off one fish. Not to mention down the road that fishes offspring will be back and have armor to thwart your bomb <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">
