Next Round of Fighting

Lots of things have happened since my last post. First, my memory has been all over the place, for one September is almost over...my last post was August 30...and I thought that was last Sunday or maybe the weekend before. In reality it was actually three weeks ago.

Second, my stomach has been severely messed up. Last Tuesday I went into work to do some things, I was very sick and unwell that day, I spoke to another co worker there. She said You have a hell of a hernia thats what you have!
I hadn't been able to eat anything significant in several days and couldn't even drink water much, I was down to 129lbs which I haven't seen and haven't wanted to see in a long time.
So I saw my chiropractor that day and she put her hand on my stomach..she said oh my goodness, this must be one of the smallest stomachs I have ever felt. After that she said, without even pressing down I feel the artery pulsing, this is serious you need to start eating again and gain some weight back. She wasn't wrong either, I feel sickly thin...like a starvation malnourished thin.
Sure enough though, hiatal hernia. She adjusted it and man did that hurt! I saw my friend later that day, she's trained in some kinesiology. So she could do some muscle testing to see what else she could find with this whole abdominal situation. She did some things on my illeoceacal and houston valve. Plus she did something for my whole emotional ordeal, color balancing I believe its called.

During the color balancing she found that I was grieving over school, so we dug deeper to see the specifics. Long story short, I was grieving over having enough money to pay for school soon. But heres the catch, my school is cheap and its not bugging me...so I asked my friend, could this be for someone else? She said yes. Then I knew, it was about my best friend. I do not want him to go off to school this coming school year next year....if he saves enough pennies and gets the money he's going to school a thousand miles from me...I don't want that. Not one darn bit. He is the one person in my life that is health and he gets it. A healthy person who understands what I'm going through? Holy crap thats rare. He understands how important it is for me to talk about some of these issues that come up with me and he does the best he can to be there for me. He did that when I was healthy a few months ago too, we just have that sort of connection you could say.
I know I've lost my mind and my body for now...badly...but I can't imagine him being gone from me or wanting to be gone like that, ya know? I just don't get how he would want to go so far away when he doesn't have a need for it...but school is one of those things I just don't get like the normal people do...being sick, I just show up and do the work then leave..dont get me wrong, I have good grades and do well in school. But I have no excess energy to spend on it.

Anyway, back to my kinesiology friend. We finished out that day cleaning out my emotions, I went home feeling a bit lighter and able to eat. I had some progress for the first time since I last visited kansas. It didn't stick though. The next day, I was able to eat better than previous but not well. Emotions hadn't come back full blown but they were sliding.
That thursday my chiropractor told me to come for a visit(yep, she texted me and said to come see her. She's just that cool). She rechecked my stomach, out again. She adjusted it, this time much less painful and I could feel it release. My eating improved for several days after this.
She also checked me on her little oil biofeedback device, it gives out a reading on essential oils that will be beneficial for my body. Several relaxation oils plus a few for digestion were my results. Since then I've been keeping up with using my oils, seems to be slightly relaxing if anything. I smell good too, like a whole flower shop exploded.

This week I've seen my chiropractor again, for my stomach to be adjusted. I saw my friend yesterday and she did some more digging on me. Some kind of school stress related to me came up, we couldn't figure out anything deeper than that though. We cleared it, that was the only emotional situation for me this time, very much improved after the visit. I also started my supplements back, last week when I couldn't eat or drink i quite everything except for a few important things.

The week before last my ND here told me it could be h.pylori, so I started Mastic Gum. That has helped my stomach upset and it was effective quickly, still taking for now. I don't think I have h.pylori...I think its all been the hernia. Either way I'm taking mastic gum and a natural antibiotic called biocidin to clear any candida or other nasties from my digestion. Plus a super strong probiotic.

All of this, catches y'all up until today.

Today I spoke to a lyme friend I haven't seen in a long while. She's starting with a new llmd that is super well liked and way up in the food chain. After telling her about all my psych symptoms that I cared to share plus my physical, she said I think you've got a bartonella infection brewing that needs addressing.
She did a quick muscle test on me and told me yes its bart, however no babesia this time. I figure if anything it'll be worth talking to my kansas doctor about when I see him.
Im going back the week after next for a short visit, by that I mean an emergency visit for him to work on me.
Speaking to my friend was great, it was nice to talk to someone whose as well lyme educated as I am. Except she's not so much in brain fog as I am right now, so it was much easier for her to take a shot as to what could be causing my new found symptoms. When she said bartonella, i remembered back when i took houtynnia several years ago and had a brain herx, which gave me a severe brain herx.
Since then, sometime last year, I had my KS dr. check me for bart, to which i was negative. But i wasn't having these symptoms then...so, maybe we've reached a new layer of junk in my system to remove.
I don't currently feel toxic, I feel like it is more pathogenic...I do the ionic foot bath and some other stuff...I should be pulling out a significant amount of toxins. Idk how its even possible that I still have toxins in me at this point, but whatever.
Ill keep on working.

The Time is Coming

Well I think its time for an update post.

I got back to the Hansa Center for visit 2 in less than a month. I stop all of the remedies I started in January in just a few days, March 14.
Before I go back I will have to repeat the initial bloodwork and I will also repeat my hair heavy metals test. I am hoping to see high levels of metal dumping out into my hair because its leaving from my body(finally!!).

I had my last ND appt. in December. It has been so nice to get off all of the supplements they had me taking!  Most of these did very little for me, I had to add in herbs to treat my infections. Since changing to the Hansa Center from the ND I have noticed an enormous difference in how I feel.
The ND used SCIO biofeedback that is capable of testing supplements with my body to see what kind of reaction. The HC uses BioResonance Scanning, which is a form of muscle testing, that also checks my body's reaction to the remedies.

The ND had a very similar technology, just not the same resources and know how behind it. Its amazing how much the doctor themselves will affect the patients outcome just by the supplements and treatment methods they prefer. My ND had many of the same supplements and even some of the same training, but its taken the strong detoxing and specific remedies to make a difference in my health.

Anyway, I think I have proved my point that I really do love how the doctors at Hansa treat their patients. It saddens me when I see people like Parker Goertzen fail...
with LLMD's you typically pick your favorite most convenient doctor. They will all try the same group of antibiotics, IV's, and herbs. The HC is different, they have about 3k remedies to pick from, not 100-200 the better LLMD's have.

------Back to me------

My current symptoms are Insomnia, fatigue, exercise intolerance, and no concentration.
Overall I don't have the sick feeling I used to have, the sauna keeps my muscles fairly loose, I have had very little dizziness or pain. At this point I just need to get my resistant symptoms knocked out. This will hopefully be finished up after the next visit.

I have managed two long and strenuous school fieldtrips in the last month and the flu since coming back from my last HC visit. Beforehand all of this would have knocked me down significantly.
All that has happened since these things is extra fatigue, its a problem but I am not stuck in bed!

Now I just need to get back to my juices and smoothies....I have ingested more junk food in the last month than I care to admit to! They sure do make a difference.

ND Today!

Today was my regularly scheduled ND appointment! It went well.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I've been feeling crappy since I woke up yesterday morning. So today I talked about that with the ND.
During the usual biofeedback testing and searching for my current infection mycoplasma showed up. Great.
I had a feeling it would show up...usually mycoplasma is the cause of recurrent sinus infections. I had one a few weeks ago and as of yesterday, a second. Here is the best part...not just one but 4 strains showed up.

Go big or go home folks.

The one infection I have so hoped I actually avoided by some miracle, I contracted anyway. Awesome.
At the moment, I am not going to worry about it. I am on several things already which should already have it covered good enough. If not, I go to the Hansa Center in just a few weeks! That will knock it out for sure.
I have been tested for mycoplasma several times, blood and biofeedback. Not one positive before today. So my guess is it is not a chronic infection I have had at high levels for a while now.
I'm sure I have had some level of mycoplasma the whole time, most people do. Just like with candida, most people have it just not at high, infection causing levels.

Another thing showed up for a change. Its something I have been saying for a while now...
I have a kidney infection. Let me put on my shocked face.
My stomach, kidneys, and bladder have some kind of bacterial infection going on-kidneys taking the biggest hit.
Unknown what bacteria specifically, could be mycoplasma.
So the ND had me start a UTI tea made from Marshmallow root and slippery elm bark. Doesn't taste bad, I just hope it knocks it out. I do not want a chronic stomach/kidney infection. Not at all.

It was nice leaving the ND today with only a tea and a homeopathic for colds, both temporary. I don't get to do that much!

There is good news, my usual infections-rickettsia, lyme, babesia, virus, etc did not show up today. So they aren't at astronomical levels today. Probably because the mycoplasma and kidney stress overshadowed it, but still. Ill take it.

Today was a good day though, I felt better than yesterday by a long shot. I expect tomorrow to be a good day :)

Only a few weeks left before I go to the Hansa Center for treatment, its getting exciting. Just knowing that in a few weeks I could feel like a different person is amazing. This morning I had my blood drawn for the visit, I checked out the bloodwork panel, looks very thorough. I cant wait to see what all it says about me.

Current Treatment

In my last post I basically just gave a long list of the remedies I have taken in the past years. Today, I am going to describe my current treatments, and possible changes for the future.
My current protocol is helping, but it will certainly not be my saving grace. I still have pronounced symptoms on a daily basis and I still have flairs weekly.
I did have this under control at one point, daily symptoms were minor and I wouldn't get any major flairs. I want a repeat of this! I have stuff to do and places to be!

Ok here is the list of supplements-
L-Glutamine powder, 1 tsp per day
Artemisia Combinations, 2 pills 3x daily, 3 days on 4 off
Black walnut capsules, 2 pills 3x daily
POA phytolens(TOA cats claw), 1x daily
sublingual glutathione, 2-3 daily, 50mg each
ALA, 100mg 3x daily
5 MTHF, 1 daily
Dopalift, 1/2 cap daily
FIveHTP Thrive, 2 before bed
Calc.Phos. 30C, 3 pills 2x daily
1 calm magnesium packet daily
1 Methyl B12 injection weekly
Cinchona bark tea, made with 1tsp bark

Long list right? It needs to change, with as much as I am taking I should be feeling better.
Lets analyze and dissect everything I am taking, maybe something will stand out to you(please tell me if you notice something!). I already have a general idea of what I want to change.

The bacteria killers are, Artemisia, cats claw, and cinchona bark tea. Plus the black walnut, which is more so for parasites.
Artemisia and cinchona are strong, they are certainly making a difference. I haven't even built up to a high dose yet. At some point I will probably move up to 3 cups of tea. These are both primarily for babesia/blood parasites(if present). Artemisia might kill borrellia, I don't know for sure. All of the information on Artemisia and borrellia is conflicting, some say yes it kills it some say no.
This is strong enough for the time being.

The POA phytolens isn't strong, 1 cap a day(450mg). This isn't a significant dosage at all! This is my ND's preference for treating lyme...because it is TOA free, its supposed to be stronger. When I followed the Buhner protocol with cats claw, I took a huge dose compared to this. According to the Buhner protocol I should work up to 1-4 tabs 3-4x daily, each pill is 450mg! I know there is some conflicting info on the TOA free vs non TOA free, but there is NO WAY this makes one 450mg pill capable of replacing a max dosage of 7,200mg. Its not possible.
I would take more but, this brand he wants me to take is $38 for 30 pills. I want to call BS. That's nearly $1 a pill, its not considered one of the strongest remedies for lyme disease, and that is expensive. The Buhner protocol made a difference for me, this does not...
This will definitely change in the future, its way too expensive for something that is too weak to make a difference.

I take the Dopalift for alertness, fatigue, and low dopamine levels. I have been tested twice for neurotransmitter levels, dopamine was almost non-existent on both tests...
I did one bottle of this earlier this year, nothing notable.
Then I did the second neuro test he wanted me to do it again because I didn't take it long enough for it to have an effect. I put it off for a while, I want to treat the cause of my symptoms, not the symtpoms themselves. Low dopamine is a result of a stressed, infected body. Not a pill deficiency.
This second round with the Dopalift was different than the first, for one it made me quit sleeping. As soon as I started taking it I was wide awake almost until sunrise!
So I spoke to the ND, he told me to half the capsule. So far this is working fine for me, it may give me a tiny bit of energy, nothing significant. He did tell me I would have to stay on this a little while for it to really make a difference, which is fine. There are 60 pills in the bottle, and I only take half of one daily...the one bottle will last me 120 days at this rate. Already bought it, might as well use it. So for now this doesn't need to change.

The L-glutamine is for gut health. The stomach uses it in the stomach lining, without it we develop problems. I started this after the first neuro test, I don't really notice a difference. I already have the bottle, at the slow rate I am using it this bottle will last at least another 6 months. So for now, this has no reason to change. Its an essential nutrient and I already have it.

I have been on and off magnesium for years. Its good for pain, muscles, and detoxification. The body uses magnesium to create enzymes used for detox.
I noticed at first if I missed a dose of mag I would have more muscle and joint pain. Now its no big deal. Its needed for detox and most chronically ill patients swear by it, so it can stay.

5HTP Thrive is used for sleep, I started this with the last bottle of Dopalift. It may be helping me sleep harder,  not earlier at all, but waking up has been easier lately. I will leave this one be because its new, it still has time before I can feel the full effects.

Glutathione is used for detox. This is an OK supplement, it doesn't seem to have any strong effects. I started this to help up my detox about a month ago. It may help some, but I wouldn't brag about it...
When I finish this bottle I will replace it with something new.

ALA I started because of the Andy Cutler protocol for chelation. It is supposed to help detox heavy metals from the brain. In the beginning it was VERY strong, I had to cut the 300mg pill into 5ths, and took two each day. For the time being I wont change this, it isn't as strong as it was,but I think I need to add in another chelator like DMSA. When I was taking both is when I felt the best.

Methyl B12 shots were something Dr.L wanted. I showed low for B12 on a test in the beginning so this was something she wanted me to do. I started with regular B12 but it didn't do anything. Gene tests showed I needed the methylated form of B12.
The ND during this time also added me onto his B-complex. It is a good one, the B12 is methylated, it has loads of B vitamins, plus it has a high dosage of each. According to the ingredients the B-Complex is stronger than the injection, but ill be honest. Neither of these gave me significant results. I don't test low for B12 anymore, I don't need to be doing both of these.
I have since finished the B-Complex, still working on my B12 injections. For the time being, I am going to finish the injections and come back to it.

The 5MTHF is something the ND wanted me to do because of the results of the gene test. I cant remember exactly which gene is the reason he wanted me to take this. This for now, I wont change. He feels really strongly about it and the whole methyl B vitamins can make a difference for some. Ill give it a shot for a while longer.

Then last is the Calcarea Phosphorus 30C. This is something I started on my own. I researched homeopathic remedies to help with scoliosis, and this is the one that matched me. It is for calcium and phosphorus absorption, so it really isn't for symptoms. It can stay too.

Now that the overview is established, what should change in your opinion?
I am not treating Lyme disease, or at least strongly. Babesia is covered well, but nothing I am taking will significantly affect borrellia.

Another thing is I need to work on chelation again. I had to take a break because it was wearing me out. I had to wake up at night to take the pills, keep track of the time and make sure I had DMSA and water for the next dosage. With low dose chelation it is really frowned upon to miss a dose, so i stuck to this strictly.
Now I feel like its time to add something stronger than just ALA.

To recap-I am going to get rid of the POA phytolens and glutathione, and add something in for lyme and heavy metal detox.

If anyone has a suggestion as to what herbs to add, please comment!

Ok, my fingers are tired and I am too dizzy to stare at this screen any longer, I am out for tonight. :)

Past Treatments and a lot of Pills!

As you know, I have been treating my Lyme disease and co-infections for a few years. In my last post I said I was going to list all of my past, today is the day!
Most of the bottles I saved are herbs/supplements, but I have a few prescriptions like nystatin and doxycycline. Here it goes, its long...

For chelation-
3 bottles of Total Chelate by nutriwest, Started March 2015, 1 pill 3x daily, worked up to 2 pills 2x daily
2 bottles of DMSA Synergy from GS nutrients, 100mg 1 pill once daily, 3 days on 11 off(Doctors protocol)
2 bottles of King Chlorella from Nutricology, 10 pills spread throughout the day
2 bottles of DMSA from living supplements, followed the Cutler protocol, first bottle was 12.5mg, 1 pill every 4 hours, 3 days on, 4 off. I started this June 12, 2015, finished midnight September 5, 2015
A total of 560 pills

Probiotics-
Culturelle while I was taking Doxy, 1-2 daily, 180 pills
3 bottles of Body Biotics SBO's, I started at 1 two times a day, ended with 2-3 twice a day, started early 2015, finished May 24
Bowtrol Probiotics, 1 bottles, 2 daily, September 2015
2 Bottles Innate Flora 20-14, 2 per day(IIRC)
1 bottle NOW Probiotic-10,1 3x daily
1 bottle Biotics research S.Boulardii 2 daily
1 bottle Colon Plus also biotics 1tsp daily
=710 pills, not counting powder
I know a few of these are missing, I took more culturelle, another probiotic from Natures Sunshine, and at least 1 other. Plus I consume goat kefir and yogurt often(not pasteurized), but those don't count here

Vitamins-
Vitamin K2 from NOW, 4 bottles(from memory, only saved two), 600mcg daily, started early 2015, finished in June.
B-Complex, 1 daily, Metabolic Maintenance 1 Bottle, Started around August 2015, ended October 2015
5-MTHF Metabolic Maintenance, 1 bottle, 1 pill a day. Started with B-Complex, 2 bottles
Active B12 Folate, Prothera 1 pill a day, 3 bottles, started with Doxycycline
2 Bottles of Esther C, doses varied the ND had me doing 10g at one point, end of 2014/beginning of 2015
Active MTHF Complementary Prescriptions, 3 bottles, 1 pill a day.
1 bottle of Liposomal vitamin C, 3 pills a day, started in Oct.2015
1 bottle of CoQ10 from Metabolic Maintenance, 1 pill a day, Started with B-Comp.
2 bottles of Lithium Orotate. 1 bottle from Swanson and 1 from Advanced Research, 1 5mg pill a day, started after 1st hair test.
Custom Multivitamin Powder from Metabolic Maintenance, 1.5 tsp per day, 1 bottle, Started end of January 2015
3 bottles of NOW vitamin D-3, 10,000 IU per day, Started with K2
Calm Magnesium powder, 2 tsp per day, started with doxy, I only saved 2 bottles but I have continuously taken it since Aug.2013. I am going to estimate 6 bottles.
1 bottle of Green pastures Blue Ice Cod liver/butter oil, 8 per day, same as K2
There is definitely more, this is just what I coudld remember plus what I saved.
=2,350 pills not counting magnesium and vitamin powder!

Herbs(another big category!)
Grapefruit seed extract, nutribiotics, 3 per day(IIRC), 2 bottles
1 bottle of Swanson Grapefruit seed extract liquid, both of these were spring 2015
4 bottles of Swanson Milk thistle, 2 pills 3x daily, Started June 5, stopped end of Oct 2015
3 bottles of NOW Eleuthero capsules, 3 pills 3x daily, same as grapefruit seed extract
13 bottles of Swanson Andrographis Paniculata, 3 pills 3x daily, I started this early 2015
1 bottle of NOW Andrographis, same dose
2 bottles of Natures Sunshine Black Walnut, bottle one Aug., b.2 October 2015
2 bottles Artemisia Combinations, started 8/20 ended 9/5, 2015 B. 2 same as b2 black walnut
3 bottles of NOW Cats Claw, 3 pills 3 times a day, same as andrographis
2 bottles POA Phytolens, 2 pills 2x daily, 2015

2 bottles NOW black walnut/wormwood complex tincture, Feb. 2014
10bottles cryptolepis tincture from Montana Farmacy, first dose 15 drops, ended at 1/2 tsp 3x daily, started May , ended August. 2015
3 bottles Alchornea Cordifolia, 1/4 tsp, June-July 2015
1 bottles Sida Acuta 1/4 tsp, August-Sept.1
1 bottle Houttuynia tincture, Montana Farmacy, 1/4 tsp, June-July 2015
1 bottle Nutramedix Cumanda, started June 5
1 bottle Nutramedix Quina, started June 5
1 bottle Nutramedix Pinella started May 15
1 bottle Nutramedix Burbur started May 15

3 bottles of Biocidin from Bio Botanical Research, started around December 2014
2 bottles of Humaworm, bottle 1 January 2015, b.2 May 2015
1 bag of Houttuynia powder, I started at 1/4tsp and worked up to 1 tsp 3x daily, finished in Sept.15'

=2,270 pills, not counting liquids
This isn't counting the herbs I took first round with the ND for candida.

Other Misc. from the ND

Nutriwest-
1 bottle L-Glutamine
2 bottles methyl renew
2 bottles Total Cort
4 bottles DSF herbal
=630 pills

Metabolic Maintenance-
3 bottles Melatonin 9mg at night
3 bottles of L-Theanine
= 780

NOW-
2 bottles L-Ornithine 6 pills daily
1 bottle L-Theanine
2 bottles L-Arginine/Ornithine combo, 6 pills daily, 1 bottle 2014, 1 2015
=860 pills

Wellbrain-
2 bottles Adrestore
2 bottles Dopalift
=480 pills
1 bottle of Immuno gG from biotics research(idk when I took this, it was 2012)
2 bottles Sleep Deep from Dancing Willows, 2014
1 bottle Adrena Calm by Apex Energetics
= 100 pills

Other Misc.
4 bottles of Nystatin pills, 2 pills 2x per day
2-3 bottles Argentyn 23, 1 tsp 5x, 2014
Odorless garlic, 1,000 mg, 2014
4-5 Bottles Doxycycline, 4 liquid 1 pills, 100mg 2 times daily
= 580 pills

Homeopathics
4 bottles Ledum Palustre 30C. 5 pills 3x daily
1 bottle Boiron Silicea 30C
1 bottle Arnica Montana 30C
1 Bottle Calc.Phos. 6x
1 bottle Ruta Graveolens
1 bottle Calc.Phos 30X
2 bottles Mediral Rocky Mountain Spotted fever
1 bottle Physica Relax Milieu
=880 pills

This comes to a total of 9,160 pills!!! Except for 3 bottles(Artemisia, 5MTHF, and Dopalift), I didn't count anything I am taking currently. I didn't even count the liquids which includes the doxy and cryptolepis.
Almost 10,000 pills and I am still sick! This is just wrong. Most of these were in the last 1.5 years. What the heck.

 

I know some things aren't even included, like Dr.L had me take 3 rounds of mebendazole, 2 weeks each, and 2 rounds biltricide. IV drugs aren't counted. Essential oils weren't counted. And a few other miscellaneous things weren't counted. All of these have also been significant in my treatments.

Looking back, only a few of these were helpful. The cryptolepis tincture, DMSA, Ledum, and IV drugs made anything lasting. Houttuynia was also helpful, it was definitely killing something, I started at 1/4 tsp once a day and it made me feel horrible. I felt like I was going crazy. I would get this spacey feeling, I would become depressed at night, and I couldn't focus. It was one of the worst herxes I have ever had. The sad part is, idk if it gave me any lasting effects. It is traditionally used for Bartonella, which I have never been positive for. I decided to try it to see if bart would start showing up positive at the ND. Babesia never showed up until I started taking cryptolepis, I started taking it and I started testing positive on the bio machine. I thought the houttuynia would do the same for bart if I have it.


The ND has tried to push several of these products on me, especially several of the vitamins and Nutriwest. They are fine products, but they aren't what I need. What I need is to strengthen my body and get my body to kill the bacteria.
The probiotics definitely helped my stomach and candida. Before I tried the modified GAPS diet I had extremely high serotonin, which is made in the gut. After the diet and probiotics, its now too low actually. All of my neurotransmitters are low now. I will be making a post about this in the future. I just have to figure out....where did I put those test results...

In my next post I am going to highlight my current protocol and possible changes.

I wanted to right more...but it took about two hours to type all of this out.
 I.am.toast.

Bab Herx :(

My flesh and my heart may fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26

    Well like yesterday, I crashed. I woke up tired and dragged throughout the day.
All day I have felt tired, dizzy, shaky, and had a total loss of concentration.

     Its not the same fatigue as usual, its more so flu-like. So my guess, its a herx.
Generally I don't herx often, or for long, so I should be better within a few days. In the mean time, detox and rest. That's all I can do.

    Again, like yesterday, I nearly took a nap for about an hour. All I could do was lay down and try to sleep. Not because I wanted to sleep, I didn't have a choice. I didn't feel recharged afterwards, I went to bed because my body said I had too. I felt like if I didn't do this, I wouldn't be able to finish the day.
This only happens on the days I have a lot to do, part of it is stress. Thinking about all I should be doing just knocks me out. I try to avoid it, but when I have a lot to do, and cant, stress happens.
It just is what it is, I make do and keep moving on.

     Because I have been feeling more ill than usual lately, I am rethinking my current protocol. That will be the topic of my next post. I am going to highlight my past treatments and what worked, I have saved around 70-80% of my empty pill bottles from the last two years. This makes it easy to remember what all I have taken.
Judging by my symptoms, I will probably look at restarting DMSA, probiotics, and probably something else for lyme. At the moment, I feel like only babesia is covered well.

     I did take half of the Dopalift like my ND advised me to do. I didn't feel anything, but being in a herx, that's normal. The real test is, will I STILL be awake at 6:00am, that is the question.

November 1!

Its the first day of November! The leaves are falling and its starting to get cool. The best part is the ticks start disappearing, so its safe to stay outside with minimal fear:)

I have some good news for a change. I went to sleep at my usual 3:00 am this morning instead of 6:00am! So it was definitely the Dopalift that was keeping me awake.
I skipped it again today, so I should sleep tonight. I am going to try the DL one more time, this time I am going to start fresh. Before my first dose was 7pm, so the dose of day 1 probably overlapped on day 2 and so on. I don't know what the half life of DL is, with it beings herbs I don't even know how that works.

So tomorrow when I restart dose #1 will be at 8:00am. Maybe this will be enough time for the caffeine to exit my system and allow me to sleep. I am going to try it for two days. If it keeps me up, I will talk to the ND and see if he has an alternative.

Another thing I have been looking for is info on brucella. Last week I showed positive for it at the ND, which has never happened.
I found this.
It looks like essential oils are beneficial for this! I actually have all of these so this should be easy.

Sorry for another short post, my brain fog is better than yesterday but its still going strong...

Until tomorrow

How I was Diagnosed

     Lyme disease is a tricky organism to find. Easy to contract...but a pain in the rear to locate. The tests are insensitive, and the symptoms can be hard to narrow down. I mean really, do you know how many ailments fatigue and joint pain is associated with? Its not a small number!! Fatigue can be caused by anything, insomnia, the flu, mono, hypothyroidism, a cold, cytomegalovirus, exercise, etc.
Joint pain is not as common as fatigue. Joint is usually only associated with osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, which is lyme is misdiagnosed as often.

     PCR, Western Blot, and ELISA are the most common tests utilized for diagnosing lyme disease.
Usually a doctor will order an ELISA (enyme linked immunosorbent assay) first, according to ILADS it misses 35% of culture proven lyme disease. That's a big number to just ignore. 35 out of every 100 people are told they tested negative for lyme disease, even though they are infected.

     The western blot for lyme disease is the most favorable test in the lyme community. This test detects proteins in the blood which are measured as bands. Some of these bands are extremely specific to the lyme bacteria, here is a breakdown of each individual band meanings.
Some of these single bands can prove the presence of borrelia (band 18), while most are indirect i.e. band 41.
The western blot is so popular because it can show the level of infection. Igenix specifically shows how positive each band reacted, some are low + and some are higher +++. The more + the higher the immune response towards the band. One thing Igenix does that is unique is that they show equivocal results. Equivocal is the fine line between positive and negative, something showed up on the test but not enough to call it a for sure positive.

     The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is also popular. PCR is very accurate but not sensitive. The infection has to be high for it to be detected, but a positive result of this test has an almost 0% occurrence of false positives. The ELISA can have false positives (though rare) and the western blot bands can be reactive to other pathogens. The PCR is not as popular as the ELISA and WB because it is more expensive and can miss new infections.

     Personally, the only thing I ever tested positive for was rocky mountain spotted fever through Quest. I was also tested through Quest for lyme (ELISA) and ehrlichia, but they always came back negative.
When I started to do my own treatment I ordered a kit through Igenix. Those tests all returned negative for babesia, bartonella, and anaplasma. A lyme EIA was equivocal and the western blot had band 41+ (ill post the results if I can find them). The EIA could be considered positive by some LLMD's, I don't think much of it.

     One of the best methods, however, is clinical diagnosis. This is when a doctor matches your symptoms to the illness, ignoring negative test results. This is also how I diagnosed myself long before any doctor told me what I did or did not have. Most people in the Lyme community will tell you to find a doctor who is capable of a clinical diagnosis. I agree with that, no blood test is 100% accurate. Doesn't matter what its looking for, mistakes can be made.

     After the Igenix results is when I returned to the ND. The ND I go to utilizes a SCIO biofeedback device. I like this device because it detects the body's reaction to so many things at once. It will also show stresses towards pathogens. My body was stressed towards RMSF, Lyme, malaria, ebv, cmv, and some parasites. Ill be darned...something actually showed up! The malaria could be a cross react with babesia, which is a cousin to malaria. That's what I am calling it anyway.
Before this, I had received 3 consecutive negative tests for RMSF, yet it showed up as a high stress right of the bat on the machine. Imagine that, my body knew it was there, my immune system just wasn't reacting anymore.

     ND's cannot officially diagnose me with anything, only MD's and DO's are legally allowed to do that. They can advise for and against supplements, but they cannot tell me I have to do something.
So they advised me to take several supplements to bring my body back into balance. This went well, but none of my symptoms ever actually ceased.
I still go to the ND. The machine can also test reactivity to supplements (like muscle testing) and if they are causing my body stress. Since I have to treat using supplements entirely, this can be an invaluable resource. I also like to see how my stresses change from month to month. I went today in fact, that will be my next post.

I hope this post offered you some clarity towards how lyme can be tested for!

My Story, The Beginning

   The story of my future started when I was 12 years old. I was at camp having a good time just like any other kid. During the night in the middle of the week I was bitten by a tick. I woke up about 6:00 AM to the feeling of it hanging onto my leg. I stood up and checked it out under the light, noted the size, pulled it off, and flushed it down the toilet. It wasn't the typical lone star tick I normally could find in Georgia, it was black and rather large, but not engorged.
I had gone to bed that night about midnight, after a shower. No tick whatsoever So at most this tick was attached for six hours. Ticks, according to the IDSA have to be attached a minimum of 24-36 hours to transmit an infection. That's also what the other Boy Scouts told me...

     No rash, no blood, no symptoms...couldn't be a big deal right? Wrong...oh so wrong.
A few months later I had a traumatic injury and required surgery. I felt the worst I had ever felt in my life after a minor, 15 minute surgery. The surgery wasn't expected to last long, they sedated me just enough for half an hour. Surgery started around 7:00 AM, I counted back from 100, made it to 89, then I was out. I was totally out cold until 4:30 PM. I slept about 9.5 hours after about half a nights sleep.  I have been a chronic insomniac since I was in my mid single digits. So to be totally out of it, for so long, was very out of the ordinary for me.

     Fast forward a few months after surgery, injury is fully recovered. I still had this unshakable, intolerable fatigue. I had been told all of these stories about how anesthesia can make you feel terrible...but still progressing not diminishing after six months? *New problem, not anesthesia* I had constant fatigue and insomnia, joint/muscle pain, and dizziness...turns out, this was only the beginning of a long list of symptoms.
I decided it was time to do something. So I visited my local naturopath. Long story short, they found candida overgrowth and excess inflammation. These were both caused by the injury, and seemed to fit the profile.
I followed the anti-inflammatory and anti-candida diet for several months. During this time they also had me taking a regimen of anti-inflammatory and yeast killing herbs. My symptoms did improve and pain became tolerable. Several months and a plateau later, I moved on to the next doctor.

     During my time with the naturopath I learned to start doing my own research. My list of symptoms matched Lyme. Migrating joint pain, just one of my symptoms, is extremely specific to Lyme. This symptom should have made any doctor suspicious of Lyme disease. When it came to visiting doctor #2, I was let down when no Lyme or Lyme test was mentioned. He did however test my blood for Mono/E. Barr, thyroid hormone levels and diabetes. All tests returned normal. I didn't bother going back.

     A few months later a kind friend referred me to doctor #3, whom I first visited August 2013. I loved this doctor! Doctor #3, whom ill call Dr.L, was extremely thorough. This doctor asked me every question imaginable and listened to what I had to say! A huge change to the previous doctors who had diagnosed me, probably, before I ever set foot in their office.
Ten vials of blood later-Bingo! Positive titers for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Or as I called it, the answer I had waited so long for. It sure took long enough!!
The Lyme test was negative, not all that shocking considering their poor track record.
Dr. L had me on a regimen of liquid doxy and IV rocephin, IV C, and IV mag/b vitamins. I would take the antibiotics for a month on, month break, retest and restart ABX. So basically I took ABX every other month. I would only do the IV drugs whenever I went into the office.

     I followed that protocol for about a year until it just stopped working. In the beginning (first two months or so) I did feel better. I never felt normal, just improved.
Starting around the 4th round, doxy just made me worse, with no improvement afterwards.
The last round of abx I took was 28 days of ceftin(ceftriaxone). After that, which did nothing, I just quite with antibiotics. Have not taken any since.
The IV drugs/vitamins did make a noticeable difference.
The IV's consisted of Rocephin, Vitamin C 10,000mg, sodium bicarb, magnesium/b vitamin combo, and sometimes fluconazole if yeast was flaring. I liked the rocephin and Vitamin C. They made the most noticeable (and lasting!) difference. After a year and a half I quit going to Dr.L, I had gone through all of their resources. Still sick...

      I started going back to the ND in Sept. 2014. I figured now that I had a DX, I could try out their treatment options. I prefer natural methods to synthetic chemicals anyway.
The ND, who uses biofeedback as a primary testing resource, found a reaction to  RMSF, lyme, babesia, EBV, and parasites. Dr.L had had me do parasite cleanses in the past using both ABX and herbs, so this wasn't a new subject to me. I had found humaworm online and chosen that as my parasite killer of choice. The ND, on top of parasite cleansing, had me use their protocol for the lyme and virus. Their protocol consisted of colloidal silver, Biocidin and TOA free cats claw, along with  adrenal support.
It helped, certainly stopped progression if anything.

This brings us to the present.


Since starting with the ND I have been treating myself a good bit. I have used andrographis, eleuthero, and cryptolepis per the Healing Lyme protocol.  I have also used grapefruit seed extract, houttyunia powder, l ornithine, lithium, b complex, chlorella, DMSA, and several other things. (highlighted again here)

My current symptoms- roughly worst to least-
Insomnia (ambien and restoril did nothing, its anywhere 2-6 am before falling asleep)
fatigue
Brain fog
muscle twitching
muscle pain
tremors
sweats
heat sensitivity
dizziness
muscle/limb jerks
skin burning
tinnitus (CoQ10 has helped somewhat)
dizziness upon standing
chest tightening briefly making it hard to breath


Currently, 10/21/15, I am taking a B complex, Ledum Pal. 30C, Calc. Phos. 30C, ALA, Arnica Montana 30C, lipo vitamin C, milk thistle, magnesium, and iodine.

This, has only been the beginning of my fight against lyme disease and co-infections....

Until next time, God Bless and goodnight