Lyme treatment, Month 3

I got some excellent news from my doctor at my last Lyme follow up a few weeks ago! In a previous post I had mentioned that some of my blood work, specifically the comp protein C4A test, showed high levels of inflammation in my body (my blood level was 19,000 and anything over 2,000 is considered abnormal inflammation).  Well, my repeat blood work after 1 1/2 months on antibiotics showed my blood levels have gone down to 747!!!  I can honestly say I'm not surprised because I have had a dramatic increase in energy and overall feelings of better health this past month.  My joint pain is all but gone, my energy has increased 10 fold, my blood pressure issues are so much better and more.  Even our friends and family have been commenting on how much better I look, and more "chipper". :)  My vestibular issues of feeling off balance and dizzy have even improved, although still there somewhat but I'll take an improvement!  I do still have the ocular flutter condition and am hoping that resolves soon as well.  I'm not expecting a miracle because I know I'm in this for the long haul, but I know my God is capable of all things! 

With all that said, I'm going through a major "herx" like reaction today since starting my antibiotics again after a week long break from them. I just keep telling myself, it's more bacteria dying! I noticed last month that after each bad day, I felt SO MUCH BETTER the next day and I'm just hoping for more and more improvement. 

In addition to my other medications I'm taking that I listed in my last post, my doctor has added Samento & Banderol. They are herbal medicines that he said I may need to take for life. It all depends on how things go. We're hoping this will be my last month of antibiotics but we shall see.  Aside from the herbal medicines, we discussed my need to adhere to a healthy lifestyle long term to keep the Lyme bacteria in check.  I stopped the Resvoxitrol and Crypto-Plus for now due to side effects (crypto gave me the WORST dry mouth I ever experienced and the resvoxitrol made me dizzy). I may re-introduce the crypto at some point and try again, but not now. 

All of my test results regarding my low potassium came back normal and my postassium levels are now back to normal so that's no longer a potential issue! 

I hope this post encourages someone by showing that it is possible to get better from Lyme disease! While I'm thankful for my excellent doctor the Lord has blessed us with and the medicinal regime he put me on, I have to credit my better health to my faith. I thank the Lord Jesus that I have Him to walk me through this and I pray that you will know Him too!

Lyme treatment update

I've been through about a month and a half of treatment for my Lyme disease since I last posted so I thought I would give an update on how things are going. As far as feeling better, I can definitely see in some ways I am improving.  I have more energy on certain days than I have had in a long time and I can see my old self coming back! I still have days of feeling quite ill though, most likely from the treatment, and my neurological issues persist (the ocular flutter and dizziness/off balance). I know the central nervous system issues will take longer to resolve and I'm in this for the long haul!

As for my first month of treatment, I did very well on the antibiotic and herbal supplements. However, I couldn't seem to tolerate the Alpha Lipoic Acid, Glutathione and NAC so we discontinued those. My doctor thinks it may be an issue with sulfur intolerance but in any event, my progress doesn't seem to be hindered in any way by not taking those supplements. 

My second month of treatment started the day before Easter and we switched my antibiotic to Azithromycin and I have to say, it's not agreeing all that well with me but I'm plugging along. It certainly makes me nauseous (no vomiting though thankfully and it subsides within a few hours), and it also makes me dizzy.  It's hard to explain the dizziness.  I guess it's kind of like I just don't have my footing, but then I guess I'm used to that!  I'm still functioning well and dealing with it.

In addition to still taking all of the supplements I listed in my last post for my first month of treatment, my doctor added the following to my second month of treatment:

• Azithromycin
• Resvoxitrol (the jury is out on this one. I get extra "spacey" after taking it so I may not continue)
• Crypto-Plus
• Nystatin

Also, due to low levels:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin A

In addition, I had some issues with low potassium in my recent blood work so we're exploring that as well and I will most likely be put on potassium supplementation at some point in the future. 

Overall I'm doing okay and like I already mentioned, I can see improvements in some ways. I definitely feel a lot more "off" though overall with this second month of treatment. I believe it's the new antibiotic so I'll be happy when that's done in 2 more weeks!