Newly diagnosed, trying to decide what treatment to follow conventional or alternative.

Hello all,

I was recently diagnosed with Lyme after a doctor suggested I get the test because he though I had a "mild case". I originally contacted him to get tested for environmental toxins. My Igenex test came back negative on both IgM & IgG. However, both had a "+" sign after 41 and the IgM said "IND" after 31, 39 & 89-93.
My CD-257 was 49. I believe that I may have had Lyme either since I was a kid or got it from my husband. I would like to know if you all think I can get better only using Chinese Medicine or should I go the MD route. I prefer the "alternative medicine" route because I believe it treats the cause rather than just the symptom. However, the idea of the Lyme spreading to my brain if i don't kill it has me a bit nervous so I've been taking antibiotics. Here's some background info on me...sorry if it's to long.

I've been working with a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor since 2008 to help with fertility since my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant since 2006. We stopped trying IVF after 5 failed attempts, the fertility doctors put us in the "unexplained infertility" category even though we make "genetically perfect embryos". We decided to only do TCM, acupuncture & herbs to get pregnant. In 2010, my TCM Dr. suggested we see another TCM Dr. in LA to help her try & get to the the bottom of why we weren't getting pregnant. She has always said she thought I have an underlying immune system/liver stagnation & latent heat issue. My health has improved tremendously since beginning acupuncture. The Dr. in LA also said he thought my husband and I were sharing an infection or being exposed to something environmentally because although our blood work comes back "normal" for hormone levels. We took a Genova unrinary hormone profile & adrenal cortex tests and those results were very interesting....we both have extremely low hormone levels in our urine which says our bodies are not metabolizing them correctly and the adrenal test didn't show fatigue or stress, however, we both had DHEA levels so high that the were not reportable. This led the Dr. to believe that his original thought of shared infection/toxin was accurate and that's how I ended up getting tested for Lyme.

Currently, the MD who diagnosed me with Lyme has had me on 200 mg of Doxy per day. I began taking the Doxy on 3/13 (in prep for my Lyme test) 4 days later I got super sick, worse body aches of my life, the first "migraine" type headache I've ever experienced, chills, etc. I rarely get sick, haven't have the flu in years. The MD said that it was likely a sign that I did have Lyme since that's not a "normal' reaction to Doxy. He's had me on the same dosage of Doxy so I've been on it a month. I really am NOT a fan of antibiotics. I also believe because of the Doxy I'm starting to get yeast overgrowth so I've been taking more probiotics than I normally do. None of my symptoms have improved and I feel they are stagnant or getting worse.

Overall, I on a day to day basis I feel pretty healthy. The only Lyme symptoms I experienced during the past 6 years on a semi regular basis was mild knee joint pain. I've had random rashes on and off since my husband and I got married 13 years ago. He also has "eczema" on his hands that won't go away. Since August 2011 I've been what feels like a roller coster with my health. The TCM Dr. put me on herbs to help deal with the "unidentified infection" and I felt great until Nov. 2011 since that time I've had all kinds of random things....small, red bumps on my chest & tops of my shoulders, not itchy but just comes & goes. Itchy, red, flushed neck that become extremely dry & peels. Intense shoulder and neck soreness & pain and soreness in my low back and my normal knee joint pain. Constipation and GI issues. He said I was having a "healing crisis" and that is was sign of things coming out of my body.

I've had an very healthy diet for years, I don't drink coffer or alcohol, eat all organic, get plenty of sleep most nights, do yoga 3-4 times a week and walk almost everyday. I have no doubt that I will beat this Lyme disease but now I'm struggling with what the best way to help my body do that.

I've read Dr. Burrascano's Diagnostic Hints & Treatments for Lyme and it makes sense. However, I also read Dr Jernigan's info on beating Lyme via his blog. And it makes sense too.

So my dilemma is continue with the Chinese medicine or go the conventional route? Have any of you successfully kicked Lyme's butt by using alternative medicine? Or is it safer to the conventional route and then work on repairing any damage that may do using alternative medicine?

Your thoughts & input are greatly appreciated!

Thanks achieving grace, very helpful! I did read the new to lyme info and it was very helpful also. And I have an "2nd opinion" appt with a LLMD & ND that are closer to me and will be asking to be checked for co-infections.

Also, I didn't mention in my original post but I believe the Lyme diagnosis explains why I haven't been able to carry a pregnancy & that's why I really want to be sure I'm working with the right person so I can kill the Lyme and/or co-infections and have children.

thanks again!

Hi Healthnut,

Welcome to this great forum!  As far as deciding what treatment is best for you, only you can find out...  I can only speak for myself and I got well using Dr. Jernigan's "healing at home" protocol.  I did try about 6 months of abx (Doxy) and I did not get well.   I had problems with my legs (it was difficult for me to walk without crutches), had joint pains most everywhere and then I met someone who highly recommended Dr. Jernigan's book "Beating Lyme Disease" which I bought, read, was highly impressed so I decided to try that protocol and to this day I am thrilled that I did.

I tried all sorts of things prior to Dr. J's botanicals after the Doxy such as silver, Nutramedix Samento, and who knows what else (I didn't keep a list).  It's been 6 years that I have been well with no symptoms, no relapses.  I feel like I sound like a broken record when I talk about detoxing (instructions are in the Newbie Sticky Thread ~ New to Lyme?  Start Here!). 

To be blunt, when I first heard of detoxing I thought people were nuts..  I said to myself "what does taking a bath mixed with epsom salts and hydrogen peroxide have to do with lyme?"  Didn't make any sense to me back then..  But people kept talking about it so I said to myself I had nothing to lose so I tried it and darn, I felt good!  Then I graduated to coffee enema's (yeah, the thought of doing those grossed me out) but I eventually got up the courage to do those and I continue doing them...

Common sense told me that when bacteria die, they leave really bad toxins and when a person is sick, their body is not capable of ridding the toxins by itself, so where do those toxins go?  They get recycled right back into the body causing havoc, joint pains, neuro issues, and the list goes on.

My non-medical advice to you is read Dr. J's book (the only place I know it can be bought is here):

http://www.hansacenter.com/books.php 

Another great book is called "Healing Lyme" by Stephen Buhner (can be bought at Amazon).

I believe educating oneself is really important..  I read Dr. B's guidelines and I don't agree with most of them (I have my own reasons, logical and personal). 

My motto is if one can avoid putting poisons in their body to get better, then try it!  Abx will always be around... 

Also, if you have about 1-1/2 hours to watch this lecture given by Dr. Rau at the Marion Institute, I highly recommend it!  Dr. Thomas Rau runs the well known Paracelsus Clinic in Switzerland (Dr. Jernigan trained with Dr. Rau).

http://www.marioninstitute.org/biological-medicine-network/resources/videos/dr-thomas-rau-lyme-disease-talk

http://www.drrausway.com/

Hope this helps,

Denise

@Deejavu. What a great lecture given by Dr Rau! I will have to check further into Dr Jernigan. Thank you so much.

Healthnut75, I know people who have recovered doing the natural route, going to Hansa etc and but it doesn't work for everyone. I also know people who have recovered taking abx's but hasn't worked for everyone. Not everything works for everyone, there are too many strains. You need to weigh your options, do some research and decide what you think is right for you. I am still struggling after 10 years and have recently taken matters into my own hands. I wish you healing.