*New* Lyme and Babesia -why am I not cured?

Hello all, I am new to this forum and new to Lyme and Babesia.

A little background:
I was bitten by a deer tick on my scrotum while vacationing in Minnesota during Memorial weekend, ~May 27th 2012. I discovered the deer tick the following Friday on June 1st, 2012. I removed the tick and thought nothing of it. I became very severely sick on Sunday night June 3rd.

I had a very intense fever for 24 hours, dizziness, mind fog, sweats, chills, malaise. I drove myself to the Hospital as soon as I could crawl out of bed and was prescribed Doxycycl 100mg 2 times a day for 10 days. Blood test was taken, returned negative.

After 10 days of medicine the fever stopped but tremor and shakes and twitches started with a intense feeling of fingers/toes wanting to curl up and cross each other. Mind fog and memory issues remain. I went back to doctor, was told that my blood work was negative and I had taken antibiotics so I was not sick. Was given an additional 10 days of Doxycycl and another blood test - came back negative from Mayo Clinic.

I called a LLMD who took pity on me and agreed to see me immediately. He diagnosed me as having Lyme and Babesia and prescribed Azithromycin (500 mg - 1 per day) Doxycycl (200 mg - 2 per day) and Mephron for 10 days. Took another blood test and sent off to Igenex.

Diagnosis:

============================================
Igenix Results
Igm Western Blot:

Igenex IGM Result: Positive
CDC/NYS Result: Positive

18 Kda ++
23-25 Kda IND
28 Kda -
30 Kda +
31 Kda ++
34 Kda ++
39 Kda +
41 Kda +++
45 Kda -
58 Kda ++
66 Kda +
83-93 Kda +

IgG Results and Babesia Results were Negative.
=============================================

After the last course of antibiotics (and probiotics for good measure) I bounced back and seemed 100%. Returned to work, started exercising everyday, had normal mental functioning, no aching joints, no/very little tremor. No more antibiotics/medicine taken.

Current Status:

Went to a wedding weekend before last on July 15th 2012 and had several alcohol drinks. The next day I had shaky hands again. Everyday felt progressively worse and all previous symptoms returned. By Thursday I was being sent home from work again and haven't been able to return. A few additional symptoms include severe hip pain, testicular pain at bite site, joint pain, bone pain.

Went back to LLMD on July 24th. He prescribed Azithromycin (500 mg - 2 per day), Amoxicillian (1500 mg -3 times a day) and metronidazole (Flagyl) (500 mg - 2 per day only on Sat/Sun). This entire treatment plan is to last one month.

I have been having shivers and occasional sweats since going back on treatment. I am thinking of going back and getting more Mephron. How long should I take this for? Should I discontinue Lyme treatment until Babesia is cured first? Or the other way around? Is this acceptable treatment or should I order Artemisinin as well?

I haven't started taking the metronidazole yet, as I'm a little scared about depression and adding another whole pill into the mix.

Am I still a acute patient or now chronic? What are my chances of knocking this out early?

I have spent a few thousand dollars chasing down the answers so far. I am very glad to find this site and all the help. My biggest concern is the ability to keep going to work and keeping my job / health benefits, and being able to maintain a somewhat normal lifestyle as a 30 year old single guy.

Thanks you all for your replies!!! These are terrible diseases and wondering if there is hope of knocking this out since catching it early? Treatment does not seem to be going too well so far.

TwitchnItch

Post Edited (twitchnitch) : 7/29/2012 8:29:41 AM (GMT-6)

Thank you for the reply.
I am thinking about going back on Mepron for longer with Azithromycin and ordering some Artemisinin as well. Thinking dosage for Artemisinin at 3 pills a day for 30-40 days.

Can anyone tell me where to purchase Artemisinin online?
Does anyone recommend the Dr. Zhuang formula and have a link to that?

Thanks all!
TwitchnItch

Thanks for the reply. Please let me know if anyone has further advice. Still struggling with this.

Hi twitchnitch,

Unfortunately, these infections can go "chronic" in a short amount of time. What you want to focus on is treating the infection until your symptoms resolve (with herbs, meds or a combo). If that takes a month, great, but it may take a lot longer.

I can understand your apprehension of Flagyl. As someone that never needed to take ANY meds in my life, the cancer risk with Flagyl scares me. I have avoided it (it's almost a year since my initial onset/reinfection). However, I recently decided I will take it if my LLMD wants to add it in now. My symptoms are scaring me more than Flagyl was (liver issues, heart involvement, seizures etc.).

Mepron for 10 days seems like a very short amount of time. Many people take that for much longer although you have to have liver function tests while on it. If you are having a lot of chills/night sweats again, definitely contact your LLMD. I would not add things without talking to him. He may want you back on Mepron, he may want to switch to Malarone or artemisinin. I also have Babesia, Lyme and Bartonella. I have had to take a break from treating Babesia because the meds were too hard on my liver. You definitely want to try as much as possible to cut back on alcohol. Even a few drinks can interact with some of the Lyme meds especially flagyl.

Try to trust your LLMD as hard as that is. I am also very mistrustful so I understand that as well. I used to get so mad at my LLMD when he pulled me off a med (usually for a liver issue or allergy lol). I thought I was erasing all the positive effects by stopping meds. When I first got sick I wanted improvement quickly, but unfortunately that hasn't happened with me. I've become more agreeable and trusting lately. I have accepted that this will take time and I am more willing to try the stronger meds if that's what it takes. Like you, I was healthy until a tick bite. I have no other pre-existing health problems so I am 100% confident that Lyme and co-infections are causing my symptoms.

Some things you can do to help while the meds work are to change your diet: cut back or eliminate refined sugar, gluten and sometimes dairy as they increase inflammation and Candida overgrowth in MANY with Lyme and sugar feeds spirochetes. There are also some supplements you may want to add in. The Burrascano guide has a good list to pick from. Magnesium is the most helpful for me for pain and twitching.

Good luck. I hope you start to feel better soon.

Hey twitch,

Sounds like I am in a pretty similar situation as you. My bite occurred around June 12th though and I've had a lot of similar symptoms. Mine are generally more CNS oriented though, but I have Lyme, Bart, and possibly Babesia, but I don't really know. My LLMD is treating for all three. Have you had better luck the last couple of weeks?

I am currently on minocycline, rifampin, and about to add azithromycin after taking doxycycline for a month. I was also under treated with 10 days of doxy before **** hit the fan. I'm trying to decided if I should add artemesinin to this mixture or not. My biggest symptom is the tremor/shaking that occurs especially when I lay down.

The gluten free, sugar free, alcohol free, dairy free diet has really helped my symptoms although it does suck at times!!