Am I ever gonna get better?

Mangaka - I'm not familiar with your history - do you have a LLMD? And have you been tested for things that would inhibit you from detoxing effectively?
MTHFR, HLA to name a couple.
I'm sure more people that are more knowledgeable than me will chime in to offer you advice.

Hang in there.

Thanks for both of your replies! :) I was really upset yesterday because my Lyme-literate doctor told me not to come back to her office, because I am continuing to get worse and I am not willing to follow the diet that she recommends (I am a vegan for animal rights reasons, and she wants me to eat a very animal-product-centred diet. I do not eat sugar or fruit, however. When I cut out fruit about 6 months ago, some of my symptoms decreased a lot.). I will find another Lyme-literate doctor. I won't give up hope!
I am homozygous for C677T MTHFR, but I haven't gotten tested for HLA. Is that an important thing to get tested for? How would I get tested for it?
I can't really function when I have the Herxheimer reaction, unless it's extremely mild, like when I do the castor oil packs for 10 minutes at a time. I think I must have impaired detoxification mechanisms, somehow. When I'm herxing, it feels as though the toxins are just getting stirred up and then settling down again. It's as though hardly any of the toxins are actually leaving my system. I still don't know what to do about all this... After all, I'm not going to get better using castor oil packs alone, and, as I mentioned, I'm continuing to get worse, so I have to do something soon.
Any more ideas would be helpful. Thanks!

Thanks for being supportive!
I've had symptoms for perhaps about seven years or so. I have digestive issues, too, so that adds to the toxic load. I don't eat eggs.
Hmm... I've tried a mild herbal remedy, Tox-Ease GL. I herx after taking one drop of that stuff, unfortunately. I've tried other things as well, like probiotics without FOS, methylfolate (for methylation), vitamin C, B Vitamins, Epsom salt foot baths, and Dandelion Root tea, but all of those things cause an unpleasant reaction. I am able to do dry skin brushing, though-- and that actually makes me feel a bit better. :)
I'm currently on Vitamin B12, Cal/Mag with D2, protein powder (for energy!), digestive enzymes, and spices (such as cinnamon and ginger). Most of these things I started taking before things got really out of hand, so I was able to start taking them without problems.
I've never tried antibiotics.
I have been thinking about trying other detoxification strategies, like maybe activated charcoal or clay. I assume that continuing to try to detox is the way to go, right?

For me colonics have been the best detox ever! Enemas will help too. I know that you feel very strongly about animal rights etc. but you need to find a way to get enough high quality protein. Lyme and co make us very malnourished so you need to overdo it on certain things to even scratch the surface because we are not able to absorb nutrients due to damage this has done to out gut. If you don't have adequate nutrition you will not be able to recover.

If you feel strongly enough about your choice to be vegan, then there has to be options out there for you. You may need to consult a nutritionist or something like that though.

It doesn't matter if you are vegan or not though when it comes to getting your body to detox - and that sounds like your most important hurdle right now, to be honest.

Start with one thing at a time, and go slowly, not adding in another means of detoxing until you know how you respond to the one just added in. Always opt for the mildest forms of each way of detoxing to start as well - like use the foot soak rather than a whole body soak. You may also have to reduce the amount of what you use - I couldn't use the detox foot pads at all when I started out.

Hang on and keep chipping away at this issue - and don't stop searching for someone to help you or for your own healing.

You might want to read the following book on nutrition, written by a Lyme patient who is also a medical researcher. Co written with dr. C.

http://www.conniestrasheim.com/foods-that-fit-a-unique-you.html

Sometimes you just have to put your beliefs behind your left year and try to do what your doc suggests,give it a try,maybe you will feel better.

It happens sometimes, Cairn - I like to just delete the second post as long as it's exactly the same.

Let's remember though that these are personal choices that we must respect. A person does not absolutely have to eat meat and eggs to heal - although it may be a bit tougher to figure out. There are plenty of very healthy Vegans out there.

Maybe we need to move on to the real question now:
(I hope I haven't chopped up your posts too much, Mangaka!!)

"I can't take any supplements apart from a few vitamins I've been taking for a long time. I herx every time I try anything to treat my Lyme. Even when I take detox supplements. Even when I do CASTOR OIL PACKS"

"I am homozygous for C677T MTHFR, but I haven't gotten tested for HLA. Is that an important thing to get tested for? How would I get tested for it?
I can't really function when I have the Herxheimer reaction, unless it's extremely mild, like when I do the castor oil packs for 10 minutes at a time. I think I must have impaired detoxification mechanisms, somehow. When I'm herxing, it feels as though the toxins are just getting stirred up and then settling down again. It's as though hardly any of the toxins are actually leaving my system. I still don't know what to do about all this... After all, I'm not going to get better using castor oil packs alone, and, as I mentioned, I'm continuing to get worse, so I have to do something soon.
Any more ideas would be helpful. Thanks!"

"I have been thinking about trying other detoxification strategies, like maybe activated charcoal or clay. I assume that continuing to try to detox is the way to go, right?"
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There is a lab called 23 & me that you can use to get tested, and here is a link where you can learn more and it has a link to 23&me: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mthfr/

Yes, I would suggest that you continue to find ways to detox, but there are treatments that you can do to help with the gene mutations. I don't know much about it other than it requires you to take methyl type B-12 and methyl folate.

Hopefully more information will be posted here to help you find the information you need to help you start detoxing better. Remember we have a lot of detoxing suggestions in the "New to Lyme?" thread!

Have you tried Takesumi Supreme ? It's carbonized bamboo and helps absorb a lot of toxins. It's been helping a lot for me.

You should still work with a trained dietician to help you be sure that you are getting all the protein, vitamins and other things that you need in your diet to get and stay healthy though.

Thanks for the detox suggestions, Traveler!
I have actually seen a number of dieticians and nutritionists, and I have done a lot of research into healthy diet. I am not going to give up on my vegan diet. My values are not something that I can just temporarily "forget" about when someone tells me to. Besides, the vegan diet is healthy. Anyway, the healthfulness of veganism wasn't what I wanted to discuss when I started this thread.
I'll try some of the detox tips, though. What sort of stretches/exercises are best?