Hi lymeassassin!
First, AWESOME screen name. May the force be with you.
All good posts so far. I'll offer a little different perspective. I've struggled a long time with gut & yeast/fungal overgrowth and I have finally educated myself enough to tackle it and doing pretty well now. Unfortunately you've ventured into an abyss of misinformation and a very challenging healing process.
As others have suggested, the antibiotics kill all the bacteria in the gut--"anti-bacterial"--including the good bacteria that keep your other bad bacteria and yeast/fungus in check. So, that's how we end up with both too much bad bacteria and yeast/fungal overgrowth, and likely other opportunistic pathogens. Long story short, this creates damage in the mucosal lining, which makes it difficult for the immune system and general digestion to function. 70% of our immune system lies within our gut so we feel worse, other pre-existing infections, viral loads, etc. start to gain a foothold and we get sicker.
The SIBO test is generally a breath test. I encourage you to find a new nutritionist. While it's awesome that you're consulting a nutritionist, your current situation is likely out of their league and a good nutritionist should have provided a lot more info to you.
I'd consult a gastroenterologist to do a SIBO test to help identify the bacteria. One pathogen you want to rule out ASAP is Clostridium Difficile or C. Diff, which can develop particularly in patients who have been on an abx protocol, due to the conditions are already described. Unfortunately, the remedy is a specific class of abx that target c. diff (please let us know if it is c.diff--I'll expand on important suggestions).
It's important that you also implement a healthy gut environment by healing the gut and addressing the yeast/fungal overgrowth. Probiotics and natural antifungals are really good (if not critical w/ abx protocols) for prevention and maintaining once you have things back in balance but they aren't always successful at regaining balance once a problem exists--and often take too long allowing damage to occur.
I'm very close to adding a comprehensive "yeast/fungal post to the "New to Lyme?" thread so I'll skip over that for now but that is part two of my post. I'll post a link to that when I'm done.
Also -
Regarding EBV (HHV-6), by the age of 30, MOST people already carry this virus in our bodies. It's also known that ticks can also carry viruses like HHV-6, HHV-8 (human herpes virus), CMV (cytomegalovirus) and others. Either way, once your gut is compromised, your immune system starts to snuggle and these infections can gain a foothold and overwhelm the immune system, compounding everything.
As Krimpet mentioned, all-too-often, people are labeled with "chronic fatigue syndrome" (CFS or ME). I get so frustrated by this--a label doesn't tell you what is causing a "syndrome" and it's very likely a pathogenic infection, which goes untreated if it's not identified (and of course, you run the risk of getting much sicker, acquiring other infections and infecting others).
The current testing methodologies for many viruses, EBV included, is not real accurate--they generally can't tell you if an infection is new or reactivated. Generally, it's irrelevant as long as it can tell you the virus titers are high and this tells you the viral load is high. It's good to be on an antiviral to help suppress the proliferation of the virus and minimize symptoms--you can't really get rid of a virus, it's with you for good.
With any infection and any treatment (abx, antiviral, antifungal, anti parasitic) it's critical to implement a thorough detoxing protocol--most of us are ill in part because our bodies aren't able to manage illnesses or treatment in part because our bodies can't detox properly. It's critical to detox what you are killing at the same rate you're killing it or the toxins can continue to overwhelm your body, creating an extra burden on your immune system, adrenals, etc.
Please let us know if you have any other q's or need more info about
next steps. I really hope you start to feel better soon.
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 5/29/2016 2:20:13 PM (GMT-6)