Need help with next steps...

After three weeks of a major herx that left me out of work and on bed rest from TWO drops of a-bart (made worse by glutathione) I am FINALLY feeling better. I still have intermittent jaw pain and some psych issues ( anxiety, derealization) but I felt well enough to get back to NYC and go back to work tomorrow.

I'm now at a lost for what to do next in terms of treatment and I have to speak to my llmd tomorrow. If a-bart sent me into such a major herx would it be silly to even consider antibiotics? I'm wondering if a major herx is inevitable with my issues and maybe I just need to take time off of work and face it head on...is that logical? Or is it best to find a treatment that keeps me at a functional level?

Currently I'm only taking bicillin for my strep levels which keeps them under control. The next steps would either be to add in a pulsed zith but I had a massive herx from zith last yr that landed me on bed rest but I feel I am getting smarter w/ detox and *may* be able to handle it but I don't know if now is the time to try..?

The alternative is to take a break from adding in any other herbals/ abx and try some UVL treatment , maybe some ozone and some light chelation (all my lyme sxs showed up 2 months after 4 amalgams were removed). I am leaning towards this option since I have been super sensitive to abx, herbals but a part of me feels like I may need to go through the fire to get out to the other side? When I first got sick 1.5 years I was on a 4 day z-pack for a throat infection and this is when my muscle aches started.

I had lyme sxs prior but I felt like the zith woke something up and maybe it's the one thing that will hit this. However, the last thing I need right now is to have another massive herx and be out of work again! What do I do? Sad to think I've been sick for 1.5 years and haven't been able to stay on a abx/ herbal that treats bart longer than a month! Although my doc can't say for sure this is what I have. UGH.

I definitely feel better off everything but not 100%..only like 75% and I still have muscle aches and a weird foreign body sensation. Trying individual herbs may make sense. I used to take MCBAR-1 and that was manageable..but I wasn't sure if it could actually cure me.

Decarte, you crack me up. I said the same thing about the derealization since I was a hippie in the 60's. I did consider a possible flash back. LOL

LOL!! It was horrible not being able to talk.

For me, a typical woman, that was the most horrible part - not being able to make a complete sentence. I could not even keep a thought in my mind. Poof* and it was gone.

Funny thing is, I don't have a date in my journal when it went away. It left so quietly.

Just when I thought I was better I near fainted at the grocery store last night. I felt major derealization , jelly legs, and before you know it I almost collapsed. It was as if my blood sugar was super low or something. Living in NYC I'm now scared to leave my apartment and had to cab to work today. I've been sick for 1.5 years and I'm starting to feel incredibly depressed.

I tried calling my llmd but can't speak to him until Wed in which I am going to be charged for a phone apt. ($350 for 30 min!)since he needs to fill out my FMLA paperwork for the time I took off of work last week. I am so frustrated & don't even know if I'm with a trustworthy doctor. I've been with this new doc/ center for two months and feel like all I ever do is spend money and I'm barely treating anything but after shoveling out 2k I feel like I need to give it a chance. I'm at a complete loss for what to advocate for next. Here are my options. Please help me sort out what makes the most sense:

1) Take a break from all abx ( including bicillin ) for 1 month to see how I feel. I have been on penicillin to treat step for 6 months. Bicillin only 2. The bicillin is working to treat my ASO (strep titer) while the oral pen did not. However, I do not feel any better since starting it. I think my muscle pains may be worse.
2) Give the bicillin a bit longer and work on detox/ diet the next month & recovering from a-bart herx. When I'm feeling stable introduce ozone and/or UVL therapy.
3) Give the bicillin longer and introduce zith again when I'm ready followed by other abx doc recommended ( Rifampin , etc.).
4) Give the bicillin longer and introduce chelation since all these sxs started after dental work and heavy metals may be at play ( though challenge test didn't show high metals)
4) Take a leave of absence from work and go hard on the ozone/ UV / chelation daily treatments to try to kick this.


I feel strongly based on my sxs (calve pain, muscle twitches, pain on the soles of my feet, heartburn) I have bartonella & what is frustrating to me is for over 1.5 years I haven't even been treating bart at all and I'm in a panic because everyday I feel like I'm wasting time if I'm not taking a bart specific treatment but when I try any bart treatment ( zith, a-bart) I get thrown into neuro herxes that leave me in bed and unable to work. Maybe I need to come to terms with the fact if I ever am going to get better I need to stop working OR maybe I just can't tolerate antibiotics. Lastly, I am paranoid heavy metals did this to me. I had 4 amalgams out followed by 4 root canals ( since extracted) and within weeks these sxs started so it's hard not to feel like the dental work did something!! It starting with burning chest pain, throat infections that abx couldn't treat...this has been a nightmare!!

What would you do if you were me??

If I were you, I would go back to the place in treatment where you felt ok enough to be able to function daily.
Just like dacarte3 suggested, it makes sense.
Don't think you are wasting time. You have been trying to get better. Sometimes we have to take a step or two back and stabilize our bodies, maybe reconsider treatment options, doctors etc. Just like you are starting to do.

At least now you know for sure what isn't working for you.

I had trouble going forward with some tinctures due to unpleasant neuro-herxes. So I would back off or lower dose, or skip a day and now it has helped me to actually progress more in taking it.(This took over 2 months to progress through and I'm still working forward with it)For some it can be a slower road to figuring out what is the right balance for our bodies.
I am truly, so sorry for your suffering. Both the physical and the emotional. Don't give up , I hope you soon find your way to some relief from your symptoms. Sincerely,Jo