LLMD Follow Up

I'm going to see my LLMD tomorrow for the second time and I have questions. She put me on biaxin and recommended that I look into Buhner's protocol, but that's it. NO talk of decreasing inflammation, diet, parasites, latent viruses, etc. So I want to ask her these questions and if she doesn't address my concerns, then I guess I'll have to look for another doc... Are these good questions? Am I on the right track?

1. Methylation issues contributing to inflammtion and difficulty with detox? Glutathione deficiency? Should I have some genetic testing done? Need a plan to lower inflammation.
2. Parasites, microbiome imbalance, malabsorption? I keep losing weight every time I try to cut out foods... especially gluten, and I feel awful.
3. Heavy metal toxicity?
4. Yeast?
5. Doc will want to try cholestyramine, but I read that doctors don't recommend for those with chronic fatigue as it depletes CoQ10...?
6. Should I have my vit D rechecked?
7. Should I have thyroid levels rechecked?



That's all I've got right now...

Post Edited (jlESVA) : 3/22/2017 10:02:53 AM (GMT-6)

Yup all good questions, but important to remember that you can only do so much at a time. It can be really overwhelming because Lyme can hit so many different areas and systems of the body, so it's important to prioritize.

Did you LLMD put you on only Biaxin? If that was the case my first question would be can we add in more antibiotics?

Research has shown that mono-therapy (outside of initial treatment right after a bite) is not very helpful. It would be a lot better to be on something like Doxycycline, Biaxin, and Tinidazole together.

Doxycycline is important because it works on spirochetes, but also works very well on certain co-infections like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma, etc. This is one of the reasons it's first line therapy.

Tinidazole (or metronidazole instead) would work on the cystic form of Lyme that the Doxy is pushing the spirochetes into.

Again, really important to mix up a cocktail of 3-4 medications if you're going the pharmaceutical route, so this would be the first thing I'd talk about.

The question about the genetic testing is a fair one, but one could make the argument that you should be supplementing with glutathione, or glutathione precursors like NAC, regardless. Detox really should be prioritized in general, and genetic defects may not change that regardless.

Parasites is a great question. The problem is if you're treating Lyme with a couple antibiotics, you can't really add in more anti-parasitic medications on top of that. A reasonable question for you LLMD would be should we try to do a parasite cleanse first for a month or two (for example the Klinghardt Protocol), before treating Lyme. That honestly wouldn't be a bad idea if you suspect parasites. It's a strong protocol and I can give you more info about it if you want.

Heavy metal toxicity would be a great test to ask for. Doctor's Data Heavy Metal Urine Test with DMSA would be a good one to do. My LLMD had me do it on Day 1. You do it at home, and mail it away. Good idea.

Yeast is similar to parasites. If you suspect Candida, a one month Diflucan course prior to antibiotic treatment would be wise. You can always add it in later, but Diflucan does have some interactions with other medications, so your doctor would have to look at that. So again, you'd have to prioritize this along with the Lyme and parasites, and decide with your doctor which order you want to tackle these in. It takes time.

I don't know much about cholestyramine, sorry.

As for you blood work labs, Vitamin D and Thyroid (TSH, Free T3/T4) should be checked every month along with the more important liver tests, CBC, urea, stuff like that.

If you're on several antibiotics and not having monthly labs done, that's the first thing I would ask my doctor for. You need to make sure you body is tolerating the medications fine.

So in summary, try to figure out whether you want to tackle Lyme, parasites, or candida first. Whichever you and your doctor pick, you can always use herbs to go after the other 2 at the same time. Heavy metals DMSA test through Doctor's Data a great idea. Get some monthly bloodwork going to make sure you body is ok, and to check on things like Thyroid.

Ya with the breastfeeding thing you'll have to talk to your doctor, I don't know too much about that unfortunately, sorry! Though at that age, you probably won't be breastfeeding much longer so maybe it won't be an issue in a few months.