Girlie said...
You could post what Buhner wrote about chronic Babesia turning into acute babesia. I've not heard that before - ie from LLMD's...so it's new to me.
"During acute episodes of these coinfections, the immune response and cytokine profiles are quite different than during milder forms of the disease. Such episodes, while they can occur in immunocompetent people (usually children), most often occur in those without a spleen, those on immunosuppressive drugs
[that was me!], those with diseases affecting immune function (such as HIV), or the old (usually over 50) who are experiencing age-related low immune function. There is also some evidence, at least in babesiosis, that less common forms of the protozoa may lead more easily to septic conditions.
Babesia duncani, formerly B. WA1, is an example.
During the initial stages of infection the process is not unlike the milder forms of the diseases: IL-10 is upregulated and suppresses the Th1 immune response.
However, at a certain point, the infection, rather than resolving or becoming intermittent, moves rather rapidly into an acute phase in which the immune system suddenly, and inexplicably, shifts into a very strong Th1 response. The cytokine profile alters accordingly. As Shaio and Lin (1998) comment about
babesiosis:
Of the cytokines tested, levels of TNF-a, IFN-y, IL-2, and IL-6 were high in the acute phase..."
-Page 170 of
Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections by Stephen Harrod Buhner (c) 2015 under "Acute Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis: The Initial Stage of Sepsis"
It goes on to describe the biochemical changes in the body during the acute shift, but it doesn't talk about
what it feels like, which is what I'm interested in. A few deaths were reported in the chapter, as well as some symptoms of sudden inflammation and failure of organs. I have experienced extreme and sudden inflammation of the heart (or the connective tissue around it) resulting pain levels up to 10, but I was able to cope. This was while I wasn't taking anything for Lyme, but was taking immunosuppressant drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. I have not felt the same since, and have felt on the brink of death ever since.
Forgive my grouchiness. It seemed to me that people were poised to speak authoritatively about
something they did not understand.
Post Edited (TheRhythm) : 3/22/2019 9:47:33 AM (GMT-6)