Help Needed.

Cignet,

I am really sorry you’re feeling stuck and at your wits’s end. I have been there numerous times. I just keep praying, trying to figure out what’s going on, and trying new things.

So far, the things that have moved the barometer at all for me after getting stuck in herbal treatments:

- TUDCA
- Nystatin and Fluconazole
- now trying Ivermectin and Serrapeptase

Ivermectin seems to be slightly helping my gut. Anything that quickly kills and removes bad pathogens from my gut helps my symptoms. The stuff that kills it slowly or only makes it mad without killing it, just drags out miserable symptoms for me.

I have also been working on my spiritual health for the past year, especially since April. That has helped a lot. I remember you talking about things God had done in your life a couple years ago. Maybe take some time to really remember what He’s already done and encourage yourself in the scriptures and spending time in His presence.

In April, I fled the house my mom and I had bought and had remediated and moved into my car again because of mold in the house. It was at that point that I knew I had to spend time with God and be still and quiet. Up until then, I would just come to Him exasperated, desperate, demanding, angry, etc. I knew it was time for me to sit down and be quiet. I had tried to fix my body and my house/mold situation myself while asking for His guidance. Now it was time for me surrender, trust, and wait on Him.

That changed a lot of things for me. It shifted my perspective from being trapped in a maze seeing no way out while the walls were closing in on me to being seated with Him in heavenly places and having confidence in His love, protection, and plans for me. (Ephesians 2:4-6). I started hearing His voice again. I also started listening to ISN a lot and building my faith by hearing about the miracles He was doing for others.

I will be praying that you get a much needed breakthrough🙏.

What coinfections you've got? What's your worst symptoms?

Hi Cignet.
I've felt this way more times than I can recount. My Lyme, with Babs and Bart, at minimum, primarily works on me neurologically, and it has a straight shot to my emotions. I have frequently felt totally hopeless and despondent. For lack of the right term, I call it neurological depression. It affects the emotions, but it's not emotionally driven. Just be aware that your frame of mind, though understandable given your circumstances, might also be directly exacerbated by the disease itself. Having that perspective can help you understand that you don't have to give into its fear and despair. You can take executive spiritual authority over it.

For me the road to success is paved with failures. I can't tell you how many times I thought I had broken free to open field, only to be tackled again, seemingly with no net progress. But still, there has been overall progress - and it has been six years fighting this thing full-on, and I had it in some form under the radar for decades, affecting me subtly. I keep trying new things, while holding to a basic herbal regimen, and doing things that improve my core health. Currently, the keto diet has been a big boon for me.

In all of it, my faith has been my main strength. When all is going badly, the "peace that passes understanding" is just a change in focus away. I nurture myself on favorite praise and worship songs, and I enjoy the blessings I do have. Moreover, I have faith in God the healer (Psalm 103, all the miracles of Jesus, who hasn't changed, etc). I trust that the Lord hears my prayers, and if I'm not healed yet, that He is working in ways I cannot yet understand. The glory will be His.

I hope this comforts you in some way and gives you hope.

Cignet,

I reread your post from April (https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=4244286&g=4244395#m4244395.

In that post, you described your symptoms. Sounds like your worst symptoms were gut related - digestion problems, constipation, no feeling in the intestines, spasm/seizures in the intestines.

Have you done any special diets like keto? A number of people here have found ketogenic diet to have a significant affect on their symptoms.

Instead of focusing on Lyme, bartonella, babesia, maybe cut down to maintenance herbs of whatever you feel benefits you the most and spend a few months working on GI issues. Diet is the cheapest and most straightforward way to start.

Yeast/mold and parasites can definitely cause a LOT of symptoms, toxicity, systemic dysfunction, and immune dysregulation. I have been quite surprised by how much antifungals and antiparasitics (herbal and Rx) have affected symptoms that I initially thought were from bartonella. I have had breakthroughs, at times, but they haven’t lasted. My diet is a big reason why.

Cignet, my heart just breaks reading your post; your words are so honest and I feel it all for you. It sucks big time. We also, have tried seemingly everything for our daughter and see only fleeting moments of her being somewhat better...which to a normal person would still mean sick.
I don’t have any advice for you treatment wise but you have to keep fighting. I will pray for you. I heard just this week someone say that our spiritual self has to be stronger than our physical body in order to deal with all the pain this illness brings. I’ve thought a lot about that. And not focusing on the evil of the whole disease and why us and why won’t healing come. I’m not even sick but watching my daughter is enough to make me feel all those emotions. We may never know why and that is so hard. Keep going if not day by day, moment by moment. You may not have supportive people you can see but count on me to be praying.

Cignet said...

WBF, can mold cause elevated liver enzymes, do you know? If you know any more about it that'd be great. I have some cholestyramine on hand and I am considering just taking it for a few months when I have settled on the fresh houttuynia tincture I have just began using.

I haven’t heard that, specifically, but I don’t doubt it can. My last mycotoxin test was with Great Plains lab. In my lab report, they included information about the 3 mycotoxins I tested positive for. There are more mycotoxins than these. These are just the ones I tested positive for. You can see that Zearalenone is hepatotoxic, which means toxic to the liver.

——————-
Ochratoxin:
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic mycotoxin. This chemical is produced by molds in the Aspergillus and Penicillium families. Exposure is done primarily through water damaged buildings. Minimal exposure can occur through contaminated foods such as cereals, grape juices, dairy, spices, wine, dried vine fruit, and coffee. Exposure to OTA can also come from inhalation exposure in water-damaged buildings. OTA can lead to kidney disease and adverse neurological effects. Studies have shown that OTA can lead to significant oxidative damage to multiple brain regions and is highly nephrotoxic. Dopamine levels in the brain of mice have been shown to be decreased after exposure to OTA. Some studies have hypothesized that OTA may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Treatment should be aimed at removing the source of exposure. Agents such as oral cholestyramine, charcoal, and phenylalanine can help prevent the absorption of these toxins from food. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, E, C, NAC, rosmarinic acid, and liposomal glutathione alone or in combination have been shown to mitigate the oxidative effects of the toxin. Bentonite or zeolite clay is reported to reduce the absorption of multiple mycotoxins found in food, including OTA. Studies have also shown that OTA is present in sweat, which supports the use of sauna as a treatment to increase the excretion of OTA. (PMID 17195275, 16621780, 16293235, 27521635, 22069626, 24792326, 22253638, 16140385, 2467220, 16844142, 19148691, 22069658, 16019795, 18286403, 15781206, 11439224, 17092826, 32710148)

Gliotoxin:
Gliotoxin (GTX) is produced by the mold genus Aspergillus. Aspergillus spreads in the environment by releasing conidia which are capable of infiltrating the small alveolar airways of individuals. In order to evade the body’s defenses Aspergillus releases Gliotoxin to inhibit the immune system. One of the targets of Gliotoxin is PtdIns (3,4,5) P3. This results in the downregulation of phagocytic immune defense, which can lead to the exacerbation of polymicrobial infections. Gliotoxin impairs the activation of T-cells and induces apoptosis in monocytes and in monocyte-derived dendritic cells. These impairments can lead to multiple neurological syndromes. (PMID: 16712786, 27048806, 21575912, 23278106)

Zearalenone:
Zearalenone (ZEA) is mycotoxin that is produced by the mold species Fusarium, and has been shown to be hepatotoxic, haematotoxic, immunotoxic, and genotoxic. ZEA exposure is mostly through water damaged buildings, although ZEA is commonly found on several foods in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The foods known to be contaminated with ZEA include wheat, barley, rice, and maize. ZEA has estrogenic activity and exposure to ZEA can lead to reproductive changes. ZEA estrogenic activity is higher than that of other non-steroidal isoflavones (compounds that have estrogen-like effects) such as soy and clover. ZEA exposure can result in thymus atrophy and alter spleen lymphocyte production, as well as impaired lymphocyte immune response, which leads to patients being susceptible to disease. ZEA is deactivated primarily through glucuronidation; individuals with impairments to this pathway will be much more susceptible to this compound even at very low levels. Treatment with the antioxidants lycopene and resveratrol has been beneficial in negating the harmful effects of ZEA in several studies. Bentonite or zeolite clay is reported to reduce the absorption of multiple mycotoxins, including ZEA. (PMID: 17045381, 19330061, 11384734, 1387742, 698923, 1599403, 2276698, 22645433, 24632555, 6239410, 6235161, 24503513, 25682699, 27489133, 15781206, 11439224, 17092826, 16095665, 16782537, 17561436, 11245394)