Hi -
I've been lurking and posted a couple times but I wanted to introduce myself. Here's my story (sorry for the length - brevity has left me!)
I'm 45 F, had my first LLMD appt 3 wks ago. I have had a long history of poor immune function with reactivated EBV, very high stress, pushing my body too far, and bouts of high energy followed by crashes. about
4 years ago I was dx w/ hypothyroid, adrenal exhaustion, SIBO possibly chron's, extreme neurotransmitter imbalances, fibromyalgia, CFS. Last year, for 10 months I had a nonstop sinus infection along with bronchitis three times that all lessened with many many different short abx cycles and steroids. My crashes increased exponentially.
While on these abs and after, my joints started hurting, my arm & leg muscles became fatigued and sometimes ached, the soles of my feet hurt, headaches increased, cognitive problems got worse, bp raised, hypoglycemia and insomnia worsened. After reading some of the heart wrenching posts on this forum and elsewhere, I would qualify my symptoms as moderate - I am not bed-ridden or debilitated although I could not continue working in the high-stress environment and feel unmotivated and maybe even incapable of getting another job right now (and now worried about
finances).
My largest complaints are fatigue that keeps me homebound, lack of sleep, digestive problems/distended gut, and the cognitive problems (which really aren't that severe but I did need to leave work to 'get better'). The migrating joint and muscle pain is a nuisance and sometimes painful but I push through it. My personality is also gone. From a lack of an effective descript
ion about
how I feel I took an asperger's test online - I tested 'high'. Feeling isolated and frustrated.
After a lot of scrambling and research I thought I should get tested or lyme & confections. Had an appt with an LLMD and last week she had me tested for various viruses, EBV, HHV-6 or -7 (can't remember), lyme, babesia, and borellia or bartonella (can't remember), CD57 and more. I won't get results for another week. But she felt strongly enough about
my history/symptoms to start me on the following protocol:
strict diet
probiotics
charcoal
diflucan
nystatin
grapefruit seed extract
olive leaf extract
acyclovir
low dose naltrexone
huperzine
espsom salt baths
dry brushing
walking or some movement if I can
I am also supplementing with the following (that I have taken for 4-5 years before seeing LLMD):
Naturethroid
omega 3 fish oils
astaxanthin
chromium
selenium
zinc
l-lysine
cortisol manager
adaptogen
B-12
These are the steps she mentioned - and a couple questions I have:
Step 1: heal the gut
I have stuck to the strict diet for 3 1/2 wks. My bowel movements look fairly normal now but I still have a distended belly, gas, pressure (from probiotics?).
How do I measure how the gut treatment is progressing?Step 2: detox and observe response to antifungals
The OLE and GSE are for provocation in advance of the WB tests. I expected to be herxing more than I am - wk 1 was tough, but now I'm pretty tired but not exhausted, muscles ache and it seems like a different joint hurts every day but I'm still moving around - I'd say that the intensity of my condition hasn't changed a whole lot.
Does it seem like I'm responsive to the herbs? Does my detoxing seem effective? Regarding the antifungals, I did have severe gas pains after the first dose but I haven't noticed much change in the gut after that. But I was experiencing a flakey film on my face and chest that I'm sure was fungus - due to peeling from an anti fungal cream. After the first couple of diflucan doses the peeling stopped. But this wk, the peeling is back around my mouth, nose, eyes.
Does this seem like a biofilm issue?3. The third step is to treat the infection. Not there yet.
Would really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts - thanks!
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 4/2/2014 7:15:50 PM (GMT-6)