Lyme Pickle - re: Dr. C.

Did Dr. C. ever mention doing the mthfr gene testing, or testing for mold?
Or did you get all your testing done with the LLMD in Seattle?

What about diet/detoxing - any discussions with Dr. C.?

He doesn't suggest anything in my appts. regarding any of the above. I don't have a LLMD - he's all I got...so I'm wondering if he's covering all bases.

Do you know what symptoms I would have if I had the mthfr gene? Besides poor detoxing...wouldn't there be symptoms in my life prior to getting lyme? or not?

I'm hoping he is knowledgeable, but is maybe not doing further testing until I'm at 6 months...and he thinks I'm not progressing enough.

My last appt. I asked him about the mthfr gene...and he said that my herxes would be unmanageable...and last longer and didn't think i should be concerned about it....don't know that...I get worried when I read all this posts....

Hi Girlie. Dr. C has not mentioned anything about either MTHFR testing or testing for mold. My opinion is I don't have mold at all. That is for some people that lived sometime in mold infested houses… Usually old houses that had a serious water leak at some point in time. I don't have mold exposure… maybe only when I threw out those old strawberries into trash lol.

I took the M-THF supplement anyways for a month which is a special kind of folate. Not sure it helped though. Dr. Ross says MTHFR is a small part of the puzzle. I decided I'm not going to worry about it. I detoxed fine. For me it was the microbes that were causing all the issues. (mycoplasma, bartonella, anaplasma, and Lyme are the 4 infections i have).

Maybe consider testing for mycoplasma and anaplasma?

I have no idea what issues you would have if you have this. Apparently people that have this have a harder time processing the lyme toxins that are broken down and released into the body when they die off.

To be honest, Dr. C is pretty good and leaves lots of options open. But I think it is unto you to bring up those options and explore them. Dr. M.R. has been more comprehensive with his overall treatment plan. Dr. Chan has been more open to various options. That is why I kept suggesting you ask for the nystatin! lol. It's in your best interest. In my opinion if a yeast buildup occurs when on long term abx it can cause some serious damage to the intestinal tract. But you insist that you don't have any yeast yet. Did you check your tongue for any change in colour?

Just keep at the abx! Trust me you will get better. I was like why the heck am I not getting better for the longest time! Clarithromycin made my body burn for 3 straight weeks! But I did get better. I would say I'm around 99.2% my former self. LoL. See I'm getting close to 100% but I don't feel I am there yet as I have the very slightest hint or sign of symptoms sometimes and of course I am still medicating. My goal is 100% restoration of my health, not gonna stop until I get there. I have an appointment with Dr. Ross tomorrow, I want to hear what he has to say, and of course I want more abx.

Girlie - For me and my personal opinion with Dr. C. Is sometimes you might have to make suggestions. I think I mentioned that to you before about him. He has the options available you just have to suggest them.

If I were you, I would switch up the amoxicillin next appointment. You have been on it long enough I think. Amoxicillin is a pretty safe antibiotic compared to many others, but it is also only effective against Lyme and you have bart too… Also a big downside to amoxi in my opinion is that it is harsh on the gut microflora.

I would say stay on the clarithromycin… But ask about changing the amoxi to something else. Say maybe minocycline? Another option available is plaquenil which makes the biaxin work 40% better… yup you heard me, it improves the effectiveness of biaxin that much, plus it helps body inflammation. You don't have to take the 2 x 200 mg pills daily. You can take 1 200 mg plaquenil once daily, or even every second day. (as mentioned by a German LLMD). It also improves the abx effectiveness against bart, and interferes with bacterial enzymes (particularly with Lyme).

Another option I suggest is ceftin. Ceftin is far superior to amoxi… It kills spirochetes by poking holes in them and works even if they are not reproducing.

Anyways, if I were you I would switch up the amoxi at this point to something else. Or you can consider the septra DS (bactrim). So ya my recommendation is switch the amoxi to either mino, septra, or ceftin. Ask for plaquenil as well, and continue the clarithromycin.

Ceftin is in the class of antibiotics known as cephalosporins. And yes in my opinion it is pretty safe with no long term side effects. (Thinking of fluroquinolones and Azoles). The only issue is with another cephalosporin which is rocephin which can cause gall bladder issues. Some people maybe allergic though. There mechanism of action is in the cell membrane. But it has an advantage over drugs like amoxi and penicillin when treating lyme in that it kills even if they are not reproducing.

Have you seen that research article that just came out in June that compares all the ABX against lyme? Ceftin is more effective than amoxi, doxy, azithromycin, and even clarithromycin. There are people that cured their Lyme disease with cephalosporins. Lots of success with 6 months IV rocephin for example.

Opugirl on here did ceftin and she said it was the best abx she used. She says she has no symptoms at all anymore.

I might be asking Dr.Ross tomorrow for Ceftin. I really only want to go through this treatment once. I don't believe in "remission", I only choose to believe in "cure". If it comes back it was under treated and I don't want that.

Rifampin is good... But you need to be on it long term (like 6 months minimum). And it felt harsh on my liver and made me feel tired. Need to take milk thistle to protect the liver with that. I don't think it is that effective against lyme. That's why I suggested the others. Did you consider some herbs from woodland essence like sida Acuta or Houttuynia? I guess again with those herbs you have to be on them for some time. I'm good with my herbs now for bart.

Girlie, I saw Dr C on Fri. He ordered mold testing for me since I taught in a moldy/leaky classroom. The mold test is $1000. He said that mold needs to be treated before treating Lyme. However, if you haven't had exposure, then you wouldn't need the test. I was off work for 6 months and developed environmental illness.

Girlie,
After my mold remediation, alot of my symptoms were gone. Some have started creeping back but less intense. I'm still far from well and have horrible days but doing better than a few months back. First you have to get rid of the exposure. Call in an experienced mold company to do air sampling and testing. If you have mold then you have to remediate. Then you should have your HLA genes tested, which effect mold detox. Then a urine test to check for mold. Then you have to detox the mold.
I think you can pound away at abx but if you have mold toxins stuck
In your system you might not recover.

Watching the news in Canada, crazy! What is wrong with this world.

Girlie, I went to Dr C in Richmond. I told him about my mold exposure which is why he wanted me tested for it. I saw the black insulation when the walls were removed on two different occasions. I am from NS.

dmw52 - did Dr. C. mention how he'd be treating your mold?