possible change of protocol

I had a pretty good appointment today with my LLND. We talked about a bunch of stuff came up with a plan. She's going to do a whole bunch of hormone testing (cortisol, thyroid, female hormones). She feels my number one issue at this point is probably adrenals, followed by bartonella and then babesia. I threw her for a bit of a loop with my fever issue. Every day since at least February, my basal body temp has run 99-101. And I've been waking in the middle of the night from fever spikes a lot recently. The general gist of things is kinda what I thought...fighting these infections has thrown my hormones out of whack. I have a huge rash on my neck that's been there for so long I forget when it started...its probably bartonella.

The past 3 months have been really rough. I wasn't doing too well back in Nov/Dec, but I got a little reprieve back in January when I went on vacation. Then the **** hit the fan when we arrived home to be slammed by a huge snow storm. Most of the winter we repeatedly got slammed by snow storms. Hopefully its all over now, but you never know....we got 6" a couple weeks ago. Winter is hard enough all ready without being as sick as I've been. Things were so bad that I couldn't think clearly enough to type most days.

My sister continues to be her abusive self. She demanded to have the weekends off a while ago, and she got her way. I was starting to do a lot better physically before this happened, so I've back slid a bit because I now have to do chores 2 days a week. I'd much prefer to generally oversee everything every day, and have others responsible for the day to day stuff. In her mind, when I need time off or special treatment (let me know before starting to eat so I can put on my headphones, etc) I'm being selfish. Even though I'd do the same for her if she needed something. She got sick the other day, and I offered to take care of chores for her. I really wish she'd do the same for me, but I know that's never going to happen.

Now for my questions. Most of the time these days I feel really cold, though my face can feel really hot. I get shaky and have heart palpitations too, especially when I lie down. The mood swings and anger outburts are better than before, but they still happen. I have less trouble thinking and speaking, though no where near back to normal. I've gone from barely functional to somewhat functional.

Two of the supplements my LLND would like me to start on are A-Bart and A-Bab, and I can do them in addition to the herbs I'm already taking. The thing is, I just increased my stephania and kudzu dosages and that's made a big difference in my functioning. I made the change a couple days ago, so there really hasn't been enough time to gauge how that'll affect me. I also think I could go to a higher dose of the babesia and bartonella herbs I'm already on...and there might be a few more I can add in. The main thing holding me back on the A-Bart and A-Bab are the cost....$70 each for 1oz! I'm just not sure they're worth the money and that I can't get similar results with other herbs.

I'm at 1 dropper twice a day of:
-sida acuta
-alchornea
-cryptolepis
-houttuynia

I was doing 3 times a day, but that was too rough on me. Plus this way I can take tinctures before breakfast and dinner. So I can take my probiotic with lunch. I've been on houttuynia for 9 months and the other 3 for 11 months. How much more can I increase these dosages?

I've heard mixed things about the Byron White herbs...they make you herx really hard but may not actually eliminate the infection. And for that price tag, I'd really want to spend it on something that'll really work. I'm just supposed to start at 1 drop once a day and ramp up as tolerated....and I don't know how long a bottle will last. What have others experienced?

There's some other stuff I'm supposed to start taking (supplements and such), which I'm ok with doing. My gut feeling is its time to make a change. I'm just not sure if I should futz with my current protocol or add in the Byron White stuff. The price tag is a huge hang up for me, since there are better ways I can spend $140. I'm almost thinking of sticking to what I'm doing and waiting for the lab results to come back before playing with anything.

Welcome back Sayyadina! I'm sorry you have had such a rough road. I hear you on the Byron White costs. Beyond Balance makes products for Babesia and Bart too. However, they might cost close to the same amount. I have not tried them yet. But I know my LLMD plans to transition me to them when I finish antibiotics. The thought makes me a little nervous too.

It sounds like Babesia could be your most dominant infection followed by Bartonella. Have you tried Artemisinin? I started it fairly recently under my LLMD's instructions. So far, it is helping with my palpitations and chest pains. It is also hitting Bartonella and my rib pain, but it is too early to say if it is helping with that yet.

Welcome back!

Sayyadina,

It might be worth looking into, especially if you're at a standstill. I really think it is helping me. My doc is monitoring my blood and liver function on it. I might eventually add crypto.

I hope you figure it out. I think you have options before A Bart and A Bab.

HappyJo,

I have not used Researched Nutritionals. I'm using Super Artemisinin by Allergy Research/Nutricology. I asked because I have heard that Zhang is much stronger. I'm sure your source would know. I might switch to Zhang after I plateau on ARG/Nutricology.