improvment when???

I'm so new to this. I have been on antibiotics since July 15th. Three-doxy, mepron and biaxin. and 5 probiotics. No herbal remedies. When will I start feeling better?? This is so frustrating. I have been sick for 2 yrs. I know many of you have been longer and worse. Im so sorry, because this sucks.
My PCP and my pain management of course don't believe I need all these antibiotics. In fact my pain management wants to see all my test results because he doesn't believe my LLMD. He says that the LLMD tells every one they have Lyme. Well I believe him, my symptoms alone prove it.
Probably should do separate thread but a new symptom...for the last 3 weeks the soles of my feet are KILLING ME. I do Epsom salts baths, lemon water and hot tub.
Should I be doing herbs? and which ones?
Still waiting labs from California. Labs from Germany positive for Lyme Borrelia and Epstein Barr. I think I may have Bartonella. Nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, fatigue, severe joint pain, obviously depression, overall pain, headaches, neck pain, severe foot pain, memory loss (recent MRI brain showed stable vascular changes)
any suggestions? I'm tired.

Dunno. When things work, they work. Gotta find the right balance of things that are gonna have the effect(s) on you that you're needing. Real tough task.

You're on the right track though.

Screw what the others think, by the way. The reason he tells everyone that they have Lyme is likely because the majority of the sort of people that get to the point where they're seeking out such doctors actually do have Lyme/co. Normal people aren't paying any mind to them. You say, "LLMD," and they'd probably go - "huh?"

Yeah, are some of those symptoms very indicative of Bart? I should know by now, but.. memory, you know. I've been told that there's a good chance I've got it though, based on symptoms. Got a lot of them as well. Really fun, when you get near 8 hours of sleep, wake up feeling worse than when you hit the bed.

Anyway, seems Trav's got you covered in the way of suggestions as to what more you could be doing as far as treatment - herbals, detox, etc. (Not that I'd be much help anyway). Maybe a couple others will come by with a bit more, some other suggestions, words of encouragement?

Oh, have you tried red root, milk thistle? Red root's good for the lymph, to keep things moving. Milk thistle's good for detox, the liver especially. There are others. I'm sure people could get a list going, if you asked.

You could buy tinctures, or you could get the herbs in bulk (like a lb at a time), and make your own tea. Though, I'm not really sure how much the effectiveness varies between the two though, tinctures and the homemade teas. I got too much bad going on to really take note. Really though, either would be better than nothing.

But.. yeah, good luck. Sorry for the loss (of self).

Post Edited (Antonio192X) : 8/25/2015 2:28:15 PM (GMT-6)

You are Igenex positive for lyme disease. But, you already know you have lyme disease....what this test doesn't tell you is what co-infections you have.

I did read somewhere something about band 41 and bartonella...don't know if that's valid. But both my husband and I have postive band 41 and we both have/have had the foot pain...and I am now treating for bartonella.

I had slow improvement when doing lyme treatment for over 9 months...I'm wondering if it's because of bartonella not being addressed.

I also think it sounds like you have bartonella...which your current treatment isn't addressing. You could discuss what your LLMD's plans are...

You could add in some bart herbs: Japanese knotweed, Sida Acuta, Houttuynia - those are the ones i was taking for awhile...and may be adding them back in once i get used to the full dose of the Rifampin/mino combo.

kimbo62 said...
Thank you for above information. Every bit helps. This is so frustrating. I actually just received copy of my blood work from California. lol. Not sure I understand. IGENEX IGM RESULT POSITIVE 31, 34,41
IgG negative but positive 30, 31 IND, 39 IND, 58
any ideas what this means?

With results like this, please don't let anyone talk you out of completing treatments!

Here is the site that I use to help interpret test results:www.reocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/western-blot.txt You can go there to find supporting Pubmed articles showing what these bands represent.


An IgM result means that you have an active infection. It once was thought to mean an 'early' infection, but has since been revised. IgG means that the infection is at a later stage. The more +'s you have beside a number, the stronger the reaction.


IND means indeterminate - not negative, but not quite strong enough to be "fully positive". But it means that you reacted on those bands and should be considered, especially when they are Lyme specific bands.


A "Lyme specific band" means specific for Borrelia Burgdorferi, sensu stricto - Lyme disease in the strictest sense. There is only one on the over 300 known strains of Lyme that is considered Bb, ss. Nothing else will turn a Lyme specific band positive other than Lyme disease.


Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.


Band 31, while I believe shows that it's specific for Lyme, others disagree. If you are interested, here are some of the links that I believe show that it's specific for Lyme: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1520966



www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9440203



www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8406878



www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8005219



www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10030131

And more references can be found here: www.reocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/western-blot.txt

So, on to your other bands that showed up as positives or IND's:

Band 30 indicates OspA (Outer Surface Protein "A") - but is NOT specific to Lyme.

Band 31 indicates OspA, but IS specific for Lyme.

Band 34 indicates OspB (Outer Surface Protein "B") and IS specific for Lyme.

Band 39 indicates BmpA (Bacterial Membrane Protein "A") and IS specific for Lyme.

Band 58 is thought to be indicative of Borrrelia Afzelii - a European strain of Lyme.