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Posted 11/5/2015 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone developed full blown dementia from Lyme?

Ever since I got sick a year ago, I have felt like I've been developing dementia. My brain is much slower, and I feel like I'm going to forget how to get home sometimes. Is there anything that can be done to prevent this? I wonder if there's a paticular herb or antibiotic that could be taken to remove spirochetes from the brain and spinal cord.

I remember reading somewhere that a Harvard doctor, maybe Horowitz?, was performing biopsies on dementia folks brains after they had passed, and said that he didn't find a single brain that didn't have spirochetes.
Posted 11/5/2015 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
That was Dr. Alan MacDonald. I'm not at all suggesting you donate, but this is where there is a lot of good information on his work and discoveries: /www.gofundme.com/z3v2a2k

This is a part of my life that I still have to come to grips with, as when I think back to when I was at my worst, I was showing some very distinctive dementia symptoms. The most common issue though is toxins, not the bacteria so much.

The Lyme bacteria release toxins as they die either naturally or with treatments. These toxins include things like ammonia. When the bacteria die in our brain, they still release those toxins, but good detoxing routines that lower the overall body load of toxins will reduce the toxins in the brain as well. There are a few things that seem to be helpful in reducing those toxins in the brain a bit better, though. Kudzu is one that is said to be particularly effective, although it doesn't seem to work for everyone.

Some use Dr. J's CNS/PNS Neuro antitox haa helped a few: hansacenter.com/product/neuro-antitox-ii-cnspns-tm/

I'm sure that others will be along to chime in soon as well.
Posted 11/5/2015 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
If I were you I would check out heavy metal toxicity and ammonia toxicity.

Checkout the symptoms of mercury/lead poisoning specifically.
We have impaired detoxification, so we hold onto all kinds of junk. Lead is found everywhere, its in the air because of leaded gasoline in the past.

I had my hair tested for heavy metals. I showed up high for lead, copper, and mercury. I had my silver fillings removed started chelation with DMSA. my memory is so much better now. Brain fog improved, memory, and confusion have all reduced since I begun with this.

Ammonia causes the brain to stay stimulated, like insomnia, ADD/ADHD, for example.
Parasites and lyme bacteria leave a high amount of this in our system. The liver is the primary detoxification system for ammonia, this is why liver support is so important.

Hope this helps!
Posted 11/5/2015 3:48 AM (GMT 0)
Gfields, I am not sure if what I had was full blown dementia but early in my infection I experienced the symptoms that you described.

-- I would forget my wife and children's names.
-- While showering I would forget how to turn of the water; I would just stare at the water knob, my mind knew that it was used for that but my brain had no idea how to do it.
-- I found myself staring at the doors of the building where I work one day and I could not remember if I was leaving for the day or if I can arriving.
-- One time I forgot to put the car in park and when I proceeded to exit the car, the car started to move forward.
-- I also had problem reaching for stuff. I would reach for things that my mind knew I wanted to grab but my brain would forget how to grab it so I would end up dropping the item.

During this period I started treatment with antibiotics and started to use herbs so I can't say if any one thing helped with the symptoms but I slowly began to recover. One thing that I will say is that soon after starting Turmeric my headaches and brain fog got better so maybe that was it?

As Traveler mentioned, toxins and metals play a huge part in how the brain functions so it is important to eliminate them from the brain.

Pinella, Burbur, Alka Seltzer Gold, Turmeric and Dr. J's CNS/PNS Neuro antitox (mentioned earlier) all seems to be helpful at removing toxins and alleviating the symptoms of herxing and toxin overload.
Posted 11/5/2015 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks again Traveler! You're a wealth of information. I just purchased Kudzo. Never had heard of this before.

ItisLyme - thank you for mentioning DMSA. Another thing I've never heard of before. Do you mind if I ask where you purchase yours from?

I have been taking Milk Thistle for the liver. Is there anything else I can take to reduce ammonia?

I took a look at your blog page. I have the same pile of pills. Oi! haha

Healing98 - Thank you as well! I am dealing with the same symptoms. I hate to admit it, but one day I forgot to turn my car off. I just left it running the whole day. And before I left work, I couldn't find my keys (because they were still in the car). I was looking around every where for them, until I finally realized I left my car running all day.

I know what you mean about forgetting to turn knobs and weird things like that. I sometimes find myself staring at walls and realize I'm doing it, but I can't find the motor coordination to tell myself to stop. It's like a trance or something.

The one thing I will admit that I sort of like about this brain poisoning is the intense dreams I have on it. They are SO vivid. Although sometimes it's scary how vivid they actually are, and I wake up from them, and I feel like I just came off of a drug or something, and I end up wondering how many brain cells I burnt through on that dream.

I am on Pinella, Burbur, Turmeric and Dr. J's CNS/PNS Neuro antitox. I think these do help a bit.

I'd love to turn off this ringing in my ears. It's SO annoying! Maybe brain detox will help with this?
Posted 11/5/2015 6:06 AM (GMT 0)
Dementia is NOT cause by lyme ONLY. Barto also causes Dementia, although not often spoken about.

When I was sick I had severe memory loss problems. I could not even add 2 numbers under 10! My son thought I was joking because I was helping him with 1st grade homework and I was making mistakes. So I went from having a master's in Math and Statistics to not being able to do first grade math.

It is not often spoken of Barto causing Dementia. I believe if you have both Lyme and Barto, the case is more severe. I have had both. Upon treatment, I started to get my math brain back. THis article mentions
Depression
Dementia
Encephalopathy
Violent behavior
Confusion
Combative behavior
Substance abuse disorders
in Bartonella patients:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2100128/

I mentioned Math because that was when I realized something was seriously wrong. I'd forget other things, but I thought I was maybe tired, didn't pay attention etc. But not being able to add 2 numbers under 10 made me feel like I was loosing my mind.
Posted 11/5/2015 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the article, Simela!! No wonder it was so bad for me. I had no working memory at all for a while, as well as extreme cognitive difficulties as well. I honestly couldn't put together a shish-ka-bob while my daughter was standing next to me doing the exact same thing. That was my "uh-oh" moment with how bad I had gotten. I started talking to my daughter right then and there about how she will need to put me into a nursing home if I got any worse.

Scary stuff.
Posted 11/5/2015 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Trav. It was scary for me too. I thought my life was over for sure. I felt so useless! I couldn't even find the dishes! I was looking for them in the bathroom! I think to a degree I was affected more from Barto than Lyme. I thought I'd mention this here since so many drs will only treat Lyme, often just with Amox, which doesn't do a think for Barto. And then people are wondering why they don't improve...
Posted 11/5/2015 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
Exactly, and that's why forums that provide good, solid information (like this one I hope!) are very valuable. Citizen researchers is what we all are! And good ones at that!!

Yep, I hear about people trying to use only Amox to treat Lyme all the time. Amox alone will never work, it must have Probenecid dosed along with it to keep it in the blood stream long enough to be effective against Lyme - and as you noted, it won't do a darned thing for Bart, Babesia or any other infection they may have!
Posted 11/5/2015 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
I've been on doxy for about a month, and I haven't noticed ANY improvement. Should I be on something else?

I would imagine I have Bartonella as well as lyme. I had the Bart cat scratch rash and all the symptoms of Bart. My memory is horrible, just like you guys have described.
Posted 11/5/2015 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Gf.
It takes time. One month is really nothing. You need a lot more treatment. Doxy is good, it takes care of both bart and lyme. Keep it up. Give it a few months. And detox. It's a waiting game. I was on abx for 1 year.
Posted 11/5/2015 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
While I agree with Simela on Doxy being a good place to start, as it also takes care of Anaplamosis and Ehrlichia, it encourages Lyme to go into the cystic form, so you should be adding in another abx or switching over to a different one soon.

I would also ask you about your detoxing routine. We often find that those that aren't feeling improvements aren't doing enough to help their body to detox. Can you tell us what all you are doing? Here is what I used to do daily:

I did not had any of the gene mutation testing done, although I do seem to have the same kind of issues as those that do - so I figured it was best for me to assume that I did and work to get my body to detox much better. It took a lot of diet changes as things with my body changed, I used an Epsom salt/peroxide foot soak daily, dry skin brushing, making sure my bowels moved at least once a day (sorry if it's TMI!) pushing myself to drink at least 64 ounces of lemon water each and every day, liver/gall bladder flushes (all natural), oil pulling, taking activated charcoal and keeping the amount of stress in my life at a bare minimum, and used Yogi brand detox teas at times.
Posted 11/6/2015 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Traveler. Thanks for this information. I do have flagyl. I have been taking a 1/4 pill every couple days at night. It makes me herx pretty bad. It might be bad to take it every once in awhile like I'm doing. I've heard that you're supposed to take abx and stay on it, and not stop and start. I take doxy twice a day every day.

I have been doing an epsom salt bath, several lemon waters, green tea, and Cowden and Jerigans detox herbs. I bought some cat claw tea, but I've been nervous to take it, because I think I might herx with the cats claw.
Posted 11/6/2015 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
What is a good abx to alternate with doxy?

Thanks Simela1. I hope my LLMD lets me stay on abx for an extended period of time.
Posted 11/6/2015 3:53 AM (GMT 0)
Man, I forgot to mention, my mom got bit by a tick today!! It was lodged in her back. She was out raking I guess. It had a circular red rash around where it bit, but it didnt have the second ring. I took a picture of it, and I saved the tick and submitted it to a university for testing. The last thing she needs is lyme disease!! I really hope she doesn't get it. She's in her 70s and I'm not sure her body could fight as hard as mine is. She's tuff, but I'd rather not see her go through it. I offered her some of my abx, but she said she wants to talk to her doctor first.
Posted 11/6/2015 4:06 AM (GMT 0)
HELP ANYONE

im not sure if i have viral meningitis or lyme disease… all the symptoms have been exactly the same, it started with an agonising migraine and fever… i still have an ongoing headache constantly which hasnt gone away for weeks..memory loss, poor concentration, the lot! had bloods tests etc they said its just a virus and will go, but my friend has just been diagnosed with lyme and she said symptoms were the same!

help! has anyone with lyme had a recurrent headache?
Posted 11/6/2015 3:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Leora,

Lyme is known as the "great imitator" so it presents with almost every symptom in the book. Migraines can certainly be a symptom of lyme disease. My first symptom was this strange electrical bolt feeling in my brain and then a burning sensation in the front of my head. Memory loss and poor concentration definitely fall under the category of lyme symptoms. What you are experiencing could certainly be lyme disease and I would highly recommend getting tested for lyme. Lyme disease is very common, and even if you don't live in a wooded area, you can still contract it through mosquitos and sexual contact.

So, to get tested you could either locate a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) in your area and ask him to prescribe you a test, or go to your Primary Care Physcian and ask for a test there. Your LLMD may give you a more accurate test than your PCP.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do and what your results are!! There's lots of very knowledgeable friendly people on this forum, and we like to help people get better! :)
Posted 11/6/2015 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
Leora, Welcome to our community! I posted in your other thread. It's best to keep the same questions contained in the same thread so that you can keep up with the responses from others.

gfields said...
Man, I forgot to mention, my mom got bit by a tick today!! It was lodged in her back. She was out raking I guess. It had a circular red rash around where it bit, but it didnt have the second ring. I took a picture of it, and I saved the tick and submitted it to a university for testing. The last thing she needs is lyme disease!! I really hope she doesn't get it. She's in her 70s and I'm not sure her body could fight as hard as mine is. She's tuff, but I'd rather not see her go through it. I offered her some of my abx, but she said she wants to talk to her doctor first.

I"m glad you took such quick action to find out what the tick may have been carrying!! Do be sure to watch that circular red rash though! If it begins to expand, I would encourage you to try to get her to take either abx or an herbal protocol to make sure it's properly taken care of! A couple of months of treatment is a small price to pay for not having to live with these infections!

With your reaction to the Flagyl, I would encourage you to increase your detoxing. Find more things that you can work into your routines so that you can increase your dose sooner and get past this faster.
Posted 11/6/2015 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Traveler, So you think Flagyl is a good abx to take alongside doxy?

I think I read somewhere that Flagyl can pass the BBB and kill spirochetes in the brain, but I may be wrong. I was watching Dr. MacDonald's video about alzheimer and spirochetes in the brain. That certainly is scary. I'm pretty sure they're in my brain, and definitely want them out!
Posted 11/6/2015 5:27 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I just found an article that covers this topic. I guess flagyl and doxy both cross the bbb:

http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2013/03/blood-brain-barrier.html
Posted 11/6/2015 5:33 PM (GMT 0)

gfields said...
Hi Traveler, So you think Flagyl is a good abx to take alongside doxy?

I was basing my answer on what you were already doing. I honestly don't know enough about the abx to be able to answer many questions! LOL! Sorry. I can look up dosages, but I know more about herbs than abx.
Posted 11/7/2015 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I see.

Do you know if herbs will pass the BBB? It sounds like the abx will pass through the BBB, and kill the spirochetes, but I know once the spirochetes come in contact with the abx, they immediately form the protective biofilm, which the researcher said is similar to plaques that develop with Alzheimer. Therefore, to prevent biofilm build up, I guess research would have to be done in order to locate herbs that will pass the BBB and break up and remove biofilm in the brain. Otherwise, it seems that dementia/alzheimer will be inevitable.
Posted 11/8/2015 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
Japanese Knotweed crosses the blood/brain barrier. It is also in Buhner's protocols for Lyme and Bartonella.

Not all abx are good at penetrating the blood/ brain barrier. One that does is Minocycline.

Also wanted to mention that doxy alone will not take care of a Bartonella (if you have it)
Posted 11/8/2015 5:51 AM (GMT 0)
Ah, OK, Thanks Girlie. I think I may have some tea with Japenese Knotweed. I'll give that a whirl.
Posted 11/8/2015 7:08 AM (GMT 0)

Girlie said...
Japanese Knotweed crosses the blood/brain barrier. It is also in Buhner's protocols for Lyme and Bartonella.

Not all abx are good at penetrating the blood/ brain barrier. One that does is Minocycline.

Also wanted to mention that doxy alone will not take care of a Bartonella (if you have it)

Unfortunately Resveratrol crosses the BBB in low amounts, so you need to take quite large doses of knotweed to see an effect on the brain. That's why Buhner's dosage is pretty high.
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