What's Next?

I try to keep my posts limited on here because there are so many people who need help. But, I've kind of hit a wall and not really sure what needs to happen next.

I've treated the Lyme since last November with herbals. I've seen some improvement, but I actually feel worse than I did this time a year ago. New symptoms keep popping up that I've never experienced before. I started taking LDN about 2 months ago. Some people say that it helps "turn the light on" to see parts of the disease you didn't know you had.

Before all of the treatment, I tested negative for EBV, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain. But after starting treatment, and especially LDN, I have shown a TON of Babesia symptoms and even just recently some more Bartonella symptoms. I had mono about 5 years ago, so I know that the EBV is present somewhere. Back in October I lived in an older house, and my symptoms got WAY worse, so we feel that there's probably some mold issues going on as well. The only thing that I think I have a pretty firm handle on is the Candida.

But my question is this...where do I go next? I've heard that it's important to get the mold and virus issues down before the Lyme and/or coinfections can really decrease. Is that true? My gut instinct told me to start a viral protocol (Doc said Valtrex or monolaurin) to see if/what kind of reaction I could get, before trying to target the Babesia or Bart. And for the mold...I have no clue where to even start with it. Dr. C rambled on about getting a mold culture done at my house? Maybe? He lost me when he started talking about the mold.

If I have to just target one thing at a time, which of these factors should I target first? EBV, MOLD, BABESIA, BARTONELLA, or continue just treating LYME?

I appreciate ANY input. I do have to mention that I will be seeing an additional holistic doc soon to help me tackle the nutritional deficiencies and detox methods.

THANKS!

Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker is another resource for mold diagnosis and treatment:

www.survivingmold.com/

Good luck!

Traveler, thanks for confirming about the mold. That's an interesting connection between the Lysine and treating both. Thanks! I'll definitely do some research on that.

I think, at least initially, I would like to try treating one or the other to see the reaction. Where I do believe it is important to kill both viruses and CMV, I think I'd like to know which one is causing the most die off, in order to confirm what we're dealing with. Does that make sense?

cd3764, I've at least heard of Shoemaker. haha. I'll check out the website and see what I can find.

Thanks so much for your input.

Traveler, what do you think about the new Lyme and co symptoms randomly showing up? Is it possible to have had the coinfections all alone, but they not show up on the blood tests in the beginning? I'm just curious. Is that possible? I mean...I guess anything with this disease is possible. haha.

Thanks, PeteZa. That's what I had thought all alone, but somehow I guess my doctor had failed to mention those possibilities.

Just wanted to pop in and thank PeteZa and agree with their statement about the co-infections testing. I only got 4 &1/2 hours of sleep last night, so I managed to sneak in a nap!! YAY!!

Krimpet, I'm not sure I've even been tested for anything outside of the EBV for the mycos. Should we make that a priority as well?

I've done a considerable amount of research this morning on Shoemaker's view of the mold. It all makes sense now! I compared my doctor's notes to what I was reading online. He had mentioned the VCS test at my last visit and has been saying that we could try cholestyramine for like a year now. haha. It makes sense to go ahead and pursue the mold stuff. Would I just continue taking the normal Lyme medicine as I have been? I was working my way towards a full 20 drops of the A-L complex. Would I just continue upping that or stay where I am?

I guess my biggest question is how do you know if your current place of living is "safe?" My doc mentioned something about getting some cultures at home maybe? Still unclear on that one.

The best way to test for mold is not the home, but the person. Your current home may not have mold, but you could have picked it up from most anywhere else you have lived or stayed. A nasal swab is the best method from what I understand.

As far as your current living place of living, it's best to call a place that does remediation, and find out what they find, then if it's one of the mold "species" (?) that you can buy a home test for, I'd suggest that you do that as well - as a kind of double check to make sure that you aren't being scammed.

Yes, most people can continue their Lyme treatments, but you may have to hold the dose steady, or go more slowly with raising the dose. As you know, everyone is different.

Krimpet, I'm assuming my EBV levels were okay. My doctor never said anything about them directly, but at the next visit he did ask me if I wanted to try a virus protocol to test things out.

I think overall I still have the mold, virus, testing for parasites, and heavy metals left to deal with. Before I can really even touch the lyme and coinfections. Gracious.

My doc had mentioned the real time labs. Insurance doesn't pay for those tests do they? The ones I saw were at least $1000. Perhaps I wasn't looking at the right place. I'm looking into the nasal swab test. I had that written down to check on.

Thanks so much for your insight on this one. I feel like today has been a "puzzle solving" success!

Bartonella replicates fast ...consider rife bvt and go for gusto...