LOL! I HAVE been here a LONG time! LOL! I think I'm becoming an permanent fixture here! Ha ha ha!
With the experience that I had personally, and what I've watched others go through, here is what I believe needs to happen for many of us to heal:
a)Detoxing - gene mutations, mold exposure and multiple tick-borne infections can all prevent us from detoxing well, but we must be able to get those toxins out of our bodies. I have 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 use a 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), as needed,
oil pulling with tea tree oil,
taking activated charcoal, as needed,
Alpha lipoic acid,
Quercetin,
turmeric,
Methyl B-12 and methyl folate,
Dandelion tincture,
red root tincture,
Yogi brand detox tea (original flavor)
and keeping the amount of stress in my life at a bare minimum.
I have used apple cider vinegar to help with detoxing as well - it's really good, but started making my stomach issues worse, so I stopped using it daily and only use it occasionally when I know I need a boost in my detoxing for just a day or two.
You can find some really good detoxing suggestions in the "New to Lyme?" thread that sits at the top of the forum. And this is another really good resource for detoxing ideas for Lyme patients:
www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html But, there is such a thing as over detoxing. This happens when we move more toxins than our body is capable of processing out effectively. Many toxins are stored in our tissues, and by detoxing, we move them to the bloodstream where we can process them out of our bodies through the lymph system, then on to the liver and kidneys as so on. We have to be sure to add in more detoxing routines slowly and carefully, or we will end up herxing just like we had never been detoxing. This article helps to explain that some:
www.tiredoflyme.com/4-reasons-why-you-still-feel-bad-despite-detoxing.html b)Supporting the body functions/systems. We have to have the body working at it's peak performance to heal from something as devastating as these infections. Supporting any gland, organ, body system that is struggling will allow the body to switch it's 'concentration' from just trying to function over to healing.
c) Raise the immune function. Many legitimate Lyme researchers now believe that it's the lowered immune function that determines who gets chronic Lyme and who heals right away. We already know that Lyme lowers the immune function and when a person has Bartonella and/or Babesia, the immune function is further compromised, so to heal we must raise our immune function.
d) Lastly, oddly enough, are anti-infective treatments. Many of us have experienced treatment failures, so we can see that the treatments aren't the only thing we need to have - there has to be more to the equation, but anti-infective treatments are very important!! Lyme bacteria are one of the most complicated bacteria! Although it takes only hours or days for most bacteria to replicate, Lyme bacteria only replicates in the body every few weeks.