Before I begin this blog post -- yes, I have a time machine -- I want to apologize for any grammatical errors you may come across as my head is a little off today. I know, some of you are thinking, “Well, if you have a time machine, why not just go back to when your head was clearer -- or better yet, after chronic Lyme?” Good point, except that I recently acquired the time machine this morning -- you can only go as far back in time to when the time machine was acquired. Also, as much as I’d love to be at the time in my life where I was over chronic Lyme, I’d miss out on a lot of the good experiences that would occur during chronic Lyme’s stay, or would I? Oh, I don’t have a time machine and this is all just a theory.
Okay, so what’s going on with me and my treatment?! A lot is going on, actually. I last left you all with the knowledge that I would begin treating systemic yeast with Diflucan, and that IGeneX test results showed I was dealing with Babesia. Let’s deal with the yeast first.
Yeast Treatment Update
I began Diflucan on the day of my last blog post (April 9th) and ended it about halfway through May. To accompany the Diflucan, I also took Thorne’s SF722, and while I feel the Diflucan and SF722 combination helped to an extent, it really left a lot untouched. I know some people have used Diflucan for extended periods of time -- well beyond the standard one month treatment -- but I didn’t feel comfortable taking a drug notorious for being hard on the liver, despite my liver test results being normal throughout Diflucan’s administration.
Enter Byron White’s A-FNG formula, specifically designed for treating yeast and yeast-like organisms. Let me just say on a side note that if you want a powerful herbal tincture, look no further than the Byron White Formulas. Before I took any Byron White Formulas, I didn’t understand why a doctor was needed to order them. After taking A-BART some time ago, I quickly learned why, and for those who have taken any of the Byron White Formulas, you know what I’m talking about.
Returning from the digression, I’ve restarted the A-FNG. Even though I took it once before, I only reached 7 drops 2x a day, with a goal of 20-25 drops 2x a day. Some even claim 30 drops 2x a day, but in time. At the moment, and actually, as of this morning, I surpassed my previous dose of 7 drops 2x a day and took 8 drops. Even though I was off of the A-FNG for some time, I didn’t find it all that difficult to get back to the dosage I left off at.
All in all, I have very high hopes that the A-FNG will be able to, in time, massively clear any excessive yeast, and this will help with a lot of my symptoms. I’ll report back on its usage in the coming weeks.
Beginning The Babesia Treatment
The Babesia you ask? My treatment protocol for the Babesia includes Side Acuta, Artemisinin, Azithromycin, and Mepron, but I’ve only been taking the Artemisinin (for about a month), and the Sida Acuta for quite some time, but at a low, stagnant dosage - I’ve begun to increase it. I was supposed to start the Azithromycin a week after starting the Artemisinin, and a week after that, the Mepron, but a delay occurred because of, you guessed it, insurance. A long story short, my phenomenal doctor pushed for the medicine and the insurance company ended up covering at least the Azithromycin, which I am incredibly grateful for to both of them!
Today I start my third round of pulsing the Artemisinin, and plan to take the Azithromycin in 3 days. Why you ask? Well, studies show that Artemisinin should be pulsed -- with the pulse duration being subjective to each treating physician -- because after 3 days of taking Artemisinin, the stomach creates an enzyme to destroy the herbal constituent and this renders it useless. Because of that knowledge, I pulse the Artemisinin for 3 days on and 11 days off, and the surfacing die off symptoms reinforce those studies. I don’t want to overwhelm my body with a major die off due to taking Artemisinin and Azithromycin at the same time, at least in the beginning.
For me, and based on my current dosage of Artemisinin ((3) 100mg capsules 3x a day), the Babesia die off symptoms haven’t been too bad. The symptoms are definitely new and take some getting used to, but they’re tolerable, for the moment. The one die off symptom that stands out the most is the subtle, whole body shaking. I notice it comes about once I increase the Artemisinin.
My First Myers’ Cocktail
I’ve always been one of those chronic Lyme people who have read about other people with chronic Lyme who have had, and continue to get, a Myers’ Cocktail. I’m sure you’ve heard of a Myers’ Cocktail, but for those who haven't, it’s an intravenous nutrient therapy. A catheter is placed in your arm, and for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half, a liquid containing vitamin c, b vitamins, magnesium, calcium, selenium, zinc -- and possibly other nutrients -- is slowly administered into the body. The purpose of the treatment is to directly provide the body (by passing possible poor absorption in the digestive tract) with some of the important nutrients it needs for methylation, energy, and immune support.
Well, I was no longer a spectator as I received my first Myers’ Cocktail on Friday. How did I fare? Well, no more than an hour after receiving the last drop of my first Myers’ Cocktail, I began to become very sensitive to light -- moreso than I usually am -- I felt rather weak, and my heart was racing at a clocked 107 bpm. Mentally, I felt very on edge and uncomfortable, but after following the wonderful guidance and care of my doctor to take it easy and drink a lot of water, I began to stabilize about 4 hours after the last drop of the Myers’.
For the remainder of the day, I was bedridden with a slight systemic weakness in my muscles, but boy did I sleep good that night. The following day, I woke up with a head that was clearer than I’ve known in years. I didn’t feel horrible, but just the lingering effects from the latter part of the previous day remained. As the day went on, I continued to improve, and for first time in years, I felt more alive and human.
I feel the Myers’ Cocktail induced a massive purge of the toxins I had built up from the many Lyme and yeast herxheimer reactions I’ve had over the years. It’s almost as if this large amount of stagnant toxins that were hanging around, with no direction for leaving my body, were given that massive direction with administration of my first Myers’ Cocktail.
Today, 3 days after my first Myers’ Cocktail, I feel the effects have worn off and detoxification will be up to me now until my first intravenous glutathione therapy this Wednesday. Would I do the Myers’ again? Definitely! I think it’s something that I really benefited from, as it allowed me to increase my dosage of certain antimicrobials much quicker. For now, I’m thinking once a month would be beneficial, but I’ll discuss that with my doctor.
How Do I Feel Overall?
Even though I am currently under the influence of yeast and Babesia die off, I can definitely feel things are improving, and the one gauge I base this off of is my brain fog. I find myself being able to articulate and craft complex thoughts into words for coherent and explicit conversations much easier than I have in the past.
I also found myself being able to play guitar much easier as of late; almost as if there was nothing bothering my nervous system. Usually when I play, it can be very sloppy, as dead and wrong notes are played, but even just yesterday, my fingers moved up and down the fretboard without a hiccup. It was really great to witness and absorb [the music], because much like the words I speak, I found the music came through just as clear and expressive.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still having off days, and with the recent initiation of aggressive treatment for yeast and Babesia, I’m really just waiting for the storm. But treating Lyme itself has taught me to be very patient, and more importantly, to understand what exactly is going on inside of my body, so that the bad or good feelings I have, make sense and can be avoided or replicated in the future.
I continue to be incredibly grateful for the support I receive from the people on and off of Tired of Lyme, but my journey with chronic Lyme is no more special than any other person’s. I’ve always said from the start, as is the consistent goal of many Lyme sites, is to be able to help people in their desperate times of need with this condition. Chronic Lyme is scary stuff and it’s likely unlike anything any person has gone through before. But this is what we do as humans, we support each other to find the greater truth that can make the troubles in our lives just a little more bearable.
Don’t give up and keep pushing forward!
