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MY LYME DISEASE (AND CURE)

On 1st June 2013 I was walking with my wife along the banks of the River Spey in Scotland. That evening my wife discovered a very small black tick on her leg. (It was probably a nymph stage tick). I discovered nothing on me but within a few days a red patch appeared on my thigh. Over the weeks it grew and became redder and also slightly uncomfortable. After 5½ weeks I noticed the red patch had changed to the bull's eye shape which I recognised as a classic sign of Lyme Disease.

My GP confirmed my diagnosis and I was put on a 2-week course of amoxicillin, followed by a 2-week course of Doxycycline, finishing on 8th August. This got rid of some of my symptoms but not all. At its worst my symptoms were confusion, mild depression, visual field disturbances, infection in my left eye, scalp pains, neck & shoulder pains, a general flu-like feeling, and arthritis-like pains in elbows, knees and ankles causing me to have some difficulties walking. Within 3 or 4 weeks of finishing the antibiotics some of the symptoms had faded, but I was still left with pains in my knees, elbows, neck and scalp. I was refused all further treatment and told that my blood tests were inconclusive - positive IgG and negative IgM - and as I had been given the antibiotic treatment I couldn't still have LD.

Many weeks went by but my condition failed to improve. In fact it deteriorated slightly. I came across the idea that some infections can be treated with coconut oil. So, starting in late December 2013, I have been taking a desert spoonful of raw, virgin coconut oil about every 3 hours (except during sleeping hours). Within a week or two I noticed my symptoms were diminishing. The arthritis-like pains in my left elbow took longest to go, but this was probably due to the extent of the damage originally done in that location.

I am now symptom-free (April 2014). I think the coconut oil is only effective against the active, freely moving, form of the bacteria. Encysted forms are probably protected against it because as soon as I try stopping taking the coconut oil, even for just half a day, the scalp pains start to return. I anticipate having to continue taking the coconut oil for another year to ensure all the encysted forms of the borreliosis have emerged and been killed.

Why coconut oil? The largest constituent of coconut oil is lauric acid. The body converts this into monolaurin which has proven antibacterial effects. Websites like PubMed have plenty of articles about the proven effectiveness of coconut oil (lauric acid) as an antibacterial (and antivirus and antifungal) agent. The target bacteria are usually gram-positive bacteria and borreliosis is gram-indeterminate, but there's nothing to say it couldn't have the same effect. Apparently the monolaurin damages the cell wall of some types of bacteria.

Are there any side-effects of taking so much coconut oil? I take mine neat, although it's far more palatable if you mix it with food. Neat coconut oil seems to irritate my throat so I always follow it with some food. My stomach also doesn't like just having neat coconut oil in it - another reason for eating it with a bit of food. In the early days it loosened my bowels a bit, but as the weeks went by my bowels returned to normal.

Did the coconut oil get rid of my Lyme Disease? I can see no other explanation for all that I have experienced. I am now confident enough to share my thoughts with other sufferers.

Any other comments?
1. I recall I once read that sugar (sucrose) might possibly interfere with the effect of the monolaurin. However, I have a low-sugar diet so I can't comment.
2. If you are aged 60+ you might benefit from the known benefits of coconut oil in reducing the chance of developing Parkinson's Disease (and other mental degenerative diseases?). The coconut oil gets partly converted into ketones - good brain food for older people.


Good luck!


Malcolm.

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