posted
For those of you whose you who caught Babesia early and are feeling *roughly* back to normal, how long post treatment did it take for you to reach this milestone? I am heading towards four months past treatment and still dealing with a low level of fatigue every day, slight balance issues, etc. Progressing yes, but seems at a snails pace. Not looking for treatment advice, know I am on the mend (had tons of lab work in the the last month all negative), but looking that the slow pattern of recovery is the "norm" Thanks.
Posts: 1 | From US | Registered: Oct 2017
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- "Post treatment" can be filled with uncertainty. What some might call "post treatment" others might see as "inadequate treatment" - not saying that's the case for you yet it's important to consider.
While it's great you were assessed and treated early on, and it's true that the kinds of red blood cell "hit" from babesia can cause extended fatigue, babesia can take longer to treat than some (doctors or patients) may think.
And it can become a chronic infection that requires extended treatment. I'd want to know that your doctor is absolutely able to consider all the variables and you were not just pushed out the door on some predetermined treatment timeline.
I know you are not looking for treatment advice, yet, there is the possibility that treatment might not have been comprehensive enough or long enough. Your current symptoms suggest that possibility.
Negative babesia tests are not the best way to determine success, especially when symptomatic. There are many variables that can throw off the efficacy of the tests.
A negative test cannot be a deciding factor in stopping treatment if you still have symptoms.
It would be hard for anyone to answer this question about whether you are done with babesia and just need to bounce back
without having a basic timeline for your treatment and the various Rx &/or nutrient/herbal support measures.
At the very least, it would be important to know if you did a COMBINATION treatment for at least many months under the direction of an ILADS educated LLMD (lyme literate MD or LL ND (naturopathic doctor).
As well, also vital to know if you were assessed for other tick borne infections &/or treated with combination approach for a few / many months.
Some of the drawbacks to babesia testing, or how to find the best test approach among the pack - and comparisons of various labs' offerings - are discussed in this article:
. . . [comparison of CDC guidelines for babesia treatment with others] . . .
---
While the above article (and others) speak to inaccuracies of testing - and recurrent babesia as well . . . some of pitfalls of testing as are with lyme may also be true with babesia testing. Points to consider:
ILADS - International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society
While the protocol below is from 2008, it can still serve as a basic template of sorts to get an idea of what combination treatments entails, even if there may be some newer Rx combination approaches.
ADVANCED TOPICS IN LYME DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME AND OTHER TICK BORNE ILLNESSES
Sixteenth Edition - October, 2008
Joseph J. Burrascano, Jr., M.D.
pages 22 - 24 BABESIA
Page 27 - SUPPORTIVE THERAPY & CERTAIN ABSOLUTE RULES for self-care
page 23 excerpt:
. . . Babesia infections, even mild ones, may recur even after treatment and cause severe illness. This phenomenon has been reported to occur at any time, including up to several years after the initial infection!
Furthermore, such Babesia carriers pose a risk to the blood supply as this infection has been reported to be passed on by blood transfusion. . . .
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the last excerpt also points to why I hope your doctor has told you that you should never donate blood any body organs / tissue at any time of your life, or afterward. This is very important.
A history of having had Babesia disqualifies all blood / organ / tissue donations.
Cordyceps, a supplement listed here was the best support method to help me lift the fatigue a bit. You might consider that now as you sort through what to do next. -
[ 10-15-2017, 08:25 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Other ways to get an idea of if you received a comprehensive treatment:
[And, as we all know lyme rarely travels alone so coinfections are discussed as well.]
Another excellent and well respected LLMD, book, website, etc. A new edition due out very soon.
There are other approaches as well such as herbal protocols with Zhang, or such as what Buhner details in his books on the topic.
Whatever treatment approach, though, it needs to be a combination approach with "direct action" & support as well. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brussels
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13480
posted
I don't know what you mean by the 'norm'...
I treated once babs not early, but already chronic. The moment I took those 3 days of Riamet, I think all my symptoms disappeared, after terrible drenching sweats and headaches.
A couple of weeks after, i started getting babs symptoms back.
It took me some months to get rid of it. All symptoms went away.
Until a next reinfection (new tick bite). It was awful. I treated it fast, but it was much harder to eliminate it. It was a much more stubborn infection.
I kept adding things, until it got dormant. I never felt it coming back again.
Fatigue can be something else too, like Borrelia, bart, mycoplasma... Or the need for detox.
What is trick with babesia, is that it keeps changing, constantly. Symptoms change quite radically, in my experience, then you are lost on whether it is still active or not.
I had awful blood values with it (low iron). When babs went dormant, I never needed to take iron supplement or infusions anymore. It was destroying my red blood cells, for sure.
When in doubt, add artemisia annua or artemisinin to check.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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