I'm at the point now where I can do anything, but I still have problems digesting foods, and also occasionally with headaches and fatigue. I have had quite a few stressful things happen to me lately, yet I'm still holding steady.

What are the best ways to attack Lyme without antibiotics? I run 45 minutes 4 days a week, I lift weights, I get my sleep, I take some herbs from a naturopath.

Are there any suggestions from people who have been cured without antibiotics to get over the last little hump? I am anxious to get everyone's imput. Lymenet is such a great tool.
 

A number of Lyme patients have indicated that metals and candida can hold you back from full recovery. As a result, many people find that both need to be resolved to effectively deal with Lyme.
 

I"ve gotten to about 95-100% on the combos above with abx...slowly...it's a very slow process...you have to give it time...you'll plateu, then change meds, then plateu again....then take two steps backwards, then one forwards etc...

have you discussed coinfections with your llmd? many find if they plateau or dont get better it's because they have an underlying coinfection that isn't being treated, adn if thats the case , then more than likely the lyme WON:T go away until that's treated. it's like spinning your wheels....

unfortunately abx none of us like..but as anurse I think you do have to use it at some point for some length of time in combo with many of the above treatments to totally eliminate the bugs....

just my humble opinion....and I'm doing very well now, thanks to this way of thinking...

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers...

Lisa
 

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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

[This message has been edited by treepatrol (edited 13 May 2004).]
 

You may still find some of my posts.

Good luck.

agressive anti-candida treatment. My Lyme doctor told me about a new line of natural products that I feel have fought the yeast better than Nystatin, diflucan and acidophilus.

The products are made by the Garden of Life (www.gardenoflifeusa.com).(They're sold at Whole Foods Market, as well). I take something called Primal Defense. You have to s-l-o-w-l-y make your way up to the full dose because

like Lyme, you herx when you are killing the yeast and whoa, this stuff kills those yeastie beasties.

I try to stay on the no sugar/lo carb diet (but cheat here and there), exercise 2-3 times a week and take PH baths by Master's Miracles.

I know I sound like a walking advertisement but out of all the products I've used (and they have failed me), these are the ones I've found advantageous.

The final thing I've done is to remain on my alternative program which you can read about in the archives under my name: can't hurt & might help.

There are skeptics as this program really is a stretch, but I tell you, I just know it has been one of the key factors in my recovery.

Best of Luck,
Clarissa
 

Concerning rife, you can connect to a busy discussion group on this website, as well as contact the author of the site for more information.

Concerning co-infections...I'm copying a recent newspaper article below. I copied it off a recent post to the eurolyme newsgroup.

The Newtown Bee
Newtown CT
No Longer Just Lyme--
Co-Infections Challenge Doctors And Patients
By Dottie Evans
[photo omitted on LymeInfo]
Dr Richard Horowitz, specialist in diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and other
tick-borne illnesses, spoke Monday night at the Fireside Inn. --Bee Photos,
Evans
An informational forum on Lyme disease sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club
in cooperation with the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force on Monday night at the
Fireside Inn was so well-attended that chairs were at a premium. Several of
the 300 attendees stood at the rear throughout the two-hour presentation.
When Pat Smith, Lyme Disease Association president, asked how many in the
audience had suffered Lyme disease, were now suffering from it, or had a family
member who was struggling with it, more than 100 hands went up.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, also on the panel of
presenters, spoke briefly and soberly about the impact of Lyme disease on
Connecticut
residents, especially children.
"This battle is profoundly important. Lyme is an insidious, growing threat
and if we have children, we are more cognizant and sensitive. I applaud the
courage of people such as you who are coming forward."
He added that the state system for reporting Lyme disease cases "is woefully
inadequate, and a new standard for diagnosis needs to be realistically set."
Ms Smith also spoke on behalf of children with Lyme disease.
"Schools need more education on this issue. The children suffering with Lyme
or other tick-borne diseases [termed TBDs] may experience a 20-point drop in
IQ, and a drop in grade point average. They suffer psychological damage when
they are unable to participate in sports, lose friends, and feel isolated," she
added.
It seems that children, as well as the elderly or those with compromised
immune systems, are at the greatest risk of contracting Lyme disease. And while
Lyme disease caused by the spirochete bacterium Borrelis burgdorferi is most
widely recognized, it is not the only infection that can be transmitted to
humans
by a bite from the black-legged or deer tick.
Several other infectious diseases, such as erlichiosis, babesiosis, and
bartonella or cat-scratch fever, may also be passed along. In fact, as many as
40
percent of those suffering chronic Lyme disease may also have one or more of
these other diseases.
"Patients are having trouble getting diagnosed and treated," Ms Smith said,
adding that under current Center for Disease Control (CDC) surveillance
criteria, only one-tenth of actual cases have been reported.
"The fact that Connecticut numbers in 2003 were down 72 percent is the result
of the fact that labs are no longer required to report the cases. It's a
paper drop only," she cautioned.
A Social Phenomenon: Nightly Tick Checks
The evening's keynote speaker was Dr Richard Horowitz, a former assistant
director of medicine at Vassar Brothers Hospital and currently a practicing
physician in Hyde Park, N.Y., who has dedicated the past 20 years to the study
and
treatment of Lyme disease at the Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center.
"I've treated more than 7,000 cases of persistent Lyme, and I can tell you
it's a very complicated disease, and it's everywhere. Prevention is impossible.
Only Antarctica does not have it," Dr Horowitz said.
"You must be your own doctor. Do a tick check every single night. Find
someone else, and do it together. If you find a tick, remove it with tweezers
and
pull straight up," he advised.
"You must also think like a doctor. Lyme disease presents with clinical
symptoms that you must learn to watch for," Dr Horowitz said.
These symptoms include feeling tired and experiencing night sweats and
chills; drenching sweats during the day; a stiff neck and headache; memory
problems
and difficulties recalling words; joint pain that comes and goes, and migrates
throughout the body from knee to elbow to shoulder; sensitivity to bright
light; and flulike symptoms.
"Obviously, you must look for the expanding, red EM rash [erythema migrans]
within three to 21 days after the bite. It will disappear even without
treatment and may lie dormant for ten months," he warned.
"Not everyone who has Lyme gets a rash," he added.
If additional symptoms such as seizures, nausea, or vision problems persist
after initial treatment for Lyme disease with antibiotics, this is a signal
that another TBD may be involved.
"There is a universe of organisms that these ticks contain and treatment must
be different for each disease. You might need more than one drug. Most people
are multiply co-infected," Dr Horowitz said.
"In the office, I've seen patients as sick as those with congestive heart
failure. Talk about terrorism being a threat to the United States; we're looking

at an epidemic of Lyme and other TBDs here, and that is the worst threat
imaginable," Dr Horowitz said.
A Universe of Co-Infections
Besides the Lyme disease bacterium, there are an increasing number of other
infections that may be transmitted.
Erlichiosis may cause flulike symptoms, usually occurring within five to ten
days after the tick bite.
"A patient will also present with high fever and aches and pains, as well as
a low white cell count, high liver functions, and low platelets. Erlichiosis
is very specific and can be treated well with antibiotics if it is caught
early," Dr Horowitz said.
Babesiosis, a malarialike disease, also presents with an intermittent high
fever, but includes chills and drenching daytime sweats, loss of appetite and
anemia.
"Forty percent of those with chronic Lyme are co-infected with
babesiosis...it takes a whole battery of tests to diagnose it."
Bartonella, also called cat scratch fever because it can be transmitted by a
cat bite or scratch as well as a tick bite, may cause seizure disorders and
memory loss or confusion. There may be vision problems and it may present with
significant lymph node enlargement. Again, treatment is unique and specific to
the disease.
Dr Horowitz closed his talk on a hopeful note, mentioning that for the first
time in 20 years, he has seen evidence of a possible treatment solution
occurring right before his eyes, "in my office during the last 30 days."
A patient had come in who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, and was given
glutathione by intravenous injection to remove heavy metals stored in his brain
cells.
"Neurotoxins produced by the Borrelia spirochete, or Lyme disease bacterium,
also interact with heavy metals in our cells," Dr Horowitz pointed out.
After being given the IV dose, the patient showed 90 percent improvement
within ten minutes. His joint pain was gone and his cognitive symptoms improved
markedly.
"We repeated the experiment doing a double blind test with saline instead of
the glutathione," Dr Horowitz said, adding that the results were encouraging
and consistent.
"All these chemicals in our bodies cause inflammation, and glutathione seems
to act like a sponge that pulls them out. I'm very excited about this."
****