This is pretty long. Thanks for reading. The gist of it is that I took lysine for my Epstein Barr, and I think it might have messed up my Bartonella. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
I tested positive for Bartonella and Epstein Barr in early 2019. I found out I have Hashimoto's and high thyroid antibodies in 2016. I'm in the process of trying to get tested again for them. I actually tested negative for Lyme though. However, Bartonella is a Lyme co-infection, which is why I'm posting here.
I got the previously mentioned tests at an out-of-state functional medicine doctor, whom I saw several times. I haven't been to him in a while, but he helped me out. He recommended some supplements to take, and I also did a 42 day round of antibiotics for the Bartonella back in Spring of 2019 (wasn't very fun).
So basically right now to try to help myself with these illnesses, I take a lot of supplements, try to eat fairly cleanly, but I'm not good at sleeping at regular times, and I am trying to work on stress management too.
But my current problem deals with a supplement I recently took, Lysine, that seems to have messed me up.
Some more backstory, in the past few months I looked up the Steven Buhner Lyme and co-infections book and looked at the Bartonella protocol. I'm taking a lot of the things on his Bartonella protocol right now.
Taking all these things for Bartonella, and not feeling like I was making much progress, made me look at the Epstein Barr virus more (Mono). So I started taking something else for Epstein Barr, like Monolaurin (Lauricidin). I guess I still felt like I wasn't making much progress, and was having setbacks, so I looked into the Epstein Barr thing again. This time I found out that Epstein Barr was a herpes virus, and arginine makes herpes viruses worse. Among the recommendations for a herpes virus was to cut out foods that are high in arginine, like nuts, seeds, and chocolate. Coincidentally I had fairly recently started eating a lot of sunflower seeds and chocolate, like a lot. Funny thing is I didn't feel bad when I ate sunflower seeds and chocolate, but when I read about the herpes viruses and arginine and sunflower seeds and chocolate, I was like "crap, I have to stop eating that". Along with finding out about arginine, I found out about Lysine, which seemingly acts opposite of arginine, and helps counteract herpes. So I stopped eating those high arginine foods, and ordered a lysine supplement.
I started taking the Lysine supplement, and could right away tell that it was doing something. I felt more tired, foggy, and sicker, but thought it was a good thing, like it was kicking up something and maybe helping. So I continued to take the Lysine. I took the Lysine for a little over a week. First I started at 500mg, then quickliy went up after a day or two to 1g of Lysine per day. I kept feeling the symptoms, and kept thinking it was okay, and it made sense to take it so it was good. But after a week (and trying another new supplement, olive leaf, which I don't think was good for me either), I was feeling pretty out of it. Really out of it, foggy, lacking wherewithal, almost to the point of actual confusion. so I stopped taking the lysine.
This is where the Bartonella comes in. In the Steven Buhner book I read that he recommended arginine for Bartonella, so it seems Bartonella and Epstein Barr are at odds with each other in the way that arginine is recommended for Bartonella, but not recommended for Epstein Barr. I never took arginine for Bartonella, because I had read some bad things about it increasing the wrong type of Nitric Oxide, and I have a supplement (which I don't usually take because it's stimulating), that is supposed to increase the right kind of Nitric Oxide.
But keeping in mind the recommendation of taking arginine to help with Bartonella, I'm thinking my lysine supplementation might have messed something up with my Bartonella. I took lysine for a little over a week, and stopped taking the lysine about 2 weeks ago I think, but I'm still feeling the symptoms from taking it - tired, foggy, lacking wherewithal.
Does anybody have any ideas on this, to maybe counteract this feeling, or if taking lysine could have screwed up my Bartonella a lot?
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
What type Thyroid treatment are you on? Why would you think that the Hashimoto's is any different today than in '16?
I don't know anything about using Lysine. But I know quite a bit about Chronic EBV. It is a on going process to get Chronic EBV to back down.
Just when you think you knocked it out. Something sets it off again. IMO, it's a bacterial, virus, stresser/trauma that gets EBV activated again.
Bartonella is not easy to get rid of either. It too will keep popping it's head up. It could go dormant and also rear it's ugly head again.
One thing that can lower the immune system ability to fight off bacteria(s) and viruses is Candida, Fungus, Mold. It is often overlooked in chronic illnesses too.
There is no easy/fast fix to ridding the body of these bad guys either.
Thyroid function & thyroid hormone levels must be optimal in order for one to have success treating in this Lyme & co-infection world. Or you could end up with more auto-immune issues.
Pam
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
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