posted
I have been treating since Oct. 2012... first went after Babesia and then started treating Bartonella in July 2013. I am still treating for Bart.
Last year she did the testing.... said I had everything.
Now she does it and says I have minimal tick borne disease activity but a heavy load of fungus in my head (which is what I have thought all along).
I am on Cholestyramine, A-FNG, Silver spray, Minocycyline, and Rifampin along with a few other supplements.
What the heck do I do? My main symptoms are still head pressure, ear pressure, sinus pressure (no congestions) and burning head sensations like water is up my nose.
Should I just go all natural and quit these antibiotics? Should I still keep seeing her? I really don't know what to do and this ART crap is really starting to annoy me. I couldn't help but to hold back a laugh during the testing. Like really? Pulling my leg and then your arm? Come on now. A
nd apparently my body doesn't want any pharmaceutical antifungals and she wouldn't prescribe me any. But sure enough, my body wants the herbals that are for sale in her office.
posted
And yes, today I started a anti-candida diet that she put me on as well. Why I was not told to do this by her last year? I do not know. Also last year I asked her about silver spray. She said she had no idea about it and couldn't imagine using it for anything. Now, she is telling me to use it.
Posts: 251 | From Baltimore | Registered: Oct 2012
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GretaM
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
Argh! I feel your frustration
I don't know what to say... I don't know anything about ART.
I would be feeling and thinking the same thing as you though, if I was in your shoes.
Do you belong to a local support group, where others may have seen this same practioner and can bounce some ideas back and forth with you? Posts: 4358 | From British Columbia, Canada | Registered: Jun 2013
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posted
There is one right down the road actually. I have thought about going. I want to believe in the ART I really do but it is just really hard not to laught at her waving a cd over my head and touching my body while touching the supplements.
Posts: 251 | From Baltimore | Registered: Oct 2012
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
I stopped recommending this doctor when she started doing this stuff.
She doesn't follow Burrascano anymore.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
I really do not know what to do. I feel like I have improved but now I am stuck going nowhere. Not once has she offered to try anything IV..... I have kept asking to try IV vitamin, glutathione, ozone therapy... she doesn't want to do anything besides these herbal tinctures and pills.
Posts: 251 | From Baltimore | Registered: Oct 2012
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desertwind
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25256
posted
Have you tried Diflucan for your systemic candidas? ART also has some effect on candidas and the liposomal form penetrates the CNS pretty well (according to my LLD).
It is a bugger to tolerate but for me had a big role in reducing my head pressure.
Posts: 1671 | From Tick Infested New Jersey | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by xrunnerx2012: [QB]
And apparently my body doesn't want any pharmaceutical antifungals and she wouldn't prescribe me any. But sure enough, my body wants the herbals that are for sale in her office.
...............................................
I experienced the same phenomenon when a couple of health practitioners did ART on me regarding their products!
Think about it - do you really want to work with somebody who does this?
It's challenging to find out what works for us. It's a process that we go through with a good Lyme doctor.
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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desertwind
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posted
Yes xrunner. I get it from a compounding pharmacy that my llmd uses. I think it comes from Infuserve but will have to check the bottle. Four times stronger then regular ART and certainly killed yeast along w/ babs for me.
Posts: 1671 | From Tick Infested New Jersey | Registered: Apr 2010
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
ART can be a useful tool. Results depend on the skill of the practioner.
I think many of us need the opportunity to use both pharmaceuticals and alternative therapies in order to get this illness under control. I personally would want a doctor who was able and willing to use both as necessary.
Good that you have had some improvement. You might consider discussing your frustrations with your doctor about being stalled and set some very specific goals with timelines. If those goals are not met then maybe consider going somewhere else.
Sorry you are having a frustrating experience.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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Catgirl
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Member # 31149
posted
I agree with Terry (great advice).
Finding someone who does both ART and abx is difficult, IMO. Finding someone great at ART is difficult too. Lyme docs aren't perfect, but they are doing the best they can, and they are learning along the way as well. That said, I feel they are way more advanced than 99 percent of our medical community.
Head pressure, ear pressure and sinus pressure can be babs/parasites/proto. I would treat for parasites if I were you (hits all of them).
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
And thats exactly my point.... according to her and the "ART".... I don't have parasites at all and very little tick borne related activity. Now she is saying its fungus.
She also told me that my body doesn't like the current vitamin D that I am taking, however, it apparently loves the vitamin D she is selling in her office. This is what alarmed me the most.
The head pressure didn't start getting better until I started Rifampin.
After 2 years I still don't exactly know what my main problem is.
Posts: 251 | From Baltimore | Registered: Oct 2012
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glm1111
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posted
Agree with Catgirl. Treating for parasites can also knock out candida since they go hand in hand anyway. Antiparasitic herbs and salt/c is a great combo.
Parasites have been the missing link for many that are chronically ill. Check out the PARASITE WARRIORS SUPPOORT THREAD and google parasite symptoms.
Gael
-------------------- PARASITES/WORMS ARE NOW RECOGNIZED AS THE NUMBER 1 CO-INFECTION IN LYME DISEASE BY ILADS* Posts: 6418 | From philadelphia pa | Registered: Jul 2008
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Catgirl
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posted
IMO, everyone has parasites, but it is possible that they were not presenting when she tested you. It's also possible your body doesn't like the vitamin D you are on anymore (I usually have to rotate stuff).
Personally I find alternative practitioners valuable. That said, it's possible that your doc is simply not that good of an ART practitioner.
For the most part, I feel like it is good to trust in our practitioners. They have seen more than we have, and garnered more experience. However, if something doesn't seem right, it's probably not. Follow your gut.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
When you said ART I thought you meant artemisinin.
I have been abbreviating arte by ART, but you mean something else.
Artemisinin is supposed to kill some Bb forms and also help treat babesia, and it is one of the few over-the-counter drugs that has had some effect for me. (my symptoms mostly brain/CNS)
There is a compounding pharmacy Hopkinton Drugs that makes a homogenized arte compound with a fat (soya I think) that is assimilated with less loss than other stronger arte products. 50mg but is more expensive, about $90.
I have been taking arte along with lethicin, flaxseed oil, or fish oil to help assimilate it, but think this compounded version would be best if you can afford it. I think arte is helping.
Posts: 254 | From North Carolina | Registered: Nov 2013
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TF
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posted
ART is the acronym for autonomic response testing.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Judie
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posted
"I couldn't help but to hold back a laugh during the testing. Like really? Pulling my leg and then your arm?"
Yikes, I did something like that awhile back. Wasted 2 years of my life buying the chiropractors supplements and was worse in the long run (wrong diagnosis it turns out and when I took the supps to an MD who specialized in alternative medicine, he said there wasn't even enough of the ingredient in the capsules to make any difference).
I hope you can get a 2nd opinion (or 3rd or 4th).
My alarm bells go off that you need to buy the supplements sold at the office. Can you get the brand name and buy it online?
Trust your instincts/intuition. A lot of people are out there to take a sick-person's money. Sad but true. They may even believe their own BS.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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Dogsandcats
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posted
When I had the testing done I laughed- inside- cause it reminded me of when my boys were little and would pump their arms up and down to make "gas" noises.
Oh such delight they received, then when she moved the leg I worried my worst fears would come true.
I brought in my 5 gallon bag- I jest, but it seemed like it- of supplements and meds to be tested. Most of the stuff I brought, my body " rejected" during the testing.
I didn't go back too many more times. The cost was just too high. I have to admit I wanted to believe, but it was a struggle.
-------------------- God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham Posts: 1967 | From California | Registered: Oct 2010
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2roads
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posted
That's the problem isn't it.
We want to believe. If we were weren't in this boat we wouldn't give it the time of day, let alone believe. Sorry to say. Maybe that's just me.
I have an appointment with another "legend in her own mind", energy worker. I don't believe she thinks she's swindling. At least she's convinced herself of that, but I'm going basically with the attitude that it's a tarrot (Sp) card reading. A little overpriced entertainment. Wish I had the money.
Decided not to waist my son's time, but will do so myself. Should a miracle occur, then I will take him. Heck, she doesn't even remember I'm on her cancellation list, as she said "why would I be calling you?" When I called back to check. "Uh, well, so you don't swindle my son?...testing the ol' water you know.....ok, I'll take his appointment at the end of the month"........geeeshshsh.
We're off to that fast start.
Posts: 2214 | From West Chester, PA | Registered: Aug 2003
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Catgirl
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posted
quote:Originally posted by Dogsandcats: When I had the testing done I laughed- inside- cause it reminded me of when my boys were little and would pump their arms up and down to make "gas" noises.
Oh such delight they received, then when she moved the leg I worried my worst fears would come true.
Ha ha!! You gotta love kids!
For anyone reading this (this is not specifically for Dogsandcats), what they don't always tell people when they are getting tested is that right at that current moment, it's a yes or a no. So you may not even need the supplement at that point in time, or your body could have adapted to your supplement, so it would be a no.
I did find that some things my ART practitioner tested me for as a "no" were wrong though. It either meant at the time of testing that I didn't need it, or my practitioner just didn't think it would work for me, so it's possible my practitioner was projecting what he or she thought was right or wrong for me.
I muscle tested myself for something that the ART practitioner said was a no, and I still got a yes. So I had another practitioner test me for it and, low and behold, my product tested great. I didn't even tell the second practitioner any part of the story behind it whatsoever.
I have since mastered muscle testing and I'm so glad I took the time to learn it. It took time and practice. I still occasionally have someone test me to make sure I'm not projecting what I want the answer to be. Muscle testing is an awesome tool for anyone who wants to know if their supplements will help them (worth learning).
Also, I still find the ART practitioners have value. There is more to it than muscle testing. Mine found things in me that no one else ever found. I think kineseology is the wave of the future (it has helped me).
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Catgirl, where can you learn how to self-test the muscle test for supplements?
Posts: 254 | From North Carolina | Registered: Nov 2013
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MichaelTampa
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Member # 24868
posted
quote:Originally posted by Robin123: [QUOTE]Originally posted by xrunnerx2012: [QB] Think about it - do you really want to work with somebody who does this?
A couple alternatives: - learn to do this type of energy testing for oneself (I think a great idea) - go only to doctors who just guess
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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posted
I think that if you are unsure, uncomfortable, and/or unhappy with some things happening with this doctor, perhaps it's time to get an opinion from another LLMD. Listening to yourself is important.
I do believe that there are some very good ART practitioners out there. However, there are times when many of us can also be helped by prescription meds. Also,there are doctors who integrate the use of RX meds along with supplements, herbs, vitamins, etc.
Best wishes.
Posts: 873 | From WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
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posted
Nancy, I learned from you tube videos (google), as well as a few alternative practitioners. There are plenty of other alternative practitioners who do this as well--not necessarily ART practitioners. Also a few kind souls here on lymenet.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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