Nancy
 

I've been on something similar for about 3-4 yrs. I was off of them for awhile, then ran into trouble again.

How are you doing?

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Do not take anything I say as medical advice. I am not a doctor, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express!
oops!
Lymetutu
 

I hate all this! i dont know if its lyme or not. I cant be on any antibiotics (wasn't on any in the first place). I sometimes wish God would just take me away-im tired of fighting.

Nancy
 

I have the burning, stomach upset, nausea...scope shows the same thing, non-erosive gastritis. And trust me I have a million other symptoms that all started within a short time of each other. You should definitely look into it more. Do you have other LD symptoms?

Terri
 

I've been battling lyme for 5 years and the only cure for my gi symptoms was levaquin prescribed for bartonella.......
 

I do have a positive igenx test for Lyme and Bartonella. The GI is the most horrendous!! What else should I look into? Tried diets and such (yeast, no gluten, etc). What are you doing to help your symptoms? What else are you looking into? Feel free to email me too if youd like.

Lymeblue,

I tried levaquin-it nearly killed me. I could not tolerate any of the side effects. Any good articles,web sites, etc that you are willing to share i would greatly appreciate. My lyme went into remission on its own a couple years ago-how is that possible. Then it came back and about a year later the stomach problems came back too. Grrrrrr.

Nancy
 

I haven't been treated for Lyme yet so I don't know what helps. I can't eat most days...maybe a half a banana and try to get some protein in with chicken or nuts. I drink tons of water. I had been eating more, but having a flare up again and forcing myself to drink...been very hard. I wish I could help more, but if I learn of anything I will pass it on.

Terri
 

Nancy
 

Your stomach is acidic (moreso) because high stomach acids PROMOTE the growth of the beneficial bacteria. (Common with autistic kids.)

More stomach acids...breakdown foods to FEED the beneficial bacteria which in turn not only absorb nutrients, but MAKE many nutrients for us.

Loading doses of GOOD probiotics.

Healing BEGINS IN THE GUT.

You HAVE to be able to absorb nutrients and make others.

Bb loves an acidic environment.
 

Susceptibility of motile and cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi to ranitidine bismuth citrate.

Brorson O, Brorson SH.

Department of Microbiology, Vestfold Sentralsykehus, Tonsberg, Norway.

Gastrointestinal symptoms accompanying Lyme disease have not been considered in the treatment of Lyme patients yet. Here we examine the effect of ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC) on motile and cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi in vitro, to determine whether it could cure this bacterial infection in the gastrointestinal tract.

When motile forms of B. burgdorferi were exposed to RBC for 1 week at 37 degrees C, the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) was > 64 mg/ml. At 30 degrees C, the MBC was > 256 mg/ml. When the incubation lasted for 2 weeks at 37 degrees C, the MBC dropped to > 2 mg/ml. Bismuth aggregates were present on the surface of B. burgdorferi when RBC > or = MBC, as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Cystic forms of B. burgdorferi, exposed to RBC for 2 weeks at 37 degrees C, were examined by cultivation in BSK-H medium (Sigma B3528). They were stained with acridine orange (pH 6.4, pH 7.4) and studied by TEM. The MBC for RBC for young cystic forms (1 day old) and old cysts (8 months old) was estimated to be > 0.125 mg/ml and > 2 mg/ml, respectively.

Bismuth aggregates were attached to the cysts and, in some, the pin-shaped aggregates penetrated the cyst wall. The bismuth aggregates also bound strongly to blebs and granules of B. burgdorferi when RBC > or = MBC.

When B. burgdorferi is responsible for gastrointestinal symptoms, bismuth compounds may be candidates for eradication of the bacterium from the gastrointestinal tract.

PMID: 12051564

H. pylori Cytotoxin Inhibits T Cell Activation

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Aug 21 - Helicobacter pylori is known to produce a cytotoxin, called VacA, that causes vacuolation in epithelial cells. Now, new data indicate that VacA can also block proliferation of T cells, a finding that may help explain the chronic nature of H. pylori infections.

In a study reported in the August 22nd issue of Science, Dr. Rainer Haas and colleagues, from the Max von Pettenkofer-Institute fur Hygiene and Medizinische Mikrobiologie, infected T cells with wild-type H. pylori or with strains lacking the genes for virulence factors, such as VacA and CagA--another pathogenic protein.

When VacA was present, T cell activation and proliferation was inhibited, the authors note. VacA seemed to cause this effect by inducing a G1/S cell cycle arrest. Specifically, the cytotoxin interfered with an IL-2 signaling pathway by blocking the enzyme calcineurin, ultimately leading to decreased IL-2 transcription.

The ability of VacA to inhibit calcineurin is similar to that of FK506 (tacrolimus), a widely used immunosuppressive agent, the researchers note.

The results suggest that VacA "might act as a 'long distance weapon' to efficiently block proliferation of T cells in the local gastric environment," the authors state. "For H. pylori, classified as type I carcinogen, a mechanism of local immune suppression might also be an important instrument for induction of malignant" disease, they add.

Science 2003;301:1099-1102.

Ask your doctor about the possibly of taking Zantac (1) and the usual dose of Pepto Bismol before bed for one week ONLY. Be sure to take probiotics with a full glass of water one hour before breakfast and before lunch.

Sometimes the above has to periodically be repeated.

We are all exposed to the pathogens on occasion (including H. pylori).
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Marnie:
When your system is acidic...kiss the beneficial bacteria goodbye.

Your stomach is acidic (moreso) because high stomach acids PROMOTE the growth of the beneficial bacteria.

More stomach acids...breakdown foods to FEED the beneficial bacteria which in turn not only absorb nutrients, but MAKE many nutrients for us.

Bb loves an acidic environment.

---

The next two statements say it's good. [???]

Then you say Bb loves the acidic environment.

So please explain so this pea-sized brain will finally get it..????

------------------
Do not take anything I say as medical advice. I am not a doctor, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express!
oops!
Lymetutu
 

Unfortunately, the remedy he mentioned was, naturally, a specific combination of oral antibiotics. Might be worth the grief if that's it, if you can get the test done I would.
 

Kathy

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nal:
Who here takes proton pump inhibitors? How long have you been on them and which kind do you take? Whats your dose?

Nancy

---

For instance, they encourage overgrowth of yeast and bacteria. It also seems intuitive that the body needs acid to digest so problems might arise with long-term use.

Have you been checked for yeast in your GI tract? This can be done by endoscopy/biopsy or in tests through Great Smokies labs. My daughter had these problems w/gastritis and inability to eat, and treatment with fluconazole after diagnosis w/yeast, really helped.

Once the yeast is gone, the gut still needs to heal. She is on a special diet to eliminate foods that irritate her "leaky gut" and taking enzymes. She will later do L-Glutamine and herbs to help heal the gut lining.

Proton pump inhibitors are an eady fic for MD's to throw at the problem. Recovery is a long road, but it is good to find out whatever is causing the problem and not just treat symptoms.
 

As Bill Clinton would say, "I feel your pain."

I spent the first 3 years trying to figure out what was going on with my stomach. Have burning in my stomach and liver area. I have shown some improvement with treatment. I just started levaquin so we will see how that works out.

One suggestions that USE TO REALLY help me in the beginning was taking Questran. I took before I knew I had Lyme and it actually took care of the stomach burning that major dosases of protonix wouldn't.

Just wondering what side effects did Levaquin give you?? Maybe it was a herx??

best wishes,

CaliLymer

 

Nancy
 

You could look into transdermal, IM, or IV antibiotics if you are having trouble with orals.
 

Zantac reduces stomach acids...shuts off their release.

Then you take Pepto Bismol...which is Bismuth (a powerful mineral/metal) that is combined with salicylate (a *salt or an ester of salicylic acid)

This knocks off H. Pylori and Bb in the GI.

***But we can't continue this...'cause we do need our stomach to be acidic...to breakdown the foods.***

Hence timing and limited use. This likely will knock off some good guys with the bad, so probiotics one hour before bkfst and lunch with a full glass of water is important...very.

Now...did you happen to catch the new drug that is going to be avail. in Sept. to aid sleep? It hit the news today.

Talk about co-incidence!!!

Thank you Lord...for the sign.

Use your skin...your largest organ...to get alkaline (baths). Get your mits on every antioxidant known to mankind.

With this disease, a LOT of damaging free radicals happen. These are, for the most part, lone oxygen molecules. The antioxidants combat this.