posted
First off, can't say what the treatment is other than that it is a form of immunomodulation. Involves an open-ended series of shots which cost $250 each and are not insurance reimburseable.
Hubby has agreed to 1st shot to be done in a week and a half. 2nd shot would be 3 weeks later -- goal is to work up to 8 weeks between shots.
PCP has had limited success with treatments for other Lyme patients (some positive and some negative responses)-- has been doing procedure for last 3 years. Says only 33 docs in the U.S. do this procedure.
Developed by docs from Oxford University in England and used primarily for cancer. PCP is currently at a seminar in France regarding this treatment. Needless to say this is not an FDA approved procedure.
Just curious, if this was you and you had the money would you try the treatment?
I know I said I wouldn't ever let hubby try another treatment without researching it thoroughly, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and trust your doc.
Moneywise, it is a less expensive gamble than the IV Vancomycin that LLMD recommends and that we absolutely can't afford. PCP reasoning is as follows -- why not try changing the host (hubby) rather than chasing the bacteria.
Isn't that what we are trying to do with antibiotics anyway -- kill enough bacteria so that the immune system can take over and keep things from getting out of hand? This treatment is supposed to be an immune modulator which is not targeted at any one specific bacteria.
Would love to hear what you would do in this situation.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Is that the one that's a "vaccine" which modulates the T1 and T2 of the immune system?? I've heard something about that, but not sure I said it right.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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No -- supposedly the shots alter the receptor sites on the lymphocytes I believe it is -- no correlation to Th1 or Th2 immune response according to doc. I don't really know much about how the immune system works technically but I did know enough to ask the doc about the Th1 / Th2 immune system.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
What are the negative responses? How positive ar the positive responses? Before undergoing any experimental treatments, that is what I would ask.
Then with that information, I would be better equipped to decide if it was worth the risk.
My personal feeling would be to spend the money on a more natural way of modulating the immune system. All drugs have untoward side effects and can be deadly.
(All drugs have an LD 50 or lethal dose where 50% of lab animals die-that is a requirement of the FDA to find that LD 50 or it can't be designated a drug.)
I am not saying that some drugs are not necessary. (I am a nurse and have seen the positive side of drugs as well as the negative.)
I am just saying what I would do and what Virgil did do and is now symptom free.
It is a hard decision to make. God bless you as you as you do what you believe is right.
-------------------- Virgil and Mary Posts: 58 | From Wisconsin | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
I would first find out exactly what the amino acids are and then research them.
Sadie
Posts: 115 | From new york | Registered: May 2006
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lymemomtooo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5396
posted
Bea, Well on the other hand, my daughter was the patient of many psychiatrists that gave her FDA approved meds, or so they said for years and come to find out, she has brain damage from most likely bacteria and it isn't in areas where serotonin would have helped.
Wonder how much that has wasted in 6 or 7 years. And some of them now are not FDA approved for kids..Only VTS mentioned a spect scan..None of the other Drs..And that is what it took to see the hypoperfusion areas. But it took a great llmd to order it.
So life is a gamble even if you think you are playing by the rules.
And currently, if she would cooperate, I would beg for IV Rocephin and Doxy and HBOT.. And mortgage the house.
Good luck Bea...lymemomtooo
Posts: 2360 | From SE PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
My sister is on Humira ($$$ shots) which does modulate the immune response - via blocking TNF alpha to an extent. The side effects of Humira are TB and cancer.
She was misdx'd initially and given steroids (which might raise calcium levels and thus promote this disease from one aspect i.e., LDL + calcium = plaques). This disease got a foothold, fast.
She was on nonstop abx. for over 3 years...all of them, including IV Rocephin, Mepron with Azith, Tinidazole, Ceftin, Doxy, etc. along with a TON of supplements. She got off abx. and went on Humira since the abx. did not seem to make any difference for her (she was not getting better).
At one point, she almost lost her eyesight and HAD to resort to steroid shots IN her eyes to halt the destruction due to uveitis. It worked, there is only a little permanent damage, but she can see again (at one point all she could read on the eyechart was the big "E").
She has had both knees replaced and the surgeon at Northwestern said they were the worse knees he had ever seen (disintegrated).
Too much TNF alpha looks to be very harmful to the eyes and Vitamin A looks to try to "downregulate" it...as much as possible. She did try to increase her vitamin A, add lemongrass, leutin, etc. to no avail.
Just like Ca "competes" with Mg and Na "competes" with K, the proteins, the acids "compete" too. Too much of one, less of the other....
The immune system Th1 pathway will push the Th2 pathway down. This makes us more vulnerable to other pathogens which require the proteins from the Th2 pathway to eliminate. Normally, we're supposed to be able to go between the 2 pathways, depending on what pathogen we've come into contact with and are trying to fight off.
Unfortunately, with lyme, the body gets stuck in the Th1 pathway because it determines THIS pathogen (Bb) is the most "dangerous".
Sorry if this is a "review" for you, it is to make others who might not know, aware.
Humira blocks TNF alpha. The proinflammatory cytokine that looks to be overproduced in lyme. This is how Humira is "modulating the immune system".
Does she feel better? Well she did, somewhat, for several months,until her doc started Foxamax for her very serious bone degeneration.
Foxamax INcreases CRP and TNF alpha. Up they went. Blood work indicated.
So now her doc ADDED Methotrexate which lowers choline and folic acid....
Is she better? Well she has serious lymphadema of the left arm and the joints in her hands are continuing to cripple.
She feels really crummy on methotrexate.
I'm glad to see you weigh your decisions carefully.
I understand the need to relieve the symptoms, but we don't want to in any way make a bad situation worse (further cause serious liver damage or trigger DNA damage -> cancer).
I don't think reducing inflammation will cure this disease.
Antibiotics DO also "alter the immune response". This is KNOWN.
I posted this in another area too:
Reduce inflammation + abx. = feel better, not BE better
LOWER cholesterol (INhibit HMG CoA reductase)+ abx. (or one's OWN antibodies via increasing Mg and utilizing Ca stores) -> looks to be effective.
Still...time is an issue. This won't happen overnight!
Here is the documentation re: how abx. alter our immune response:
TETs = tetracyclines
"These results indicate that TETs are not able to act directly on the synthesis of these cytokines, but they may modulate other pathways that could in turn be responsible for the inhibition of IL-1 alpha and TNF-alpha synthesis."
"...evidence of the augmentation of immune responses by tetracyclines... This is the first study to show an effect of antibiotic therapy on cytokine levels in vivo."
PMID: 8331300
Above...which cytokine?
And antidepressants might also alter our immune response too:
"Antidepressant drugs may have an effect on the immune system. Drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft, which belong to a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or "SSRIs," work by making the chemical serotonin remain for longer periods at nerve junctions.
New research indicates that serotonin is also a signaling molecule between immune cells.
Dendritic cells pick up serotonin at inflammation sites and pass it along to T cells. This affects T cell growth and division into new cells.However, when Prozac was introduced at inflammation sites, it blocked this type of serotonin uptake."
"We believe that in certain diseases, Mg deficiency can cause a decrease in immune response."
The above is from the Romanian abstract,"Lyme disease and magnesium deficiency "
The effect of magnesium deficiency in mice on serum immunoglobulin concentrations and antibody plaque-forming cells. Elin RJ.
Therefore, magnesium deficiency has profound immunosuppressive capabilities in mice by significantly reducing the number of antibody synthesizing cells and serum immunoglobulin concentrations.
PMID: 1093189
(Interleukin 2 a problem?)
Magnesium deficiency in experimental animals leads to inflammation, exacerbated immune stress response and a decrease of specific immune response.
It also results in a significant increase in free radical species and subsequent tissue injury. An accelerated thymus involution was observed in Mg-deficient rats in relation to enhanced apoptosis and enhanced susceptibility to oxidative stress.
While antibotics DO rid many co-infections (esp. erlich. early on), it is a "catch 22" with regards to Bb which has a very unusual outer cell wall (and that's what we have to destroy first/prevent from forming).
We each must make our OWN decisions, but it is very important to base those decisions on as much information, from as many sources as possible while realizing...learning is on-going.
We don't really know the COMPLETE "picture" re: the "immune modulating" drugs yet.
I believe the body is chosing the routes to PROLONG our lives. There is a reason why for everything.
Here's another example:
``one mechanism of action of TNF-alpha ...on thyroid FRTL-5 cells is to inhibit calcium entry.''
PMID: 10092616
There IS a "tyrosine/tryptophan defect" happening! Oh, absolutely. These ARE amino acids.
Tyrosine is ONE thing that looks to inhibit NFkB which is a signal to TNF alpha.
If you want immune system files to learn more, let me know and I will send.
[ 17. September 2006, 01:34 PM: Message edited by: Marnie ]
Posts: 9481 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
What do you mean by limited success? Have most of the PCP's patients benefited, or just a few?
It's very possible people do better under a placebo effect. A placebo effect can actually cause physical changes in the body. It's not just in the head.
The other possibility is these people already had Lyme gone, but still had symptoms from an amino acid deficiency or otherwise compromised immune systems. I'm a firm believer that treating just the Lyme is not enough. You need to treat the body too.
There are two potential negatives you need to consider. First, any risks that may be involved in the treatment itself. Second, any risks your husband has of the Lyme getting worse if this treatment does not work.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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GiGi
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Member # 259
posted
"Developed by docs from Oxford University in England and used primarily for cancer. PCP is currently at a seminar in France regarding this treatment. Needless to say this is not an FDA approved procedure."
Bea, do you know what the "procedure" is called? What is contained in the concoction? Is the recipe individualized, or is it the same for every patient?
What are the ingredients? Amino acids plus? How do they determine the mix of amino acids?
Take care.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
No -- very little research. PCP told me that I would find very little info on the internet and he was right. And what I can find is either way above my head or does not apply.
Universal peptide treatment is just not being written up in the medical literature.
As far as best case scenario -- PCP said some patients experience euphoria and are able to discontinue some meds. Goal is to reduce inflammation and decrease use of IV Ativan for pain and muscle spasm control.
Worst case scenario is increased pain from increased inflammation and I would assume increased seizure-like activity.
Alternative is to do nothing and wait for stomach to heal -- minimal progress in 3 months and no antibiotics during this time. After 5 years with almost continuous G.I. symptoms don't forsee any major improvements anytime soon.
In my mind actually the worst case scenario would be improvement that only lasted a couple of days and then to be forever waiting around for 2 or 3 weeks to pass before the next treatment.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
perhaps you could consider hyperbaric oxygen therapy for your husband instead?
It may help to heal his stomach issues. If you do a search on lymenet you can find some info on it.
It may be less of a gamble than what you are considering.
I'll be starting HBOT with a friend on Monday.
Timaca
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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PCP mentioned HBOT at previous appointment -- he had just received his new collapseable unit. Hubby is leary of this for a couple of reasons. He tried it once before he was diagnosed (was very symptomatic at the time) -- he tried to roll over or shift position and that caused increased tremors and then dry heaves. The doc stopped the treatment -- this was maybe 45 minutes into a 90 minute session.
Needless to say hubby is not interested in repeating that experience -- being trapped in a small place while trying to throw up. It took 10 or 15 minutes I think it was before the pressure was equalized and he could come out. Yes this was most likely a herx.
Also, from what I have read HBOT requires numerous dives and could also be counterindicated if Babesia is still an issue. Would require additional expense of 1 or 2 nights hotel stay for each treatment as the doc is 4 1/2 hours away and hubby does not travel well at all.
With the peptide treatments -- after the first one in the doc's office the doc would mail us the syringes and I would give hubby the shots at home.
I am surprised I guess that noone else seems inclined to take a gamble on this treatment. I guess hubby and I are just more anti-drug than many people and are more willing to try unproven therapies.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Regarding feeling uncomfortable and claustrauphobic in small HBOT chamber. There are HBOT chambers that are big enough for several people and a technician to sit in and watch movies. I believe these are called "multi-place" chambers. You might look into that. Good wishes.
Posts: 991 | From California | Registered: Feb 2006
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Might be more important to downregulate the liver enzyme, P450 2E1 since all spirochetes ferment sugar -> ethanol.
Research the thiamine - tryptophan links and this:
Benfotiamine.
If you want P450 2E1 info., let me know.
It's really, really important. Read about it!
Posts: 9481 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Steve was on Benfotiamine for many months, but did run out earlier this summer. Will read up on this -- may need to add that back to his supplements.
The real problem is the pain (caused by inflammation?). Docs do not want to prescribe anything because of the G.I. problems (gastritis, duodentitis and gastric ulcers) plus the use of IV Ativan futher complicates the choice of meds.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I have done HBO treatments both ways , going in the multi chamber and in the single chamber. I to am not one for cramped spaces, but I found the single chamber to be more effective. I have to of course sedate myself (xnanx) but it's worth it. The first round of treatments I did were back in 1997 (multi) 5 others in the chamber with me. 21 dives in all at that time - herxed real bad for 3 months but what a remission I achieved after the herxing and with no meds. I also followed the yeast free diet after this time and still do. In or around 2001 I went for more treatments this time single chamber - cost 110.00 per treatment - I did 5 and yes there was a hotel cost as well. It again gave my body it's boost. Just recently I started back with treatments as I found a single chamber in my state for 55.00 a treatment, did 2 and going to continue on every so often to maintain. Single chambers you can watch TV or listen to music, you can flip to your stomach and if you take something to relax you - you really feel nothing and or fall asleep. You can herx thru the treatment but again the sedating does make a differance.
Posts: 374 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
I am more into Natural things to fight both yeast and lyme - I have been off of all meds for lyme since 1997 - after being on them for 8 1/2 yrs straight. I'm not saying this is for everyone but the ill effects of the meds to ones body does do or can be harmful in other ways. Even tho I took mega doses of acidolophus - I still wound up with systemic yeast within my blood stream and gut, which is a long going thing, and it caused many others things within my body and in different ways then lyme, even tho the symptoms are similar. Today I am functioning about 70% - was 90% but slipped alittle due to not paying strick attention to my diet (yeast free) but with time I do know I will gain wHat I lost.
Posts: 374 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Glad to hear that you are doing better ladylee.
Hi Seibert,
As for the heaving in the chamber there may be several reasons for that...
For the most part the one that comes to mind in his case is a mild hypoglycemia. Now that he was 14 minutes into the session. He could have had a really bad herx though.
For the most part I know that many centers will not treat you if you have an active or untreated case of babesia. But if you are taking abx for it and are for the most part resolved then you should be okay if your session is well managed and monitored.
Can you be more specific as to what type of chamber he was treated in? If he was treated in a collapsable unit he may have just suffered from enclosure anxiety.
Can you tell me at what pressure he was treated?
Many thanks and Blessings to you and your husband,
Julia
-------------------- Please consult your LLMD before making any changes to your treatment regimen. Posts: 641 | From NJ, USA | Registered: Oct 2001
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The HBOT was a large multiperson unit in Naples, FL and I think it got to 2 atmospheres pressure -- it was actually 45 minutes into the session that the heaving started.
Unfortunately, do not think hubby's babesia is gone. Was allergic to Mepron, bad psych side effects on Larium, some improvement with Quinine and Clindamycin protocol, but symptoms gradually returned and a year later when retried this we increased dose of Quinine to really try to knock out the problem -- after 45 days G.I. symptoms got too bad to continue.
So now, hubby is doing IV colloidal silver (Argentyn 23) and low dose herbs from the Healing Lyme book -- nothing for the Babesia right now though. Has been pretty much at a standstill for 6 months now symptom wise except for the new symptom of pain which was not there during the first 5 years of illness.
It is time to gamble on something new. If the peptide shots are ineffective then I have pretty much decided to throw every herb in the book at the problem. I think it is about time to just do our own thing without benefit of docs and meds.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: Needless to say this is not an FDA approved procedure.
*Snort!* Well, then maybe that's a good thing. I think the FDA ranks right up there with Big Pharma and all other bureaucratic governmental agencies. Vioxx, anyone??
Posts: 220 | From central TX | Registered: Jun 2005
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lymie tony z
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5130
posted
I don't know seibert...
I took amino acids orally and I did'nt do well with them...
I wonder also about experimental procedures that make the patient pay to be a guinea pig.
Most of the experimental stuff or clinics pay the participants...not the other way around.
Good luck..........zman
-------------------- I am not a doctor...opinions expressed are from personal experiences only and should never be viewed as coming from a healthcare provider. zman Posts: 2527 | From safety harbor florida(origin Cleve., Ohio | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Hi Julia... Yes feeling better - the itching we think was due to the bran flakes something I started taking about a month prior to chamber treatments. And something I kinda ignored or didn't think about. Altho I follow the yeast free diet pretty much to a tea somethings that we may be allowed to have on that diet I react to if I'm yeasty, which I know I am right now. Not sure if "bran" is something we are allowed to have or not, need to research it. I had to go on benadryl and a prescription anti itching med plus the medrol dose pk (which I only took that for 2 days) steroids activate the yeast in me so I take that with caution. The itching took longer to be relieved then the herxing (herxing got better within 3 days, itching lasted until Friday). I want to thank you for your one on one attention and compassion with me during my treatment. Since I saw you and feeling the way I did, I have changed some things around in my diet, more strict with the diet and added more herbs and of course doing research on antioxidants, of which I thought herbs were doing what they do....wrong - LOL! I remember yrs ago a Doctor recommended Centrum Silver. If anyone else has suggestions, then please reply.
I plan on seeing you again sometime in Oct. allowing some time to restart and regain better health. Best wishes and God Bless!
Posts: 374 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2006
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oxygenbabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5831
posted
Bea...how about actos for hubby's gut? It inhibits nf-kabba B. I spoke with a doctor who tried it on an autistic child (they have bad gut problems) who had been on IVIG for 18 months but then insurance stopped paying, and he was in screaming pain from his gut. It worked so well that the doc now has 1000 of his autistic patients, supposedly, on actos. I don't know the side effects; it's a drug for diabetes I believe, but in any case, it inhibits nf kappa b and there is some research on this.
That is a drug that has been in use for a while, in any case. Just a thought.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
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Aniek
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Member # 5374
posted
quote:Originally posted by seibertneurolyme: I am surprised I guess that noone else seems inclined to take a gamble on this treatment. I guess hubby and I are just more anti-drug than many people and are more willing to try unproven therapies.
Bea,
My concern is less unproven and more that there may be unknown side effects. Non-drug therapies can be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than certain drugs.
I personally would not get anything injected without knowing exactly what was in it and seeing if any research into side effects has been done. If there is no research at all out there on side effecs, I probably would not do it unless I felt it was life or death anyway.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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Bea I wish that you were near so that I could offer you husband the therapy. I doubt that he would have a problem. And I don't think it a babesia issue either... Just MHO though.
I have been posing this question so I hope that it doesn't seem off topic. Has he been tested for heavy metals? Heavy metal toxicity is being looked into by several LLMD as an underlying impedement to recovery. Nothing in writting though just a theory...
Also, Have you tried to give him Kefir? It works great for the stomach...
Ladylee I will be very happy to have you back anytime just give me a call. I am hopeful however that you will not have to take too many steroids ,,,it reminds me of adding fuel to a fire.
Oxybabe, do you know if your freind is a LLMD and a DAN (defeat autism now) doc? There is a great demand for one... Lyme has been popping up alot in the autism field and the DAN docs seem clueless to lyme...
take care,
Julia
-------------------- Please consult your LLMD before making any changes to your treatment regimen. Posts: 641 | From NJ, USA | Registered: Oct 2001
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Thanks for your thoughts on HBOT. Yes, hubby was treated for mercury toxicity BEFORE he was apparently bitten by a tick. Has been retested many times and many ways and I don't think that is a significant issue anymore.
Fellow Lymies,
We are off to see the WIZARD. Leaving tomorrow to drive halfway up the mountain. Appointment is Tuesday morning. May not be able to update post until Thursday or Friday.
Hubby just didn't know what else to do so he is proceeding with the experimental "Universal Peptide shots".
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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I recently went on Actos for several months. When my insurance ran out, I had to quit.
I feel like I've regressed. I feel like my yeast load exploded.
Is it a wonder drug? Is it dangerous?
Why aren't more lymies on this med?
Bug
-------------------- Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see....Corrie Ten Boom Posts: 343 | From Northcentral Iowa | Registered: May 2005
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-------------------- Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see....Corrie Ten Boom Posts: 343 | From Northcentral Iowa | Registered: May 2005
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oxygenbabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5831
posted
Julia: He is a DAN doc on Long Island but I didn't ask him what/if he knew about lyme. There is also a DAN doc in New Jersey, Dr. Neubrander.
Bea, I hope your husband does okay. In terms of mercury, after studying Amy Yasko's program and the whole methylation cycle, I have concluded that just because you don't dump heavy metals on provocative chelation doesn't mean you're not metal poisoned. Once autistic kids fix their methylation cycle, they end up dumping high (for example, in a post I was reading yesterday, nine times the normal amount) amounts of toxic metals, including stuff like tunsten, uranium, arsenic, along with mercury. One boy who alt. docs had said had no mercury problem, because he excreted little mercury on provocative chelation, dumped high amounts of mercury after addressing methylation and infections. Viruses and bacteria and probably fungi, are synergistic with metal contamination. Gigi has often said this. There may be various reasons why. Perhaps some of the metals help suppress the infections (mercury for instance). Perhaps the microbes like a metal poisoned person as their immunity is down. And in some cases, they may conjugate or use metals or sequester them; and in other cases, they may impair our detoxification and suppress our glutathione (as lyme does) so that we can't excrete our own metals safely.
Once you address your methylation and infections, you may find spontaneous dumping of high amounts of toxic metals in your urine. Or so it seems from my reading and the posts, I am yet to embark on the program.
In addition, bugaboo, actos inhibits nf-kappa-b, an inflammatory cytokine. More lymies probably SHOULD be on it though it's not benign, but Shoemaker used it, only prior to cholestyramine if I recall, or maybe during it, but it seems to me it would help with herxes during antibiotic therapy, for those who want drugs. I don't want or tolerate drugs well.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
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actos was horrible for me. UGH...nothing but stomach pain from that one
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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minoucat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5175
posted
Bea - our PCP is going to Oxford in November to study with this guy for a week. He's going to let us know what he thinks. If it's the same man -- and I think it must be (he used to be at Sloane-Kettering?) it looks promising for several immune-system dysfunction problems, like cancer, but my PCP is not sure if LD/Co will have the same response
He's mostly interested in it for LD because he (the PCP) sees so many secondary immune and other problems caused by LD -- in other words he's not thinking of it as a cure for LD, but as a way to fix other problems caused by LD. Havent talked to my lyme doc about it.
All the best.
-------------------- ********************* RECIDITE, PLEBES! Gero rem imperialem! (Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.)
Minou -- Sounds like the same doc hubby's PCP studied with.
We did one of those things you are never supposed to do -- 2 different treatments on the same day. A little hard to say exactly what effects each treatment is having.
Hubby got the universal peptide shot first. Waited about 30 minutes for his first appointment with a new structural bodywork specialist.
Anyway, the shot made him slightly nauseated, but otherwise no obvious effects. That was on Tuesday. Today (Thursday) he had normal routine monthly bloodwork -- WBC is at 8.2 For about the last year it has struggled to stay in the 4.5 - 5.0 range. Has tried many things such as Reishi and Lyme specific transfer factor to raise this number without success.
The differential numbers are all within normal range as well. Lymphocytes are usually low and eosinophils and/or monocytes are often high.
In my opinion the shot obviously boosted hubby's immune system. Whether that will help with any specific symptoms or overall health it is too early to say. Do plan to do one more shot in 2 weeks and then reevaluate -- probably will be unable to continue beyond that from a financial standpoint.
The thing that I don't know how to interpret is the elevated bilirubin and elevated RDW -- in the past these have always been babesia markers. Also have been thinking hubby might have giardia or some other G.I. parasite which would explain his gastritis, duodentitis and gastric ulcers. Normal eosinophils would indicate that if he has either of these problems that the immune system is not doing anything about it.
The second appointment with the structural bodywork person went really great -- also a pleasant surprise. I am posting about that in a new thread.
Thanks again everyone for the support. Will update this post again after the 2nd shot.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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,,,it reminds me of adding fuel to a fire.
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