lymeHerx001
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posted
I just got the bill for my Doctors Data comprehensive stool analysis and it was $455
My insurance paid only $200 of this!
I feel cheated. My LLMD wanted to run it and I wish he told me of the high price. They all say that Im working for my insurance but somehow I dont buy that anymore. I think I should kill myself working another job and just buy my own insurance. This is ridiculous.
Are there other labs that insurance covers that run parasitology? Why did my LLMD insist on these?
Is Doctors Data really the best just like IGINEX?
I mean I feel like I just payed $250 to pick through my own poop. Something is very very wrong with this world.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
LymeHerx- I am so sorry- it's frustrating how expensive all these specialty labs are. The parasite check at the Vet's costs $10, lol- all it takes is a knowledgeable person to peek under a microscope right?
But if it makes you feel a little better... parasitology at labs that ARE covered by insurance, like Quest and the like is practically worthless from experience. You can send them a parasite in a box and it comes back "No parasites seen."
I think if you want good parasitology testing in this country, your best bet is an unfortunately expensive specialty lab. A naturopath I saw told me the Doctor Data stool analysis is a very good one, although any such test can miss parasites. That is probably why your LLMD uses that lab.
I believe Genova Diagnostics is the more popular specialty lab for this, but believe it or not, the doctor data's test is cheaper and the ND I saw said it is even better. I don't have any experience with stool testing at either specialty lab.
I am sorry the LLMD did not inform you about the cost of the lab- they should definitely be upfront about these things.
If you are worried about parasites still, I recommend a parasite cleanse like humaworm (which I have done and liked). It's only $25. I hope the results of the stool analysis were at least a bit useful.
lymeHerx001
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posted
Well to be honest and not entirely gross.
When my LLMD put me on Flagyl 2 years ago for lyme the size of my movement was increased %500. I swear it was almost 2 feet long. He said "yes it hits parisites too."
Then recently when he put me on Alinia at first my pain lessened and then the next day I was achy and then I started having suicidal feelings again! I cant believe it. I just really wanted to know what parasites are in me and that I can hit them with these drugs.
So right now Im pretty much convinced that I have some parasites, definite yeast, and mycoplasma. I now test negative for Lyme through Iginex.
Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately it sounds like your interested because of experience. A negative health experience. This is why we all are here.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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sixgoofykids
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I don't remember which of the two labs did my testing ... it was four vials (I spilled one! Wasn't funny at the time, but it is now to think back at using that little spoon to recover it all! LOL).
Anyway, I did find out I had klebsiella and citrobacter, plus none of most of the good bacterias. Now that I'm treating my dysbiosis and my bartonella, my stomach is the best it's ever been in my life!!!!
My Humaworm just came in today .... I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try!
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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lymeHerx001
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awesome six goofy, glad to hear the test helped
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
--==001
i wennt thru that. check my newbie package,, and use the FIND feature if you copied/pasted it to your word processor ... it finds things quickly thee vs. looking per page.
this was titled something, my 2nd llmd visit to minn with DETAILED tests done, test reports typed in full, etc.
i told what each was for; whether insurance covered or NOT, and WHY was test done.
yes, i'd definitely mention to the llmd abou NOT mentioning $$$$ of these tests to all of us!
when she did mine, she asked me oint blank, these EXTRA tests will cost $3,000 OUT OF POCKET, do you wnt to do them?
i didn't know what they were or FOR or $$$$.
they've got you between a rock and a hard place. too expensive to drive back plus gas, food, lodging,l so you proceed to do them regardless hoping your 2nd health insurance wll pay since they have OPTED OT OF MEDICARE!
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sixgoofykids
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posted
quote:Originally posted by lymeHerx001: awesome six goofy, glad to hear the test helped
I thought you'd at least like hearing it was money well-spent. I'm even able to eat gluten again after two years off it!
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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CaliforniaLyme
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posted
Ouch- that is expensive!!!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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lymeHerx001
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posted
$3000 thats insane. You cant even get sick in this country unless your rich. Damn shame.
I just think of Buddha and Africa.
Buddha "life is suffering"
Africa - 1.5 million people die each year from dirty water.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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lymeHerx001
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OK GOT THE RESULTS TODAY.
Actually my doctor has them, I will request a copy.
He said no parisites. No yeast!!!!! WTF!
Postive for helcobacter? sp
NO bifido bacteria.
He told me to be happy. I dont understand what the hell is going on. I herx from anti-funglas like nystatin and caprylic acid.
Also metronidazole made my bowels larger. So I dont know how I can test negative for parisites.
So he gave me a script for xanax, glutothione nebulizer, metronidazole. I had lots of eye twitching from the flagyl and he said that this was because it was hitting lyme.
Hes at a loss for words.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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lymeHerx001
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OK GOT THE RESULTS TODAY.
Actually my doctor has them, I will request a copy.
He said no parisites. No yeast!!!!! WTF!
Postive for helcobacter? sp
NO bifido bacteria.
He told me to be happy. I dont understand what the hell is going on. I herx from anti-funglas like nystatin and caprylic acid.
Also metronidazole made my bowels larger. So I dont know how I can test negative for parisites.
So he gave me a script for xanax, glutothione nebulizer, metronidazole. I had lots of eye twitching from the flagyl and he said that this was because it was hitting lyme.
Hes at a loss for words. I think that the test is not picking up the yeast.
He even says that its very rare to test completelly negative for candida. I was also loading up on probiotics before the test. I did obstain however for about 5 days from any probiotics.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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lymeHerx001
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OK GOT THE RESULTS TODAY.
Actually my doctor has them, I will request a copy.
He said no parisites. No yeast!!!!! WTF!
Postive for helcobacter? sp
NO bifido bacteria.
He told me to be happy. I dont understand what the hell is going on. I herx from anti-funglas like nystatin and caprylic acid.
Also metronidazole made my bowels larger. So I dont know how I can test negative for parisites.
So he gave me a script for xanax, glutothione nebulizer, metronidazole. I had lots of eye twitching from the flagyl and he said that this was because it was hitting lyme.
Hes at a loss for words. I think that the test is not picking up the yeast.
He even says that its very rare to test completelly negative for candida. I was also loading up on probiotics before the test. I did obstain however for about 5 days from any probiotics.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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cantgiveupyet
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posted
on my first stool test with genova diagnostics, i had no yeast. I also herxed on antifungals, my stools were a mess, reactions to carbs and sugar.
but no yeast was detected
My most recent stool test showed +1 for a strain of yeast i had vaginally in 2006- dr said we all have yeast in the GI tract.
I actually had all the good bacteria, finally its back.
The dr i saw is kinda at a loss too...he even said some would just have gas and gi upset with what was found in my test. I have neither.
I think you may have yeast but maybe it just didnt show.
I have low bifido bacteria too- do you know how to increase this one?
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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lymeHerx001
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Wow cantgiveup ... he didnt believe that I really had a yeast problem but he did believe that the anti-fungals were hitting something. What?
I think the yeast is so entrenched in the intestine but still no results? Strange
Bifido can be increased by taking more of it. Im gonna load up on this one. He also says that it makes short chain fatty acids.
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lymeHerx001
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Still dont know what to make of the test. I hope that Doctors Data will disclose the test to me without fee. Ive paid enough as is.
I just dont get how no yeast came up? Is this because I have been following an anti yeast diet? And if this is so, does the test show different if I here eating sugar and breads.
Its just so damn confusing and anger inducing for me to know that Im HERXING of Nystatin, GSE, and Caprylic Acid and the test shows no Candida.
What gives!!!!
I dont think my doctor knows anymore. The thing is I dont know of one that does! Hes kind and open to new treatments but has no answers.
Right now I dont even consider Lyme or Candida. Im back to being a classic fibromyalgia/MCS patient. SUcks
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cantgiveupyet
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lymeherx you sound so much like me, im back to concidering myself an Interstitial cystitis patient with stiff muscles. it seems the more tests we have done, the more it complicates the puzzle.
I think its possible that since you were taking antifungals that maybe the yeast wouldnt show up. It might be at a very low level.
I think a healthy GI tract has yeast, and good bacteria, but it is balanced, if that makes sense.
Are you currently herxing on nystatin?
what were your herx symptoms?
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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lymeHerx001
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When I take Nystatin the following happens.
About 40 minutes later I get a little tired. My eyes become itchy and heavy and red. Then I become dizzy and I have to lay down.
I then lay down in bed and have very vivid nightmares. Im stuck in a school and everything seems evil. Im driving around the town and friends are screaming at me. My parents are screaming and I feel terrified in this dream.
I then wake up and feel as if Id been poisoned. My muscles are twitching and very sore all over my body. I am also very depressed if not suicidal. This suicidal feeling lasts for about 12 hours.
I just want to die. I dont care how or when, this world feels like a hell. I see people smiling and they all look evil like the devil, like they want to suck my soul out of me.
Thats what happens if you believe me. I know its strange and I doubt that any conventional doctor has a clue to whats going on.
So its obviously killing something. I believe that I do have yeast, although its really attached strongly to my intestinal wall and it has become part of me. When I kill it, it releases so many toxins and poisons me. I get encephalitis from this.
I think whats going on is that Im allready sensitive to the candida/mold toxins allready, so when I kill even small amounts I have a BIG reaction.
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lymeHerx001
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By the way what is Interstitial cystitis?
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cantgiveupyet
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Interstitial cystitis is a painful bladder disease with no known cause or cure, its like having a UTI but 100X's worse.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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lymeHerx001
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Wow, sounds like what I have minus the bladder.
Everything in the blood except for a couple of things check out normal.
Even went to an ENT for finding a reason for my vertigo and they couldnt find one. They just gave me more antihistamines. Blahh!!!!!!!
Im dying now with the heat in the house and the allergies to the dust/mold. Doesnt bother my parents. For me Im dying.
Antihistamines used to help %90. Now they help %5 if anything.
Why Why Why. Doctors dont like to answer that question when things really fall apart.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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Aniek
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LymeHerx,
Your reaction to Nystatin sounds to me like it could be an allergic reaction. Do you have the same reaction to other anti-fungals? How about to herbal antifungals?
I was on Vioxx for a number of months and had an anxiety dream every night I was on it. From that experience, I believe medications can give you nightmares when they are bad for your body. I think it can be the body's way of telling you to stop taking it.
I've had really good experience treating yeast with cumanda. It's an herb, you can get it from nutramedix.com. It is also supposed to work against Lyme, and is part of the Cowden protocol. But I use it alone as an antifungal.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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lymeHerx001
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posted
I have the same reaction on Caprylic Acid, Grapefruit seed extract, Olive oil and Nystatin.
So yes I have this reaction. Olive oil contains oleic acid which is a purported anti fungal.
I tried to rationalize another reason for this happening to me and I cannot.
I just dont understand completely how I can test negative for candida when I experience these terrible die-off reactions. I am also very allergic to mold and its toxins.
Mold in food is very bad for me. I pass out in much the same manner. Even with household mold, I get extremely tired and sore and my eyes get red. I am suffering now because of the heat.
This NEVER used to bother me. I would have some reactions for a week at most and then it would go away. So my tolerance went way down.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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cantgiveupyet
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i have mold in my home too. I wonder if possibly you react to the antifungals because of the mold?
When i first took difflucan, within an hour, everything from my neck up went numb. It was scary stuff. But my tolerance got better over time, and now I can take it with little affects if any.
have you tried taking a smaller amount?
Yea, dr dont like complex cases like ours.
Have you looked into seeing Dr S, in maryland who treats mold related illnesses?
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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lymeHerx001
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No I havent looked into Dr S.
My doctor (Dr. S) in CT says that I would just continue to get better. That has not been the case.
He is shocked to see though that I dont have any Candida.
Does anybody have yeast and still test negative through Doctors Data? Im curious.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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sixgoofykids
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The test I had tested for yeast, but NOT candida ... there are different types of yeast ... I was surprised it didn't include candida, so you might check to see if you were actually tested for candida.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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lymeHerx001
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Interesting, Im gonna get a copy from my doctor tomarrow and post it for all the lyme Nuts to see.......(smiles.)
Im just so p-issed that yeast didnt show despite my terrible mold allergies and my reaction to antifungals.
I will however continue the probiotics.
Posts: 2905 | From New England | Registered: Sep 2004
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lymeHerx001
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A naturopath that I see told me that Doctors Data isint even the best for picking up yeast.
He said that its hard to get the yeast because its attached and entrenched to the intestinal wall.
He said that in medical school they had to swab it.
So if my test, at least, showed that I have no bifido and if bifido is part of EVERYONES flora, then something must have grown in its place.
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I'm even able to eat gluten again after two years off it!
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