The diagnosis is half the battle. The other half is treatment.
The difficulty about treating for Lyme is there is not a one-size-fits all treatment plan. Some people do well on antibiotics, some only herbals, some a mixture of several kinds of medicine. Another potential problem in treating Lyme is the importance of targeting each form of the bacteria. They can form into cyst and can form biofilms in order to protect themselves from antibiotics. For this reason, doctors usually choose a multi-layer antibiotic regimen.
The three forms of Lyme disease are:
Cell-Wall
Cystic
Intracellular
Honorable mention to biofilm, which needs to be targeted separately, but is not a true form a Lyme...more like a barrier.
All four of these must be targeted in order to achieve remission. In the book "How Can I get Better?" by Dr. Horowitz, there is a helpful table on page 81 that shows the antibiotic & medication options for targeting each different form.
My doctor has me on Ceftin (cell-wall form) Tinidazole/Tindamax (cystic form) Rifampin (intracellular form, biofilm, and targets Bartonella) and monolaurin (biofilm). I was to introduce one antibiotic at a time to lessen the chance or severity of a Herxheimer reaction. A Herxheimer reaction, or "herx" is when more bacteria is killed than your body can keep up with detoxing. The dead bacteria release toxins, which in turn cause miserable symptoms. The symptoms themselves seem to vary, though mine have included emotional outburts (including crying for no reason), muscle and joint aches, fever, chills, headaches, unrelenting fatigue, etc. A herx is not fun, but luckily there is a way to lessen the severity, or avoid them altogether: detox, detox, detox! There are several options for helping your body to detox the dead bacteria. My favorites are lemon water, l-glutathione, Burbur-pinella (tincture), alka-selzter gold, exercise, and epsom salt baths.
As far as antibiotics go, I am on Ceftin twice daily, Rifampin once a day, and pulsing Tinidazole (tindamax) twice daily for two consecutive days, then off for 5 days. Doctors do this because many people have strong reactions to antibiotics that target cystic forms of Lyme. We call these drugs "cyst busters." To avoid intense herx reactions, I am only on them twice a week. Because of all these antibiotics, I am taking two types of probiotics twice a day. I have also added in A-bab, a herbal treatment for Babesia, which I increase by 3 drops every 2 days. It's a lot to keep track of.
We have also been working to restore vitamins to their optimal levels. I have a stubborn Iron deficiency, as well as B12 and vitamin D3. We are treating my adrenals, and I am being treated for hypothyroidism, which most likely was triggered by Lyme. I am also treating EBV (Epstein-barr virus) with Valtrex, an antiviral, hoping to lessen my viral load so my immune system can become stronger. LDN (low-dose naltrexone) is an immune modulator I have been on for 3 months. It has greatly helped with sleep and pain, and I believe has helped my immune system as well. I have also gone dairy and gluten free, working on sugar free :) and have been eating to support my body in the battle.
So there you have it - my treatment plan. In my next post, I'll explain how I've been doing and the challenges I have been facing since starting treatment.
The difficulty about treating for Lyme is there is not a one-size-fits all treatment plan. Some people do well on antibiotics, some only herbals, some a mixture of several kinds of medicine. Another potential problem in treating Lyme is the importance of targeting each form of the bacteria. They can form into cyst and can form biofilms in order to protect themselves from antibiotics. For this reason, doctors usually choose a multi-layer antibiotic regimen.
The three forms of Lyme disease are:
Cell-Wall
Cystic
Intracellular
Honorable mention to biofilm, which needs to be targeted separately, but is not a true form a Lyme...more like a barrier.
All four of these must be targeted in order to achieve remission. In the book "How Can I get Better?" by Dr. Horowitz, there is a helpful table on page 81 that shows the antibiotic & medication options for targeting each different form.
My doctor has me on Ceftin (cell-wall form) Tinidazole/Tindamax (cystic form) Rifampin (intracellular form, biofilm, and targets Bartonella) and monolaurin (biofilm). I was to introduce one antibiotic at a time to lessen the chance or severity of a Herxheimer reaction. A Herxheimer reaction, or "herx" is when more bacteria is killed than your body can keep up with detoxing. The dead bacteria release toxins, which in turn cause miserable symptoms. The symptoms themselves seem to vary, though mine have included emotional outburts (including crying for no reason), muscle and joint aches, fever, chills, headaches, unrelenting fatigue, etc. A herx is not fun, but luckily there is a way to lessen the severity, or avoid them altogether: detox, detox, detox! There are several options for helping your body to detox the dead bacteria. My favorites are lemon water, l-glutathione, Burbur-pinella (tincture), alka-selzter gold, exercise, and epsom salt baths.
As far as antibiotics go, I am on Ceftin twice daily, Rifampin once a day, and pulsing Tinidazole (tindamax) twice daily for two consecutive days, then off for 5 days. Doctors do this because many people have strong reactions to antibiotics that target cystic forms of Lyme. We call these drugs "cyst busters." To avoid intense herx reactions, I am only on them twice a week. Because of all these antibiotics, I am taking two types of probiotics twice a day. I have also added in A-bab, a herbal treatment for Babesia, which I increase by 3 drops every 2 days. It's a lot to keep track of.
We have also been working to restore vitamins to their optimal levels. I have a stubborn Iron deficiency, as well as B12 and vitamin D3. We are treating my adrenals, and I am being treated for hypothyroidism, which most likely was triggered by Lyme. I am also treating EBV (Epstein-barr virus) with Valtrex, an antiviral, hoping to lessen my viral load so my immune system can become stronger. LDN (low-dose naltrexone) is an immune modulator I have been on for 3 months. It has greatly helped with sleep and pain, and I believe has helped my immune system as well. I have also gone dairy and gluten free, working on sugar free :) and have been eating to support my body in the battle.
So there you have it - my treatment plan. In my next post, I'll explain how I've been doing and the challenges I have been facing since starting treatment.
Comments
Post a Comment