Antibiotic experience,and going off

[Guest guest]

I was looking up an oxygen product that increases blood oxygen level, after reading Rogene's post and found this interesting website. I am waiting to hear back from him what this product is, and I'll let you know when I find out. I found it interesting how this man was so ill for so long, and able to bring himself back to a point of over 90% healing after deciding to get off antibiotics for good. We share the many symptoms of Lyme disease.

http://cassia.org/history.htm

Diagnosis

My diagnosis came quite by accident. Attentive to a radio advertisement because a friend of mine was its reader, he listed five major ways to know if one had Lyme. At this point, contrary to what one might expect, I was happy to hear of this likelihood because it explained increasingly nagging questions — all conditions that I had come to "write off" as growing old (I was 41 at the time), but when taken as a sum were just too much for even that explanation: Why did it hurt to move my fingers? Why, if I fell skiing, or if I banged my knuckles, would my hands hurt for months? Why, if I had my head turned to one side for too long (as in watching TV) was I unable to turn it back straight again? I was beginning to feel sure that something was not normal when, each day before going into the lunchroom where I taught school, I'd pause for a moment — hand on the doorknob — to quiz myself on the names of the same half-dozen co-workers I would each lunch with each day. (I never could get some of them.) And finally, why could I not concentrate, why could I only do two tasks in any given day, and why was I depressed so much? My friend's ad struck a chord.

I answered the Lyme advertiser, The Lyme Care Center to receive a 46 question checklist and some other materials ultimately finding a "hit" for 18 out of the 46 symptoms (a significant number). I selected a physician for follow-up, D. Bleiweiss, MD, after reading his essay from within the packet of materials. (Although the essay that I refer to in this link, I had actually gotten in his office later.) Of his Lyme-related diagnostic history, my symptomatic "yes" responses included the following:

headaches

ringing in ears

persistent sore throat

less exercise ability

diarrhea or intestinal gas (-- related to Crohns's distress)

abdominal / stomach pain

frequent urination (including after bedtime)

urine stream starts with difficulty

These last mentioned two were to become significant within my treatment because these were my "non-psychosomatic related" benchmark indicators of improvement, which always revealed to me whether or not any treatment was working. Furthermore, it was this symptom that I remember as early back as seven years old. (I suspect that my infection was at that initial point or earlier: I had spent every summer since birth along with our family at the New Jersey seashore — an endemic area.) Continuing on with Dr. Bleiweiss' list:

back pain

muscle cramps or aches

crackling noise in joints (particularly neck for me — and this still persists today)

joint ache or pain

bone pain — hand arthralgias

cold intolerance

fatigue

nervousness

difficulty with memory

problem with thinking clearly

earache (another one since childhood)

stiffness of joints in the morning, and finally (thank God, finally)

light or headlights bother eyes

This last symptom also became a benchmark to me of effective treatment. Many of the other symptoms could have been explained in remission by psychosomatic expectation, or placebo effect, except for those two: light sensitivity and urine volume. These became my unofficial indicators of overall Lyme-related health.

An additional symptom not listed above included Bell's Palsy. (On whichever side now I don't remember, as it's no longer visible in a mirror. Actually, not even the antibiotic treatment fully cured this one.)

Treatment with antibiotics

Part of the reason the Lyme had at that time flared (again, believing that the infection had lain resident for thirty-five years) was that I had entered a period of extreme stress. Circumstantial short night's sleep several times per week for a year. (This also becomes important in my discussion to follow of my current treatment.) Understanding that good health is related to good sleep, this became a priority.

I addition to this I began to take several strong oral antibiotics. The prescription at one point (we often tweaked the "formula"):

Biaxin (clarithromycin); 500 mg x 2, every 12 hours.

Amoxicillin; 500 mg x 4, every 8 hours.

Bactrim DS; every 12 hours

Doxycycline; 100 mg every 12 hours.

Probenecid; 500 mg x 2, every 8 hours.

And, to reduce the systemic fungal overgrowth common to Lyme patients:

Sporonox; 100 mg x 2 for two weeks, then once per day for a month.

All in all, over 11,200 mg of antibiotics per day, not to mention the Sporonox or other non-medicinal supplements: Multivitamin, B-6, B-2, Ester C, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, as well as other treatments and herbs: acidophilus (for the antibiotics-affected intestinal flora), milk thistle (for liver), and who knows what else — Suma root, red something or other...

In consideration of all of this, I am grateful to Dr. Bleiweiss. I count him as among one of the best doctors in my experience (and I used to volunteer in a hospital). While the treatments were very strong, they worked. Within a month or two, I was again beginning to feel normal: neck stiffness gone, hand arthritis reducing, memory and concentration returning, and my depression and fatigue were gone.. The polyuria (need for frequent urination with small volume) -- incidentally due to a low grade bladder infection that is relatively common in Lyme patients, had gone almost overnight, and in addition to this (you may remember this also as one of my benchmarks), my visual sensitivity to sunlight was gone. I was amazed that I was able to be in the sunlight without sunglasses.

However, the benefit was beginning to plateau. And while I was better off than I was, I was beginning to be concerned about taking such a strong course of antibiotics permanently. (My reason for this, by the way, is my belief in the necessity of maintaining a strong immune system for the very reason of the antibiotic-resistant strains of disease coming down the pike.)

So at one point, we experimented with the stopping of all antibiotics. Within two weeks, all of the symptoms were fully back. And I mean fully back. I was back where I started — except for one difference: I now knew that all of this was Lyme related, and not some inferior workmanship of God's creation of my being. (Knowledge is power sometimes.)

Anyway, we resumed the antibiotic treatment for about another year. (So far, two years or so total.) However, my body began to rebel with the oral course. Initially, beginning by taking a full dose immediately after a quick four-mile run, I began to vomit the capsules. Eventually even the taking of the smallest of the capsules caused me to become nauseous. (This part was probably psychosomatic: My mind, deciding that long-term antibiotics was not in my best interest — rebelled.)

So I stopped again. This time permanently.

The decision to stop antibiotics

At this point, with no surprise, my symptoms returned. However, as I'd stated, knowledge is power. I knew that I had two choices: one on my right hand, and one on my left hand. Both carrying well known consequences. As distasteful as the symptoms were, it became my choice. The antibiotics remained in my drawer. However, this time I expected the onslaught. I worked to maintain good health: attempting to concentrate on good sleep and avoiding (to the extent that one is able to do these things) stressful situations.

These things maximized my health, and minimized the effects of the returning symptoms. Nonetheless, eventually (one year later) most of the full-blown symptoms had returned. The most irritating to me (and most tempting to resume antibiotics) was the lack of mental process. Even the fatigue was minor when considered compared to this one. The bumper sticker "Of all the things I've ever lost, I miss my mind the most." was not funny to me.

It was at this point that a friend discussed with me a product that became the first of my alternative (and natural, and successful) treatments.

At this writing: successful treatment without antibiotics

The first of these treatments was a strong anti-oxidant called Pycnogenol. (It is this specific research that comprises the bulk of this website.) Since my mind and inclinations were scientific and/or research oriented, I evaluated this substance from a bio-chemical point of view. In other words, I had researched it, and concluded that it made sense. After supplier research, I settled on a distributor called Kaire, International whose formulations I felt to be the strongest at that time. In addition to Pycnogenol, I also took an aloe vera drink, and a colloidal silver preparation. (The latter, by the way, I have ceased to take. My silver research has turned up that this is a potentially dangerous product, as effective as it is.) The aloe vera, which I do continue to take, works in a variety of ways, including (significantly to me) it's fungicidal and virucidal properties — which is to say, orally taken, it naturally reduces fungus and virus vulnerability. (See aloe research.) Within a couple of months, I was again experiencing a return to health. The fatigue, depression, arthritis, and polyuria were beginning to go. This progressed for about a year when, seeing further research, I eventually added a good health food store multi-vitamin, 1-3,000 mg of vitamin C, B-complex, and a host of other "natural" and "alternative" products that I discuss in a great deal of depth in the Treatments section.

On the combination of various nutrient therapies, although I'm not entirely out of the woods, I do feel better than at any point even on antibiotics. As of this writing, I have now been without antibiotic (or medical) treatment for three years.

Although it's discussed in depth there, I do want to briefly mention a couple of things here: (1) I've found that the Pycnogenol was critical to take with the aloe vera. Periods that lacked one or the other saw a decrease in health. (2) Of all of the supplements I've investigated, I've come to believe that one of the most important—and inexpensive—is the B-complex. The B vitamins have a well known connection to neural function. (3) I've come to learn that [unnamed product] accomplishes a whole host of benefits related to lyme: Not only the weight loss, but also "operating energy", and arthritis reduction. It also builds up muscle tissue that tends to waste away from lack of use. (4) The Candida issue is not to be minimized. Most people who are either currently on antibiotics, or have taken them during their lives, needs to take a glance at this issue. It alone will cause all the the fatigue and memory dysfunction that lyme does. And a couple of inexpensive products, one of which is [unnamed product], will resolve this fairly easily and quickly.

All in all, these things have worked remarkably to restore my health. I once again have no taste for sweets, and I'm resuming exercising. Now if only I can stay off the computer late nights, and get some proper sleep!

Concluding Thoughts

Interestingly, of all of the products, probably none of them — with the exception of Pycnogenol, which crosses the blood-brain barrier — actually attacks the Lyme spirochete directly. They all work to increase overall good health. Now, this by itself is not to be minimized. I suspect that this is the precise reason why my infection lay dormant for 30-some years — my physical condition was strong enough to more than overcome the infection. So this by itself is a sufficient, good goal — restore good health. If, in my case, stress, no vitamins, bad diet, no exercise, and insufficient sleep are what enabled the appearance of the Lyme symptoms, well then, these things are all reversible!

Add to these things those products which do likely attack the spirochete and related conditions — Pycnogenol, and to a lesser extent, aloe vera; then it's enough to reverse the time clock as it were to a period before symptoms. A likely ideal course may be to add this type of thing to an ongoing course of antibiotics. (To my very best knowledge, none of the things listed here are inter-reactive with any other medication.) Experiment — with your doctor's evaluative consent. See what works.

In my specific case, I've long considering re-implementing a short (two week) course of antibiotics, just to really give this infection a shot; although every time I consider it, I simply feel well enough that I just don't do it. At this point, I probably never will.

Update: December, 1998

Lest this page become a Worldwide Cobweb, I wanted also to include updates from time to time on my history. The most recent of what I've written above is now about two years past, and I thought it would be fair — and informative — to give the update as to how I am doing at this point. I am even more so from when I last wrote, better and better in health. Do I dare use the "cure" word? No, not yet; however, I do now put my health (albeit arbitrarily) in the the above 90% ranking — good enough for me for all but perfect function. I'm now almost five years antibiotic free, and (more or less consistently) feeling better and better each day. I am once again doing vigorous exercise — something that I had been trying (unsuccessfully) to do for twenty years. A typical week might now include some seven mile roller blading runs, and some twenty mile bike rides (and these rides not at cruising speed either – the last ride averaged over 19 mile per hour for the entire twenty mile distance).

I'd like to share a thought on this, I believe actually that it's the exercise that has made all the recent difference. It's very well known that aerobic exercise kills off the spirochete load (higher blood oxygen percent kills off the spirochete), but as most of us know, for a lyme sufferer, it's all but impossible to do such exercise. And this was the case for me, too. But I now must say that doing so pays big dividends. This past summer, I decided that if I couldn't do normal exercise, I was going to at least take a walk around the block. The increased blood oxygen level from even this small amount of exercise made me feel significantly better the next day. And so on and on. Two short months later, I was at the levels described above. I strongly encourage anyone who is able, to at least get some fresh air. Take a walk around the block. This may do far more for you than you realize.

To recap, at the point where I quit antibiotics, even after beginning the supplements (described in the Treatments section), my health continued to dip for a couple of months. It took this length of time even begin to see a slowing of the decline of further decrease in health. But, at that point, things began to level off, and the return to health was gradual, but consistent — and, continuing so, up to this point, now five years running. What I'm saying here is that if one chooses to incorporate supplements (either some of the ones I've described, or others), be prepared to be diligent for several months. If you see a small increase, understand that as small as it may seem, it is cumulative. In other words, stay the course. The recovery may be only in small steps, but every gradual bit adds up to eventually become a lot. Also, although each of the supplements that I described helped in their area only a little, each area (Pycnogenol here, [unnamed product] there) added it's previously unhelped part, again summing to a significant health restoration.

And, although this text is getting long, for those who may not have seen this on the title page, this is worth repeating: In all of this I am not advocating the complete non-use of antibiotics.. I am personally against only the long term (i.e., permanent) use of antibiotics. Such use will eventually destroy the immune system, which was designed for this very purpose. And I believe that a good immune system has far more value than any anti-biotic ever could. In my mind, the prime goal is not to kill off every invading organism, but to do whatever it takes to rebuild and strengthen the immune system so that it will take care of this difficulty itself. (Thus is the value of the better sleep, the vitamins and supplements, the reduced stress, etc.) However, I also understand that there is a time where the infection "load" is greater than the body's ability to fight it off — and to continue further down this path would mean destruction to the body. For this purpose, antibiotics have a critically important place. But only on a non-permanent basis. Also, in the case of a "new" infection, there is only one time when it's possible to completely eradicate the disease (and this with antibiotics), and this is it. Anyone who's had a recent infection should not delay even in the least by experimenting with alternative treatments. Go find a good doctor as quickly as you can, and get a proper (four to six week) antibiotic treatment. You only get one shot at it — do it with a certainty!