Lyme update, appt. with Dr. Metzger

[Guest guest]

[long post--sorry for the formatting problems (any advice on how I can remedy

this?)]

I saw Dr. Metzger yesterday to discuss my my positive lyme test with Igenex. She

said 90%

of her endometriosis patients and 40% of her vulvar patients have lyme, and is

about to

present a paper on the connection between lyme and pelvic pain. She has the

disease

herself and appears to be VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE about every aspect of its

treatment, both

conventional (antibiotics) and integrative (herbal medicine, energy work, etc.).

She said the

diagnosis was in fact *very good news*, as we'd run up against a wall addressing

my pain

from other angles. (For others who may suspect lyme, she said the fact that I

constantly

teeter on the edge of a flare-up and that my flares often coincide with my

period suggest

lyme, as does the vulvar tingling that always precedes my pain. My other clear

lyme

symptoms are interstitial cystitis; fatigue; " brain fog " ; difficulty

concentrating, especially

when reading and writing; tingling in the limbs; susceptibility to infection;

and joint

inflammation.)

In her view, lyme is but one part of the larger problem of immune dysfunction.

In light of

my struggle with candida and mold allergies, she had no problem eschewing the

antibiotic route in favor of cat's claw, artemesinin for coinfections, detox

measures, and

weekly acupuncture/massage to help support the immune system. She also told me

to

continue with my desensitization drops; stay on my low-glycemic, anti-allergy,

and

gluten-free diet; get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per night; make sure I'm

meeting a

number of nutritional requirements; and follow my intuition, especially pursuing

whatever

practices and therapies " feel good. " She has had many patients improve rapidly

and

dramatically on this protocol--one woman's vulvar pain disappeared after working

up to

only two drops of cat's claw (out of an eventual 15), so I am very hopeful.

Because of the

limitations of current testing methods, she gauges patients' progress

clinically, and will

add other herbs and even intravenous colloidal silver and garlic later, if

symptoms warrant.

She said that in other states where lyme docs are more persecuted (and

prosecuted) they

often test again and again to legitimate their prescribed courses of treatment,

but with

lyme at epidemic levels in California, she and other specialists have an easier

time and can

spare patients' pocketbooks.

Overall, I felt I was in very good hands and am *praying* that this piece of the

puzzle is a

crucial--and tide-changing--one. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to stick to the

two primary

herbs she prescribed or if I'll add others from Buhner's protocol. I will

definitely let folks

know my results!

Wishing everyone pain-free days,

Glomer