Another Day/Another Doctor's Visit

Another Day/Another Doctor's Visit 

  My husband Brad (the Lyme/Babesia patient), had a doctor's visit today. Anyone who has this disease knows how after a long while, you get to the place you just do not want to ever walk through the door of a doctor's office again. Simply because you are just tired of the entire ordeal. Tired of waiting and waiting in the lobby, waiting in the room, 

waiting for blood tests or the results of the tests. Tired of doctors looking at you and saying we do not see anything wrong with you. Thus, we cannot help you. 

  This time was a wee bit different. Brad's hearing has been waning now for a couple months. Today, after the audiology exam they found significant hearing loss in one ear and a small amount in the other. They labeled it neurological hearing loss. About all she could do is well; you guessed it-NOTHING! 

  Our Lyme Literate Doctor has treated people who have gone both blind and deaf with this disease. As well as unable to walk and the list is quite long. We were encouraged to meet a married couple who both has Lyme Disease, the wife was both blind and deaf and couldn't walk. But, now is able to see, hear and walk. The aggressive antibiotic therapy plus the herbs was the answer for her. 

  Not even a month ago, Brad's vision was attacked. He woke up with fuzzy vision, eventually one eye was totally blurry. His right hand went numb on him too. Not knowing what to do and also encouraged by our L.L.Dr.; we went to our local M.D. We waited and waited to be told there was ...(ready) NOTHING they could do. What was interesting, once they knew he was diagnosed with Lyme, she didn't even bother to run a scan on Brad. Recall from past posts this all started after a knee surgery that developed a blood clot that hospitalized him for almost two weeks. Thus, the probability of him having another one is pretty good. 

   After being told about his hearing, tears came down our face. We have read a lot by now, we have listened to our Lyme Lit. Doctor with her words of knowledge, watched Under Our Skin and witnessed others face serious illness due to Lyme. With Brad not getting better now after 9 full months of antibiotics; we are feeling quite dismayed. But, strangely feel a deep peace (which we know is from GOD). After the tears, we both looked at each other and said; "All is well." Then, Brad looked at me and also said; "Well, here is another thing God is going to take care of." 

  This all is just too heavy for us to bear. For anyone to bear. Only Jesus can carry us; looking back at all we personally have faced through out the years; this knowledge has given us much rest and resolve. [R & R]

  Allow us to encourage anyone out there facing this disease. 

 1st:  Don't face this alone. My dh has a quiet personality anyways, but he is a very strong minded man. As he has gone through this, I have watched him sink more and more into himself. It was separating him from me, his children and his God. I prayed and prayed. Well, the Lord really touched his heart and he is much better.  

2nd: Total surrender! Don't carry this. When you are in constant pain this is not easy. But, if you cannot do anything but just say the Name of Jesus...whisper it, cry it...believe in this Name. I promise You will then feel His presence so strong because your own spiritual nature will be 'in-tune' to His Lordship. 

3rd: Keep the Hope at the forefront of your entire mind, soul and being. This is where so many patients loose heart. They give up, they stare at all the medications; they remember how active they once were, they see their families and feel left out. But, know Hope is life, Hope is a healer, Hope is the future and Hope is for now. I am telling you right now...HOPE IS JESUS! Him and him alone, not man...including you-Hope is Jesus being the Lord of Your Life. Ask my husband, he will tell you this. Ask me? My story is there too-I am in remission. 

4th: One day at a time. Enjoy every segment of the day God has given you. Being able to get out of bed. Be with a loved one. Shower, read; drink your coffee or tea and so on. Tonight, our family of 5 was so silly; we just simply sat in our living room being absolutely goofy. Laughing at the most simplest of things. Ahhhh, isn't that nice! 

  Hang in there my friend. When you yet have another doctor's appointment, remember this blog-article. Though we are tired of waiting; say: "All is Well" and go forward one step at a time. 

--------------------------------------------

Brad's New Med's:

Sumatriptan  50mg

Clindamycin  300 mg  2-3X a day

Minocylcine  100 mg  cap teva 1-2X a day

Hydroxychloroquine  200 mg Ran  2 a day

Amitriptylin 25 mg tab Sand 1 at bedtime

  These have seemingly been much better on his stomach. There have been new herx's that have arisen:

Eyes going fuzzy & numb hand- but he is able to function a little better sometimes.

  The herx's (and other side affects) he does have:

heart pain, neck-tension pain, joint, migraines, no taste buds (all the time), dizziness, concentration, depression, moodiness, breathlessness, skin rashes, bloating, high blood pressure, high pulse rate. Unable to walk distances past 50 feet. 

  If you have these, it might be good to locate a Lyme Literate Specialist near you. 

Under Our Skin: The Untold Story of Lyme Disease

By Dr. Mercola

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/13/under-our-skin-documentary.aspx?np=true

Patience Living With Lyme Disease

Here is a journal of Brad's thoughts dealing with the struggle of living with Chronic Lyme Disease. 

Brad Snowden still in a wheel chair,
because of pain and severe weakness.
He becomes dizzy, breathless & heart
hurts just after 50 feet of walking.

  There is a word that most of us don’t like or certainly pray about and that is patience.

  This however is very important when we think of Lyme's, because there are no cure all formulas . It is not like a cold that will simply go away with time and  in dealing with this disease, it is a long haul prospective that helps deal with it better. The long haul can in some ways be the most discouraging part, because every long day can seem like a fight just to get through it with a since of sanity intact .The fight isn’t for the short term but for the finish that is the focus. There are many scopes of treatment which may only focus on the short term and that is probably the difference of approaches. 

  I believe every patient  desires the treatment to be quick as possible but more important to me is the complete control of the symptoms. The challenge for me is the mental focus on the goal and to have the drive to finish no matter how long it takes. It takes patience with the treatment as well as with yourself   The key is to deal with the now so there can be a bright future. The focus must be on the journey to the very end and not on the calendar  and it is not easy to over look the time it takes yet, it will produce the end result we strive for if we are patient.

Anaerobic Bacteria & Lymes

  This is Brad and I have a new twist to what is going on inside my body. I have a bacteria that has been affecting my stomach  for the past three weeks. This particular problem is  something that effects Lyme's patients and for me it has changed the way I perceive the digestive system.

   I first noticed that my stomach was super sensitive and reacted to almost everything I ate, then it continued to get worse and aloe juice no longer helped. I also noticed I was having hunger pains (as if I hadn't eaten in days). Exactly right after eating,  bloating then followed. It proceeded to the point that I just couldn't keep anything down (including all my medications) and this lasted for a couple of days.

  My wife and I decided to just stay off my med.'s suspicioning the antibiotics were doing havoc to my stomach lining. Yesterday, my Lymes Specialist verified that I did need to stop the antibiotics for now. She put me on Flagyl which is an antibiotic to treat Anaerobic bacteria. This bacteria has been growing immensely; one of the reasons my appetite even increased and likely why my belly has been swelling up. I will be on it for at least three weeks and start back on my regular meds after that. She said many of her patients 'hate' this medication. One being it does make all the herxes surface severely. It also causes a great amount of diarrhea.

  My physician said this is quite typical for Lyme Patients as they under-go such an intense antibiotic therapy. This is 1,000 mg- 500 per tablet. First day I am to take 2 tablets and build up to 3 tablets a day.

  My symptoms of the entire disease have NOT decreased. Still encountering great pain and weakness.

  So, here we go with another dilemma in this on going battle of this disease. I know with the Lord as my strength and my family by my side victory will come soon.

Why It's Hard to Diagnose Lyme

IS THERE PROOF IN THE PUDDING?

Recently my husband was denied disability because of the lack  of proof that he 'officially' had Lyme Disease. As I wrote in my first post, the Lyme doctor we found 'diagnostically' diagnosed him. This was after droves of tests (blood, scans, x-rays...etc) were ran and came back clear. In light of all of this, the symptoms pointed strongly to Lyme and Borrelia. We brought this denial of the disability to our lawyer and since the specialist in heart, pulmonary, hematology plus others said there was nothing wrong and the blood test for Lyme came back negative the lawyer said with his experience in disability that Brad's chances of obtaining disability are none. Until we can acquire blood tests to prove to the panel of doctors (and whomever else) we might have a minimal chance.

 Yet, Brad's tests were ran using the Western Blot; therein lies the problem.

 "When used as part of a diagnostic evaluation for Lyme disease, the Western Blot should be performed by a laboratory that reads and reports all of the bands related to Borrelia burgdorferi. Laboratories that use FDA approved kits (for instance, the Mardx Marblot®) are restricted from reporting all of the bands, as they must abide by the rules of the manufacturer. These rules are set up in accordance with the CDCs surveillance criteria and increase the risk of false-negative results. The commercial kits may be useful for surveillance purposes, but they offer too little information to be useful in patient management." [http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/about_lyme1.html] As well as for us, this test is quite expensive and our doctor told us since we do not know 'when' Brad was bitten and also the protien bands will likely not surface, all depending on the time of the month when some levels rise and others lower.

Brad has chronic Lyme and this is even more disagreed on in the medical field with many doctors (including the one's he saw while we were in Chicago). Read this quote from http://articles.ky3.com/2012-04-05/chronic-lyme-disease_31296702; "The controversy is more complex than whether or not it exists in  ...The skepticism comes more in with the later stages. A lot of disagreement in the medical community about whether or not late term Lyme disease exists," said Fansler."

All in all, this attributes more to the frustrations of this crazy disease. It also has made our personal lives even more interesting (to say the least). Brad is not able to concentrate, suffers greatly with tremendous pain and is exhausted. This obviously means he is not able to hold down a typical job. Praise God he preaches on Sundays as we pastor. He makes hospital visitations and various meetings. We are at a major turning point now...we are confident we are in the Hands of God and with His Strength we will be-MORE THAN CONQUERORS!

We know we are not alone in this battle. It feels like it though, being in this

 rather unique situation how it has placed us in a  hard place financially.

Our hope is just to help (no matter how minuscule it may be)anyone who may be suffering with Lyme.

Brad and I would love to pray for you. You can leave your request in a comment below. We promise we will pray.

 I wrote this in response to the disability denial and many not understanding why, suggesting we get a new lawyer or that we try again. We were warned that it would be a miracle to get disability with having Lyme, from what our doctor said: "it is rare!"

GOOD READING:

1.)  http://www.canlyme.com/apr1903.html  Rd. this patient's story and the research discovered.

2.) http://articles.ky3.com/2012-04-05/chronic-lyme-disease_31296702  Chronic Lyme hard to discover. This individual spent $4,000 for blood tests and other and it resulted in nothing. Yet, was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme.

3.) http://lymedisease.org/news/touchedbylyme/ssdi.html This lawyer is an advocate for Lyme's Patients and specializes in disabilty and appeals. [We are going to contact her!]

TESTING FOR LYME DISEASE

TESTING FOR LYME DISEASE

[PLEASE NOTE HIGHLIGHTED MATERIALS ARE LINKS TO ANOTHER SITE.]

 Tests are the 'assessing of ' & 'evaluation for '-hopefully; "Bringing into darkness that which is hidden." This is another quite simple directive for new lyme patients and many others as you are trying to understand this entire process of how physicians and the patient learn they indeed have lyme. 


 I am learning along with you as I research and ask questions as I live with my amazing husband (Brad) who is suffering greatly from Chronic Lyme, plus the typical co disease's:  Borrelia. and Babesia.  

  Recall with me from my first blog that Lyme Disease is a clinical diagnosis. Clinical meaning: "the estimated identification of the disease underlying a patient's complaints based merely on signs, symptoms and medical history of..." [Clinical Diagnosis]

  The Borrelia Burgdorferi (the spirochete infection of Lyme),  can cause infections in many organs seen in a numerous amount of symptoms. 

When tested for Lyme it will be the protein manifestations that help identify the disease and sometimes any co-disease that may follow. 

  When to test for Lyme?

-First if a patient does demonstrate the typical 'bulls-eye' rash, this is clear enough that Lyme is present and medications are then prescribed. 

But, there are the; "FEWER THAN 50% OF PATIENTS WITH LYME DISEASE THAT RECALL A TICK BITE." 

  What are the test for this great number? 

Doctors typically will order an ELISA test. According to ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Disease Society); "This TEST MISSES 35% OF CULTURE PROVEN LYME DISEASE (ONLY 65% SENSITIVITY) AND IS UNACCEPTABLE AS THE FIRST STEP OF A TWO-STEP SCREENING PROTOCOL. BY DEFINITION, A SCREENING TEST SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 95% SENSITIVITY."  

The ELISA & Western Blot tests (that are typically performed) measure the immune system's response to an infectious agent. They are strips containing the Lyme antigenic proteins.14 different proteins are allowed to diffuse on a specially prepared strip or Blot.  "Of 28 possible bands, the standard CDC test, which is not a diagnostic test, reports only 13 out of a possible 28 bands." [Lyme MD] 

  Yet, there are alternative labs that do otherwise. IGeneX Laboratories  report a test positive if a patient has 2 critical bands in the IgM or IgG subset." 

  Most lyme patients have already undergone a conglomeration of tests. My husband had scores of blood work, x-rays, CT's, MRI's. With this and all of his symptoms our Physician was able to make her diagnosis. 

 We would love to be able to still have the IGeneX test performed but the cost is quite grand. But, if anyone ask for my opinion this is where I would point them to. 

 By reading my last blog about the symptoms of Lyme Disease and the co-diseases that do accompany a great deal of the time; you can move to this step of testing. See a doctor, but don't be disheartened when the tests come back negative. 

 Find a Lyme Literate Doctor; http://www.lymeinfo.net/directory.html. You will have to travel, wait and pay more. But, it beats suffering and getting worse. We are richly blessed by our Doctor in the Indianapolis area. 

Up-Date on Brad:   Amazingly he is preaching on Sunday's with passionate fervor. Today he was only awake a few hours. I do see this Lyme depression getting to him. Quite different from his stable-like personality. The doctor finally prescribe a migraine prescription. Prayers are greatly appreciated. With him so ill he cannot work and we have been without an in-come for well over a year. 

MUST READ:

  * Understanding the Western Blot

  http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2009/02/understanding-western-blot.html 

  * WHAT TEST(S) TO ORDER

http://igenex.com/Website/

 * Basic Information About Lyme Disease

http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/about_lyme1.html

 *DIAGNOSTIC HINTS AND TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME AND OTHER

TICK BORNE ILLNESSES http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

The Symptoms of Lyme Disease

The Symptoms of Lyme Disease

  When Brad became ill after living all of his life not just healthy but athletic, we were hit with one traumatic diagnosis after another. He was told he had lymphoma, a blood clot in his brain and his lungs. As well as heart issues. Yet, they all came back normal.  Still Brad was and still is feeling as if he is dying. So...what is it? This was the question when we were led to our Lyme Doctor.  Thus, we want to share with you the typical symptoms of Lyme Disease. 

Symptom 1

 http://biddybytes.com/?p=6727     Kelly Mellor  

If caught early and you know with out a doubt you were bit by a deer tick then you will witness a small red spot at the site of the  bite. [Known as a  known as erythema migrans (EM).] At times this is called a 'bulls-eye' rash; which has a red ring surrounding a clear area with a red center. It stays for 3 to 5 weeks. It may be warm to the touch but not itchy. Flue like  symptoms such as stiff neck, fever,body ache, Swollen lymph nodes,headaches and fatigue also occur. {Symptoms of Lyme Disease} 

Symptom 2  

Arthritis is a common link to the majority to most all Lyme patients. The knee is the most common joint to be affected. If left untreated, 10 to 20% will continue on to chronic arthritis (this will lead to erosion to cartilage and bone) {Arthritis Disease Center/Signs of Lyme Disease}. Fibromyalgia is a typical diagnosis when an infected patient is left untreated in the beginning. Yet, it doesn't stop there either; osteoarthritis and even rheumatoid arthritis are typical diagnosis. 

Brad had knee surgery 1 year and 9 months ago. His knee was hurting him badly it was also swollen and weak. After the surgery he developed a clot that was quite severe. He spent close to two weeks in the hospital. 

Symptom 3

An annoying headache to migraine begins to occur. When Brad started getting this, he would take all types of over-the-counter medicines and nothing took the pain away. 

Symptom 4

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: After Brad's first catheterization the sweet doctor researched and came up with this conclusion. Yet, even with the CFS it does not cover the entire scale of all the symptoms he was revealing. In another post we will share how the CDC does not give much attention to this. 

Symptom 5

Heart Problems; as stated earlier Brad has constant heart pain. His local cardiologist twice now was convinced he had: 1- A blockage and 2- Hardening of the Pericardium. Less than 1 out of 10 lyme patients develop heart problems. This surfaces generally after several weeks prior to the bite. "There may be an irregular heart beat, dizziness and shortness of breath." {http://www.healingwell.com/library/lymedisease/info1.asp } 

Symptom 6

Neurological signs are quite significant with the Lyme and the co-disease that usually accompany. This of course is affecting the nervous system. This occurs weeks, months and sometimes years after the incident. With Brad we noticed his taste buds were no longer working (and now after 1 yr. still are not). He has a headache 24/7 and increases in degree one week per month (herxes). He also has insomnia, breathlessness (which in the lyme world is called 'breath-hunger'), hard time concentrating and even mood swings. 

Also other unique things such as eye twitching and many more. 

Now, there are symptoms that people have that others do not. With the Co-diseases, one can experience a bounty of issues on top of this. This is a general list. I do plan on narrowing in on the co-diseases, their symptoms and treatments. 

I do feel soon that the topic of testing for lyme must be viewed here to help the reader better understand why a negative result can come back from your doctor. Yet, you could still have this disease. 

Deer Tick

ESSENTIAL LINKS TO CHECK OUT

TICK ENCOURNTER

Is It Possible You Have Lyme or Another Tick-borne Disease? Some doctors say that Lyme (also known as Lymes) Disease is all in your head. By Trisha Torrey

HEALING WELL/INTRO TO LYME DISEASE

Up-Date on Brad: His doctor put him back on the doxycycline and off the zithro for now. This week, his chest is hurting and his head. Prayers are greatly appreciated. We also have been denied any disability. God is our provider. I know He will guide us to what road to take now. Meanwhile...we lean on Him.

The Beginning To the End

 The Beginning To the End

  It has been 1 year and 8 months since Brad's knee surgery that turned his, well our lives totally around! After a simple meniscus repair, Brad was in the hospital for about 2 weeks with his leg swollen 2 1/2 times it's originally size. [This was due to a blood clot.]

  For the past 24 years he has worked as a carpenter to supplement our income as we have been associate pastors, evangelists and of course pastoring. The Lord has led us in ministerial realms where funds were not there to support us. 

Speaker for Veteran's Day Celebration Newton, IL

  Brad has been told by anyone he has done work for and with; that he is the hardest working man they have ever encountered. He was good at what he does and fit to the core. Brad worked and played hard his entire life. Unstoppable!  

  Yet, after this surgery his life did change. The pain through out his body increased, this brought great weakness to where he was not able to complete the work he use to do, in the amount of time he USE to accomplish it. 
One month shy now to 1 year ago (July 2011) is when this crazy road really came to view. Brad became not only weak and in pain but started having breathlessness. Even though he would rest it would not go away. He was rushed to the hospital with everyone believing he was showing all the signs of a heart-a-tack. But, according to all the tests ran in the 3 day stay at the hospital; all came back negative. 

  Weeks went by, his taste buds became affected and he is still not able to taste anything now. Headaches started as well, 24/7 never stopping. They would worsen monthly to a migraine level and taper back down to about a 6 level as his 'norm'. Nothing would or has eased this pain.

  By the time Fall came around he had not been able to work for months. He was rushed again to our nearby hospital who then sent him on to a larger facility. The cardiologist were just convinced he had a blockage. They performed a catheterization; and still yet it came back he was just fine.  

  He visited his Cardiologist who believed he discovered lymphoma and was convinced he had it. But, tests were ran and they did not seem to believe this was so. Then another test was ran on his brain where they did find a spot they believed was a hematoma. But,  more test were ran and it (thankfully) came back clear. They tested his kidneys and did pulmonary work on his lungs---still all came back fine. They ran a sleep apnea test and this came back clear as well. 

Served during the 'Cold War' in Germany/Czech. border.

 Then in November a friend felt strongly to send us to their Lyme Doctor in Zionsville, IN. By clinical diagnostics [clinical diagnosis:a diagnosis made on the basis of knowledge obtained by medical history and physical examination alone, without benefit of laboratory tests or x-ray films.- Yet, she had plenty of that from the prior months.] The doctor diagnosed Brad to have lymes and borrelia. 
Brad served in the black forest in Germany back in the 1980's quite possibly he was bit then, and likely didn't know this. More the half of lyme's patients who have this disease do not know when they have been bitten. She said quite possibly the surgery was a traumatic attack that brought the spirochetes (the bacteria from the the tick) out to surface from the lyme he may have gotten in the 1980's. [http://georgialymedisease.org/lyme_disease ] Yet, he had been bitten by something but did not produce the typical bull's eye rash, yet it did leave a doozy of a mark and bothered him for quite sometime last year. We also did live in the wood's in mountainous North Carolina for almost 4 years in this past decade. We did live in Southern Illinois, and we hiked numerous times in the lovely parks they have down there. So, frankly---who knows!

   He was originally put on this regimen: 

CHLORELLA /  2 PROBIOTICS (pm) / SACCROMYEES BOULARDI / GRAPESEED / cefidin / MALADRONE / zithromicine / Choline Powder  / ARTEMSIN / nystatin / diflucan / amiitrictiline (for the insomnia--he cannot sleep most of the time).  
Some of these are taken 2 to 3 times a day. Honestly, I just may have Brad come back and edit for I cannot keep up with this. In Feb. he was placed on a PICC Line which has been proven to be successful in the majority of cases for lyme. [http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf#search="i.v treatments"] 
At first his belly had a difficult time tolerating the medications with him throwing up on the average 4 times a day. They told him to try aloe vera juice which stopped the throwing up immediately. 

  Then, from the end of March to May; Brad had gained 30 lbs. of water. His cardiologist once again was convinced he had the hardening of the pericardium. He sent him to Chicago where the cardiologist there admitted him to the hospital. She was very concerned with his symptoms. Tests were ran, one was a right side catheterization. AGAIN...all came back fine. His heart rate is extremely high; laying down it's in the 80's, sitting goes up to 94 and standing over 100. 
They sent him home, not concerned with his water gain or heart rate. They took out his PICC line as well. 

  It has been 6 months so far since the treatments began. No improvements thus far. He is now in a wheel chair and is dealing with discouragement not getting better. 

6/18/12 Awake only 30 minutes today.

  Today he is concerning me; he has only been awake for a half an hour. In great pain in his chest and head. Only God! 

  He still preaches on Sundays and counsels people when called upon. We are believing for a healing and are witnessing God's provision as we have not had any income since the knee surgery. God is our hope, strength and supply!

  Are you suffering with this disease? Or are you just suffering and no one has made a diagnosis? Hang in there! Get in a good Body of Bible Believing Believers. You need to be surrounded with a lot of support. 

  Leave comments and let's support one another!

                                                               GIVE ME FAITH

UPDATE SUMMER 2013
   Brad's condition has NOT improved. He is still undergoing the antibiotic therapy. He has lost hearing in one ear now as well. 
  This weekend he was in the ER again with all the symptoms of a true heart-a-tack. But, with the blood work and EKG it all came back fine, though he felt awful and in great pain. 
  We keep hearing the antibiotic treatment is the 'way-to-go' and we have been faithful with it, including the herbs.
  Also, we are seeing a Doctor in Nutrition who has had him on a diet and all kinds of vitamins as well. This has been a month and half...no improvement thus far. 
  Many still tell us to go to bigger and what they call better hospitals (we did go to Chicago where they told him he needed to see a psychiatrist). What will they tell us that we already don't know?
  We know we have a great doctor who is willing to counsel with other Lyme Physicians to help with Brad's condition. God has something, in the mean time we take one day at a time.
---------
Up-Date On Brad Spring 2014:
The doctor said that the babesia is improving, but by no means stop taking the tinctures or it will try to rise up again. For example, his breath hunger has come back some as it has been gone for about a year. 
Brad's legs have been in excruciating pain the past six months. No across the counter med.'s have helped. Also, in the past two months one hand has gone numb and the other partially. 
He is seeing a Neurologist who is suspecting Lyme (without Brad telling her he has been diagnosed). Our Lyme Doctor suspects the Neurologist may prescribe:Gapapentin for his pain, of which has no adverse side affects and will not harm the antibiotics work. 
--Babesia is dwindling away. 
--Bartonella has risen up as it was masking itself until the past 6 months. 
-- It has been recommended to change medicines. 
                        I.E. : Ryfampin: (for the Bartonella) this is an antibiotic 
                                Minocycline: this is to enhance the two antibiotics strength for the Lyme & Bartonella
                                Clindamycin: for the Lyme and it too is a antibiotic.
                                                This will amount to 3200 mg a day.
                             -------------------
                               Herbs/ Tinctures
                                Crystolepis: (mentioned before in this blog) for Babesia
                                Teasel Root: for Lyme, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrom
                                Japanese Knot-weed  
                                B12: Was suggested just regarding his leg pain. Yet ONLY through:  Vitacost Methyl B-12 Sublingual -- 5000 mcg - 60 Lozenges

   On a good note, he has NOT had a severe migraine in 2 months! First time in over 3 years as well as the heart pain. GLORY TO GOD! Two of the major battles he has faced greatly.
Yet, the doctor said do not stop the tinctures for they seem to be fighting the babesia causing these. 
  Also, she in encouraging him to not give up and to stay on the antibiotics as we are fighting an on going battle of bacterial that has it's own DNA.