Lake Huron afternoon
Tranquility
Lest I forget.....there was also the obligatory overnight trip to see my LLMD. The in-person visits there are getting farther apart, as my doctor is willing to have phone consults every other time, since I've been doing so well.
So here is the progress report. In early July, I switched to a new antibiotic. I had been on Zithromax for about a year, but I was hoping that I might start something new to see if I could get past the plateau. I wanted an antibiotic that was better at passing through the blood-brain barrier, so my LLMD put me on minocycline. I really wanted to finish up my treatment with a bang! My symptoms have been very controlled.....sometimes even non-existant.....but this antibiotic has made me SO tired. Regardless of how much sleep I've had at night, I've been dragging through my days, unmotivated to exercise, and sometimes needing to nap. This is very unusual for me. When I spoke to the pharmacist, he confirmed that minocycline can be sedating. On the upside, nighttime sleep has been pretty good, and I've begun to reduce my dosage of Imovane (sleep medication). Hopefully, I'll be able to fully wean off of it.
These are my current medications - the minocycline, Nystatin (for yeast control), and the herbals Banderol and Samento. I've been taking Banderol and Samento since March, and have slowly worked up to 30 drops of each, twice daily. It's an expensive regimen, but I plan to continue using them even after I finish taking antibiotics, as a preventative measure. I've done well on them, with no noticeable side-effects. They are good for biofilms and they target all 3 forms of the Lyme germ. You don't need a prescription for them. If you would like more information, go to Treat Lyme and Associated Diseases. You can read about how Dr. Marty Ross, LLMD, uses them in his practice, and you can purchase them from his website.
It looks like I'm on the home stretch, as far as the antibiotics go. If everything continues to go well, health-wise, I think my LLMD will give me the go-ahead to stop the minocycline at the end of September, once the stress of starting the school year has passed. Then, it will be a waiting game to see if my symptoms stay away or return. When I went off my medications last fall, I was fine for 7 weeks, and then the symptoms started to creep back. This time, I will have the advantage of the Banderol and Samento to keep things in check.....hopefully.
This little bottle is the newest addition to my supplements. It is iodine. My LLMD has a particular interest in the thyroid, and he has learned from conferences that he has attended, that the majority of people are iodine deficient. He prescribed this tincture for me which I had to purchase from a compounding pharmacy. I'm starting slowly and will be working up to the prescribed 4 drops per day. I wonder what difference I will feel over time.
Finally, it looks as though I will never be rid of my bag of supplements. I was hoping that my LLMD would say, "You are pretty healthy now, so feel free to ditch all of those pills!" No such luck. He took a look at my list and explained how each vitamin/supplement is a benefit to me. So, every meal's appetizer will continue to be a handful of pills, likely for the rest of my life. Sigh!
Well, that's about all of the news. I'll let you know how things go when I'm off the meds.
My thoughts and prayers are with all Lymies everywhere.....those I know, and those I don't. May you all find the help you need and find the path to restored health. God bless!
