Posted by bleauberry on April 2, 2010, at 18:37:35
In reply to Anxiety/Fatigue/Muscle Stiffness/Depression, posted by morganator on March 29, 2010, at 22:48:10
Well, I can't help much but did want to take a minute to shed some light on the lyme western blot approach.
Most chronic lyme sufferers had symptoms are stories similar to yours, the negative test results were common.
There is much to learn about lyme. Much we don't know. The western blot was NEVER intended for diagnosis. It was intended for general surveillance of regional outbreaks. Some error in there won't hide an outbreak. The test has flaws and is not perfect. The organism is deceptive and smart at hiding from both tests and your own immune system.
There is only one lab in the USA that specializes in accurate testing western blot lyme. You probably did not use that lab.
Most people were diagnosed, despite all the negative tests and years of needless suffering, on clinical examination, not labs...the symptoms were consistent with lyme and there was history of tick exposure. Many of them do not recall ever being bitten by a tick and never had the famous rash.
They had a couple things in common. They had viscious Herx reactions to antibiotics. They got better after the Herxs passed. It was indeed Borellia (Lyme).
The co-conspirators of lyme are just as bad, and hardly ever considered. Bartonella, Babesia, and a couple others. They are worse than the primary Borellia suspect, but not looked for in the common western blot usually.
Even plain jane Candida is horrid. Causes every psych and physical symptom you can think of. No way to test for it. As with lyme, the only definitive test is to blindly try an anti-fungal protocol and see what happens. The reaction is the diagnosis. Most docs don't accept yeast/fungus as an issue, unless there is an obvious diaper rash, vaginal infection, or thrush tongue. I see that as arrogant human negligence, humans routinely assuming they know more than they do. If you get a Herx on Diflucan, you got yeast in your system, plain and simple, and it is definitely impacting your nervous system with toxins as powerful as manmade.
With lyme, same thing. The true definitive test is a sampling of a few select antibiotics to see what happens. The reaction, or pattern of reaction, tells a story that no lab report can.
I have no idea what your symptoms come from. No clue if it is lyme or any other hidden thing. I just wanted to expand on your comments on the western blot, because within your comments are the identical falsehoods shared in the histories of those who have recovered from lyme that tested negative.
I am not trained to do physical examination. Lyme symptoms can affect any part of the body and basically can imitate any disease. Thus its nickname "The Great Imitator". But there are some general trends seen. Your symptoms fit those trends. The way it affects your muscles and psychiatry and other weird things, all common stories of lyme.
Even people definitively diagnosed with MS have been cured with anti-lyme treatments, and seen their supposed MS brain lesions clear up in the process.
I'm not going any particular direction with this discussion, just trying to point out that there is a lot more here to be aware of.
On a more comforting side, the drugs used to help minimize the symptoms of lyme are the very same drugs used in psychiatry. They won't cure anything, but the right ones can at least make life more functionable and slow down the progress of the symptoms.
So for symptom control, the psych toolbox is the right place to look. To end the symptoms probably requires things outside of the psychiatry toolbox.
Until you have tried Doxycyline, Flagyl, Diflucan, and Wormwood, you really have no clue if you have lyme or candida or babesia or bartonella or all of them. The above substances cover them all well enough to tell a story whether a hunch is correct or not. The symptoms you have indicate a good reason to at least have a hunch. But the absolute worst thing you can do is rely on a lab test to make a definitive decision. That is the one single greatest thing most likely to prevent you from making headway.
> I am so sick of dealing with this. I've been tested for lyme 3 time using western blot. I've been tested for rheumatoid arthritis. Both tests came back negative. I've had a physical a few times in the last few years, everything checks out o.k.
>
> I'm bipolar and I'm on these medications:
>
> Lithium 300mg
> Depakote 500mg
> Fluoxetine 80mg
> Zyprexa 2.5mg-weening off
>
> I have been experiencing high anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, muscle weakness and stiffness, and depression.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I might be able to do as far as medications go to improve the way I feel? Obviously the days of taking 100mg Zoloft and a few grams of fish oil and feeling good are over.
poster:bleauberry
thread:941388
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100328/msgs/941855.html