Status update - my current regimen

[Guest guest]

Hi guys,

I replied to an email about fungus and nutrition from the salt/C

group with this basic response. I've expanded on it and thought I'd

post it here for anyone interested.

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I was on I.V. doxy (among others) for several months and it was a

marginal help at best. I'm finding I'm responding much better to

oral Penicillin VK and V-fend (newer anti-fungal). Also adding in

Zithromax from time to time. I've been doing well on this treatment

for quite a few months now.

Adding the anti-fungal to my regimen has made a huge difference to

my energy levels, even though I have no overt fungal symptoms. I

realized though that fungus can manifest in different ways. For

example, when I ran out of diflucan, I developed a colorless rash on

my arms and legs and began to itch on my chest and armpits (and

legs). This completely disappeared with the antifungals.

I also take Benicar for inflammation. I started at the high dose of

40mg 4xper day and am now down to 40mg 2xper day and thinking I'll

probably be able to reduce it even further. The anti-inflammatory

effects of this drug have been truly miraculous for me. I am doing

better than I have in years.

My point here is that regardless of what particular drug works for

an individual, it seems that those of us who are most debilitated

need to address several areas, the bacteria (and it's possible

source), the inflammation, the fungal forms, and the toxins to get

back to some level of functioning. It also seems that the people

who've been most successful with treatment have addressed most or

all of these areas. Once we're functioning better, it's easier to

look at diet and balancing our nutritional needs and replacing the

vitamins and minerals that have been depleted due to our diseased

state. Nutrition is obviously essential, but if you're too sick to

eat right, it's not going to be much help just thinking about it. Or

if your gut can't absorb it, it's going to be a wasted effort.

I think that alkalinzing the cells is also very important as many of

the bacteria cannot survive in an alkaline environment. I'm going to

begin taking Plaquenil for this purpose (after building up my

magnesium levels a bit), but I think that salt/c may also be

accomplishing something similar. Also that the C may be effective in

breaking down the bio-films that protect these organisms.

We have to remember though, that some bacteria can live in salt, so

we need a multi-pronged approach. I am absolutely convinced that our

illness is not related to the lyme related bacteria alone. There are

numerous bacteria that can create just as much havoc, and once

you've got one, you've probably got several, duking it out for the

upper hand, and leaving us to suffer the toxic consequences. (I have

a co-infection that is being sustained in my jaw and sinuses, and

until I clear those areas completely, it's going to be very

difficult to be 100% well. It also takes good scans as there are

often no overt symptoms indicating these infections, but in my case,

biopsies and scans show differently. So if you just can't beat an

infection, you may want to start looking at your sinuses and jaw, or

some other area that could be harboring a focal infection).

Personally, I think Stratton/Wheldon have done a great job of laying

out most of the bases that need to be covered. Even though their

research targets Chlamydia, it seems to be effective against a lot

of organisms, and even if their exact regimen may not be right for

you, the general outline is there and the logic behind it applies

across the board. It Addresses the bugs, the toxins, the nutritional

deficits, etc. It's just a matter of finding the right combo. I

don't recall if they address fungus, but I do think this is a very

important part of an effective regimen, as is being demonstrated by

quite a few of us, as well as Dr. Schardt, who seems to be seeing

similar results in his own lyme patients. So if you want to

substitute salt for the antibiotic, or one detox method for another,

it's fine, as long as it's working.

Right now, I'm feeling almost normal, just de-conditioned. Of

course, I'm still on drugs, and want to get to a point of being drug

free. But I won't make the mistake again of stopping them until I

know I'm in the clear. The good news is, I have more energy now to

focus on supporting a healthier body through nutrition than I did

when I was barely functioning.

Here's the basis of what I'm currently doing:

Drug Regimen:

-Benicar - 80mg per day

-Penicillin VK - 1 to 2 grams per day (Sometimes adding

Zithromax.)

-V-fend - 400mg per day

-thyroid (see below)

Nutrition: (for detox and deficiencies)

- " BioPure " Chlorella (for detox - love this stuff, can eat it like

candy. I would take charcoal but timing with other drugs too

difficult)

-Magnesium

-Vitamin C (also good for detox and as an antioxidant)

-B vitamins (based on my spectracell testing)

-Vitamin D

-Candex intermittently (enzymes for gut)

-Antioxidants intermittently

-electrolytes - I'm still trying to figure out how to best address

my electrolyte balance, as I think this is also important.

-dental hygeine - I also think that we need to keep our mouths (and

sinuses) as clean as possible. I use a salt based tooth paste (or

some other antimicrobial tooth paste), as well as antimicrobial

sinus rinses. You can add H202 or silver or many other

antimicrobials to your dental rinses.

I had a Spectra Cell test that showed exactly the things I was

deficient in. It also showed that I need more zinc and asparagine

(an amino acid). Unfortunately, Zinc I have trouble taking, it

causes hyperthyroid type symptoms for me, and I've yet to find

asparagine.

In addition to the above, I take thyroid meds. Since being on these

drugs my thyroid levels have become erratic, although the need for

thyroid meds has been reduced. I'm currently trying to balance

things out with a very small dosage of Armour and synthroid

combined. Something like 15mg Armour and 25mcg thyroid.

I've reduced my frequent migraines to 1 or fewer per month. I'm sure

this is due to the Benicar and the relief of

inflammatory/intracranial pressure. So I'm happy to not be using

those drugs to the same extent.

I have an appointment scheduled with a cardiologist, due to high

levels of C reactive protein, an indicator of heart disease, and

some other heart related symptoms, as well as the recently

discovered migraine/heart hole connection. My feeling is that the

heart is related in this illness, whether it's due to an infection

or if it's part of a vascular defect (i.e. genetic coagulation

disorders) that made infection possible, I think it needs to be

looked at.

My blood work all looks good, liver,kidney's etc. except for the C-

reactive Protein. Either that's a coincidence that it became

elevated now, or somehow this regimen has made what I've long

thought to be an underlying condition come to the fore.

Hope this is helpful to anyone struggling to figure out how to

tackle their disease. It's taken me a long time to get here, but I'm

feeling much more confident right now about beating this thing.

penny