Here We Go Again.

I am woking through the process with my new doctor. It goes like this:

• Initial consult. 
• Blood work.
• Follow up and recommendations (via Skype, as he is in LA and I am in Minnesota).

All of the above have now been completed, and I am off to the races with a new treatment plan. I am not going to get too far into specifics, as I don’t want anybody taking advice from me without consulting their doctor. 

But here’s a general overview. First, we discussed my spectacularly bad reaction to my first dose of LDI (Low Dose Immunotherapy). If you missed that post, you can read about it here.

At any rate, my doctor said my strong reaction is an indication I am still carrying a heavy load of lyme bacteria. Not what I wanted to hear, but I’m not surprised, and I accept it. If you’ve been reading along, you’ll recall I tested negative for lyme over the summer. I never did back flips over that because I didn’t really believe it, as the lyme bacteria is notorious for its ability to evade detection from lab tests. Also, a negative test could also just mean the bacteria was dormant at the time.

So, it turns out I had a false negative. Again, it’s OK. I’m not freaking out. I’m in good hands. Based on my symptoms, my doctor also believes I have a lyme co-infection called Bartonella. I actually see this as good news, as it’s a potential problem that has not been addressed, which provides another opportunity for healing. The treatment for Bartonella is in one of those dropper bottles. It’s a Byron White formula called A-Bart. Again, please do not try this at home without consulting your doctor.

My next steps with LDI are less clear. My horrific reaction came from the smallest dose currently available, so my doctor is doing research to determine what, if anything can be done for me moving forward. I am hopeful he will figure something out, as this treatment has helped many lyme patients. Stay tuned on that one.

The rest of the medication and supplements my doctor prescribed are to help with my other issues, which include low physical stamina, severe GI issues, osteoporosis, anxiety and hypothyroidism. Funny, but I never think of myself has having so many things wrong. Probably a good thing, or I’d never get out of bed!

At any rate, I feel hopeful. As look at the photo above, most of those bottles contain things I haven’t tried before. I’m long past the point where I think I will have an overnight miracle cure. I’ve come to understand and accept that my progress will be slow and incremental. My hope is to continue to address the root causes of my issues while simultaneously improving my quality of life by treating my symptoms. 

And I think that’s the biggest difference between my old doctor and my new one. My new doctor is much more focused on improving my quality of life in the short term while trying to restore my health for the long run. Sounds like a solid game plan to me.

I’ve had so many new beginnings that I’ve lost track of which one I’m on. But every new beginning brings new optimism, and that’s my mood today.