GAPS Intro #7: Day 29

I wish I had kept up with posting daily but I got tired of repeating the same thing over and over. I am on stage 2 now in that I am eating egg yolks on and off, but I think I am reacting to them. I also started taking Nystatin about a week ago but only a tiny amount - less than 1/16th of tsp. Two days ago I increased it to 1/8th of a teaspoon and I am paying for it. Increased headache, fluid retention, fatigue, anxiety (about my job and health mostly), and feeling down on myself.

I am so tired of living this way. The thought of spending one more day inside this body fighting negativity, fighting constant hunger, feeling discomfort or pain from abdominal distention, feeling fatigued and achy, having trouble concentrating, and all the other crap that happens on a daily basis seems unbearable.

I did find out that I most likely have Lyme's disease. I asked Dr. Cowan to order a CD57 blood test and mine came back as 20. Dr. Kalb, my local doctor, says that means there is a chronic bacterial infection but not necessarily Lyme. Some websites say a low value on the CD57 indicates chronic Lyme. So Dr. Kalb is running a Lyme panel and co-infections panel with Igenex. Supposedly the Western blot is the most accurate test for Lyme (although it can present a false negative as well) and apparently Igenex is the best lab to use. I had blood drawn on Tuesday and it will take 5 to 6 weeks to get the results.

The next question is how to treat it. Dr. Kalb treats aggressively with abx, herbs, and probiotics but he is concerned that I will not be able to tolerate abx due to my sensitive stomach. He said in that case we can do IV abx or go the homeopathic route. In the meantime I watched a video of a Lyme talk given by Dr. Rau from Switzerland and he said if you take abx it will cause the Lyme bacteria to form cysts and that's not a good thing.

I also asked the ostheopath in Germany what he recommends and he said to take the homeopathic remedies Aurum Arsenicosum 30C, Notakehl D5, and Fortakehl D5. Apparently the latter two are homeopathic antibiotics but don't kill good gut flora. Mom is getting all three for me and is sending them next week. Her pharmacy had to order the Aurum Arsenicosum from Austria.

I also scheduled a phone appointment with Dr. Cowan today at 4 PM (about 30 minutes) to see what his recommendation is.