This has been the worst month since I started treatment — which was, incidentally, just about one year ago. (Happy Lymeaversary.)
The latest tweaks to my protocol at the beginning of January — which included increasing my Armour thyroid to 1.5 grains and starting oral serotonin pills — unleashed a cascade of unwanted domino effects that I still haven't gotten under control.
First, the increase in thyroid sent my uber-sensitive body into a hyperthyroid state, causing the kind of unnerving anxiety that makes a person want to rip all of their skin off. So I called my doctor and was told to go back to one grain. OK, problem solved. Next.
Ever-sensitive to subtle sensations in my body, I noticed my stomach had developed a constant ache and discomfort. The uncanny, achey feeling led to nausea which suddenly triggered a three-day funfest of on-and-off dry heaving into the toilet. While I must have dry heaved more than a dozen times, I wasn't able to vomit — even when there was surely still food (and at the very least, bile) available to purge.
I found this peculiar; the lack of vomit, in addition to the fact that my bowel movements were not disturbed — led me to believe that I did not have the kind of bacterial or viral infection in my stomach that tends to make people vomit.
After I finally stopped dry heaving (which puts us around the third week of January), I developed this incessant, awful acid reflux and spastic gagginess unlike anything I had ever felt before. Since I've already had three endoscopies of my upper G.I. (one at age 10, one at 16, and one at 20), and two of the three yielded "no results" while the third showed "acid reflux" and the doctors never had any solutions other than doling out prescriptions, I was averse to doing yet another endoscopy. What's the point?
So I did what everyone says not to do: I took to Google. And I started an investigation into what could be causing the perplexing combination of acid reflux, gagginess and chokiness, rib-cage spasming, and dry heaving, without any lower intestinal symptoms. Lo and behold, I came across some information about hiatal hernia, a condition where the top of the stomach actually gets pulled up through the diaphragm into the esophagus. I knew immediately that's what I had.
That's when I enlisted the help of my roommate in performing the hiatal hernia exercises that pull the stomach down. While I felt a significant amount of relief immediately after pulling down my stomach, the symptoms weren't entirely gone, and I was at the end of my rope. So I called my LLMD, Randy Baker, and asked if he'd squeeze me in for an emergency visit.
Dr. Baker confirmed that I'd indeed had a hiatal hernia, which can happen when a person retches and as a result their stomach gets thrust upwards. So, if the hernia was caused by the heaving, then what caused the heaving? I was eager to get to the bottom of this!
Through his muscle and energy tests, Dr. Baker informed me that he was getting a strong reading of H. pylori (the bacterial precursor to ulcers) in my stomach. Well, what triggered the flare-up of H. pylori? According to him, the serotonin pills indicated they were the root culprit.
So, let's get this straight: The serotonin caused my omnipresent traces of H. pylori (which runs in my family) to multiply, which caused me to start retching, which slid my stomach through my diaphragm, which opened the door to acid reflux?
And all of this because I was trying to get more serotonin to my brain so that I can be happier.
Per Dr. Baker's instructions, I'm taking licorice root, slippery elm bark, mastica gum, Zofran, and 1/2 a tablet of Prilosec as needed to get me through this temporary blip. Even on these medications, I'm still dry heaving sporadically and as recently as last night. Apparently the above supplements have healing properties that should fix all of this, but my patience wears thin when it comes to nausea (my most-abhored sensation). Can't stand the feeling.
Furthermore, I've slipped completely off the wagon in regards to all my vitamins, minerals, herbs, anti-parasitics — my full protocol. It's been almost a month since I was able to take any of that stuff, due to the fragile state of my stomach. I feel as though I'm backpedaling with every day that I lose. Lyme, babesia, mycoplasma, parasites — they're having a heyday while I try to get my stubborn stomach under control.
And I can't help but wonder: Even when my stomach is healed, will I be able to go back on my full load of pills? On a daily basis my treatment calls for more than 25 orals, tearing away at my stomach lining. I just don't know if I have the stomach for this treatment. Rife machines, i.v.s, injections, suppositories and oxygen therapy — anything that bypasses the stomach — are looking more attractive to me every day.
Although I haven't flat-out discovered any research that directly connects oral serotonin to H. pylori replication, I've seen some information that suggests that, when orally ingested, serotonin can disrupt the gut's various processes. One rather significant connection I made was the serotonin/dopamine-and-nausea connection. As it turns out, serotonin and dopamine are directly proportional to the feeling we call nausea. Anti-nausea pills such as Zofran are serotonin antagonists, meaning they fight nausea by reducing serotonin.
Ultimately, I'm not sure that increasing serotonin in the gut is the solution for a neurotransmitter deficiency, especially in a person sensitive to nausea. Maybe, just maybe, had I continued the serotonin pills, I would have eventually felt happier albeit chronically nauseous. Scratch that.... I could never be happy if I were always nauseous!
Since I've always had a sensitive stomach — in addition to constant H. pylori — I think my reaction to the serotonin was a semi-rare one and I can't say another person would have experienced the full cascade of symptoms that I did. In hindsight, part of me wishes I hadn't messed with this very powerful substance, but another part of me doesn't regret anything I've tried. If I wasn't the brave experimenter that I am, I would never discover what have been beneficial supplements, either.
I would suggest that anybody with a history of H. pylori (or ulcers), acid reflux, hiatal hernias, or chronic nausea be very cautious when deciding to take oral serotonin. For the rest of you, it might be worth a shot if, like with me, other attempts at increasing your serotonin levels (such as 5-HTP and L-tryptophan) have all failed.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Test Results Are In & My New Lyme Dr.
I'm a bit delayed in writing about my lab results due to catching a cold and feeling generally crappier than usual, but I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that my thyroid medicine hasn't been working, as my T3 and TSH are still almost identical to what they were a year ago and six months ago. Good news: increasing my thyroid medication may do the trick, and if not, in three months we'll try a different thyroid medicine. Also, I love my new Lyme doctor—more on her in a minute.
Bad news: My serotonin levels are still insanely low. The minimum end of the "normal" serotonin range is 26 units, up to a higher "normal" of 150 units or more. While a reading of 26 units would be considered the minimum "safe" amount, a reading of under 10 units results in unreadable amounts of blood serotonin detected—and that's where mine lie. One year ago, they came back unreadable, and in spite of taking homeopathic neurotransmitter support, 5-htp, tryptophan, Neuro-Antitox and other brain-nourishing supplements, I was bewildered to find my serotonin levels are still under 10 units. (This further supports that I have neuro-Lyme).
Good news: My doctor had pure serotonin capsules in the office's compounding pharmacy, so I came home with a bottle to try. The theory that serotonin can cross from the blood into the brain is controversial, with most experts claiming it doesn't work that way, and a minority crying foul with patients swearing by the serotonin pills. I guess it doesn't hurt to try something, if there's a chance it could work. It would certainly benefit me in many ways to get my serotonin levels up.
Generally speaking, my previously dramatically-low levels of iron, magnesium, Vitamin D, and other essential nutrients are slightly elevated. No longer out of range, they are now "low normal" with room for improvement. I'll keep doing what I've been doing—supplements, supplements, supplements (and eating well, of course).
Curiously, there's no test to detect progress in eradicating the damn Lyme spirochete. Likewise, there's no test to evaluate progress in killing parasites. For the latter, stool tests are notoriously unreliable. Evaluating progress in Lyme and parasitic eradication is strictly clinical, depending on symptomatic improvement. I'm nowhere near ready to cash in my chips on either of those, with a long journey still ahead of me.
As a matter of fact, killing Lyme is not currently my priority. As peculiar as it may sound—considering I use the term "Lyme" to sum up the entirety of my chronic illness—Lyme is neither my current battle cry nor the only source of illness. Lyme, the borrelia spirochete, may be responsible for many opportunistic and co-infections such as babesia, candida and heavy metal toxicity, and may amplify the destruction done by parasites and molds, but each of these conditions needs to be targeted specifically with its own treatment.
Most Lyme experts assert that hormones need to be balanced (including the thyroid) and parasitic infections, among other things, must be addressed before the Lyme itself. And nobody really knows if late-stage Lyme can ever be completely killed off, since the spirochete cleverly hides inside cell membranes and tissue.
Through a year of research, it has become my belief that a person with chronic Lyme can dramatically improve his/her health by addressing their hormonal imbalances, killing parasites, chelating metals, avoiding mold exposure, performing adequate detoxification, lowering their bacterial burden with a low dose of anti-microbials, and getting all their nutrients through diet and/or supplementation—even if they do not kill Lyme.
So, that is what I am doing. For now.
And my new LLND (not LLMD—because she is a naturopathic doctor) is totally on board with me. Her name is Dr. Nancy Evans and she works out of the Holtorf Medical Group's Foster City location. She specializes in endocrinology and Lyme disease. Not all endocrinologists are created equal. Far from it. She balances western medicine, including pharmaceuticals, with naturopathy, gives you a full hour of time, listens intently, and runs the proper tests to see if a chronic infection could be throwing off your thyroid. She's not cheap, and the office doesn't handle insurance, but you can always file an out-of-network claim with your insurance company for reimbursement. Good health doesn't come cheap or easy. She's worth the out-of-pocket expense. I highly recommend anybody in the Bay Area with thyroid problems and/or chronic fatigue—Lyme disease or not—make an appointment with Dr. Evans.
Bad news: My serotonin levels are still insanely low. The minimum end of the "normal" serotonin range is 26 units, up to a higher "normal" of 150 units or more. While a reading of 26 units would be considered the minimum "safe" amount, a reading of under 10 units results in unreadable amounts of blood serotonin detected—and that's where mine lie. One year ago, they came back unreadable, and in spite of taking homeopathic neurotransmitter support, 5-htp, tryptophan, Neuro-Antitox and other brain-nourishing supplements, I was bewildered to find my serotonin levels are still under 10 units. (This further supports that I have neuro-Lyme).
Good news: My doctor had pure serotonin capsules in the office's compounding pharmacy, so I came home with a bottle to try. The theory that serotonin can cross from the blood into the brain is controversial, with most experts claiming it doesn't work that way, and a minority crying foul with patients swearing by the serotonin pills. I guess it doesn't hurt to try something, if there's a chance it could work. It would certainly benefit me in many ways to get my serotonin levels up.
Generally speaking, my previously dramatically-low levels of iron, magnesium, Vitamin D, and other essential nutrients are slightly elevated. No longer out of range, they are now "low normal" with room for improvement. I'll keep doing what I've been doing—supplements, supplements, supplements (and eating well, of course).
Curiously, there's no test to detect progress in eradicating the damn Lyme spirochete. Likewise, there's no test to evaluate progress in killing parasites. For the latter, stool tests are notoriously unreliable. Evaluating progress in Lyme and parasitic eradication is strictly clinical, depending on symptomatic improvement. I'm nowhere near ready to cash in my chips on either of those, with a long journey still ahead of me.
As a matter of fact, killing Lyme is not currently my priority. As peculiar as it may sound—considering I use the term "Lyme" to sum up the entirety of my chronic illness—Lyme is neither my current battle cry nor the only source of illness. Lyme, the borrelia spirochete, may be responsible for many opportunistic and co-infections such as babesia, candida and heavy metal toxicity, and may amplify the destruction done by parasites and molds, but each of these conditions needs to be targeted specifically with its own treatment.
Most Lyme experts assert that hormones need to be balanced (including the thyroid) and parasitic infections, among other things, must be addressed before the Lyme itself. And nobody really knows if late-stage Lyme can ever be completely killed off, since the spirochete cleverly hides inside cell membranes and tissue.
Through a year of research, it has become my belief that a person with chronic Lyme can dramatically improve his/her health by addressing their hormonal imbalances, killing parasites, chelating metals, avoiding mold exposure, performing adequate detoxification, lowering their bacterial burden with a low dose of anti-microbials, and getting all their nutrients through diet and/or supplementation—even if they do not kill Lyme.
So, that is what I am doing. For now.
And my new LLND (not LLMD—because she is a naturopathic doctor) is totally on board with me. Her name is Dr. Nancy Evans and she works out of the Holtorf Medical Group's Foster City location. She specializes in endocrinology and Lyme disease. Not all endocrinologists are created equal. Far from it. She balances western medicine, including pharmaceuticals, with naturopathy, gives you a full hour of time, listens intently, and runs the proper tests to see if a chronic infection could be throwing off your thyroid. She's not cheap, and the office doesn't handle insurance, but you can always file an out-of-network claim with your insurance company for reimbursement. Good health doesn't come cheap or easy. She's worth the out-of-pocket expense. I highly recommend anybody in the Bay Area with thyroid problems and/or chronic fatigue—Lyme disease or not—make an appointment with Dr. Evans.
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