TO MEXICO I GO

As some of you know, I was diagnosed 7 months ago with chronic Lyme disease, with coinfections babesia, bartonella, and anaplasma.  Previous to being diagnosed, I spent almost 3 years bouncing from doctor to doctor, unaware of why I was feeling so badly.

Chronic Lyme and its co-infections is quite the controversy, much like the HIV controversy a few decades ago.  It’s not a disease, really; it’s an infection.  And there are many strains of the infection, plus co-infections with multiple strains.  People can get infected by the disease and carry it around for years, until a point of time when they undergo a large amount of stress or have problems with their immune system.

The problem is, most Infectious Disease doctors will not recognize someone as having Lyme disease unless they qualify by having 5 or more markers present on a blood test (this being the current government/CDC standard).   This test is highly inaccurate because it only tests the blood, and the bacteria takes on multiple forms once inside your body – and can hide deep down, even inside the cells.  The Lyme attacks your immune system and hides from even it!  So it’s actually more likely that the longer you’ve had Lyme, the less chance your test would come out with so many markers.  The patient is already immu-compromised.

I was a lucky one.  Even though I was probably infected around age 9 via tick bite, I had no idea until a chiropractor muscle tested me positive for Lyme, and then a Western Blot blood test came back positive on 3 markers.  Because of the CDC guidelines, I wasn’t sure what that really meant for a while, and spent a lot of time going to multiple doctors, naturopaths, and chiropractors collecting opinions.  I got five yeses and only one maybe. 

Plus, when I began taking the herbal concoctions meant to kill the Lyme, I started feeling really badly.  This is what is called a Herxheimer reaction, and it happens because when the Lyme bacteria die, they become neurotoxins and cause all sorts of bad symptoms, like extreme fatigue, panic attacks, insomnia, and pain/tingling.  It is said that many people diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, and Bell’s Palsy may possibly have Lyme disease!

I chose to pursue treating myself with natural methods first, at least while I learned more about Lyme and talked to more doctors.  I joined a Facebook group of women from all over the country with Lyme disease and started paying attention to what protocols they were on, for how long, and how they were feeling.  It was disconcerting to see how many of them had been treating for a loooong time (over a year) and still were complaining of these horrible symptoms!  Many of them seemed to feel worse than I did!

During this seven months, I’ve also been searching for the right medical “team” to help me get through all of this with the best chance of success.  Most doctors in Texas won’t touch Lyme disease – they either don’t believe chronic Lyme exists, don’t want to risk losing their license (for prescribing long-term antibiotics, which is dangerous),  or just plain use the excuse that they know nothing about it (of course they don’t, since parasitic infections is not something regular MDs study in medical school). 

Just recently I feel like I’ve pulled it all together: I have a Harvard-educated MD with 35 years experience in oncology and endocrine systems with an integrative leaning, a naturopath doctor (ND) who is a self-described Lyme nerd and owns a treatment clinic in Mexico, the chiropractor who found the Lyme and muscle tests me for food, supplements, medicines to make sure they agree with my system, and another chiropractor who has her Lyme in remission for 10 years and practices acupuncture.

I’ve also added Young Living essential oils to my regime the last 4 months.  I use a ton of them, and I do believe they are healing me like nothing I’ve used before.  I’ve been feeling better than I have in years for the last couple weeks - sleeping better, thinking better, feeling better, and having a more positive attitude.  It sure sounds like I have it all under control, right?

And that’s where God has my back.  I had my MD run some bloodwork for me a couple weeks ago to check and make sure everything was looking okay, since I had been using the essential oils and other alternative methods.  The test came back fine, but she insisted that I get the full-body ultrasound that my ND wanted.  She personally called the special ultrasound technician and had him fly to Austin to see me.

This Monday he ran the test and found a large blood clot in my right leg – the one that has been feeling tight and achy this last month or so.  He also found a ton of kidney stones with an inflamed right kidney, and some fluid around my heart.  I could tell the blood clot was really concerning to him, as he got really quiet when he found it (and he found that last). 

It took a few days for me to talk to everyone on my “team,” but last night I was advised by both my ND and my MD to go to the clinic in Mexico for treatment.  Why can’t I just go to a hospital here, you ask?  Lyme hides in all the trash in your body, like blood fibrin and heavy metals.  They tell me that because none of the doctors here understand Lyme, I might die from the high dose of medication they would give me, with none of the detox support.   That’s right, my Harvard-educated doctor is telling me to go to Mexico to get treated!!!

Yes, this is shocking.  Going to a clinic and being on IVs has been something I’ve been trying really hard to avoid this last 7 months.  However, I could die if this blood clot isn’t treated.  I feel like God led me directly to get that test done, and I need to be responsive to this information and do what needs to be done to assure I live through this.   

Some of you may think it’s not proper for me to share this much personal information on the Internet.  Fortunately, I have been blessed to know many people in many different stages of my life, and I don’t have time or emotional energy enough to let each of you know individually.  But I want you to know!

So, I ask for your prayers if I happen to cross your mind.  I ask for you to support my husband and kids.  I ask for you to be aware that our medical system is not the end-all, be-all, for all types of illnesses.  Trust your body if something doesn’t feel right.  Medicine is both an art and a science, and I challenge you to search out a practitioner (or four) that are open-minded and enjoy learning constantly. 

Thanks for reading my drama, and I hope to see you soon. 

Viva la Mexico! 

Jill