Tman’s antibiotic journey.
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:44 am
In 8/04 I had Lhermitte’s sign and numb fingers. 10/04 had MRI with 3 lesions on brain and one spinal cord lesion in the neck area. The lesion in the neck was enhanced, but there was no enhancement fluid used for the brain MRI. I had a spinal tap that came out negative. The neurologist said I had an 80% chance of getting a MS diagnosis in a year or two.
I had developed another symptom. When I would tap my leg muscle or stomp my leg hard, the muscle would vibrate uncontrollably for a few seconds. I then visited a Lyme Doctor. I had a Lyme test that was Igenex positive, but not CDC positive. The Lyme Doctor gave me prescriptions for various antibiotics and I also purchased some offshore. Although I had a selection of antibiotics, my regime for the most part was close to Dr. David Wheldon’s protocol.
There was no noticeable affect from most of the antibiotics. I started out with Doxycycline and was quickly up to 600mg a day with no affect (herx). The only antibiotic that affected me was Flagyl. Flagyl made the Lhermitte’s many time more severe and made it spread from my legs, to my back and to the “family jewels”. It also made the numbness in my fingers much worse. It also affected my emotionally. I would cry at TV shows and even commercials. I was brought up as a redneck farmer who very seldom cried. Up until that point the only time my wife had seen me cry was at the birth of are first child. This was quite severe for the first couple of pulses. It took a couple of weeks after the pulse to subside. The following pulses of Flagyl got less severe, with the last one having almost no effect on my symptoms. It still made me feel crappy.
I also followed a similar supplement protocol as Dr. David Wheldon’s. It is easy to get many varying opinions on supplements, so I will only point out a couple of changes I made. Above I explained the vibrating leg symptom. The Lyme Doctor recommended taking Magnesium. Not Magnesium Oxide that does not get absorbed very well. I tried a couple different kinds and ended up taking Magnesium Malate at a dose of 600mg a day. This appeared to cure the shaking leg, but it could have also been the Antibiotics. I have since cut the dose back to 200-400mg a day. The Doctor also recommended DetoxMax+. This kind of expensive ($50 a bottle, 2 doses in a bottle). I do not take a lot of this but I believe that it helps clear things up after a Flagyl pulse. I take a couple of doses, a couple of weeks after a pulse and it makes my symptoms better, I believe.
The beginning of this month I had another MRI. This was ordered by the Neuro and they used the MS protocol. This protocol consisted of two hours in the tube with an IV so the contrast could be added easily. This was a lot more through MRI than the first one. The results were that the brain lesions were the same and the neck lesion was less pronounced. None of the lesions were enhanced. The Neuro, who originally gave me little hope, this time he had a little optimism. My symptoms have improved, but are not gone. The Neuro gave little hope for the repair of the lesion in the neck that is probably causing the Lhermitte’s sign and the numbness.
So, did I have CPn, Lyme? The Neuro says possibly a one time demyelinating event? I also have to accept that I could get an MS diagnosis in the future. I think that my story gives more antidotal evidence to the infection theory and I am glad that I have given antibiotics a try. I have an appointment with the Lyme Doctor in early May and the Neuro has ordered another MRI in 6 months. I obviously will stay on the antibiotics.
Tim
I had developed another symptom. When I would tap my leg muscle or stomp my leg hard, the muscle would vibrate uncontrollably for a few seconds. I then visited a Lyme Doctor. I had a Lyme test that was Igenex positive, but not CDC positive. The Lyme Doctor gave me prescriptions for various antibiotics and I also purchased some offshore. Although I had a selection of antibiotics, my regime for the most part was close to Dr. David Wheldon’s protocol.
There was no noticeable affect from most of the antibiotics. I started out with Doxycycline and was quickly up to 600mg a day with no affect (herx). The only antibiotic that affected me was Flagyl. Flagyl made the Lhermitte’s many time more severe and made it spread from my legs, to my back and to the “family jewels”. It also made the numbness in my fingers much worse. It also affected my emotionally. I would cry at TV shows and even commercials. I was brought up as a redneck farmer who very seldom cried. Up until that point the only time my wife had seen me cry was at the birth of are first child. This was quite severe for the first couple of pulses. It took a couple of weeks after the pulse to subside. The following pulses of Flagyl got less severe, with the last one having almost no effect on my symptoms. It still made me feel crappy.
I also followed a similar supplement protocol as Dr. David Wheldon’s. It is easy to get many varying opinions on supplements, so I will only point out a couple of changes I made. Above I explained the vibrating leg symptom. The Lyme Doctor recommended taking Magnesium. Not Magnesium Oxide that does not get absorbed very well. I tried a couple different kinds and ended up taking Magnesium Malate at a dose of 600mg a day. This appeared to cure the shaking leg, but it could have also been the Antibiotics. I have since cut the dose back to 200-400mg a day. The Doctor also recommended DetoxMax+. This kind of expensive ($50 a bottle, 2 doses in a bottle). I do not take a lot of this but I believe that it helps clear things up after a Flagyl pulse. I take a couple of doses, a couple of weeks after a pulse and it makes my symptoms better, I believe.
The beginning of this month I had another MRI. This was ordered by the Neuro and they used the MS protocol. This protocol consisted of two hours in the tube with an IV so the contrast could be added easily. This was a lot more through MRI than the first one. The results were that the brain lesions were the same and the neck lesion was less pronounced. None of the lesions were enhanced. The Neuro, who originally gave me little hope, this time he had a little optimism. My symptoms have improved, but are not gone. The Neuro gave little hope for the repair of the lesion in the neck that is probably causing the Lhermitte’s sign and the numbness.
So, did I have CPn, Lyme? The Neuro says possibly a one time demyelinating event? I also have to accept that I could get an MS diagnosis in the future. I think that my story gives more antidotal evidence to the infection theory and I am glad that I have given antibiotics a try. I have an appointment with the Lyme Doctor in early May and the Neuro has ordered another MRI in 6 months. I obviously will stay on the antibiotics.
Tim