Lyme Disease & Co-infection Testing

I was given unreliable Lyme disease testing more than once while trying to figure out why I was having horrific crippling symptoms like air hunger, nonstop panic attacks, unbelievable runaway anxiety that would not go away, crushing fatigue, an immune system that was not functioning well just to name a few symptoms that were beyond difficult to function with. Unreliable testing along with ignorant medical doctors were the main reasons it took me years to figure out what was causing my symptoms. My doctors were of little help in diagnosing my illness. I went to many different doctors while trying to find out what was wrong with me. I had to suggest to them that they order Lyme disease testing to begin with because they knew very little about the disease & they did not even suspect that I had it. 


Unfortunately the current CDC guidelines for the testing diagnosis & treatment of Lyme disease & co-infections are misleading. Many doctors go by the CDC guidelines making testing for Lyme disease like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Due to the misleading guidelines many Lyme patients including myself are sick & suffering for years before they receive a correct diagnosis. Many people are never diagnosed correctly and believe they have Fibro, MS, ALS, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue, EBV or fill in the blank. Often doctors do not know the correct facts about Lyme disease. It is an epidemic yet they tell their patients fables like "No reason to test if you have an attached tick bite because your chances of getting Lyme disease are one in a thousand". WRONG!!!! 


Lyme disease diagnosis is a clinical diagnosis which means it should be based on symptoms rather than just test results. You can have Lyme disease & due to a variety of reasons still test negative for the disease. 


If you would like to know why you can have Lyme disease yet still test negative for the disease go to this link. 


http://www.canlyme.com/seronegreasons.html


If you suspect you have Lyme disease you need to be seen by a Lyme literate doctor often referred to as a LLMD. You need a doctor who sees Lyme patients all day long so he can guide you through the diagnosis process. If you suspect you have Lyme disease do yourself a favor if at all possible & find a LLMD in your area to begin the process. I wasted hundred of dollars on useless doctors & unreliable testing so please don't waste yours. You can contact ILADS.org for a list of doctors or go to the forum on  lymenet.org to the Seeking a Doctor section. The majority of Infectious Disease Society (IDSA) doctors believe "Lyme disease is hard to catch & easy to treat". They also go by the misleading CDC guidelines because the IDSA created the misleading guidelines in the the first place so IDSA doctors would not be very helpful when seeking a correct diagnosis. 

If I was trying to help someone who suspected they might have Lyme disease I would tell them to order a test kit from Igenex Lab in Palo Alto, CA.  I would tell them to order the Igenex Western Blot for Lyme disease & also to do the co-infection testing Igenex lab offers as well. Having a LLMD read the test results when they are returned is important. You might test negative for Lyme disease yet have enough suspicious bands that an doctor experienced with Lyme disease would know to retest you. If you have insurance that would cover your testing you could try using MDL a lab in New Jersey for testing. Co-infection testing can be unreliable as well as Lyme disease testing yet it is still important to test for co-infections. 


I am not an expert on testing just a patient who has been through the process. 


Here is a link to a blog written by a Lyme literate MD on the subject of testing. 


http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2011/07/lyme-tests-old-and-new.html


Scott the Better Health Guy on testing.


http://betterhealthguy.com/joomla/lyme-disease/testing


Another informative link from Scott regarding a NEW Borrelia Culture test. For anyone new to Lyme Disease terminology Borrelia is Lyme Disease. 


http://betterhealthguy.com/joomla/blog/248-new-borrelia-culture-test-available


Here is a link to information about another new test for Lyme Disease among other things that Dr. Lee Cowden prefers. It is called Spiro Stat.

http://www.betterhealthguy.com/joomla/blog/210-spiro-stat-technologies-a-new-option-for-testing

If you need assistance paying for Lyme disease testing go to this link. 


http://www.lymetap.com/

Lyme Disease Coinfections Anxiety & Panic Attacks - Oh My!!!

During my stay in Lymeville and my constant attempted journey out of Lymeville I have had varying degrees of anxiety at times from almost 5 months straight of horrific non stop panic attacks and living hell where I was afraid to leave my home and wanted to jump out of my skin and run down the block to just a slight uneasy feeling.

Before I found a bulls eye rash on my leg many moons ago I never had any major anxiety to speak of. Thanks to ticks and bioweapons that has all changed. Anyone who has Lyme disease co-infections and major neuro symptoms with anxiety and panic attacks knows unfortunately just the kind of horrendous anxiety I am talking about.

I was asked by other people dealing with Lyme disease what supplements have helped me deal with anxiety. To be honest with you at times in the past nothing I tried helped me. Perhaps because my body was so depleted at the time or my neuro symptoms so severe that there was no quick fix or if there was I did not know at the time what would help. I might have been too acidic at the time and did not know it. I was still undiagnosed with Lyme and cos when my anxiety first developed.

Some supplements at different times have helped me so I will list them in the hopes they can help others.

Stress X by Biogenesis. 


It comes in a blue plastic bottle. Another company makes something with the same name yet their product is different so look for the blue plastic bottle when purchasing. You can find it online. Taking one or two of these capsules sometimes works amazing well to just nip the feeling of anxiety in the bud. You can take it during the day and it won’t knock you out or make you feel sleepy yet two caps at night will help me sleep better often and if I have a cold sometimes I will wake up without the cold symptoms after taking 2 caps. This is the product that I first grab for when feeling the return of anxious feelings.

Ele-Max by Integrative Therapies, Inc. 


I was given this supplement by an amazing homeopath/MD. I feel this supplement can and does sometimes improve anxiety and depression. It helps me with improving brain chemistry. It may not work for you over night yet if taken every morning it may help you to improve your brain chemistry in the long run. A good supplement to discuss with your health care practitioner.

I also take various cell salts (mild homeopathic minerals that melt under the tongue in a 6x dosage). You can google biochemic cell salts and read more information about them. There are 12 different types of cells salts in all. Sometimes mag phos helps me with anxiety at other times ferrum phos and sometimes kali phos depending on what mineral my body is low on. Hylands sells a combo of all the soothing cells salts that end in the word phos together in a product called Nerve Tonic. You can also find the same combo of cell salts by Hylands under the name Biochemic Phosphates. I take six tabs of the Nerve Tonic at one time

There is a very good and easy to follow book on cell salts called Natures 12 Magic Healers. This book at times has been my life saver. I have had the same dog eared book for years. I refer to it often and it is like my health bible. My copy is heavily highlighted with many notes scribbled in the back. Weeks ago a fellow Lyme sufferer asked to borrow my copy along with some other books like Healing Lyme. So far have he has refused to return them. You might say he is on a bit of an obnoxious control trip which can’t be good for anyone’s healing. Talk about bad karma it is like stealing a medicine bag from a medicine woman so hey there Mr. Potato Head just keep hanging on to my cell salt book and see what that does for you. As Dr. Phil would say “How is that working out for you?” Of course being a Malibu-ddhist does not make one enlightened over night and Mr. Potato Head grew up in the land of confusion and seems to enjoy parking his arse in that state. Annoying - yep a little!

You might also try experimenting with Rescue Remedy by Bach or other flower essences and see what works for you.

Some people have reported good results by using Kava Kava.

If die off might be causing your anxiety. It can make your pH too acidic which in turn can cause anxiety. Adding six boxes of baking soda to a bath is said to be very helpful or taking a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water to alkalize or taking Alka-Seltzer Gold will do the same thing. Drinking lemon water is said to help with pH balance and a herx as well.

Binders might be helpful as well to try to bind the toxins from the die off out of your body which in turn might lesson your anxiety if it is due to the die off or being too acid rather than alkaline . 


Charcoal or green clay are just two of the different binders that might be helpful. You can ask your health care practitioner the best way to take binders and which ones to take for your body and situation. Always take binders at least 2 to 4 hours away from other meds or supplements.

I would love to hear from other people with Lyme & Cos what works for their anxiety.


I have recently added a donation button to my blog. If you have learned anything from my blog or enjoyed reading my blog & feel so inspired please donate. Any size donation is welcome & can help me with the cost of supplements & will be greatly appreciated. I would love to say I am thriving financially. Instead I will say after going undiagnosed for years & then after having to pay 99% of my costly treatment out of pocket right now any & all donations would be greatly appreciated.


Another super easy way to help me financially is to use my Amazon link when purchasing anything from Amazon. It is located on the upper right hand side of this page. There are no extra charges when you use it. Also please ask your friends & family to use my Amazon link as well. I appreciate your support!!