rheumatoid arthritis, microplasma and lyme disease

[donjoe341]

Hi have an elevated rheumatoid factor 52-70 and been diagnosed with lyme disease. I have been treated with doxycycline for 4 months and lyme tests finally showed positive. I had a few herx reactions while on the doxy, one was pretty bad.  I have read that microplasma is a possible cause of rheumatoid arthritis and want to know if I should continue taking the doxy. My lyme md wants to put me on I.V. Rocephin and oral zithromax for lyme. Should I check further into microplasma before being treated for lyme?  or  Can the I.V. help both?

[donjoe341]

Thank you for your response to my question. My lyme md decided to keep me on I.V. rocephin and oral doxycycline instead of oral zithromax. I take many different kinds of prob-biotics many times a day and stay on a strict low glycemic, high fiber diet hoping to keep fungal infections away. It is working for now. My lyme md will test me in a few weeks for lyme again as well as other co-infections. Thank you again, it is nice to know I am going in the correct direction.

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

I believe that you have received quite a bit of good advice from other Forum members.  

The only point that I would add is that most patients with RA have systemic (system-wide) infections of Mycoplasma species.  These infections can often (but not always for a number of reasons) be found with a PCR test on the white blood cells (blood leukocytes).  Since a positive result in the test depends strickly on the shedding of the Mycoplasma into the blood at the time of testing, some tests will be false-negative, even with the most sensitive testing procedures.  Thus mutlple tests are often required, and these molecular tests can be quite expensive.

If you are positive, and most RA patients are when multiple tests are used, then long-term treatment is required to completely suppress the infection.  Of course, along the way other problems, such as fungal infections, viruses, other bacteria, etc. may come up, and these have to be addressed as well.

More information on testing and treatment can be found on our website, www.immed.org

Prof. Garth Nicolson

[Lori707]

I had no idea that Lymes can cause diabeties. I thought beans were high in acid. I love garlic and I always use olive oil. My LLMD also wants me to go onto a no carb diet for two weeks after I fix my candida problem.

Looking forward to the recipes. I never heard of kimchi but I do like sourkrout.

I hope you and your husband get well and feel better!!

Thanks!!

[donjoe341]

I see what your doctor is trying to do. I do not think it is healthy to give up chicken because it has protein. If you look on line for a diet to help with candida, they don't recommend giving up chicken. I know that fish, tofu, nuts and beans are also a good form of protein. The beans would probably be best because they are high in fiber and help move the bowels. I eat beans and nuts almost every day to make sure my bowels move and I get enough protein. You can make bean soups with veggies and with or with out meat. I have a few recipes. Unsweetened Kefir yogurt is great for getting probiotics into your system. I also have a recipe for pancakes made from almond flour. I had to put my husband on a no carb diet for 3 months because he had terrible diarrhea. It worked but he eventually got it back in about 6 months. We now have found out that his diarrhea is tied to the lyme disease. The lyme disease has made him prediabetic. We watch our carb intake every day, especially now that we are on so many antibiotics. You could probably eat kimchi and sourkrout. I am sure they would work like the apple cider vinegar. We eat a lot of stir fried veggies in olive oil and garlic. Fresh garlic is a great way to get yeast under control. I will talk to you later and try to send you some recipes. What you are going though is very rough and I hope you get better soon.

[Lori707]

My doctor put my on a VERY strict diet! I have a chart broken down to Very-Moderate and low acidic,and the same for Alkaline foods. There's hardly anything one can eat if they only stick to the no aklaline food. The doctor told me to eat 1/3 low acidic and 2/3 low-med alkline. All foods Must be "organic". No dairy, red meat, wheat,etc. Chicken is very acidic so I eat turkey but only the white meat. Most vegatables have acid in them. I cannot eat ANY fruits because they have fructose which is great food for the yeast. I was also told to get Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and to take one tablespoon in 8oz's of water three times each day. That takes away controls acid in your body. It tastes AWFUL!!!! But I do it. I also have PH strips for home testing of my urine and saliva. They consistantly come out acidic. No good. The doctor said once my candida is under control then my PH should go to normal.

I can't take lemon water because I'm allergic to lemons. The doctor gave me powerful probiotic pills to take.

I would LOVE if you can send me recipes! That is so great and nice of you.
*Question: Where would I get protein from? I don't think I eat enough of that.

Be well and thanks!

[donjoe341]

I asked my doctor about being tested for mycoplasma and he said he tested it when he tested for all the co-infections. He didn't find any the first time but he said he would test for them again in a few weeks.
If I were you I would definitely get the yeast and fungal problems under control otherwise you will never get better.
My husband and I have been on a strict diet for about a year+ , staying away from sugar and white flour. We eat small amounts of fruit, eat very high fiber - add fiber to our drinks, only drink water, decaf green tea or treat ourselves to a cup of decaf. coffee.
When we first started becoming ill is when we noticed we had to change how we ate. I am glad we got into the habit because of the large dose of antibiotics we take.
You must be strict about your diet. Try and eat a lot of fresh veggies, drink lemon water, stay away for bread and pastas even if they are wheat. This will help you heal much faster. I also hope your doc told you to take a probiotic a few times a day.
I have many great recipes if you need help with food. Let me know.

[Lori707]

Wow.

My LLMD does want me to go back to antibiotics but I have candida and currently on an anti-fungal pill and a very special diet in hopes to get rid of it. It's in my blood. The doctor said that if I go onto antibiotics now it would make the yeat/fungas go wild so we have to wait until it's resolved.    

I'm going to ask the doctor about mycoplasmas.

Question: The LLMD took blood tests for co-infections. Would mycoplasmas be one of the
co-infections usually tested for?

[bridgeovertroubledwater]

I just started to read more about mycoplasma bacteria and found this correlation between anyone who has Thyroid problems as well.  I have been searching this out and I had a gut feeling it was to do with the endocrine system and the pituitary.  Here's what I found.

The Correlation between Fibromyalgia and Mycoplasmas


Mycoplasmas require a large amount of cholesterol and other sterols for growth and reproduction. If mycoplasmas are present and are competing for these sterols intracellularly, less is available to the body and especially the neuroendocrine system for the sythesis and manufacture of steroids like estrogens, growth hormones and cortisols which many FMS patients have been found to be deficent in.

Mycoplasmas also need and utilize proteins derived from amino acids. Amino acids are the core building blocks in the neuroendocrine system for the synthesis of most chemicals produced and used in the complex intricate pathways of the neuroendocrine system including thyroid hormone production and other chemicals taken up and used in the HPA. This may cause the deregulation of the neuroendocrine system thru the loss of vital nutrients required to maintain regulation.

Mycoplasma maintains a defense mechanism which encodes tryptophan to hide from normal immune responses. If enough tryptophan was utilized from host cells in the neuroendocrine system for this purpose, less would be available to the body for the normal synthesis of tryptophan to seratonin, thus possibly deregulating or lowering seratonin levels and causing depression and sleep disorders most FMS patients present.

Mycoplasmas have the ability to attached to any cell in the body and cause that cell to malfunction, acting differently, thereby causing different interactions with other cells. If mycoplasmas invaded and attached to various cells in endocrine organs, it could cause the widespread deregulation of the entire endocrine system described in the previous research shown above, because of the complex interactions between these organs and the chemicals they produce and utilize.




For more information on how mycoplasmas cause disease and deregulation of systems, organs and cells, see the Simple File on Mycoplasmas which also includes treatment protocols or the more Technical file on Mycoplasmas which provides more links to clinical research published about their actions and pathogenisis.

Here's the link where I found this part as there is more to it so check it our if you wish.  

http://www.rain-tree.com/fibromyalgia.htm

[bridgeovertroubledwater]

Donjoe341 is absolutely right.  I too have these other co-infections that my doctor first of all cannot discover.  I have had a fungal infection for over 2 years and tested twice and both times they came back negative.  I went to see a naturopath for help with allergies and she tested me and sure enough I have a fungal infection.  They even gave me the name of the particular fungal.  It is called Scopulariopsis and I haven't had it treated yet.  I have just been put on doxycyline as a trial for Fibromyalgia cause my doctor doesn't believe that I could have lyme.  My test came back as negative and that's good enough for him, however it's not good enough for me, just like the fungal one.  I've spent the last almost 2 years trying to get some help with my symptoms and found that I had a fibroid tumor growth on my left ovary and just over 3 weeks ago had it and all my female parts removed.  I'm back to finding out what is causing all these other symptoms.  When I saw my doctor Tuesday to get a prescription for doxycyline as a trial for fibromyalgia pain he did say that doctors all know about the rheumatoid arthritis mycoplasma as being a bacteria that can cause this.  I gave him this paper that was written by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum in the Townsend Doctors Newsletters and he read it and this is what really convinced him that I should try doxycyline for a month to see if it helps with my symptoms.  She's right that the co-infections need to be adressed as well and I will be going to this Fibro & Fatigue Center in Seattle to get my situation addressed.  They deal with all, viral, bacterial and fungal and do extensive testing.  We have no lyme doctors here where I live and so the best thing for me to try is this Center.  Good Luck with your future endeavours.  

[donjoe341]

Mycoplasma is a bacteria. You can get this with ticks,  just like other co-infections. Research for rheumatoid arthritis discovered that many patients had mycoplasma. They feel this is what starts the body to develop rheumatoid arthritis. I have also read that it can be treated with doxycycline long term. I have had some success with the low dose of doxycycline and I alos have chronic lyme for at least 12 years. I even go through some pretty bad herxing with a low dose of doxy. This is unusual for someone with chronic lyme. This is why I also believe I suffer with mycoplasma. I don't believe my lyme doc ever tested me for this and if I do have it, I am wondering if it should  be addressed before the lyme. This is what the docs do for other co-infections. They treat those first before lyme. If you have chronic lyme you should have been on orals also and not just for a month of I.V. therapy.  I hope you have better luck with your new lyme md. Make sure the doc checks for co-infections. If these aren't addressed then getting over lyme will be difficult. Look up Dr. Burrascano's guidelines for lyme disease. You need to educate yourself to make sure you are getting the best treatment for your condition.

[Lori707]

I have Chronic Lymes for 24yrs. Last year I had a PICC LINE put in and received Rocephin for 28 days. That was in Jan 2010. I finally went to a LLMD and I just took another Lyme test last month which came out positive. The Lymes is still active and the doctor is trying to put me back into remission. I know the doctor is going to put me back on IV Therapy and I don't know what else the doctor has in store for me.

I have never heard of Mycoplasma. Can you explain? I'm seeing my LLMD next week and would like to ask about it.

Thanks!

[donjoe341]

Mycoplasma, sorry