Can late stage lyme's be cured

[marval66]

I was misdiagnosed when I first went to doctor in 2004 with many symtons of lyme.  When I did not feel well with many of the classic symtons almost two years later I insisted on a lyme test and it was positive.  I was treated with antibiotics three weeks
I now have constant knee pain many times extremely severe     I have been treated for arthritis    A repeat lyme;s titer was done and I was told it came back positive.  Can I have  late stage lyme and can it be cured

[KiwiLvr]

My LLMD says that unless you actually find the tick and or/bite and get on ABX's within a few days, you are considered late stage lyme.  In my case, I went about six months with all kinds of weird symptoms and three doctors later I found out I had lyme.  So the doc said there is early stage and late, which I have.  Because I never knew I had a tick bite, but I did know there were deer in the area I was in.  I think I read that almost 75% of people never know they had a tick bite because they can be anywhere and the ticks are so tiny.

[Ree4tu]

Dr. Nicolson returned my e-mail regarding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. From my understanding of this, he did a study in 2000 which involved patients diagnosed with CFS who had Mycoplasma Infections. He combined antibiotic therapy with the Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy and found it to be beneficial at no more than 2.0 atmospheres. No adverse effects were reported with using only 2.0 atmospheres including oxygen toxicity.  He has not studied this with Lyme Disease.

[wonko]

I had Lyme and co-infections for *at least* 1.5 years before being diagnosed/treated.  (I don't recall a bite, so I can't be sure when I got it, I just know that I became more acutely ill in spring of '07.)

I am at just shy of 3 months on a regimen of pulsed oral antibiotics, and while I'm not "cured," I am improving.

I know that relapse is a possibility in people with late diagnosis, but I am hopeful to become symptom free.

[Ree4tu]

Yes,ott is correct. I believe there may be some kidney issues associated with Vit. C and this is why I must drink large amounts of water.  I will ask this question next week when I see my doctor.
As far as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, I believe Prof. Nicolson recommends it for chronic infections, but I think I read in his literature he says to only do 2 atmospheres.  I think the greater the atmospheres, the more oxygen saturation which increases risk of oxygen toxicity. I would like to e-mail him again and ask him about oxygen toxicity in CFS.

[PlateletGal]

About oxygen toxicity (I just looked it up myself):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_toxicity

[PlateletGal]

I read something about oxygen toxicity in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients. I know Dr. Paul Cheney was going to be speaking about this (I believe next week in Viriginia). So this may not be a good option if you have CFS or overlapping CFS.

[ott70]

I concur with the hyperbaric oxygen therapy based on what I have read. Getting more oxygen into your system is a good thing. Most people are "shallow breathers" and it's a hard habit to break when you have been doing it all of your life. Breathing exercises would be a good thing for all of us chronic sufferers to learn -- I'm still trying.

I don't know anything about Vit C by IV, but isn't there kidney concerns with large doses of Vit C? Maybe by IV it's not as big a deal? I was thinking it caused kidney stones or some other kidney issue.

[Ree4tu]

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, although very expensive, has been used for chronic lyme and other chronic infections.  I just spoke with someone yesterday who had lyme for years before it got diagnosed.  They have had more success with alternative treatments such as Hyperbaric Oxygen and IV Vitamin C in large doses to suppress/kill the infection. My understanding is that Hyperbaric Oxygen can reach the red blood cells where these infections hide and bacteria doesn't like oxygen, so it dies.

I have been doing the large IV does of Vitamin C weekly which is also costly, but I have felt so much improvement in a short amount of time.  At first I had severe Herxheimer reaction which is what happens when a chronic infection is first killed - it's a general worsening of existing symptoms which passes. This is the same Herxheimer reaction others describe when they take antibiotics for lyme, but IV Vitamin C also builds your immune system while killing off infectious agents. Currently I am doing 50,000 mg of intravenous Vit. C per week.

There is also a product for Lyme called Immunfactors by Chisolm Biological Laboratories which according to Prof. Nicolson who studies this type of thing, says he has seen some success with, but not everyone responds.

Of course I would never say not take antibiotics, as many people have success this route also and this is the least costly advantage and the treatment I spoke about may be controversial to some doctors, but so is long-term antibiotic treatment even though long-term antibiotics are routinely used for acne.  I have recently tried an antibiotic and had to stop due to an allergic reaction.  I may have to try a different one, but haven't decided yet. I believe a combination approach may work best for some, for others strictly natural approaches work, and strictly antibiotics works also.

Whatever you try, there is hope for you to get better.

Warmest Regards

[Hope75]

I am concerned I could have late stage lymes as well, so I hope the answer is yes.  From the little bit I have had time to read, it is best treated with about a month of the original infection, but I also saw some people had improvement even with late stage lymes, so the verdict is out with me.  Take care and I hope you find your answers.

[ott70]

The experts, at least some of them, state that Lyme bacteria can be cleared up to 80-85% so there will most likely always be some amount of the spirochetes in your body. However, the key is to get most of the bacteria cleared from your body so that your immune system can suppress the remaining bacteria for the rest of your life -- this is a common body function with viruses like EBV and CMV because they are never completely cleared out of your body but they should stay suppressed.

Do your research on antibiotics and natural alternatives. Antibiotics don't always work well for people and could cause the bacteria to mutate, at least according to some experts. Not saying don't take antibiotics but at least educate yourself first before starting low dose amounts for months. Some natural choices are from doctors like Jernigan and Buhner, among others that are out there.

[patsy10]

Welcome to MedHelp!  Three weeks of antibiotics would barely touch the tip of the iceberg in a case of lyme that had been present for 2 years.  At this point it would be well advanced in my opinion.  Is it curable?  I don't know for sure but it can be very difficult at this point.  Have you seen or looked into seeing a llmd?

[PlateletGal]

I do know that the Marshall Protocol is helping many people who have "chronic lyme disease" --- so is Dr. David A. Jernigan's formulas (Hansa Center).

I hope this helps !