Test the rest of the family?

[GraceUnderPressure]

Now that DS18 has tested positive for Lyme, we have been wondering how many of the rest of us have it. But as a family of 7, we can't afford to test all of us even if insurance covers 80%.

 

We did all take lomatium (an herb which is used for treating Lyme) along with DS18 & now I am wondering if the detox rash was actually Lyme die off. All of us had it, which is unusual, but DS18 & I were two of the worst cases. And 4 of us had a lesser repeat of the rash a few weeks later which is supposed to be extremely unusual. Now I'm just having random itches from time to time. This has not been like an allergic reaction. And interestingly, we are not reacting to oak pollen this year like we did last year (though grass pollen IS still bothering me, but that one's been around far longer).

 

So I'm wondering if we should all go ahead & do at least the herbal treatments along with DS18. What do y'all think?

What are the rest of you doing?

Edited March 17, 2011 by GraceUnderPressure

[MichaelTampa]

I think you would be well advised to assume you all have it until proven otherwise.

 

Someone else I know had the rash from lomatium, they have very bad lyme as well which was not being treated at the time. This same person got another very pronounced detox skin reaction from overdoing the Enula herb, used for treating worms/parasites/babesia. They just call that an allergic reaction because they don't know. It's got to be a detox rash.

 

Itching, of course, is another lyme thing.

 

If money is tight, I'd focus it on treatments, like you suggest, perhaps some herbals, more likely to help some than hurt.

 

So, this "someone I know", is not interested in the tests and abx, not for money reasons, other reasons, but they are trying some herbs here and there that I have, continuing ones that seem to be helpful. By the way, niacin (the real stuff, not the flush-free stuff) is also an antibiotic and can be somewhat helpful. Of course, the flushing aspect can be quite unpleasant, enough to push away those that are not really devoted.

 

Another diagnostic approach besides the blood tests is the energy testing that an acupuncturist style person can do, if they have vials for lyme and coinfections, as some practitioners do, particularly those practicing NAET. A person like that could also test you for a variety of herbs. That could be a little money well spent, in terms of a little more verification of whether you really are reacting to lyme and which coinfections, if so. And then to see which herbals you test as being useful would also be a help, to verify the infection and give the herb treatment the best chance to be helpful. (You might see things like, sure, vitamins are nice, and these other herbs are nice, but why do I test really strong for these herbs which are known to help treat lyme...)

[Orion]

Now that DS18 has tested positive for Lyme, we have been wondering how many of the rest of us have it. But as a family of 7, we can't afford to test all of us even if insurance covers 80%.

 

We did all take lomatium (an herb which is used for treating Lyme) along with DS18 & now I am wondering if the detox rash was actually Lyme die off. All of us had it, which is unusual, but DS18 & I were two of the worst cases. And 4 of us had a lesser repeat of the rash a few weeks later which is supposed to be extremely unusual. Now I'm just having random itches from time to time. This has not been like an allergic reaction. And interestingly, we are not reacting to oak pollen this year like we did last year (though grass pollen IS still bothering me, but that one's been around far longer).

 

So I'm wondering if we should all go ahead & do at least the herbal treatments along with DS18. What do y'all think?

What are the rest of you doing?

 

It is possible that some, or all, of you have been exposed. It is also possible that some of you are better able to keep the germs in check and may be asymptomatic. Many LLMD's won't treat without signs or symptoms being present. Since Lyme symptoms wax and wane over a period of about 4 weeks, you could keep track of this and see who is more symptomatic and then plan on treating accordingly. The symptoms of different co-infections wax and wane over a shorter time span.

 

[MY DD would have various Lyme and co-infection symptoms that would be here today, and gone tomorrow, but every few weeks it would become much more pronounced for a span of several days, before things quieted down for a bit.]

 

I would also suggest taking photographs of any and all rashes- partly for documentation, but also to help a LLMD to figure out what is going on.

 

Hope this helps.