Doctor #17

I see Dr. X. and finally, FINALLY, I might be in the right place. It is a good day to see him because I am on Day 2 of my period and I can feel the toxicity in my body. I am practically doubled over in excruciating pain from the poisonous feeling in my abdomen. I am so hesitant to have hope anymore, because each time I see a new doc I think this will be the one who helps me get well. I finally feel like I am with someone who is speaking my language, and all of the tests I have been wanting doctors to do all along are finally going to get done. He is sending my blood to Igenex to be tested for the lyme bacteria, and he suspects that based on my symptoms I possibly have babesia and bartonella as well. He is doing a battery of tests; stool testing, saliva testing and urine testing for toxicity. He is doing the IgG (immunoglobulin) tests for food intolerances, which I have read about and are different from the standard "skin scratch allergy tests." I had asked my allergist about this previously and they told me they didn't do this test. It is possible to have food intolerances that would not be considered a typical "allergy." The food intolerances are potentially what further make me feel toxic and make my muscles get inflamed any time I eat one of these foods. He is testing me also for a host of other bacteria, some I have never heard of and no one had thought to test me for before.

I read my journal to him from the past year, and how each time I was on doxycyline I clearly got better. It is obvious to both of us that the antibiotics were making me well. His theory though is that I am getting sick again because perhaps the doxy addressed the Q fever but clearly didn't address co-infections.  I tell him the doxy was brutal on my stomach and made me extremely nauseous, so he decides he will put me on minocycline right away and that I am to come back in 4 weeks for my test results and to see where we go from here. He gives me supplements for yeast (because of the antibiotics), sleep aids, and something for the potential nausea. I am losing track of everything I am going to take in a day. I am also given a diet to follow, but luckily I am already pretty much following this so it won't be too difficult to do. It is easy to take sugar and things I used to love out of my diet when I know the painful consequences of eating these things.

He tells me that every single woman in his practice, it doesn't matter if she has lyme, lupus, chronic fatigue, epstein barr, etc gets much more sick during her period. He tells me that menses puts the body in a more vulnerable state, and that anything you are keeping in check during the rest of the month, will rear it's ugly head when you menstruate. Ovulation can do the same thing. He says we need to do a multi-pronged approach to the healing, and that the problem thus far is that I have been working on getting one thing healed at a time, but that then something else takes over and I continue to be sick. We must get my immune system back in shape so it can stay "on top" of the various infections. I am anxious because I know what putting antibiotics into my body will do; yeast infections and nausea. On the other hand, I am not sleeping at all again and having nightmares. But I remember that the doxy made that go away. I am at the starting line again so I am digging my heels in and gritting my teeth. I am determined to win.