Hello, I apologize about the long post but I have been through Hell and back and thought a little history might help you help me! I have been a nurse for over 25 years and unable to work since 2010 due to memory loss, lymphedema, chronic fatigue, chronic dental abscesses, anemia etc etc. All blamed on my having Gastric Bypass Weight loss surgery back in 2002. I should have known that wasn’t WHY as I was in the best health I had ever been in after losing 215lbs. My PCOS cleared up and I had 2 biological children after being told I wasn’t able to be. I was 37 years old with the first and almost 40 with the 2nd. In 2007 is when I got sick but I was able to manage working for a few years as the illness became worse. I never thought about being bitten by 50 to 100 ticks as I was getting out of my car at a doctor’s appointment back in 2007 during all this time. It wasn’t until 2016 when I started putting it all together. I was getting Iron & blood transfusions for anemia and I was having dental abscesses monthly. It was like my teeth were dying one by one. In 2016 the tooth infection was so bad that it spread into my eye and they had to put me on 2 major Antibiotics . A few days into taking the Antibiotics I became sicker with abdominal pain, vomiting and inability to raise my head off the pillow. I was life flighted to Duke Hospital where they decided it was an obstruction and did exploratory surgery. They found nothing because I was sick due to my first HERXHEIMER REACTION to the massive doses of Antibiotics . I was cut from breast to below my belly button from the surgery then came the post-op infection and 2nd surgery to try and heal the infection. I was packing the incision inside out for 3 months. During that time I went through a horrible year long experience that I didn’t know could happen to a human being. I won’t get into that as it was the worst thing I have ever endured in my life but led me to Morgellons Disease and finally Lyme Disease! I remembered the day back in 2007 when all the tiny ticks had bit me. Even the doctor was outside helping me pull them off that day and never thought of Lyme. I never had a bull’s eye rash nor a fever but a few months after I was sick and have been all this time. My immune system was shot and I was full of parasites and insurance doesn’t cover anything related to Lyme and not many doctors believe it’s Chronic anyway unless they have it themselves. I saved up and went to a doctor who has it herself and she ordered the tests confirming borrelia burgdorferi, Bartonella and EBV! FINALLY! but she wanted me on antibiotics and I was afraid due to decades worth of fungal issues. My ex-husband was in the Gulf War and suffering from Gulf War Syndrome. He came back with all types of fungus and gave it to me and all 3 of our adopted daughters. They still get thrush every time they take antibiotics. I tested positive for Candida Glabrata & Candida Dubliniensis in the past. There was no help as doctors treat fungus just as Lyme. It just didn’t exist back then in mainstream medicine. Natural doctors were more open but costed so much that I couldn’t go to one. I took 3 months worth of Lamisil and my symptoms went away until the false obstruction surgery. I honestly think that Morgellons is a combo of Lyme, Bartonella, fungus and something else but that’s another story. I started working on my immune system, changed my diet to as clean as possible, started supplements, worked on killing parasites, started Buhner’s herbal protocol for Lyme and started to slowly get better but only about 40% better. During the summer of 2017 I went to the beach on vacation and went on a huge boat that a friend’s boyfriend had just bought from S. America. As I was trying to step up to get off the boat I used a table as leverage. The table snapped and hit me in my left shin. All hell broke loose! Leg turned black and I had 3 open areas in a line and thick plaques that itched like mad! The leg looked horrible although it never hurt once the trauma of it passed but it continued to drain, swell, peel and itch. Not one doctor had a clue but the guy who owned the boat told me to have them test for Sporotrichosis or Rose Gardener’s Disease which is prevalent in S. America and also a FUNGAL INFECTION! I had doctor’s talking about amputation of my leg and I was frantic and terrified. I was able to talk 1 doctor into thinking it was fungal and he gave me 3 months of Terbinafine. My leg started to get better but not all the way healed. The itchy plaques went away but it was still itching and draining. I started researching Sporotrichosis and knew I had seen it before. A guy on you tube with Morgellons said that it's what Morgellons was, some form of Sporotrichosis and used Iodine to cure himself. They used to use SSKI for the fungal infection and still do at times. So I bought SSKI and started slowly at 5 gtts=250mg, three times a day until I reached 20gtts=1000mg, 3x/day. I stayed at that dose for 4 months and my leg healed completely, I felt better than I have in over 10 years, energy was good, stomach issues were gone and I was on my way to getting well. Then my hair started falling out by the handfuls and having frequent headaches. I went to my doctor last month and she tested my TSH and it came back 13.4 so I stopped the SSKI about 3 weeks ago. I told her about taking the SSKI and that I stopped when my TSH results were high so she retested my TSH & T4 which were both normal 3.92 & .92. I have come to the conclusion that I need the Iodine. I feel horrible now. My stomach is hurting and gassy. My hormones are horrible and PMS is back severe again. I itch all over and have no energy at all. I did a test last night and put 1 drop of SSKI in water and drank it. It was amazing that 1 drop could stop the stomach rumbling and sickness I had felt all weekend. I thought that I had a GI virus that wouldn’t go away. I believe that I am suffering from severe yeast/fungus and Iodine is my only way to overcome this. I don’t want to lose my hair and damage my thyroid and I don’t know that 3000mg per day of SSKI is the way to go. I need help in deciding what would benefit me the best. I have ordered Lugol’s 2% and I still have the SSKI. I have heard of people using both at the same time. I am trying to research Iodine but I am suffering and I feel that I will only get worse without some form on a regular basis. I know that I am different than most as I don’t have but a small stomach and some of my small intestine was removed from the weight loss surgery plus fighting Lyme and a long history of fungal issues. I have 2 kids 11 & 14 home and 3 grown adopted daughter’s and a 3 year old grandson to live for and will do whatever I have to to live for them. I’m broke and need to go back to work. I’m afraid the fungus and Lyme will kill me without treating it and I really need some help. There’s no Iodine doctors near me in NC to go to for help and my Lyme doctor is really clueless and sick herself. I need a mentor and someone who will offer opinions on what I should do from here. Either way thanks for reading my mini biography and I hope someone will be willing to help me figure this out.
Have a great day!