I got diagnosed: Lyme Disease

Hi,
I havent posted here in months but I've been working on my health non-stop...trying to unravel the mystery.

Some of you may remember I was diagnosed with Gluten Intolerance. That turned out to be only one SMALL piece of the puzzle. One of MANY things dragging my immune system down. I was always a believer in searching for the underlying causes when candida is present rather than simply treating candida. It was my belief that candida presents as a "symptom" of illness rather than a "cause".

I didnt give up in my search and always wondered about the possibilities of Lyme Disease and Mercury toxicity. I got symptomatic immediately following Amalgam removal. I was in perfect health prior to that but everything deteriorated rapidly after that and also having alot of stress in my life.

I've had multiple chemical and food sensitivities since the Amalgam removal....not to mention a huge list of other symptoms. Most symptoms have improved with diet and lifestyle changes but the MCS is still a BIG problem.

I got referred to a new Dr, last month. Someone whos more knowledgeable about mercury to finally get to the bottom of this. He was very thorough and after listening to my whole story about the Amalgam removal, the symptoms that occurred when mixed metals were put into my mouth (galvanic reaction), the metal taste, excessive saliva and everything else he out of NOWHERE asked if I'd been tested for Lyme Disease. I told him No...I couldnt find anyone to test me although I did persue it for some time.

He told me Lyme is the "Great Imitator"....mimicking almost any disease or condition. It can cause all of my symptoms and a great deal of people with Lyme also have MCS as a symptom of the disease. He wanted me tested right away. They drew blood that same day.

I was pleased that this Dr. only uses Igenix Lab for Lyme testing because I already knew this to be the only lab to offer reliable results. Other labs simply arent sensitive enough and dont pick up the disease....even when its there.

My results came back positive...I have Lyme Disease. It was a pretty big shock even though I had considered it in the past.

We were able to put the pieces together. I learned that after initial infection a person can have no symptoms of Lyme until a stress or some other "trauma" suppresses the immune system...allowing the Lyme to spread and become a chronic infection.

To the best of my knowledge I was infected 2 years prior to falling ill. I had a strange bite with a ring around it....it was very samll (dimesize)and took several weeks to go away. I also had flu-like symptoms around the same time frame. I just woke up one day with a massive headache, extreme fatigue and a fever of 105. I was unable to hold my head up and could barely walk or talk. A couple days later I was fine and didnt think much of it after that.

Two years later the amalgam removal sent my health into a downward spiral. The Dr. said this is common with Lyme. The mercury exposure was the straw that broke the camels back. My body was already becoming toxic from the Lyme and my immune system was already severely taxed...without me knowing anything about it. My body could not handle the burden from the heavy metals and the Lyme took off. Lyme Disease apparantly LOVES mercury and will thrive in a mercury toxic body.

My Dr. sent me for further testing and I DO have heavy metal toxicity as well as some severe candida.

I feel blessed to have finally gotten these answers and I'm told that I can recover from this with proper treatment. They say I will ALWAYS have Lyme Disease now that its become chronic....it is nearly impossible to erradicate it from the body completely. However, it CAN be treated and I can live a normal life w/out all these sensitivities looming over me everyday. :)

I had all of my almalgams removed a couple years back so mercury should no longer be a strain on my health once I go through chelation.

I'm nowhere near ready to start chelation. They say my organs need to start detoxing. My detox pathways are not currently functioning and I'm reactive to alot of essential things such as Vitamin C and sulfur. All of these things need to be addressed before I can begin to chelate....otherwise the risk is high that the metals will not be excreted properly and instead redistributed through my body....causing even more harm.

I have just started treatments for the other stuff last week. Hopefully this will all lead to the restoration of my health. :)

-Rachel