What I discovered so far

[Valentijn]

From the information that I can find, twitching is either a Magnesium deficiency or the Lyme bacteria have infected the central nervous system.

For me the twitching is rectified by taking magnesium. It also seems to often get triggered by using the muscle "too much" (whatever that currently is!), and can progress to bigger muscle spasms and cramps. I used to need more magnesium, and took it twice per day. I do fine with once per day now.

 

[TheChosenOne]

This twitching doesn't really bother me it's just a symptom.
Magnesium doesn't seem to make much difference. Maybe I have some success with some Magtein.

I'm currently figuring out herbs I can pick from the buhner protocol (especially for neuroborreliosis), so it will likely disappear when I start with them.

 

[davisca]

I haven't checked my copper levels yet. That's why I'm only taking 100 (150) mg of zinc.
I didn't find much difference between B6 and p5p. Maybe that's for the best. p5p is expensive. Did you test B6 or the active form?


I'm sure it isn't gone. It never was. I've tried to eliminate the candida problem, but nothing seemed to work. I was able to 'control' it with a strict diet, but that was exhausting. I've tried multiple antifungals as well. My internist didn't want to give me nystatin because I might need it in an emergency situation.
I'm aware that detoxing metals makes the candida problem worse. But the metals don't come back, so at least that's something permanent.

Copper is interesting because it could be bio unavailable as well. Candida, like Lyme, feeds on heavy metals and does well if there's a lot of unbound copper floating around. Detoxing the metals and making the environment less candida friendly seems reasomable to try.

 

[davisca]

I also just wanted to say thank you for this post. There's a lot of very interesting things which correlate somewhat to my own experiences. First of which made me double check my test results from the NHS Doctor here in the UK and see that they actually screened for Whooping cough not Bartonella.

Did you come across anything of significance which says Lyme can be transmitted from mother to child during birth?

 

[Muddy]

Thechosenone - Great post , you sound EXACTLY like me . I started the journey into the quest for better health with the candida because of the athletes foot and thrush , than moved on to parasites and heavy metals , and now Lyme . They are all connected for me . I detoxed out fungus and parasites for 2 weeks straight and felt incredible afterwards and put on a lot of muscle mass but sadly it all came back ...

I'm curious where you are in your journey with all of this, I can't figure out how to PM or find your email but mine is mattymud1216@gmail.com, I'd appreciate it if we could swap info . My symptoms are starting to progress like the onset of ALS which is scary ...

 

[TheChosenOne]

I've received three more lab results since the last post. Before digging into them, first a few things I've tried.
I'll try to be short as I'm still figuring things out. A long post about things that may be wrong or not effective is just a waste of time.

At the end of September 2016 I saw a post on Kratom. The DEA wanted to ban this stuff. Kratom is a herb which is often used for (prescription) opiod withdrawal, the main reason why the DEA wants to ban it. There was a lot of resentment regarding a possible ban and the ban was eventually not established, but it gave Kratom a lot of publicity.
At low doses, kratom is a stimulant - a bit like caffein. It is also used to treat chronic pain, which could be useful.
Long story short, Kratom is great for short term but after a while it slowly stops working at the same dose so I'm keeping it for special occasions.

One of the books I've read was the Buhner book. His work seems to be very popular.
Importing the herbs was kind of a hastle. I bought them in bulk because that's a lot cheaper. The problem is that customs probably didn't know what to do with them and they were taken hostage for two months by customs.
Eventually they arrived. I've started with the full protocol with a total of 13 herbs.
Making capsules isn't difficult. There are capsule makers available that can do the trick quite fast.

In the end I had to stop because I got worse. I think it is because astragalus can increase the autoimmune aspect of the disease. Later more on this.

In Februari of this year, a video was published on one of my favorite Youtube channels which contains quite a lot of good information. It eventually lead me to a website called The Superman Diet which is also filled with a lot of good stuff. I'll be implementing most of this in a few months as I've already gathered all supplements except for the glutathione.
I've had a hard time importing the Microsilica (which is also recommended by Klinghardt) from Biopure. Since it had to cross the EU border it was up to customs checks.
It was found to be prohibited as shown by the tracking records.
About two weeks later I got a letter in my mailbox which said that my items were medicines which required a license to be imported. I could either do nothing (which meant that I lost my stuff) or send a letter that I don't want to renounce from my products.
These products were worth about 450 euros, so obviously I didn't want to lose that. So I asked them on what basis they confiscated the products, how I could know black on white that these products are classified as a drug and or when a prescription is required.
They unexpectedly told me that they made a mistake and about a week later I got my products back.
Besides the fact that the name of this department is up to an obvious joke, it's a bit odd they go through all the effort to write up a two page letter fully signed by an inspector including footnotes and references about which laws have been violated and the penalties they comprise.
Anyways, these sort of departments will have a rather short longevity as they will become irrelevant in the future. Luckily people are working on solutions to deal with these kind of situations.

The next book I've mentioned and read is The Paleo Approach: Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body.

A leaky gut occurs when the cells of the small intesine (enterocytes) or the proteins that form tight bonds between these cells are damaged. Microscopic holes are formed through which some of the contents of the gut can leak out into the bloodstream or lymphatic system - and, most important, straight into the waiting arms of the resident immune cells of the gut. What leaks out isn't big hunks of food, but a combination of pathogens, incompletely digested proteins, bacteria or bacterial fragments from those friendly bacteria that are supposed to stay in your gut, infectious organisms if they're present in the gut or a variety of toxic substances or waste products that would normally be excreted. When these pathogens leak through those holes. the resident immune cells of the gut recognize them as foreign invaders and mount a response against them recruiting more immune cells from the gut-associated lymphoid tissue. When large quantities of pathogens escape, other parts of the body, especially the liver, also contribute to the response - revving up bodywide inflammation and sending the immune system into overdrive. Exactly what and how much leaks out determines the precise nature of this immune response.
A leaky gut is present in every autoimmune disease that has been tested, including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis), celiac disease, multiple sclerosis and type I diabetes.
Enterocyte damage happens mainly because of prolamins, agglutinins and saponins which are found in grains, legumes and nightshade vegetables. If an enterocyte dies, it leaves a hole in the gut barrier through which the contents of the gut can leak out. These holes are rapidly closed in a healthy individiual. But when enterocyte death becomes rampant the body cannot keep up with the necessity for repair and a leaky gut develops.
Thight junctions are designed to open and close so that specific nutrients can be absorbed. The problem occurs when the normally highly controlled regulation of the tight junctions fails and the tight junctions are left open. Zonulin is one of the proteins that open tight junctions. Tight junctions are also opened by other dietary proteins, alcohol, elevated cortisol levels, some medications and some infectious microorganisms.
Gut dysbiosis (mostly SIBO) can be a direct cause of a leaky gut. There is a high prevalence of SIBO in autoimmune diseases.
The two main causes of gut dysbiosis is antibiotic use and poor diet. The bacteria in the gut feed off the consumed food.
A leaky gut is necessary for autoimmune diseases to develop.
Eggs have special properties (enzymes and proteins) that allows it to pass easily through the gut barrier. On top of that, the function of the egg white is to protect the yolk against intruders, it binds well with other proteins and bacteria. So it forms a complex that passes through the gut wall. This is the reason for most egg allergies. Not the eggs themselves are the problem, rather everything that it binds with.

The main idea is that the proteins that leak through the gut are similar to proteins that form cells and organs, so over a long term an autoimmune disease can develop.
The book also explains why milk is really bad and why certain products (especially nightshades), sugar, stress, infections (including lyme), lack of sleep, ... can also increase autoimmunity.

Over to the results.

March, 2017

Ammonia in serum 5.07 [0.28-3.03]
IL-8 serum 48 pg/ml [0-15]
Quinolinic acid 0.50 pg/ml [0.75-1.16]
dsDNA Positive [Negative]
Histones Positive [Negative]
Jo-1 Positive [Negative]
Elastase expression 27 [0-150 ratio]
sCD14 2308 ng/ml [1430-2800]
Zonulin 87 ng/ml [10-110]

August, 2017

Ammonia in serum 3.37 [0.28-3.03]
IL-8 serum 93 pg/ml [0-15]
sCD14 3230 ng/ml [1430-2800]
Elastase expression 135 [0-150 ratio]
CD38 ELISA 0.96 [0.59-1.56]

Erythrocytes 4.39 milj/mcl [4.25-5.63]
MCV 96 [82-96]
Leukocytes 5600 /mcl [3650-9300]
Lymphocytes 40.5% [16.1-46.9]
Monocytes 3.9% [4.6-12.7]
GOT (AST) 34 U/l [< 40]
GPT (ALT) 64 U/l [< 41]
RA <10 kIU/l [<10]

October, 2017

Ammonia in serum 9.67 [0.28-3.03]
IL-8 serum 1298 pg/ml [0-15]
VEGF 0.27 [0.37-1.49]
sCD14 2252 ng/ml [1430-2800]
CD38 ELISA 1.26 [0.59-1.56]
Bartonella PCR Negative [Negative]

Erythrocytes 4.34 milj/mcl [4.25-5.63]
MCV 96 [82-96]
Reticulocytes 1.8% [0.5-1.53]
Leukocytes 3300 /mcl [3650-9300]
Lymphocytes 47.8% [16.1-46.9]
Monocytes 8.3% [4.6-12.7]
GOT (AST) 18 U/l [< 40]
GPT (ALT) 16 U/l [< 41]
Alpha-1-Globulines 1.9% [2.1-3.6]

Ammonia has gone down, but went back up again. Same is true for IL-8. The last result for IL-8 was really high.
The sCD14 levels, which are related to inflamed bowels and leaky gut, have really improved and are normal across the board.
CD38 is related to the immune response against borrelia spirochetes which seems to be inactive.
VEGF is very low again. This is caused by biotoxins and undermines oxygen transportation.

Ammonia, IL-8 and VEGF tell me that there is still a lot going on.
KDM says I have vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels) because of all the inflammation that is going on. This will improve down the road.

Another thing to note are the leukocytes. They have always been low. In August, they have risen to 5600 but have fallen back to 3300 only two months later.
I believe this is because I was doing the Buhner protocol at that time but I stopped doing that.
Something else interesting is the elevated ALT which indicate liver damage. This is may be related to all the antibiotics that I've been taken.

The latest antibiotics are Vancomycin and Normix. Vancomycin is often prescribed as a treatment for severe Clostridium difficile colitis which has shown up in my stool analysis. Clostridium difficile can cause perforation of the colon which is kind of dangerous. Since it is kind of frequently occuring, someone made a video about it.

Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes ratio has gone from low to high. Gram+/Gram- has also gone from low to high. Only the Diversity Index is still below 4 most likely caused by all the antibiotics.

Elastase levels were low, then a bit higher. Elastase is an indicator of immune activation as it is able to break down peptides of bacteria. So, not much seem to happen from the point of this indicator.

Maybe the most interesting part of the results is the anti nuclear antibody test. dsDNA, Histones and Jo-1 are positive.

dsDNA is highly diagnostic of systemic lupus erythematosus. dsDNA is sometimes positive in people with Rheumatoid arthritis or viral infections. The test for Rheumatoid arthritis was negative. About 50% of those with SLE also have histone antibodies.
The result of Jo-1 is a bit less clear. It is very suggesitve for polymyositis, which is chronic inflammation of the muscles.

These are just autoimmune reactions caused by lyme disease. The more I read into this stuff, the more I'm convinced that all diseases are somewhat the same.
Some research about MS points towards infections as a cause for the illness. [1] [2] [3]
A lot of autoimmune diseases have a connection with mercury poisoning. [1] [2]

Some doctors believe that all autoimmune diseases are caused by infections. I think the most common conception is that there is a difference between infection induced and non-infection induced autoimmune diseases. But the on the other hand, there always is a cause of autoimmunity, so it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to make this distinction.
Genetics are often touted as the cause of autoimmune diseases, but if you just google 'autoimmune incidence' you'll see that autoimmune diseases were actually something rare in the past. The same is true for allergies and cancer (which is often blamed on genetics as well). I simply don't buy this argument.
There is an interesting theory with regards to bacteria and viruses that might explain the presence of these bugs in people with chronic diseases. Some doctors believe that humans and bacteria live in symbiosis. The role of the bacteria is to clean up toxins from the body. This can also explain why bacteria and viruses are sometimes linked to cancer and autoimmuninity. Killing the 'bad bugs' doens't really contribute anything and may be harmful according to this theory. So, by removing the toxins from the system, one might be able to get rid of the infections. This would be especially significant in the case of Lyme, since it is difficult to eradicate.
It might explain why I had the flu and pneumonia during this year.

One of the last observations that I made is cloudy urine. I think this could be release of toxins from my lymph system. I believe this is one of the main reasons why I'm slowly improving. Diet seems to be extremely important to achieve proper detoxification and lymph movement.

One of the things Cutler mentioned about hair tests is that if the mercury levels in the hair are not elevated, but the mineral result suggests 'deranged mineral transport' (which was the case for me), it means that you cannot get rid of toxins. This makes much sense in the light of the previous theory.
It's possible that diseases don't actually matter.

Just on a side note, five years ago, my C4 complement result was out of range:
Complement C3 99 mg/dl [82-185]
Complement C4 11.9 mg/dl [15-45]
Low C complement is related to inflammation, infection and autoimmunity, especially Lupus. Of course, this result was ignored.

Something that has improved so far is the fact that I need way less sleep because I need to recover less and have somewhat less pain overall.
The hot flashes where my whole body got really hot is resolved. This was caused by histamines as a result of food reactions. This makes me believe that my bowels are mostly healed.
On the other side, I haven't gained any kind of weight so far.

According to Klinghardt:

Normally, your CD57 value should be over 100. If it's lower than that, you're infected with Borrelia. If it's below 60, you probably have both Borrelia and Mycoplasma, and, most likely, some other co-infections.

My levels were 55.
The main reason I'm looking at coinfections is the fact that I have specific headaches as one of my symptoms that are atypical for lyme. It moves around, to the left side, right side, at the top and behind the eyes. Frontal headaches tend to be bartonella or babesia.
Also my heart symptoms seem out of proportion, especially pressure and pain.
There was something that I didn't pick up in the previous blood tests, which was a positive Bartonella IgG bloodtest: 1/320 [Negative: <1/320]. The IgM was negative.
IgG means previous or current infection, IgM means current infection. The problem with the IgM test is that it is not accurate:
Pubmed:

The results show that a positive IgM supports, but a negative one does not rule out a B. henselae infection. Therefore, IgG should be still considered as the gold standard for the diagnosis of CSD.

A PCR test more recently was negative. Also, my endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was very low again which is typical for lyme but contraindicative for bartonella.
Low VEGF in bartonella is sometimes possible, mostly in the presence of babesia.
One of the things that I notices are these weird stripes on my chest (if you look well). This might be related to bartonella. Or maybe not. It could also be nothing.

The Babesia FISH test was negative, but according to Klinghardt this test is only 20% acccurate, since these parasites live primarily in the nervous/lymph system and not in the blood (same is true for bartonella).
Babesia is also on my radar because of some coinciding symptoms and blood results.

Typical for Babesia:
* Dizziness
* Nausia
* Leukopenia (low white blood count)
Medscape:

Leukopenia is a common finding in typhoid fever, RMSF, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis but is not a characteristic finding in Lyme disease.

* Low ferritin
Lymebytes:

Finally, if you have Lyme disease but have not been diagnosed with Babesia, yet have low ferritin levels, suspect that the latter infection might be present.

* Mild elevation of liver enzymes
Buhner:

I am surprised to hear about elevated liver enzymes in the absence of babesia infection with lyme only, but again, lyme continually surprises me.

* Liver pain.
TiredofLyme:

Pain and/or discomfort in these regions may be suggestive of liver and/or spleen inflammation, as these two organ are important for dealing with a babesia infection.

* Elevated blood urea nitrogen
ALDF:

Laboratory findings may include hemolytic anemia with an elevated reticulocyte count, thrombocytopenia, proteinuria, and elevated levels of liver enzymes, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine.

* Headaches (pressure sensation, crowling, occipital, crown and behind eyes)
* Chills
* Weight loss
* Anemia
* Teeth pain
* Heart racing or tachycardia (because of disregulation of the autonomic neurvous system)
* Heart pain

The most important symptom is sweating, which I don't have anymore, but had in the past, mostly at night.
Liver enzymes have been elevated once. But this can be caused by antibiotics.
Leukopenia is been going on since at least five years. First lab test in 2012 showed a count of 3080.
I had low ferritin levels in 2012 (33 [30-400]) but then normal recently (103).
Had to take iron supplements when I was little, but I don't remember why.

In particular reticulocytes are elevated just out of range. This is a hallmark sign of a babesia infection (hemolytic anemia) because babesia is a malaria like parasite that lives in red blood cells and destroys them once and a while.
Reticulocytes are precursors of red blood cells. If they are elevated, it means that your body is rapidly making new red blood cells.
It's actually pretty good explained here:

Does babesia influence MCV? What I read about it is that the parasite levels in humans are too low to change the MCV levels. This might be coincidence.

Here is a good Horowitz talk about babesia @39:40. He also mentions lupus false positives @45:25.

According to Horowitz, hemolytic anemia is quite rare, except for Babesia Divergens which is more prevalent in Europe.

The destruction of red blood cells may cause hemoglobinuria which is a high levels of hemoglobin in the urine, so maybe it's a good idea to test this.

Since the tests for babesia (and bartonella) are not really reliable, I might just try a few rounds of MMS, artemesia and Rick Simpson oil.

I've removed all sources of milk from my diet. I've come to the conclusion that milk is basically poison to the human body, I'll get more into detail in a later post. I've also removed all sources of gluten since it is the most important causative agent for leaky gut. What I'm eating right now is mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish and meat.

There was one more medicine added to my regimen since April this year, Gammanorm. It contains Human Normal Immunoglobulin (antibodies against bacteria and viruses), which is made from plasma of donors.
I don't think it's doing much. On top of that, it's kind of expensive - 50 euros per shot, 1 shot per week.

There are other things I'm looking into, like the mucusless diet and intermittent fasting. As for true healing a combination of fasting with a raw vegan diet is probably necessary.
I'll try nattokinase and lumbrokinase again, since it helped in the past. I've stopped using it because I wanted to try other stuff. This doctor recommends it in combination with the Buhner herbs and antibiotics. I'll incorporate it when I'm following The Superman Diet.

Afterwards, I'll be reintroducing the Buhner herbs. I just don't want to skew the next blood tests.

On closing, I want to point out that Lyme is most likely a biological warfare agent engineered at Plum Island.

I'll be looking into this when I have more time in the future.

That's it for now.
Be sure to take precautions on all levels of life, especially if you live in the US. The system as it exists today is not sustainable for long.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Did you come across anything of significance which says Lyme can be transmitted from mother to child during birth?

Yes. It can be transmitted from mother to child, maybe also sexually as lyme is a far cousin of syphilis.

 

[TheChosenOne]

I detoxed out fungus and parasites for 2 weeks straight

Fungi disappear automatically after adopting a fuitarian diet and improving the gut microbiome. The same is probably true for parasites.