I totally forgot to post an update for October.

I've been really busy with work and family stuff. I've also been trying in general to think less about Lyme and more about getting on with my life. That's not to say that I feel significantly better and don't think (obsess?) about it every day. I just decided to not spend so much time trying to solve what seems to be an unsolvable problem. If I get better, great. If not, so be it. There's really nothing more I can do.

Anyway, back to October… Saw Dr. R on the 15th and we talked about Babesia. I've been having some shortness of breath (like being at altitude), occasional heart palpitations and some pain in my feet. I'd read that these were symptoms of Babs and Dr. R agreed. He put me on Mepron and Zithromycin which seems to be the default combo for this.

I started it, but about 10 days in I developed this itchy, blotchy rash all over my chest, arms, legs, feet; basically anywhere my clothes rubbed my skin. At first I thought maybe my wife had switched up the laundry detergent, but no. I called Dr. R's office they told me to stop all meds until things cleared up. I did and about 4 days later I was fine. They couldn't tell me if it was an allergic reaction or a reaction from the Babs, but I asked around on LymeNet and several people had had simliar experiences with Mepron. By the end of the month I was back on it and have not had any further rash issues, however, I think I'm having absorption issues. More on that next month.

In addition to starting the Mepron/Zith I started to really ramp up the herbal stuff. I've been really interested in better incorporating herbal Lyme treatments as well as immune-support and detox helpers into my regimen. It's all fantastically confusing and I haven't the patients for it, but I've learned quite a bit from reading online and emailing with other sufferers who've worked with them. I think I've mentioned them before, but Grapefruit Seed Extract and Samento seem to be at the heart of treatment for most people going the herbal route. I've been toying with them, but through the latter half of October I really started to take it all seriously.

Over a period of 3 weeks I worked my self up to about 13 drops of GSE and Samento once a day. This is somewhat faster than they recommend, but I'm not very patient. I think I started at 5 drops and then added a drop each evening until I started to really feel bad (herxing?) and then left it there. I was getting ready to start splitting up the dosage and begin to take it in the morning and the evening, but then the Mepron rash hit me and I decided to stop everything.

Sadly, I've yet to get back to it even now in mid November. However, I did go to see a specialist in Chinese medicine last week and expect to be taking more herbs soon. Check back next month for more details.

Sorry for the lame-ass update, but that's about all I can recall. Will do better in November.