Done with the Drugs for Now

We finished the 21 day antibiotic provocation trial yesterday and in my humble assessment, it did just that...provoked the bugs. I did expect his symptoms to get worse, but maybe not for this long. Within two days of the full dose, he really seemed to feel worse and truly take a step back on all fronts. Today I have been looking for any change and I think his stomach might feel a bit better and he might be a bit more calm, but truly hard to see much difference and too early to expect it.

During this time, I have done more research on Lyme disease, joined state and national blog groups to find other parents with similar stories and to search diligently for docs....Lyme Literate docs. I have to admit that I thought researching my way through toxic mold was tough and seemingly lonely enough, this topic is deeper still and seems to confound equally as many people in the medical profession.

Like many other Lyme and toxic mold suffers, I too, for obvious reasons, believe they tend to travel in pairs. Some people I talk to believe that Lyme is so prevalent in our society that many of us live with it dormant in our bodies until something like a toxic mold exposure blows the lid off of it and brings it to the surface. Given Coleman tick bite history and symptom load, I have to believe it. The thing about these two health issues is that they both share many of the same cognitive, respiratory, joint and gut symptoms, so sometimes isolating them is tough. The most interesting thing to me is how both are systemic and compromise the host's immune system so greatly. I am beginning to think that there are several illnesses with different names whose roots actually are firmly planted in Lyme and mold.

We are charting our next steps. For Coleman, we will ideally wait two weeks which will be the best time to blood test again for Lyme. I hope to be working with an RN who is well equipped to order the full battery of specialized tests for Lyme and its co-infections (which are frequently as important as Lyme). A clinical diagnosis is necessary on so many future fronts. During these two weeks, we will be targeting detox of the neurotoxins and hoping his joint pain will subside enough to get him up and around again. At that point, most all future steps will hinge on the outcome of the tests.

I can say this, finding a Lyme literate doc who will see your child in less than 6-8 months is practically impossible and they don't take insurance, so finding this in-state RN with so much specific experience was a relief and I trust God's way of saying we're still on course. Much is also in the hands of the insurance provider and I am making a specific case on our behalf. What we wouldn't sacrifice for our kids, but it would be great for some of the expense to be covered....or, more than some.

I have been dealing with shoulder/back issues and attempting to ignore them until it became impossible to take care of Coleman properly. Fortunately, I found a great chiropractor who holds the shop open a bit late for me to come after Jeff gets home. Two visits have made a solid difference and I am grateful! Our practitioner and I think it's how my body is detoxing and fortunately both the Zyto and the chiropractor's muscle tests show me clear for Lyme.

Spen is still at it, swimming and skating - and planning to finish all of his 3rd grade work by the end of this week. We are going to move in some supplements next week to get his immune system set for school in the fall! I promise to post his Johnny the Suitcase Head cartoon soon.

So much remains uncharted, but that's what faith is all about, walking where you can't see. My brother and I had a 3 hour evening visit last week while he was in town and he was telling me about taking a big boat into New Jersey's port late at night through what sounded like the eye of a storm. The boat was literally beating the crew and he said his nerves were racked because he realized the fate of the crew was in his hands and there were no lit channel markers, just radar and ears...and guts. It occurred to me that we're the same here, navigating these waters without a chart, while the fate of our crew rests in our hands. Fortunately, I know the chart maker and I've given him the wheel.

I've been reading in Hebrews about faith:
So don't throw it all away now.
You were sure of yourselves then.
It's still a sure thing!
But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion.

Sometimes I think really think I'm lead to specific pieces of guidance in this book of wisdom. Maybe I always have been and just didn't have the ears to hear or the eyes to see. Funny how the senses heighten at the rope's end.