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6/2/01 Results Are In! From:
Rob Payne <rob@everydayisprecious.com>
May 23 we received test results from the lab - Marcy is a high positive for Lyme's disease, testing positive in several bands of both the IgG and the IgM WB (Western Blot) tests. We didn't know (we still don't know and doctors don't know) exactly what this means - Does Marcy have Lyme's instead of ALS? Does she have Lyme's and ALS? Did the Lyme's cause ALS? Are Lyme's and ALS the same thing? But we do know that the medications prescribed by Dr. Crist as a result of the test are now starting to help Marcy's symptoms.
Upon getting the results, Marcy stopped taking the Tetracycline (started 5/22) and started taking Nystatin to reduce yeast. Friday, May 25 she started taking Flagyl orally. Flagyl is a strong antibiotic and needs to be "eased into" - Marcy started by taking only a sliver of a tablet once a day and today (Saturday) is scheduled to take a half tablet with breakfast, half of one with lunch, and a whole one with dinner. The first dosage gave Marcy some jitters for 5 or 7 minutes, it may have been a mild Herx. Other doses have not created any ill effects. Thursday Marcy was able to shop at Target with little help - the first time in weeks. Thursday evening the swelling in her feet and ankles had gone down so that they were almost back to normal. Friday her hips stopped hurting and today her back stopped hurting - they had been hurting for the past 2 weeks. The most encouraging part of these improvements is that the ailments are going away in the exact reverse order from their onset. We are hopeful that symptoms continue to reverse this rapidly. There was another email from a member of the ALS/Lyme's group that talked about heat treatment. Their doctor had told them you can't see the Lyme bacteria on a slide under a microscope unless you heat the slide. They had heard that an ALS/Lyme patient had seen some improvement by doing sauna treatments. They surmise that the heat makes the Lyme bacteria come out of hiding and that the body's immune system can then attack the bacteria. They have been doing 1 hour of sauna 3 times a day since Easter and have seen substantial symptom reduction. We don't have a sauna but we do have a jacuzzi. Marcy has been doing 45 minutes in a hot jacuzzi for the last 2 nights. We'll let you know how that does. This morning Marcy played piano for the first time in several weeks. To me, this is a great sign of improvement - physical and mental. We've added some new photos of Darcy to the Photo Albumn - her last days in First Grade, her first foot race, and her soccer team. We
continue to keep our ears and eyes open to God as He brings us people
and words of encouragement to help in Marcy's healing. We also continue to thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We'll keep in touch. Thanks. Rob Click here for the Next Email. |
