Lyme disease update

Yesterday I had a 2-hour session with my neurologist.  I had not seen her for some time, a couple of months.  We went over whole lot of lab tests, and discussed the outcome of the hyperbaric therapy so far.  Looking at some lab tests it appears that there may be some viral infections (EBV and HSV 6), so I will begin taking Valtrex, starting at 1 g per day and increasing up to 3 g per day has tolerated.

A common problem for people with Lyme disease is their tendency to accumulate heavy metals.  We will be doing some additional heavy metals testing to determine what my current load is.  Past tests have shown concerning levels of mercury, lead, aluminum, manganese, and uranium. We're likely to do a challenge using DMSA to help free up the heavy metals and release them into the urine.  My doctor said it's important to make sure the methylation pathway is working properly before using the DMSA because of potential irreversible brain damage that could result from freeing up the heavy metals for the test.  This was a little alarming to hear, because I have used DMSA before. The plan is to ensure that adequate amounts of key nutrients necessary for detox are in the blood, and that the excretory system is working properly before beginning chelation.

I have been feeling very shaky  and rigid (i.e. parkinsonian) since finishing the hyperbaric therapy, as noted in my previous blogs.  I have began having heart palpitations and poor sleep again.  I am hoping this is a Herxheimer reaction, and not a regression to things as they were years ago.  Time will tell.