Stroke symptoms; major Herx concerns...

Hi, all. Don't have much energy. Took FIRST DROP of Byron White's A-Bart last nite; first time I have EVER done anything to address the Bart. Stroke-like symptoms abound, & I have never been this terrified in my life. Feels like I'm giong to throw up a kidney or a lung, & my appendix hurts. No point going to ER b/c no docs out here recognize my Lyme. Exploding pressure in eyes; no vision left in right eye. Freezing unless I'm in the direct sun. Can barely move. Whole right side is full of tingling pressure, & the deep veins along that side are tingling & going numb, from trying really hard to pump blood. Definitely struggling to get enuf blood to brain, esp. on right side. My whole vascular system is trying to "reset" itself, it seems. My whole bloodstream feels "itchy," dirty & infected. Can't afford to treat the dental toxicity, but boy are those symptoms amplified by the angry Bart I've "woken up." In terms of nervous system: electrical storms all
 thru skull, brain stem; tongue & face numb, on rigght side. Eyes can't look upwards at all. Unable to hold head & neck up. 

This is NOT a normal case of Bartonella, so if you make any suggestions, please do consider the following: My body is BUILT around Lyme & co-infections, w/ the strong history of Lyme, Lou Gehrig's, endocarditis & dementia on my mom's side. This is a GENERATIONAL thing & I was born w/ it & then re-infected w/ worse strains, at age 7. It has affected my development, not just CNS but bone, connective tissue, genes, epigenome, etc. Also, having had 3 transient ischemic attacks over the last few years, it is not unreasonable for me to be trying to prevent an even more debliitating one, considering my symptoms. The herb store closes at 4pm (Mountain time, which is 6pm. Eastern time)) on Sat. & is closed on Sun., so I'm wondering if anyone can suggest anything BEFORE THEN. I've got Benadryl, garlic, milk thistle, vit. C. powder, magnesium oil, non-flushing niacin, flax seeds (for B1 & Omega -3's) & some essiac tea, the latter of which I think I prepared
 incorrectly. Anyway, I just know I've never been this terrified or in pain in my life, & I've been thru some of the worst stuff a person can imagine, after a whole lifetime of Lyme & co's. I do deeply value comfort & prayer, but I am more looking for practical, hopefully nutrition/supplement-based suggestions to prevent further neurologic disability. Thanks so very much. 


Love & blessings,
Elysia

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I am very sorry to hear this.  I wish I knew what to tell you to help alleviate your symptoms.

I believe I have had some experience with Herxheimer reactions - but not to the severity that you are describing.  I have had certain Herx, or "die off" symptoms when I've taken probiotics, for example.  For me, Herxheimer reactions seem to be largely an inflammatory response.  Stopping the supplement has helped to eventually calm things down - but I know you are probably looking for a more immediate solution.  Taking antioxidants might help (they have helped with my own symptoms) - the Vitamin C and the milk thistle may very well provide some relief.  Based on my experience - other things that may help greatly with inflammation (and/or oxidation response) are green tea (or green tea extract), grape seed extract, and/or bilberry extract.  You don't necessarily have to go out and purchase all three of these - since I believe that they all have an ingredient - or a family of ingredients - in common (polyphenols?) that is responsible for the therapeutic response.  And I think the milk thistle may also contain similar compounds.

You may want to be careful about taking too much of these polyphenolic supplements over the long term, though - as they can cause or exacerbate anemia.  Taking grape-seed extract over the long-term may have contributed to my anemia.  These are wonderful antioxidants, though.  At least they would be great for the short term.

You can also get many of the same benefits by simply eating berries like blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Also - curcumin (tumeric?) produces a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant response. But like the polyphenols, it can drain the iron from your body over the long-term.  Watch out for anemia symptoms when you take these.

Something else that may help (based on my experience) is vitamin D - it has produced an almost-immediate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory response in me.  After awhile, you may want to try to balance this with Vitamin K - as Vitamin D alone may cause calcium to be deposited in the wrong places.

If mercury mobilization is a concern - selenium might help.  According to Andy Cutler, selenium binds with mercury and helps to render it less active (don't quote me on that - but at the very least, it's supposed to be helpful).  Either way - selenium is one of the supplements that I've found provides some quick relief from certain uncomfortable "brain fog" symptoms.

Zinc may or may not help.  Often zinc - specifically zinc monomethionine - has provided some short-term relief from vague "brain fog" symptoms.  But some zinc picolinate that I tried the other day seemed to stir up some negative symptoms (it may primarily be the picolinic acid that caused me problems).  Sometimes zinc seems to be helpful - other times I experience a downside.  Supposedly, zinc may help displace mercury, and that can cause symptoms.  Zinc and magnesium - especially magnesium - seem to be "mixed bag" supplements for me.  They may (indirectly) help to chelate mercury/heavy metals.  Based on my experience - you may want to tread carefully if you try those.  You may want to stay away from those as you deal with your crisis.

And, of course - try to drink plenty of good-quality water - to flush out whatever toxins are being stirred up. :)  Often, I forget to take this simple step.

I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help.  I hope you find your way out of this crisis as quickly as possible. :)

~Svetaswan


--- In [hidden email], Elysia Drew <necessejamais@...> wrote:

Take a couple of activated charcoal caps which will soak up whatever is bothering you. Always keep a bottle around just in case.
Steve

--- In [hidden email], Elysia Drew <necessejamais@...> wrote: