Hi Carries,

Really glad to hear some of your numbers have moved in the right direction…these blasted labs will go up and down, up and down for a while and this is where working with an experienced doc who absolutely believes in infectious causes can be of tremendous help. Trying to navigate this alone is just too difficult and it wouldn’t be right for any of us here to suggest what abx you should try next. We can tell you what worked for us, but these may not work for you. I’ve been on numerous combinations and each combination will work on different aspects of my pathogen load that take me one step closer to remission. I could not have done it, though, without a lot of patience, trust in and the guidance of my expert LLMD.

My very best fellow-patient suggestion would be to consider seeing an experienced doc…LLMDs are terrific, because they can assess for coinfections that may be impeding progress and have no qualms in using whatever it takes to get us well again. MCTD is tricky and it’s clear that these patients have a number of things going on that all need addressing separately – many MCTD patients get thrown in this garbage diagnosis bucket, as they just don’t know what it is and many find it’s Lyme and its hitchiking friends all along…just ask Kim, Parisa and Maria. 😉 Kim used mino and IVs in her first year and even tried MP…it was only when she started working with a LLMD who traced her symptoms to root causes and addressed those that she managed to reach remission. She now has a “whatever it takes,” motto that resonates here for many.

I know this is probably not the straight road you hoped for…it rarely is. I have had to go back to the drawing board in my mind numerous times throughout this process, almost throwing in the towel….but it always came back to my profound belief in infectious causes being at the root of my health issues and finding the reserves within me to keep up the good fight. I know this is impractical for some and other choices need to be made….just sharing my path, which has not been easy, but has been well worth it. 😉 I hope others will chime in with their thoughts for you, too. My hope is that you can turn this around, Carries…you’re so young, beautiful and sweet and have your whole life ahead of you. 🙂 Hang in there!