Video on Babesia

[Roz]

 

This is the story of a man that was experiencing chest pains, high fever, chills and uncontrollable shaking. It turns out that he is infected with a very common blood parasite called Babesia. A small tick that he probably picked up while he was jogging and hiking through some brush.

 

http://parasite-cleanse.com/video-blood-parasites.html

[Maz]

Roz, I watched this episode on Monsters Inside Me and couldn't help but shake my head. Seriously, how can Lyme and its associated coinfections be taken so lightly? If a person is lucky, they might find a tick and get an ELISA done, which usually returns negative. especially early on. Do they test for possible coinfections? Nah…let's wait and see if the person starts to get sick. By the time, the person does get sick (maybe years later), it's to the point where they can hardly move and are wracked in agony and the possibility of Lyme is a far-distant memory (What Lyme? The ELISA the doc ran was negative – I don't have Lyme). Even then, it's misdiagnosed for something else (how about autoimmune hemolytic anemia for starters or lupus with costochondritis?) and overlooked time and time again.

Perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that babesiosis is surviving blood banking screening and freezing procedures and there have been media-reported cases of very ill folk in hospital receiving this contaminated blood and succombing to overwhelming infection within days.

I'm really glad you found and posted this…babesia is not to be sneezed at and is on the increase right across the US, right in line with Lyme. Here in CT, I've read that in recent tick drags done in schoolyards, they've discovered that 90% of ticks are infected with both borrelia and babesia. 🙁

Peace, Maz

 

[Michele]

Interesting flick. What is curious to me is that the symptoms list on the sites like emed for Babesia include symptoms that if I had them, I don't remember them.

Doc said yesterday my Babesia WA1 was down to 1:500 from 1:4000+. She attributes my improvement in my joints to this decrease in the Babs. I still have some air starvation and rib cage pain.

My hubby has the same form of Babesia WA1 as well. (Neither of us have ever been to Washington state.) He found out a couple weeks after donating blood. As soon as we had his lab report from the lyme doc he called Red Cross to let them know. Once you have a Babesia infection you may never be a donor of any kind. So Maz's comment about the blood supply is totally valid. Had I not asked my LLMD about my husband's odd symptoms, he would have gone on thinking he had severe allergies and skin rash. She said he should be tested and we were all shocked with what she found in him. Lots of coinfections. The blood donation site never picked up that there was anything wrong with his blood. They were really glad he called them to report it.

Ohh, and that mis-diagnosed category that Maz mentions? 2 1/2 years ago my dx was RA with a rheumy shrugging his shoulders as to why my rib cage hurt so much and insisting I take Methotrexate. NOT!!!

This site continues to save lives!!! Way to go! And THANKS!

Michele

[Roz]

Dear Maz,

I just switched my cable company, where I can now get Animal Planet. Is the Monster show on weekly, or was it a one time thing.

Thanks so much for always encouraging me to Research. Yes, I am shocked about the ignorance in the States on Lyme and the mates that join in.;)

You are a joy.

x Roz

 

[PetRescue]

Hi everyone, I just came across this post in time. I have just been informed by my LLMD that I now test positive for Babesia (my level 27.7, normal 0-10). He wants to treat me with artemesia, which I understand to be more of an alternative choice. I have read and it is confirmed in this article that Mepron (Atovaquone) is a better choice. I am already on clarithromycin (he had to switch from azitromycin).

Has anyone had luck with eliminating babesia with artemesia? Has anyone had luck eliminating it at all?

I also tested positive for:
HHV-6 1.96 (normal <.90)
Mycoplasma 428 (normal <99)
CD-57 75 (normal is above 100)
Vitamin D 34.3 (normal 40-100)
CBC, liver, kidney, thyroid all normal

Because my CBC was normal, I also wonder if my babesia is more of the asymptomatic type, as the only symptom I have is depression. Shouldn't my RBC count have been low if my disease was active?

I am all for alternative treatments, but it seems more “normal” to treat with mepron/zithromax. I was just going to ask him about putting me back on doxy or mino, but I know you can't take those with mepron. I'm afraid artemesia may take too long to work as I want to be on doxy or mino ASAP. That should also help with my mycoplasma number, as he wants to address that with Transfer Factor. I'd rather do doxy/mino!

I hope someone can give me good news about babesia, it kinda freaks me out I have all these things.

~jen

[Cheryl V]

Hi Jen,

Sounds like we're in the same boat. My daughter's LLMD felt we also had to push back the Lyme treatment (doxy and ceftin) for now and have started treating the babesia. Sounds like your LLMD is doing the same. The protocol we're using for that is Azithromycin, Bactrim and Malarone. My daughter was originally prescribed Mepron (aka liquid gold) and after doing some research on it, we asked to switch to Malarone. Try doing a search for older posts about Babesia, lots of good info out there.

Cheryl

[Maz]

[user=1758]Roz[/user] wrote:

I just switched my cable company, where I can now get Animal Planet. Is the Monster show on weekly, or was it a one time thing.

Hi Roz,

The series “Monsters Inside Me,” has actually ended, but they may do re-runs. I found it a few weeks ago on “On Demand,” if you have that in your cable package. It's quite nice watching shows that have already aired this way, as you don't get the ads.

Hopefully, they'll do a re-run for you, but if not that you can still get it on On Demand. Must warn you, it's a pretty gruesome series! Kim put me on to the shows and I recorded and watched most of them, but there were some pretty yeucky bugs they were covering. :sick: The guy with babesia was from the Cape Code, MA, area, I think, and he was really unwell…on death's doorstep stuff, poor guy.

Peace, Maz

[Susan LymeRA]

[user=27]Maz[/user] wrote:

Perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that babesiosis is surviving blood banking screening and freezing procedures and there have been media-reported cases of very ill folk in hospital receiving this contaminated blood and succombing to overwhelming infection within days. 

 

Who knows how long I was infected with Babesia WA-1.  WA-1 (ducani) is far more difficult to eradicate than Babesia microti.

During the time I most likely was infected but not yet sick enough to realize anything was wrong (approx 10 yrs) I gave blood routinely.  I shudder to think whom all I may have infected.

[Maz]

[user=86]Susan Lyme/RA[/user] wrote:

During the time I most likely was infected but not yet sick enough to realize anything was wrong (approx 10 yrs) I gave blood routinely.  I shudder to think whom all I may have infected.

 

Susan, I know what you mean. Fortunately (for others), I have been unable to donate here – excluded from blood donation in the US, as I'd lived in England during the mad cow fiasco. However, I did receive 3 units in GB after my eldest was born and have always wondered what may have passed screening procedures back in the 80s. Of course, back then, we were all afraid of HIV and blood donations, but seems that Lyme and coinfections is the new big concern. :doh: By the sounds of Michele's post, though (thanks, Michele, and lovely to see you!), they are becoming a little more vigilant about babesia screening.

Peace, Maz

[Michele]

Hi Maz,

Oops! I wasn't very clear in my post about Red Cross and my DH's donation. Red Cross DID NOT catch anything wrong with it. He called them to tell them as soon as we got home from the LLMD's office with his results.

I just hope we pulled his donation in time. It had been a couple weeks.

It's always good to see you too!

Michele

[Maz]

[user=50]Michele[/user] wrote:

Oops! I wasn't very clear in my post about Red Cross and my DH's donation. Red Cross DID NOT catch anything wrong with it. He called them to tell them as soon as we got home from the LLMD's office with his results.

I just hope we pulled his donation in time. It had been a couple weeks.

Well, good on you both for being so caring to alert them, Michele. Try not to worry…you did what you could to get them to pull the donation. If anything, perhaps calls like yours will make them more aware of this risk and, hopefully, down the road they'll actually start screening for it.

Really sorry to hear your hubby has been hit by this, too. What with your hubby, Susan's hubby, Cheryl's hubby….I keep looking at my guy and wondering, too. He's out there mowing and clearing away dense brush in the wetlands on our land each weekend and, though we're so vigilant and do obsessive-compulsive full body ticks checks, every ache and pain he gets sends fleeting chills thru me. :sick:

Must get some dinner on the go…but nice seeing you, as always. 🙂 Hope you're doing okay, Michele and making some headway under Dr. Z!

Peace, Maz

[Kim]

Hi Michele,

Let me add my condolences too about your husband's battle. :doh:  It's overwhelming enough for one family member to be infected, but multiples……….what a challenge. :doh:

Take care…..kim

[Michele]

Thanks Kim and Maz for your support. It truly is overwhelming; financially, physically and emotionally. I didn't know about Cheryl's husband!?!! Oh my!!! Oh no!!!! I am very worried about my boys. It crosses the placental barrier. Every ache, pain, or fatigue they show worries me.

I made it through another year of college teaching. There were some very grizzly months in the fall, but I went into work about every day but one. Finals ended two weeks ago and I feel exhausted. Now that I'm almost on full break, I can pop in here more often. I have a few weeks of administrative work to finish.

So far, the treatment with Dr. Z has a big positive; my joint pain is much improved. The muscle pain, fatigue, exhaustion, and rib pain are still present and accounted for. Our bank account is tanked. We had no idea that it would entail monthly visits, so many supplements and that we'd both be in treatment. I don't know that we have better options. There doesn't seem to be options. I knew of Dr. Z within a couple months of getting chronically ill, but since she was out of network kept her as my last option.

Will you guys hold my hands this coming week? Liver flush #1 is on the agenda. Any words of wisdom you can offer would be appreciated!!

Michele

[Kim]

[user=50]Michele[/user] wrote

Will you guys hold my hands this coming week? Liver flush #1 is on the agenda. Any words of wisdom you can offer would be appreciated!!

There's only one really yuck day out of the week, and for me it was well worth it. :doh: 

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Take care…..kim

[Maz]

[user=50]Michele[/user] wrote:

Will you guys hold my hands this coming week? Liver flush #1 is on the agenda. Any words of wisdom you can offer would be appreciated!!

 

Hi Michele,

In preparation for my liver flushes, I'm careful to eat a low fat, “clean” diet (no simple sugars, simple carbs or bad fats) for a good week prior. I also use a product called, Oxy-Powder, which is a gentle colon cleanse for 4 days ahead of the flush. On flush day, I try and remain as hydrated as possible, as a lot of fluid is lost during the epsoms salts component of the flush. I also usually make flush day a day when I'm able to remain at home once I start taking the epsoms.

Drinking the epsoms and then later the olive oil and lemon mixture is best done with a straw as far back on tongue as poss, to avoid tasting the mixture and gagging. I know it sounds unpleasant, but not terribly horrible…it's do-able. If the epsoms and water mixture is too difficult to drink, it can be mixed with freshly squeezed organic pink grapefruit juice, which hides the taste a bit. I also avoid any meds and supps on flush day (and several days after), but ensure to replenish probiotics the day after the flush, as it will strip away all good and bad bacteria from the gut. The epsoms component of the flush is really no worse than the cleanse one does the night prior to a colonoscopy, so not too bad.

The day after the flush may leave me feeling a little washed out, so important to keep drinking fresh pure water and to eat light. E.g. fresh fruit for breakfast, a homemade veg soup in a broth from lunch and a light healthy dinner. By day 2 after flush, all should be back to normal and I've felt so much brighter, with a noticeable reduction of inflam and a surge of energy.  This is why it's a good idea to make flush day a Friday, if working, as it's easy enough to eat light during the day and fast in the afternoon/evening, but gives Sat for a day of rest and Sunday to fully recoup, ready for a new work-week.

Michele, sounds like you're still battling babesia? Not sure what Dr. Z has recommended, but most folk will do a parasite cleanse in advance of the liver flush. This won't eradicate babesia, but may help push it back (probably not for this flush as it takes a month of parasite cleansing in advance). According to experienced flushers and most good flush sites, this is the optimal way to prepare, but I had to duck out of that step, as I needed immediate relief for stuck gall stones and to get my liver enzymes down. Every time I've done a flush for this purpose, it's worked like a miracle and two weeks later my LFTs are back to normal. The benefits of liver flushing are quite remarkable…lowering cholesterol, lowering elevated liver enzymes, reducing inflam, enabling the passage of stuck GB stones and stopping attacks and GB discomfort in its tracks…at least, this has been my experience.

We'll be here if you need some hand-holding while you're preparing for and doing your flush, Michele. All the best with it! 🙂 You'll do great and, when you're done, you'll be amazed how easy it all is….just a pain with all the steps to follow and getting familiarized with all that. Hey…and can relate entirely about the out-of-pocket expense for Lyme treatments…until this political insanity gets sorted and patients get put before medical egos, we're all scrummaging around for treatments for which we'd be a lot richer, if we didn't have to foot the bill. :X

Peace, Maz

PS No one with kidney troubles should contemplate a liver flush, because epsoms salts are contraindicated in those instances. 😉

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