Lupus and Larium

She is feeling fabulous, the best she has felt in more than a decade. Four weeks of Larium Babesia symptoms quickly return. Larium is restarted and shortness of breath and soaking sweats disappear. Mild aches, pains and headaches remain but are of no consequence. Strength and energy have returned; her brain is clear as a bell and she even plays tennis, which is remarkable. A little weakness on the left remains, but otherwise she is in remission. Treated with herbs extensively, maintenance therapy consists of low dose Western medicines.

We met two years ago. She was disabled. Symptoms included: incapacitating fatigue, severe cognitive difficulties, severe headaches, facial pain and numbness, weakness, "total body pain", low-grade fever and chills, sweats and insomnia, topping a much longer list.

Her history was complex. She presented me with a telephone book like folder filled with consultations, test results, and other documents from an army of specialists. She recalls a tick bite in 1989, initially brushed off, and was soon after diagnosed with aseptic meningitis. Mysterious recurrent episodes of Bell's Palsy occured. Numerous cranial nerve disorders appeared, involving: 6th, 7th, 3rd, 11th and 12th nerves. The diagnosis was mononeuritis multiplex. New onset complex migraine and seizure disorder appeared. An immunologist found low IgG levels and an endocrinologist found autoimmune thyoiditis.

Other prominent symptoms included: Marked, persistent left sided weakness (she is left handed), joint pain and swelling (multiple), pelvic pain and irregular menses, dizziness, loss of balance, decreased visual acuity, dyslexia with an inability to write or read, mixing up words, slow thinking, memory loss, complete disability and a total inability to attend to activities of daily living.

Lyme was considered and she was treated with four one month courses of Rocephin. Then the team of ID docs said this issue had been put to bed. A rhematologist diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosis. This diagnosis was to stay with her for years. Various treatments included, IViG, Cellcept and years of steroids. At times high dose intravenous steroids seemed to help.(The steroids have caused osteoporosis in this 36 year old woman).

After years of searching for a different answer she found an LLMD. Treatment at that time focused on Bartonella. She experienced some modest improvements. Searching further she sought the help of a chinese herbalist. This was more effective but she was still very sick and disabled. She was referred to me for aggressive Western medicine to complement the traditional Chinese approach.

Over the past two years (my treatment) I have treated her with a variety of antimicrobials: Zithromax, Mepron, Tindamax, Rifampin, Doxycycline, minocycline, Larium, amoxicillin, a few others and always plaquenil. She has been on plaquenil for years for lupus and is reluctant to go off it. Unexpectedly, She experienced a powerfull herheimer response with Mepron. Headaches, flu-like symptoms, fevers, sweats amd cognitive problems intensified. It was necessary to lower the dose and gradually ramp up. Ultimately, Larium proved more effective than Mepron/artemsia for Babesia symptoms.

The two best drugs turned out to be Larium and Tindamax.

I believe the synergy of Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine in this case was indispensible.