Please don't take offense to this...

I really don't want to offend anyone by this. This is just something I am seriously worried about. How do we know that we really have lyme if people with no symptoms have positive lyme tests? How do we know that we don't all have something else our doctors have just not found yet? I'm just afriad one day they are going to tell me I have something even worse and all this time I was treating myself for the wrong thing. I am so afraid.

Well you have to take it day by day. Someone asked me recently how did I know it wasn't in my head... I looked at blood results. My WBC went from 4.4 to 6.5 to 7.3. So if my wbc went up that much the antibiotics were certainly killing something. And I feel pretty good now, not 100% but almost there.

Also my herbalist said almost everyone with lyme reacts to HH tea. NO one not her patients with diabetes or cholesterol or wanting lose weight reacts to it.

HallieMae, I love your question! at one time I too was very confused and unsure if I had Lyme.

When my nightmare started on July 17, 2012, I seemed to have one symptom after another. It seemed as if my body was falling apart within a few weeks. I remember waking up each day and having a new symptom. Every part of my body was being impacted.

What was odd was that each specialist that I visited would find something wrong with me. The Cardiologist found a problem with my heartbeat and blood pressure, then the Endocrinologist found Hashimotos and low testosterone. The Neurologist found brain scarring. The Gastroenterologist found an inflamed esophagus and stomach. The Rheumatologist found carpal tunnel, calcium buildup in my neck bones and inflammation of my joints. My Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor (ENT) found inflamed nasal passages and a scarred throat from stomach acid. My Ophthalmologist found a blood clot, floaters and a Vitreous Hemorrhage in my right eye.

So as you can see, my body WAS falling apart. The odd part is that everything started overnight and was getting worse day-by-day. Each specialist was focusing only on their part of my body and was not seeing the whole picture. It wasn't until my new (and very new to the medical profession) primary doctor suggested to test for Lyme. Some bands came back positive (via Labcorp) and although he said I didn't have Lyme per CDC standards, it gave me a new "thing" to research. You can imagine my amazement and jaw dropping when I saw that EVERYTHING that I had could be attributed to ONE thing: Lyme.

I went back to my doctors and ALL said I did not have Lyme and none would treat me for it. Finally after a year I found a doctor (LLMD) that was willing to treat me. Within days of starting antibiotics I began to see the symptoms slow down. As the days went by I began to see improvement day-by-day. The exact opposite of what I had experienced before.

I don't know if I have Lyme, Bartonella, Babesiosis, or Mycoplasma or a yet-to-be-discovered illness. What I do know is that my symptoms started on July 17, 2012 and for a year it progressed to where I was incapacitated. Since starting antibiotics, I am now 75% better. I really don't care what to label or name my illness. what I know is that it is getting better with antibiotics and natural herbs and that is what matters.

P.S. One thing that I have noticed here is that some people DON'T have Lyme. But they do have bartonella, Babesiosis or some other TBD. Lyme antibiotics do not work on some of these other infections so they get disappointed when they don't see results. I attribute this to some people expecting immediate results which seldom happens. The longer or stronger the infection, the longer it will take to feel better. A lot also has to do with the condition of your health and immune system at the beginning of the infection. Others are not taking the right antibiotic or if they are, they are taking the wrong dosage. TBD infections require stronger dosage that "normal" bacteria or Malaria infections and it has to be taken for longer periods.

I hope that you find the answer that you seek. I have done tons of research on symptoms, medication, clinical trials, published material, purchased books, and keep logs of my progress and health condition.

This illness that I have is like nothing that the world has ever seen. I need to be strong and well informed so I can kick its ***.

LOL! Thank you Traveler

Without seeing it in context (knowing what post it came from), I have to guess that I was talking about soothing the nervous system by using Avena Sativa - oats in the milky stage (not oat straw though!). This is a nervine - which just means that it's soothing or has a calming effect on the nerves.

I also happen to know what the HH tea is - it's Houttuynia. Some use the powder, I used the cut leaf and made a medicinal tea with it. It is the only treatment and the only herb I used to treat my long standing Bartonella infection and it has worked incredibly well for me. Many here have found it to be very helpful in their healing from Bart as well.

I hope that this helps!