Swallowing Issues

Hi all! Been a minute.

I've been doing bvt for over 3 months now and some things I have had from the get go have gotten unbelievable better. My fatigue is gone, for the most part. And my tendon pain has resolved.

However, within the past couple weeks I have been experiencing progressively worse swallowing issues. It feels as though I can't swallow all my saliva. So far, I haven't had trouble eating or drinking water, but sometimes my saliva hits the wrong pipe and I choke. It's been more frequent the past few days. I'm wondering if this is a flare, a progression, or maybe an infection being addressed.

Around the same time the swallowing issues arose, scratch marks started appearing on my face, head, and neck. Not streaks, scratches. I'm assuming this is bart. I never had this symptom before bvt. I just pray the swallowing gets better. It's got me very concerned.

Anyone else deal with an issue like this?

Thank you!

BVT for everything. I'm taking propolis to help address bart. A lot of people in the bvt community have healed bart with bvt alone. The way bee venom works is it will bring an infection acute to kill it. This is what I'm hoping is happening. I'm hoping to stay off of abx.

And my walking is still not right. I have good days and bad days. But at no point has it gotten close to how it was pre lyme. At this point, I think I most likely have permanent damage. However, I did have a neuro visit this past Monday. She told me my exam was much better than the one I had 5 weeks before. So, who knows...

How have you been, Dahlias?

Post Edited (Hoagie) : 11/1/2018 9:20:13 PM (GMT-6)

Hoagie said...
Thank you!

BVT for everything. I'm taking propolis to help address bart. A lot of people in the bvt community have healed bart with bvt alone. The way bee venom works is it will bring an infection acute to kill it. This is what I'm hoping is happening. I'm hoping to stay off of abx.

And my walking is still not right. I have good days and bad days. But at no point has it gotten close to how it was pre lyme. At this point, I think I most likely have permanent damage. However, I did have a neuro visit this past Monday. She told me my exam was much better than the one I had 5 weeks before. So, who knows...

How have you been, Dahlias?

Interesting. I didn't know it works for coinfections too.

I'm glad your neuro is seeing improvement!

I'm doing ok, thanks. Ups and downs, but improved overall.

Hey Hoagie!

Swallowing issues was one of my first symptoms and came and went randomly during the early years. It was one of my scariest, too. That and the breathing issues always scared me the most, even more so than the heart issues had.

Knowing what I know now, I suspect my swallowing issues were related to ANS dysfunction. It was like the muscle contraction mechanism would have a split second delay, preventing me from swallowing. When I would try again, it would be okay. Mine was never constant, just random, but very scary feeling.

I do remember one other incident in the earlier years involving saliva. I was driving at the time it happened, and it freaked me out. It was like my mouth just kept filling up with excess saliva.

Glad to hear bvt is working for you and that folks are healing bart with it, too.

What's going on with the mold situation? Did you find a clean place to live?

My mom and I have looked at close to 100 houses since July and haven't found one yet. I react to mold or fragrance or VOCs in almost every house I go in. It's awful here in Georgia. My chemical sensitivities just make it doubly hard.

astroman said...
Hoagie- great news

It would be great if you wrote a post in the future just about your experience with BVT. Nothing to attractive about bee stings, and that IS why most people are not interested in it.

The few that do use it here dont give much detailed information on it or their experience. Things like "BVT rocks, you should do it!" ect, isn't all that credible to the masses reading here (ha ha). As we all know, details add credibility to anything..

Hi astroman! I was going to post an update, but sometimes I feel like I'm being pushy about a protocol. Plus, I'm having other symptoms pop up and didn't want to tout the protocol until all symptoms were under control. But I may start a detailed update thread for those interested. Thanks.

Hoagie- Low and inflamed thyroid can make swallowing difficult, but that also comes with a lump feeling in your throat.
-------------------------------------
WalkingbyFaith - have you ever been in the desert or other less humid climate than South East to see what it felt like?

k07 said...
I had someone close to me with what they think was lyme induced als. Tick bite with bullseye, no treatment. He had slurred speech first which after a year or so progressed to swallowing issues. Do you have issues with speech?

I have/had a lump in my throat sensation which sometimes would feel weird swallowing - maybe because I was constantly swallowing and bothered by the lump. I found that mine was allergy related. I figured it out when i stopped buhner herbs and it went away. It was either the jap knotweed, dandelion or andrographis. I get it if i eat eggs or bananas too. Could you be allergic or developed an allergy to bv? Mine took almost a year for allergy to develop. Something to consider...Could you try benadryl and see if it got better?

No slurred speech. I'm trying not to think about ALS. You raised my blood pressure there k07

Hoagie said...

k07 said...
I had someone close to me with what they think was lyme induced als. Tick bite with bullseye, no treatment. He had slurred speech first which after a year or so progressed to swallowing issues. Do you have issues with speech?

I have/had a lump in my throat sensation which sometimes would feel weird swallowing - maybe because I was constantly swallowing and bothered by the lump. I found that mine was allergy related. I figured it out when i stopped buhner herbs and it went away. It was either the jap knotweed, dandelion or andrographis. I get it if i eat eggs or bananas too. Could you be allergic or developed an allergy to bv? Mine took almost a year for allergy to develop. Something to consider...Could you try benadryl and see if it got better?

No slurred speech. I'm trying not to think about ALS. You raised my blood pressure there k07

Gosh, i’m so sorry! I thought i was pointing out that your case wasn’t like that. Truly sorry, sometimes things come out wrong!

Do you think it’s at all possible you are having allergic reaction to bee venom?

Post Edited (k07) : 11/2/2018 6:17:30 PM (GMT-6)

k07 said...

Hoagie said...

k07 said...
I had someone close to me with what they think was lyme induced als. Tick bite with bullseye, no treatment. He had slurred speech first which after a year or so progressed to swallowing issues. Do you have issues with speech?

I have/had a lump in my throat sensation which sometimes would feel weird swallowing - maybe because I was constantly swallowing and bothered by the lump. I found that mine was allergy related. I figured it out when i stopped buhner herbs and it went away. It was either the jap knotweed, dandelion or andrographis. I get it if i eat eggs or bananas too. Could you be allergic or developed an allergy to bv? Mine took almost a year for allergy to develop. Something to consider...Could you try benadryl and see if it got better?

No slurred speech. I'm trying not to think about ALS. You raised my blood pressure there k07

Gosh, i’m so sorry! I thought i was pointing out that your case wasn’t like that. Truly sorry, sometimes things come out wrong!

Do you think it’s at all possible you are having allergic reaction to bee venom?

No problem k07. I'm just sensitive to the ALS connection. I've had a good EMG and 3 neuros say no ALS. It all started when I saw Dr J last year and he said I had motor neuron involvement. Scared the crap outta me. And I have a lot of ALS type symptoms. But no progressive weakness, no pos emg, etc.. But I still have walking issues, some core weakness that hasn't changed from last year, almost constant fasciculations, and now swallowing trouble. So, now I'm worrying again. I know I should just trust the neuros, but it's always in the back of my mind.

I had swallowing issues as well. Mine started about a month after my most severe symptoms started and just before I got a positive lyme test. My issue was with swallowing food, so I pretty much only ate soup during this time. Any type of food within the broth would get stuck in my throat. It was very scary. I"m unsure of the cause, but I did have some facial paralysis, something like a mild Bell's Palsy, so I wonder if that impacted my tongue. I also had voice issues so perhaps it impacted my vocal cords as well. I was terrified I had ALS as well because of the swallowing issues. Though I felt slightly hopeful because within a day or two of starting abx I could swallow normally, though it only lasted a day or two. It eventually went away completely about a month of abx and has never returned.

Remember the scratch marks appeared around the same time. That really points toward bart and not allergy or ALS. And anaphylaxis feels like the throat is closing, not that you can't swallow. This sounds like bart is coming forward. Sounds like it's that infection's turn to be zapped by the bvt.

Post Edited (Dahlias) : 11/4/2018 4:21:58 AM (GMT-7)

Girlie said...

Hoagie said...

WalkingbyFaith said...
Hoagie,

I wondered, too, if it could be allergic reaction. Can you try Benadryl to see if it has any affect?

If it is an allergic reaction to something you're eating or taking, it could get worse with ongoing exposure. That concerns me.

It could be. It seems to calmed down this Afternoon. I sting tomorrow. See if it happens again. But then again, maybe it's part of a herx.

How are you since the latest sting?

Hi Girlie. Thanks for asking.

I did 10 stings yesterday and I got a sore throat and a bit of a cold it feels like. This is the first time I've had any type of cold in 2 years. Swallowing seems to have improved a little. I saw my pcp about the swallowing Friday afternoon, and he has referred me to a specialist. So, we will see. I think it's all part of this bvt ride. Other than the swallowing, I feel like I am ready to start back to work. I told my wife I plan on contacting my old employer tomorrow and seeing if there is anything available.

WalkingbyFaith said...
The sore throat and feeling like you're getting a cold sounds like bart, too.

https://www.gordonmedical.com/unravelling-complex-chronic-illness/bartonella-like-organisms-blo-consideration-signs-and-symptoms/

Thank you WBF! It makes a lot of sense. It's strange, and promising that I'm getting these symptoms. It's finally starting to show. Ellie Lobel says this is good because bee venom brings these things out of hiding so it can kill it.

I'm also on a parasite protocol, so maybe it's producing some symptoms as well...