Steve is nearing the end of a one-month course of tetracycline + azithromycin + fluconazole. Something is happening which I have been waiting to post, but I learned something this morning that pushed me over the edge. Here is an excerpt of a PM I sent to a cpnhelp buddy yesterday:

Those who "know" me know that I have Potbelly Syndrome issues and other issues that are equally pedestrian. The only difference between me and billions of other middle-aged women with pudgy midsections is that I discovered that my common maladies are linked to chronic Cpni and other chronic infectionsi, because I found this site while investigating meaningful treatment for my husband who has MSi.

We are back from our trip and sort of rested. Even though I had given Steve something to even-out his emotions, he still wept all the way as he walked our oldest daughter down the aisle.  The elevated emotional state made him a bit tottery, but she did a good job of anchoring him.  He even made it fine through the traditional father-daughter dance.  Thankfully, he had more energy than usual on the wedding day and lasted well through the long reception afterward.   Thanks to the cooler weather (and not working), Steve was in good shape for the entire trip, and he even cheated on his gluten/casein diet quite a bit without much ill effect (his leaky gut is much better than it used to be).

Twice this morning I caught only the tail-end of a news piece on health insurance, so please forgive the fuzzy details. It seems that there is a movement starting amongst U.S. health insurance companies toward a different way of "handling" coverage of what are categorized as "4th tier" drugs.

This is a long overdue update on my journey of treatment for health issues that fall into the "Generally Falling Aparti" category and sort of a continuation of my post A Day to Remember, But I'd Rather Forget.  Please forgive me for the length.  With the help of Tamiflu, last week my husband Steve experienced an apparent healing crisis in clearing what our doctor believed was an infection with an untypable flu (neither A nor B).  Well, the doc believed I had the same flu, so I've been taking Tamiflu right along with Steve since March 31.  I've been very draggy since mid-February and had the worst sinus infection of my life in mid-March (and I've had many bad sinus in

Sunday afternoon we visited my mother, and Steve slept while she and I chatted.  Then we went to Mass and he became very emotional on receiving the Eucharist.  I've seen intense emotion affect his function before, but this was worse, and we had to stop a few times on our way to the car so he could regain control and strength in his right leg.  He told me his throat was sore again and he began coughing/strangling frequently.  Monday morning the respiratory symptoms continued, but he was functioning just fine in his usual workday routine.  He made two driving trips to see customers that morning.  In the middle of the afternoon, I received a call from one of Steve's co-workers who asked me to come get him, because he was in a bad way.

I don't know where this post is going, sort of thinking out loud, so please forgive me up-front.  Steve is currently in the middle of a 20-day course of Tamiflu for what has developed into a chronic infection with an untypable flu (neither A nor B).  In a few days it will be just about time for another flagyli pulse, AND/OR it's just about time to start a 50-day course of fluconazole as an additional Lyme treatment agent.  And about that flagyl pulse...Steve's Lyme doc agrees that the pulses should be lengthened and says it takes 2 weeks for flagyl to kill Lyme.  However, he thinks that if the pulse is stretched out to 2 weeks, you should go ahead and make it a month-long pulse in order to kill as many of the cystic form as possible.  Steve's last pulse was 8

This is for the newbies. Some of you have quickly grasped the counterintuitive idea that the success of the CAPi and how it makes you feel are at odds with each other, and you have your jaws set to tolerate however much unpleasantness may come with the treatment. I congratulate you for having so much starch in you, and I hope the starch doesn't wash out. Others, though, due to a lifetime of quick medical resolutions or because of the type of impatience that comes from long, grinding suffering (inflammationi personality), are so very ingrained with the idea that a short course of medication will fix them right up if it's any good, they have difficulty grasping that this treatment is a very slow fix and one that may make them feel worse repeatedly before any rewards are enjoyed.

This is an 8-day pulse and will end tomorrow. As usual, Steve's symptoms have been the same as before the pulse if not a little better. In a few days, though, I expect he will be hitting the apoptosisi skids. Last night he had 4 MRI's, and I could kick myself for not delaying the pulse until after the MRI's were done---the coincident timing didn't occur to me until we were on our way to the imaging center. This will be his first brain MRI since Summer '06 (just before starting the CAPi), his first back MRI's since early '05, and his first abdominal MRI since June '07. Spilt milk!

Cpnhelpers, I just found "the exhaustive list" only recently posted on a website for sufferers of Morgellons: http://www.morgellons-uk.net/?p=364 .  I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Joyce~caregiver-advocate in Dallas for Steve J (SPMSi).  CAPi since August 06, Cpni, Mpn, B. burgdorferi, systemic candidiasis, EBVi, CMV & other herpes family viral infectionsi, elevated heavy metals, gluten+casein sensitivity. 

Hi Linda, Watching that WalkAide video really struck a chord with Steve.  He talked about it all the way on our ride in to work this morning.  He especially identified with the lady's description of conscious internal instruction to her leg and foot while walking and how much energy is drained away in just walking and all the mental support that goes along with it.  The fact that the device has meant huge relief of her fatigue is mighty appealing to someone with huge fatigue.

Hey cpnhelpers,  A new member entered this comment on another thread:

"Hi Everyone, I am a newbie and have MSi for 10 years. I am looking for a doctor in the New York City area that can explore the ideas here with me."

Michele or a yankee, please give this new site user some direction.  Thanks, 

Hello Cpnhelp Family, Much water has run under our bridge since the last update. We established an additional doctor/patient relationship with an integrative medicine MD in our area. We had divorced our internist, we were searching for a local doc to be our primary care physician, and it was time for our annual physicals late last year. The more urgent need, though, was to find a doc to give Steve IV antifungal treatments for his systemic candidiasis. It just so happened that we found a doctor who could take care of all those needs, and he was a CAPi prescriber too (just in case we might ever need an alternate). BUT, he didn't take care of the problem we wanted him to treat in the way we had hoped.

Okay, while Christmas shopping, I spotted a far infra-red heater with a parabolic reflector that oscillates, swivels up and down, and operates at 400W and 800W...for $ 50.00.  Right now I don't have the time or resources to attempt to construct a tent or enclosure of any kind, but I am doing something with it.  For the past few nights, for several minutes I've been standing about 3' to 3-1/2' away from it and rotating when I begin to feel toasty on the side facing the heater...sort of like a rotisserie chicken.  There's no danger of me breaking out in a sweat from this (I hate being too hot), so I know I'm not receiving any sweat benefit.  But, I've noticed my mid and lower back and hips are feeling much less creaky a

Some of you have noticed that my presence on the site has been very thin lately. I work full-time, my workload has increased 3-fold, and my major CAPi die-off symptom is fatigue. The main reason for my silence and scarcity, though, is that I have been spending most of my limited internet time investigating anything and everything to help Steve. He has been having a rough time of it for months now, and this episode-in-progress should be told.