TESTING FOR STEALTH INFECTIONS

Once you have completed the MSIDS questionnaire in the last class, you can either:

1. Continue with working on trauma and toxins because you have eliminated the likelihood of a stealth infection;
2. Seek assessment by an aware and experienced practitioner;
3. Undertake a challenge test for the suspected infection;
4. Submit blood samples for testing by a laboratory recognised as a top MSIDS testing laboratory;
5. Submit blood samples to a general testing laboratory for Borrelia testing.

While this class is about stealth infections, if you have eliminated the possibility, this is a week to review your progress and ensure that you are following a daily/weekly routine that will create health.

Make sure that all your food choices are helpful and not harmful (classes 3 & 4); review your supplements for quality and necessity; extend your meditation routine to achieve one hour during each day (including “mini meditations”); review your detox routines again; make sure you are dancing for at least 10 minutes each day; sing at least three favourite songs loudly each day; talk lovingly to yourself in the mirror for 3 minutes every day.

This week should be one of health-giving activity even if you are not involved in discovering stealth infections.

Later in this class, I will discuss moulds and the influence they have on our health. I suggest ways to test for mould infestation. This section is for EVERYONE, so don’t skip it.

MSIDS-Aware Practitioners are most often called Lyme Aware Practitioners or Lyme Literate Doctors (if they have undergone specific training in USA with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society – https://www.ilads.org/). In many countries, we must be persistent to find and see a practitioner with appropriate training and awareness.

If you do not know of any trained and aware practitioners in your locality, the best option is to search (on the internet) for Lyme Disease Association (plus your country or state). There you will find a list of associations around the world.

Most associations do not publish recommended doctors or Complementary/Alternative Medicine practitioners, but will give recommendations if you call or email their office (for instance, if you call the Lyme Disease Association of Australia, I will be one of the practitioners recommended and see many patients via Skype).

If you have scored more than 21 on the MSIDS Questionnaire in class 16, I highly recommend finding a Lyme Aware Practitioner, even if you need to consult remotely.

Clinical diagnosis: Your practitioner may diagnose a particular stealth infection from your symptom pattern and suggest treatment without further testing. It is up to you to decide whether you require “proof” of the diagnosis via testing (see below) or simply move into treatment, incorporating all the health-giving strategies we have discussed so far. This is a valid choice if you have coincidence in your practitioner and the treatment suggested will not conflict with any strategies discussed previously.

There are some focused (single-minded?) practitioners who may advise drastically changing your food choices, supplements or other protocols. This may be detrimental to your progress and I suggest, in this case, that you seek another opinion. All the strategies I have advised so far I also advise for all my MSIDS/Stealth Infection patients and they are known to support a pathway to recovery.

You or your practitioner may wish to undertake further testing to confirm (or deny) the presence on an infection. In this case, your choices are:

Challenge Test: are based on the principle of invoking Herxheimer Reactions (see end note). When pathogens (bacteria, viruses or moulds) die, they break apart and dump their toxic contents into our system for our elimination pathways to take care of. If these pathways become overwhelmed, we develop sickness symptoms.

Challenge Testing is the most accurate form of testing for a stealth infection with a reliability of 95-98%. Challenge Tests consist of prescribing an antimicrobial (herbal or pharmaceutical antibiotic) aimed at the specific pathogen suspected, starting at a minimum dose and titrating quite rapidly while observing reactions. If symptoms resolve quickly or increase rapidly, we consider it confirmation that the pathogen is in your system. For most people, the “proof” is rapidly increasing symptoms (a Herxheimer Reaction) which are then resolved by specific detox protocols. Your practitioner will guide you on this.

Once the presence of a pathogen is confirmed, you can begin treatment with confidence.

Blood Tests: there are only a handful of specialist laboratories around the world capable of reasonable accuracy in testing for Borrelia and other stealth infections. There is a great deal of misunderstanding of the accuracy of Borrelia testing and many patients are given a negative result on the basis of inaccurate tests, then treated for some other disorder that does not resolve their symptoms. Some misdiagnosed Lyme patients have been mistreated for 20-40 years and live miserable lives because of ignorance and very poor medical treatment.

Medical authorities in most westernised countries (including the CDC in USA) recommend a two-tiered approach to Lyme testing. Tier one is an Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA). If the results to this test are positive or equivocal, then a Western Blot is recommended. This testing system is highly inaccurate and results in a high degree of false negatives.

If you are seeing a Lyme Literate or Aware practitioner, they will advise you on the best laboratory and testing package for your circumstances. It is important to note that even the best laboratories around the world can guarantee only between 50% and 70% accuracy, so there is still a good chance of receiving a false negative result.

Another drawback to quality blood tests for MSIDS is cost. All really good laboratory tests are expensive. The cost changes year on year so, once again, ask your practitioner for an estimate of costs before agreeing to blood tests, or call the laboratory directly to get a quote. Most labs will also offer a service of advising you of the most appropriate testing package for your circumstances.

The laboratories known for high-quality testing as at 2018 include Igenex in California, USA (https://igenex.com/), Armin Labs in Augsburg, Germany (https://www.arminlabs.com/en), BCA Lab in Augsburg, Germany (http://www.bca-lab.de/), and Australian Biologics in Sydney, Australia (www.australianbiologics.com.au). There may well be others as time goes on.

My recommendations: If your Lyme Aware Practitioner is certain that you are affected with a stealth infection, I suggest you consider treatment without further testing.

If there is any doubt about the diagnosis, Challenge Testing is by far the most accurate and economical.

MOULDS

Moulds (or molds if in USA) affect everyone. No matter how thoroughly we clean and refresh our homes, moulds lurk in wall cavities, ceilings, under cabinets/sinks/basins, in carpet and rugs and in some soils.

When we are robust and if the mould infestation is mild, our immune system copes well and we do not even notice any effects. However, if we are fragile (e.g. displaying symptoms of Parkinson’s disease) mould spores can have a significant inhibitory effect on our health.

Mould effects are often mistaken for other chronic disorders – respiratory disorders, asthma, gut dysregulation, anxiety and depression, chronic headaches, visual disturbances, fatigue and brain fog are among common symptoms that may be caused or exacerbated by moulds.

One of the challenges around moulds is that the remedy can be nearly as toxic as the moulds themselves. Many choose harsh bleaches and cleaning chemicals to clear moulds, and these chemicals are highly neurotoxic, so must be avoided if you are affected by any neurodegenerative process. Even robust people must wear safety gear (gloves, aprons and respirators) if they are to remain well.

ACTIONS

1. Examine your house, garage, motor vehicle, sheds, greenhouses and other structures you visit frequently for any signs of mould.

2. If you have any concerns at all, employ a Building Biologist to examine and report on these buildings, and suggest remedial actions.

3. Take a free VCS (Visual Contrast Sensitivity) test online such as this one – https://www.vcstest.com/. While this test is not diagnostic for mould infestation, it will indicate the likelihood of biotoxin illness and, if other probable causes are ruled out (in other words, you have been tested for a variety of disorders and diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease), a positive result on this test generally means that you are adversely affected by moulds.

4. A positive result for biotoxin illness (moulds) may explain a number of challenges often faced by those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Poor response to medication, ongoing fatigue despite remedial efforts, gut sensitivity, food allergies and a chronically “down” mood may be signs of moulds.

5. If you have a positive result on this test and the remedial actions explained in the next class are not sufficient to resolve your challenges, you will need to seek out a practitioner trained in biotoxin/mould illness to assist in your recovery. Dr Ritchie Shoemaker (https://www.survivingmold.com/) has trained many practitioners and you may find one near you on this site. If not, ask around for recommendations. Many doctors know little or nothing about biotoxin illness and discount their importance. Naturopath and herbalists generally are more aware of the profound effects of biotoxins so may be better support for your progress.

6. If you are unable to find a supportive practitioner, Dr Shoemakers site gives some advice on self-treatment, and use your common sense.

End Note: Herxheimer Reaction: Technically known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction, this syndrome goes by many names, including JHR, the Herxheimer Effect, the Herxheimer Response, a Herx Reaction, Herx or Herks. The most common terminology used is the Herxheimer Reaction. It is also often referred to as a healing crisis, a detox reaction, or die-off syndrome. The Herxheimer Reaction is an immune system reaction to the toxins (endotoxins) that are released when large amounts of pathogens are being killed off, and the body does not eliminate the toxins quickly enough. Simply stated, it is a reaction that occurs when the body is detoxifying and the released toxins either exacerbate the symptoms being treated or create their own symptoms. The important thing to note is that worsening symptoms do not indicate failure of the treatment, but does mean the elimination systems are inadequate for the rate of pathogen killing and detoxification strategies are urgently needed.

References

• “Stop Parkin’ and Start Livin’”; John C Coleman ND; Michelle Anderson Publishing, Melbourne Australia; 2005.

• VICTOROFF Dr. Jeff; “Saving Your Brain”; Bantam Books (Random House Australia), Milsons Point, NSW, Australia, 2002.

• McEWEN Professor Bruce; interview by Dr. Norman Swan on ABC Radio National “The Health Report” 10^th January 2005; downloaded from ABC website 11^th January 2005.

• MARJAMA-LYONS Jill, M.D.; “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Parkinson’s Disease”;  Warner Books, New York, USA; 2003

• KABAT-ZINN Jon, Ph.D.; “Full Catastrophe Living”; Delta Book; Dell Publishing, New York, USA; 1990

• “Meditation”; no author given; www.wholehealthmd.com ; downloaded from website 16^th January 2005