Lyme Disease...Are You Kidding Me?

I shared in my last post that autonomic response testing ended up being helpful to me in other ways than what I had originally anticipated. I did the autonomic response testing to determine food sensitivities, guide my food choices and narrow down the list of supplements I was taking.

I ended up finding out I had lyme disease.

During the autonomic response testing, I asked the doctor to test me for parasites or other viruses as it is common for people that have been through chemotherapy to pick up things like this when their immune system is compromised. In addition, he decided to include babesia and bartonella which are the most common co-infections with lyme disease. To both of our surprises, I had them. He tested again just to be sure...same result as the first time.

My immediate reaction was "how is this possible, I have no symptoms!"

I do not recall being bit by a tick, I have no joint pain or stiffness, no neurologic issues. Out of this entire list of symptoms, I have a few but they could apply to anyone. Who doesn't feel like they are loosing their mind every once in a while, especially after everything I have been through? That is actually listed as a symptom. 

At first, because I am less inclined to trust anything that is not definitive (for example, a blood test), I did not believe it. I debated whether I wanted to investigate this any further. On one hand, I felt the need to confirm the diagnosis and treat it, after all, what was the point in spending time and money on  this testing if I was not going to do anything about it? On the other hand, I had just finished 8 rounds of chemotherapy, 2 surgeries, radiation, immunotherapies in Germany and I didn't want to deal with it. It would have been easier to ignore the test or discount the doctor as some "quack" but if I did that and developed symptoms later on or my cancer recurred, I would never forgive myself. 

Instead of taking the easy way out, I called Igenex, a lab based in California that is a leader in lyme disease testing. I asked them to send me a test kit so I could take it to my doctor, get a blood sample, send it in and figure out what the hell was going on in my body. 

Autonomic Response Testing

Autonomic response testing, also known as "muscle testing" was something I had heard of as an alternative to the typical allergy tests that family doctors offer. As many people know, when you go to a doctor complaining about itchy watery eyes, a runny nose and sneezing, they usually tell you it is caused by allergies, recommend you take Claritin or another antihistamine and away you go.

If you want to get an idea of what is causing the allergic reaction, a test can be done where they prick the skin on your arm, and place a drop of the possible allergen to see if there is a reaction. This test can determine if you are allergic to molds, pollen, ragweed, hair from certain animals etc. but it cannot determine whether you have any food allergies or sensitivities - this is where the Naturopath can help.

I was interested in doing autonomic response testing to help guide my food choices. During the muscle testing, I held whatever food it was I wanted to test in one hand and using the other hand, the Naturopath tried to pull my fingers apart. The idea behind this is that if it is something you are sensitive to, your muscle response is weaker and you are not able to resist (ex. your fingers are pulled apart easily). If it is something you do not react to, your muscle response is strong and you are able to resist. This test can be done using the fingers or outstretched arm. A better explanation of how exactly autonomic response testing works can be found here: http://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/wellness-therapies/applied-kinesiology/

Now I know what you're thinking...this is a bunch of bologna! That is what I originally thought as well but it's funny how a major life event like cancer can make you so much more open to different ways of thinking. This has been true for me with regards to alternative medicine - acupuncture, herbal teas and autonomic response testing can be front line treatments in other countries but in North America we are so closed minded and convinced that Western medicine is the only answer.

I would not trust autonomic response testing alone to diagnose any serious conditions but it is a relatively inexpensive, non invasive way to get information about foods or allergens that you are sensitive to and could be causing inflammation in the body. If there is one thing I have learned from all my research, it is that inflammation is the devil and can lead to a host of diseases including cancer.

Autonomic response testing may not be for everyone but it was just another piece of the puzzle that provided me with some very important answers. More to come on that in a later post.