Tuesday, October 16, 2012

October 16, Exit Test:

Rather than a regular blog post, I figured I would do a video one instead to provide a better overall picture of what the Klein Guesthouse is like in addition to providing an update on the outcome of the exit test that I had at Dr. Woitzel's clinic.

I also apologize for the first part of the video in which the noise of the traffic totally drowned out my voice.  I was talking about the lack of EMF pollution in Dobel, which is the reason Dr. Woitzel recommends all his international patients to stay there.  According to Dr. Woitzel, it is important to minimize EMF exposure during the treatment period.


Despite the lack of apparent improvement to my brain symptoms, I am grateful to Dr. Woitzel and his staff at the clinic for taking care of me during my stay in Germany.  I still believe the photon treatment that Dr. W pioneered is the best and most effective treatment out there for chronic Lyme disease.  In my humble opinion, there is simply nothing more effective and have fewer side-effects at clearing the chronic Lyme infections than what the photon treatment offers.


However, since chronic Lyme is more than just the infections, I am not surprised more work needs to be done after the photon treatments to bring me to the level of health that I was hoping for.  From what I have heard though (from Karin and the clinic), most people experiences significant improvement after the standard round of treatments.  I guess I'm an odd case, but I'm not at all surprised as all of the numerous treatments and protocols that I tried over the past 7 years have failed.  At least now I know what I should focus on to get well, rather than playing a guessing game.



Would I recommend making the trip to Germany?  Had I known what I know now (about mercury toxicity being my primary issue), I would probably focus on detoxing mercury first before considering heading to Germany.  There is always a chance that the body's immune system would be restored to a strong enough level to go after the Lyme infections if the burden from heavy metals is lifted.  I just didn't know mercury was playing such a central role to my ailment all along.  I figured with the extensive chelation treatments that I have received over the years, mercury wouldn't have a chance.  But boy was I wrong.


I have just done some research on the product PCA-Rx and it seems to be a truly unique and excellent product for mercury detoxification.  I have just placed an order for 3 bottles to see how well it works.  I may also consider adding the homeopathic remedies ("sugar pills") to the mix to get the body to loosen up additional mercury during its use; sort of like a one-two punch.

Based on what I know now, I believe the use of chemical chelators is only one piece of the puzzle for mercury chelation.  I don't doubt that chemical chelators work for many people out there.  But for the most stubborn cases (i.e., myself), I believe a combination of energetic treatments (i.e., homeopathics and photons) and chemical chelators are required.  I have yet to try PCA-Rx so I can't tell if it alone would do the trick, since its manufacturer claims it works on the principle of clathration rather than the usual chelation.

I hope my little journal from Germany is of help to you if you are considering making the trip to see Dr. Woitzel.  Please feel free to send me any questions you have at lymiccanada@gmail.com.

For those interested in finding out more on the Klein Guesthouse, you can find more information and pictures of the units at its website here (link opens in a new window).

Monday, October 15, 2012

October 15, Treatment #5:

Treatment #5, the last scheduled treatment of my trip, took place yesterday without anything new. Though I did not experience any significant reaction again after Treatment #4, I did not bother bringing it to the attention of Dr. W because the Bicom test earlier showed that the treatments were working to bring down my infections.

After Treatment #5, I did not notice much of any reaction at all. For Treaments #2-4, at least I would feel quite fatigued in the afternoon and the evening immediately after. Not so for Treatment #5. My afternoon and evening passed without much of any fatigue that I could attribute to the treatment. Evening this morning (the day after) after I got up, I still felt nothing out of the ordinary; just the same level of brain fog that's been around all these times.

In a few minutes we'll be heading to Dr. W's clinic for my "exit" test; ie, to see if or how much the remaining Lyme infections have been cleared. Not only am I highly interested in the results, I have prepared a bunch of questions to ask Dr. W in person; in particular, with respect to my brain symptoms that refused to shift despite the past 5 treatments.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

October 11, Treatment #4:

Yesterday I had Treatment #4 at Dr. W's clinic. Before the treatment, however, I asked if I  could speak to Dr. W because of the lack of reaction or progress from the 3 treatments I have received thus far.

After waiting for about an hour, Dr. W was able to see me and I told him about my concerns. With only one week left in Germany and 2 more treatments scheduled, I was worried that I might not achieve the recovery I was hoping for.  As well, the lack of any shift in my brain symptoms is worrisome.  That's the main issue that I had to deal with over the past 12 years and the main symptoms I was hoping to recover from.

Dr. W said he will give me a chiropractic adjustment later in the day, with the hope that proper alignment of my body's structure would aid the flow of energy and information from the photon treatment. He then tested me again on the Bicom machine; first just a general overview by tapping on the various meridian points of the fingers on my left hand, then for Borrelia and co-infections afterwards.

After he performed the general test, he said I have issues with my colon. He prescribed a package of laxative and homeopathic detox drops for me to help reset the system, which I will take the next day (laxative) and the days after (detox drops). When it got to the Borrelia and co-infections testing, the machine shows that my body is in fact cleared of Batonella and Mycoplasma, while Babesia and the all-important Borrelia are getting knocked down as well, though not 100% cleared thus far.


While I was relieved to see those test results, and felt assured that the remaining 2 infections would be cleared by the 5th and last scheduled treatment as advised by Dr. W, I was still concerned about the lack of progress in my brain symptoms. If my brain symptoms still don't shift after Borrelia and Babesia are cleared, that would be an indication of 2 possibilities -- either the Bicom test is wrong and that I still have those infections in my body, or the brain symptoms have another root cause. I tend to think the former is not likely, since Dr. W pretty much hangs his Lyme treatment on the use of the Bicom.  That means my brain symptoms probably have another cause, and I think that might be toxins; specifically, heavy metals such as mercury.

If that's the case, I would still consider the treatments here in Germany as worthwhile or even successful because they would help clear the active Borrelia and co-infections from my body.  That would be something that I or my other doctors haven't been able to achieve with numerous other treatments and protocols over the 7 years since I was diagnosed with Lyme, thus would be an important step towards my overall recovery. However, if my line of thinking on toxins is correct, that would mean the brain symptoms I've been suffering from all these years were not due to the actual Borrelia and co-infections, that I was chasing down the wrong aisle all these years. In another words, perhaps my focus should have been detoxification of heavy metals, which would then allow Lyme and Co to be more susceptible to other treatments that followed.

Then again, it's not like I haven't gone through over 20 IV's of DMPS chelation in 2006 to pull out mercury, or the 3 bottles of Cardio-Chelate (which contains EDTA, another heavy metals chelator) in around 2008-9, or the 10 or so IV EDTA treatments in Idaho last year in the 2 weeks I spent at the West Clinic.  That's something that really puzzled me... Perhaps my body for some reason was not letting go of the mercury and was holding on to them despite the use of chemical chelators.  Lately, prior to coming to Germany, I experimented with some homeopathic mercury remedies (in "sugar pill" form) and noticed significant worsening of my brain symptoms once I have taken a high enough dose. That would be an indication to me that mercury has a fundamental role to do with my brain symptoms, but my focus was too much on the infections themselves to draw that conclusion. Despite the worsening of symptoms following the taking of the homeopathic remedy, the brain symptoms wouldn't improve past the original level afterwards (ie, before I took the remedies). As such, I consider that to be a "non-productive herx", as opposed to a productive one where the body would actually get better after a herx reaction.

My thinking now is that the homeopathic remedy probably helped knocked loose the mercury in my brain. But with nothing to mop them up and get them out of my system, the mercury eventually settled back in my brain where the fatty tissues are the perfect storage sites for them.  In that case, I think what I need to try next is to take the homeopathic remedies in combination with a chemical chelator such as Cardio-Chelate, or zeolite, or PCA-Rx which I learned about in one of Connie Strasheim's Lyme books.

In any case, if the Bicom test next week (after the last scheduled photon treatment) shows that I have cleared all Lyme infections but my brain symptoms remain, I will ask Dr. W to find the reason of my brain ailments with the help of the Bicom.  I have spared an extra day here after the Bicom "exit" test for one more photon treatment if necessary. If the Bicom indicates that mercury is the cause of my brain issues, perhaps Dr. W would be open to doing a photon treatment with some sort of mercury vial on my solar plexus?  That a lot of if's; we'll see how things turns out...

After Treatment #4, just as the other treatments, I didn't feel any significant reaction other than a bit of fatigue that afternoon and evening, so nothing new to report on that front.

Monday, October 8, 2012

October 8, Treatment #3:

Like the last entry, this one is actually written on Oct 9, one day after Treatment #3.

The treatment itself was pretty much the exact same thing as Treatment #2.  After the treatment, I was quite tired again, and my wife and I went back to our room in the Klein Guesthouse where I crashed into bed right away. My fatigue was partly due to the fact that we got up extra early at 6:30am in the morning for the early appointment at the clinic. We actually made an appointment for my wife to test for Lyme and co-infections.  I was worried that I might have passes it onto her over the years, though she has no symptoms whatsoever.

Thankfully, she literally blew past every test on the Bicom that Dr. W threw at her. She tested negative for all of the Lyme infections that I have. That was quite a relief.

In the evening, my energy level was quite low initially and I slumped in the living room sofa to watch tv. After a hot shower later in the night, I was actually feeling ok; ie, not more tired than I usually would be.  I was actually hoping to feel more miserable!

This morning (the day after the treatment), I got up feeling about the same as any other day. In another words, not particular worse and no noticeable reaction from the treatment, but the same level of brain fog that I would normally have.  I felt as if the treatments didn't get me any better (or worse, for that matter).

Again, I was quite discouraged. Dr. W said I must have a reaction after the 3rd treatment or else something is not right. He said it might be an indication that there is too much EMF interfering with the treatment as one possibility. However, I'm staying in Dobel at the top of the mountain with no Wi-Fi and our cell phones turned off.  It just doesn't make sense that EMF is in fact the reason.

Bumped into Karin later in the morning and I told her about my lack of reaction to the treatment. She assured me that most people that came to Dr. W with Lyme would get better or recover after the treatments. The only exceptions being ones who were sick because of something else other than Lyme. I really don't want to be the first patient of Dr. W to fail to get well!!!  Anyway, Karin offered to call the clinic for me to let them know that I didn't have much of a reaction after Treatment #3.  Hopefully this would lead Dr. W to trying something different for me during my next visit on Thursday.

Karin also lend me the 2 Lyme books that Connie Strasheim wrote and gave to her as gifts (with autograph no less!). I read the chapter on Dr. W's Bionic 880 treatment, which helped renewed my faith in him. I learned that he's a great researcher who pioneered this treatment and am confident that he will not hesitate to go out of the box to try something different for me if that turned out to be necessary.  He has seen over 1,000 patients with Lyme and compiled research data on photon treatment from them, which I believe earned him the experience he needs to tackle even the most difficult cases.

We'll see what the next appointment brings.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

October 4, Treatment #2

I'm actually writing this on October 5, the day after my second photon treatment. Yesterday, in addition to the photon treatment, Dr. W ordered an ozone treatment for me as well, which followed right after the photon treatment. As for the photon treatment itself, I had 3 glass vials taped to my solar plexus -- the two from the first treatment, as well as a small vial of my own blood.

After the ozone treatment, which took about 300mL of my blood and then mixed it with ozone before putting it back into my body, I also had the same IV injections as last time.  The whole visit took almost 5 hours from start to finish.

After the treatment, I felt quite drained and exhausted for the rest of the day. Before we  went back to the Klein Guesthouse, my wife and I walked around Pforzhiem for a bit and did some grocery shopping. I was really sick by the end of it and couldn't do anything but lie on the couch and watch TV after I got back to the guesthouse.

This morning (the morning after treatment #2), I got up as usual but didn't feel any improvement at all. Same brain fog, but not particularly herxy. I was getting quite worried that the treatment might not be working for me, as I was expecting a stronger reaction as indication that the treatment is working for me. I was getting literally quite depressed, and my wife noticed that and comforted me, asking me not to give up even if it turns out to not work. It's only the second treatment after all, as she cheered me to be hopeful for the remaining treatments.

We went out to drive around nearby towns in the Black Forest. I noticed I was quite drained throughout. Perhaps the treatment is causing a reaction after all, but it's just not as intense as I thought. Later in the day, I also noticed a bit of headache which I don't usually get. I took that as a good sign...

I just hope these are "productive" herxes that would result in me feeling better afterwards. I was hoping to get something more intense like night sweats that some others talked about, but I guess those might not apply to me...

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

October 3 - No treatment

This is the second day after Treatment #1, yet I have not felt any noticeable reaction from the treatment itself.  Yesterday I felt tired, but not something that I could attribute to the photon treatment more than my residual jet lag and relatively poor sleep the night before.

I spoke to Karin Klein (owner of the guesthouse) yesterday and she told us that some people do not get a reaction and that's normal. She told us not to worry. She also told me of a number of different visitors who have gone home after the treatment and emailed her back, telling her how their lives have turned around and that they are living a new life after recovering from Lyme. I want to be one of those people.  I really do.

Karin said that the photon machine that Dr. W is using now is different from the old one (the Bionic 880), and that the current machine is more powerful. I just hope it is strong enough to give me a major herx that results in lasting health. With this strong machine, Karin said, people can go home without continuing treatments. However, she noted that one patient had to receive a total of 7 photon treatments rather than the standard 5 to be cured.  She said everyone is different and that Dr. W will decide individually. My stay here is only enough to get me 5 or 6 treatments so I hope and pray that I would not need more than that.

But first, I need a good herx first as an indication this is working for me...

Monday, October 1, 2012

October 1 - Treatment #1:

Met Dr. Woitzel and his staff for the first time today. Dr. Woitzel and his assistant Catalina used the Bicom machine to test me for various infections and confirmed that Borrelia, Babesia, Batonella, and Mycoplasma are zapping energy from my body; i.e., I have active infection of those bacteria in my body. On Borrelia, Dr. W said I must've had it for a long time, probably 13-15 years.  He was close; I was bitten during a camping trip some 12 years ago.


After the initial testing, my wife and I went to the pharmacy nearby to get some items that Dr. W prescribed for, which was only 5 mins away by walking.  And since no photon machine was available until a few hours later, we went to grab some lunch and walked around the downtown area of Pforzhiem for a bit. There's a small mall there, pretty nice area, but lots of people smoking on the street which we found rather offensive.

In the afternoon, we went back to the clinic for the photon treatment and injections.  For the photon treatment, the Bionic 880 is no longer used.  Instead, it's another machine with the LED applicator looking exactly like a mini travel hairdryer.  After the nurse taped 2 little vials to my solar plexus (one with an actual dried-up sample of the Borrelia bacteria and the other being a homeopathic nosode of combined D6, D10, and D200 potencies), I was instructed to apply the LED applicator to 15 points on my body for 5 min 20 secs each.  The 15 points are: R/L palm, R/L elbow (inside), R/L ear, R/L area above ear, forehead, top of head, back of neck, R/L thyroid, thymus, and belly button.

After the photons, I had 3 bottles of IV injections -- bicarbonate, vitamin C, and a cocktail of vitamin B1, B6, and B12. That took another 2.5 hours or so.

I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary in the evening and the next morning after a long night of sleep.  I was still fatigued from a combination of my usual symptoms and also the jet lag. I was hoping for a strong reaction as an indication that the treatment is working, but I guess I have to be patient.

Dr. W said if I still don't feel anything after the second or third treatment, I need to let him know. Let's hope I don't fall into that camp.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

After a hiatus of over 3 years, I'm back.

Earlier this year, my wife and I have finally decided that we will give Dr. Woitzel's clinic in Germany a try, to see if he could achieve any breakthrough in my chronic Lyme disease.  Despite various naturopathic treatments that I attempted over the past 3 years, including a 2-week trip to Idaho in the United States to the West Clinic for a round of intensive naturopathic IV treatments (daily EDTA, hydrogen peroxide, up to 100g of vitamin C, Procain injections, plus some other stuff), I experienced no improvement to my continued brain symptoms.

Though my experimentation with the Bionic 880 back in 2009 did not yield any positive results, one of my reasoning for paying a visit to Dr. Woitzel's clinic is that his treatment makes use of a nosode of the actual Borrelia bacteria, which is not accessible outside of his clinic.  Besides, I have read mostly positive feedback from the people that went to his clinic.  Most confirmed that their Lyme-related infections were all cleared by Dr. Woitzel's treatments, and that they are living a new life after Lyme.

It's going to be an expensive trip -- our budget for this trip is CAD$10,000 (about the same in USD).  But I was desperate and didn't really have another alternative.  I realized that there is no guarantee that the treatment would bring me back to health, but as long as there is a reasonable chance of success, I had to give it a try.  I simply refused the option of living with my diseased body and mind as a life sentence.