Feb. update

Hi everyone! I've been maintaining where I am for several weeks now. I have been off of antibiotics since August, anti-malarials since September, and herbs since October. Overall I have seen great improvement, but I'm still not 100%, so I thought I'd update you on where I am and how I've changed both my outlook and my protocol recently.

Except for the two weeks I had the flu I have consistently been able to go grocery shopping, cook dinner, etc. since I have been back from Germany. This is HUGE. Even when I was doing "well" on antibiotics I never had the consistency from day to day like this ... I generally feel the same every day. This is "huge" because I can now make plans, whereas before I just had to take things day by day and didn't even know if I'd be able to feed the kids myself.

I also do not have Lyme or coinfection symptoms any longer. Here's my "gone" list - air hunger, night sweats, heart palpitations, malaise, muscle aches, joint pain, hair loss, hair breakage, constant diarrhea, food intolerances, stomach pain, weakness, balance issues, getting lost while driving, disorientation, inability to read more than a couple sentences at a time, trouble talking, most short-term memory problems, difficulty counting in music, needing help walking, etc.

Here's what I still have - minor fatigue, some left-shoulder pain (more likely related to playing flute), some insomnia (weaned off Lyrica and working on Ambien, down to one-half pill per night), rash on forehead not completely cleared, some breakouts on face (due to toxins?).

I've treated Lyme, babesia, erlichia, and bartonella with the photons ... average of 7 times for each pathogen. I treated twice per week every week since I've been back except for a two week break over Christmas.

Now I'm changing my focus. Instead of focusing on getting rid of infections and coming from the perspective of eliminating illness, now I'm going to focus on regaining health. I feel that the pathogens are gone and most of what I have remaining is my body trying to heal after being sick for so long. I just don't have the symptoms of the infections any longer.

I think the fatigue could come from a couple different things .... one- constant treatment with the photons since I've been back leaving a bunch of toxins in its wake (could also be reason for rashes and breakouts), two- healing and rebuilding (Lyme and co. affected nearly every bodily system in me), or, possibly, still healing from the severe flu I had (got over it just two weeks ago and haven't been quite as energetic since).

I was sick for years ... spent the past 4 months getting rid of infection with photons (20 months previously with pharmaceuticals and herbs) .... so it's bound to take time to be healthy rather than where I am now, which is "not sick."

So, here's what I'm doing. I'm on a break from photon treatment. Dr. W treats once per month after the main treatment, so I might start doing that ..... depends on when I feel I need another treatment, it will be at least one month ... so far it's been one week.

I'm juicing ..... in the morning I have a smoothie with undenatured whey protein, super seed from Garden of Life, sometimes fresh orange juice (if not, water), and frozen fruit. In the afternoon I have veggie juice - usually includes carrots and beets (including greens), but may also include celery, apples, or whatever else I feel like.

I'm eating mostly healthy. I think everyone needs treats once in a while. Usually mine is organic dark chocolate (almost daily) and a latte (daily), but sometimes it's a real treat like ice cream (made with ingredients I can read, like cream, sugar, etc.). I cook fresh foods from scratch at home. I include raw veggies in almost every meal.

Exercise three or four times per week - cardio 30 min, weights/stretching 30 min.

Sleep - usually 9 hours per night. Generally don't set an alarm so I get what sleep I need. Kids get themselves off to school in the morning.

I'm taking some supplements now, but no "killing" herbs. A vitamin, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, resveratrol, EFA's, kelp (because I don't use iodized salt), NT Factor, and a liver blend of dandelion/milk thistle.

Everything I'm doing is about building health. I am not working on detox. I am not working on killing pathogens. I am working on getting stronger. I think this is also an important mental shift for me.

I find I have a problem with attributing everything to Lyme ..... every slight symptom I ever get I think is a sign the Lyme is coming back. I think that this mindset will just take a while to go away. For example, today I had some bad fatigue after an appointment and playing flute at a funeral .... I had gone three hours with no food or drink .... I went out to lunch, got something to drink, and within an hour felt a lot better. I had been busy and away all morning, so had neglected to eat and drink ..... sounds like a "duh" I know, but those of you who have Lyme know what I'm talking about.