tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38213700000494354622024-03-13T12:09:53.699-07:00Lyme treatmentsixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-49376723731817611222013-01-02T12:14:00.003-08:002013-01-02T12:14:59.076-08:00Food ReactionsDespite having had the negative allergy testing, I'm still having reactions occasionally to some foods. I didn't elaborate much on my allergy testing before, but I was highly disappointed by it. When I told the doctor the reactions I had been having, he told me it wasn't possible. He told me it wasn't possible to have hives for two weeks, even though I said I had. He told me it wasn't possible that I had a swollen throat, swollen enough for others to tell me I looked like I had the mumps, for a couple weeks. He told me normal reactions only last for a few hours or days.<br />
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I totally understand it not being the typical reaction, but when a doctor tells me it isn't even possible, it's very clear to me that I've been labeled a hypochondriac at best or a liar at worst and that there will be no working relationship between us. So then what? At least I found out that I wasn't having an IgE mediated response to certain foods, so I no longer was worried about anaphylaxis, that gave me some level of peace, so I just dropped it ... forgot about it.<br />
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Then ..... at Oktoberfest in downtown Cincinnati I had another issue. We were there for at least five hours. I had two beers. I was careful to eat foods that I knew were safe for me. I had fried fish ... at an outdoor event ... who knows if food handling there was perfect? In the middle of the night, I woke up with heart palpitations and GI issues. My husband said I probably had a hangover .... from TWO beers? I told him I only had two beers, that it felt like an allergy (if you have allergies, you know what I mean by that, the feeling of too much adrenaline or something). I was sick for four days.<br />
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One day last fall we bought some peaches at a local farm. They were so good I ate five. The inside of my mouth burned like I had swished around acid in it. The same thing has happened with pineapple.<br />
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I took two bites of my husband's lobster bisque at a restaurant. I had two glasses of red wine with my dinner. I was sick the whole next day with intense fatigue.<br />
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I had champagne on my anniversary a couple days after the lobster bisque. Maybe a little more than my usual two glasses, but certainly not enough to be hammered ..... or sick for five days afterward ... two of those days not even leaving bed. This time headache, body aches (severe), severe tightness in the chest, cough, and fatigue.<br />
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It was then that I started researching. Obviously SOMETHING was causing these reactions. So I started looking at common denominators and came up with histamine. All the foods I've mentioned are high in histamine. To compound that affect, alcohol lowers the chemicals in the body that process histamine. The reason these reactions look like allergies, if I'm right, is that histamine is usually a reposnse to an allergen. Yet it's also present in foods.<br />
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When I think back, this isn't a problem that started after Lyme Disease. I remember reactions like I've described above happening as far back as college.<br />
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The way to diagnose a histamine intolerance is to go on a low histamine diet for a month, then to challenge it. So, I'm starting a low histamine diet to the best of my ability. It also means no alcohol, which shouldn't be too hard, though I'll miss having a glass of wine once in a while.<br />
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I'll let you know how it goes. I feel like I might finally have an answer.<br />
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<br />sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-32953798989574105282012-10-10T10:46:00.000-07:002012-10-10T10:53:54.497-07:00October updateHi Everyone! Still doing well. I'm teaching pilates, taking care of my family with good food and spending time with them, and in general, doing great!<br />
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I have found that one drop of iodine is plenty. I muscle test every day for my Armour Thyroid and need a half one day, a whole the next. So I'm alternating between a half and whole grain. Maybe my thyroid will eventually heal completely.<br />
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I still take iron and my gyno thinks I'll have to until menopause. I've been taking it since puberty. I added blackstrap molasses because it's a natural source of iron and other minerals. I prefer to go with food sources when I can, but I still take one Blood Builder per day most days.<br />
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I still take 5HTP for sleep.<br />
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I juice off and on. Recently, I have been juicing. I eat healthy with no grains. I do pilates three days per week and one day do sprints on the Spinning bike for 20 min. and a shorter pilates session of 25 min.
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So, I'm healthy and busy and live day to day without even thinking of Lyme Disease. I tell people "I used to have Lyme." It's not like remission where you have to do something to stay there, I'm just healthy. And I do things to stay healthy ... but in a normal, I'm almost 50 way.
I hope all of you are doing well and getting better every day!sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-1091582392371311222012-03-03T09:29:00.005-08:002012-03-06T14:53:15.892-08:00March update - allergy testingSorry I haven't written .... well not really ... I haven't written because I'm just feeling good and there's nothing to add.<br /><br />Oh, I got allergy testing done. Remember how I ate at Bonefish Grill and had a crusted trout, so thought that since it was Bang Bang shrimp night that I got sick from shrimp contamination? Uh, surprise surprise. It wasn't the shrimp ...... it was the pecan crust on the trout! I'm allergic to pecans, peanuts (I knew), and sunflower seeds, but not shellfish.<br /><br />I got a blood test done to confirm and don't have those results yet.<br /><br />Still taking:<br /><br />1 drop Lugol's iodine<br />Blood Builder, 1 tablet<br />magnesium<br />5HTP at bedtime<br />Armour Thyroid<br />Vitamin D3<br /><br />Sometimes take:<br /><br />Vitamin C<br />other antioxidants (resveratrol, or something else)<br /><br />Update: My blood test came back as mildly allergic to clams, oysters, squid, and scallops.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-90111310882123958842012-01-26T14:04:00.000-08:002012-01-26T14:23:43.146-08:00Raw Food: Ignored advice to go slow!!!Prior to becoming ill, I ate a TON of raw food! I tried to shoot for 50% or more. I juiced often. Then, when I got sick, I couldn't digest raw food at all. :( I could only eat vegetables if they were overcooked, so soups became a favorite because who likes overcooked side dishes?<br /><br />Recently, I FINALLY can eat as much raw food as I want, so as I usually do, I went overboard. I read Norman Walker's book on Weight Control .... I didn't buy it, it came with my Norwalk Juicer .... but it has good information in it about eating raw. He warns, GO SLOW, don't change over all at once. Did I listen? Of course not!!! I'm too healthy for it to have been more than a little issue!<br /><br />WRONG!!!<br /><br />A day in, as usual, I had a little headache. Nothing big. Hardly noticeable. Three days in, my hips started hurting so badly that the pain woke me up in the middle of the night. The pain in the morning was severe. I did okay, but not great that day. That night, the pain reminded me of when I broke my leg!! OUCH! Two and a half hours after I went to bed and couldn't sleep because I was crying over the pain, I finally got up and ate an Udi's gluten-free bagel with butter and raw almond butter on it. I took a Vicodin, and went back to bed. I played on my iPhone until the Vicodin kicked in then went to sleep.<br /><br />The next morning, they hurt again, but not so bad. After my evening juice, YOWEE!!! I wasn't messing around with it a second night, so took two Advil and a Norco. I ate some organic blue corn chips and had some wild rice with my dinner salad.<br /><br />Today I got up and ate my new normal raw breakfast (a glass of fresh apple juice and a couple celery stalks with raw almond butter). I had leftover salad with wild rice for lunch. Multiple raw snacks. I feel much better today, no pain.<br /><br />I was worried about not having enough food, not about an intense healing reaction. I've been eating raw seed bars, raw soaked almonds, avocados, and nut butters to be sure I'm getting enough fat and calories with all the pilates I've been doing. But I hadn't taken into account that going to fast might cause a healing reaction. Wow. I learned my lesson. <br /><br />Here's a good site that talks about going raw and what can happen if you go too fast -<a href="http://www.raw-food-for-the-beginner.com/RawFoodDetox.html">link</a><br /><br />I don't plan on eating all raw all the time, but I am happy to get back to eating a significant amount of raw fruits and veggies full of enzymes. Interestingly, last time I started juicing, a friend who only sees me once a week was so surprised how much younger I looked after only a week of it that she went out and bought a juicer that day. This time, hubby was out of town for four days, and when he got home he said the same thing. Why do I ever stop juicing?!?! LOL<br /><br />"You're eating a raw food dinner? You better not, it will make you feel like $#!T!!! Yup, my body is weird. There is really no way to know why the detox reaction is in the hips. It started soon after starting raw food, and ended soon after adding cooked back in, so it was clearly related. <br /><br />Being able to eat this way again tells me that I'm significantly healed. I've been finished with treatment of infection for a couple years now, but as you know I've been working on total healing since then. I want to change my body so that it's not the same as the body that got so gravely ill. I think I'm close to the last layer .... though you never know how many there are .... but this step is significant.<br /><br />My plans are to eat raw all the way until dinner .... except for today, of course.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-45464638191821103602011-12-29T08:08:00.001-08:002012-03-09T11:12:08.649-08:00IodineI've been reading a lot about iodine supplementation lately and it's fascinating. Apparently, most of the population is iodine deficient. There is less iodine in salt and over 50% of people don't use iodized salt. Junk food that is loaded with salt, is loaded with plain salt, not iodized. People in trying to be healthy, cut out salt, which, by the way, is a macronutrient and important to our health.<br /><br />Recent studies show that perhaps a much higher than RDA amount of iodine is needed. This is big in cancer prevention, specifically breast and prostate cancers.<br /><br />It's also big in fighting everything from fungus, candida, bacteria, parasites, heavy metals, etc. It's needed for health.<br /><br />So, I did the test, that has debatable accuracy, but I did it anyway. I painted a patch of my skin with iodine. It dissappeared in less than an hour. I bought Lugol's, the iodine used for many years by doctors. <br /><br />Do you know anything about bromine? Yes, the stuff used in hot tubs instead of chlorine, that's what I'm talking about. Well, do you know you eat A LOT of bromine? Bread makers used to use iodine in bread. At some point they decided to switch to bromine. it's also in brominated vegetable oil. You say you don't eat brominated vegetable oil? Well, it's in Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Fresca, and other soft drinks. Yuck.<br /><br />What's the big deal about bromine? It's in the same family of elements as iodine. Your body will use it as iodine, but it can't do all the things for you that iodine does, it just takes up iodine's place in your body. Could this be why we have an epidemic of low thyroid (and even obesity?)? Could this be my answer in getting off thryoid meds once and for all? <br /><br />I started supplementing a few weeks ago. In the beginning, I did salt loading (I'll provide links so you can read more about the details of this). The salt provides chloride for the kidneys so the bromide doesn't get stuck there. You guessed it. Chloride is also in the iodine family of elements. So is flouride. How can flouridation and chlorination of our water be a good idea? <br /><br />Many people have bromide detoxification reactions. My husband did. He felt like he had a bad cold and fatigue for the first couple weeks. I had a worse reaction, with over half of the symptoms they say you can have. My hips ached soooo bad. I also had the "cold" and fatigue. Now my left kidney is aching, so I started back with the salt. I'm taking a couple days off the iodine to give my kidneys a rest. I've also bought supplements that are supposed to give kidney support.<br /><br />Here are some links - <br /><br /><a href="http://iodinehealth.wordpress.com/bromide-salt-loading/">Bromide and salt loading</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/bromidedominancetheory.html">Bromide dominance</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.drshevin.com/patient_education/nutrition_hygiene/iodine_deficiency/">Iodine deficiency</a>sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-14464699863729977842011-11-03T07:16:00.000-07:002011-11-03T07:23:19.447-07:00Update and shameless advertisingWell, since I'm doing so well, I really have no HEALTH updates for you at this point. YAY!!! Nice to have nothing to say about my health, right? :)<br /><br />But, I finished my first 100 hours of pilates training with my new certification program (I'm already "certified", just adding to it). It was 25 hours per week, as I told you in my last post. I took the test, both written and teaching a client, and passed!! Onto the next stage!! The next stage starts this weekend with 18 hours of training over 3 days .... over half that will be doing pilates, so I'll be exhausted by Monday when I have a 90 minute massage scheduled!<br /><br />I also wanted to tell you that my daughter started blogging. It's a more fun read than this one because it's all about fun topics and has pictures. Please check it out and let me know what you think! Her Halloween post has pictures of me with the goofy husband and goofy kids. <br /><br /><a href="http://luvvleighb.wordpress.com/">http://luvvleighb.wordpress.com/</a>sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-82398448678174335132011-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:002011-10-11T17:46:50.524-07:00Update- new bloodworkI hadn't been to a gyno since my previous one ridiculed me right out of his office. That *could* be the subject of this post, but if you have Lyme, you can imagine the story and you'd be right ... and it included saying anyone who specializes in Lyme is probably a scam ... and he was speechless when I said I had all the symptoms, a positive test, and was doing better with treatment.<br /><br />Anyway, this time I went to a female gyno for the first time. It wasn't weird, LOL. She specializes in women my age (not having babies). She did a lot of blood tests and I was impressed. She actually tested for vitamin D! I asked her for a ferritin test since mine was only 24 last spring, and she did one for me. Five vials of blood.<br /><br />Seems I'm NORMAL!!! Not a big accomplishment for most people, but you know what I've been through. <br /><br />My ferritin is up to 66. She mentioned it was still on the low side, but that low was pretty normal for someone with periods like mine. No wonder I have more energy!!! That's a BIG jump!!! I am still taking double Blood Builder. I muscle test every day, and around my period I can test for two or three twice per day, but normal days, two only once per day.<br /><br />My vitamin D is up to 64 from 35 last spring. She mentioned that I must supplement because no one is ever in range. I told her I did. She asked how much .... it's 4000-8000 IU daily.<br /><br />Since I'm taking so much vitamin D and so much iron, both of which "they" say you can take too much of, I was glad to get the confirmation that my body is doing well on it. And I like this new doc. The only thing I don't like is the AIR FRESHENER!!! I could hardly breath in the waiting room. I found it odd a doctor who knows this much about health would have such toxic poison in the waiting room. I would think maybe essential oils .... but not this toxic stuff. I was wheezing at night when I lied down to go to sleep. I couldn't figure out why because that is not normal for me .... then I remembered ... had to be the air freshener. I haven't had that problem since.<br /><br />I'm feeling great! I'm in a pilates training program that is 25 hours per week. I'm having to memorize tons of stuff and doing fine with it. My brain has come a long way. I'm also on average doing about two hours of pilates a day five days a week, and that's going well, too.<br /><br />I am photoning monthly again for about the last four months or so. I like to use blood this time of year because so many bugs are going around. I had taken a few months off and did fine.<br /><br />So, there's your update. Right now I'm taking very little:<br /><br />Vitamin D<br />Vitamin C<br />Iron<br />Armour Thyroid (one grain)<br />5HTP at night<br />Turmeric (with all this pilates, LOL)sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-11608519310812391672011-09-19T16:40:00.000-07:002011-09-19T16:43:18.823-07:00My friend ShandyPlease visit this site - <a href="http://shandysauction.blogspot.com/">Shandy's auction</a> - to see all the great things that are being sold to raise money for Shandy's Lyme treatment. There are some wonderful handcrafted products that you need to take a look at. Christmas is around the corner, maybe you can get some of your shopping done early with these one of a kind gifts!!<br /><br />Shandy really could use the help.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-66702300125808012872011-09-07T17:23:00.000-07:002011-09-07T17:40:23.292-07:00TWO YEARS!!!August marked two years of being free of Lyme and coinfections!!!!<br /><br />As I look back, I see how many health issues I had and how many I overcame. When I was bedridden a few years back, on an all liquid diet and in a lot of pain, I never dreamt I would be living normally in the future. I never dreamt I'd be off all medications except thyroid. I never dreamt I'd feel this good. I thought I would be on a maintenance program for the rest of my life.<br /><br />Even though the Lyme and coinfections were gone two years ago, my body had a lot of other healing to do. I still had the mold toxicity because I wasn't strong enough to take the medications my doctor had prescribed. I still had muscular imbalances. My skeleton was twisted. I was toxic from the infections, mold, and treatment. My digestion was still bad.<br /><br />For two years I have had chiropractic work and massages along with working out on the pilates reformer. This has rebalanced my musculature. Pilates was such a huge help for me, I got certified to teach it and now share my passion for it with others. I've been teaching for over a year and a half and am getting ready to start another rigorous certification program that will take 9 months.<br /><br />I believe Pilates also helped me to reach toxins and infection that were stored deeply in muscle.<br /><br />I've done many detoxification programs, and recently one for mold.<br /><br />I have done things to heal my gut.<br /><br />I realize that my blog sounds crazy at times with the muscle testing and working by intuition, but if you knew me when I was sick, knew me two years ago when I was infection-free, and knew me today, you'd know that though it might sound crazy, what I did worked.<br /><br />Two health issues that still bother me are 1) that I still rely on thyroid supplementation, and 2) that I am deathly allergic to shellfish. <br /><br />So recently I started eating grain-free. I am interested in the various so-called caveman diets, but going into teacher training again, I can't start such a strict diet at this point. I'll see how things go and maybe fully go into one of them after the first of the year. These diets are supposed to heal the gut, which helps allergies. I've also read how it can help with hormones and even iron, which I still have to supplement. I'm willing to give it a try. Maybe by this time next year my gut will be even healthier and my allergies will be lessened. The shellfish allergy will likely always be here, but maybe I can eat in a restaurant without worrying that one of the cooks *touched* a shrimp that day. I believe I should be able to get rid of food intolerances, like to peaches.<br /><br />The grain-free diet has been interesting. I'm glad I didn't start out with the strict introductory phase. It's lower carb than I'm used to, so it's a challenge. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. At some point I'll have to get back into the fermented foods, but right now I'm taking it one step at a time.<br /><br />I think I'll always sound a little bit crazy, but at this point, I'm working to keep getting healthier ..... I've already reached good health. And I'll always be doing some kind of detox program .... right now, I'm on my yearly Dr. Natura but added Toxinout this time. So far, so good.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-11245214134138799332011-07-27T06:41:00.000-07:002011-07-27T06:49:02.580-07:00Mold updateThe second round is going well. A few days ago I was still fatigued, but functional. I was ready to quit. Now I'm feeling pretty normal, but still muscle testing well for the Natura and oregano oil, so I'm continuing. I didn't have the organ pain this time, probably either due to a lower load or the Dr. Natura, which has herbs for organ support.<br /><br />The Dr. Natura isn't as, um, interesting, as the first time, but it does seem to be cleaning things. It's probably good to use once a year, I think.<br /><br />I used the Bionic the other day, and that is what made me not quit. It gave me some energy back. I *think* that since I was releasing mold, that it may have been in the blood I used so may be helping me to get rid of it more easily.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-45072858300713962162011-07-16T12:33:00.001-07:002011-07-16T12:54:25.503-07:00Addressing mold .... finallyI'm still taking a break from the AI drops. I just don't feel that I need them right now and muscle testing confirms that I should wait. <br /><br />One day when I was getting out my vitamins, I saw the oregano oil. I had someone muscle test me and got a strong yes. I took four drops, three times daily for two weeks, then stopped testing well for it. At the time I hadn't thought about why I might have been feeling the need for it. In the past it's been wicked stuff and made me feel horrible. This time I felt great the whole time on it and my breathing got better. I have had a shortness of breath (different than babesia air hunger) pretty constantly for years. I was thinking it was normal.<br /><br />After the two weeks, I had what felt like a UTI. It hurt bad, so I tried to wash it out by drinking a lot of water, and that would keep it from hurting. This went on for a week, and during that time my spleen started hurting and I was fatigued. My spleen hasn't hurt since I did a spleen detox by Pekana a couple years ago. What I think happened was that the oregano killed off the mold and then my detoxification organs were overworked trying to get the dead mold out. Slowly, with some herbal support (Pekana mainly) and some binding with bentonite clay, it worked is way out and I felt good.<br /><br />The last time I was ART tested over a year ago, the last two things remaining as primary blockages were heavy metals and fungi, which almost always go hand-in-hand. Mold is a fungi. A few weeks before I went to Germany I had discovered a mold I was exposed to in my Select Comfort bed. The older beds have a mold problem (there was no recall, so if you have this kind of bed, please look under the foam next to the bladder). My LLMD tried to detox this mold from my system with chlolestyramine and Diflucan. The problem was, I was too weak for the treatment, so all this time I ignored the mold issue. I just simply didn't know how to address it.<br /><br />Now I am in the process of going through round two of the oregano oil. This time I am only testing for two drops twice daily. I am also taking the Dr. Natura cleanse at the same time. Dr. Natura has several of the herbs recommended for mold detox, plus it keeps the bowels moving a little better than normal so will hopefully prevent my detox organs from getting overworked this time.<br /><br />At this point I don't know how many rounds I'll need. I'm excited that my body was finally ready to address the mold, especially since it, along with heavy metals, was the last "primary blockage." <br /><br />Supplement list -<br /><br />Oregano oil 2 drops twice daily<br />Dr. Natura cleanse<br />Armour Thyroid<br />5 HTP for sleep<br />Thorne Bio-gest for digestion<br /><br />Iron (no longer every day)<br />Multiple vitamin (not consistently)<br />B vitamins (not consistently)<br />Vitamin C (not consistently)<br /><br />Sometimes I take resveratrol, ALA, bentonite clay, cilantrosixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-83784551143308093812011-05-16T12:56:00.000-07:002011-05-16T13:06:51.245-07:00Round 3Nothing. I only have three days left in round 3 and have felt nothing. Nothing has gotten worse. Nothing has gotten better. The funny thing is, I muscle test well for it. My friend even muscle tested me (she's very good at it) and she thought I tested well and that it's doing nothing.<br /><br />Why could it be I test well but it's doing nothing? I have no idea, but here's a guess. AI is supposed to make the body work better. Like on the freeway, if there was a bottleneck due to an accident, even after the accident is cleared, it will take time for the traffic to clear out and become normal. So, if the AI is making my body work better, it may take time before I notice the changes. That's the theory based on what their website says. We'll see.<br /><br />I went to New Orleans the week before I started this round. NOT a good place for someone with a severe allergy to shellfish!!! Especially since every night there were business dinners so I did not get to chose a safe place to eat. One night I ordered a lettuce wedge salad. You get three small wedges all with different dressings. One was supposed to have a shrimp, so I ordered my salad with two of one of the other dressings. Well, apparently whoever was making the salad was uneducated on shellfish allergies, because I got sick .... that person must not have washed their hands after touching shellfish before handling my food. The only other things I ate were a beet salad and a mushroom rissoto side dish.<br /><br /> I woke up the next morning with a little trouble breathing due to swelling in the throat. I also got hives. The throat swelling went down with Benadryl, but the hives lasted ten days!!! Yikes! Almost drove me CRAZY!! (Crazier? LOL). I started the AI when I was still broken out in the hives. <br /><br />AI tells you to not avoid foods you're allergic to during the drops. I know they don't mean foods you have an anaphylactic reaction to, rather foods that you have more of an intolerance to. I don't think it's a bad thing that I had an exposure to shellfish during the AI, it has to be a good thing based on them feeling that you need to eat the foods you're allergic to during treatment.<br /><br />There's your update. Basically, very little to report. I'll be sending off another sample Friday or Saturday.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-60872226500954105272011-04-14T18:38:00.001-07:002011-04-14T18:46:53.681-07:00Sent away for round 3I have been feeling good since round 2 once that healing reaction passed. I'm still having some mucus in my head from allergies, but seems to be less than most of the others in our family, maybe because I use the neti pot? There's really nothing much to report, which I consider to be a good thing! <br /><br />I'm skin brushing a couple times per week. I'm juicing at least once per day, most of the time twice. Interestingly, I'm muscle testing well for triphala and resveratrol. I haven't taken triphala for many months. It's a good aryuvedic combo that has many good uses, detoxification being one of them. Resveratrol is also a detox herb. Other than that, just my usual supps of a multiple, iron, magnesium, vitamin D, thyroid.<br /><br />The scurf rim in my iris is still clearing, so much so that my husband said, "Wow!!" when he saw it. The theory is that the scurf rim is related to how many toxins are in your skin.<br /><br />I'll check in when I get into round 3. <br /><br />Round 1 - digestive healing reaction and improved digestion. <br /><br />Round 2 - respiratory healing reaction. I have noticed that my lungs feel clearer, like I can take a fuller breath.<br /><br />We'll see what round three brings! I just hope it's not as bad as round 2!!sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-67487421213398763102011-04-06T07:01:00.001-07:002011-04-06T07:07:37.923-07:00What is a healing crisis?I was reading about healing crises and came across this <a href="http://friedmanchiro.com/crisis.htm">article</a> I thought I'd share. I wanted to share it because something about it struck me. So often Lyme patients talk about a "herx" or "herxheimer reaction" which happens from a die off of bacteria when herbs or antibiotics are started. This is not the same as a healing reaction.<br /><br />A healing reaction is reached when the body has achieved enough energy to heal itself. It might be from a change in diet, from homeopathics, or some other treatment that increases the body's energy and vitality. I knew this. I was reading up on it for reassurance because when I feel bad, sometimes I need it. I needed to be reminded that what I'm feeling is a good thing because it sure feels bad.<br /><br />What I found particularly interesting in this article is that they talk about how difficult it is in our current, polluted environment to actually reach a healing reaction. So, I guess I should be even happier than I am that I found a way to reach these crises. First round, I had the diarrhea and proceeded to have my gut healed so that I can eat raw veggies and fruits again. This round I'm having a very bad respiratory crisis. It will be interesting to see what comes next .... I just hope it doesn't hit me quite as hard as this round did .....sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-76639518671055664082011-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:002011-04-05T12:19:12.107-07:00Healing reactionIt seems I'm having a wicked healing reaction with round two. I felt fine the first week. I started feeling like I had allergies or a cold yesterday. Last night I woke up with a 100.1 degree fever, achey, headache, clogged nose and sore throat. I took a Benadryl because I don't want it to turn into a sinus infection and neither my Sinol (pepper spray) nor the neti pot were working. <br /><br />I was awake most of the night. This morning I had to take 2 Advil because I felt like my head was going to explode. This is much, much worse than the flu I had last winter. My husband stayed home from work most of the day to be here with me. He hasn't done that since I got better from Lyme. I have spent most of the day in bed, not watching TV or reading, just lying there with my eyes closed. I had fruit juice this morning that hubby made fresh. I had two cups of chicken soup. Now I'm eating some overcooked rice (in chicken broth) with chopped up heavily cooked veggies in it .... it's a soothing food.<br /><br />My body is definitely doing something. This is not just a virus. I am actually quite surprised that a healing crisis is able to take me down like this. I knew they could, but I didn't think they did once you were doing as well as I've been doing. I guess I was wrong. I'll check in again in a couple days.<br /><br />*update* <br /><br />Today I am doing much better. I was up most of the night again, typical when detoxing. Once I got back to sleep about 5 AM, I slept in till 10, got up, juiced, showered, got dressed and have been up ever since, though just sitting, not active at all. I'm glad I understand the concept of "healing reactions" or "healing crises" or I would be nervous about how bad this made me feel.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-25772477260834717012011-03-27T11:01:00.000-07:002011-03-27T11:03:22.117-07:002nd roundI received my second round of AI and the more limited report that comes with it. It said that all areas mentioned in the first report are cleared and only one toxin remains. I started the second round last Thursday and so far nothing. I'll keep you posted if there's anything to report.<br /><br />I've been feeling good and living life.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-89283016810839134272011-03-04T10:36:00.000-08:002011-03-04T10:43:12.726-08:00Gut updateI just realized when I was eating a big salad for lunch that I haven't talked about my gut much on here lately. Last I did I still couldn't eat salad as a main course, but was starting to be able to eat it as a side dish.<br /><br />My gut has healed more since then and now I can enjoy salads for main dishes as well as fresh juices. I've been juicing lately and enjoying a lot of raw veggies with no problem. I do need HCL when I eat the raw veggies just as I do with any other meal I eat.<br /><br />Also interesting is that I've been "properly combining" foods according to natural hygeine principals since I can eat veggies again, though a little looser than recommended in The Body Ecology Diet. My diet goes along more with Fit for Life, that diet book from the 80's. I eat fruit until noon, then don't eat an animal protein with a starchy carb for the other meals. I wait about three hours between meals.<br /><br />What's interesting about it is that when I eat this way, I require less HCL than when I don't. Also, when I eat this way I have a TON more energy than when I don't. I ate this way for about ten years prior to getting sick, but had to stop because I had lost so much weight when I was ill (it's hard to keep weight on when you properly combine) and because I couldn't eat raw veggies, which is a big part of this way of eating.<br /><br />I mentioned my surge of energy to my 22 year old daughter. She said that she was always the same way when she food combined. It was a tough time to get the motivation to start this "diet", but after only one week, I was SOLD on it again!!! It's worth the trouble.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-60333871997032084952011-03-02T06:26:00.001-08:002011-03-02T08:50:20.554-08:00Quick AI updateSorry, really nothing to report. Still taking the supplements noted below. No changes. Still feel good. I'll let you know what the report says when I get it in a couple weeks. I have three days left in this round. I still muscle test as needing the AI drops.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-20655193280790313332011-02-23T10:16:00.000-08:002011-02-23T10:24:43.798-08:00Started AI, day fourI started Allergie Immun drops last Sunday. The past few days I have felt tired and a little out of sorts, but I can't blame the drops. I also stopped drinking coffee, started juicing and combining foods better, and returned from Las Vegas with a time change of 3 hours, so I don't think it's unusual to feel out of sorts with those three things alone.<br /><br />Today, I'm finally feeling back in my time zone. I finally got a good night sleep during "normal" sleep hours. I'm feeling really good, normal energy, no pain. <br /><br />The second day on AI I woke up with left knee pain. I had it for a few hours, then it left. Other than that, I don't have anything really to say about AI so far.<br /><br />An interesting thing is, I'm muscle testing for very few supplements, and only nutrients, no herbs/antioxidants. This is all I'm taking now:<br /><br />multiple vitamin<br />vitamin B<br />vitamin C<br />vitamin D<br />thyroid<br />iron<br />magnesium<br />oil of evening primrose<br />5 HTP at night<br />occasionally copper<br /><br />Normally, I like to take CoQ10, resveratrol, and ALA, and sometimes other antioxidants, but they all are coming up as not needed.<br /><br />That's all ..... I'll keep you posted.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-22133808093712149352011-02-08T06:30:00.001-08:002011-02-09T07:03:32.459-08:00AI Results!!I got my results from Allergie Immun today!!<br /><br />Pretty much everything is in the "yellow zone". There are a lot of different areas they test regarding the energy in the body, and all those areas except 4 were in the "yellow zone". That means I have "partial impairment" in various areas, things like excretory system, cardio-vascular system, fluid balance, etc. This is no surprise. This is why I'm constantly working on optimizing my health .... because even though the Lyme and other infections are gone, I don't feel I'm always at my best. I feel sluggish at times, particularly when I'm on a detox protocol.<br /><br />In the red - secondary energy supply (intestines), information flow at synaptic gap, and toxic burden by recirculating heavy metals.<br />In the green - complementary energy supply (sexuality).<br /><br />It says my pineal gland, thyroid and pancreas are blocked. No surprise there.<br /><br />No milk allergy. Again, no surprise.<br /><br />It does say that I'm sensitive to wheat, gluten, corn, and soy. I've felt the need to limit these even though ART showed no sensitivity to them, so not really surprised, but I none of them give me noticeable problems.<br /><br />I also had fungi/mold, metals, and chemical toxins show up. Again, no surprise.<br /><br />One interesting thing I read on the report is that when the excretory system is not working properly, the toxins are not getting out. As a result, if you do a detoxification program, you end up with recirculating toxins. This must be why I can only skin brush once a week. I get the toxins circulating but I'm limited to how much I can eliminate, so I have to go at it more slowly.<br /><br />Overall, the report didn't tell me anything surprising. I should get the drops in a week or two and will keep you posted.<br /><br />Hopefully, they'll help me enough that I never have an anaphylactic reaction to my non-shellfish dinner that was prepared near shellfish ever again!!!sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-62179688810926373412011-02-01T06:20:00.001-08:002011-02-02T07:00:14.143-08:00Anemia and HCLI went to the doctor a few weeks ago because I had an anaphylactic reaction to shellfish. When I was there, I asked for him to test my iron. He only tested ferritin, but that gave me good information. I had been having shortness of breath, fatigue, restless legs, and hair shedding. All anemia symptoms. Since only my ferritin was tested, I don't know whether I'm actually anemic.<br /><br />I knew from the restless legs that my iron was low, so I had taken double of my iron supplement for a while before testing. My ferritin was 27. It was within range, but the range is HUGE!!! From what I've read on the internet, over 50 and preferably near 70 is preferable. I also read that below 30 can cause symptoms. Since I was on more iron and eating lots of red meat for a few months, mine was probably on its way up when the level was taken.<br /><br />My daughter and I have practiced muscle testing on each other and we've actually gotten good at it. I've been testing for more iron than I had been taking. For a while, I tested well for Floradix, but now I'm only testing well for Blood Builder, usually 2 or 3 twice daily.<br /><br />After a few weeks of this, I am feeling much better! I'm no longer shedding hair. I no longer have restless legs. My shortness of breath is much less frequent, in fact, I seldom have it. My fatigue is also improving a lot, and in fact, my husband and 22 year old daughter tell me the fatigue I get is normal, ie, after teaching pilates for three hours.<br /><br />I have always suffered from anemia. I've supplemented iron for as long as I can remember .... back to high school or college. I thought it was logical to look at *why* I might have anemia. Here's what I found.<br /><br />One cause is blood loss, even from heavy periods. Because the length of my periods are normal, I thought that I was in the normal range there. I've read the definition of heavy, and according to the definition, I'm VERY heavy and always have been. So, there's one cause. I read that vitamin A can sometimes help with this. I already use progesterone cream. I'll let you know if the vitamin A helps. <br /><br />Another cause is lack of absorption of nutrients. I've been muscle testing at every meal for HCL, and I need more than I've been taking. At least 2, sometimes as many as 5 if I'm eating a large meal at a restaurant. This has not only made me feel like I've been digesting better, it's also made me gain a few (unwanted) pounds. I'm hoping the weight gain evens out as my body gets used to regularly digesting food. I have started eating less, to no avail. Since I teach pilates, it's all muscle .... but I don't like my clothes being tight ......<br /><br />I think another contributor in my case, aside from using a different brand of iron for a month, I believe I wrote about that in a previous blog post, is the high zinc intake with KPU. I am no longer muscle testing well for Depyrrol, as long as I take a multiple vitamin with 15 mg. of elemental zinc. If I skip the multiple, I need the Depyrrol, so I've been taking the multiple.<br /><br />I think taking this more well-balanced blend of nutrients has benefitted me, too. I have also stopped catching everything that's going around.<br /><br />I ordered Allergie-Immun and have sent in my first saliva sample. The first round should be here in a couple weeks. I'll write about it, of course.<br /><br />Right now I'm taking:<br /><br />Multiple vitamin<br />B complex<br />Vitamin A<br />Vitamin C<br />Vitamin D <br />CoQ10<br />Alpha Lipoic Acid<br />Resveratrol<br />Copper<br />Oil of Evening Primrose<br />Blood Builder<br />Magnesium<br /><br />HCl at meals<br />5 HTP at bedtime (not sure whether I still need it)sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-36585271540481542332011-01-28T12:04:00.000-08:002011-01-28T12:10:22.390-08:00Young adult Lyme groupMy friend Joey has started a Lyme support group for young adults with Lyme. I thought many of you would be interested in knowing about it. Please check out this article by CALDA - <a href="http://www.lymedisease.org/news/touchedbylyme/642.html">article</a> - and check out the page "Healkick" on Facebook!! Joey is one of the most knowledgeable people I know on the topic of Lyme Disease and health ..... I consider him to know waaayyy more than I do about the topic. If you decide to join the group, you will need to get a Google account, which isn't too hard to do.<br /><br />I hope you are all well. I have a lot to blog about, I'm still waiting for another week or so to write because I want to see continuing changes in myself before I tell you about it. I've also just ordered Allergie Immun drops, so I'll be blogging about that soon, too.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-37563103013401638462011-01-05T08:02:00.001-08:002011-02-09T11:40:11.050-08:00sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-13990638951241634992010-12-20T12:41:00.000-08:002010-12-20T18:09:01.192-08:00Reviewing last yearI was just on my way home from Whole Foods and was thinking about how I feel this year vs. last year. It's really amazing to me that I have even progressed farther from where I was a year ago!!<br /><br />Last year, I was well. I was infection-free and living normally. I had just gotten certified as a pilates instructor and finished a demanding training. It was difficult for me from many perspectives. One, it was physically demanding. We had to put in a lot of hours working out so we learned the material in our own bodies. You can't very well teach pilates when you can't do pilates! Two, it was demanding, given all the memory problems I had, to learn the material for the written test. I had so much trouble with word recall and with my short term memory, that learning the new terms was quite challenging. <br /><br />I remember at my test out, I didn't even know the names of the 7 other people who went through training with me for four months. I remember looking at one of them at test out and thinking, "Who is that, have I ever seen her before?" So, even though I was feeling better, my brain still had a lot of healing to do.<br /><br />A year later, I still feel great! It's my brain that has healed over the past year. I knew I needed to work on some kind of puzzles or something to work my brain, to exercise it. Teaching pilates has been a huge help in this regard on many levels. When someone has to come to class, I have to recognize their face and remember their name. When I was sick, I didn't even recognize my own neighbor!!! At my test out, I didn't even recognize all my classmates!!! Now, if person comes to one class or sometimes it takes two classes, I can remember who they are! HUGE improvement!! In the beginning it would take two months to remember their name!<br /><br />Another challenging aspect of teaching is remembering the choreography of the class. There is a basic structure, but when you teach, you have to remember the order of that structure, what exercises you've selected, all while you're counting how many repetitions they've done in your head while you're verbally giving them cues and physically adjusting them when needed. There is a LOT going on at one time. For someone who had trouble taking a thought and putting it into words, this was a huge challenge for me. I had to write down my choreography for a couple months. Now I do it all in my head. I can teach the same class for a week with no notes. An amazing change for me.<br /><br />I started playing Scrabble (actually, "Words for Friends") on my iPhone recently. My mom is one of those Scrabble buffs who does crossword puzzles in pen because she could write a dictionary she knows so many words. Great idea playing her, LOL!! The first time she beat me by about a hundred points. Then only by 40 points. Last game, SIX points!!! I was ahead at one point, but she had a "Q" as one of her last letters. Yes, "qi" is a word, so she got ahead with that. Anyway, that is how fast I notice my brain healing, going from being happy to find words to play to being a formidable opponent.<br /><br />Yesterday, we watched a movie that I swear I have never even heard of before. All my family tells me I have watched it before. Obviously it was when I was sick because I have no recollection of it whatsoever. Back when I was sick, I'd have to have my family pause movies every 15 minutes or so to tell me what was happening because I'd keep forgetting. Now I can remember what a movie is about after it's over. I watched that movie yesterday, followed it, and still remember it today. That's progress.<br /><br />I also find that I want to visit with people. I used to tend to be a little to myself, but now I'm back to the social person I used to be. I really need to work on meeting people over the next year. We moved here when I was sick, and I've only been well for a year, so even though I've lived here five years now, I don't really know that many people. I need, and finally want, to work on building friendships.<br /><br />Physically the changes aren't so noticeable from last year. I have been working on detox, detox, and detox!!!! Recently, I've been working on skin brushing, as I mentioned in my last post. I'm still working on it and probably always will. It's been amazing. One of my clients even said today she could see a difference around my eyes. I said the same thing yesterday. I have a face brush, so have been brushing my face. My eyes are less puffy and noticeably tighter.<br /><br />Today is my monthly Bionic 880 day, and I plan on using homeopathics to detoxify heavy metals and chemicals. The first time I did that one it threw me for a loop, but I'm not quite that toxic anymore.<br /><br />I always know when I hit toxins I haven't hit before because I get a bit tired. Right now I'm having some really annoying shortness of breath. It's been driving me crazy. Other than the shortness of breath, I am feeling great and feeling better all the time ... still. Since healing reactions always occur in reverse order of the way the symptoms came on, I'm starting to think this shortness of breath might be a healing reaction. It was my first symptom I went to the doctor for. I must finally be healing enough to heal that last thing. <br /><br />If it's not, I'll have to look for other causes. It was my first symptom and is the only one still lingering even though I am negative now for babesia. It's not dramatic like the air hunger for babesia was. Could be bathroom mold .... we're having our bathroom redone this spring, so I'll find out soon enough.<br /><br />That's my review of my last year. I am actually quite shocked that it is possible to feel better than I did a year ago, but I do!!! For those of you with Lyme, KEEP FIGHTING!!!sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821370000049435462.post-88065323628621789332010-12-14T12:21:00.001-08:002010-12-16T14:17:21.190-08:00Skin brushingI haven't focused on any new methods of detoxification lately. In the past I've used many forms of detox - parasites, liver cleanses, saunas, heavy metal detox, coffee enemas, herbs, etc.<br /><br />I have owned a skin brush for many years. I have seldom used it. I have never been drawn to it. <br /><br />The most recent detoxification I have used has been chemtox and metox with the Bionic 880. I really feel these two helped me let go of chemicals left over from all the drugs I had to take during treatment. I don't necessarily think I'm finished with these, but I'm ready to move on. <br /><br />I've detoxed my liver, kidneys, and GI tract. What I haven't detoxed is my skin. I began using my skin brush about a week ago. At first it felt prickly, but the second or third day it felt good. I have a good quality brush made from natural materials. You don't just want to get any old brush out there. It needs to be natural. <br /><br />There are also many ways to do it. I start with either my hands or my feet. I try to go over each area 7 times with long strokes moving towards my heart. I start away from my heart, and move closer. There are many sites out there with detailed instructions, what I really want to share is my experience with it.<br /><br />My skin is feeling much softer already. I am relatively thin and am in good shape from doing pilates. However, I have a layer of cellulite that I have read can be from toxins. This makes sense because it got so much worse when I was sick even though I remained thin. Exercise and diet doesn't touch this.<br /><br />The skin is one of the major detoxification organs, so needs to be kept working well. Mine never really has worked well. It's dry and scaly. There are areas that are thicker/rougher than others. The skin brushing is helping. My skin is already feeling softer.<br /><br />I have been skin brushing, then taking an hour sauna (I get in when it's cool), then showering. <br /><br />I am having the biggest healing healing crisis I've had in a long time!! I'm feeling achey and tired. I'm not liking it at all. I had a reaction to the chemtox and metox, but it was short-lived. I just felt like my body dumped the toxins into my system, I felt like I had taken a few Vicodin or something. Then it went away. This is lingering. I feel "puffy" in the morning when I wake up. My sinuses are filling up, but washing out easily with the neti pot. And I feel very toxic.<br /><br />I didn't expect this reaction at all. I guess I should have. I have known for a long time that my skin is holding a lot of toxins. In iridology, the study of the iris, a scurf rim, or a dark rim around the outside of the iris, is indicative of the skin holding toxins. I have always had this rim. It became somewhat smaller with all my previous detoxification, but has never gone away and is still rather thick. So, I knew the toxins were there. Now I'm going after them. <br /><br />What's interesting to me is that after I skin brush, I can hear my stomach make squirting noises like it does with a lymphatic massage. My massage therapist has told me that noise is the lymph dumping into the intestines. I also had diarrhea type stools the first few days into this, not like when you're sick, but sort of "ashey". I have started the Dr. Natura cleanse to help keep my bowels clear through this treatment. I'll stop the Dr. Natura when I'm through this little healing crisis.<br /><br />I have reached new toxins with the skin brushing and saunas. I am hoping this helps me to reach a new level of health. I have been feeling really well prior to now, but still catch every bug my kids bring home. I am hoping that this makes my immune system even stronger. I'll keep you posted.<br /><br />** update ** I am starting to feel better and my skin is getting even softer. It was just a couple days that it was making me feel bad, I'm a little fatigued, but not as bad as before. I'm sure the Dr. Natura cleanse is helping move toxins out.sixgoofykidshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15395430338209873542noreply@blogger.com0