I've finally gotten around to my promised post on chiropractic care. As you know, I had been struggling with shoulder pain and had been thinking it was fibromyalgia caused by Lyme. Originally, I guess it probably was.
I had two things going against me structurally - Lyme toxins and weakness on my left side due to Lyme. My chiropractor (http://www.drmurphydc.com/) told me that toxins can cause subluxation, or places where the bone is not in the proper place. The subluxation causes a stagnation, which in turn gives toxins and pathogens a place to hide out.
Think of a pond. If the pond doesn't get a breeze or have a fountain to keep the water moving, it gets a nice coat of slime. The stagnant water gives a nice growing place for all kinds of unwelcome gunk.
Same thing with a subluxation.
So, back to my shoulder. Because I was so full of toxins, I had several subluxations in my neck and lower back. When Dr. M adjusted my neck, I felt a pull all the way to the exact spot in my shoulder that hurt. Remember, all the nerves go through the spine, so this is not surprising.
At first Dr. M had me coming in twice weekly (for four weeks), then we switched to once weekly. In the beginning the adjustments would only hold until the next day. Well, he doesn't like the term "hold" because the spine is supposed to move .... so the more proper way to say it would be to say my spine would remain free for the rest of the day but would be locked up again by the next day.
The first time that my spine didn't lock up for several days in a row, my shoulder started killing me worse than it had in months! He was surprised that it hurt so bad since I wasn't all locked up. I consider it to be a healing reaction due to the toxins finally being released from the area. My shoulder has not hurt at all since then. My back has mostly remained free to move, not locked up.
Dr. W in Germany is an MD, but he also is a trained chiropractor. He was of the opinion that you had to be adjusted for the photons to work. It makes perfect sense now. How could the energy move through the body if there are stagnant areas? I am fortunate to have Dr. M because much like Dr. W, he adjusts the entire body, not just the spine.
In other news, I'm still doing great! I'm doing pilates for 7+ hours per week and seeing amazing changes in my body even though I worked out for almost the same amount of time before. For one thing, Pilates focuses on alignment, so my bone structure looks better. I'm not holding my shoulders up so high anymore. My deeper muscles are getting worked, so I feel strong.
The bad news is I have a bad cold. I know where I caught it .... chaperoning the band for two nights till midnight when it was chilly and damp .... plus being around someone with a cold. I've been doctoring it with Vitamin D (both from Mercola's tanning bed and D3 pills), kombucha, rest, chicken soup, neti pot, and colloidal silver (the past two days). So, it's day 4 and I'm feeling like I have the upper hand. It has not disabled me like colds previously did. I have been active and haven't even missed a Pilates class. I am sitting around a little more, but still get everything done. And the great news - no Lyme symptoms at all (Lyme used to always flare with other illness).
But, if it weren't for my cold, I might not have gotten around to blogging. :)
I hope you're all feeling well. Leave me a note, I love comments!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Kombucha and Pilates
Things are going great! I've been so busy I haven't had much time to write.
The sauerkraut with carrot, garlic, and onions was phenomenal! My 11 year old eats it all the time, tons of it! My 21 year old was even putting it on her english muffins! We really use it on everything. I just bottled 7 quarts that I made last week. Maybe some of it will last so we can taste what it's like after continuing to ferment for a few more weeks.
It took me about a week to make the scoby from a bottle of store bought kombucha. Now I've made my own batch with green tea. It's great!! I love it! My 11 year old loves it, too, and my husband told me to put his name on a bottle so when he wants some it's still there. With six people living in our house right now, things don't always last long in the refrigerator .... you think you will get to eat some of something and then it's gone.
Kombucha is supposed to be wonderful for you. It's a strong detoxer, so it helps with general health and all kinds of illness. I read that Ronald Reagan took it to help his battle with cancer back in the 80's, and if you remember, cancer was not what he ended up dying of many years later. Also, the man who makes Synergy Kombucha has it printed right on the bottle that he started bottling it because of the role it played in helping his mother heal of breast cancer. I am happy to be adding it to my health regimen.
I notice if I drink kombucha early in the day it makes me a little tired. I'm thinking it must be the heavy detox abilities. Simple solution .... my sleep is light anyway, so I drink it later in the day, so if it makes me tired, that's just a bonus.
My digestion has been great! Food has been digesting. Amazing. The Dr. Natura cleanse has really been doing its job, too. I won't go into the stuff I've seen .... let's just say, it's about time to be getting rid of it.
So, onto the really fun stuff .... pilates!! I started my first teacher training class today!! After the administrative stuff, we talked about who we were and why we were there .... also, a little about our bodies. I told about my Lyme and how my left side was more affected and weaker. The teacher and her #2 were really excited to see how I moved because of the noticeable difference in strength that I mentioned I had. I wasn't sure what that meant .... till later.
Later they chose two of us to walk across the room a few times while the rest watched. Then I stood there and they showed where I was out of alignment. They found the same twisted body my massage therapist and my chiropractor have found (stay tuned for the next blog on what chiropractic has done for me the past few weeks).
Because of the way pilates is done lying down, the focus can be on proper spinal alignment. Because of this, you work out with your bone structure in the right place, which strengthens and stretches the muscles properly as opposed to when you work out standing up and with your improper alignment, which just reinforces the problems.
I have been taking pilates twice weekly because it's so much more expensive than just going to the gym. With the teacher training series, you are expected to work out as much as possible and it's all included in the price, so now I get to do it every day! I am really, really excited about this.
Dr. W in Germany really stressed how the body needed to be aligned properly for the energy to flow. Since the light treatment is energy, it's essential to Bionic treatment. He even is a licensed chiropractor in addition to being an MD so he can do these adjustments. Pilates is all about restoring proper functioning and alignment of the body. This will certainly be good for me.
More to come later on how much chiropractic adjustments have helped me.
The sauerkraut with carrot, garlic, and onions was phenomenal! My 11 year old eats it all the time, tons of it! My 21 year old was even putting it on her english muffins! We really use it on everything. I just bottled 7 quarts that I made last week. Maybe some of it will last so we can taste what it's like after continuing to ferment for a few more weeks.
It took me about a week to make the scoby from a bottle of store bought kombucha. Now I've made my own batch with green tea. It's great!! I love it! My 11 year old loves it, too, and my husband told me to put his name on a bottle so when he wants some it's still there. With six people living in our house right now, things don't always last long in the refrigerator .... you think you will get to eat some of something and then it's gone.
Kombucha is supposed to be wonderful for you. It's a strong detoxer, so it helps with general health and all kinds of illness. I read that Ronald Reagan took it to help his battle with cancer back in the 80's, and if you remember, cancer was not what he ended up dying of many years later. Also, the man who makes Synergy Kombucha has it printed right on the bottle that he started bottling it because of the role it played in helping his mother heal of breast cancer. I am happy to be adding it to my health regimen.
I notice if I drink kombucha early in the day it makes me a little tired. I'm thinking it must be the heavy detox abilities. Simple solution .... my sleep is light anyway, so I drink it later in the day, so if it makes me tired, that's just a bonus.
My digestion has been great! Food has been digesting. Amazing. The Dr. Natura cleanse has really been doing its job, too. I won't go into the stuff I've seen .... let's just say, it's about time to be getting rid of it.
So, onto the really fun stuff .... pilates!! I started my first teacher training class today!! After the administrative stuff, we talked about who we were and why we were there .... also, a little about our bodies. I told about my Lyme and how my left side was more affected and weaker. The teacher and her #2 were really excited to see how I moved because of the noticeable difference in strength that I mentioned I had. I wasn't sure what that meant .... till later.
Later they chose two of us to walk across the room a few times while the rest watched. Then I stood there and they showed where I was out of alignment. They found the same twisted body my massage therapist and my chiropractor have found (stay tuned for the next blog on what chiropractic has done for me the past few weeks).
Because of the way pilates is done lying down, the focus can be on proper spinal alignment. Because of this, you work out with your bone structure in the right place, which strengthens and stretches the muscles properly as opposed to when you work out standing up and with your improper alignment, which just reinforces the problems.
I have been taking pilates twice weekly because it's so much more expensive than just going to the gym. With the teacher training series, you are expected to work out as much as possible and it's all included in the price, so now I get to do it every day! I am really, really excited about this.
Dr. W in Germany really stressed how the body needed to be aligned properly for the energy to flow. Since the light treatment is energy, it's essential to Bionic treatment. He even is a licensed chiropractor in addition to being an MD so he can do these adjustments. Pilates is all about restoring proper functioning and alignment of the body. This will certainly be good for me.
More to come later on how much chiropractic adjustments have helped me.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Quick update
Adding fermented foods is going very well. I am surprised that the taste of all of them is growing on me .... I am starting to like the Komubucha, and I'm loving the homemade sauerkraut .... a totally different beast than store-bought, pasteurized stuff. I eat it with things you wouldn't think of, like in a veggie burrito, or topped on a homemade pizza made with a pizza crust from the health food store, olive oil, organic cheese, chopped up bratwurst (be sure to put the sauerkraut on after the pizza comes out of the oven). I think I might make reubens this weekend if the new batch is ready by then.
I tried a batch with green cabbage, onion, garlic, and carrot .... can't wait to taste it! A second batch with red and green cabbage, which is turning a pretty fuschia color as it ferments.
My bottles just came in today that I ordered for my homemade kombucha, so I'll be making it soon!!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.
I started the Dr. Natura cleanse three days ago. It's going well, and I'm feeling GREAT lately!!! All I'm taking is - KPU protocol, iron, magnesium, Dr. Natura, and sleeping herbs. I started a multiple vitamin, but I don't really seem to want it ... I know how weird that sounds, but I just don't want it when I go to get it out of the jar.
I'm really excited about what I have decided to do with my time now that I'm feeling better. The problem with chronic illness is you are out of touch with the world for so long that when you get better, you are really in the habit of doing nothing. I am going to be training to teach pilates!!! I'm so excited! I've spent enough time laying around and I find it astounding that I am even able to think about taking a pilates class much less training to teach classes myself! I will be in 10 hours of training per week .... I'm excited.
I tried a batch with green cabbage, onion, garlic, and carrot .... can't wait to taste it! A second batch with red and green cabbage, which is turning a pretty fuschia color as it ferments.
My bottles just came in today that I ordered for my homemade kombucha, so I'll be making it soon!!! I'll keep you posted on the progress.
I started the Dr. Natura cleanse three days ago. It's going well, and I'm feeling GREAT lately!!! All I'm taking is - KPU protocol, iron, magnesium, Dr. Natura, and sleeping herbs. I started a multiple vitamin, but I don't really seem to want it ... I know how weird that sounds, but I just don't want it when I go to get it out of the jar.
I'm really excited about what I have decided to do with my time now that I'm feeling better. The problem with chronic illness is you are out of touch with the world for so long that when you get better, you are really in the habit of doing nothing. I am going to be training to teach pilates!!! I'm so excited! I've spent enough time laying around and I find it astounding that I am even able to think about taking a pilates class much less training to teach classes myself! I will be in 10 hours of training per week .... I'm excited.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Fermented foods
Since I'm going to be working on my digestive system with the Dr. Natura cleanse, I thought I'd do more for it so I'm going to try fermented foods. I've read how good they are for us, so I thought I'd give them a try.
I went to Whole Foods and bought four bottles of Kombucha. The guy checking me out asked me if I liked it. I told him no, it was vile stuff!! He seemed relieved and said when he first started working there a couple weeks ago he bought some, took a sip, and threw the bottle out. It is vile, but honestly, you get used to it. Also, if you need it, then you will find the taste easier to swallow. :) I drank a bottle yesterday and one today. It's actually refreshing after a workout.
Today I made sauerkraut and fermented beets .... well, I prepared them and now I'm waiting for them to ferment. We'll see how it goes. The sauerkraut in the store is pastuerized, which defeats the purpose of eating it entirely!
I chopped up a head of cabbage, I salted it, then I squeezed it with my hands until water was coming out of it .... I did this in a big bowl so I didn't lose the water. Then I packed it into a jar and pushed it down tightly ... by the time I got it all in the jar, the liquid covered all the cabbage. Now I just leave it sit out on the kitchen counter for a few days so the bacteria can grow. Ewww.
For the beets, I sliced three of them, put them in a jar, then covered them with brine made from four cups of water and one teaspoon of salt.
As usual, I will keep you posted with my progress. Mentally I'm done trying different herbs for killing bugs. I'm just ready to move on to better health!
My shoulder has been absolutely killing me the past few days. It's been sore for a couple weeks, but the pain has been so intense that it keeps me up at night .... so I took a painkiller for it. The last one I took was at 9:30 this morning and now it's 5:30 and I have little pain, so I think it's letting up. I'm thinking this is a healing reaction. My shoulder pain dates back to high school, so it was bound to be something my body had to go back and fix .... it was bound to have pockets of bacteria, or be lacking minerals, or be loaded with toxins/heavy metals, or whatever it was that caused the pain.
My massage therapist could feel the swelling yesterday, but could feel no reason for it other than a series of muscle issues starting at my right foot. He suggested maybe I walked with my foot turned out and that it may be causing the shoulder pain. Interesting because the pain started in High School, after I broke my leg and have walked with that foot turned out ever since. Since bacteria and toxins are opportunistic, perhaps they took up residence in my shoulder. I'm going to work on walking correctly now.
Well, I'm off to have some apple cider vinegar in water .... another source of fermented food rich with probiotics.
I went to Whole Foods and bought four bottles of Kombucha. The guy checking me out asked me if I liked it. I told him no, it was vile stuff!! He seemed relieved and said when he first started working there a couple weeks ago he bought some, took a sip, and threw the bottle out. It is vile, but honestly, you get used to it. Also, if you need it, then you will find the taste easier to swallow. :) I drank a bottle yesterday and one today. It's actually refreshing after a workout.
Today I made sauerkraut and fermented beets .... well, I prepared them and now I'm waiting for them to ferment. We'll see how it goes. The sauerkraut in the store is pastuerized, which defeats the purpose of eating it entirely!
I chopped up a head of cabbage, I salted it, then I squeezed it with my hands until water was coming out of it .... I did this in a big bowl so I didn't lose the water. Then I packed it into a jar and pushed it down tightly ... by the time I got it all in the jar, the liquid covered all the cabbage. Now I just leave it sit out on the kitchen counter for a few days so the bacteria can grow. Ewww.
For the beets, I sliced three of them, put them in a jar, then covered them with brine made from four cups of water and one teaspoon of salt.
As usual, I will keep you posted with my progress. Mentally I'm done trying different herbs for killing bugs. I'm just ready to move on to better health!
My shoulder has been absolutely killing me the past few days. It's been sore for a couple weeks, but the pain has been so intense that it keeps me up at night .... so I took a painkiller for it. The last one I took was at 9:30 this morning and now it's 5:30 and I have little pain, so I think it's letting up. I'm thinking this is a healing reaction. My shoulder pain dates back to high school, so it was bound to be something my body had to go back and fix .... it was bound to have pockets of bacteria, or be lacking minerals, or be loaded with toxins/heavy metals, or whatever it was that caused the pain.
My massage therapist could feel the swelling yesterday, but could feel no reason for it other than a series of muscle issues starting at my right foot. He suggested maybe I walked with my foot turned out and that it may be causing the shoulder pain. Interesting because the pain started in High School, after I broke my leg and have walked with that foot turned out ever since. Since bacteria and toxins are opportunistic, perhaps they took up residence in my shoulder. I'm going to work on walking correctly now.
Well, I'm off to have some apple cider vinegar in water .... another source of fermented food rich with probiotics.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
ONE YEAR OFF ANTIBIOTICS!!!
I can't believe I missed it! I was off antibiotics for one year August 12th! I was thinking it was August 18th, but it was the 12th.
I am doing better, still improving, still a ways to go. I'm not tolerating the Triphala or Red Root. I have been a bit sluggish since starting both of those .... seems to be both of them that bother me. So, I eliminated them .... I'll start the Dr. Natura cleanse when school starts the end of next week. It's time to do Humaworm again, but I thought I'd give the Dr. Natura one a try.
I'm thinking maybe my immune system is still a little hyper-active? Perhaps it's a cytokine response any time I use herbs that increase the immune system? Here's an interesting article that talks about this - http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?id=3748&t=CFIDS_FM
Nevertheless, I'm still overall improving. I have these delusions in my head that I felt perfect when I returned from Germany, but I looked over the beginning of the blog and realized that I only felt 70% during my last days over there. That was such a huge improvement for my "bad days" that I felt at the time that I was doing great .... and I was. Now a bad, bad day is about 80%, but typically I'm closer to 90% .... except on these herbs I've been trying to force on myself. I'll have a rest from the herbs this week and next, then I'll probably feel bad as I adjust to another cleanse .... but I know I need the parasite cleanses ... I still have a die off when I start them and I still have a few digestive issues.
I am doing better, still improving, still a ways to go. I'm not tolerating the Triphala or Red Root. I have been a bit sluggish since starting both of those .... seems to be both of them that bother me. So, I eliminated them .... I'll start the Dr. Natura cleanse when school starts the end of next week. It's time to do Humaworm again, but I thought I'd give the Dr. Natura one a try.
I'm thinking maybe my immune system is still a little hyper-active? Perhaps it's a cytokine response any time I use herbs that increase the immune system? Here's an interesting article that talks about this - http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?id=3748&t=CFIDS_FM
Nevertheless, I'm still overall improving. I have these delusions in my head that I felt perfect when I returned from Germany, but I looked over the beginning of the blog and realized that I only felt 70% during my last days over there. That was such a huge improvement for my "bad days" that I felt at the time that I was doing great .... and I was. Now a bad, bad day is about 80%, but typically I'm closer to 90% .... except on these herbs I've been trying to force on myself. I'll have a rest from the herbs this week and next, then I'll probably feel bad as I adjust to another cleanse .... but I know I need the parasite cleanses ... I still have a die off when I start them and I still have a few digestive issues.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Liver cleanse #5
I did my fifth liver cleanse yesterday. Only about 50 stones. No sludge. So, it appears my liver is clean. :) I won't do another for six months .... the Hulda Clark site recommends twice per year after the initial cleanses if I remember correctly.
I didn't get any relief from pain from the cleanse this time and it was time to do the photons again. I got a fresh vial of blood, this time more than just a few drops. I treated at 11.77, same times/places as in Germany. I started getting relief during treatment. I felt weird during treatment like I did in Germany, though not to that extent.
About 1PM, I rode my bike 3.5 miles to my pilates class, then rode back after an iced green tea at Starbucks (without sugar syrup) and after sitting out in the sun at the pool for 45 minutes. I got a little dizzy in Pilates when I was standing on the reformer and bent over to change my springs ... and a couple other times. Maybe not such a good idea being quite so active afterward when I still hadn't gotten a lot of food or fluids in my system, but I felt great otherwise and feel even better today.
Because of my response to the blood treatment and because of the long time away from photons, I will treat once per week for three weeks to try to really work on whatever infections are bringing me down. I suspect babesia because my air hunger flared a little tiny bit yesterday. I started taking quina since I can't get any good tonic water here anymore (should have kept my big mouth shut on Lymenet, LOL). Quina is probably better anyway since it's the herb without the sugar.
Overall, HUGE improvement since I came back from Germany last Nov. I'm really a different person. I still am having trouble getting involved in any commitments because it's just hard to trust I'll feel better day after day. This leaves me with a lot of "down time" with not much to do, but I don't want to fall into my old ways of getting over-extended. My good days are better than ever and my bad days are, too.
I didn't get any relief from pain from the cleanse this time and it was time to do the photons again. I got a fresh vial of blood, this time more than just a few drops. I treated at 11.77, same times/places as in Germany. I started getting relief during treatment. I felt weird during treatment like I did in Germany, though not to that extent.
About 1PM, I rode my bike 3.5 miles to my pilates class, then rode back after an iced green tea at Starbucks (without sugar syrup) and after sitting out in the sun at the pool for 45 minutes. I got a little dizzy in Pilates when I was standing on the reformer and bent over to change my springs ... and a couple other times. Maybe not such a good idea being quite so active afterward when I still hadn't gotten a lot of food or fluids in my system, but I felt great otherwise and feel even better today.
Because of my response to the blood treatment and because of the long time away from photons, I will treat once per week for three weeks to try to really work on whatever infections are bringing me down. I suspect babesia because my air hunger flared a little tiny bit yesterday. I started taking quina since I can't get any good tonic water here anymore (should have kept my big mouth shut on Lymenet, LOL). Quina is probably better anyway since it's the herb without the sugar.
Overall, HUGE improvement since I came back from Germany last Nov. I'm really a different person. I still am having trouble getting involved in any commitments because it's just hard to trust I'll feel better day after day. This leaves me with a lot of "down time" with not much to do, but I don't want to fall into my old ways of getting over-extended. My good days are better than ever and my bad days are, too.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Almost a year off abx!
It was a year ago this month that I stopped antibiotics! I stopped antimalarials one month later. After stopping my health crashed, but I went to Germany in October for three weeks of Bionic 880 therapy .... the rest of the story starts in October on this blog.
Currently, the only symptoms I have are fibromyalgia and fatigue when the fibro is flaring. It seems to clear up completely after liver cleanses and stays away for a couple weeks afterward. It also helps to have lymphatic drainage massages. I am guessing it's mostly toxin related. The length of time the fibro and fatigue stays away after the liver cleanses is increasing.
I am sleeping better and continue to improve in this area. I take "I Sleep Soundly" by Banyan Herbs and 5HTP.
I continue to exercise four days per week. Forty minutes of cardio three or four days .... two days of advanced pilates .... and two days of lifting weights.
I am juicing twice daily if I have the time .... fruit in the morning and veggie in the afternoon .... along with eating right.
I treat once monthly with the Bionic 880 using blood as a nosode.
Here's a list of all that I take:
Synthroid/Cytomel
Depyrrol (a zinc, manganese, B6 formula)
iron
magnesium
Oil of Evening Primrose
Triphala
Detox:
Heel Detox homeopathics daily
Red Root tinture for lymphatics daily
parsley/burbur when I feel toxic
coffee enemas when I feel toxic
Sleep:
I Sleep Soundly (Banyan)
5HTP
I am trying to take as little as possible. The photon treatment stands alone for treating the "illness", so the rest of what I do is to build up vitamins/minerals that have been affected by illness or to detox. I need to find a multiple vitamin that I like and tolerate. I have been having trouble because I like the ones from food sources, but most of them have chlorella, which I am allergic to. I also have gut problems which run in my family, so I can't blame it on the Lyme ... and that causes trouble with some multiples for me. Hopefully, juicing picks up the slack.
Currently, the only symptoms I have are fibromyalgia and fatigue when the fibro is flaring. It seems to clear up completely after liver cleanses and stays away for a couple weeks afterward. It also helps to have lymphatic drainage massages. I am guessing it's mostly toxin related. The length of time the fibro and fatigue stays away after the liver cleanses is increasing.
I am sleeping better and continue to improve in this area. I take "I Sleep Soundly" by Banyan Herbs and 5HTP.
I continue to exercise four days per week. Forty minutes of cardio three or four days .... two days of advanced pilates .... and two days of lifting weights.
I am juicing twice daily if I have the time .... fruit in the morning and veggie in the afternoon .... along with eating right.
I treat once monthly with the Bionic 880 using blood as a nosode.
Here's a list of all that I take:
Synthroid/Cytomel
Depyrrol (a zinc, manganese, B6 formula)
iron
magnesium
Oil of Evening Primrose
Triphala
Detox:
Heel Detox homeopathics daily
Red Root tinture for lymphatics daily
parsley/burbur when I feel toxic
coffee enemas when I feel toxic
Sleep:
I Sleep Soundly (Banyan)
5HTP
I am trying to take as little as possible. The photon treatment stands alone for treating the "illness", so the rest of what I do is to build up vitamins/minerals that have been affected by illness or to detox. I need to find a multiple vitamin that I like and tolerate. I have been having trouble because I like the ones from food sources, but most of them have chlorella, which I am allergic to. I also have gut problems which run in my family, so I can't blame it on the Lyme ... and that causes trouble with some multiples for me. Hopefully, juicing picks up the slack.
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