Changed thyroid meds

My doctor has had me make the change to Nature Thyroid. I was taking a half grain NT with the Synthroid/Cytomel I was on already. He had me stop the Synthroid and go up to a whole grain of NT. I am taking my basal temperatures to monitor the change.

I also increased the dosage of the Neuroreplete. I tried increasing it last week, but the full, new dosage made me dizzy like I had been drinking or on drugs. I stopped immediately because my Pilates test out to become a teacher was last weekend and I needed my wits for it. Neuroreplete says if you are severely depleted in the amino acids, you will possibly feel dizzy, so that's apparently what happened with me.

I immediately bounced back to normal the next day after stopping the higher dosage, thankfully. I took 9 pilates classes (if you've ever done pilates, you know that is very difficult!!!) and taught 2 this weekend. Not only did I have the stress of doing all that exercise, I also had the stress of stage fright for teaching classes. I got certified, though I won't know what I'm cleared to teach until tomorrow when I find out the ongoing training plan. I'm already scheduled to teach a private lesson, so apparently I'm cleared to teach that!

Instead of jumping up four more pills of Replete Extra, I took one additional pill. I will ramp up over a few days or a week.

Question for my smart readers

Hi everyone! I had my follow-up appt. with the doctor today. He moved me onto the second stage of the Neuroreplete program, but that's not what I want to talk about.

It ends up IgG band 41 on a Quest Western Blot came back positive. My understanding has been that the Western Blot only shows antibodies, thus only shows exposure to Lyme but cannot determine whether the infection is gone or not .... just like I would test positive for chicken pox since I had it as a child even though I don't have it now.

I am feeling really good lately, as I have posted. I think my body is still healing and detoxing, but no real symptoms of anything. In fact, I think I actually am healthier and more energetic than my healthy husband. I can certainly keep up with my children.

My doctor, however, thinks that I should further treat the Lyme to get rid of it entirely because then I will feel better than I do. He says that because I need maintenance with the light, it shows that it's still not all gone or I would not need maintenance (I see it more as "relapse prevention"). He believes that any positive band shows you have Lyme (because band 41 could otherwise signify gingivitis or syphilis, which I don't have).

I also understand that Dr W in Germany says that the Lyme blood tests may still come up positive after his treatment even though the energetic tests are negative.

I'm kind of in a unique situation with this doctor ..... he thinks I'm sicker than I think I do .... it's the opposite of other doctors I've had! He also has lots of "gadgets" - glutathione IV, hyperbaric oxygen, rife, etc. - and he is in business ..... soooo ....

If you're a Facebook friend, please comment there, if not, I'd love to hear what you have to say here.

So, what are your thoughts? Does a positive Western Blot mean the Lyme is still active? Will the antibodies ever really clear out of the blood?

Feel GREAT!!!

Oh my! I don't know if it's the amino acid program or the extra thyroid, but I feel GREAT! Very energetic and happy! I slept like a ROCK last night!

I woke up feeling a little stiff like I do when I'm toxic and I taste metals in my mouth, so I'm going to take some binders. Toxicity is an ongoing issue, so perhaps this will help.

Just thought I'd give you a quick update!

www.neuroreplete.com - amino acids

New doctor!!!

Today I had my first visit with my new doctor. I think this will work out, but partly because I don't really need much at this point.

He's an MD and also has a naturopath he works with at his office. He has lots of different tools - hyperbaric oxygen, neural therapy, ART, rife, etc. He prefers alternative modalities to conventional medical treatment. The conventional stuff, like thyroid, is covered by insurance.

I filled out the typical information about my history. I spoke to the nurse first, then he came in, read through it all and we talked. I told him my two issues were needing thyroid meds and needing 5HTP to sleep, which makes me believe there's some kind of residual hormonal problem. When I don't take the 5HTP, I don't sleep.

He is starting me on Nature's Thyroid. He was going to start me on Armour, but I asked for the other since the two people I know who take Armour BOTH have trouble with the new formulation. He wants me to start on it and as it builds up in my system to wean off my other thyroid meds starting with Cytomel, which shouldn't be too hard since I only take 5 mcg of it.

He also doesn't like supplementing with 5HTP alone, which is what I currently take for sleep. He says it makes it so the body gets used to having it from an external source and stops making it on its own. He has an amino acid program he uses to get the body back in balance. You start it in three stages, so I'm starting the first stage tonight, then it lasts for six months. Interestingly, it does have 5HTP, so I guess I don't need to take mine. It's very similar to what I was taking, but has two other amino acids in it. www.neuroreplete.com

I go back in a week for a follow-up on the amino acids.

He took blood to test my thyroid for antibodies since I've never been tested for that as far as I know. He also did a LYME TEST!!! He used Quest, but we'll see, this should be interesting. I'm not going to pay for IGeneX, which is what he uses if Quest comes back negative because I don't see the point in retesting. The Western Blot proves exposure, but not level of illness. We know from my 8 + bands on my previous WB that I've been exposed. Since I'm symptom-free, I don't need treatment. But, it was no out of pocket for me for Quest, so I had no problem agreeing to it since they were taking blood anyway .... except I don't really want to know if Lyme is still there. Dr. W in Germany says it can still be there, it's just no longer stressing the body so it doesn't matter that it's there, much in the same way we still carry the chicken pox virus or some other illness with no symptoms.

Normally, he has patients set up an appt. with the naturopath to go over all his recommendations and possible treatments. He gave me a booklet with the ones he recommends for me. I know what all these treatments are, so I'm going to see if next time I can just find out what his ideas are as far as prioritizing. I can't say I'm going to do them all or any of them aside from taking basal temps for thyroid. I'm just feeling too well to shell out the dough for unnecessary treatment.

He says he pretty much does what the patient wants .... the patient meets with the naturopath to go over his recommendations and get any questions answered, then the patient decides what to have done. This is really exactly what I need for a PCP - one who understands a bit about Lyme (he does have a Lyme protocol), one who accepts that I treat with the Bionic 880 (he asked if it was biophotons, so he's even a bit familiar with it), and one who isn't ridiculing me like the last doctor I fired.

If I think of more, I'll add it later .... going to go watch House now. :) Have a great evening! Thanks for reading!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time! I haven't really had much to say. Things are still going well.

I liked the Dr. Natura cleanse and think I had a lot of benefits from it. I felt good consistently the whole time on it. Since I had ups and downs before, I think that it really helped with the toxins. I don't really have ups and downs anymore, I feel good pretty consistently now.

I'm still making kefir and kombucha regularly. I still have jars from my last batch of sauerkraut, so have not had to make it recently. I haven't had to even think about my digestion, so I believe these products have been a help. Pyroluria also causes digestive problems, so I'm sure being on the KPU protocol has helped with my GI issues, too.

I have an appt. with my new doctor Nov. 30, so I will update you again after that.

Pilates training is going very well. I've consistently worked out 5-9 hours per week since I started back in Sept. I did take a couple days off one week and was concerned that I might have been fatigued because of the Lyme coming back, but then I mentioned it to the other teacher trainees (who are also much YOUNGER than me!) and the ones working out as much as me also had to take a break that week.

My non-Lymie daughter and I are fighting a cold, but other than that, I've been feeling really well.

Thanks for checking in! I'll write again after my doctor's appt. Have a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I knew this day would come

Well, today my LLMD told me I need to be seeing a local doctor for my thyroid meds. He is a Lyme specialist, so I knew this day would come, but nonetheless, moving on is always hard. I knew who I would see when the day came - www.colecenter.com - so in a way I'm excited, in another way, nervous.

All in all, it will be a good move. This new doctor is covered by insurance and is a natural, holistic wacko just like I like. He does energetic testing and treatments. He uses natural thyroid, which I was thinking I'd be able to switch to anyway. My TSH was 0.60, so I'm right at a good point with it and I'm on very low doses of Synthroid and Cytomel.

I had to can my gyno during Lyme treatment because he more or less made fun of me for thinking I had Lyme and for going to a Lyme doctor. I'm sure I wrote about it previously, so I won't rehash it here. Fortunately, this doctor does pap smears, treats Lyme, and treats thyroid, so I'm covered on all fronts. He will also refer me to someone who does thermal imaging for my breast exam instead of a mammogram, which is just what I was looking for.

Remember back to school days when you recovered from an illness and on the one hand were excited to go back to school, but on the other were hesitant to leave the sick bed? Remember that feeling that you know you should be happy to be well, but weren't quite sure how you felt moving on, getting back into "normal" life? That's how I feel right now.

I know I still have toxicity issues, and I've been addressing them somewhat on my own, so I guess it will be good to have guidance with detox. His energetic and muscle testing will be able to point the way. I also know my adrenal glands need more recovery. Even though I'm feeling really well, I don't want to quit trying to resolve all issues, no matter how minor, because I don't want to have the terrain that allowed me to get so sick to begin with.

I was into natural health care, good diet, and exercise when I got sick, so there are other underlying issues I want to be sure to address so this doesn't happen again.

Massage

Since I have been getting chiropractic adjustments so often recently, I stopped getting my bimonthly massages. I belong to one of those places where you pay a monthly fee and one massage comes with it, then your other massages are at a deep discount. It's really a great deal and the therapist is wonderful and well-trained.

Since the month is almost over (well, for massage purposes the month starts on the 11th), I went. He used to feel all kinds of "crunchy" stuff in my shoulder muscles. He also, if you remember from previous posts, told me I was twisted starting at my right foot.

Yesterday, he didn't feel any crunchies and my lymph nodes were as small as they've ever been since I've been seeing him. He said he felt threatened. I said, "Threatened by my chiropractor." He said no, that he told me from the beginning that if I needed bone moved that I needed to see a chiropractor, but that he felt threatened by the Pilates! He feels that I hardly need him anymore. He was very excited to see me doing so well, but at the same time felt like I might not need to rely on the massages like I did before.

I assured him that I've been sore every minute since starting daily Pilates for this teacher training, so I would definitely need him, but maybe more for a relaxation massage. I won't need them twice per month though just to keep functioning.

I knew I felt better, but it's great to know that I objectively AM better!

Some of the lymph clearing may also have to do with the Dr. Natura cleanse. As usual, no way to tell what improvement comes from what treatment.

Chiropractic care helps!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Liver cleanse #4

Today I am starting my fourth liver cleanse.

I had been feeling 100% well for several weeks. The only time I had any symptoms were when I changed herbs - Haritaki to Humaworm, then back to Haritaki, then to Triphala (Haritaki is an ingredient, but works synergistically with the other two herbs).

Last week my fibromyalgia started coming back gradually. In the car ride home from Florida I started feeling pain. Then I switched to the Triphala and it got worse. I just haven't quite been myself the past week or so. I have little motivation, though I am capable of getting around and doing things, I'd just rather not. I have had consistent pain, probably about a level 4.

So, I'm starting the cleanse today. Hopefully, it will do for me what it's done in the past. The last one held a long time before the symptoms returned. :)

Update - Not as many stones as the first time, but they were stones, not sludge and they were much, much larger than previously, about 3/4 in diameter .... probably 6-8 that size .... hundreds of small ones. I haven't eaten since yesterday, but feel soooo much better already ... no pain. Off to go make some fresh fruit juice .....

Doing great!

I finished the Humaworm two weeks ago. There were no visible parasites, but I felt bad the first week and a half on it, so I know it did something. After that, I felt GREAT!

Still on the KPU protocol and still think it was a big issue for me. It's going very well.

When I stopped the Humaworm I switched to Triphala and Resveratrol. I also found a multiple vitamin I like and started taking it. I have had severe diarrhea since stopping the Humaworm (or starting the new stuff). It doesn't appear that I'm digesting anything at all and the transit time is only a few hours. I'm stopping all supps today except for iron and KPU. I'm also trying to be easy on my gut with what I eat. I have a couple chickens to make some fresh broth.

I started VSL#3 because previously it has helped my gut. It is a probiotic designed for ulcerative colitis and has 450 billion bacteria. I'm taking it twice daily right now.

Since I'm getting better, feeling great, and seem to be on an upswing, I'm wondering if this is retracing. I have had gut problems since childhood, and when I got sick a few years ago, the gut issues were the first symptom. I know that once a body is getting what it needs, it goes back and heals past problems. There is nothing painful. For having had diarrhea severely for two weeks, I still feel fine. It just seems like it must be more of a healing reaction than an Illness. Nevertheless, I'm doing what I can to support the gut.

The rash on my forehead came back when I stopped Humaworm. I am going to do a bug bite protocol on the Bionic in a couple weeks. I hope it helps. I'm thinking it may be the lice issues I posted about previously.

It seems none of my issues are related to Lyme anymore, but I still have some lingering problems. I'm trying to stick with the less-is-more philosophy on my protocols so that I don't stir anything up .... why wake a sleeping giant?

Just thought I'd check in, have a great 4th of July weekend!

I predicted it

The sweat last night, I predicted it! I was having some air hunger and it had been about a month since my last photon treatment, so I treated yesterday (blood, 9.88, 100%, 320 sec.). I drank water with parsley, burbur, and Himalayan Salt, then had a glass of carrot/apple/beet juice. I feel fine now treating with blood.

I hope the sweat last night means it's working against the babesia. My air hunger seems to be improved today.

I always had a 24 day herx cycle when I was on meds, so it could be that the babs was flaring since I've been on Humaworm for 24 days and that coincided with a full-moon, which traditionally makes parasites more active.

Only a few more days left of Humaworm.

Well, off to a busy day!! I hope all of you are well.

Update June 9 - I had another sweat last night.

Liver cleanse #3

This has just gone so smoothly! I didn't feel really bad like I did last time. I didn't even get the low blood sugar feelings like first time, which I'm thinking must have to do with the KPU protocol (just assuming since hypoglycemia can be a symptom of that).

Early in the day instead of just finding low-fat ways to stay full, I juiced. For lunch, right before I stopped eating, I had carrot/apple/lemon juice. I think the packed nutrition in the juice helped keep me feeling well. I felt good up to an hour after I took the first dose of epsom salts. Previously, during a cleanse, I would have to take a nap in the afternoon because the fasting would make me feel so bad. Instead, I cleaned my closet and the pantry! Last night I slept through the night ... both other times I only would sleep a couple hours at a time and then would spend a couple hours awake and would be uncomfortable all night.

This morning I have seen some stones and some sludge. Still in the middle of it so I don't know how it compares to the other times. I'm hoping it takes away the fibro pain like it has in the past. I can't wait to start juicing!!

edit to add - significantly less gunk this time. After the first one, I felt better for a couple days. After the second, for a week and a half, then started having minor fibromyalgia pain (might not be minor to some, but in comparison to Lyme/bart pain, it was minor), so hoping since so little came out this time that maybe the cleanse will hold.

My husband, my 21 year old daughter and I have all noticed that I have less fat than I used to. I've always worked out with weights and cardio ... recently I cut down on weights and added pilates .... but I think the lowered fat is more likely from detoxing better. I'm not talking about being thinner, and I don't have more muscle.

Just feeling good

Well, I don't really have much to blog about .... I'm just feeling good!! I have some very slight air hunger, but only enough to remind me to keep working out, keep eating right, keep getting enough sleep, and keep building up the immune system. I also am having some shoulder pain and hip pain. Dr. W thought it was a structural problem and not Lyme related. He adjusted it and it was better. I think it's time to see a chiropractor. I play the flute, so this is likely what's causing it ... my awkward twisting while I stand and play.

Oh, which reminds me, I found a chiropractor who will work with me on the KPU protocol!! Woohoo! He will even test my kids. I was thrilled because I hate to do such a strong protocol without someone overseeing it.

I'm a couple weeks into Humaworm, and after the first week or so, I started feeling better.

I also happened across some great tonic water! I always feel better when I drink tonic (remember my trip to Italy? The tonic got me through it). This tonic has only natural ingredients, including high-quality, natural quinine from the bark it is traditionally made from, unlike most of our quinine which is a chemical concoction. The tonic is Fever-Tree .. I'd like to find Q Tonic, which uses agave as a sweetner, but in the meantime, I'm drinking two little bottles per day. The first three days, I felt better .... then I did have a slight herx for a couple days, now I feel better again.

So, I know some bugs are still there. I plan to keep taking it easy .... it seems this is working for me .... I keep improving with this system. I am beginning to think that simplicity is the key to treating with photons. I've read that Dr. W told a patient that stress can bring the Lyme back ..... I am beginning to think doing a lot of stuff aside from detox and photons will cause a stress enough to bring the Lyme back. Taking it easy allows the photons to do the work.

I know only time will tell, but this is just my observation .... that simplicity is the key with photons.

Current protocol -

Humaworm (will replace with triphala and resveratrol when finished with 30 days)
Photons - once per month, blood, 100% power, 320 seconds, 10 points
KPU
iron and magnesium
thyroid meds
Juice Plus
NT Factor (till I run out)

I got back my thryoid test .... my TSH is up to .25 ... that is a significant improvement from the .03 it was last time. My thryoid meds are reduced since I returned from Germany. It would be nice if I could eliminate them altogether at some point.

I am still getting massages every other week from the guy trained in lymphatic drainage and cranio sacral techniques. At this point, I am no longer feeling horrible after these massages. I drink a lot of water afterward to wash out the toxins, but I don't feel wiped out like I did before. He is noticing the difference too, I just don't have all the problem areas I did. I still am sluggish, but it's all working better than it did in the beginning.

I am no longer doing regular coffee enemas for the first time in a couple years. After the liver cleanses, I don't feel drawn to them anymore. I guess I just don't need them ..... I could always tell before when I needed them. I do feel like I need to do another liver cleanse. Maybe next week.

I am still juicing, still working out four times per week, still getting plenty of sleep, getting some natural sunshine ..... and feeling great! Thanks for reading.

Second liver cleanse

TMI warning :)

For me, this was more difficult than the first. I don't know why, maybe because I'm on Humaworm. I stopped the Humaworm for the day I did the cleanse.

The fasting still killed me just like last time. In the morning, I felt weak and like I was fighting the flu. I didn't see the "peas" like last time (some very small green things, but not as big as last time), but had an unbelievable amount of sludge (looked like sawdust or cornmeal and some was bound together in balls the size of a large marble). If all this stuff from the first time and this time is really from my liver, I can't believe it was functioning at all. No wonder ART testing and muscle testing shows my liver is stressed!

Once I could start drinking juice, I made some fresh pineapple/apple juice and felt better within an hour. Not great, but better. By evening, I felt horrible again and my stomach hurt. I don't know if it was my liver or my pilates class or a combination of the two. Yes, I went to pilates the afternoon of my cleanse after having two glasses of juice and a smoothie.

Today I am feeling a lot better. I am still weak, but I am also still on Humaworm. And, weak is relative. I got up at 8:30, went to the gym and did cardio and weights. I got cleaned up and went to the country club with my husband and daughter for a nice lunch on the patio. Now I'm getting ready to go to Old Navy, Starbucks, the dry cleaners, and the office. Tonight we're going to see a movie. So, weak is relative. I'm probably feeling better than most "healthy" people ..... I actually don't think too many people are truly healthy these days, which may be why it's so hard for them to realize Lyme patients are so sick.

I've started taking a liver support product with milk thistle and dandelion. I won't take it forever, but I thought it was a nice follow up to the two liver cleanses. Honestly, it was too much with the Humaworm. I would recommend not cleansing the liver till after the round of Humaworm ... it just felt like too much. I also don't think I will feel good till I'm done with the Humaworm. It always makes me feel horrible. I'm wondering if one of the ingredients is bad for me or if it's just killing off a lot. I muscle test great for it.

I hope you are all healthy enough to enjoy the pretty weather we've been having!

Onto the next thing!

My various symptoms from the immune system kicking in only lasted a matter of days, thankfully. So, since I seem to prefer to torture myself than take breaks, as soon as it lifted for a couple days, I started Humaworm to work on the parasites.

Protocol right now - Humaworm, Depyrro/oil of evening primrose, NAC, ALA, Zeolite, iron and mag.

The Humaworm is knocking me on my butt. I'm feeling better now than I did a year ago on a GOOD day, BUT it's bad compared to "normal." I feel weak, tired, I'm sleeping at least 10 hours per night (probably more like 11), I have diarrhea (suh-weeet), and I'm ready to feel better. I know I need the Humaworm. I know it wouldn't be hitting me like this if it weren't killing something off.

You'll notice a very limited protocol. At this point, I'm just done pushing it. I'm doing really well and am taking care of the last of the infections, but I'm not going to do mega-protocols anymore. I'm not severe like I was, so I don't think it warrants an aggressive protocol.

I plan on doing my second liver cleanse tomorrow. Can't wait .... it boosted my health so much the first time and many of the aches are back (which is what the Hulda Clark website says will happen till you get enough stones out, then you will maintain).

I plan on continuing to photon as needed, which has been once per month lately.

When this is done, I'm going to take it a little easier this summer. Plans are - Depyrrol/oil of evening primrose, iron, mag .... which will be an all the time protocol ..... should look for a good multiple vitamin for basic health, too. Also, NAC, ALA, Zeolite for toxins/heavy metals. Resveratrol (I like it) and Triphala (like it, too). I'm hoping that this summer protocol turns into my maintenance plan with photons as needed.

Off to a softball game tonight. If you're a facebook friend, there will be more pics up. :)

immune system

I was feeling really great after the liver cleanse. I am so calm .... I never realized I had anxiety, but now that it's lifted, I feel so calm. It was really a good weekend. :) My OCD tendencies have let up a lot, too.

I did have a glitch after the liver cleanse. The first night I was fine. The second night ... oh, I should mention I had three and a half margaritas at dinner (previously would have sent me to my grave) .... I woke up in the middle of the night in intense pain. Where I think my liver to be, it felt like someone was pouring acid on it. I sat up in bed, leaned forward and rocked. After time went by, I had some, uh, gas? A couple belches later, and I felt better, some more time passed, and I could lay down and go back to sleep. In the morning, I woke up feeling great. I swore off all alcohol that night and hubby said he'd never let me drink again.

The same exact thing happened the next night. Both nights the whole process took about an hour. I would have resorted to narcotics the second night, but knew that by the time they kicked in the pain would be gone anyway. I would have gone to the hospital, but I've been through that routine so many times I know it would have been useless. Hubby now realizes that the pain was not connected to the alcohol and reneges on his promise to keep me from alcohol since I had no hangover whatsoever from the three and a half margaritas.

The third night I decided to take some epsom salts. If it was stones moving around in my liver and the epsom salts were what kept it from hurting the first night, I was taking them again. No pain last night. I did wake up at 5:30 with a need to rush to the bathroom, no doubt because of the epsom salts, LOL, and when I woke up I was drenched with sweat. I thought maybe the sweat was connected to the salts, too, but my air hunger today showed it was the babs.

I felt okay this morning. I went to Pilates and was strong. The teacher had been mentioning how weak I've been the past few times (since I started the KPU treatment), but this week she said I looked strong again. She did notice my air hunger and thought I was short of breath.

I started feeling bad afterward, went to the grocery, and by the time I got home felt fluish. I treated with photons .... I try to catch the babs during flares. Still felt horrible ... usually feel good after photons. I'm achey, tired, throat hurts, have diarrhea (not from espom salts now), and want to lie down.

I think I'm to the point with the KPU where the immune system is kicking back in, thus the babs flare and the various virus symptoms. Everything I've read on "healing reactions" says that they happen when your body gets strong enough to heal, typically after you've felt "the best you've ever felt". That is true for me. So, I'm taking this down time to mean I'm getting better. I think I'm going to get some tea, some water, and go roll up on the couch and watch a movie. :) Enjoy your evening and thanks for reading.

Liver cleanse

I have read about liver cleansing but have never tried it. Honestly, the fasting part sounded horrible to me, I just don't do well when I don't eat! But I was feeling so poorly on this new pyroluria protocol that I thought I'd give it a try.

To backtrack, I started the Depyrrol and Oil of Evening Primrose like I said in my last post. Taking herbs with it seemed like too much, so I kept up with zeolite, NAC and ALA to help with toxins and metals being released with the KPU/pyroluria protocol, but dropped the herbs. I still felt tired and achey. I was getting nothing done but some reading.

Yesterday I fasted as directed in the Hulda Clark liver cleanse. I didn't even drink water except for the 6PM and 8PM doses of epsom salts. I took a long nap in the afternoon .... with only eating carbs with no fat all morning, the fasting in the afternoon wasn't going too well. My blood sugar drops and I end up with no energy at all. At 10PM I drank the grapefruit juice, black walnut tincture, and olive oil mixture and went straight to bed as directed. I could have drank a gallon of that stuff I was so hungry and thirsty!

I felt horrible by the time I went to bed. I took the orthinine as directed and still couldn't sleep as the instructions promised. When I got up in the morning, I had diarrhea as the directions promised .... and with that, the promised stones.

I had to go to 10:30 till I could start eating .... I started out with fresh juices. Then later I had a smoothie. The rest of the day, I felt really good! I'm not feeling 100% perfect, but I'm feeling great compared to how I was feeling. I passed hundreds of stones. I plan on doing the cleanse again in two weeks. I guess the best way is to do it every two weeks until no stones are passed.

I was hoping it would help, but never dreamt that it would have helped this much.

Sick of it

I'm in a bad, grumpy, I'm sick of all this mood, so I thought it might be a good time to blog. I'm sure all of you want to hear my rant.

I am still getting over my 5th virus since Christmas. Each one hits me harder than anyone else in the house and for longer. I just have a really hard time fighting them off with my still-compromised immune system.

I want to be getting back into life, but every third week or so I end up sick again and unable to do much but lie around. I hate it. I feel so useless. I get the Lyme under control just to be disabled by stupid colds and other viruses.

I am discouraged. I know I have come a LONG way. I know the progress I have made in the past few months has been remarkable. It's just discouraging that there is still such a long way to go.

I started a new treatment this week. It's treatment for KPU (kryptopyroles) with Depyrrol, a product from Amsterdam that is basically zinc, b6 and a few other things. I also am taking Oil of Evening Primrose at night. This treatment replenishes some of the minerals that many (but not all) Lyme patients have lost. This Depyrrol is a product I muscle tested well for, which is why I decided to try it. The treatment can be harsh and should be overseen by a health care practitioner.

The thing is, once you get into taking it, your body can and will release a lot of heavy metals. I test low for metals. I have chelated the ones that were easy to get to. Now, I only have the more hidden in the tissue metals, which are now flowing out like crazy. My mouth tastes like it is full of coins. I'm sure this metal and toxin release is part of my bad attitude. I am taking binders right now to help the metals exit - zeolite, charcoal, NAC, whey protein, and fiber.

I also have noticed a parasite die-off. I don't know why it unnerves me every time I see a parasite ..... uh, I take that back, I DO know why it's so unnerving, it's just that after having seen so many, I would think I would be used to it by now! So, I can only assume I have a parasite die-off going on, which can only be contributing further to my BAD mood.

I guess I'm writing this today for a couple reasons .... one, I'm in a bad mood and need to blow off steam somewhere, better here where people are reading about my mood voluntarily than at home where they're just stuck with it ...... two, for those of you battling Lyme, you need to know that I get upset about it, too, that my battle is nearing the end, but has not ended yet .... and, three, because I wanted to tell you about the new treatment. I cut the Bionic round I was doing short to start on this earlier than I had planned. I figured that with the new virus/cold, I didn't want to keep working on killing pathogens. I wanted to work on building my immune system instead.

I am taking andrographis and resveratrol along with this new protocol to keep working on killing the bugs. I'm also drinking water with Himalayan Salt in it, which might be contributing to the parasite die-off. The idea of the Depyrrol is that after treating for several weeks, your body will be able to better release parasites, so at that time, I will do another round of Humaworm.

On a positive note, my air hunger has been minimal since my single photon treatment a couple weeks ago.

Feel free to commiserate in the comments. :)

My fault?

I have had a horrible cold that I caught from my kids. When we were in Chicago last week, my 13 year old caught it the day we were leaving. She was miserable .... we went across the street to buy her Advil and had to argue with some under-paid Bozo who worked at the Starbucks in the grocery just to get her a cup of water to take them with. I mean, I have a crying kid who wants to take an Advil, and he wants me to walk across the store to the deli to get a cup of water when he has water right there.

Isn't the "rule" there to keep the bums off the street who aren't buying anything from coming in and getting nothing but water. Oh well, some people just don't get why rules are in place. Anyway, we got the water from the lady who worked at the Starbucks, while I had to argue with Bozo the whole time.

A couple days later, my 15 year old stayed home from school for a day with the same bug. Both had raspy voices and sore throats, along with muscle aches/ headaches.

So, yes, of course, I got it to. My poor immune system is so bad at this stuff! I've had a low grade fever off and on for three days and have had no voice at all for two days now. I don't know who likes it better, hubby or kids! Anyway, I'm taking some herbal expectorant to help with the sore throat because I think it's from drainage. Also, the expectorant might keep me from choking to death on the phlegm that doesn't quite want to be coughed up. If this plays out like normal, I should end up with bronchitis .... if it's a head cold, I get sinus infections, if it's a chest cold, I get bronchitis.

I guess it's nice not dealing with Lyme too much anymore ...... but seriously? How many times have I fought viruses since I got back from Germany????

Oh, I just looked at the title again and saw I forgot to tell you that it's all my fault it's cloudy today. I thought I'd go get some natural photons and bask in the sun on what was this beautiful, cloud free day in the lower 80's. About five min. after I got outside and sat down with my book, the clouds rolled in and now it's overcast. I told my daughter about it and she said, "Thanks, Mom" like it was my fault. LOL

Photons again!

I've had a few weeks off, so started up with photons again. I'm using blood (got some new blood in the vial, more this time, so didn't add the vodka), 9.88 frequency, once per week. Those are the instructions those now coming back from Germany got from Dr. W, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The photons felt really good! I enjoyed the treatment this time. I guess I needed them.

I'm off all herbs, only taking iron and thyroid during the treatment, plus the herbs I need for sleep.

I felt really good yesterday after the treatment but today am a little sluggish. I did go to the gym to workout and noticed that my heart rate got higher than it normally does. I did a full workout, went to the grocery, came home and juiced, and fixed dinner, so I was able to do all my normal routine, I'm just a little fatigued.

I also had terrible insomnia last night. It was my fourth night off Ambien, and the first night I had any trouble sleeping. It was a couple hours before I fell asleep, but once asleep, I was okay. I woke up a few times, but fell right back to sleep.

insomnia and herbs

Good news and bad news. The bad news is, this insomnia is driving me nuts! It is flaring very badly right now. Too bad I'm not still in college, I could be making use of this being awake in the middle of the night (studying, not partying, of course!).

I woke up after 1 1/2 hours of sleep last night at 1:11 AM. It was a wide-awake insomnia, not one of those nights where you keep drifting in and out of consciousness and go nuts because you're not sound asleep .... this was a wide-awake night. It was the longest few hours in my life! About 4 AM I finally picked up a book. I read for an hour, then turned the light back off. Fell asleep about a half hour later, then woke up at 10:30. So, I got six hours of sleep.

Considering it all, I'm feeling well today! I don't feel tired and I've finally adjusted to the herbs. That's the good news.

I was worried that these new herbs would keep me feeling bad as long as I was on them, but I'm feeling closer to how I was feeling before I started them. The shortness of breath that I have had for so long has lifted some. The fatigue the herbs were causing is lifting. The GI distress is getting a little better.

I've been taking Zeolite every third night to absorb some of the toxins being released with the parasite die-off. Also, a funny thing happened tonight ..... I hate sauerkraut. We had brats for dinner, and had sauerkraut because my husband loves the stuff. Well, I was craving it. I put some on my brat and it didn't taste offensive at all. Sauerkraut is a fermented product, so has good probiotics in it. I figure I was craving what I needed, good probiotics to take place of all these bacteria and parasites I'm killing off.

If you listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs .... yeah, you're saying, "What if I crave a chocolate bar?", well that means you need magnesium ..... "What if I crave sugar?", well, you probably ate high carb, low protein, low fat a few hours ago and now have a blood sugar crash, eat more balanced. It's a matter of understanding what your body needs with a specific craving, and there is almost always an answer. I think I'll say goodnight and go get some probiotics.

Starting herbs

I just wanted to post a quick update.

The terminalia chebula made me feel HORRIBLE! Yesterday, I just rolled out of bed and put sweats on, barely did anything all day. I even had hubby go to the grocery, but I was able to cook dinner (minestrone from scratch). I started declining on Sunday, and by yesterday was having stomach pain and diarrhea. I was also terribly fatigued and weak.

Today, all is good. Took some Zeolite last night, slept in a little this morning, and even managed to work out for an hour and twenty min. this afternoon.

Yesterday my spirits were down a bit. I was hoping this battle was closer to being over than it is, but really, I am doing so much better. I need to keep focusing on regaining health ...... I've mostly beat down the infections .... just a little more to go.

I'm thinking about jumping on the Progurt bandwagon. Seems everyone is getting good results from it, and it fits my current philosophy of focusing on making my body an unwelcoming host to pathogens.

Head lice???

I finally, recently got muscle tested!! Not an easy accomplishment in Ohio!

It seems borrelia and erlichia are gone! Woohoo!

I still have four infections - babesia, bartonella, fish roundworms (too much sushi I guess), and lice! OMGOSH!

We used to live out in the country and the rural school system my kids attended had a huge lice problem. They would have lice checks regularly. Well, about four years ago, my daughter ended up with lice. It was a very bad case and in only a couple days I spent 20 hours combing the nits out of her hair after repeatedly washing it with an herbal rinse .... after she sat around with a shower cap on holding the herbal rinse in place for hours. It was quite a project. Her lice infestation lasted for months .... it kept coming back .... Was she re-exposed? ... Or did we not get it all? I'll never know!

My husband would comb my hair out after I was done with hers to be sure any lice that got on me were taken care of before they laid eggs/nits. It's the nits that are difficult to get out .... thus 'nitpicking'.

Today I washed and straightened my hair, then Mr. Sixgoofy looked at it out in the sunlight under a magnifying glass, after all, we became lice experts four years ago, he knew what he was looking for. No lice! So, what gives?

What I'm thinking is that I must have been bitten by the lice and still carry something to do with the bites. It shows as a major stress to my system, so it needs to be taken care of. But how, if there are no lice? Humaworm (www.humaworm.com) tested well for fixing both the lice and the roundworms. I ordered some today. I am a little concerned since I have taken it twice before, but I was not in this good of health last two times, so maybe I just need a couple more rounds of it.

I'm taking some other herbs (mostly Buhner) to treat the babesia and bartonella during my month off photons. I started Resveratrol and Andrographis today, and started an herb recommended by a friend for GI symptoms, biofilms, and breathing symptoms - Haritaki. I also thought I'd take some Enula for parasites while I wait for the Humaworm since I previously had good results from that. I'm feeling a little fatigued and a little light-headed from these herbs, but not bad. Still functional.

I'm going to be taking some minerals to replenish all that is lost with being heavy metal toxic and sick for so long. Also, some good fatty acids.

My focus is still on rebuilding health, and I've made a lot of progress in the past several months .... down to four stressors .... not bad. :) I think I really just do not know what 100% is .... my pain receptors don't work very well (according to my massage therapist and my dentist) .... so I don't really know how much pain I'm actually in. I've never been better, but that's all relative .... I've been sick for 35 years, how will I know what perfect is? I guess when I test free of all infections. ;) Still, I can tell you, once the borrelia is gone, it's not so bad .... I would pass for "normal for my age" now if this were all I had.

Palm Springs

Well, I'm just traveling everywhere this year ... Germany, Italy, Vegas .... now Palm Springs! No, I don't "normally" travel this much, it's just worked out this way. Our trip to Palm Springs was for a convention that hubby has every year.

The weekend before last was Mom's weekend at my daughter's sorority at Indiana University .... I was there Friday and Saturday night, and had a great time with her. We met a fellow Lymie who lives in Indiana .... it was great to meet her, but sad to see this disease hit someone so young, so hard. We met with my daughter's friend who is a boy (as opposed to a boy friend). :) Also, met with some old friends. We were busy every minute and I was no more tired than she was. :) (She does not have Lyme).

I left from there out of the beautiful, new Indianapolis airport, to go to Palm Springs. This trip was four nights and almost every night is the "business" dinner at 9PM (midnight my time). I did fine again. I had no symptoms in Bloomington or Palm Springs.

It was great being in the nice weather for a few days. I was sure to get some natural Vitamin D out by the pool every day :-D

There were two things to note there regarding my Lyme Disease.

One, I went on the spouse tour. It was a fun day where we went to take the Palm Springs tram up the side of a snow-capped mountain. http://www.pstramway.com/ Last year when I drove my grandmother home to NC, as I was driving up the mountains in Knoxville, I got sicker and sicker as we went higher and higher. I was sick the whole night and next day till I drove back down the mountain to a lower elevation. However, I had no symptoms at all when I took the tram up to 8500 ft.

The other is, after the tram ride, my husband met me downtown and we walked all over town .... in the heat. Then we ate at a little outdoor restaurant and I drank a full margarita by myself. I had another one that night. Also, no symptoms after that.

Both of those are worth noting because alcohol and altitude has affected my health for quite a few years now. So, it appears that I might be in remission? The only symptoms I've had in the past three months were when I had a cold .... but they were all cold symptoms (aches, runny nose, etc.).

Oh, I forgot about the shortness of breath. Ends up, I didn't have it in Las Vegas as I wrote previously and I didn't have it in Palm Springs either. I didn't take my supplements with me either place .... and I have not been short of breath since I got back to the Midwest yesterday. I'm going to ease back into them to see if one of them might be behind that annoying symptom.

Yesterday we flew back to Indy, got there late, so spent the night. Our luggage stayed back in Palm Springs ... can't say I blame the bags, the weather was much nicer there! Today we drove home, and I'm exhausted. My iron is in my suitcase, and I do feel somewhat better after driving to Whole Foods to get more. I also took a B12. I think I'll sleep well tonight. ;)

Las Vegas

I managed to wear my 20 year old out in Las Vegas! I felt 100% the whole four days I was gone! I kept up with a 20 year old, and even woke up before her every morning. We walked miles, and miles, and miles .... if you've ever been there, we walked through many casinos working our way from the MGM Grande, stopping for some mac and cheese and creamed spinach at Smith and Wollensky's (we had steak there the night before, came back to try the mac and cheese the waiter was trying to get us to order as a side dish .... didn't want to take our appetite away from the steak), and ended at the Wynn. LONG walk. We had some carrot cake, a latte, and split a bellini at the Wynn. I bought a cute hat. :-D

I didn't have any breathing difficulty at all while we were gone ..... or any other symptoms, but had shortness of breath within a couple hours of returning. I'm hoping this slight fatigue and shortness of breath is caused by the mold in our bathroom ..... I'd hate to have to move. We have been planning on remodeling the bathroom, but I really think we need to move it up .... immediately. It's really bothering me that I know that away from my house I am symptom-free.

I haven't used the Bionic in a week now. I don't seem to have any other symptoms than the shortness of breath and fatigue. I plan on continuing juicing, eating healthy, my dark chocolate habit, my latte habit, and some good supplements. I also plan on continuing my biweekly lymphatic drainage massages.

I hope all of you are well. I have a question to throw out there ..... since many of you have Lyme, what is the number one thing that you need (aside from medical care) that is not provided for Lyme patients? I'm just curious ....

duh

I figured out where this fatigue is coming from .... remember when I said I cut back on thyroid meds because I thought it might still be too high? Well, I think I cut back too far on them. I started taking 5 mcg of Cytomel (was on 10 recently, and 20 before Germany) and the energy level is right where it should be. In fact, today, I don't have any symptoms at all. Woohoo!

Too much?

As you know, I have been fatigued from treating with the blood. It's not tiredness like from lack of sleep, it's different. It's more like a lack of motivation to get out of the chair. That is a far cry from where I was when I was sick when I couldn't even hold my head up, much less get out of the chair without substantial effort .... now I CAN get out of the chair, I just am not motivated enough to.

I have been keeping up with working out - 30 min. cardio and 30 min. weights and stretching. I have been cooking, cleaning, etc. .... all the things that moms do ... driving .....

But this fatigue permeates everything. I'd rather just sit around. That is so unlike the real me!

So I was talking to a well-informed fellow-Lymie-who-went-to-Germany yesterday. When I told him I was treating with blood, he said, "Only once per week, right?" I said, "Uh, no, twice per week, like the Lyme treatment we did in Germany." He said, "Nope, you're only supposed to treat with blood once per week."

I've treated five times with blood ... first one at 25%, the other four at 100% ....

Now I will take a week and a half break from photons, except for the photons I will be absorbing out in Las Vegas next week with my daughter .... it's supposed to be in the 80's.

Hopefully, this rest in the middle of treatment will help me catch up with myself. I'm running a race, and instead of taking days of rest, I'm running full force day after day. As the dear doctor in Germany says, this is a marathon, you don't run marathon races every day, you rest ... well, that's sort of what he said .... you get the idea. So, I'll be resting out by the pool beginning on Sunday. :-D

Quick update

I did treatment #3 at 100% power with blood last night. I didn't sleep longer than normal like I normally do after photon treatment. I didn't have left-sided pain, and my shortness of breath is minimal with no chest tightness.

I have been fatigued for the past few days, since Saturday. I have two sick kids, so perhaps that's why. If you're a poster on Lymenet, you know that has been a source of stress for me lately, and in fact, I'm on a hiatus from there till I'm feeling better again, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Stress is not good for the adrenals, and I'm building mine back up after a prolonged illness. I've also forgotten to take my iron supplement for the past few days. It's hard to remember everything is not Lyme, but it appears that I have several options of where this fatigue might be coming from aside from Lyme.

I did end up stopping Cytomel completely. My basal temperatures were higher than 98.6, and basal temps are a good indicator of thyroid function. Some docs say even better than blood tests. My shortness of breath, chest tightness, and insomnia are all improving. Of course, some of this could be from treatment as well.

During my month off, I actually forgot how difficult treatment with photons is. My body is working on these lingering infections/symptoms, and I feel it. I am anxious to take my next break!!! I believe 3 more treatments and I'll be taking time off again ... that's six treatments with blood, not including the one at 25% .... Dr. W uses six treatments for Lyme.

Treating again

My almost four weeks off treatment went really well. I took the supplements I mentioned previously, though I cut out the kelp. I continued to juice, eat healthy, and exercise.

I still am not sleeping great, but am getting by on a half an Ambien. I seem to wake up at the slightest noise (I sleep with earplugs, so that helps). I sleep straight through when hubby is out of town .... maybe it's HIS fault I wake up, LOL! Even with wakeups, I'm getting nine hours total per night.

All my pain is gone, even the left shoulder pain and I've been practicing my flute more than I used to. The fatigue is gone, too.

My doctor wouldn't send me a thyroid test because the testing is not due till next month .... so I didn't get that test taken. I reduced my thyroid meds myself (bad to do, but I called twice about getting the test done early, grrr) and cut out the kelp.

The shortness of breath has still been bothering me along with some chest tightness. Not enough to make me feel bad, but enough to be very annoying. I remembered that I got psittacosis around the time I started declining with the Lyme. Psittacosis is a respiratory disease caused by chlamydia psittaci .... it causes the two symptoms I'm still having. Of course, it's as hard to get diagnosed with Psittacosis as it is with Lyme (never got a diagnosis, but got treated anyway). Since so many with Lyme get chlamydia pneumonia infections in a chronic form, I'm thinking that perhaps the chlamydia psittaci is still lingering. Just a theory.

I don't think I'll be able to find nosodes of that illness, besides, I'm ready to treat with blood to mop up all the remaining pathogens I might have. I started this new protocol on Friday. It was a JOKE trying to get a few drops of blood out of my fingers! I had a safety pin, some rubbing alcohol and fear of pricking myself. Hubby said he'd be happy to do it ... yeah, right, not in a million years! So, instead of getting one good prick and getting enough blood, I pricked about four fingers to get a few drops. I mixed the blood with potato vodka as the doc in Germany said was okay to do.

The breathing problems have let up slightly. I have more energy. I really don't feel sick at all!!! :)

I did have flare ups after the treatment. The left side of my abdomen was bothering me a lot. It was like there was something there that didn't fit .... spleen? I have a rib that is detached on that side ... Dr. W asked if I was in an accident when I showed it to him (he's also a chiropractor) .... I've had a lot of left-sided pain throughout the illness, sometimes severe ... and guess what? I've seen spleen pain on lists of Psittacosis symptoms! Anyway, that flared up after treatment with the blood. When I was really symptomatic, this pain was almost enough to get me to go to the ER ... severe pain that needed painkillers. The flare up was not that bad at all, but terribly uncomfortable.

So, I'm a couple days past the first treatment at 25% power and feeling great! GREAT! I will increase the power to 50% tomorrow.

I went another month without a flare up. I am not symptom-free so I don't consider that to mean I'm in remission, but I think I'm really, really close.

I'm also looking forward to the thyroid tests which I guess will be next month.

I tried to put a counter on this blog to see if people are still reading .... I'd love to know (let me know either here or wherever else you see me). I hope this finds all of you well. Take care.

Off abx 6 months!

It was six months ago today that I had my last in-person LLMD visit prior to going to Germany. I stopped abx after that visit, but continued antimalarials another month. I declined once I stopped the abx, and even more after stopping the antimalarials. After the Germany treatment, I felt good and have begun to feel even better since I've been back.

I've been continuing with the juicing, exercise, getting enough sleep, etc. I have really seen improvement in the past couple weeks in how I feel. Mentally the paradigm shift of focusing on health rather than the illness has been good for me. You have to be careful with Lyme, it can become a hobby .... at some point in the recovery, you just have to say, "I'm just a health freak who USED to be sick."

I have one concern and that is shortness of breath. It is different than the air hunger I used to get with babesia, so I am thinking it is not the babesia relapsing. I used to be able to do breathing exercises I learned years ago in band and the air hunger would diminish, it does not work for this.

I tested hyper-thyroid last time my thyroid was checked (Jan.), so perhaps it is still hyper even after reducing my thyroid medication. I will get it tested again, hopefully this week.

Also, I was using some drops in my water (Cell Food). My husband got shortness of breath bad enough to wake him up when he used the drops, so it could be as simple as that. I stopped using the drops yesterday.

If it's not the thyroid and if stopping the drops does not help, then I will have to assume it's the babesia still hanging around. No problem, I plan on starting back on the Bionic in a couple weeks using blood for a nosode anyway, so it will get taken care of then. I had many tick bites, the nosodes I used were for babesia microti, so perhaps I have another babesia strain besides that one.

Even with the shortness of breath, I am still on the upswing.

I had a massage today and the therapist said I seem to be responding better than I did when I first started going to him a couple months ago. He said my lymph nodes feel full, but not clogged .... they are doing their job .... obviously I still have some toxins to deal with. I am feeling a bit fatigued after my massage just as I normally do .... nothing like Lyme fatigue, just some general "I'd rather sit down" fatigue.

Well, I just wanted to share my good news! I hope this finds all of you well!

No flare up!

I just realized after I posted yesterday that I did not have a symptom-flare this month!! Woohoo!

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.

Bartonella treatment

Once I returned from Rome I treated babesia/erlichia a couple more times. I also treated Lyme just to try to help with some of the symptoms I was having that may have simply been the flu. That flu was a bugger! It was a solid two weeks of relentless illness. Finally, it let up and I steadily got better with no apparent Lyme flare. This was a respiratory flu, so I am certain that it was not the Lyme Disease acting up.

But, I give myself no rest .... as soon as it started clearing and before I was 100% over it, I began treating bartonella. It knocked my socks off! I did not do what I had been doing .... starting at 25% and working up. I figured I had felt so well in Rome that I would jump right into treating at 100%. Whoa!

I believe bart to be a very old infection for me. I was bitten many times as a child and have Lyme and bart symptoms that I can trace back to my childhood. The three times I was very ill from Lyme prior to getting sick again five years ago, I had Lyme and bart symptoms. The babesia symptoms did not start until I was bitten again five years ago.

The babesia really seemed to make the Lyme more difficult to manage as the other three times I was disabled by it, I was able to overcome it without medical intervention in only a matter of a few months each time. The babesia was the one I couldn't stop treating for a moment without it coming roaring back. Mepron and I were close friends, and as soon as I got off it to prepare for Germany, I crashed.

However, the babs treatment with the photons went well. I eased into it and kept on it. I went to Rome in the middle of treatment, which is why I needed the tonic to hold me over until I got back.

The bart on the other hand, I seem to have been able to live with it long term more easily. My body adapted to having it. My oldest symptoms are fatigue, but not the same as with Lyme .... this fatigue comes and goes and is worse in the morning .... and fibromyalgia pain in my upper back ... also sore throat. These symptoms all flared badly when I began treating the bart.

Another unexpected flare was various emotions that I had back in Middle School and High School. It was like the bart and the feelings went together. This is not the first time this has happened to me, but for some reason this time it caught me by surprise.

I will have my 5th bart treatment today. I hope it's not as tough as the 4th. :)

I've started doing two other things along with the photon treatment. One is a better diet. I'm eating more raw fruits and vegetables with every meal and am juicing at least once per day. This seemed to cause some discomfort in the beginning, so I was sure to take some Zeolite and do other detox rituals that have helped me in the past during this adventure.

The other thing I've added is massage. I've found a guy who is trained in all kinds of massage including cranio-sacral and lymphatic drainage. The first time I went to him was when I was just feeling a little relief from the flu. He said my lymph was slightly clogged. The next day I was very sore where he had done most of his work.

The second time I went in he said that area felt much better and that my body didn't seem to be begging for his help to drain the lymph. He worked more on my back/neck/shoulders where I have gotten pain dating back to high school. I have memories in high school and college of feeling like my sweaters and coats were too heavy .... this has flared again with bart treatment.

The massage therapist said there were a lot of toxins in there that the muscles didn't know what to do with. He could feel these pockets, and so could I when he found one. That was yesterday ..... today, I felt tired and unmotivated all morning, and the area he worked on is sore. He said there is a lot more work to do in that area, one time is not going to get it like it did the lymph (not that the lymph is drained, but it's moving .... the exercise helps that tremendously).

Even though the bart treatment has been difficult, I have been functional, though I rest more. Today I took it easy this morning, then went to the gym, met hubby at Starbucks (okay, diet isn't perfect!), went to the grocery, and am getting ready to cook dinner before I drive kids around.

I feel like I have reached a different point in my treatment. I feel like now I'm helping my body to "decompensate" .... it has been compensating for being ill for years and now needs to find ways to function normally. I am sleeping about 9 hours per night (cutting back on sleep meds), I take time to relax every day, I work out, I eat right, I photon twice per week, I use my Mercola tanning lights (I can't really say I'm tanning as I don't look tan since I'm only using it for vitamin D and don't actually get dark), and I am still saying "no" to adding new things to my schedule. Overall, I am seeing improvement as time goes on.

The photon treatment is not an overnight cure, but in my book, it's been a miracle cure for me.

Wishing you all a healthy New Year

For Christmas we took the six goofy kids to Rome for 12 days for a friend's ordination. It was wonderful. It was a beautiful thing to see 49 young men give their lives to serving God. It was also a treat to be at a priest's first Mass.

We had an intimate Christmas Eve Mass with the Pope and 60,000 other people .... the lights to make St. Peter's bright enough for TV made it all that much more intimate.

It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I enjoyed in immensely, even with the rock concert atmosphere with people pushing to try to touch the Holy Father as he walked down the aisle.

We also got to go to see St. Peter's tomb under the main altar in St. Peter's. Wow, if you ever have the chance to take the Scavi tour, do it. It was a highlight of the trip. You will need to get tickets for it months in advance.

It was kind of a tomb tour, come to think of it, LOL. We also saw St. Paul's tomb under St. Paul's. St. Agnes, Raphael, St. John XXIII's incorrupt body (means it did not rot), and all the tombs of the popes under St. Peter's at the Vatican. In fact, we had Mass by St. Peter's tomb surrounded by all the other popes including Pope John Paul II. We visited the Catacombs where the early Christians were buried and used to have Mass before Christianity was legal in Rome.

We went to St. Benedict's Cave and had the unique opportunity to have Mass in the cave. We went to Assisi, beautiful, but two sick kids on the bus, both of them mine, yikes. In Assisi, we saw two more tombs, that of St. Francis and that of St. Clare. St. Clare is incorrupt and you can see her body in a glass coffin.

Of course, in seeing all these tombs, we also saw beautiful Cathedrals, Basilicas and Churches. It's quite spectacular to be standing in a building where you are as tall as the baseboards (St. Peter's). The artwork in all these churches is breathtaking. They didn't put churches up in a couple years like they do now, it took decades to finish the works of beauty.

There's one thing you do a lot of in Rome (besides eating) - walking! I had two days of symptom flare coinciding with menstruation, so that was relatively normal. I still went on the tours those days, but had to take more rests than normal. I started drinking tonic water thinking it was most likely the babesia flaring, and that seemed to help.

The rest of the trip you would have thought I had never been sick ... no pain .... no trouble keeping up.

Our kids were not the only ones to get the stomach virus .... about half the group ended up with it, including me. I woke up the day we were leaving at 3AM. It made for a fun trip home and way more time in the airplane bathroom than I'd have liked. When we were waiting to board our plane, I lied down on the floor at the Rome airport .... a floor that apparently never gets cleaned .... but I was too weak to sit in the metal chairs. A lady offered my some Tylenol and mentioned that she and her family had come down with the flu the day before ... not the stomach virus, but the flu. I was not too excited to find out that we were seated directly behind them on the way home .... of course, she was probably not too excited to see she was directly in front of me. So, as I was getting over the stomach thing, I got the flu.

On the bright side, at least my body is recognizing when these invaders are present and is fighting them. But right now these two bugs back to back have sapped my energy. I'm fortunate that I didn't catch them while touring Rome or I would have missed an incredible trip. I look forward to getting back to treating coinfections with the Bionic once I get done fighting these viruses.

Overall, I'm still seeing improvement. I had a message from my doctor when I returned that my thyroid numbers indicated I needed less T3, so I got to cut back on one of my thyroid meds.

I hope all of you have a blessed, healthy New Year.