April 2016

My last appointment with the good doctor this month led me to a series of understandings.

He spoke about himself coming in and out of remission, which makes me think of my own reality and what the future has in store.

He asked me about my relationships in my life.

My partner of two years and I are constantly on the rocks. We are both always so stressed and worried about my recovery.

Lyme is not a cheap thing to treat. Money is a huge stressor for us as well.

We have already put at least $5,000 dollars into this in the last year, and I am still not better.

Lyme has completely destroyed multiple dreams for both of us, and the pain of me having been the bringer of this all grieves me to an excrutiating degree. If I only hadn't gone on that hike.

It's a very distressing place to be.

The doctor put me back on antibiotics. Biaxin. Which makes me feel like I'm on a stimulant at times, unable to sleep. And that horrible taste is always in the back of my throat. I had nausea for a moment, and then it went away as my body adjusted.

Biaxin is sulphur based, which aids me in working outdoors.

Also, when I mentioned the issues with my cervix, and the LEEP procedure that my gynecologist wishes me to undertake, he said to really think about it.

LEEP procedures can cause infertility. They also can take orgasm away from one, if scar tissue is formed.

He told me that at a CIN 3, I can still reverse it holistically.

I really would like to try but my partner is adamant about me getting the procedure done, as he fears me getting Cancer.

"It is your body," my doctor said. "Surgeons don't care about your body, they care about your money."

He asked me to do the research and to really think about it.

It is my body. I am stuck with the decisions that come with it.

I have done the research, and I think that I should attempt the holistic route primarily. I have yet to make a decision.

More April News 2016

With the shadow that Lyme can sometimes create in one's life also opens a new door for positive things to enter as well.

I have been blessed to be able to start working again, at this point in my recovery.

I wanted to work outdoors, so then I'd be able to get sunshine and exercise to boost my immune system. I took up a job in landscaping, and I also do some foraging.

A woman I know from the writer's guild said, "You are SO brave to go back out there."

I answered, "If I didn't, then that would mean defeat."

She went on to say that nature had defeated me by passing on Lyme to me.

I am still alive. I am still functioning. I am still here.

Obviously, I am not defeated.

My future is so very uncertain, though.

Another woman from my weekly writer's guild meeting said that she knew someone who had Lyme. And that I was so lucky it was caught early, because the person she knows is messed up for life.

This made such anxiety rise in me, as I do so wonder if I'll ever end up like that.

If the Lyme will come out of remission and swallow me whole in my old age. If I'll die alone and homeless because of it.

I also have a job instructing art lessons in my home which will work well while I heal up, and be rewarding.

At work, I found out that both my employer and my coworker are plagued by Lyme as well.

The coworker, B., had not yet been treated with antibiotic. He had gone to many natural doctors, and said that he still suffers with many debilitating symptoms. Even after using Colloidal Silver. His diet also remains the same.

Then, the employer, D., said that she had gotten two courses of antibiotic treatment, and had to go through two rounds of treatment.

She believes she is now in remission, and she said that she believes that she has many health issues currently that have sprouted from Lyme disease. She is being treated by a holistic doctor for her issues.

How insane is it that everyone I run into seems to have or knows someone that has Lyme, and yet there is no easily accessible treatment??

This absolutely baffles and enrages me.

I have so many feelings on the subject, that I become overwhelmed.

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Immunity Supressant Detected:

March 2016

A few months ago, I had come down with an abnormal Pap Smear, which I contributed to Lyme, as I've been contributing everything to Lyme lately.

This is something I need to work on not doing anymore, as everything certainly isn't Lyme related.

I went through two biopsy's and colposcopy procedures, which are horribly uncomfortable pelvic examinations, only to receive a new phone call from my Gynecologist, explaining to me that I have a CIN 4, and that I need to have a LEEP procedure done immediately.

A LEEP procedure is when they chisel off a larger piece of the cervix to examine it and test it for a multitude of things, including Cancerous cells.

There is something going on in my reproductive system that is slowing my progress with Lyme treatment down, as whatever it is is weakening my immune system.

I pray that it isn't Cancer, but I do know that even if it is, it will be easy to treat due to how quickly it's been caught and it's place in my body.

The worst thing I could do right now is worry, so I continue on with my head held high.

I wonder what all of this means for a person with Lyme.

Will the healing processes of any of this possibly make the Lyme worse?

Only time will tell.

Although I have minor anxiety about this, I am remaining focused on maintaining a positive and stress free environment while my body continues to fight.

Keep me in your prayers/kindest thoughts/meditations, Loves.

March 2016...Return of the throat thing...

March 2016

Return of the "Throat Thing"

With March comes more sunlight, nicer weather, and a greater opportunity for exercising outdoors.
In the last few weeks, I've been hiking again and bicycling regularly and without an issue. I've aso been lucky enough to do floor aerobics regularly in my home wthout any major physical hindrance.

I was symptom free for days, and then I started to get a very slight arthritic pain in my left hand again, and a little pain in my knee caps. This comes and goes.

Then, as I was falling asleep one night, I started having really intense dreams that were so intense that I had to sit up fast. It was like right before falling asleep, I'd start to dream and see a face or an object, and then it felt like it was coming alive, right out of my head.

These visions scared me enough to make me jump up out of bed.

What's even more interesting, is that everytime I've ever had this sensation with Lyme, I also started to get the dreaded "Throat Thing".

The Throat Thing is a sensation almost like you forget how to swallow, or like you can't swallow.

It makes your anxiety peak at sky high rates, because you feel like you can't swallow, but you actually can.

Due to it's reaction to anti inflammatory's, I believe that this is the throat swelling due to die off.

Kind of like a Herxheimer reaction.

Instead of using Ibuprofen to lesson the affects of this, I started using Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine 500 mgs by Pure Encapsulations. It works wonderfully as an anti inflammatory agent.

The good news about this round of the Throat Thing, is that it was much less intense than before which means that slowly but surely, this holistic take on Lyme treatment is working.

Japanese Knotweed

I was looking over all of the ingredients in my LB core protocol. This is definitely some powerful stuff.

Japanese Knotweed root, Cats claw vine bark, Andrographis, Sarsparilla root and Dandelion Herb.

I realized I could harvest half of these ingredients from the land myself.

This Spring and summer, I plan on hunting for some ingredients.

Japanese Knotweed is an invasive species that grows abundantly in Pennsylvania, so I'm going to start with this and Dandelion.

The key healing ingredient in Japanese Knotweed that heals Lyme is Reveratrol. Resveratrol can be extracted from the plant with every day kitchen appliances.

Resveratrol is reported to be well known by it's anti aging and disease combating properties.

It fights against Lyme Disease, Heart Disease, Cancer (by limiting the spread of Cancer cells and triggering the process of Cancer cell death), Alzheimer's and even Diabetes.

Valentine's Day with Lyme Disease 2016

Dating with Lyme sucks.

After waking up to flowers, a card and gifts, I got into the car for a trip to an aquarium in a different state.

The way there was miserable for me. I was car sick, had migraines and forgot half the things I wanted to take on the trip at home. We tried listening to stand up together, and the voice was so loud to my sensitive ears I felt like the speaker was yelling at me! It was a relatively bright and sunny day, which was nice, but I had forgotten my sunglasses as well. I was blinded for a time.

Valentine's Day this year fell on a Sunday, and the Aquarium was PACKED.

There was a very long line of bundled up people standing outside and waiting to get their tickets.

We stood in the miserable cold for a half an hour.

An over weight woman with some kind of mental illness and disabilities walked by as we waited, shouting incoherent things as she walked and pointing to nothing. Breath escaped from her mouth as she drug her body forward, preaching an enigmatic gospel.

"That woman has a message" My guy said. "What if that woman has all of the answers to everything? Maybe she knows the future and what's going to happen, and it all is being yelled from her right now, but no one will listen to her? She's like Cassandra."

"That woman is the Oracle," I said, and then we continued to shiver.

By the time we had obtained our tickets and ventured inside of the building, I could not feel my legs.

The place was overly crowded. There were children screaming everywhere. It was a hell hole.

Everyone was crushed against the glass, and crowded around each exhibit. You had to get so close to someone to be able to see anything. I didn't want people's germs. My immune system is working hard enough!

There were some good things to see. Penguins and sharks. Smiling Manta Rays that glided by and a couple of huge sea turtles. They were my favorite.

I started taking pictures of the animals that presented themselves to me in pairs. There's the romantic in me.

Two Hippopotamus.
Two Star Fish.
Two Sea Horses.

We thought to try and have lunch there, but there was nothing I could eat with the Lyme. Not even a decent salad.

We were both happy to leave when we did.

On our way home, I was surprised to be at the gates of Longwood Gardens, a place I've been wanting to go for awhile now but never got around to it. It's an indoor garden with 4.5 acres of botanicals to observe.

I was very pleased with this surprise, until we found that it was only opened for a half hour longer by the time we had arrived. Sunday hours.

We vowed to come back again in the springtime, so we could explore the outdoor grounds.

We came home, we cooked a bland Lyme dinner and then we watched the Twilight Zone and played mystery Science Theatre 3000 with eachother while watching it. We made voices for the people on screen and our own ridiculous plot lines.

Anything sexual had been out of the question due to possible pain.

And to end the day in true Lyme fashion, I couldn't sleep that night due to Herxheimer reactions.

Even when mild, they still suck.

Dating with Lyme sucks.

On Honey and making new Lyme friends...

Lyme disease is opening so many new doors for me, and introducing me to so many new people. Some of the kindest and most empathetic people I have ever met are recent additions to my world. I am grateful for this. It also aided me to realize just how MANY people out there are suffering.

My guy will come in from work, and tell me "So and so has Lyme, too!" or "So and so's wife had Lyme."

I get onto places like MD Junction for support from others. Hundreds of people are constantly on the board, all for the same thing.

If you have Lyme Disease, MD Junction is a great place, where you will receive many answers to your anxious thoughts via both doctors and other Lymies in different stages of Lyme. I highly recommend it, and have never been disappointed with any of my visits to that page.

A very helpful Lyme Activist from Iowa named Betty G. will help you out and show you around.

Oh yes, and I wanted to share with you the beautiful medicinal honey that had finally come in the mail today.

The Good Doctor prescribed one tablespoon at bedtime, which works fine for a cup of tea. :)