Into the Lyme Journey: Brain Fog- Will it ever go away??

Into the Lyme Journey: Brain Fog- Will it ever go away??: Over the last few years I have experienced slowing of my cognitive abilities. For me, this has been a big deal because I am kind of a dorky...

interesting blog!

The Big Gross Out

     Today I am going to try to forget I have Lyme Disease. (actually I do that a lot) I can only do that because I can stand again, I can walk again, I can drive short distances again, and I am not nauseous EVERY minute, but a lot of the time. Do I still have pain? Yes. Do I still tilt and walk into walls? Yes, a little, and I don' drink...(but I can prove with all the bruises on my legs) Yes, I still struggle emotionally and mentally with the disease.  
      I'll tell you a secret: I am totally grossed out by the fact I have these bugs in my body. The first few years I really could NOT deal with it. It is sooo very gross. It was an emotional drain, and a mental issue, dealing with the reality of what was, and still is in my body. Of course after a decade + I have learned to push that truth into the back of my mind, and focus on things that make me happy. Even if it is watching the birds at the feeder because I am too tired or nauseous or whatever to do anything else. I have learned even more than ever, it's the simple things in life which have the most meaning. I've always appreciated the little things, but not like now!
     It is a blue skied day in Maine and it should be in the 60's. I am determined to go out. Bringing old but nice clothes to a local store for consignment. A couple dollars is a couple dollars. When medical bills wipe you out, all of a sudden a few dollars has more meaning! I'll enjoy my day. I'll pay for it in pain, nausea, fatigue, etc., but I can go out! That's big for me.

Almost Forgot

The past few days have been filled with nausea, fatigue and even low grade fevers. I was under a comforter, blanket, flannel sheets and even had a heavy sweater on over my 6 layers of clothes. That's one way I know it is a fever. Can't get warm. I laid down most of the day. I had been doing my typical daily detoxing but it was time for a deep detox. So, I spent an hour in a HOT Epsom Salt bath, with herb and fruit filled water to drink. Nice. I didn't feel great right away, but this morning I am moving more easily and no fever or extreme fatigue. BTY; when I do ES (about 2 cups/high bath water),
I rotate between sitting in very hot water to lifting my body into cold air. Hot/cold is good for getting the lymph system to drain.. I even hold my nose and dip my head a few times. I make sure the water is high enough to reach the lymph nodes in my neck, and my liver gets hot/cold too. With the hot/cold, and steam bath, ES, drink, and a day in bed, I am doing better. It just seems I almost forget how bad it can be when poof, it comes out again. I have another week or so before I begin the lacctiferrin/zylitol protocol once more, and that will bring on another challenge. Bring it on!

Lyme suicide Hotline

Lyme suicide Hotline

PLEASE USE IF YOU NEED TO!  OOXX

lacctoferrin/xylitol effects

    OK, there now, so I am doing better than in my last post and I will just leave it at that. I knew something was up, but I was all confused about dates of treatment so I didn't put it all together. I had two weeks of treatment with the new lacctoferrin/xylitol, and it ended on a Thursday instead of a Saturday. That's all it took and I was thinking I had been on holiday for a week when it had only been four days. (Fri-Mon.) I wrote that last post right after that. Here's the thing; I did not feel well, but I wasn't recognizing it as a herx. Instead of the usual, pain and nausea, etc., I was feeling flue-y, thought I had a low grade fever for days, was irritable, emotional, and had stiff man. My stomach just wouldn't feel right. It wasn't until I was writing in my daily medical journal (I have 12 years worth of history in them) when I realized that it had only been a few days after treatment that I was feeling gross. It struck me this was a herx, a little different, but a herx, undeniably.
     I also realized that the laccroferrin/xylitol treatment had worked. When I was taking it, I was thinking, "this doesn't seem to be doing anything". Yeah, right. I am guessing that the biofilms were indeed getting broken by the treatment, and the 'afterwash' of spirochetes running for their lives, toxins being released, and symptoms showing, that
ah haaaaaa, it was indeed a hex. It lasted a long time, and I still feel a bit 'heavy with toxins', but much better in all the other ways.
     You would think by now I would recognize a good old herx when it happens. I have come to know, though I seem to forget, that symptoms of a herx ARE NOT ALWAYS THE SAME. I truly believe it depends on where in the brain or body the bugs are being killed off. Where ever the bugs are found when killed, or broken up, messes with the signals in that area. This is why we can show different symptoms in herxes.
      I am taking this as a good sign now, though not fun. It means we are moving around, killing off those little buggers in different places. Oh will it ever end? Yes, I am willingly  taking the treatment because it works and I have gotten so much better than I have been in over a decade, but it is still hard to do. I can look back over my medical journals and see the sequence of herxes and the symptoms I had with them. One day I will put it all together in a comprehensive sequential book. Now won't that be a fun read?
       I'm fine,  just venting and surviving. Feeling much better last couple of days. I have learned to wait it all out.
      Blue skies here today in Maine and I am going to make some pesto with fresh basil that needs to be picked. Plus ,my neighbor brought me some last night, so it will be a nice big batch. yum! Yesterday I had another neighbor bring over raspberries from her garden, so I mad a gluten free (cane and artificial) sugar free crumble to die for. I used some raspberries and basil in my antioxidant water and yum! You should try raspberries seeping all night, it is so good on the gut, and surprisingly I am hooked on basil or sage in there. They add great antioxidants and flavor. I never knew.. but now I do. We may even go to lunch today, on the water because it is so pretty out. Maine, I love you!
     um, spell check not working.......

Rion Paige - Judges are "Blown Away" - THE X FACTOR USA 2013

YES!!!! LIVE MORE!!!!! Thank you Rion!!!!! God Bless your entire life!

"I see no reason to wait"

    Those are the words that rang through me like a loud sound does. It was my LLMD telling me I need to step it up again. He said that after I explained, over the course of our appointment, the symptoms I'd been experiencing since my last visit in April. (this post should haves come out late August....) The symptoms were not new ones, but some old ones cropping up again. They included facial twitching, leg and toe contractions (minor seizure activity), nightmares ( the three days before my Dad's funeral - stress), and finally, to top it off, I told him I had stiffening of my thigh muscles again, making it hard to extend my legs when walking. He called it "Stiff Man". I don't remember if I ever even told him about that symptom before. Although, I am sure he saw it on my first visit when I really was a 'stiff woman' all over. I couldn't turn one way or the other without doing so with my whole body. I had no range of movement.
     He asked me if it happened for a few minutes or an hour or so. I emphatically answered "NO! It happens for days at a time" He looked a little concerned.
     I had never heard the nickname 'stiff man' before, but, I've have my own names for 'stiff man'. One, is I called it the Sit And Stare disease. Impossible to get moving without an external stimulus. As soon as I heard a loud noise or voice, I was able to snap out of it. Yup, it's weird. Doesn't happen very often anymore. The second name I gave it was.....get ready......Early Rigor Mortis. Ha Ha. I did keep my sense of humor, right? Wrong. I was disgusted, actually. All in all, we were talking about the same thing. An inability to move due to a stiffening of the muscles. In MS terms they call it spasticity.
(I know this from the years it was thought I had MS)
     Hence the words "I see no reason to wait" were heard. He saw no reason to wait to step up my treatment, as it was evident that I still harbor biofilms, which are expressing themselves when spirochetes escape, with those old Lyme symptoms. Great.
     Of course I completely expect to harbor bio-films the rest of my life. My brain is so full of them one could say I have holes in my head and be correct. Dr. J seems to think we can get rid of them over time. How much time? Biofilms are one of the ways the bacteria hide and bring you into what some would call remission. I don't. I just stay in wait, because it never takes long for them to creep out again.
      Long story evidently long, I am on a two week on/three week off treatment phase. He has included a new therapy for me which is lactoferrin/xylitol combination on top of antibiotics and my regular supplements/vitamins. This is a biofilm breaker. I feel like I take pills and meds all day long. And, honestly, I am sick of it. I see no way out of this infection, because even if we eradicate the spirochetes, the damage is done. I'll never be the same.
       I am going to stop now. You can see I am not in the best frame of mind today. Lyme disease and it's co-infections can beat the crap out of you, and it has to me. Faith and friends may be the best treatment and survival technique out there. Thank you to everyone who has helped me in the variety of ways you have. It does make a difference.
       I will end on a positive note. I was declared Babesia free!!! Am I? Who knows really. Since starting the new treatment, the fevers, sweats, stiff man, mental confusion, fatigue, etc., have all continued to plague me. BUT, I am moving in the right direction. Management and maintenance is where I am at now, mentally and emotionally. Holding strong, and doing my best.
     Next post I hope to discuss the double MTHRFR gene mutation I have and what role it plays in all of this. It takes a lot of research to figure these things out, if I ever do. I apologize if this post does not flow well, I am in week 1 of holiday and I will blame it on that.
     Now, go to lymelesslivemore.com and sign up for the video conference next week. A lot of alternative treatments will be discussed. I want to explore all ways I could help myself be functional, how about you guys? I love that name; lyme less LIVE MORE!!! OK!   lymelesslivemore.com
  

Dana Walsh in Under Our Skin

Behind the scenes footage. I relate to Dana the most in UOS because we share a lot of the same symptoms. Next week is the big video conference from Lyme Less Live More.
What a great name.

Lewis Center Resident Diagnosed With Lyme Disease

Lewis Center Resident Diagnosed With Lyme Disease

Way to be proactive Ohio!

Lyme Less Live More!

     I came across this yesterday, and cannot get it to go to my blog, but we need to know! Go to lymelesslivemore.com to find out what's coming for us this month! Great interviews, and alternative lifestyles for Lymies. Great simulcast coming up. Register at we-site. Also, get an update on Dana, from UOS, she is heading this up. So GREAT to see a fellow sufferer doing BETTER!!!! Yeah! Let's continue to pour our focus into our Lyme - NOT! At least let's look at LIFE again! xxooxxooxxooxx

Lyme Disease in the US -- 10 Times Higher Than Reported

Lyme Disease in the US -- 10 Times Higher Than Reported

AMAZING. So glad she talks about the MTHFR mutation. Hmmm, the more I research that, the more I understand my particular situation.

What Are Bacterial Biofilms? A Six Minute Montage

 

I don't know if I'm happy to see this or not, but at least I have a better knowledge base.