Alternative Approarch

I had another visit with my Lyme Literate Dr. yesterday. I received another score from the CD-57 test. This test measures the strength and functioning of my immune system. My score has gone from 60 to 69 and now is back down at 57. The goal is to get me into the 200 range. She has said that any given person's score can range up to 30 points in a given day, but what we see here so far is that I'm not getting any better. This matches up with how I feel, which is pretty much the same as I have for the last year. Some days good, others not so good. I've developed a nasty oral thrush infection, which likely means that I have systemic yeast. This is mostly from the antibiotics I've been taking for the last 6 months with help from my diet. I didn't realize that I eat so many foods that are hi glycemic. Carbs + sugar = YEAST.

The new plan for now is for me to take 2 weeks off from the antibiotics. This should help me have time to detox and get rid of the oral thrush. While taking 2 weeks off I will only take my probiotics, sleep aids, an immune booster, antifungal pills and antifungal lozenges. I am also going to be trying a natural protocol for killing Lyme and related co-infections. The protocol calls for consuming continuous quantities of pure salt and vitamin C. It sounds weird, but bacteria can't live in a saline environment and the vit. C helps with detox and supports the immune system. If this works i should have a herx reaction from this treatment as well.

Right now I feel tired and light headed and am having a hard time maintaining my train of thought. I'll check in regularly. In the meantime if you want more information about yeast infections or the salt/C protocol check out these links.
PS. Thanks for your support, it really helps.

http://www.sheilashea.com/candida.html

http://www.fettnet.com/lymestrategies/groupnew.htm

The debt plan is working!

So about 2 months ago we paid off my car WOOOHOOO! Now I've got the pink slip and can really say it's mine. That feels great. We took the money we were already paying and applied it to the last bit of my old Mervyn's card I had from way back. Two payments later that is all paid off as well. Now we'll take the money for the car and the Mervyn's payment and add it to what we already pay on a Citi Health card and get that payed off soon. We're also going to be using almost our entire tax refund to pay down debt. We decided that my car really did require some new tires and an oil change and so we'll use a bit for that and the rest goes off to debt.

We're broke as heck with me out of work, my medical bills, and putting every spare dollar into debt reduction, but it feels really good to be making progress and know that finally our money is doing something for us. It's hard not being able to do fun things with our friends and family whenever we want, or being able to buy things just because we like them. We're learning how to be creative with our money and resources, learning what we really NEED and what is important, and we know that soon we will have all of our debt payed off and will have money in our pockets.

Under Our Skin - an important film

Hi Bay Area and Nor Cal friends,

I'm writing to share with you about a very important and special series of movie screenings in you area. There is a very important documentary about the Lyme Disease epidemic and the issues surrounding it called UNDER OUR SKIN.

This documentary is currently on the top 15 list for Oscar nomination and I hope it makes it through the next rounds of voting. Not only is this a good film, but it is an important one. Lyme disease is spreading faster and the number of cases being reported is doubling yearly. Please go and see one of these screenings. The film will educate you on the problem at hand, which is a much bigger problem then most think, and help you to protect yourself/family/pets. In addition it will shock, surprise, inform, and infuriate you. As if those reasons aren't enough themselves, please go and see a screening just for the simple fact that I'm living with this illness. This is one of the ways you can support me on my journey to wellness.


To find out more about the film and currently scheduled screenings please visit the website www.uderourskin.com. Most of these are one date and time so please visit the website for further details.


1/20 St. Helena @ Cameo Cinema

1/23 Cloverdale @ Public Library

2/05 Petaluma @ Hill Park Medical Center


Seriously, please go and watch this important movie.


Thanks in advance,

Keri Aragon

Not feeling very good this week

So, I started new meds recently and at the beginning of the year I added a new medication. It's causing me to have a herx reaction which is good because it demonstrates that the medication is working. The herx happens when you get a rapid die off of bacteria and then you have a toxic load causing your symptoms to increase for a while. I don't know who long this is going to last.

Lately, I've been thinking about everything and I'm getting very suspicious that I may have gotten Lyme or some co-infections from my first tick bite in the spring of 2003. I've been realizing that some of these symptoms such as getting sick all the time and having my left arm hurt go all the way back to when I lived in Santa Rosa. I'm also realizing that I may not have pieced it all together earlier because my memory may have been decreasing even way back then. I'm still trying to piece it all together so if you remember something about my health from 5 or 6 years ago please remind me so I can put the pieces together.

Here is a little bit of what I'm experiencing right now.
-chronic fatigue
-memory loss
-difficulty recalling
-pain around major joints
-severe itching
-difficulty sleeping
-lower back pain
-congestion
-foggy head
-shortness of breath
-hot and cold flashes
-extreme desire to sit or lay down
-feelings of isolation
-emotional roller coaster
-muscle weakness
-lightheadedness
-etc.

It means a lot to me when people offer to help out. It's helpful when people bring over food, or stop by to cook something I already have, drive me places so i can get out of the house, drop off dvds or books, or just stop by to say hi and mentally distract me for a while. I'd appreciate some help or visits this week.

I don't feel good.

So I'm having flash backs to last winter and how I felt then. I have been feeling pretty yucky for the last week and I have a feeling this is going to hang around for a bit longer. I can't do very much when I feel like this and I don't get out of the house much because I don't feel good and can't drive like this. I would love it if friends could stop by this coming week. My husband is back to work and soccer and won't be home very much, it would be nice to have some company. Call or send me an email if you want to stop by, or just come over.
Here's a link explaining what is happening inside my body right now, in case you want to know.


http://www.lymebook.com/jarisch-jarish-herxheimer-reaction-herx-lyme-disease

also I have the DVD of the film UNDER OUR SKIN and would love to share it or watch it with anyone who wants to learn more about Lyme Disease. Just let me know. You can watch the trailer on you tube on their movie website. I'm too tired to look up the link.

Test results

I had a visit with my doctor last week to review my recent test results and assess my progress. I feel I teeny bit better and have a little bit more energy on more days then I used to which is really nice. That could be because I'm getting better, but I suspect that it is because the lil buggers have adapted to the current course of meds I'm taking. My CD-57 test score went from a 60 to 69. An upward trend, but not enough to get excited yet because everyone has daily fluxuations and it won't be considered a truely higher score until it is either 15 points higher or consistently higher with each retest. I'll be getting another one on 8 weeks to recheck.
The plan for now is to take a 10 day break from all meds and detox, then start a new pair of antibiotics that will traget the Lyme more then the co-infections, an enzyme that will help to break the barrier around the little colonies they form, and a sleeping aid to insure that I hit stage 4 sleep way more often. I have mixed feelings about the sleeping aid, but really would love to have refreshing sleep and feel rested in fewer then 12 hours a night, and oh how nice it would be to be rid of the insomnia. The new course of meds should produce another herx reaction so i may be feeling worse for a little while, but that will mean it's working!

The debt ball is rolling!

Inspired by a total lack of money, Suzie Orman's book Young Broke and Fabulous, and the Dave Ramsey system that my friends Michael and Hosanna have used to get completely out of debt(yes totally except for their house!) my husband and I have began paying off our debt. It hasn't been easy living on only his salary, my disability check and having ton of medical bills while trying to pay off debt but we've got the ball rolling.
Earlier this year we began by paying off our new bed before the crazy interest kicked in. The next step was to get take a good look at every debt we owed and keep the list handy to remind us how much we want to eliminate it. Then we tightened a few screws and began budgeting for things that can vary grossly like food and entertainment. Doing that and insuring that all things get paid on time has helped us to be able to pay off my car today!
Now the ball is really rolling. From now on each month we'll take the money were were already paying and put it toward our next debt plus what we normally pay for that bill. Our next account should be paid off in two months. Then we'll take that money and use it to pay off the next bill starting with the smallest amount and moving up our list. We're also going to use our tax return this year to pay off debt. If we get a lot like last year we'll also buy a new couch cause we really need it and can not wait until all of our debt is paid before buying it, but only if our return is over a certain amount. With all the medical bills I'm claiming this year is should be big. So anyway, I just wanted to share our success and maybe inspire you to do them same with your debt.