Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Revised Protocol for Chronic Lyme Disease and Co-Infections

After my appointment last night I have a revised protocol to deal with my most pressing issues of parasites, bartonella, babesia, and candida.

Morning

4 drops MC-BAB-1

1 drop BAR-1

1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II Basic
- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

Pekana Basic Detoxification & Drainage Kit 
-18 drop each apo-Hepat, Itires, and Renelix

1 1/2 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

20 drops Black Walnut

2 Ashwagandha 400mg

3 IsoCourt

1 garlic pill

Afternoon

2 Food Based Multi Vits

3 IsoCourt

1 dropper Tox-Ease GL

1 garlic pill

Night

1  Melatonin SR 3 mg.

1 Low Dose Naltrexone 4.5mg

4 drops MC-BAB-1

1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II Basic
- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

1 1/2 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

20 drops Black Walnut

1 drop BAR-1
 
1 Dr. Ohhira Probiotic

1 energetix Flora Synergy

1/2 tsp Ferrum phos homeopathic remedy
in 1/4 C. water then take 1 tsp. under tongue each night
once a week take 12 pellets instead

And tomorrow I have to do another round of papaya seeds to treat the parasites.  I'll be taking 1 Tablespoon of dried seeds, grinding them and putting it in gel caps to take all at once.  He has me take them on the full moon because parasites are most active during the full moon and so it's most effective to treat them then.  Here is some info on papaya seeds as treatment for parasites: http://superfoodprofiles.com/papaya-seeds-parasites

Questions, comments and encouragement always welcome :-)

A Bump in the Road

After my last appointment and the incredible Bicillin injections I was feeling fantastic!  In fact I was feeling better then I had in years and I felt like I was improving a little more each day.  It was an incredible feeling to be bursting with energy, strength, motivation, vitality, love...in essence I felt alive, very very alive and loving it. 

I can't not even begin to tell you how happy I was to feel like myself again.  The best part was discovering that even after all of the crap I've had to deal with Lyme Disease hasn't broken me.  I'm still me underneath all the symptoms and I'm still the incredible person I was before those ticks had me for their lunch.  This has not broken me and for that I rejoice! 

Perhaps you've noticed that I used the past tense in that first paragraph.  Yep, I was feeling fantastic.  Not so much any more.  I was just plugging along being more active and productive then I have in a very long time and then out of now where I crashed.  It was so weird.  One morning I was skipping down the street and then later that afternoon my brain was slowing down and I started twitching again.

I kind of freaked out at first.  I started wondering things like:
  • what is causing the neurological symptoms?
  • I thought we had kicked Lyme in the ass for good, what if it was just hiding and is back in full force now that I'm off antibiotics?
  • How log is this episode going to last?
  • What if this is totally separate from the Lyme and it doesn't get better?  
  • What if I'm going to be on a roller coaster for the rest of my life?
  • How am I ever supposed to have a family if I'm like this?  
 As I said, I kind of freaked out.  I know that most of these thoughts were irrational and that I was just in a state of disbelief.  I really, really thought I was just weeks away from being healthy for good and I was so very disappointed when my worst symptoms returned.  I'm finding that the better I get the harder it is to deal with the setbacks.  It's like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm running on a treadmill and getting nowhere fast.  It's exhausting and frustrating.

I knew I couldn't take several more weeks of laying in bed barely able to walk or take care of myself and neither could my husband for that matter, so I called my Dr and asked him to squish me in whenever he could.  I knew something had changed and I wanted to find out what and deal with it asap so I can get back to feeling fantastic.  I saw him last night after he had seen all of his other patients.  It was 11:30 when I finally saw him.

I updated him on my symptoms and we jumped right in to muscle testing to see what the heck was going on.  Here are my results.

This is on a scale from 1-5 then 0.
Remember that 1= really bad problem  3= active and needs work 5= barely detectable 0= not present
In other words, the higher the number the healthier I am, but the ultimate goal is all zeros.


Test                    Dec '11      1/12       4/12          5/12      7/5     7/31

Lyme                   4                 4            2               1            0       0
Babesia               3                 2            2                3           5       3

Bartonella           3                 2            2                3            0      3

Parasites             0                 1            5                0            0       3
Viruses               4                 3            3                4            4     

Mycoplasma      4                 4            4                4            5       5

Yeast/mold/fungi  3              3            4                4            3       3

Bacteria             3                 2            3                4            2       2

Neurotoxins       4                4                              4            3       2

Metals                4                4                               4           3




Interpretation:
  • YAY!!!!!!  I'm still showing negative for Lyme.  It's still possible that it's just hiding, but zeros two times in a row is a really good sign :-)
  • Babesia has increased - could explain some of the fatigue, lack of endurance, and light headedness  Info on Babesia: http://lymenaide.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/babesia/                AND two videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGSWaXy1iHk    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOakxoorjoQ
  • Bartonella has increased from nothing to active infection.  Dang it!  This is most likely what is causing my neurological symptoms.                                                                                          Info on Bartonella: http://www.lymedisease.org/lyme101/coinfections/bartonella.html
  • I still need to work on clearing the candida from my gut.                                                         Info on Candida:    http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/systemicyeastinfections.html          Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahL2POVPeHA&feature=related
  • I picked up a parasite, some type of worm.  This is what is causing my stomach upset and digestion issues.  Who knows where I got it, but the chaos that it's causing on my tummy shows me that any little thing is enough to tip the scales and make me feel sick again.  I may be making progress on riding the infections, but I think my immune system is still weak and that's why I pick these up so easily and am so effected by them.
  • The increases I've made in in my protocol have killed stuff and I have an increase in neurotoxins that are released as the organisms die.  This probably also contributes to my neuro symptoms.
So in general, things aren't tooooo bad.  I'm still getting better over all I just need to refocus my protocol on parasites ( they work as a team with the tick infections and make the whole picture worse) and the co-infections of bartonella and babesia.

Now that I know what is going on I feel quite a bit calmer.  I can wrap my head around the symptoms and I've got a new protocol to address my current needs.  I'm feeling a little better in general after almost a week in bed and a bit better now that I know what is happening inside my body.  I'm all ramped up to take another swing at these buggers and get back to where I was just a week and a half ago.  Hopefully this is one of the last major bumps in the road that leads to long term health.

Thanks for reading.  Your questions and comments are always welcome.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Current Protocol - What I'm taking to treat chronic Lyme

One of the things I love the most about muscle testing or A.R.T. is that my Lyme Disease treatment or protocol changes often to adapt to the changes happening in my body.  I think this method works really well for me because I get to find out what to take, when to take it, how much to take, and it's not a guessing game any more.  I finally feel like I know that each and every pill or drop I ingest is actually doing something beneficial for me and I no longer feel like I'm just taking handfuls of pills and hoping that something will work.  Instead I'm taking just what I need and it is working.

This is my current treatment plan and it's the smallest, easiest protocol I've had since I started treating in 2008.  YAY!!!!


Morning

4 drops MC-BAB-1

1 dropper Jernigan Yeast Ease

1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II Basic

- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

Pekana Basic Detoxification & Drainage Kit 
-15 drop each apo-Hepat, Itires, and Renelix

1 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

2 Ashwagandha 400mg

1 Unique E -400 IU

3 IsoCourt


Afternoon

2 Food Based Multi Vits

3 IsoCourt

1 dropper Jernigan Yeast Ease

Night

1  Melatonin SR 3 mg.

1 Low Dose Naltrexone 4.5mg

4 drops MC-BAB-1

1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II Basic

- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

1 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

1 dropper Jernigan Yeast Ease
 
1 Dr. Ohhira Probiotic

1 energetix Flora Synergy

1/2 tsp Ferrum phos homeopathic remedy
in 1/4 C. water then take 1 tsp. under tongue each night
once a week take 12 pellets instead

I'd love to hear what you're taking that works and if you've taken any of these things.  Questions and comments always welcome, but remember if you don't have anything nice to say it might be better not to say anything :-)

Friday, July 6, 2012

Fantastic News!

 I've been on the new protocol that includes Bicillin injections for just over 5 weeks now.  For the most part I have been feeling really good.  The twitching has stopped and I can feel my symptoms lifting.  I'm sleeping less, have more energy and the brain fog is lifting!!!!  Hooooraaayyyy!

It's been really nice finding out that underneath all the layers of sickness and funk I'm still there and I'm still me.  As my energy returns I'm discovering just how deeply this illness has effected my entire life.  I hadn't fully realized that it permeated every single moment of my life.  I had grown so accustomed to lyme "normal" that I didn't realize I was so tired I was moving though space and every moment of my life in a way that wasn't fully authentic.  As my symptoms lift I find, for example, that I can suddenly climb stairs without effort, in fact I can bounce up them again.  My week little voice has got it's uumph and confidence back.  I'm feeling creative and I'm up and moving around most of the day.  I even went swimming and to a festival!  It's been really nice to discover myself shinning through as the fog begins to lift more then it has in years.  When it happens I sometimes think to myself, "Oh yeah, here I am and check me out, I'm freaking awesome!"  It's a really, really good feeling.

SO...I had an appointment with my doctor last night and we retested all of my issues and my supplements.  The results were surprising.  Both the doctor and I we expecting improvements in both how I feel and in my numbers, but we had no idea how good it would be.

Remember that 1= really bad problem  3= active and needs work 5= barely detectable 0= not present
In other words, the higher the number the healthier I am, but the ultimate goal is all zeros.


Test                    Dec '11      1/12       4/12          5/12      7/5

Lyme                   4                 4            2               1            0 (we triple checked)

Babesia               3                 2            2                3           5

Bartonella           3                 2            2                3           0

Parasites             0                 1            5                0           0

Viruses               4                 3            3                4           4

Mycoplasma      4                 4            4                4           5

Yeast/mold/fungi  3              3            4                4           3

Bacteria             3                 2            3                4            2   

Neurotoxins       4                4                              4            3

Metals                4                4                               4           3


Interpretation:   WAAAAAAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! (happy dance)
  • This is the first time I have had 3 zeros!!!!
  • parasite free for two months in a row!
  • NO more bartonella
  • NO more Lyme (fingers crossed)
  • Almost rid of mycoplasma AND babesia
What, WHAT?  Did I just say I currently don't have LYME?  Yes, yes I did!!!

After starting the Bicillin I started feeling better and better until about a week ago when I started to have some symptoms creep back.  It looks like taking the Bicillin for 5 weeks did a little number on my tummy and now I've got an increase in yeast and gut bacteria and toxins.  These things are to be expected and are likely the cause of my remaining symptoms.  It's a tad disappointing to feel funky after feeling so fantastic for several weeks, but at least I know for sure that we are making progress and that I'm in the home stretch right now.

So as of now my doctor says we can't say that I'm cured because there is a chance that he can't detect the Lyme because it's gone into a dormant cyst form, but he said we can say that at least for yesterday I didn't have Lyme!!!  He's guessing that as we're making progress and peeling off the layers of illness my body will heal and my immune system will get stronger and things will continue to progress faster and faster (double wahoo and one more happy dance!!!!!!).  He's estimating that I'll be better or almost totally better in 2-3 months!!!!!!!  No one has ever said that before.  I have always been told a year - year and a half for the last 4 years.  Things are getting really exciting around here.

What surprises me the most about this great news is how fast it happened.  I've been sick for so long and I feel like I've tried everything.  The spring was really rough for me, I was twitching so bad and for sooooo long that I was beginning to think I might just have to accept that life was as good as it was going to get.  I never expected that 5 shots in the ass would be enough to cause such a dramatic improvement, let alone a possible remission of Lyme.  It just blows my mind that one day I can be sick as all get out and then just weeks later feel better then I have in years.  It really is amazing.

For now, we've adjusted my treatment protocol.  It's focused on the last bit of babesia, yeast, toxins, and bacteria in my gut.  It's the smallest protocol I've had since I started treatment in 2008.  I'll do another post with the details very soon.  I have to be extra careful with my diet, so no more gluten free cookies for a while.  I'm really excited to find out what life will be like after the rest of these nagging symptoms lift and are gone for good.

Keep on keeping on!


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

These are a few of my favorite foods

People often ask me what I eat if I can't eat wheat, dairy, and about a zillion other things.  Well, I've made a list for you of some of my favorite foods.  Hopefully you'll find some inspiration here.  I'm sure you'll discover that my diet is anything but boring.  Comments and questions are always welcome.  Bon apetit!   Did I spell that right?

Breakfast

Scrambles - scrambled eggs with whatever I can find in the fridge ( potatoes, spinach, zucchini, asparagus, turkey sausage, tomatoes, rice, black beans, tomatoes, chard, kale, quinoa, leftovers, etc.)

Toast and scrambles eggs - I like udi's breads and bagels and Food for life's english muffins

Homemade Muffins - pumpkin or fresh blueberry are my favs

Pancakes - usually homemade, but occasionally Trader Joe's GF if I don't feel well

Crustless Quiche - There is a recipe on my blog

Breakfast Sandwiches - Bagel, egg, turkey sausage, turkey bacon or sliced lunch meat, cheese (daiya), spinach, pesto (homemade), tomato

Quinoa - I'll cook it with stock and then top it with eggs and spinach and maybe some turkey sausage

Pigs in a blanket muffins - Just make muffins, but use pancake batter and stir in breakfast sausage and bake - YUM!

Omelet - stuff with your fav fillings


Lunch

Most of the time I eat dinner leftovers for lunch or I snack heavily, but sometimes I will make something just for lunch.

Turkey Sandwich on Udi's bread - When I get really inspired I'll use pesto, sundried tomatoes, olives, cheese, spinach, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sprouts, etc.

GF mac n cheese - I make it with Earth Balance and rice milk to lower the amount of dairy

Turkey dogs - no bun

Nachos

Frozen GF pizza

Frozen GF chicken nuggets

Tuna on thin rice cakes or rice crackers

Salad

Green apple and cashew butter

Taquitos

Grilled "cheese" sandwiches

Canned soup

Thai noodle soup - similar to top ramen


Dinner

Most of my meal planning revolves around dinner.  I find that there are often enough leftovers for lunches and the extra ingredients can be used in breakfast and lunches.

Stir Fry and Rice - I usually use chicken and lots of veggies and top with GF sauces from San-J or I make my own

Fried Rice - Can be made with Stir Fry ingredients, I usually use chicken and veggies and GF tamari soy sauce, ut you can use any leftover meat or even tofu

Taco night - crunchy or soft corn tortillas, ground chicken or turkey, black beans, rice, and all the fixins

Nachos - Use taco night left overs and pile 'em high for nachos.  I like to get chips with flax or something as healthy as possible

Enchiladas - I'll use any leftover taco night fillings and add potato, chard, spinach, olives, green beans, or any other veggies I have available, roll into GF tortillas and top with green enchilada sauce.  I like the GF tortillas at New Leaf the best, but I'll use teff I can't find them.

Roasted Chicken - I get a whole chicken, brine it over night and bake it with carrots and potatoes

Chicken Soup - After we've eaten most of the chicken I'll make soup out of it.  Sometimes I add quinoa, GF noodle, or rice, but always use lots of veggies

Cornbread and Chili - I like Pamela's mix the best, just top with black bean chili and you're done!

Baked Potatoes and Chili - Same as above.  Sometimes I make my own chili other time I used canned.

Chili Dogs - self explanatory 

Hearty Salad - This is an everything but the kitchen sink type salad.  We try to eat this once a week or so to be sure we're eating enough veggies.  I make a typical salad with garden veggies and we'll top it with any number of things - chicken, turkey bacon, sunflower seeds, pumpkins seeds, cranberries, raisins, sliced apple, toasted nuts, GF croutons,  beans, sprouts, mandarin oranges, cabbage, anything
Burgers - We'll get ground turkey or chicken and mix it with fun stuff like fresh garlic, parm cheese, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, etc. and let it sit for at least an hour before we grill 'em.  I usually top mine off with agave sweetened BBQ sauce, cheese, tomato, and wrap in romaine leaves.  I've come to prefer it without the bun.

GF Pasta -  right now my favorite is quinoa pasta, but some of the brown rice ones are good too.  I have two styles of sauce that I alternate between.  One is dairy free creamy pesto with veggies and the other is homemade tomato sauce made with whatever I have

Pizza- homemade GF crust topped with all kinds of yummy stuff

Creamy Polenta - topped with mushroom sauce, pesto, or marinara and cheese

GF beer battered fish - I usually use talapia or cod

Homemade veggie sushi - just make sticky rice and julienne a bunch veggies and roll 'em up

Crustless Quiche - recipe on my blog, just bake yummy stuff with scrambles eggs and call it dinner

Apricot Teriyaki Chicken - recipe in the 1000 GF recipes cook book

Bruchetta - I'll make GF french bread and my own bruchetta topping and pair it with salad and call it dinner

Thanksgiving dinner- roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad

Sausages - we like the sundried tomato chicken sausages at TJ's because they don't have intestines

Felafel Balls with salad and rice or quinoa 

Tamales - usually store bought, but sometimes we get homemade ones from local families


Side Dishes

Homemade fries or potato wedges - I like to use sunflower oil and itallian herbs

Carrot fries - slice like fries, top with high heat oil and sea salt and bake at 425 until slightly blackened

Quinoa - add flavor by cooking with stock

Brown rice

Salad

Grilled veggies - we like zucchini and asparagus the best

Veggies sauteed in garlic and butter

Carrots and snap peas in creamy carrot "butter"

Steamed veggies

Cucumber and tomato salad

Asian Cucumber cups

Green Beans with olive oil and lemon

Baby Carrots and hummus

Mashed Potatoes and Gravey

Sweet Potato fries


Snacks

Homemade granola bars

GF pretzels

Green apple with cashew butter

Fresh Fruit

Fruit Leather

Nuts - mostly cashews

Popcorn (rarely)

Corn chips and salsa

Fresh veggies with hummus

Dried fruit

GF crackers

Rice cakes - I like the thin ones the best

Pumpkin or sunflower seeds







Friday, June 1, 2012

My current Lyme Disease Treatment Plan

People often ask me what I'm taking to treat Lyme Disease, it's co-infections, and all the assorted symptoms and related issues that come along with it.  I've put together a list of what I take and provided links to helpful resources as often as possible, just click on the colored words to get more info about the product or it's use.  Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Morning


3 drops MC-BAB-1

1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II CNS/PNS 
- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

1/2 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

2 Ashwagandha 400mg

2 Andrographis 400mg

1 Acetyl -L-Carnitine 500mg

1 Unique E -400 IU

2 Food Based Multi Vits from Advanced Nutritional System

3 IsoCourt

2 Isoquercetin 100 mg.






Afternoon

1 Acetyl -L-Carnitine 500mg

2 Food Based Multi Vits

3 IsoCourt

1 Lithium Orotate

1 Vitamin D3 5000 IU

Night

2 Melatonin SR 3 mg.

1 Low Dose Naltrexone 4.5mg

Pekana Basic Detoxification & Drainage Kit 
-15 drop each apo-Hepat, Itires, and Renelix

3 drops MC-BAB-1
1/2 tsp. Neuro-Antitox II CNS/PNS
- Apple Cider Vinegar formula

1 tsp. Silvercillin Liquid

2 Andrographis 400mg

1 Magnesium Taurate 125mg

1 Acetyl -L-Carnitine 500mg

1 Lithium Orotate

2 Isoquercetin 100 mg.

1 Dr. Ohhira Probiotic


Soon I will Be adding Smilax and weekly Bicillin Injections


Thursday, May 31, 2012

Doctor's Visit

Last night I went for an appointment with my Lyme doctor.  I've been having a lot of neurological symptoms lately so I was really looking forward to seeing him.

We reviewed my current symptoms: fatigue, involuntary movements, tingly arms, difficulty walking, slowed speech and cognitive function.  In general I feel like if only I didn't have these few really debilitating symptoms I would be doing really well.  I can feel the old me trying to rise to the surface but it's as if I'm weighted down by these few major issues.  We also reviewed the list of my old symptoms and celebrated having so many of them resolved.

Then we moved on to muscle testing or ART as some people call it.  We tested for my current infections and compared them to my last visits.  He uses a ranking system where 1 is the most active or biggest problem, 3 is present but not incredibly active, 4-5 is detectable but at a verylow  level, and 0 is not present at all.  Here is an over view of my ART results.

Test                    Dec '11      1/12       4/12          5/12

Lyme                   4                 4            2               1           

Babesia               3                 2            2                3

Bartonella           3                 2            2                3  

Parasites             0                 1            5                0

Viruses               4                 3            3                4

Mycoplasma      4                 4            4                4

Yeast/mold/fungi  3              3            4                4

Bacteria             3                 2            3                4                

Neurotoxins       4                4                              4

Metals                4                4


Looking at my results we can see that in general I have really good numbers.  Pretty much everything is at a 4 except for babs and bart which are 3s (present but not reeking havoc).  I have gotten rid of ALL parasites.  I think my effort to avoid sushi has helped with this along with some good supplments.  I'm doing pretty well except for a raging case of Lyme Disease.

What I find really interesting about this method of testing is that it often explains how I'm feeling.  I had said that I felt like if I cold get these last few really awful symptoms to clear I would be feeling great and i think I was right.  Once I get this Lyme under control I should be feeling a lot better because I'm not dealing with as many big infections any more.

The next thing we did was to test all of my current protocol.  We discovered that as usual I'm really sensitive to a lot of things and about half of my treatment was no longer working for me.  Taking so many things that my body was no longer liking  might also have been contributing to me not feeling so well these last 4-6 weeks.

We removed all of the stuff my body didn't want, adjusted the doses on a few items, and then added in just a few new things to treat this raging case of Lyme.  I left with a good understanding of what is happening inside my body and a significantly smaller protocol which made me happy.

One of the best lessons I have learned since doing this muscle testing is that sometimes when I think I'm not getting better, that's not the case.  Instead it sometimes is just a switching of dominance in my my infections.  One month I may feel very neuro, another month short of breath, and another my gut may be hurting.  I've learned to recognize that just means that things are changing.  As I clear out one infection another rises to the top and I attack it.  In general, my results are getting better and I'm on a good path.

I'll be doing another blog post soon with my new protocol, but for now I'll share that he wants me to go back on antibiotics for a little while.  I tested well for Bicillin injections.  He thinks 4-6 weeks at one injection a week should perk me back up.  If it doesn't knock out the entire infection we will rotate to something else because after a while the Lyme bacteria adapt and it looses it's effectiveness.  I'm not looking to the pain that comes along with the injections or the ensuing herx reaction, but I am really excited about feeling a lot better and kicking Lyme in the ass once and for all.

Questions and comments always welcome.

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