I've been getting a lot of questions about what my treatment is like these days, so I figured I'd share. But let me provide a quick update first.
Well, I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Yeah, you read that right. My parents moved here and since I finished school in May I moved with them until I'm healthy enough to be on my own/go to grad school. We are living in a hotel for a month until the house is done. Let's just say my bedroom is quite packed with treatment stuffs :).
I went home to DC for a month earlier this summer before my family moved and I saw a new doctor. He's an integrative doctor NOT an LLMD. We are keeping my LLMD on the back burner for now. The new doc got me off most medications and supplements (yessssss! Less pills!) and is focusing on detoxing my body and resetting my autonomic nervous system. Some blood work revealed my mold levels are still sky high even after 6 months of mold treatment. So, I'm back on cholysteramine and something called VIP spray (vasoactive intestinal peptide), since those levels are low. I'm excited to explore all the holistic healing that Santa Fe has to offer, though!
I crashed when I first got back to Colorado and was off all meds but now I'm slowly starting to feel better again. I'm really not having many specific symptoms anymore (Besides headaches) just the general exhaustion and run down feeling and I don't last long on my feet or doing things. I take a nap every day and need to rest between activities or limit how much I'm doing. Still, when I am able to do things, I'm able to GO DO THEM for the most part. Fingers crossed. Maybe it's just a good week. We will see.
ANYWAY, Moving has meant basically no cooking or baking going down (hello hotel life and all my cooking supplies being packed in boxes). We do have a full kitchen at the hotel but again, everything I own is packed in boxes in the back of my car. But I felt like I needed to post and update you all about what is going on :). It's also meant not eating the healthiest in the past few weeks and I'm certainly feeling that. I can't wait to get into the house and start cooking again and making bone broth.
My current treatment is focused mainly on detoxing. My doctor also has being doing colonics once a week.
So here is a *general* example of a Wednesday for me, a random day of treatment but most of my days look similar. Sometimes I wake up later sometimes earlier.
9 am: BT-detox drops (Byron White)
9:30ish- Wake up and take first round of Cowden protocol
9:30-10:30- make my way out of bed, Coffee enema and oil pulling
10:30-12:00- Juice, breakfast, morning supplements and meds, reply to emails from you guys
12:-12:30ish- yoga or bodyweight exercises (lately I've actually been able to go to the gym and do a little bit there!)
12:30-1:30: Sauna and shower
2ish- lunch + mid-day supplements (licorice to help boost my blood pressure) and meds
2-3:30- chill out or run errands (usually stalk the internet)
3:30-5: Castor oil pack (I only do this 3 days of the week, usually Wed/Thurs/Fri)
5-6: Epsom salt bath OR another round in the sauna plus another shower (I HATE being sweaty or dirty so I shower too much)
6- second round of Cowden protocol (I'm only doing half the protocol: 2 doses a day rather then the usual 4)
7ish: Dinner, evening supplements and meds
7-10: Watch too much TV, Juice number 2 somewhere in there (although I've been juicing less lately because $$$), dessert because I can't live without it (you know me, it's healthy, don't worry), reply to more emails from you guys (actually usually I just read them and reply a week later when my brain is functioning)
My med taking has gone way done. I used to be taking something every hour! So that is a plus that it is at least slightly less. Anyway, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!
The Person Next to You says
So glad you posted. I have wondered how you are doing. Please keep us updated on your progress. I'm cheering for you!
Miss Diagnoses says
Congrats on surviving your move! I am impressed with your scheduling ability! You are very organized! I am trying to be more organized. Yeah, your meds went down and mine went up ... Azithromycin 500 mg and starting Ceftin 500 mg tomorrow. Same herbs: Samento, Banderol, Spironil (teasel), Biotox Elim (not exactly sure what it is), berberine, etc. I am going to do a post about my protocol, but as usual I am ten posts behind. Aaargh. But you made it, LOL. Glad you are able to go to the gym a bit. You inspire me. Before this Lyme crap I was a gym rat. I did a plank-like move in PT though--would never have attempted it without my therapis standing there encouraging me LOL. Planks are not something I do because of RSI, but one is probably OK. Usually we work on the Pilates machines.
I am glad my LLMD is getting more aggressive, but I fear a herx. I have not had a real killer herx yet.
My health writing class started. Online only, but a ton of work.
Lemons 'n Lyme says
Thanks lady! I can't do life unless I organize haha. i get so lost and bogged down otherwise! Oh yeah, upped the meds but I'm glad you haven't had too bad of a herx yet. You know how to handle it if you do so don't be afraid. Just rest and sleep if you get a bad one. Yay for planks! They are so hard but good thing you did it with your PT. I'm going to be starting Strain-Constrain physical therapy soon. I'll let you know how it goes. Pilates machines are still great, especially for those with a chronic illness. Just do what you can and keep it up! You have been so strong through this and it's impressive. Did you get my last email? Hope it went through! Let me know how your class goes- I'm so interested in hearing about what you learn.
lymewhisperer says
Hi Lemonsnlyme 🙂 Love all the great fabulous healthy food ideas shared on your blog as well and all the inspiration from your journey. I am reaching out to see if you'd consider sharing info about my new book on your blog (or simply posting this message as a blog entry) , since we are both helping to raise awareness surrounding lyme. It is a book of humor and hope found at http://lymewhisperer.com/lyme-whisperer-book/. This post reminded me of an excerpt I wrote about CST in "Chapter 1: Copa Cobana" in case you want to share:
"The evening began with my coworkers and me sitting at the Indigo Hotel’s poolside cabana in Boston’s sweltering, humid one-hundred-degree heat. We sat, joking and laughing while sweat dripped down our faces. I mean, really, what better medicine is there than being distracted from your antics for a bit with sliders, tuna tartar, and great company, Borrelia?
As I noshed on the appetizers and sipped my cosmopolitan, my thoughts went to Barry Manilow and “Copacabana.” I was literally coping in a cabana! I was forgetting about you for a while in what felt like the hottest spot north of Havana! It put a smile on my face, and I chuckled.
Then my blog, LymeWhisperer.com, came up in conversation. My colleagues said I reminded them of Carry Bradshaw, who, on the show Sex and the City, wrote weekly columns and provided intriguing narrative for the show. I liked that analogy. In fact, I guess I am similar to Carrie Bradshaw. In some ways. Sort of. For instance, she’s a shoe lover, and I am a lover of the Dr. Shoemaker’s Lyme Protocol which includes Cholestyramine, a cholesterol drug but is used in the protocol to help eliminate toxins from the body).
From bacon-wrapped scallops to thoughts of Barry Manilow and Carrie Bradshaw, I’d say it was a great night. Feeling appreciative of my coworkers and employees for keeping Borrelia at bay last night, at least mentally!"
Please don't feel obligated or pressured to post in a new blog entry or to keep this message here. I just wanted to reach out in case a fellow lyme blogger was interested in spreading the word and supporting awareness for all of us! 🙂
Wishing you the best in 2015!!
Lyme Whisperer
Lemons 'n Lyme says
I'll be happy to share! Sounds like such a fantastic book, I will have to check it out!