It's about that time again. Time for a treatment update. I actually don't believe I ever did an update when my IV's changed in January but we will discuss that in a moment. I figured this would be the perfect time for a treatment update not only because my treatment has changed, but also because May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
Before we get into the treatment, I'd like to quickly provide 5 "fun" facts about Lyme in honor of May being what it is.
5 facts about Lyme that you should know:
1. Less than 50% of Lyme cases present with the typical bulls eye rash
2. The standard Quest lab test (western blot and Elisa) only test for one strain of Lyme while there are 100s all over the world, 12 of which are currently known to cause Lyme (no wonder so many test negative for Lyme!) 3. Lyme is more epidemic than AIDS, west Nile, and avian flu combined
4. Annual cases of Lyme disease far exceed the number of new cases of breast cancer each year
5. You can contract Lyme disease from almost any insect that bites, from spiders to horse flys, NOT JUST ticks .
As many of you may already know, mid December-end of March, I was completing weekly IV's, about 3 IV's a week. And they were seriously kicking my a**! I felt miserable and come April, I knew I needed a break.
I don't think the IV's were necessarily a bad thing, I think they were just doing their job REALLY well and it was a lot for my body to handle. I reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore and I had to back off. I was completing a mix of hydrogen peroxide, vitamin C, and ALA IV's along with Argentyn 23 (silver) and glutathione pushes. Mind you, at baby doses of them all. Man, I'm a wimp.... or at least my body is. My doctor even took the time to make fun of me on occasion ;).
Surprisingly, I felt like vitamin C was kicking my ass the most. How odd? The one IV that was supposed to be the most nourishing made me feel like I had been hit by a bus. Have any of you experienced that? Any thoughts on why vit C, of all things, would make me feel that way? I mean, not to say that h202 wasn't also kicking my butt.
Throughout all of that, I, of course, continued my detoxing regimen and will continue to do so until the day I die (maybe just at a lighter load in the future... well, definitely hopefully!). So let's move on to what I'm doing currently.
We decided to put a break on IV's for April and May, until I seem my doctor again at the end of May. Instead, I've been completing:
- 2 ozone sauna's a week with the goal of staying in them for 30 minutes to get as much ozone into me as possible. I'm big on the ozone right now, but due to the fact that my blood could win an Oscar for clotting skills, I can't do ozone IV's at the moment. I'm trying to make up for it my getting ozone into my body every other way possible.
- Ozone insuflation... in every hole south of my mouth (Hey, I know ya'll like when I'm honest). Like I said, gimme all the ozone!
- All the usual supplements. I am not taking any tinctures or supps designed to kill or break biofilms, just your usual dietary supplements and the prescription medications I "need."
- All my usual detoxing.
- I just began seeing a Chinese Medicine doctor who works with my main LLMD. She is going to be addressing food allergy/intolerance issues using the NAET technique. I also will be completing some more testing and muscle testing with her to determine what else may be going on or what the biggest problem is (mold? parasites? Lyme? What is the first layer of the onion that needs to be addressed to get to the other layers?). I'll keep you posted on how those appointments go, I just saw her for the first time last week.
- I also have been working hard on the emotional aspect of Lyme and treatment. This includes seeing a therapist (I have a great one who also has been through the Lyme tornado) and completing a session of Family Constellation therapy, which I hope to continue in the future if finances permit.
- I am still doing bee venom therapy but I have dropped down to once a week.
- I added in Cranial-Sacral therapy once a week. Although I can't say I've noticed anything from it yet, I feel something there and my therapist is fantastic. I'm excited to keep working with her.
- Per usual, I'm working hard to try and keep my diet in check. DANG, is that hard when you feel like crap with no energy to cook and the sugar cravings are on high.
So, that's the gist of it. Still working hard to get my life back. And to be honest, the life I had when I was 7 years old. That's the energy and happiness I want back. What a puzzle Lyme is, am I right?! I feel like we are missing one tiny thing and once I figure out exactly what that is, everything else will fall into place. Fingers crossed.
I wanted to share a video I made about a day in my life. I posted it on my YouTube channel and I share what a day in the life of someone with Lyme disease, who is treating holistically and alternatively, looks like:
How are you all feeling? What treatments are you doing? What have you found works for you? How do you keep your diet on track when you aren't feeling well? Let me know, I love reading comments and hearing from all you wonderful people!
Aviva says
Your treatment plan sounds great! You got this! Love reading these blog posts. You make me more excited about getting ozone IVs. Yay ozone! xoxo things will get better
Lemons 'n Lyme says
Aw, thanks Aviva! Yes to ozone (although, wish you could find a cheaper clinic). Thanks for always being there for me!
juliekimmel says
Wow!!! You've really been put through the ringer. Thanks for sharing all of your protocols. It's always good to compare what you're doing to others.
I understand the Vit C butt kicking. I'm having that with Magnesium. It's a killer. You're doing so much more than I'm able to do, both in how much my body can handle, and financially.
Hang in there.... you know we're all rooting for you!
Julie
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Note® II, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
Lemons 'n Lyme says
Hey Julie! Ugh, it is a lot and it's exhausting to feel like I'm doing all the right things without much improvement. What a process! Are you doing magnesium IV's? I tried those and they destroyed me, i just couldn't handle it! It's certainly getting rough financially, i'm currently using my grad school savings to pay for life :(.
Thanks for the support, I'm sending equal amounts back your way <3
Dori says
Hi Victoria! I always enjoy you blog, and would love to know more about the ozone therapy.
As to your vitamin C question...did you listen to the chronic lyme summit last month that Dr. Jay Davidson put on? One of the speakers was Kevin Conners(www.ConnersClinic.com). He talked about needing to know if you are Th1 or Th2 dominant- if you use the wrong supplements, he thinks you will develop autoimmune issues. He has free Lyme books on his website you can download...he explains it much better than me, but I recently found this out the hard way- my lyme caused RA and I had been symptom free for a year and a half. In January I relapsed with lyme big time:(. My Drs put me on mega doses of mushroom complex to "boost " my immune system- boy did it boost it- my joints started burning. Mushrooms( and vitamin C) are Th1, once youve made autoimmune antibodies, you are Th2 dominant, and require different supplements. I had just heard this info for the first time and immediately stopped the mushrooms, RA flare is gone 3 weeks later.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble, but his books are free...hope it helps:)
Lemons 'n Lyme says
I did watch... most... of the Lyme Summit last month, i guess I must have missed Dr. Conners speech! Thank you for all this info and linking his website, I will check that out. I briefly heard about this a couple years ago in research which is why I never used mushrooms but I never dove into it further or knew about vitamin C. I'm so glad to hear your RA flare is gone after adjusting correctly. Is there a blood test you did to determine if you were TH1 or 2 dominant?
Shelby's Life with Lyme says
One thing I do for those sugar cravings: when I have a bit of energy, I make some yummy desserts (like gluten/sugar free peanut butter cookies, coconut flour cookies, flaxseed bread, etc). That way, when a craving comes on, I have stuff in the fridge/freezer to go to, and I don't feel guilty or horrible afterwards.
The recipes are all super easy too 🙂
Lemons 'n Lyme says
Good idea! Any favorite recipes you could link to? Or do you make them up yourself?
Shelby's Life with Lyme says
Of course! Perhaps I will share these on my blog as well!
Yummy Banana bread that I make all the time:
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/desserts/paleo-banana-bread/
Flaxseed cookies (you can sub chia seeds as well!):
http://powerhungry.com/2013/02/847/
Love this Flaxseed bread!
http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2014/08/flaxseed-focaccia-bread/
I make these Coconut flour Cookies ALL the time:
http://wellnessmama.com/2233/coconut-flour-biscuits/
Enjoy! Let me know how these work for you if you try them!
Lemons 'n Lyme says
Great, thank you, I'll have to check these out!
Shelby's Life with Lyme says
Let me know if I can help in any other way!
Shelby's Life with Lyme says
Of course, glad to share!
I make these Coconut flour Cookies ALL the time and often use Stevia instead of honey:
http://thecoconutmama.com/coconut-flour-cookies/
These I've made multiple times and have subbed the flaxseed for chia seeds once or twice:
http://powerhungry.com/2013/02/847/
A friend shared this recipe- so yummy!!
http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2014/08/flaxseed-focaccia-bread/
Awesome banana bread recipe:
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/desserts/paleo-banana-bread/
If you want more, let me know! And tell me how it goes making these if you try them!