Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Beginning Month 7...Back On Track

I'm happy to announce that I'm walking without a cane and the pain from the "episode" on June 28th is gone. 
It feels good to be back on track.

My energy is still low, although it's much better than when I was recovering from the muscle spasms and could barely stand for more than 3 minutes. Sometime's I get a little frustrated not being able to do projects or making dinner for my husband and daughter(she's 22) or being able to do chores and projects around the house. I've learned to just shut that voice down and tell myself that my number one job right now is to get well and that means taking it easy.

That's easier said than done!


One of the problems I have with taking it easy is that my muscles have lost all their muscle tone and they  look like those of an 80 year old woman. I'm afraid of pushing myself physically for fear of another muscle spasm "episode". Those on the lyme Facebook groups complain about the loss of muscle tone, as well.
I just started adding some Orgain protein powder to my smoothies in the morning. I'm hoping this will help.

Last month, I started adding some whey protein to my smoothies that I had previously used and liked. I took it for about a week and a half and noticed that I felt pretty bad and that it felt like I was herxing. I thought I was just feeling bad, though, and was taking awhile to recover from the episode I had. I happened to be reading a book on lyme disease and read that some whey protein has lactoferrin in it.
Why would this matter? 
Lactoferrin and xylitol are known biofilm busters (those with lyme know that borrelia are hidden in biofilm). Breaking up biofilm would be good, but if you break up biofilm and the herbals are killing off more bacteria than your body can detox, you get a herxheimer(herx) reaction and you feel pretty bad.
After reading this, I looked to see if the whey protein I was using had lactoferrin in it, and sure enough, it did. I immediately stopped taking it and the next day I felt better in the evening. 

As for the muscle pain, I started taking Meriva-SR. I heard about it on one of the lyme Facebook groups. Evidently the person commented that her lyme literate doctor recommended it, so I decided to give it a try.  Curcumin is known to help reduce inflammation and this particular curcumin is supposed to be very effective and the Meriva name is a proprietary curcumin phosphatidylcholine complex, which is the reason why it costs so much. This curcumin isn't just for lyme disease. Many people take it for arthritis, as well.  Here's a link to the RESEARCH. I purchased it from Amazon and here's the link. Read the reviews to see if it will help you or someone you know.


The Meriva-SR is for pain and I'm trying out another product for detoxing. 


I'm also looking into an infrared sauna for our home. I had planned to wait to purchase one until we moved, but I don't think we'll be moving until next summer and I didn't want to wait that long.
I've narrowed it down from 3 different manufacturers to the one I want. I just have one more question for them to answer and then I'll be ordering, possibly in the next day or so. I enjoy going to the infrared sauna at the spa, but I'm only able to make it once a week when I'm feeling well. I haven't been since the end of June before my muscle spasm "episode" A good low/no emf infrared sauna is expensive, but I  earmarked our tax return from this year for one. I even put that money in our savings account so that we wouldn't get used to having that money in the bank.
I'll tell you more about the sauna in another post. 

That's where I am as I'm starting my 7th month on the Restore Program from Vital plan.


I hope today is a good day for you! 

Pam 



Here are my symptoms as of today:
fatigue - changes daily, but today it's about a 6
Numbness, tingling in feet are about the same as last month
swollen pads on bottom of feet near toes-have gotten better than last month, but still no progress since Dec.
dizziness- only when tired
difficulty finding words (1- 3-4 when really tired)
blurry eyes ( comes and goes)- this symptom drives me crazy
urgency  (2)
light sensitivity (negligible)
noise sensitivity (1)
startles easily (2)
muscle pain (comes and goes)seems to be better with taking the new supplement
aching forearms-occasionally, 
less than last month
muscle weakness (6)
high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing - high pitch comes and goes, but less than last month
98.3 to 98.6  
Down about 29 pounds (128)

3 comments:

  1. Pam, I am glad to hear that you are doing better, and I hope that you are able to get the sauna soon. Your road to recovery has certainly been a long and hard one, and I will continue to keep you in my prayers.

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  2. Pam, I had no idea! I don't get a chance to read blogs much anymore so I missed this. I'm so sorry you're going through this! It sounds like you're doing all the right things. Glad you are feeling better. Hugs and best wishes you recover quickly. xo

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  3. Congrats on the progress you've been making in your recovery and your positive outlook is also a very big part of the healing process; don't neglect it! It’s good that you’re doing research on supplements and other thing you may augment your recovery with. There's an interest part of you that I've come across in using advanced saunas, too.

    Ronni Casillas @ JNH Life Styles

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