Thursday, November 19, 2015

Month 10 Update

It's been a long 9 plus months...

...taking countless herbs and supplements
...giving up food I really loved  for food I really don't like
...of having days and weeks where I was feeling so bad I 
  couldn't get out of bed and a few times thinking that it would be ok if I simply wouldn't wake up.
...many days of wondering whether there would be a day where I would feel good again
...or if I would ever have enough energy to make it to the grocery store and back.
...or if I'd have enough  energy to care about anything except getting through the day. 

Little by little each month has brought a little progress and healing.
I'm happy to report that I'm having a lot of days where I actually feel good.
Not just better, not just "like my old self", 
but GOOD...
Many of my days I actually feel good inside.
A photo from my other blog



Oh, I still have symptoms and get tired, then get a little dizzy, then I have to sit down. I've had some days where I just felt ok. I even had a week when I had to take antibiotics for an infection where I didn't feel great (ok, it was last week). The antibiotics made me herx and I realized I may still have some bugs in there. It's taken me this long to figure out that I need to detox when I feel a herx coming on and I'm glad I have a sauna to help me do that. 

The bad part about feeling better is that  all the organizing around the house for the past year has gone by the wayside and now I'm seeing all of it.  Kind of like when you've had the flu for 5 days and you finally get better and you notice the house is a wreck. Now picture not feeling well and not caring for a whole year!
We've kept the house tidy thanks to my husband, but deep cleaning and organizing of the kitchen pantry, drawers, etc are a mess.

Now that I have more energy, I've been clearing out and organizing. Yesterday, I cleaned out and organized the pantry. Yay! It took me at least 3 or 4 hours and I was tired when I finished.



If you are in the same place that I was many months ago,
I'm telling you that you will feel better, but it's going to take time.
Just put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. Keep eating good food, keep on taking your supplements, keep detoxing.
On days where you feel bad, just tell yourself "this is only a bad day, I'm going to get better". Don't despair. Keep trying.
One day, you'll wake up and say to yourself.
I feel pretty good today. 

Hope today is a good day for you

Pam


Treatment:
I'm taking the full Restore Program supplements
taking magnesium, Co Q 10, vitamin d3, k2, lion's mane mushroom, fish oil and several other supplements.
I have a (mostly) kale, banana, berry smoothie every morning. 
I get exercise working in our yard (have you seen my yard?)
I get in my far infrared sauna every other day for 30-35 minutes at 125 degrees


Here are my symptoms as of today: (the list is getting shorter!)
I feel good and symptoms are a minor annoyance
fatigue -it's about a 3  Some days it's only a 2 :)
Numbness, tingling in feet are starting to get better
swollen pads on bottom of feet near toes- sometimes it's very minimal
dizziness- only when really tired
difficulty finding words  about a 2 when really tired
blurry eyes - a few days clear, then a few days blurry
urgency  (3) - still a problem
light sensitivity (negligible)
noise sensitivity (3)
startles easily (2)
muscle pain -2
muscle weakness (3)
tremors - only when exposed to constant loud noises, but it's minor
high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing - 
not being able to follow directions (2-3) -comes and goes
98 +  
Weight is still the same- Have lost about 30 pounds since December

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

I don't like oatmeal. 


There, I said it.

I wish I did, because it's on the list of food I can eat.
For those who don't know, I've been on a no sugar, no gluten, no dairy, 50% veggie diet since last December and there are so many things that I don't like. You could call me a picky eater ...
and you'd be right.

The problem is, there aren't very many things I can eat for breakfast and I really needed another option. So, a couple of weeks ago, I tried oatmeal again in hopes that my taste buds have changed.

Nope, still don't like it.

I happened to see a video where the person took a mashed banana, added oats to it and baked it in the oven. 
I gave it a shot because I love oatmeal cookies and granola bars and because it is gluten free and healthy. 
But, it came up flat.
It was a great idea though...
so I added a few things.


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Miscellaneous Musings

I often click on posts shared by those in the various lyme groups I belong to on Facebook. A few weeksk ago, someone put up an article How To Deal With The Fact that Everyone Else Gets To Have A Life on CIRCLINGINTOCENTER.COM.
I saw these 2 comments by the same person:

11 people like this.
Comments
Ant Vet The wounded healer is an archetype for a shamanic trail and journey. This process is important to the young shaman. S/he undergoes a type of sickness that pushes her or him to the brink of death. This happens for two reasons:

The shaman crosses over t
o the underworld. This happens so the shaman can venture to its depths to bring back vital information for the sick, and the tribe.
The shaman must become sick to understand sickness. When the shaman overcomes his or her own sickness s/he will hold the cure to heal all that suffer. This is the uncanny mark of the wounded healer.[24] (from Wikipedia)

UnlikeReply66 hrs
Ant Vet but actually, id like to make a nice package out of my life experience, wrap it in a barbed wire and shove it up the asses of the docs whjo sent me home with "a flu" in 1996!
UnlikeReply76 hrs

The first comment is philosophical.
The second comment is the reality of how a person really feels!



Here's another way to explain the wounded warrior:

Only those who have an inside understanding of true heartache and have -- themselves -- gone through private fires of affliction, can best reach the hearts of those who might presently be going through difficult situations.  
http://www1.cbn.com/devotions/wounded-healers


Being a Christian, I take comfort and gain hope from the following passage in the bible:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

God of All Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Which got me to thinking...
You've heard people say "Everything  happens for a reason" when situations are bad. Well, I cringe when I hear someone saying that. People tend to misinterpret Romans 8:28 this way.  
Would you say that  when a 3 year old develops a brain tumor and dies that it happens for a reason? 
No.
 I don't think everything happens for a reason. I think in that situation that bad things happen in a fallen world (my Christian viewpoint) or for those who are secular...
s*#t happens.

 However, I do believe that good can come out of a bad situation.
That is VERY different from saying everything happens for a reason.

Do you see the difference?

 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 ESV)


Do you agree or disagree?
Would love to hear from you.

Hope today is a good day for you

Pam

Next week I'll be sharing an update as to how I'm doing as I start "round" 9 on the Restore Program and I hope you'll stop by again.

PS: if you shop on Amazon, would you do me a big favor and go through one of the links on this website? I will make a small commision on things that you purchase(your price is still the same) and that pays for some of my treatment. Thanks so much!