The Roundabout Way To Finding Energy

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This is a long post, but I always like to explain things fully, so hang in there!

It's been a long 12 months since we moved into our new house. For those who don't know the story, go to THIS post. The short version is: I worked too hard getting our house ready to sell from January 1 to May 2016, then had an extremely stressful downsize/move and I started crashing after our house sold. I just couldn't get out of bed and was totally exhausted. Then, sometime around Fall, I developed brain fog and dizziness and couldn't drive most days. I am so thankful that my husband and daughter helped me by stopping off at the grocery store to bring food home, as well as helping me around the house.

During this time I kept taking all of my supplements and trying new ones that I thought would help, but I wasn't making any progress.

Around January, I started looking into getting my amalgams removed. It took several months of getting quotes from 2 different holistic dentists for amalgam replacement.

Can't remember when I found the Andy Cutler Chelation Support Group on Facebook, but I started taking the "Core 4" they recommend. They are: 200 mg magnesium 4 times a day, 1-2 grams of Vitamin C 4 times a day, 1000 mg mixed tocopherols Vitamin E, once a day and 50 mg Zinc once a day. Getting the right dosage of vitamin C was fun...NOT! 1 gram 4 x a day is all I can handle.

Not sure I felt any better on those, but I continued taking them (still do).
If you read my last post, I told you how K-Laser treatments took away the really bad brain fog, so that I could drive to my appointments, but I still had dizziness throughout the day, which made me unable to accomplish much because I was tired and couldn't think efficiently.

I spent many hours reading posts in the groups on Facebook, which lead me to articles, which led me to supplements I could try.  Here's a good tip: Amazon is a great place to read about how supplements have or haven't helped people. When choosing a product, I will always look at how many people have reviewed the item. If it's got a 4+ stars  and several hundred reviews, that's the product I might try.

So, several weeks ago, I somehow found my way to Youtube and a video about a guy who was making GCMAF(an immune booster) with a raw probiotic and colostrum. The video piqued my interest, so I did a Google search for  "colostrum and lyme disease", which brought me to several articles.
After that, I search for  "colostrum" in the different lyme groups to see what people were saying. Many people said that Sovereign Laboratories had the best colostrum, so I went to the website and ordered one of their samples.

I ordered a sample instead of a larger pack because it's really expensive and if I didn't like the taste of it I didn't want to waste my money! It's also available on Amazon through the link above. Be sure to read the reviews!

This is what Sovereign Laboratories says about colostrum:

Colostrum's Growth Factors — Not Just for Newborns

Colostrum contains numerous growth factors (hormones) which promote healing and create an anti-aging response. Research shows that colostrum's growth factors offer the following benefits:

• Regenerate and accelerate normal growth of aged or injured muscle, bone, cartilage, skin collagen and nerve tissue.

• Help the body burn fat for fuel instead of muscle tissue in times of fasting or dieting.

• Help build and retain lean muscle.

• Repair DNA and RNA.

• Heal burns, surgical incisions, cuts, abrasions, and mouth sores with topical application.

• Control infection and pain associated with gingivitis, sensitive teeth and dental work.

• Help regulate blood glucose levels and "brain chemicals", providing alertness and better concentration.

• Help regulate the brain's "feel-good" chemicals to brighten mood.

You can read the whole article  HERE


A few days after ordering the sample, it arrived and tasted ok; like watered down milk.  The next day, our daughter is in need of immune support, so I gave the sample of colostrum to her. After giving her the sample of colostrum, I spent the money and ordered a 16 oz pack.

I was a little disappointed that I had to wait several days, but while I was online searching for colostrum, another product came up.  I happened to have this supplement already, but with all the other things I was taking, I hadn't even tried it. I read about it last year and the housecleaner I hired  before we put our house on the market mentioned it had helped someone she knew and she told me to get it.

I was hoping that the product hadn't expired and it was still good, so I took it the next morning.
I had a little more energy that day, but was thinking I might just be having a good day. I took it the next day and had even more energy and I felt good. It's been almost a week now and I've had energy every day. 2 days this week I woke up at 7 am and started working around the house! Most days I've wake up terribly slow, don't feel good and need at least 2 hours to feel somewhat normal.

So, what is the product???

It's 4Life Transfer Factor Plus. Here are the ingredients:

It's even more expensive than the Sovereign Laboratories colostrum... The SL colostrum is $99.95 for 16 ounces, but the package will last for 3 months. The Transfer Factor Plus is $56.95 and is only a 30 day supply.
Now,  I'm not a doctor and I can't tell you that it's going to work for you, but I'm glad I finally tried it.



Just because it's working for me know, doesn't mean I would have had the same result a year ago. I will never know. It might have helped me so dramatically because of all the other supplements I'm taking, or because I'm not as sick as I used to be.

I was so surprised (and delighted) to have such a dramatic and positive immediate result. Unless I have a negative reaction to something new, I will give it a 3 month trial to make a difference. It takes that long for the body to start healing - at least that's been my experience.
So, there you have it. Transfer Factor Plus is the product that's given me back my energy - At least for now! I will have to do an update in another month to let you know if the energy continues. If it does, and I still feel great, it's definitely worth the money.
Hope today is a good day for you!
Let me know you were here by making a comment. You can also email me anytime at pardesigns @ aol . com
Pam
UPDATE: I still have energy, although it's not as dramatic as the first couple of weeks.  We shall see how things pan out after taking the colostrum 3 months. That seems to be how long it takes for me to see steady progress. 

I'm not a doctor and this post is not meant for medical advice. Check with your doctor before taking any medications or supplements

March 2017 Update- Relief From Brain Fog

I have a great update to share with y'all!

It's been 4 weeks since I've had brain fog!

Let's back up a bit... This dizziness and brain fog didn't feel like lyme to me. Other than those 2 symptoms, I felt pretty good, but the brain fog and dizziness was pretty debilitating and I couldn't drive, I didn't have any energy, I was really clumsy, couldn't think and  couldn't function doing many things around the house.

I tried taking Jernigan Nutraceuticals Neuro Anti-tox, which helped my brain fog when it was caused by die off, but it didn't help this time.  I tried taking B vitamins and some others. Nothing seemed to help.

I kept reading and I couldn't find any answers, so I made an appointment with a new chiropractor and started going 2 times a week. She did adjustments, the Graston technique and K-laser on the super tight muscles in my neck. I was able to make it to the appointments the first week, but thank goodness my husband was able to drive me to a Friday appointment because the brain fog was bad and I felt awful. That was the last time I had brain fog.

After my fifth K- laser treatment, I felt pretty good. Just a bit of dizziness during the day, especially if I did too much, but no brain fog. I've been able to drive and get work done around the house since then. I still have neck and back tightness and some pain, but not having brain fog is a BIG DEAL!

There's still a lot of work to do on the tight muscles in my back and neck and will be going to the chiropractor often. I think having 2 K-laser treatments a month will help. Just so you know, K-laser is a brand of cold laser that helps your body heal.
Here's the video that explains how it works. 

K-Laser Mechanism of Action, Human from K-Laser on Vimeo. 


 You can find out more about K-Laser on their website HERE.

Some other good news- Last month I started to be able to ride in a car without it being a white knuckle ride. 

This. Is. Big. 

Being in a car used to cause me so much anxiety and it's nice to be able to go somewhere and be relaxed.
More good news: I've been able to go to church and not wear ear plugs during worship and the sermon. Yay! (Last Sunday after working too hard the previous day, I felt awful and wore them)

So, I think I have the brain fog and anxiety symptoms are taken care of. What about the other symptoms?

I still have some remaining symptoms that are irritating and one, in particular affects and limits my daily life. After reading Dr. Rawls' post on Bartonella again, I realize the remaining symptoms I have point to Bartonella. You can read Dr. Rawls' Bartonella post HERE. I've tried Buhner's protocol for Bartonella twice. Both times I could only stand it about a week or 2 before it got too bad and had to stop. I think I'll start some of the herbs and supplements again. I'm thinking the Sida Acuta is the herb giving me the horrible symptoms. We shall see. 

So here's my plan this month:

1- Chiropractic: adjustments weekly and K-Laser twice a month($50 a treatment)

2- Parasite Cleanse- ordered and received a parasite cleanse from Dr. Morse

3- Biological Dentist- 3rd appointment at the end of the month to discuss a treatment plan

4- Bartonella protocol- waiting until April to start. Daughter will be visiting and Taxes need to be organized, so I can't be sick right now. 

4- Vital Plan Supplements- Now on Advanced Biotic (previously called A-Biotic) and Adaptogen Recovery

6- Various supplements, especially Vitamin C, Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin E, Lithium Orotate, Curcumin, Co Q 10, DigestEase, Ashwagandha, L-theanine, Selenium, Formula 303, Acetyl L Carnitine.

7. Migun Infrared Mat daily, Infrared sauna 3 to 4 times a week. 

That's it. Getting well isn't for the faint of heart. 

My husband Tim and I

Do something today to help yourself heal.

Hope today is a good day for you

Pam

Here is the status of my symptoms:

Numbness, tingling in feet - seems to be getting better

swollen pads on bottom of feet near toes-a little better

dizziness/off balance- better.

brain fog- seems to be gone!

difficulty finding words. 0

blurry eyes - a few days clear, then a few days blurry

urgency  (3) - still a problem

noise sensitivity (2)

startles easily- very little unless it's a really loud noise.

muscle pain -2 some days more

muscle weakness (2)

high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing. High pitch comes and goes,

not being able to follow directions - hasn't been a problem.

98 +   temp

Weight is stable at between 125 to 129

January 2017 Update

Hello friends!

Hope you are making progress and feeling a bit better each month. 

This update is long overdue and I apologize for not writing sooner. I've been pretty busy getting our new house organized. It's been 6 months and we're still sorting things out and getting things to where they belong.

Many of you know that I had been feeling really good with a lot of energy at the beginning of 2016 and I worked really hard getting our house ready to sell, sold it and moved, then moved to a new house 6 months ago. All of that stress caught up with me and I started feeling bad again. My brain fog had been worse than ever and I haven't been able to drive much. Many days I've been able to clean the whole house, do 4 loads of laundry, get in some rebounding and even a sauna and a shower, despite the dizziness that shows up all of a sudden.

I remember days when a shower is all I could manage- some days I couldn't even do that! I still have symptoms to work on and I'm not sleeping as well as I could, but I'm glad to have my head clear some days or even most of a day and to have some energy. I'm also happy to report that I've stopped losing weight and have even gained 12 pounds back! I'm now at a good weight and hopefully, that's where I'll stay.

My advice to y'all is not to overdo it for months or even days at a time. Take care of yourself! Eat food that heals, get some fresh air and a little exercise, if you can.

Now that we've settled a bit in our house and my dizziness is better and sometimes it's just off balance, plus the fact that it's January, I've made a plan for healing for this year.

1. I made an appointment to see a chiropractor...I stopped going to my chiropractor back in December of 2015 because I started working on getting our previous house ready to sell last January.

2. I made an appointment to see a holistic dentist to inquire about amalgam removal. I really want to get my amalgams out for a long time and this is the year to do it.

3. I've found a clinic less than 2 hours away from me that treats with IV ozone. I've been reading about ozone, joined Facebook groups to know more and am encouraged that it could help me get 100%.
I found a clinic that isn't too expensive (175 to see the nurse practitioner and 165 per IV ozone session) and was very professional and helpful. There are quite a few doctors who use ozone therapy across the US and around the world. If you'd like to know more about ozone, go to docrowen.com or look Dr. Robert J Rowen up on Facebook. He has a lot of good and informative posts.

our screened porch where I love to take breaks when it's nice outside

As for herbals, I'm finishing up my last month of the full Restore Program and will be going on a maintenance dose of A-biotic and Adaptogen Recovery. I still haven't treated Bartonella. I tried Buhner's protocol for it (again), but got the ice pick headaches again. I have added the herb houttuynia and I'm up to about 2 teaspoons a day. Instead of going through the hassle of putting it in capsules, I just mix a teaspoon at a time in a couple of ounces of water, then drink it. It doesn't taste good, but it's not bad either.

I've been getting in the infrared sauna 3-4 times a week for about a month now and feel pretty good after, although I HATE SWEATING! I'm also trying to walk 20 minutes several times a week. It's been warm enough here to do that and I'm thankful!

I don't make New Years Resolutions, but my goals this year are that I want to get rid of the following symptoms: 1. dizziness/brain fog 2. blurry eyes/stop worsening eyesight 3. bladder urgency, and of course, I'd like a little more energy!

One of the irritating symptoms that is mostly gone just within the last month is being startled at every single noise (someone sneezing, dropping something, etc.) and the anxiety of being in car when someone else is driving. Driving in a car had been a white knuckle ride for me and caused me so much anxiety. I've had a couple of days in the last month, where it's not been the case, but most days, I'm calm as we're driving down the street. In the past, I've always taken HPA Balance + an L-theanine before setting foot in a car, but I don't have to do that on most days. Some noises still startle me on some days, but overall, it's 90% better. I still have to wear earplugs when I sit in church (lights and noise) and am looking forward to the day when I don't.

the view from our porch at our mountain cottage

That's about all I have for an update.

Hope you are making some progress and I hope today is a good day for you.

Pam

Here is the status of my symptoms:

Numbness, tingling in feet - seems to be getting better

swollen pads on bottom of feet near toes-a little better

dizziness/off balance- comes and goes.

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

noise sensitivity (2)

startles easily (1) A few days, it's worse

muscle pain -2 some days more

muscle weakness (2)

high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing - high pitch is more present,

not being able to follow directions (2-3) -comes and goes- I think it's less.

98 +   temp

My lowest weight was 113 - which was getting scary - I'm now at 125

Feeling Great...month 13

Last month was pretty depressing for me.  I tried not to show it in my post, but I was disappointed in my progress before last month and there wasn't much to write about other than I tried (and didn't succeed) with some essential oils. It wasn't that they didn't work; it was that I couldn't handle the herx.

diy Design Fanatic is my other blog

After the essential oils, I tried Buhner's protocol for Bartonella since I had been having some irritating Bart symptoms and I was impatient and wanted to get rid of them.

I added Japanese Knotweed first and actually felt great the days I took them. Then I added most of the others - Arginine, Sida Acuta, EGCG, and a few others. I added everything but the bacteria killing Houttynia. You can find the list of herbs on Buhner's website or the revised protocol in the latest addition of his book Healing Lyme.

After about a week on all of those herbs and supplements, I started to herx and felt bad. I felt bad enough that I ended up spending most of the day resting in bed. All of my old neurological symptoms returned and then some. Then, a couple of days after that the ice pick headaches started, so I stopped all of the extra herbs and went back to only the Restore formulations. My goal had been to do the protocol for 30 days and I thought I could handle the herx for a month, but I couldn't.

 Those of you who have had ice pick headaches know that they are no joke. They actually feel like someone sticking an ice pick into the side of your head and mine were every 5 seconds.(I'm not exaggerating) The ice pick headaches slowed down in frequency and intensity, but continued for 5 or 6 days after stopping the extra herbs. Seems that I stirred some bugs up.

I started feeling better a couple of days after stopping the herbs for Bartonella. It's really difficult to feel awful after having a couple of months of not feeling bad and feeling good some days.

One of the main reasons why I stopped the herbs for bart is that we are getting our house ready to put up for sale in May and the "get the house ready to sell" list is really long and I need to be working on that list every day and I couldn't afford to be out of commission for even a month now that I'm feeling better.

I am feeling pretty great these days - most days I'm working on the house the equivalent of working a part time job. I still have to take breaks, but most days I work about 6 hours on the list and doing household chores.  One day I worked 10 hours with 2 breaks for meals and some smaller breaks in between. I worked pretty hard for 3 days straight, then took it easy for 2 days after that. Not bad.

I'm happy to report that the past 3 weeks I've felt really great almost every day. That's how progress seems to work... A year ago I felt bad/awful, then I started having a day or two where I didn't feel bad. Then those  days got closer together.  I started  having a day when I felt good, then those feeling good days start getting close together. Finally, the feeling great days showed up and now I'm to the point of feeling great (like I can conquer the world) most days. That's a far cry from being in pain and not having the energy or even the motivation to get out of bed (remember, I have a type A personality).

It feels good to get to this point. Yes, I still have some symptoms to resolve, but they are minor annoyances and sometimes, if I sit really still, I feel totally symptom free.

One thing I would love to share with you is that I found something that's helping me sleep better. One of the reasons why I wanted to do the bart protocol so desperately is that I was getting up to go to the bathroom every 90 minutes to 2 hours at night. Sometimes after I went back to bed it was difficult to get back to sleep. Restful sleep is so important for healing, so in my search for a remedy, I found Ashwagandha and ordered some.
I ordered this one:

I took 26 drops in a few ounces of water and drank it before bed. 
It. tastes. awful. 
But, I only woke up 2 times that night instead of 4 or 5. Progress.  I didn't wake up feeling groggy either. I also remembered dreaming right before I woke up and felt rested in the morning. Last Saturday evening I slept all the way through the night and didn't wake up once! So excited about that sleep!!! That doesn't happen every night, but most nights I'm only waking up once or twice, which is a big improvement.  Last night I slept for 4 hours, then woke up and 4 hours again. That's perfect! I think I remember reading that 4 hours straight is restorative sleep, which is what I need.
Ok, so where am I with my healing and what does my day look like.
I still take my morning slow, but I'm waking up at 8 or 9 am, when I was sleeping until 10 or 11 in January.  I have enough energy during the day to work on the house list throughout the day and do daily chores. I'm currently working on painting most of the trim and doors in our house. There is a lot of trim in our house because it's BIG, which is why will be downsizing!

I've been busy painting trim all over the house. My husband painted the walls, I painted the trim. The painted box is a small makeover project.

I'm able to drive to the store and shop without brain fog taking over. I still have to be careful though. I was able to go to church last week and take out one earplug during the sermon. No, I'm not a crazy lady, I've just been sensitive to noise and anything amplified on a microphone or speaker since having lyme.  I'm looking forward to eradicating that symptom!

In summary, I've made a good jump in feeling great this past month, especially the last 3 weeks. I've come a long way since January of 2015 and I'm looking forward to complete healing.

Hope you are having a good day and can't wait to hear that you are making good progress if you have lyme disease. 
Pam

ps: remember the Collagen Protein from Dr. Axe I started adding to my smoothies last time? I'm happy to report that it's made my face really soft. The skin on my cheeks had been really scaley and not it's just really smooth.  Here are the status of my symptoms:

Numbness, tingling in feet is finally getting better!

dizziness/off balance- is mostly gone - I still get a little wobbly when I'm really tired.

blurry eyes - not as bad

urgency  (3) - still a problem, but not as bad

noise sensitivity (3)

startles easily (2)

muscle pain -only on a bad day

muscle weakness (2)

tremors - only happened once during the month when something stressful happened

high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing - high pitch is not as loud and I can hear the low pitch now

98 +   temp

Weight- down to 123- 124 Waking up at night- only once, maybe twice - down from every 2 hours  or 90 minutes.

Month 12- Focusing on Bartonella

I'm a couple of weeks into month 12 on the Restore Program. The weeks since I wrote my month 11 update didn't seem to bring any progress. Dizziness was pretty common and brain fog was popping up many days. It was a little disheartening.

At this  point, I'm willing to try different herbs/oils, etc that may or may not help as long as they seem reasonable and can't hurt you. Why not?

With this in mind, a couple of weeks ago I mixed a couple of drops of each oil and added coconut oil, so the mixture was 50/50. The mixture was applied via a bottle with a roll on top and applied topically.

Two problems I really wanted to work on are bladder issues, which wake me up at night several times and partially numb feet. I did some reading and mixed up some oils and applied them topically to the areas. I took them for about 4 days, but was feeling so bad I stopped taking them. Oils will definitely make you herx. Even with extra detox (liposomal glutathione & sauna), the herx was pretty bad.
I REALLY didn't like going back to feeling bad after a couple of feeling good.
So, I stopped.

We are trying to get our house ready to sell (we're downsizing) and I really need to feel well enough to do some of the projects, since my husband works full time and can't do it all.
This was my dilemma...do I treat more and feel bad or keep on the same dose of Restore?

January is when I had planned to do Buhner's protocol  for Bartonella, but was hesitant because I didn't want to feel bad. I decided to go ahead and try since I ordered the herbs last month. I am continuing to take the full Restore herbs. I started taking Japanese Knotweed - 1 cap 2x a day, then bumped it up to 2  caps 2 x a day, then 2 caps - 3x a day, which is the full dose Buhner recommends.
I expected to herx, but actually started feeling pretty good, even really good - and I had energy!
The past week + has been great and I've been able to get a lot done. Evidently, Japanese Knotweed stops the cytokine cascade, which causes inflammation and makes you feel bad. (I don't understand how that a cytokine cascade is different from a herx.)
I haven't added everything in the full Bartonella protocol yet, so there's no telling how I'll feel once I have.


So far I'm taking the full dose of Japanese Knotweed, Sida Acuta, EGCG(green tea) &Hawthorn.
I also added the Arginine and Milk Thistle a few days ago and maybe starting the Houttuynia tomorrow. I'm a little afraid of taking the Houttuynia and herxing, but we'll see. I can always back off.

As for changes to diet...still aiming for 50% vegetables, gluten, dairy and sugar free. I do eat organic butter (cow) and Romano cheese (made from grass fed sheep's milk).
I've added a tablespoon of Collagen from Dr. Axe, which is made from grass fed cows. I've recently read that Buhner recommends collagen for muscle wasting. I definitely should have started adding that to my smoothies 
sooner because my muscles are pretty atrophied. I've also lost my previously latina behind and now it's flatter than flat. I've been taking the collagen every day since January 9th and already the skin on my face feels smoother. I had to exfoliate several times a week before because it felt scaly. 

The Website says the collagen helps this way

• Healthy gut repair and brain function*
• Greater mobility and flexibility. Strong, healthy muscles. Healthier, stronger bones and joints*
• Vibrant, firmer, glowing skin and fight back against the effects of normal aging*
• Easier weight management and/or weight loss, due to its satiating effect on hunger*
• Deeper and more restful sleep*

You can purchase the collagen directly from Dr. Axe's website HERE.

As for the symptoms/areas I need to resolve(in this order please):

bladder

eyes

balance issues/intermittant brain fog

sound sensitivity - loud rooms cause tremors

numbness in feet

tinnitus

 I keep treating and reading and looking for information that might help. I hope you will do the same. Treating lyme and co-infections is a marathon, no a sprint. It's easy to get discouraged when you aren't feeling good or don't have any energy. Keep trying.

Hope today is a good day for you.

Pam

Here are the status of my symptoms:

Numbness, tingling in feet remain the same

swollen pads on bottom of feet near toes-a little better

dizziness/off balance- comes and goes.

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 some days more

muscle weakness (3)

tremors - only when exposed to constant loud noises, but it's minor

high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing - high pitch is more present,

not being able to follow directions (2-3) -comes and goes

98 +   temp

Weight- I think I've lost another pound. It fluctuates up or down 2 pounds.
Most symptoms are the same, some days are worse, because I've added the Bart protocol. Some days I have a lot of energy and get a lot done and some days I just want to sleep for half of the day- I just go with it!