Awoooooooooooooooo!



Today is a full moon.  But I probably didn't have to tell you that if you have Lyme.  Are you feeling worse today?  More neuro symptoms?  More fatigued?  More anxious?  I'm answering yes to all of the above.  I suppose that there is some strange relief in knowing that the cause is the full moon, and that I'm joined by countless others who are enduring this.

So yes, my Lyme has returned.  I'm having a bit of a relapse after having been antibiotic-free for 6 months.  Oh, how I was so enjoying the freedom of being pill-free!!!  But in December, my symptoms started to creep back.  To be honest, I had been neglecting the triad of good health:  eating well, sleeping enough, and exercising regularly.  It just got so busy in December preparing for Christmas, celebrating Christmas, cleaning up from Christmas, then writing report cards for the last 3 weeks.  I've been burning the midnight oil and eating too much gluten and sugar, which is just bad news all around. 

I've smartened up now, and am working on all 3 of these areas.  New Year's goals:  1) At least 7 hours of sleep a night  2) Eat grain-free and sugar-free (with the exception of one gluten-free starchy carb serving at dinner)  3) Exercise 3 times a week once I get my sleep stabilized.  Sadly, I'm back on antibiotics and have an appointment with my LLMD in a couple of weeks.

I noticed that I was feeling particularly bad this week and decided to check the calendar.  Yup...a full moon was approaching.  Do you believe in this full moon stuff?  It is not superstition, you know; it is science.  I have only to look at the behaviour of my students during a full moon to attest to the fact that the gravitational pull on the Earth affects us physically and mentally.  And it is certain that this phenomenon affects the reproductive cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi. 

I went in search of an explanation of this online, and found this interesting article which explains why we feel worse during the full moon, and sometimes the new moon.  Apparently, animals are sensitive to electromagnetic energy, and this includes microorganisms.  When the Borrelia sense the electromagnetic changes of these time periods, they are programmed to reproduce.  When they reproduce, there are obviously more organisms floating around your body.  The antibiotics are therefore killing off more bacteria than normal during this time, and you end up with a herxheimer reaction.  In other words, you feel crummy!  (Or let's say, crummier than normal.)

So there you have it.  You're not crazy.  It's a real phenomenon.  Do all you can to support your body and detox.  Drink plenty of water.  Add lemon to your water.  Take a detox bath.  Sleep.

Thinking of you all, and hoping you feel better soon.

And the saga continues...

Gee, wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about going off my antibiotics....hopefully for good?  Thank goodness I didn't bother to celebrate because it would have been a terrible let down!

A week ago, a few symptoms crept back.....vibrations in my legs and body, and weird head vibrations when I'm falling asleep (which prevent me from actually getting to sleep).  Sleep meds have helped immensely and I'm taking some herbs/supplements to help my symptoms:  Banderol and Samento, and curcumin (along with all of my regular supplements).

My LLMD told me to wait it out and see if the symptoms would go away on their own.  Perhaps they are stress-induced.  Yes, it's been a stressful month.....4 family birthdays, report cards, and added workload due to my hubby having a brutal flu for a couple of weeks.  Lack of sleep, lack of regular exercise (although I am trying!), and a little too much sugar in the diet could also be contributors to my problem.  It's time to clean things up!

I have my next doctor's appointment in 2 weeks, so I guess I'll see what he will want me to do about this.  Go back on antibiotics???  I hope not!  But I'll do whatever I need to do to keep these symptoms at bay and be able to live a normal life.

I'm so enjoying the normality....even banality....of life these days, and never ever want to take the simple things for granted again!

This doctor knows the facts!

I came across this interview via Facebook.  This dermatologist, Dr. Day, has her facts straight about Lyme disease!  The interview was apparently aired on CBS, though I'm not sure if it was nationally or just locally somewhere.  Regardless, at least a number of people were exposed to the truth about Lyme.  When you watch, take note of how small those ticks can be.  Protect yourself!

Click here to see the interview on YouTube.

Lyme poster to share

Thanks to my friend over at "lymed out" for this fantastic, informative, and easy to understand poster about Lyme disease.  Please share with anyone you think might fit this description.  To see the full size, click here.



Update on my biofilm treatment

Hello to my fellow Lyme sufferers......uh, let me rephrase that......my fellow Lyme survivors!  Ya, that's much better.  (You know, the glass half-full thing, rather than half-empty.) 

I thought I'd bring you up to date on this latest phase of my treatment.  As you may remember, I relapsed in January after being off antibiotics for 7 weeks.  So here I am, back ON the antibiotics, but I've added some biofilm busters - the herbals Banderol and Samento.

I've been working my way up to the full dose of these.  It sure takes a long time when you start with 5 drops and only add 1 drop every 2 days until you finally get to 20.  I'm almost there.....today I did 19 drops of each (2 times).

So how has it been?

Well to be honest, I haven't felt this crummy in a long time!  I'm very tired on this regimen.  I seem to get a lot of headaches, and once in a while, that Lyme brain fog rolls in.  The other night, I had a hard time sleeping.  I woke up every two hours with a splitting headache.  When I tried to nap the following day, I got those brain vibrations/tremors as I was drifting off to sleep, and it kept waking me up.  Strange, I know.  But many of you will understand what I'm talking about.  So many Lyme patients talk about body vibrations.  It feels like you're sticking your finger in an electrical outlet!

So what does this all tell me?  Well, maybe I'm herxing.  Or maybe I have yeast overgrowth which is triggering cytokine production, causing symptoms similar to Lyme.  It's hard to say.  I've made an appointment with my naturopath so that I can tackle the yeast problem if that's what she thinks I have.

If I'm herxing, then that's great!  The dormant Lyme is coming out of hiding, and biofilms are being broken down, and more of the bacteria are being killed off.  And that's the whole point of being on the Banderol and Samento.  So I'm not going to complain.  I just hope that things settle down after doing a few months of this treatment.  I'm even considering staying on a preventative dose of Banderol and Samento when I'm done, just to police the remaining critters.

If there is anyone out there who may be reading this who has actually achieved remission, I'd love to hear from you!  How long have you been in remission?  What are you doing to build up your immune system?  Are you taking any special supplements?

Before I sign off, I'd like to refer you to a wonderful blog entry I read this week from the blog Infectiously Optimistic.  To find the goodness in chronic illness is such a blessing.  I thank the author for her uplifting perspective.

Yolanda Foster.....inspiring

Well you learn something new every day!  I discovered this video today on one of the Lyme sites that I've "liked" on Facebook.  It's of Yolanda Foster giving a very emotional and inspiring speech at the Lyme Research Alliance Gala recently.

Perhaps you've heard.....Yolanda has Lyme disease.  I had never heard of her before as I have never watched the reality TV show she is involved in, The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills.  But I have just discovered who she is married to!  David Foster!  Yup.....our own Canadian music man. 

Yolanda's speech brought tears to my eyes.  (And I'm not typically a crier!)  But it really hit close to home.  As I listened to her experience, it brought back the memories of when I fell ill.  My story was so similar to hers......the fatigue, the brain fog, the clueless doctors. 

If you have Lyme disease, you will really empathize with Yolanda.  If you don't have Lyme, what I hope you will take away from her speech is the seriousness of this illness and the need to protect yourself from tick bites (and mosquitoes and black flies).

Lyme is everywhere.  It discriminates not.  No one is immune.

I never wanted to be a detective

One of the worst parts of Lyme is how it is all such trial and error, and there is so much "unknown" with this illness.  And it's unpredictable.  Even though I'm feeling pretty good on my meds these days, there are days when I'm "off", or when a weird symptom appears.  Last night, I got a bad case of diarrhea after dinner - 3 episodes over an hour or so. 

I tried to analyse the situation:

Is this from the Zithromax?  It can cause diarrhea, but usually I'm fine on it.
Or maybe it's a side-effect of the Banderol and Samento.  I've never taken them before now, so I have no idea what side-effects they will produce in me.
A herx!  Yes, it could just be a herx!  But I've never had diarrhea from a herx before.  Hmmm.
Maybe this is because I started eating well today, and my body is reacting to the lack of carbs and screaming out for sugar!
Or do you think it's yeast?  Yikes.  I really don't want to deal with candida right now.
Could this just be an intestinal virus?  (Hmmm....Not likely....I think I can tell the difference.)
Or worse yet......could this be c. difficile?  Ohhhhhh nooooooo!  You could get really, really sick with that.  Great!

And which is the correct answer?  I have no idea.

But I do know that I hate being my own detective.  What I really want and need is to have my local health care system taking care of me, answering my questions, and doing the detective work.

I guess all I can do is wait it out and see.  I don't think I'll even bother notifying my LLMD.  I know what he'll say anyway - stop all meds until it clears up.  So, that's what I'm going to do for now.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Disappointment on the ice

I'm so frustrated by what Lyme disease has done to my poor body, even though I've practically recovered from the illness.  Yes, I'm dealing with a small relapse at the moment, but I'm not really talking about that.  I'm talking about the residual effect Lyme has had on my body.  I'm definitely not the same woman I used to be, health-wise.  I remember reading a couple of years ago a quote from someone who said, "Once you have Lyme, you never feel the same again."  That seems to be true, even if you've finished treatment and gone into remission.

First, there are my aching muscles and joints.  Not really a Lyme arthritis.  Just achiness.  When I get out of bed in the morning, I feel like an 80 year old!  My feet really hurt, and I hobble to the bathroom.

Second, there is the tiredness.  It comes and goes during the day.  Sometimes I think I feel 100%, and then 30 minutes later, I feel like I need to lay down and rest for a bit.  It's a weird kind of fatigue.  It's certainly NOT the crippling fatigue I had during the height of my illness, when I could barely wash and dry my hair.  But it's a "come and go" kind of thing.  I just never feel energized for an entire day.

Then, there's the weight gain.  Oh my!  I've never weighed so much in my life....not even when I was pregnant!  It's funny how some people lose weight like crazy with Lyme disease, and others gain.  I know that the meds I was on didn't help - sleep meds, an SSRI, in addition to my many antibiotics.  The SSRIs, which are an anti-depressant, are notorious for packing on the pounds. 

I guess I'm a little ticked off at how Lyme has messed things up in my life, even though I'm supposedly all better now.  Yesterday, for example, I decided to go to the skating rink for some exercise and to try out my new skates.  I decided to invest a little more in this pair of skates, as I had my last ones, so I went to a skating apparel store where they could heat up the skate and mould the boot to my foot.  I just wanted a decent pair with good support, especially with the foot issues I've been having.

Now, although I love skating, I'm not a really good skater or anything!  No spins or jumps here.  I took some lessons as an adult 20 years ago, and became a lot more comfortable on the ice, learning some basics like how to stop, cross over, skate backwards, etc.  Really, I just love the feel of the experience.  So off I went to the rink yesterday with my brand new skates, happier than a bird with a french fry!

Disaster!  (Thank you, Lyme.)

After about 10 minutes on the ice, my feet started to ACHE with a pain I'd never felt.  It wasn't from the skates; they are actually comfortable.  It was from whatever is wrong with my feet now.  The ache was so bad, I went over to the players box and sat down.....and almost wondered if I'd need to remove the skates and walk in my stocking feet across the ice to get off!  It was THAT bad!  Then, I did a little self-talk, and convinced myself to just get up and tough it out.  Do a few more laps!  Maybe your feet will get used to it.  The skates are new.  You're breaking them in.  Don't be such a wimp!  So back onto the ice I went for several more laps.  But my poor feet just kept on hurting.  I got off the ice after about 15 minutes total.  What a disappointment.

So, what do I do about this?  Go to my family doctor?  Get referred to a foot doctor?  Go to a physiotherapist?  What?!  In the end, will any of them really be able to help me?  They all know nothing about Lyme disease!

That's such a huge problem with Lyme.  We always have to come up with our own solutions and treatment options.  There's no one around, locally, to guide me through this.

I guess I'll be talking to my LLMD about my poor feet.  By the way, I have a phone consult with him on Thursday to discuss the future of my treatment with my relapse.  We'll see what he says; I'll let you know.