Eating well

It's important to eat well when you are suffering from a chronic illness.  Eliminating certain foods, like yeast and sugar, can help to minimize yeast overgrowth and inflammation in the body.  Not that I've been the perfect example to follow.  It really is hard to give up foods you love, because they are so comforting when you're feeling so awful.  I really do sympathize with you.

What you can do is try to find substitute recipes for the things you love.  Can you switch from sugar to xylitol or stevia?  If you need to avoid gluten, can you find a gluten-free bakery or make bread-like recipes with almond meal instead of flour?  The internet provides some great resources at our fingertips.  Here are a few blogs you can check out:

Good Food
Elana's Pantry
Healing Cuisine

It is most important to try to get toxic food out of our lives.  Easier said than done, I know!  The more we prepare our own food, rather than relying on pre-prepared, boxed, or processed foods, the easier it will be to avoid toxic chemicals, such as MSG. 

Here is a recipe for a taco filling using spices from your kitchen, rather than relying on the taco seasoning packets you can purchase at the grocery store.  They have a ton of sodium and MSG, and should be avoided.  You can use this taco filling for tacos, burritos, or in a taco salad like I did.

This was our dinner tonight!

Taco Salad

On a plate, layer the following:

chopped romaine lettuce
fresh diced tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
ground beef cooked with homemade taco seasoning (recipe to follow)
crushed nacho chips
sour cream
salsa (optional)

Ground Beef Taco Filling (Adapted from Maximized Living Nutrition Plans)

First, make the taco seasoning mix by combining the following ingredients in a small bowl or zip lock bag:
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin (I use 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano (I use dried basil instead)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I use 1/4 tsp.)

Add the taco seasoning mix to browned ground beef (1 - 1 1/2 lbs.) along with 1/2 - 3/4 cup water and cook until reduced to desired consistency.  If desired, you can add 1/2 cup salsa to the pan while heating.

Enjoy!

Lyme treatment: clinical evidence vs. scientific data

I'm providing a link to an excellent article written by Mary Beth Pfeiffer of The Poughkeepsie Journal.  She summarizes the issue so well, and refers to the studies that physicians in both camps (ILADS vs. IDSA) use to prove their case.

Lyme Disease:  Antibiotics fuel debate

Sorry, I still have to side with ILADS and the clinical evidence camp!  How can I not?  I have been through it personally, and know that the long-term antibiotics have helped to improve my symptoms.  Study or no study......one CANNOT deny the clinical evidence of thousands and thousands of patients who have received long-term antibiotic treatment from Lyme-literate physicians.

To the IDSA - Please take your head out of the sand!  Set aside your biases for just a moment to consider what so many people are telling you.

To ILADS - We know that there is an abundance of clinical evidence, and we know that the antibiotics work.  But we need to push for scientific studies and more research.  Once this is all proven 'scientifically', the problem will be resolved.  Please continue to push for this.  This is the only way that both sides will be brought together.  I truly admire your efforts, your persistance despite opposition, and your intelligence.  Thank you so very much.

Faces of Lyme

Thank you to these 4 women who participated in this short video interview by The Poughkeepsie Journal.  I believe that it is our stories that are causing politicians and the public to sit up and take notice of this illness.  And this is one of the reasons for my blog - to add my story to the thousands of other stories out there.

How can we continue to deny all of this clinical evidence for chronic Lyme disease?  Well, the answer is, we can't.  There are just too many people with the SAME story to ignore! 

As I listen to these women, I feel like it is 'me' talking.

Faces of Lyme - If the video does not appear when you click on the link, you will see a search bar on the website.  Just type in Faces of Lyme, and the video should appear in the group of recommended videos.  Click on it from there.
*I seem to be having trouble accessing the video a second time from my computer.  I think it may restrict multiple viewings because they want subscriptions.  Please let me know if you are not able to access the video.  I have had no trouble accessing it from Facebook.  Go to the California Lyme Disease Association on FB, and find the status update there.

Know where your help comes from

This past week, I've felt the Lord nudging me back in His direction.  When exactly did I start to stray, and begin to rely more on myself and earthly things or other people, rather than on Him?  I think that started to happen as I began to feel better, physically. 

When I was really ill last year, I literally threw myself at His feet, praying for the things I needed most to survive: 

• endurance
• sanity
• restored sleep

I leaned on God like I've never leaned on Him before.  I cried out to Him, through sobs of fear and anxiety.

And He carried me.

At the time, a friend of mine told me that in situations like this, God usually doesn't heal 'overnight', but over a period of time.  I knew this would probably be the case for me.  He was going to teach me trust and patience.

So I waited.  And I prayed.  And I waited.

In His timing, He answered my prayers, and granted me each of the things I had asked for.  My anxiety got under control.  Just last month, I was able to stop taking sleep medication, so my sleep has been restored.  And through His strength, I managed to endure the last year and a half and come out the other end with a renewed perspective on life and faith.

But new fears are creeping back in!  It's as though I hadn't learned anything in the last year!  And this reminds me of my frail humanity, my propensity to sin, and how easy it is to forget where my help ultimately comes from.

So what are my fears?  I am returning to my teaching job in September, just a few short weeks away.  Will I be able to handle it physically?  What if I'm too fatigued?  How will I keep the stress under control?

As I consider a potential 'end of treatment' in the next while, I find my thoughts turning to worry.  Will I relapse?  Many people do.  What will I do if that happens?  I won't have any more sick days to rely on, and getting long-term disability for something as controversial as Lyme disease would be an uphill battle.

So today, I got a reminder from the Lord, via another Lyme sufferer.  Thank you, Christa.  This video was on my Facebook news feed this morning.  I need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus who WILL take care of me and guide me and give me peace in all of the circumstances of my life.

Kari Jobe

Steady My Heart

And I would like to add one more song by Joy Williams, whose lyrics also help to strengthen me and remind me that my Heavenly Father is my Rock and I need not be afraid.

Joy Williams

Unafraid