Thursday, February 16, 2012

Feeling Good

I am now officially one month sugar free! Valentine's Day was brutal, and sadly now that V-day is over, going into the grocery store is not any easier due to the fact that all of the chocolate morphed straight from heart-shaped delights to smiling Easter-bunny-shaped temptations. Mmmm...chocolate! Time to change the subject, pronto!

I've been slacking pretty badly at keeping up with my blog lately, but for once, it's for a good reason: I've been doing significantly better! My energy level has gone way up and my pain levels have gone way down. My memory is slightly better--I've been starting to remember major and minor details--things that matter so much to me--without having to draw pictures on my hand!
Muddy Buddies! Fjóla and me on a muddy day.

For the first time in over ten years, I've been able to get off of my asthma medicine. I've been off for a few months now and have not had a single asthma attack. Most people--including doctors--do not connect asthma with Lyme disease, but I developed asthma (along with several other health problems) shortly after my health went rapidly and "mysteriously" downhill following a tick bite in 2001. Lyme disease can wreak havoc on any and all systems in the body!

One of the most exciting changes in my health that I've started noticing quite recently--which now that I've put that into writing, I've realized probably isn't exciting to anyone but me--is that I have started getting hot at the appropriate times. That might seem like a strange thing to be excited about, but the daily Lyme chills that I've suffered from for years make it impossible under any circumstances to get warm, even in the summertime. I've been known on many occasions to zip myself into a 0-degree Mummy Sleeping Bag, plus multiple comforters, not to mention coat, hat, mittens, etc. in the middle of a heat wave and still be chilled to the bone!

I remember someone telling me that one of the first things the Lyme bacteria does is attack your thyroid so you can't regulate your body temperature. The bacteria thrive in the cold and so most people with Lyme disease have low body temperatures. Normal for me is around 96.2! For me to feel hot at appropriate times again makes me think that my body is starting to win back control again!

While I am doing much better, I still have many Lyme symptoms left. Though my joint pain has been relatively mild lately, I still suffer from daily flu-like body aches, at times very severe. I tend to run completely out of energy quite abruptly, so I have to pace myself very carefully if I'm not at home, and sometimes I will use a wheelchair still for that reason.

My current Lyme disease treatment consists of Bicillin intramuscular injections three times weekly (read: shots to the butt on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). My doctor wanted me to do six to eight months of Bicillin and I am currently only 19 shots away from my own personal limit of six months of this pain-in-the-butt-treatment!

I am currently researching rife machine treatments for Lyme disease and have been reading Lyme Disease and Rife Machines by Bryan Rosner. I can't say enough good things about the book so far and I really think this is the route I want to pursue. I am getting tired now and will have to save explaining what rife machines are to those who've never heard of them for another post. Which reminds me of one last thing--I've been getting tired at a normal hour again for the first time in a few years. I think my body is really starting to win this battle!

I would love feedback from any Lyme friends who have had experience with rifing!

8 comments:

  1. I love hearing this! So glad you're having some good days. :) I've been warmer too! I was just talking to my husband about that. Gives me hope that one day I may live in colder temps again. :) Enjoy your better days, my friend!

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  2. YAY!!! ANSWER TO PRAYERS! DON'T GIVE UP!!!!

    LOVE YOU!!

    A. LOIS

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  3. Hey! I stumbled onto your blog a few days ago through a search and have read through a lot of it. Thanks for journaling your experiences with Lyme. You paint great illustrations as you write.

    I've struggled with strange health problems since childhood and just got a positive lyme antibodies test in December. My time since then has been full of trying to wrap my head around all things lyme. I ran onto your blog when I was researching congenital lyme as I've been concerned about my daughter.

    Way to go on the sugar-free!! I'm 10 months sugar-free, also for health. I've decided to make it a forever lifestyle because of the improvements. I also eat gluten-free and find it helps. (though a year ago I would have said I could NEVER, EVER live without bread and sugar!) I just use natural sweeteners and gluten free flours and now, finally, don't feel like I'm depriving myself. Hang in there!

    So glad you're finding relief and spreading the hope.

    Leslie

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  4. So proud of you, Aly!! I was just thinking about you last night and wondering how you have been feeling. Glad to read this post!

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  5. Love hearing this great news, Alyson!!!

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  6. This is awesome! Love you!
    -T

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    1. T=Trina. Just realized it might be weird to be loved by a stranger!

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  7. Hi Aly! I really like your blog and I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better lately. I haven't tried those bicilian shots, but it may be something I try in the future. Anyway, forgive me if this is not PC, but I would cherish a link exchange with you, if you are willing. My website is http://www.lymediseasecureplease.com. Check it out and let me know what your think. Thank you, Jennifer

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