Ups and Downs

Mornings are usually the hardest on me. My face looks like I aged 5 years overnight, lines around my eyes are more pronounced, face overall is pretty pale but cheeks are red, face is puffy and pores are slightly visible. My heart rate has been hovering in the 180s when I first get up, I don't feel cognitive, right eye lid is swollen, and I feel angry, negative, depressed, and frustrated. It takes a good hour to feel somewhat human with the help of coffee, hydro-cortisone, a beta blocker, and 5-HTP. Sad to think that I used to wake up positive and ready to take on the world and now it takes all of this to feel like I can struggle through the day.

Yesterday I woke up and had nice color in my face, my face wasn't puffy, my left eye lid wasn't swollen at all and my right eye lid only a tiny bit, my heart rate was around 152, I felt a bit more cognitive, I felt positive and happy, and I had much more energy. By mid-afternoon I had pain in my arms, hands, knuckles and joints much like I did after the blood donation last year. Then my legs started to hurt, I was battling anxiety and negativity, and I felt worn out again.

This morning I was back to the usual symptoms and maybe worse than ever. The hydro-cortisone and 5-HTP have done nothing for my mood and I still feel worn out and dizzy. Because I am feeling so poorly I just checked my pulse and BP while standing - pulse was 120 and BP was 89/65. This is despite the beta blocker I took this morning and it explains why I feel like I am going to faint when I am up and moving around. So now my choices are taking another beta blocker to bring my pulse down, which will also lower my blood pressure even more, or sitting on my a$$ all day. Neither one of these options sounds appealing.

Valtrex and an Update

One of the medications Dr. D put me on for EBV, CMV, and other viruses is Valtrex. She told me to take 1 gram at bedtime which I started doing on 1/10/12. About 5 days ago I started noticing some mild anxiety and depression. By Sunday I also wasn't urinating as much as I usually do and I was full on depressed and my anxiety was off the charts - about everything. My health, the fact that I went to Seattle, the money we are spending on doctors and supplements, and DH being in Nepal on a mission trip.

DH left to go to Nepal last Thursday. The time difference is 11 hours and 45 minutes so we were trying to Skype every morning and every night. We had Skyped Saturday morning and the plan was to do so again that night. By 9 PM I was really tired and sent him an email that I was going to bed. Sunday morning there was no reply to my email. I thought it was odd but wasn't worried at that point. Throughout the day, as my anxiety was building and I didn't hear from DH which is highly unusual, I got more and more worried. I even called DH's hotel room around midnight his time and there was no answer. The combination of dealing with anxiety and not being able to reach DH made for an awful day. Around 2 PM he called to tell me that first they had gotten stuck in a demonstration, then later, on their way home, the car broke down in the middle of nowhere and they were stuck out there until just then which was about 2 AM. What a relief it was to finally hear from him!

Anyway, I skipped the Valtrex that Sunday night and felt much better the next day. Actually, I had a pretty good day Monday. I walked Mojo for half an hour - even up hill since my heart rate was much lower as well - I vacuumed and mopped the upstairs of our house and later that night walked Mojo again for about 10 minutes. That's more than I am normally capable off.

I did start back on all the supps and also the Diflucan on Monday so yesterday I had a bit of die off. I did some coffee enemas in the morning which helped. Today it's even worse but tolerable.

Yesterday I had a phone consultation with Dr. D to discuss the Valtrex issue. She thinks what was happening is a good sign because the Valtrex is working, it's killing viruses in my brain and that is causing die off and is affecting my central nervous system causing those symptoms. She said to skip it for 2 weeks then go back on 500 mg for a week. If that works ok she said to go back up to the full dose of 1 gram and see how I feel. I felt better after talking to her and what she says makes a lot of sense.

Since I had her on the phone I also asked her about another issue I am facing. Around mid December I started fluctuating between feeling hot and cold. The last 7 to 10 days it has gotten a lot worse and I noticed some of it has to do with activity. I keep the house at 68 degrees. If I am standing in the kitchen doing dishes or something I am burning up and sweating. If I am sitting, wearing the same clothes, I am freezing and usually put a fleece on. Monday night when I walked Mojo it was dark outside and 47 degrees. Within 5 minutes of walking I was so hot I had to take my coat off. I was walking around in just a long sleeve t-shirt and it felt way too hot and again I started sweating - 47 degrees. Once I got back home I was freezing within a few minutes. I also get way too hot when I eat. About half way through my meal I start shedding clothes because I am so hot. Dr. D said it's a nervous system dysfunction and as my body heals this will go away. I guess in the meantime I just have to deal with it.

Overall the die off isn't too bad but it's not pleasant either. My heart rate, as usual when I am detoxing, is really high again. This morning it got up to 186 while I was fixing my breakfast. It feels awful and I am still taking 2 beta blockers a day. I don't like it but I figure this also will resolve itself as my body heals.

I Feel Like Death

Yesterday I took all supps/meds except Diflucan, clay, and my berberine/GSE supp. Throughout the day I was starting to feel worse and worse. My body was "expanding" and by evening, my jeans which had been loose earlier in the day, were skin tight on my thighs, hips, and butt. My stomach was more distended than usual, my whole body was achy and I just felt uncomfortable.

I woke up this morning with both eye lids swollen - here lately only my right eye lid has been swollen - a headache, backache, calf pain, fatigue, heart racing at 160 with blood pressure 97/72, not cognitive, angry, and just feeling plain old miserable. I was supposed to get blood drawn but changed my appointment to tomorrow. I just didn't feel like going and just wanted to crawl back into bed. I did have to go to the post office at 8 AM and when I got in my car I could barely get it out of gear. We have had problems with the clutch on and off but no amount of pumping the clutch worked. I had checked the fluid on Sunday and (thought) it was fine. Took Bob's truck and when I got back checked my car again - nothing. I called our mechanic who said to have it towed in. Luckily we have 100 miles of towing with AAA. As it turns out the clutch fluid had leaked. After refilling it I was able to shift but still didn't want to chance driving it to the mechanic myself.

When I hung up the phone I just burst into tears. Not because of the car, or the die off, or anything in particular, I think I am just really emotional FROM die off and things came crashing in on me. I started thinking about how miserable I have been feeling for years, how long it has been since I have worked, how far behind I am in my field (database programming), how awful I feel after eating, what a long read I have ahead of me, etc. and I felt overwhelmed. I sat there and cried for a bit and then picked myself up and started cleaning up the kitchen.

The car has been towed now and I am about to jump in the tub. I am glad that I have to stop all supps today because of the urine and stool tests this weekend. Monday I will go back on everything and it's a good thing DH will be out of town while I am going through major herxing.

Die Off

Yesterday I took almost all my new supps and I was definitely feeling the die off by mid afternoon. Two days ago I had horrible, horrible heart racing. I took a beta blocker right after getting up around 6:30 AM and by 9 AM I felt like I needed another one. My heart rate was around 125 just standing in the kitchen wiping the kitchen counter. So I upped my hydrocortisone that day to about 40 mg - I think - and yesterday morning it was a bit better. Yesterday I took 42.5 mg and while it was high this morning at 170, it did come down with the first dose of 10 mg HC. I took another 5 mg 1 1/2 hours later, plus the beta blocker after getting up, and now it seems fine.

It does seem that my morning cortisol is incredibly low and I don't know how to change that. I started taking a 2.5 mg bedtime dose and may need to try taking 5 mg instead. I am also getting FT3 rechecked tomorrow now that I have been on 106.25 mcg pretty consistently, haven't switched back and forth between Cytomel from the US and Cynomel from Mexico, and am on a higher dose of HC. I hate not knowing what is going on but I still think that the need for so much Cytomel is due to a potency or filler change in that new prescription of Cytomel I got. After I get my blood drawn tomorrow I may go back to Cynomel but a smaller dose.

Aside from the racing heart this morning I also felt completely out of it and NOT cognitive, tired, worn out, my face was puffy, my cheeks were red, and my stomach was cramping a bit after I had a BM. I am so looking forward to all this being over. I am so NOT looking forward to doing coffee enemas 2 to 3 times a week, retention enemas twice a week, rectal suppositories once a week, and vaginal suppositories every other day. Fun!

Day 4 with Dr. Dahlgren

I started writing the post below yesterday at the airport but then didn’t get to finish. Finally got home around 11:30 PM and to sleep around 1 AM. Slept better than at the hotel but only about 5 hours. I feel surprisingly good considering I didn’t sleep very long but I have a feeling it will hit me later. I think I see a nap in my near future.

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So this was my last day and I am at the airport waiting to board the plane. SEA-TAC has free WIFI which is a nice surprise. Thought I would blog as much as I can before everything that was discussed this morning leaves my brain. 

Dr. A (I thought it was Dr. L but I was wrong - her name is Alena) was in with us again today. Dr. D asked about how I am feeling and I told her that the heart racing is still really bad and that I have a headache. I mentioned that I took an extra 5 mg of HC this morning since my HR was still pretty high despite a beta blocker and that it brought it down a bit.

We discussed my vacation in May - DH and I have a 15-night transatlantic cruise booked right now - and how that might affect me. She said it's hard to know how I will feel by then, but she said to weigh the joy and benefit I will get out of the trip versus the stress it can cause. One thing that concerns me is leaving Mojo that long. Before we knew that he has lymphoma, we actually discussed spending a few days in Rome, where the cruise ends. Leaving Mojo alone that long is not a pleasant thought since we have no idea how he will be feeling by then. He is currently in remission, but that can change anytime.

Anyway, I also mentioned how hard it is to be surrounded by all the food that long that I am supposed to avoid. She misunderstood and thought that I give in to things like wheat and sugar while on vacation, which I normally don't. I am glad she misunderstood because she said something very interesting. Apparently, once a person is supported by supplements AND is on anti-microbials, Dr. Klinghardt sometimes asks people to have a cheat meal because it draws the bugs out of hiding from the blood into the gut where the anti-microbials are active. So she said we could use that vacation as sort of an opportunity to draw bugs out if I wanted to. I then mentioned that every few months I "fall off the wagon" and have nut butter or nuts and again, that I worry about feeding bugs, etc. She assured me this is not an issue now that I am taking (a million) supplements to kill bugs and support my body. Yay! It would be so nice to have an occasional "splurge" of nut butter or something baked with nuts.

I asked her about doing another juice/broth fast end of this month. She said it would be better to do it during warmer weather and while being supported. So I mentioned the clinic I have been going to in Germany with the daily colonics, herbal baths, massages, and more. She said that sounds a lot better. So I am undecided about fasting on my own starting next week when DH is out of town.

I had mentioned to Desiree, the colonic therapist, that I have an infrared sauna at home. She said I should bring this up to Dr. D because an infrared may not be the best sauna to use right now. When I asked Dr. D she explained that an infrared sauna is not the best for people who are chronically ill. She said it can mobilize metals but not actually move them out of the body so then you have all these toxic metals floating around in your body. She said to hold off on it for now but that I can use it for detox maintenance once I am healthy.

We discussed the possibility of me having the MTHFR mutation. She said she can run the blood test but that most people she sees have it and she usually just checks via muscle testing whether a person needs folate and B-12 and whether their methylation pathways are messed up. 

The first day she had noted fluid retention in my hands which is unusual. I told her about the fluid retention I get in my hips, butt, thighs, belly after eating. She thought that was interesting and indicated it could be a lymphatic drainage issue.

Next she did more muscle testing for the supps she already put me on and new supps. She asked if I tolerate chlorella. I told her I do ok with about 2 tablets but when I get to about 6 I get stomach cramps. She said it tests well and then it tests not so good and that explains it. Dr. K recommends 16 a day but she said that would not work for me.

After that she muscle tested the supplements and meds I am currently taking and the ones I have at home but haven't started yet or took at one point and then stopped. I was considering reducing the T3 medication since I have such horrible heart racing, but my current dosage is just fine and it's my adrenals that are causing issues as in low cortisol. I still wonder why and it's very, very frustrating when you do fine on a particular dose and then suddenly go downhill. November into beginning of December I was fine on 1 grain Naturethroid, 68.75 mcg Cytomel, and 30 mg HC. I even reduced the HC to 27.5 mg for about a week because I just did not feel like I needed more. Now I am taking 106.25 mcg Cytomel and around 40 mg HC with the Naturthroid.

So once we were done with all this Dr. D and Dr. A wrote up the new treatment plan and which of my supplements tested well and which did not. Below is the list. I also went back to my post from the first day and changed the supplement list to the actual treatment plan she gave me.

Treatment Plan (in addition to supplements from first day):

 

Detox Support and Lymphatic Drainage

1. Detox deodorant  - apply to creases of groin and underarms at bedtime daily.
2. Detoxamin suppositories – insert on rectally at bedtime once a week.
3. French green clay – one teaspoon twice per day mixed into juice or water, follow with 8 ounces water. Do this twice per day at least 15 minutes before meals.

Additional Anti-Microbials

1. Rectal implant – combine 1 scoop of BioPure arteminisin with one capsule of organic, freeze-dried garlic in a ¼ cup of warm water. Insert rectally at bedtime two nights per week, not on consecutive nights.
2. Yeast Arrest suppositories – insert one vaginally every other night for 28 days.

Methylation Support

1. Folixor – one tablet twice per day.
2. Methyl B12 shots – inject 0.5 ml methylcobalamin (10mg/ml) just under the skin of the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks twice per week.

Adrenal Support

1. Ribes Nigrum – 20 drops twice per day in a little water – hold in mouth for 10 seconds before swallowing. Take first in the morning and again early afternoon.

Optimizing Blood Coagulation

1. Plasmanex – two capsules twice per day between meals (at least 30 minutes before or one hour after).

Sanum Remedies (I had these from Germany)

1. Sanum remedies Mucokehl, Notakehl, and Fortakehl – 10 drops twice per day at least 20 minutes away from food.

Digestive Support

1. Zypan – two to three at the beginning of each meal.

Homeopathic Remedies (online from www.biopure.eu/USA or directly from Germany)

1. K-OXY – five drops twice per day on tongue.
2. K-METHYL – five drops twice per day on tongue.
3. K-MAF – five drops twice per day on tongue.
4. K-ADH – five drops twice per day on tongue.

Current Supps and Meds

Testing Well (she bolded the items she feels are important/good to continue)

1.   Metoprolol

2.   Cytomel

3.   Cynomel

4.   Hydrocortisone

5.   Potassiume chloride (could use more)

6.   Niacinimide

7.   Ubquinol

8.   Berberine/GSE

9.   B6

10. Biotin

11. L-Tyrosine

12. Chromium

13. Liposomal C (I make this myself – she recommended running it through an ultrasonic machine after I make it to increase absorption even more)

14. Froximun (this is a zeolite product from Germany)

15. L. Acidophilus

16. Vanachrom

17. 5-HTP

18. D3

19. Ox Bile

20. Nature-Throid

21. LDN

22. Testosterone

23. Peppermint Essential Oil

24. Magnesium Spray

25. Methylation Cream

26. Coconut Oil

27. Homemade Sauerkraut

Blocking

1.   Liver Life (this one surprised me)

2.   Interfase Plus

3.   P-5-P

4.   Coenzyme B-Complex

5.   Cat’s Claw

6.   Teasel

7.   NOW Betaine HCl (I tested good for Thorne)

8.   Pancreatin 8X (that explains why I still have undigested veggies in my stool despite taking these digestive enzymes)

9.   Whole Foods Digestive Enzymes

10.                Diatomaceous Earth

I tested as needing more on the testosterone. I use 1 mg and she said to go up to 2 mg for now and she also gave me a script for a blood test checking all sex hormones and DHEA.

I asked Dr. D if it’s true that fungal infections can get passed back and forth between couples. She said no (and for a second I was excited) but that bacteria, viruses, and parasites get passed back and forth. Great! So she gave me a prescription for Biltricide (anti-parasitic) for Bob as well since parasites are passed back and forth between family members most often. I think the normal dose for Biltricide is 2 capsules two days in a row, wait 2 weeks and repeat. Dr. D writes a higher script which is 6 capsules taken the same way. For this reason insurance companies typically don’t pay for it. I checked at Walgreens and my cost would be $250. Obviously that means if DH is going to take it as well it would be $500. She wants me to start it during the next moon since that’s when parasites are most active.

Honestly, I have no idea how to keep all these supplements straight, let alone how to afford them (or go on vacation with them). She did say if it’s too much (taking all of them, not financially) we could reduce them and she can tell me which ones to take out.

Going forward she wants to do a phone consult once a month. Ideally, I need to come back for an office visit in 3 to 4 months, and after that visit I will be set up with an appointment with Dr. K.

I really like that she puts it all in a document and categorizes what the supplements are for.

Last but not least, everybody in that clinic, and I mean every single person I interacted with, is extremely helpful and friendly. Dr. D has such a nice demeanor and is very caring, Dr. Alena has the most beautiful, warm smile and was wonderful when I was getting my shots, Brittney, Tiffany, and Destiny at the reception desk are awesome, Desiree who assisted me with the sauna and colonic just puts you at ease and takes such good care of you, Sam and Arman who sell the supplements are sweet, helpful, and knowledgeable, Carrie, the neurolinguistic programming therapist is warm and caring, and Ron, the office manager is amazing as well. Obviously it’s too soon to say whether this will help, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t. I know I have a long road ahead of me, but for the first time since getting sick, I feel truly supported and cared for, and I trust my doctor!

Day 3 with Dr. Dahlgren and Treatments

I slept horribly again, waking often, woke up with a headache, and my heart rate went up to 168 as I was brushing my teeth. I am so tired of the heart racing. Took my HC and the beta blocker as usual, as well as my new supps, and ate a BAB. The headache eventually went away but my heart rate did not come down to normal levels. I brought this up to Dr. D when we talked and mentioned that I was hesitant about taking a sauna again. She said to go ahead and do it but lower the temp this time so she called Desiree, the woman assisting me with the sauna today, and told her to keep the temp lower.

I mentioned my concern with the heart racing in regards to HC. Basically, I don't know if I have some kind of virus or bacteria giving me problems thereby increasing my need for cortisol and the low cortisol is causing heart racing or if I am truly on too much T3 which requires more cortisol. I had my T3 with me so she muscle tested me for it and said it's not working for my body right now. She said that either means my body can't utilize it or I am on too much. Since we have another long appointment scheduled tomorrow during which she was going to muscle test me for my current meds and supps anyhow, she is going to see tomorrow if I need to lower the dose.

After my appointment with Dr. D I got another UVBi and like last time, it really helped to lower my heart rate. However, there was some clotting this time. Gayana, the nurse doing the UVBi said this means I need enzymes so she let Dr. D know.

Yesterday Dr. Beck assisted me with the sauna and Desiree did the colonic. Both are very nice but I truly enjoyed talking with Desiree. She eats a Paleo diet as well and we just had a lot in common and a lot to talk about. So I was thrilled that she was assisting me with the sauna and the colonic today. I had also told her about Mark's Daily Apple and GAPS so I had written some websites down for her.

So Desiree ran the sauna at 97 degrees versus 99 degrees. I didn't think 2 degrees would make that much of a difference but it was so much better. I got a good sweat out of it but I didn't feel like I was going to faint when I got out. The colonic wasn't quite as bad as yesterday either, but still unpleasant with cramping and mild nausea. I was glad when it was over and felt so much better. I wish I could get a UVBi every day.

I was done around 11:40 AM and had until 12:30 PM before my next appointment. So I walked across the street to this live/play/work area and sat at Starbucks for a while with a nice cup of coffee. After that I walked back to the clinic and talked to Carrie, the neurolinguistic programming therapist. That was an interesting sessions. We talked about my past, things that happened with my parents, and more. I am still not sure what to think of that session and whether it really helped. Before I left Desiree gave me a card with a note thanking me for the links to the Paleo sites. She also gave me her email address and said she would like to stay in touch. I thought that was really sweet.

I was ravenous when I got back to the hotel around 2:30 PM. I had hoped to wait until dinner to eat, but I had breakfast around 5:30 AM and was ready to eat then. Sometime later, while I was driving around Kirkland, after I had gone for a walk in a pretty park, I started to have pain in the right side of my colon. Every time I hit the break or switched back to the gas pedal in the car it hurt quite a bit. The pain seems to be gone now but it wasn't pleasant.

Tomorrow's appointment with Dr. D is 1 1/2 hours long. She is going to do a bunch of muscle testing and I hope to get some more questions in. I am hoping to sleep better today. That is something else I mentioned to her this morning. One of the supps she has me taking has GABA in it, which is supposed to be calming. However, 5-HTP is supposed to be calming as well and it gives me energy and I feel more alert when I take it. Conversely, l-tyrosine is supposed to be energizing and it puts me to sleep when I take it. I mentioned this to her and she said to try taking it in the morning instead. It's actually a probiotic with GABA and zinc.

I am ready to go home, have home cooked meals, and be in my own house, but I am going to miss the support I get from the doctors at the clinic and all the wonderful treatments.

Day 2 with Dr. Dahlgren and Treatments

I am feeling very emotional today. Shortly after I wrote my post this morning, while I was still sitting in bed with my laptop, I started to cry. I just sat here crying and it felt kind of good to just let it out.

The sauna was a steam sauna with ozone treatment the last 10 minutes. Another naturopath was in there with me the entire time, wiping my forehead with a cold, wet washcloth and giving me water with electrolytes to drink. If I had someone doing that at home while I am in my personal sauna I would take one more often.

Next was the colonic. I have had them and while I like how I feel afterward, I do not like the actual colonic. I get a lot of cramping and mild nausea so I was glad when it was over. I felt pretty drained and tired afterward.

After the colonic I went back to the hotel to take a shower and eat something. Then I had my follow-up with Dr. D. We talked about the emotional stuff I have going on, I had some questions for her, then she did some muscle testing to see how I am doing on the supplements. She said I seem to be handling everything just fine and my liver is ok.

She also recommended eating breakfast and getting at least 20 grams of protein at breakfast. I told her about Dr. Kruse's leptin reset and she said if I can get in 50 to 75 grams of protein for breakfast that would be really good, not just for leptin reset but for many things. So I guess I will continue to eat protein and fat first thing in the morning.

After picking up the nebulizer, which I need to use after I am done writing this, I had my session with Dr. Aleks. He is from a little town in Kazakhstan where he is a medical doctor. Of course he can't practice medicine here but he is also an osteopath so he did a bunch of manipulations and gentle adjustments. He said my C1 was torqued and tilted, my right hip was rotated, and some other stuff.

That was it for today. I have another UVBi and other stuff tomorrow.

The Morning After

Yesterday I took one to two doses of most of my new supplements. I don't have the nebulizer yet, picking that up today, so I could not do this particular treatment yesterday, and they were out of one of the probiotics so I couldn't take it. Considering all the anti-microbials and probees I added, in addition to the probees I already take, I feel ok this morning. Not good, I rarely feel good, but not worse than usual either. This is good.

Unfortunately I did not sleep well at all last night. I went to bed around 9:15 PM and between then and 5:00 AM today I woke up 5 times and had to go to the bathroom 2 times. I did have some green tea around 7 PM although that normally doesn't affect my sleep.

I have three appointments today - sauna at 9 AM, colonic at 10 AM, a 30 minute follow-up with Dr. D at 1 PM, and a 90 minute appointment with Dr. Aleks who is going to take a look at my neck issue. She also said to talk to him about my abdominal issues. I also need to pick up the nebulizer between my morning appointments and my Dr. D appointment. The pharmacy is south of here and the girls at the front desk told me if I go after 3:30 PM it will take me an hour or more to make the 15 minute drive due to traffic. So it's another full day and it looks like there won't be any sight seeing.

One more thing Dr. D wanted me to do is schedule an appointment with Carrie, their neurolinguistic programming therapist. She wanted me to address my birth trauma with her (I had rhesus factor, was taken away from my mother immediately, did not have contact with her for the first 5 days, and had 2 blood transfusions in the first 12 hours I believe). Carrie is booked solid all week so I will not be able to see her. Dr. D recommended seeing her next time I come here or trying to find someone locally. I looked up neurolinguistic programming and I have a feeling DH won't be up for this treatment. I found some hypnosis centers doing the NL programming and I know DH is not a fan of hypnosis. I will have to do some more research.

Day 1 with Dr. Dahlgren

Today was my first appointment with Dr. Dahlgren at the Comprehensive Medical Center in Kirkland, WA – Dr. Klinghardt’s practice. When I got there I had to give urine and saliva for some test to check for nutritional deficiencies and other issues. After a short wait I got to see Dr. D and another doctor who assisted her. Both Dr. D and Dr. L were really nice and caring which helped a lot since I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I flew in yesterday but got in 4 hours late, drove to the hotel in pouring rain and in the dark, didn’t get much sleep, etc.

Anyway, Dr. D said based on my Igenex lab results I definitely have Lyme and Babesia (oddly my supposed Lyme literate MD in Nashville feels I don’t have much of a Lyme issue!) and the fact that they even showed up on a blood test is amazing considering how low my white blood cell count is. She feels that I probably have had Lyme since I was much younger and may have gotten it in Germany years ago. The low CD57 confirms this as well (mine was 20). In addition, with muscle testing (more on that later) she found that I test positive for Lyme from Germany - different DNA than Lyme in the US.

She said the urine and saliva test indicated that I have fungal issues and a structural issue with my neck. Incidentally, that is true about my neck and how a urine or saliva test can determine this is a puzzle to me. Based on the test my nutritional status is pretty good and she gave me a list of foods that would help me right now, and a list of foods I should avoid if I can. Coffee was on the list of foods to avoid but she said not to worry about that for now. Bless that woman!

When I told her that I started having more issues with heart racing last week she said I am probably dealing with a virus. It was nice to have that confirmed because I am still up to two beta blockers a day versus one. She also agreed that a small change in the formulation of thyroid medication, like changing the filler, can affect how well the body absorbs it. In addition, she does not want to take me off hydrocortisone right now (like most other doctors) because my body is dealing with other stuff at the moment. She said we can work on weaning off of it later and that it’s supporting me right now. It’s so nice to deal with a doctor who knows her stuff.

We talked for a while about the surgeries I have had, other medical history, accidents, etc. then she started examining me and did some muscle testing. She said my small intestine is inflamed and I have a lot of fluid retention (no kidding). She noted quite a bit of pitted edema in my hands which she said is unusual.  She injected two of my surgery scars and also my thyroid with Procain. Apparently my thyroid is inflamed as well and my surgery scars were blocking “something” from healing. The injection in my thyroid was not pleasant....when she injected the right side, besides the pain in the injection site, I felt a nasty pain on the right side of my forehead. After the injection I felt like I had big knots in my throat, my voice sounded funny for a while, and I had to cough but couldn't really cough. Hard to explain.

After a lot of muscle testing and more questions she came up with a treatment plan for me. Aside from a bunch of supplements to support my pancreas, spleen, heart, and more, she recommended two probiotics. One I am supposed to take after meals, the other one I need to take at bedtime as it also has GABA which is supposed to help me sleep. She also wants me to take some brown algae supplement at bedtime to help with sleep and cardiovascular issues.

She said I have a lot of bacterial and viral stuff going on in my lungs for which she prescribed an iodine and a garlic supplement that I need to put in a nebulizer and inhale. I have to do this once a day for a year. She recommended several supplements specifically for Lyme (Quintessence and Lyme Nosodes), an anti-viral medication, an anti-fungal medication, and an anti-parasitic medication. I also have a chlorella extract and she gave me a bee venom ointment which I am supposed to rub on my thyroid and adrenal areas twice a day.

In addition to all this I got a UVBi treatment (running ones blood through ultraviolet light and injecting H2O2 into the blood) today which is followed by a sauna and a colonic tomorrow morning to get toxins out. I am getting one more of these before I leave. Last but not least I am seeing another one of their doctors for structural issues with my neck.

Dr. D also wanted me to do a stool test before I leave. However, the girls at the front desk forgot to give me the kit so I cannot start tomorrow. You have to collect stool for 3 days and I am leaving Friday so I am not sure what she wants to do about this. I can’t start the anti-fungal until after the stool test. Maybe she will skip it.

She also wants me to do a KPU/HPL urine test at home and a hair analysis to check for heavy metals. And I am supposed to get an earthing sheet to sleep on and wear some kind of protection around my neck when I am working on the computer to protect my thyroid from EMFs. She said aluminum foil works great if I don’t care how I look!

The supplements and meds I am supposed to take in case anybody is interested are as follows:

Treatment Plan

Treatment While At the Clinic

1. UVBi followed by sauna and colonic. Do this twice while in Seattle.
2. Carrie – Neurolinguistic Programming – work on emotional issues.
3. Dr. Aleks – structural work (he is an osteopath).

Labs and Imaging

1. CDSA (Stool Analysis)
2. KPU/HPL urine test – do this at home. Pause supplements for 5 days before doing this.
3. Hair Analysis – for heavy metals.
4. Abdominal Ultrasound (complete) – do this while in Seattle.

Referrals/Recommendations

1. Order an earthing pad from Little Tree Group to use while sleeping. Consider also getting one to use while on the computer.
2. Less-EMF – look for a scarf or similar type of item to cover thyroid while working on the computer. Aluminum foil is fine.

Anti-Microbials

1. Lyme nosode – follow package instructions.
2. Quintessence – two dropperfuls three times per day in a little water before meals.
3. Garlic and TriQuench – add the following to a little water in nebulizer and inhale once daily
1. TriQuench – two drops
2. Allimax – five to ten drops
4.  Biltricide – two tablets three times per day for two days. Pause two weeks and repeat once. Ideally start with full moon.
5.  Diflucan – 100 mg twice per day for 6 weeks. Start after stool analysis.
6.  Valtrex – 1000 mg once per day at bedtime for at least three months (may continue this longer due to high viral load).

Endocrine and Organ/Glandular Support

1. Diutrex – one tablet two to three times daily before or between meals.
2. Drenatrophin PMG – two tablets three times per day before meals. Hold on tongue 5 to 10 seconds before swallowing.
3. Pancreatrophin PMG – one tablet three times per day before meals.
4. Spleen PMG – one tablet three times per day before meals with the Drenatrophin and Pancreatrophin.
5. Cardiotrophin PMG – one tablet three times per day before meals with the Drenatrophin.

Detox Support

1. PC Ecklonia Cava – six tablets per day at bedtime.
2.  CGF (liquid chlorella) – ½ teaspoon three times per day at least 15 minutes before meals.

Nutrient Support

1. CORE – two tablets daily after a large meal.
2. Vitamin D – 6,000 IU daily.

GI Support

1. ProCalm – four capsules per day at bedtime.
2. Supernatant – two capsules twice per day after meals.
3. Betaine HCl with Pepsin (Thorne) – two to three capsules at the beginning of each meal.

Circulation Support

1. Venex (bee venom ointment) - apply topically to skin over nech (thyroid) and back (adrenals) twice daily.

Slow Roasted Beef Ribs

what you need:

• 1 package grass-fed beef ribs (about 6 ribs)
• 1 onion
• chopped garlic
• paprika, rosemary, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin

what you do:

Season ribs with spices and place in covered baking dish. Cut onions in slices and place them around the ribs.  Add chopped garlic.

Cover baking dish (I used a cast iron put with a lid), place in pre-heated 250 degree oven and bake for 3 to 4 hours or until ribs are tender and fall off the bone. Uncover dish, increase temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 20 to 30 minutes, until outside of ribs is crispy.

Enjoy!

This post was shared on Monday Mania and Fat Tuesday.