Saturday, January 14, 2012

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!

2 comments:

Patty said...

Kristina,
This has definitely been a fascinating read. Overall sounds like she's got a good grip on things. I truly pray that this is "the one" and you start to heal!

Kristina said...

Thank you...I hope so, too.