Tag Archives: immune system

Patience and Waiting for Healing

Posted on by swollenmystery

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One might think with all the detoxing, eating so well and anti-bacterial treatments, my pain levels would be great. Unfortunately, I can’t yet proclaim I’ve been healed from Lyme disease or my co-infections. But I can attest to gaining patience and obedience when it comes to waiting for healing. You might ask How do you gain patience when every cell in your body feels like it’s under constant attack? There are several things that have helped me get through the last few months.

  1. Books – My good friend Tim at Life Fitness Academy recommended a book called Suffering and Sovereignty of God. To my great surprise, my wife already read the book this year so we had a copy in our library. It took me a while to start it but once I did every time I had to stop I couldn’t wait until the next time I could continue reading. The authors discuss their own sufferings and I can relate to their questions and what they went through. There are so many Scripture references that it made me seek out those passages, read them, and think about them. When I read about Joseph’s suffering in the Old Testament or Paul’s suffering in the New Testament and realize suffering has been around for such a long time, or that God can allow suffering for a greater glory we don’t understand, my short life comes into perspective and it helps me be patient.
  2. Family – Often I overlook this one, but I gain so much patience by just watching those around me. My mom has taught me patience without ever saying anything. When she was only a few years old she unexpectedly caught the polio virus, leaving her with partial paralysis and the use of only one leg for the rest of her life. Growing up with a mom who always walked with crutches and never complained once to her children is not only astonishing, but it helps me see that if she can get through it, I can have more patience for my suffering. Even if I suffer the rest of my life, I still had 30 years more mobility than she ever had. To this day, my mother has more energy and spirit than any other woman I know at her age. Who would think someone with a lifelong disability could always be on the move? She’s an avid shopper and I often joke with my brother or sister about how mom can out-walk us all. It’s humbling to think that she raised 3 kids, went back to school, and took on a new career later in life while patiently realizing she could not physically do what most moms do.
  3. Knowledge – If this disease has taught me anything, it’s that there is hope. Perhaps not for a cure in the short-term, but hope that my Lyme and co-infections will go into remission. Hope that others with Lyme can experience relief. Hope that others with similar auto-immune diseases can feel like they are making progress toward healing. Reading so many studies and articles, and listening to doctors and specialists has shown me that there are a lot of conflicting reports out there. It can be frustrating sorting through what is right, what is wrong, and what we just don’t know. However, every time I read an article or listen to a speaker talking about how they have seen progress with a patient or have experienced relief themselves, I gain a little more hope. Along with that hope I gain a little more perseverance. And with that perseverance I acquire a little more patience.

Lately I’ve realized how much our society trains us for the quick fix. “Take these pills and come back in a month”. Who doesn’t want the most immediate path to feeling better? I’ve fallen right into the trap of impatience and doubt when it comes to healing. Maybe that statement should be, “Eat like this for a couple years, give your body the time it needs to heal, and don’t worry about ever having to come back”. That’s the kind of healing I want. One of the hardest things to deal with when going the natural route is the patience and discipline it takes to get through to the end and not settling for the quick fix. If taking that route, whether it’s 1 year or 10, gives my immune system a chance to get back on track, I’m opting to be patient for a little while longer.

Sweating Through the Gears

Posted on by swollenmystery

With chronic Lyme disease, there are some days you get to the point of frustration where you begin to doubt your treatments and wonder what is working and what isn’t. Today is one of those days. No, I take that back. This month is one of those months. Consistently, I see clues of healing: better, consistent bowel movements; more fluctuation in my knee swelling; normal weight gain; and overall feeling of more strength. Yet I continue to debate whether I’m taking a step backward or moving forward, not knowing whether the increased pain, fatigue or swelling is due to herx reactions and bacteria die-off in my system or my infections getting out of control again.

Through the ups and downs, I feel like I’m learning. It seems as if my lymphatic system is what’s holding me back. I’m beginning to wonder if my lack of movement (due to aches and fatigue) is a double-edged sword. Could a lack of exercise stall my lymph nodes and cause a backed-up system, creating more toxins to spread, and therefore more discomfort and pain? One of the hardest things for me to do over the past few years has been to sweat. When I do sweat, I feel better and see changes in my knee effusions afterward. When I work out, or have my knees or neck massaged properly, I tend to see more change in the amount of fluid in and around my knees. This leads me to believe I need to actively coax my lymph nodes to move the toxic waste.

The more I learn about the lymphatic system in our bodies, the more it fascinates me. Not only does it aid the immune system by destroying pathogens and filtering waste, it removes dead blood cells, cancer cells, toxins, and debris. On top of that, it works with the circulatory system transporting oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to cells that make up tissues in the body. How could I not want to support such a brilliant system when all I want to do is kill off Lyme spirochetes and kick bacterial infections out the door?

Recently I found a great little mini-trampoline on craigslist and started rebounding daily to get my lymphatic system moving. My wife and I also bought a couple of used bicycles to get some nice, low-impact exercise into my daily regimen. I was pleased to find out after trying so many pain-inducing, joint-swelling exercises that bicycling actually felt ok. And I could more easily work up a sweat without taking on the full weight of my upper body. Usually it takes a few minutes to get warmed up but I try to keep the RPM’s high and the gears low so I can keep my legs and joints moving with not as much effort. In fact, bicycling is the one form of exercise I’ve noticed that often does not make my knees swell any more than before a ride.

Initially it hurts to rebound. It hurts to ride a bike. It even hurts to walk down stairs or move from a standing position to laying on the floor some days. But that pain is usually from lack of moving. And I do feel less pain once my body has warmed up. I feel like moving in general is one of the most important things I can do to convince my body to expel all the toxic organisms that want to spread. So for now, my goal is to find as many ways to exercise and to sweat. Even if I have to wear 3 sweatshirts and bike for hours, it will be worth it.

On The Right Path, But Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Posted on by swollenmystery

This weekend I completed (celebrated) finishing three months of a detox protocol for healing my gut naturally. While I’m not completely going back to the way I used to eat, I am going to start re-introducing more foods besides raw vegetables and bone broths. I feel like it’s graduation day. Welcome to life in post detox! Yes, it’s affected me that much.

It’s so exciting to see the progress, even though it’s slower than I hoped at times. But I consider this detox protocol successful because it was designed to heal my gut, eliminate built-up antibiotics and other medicines I’ve taken over the years, and therefore allow my immune system to start to function properly again. I truly believe I’ve seen that happen over these last 12 weeks. The first signs were changes in bowel movements as my stools became more frequent, softer, and normal. Then after two months I finally began to see changes in my knee inflammation. For the last year both of my knees have always been swollen (a lot), even while on Prednisone for so long. This was the first time my knee effusions have shrunk to almost to normal size. Now from week to week I’m noticing my knees still flare up but usually one at a time and the swelling tends to be isolated to only one knee instead of both. Overall, walking, getting up and down from a seated position, and walking stairs have been so much easier, too. Even though I still have the swelling, at least something is happening. I’ve also been able to start exercising more often. And the flare-ups seem to be random and unrelated to the workouts, which is a good sign. Hopefully it’s a herx reaction meaning the bacteria is finally on its way out.

The other night my wife and I went through a list of symptoms I wrote down when I started the detox and most are now completely gone or dramatically lessened.

Symptoms now gone:

  • Near constant headache behind eyes, on sides of neck, and at base of skull.
  • Tongue thrush, sore and irritated in the back and sides with a white film in back. Metallic taste, pain when I curled tongue, small white spot still present in the front.
  • Sinuses stuffed.
  • Spine and back pain, stiffness, soreness, tenderness to touch especially near the spine, especially on the left side with any movement. Middle of back near spine achy, sore, stiff all the way to the bottom of ribs.
  • Intermittent pain in low back where kidneys are.
  • Chest feels heavy and flu-ish off and one during the day. Sometimes it’s hard to take deep breaths.
  • Muscle soreness in hips and low back, especially after workouts.
  • Off and on stomach cramping.
  • Constipation and very hard stool. Bowel movement about every two days.
  • Rare instance of overnight incontinence, no pain with urination.
  • Need to get up one to three times every night to urinate.
  • Wake up every one to two hours at night because of neck and back pain. Very uncomfortable to be on side because of neck and shoulder pain. Painful to have knees touch. Some nights too painful to roll over in bed. Very high fatigue level during the day as a result.
  • Low concentration.
  • Muscle twitches–random, but in all major muscle groups. Lasts 30 minutes to three hours.
  • Upper legs are restless, especially when exhausted. Muscle weakness in legs.
  • Very hindered mobility and altered gait.
  • Lower legs not very flexible–possibility of fluid moving down into calves.
  • Two rough circular patches of skin on the left arm. Present for two months, did not respond to fungal cream (suspected ringworm at first).
  • Nightly fever, highest 100.3, often at 99. Feel feverish nightly regardless of temperature.
  • Night sweats.
  • Difficulty regulating temperature–has chills all day long even while wearing multiple layers. Has chills at night before getting fever.
  • Occasional nausea.
  • Occasional lightheadedness, especially after walking for 10 or more minutes.
  • Some mild depression.
  • Feel more thirsty.
  • Two episodes of waking up in the middle of the night to numb forearms and hands while laying on back. Multiple episodes of numb shoulders, forearms, and hands while laying on side.

Symptoms I still have but have improved drastically:

  • Somewhat blurred vision. (Fine with glasses for astigmatism.)
  • Neck pain, stiffness, soreness, tenderness to touch, some seizing, constant aches, hard to stretch without pain. (In suboccipitals, scalenes, and sternocleidomastoids—now only present occasionally.)
  • Aching collarbone, pain when moving shoulders. (Used to not be able to lift arms above head without pain—now that is no problem.)
  • Very low libido.
  • Knees are consistently swollen, the left more severely, although both have lots of fluid constantly. Pain underneath front outsides of both kneecaps while standing. Movement causes popping. Knees hurt, but not when sitting still. Movement hurts, load bearing/pressure is extremely painful. Can’t perform full leg extension. (Much improvement in past few weeks both in flexibility and movement due to less swelling.)
  • Deep off and on ache in tooth and lower jaw on the back left bottom molar area. Dental examination revealed normal jaw and tooth. (Random ache still pops up occasionally.)

Symptoms I’ve experienced since the detox but did not have before (most likely Herxheimer reactions to my treatment)

  • Numbness, burning and sometimes sharp stabbing pains off and on during the day or night. Isolated to upper left thigh. Pain, numbness comes and goes day to day.
  • Acute, sharp pains in knees and occasionally feet or wrists. This has only happened occasionally.

For the upcoming months I’m on a quest, no longer for diagnosis, but a journey to find healthy, nutritious food and continue to eat the best I can to provide more healing each day. Lyme Disease is proving difficult to eliminate, but I’m confident that whole, raw, fermented and even cooked natural foods can go a long way in providing the body what it needs to fight off harmful bacteria and organisms.

Healing Inside Out: Green Smoothies & Bone Broths

Posted on by swollenmystery

Two weeks ago I felt so much despair. So helpless. So much like I was traveling down the wrong path. So I prayed. I talked endlessly with my wife and family and friends about what to do next. And then I prayed some more.

Now I know God works in mysterious ways, but I never expected answers to fall right in my lap so suddenly. Of course I was praying for healing, but I was also praying for direction. And that’s exactly what I got.

At this time I was facing more mysterious blood tests, showing signs of continued inflammation, increasingly painful symptoms all over my body, fears from my rheumatologist that I may have Chron’s disease or worse yet, lymphoma. Additionally, I was working with my LLMD to test for Lyme disease and a number of other coinfections. I was worried about what to do next. Then out of the blue, an endearing stranger, in another part of the country found our story and contacted my wife about helping us out. Through a series of emails I was introduced to Tim and Terry at Life Fitness Academy In Nashville. They agreed to take on my case and give me the best hope I’ve felt in all the years of suffering with inflammatory arthritis. I could tell from the start, their  goal was to help me heal naturally from the inside out. For my particular healing, it was necessary that I should start with the gut.

Over the past several years of constant medications, toxins and poorly chewed foods, it made sense to me that my digestive system could be the foundation for a poorly working immune system. For ten years, previous to my arthritis, I thought I was healthy. I worked out constantly, striving to build lean muscle and ate almost non-stop. For many years I ate six times a day, six chicken breasts a day with various other starches and vegetables, supplementing with protein shakes and anything that seemed healthy. It was working. Or so I thought. I was building muscle and feeling pretty pleased. But I never realized that my intestines and colon were taking all the heat, building up walls inside and preparing for the battle ahead.

Even if antibiotic therapy is still in my future, I soon realized I needed to focus on healing my insides and give my body the nutrients it needs to fight off bacteria and organisms on it’s own. So along with guidance from the caring professionals at Life Fitness Academy, I’ve started an intense detox protocol to naturally heal my leaky gut, remove the toxins from my system and restore my digestive system to it’s proper working order. One of the signs that convinced me of this protocol were hard, clay-like stools and severe constipation during the past six months. That symptom alone was telling me something was wrong.

The protocol consists of eating (or drinking) homemade bone broths from grass-fed beef or organic free range chickens, all the green smoothies I want (only green leafy and cruciferous vegetables with no or little natural sugars) and a good mix of probiotics and systemic enzymes. That’s it. No other foods allowed. Simple, and yes, boring, but so far it has already improved constipation and a lot of my other symptoms.

It’s going to be a long, difficult road ahead. As I write this and sip on a giant glass jar full of green smoothie, I can’t help but think about how this is the most confident I’ve felt in years.