Things that keep me going

Here are a few things that I have discovered to keep me going. It is important to be moving and social, because even though the world MAY look at you as sick and impossible, There are things we can do better than the rest when we are ill! One thing I have found and enjoy, as it gives me something to show off, be proud of, and enjoy is crafts. Things like knitting or crocheting, sewing, painting, beading, scrap-booking, sketching, and many more can give you something to have a goal for. A goal is important because you know you have something to work toward, a reason to live, and something to converse about with others! I have particularly picked up a great habit of beading that will, in the near future, possibly make me some money! I will have a big goal ahead of me! For this reason I know I have some worth, value, AND talent! The mysteries of beading have been clarified to me through books and online sources I have gathered! I experiment with patterns and forget that pain for a little while a day so I may pick up some wire and bead some more! How great is that, and I never imagined I would do so well with the colors, patterns, styles and so on!

I was at an event last weekend when Nancy (the leader of support group)'s good friend showed up and introduced herself. I didn't think much of it at first, but as we started talking I realized Nancy had spoken of me before and encouraged her about my beading work. She will be starting up a local artisan's shop where the work approved will be allowed to sit out on rented booth space for sale! What a chance for me to test this out and check my limits! In speaking with her further she explained that I can set my jewelry (if by her standards is acceptable) out in a display counter and see if it sells. I will make an income and a profit! She even was excited about my work! I am now testing many different methods of beading, crimping, styling, patterning, latches, colors, etc.! This is so special and beneficial to me as I will be able to make some money, learn some business and marketing, and see the result of great thinking, concentration, and hard labor! The opportunity is opening me up to change, new things, and creativity! Knowing that it will all work out in the end is nice too!

I also do scrap-booking from time to time and find it very special to a Lyme-fighter's senses, as it relaxes and exercises the brain. There are things I have done with scrap-booking that I surprise myself with! The talent and creativity required to sit and design page after page of art, pictures, and collected items from different places is spectacular! Seeing the aftermath of your unique concentration and effort makes it all the better as well! And for the people that aren't as crafty, it is great to just sit and put together a simple book containing memories from past life, without Lyme, and reminding yourself it will come again! Having something to look forward to, a light at the end of a tunnel, may be just what gets you by from day to day!

This is just what my personal experiences with artworking and crafts have shown me. As many I am not always in the mood to do anything concerning effort, but I have a lot of time on my hands with Home School that I never had before and I like to take advantage of it when I might!

Weather and Barometer

As many may notice, when the weather gets bad, the barometer goes down, or the skies cloud over, you may notice the change in symptoms. I have come to realize that any change in weather, temperature, or barometric pressure increases the pain, and puts me into bed. over the course of a morning the sky can go from sunny to foggy or rainy, and I can go from okay to far below that!

If you are on the same track, understand that god is not punishing you, but testing you. You could have a great day and then be crumby the next week! It is just part of this illness and most realize the change in body when a storms coming, and I can even predict weather sometimes just by my grogginess.

As a storm comes closer the pressure in the Atmosphere usually increases causing the barometer to fall, and causing the joints in the body to feel greater strain. So if something's off, check the forecast!

Many feel this way in Winter and better in Summer, some feel worse in Summer better in Winter. It all depends what your Lyme Decides it doesn't like more....to put it more understandable. Every person is different but I can assure you that your increasing misery is shared with others, just stick through it and take it easy.

Protocols

For me, I believe it is more than just the antibiotics to treat an illness like this. More than the herbs, the vitamins, anything. But for now let me talk a little about the medicines I have tried so far.

To start with, my LLMD recommended I start on herbal treatments before I even got the test results back. Here is a list of the herbs that were meant to fight the Lyme and co-infections over the past 1/2 year: Andrographis, Artemesia, and Cat's Claw. All of these and dosages can be found in the Healing Lyme book I recommend for reading. The necessary herbs were Milk Thistle for liver function, Probiotics for multiple reasons, a daily Vitamin, Vitamin B-complex, Magnesium, Vitamin D, Co Q-10, Fish Oil (Omega 3), and for sleep Valerian Root and time release Melatonin work the best. in total right now I take about 38 pills a day, and it is really tough on my stomach so I drink Aloe Vera Juice to coat the Upper GI track (throat and stomach).

In the beginning when the results were finally back as positive and it was time to treat, the LLMD put me on the above 'cocktail' of herbs and Biaxin. When that proved very little effective we switched onto Biaxin and Bactrim. Neither quite helped so after time we switched both of those to high doses of Amoxicillin. That was ineffective as well. Now I am on high doses of the above herbs and aiming for a herx, anything to show that the medicines are working. If you would like to look into any treatment like I have done, just remember that the side effects may differ. I have been effected minor and also have had increasing fatigue from time to time. it is said that Lyme makes cycles and gets worse for an allotted amount of time every 3/4 weeks.


Elaina