Dance On!

I saw my doc two weeks ago and although it was a day when I was having an episode of Malaria/Babesia (we’ve decide to call it that since no test so far has been conclusive of either, but I never had these symptoms until I came home from India in 2005), he was greatly encouraged. In fact he said something that nearly blew my socks right off …..he told me that I was his healthiest patient!!!! Wow. That’s incredible news. He loves it when I come in. I’m just not your typical patient. I’ve thought through everything clearly and I’ve taken notes to bring with me. I go over my blood work with a fine tooth comb…at least as much as I can understand. I ask questions and have logical discussions. I’m always thinking outside the box. I’m telling you, I’m the kind of person who asks, “what do I have to do to be healed”, and I do it!

I’m going to digress here for something that has been near to my heart on this journey to healing. It’s the story of the crippled man from Bethesda as chronicled in the Bible.

Jesus asked him “What is it you want me to do for you?” Seems pretty obvious, huh? The man said, “Heal me.” What Jesus wanted to know was if the man really wanted to be healed. Or did he enjoy the sympathy and attention that being crippled got him. I had to face this exact question one day back in 2006. The Lord really confronted me with the question, “What is it you want me to do for you?” That’s when I made the decision to do whatever it takes. To live well and not cheat. To practice what I preached. To listen to His leading. To ask for His leading. And that’s what you have to do. I can tell you everything I’ve done to get where I am, but you have to decide what it is God has for you. We are not all the same, so my supplement regime wouldn’t necessarily be yours. My infections and symptoms are surely different than yours, so you have to gear your regime to fit you. I can tell you that diet is vital. And that Dr Zhang’s herbs work! Listen to the Lord and listen to your body. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and take a step of faith on this road of healing.

Now back to my other thoughts.

We don’t know if one of my infections is Malaria or Babesia. Either way they are treated the same. My natural choice has been Dr Zhang’s Artemisea. My doc offers me choices. Then I always steal his thunder by saying the right thing. Like I told him I didn’t think it was wise to take Malarone or any other Rx for the Malaria/Babesia, due to the fact that my liver enzymes are still elevated. That’s where he was going with it, but he wanted to know what I wanted. Then he asked if I was ready for something really different. I said sure.

He went over all my supp’s and herbs and said that I couldn’t be doing a better job at killing the infections and supporting my body. He told me that I couldn’t be living a better lifestyle with diet and environmental issues. We went through my history again from age 20.

He’s been trying a new therapy for a while and thought we ought to go a new direction in our approach. My doc believes that anyone of us can carry Lyme and it’s co-infections or even cancer for that matter, around in our bodies for a very, very long time with no symptoms. Then BAM! Something happens like the birth of a child. A job loss. A death. An accident or a surgery. Something stressful or traumatic. Something that may leave a scar, both literal and figuratively. And it, the infections becomes active. For myself, I’ve gone in and out of the symptoms for years. The most recent in 2005 being the most severe ever.

My doc is also a licensed acupuncturist. And I’ve had him give me a few treatments for back pain and foot pain. It works like magic every time. I understand the principles behind acupuncture. And I understand in a limited way that our bodies are full of energy. Thus we have nerves and energy flowing through us constantly. And they can get blocked by scar tissue. A nerve that is cut or cut close to can take yrs and yrs to recover. AND suppose it’s scarring that is keeping me from reaching that next level of healing.

That new therapy he’s been working with is, Scar Therapy. See I have a ton of scars. The first, on my chin when I cut it open on barbed wire when I was two. The next came in 1984 & 1988 from episiotomies when having my two children. Then I had 8 surgeries in 6 yrs on my arms and hands from an auto accident in 1993. I think that’s it. (One doc told me never to stop taking 1,000 mg of Vit C daily due to all the x-rays I’ve had in my lifetime. X-rays have been proven to be a link to cancer.) The strange thing my doc has seen is that sometimes a scarring incident can be all it takes to send you into a spiral. It did with me. After my second child and consequently my second episiotomy I crashed. After 8 surgeries on my arms and hands I crashed.

I’m not saying I understand it all. I’m just willing to try something new. I’ve already made tremendous progress so why not see if I can improve even more.

I started taking a homeopathic treatment to dissolve scar tissue, which still ridals me. Now I’ll chart everything and see if anything changes. The idea is to open pathways of healing so I can rise further above this mess. (I’m back after starting this a few weeks ago.) I’ve been taking the Scar Therapy for two weeks. It’s amazing, I squirt 8 sprays in my mouth 3 times a day. The scar on my chin from when I was 2 yrs old is itching for the first time ever. The scars on my hands are itching like crazy. This stuff is working. After the first week I experienced a lot of pain in my hands which are covered in scars from all the surgeries and investigative surgeries. I have no less than 6 little X’s on the top of my hands and wrists from the telescopic surgery to find the problem. Then I have a incision that is about 8-10″ long on each arm where my ulna’s were shortened. Each opened multiple times.

So for now, I know that something is breaking loose from the inside. I’ll let you know how it goes.

We also talked about the the moon and it’s cycles. A lot of Lyme patients believe they see a worsening of symptoms when there is a full moon. I’m not sure. But interestingly enough I did have two very bad Malaria/Babesia episodes at the first quarter of the moon just in the last few months. So, it’s just another thing to chart and keep track of. This month I saw an entire week of on again and off again issues during the week from the 1st quarter to the full moon. AND this full moon was one of the closest we’ve had in years. Do you remember it? It was so close to the earth, it looked like you could touch it. After the night of the full moon, nothing. I’ve been fine.

I’m sharing this so that you can be aware of new approaches to healing. Step out of the box! And allow Jesus to ask you, “What is it you want me to do for you?” Can you say, “I REALLY WANT TO BE HEALED!” That means taking full responsibility and making no more excuses. Dancing to your hearts content!

Photo Credit:Flickr.com

My Winter Remedies

I woke up this morning with that awful feeling that I’m getting sick. I forgot to take my handful of Vit C before I went to bed last night. That’s my number one weapon of attack. I usually take 5-10 grams, that’s 5,000-10,000 mg right before bed. Since it’s flu season and a lot of people are walking around with it, I also have been taking 20-35 drops of Echinasea tincture. I make my own tincture and I like it with Goldenseal.

I also have been making Elderberry Syrup for the past couple months whenever I feel it. I drizzle Elderberry Syrup in my yogurt or I’ll take some in a little bit of water several times a day and that helps tremendously. I was blessed to find an Elderberry tree on our property this summer and froze 4 gallons of berries. It does have a short shelf life in the frig, so I only make small batches at a time.

I also keep homemade chicken soup in the freezer all winter so that I can pull it out when needed. It’s not called Jewish Penicillin for nothin. I always make a pot of good bone broth first by cooking a chicken in a stock pot for no less than a day and then on the second day adding veggies. If you have feet and heads throw them in! The more gelatin the better!

Also this morning since I’m really feeling it, I drank some juice from my fermented pickles and downed some whey that was dripping from some kefir cheese that I was making. I drank the pickle juice because my sauerkraut doesn’t have a lot of juice. Remember a few years ago, the word was going around that the FDA was suggesting sauerkraut for the bird flu. Well, it’s fermented juice that you’re after. It’s loaded with Vit C, it inhibits the proliferation of bacteria, and acts as a antibiotic.

I also use a hand sanitizer in the winter when I’m out in public. This is the only time I recommend it.

Keepeth Thy Hands Clean!

Pay attention to your body and you’ll know when to increase your pro-active attack plan. Don’t wait for it to get a foot hold, because once it does then your battle is much harder to fight. And remember that for some of us we have a compromised immune system and you should work very hard at avoiding it like the plague.

And stay away from sugar! It weakens the immune system. In my opinion I think that’s why we have so much sickness during the winter months. Not only is our supply of Vit D  greatly reduced but we are consuming tons of sugar during the holiday months when the flu is at it’s peak! And don’t forget your Cod Liver Oil which is packed with Vit A and Vit D, it’s like sunshine in a bottle. Oh go ahead….just pinch your nose! Really the CLO today does not taste bad and is easy to swallow!

For some of you this may be your first Christmas holiday without sweets. Press on. Check out my post on Christmas Cheer, where I give a couple great recipe ideas that won’t cause you to regret your actions. I also added a few more on my other blog.

Best of health to you this winter!

Photo Credit linked to Flickr.com

Christmas Cheer

Many will find this time of year extremely challenging. With diets and temptations abounding. I encourage you to not fall off the wagon during the Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years celebrations. Instead plan a course now to prevent failure. Here are a few tips.

Stay away from sweets. I know easier said than done. But, I’ve done it and I know that if I can you can too.

Stay away from grains. Yes, that means breads, cookies and pies!

But if you’re going to indulge remember a few things…….

Make it a different kind of year. If you are going to use grains then soak your grains and flours in kefir or whey to break down the phytic acid which prevents digestion and inhibits the absorption of nutrients and blocks enzymes. Use sourdoughs as much as possible. Stay way from refined sugars. Use raw honey for as much as you can. Adding a little maple syrup or even Rapadura or Turbinado. But not too much, they still affect ones blood sugar. I find that raw honey has the least effects on my blood sugar and never puts me back into the craving sugar mode. And I use it in equal amounts when baking.

Try using a variety of flours. For instance coconut, almond and rice. You can replace them for equal measurements. You can find these from Bob’s Red Mill at your local health food store. I used coconut and almond to make a pie crust and it was delicious.

Indulge yourself instead in Eggnog. Using raw milk, raw cream, raw free range eggs and some raw honey or maple syrup with a dash of organic nutmeg, dash of salt. There’s nothing like it. In fact you can make this one of your favorite morning shakes. Try adding frozen blueberries for extra antioxidants. Many suggest only using the raw egg yolks, since too many raw egg whites can cause a biotin deficiency. A biotin deficiency can increase problems with diabetes, poor pituitary and low thyroid. Even toss in some good oils like coconut or flax and you have a powerhouse drink!

Macaroons are a wonderful treat and are a good way to use up those egg whites. You can freeze your egg whites in a container and keep adding to them. Make sure you write the number on the container. The recipe from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions is great.

Sally Fallon’s Macaroons

Beat 4 raw egg whites with a pinch of salt until you have stiff peaks.

Add 2 Tbsp of Arrowroot. And slowly add 1/2 C Maple Syrup and 1 Tbsp Vanilla. Fold in 2 Cups of dried unsweetened coconut.

Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper.

Heat oven to 300 and bake for 1/2 hr. Reduce oven to 200 and bake an additional 1 hr. Allow to cool before removing from parchment paper. Store in airtight container. Makes 2 dozen.

I’m only planning one dessert for Christmas. I’ll be making my favorite Blackberry Cobbler. I froze several bags of berries this summer and it will be a wonderful treat. Plop on some raw cream and yummy! No need to sweeten the cream since it’s already sweet heavy cream!

And then if you are a chocolate lover, you must try my healthy chocolates. Chocolate is full of antioxidants and it’s a fermented food. However, most chocolate is also full of sugar! And I suppose that is why most folks with Lyme say they can’t eat chocolate. My solution is to make my own which are to die for. You can switch out the almond butter with peanut butter, or leave it out entirely. Although the opinion around here is that they are better with a nut butter. Enjoy.

Guiltless Chocolates(all measurements are approximate, tweak them as you like)

1/2 Cup raw butter softened

1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

1 Tbsp almond butter

2 heaping Tbsp “Really Raw” honey (or whatever honey you like)

2 heaping Tbsp organic cocoa (or raw chocolate)

Mix all these ingredients together and drop by the spoonful on a plate lined with waxed paper. Place the plate in the freezer till hardened. Eat quickly because they melt in your hands. The idea here is to eat raw, so use as many raw ingredients as possible. ENJOY! Variations: unsweetened shredded coconut, nuts (crispy), whatever tickles your taste buds!

Remember that the holidays are not an excuse to fall off the wagon. They are a time to celebrate our Saviours birth and to enjoy family and loved ones. Learn new habits for this New Year and you will begin to see your healing quickly appear!

I also encourage you to invest in Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions. It will be an endless resource to your cooking library. Make this New Year a time to recreate the way you see and eat food. Make food your medicine and have a purpose for each bite.