Living and Lyme: January 2016

I have been quiet for a bit.....
You will understand once I explain why. You see, I am living life again!! I feel like I am permanently smiling - having the ability to live life again is an AMAZING GIFT!!!!
My Lyme Doc tells me I am not technically in remission because I have to be symptom free for 3 months for it to be official. But I am more than happy with this level of healing, even if I am not quite considered to be in remission. I think I forgot what it was like to have energy and vitality, to be a part of life rather than just existing and trying to make it to the end of each day. I have a spring in my step! The character and spunk that I thought was permanently changed is creeping back in. Haha, some of you may wish me back to my old state - I will try to manage my character a little better this time round, I promise....That is truly what it feels like for me - a new beginning!! Time to CELEBRATE!! Thank-you LORD!!!

PSALM 30

I will exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.

You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

you spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”

LORD, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain^c stand firm;

but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

To you, LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:

“What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you?

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help.”

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

Discovering new, beautiful, serene beaches in Australia

I will be working over the next months on building strength particularly in my core/gleuts/shoulders and back where I have lost muscle tone over the past four years. I am excited that this is possible again as my previous physiotherapy attempts had a negative effect on my body. I still get muscle and joint pain - although to a far lesser degree, and often have trouble with my ribs and spine misaligning. I am hoping that by strengthening the muscles that are weak, I will be able to stabilize and support the weaker areas of my body.

We are so grateful that I am able to function without support in my role as wife and mother again. I can keep up with my home and even join in supporting my children at school again. You can expect to see me on as many school trips and at every school function I can possibly attend!

I am having trouble with re-occurring bladder infections yet. I will be seeing a urologist soon to determine the cause of those and what can be done to prevent them. I will also be undergoing an endoscopy to determine if I have Celiac Disease. Antibodies to gluten have been found in my saliva, so I am gluten sensitive but this test will determine if I am a true Celiac. Only problem is that I have to go on gluten for the next six weeks, which I am not keen on. I have decided to do only sprouted organic wheat and see if my body is less affected by gluten in that form...

I will be finishing off my Lyme medications, including Alinia (which has greatly helped me overcome my neurological Lyme symptoms) within the next month, and switching to an Essential Oil protocol. I intend to use DoTerra or Young Living Essential Oils to support my immune system and create a healthily hostile environment for Lyme bacteria to return to.

As for the yeast issues that have resulted from the use of long-term antibiotics, I am currently taking Fluconazole, but will be looking into doing a Leaky Gut program from Josh Axe within the next few weeks as well in an attempt to heal and restore my stomach and intestines.

Personally I have found a mostly Vegetarian diet to be suited to my body. Unfortunately a high vegetable and gluten-free grain diet creates a lot of work as I am hungry every two hours (not sure if this is because of a quick metabolism or a result of malabsorption of nutrients). I have been introduced to a Thermomix while in Australia and may be looking into purchasing a similar tool eventually to help make kitchen preparations a lot easier and free up some of my time for other pursuits.

Here are some pics from my recent trip 'home' to Australia. My friend Tish was especially amazed at my progress as she hasn't seen me for awhile and the last time she saw me I was barely functioning! Thanks for the great memories!!