Lyme flare-up

Step 9- Setbacks and relapses

/ Carmen McKnight / 2 Comments

Imagine me sighing now, because that’s what I’m doing and I haven’t begun writing this blog yet.

Thank God for artist like Mandisa, for friends and loved ones, for great hubbies and wives, for sisters, parents, brothers, for friends and for those wonderful people who do research work so we can find The Cure. We must find the cure! There are only so many relapses we can walk through with our heads high and hope filled hearts. But we do it! Ultimately thank God for life, shitty like it is at times is better than not having it.

Recovery from a chronic illness is an up-and-down process.* No need to beat around the bushes about this, those who suffer know this truth.

Just when you think everything is turning around, a set back kicks you in the …well just about everywhere. You’re on your back, in bed, wrapped in the blanket of pain and now what? Why God? Why again? Did I eat the wrong thing? Did I do too much? Took the wrong medication? And you trace back every single step with a fine brush and can’t seem to find anything. Or maybe you do.

My #1 flaw. With increase of energy my thirst for life returns and I end up wanting to do all those things I dreamed of doing while imprisoned in bed, so I do them! And for brief periods of time I feel like I belong in the vast community of humans where I too look and behave normal, where pain and disease are not the subject of the day, where I can be stupid and silly and alive. That’s when I collected memories. That’s what I call it. These memories are worth every single stab of pain I feel later on, because Lyme punishes us like that. If you see me out there in the world and if I’m visiting you or you’re visiting me, I’m living and loving it, even if I know Lyme’s punishments will come later on.

Fortunately, with time, these setbacks gradually become less common and less intense. * True. At least it is for me.

System disruptors that cause setbacks: poor nourishment, toxins, emotional stress, physical stress, oxidative stress (increase in inflammation), radiation (from computers and cell phones), microbiome imbalance (new bite, flue, cold, Herxheimer reaction, flu vaccine), bacterial and viral fare-ups (Epstein-Barr virus reactivation, other herpes- type viruses, Borrelia, Mycoplasma etc), drug reactions, inadequate sleep, and/or allergic reactions to herbs or drugs, or even food, travel or stressful events, or if you’re like me I enter complacency- do more and eat more sugar. The weather changes also affect us, less sun and more cold, rainy, humid days bring the flare-up fast. Cancer, menopause and other such unexpected illnesses, it can do a number on the body.

General Guidelines: If you can get sun or move to a sunny area, do it. REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I make that clear? I hope so:) Lots of liquids and when I say liquids I mean water, tea (ginger) and natural non-sugary drinks. Vitamin C, turmeric and boswellia to reduce inflammation, Enzymes to help you break down the food you eat. The best one is just eating pineapple or take Bromelain, Omega-3 fatty acids, heat, CBD oil (I take that quite a bit during flare-ups, it keeps me sane), herbal supplements, go outside and breath fresh air and walk barefoot on the dirt, meditate, make your world smaller, try to exercise-Yoga is good- (now this is one of those catch 22 issues, flare-ups brings along severe fatigue symptoms and we only have a certain small amount of energy every day and many times we have to choose between cooking or exercising) but endorphins suppress pain and enhance immune function.

And the hardest one of all, figure out how to reduce fear. Yeah, easier said than done, right?

How do I do it? Well, I cry first and I get angry then I start formulating a plan. I’ll give you some ideas, but if you have other ones please share them and I’ll add them here.

Plan ideas

What do I want to do this summer? Realistic goals only. Everyone can make their way outside and lay on a piece of grass and soak the sun, for example. So look forward to those activities.

What new recipes do I want to make? (Most days I only want to eat sugar, so this one is tough:).

What friends do I want to see once I feel better? Assuming they’re still talking to me;)

How can I be part of my children’s lives more?

What hobby brings me peace? I should start that hobby then. So on.

In conclusion, please rest, surround yourself with good and positive encouragement material via books, shows, friends, activities and look forward for the happy spring and summer seasons. Keep fighting because a cure will be found:)

I hope some of this information has been helpful to you:)

God Bless:)

* Quotes or information taken from Williams Rawls book, Unlocking Lyme.

Step 8- Hormones

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

The adrenals, thyroid and menopause mess our hormones radically. Pregnancy, for some reason, improves the wellbeing of the mother but after delivery there’s another story.

Personally I had to reboot the adrenals, and pre-menopause began in 2017 during my mercury fillings removal procedures. Another can of worms opened as pre-menopause settled in and later on in 2019, menopause.

“Adrenals sit on top of the kidneys, one for each kidney. The middle portion of the gland secrets the hormone epinephrine, better knows as adrenaline. The outer portion of the adrenal gland secrets cortisol. These two stress hormones define how you will react to stress of any sort. “*

I was operating in the sympathetic response only, the fight and flight response, unable to relax any longer and let the body heal. This was not intentionally done. I was severely fatigued all the time without the ability to rest, as I’ve previously mentioned. This is very typical in Lyme patients. I’m being tested in March for Addison’s disease since the latest blood test looking at the levels of cortisol in the morning came back low.

Hormones influence our emotions, and depression, anxiety, moodiness and other similar emotions are the results. My adrenals are fatigued and among Lyme patients this is a prominent finding.

This area is so in- depth I would only bore you to death talking about it and there are lots of youtube videos which do a better job at it than I would, so I’ll leave it at that.

How can you help your hormones and stress level?

Slow down your activities and try to slow down your mind, it’s very difficult I know because I’m still trying. Meditate, do yoga, watch non-violent shows and movies, choose non-violent subjects in your daily communications, walk barefoot on the grass and dirt outside, stay in the sun as much as possible.

Ashwagandha, Licorice and Asian Ginseng (panax ginseng) are good herbs to take. Avoid Licorice if you have insomnia and high blood pressure.

If you have a thyroid disfunction there are prescription drugs the doctor will prescribe for you. Ashwagandha, iodine or L-tyrosine are a natural route for supporting the Thyroid gland.

Menopause, a natural tornado as I call it, brings along with it too many imbalances and for those fighting Lyme, chronic Lyme, and other serious illnesses and diseases it’s a very unpleasant layer of crap on top of all the other layers of crap they have to deal with already. Ashwagandha helps to reduce the hot flashes, the herb VITEX restores progesterone secretion and normalizes the menstrual cycle and abstinence from sugar helps reduce the hot flashes (something nearly impossible to do with all the cravings that come along with menopause).

I hope some of this info can help someone, and chin up, the cure is coming.

God Bless:)

Lyme flare-up

/ Carmen McKnight / Leave a comment

This post is specifically intended for Lyme sufferers out in the world. It’s meant to inform not to extract sympathy. 

It began about one month ago, with abnormal fatigue on top of the regular fatigue I still feel most days, then my vision began suffering then my joints began aching, predominantly my hip joints. It got so bad I had a hard time walking. I began tripping constantly, dropping things and walking into furniture or walls. My brain saw the object but could not shoot a response fast enough for me to avoid the collision. I am bruised all over. I began having muscle spasm, forgetting words, and extra sensitivity to noise.  Headaches and constant flu-like symptoms. I’m still sneezing. But when I felt the muscles of my jaw begin to tighten up, the first symptom of a seizure, I knew I needed to do something.

I cut the sugar out of the diet ( high cravings and consumption the past few months). As some of you know sugar suppresses the immune system. I got back on Lyme treatment (see the picture- missing from the photograph is EHB or Immune Supporting Nutrients by Integrative a fantastic supplement and spirulina or chlorella), I continued drinking tea (sarsparilla, green, and calming, mushroom, all organic), I began drinking the juice of a squeezed lemon in the morning to help clean the liver, since it was found stagnant in my recent acupuncture appointment (What? Yes I do acupuncture, it has helped me about 8 times more than any western medicine ever did). Proverbs 18:9. I increased the intake of vegetables (I don’t really like vegetables:) in my diet and cut out meat for now since I noticed a bloating presence after consumption. I’m still on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, you could say I’m slowly becoming a vegan, something Chet will be happy about (he’s been a vegan for two years now). Two days ago I’ve had the first decrease sign in joint pain (that’s also when I began taking the spirulina/chlorella pills so it’s no coincidence there) and I no longer walk in slow motion while wobbling, my energy is gradually increasing and my brain is clearing up. I’m still walking into things but not as often, I’m still dizzy at times, I’m still sneezing and have a runny nose but my joint pain is much lower. I sleep better and can go for a walk.

What caused it? Stress. 

From what? From the noise caused by the construction workers who drill and hammer all day long. Noise and bad vibrations affect those with a compromised immune system far quicker than otherwise healthy people, but I knew it was bad when every single person on our floor, minus the workers, complained how bad it is. Work. Despite the fact that my work is a positive element in my life, the body can not differentiate positive stress from negative and the damage is still present. Am I going to quit my job? Heck no. I love it too much. Noise: I love the loud mouth Damian/Romanian blood running through my kid’s veins:)))) They’re loud when they are in the comforts of their home, which for now is here with us. They joke constantly and tease each other mercilessly with a contagious humor flare that put both, Chet and I, in good moods while we giggle alongside:) But this sort of happy loud environment does not go well with sensitivity to noise flare-ups, so many times I have to find refuge in my bedroom and veggie with a book or my I pad. Diet. Too much sugar and not enough veggies in my diet as I’ve mentioned before would do the trick:) Emotional: The only issue I can see is our lack of view to the world out there since the building is still wrapped in white plastic and will remain wrapped until May, obstructing the natural light and sun from coming in our condo unit.  Low Vit. D is a doozie.

I‘m fighting my way, happy to have the knowledge and know how to get back on track. So far so good, no doctor appointments of IV’s (which I loathe).

Every Lyme sufferer that reads this blog, please keep in mind (as most of you already know) that Lyme affects different organs and systemically can run with small symptom differences. Every single body reacts differently to medicine, so be cautious and pay attention to your own body if you have Lyme flare-ups and need to get back on treatment. Some treatments that at one point worked for me I noticed they don’t work now and I have to back away.

All in all, I’m so grateful to God for everything I have, the knowledge to know how to handle a situation like this without being scared, the strength to go through a flare-up and still be able to work (that right there to me is a sign of fantastic improvement), to be able to slowly introduce myself back into society (I’m part of a book club here in Magnolia, and Chet and I have game or movie nights with different neighbors. I drive all over Magnolia as if I own the place, but I haven’t adventured farther then upper Queen Anne yet:) No matter the troubles in life there is always hope. Always.

God Bless:)

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