Another doctor appointment down and another chapter in my life begins!
I received very good news and some moderate news from my doctor today. My metal testing results came back and I do in fact have mercury poisoning. This would be the moderate news. I refuse to call it bad news, because it explains the lingering symptoms and gives me an avenue to attack them. What an amazing blessing it is to have a doctor that recognizes the lingering symptoms I've had that have been barely touched by my Lyme treatment...ringing in my ears, the fatigue, heart issues, vertigo, brain function, etc....and then also pursue the cause and treatment. Back in May when I told him I was still struggling with the vertigo, ears ringing and fatigue (which was strange because of my other symtpoms decreasing so drastically), he immediately suspected heavy metal toxicity of some sort. As suspected, my mercury test in particular came back extremely elevated, giving me a diagnosis of mercury poisoning. I was already put on a chelation therapy in the form of pesto in May, and now with test results, heavy detox begins today! I will also be working with a specialized dentist to have all of my mercury, poison-inducing fillings removed and replaced by non-toxic fillings. It will likely be an expensive mouth upgrade, but an apparently way-past-necessary one.
The better part of this news is that these lingering symptoms are likely not Lyme-related at this point, and my doctor believes I'm very near the end of Lyme treatment. I'm on a plan to decrease my antibiotic over the next two months leading up to my much anticipated CD-57 test. If the test comes back as high as he believes it will, the Lyme treatment stops!! I will remain on about a quarter of my supplements at that point as I continue to build my health and immune system up. This chapter also begins with something else I've been waiting for - physical therapy!!! Yay! Waiting a year for the green light on that one hasn't been easy, but it's finally here. Protein shakes, which I had already been drinking anyway, have officially been prescribed. Look out, here come the muscles!!
I'm so excited to see where these new directions take me. I'm already feeling healthier than I have in more than 3 years, and am looking forward to being my healthiest ever.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Long Time, No Post
Wow. Where did the last month go?
It's been a crazy summer so far. Early in June, our niece Kaitlyn came to visit for a week. It was a week packed with activities...zoo trips, a museum visit, a visit to the Domes, among other things. During that very week, with our lease approaching it's end mid-August, we decided to transfer to a different apartment within the same building, a one bedroom instead of a two bedroom. We're using the savings in rent to continue paying down the still-growing medical bills. The one bedroom in our building was available in June, and we made the switch just two weeks ago. Talk about a quick unanticipated move. Fortunately, we had a couple of great friends available on short notice to help with the move and everything went quickly and smoothly.
As busy as we were with those two things alone, we also celebrated the opening of Lorence Martial Arts Studio. Classes started the second week in June and the number of students is continuing to grow. An exciting adventure for both of us, although more so for Brian, as anyone taking Tae Kwon Do lessons from me would be very disappointed. Brian has always been an excellent teacher, and this is a great opportunity for him to combine that love of teaching with his love of martial arts. There's already much interest in his next round of beginner's classes, as well as women's self-defense classes. It'll be exciting to see how it changes and grows over the next several months.
And of course, my health. Overall, signs of progress have never been so great. I have finally begun knocking down the ginormous wall of fatigue. I was able to actually physically help with the move, and even kept up with everyone. Given that the old apartment was downstairs and the new apartment upstairs, carrying just a couple of boxes would have been a huge improvement for me. I was up at 5:00 and able to go strong all day, breaking only for lunch. I did (conveniently) need the following day to recover, and Brian was left with cleaning the old apartment alone. But a surprise phone call from my parents came in that morning, and they were on their way to help with the cleaning. What a blessing!
In all the chaos of the month, I got off track on my meds two separate times. Each time after not being on treatment for a couple days, things slowly started to creep back. And upon getting myself back on track, each time came with a day of more severe illness...fevers, chills, horrible body aches, sleep paralysis, and brain function problems. Medically speaking, the bacteria hides well when the medicine's in my system and come out to play once the meds seem to be gone, resulting in the dreaded die-off each time I start up again. The good news however, was that it only lasted one day each time, which would have been weeks previously. Those little buggers must be greatly shrinking in number. Amazing! Even with bumps in the road, I've been able to continue to build on the progress.
So hopefully now things will start to settle into a new routine. My improved health is making me more functional by the day. Brian is getting used to his new earlier shift at work, and teaching evening classes twice week. And we're remembering that our apartment key works upstairs now, not downstairs.
It's been a crazy summer so far. Early in June, our niece Kaitlyn came to visit for a week. It was a week packed with activities...zoo trips, a museum visit, a visit to the Domes, among other things. During that very week, with our lease approaching it's end mid-August, we decided to transfer to a different apartment within the same building, a one bedroom instead of a two bedroom. We're using the savings in rent to continue paying down the still-growing medical bills. The one bedroom in our building was available in June, and we made the switch just two weeks ago. Talk about a quick unanticipated move. Fortunately, we had a couple of great friends available on short notice to help with the move and everything went quickly and smoothly.
As busy as we were with those two things alone, we also celebrated the opening of Lorence Martial Arts Studio. Classes started the second week in June and the number of students is continuing to grow. An exciting adventure for both of us, although more so for Brian, as anyone taking Tae Kwon Do lessons from me would be very disappointed. Brian has always been an excellent teacher, and this is a great opportunity for him to combine that love of teaching with his love of martial arts. There's already much interest in his next round of beginner's classes, as well as women's self-defense classes. It'll be exciting to see how it changes and grows over the next several months.
And of course, my health. Overall, signs of progress have never been so great. I have finally begun knocking down the ginormous wall of fatigue. I was able to actually physically help with the move, and even kept up with everyone. Given that the old apartment was downstairs and the new apartment upstairs, carrying just a couple of boxes would have been a huge improvement for me. I was up at 5:00 and able to go strong all day, breaking only for lunch. I did (conveniently) need the following day to recover, and Brian was left with cleaning the old apartment alone. But a surprise phone call from my parents came in that morning, and they were on their way to help with the cleaning. What a blessing!
In all the chaos of the month, I got off track on my meds two separate times. Each time after not being on treatment for a couple days, things slowly started to creep back. And upon getting myself back on track, each time came with a day of more severe illness...fevers, chills, horrible body aches, sleep paralysis, and brain function problems. Medically speaking, the bacteria hides well when the medicine's in my system and come out to play once the meds seem to be gone, resulting in the dreaded die-off each time I start up again. The good news however, was that it only lasted one day each time, which would have been weeks previously. Those little buggers must be greatly shrinking in number. Amazing! Even with bumps in the road, I've been able to continue to build on the progress.
So hopefully now things will start to settle into a new routine. My improved health is making me more functional by the day. Brian is getting used to his new earlier shift at work, and teaching evening classes twice week. And we're remembering that our apartment key works upstairs now, not downstairs.
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