Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[Mtndog]

Thanks Sherry! appreciate the sharing!

[Rachel--24]

We had two people (used to work in my department) who were out on disability for over a year each...they finally were terminated, but I think my employer had to wait that long.

Yeah...you can only be on disability for 1 year exactly and after that you can be terminated. I went off and on diasability 3 x and then the last time I stayed off for one full year and I knew that after 12 months I'd have to go back to work.

It turned out that you need to be back at work for 3 months straight in order to start a "new" claim and then get a full year. I only worked two months in between the last claims and so my "year" was up sooner than I'd thought it would be. All of a sudden I got no more checks and I had no insurance.

I didnt even know that my last two claims were actually considered one claim and as soon as the months added up to one year...that was it. It was scary...thank God at that time I had been on the Candida diet a couple months and was able to go back to work.

If it werent for the diet I dont think I could have made it through 3 months of working before I could go back on disability. Fortunately I never got that bad again and I've been back at work almost 2 years now.

I didnt have insurance either since I had to work 2 full months until it got reinstated. I had to pay out of pocket for those months that I wasnt covered.

[Rachel--24]

Tomorrow is my endocopy- I think my biggest fear is that they will find refractory sprue (or just that my villi ain't looking so hot) or Crohn's and want to put me on steroids.

Bev,

I seriously dont think they are going to find Refractory Sprue...and I highly doubt Crohns as well. I think they arent going to find anything...which is good considering the choices.

Even with all I've got going on....all this craziness in my gut and not being able to eat anything...having lost 25 lbs. at one time and having all my food coming out undigested...very high malabsorption score with Enterolab...even with all that GI stuff I had a "text book" perfect biopsy. Villi were standing tall and proud.

Also my colonoscopy looked totally clean and perfect...although he couldnt get around one turn to complete it. From what he saw everything was totally normal...same with the baruim tests I took. So even though it *feels* like there must be something totally serious going on (I thought for sure I had a brain tumor) that is often not the case.

Of course mercury and Lyme are totally serious too but they are also very treatable.

[AndreaB]

Hi Andrea and everyone,

Hi Sherry! Glad you joined us. I just noticed you hail from the same part of the country (even though you're not here now). We are 1/2 North of the Oregon/Washington border.

[Mtndog]

Bev,

I seriously dont think they are going to find Refractory Sprue...and I highly doubt Crohns as well. I think they arent going to find anything...which is good considering the choices.

Even with all I've got going on....all this craziness in my gut and not being able to eat anything...having lost 25 lbs. at one time and having all my food coming out undigested...very high malabsorption score with Enterolab...even with all that GI stuff I had a "text book" perfect biopsy. Villi were standing tall and proud.

Also my colonoscopy looked totally clean and perfect...although he couldnt get around one turn to complete it. From what he saw everything was totally normal...same with the baruim tests I took. So even though it *feels* like there must be something totally serious going on (I thought for sure I had a brain tumor) that is often not the case.

Of course mercury and Lyme are totally serious too but they are also very treatable.

Rachel- YOU ROCK! I think I just need to hear this because I'm getting anxious since the hubby is away! Here's to villi standing tall and proud

[Rachel--24]

Crying is always part of a herx for me ... I don't know if it's just my brain needing the detox or if I'm really this upset ... or maybe a little of both.

Tears are another way the body detoxifies. I have always said that when I get a really bad reaction my body literally forces me to cry. Lots of times my tears would be "sticky"...or they would burn...other times the tears are wet and normal. It didnt matter that I wasnt upset about anything....I would cry involuntarily and also a HUGE amount of mucus will be excreted through my nose while I'm crying.

Its just normal "wet runny nose" that you get when you cry but its in massive amounts.

After the crying episodes would subside I would feel a 1000 x better. I think I've learned that crying eliminates toxins and makes me feel alot better. There have been many times that I've felt really toxic but my body wasnt making me cry....so I would sit down and try to think of the saddest stuff ever...and try to get the tears flowing.

I swear that its helped me feel better every single time.

[dlp252]

My dial up connection sucks, lol. I can't get to the previous page....I can get to the page before that.

I can see that we have a new poster, but I can't read the post, lol. Hi Sherry! Welcome...I'll have to read what you wrote tomorrow from work.

[Rachel--24]

The thing that helped the very most was coffee enemas. My doctor gave me an instruction sheet on this--otherwise I certainly would have never tried it!

(I just discovered about celiac, and I have always had constipation mostly as symptoms, so this helped in that area too).

What the explanation sheet said is that the coffee stimulates the release of bile, so helps cleanse the liver I guess which is doing all the detoxing for us.

Hi Sherry,

Thanks for sharing your very encouraging story.

Coffee enemas really are good for detox. Even though I dont mention it here....cuz its not really something I wanna advertise ....I have done these. I have different recipes I've tried and I didnt start out with coffee enemas...I just did warm water for awhile then "graduated" to coffee.

I used to be really really constipated so it was really helpful for that too. This was 2 years ago when I was focusing on Candida. I havent done anything since then because I got side tracked thinking I could just eliminate gluten and all would be fine. Obviously it wasnt the case but I had yet to be diagnosed with Lyme and mercury issues as well as candida.

I've been wanting to get back to coffee enemas for a few weeks now except I keep forgetting to buy the coffee everytime I'm at the store.

Enemas arent too much fun but hey....anything that helps me feel better is worth it!

[happygirl]

just got home...and i think i'm in a flare (started last night...slowly)

but, wanted to offer my words of encouragement to

BEV for her endoscopy tomorrow...i'll be thinking of you

CARLA for her herx

PATTI for the glutening....

love to you all...off to bed. xoxo

[Rachel--24]

but, wanted to offer my words of encouragement to

BEV for her endoscopy tomorrow...i'll be thinking of you

CARLA for her herx

PATTI for the glutening....

Ditto to that....

and to add to it....

Laura for her "flare"

Hope everyone feels better...and Bev...we're all rooting for you!!

[mftnchn]

Hi Sherry,

Thanks for sharing your very encouraging story.

Coffee enemas really are good for detox. Even though I dont mention it here....cuz its not really something I wanna advertise

Hi Rachel,

LOL re advertise...for sure, I don't mention this to too many people! This forum has been a safe place tho to talk about the unmentionable things. I thought it might help somebody. Glad to know I am not the only one who has found this helpful!

Sherry

[AndreaB]

Ditto to that....

and to add to it....

Laura for her "flare"

Hope everyone feels better...and Bev...we're all rooting for you!!

Agreed.

Don't forget Patti has her appointment tomorrow as well.

[Rachel--24]

This forum has been a safe place tho to talk about the unmentionable things.

Yeah...except I dont know how "safe" I feel with a big smiling picture of me right next to my post talking about how great coffee enemas are.

[CarlaB]

Ditto to that....

and to add to it....

Laura for her "flare"

Hope everyone feels better...and Bev...we're all rooting for you!!

Thanks, Laura, hope you're feeling better soon, too.

[AndreaB]

Yeah...except I dont know how "safe" I feel with a big smiling picture of me right next to my post talking about how great coffee enemas are.

I needed that......thanks.

[Rachel--24]

Hey Donna.....Are you taking the same Transfer Factor that I'm on??

Is it the Transfer Factor LymPlus??

I havent started it....you cant take it around food...and I'm kind of always eating....so there is just no opportunity for me to take it yet.

I gotta "factor" it in somehow.

Oh...and I'm also still a little fearful of the yeast.

Anna actually didnt test me for it so when I went to check out with Amy there was the one homeopathic that Anna talked to me about and tested me for....but also this Transfer Factor. Amy handed it to me and I was like "Is that mine??"

I was freaking out inside and just kept saying that it has yeast.

I told her I didnt know what it was for because Anna didnt talk to me about it. She went and asked Anna....then said it was for my gut.

If I was afraid to take it there was one other thing I could take instead (cant remember the name) but it had alot of herbs in it.....I saw alot of ingredients and got even more freaked out.

So Amy went and talked to Denise and said if I wanna hang out a minute she'll test me for both of them. I tested better for the second one....Denise said my body really liked that one alot. Anna came in and Denise told her I'm ok for both but especially the second one.

Anna still wanted me on the Transfer Factor right now....and not the other one. Hopefully the brewers yeast thing wont be a problem.

Stupid yeast.

[AndreaB]

So Amy went and talked to Denise and said if I wanna hang out a minute she'll test me for both of them. I tested better for the second one....Denise said my body really liked that one alot. Anna came in and Denise told her I'm ok for both but especially the second one.

Anna still wanted me on the Transfer Factor right now....and not the other one. Hopefully the brewers yeast thing wont be a problem.

I hope it's not a problem. Anna must have her reasons for wanting you on this one.

[Rachel--24]

I hope it's not a problem. Anna must have her reasons for wanting you on this one.

Yeah...and she was saying why she wanted me on the Transfer Factor instead....but I was too busy stressing over the yeast so cant rememeber what she said.

[Rachel--24]

Whole Foods was out of organic potatoes...so instead I bought two yams.

I will eat my yams with protein.....same as Anna said to do with potatoes.....and then I will pray.

I'll pray that I dont get stupified by the yams....like what happened last year when I went into my "sweet potato haze".

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Bev,

I am keeping my fingers crossed for your endo tomorrow! I had one done about six years ago. I do not think they found anything. We are all pulling for you in Rachelville! We will be anxious to hear your results.

Dear Rachel,

I think I have had trouble with malabsorption in the past. Once, I ate granola, and three days later, it came out looking a lot like it did when it went it! That was odd. My stomach cramped something terrible that day, too. The GI doc I had up at IU said it was impossible to poop food out whole! Yeah, apparently NOT! Hopefully, you will have better luck with oats than I did!

Dear Carla,

The problems with Lyme never seem to end, do they? I hope you recover soon. Those herxes you describe sound like how I feel everyday with the fatigue. It is like you were run over by a train. What sucks is I am so tired, and have so much work to do.

I am behind on my school work, have study group meeting Saturday, and have not read the material for this week yet. Plus, I have to get stuff ready for a yard sale I am participating in for Saturday. I have to have the stuff ready tomorrow, though. My Aunt Chris is picking it up to take to the sale site. Wish me luck! I am hoping to get enough for some new cookware that cannot be glutened! This time, I am putting it in an airtight Rubbermaid or other container so no one has any excuse to gluten my stuff!

Dear Sherry,

I am so glad you shared your story about Lyme. I could have it, too. I am upset though, because I have no insurance. I am too ill to work a regular job, and am trying to get my own company going. I have some questions for you. Did the Lyme make you nauseous, and make you feel strange all over? I have Candida, and know that can add to it. Rachel and Carla think I have Babesia as well as Lyme. They have reported similar symptoms. There are days doing the dishes is barely possible.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[mftnchn]

Hi Rachel,

I need to check my bottle of transfer factor, not sure there is yeast in mine. I am currently not taking it because I am supposed to be off milk, so I am more worried about the milk content. Its on my list to discuss with my allergist. Transfer factor seemed to be helpful for me. It gives you a way to fight the lyme...(just like babies get protection from some illnesses through being breastfed.)

Hi NoGlueGirl,

I had a lot of weird symptoms with lyme, however, I was probably also gluten sensitive at the time but didn't know that. My primary symptom was joint muscle pain. The pain would hit in one area then travel to another area in the space of a few hours. (Like a swollen painful ankle I couldn't put weight on, a few hours later it was fine and I had a shoulder pain). Would get worse at night typically, I could wake up in the middle of the night and feel like my upper back was on fire. Would also get worse with exercise or exertion. I could swim a very mild workout in the morning and be fine afterward, but have a bad flare that night. Fatigue, fogginess were also biggies. Felt like I had the flu a lot. Creepy crawly sensations on my face--which seems to be related to chemical sensitivity. Allergies initially went WAY out of wack. I tested for 7 weeks one summer and they never found anything I wasn't allergic to. I didn't experience nausea until the last 1.5 years, apparently from h pylori infection. The compounding pharmacy I have used told me that a lot of the patients they see that have lyme disease end up with gastritis (usually caused by h pylori).

I think I got lyme disease in about 1982-1983 when I had a tick bite, as the symptoms started not long after that. I hit a low in about 1985, where I could hardly get out of bed about 5 days a week. My allergist helped me a lot, and gradually I improved to some degree but not the joint symptoms which worsened.

I don't want to make this post too long but feel free to ask anything else.

One more thing, I plateaued eventually on antibiotics, but every time I tried to taper them off, I would flare again. What finally got me over the hump was using Cat's Claw tincture. I started out working right up from 1 drop a day to 10 because it didn't seem to bother me. WOW, did I ever have a major herx after about 1 month!!! After that, I dropped way back on the Cat's Claw, and then increased it really gradually. Eventually I took 20 drops a day (10 each am and pm) for a number of months. After that I was able to start successfully cutting back on antibiotics and finished all of them in Feb 2007. Except I am still taking Lamisil for candida, have to take it at least 6 more months, but can taper off gradually.

No insurance is a real challenge. I was able to buy most of my antibiotics over the counter here in China, that was a big help. Supplements really cost, but I needed them to protect my body from the antibiotics. Cat's Claw is herbal, about $36-40 a bottle but it lasts a month or two depending on how much you are taking.

Sherry

[Rachel--24]

Sherry,

Great info. I'm currently taking Cats Claw (Prima una de Gato). I havent herxed from it yet...I'm at about 7 drops twice a day. My LLMD wants me getting up to at least 18 drops.

I have not been on antibiotics at all because of heavy metals/candida/chemical sensitivites, etc. My Dr.'s want the toxic burden lowered first. I have alot of mercury and other metals to deal with...this is actually what caused me to get sick in the first place....and then found out about Lyme.

I guess the Lyme and Babesia were causing impaired detoxification but I didnt get sick until I got hit with a large amount of mercury and then the yeast pretty much exploded after that and a couple short rounds of antibiotics.

I dont know if I'll ever be on antibiotics for Lyme. I'm doing more alternative stuff...Klinghardt/Derksen methods of detox and healing. I have two LLMDS....one is ND and the other M.D.. Neither one is talking about antibiotics at this stage.

Its really great to hear that Cats Claw helped you so much.

The biggest causitive factor for symptoms in my case is the candida. Its caused alot of food/chemical/environmental sensitivities and a whole lot of symptoms. Right now I'm trying to get that under control and hopefully start detoxing better. The yeast is pretty severe and probably overloading my liver and detox pathways so that I havent been too successful with taking any of the necessary supplements for detox.

I get that same creepy crawly feeling on my face...but also my arms and back. Its from chemicals for me too....but I get it even moreso from mold.

I took Transfer Factor last year (before I was diagnosed) and I do think it was helping me...it was a totally different TF from what I'm going to be taking now.

I was also in bed most of the time and having really scary symptoms, weight loss, severe depression, memory loss, eye problems, numbness/tingling,etc.

I was off work for two years but what pulled me out of it was going on the candida diet, eliminating chemicals, eating organic...just avoiding alot of toxins.....in less than 2 weeks there was dramatic improvement and I've been functioning and back at work for 2 years now.

I'm still really toxic though...whats inside has mostly stayed inside....I just try not to add to it. Hopefully I'm headed in the right direction and will soon start detoxing alot of what I've been holding onto.

[rinne]

Oh sorry....yucky. If what I'm experiencing is a herx, it is nasty. I passed out so hard yesterday after noon and I feel like every CELL in my body aches. How long do these things last, if indeed that is what it is? I want to cry but I'm literally too tired and miserable.

Sending hugs, for me they generally lasted about two days with headache, extreme irritablity - mood swings, crawling skin sensations, body aches and overall feeling of exhastion. I haven't herxed in quite a while and mostly did so when I was taking the salt/c in the beginning. I moved on to Samento and Noni for about three months and most recently have been taking chlorella, probiotics and candidastop. I am so much better and though I know the candida is really a problem I am still eating my treats.

I think the most important thing though is that I have really begun to have some feeling of confidence that I will be well again, when I think back a year ago and how ill I was, at once point I had a lot of blood with bowel movements and it went on for three days. I didn't tell anyone about it or about other scary stuff. I remember what it was like to feel as if all my organs were swollen and in pain and then I would pull the skin away from my body and know that the pain was in the tissue and not inside but given that my digestion wasn't working I tormented myself with fear of the worst things.

I am stubborn and I really trust that our bodies given the ability to heal will heal, I think it has been the detoxing that has been most helpful.

Rachel, I have the same thing you do with stress causing immediate physical symptoms

Andrea suggested that I jump in here even though I don't have time to read this whole thread! Whew!

Sherry

Hi Sherry and welcome, but what? You didn't read the past 1000 pages?

Many of my symptoms over a period of years sounded like yours.

Tears are another way the body detoxifies.

Me too, I look for sad movies.

just got home...and i think i'm in a flare (started last night...slowly)

but, wanted to offer my words of encouragement to

BEV for her endoscopy tomorrow...i'll be thinking of you

CARLA for her herx

PATTI for the glutening....

love to you all...off to bed. xoxo

Yes, and encouragement for you too.

Yeah...except I dont know how "safe" I feel with a big smiling picture of me right next to my post talking about how great coffee enemas are.

Clearly you are our fearless President.

[mftnchn]

Wow, Rachel. You have really been through it. Thanks for bringing me up to speed on all of that. Glad you are stable enough to work, and hope that the treatment for candida rapidly makes some progress. I suppose you are on a really low carb regimen?

I've been asking myself whether this whole thing is like the question, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Like what came first, allergies, candida, lyme, celiac, etc. etc.?

I also have high mercury levels, which haven't really gone down yet. One day when I was in my doctor's office, one of the staff commented that it seemed like a lot of the patients with lyme disease had elevated mercury levels.

I live with the candida to some degree too, but was taking two antifungals throughout the antibiotic treatment, and probiotics that have helped.

I'm not sure about what the Klinghardt/Dirkson approach is, is there a website for it?

BTW, I didn't have the Igenix testing, but I need to wait until I am home from my trip to look up the name of the lab. This lab actually took pictures of the lyme in the blood via florescence of some kind. It is quite sensitive to small amounts of lyme. My doctor told me he had never had a person who tested positive, test negative after treatment. Until he started using Cat's Claw. I don't know if I will test negative, haven't done one in awhile.

Wow, its so amazing to find a group of people with similar histories!

[AndreaB]

Wow, its so amazing to find a group of people with similar histories!

I'm glad you joined us.

I don't have lyme (let's just say it's not very likely), but I believe that I have some problems with mercury as I have a lot of amalgams. My oldest daughter and my youngest son also have a lot of intolerances so I'm thinking they have problems with mercury as well.