Check Engine Light

Happy New Year. It has been a lot longer since I last posted than I thought. Reality is I'm not sure much is different. In fact in some ways I'm feeling almost like I did when I started this whole thing. I guess after unintentionally taking a break from everything I'm ready to get back at it. I'm praying that 2015 is truly the year I can put this illness to rest at least for a while. 

Not that long ago, I was having a moment of frustration over how bad I was feeling. I kept thinking there has to be something we are missing, I actually still kind of feel that way today. While there are so many similarities in my case to many others I have met there are also some definite differences with me and I haven't quite found what the missing piece is. I usually think that being different and your own person is a good thing, but in this case it's starting to drive me a little crazy. I have heard so many times how my symptoms or issues don't seem to fit the box. Let me tell you this is one area of my life where I don't want to be special. So back to feeling like we had to missing something...the thought popped into my head how much my body is like a car whose check engine light is constantly coming on but no mechanic can seem to find the problem. My body starts acting up and I know its time for another doctors appointment. We go over the problems I'm having and the doctor has an idea and runs some tests. By doing that my bodies check engine light is cleared. Just like the mechanic plugging in the code reader and clearing your check engine light when you bring the car in. You no sooner leave and your check engine light comes back on so what they thought they fixed wasn't the real issue. I leave the doctor, the tests come back normal but the problem continue.

I can honestly say the only symptom I have had any relief from is my burning nerve pain. It is still there on occasion but the not nearly as frequently as it was. The intense weakness and pain in my arms that was one of the main reasons I knew something was wrong it back. I have occasional moments where the words coming out of my mouth are gibberish like I'm having a stroke. My heart has been acting up again and has caused me to almost pass out twice in the past two months. My fatigue continues to be my biggest issue as it is a daily problem and I am back to being in bed a large part of my day fairly often. Bone, joint and muscle pain, brain fog and memory issues, and my uncontrollable muscle movements are all still issues as well. (I'm sure I'm forgetting somethings but you get the picture) I also have been dealing with an increase in intense pelvic pain that has bothered me on and off for years. After multiple tests and doctors visits I was diagnosed with pelvic varices which is varicose vein(s) in the pelvis. I have one very large vein that acts up on the left side but as things go with me the doctor feels that based on my symptoms the procedure to embolize that vein would not provide me with relief so he didn't want to put me through an unnecessary procedure. I also still have my port although it has not been used in a few years.

I didn't really know where else to go for treatment and I am not sure my doctor understood how bad I was still feeling. I knew I needed to let him know that I needed to do something and attack this head on again so I saw him last week. I made it clear that I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. We decided that I would attempt the latest treatment in his office and I knew that in order for me to have a fighting chance of this working I had to address my diet and detoxing  like I never had before. So here is the game plan. 

Number one is putting myself first. I have to say no to things outside of immediate needs for my family. Unfortunately I allowed myself to take on the roll of team mom for Jenna's softball team but I won't allow myself to take on anything else with the exception of doing what I can for some very loved family friends fighting their own health battle. No helping the teacher, going on field trips, not even taking on photography jobs for the moment. It breaks my heart to feel like I'm checking out on life but I know if I don't force myself to do this now, my health is going to eventually do it for me. If that happens, I will be in a very critical situation and I certainly don't want that to happen. 

Second, after much struggle,I am really starting to dial in the diet. I am realistic about the fact that this will be an on going challenge for me but I have finally made some big progress on this front. My gut is a big priority for me. Most of your immune system is in your gut and I know mine is not functioning properly so I have to got to get it healed. 

Next I will be focusing on detoxing with my main goal to use my FIR sauna everyday. I am trying to do this for a couple of weeks prior to starting the bug killing part of my treatment. This is what Hansa in Kansas focuses a lot on and I know it seemed to help when I was there.

 

For bug killing and immune support I will be doing a couple of things. First I am excited to be starting an essential oil protocol. I have slowly been incorporating oils into our families treatment for the everyday cold and flu stuff and can't wait to really start using these to their full potential whenever we can. My doctor doesn't want me on any antibiotics right now which was kind of surprising but I admit I am happy about it. I will also be starting UVL therapy. I am definitely nervous about this as they cant use my port for this treatment and they have to use a fairly large needle. In case you didn't know, needles and spiders are the two things I hate the most. Basically twice a week I will go into my doctors where they will use a 22 gauge needle to access a vein and insert a two inch catheter. A UV light is put in to the catheter (they use UV light for sterilization in a lot of places) and as my entire blood volume passes by that point all of the bad things like viruses and bacteria are killed. My doctor recommended doing the hyperbaric chamber in combination with this but it is quite expensive. In its place I will be riding an exercise bike in a room with high oxygen levels in between treatments.

My daily routine for supplements and meds other than oils is looking like this:

Levothyroxine

Metoprolol

15 mins. of oil pulling with coconut oil

8 oz warm water with lemon (oil or juice)

8 - 12 oz bone broth

2 oz kefir with 1 tsp flax oil and 1 tsp hemp oil 2x a day

magnesium

vit d

kraut or other fermented foods

My latest lab results indicate low Vitamin D (on going issue) and severely impaired immune system. The CD  57 is an immune system marker specifically affected by Lyme Disease. One of the leading authorities on Lyme Disease has said anything above 60 is good for a Lyme patient. However to be in remission with little chance of relapse you should be symptom free and that number should be closer to 200 for a few months. When I first got diagnosed my number was just above 60. Shortly after treatment started my number dropped (which is normal) and the lowest I got was about 27. At one point my number was back up to close to 100. The results I got today have me at a 16. Which is probably one of the reasons I have been feeling so bad. Needless to say I have a lot of work to do and need to fix this before it gets any worse. 

As a side note we are finally getting both of our daughters officially tested and will be treating them accordingly. I will include more on their situation in another post. As always, thank you for checking in and your prayers are always appreciated. I will try and do a better job of keeping things updated when I can. Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2015.

Hansa- Some Explanations

For many of you this post will be one you just skip because it might not be exciting. For some of you this may be what you really want to know. My plan is to put together as much information as I can find and feel up to about Hansa, the doctors, the treatments, the science, etc...I have so much still to learn. Believe me, this is a whole new way of thinking for most of us. Like I said before, this is really opening my eyes to a different approach to how my family and I live. It is a lot to absorb but I hope you get something out of it.

Dr. Jernigan (the founder/owner of Hansa) is nationally recognized as a leader in Biological Medicine and treatment of chronic illness.
(biologicalmedicine.info)- Biological medicine is holistic in that it holds the view that the living system is a matrix of interconnectedness- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Self-healing is the primary goal.

Dr. Jerinigans philosophy and the goal of Hansa: Providing treatment and education that works with God's natural design of the body, empowering the body to heal itself. I believe that true healing cannot occur by simply masking symptoms, so we seek to treat the cause of the illness utilizing extensive, non-invasive treatment in conjunction with supplements to help the body rid itself of disease. "Health in a bottle" is a myth- if you must continually take a pill, it is not correcting what is necessary for your body to heal. (This is a large part of what drew me to the Hansa Center)

CRT- Computerized Regulation Thermography is the first test you do at Hansa and is very revealing. Here is a website that explains it really well. http://www.doctoryutsis.com/services/computerized-regulation-thermography.html

Bio-Resonnance Scanning is the second test done at Hansa. The test or type of testing is used continually throughout your time there by the doctor and massage therapist. They use it to determine things wrong and what your body needs. BRS enables the dcotor to determine highly specific information- not only the presence of a pathology, but its degree of priority for healing in the patients body. You can visit this link for some more information http://hansacenter.com/brs.php  One of the reasons I loved this test was because Dr. Jowdy was able to determine the top 10 issues that needed to be addressed in order based on what my body told him. I am going to ask him to run down that list of 10 things we made on the first day so I can share that with you.

Here is a list of the treatments utilized at Hansa, along with websites for vendors they use. Again detox is a priority:

FIR Sauna- I have talked about this plenty. Used to help the body detox. I have been in there for 30 minutes almost every day. http://www.hightechhealth.com/

Ion Cleanse Footbath-Basically an array placed in the water creates negatively and positively charged ions in the water which neutralize charged particles in the body. The charged particles are then pulled out through osmosis and diffusion. Really would like to get one of these to use for the whole family .http://www.amajordifference.com/

ST8- A machine used to help the lymphatic system function properly and dump all of the junk out of your system. It uses four different therapies. 1. Cold-gas photo therapy: Photons pass through an intricate glass coil filled with 5 noble gases. The energized photons liquefy old gelatinous or mucus material to open clogged lymph drainage. 2. Scalar potentials: Opens up and separates old cells in the lymph tissues that are stuck together, and plumps up old damaged cells of the lymph nodes, so that there is room for the lymph fluid to wash around the cells, clearing the toxins out of the area. Known to block the frequencies of negative emotions, making it difficult to think negatives, and they have been shown to dramatically boost the immune system and the body's overall energy production. 3. Transdermal ozone therapy: Provides oxygen to the tissues. Ozone is a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms loosely stuck together. This ozone is almost instantly converted into separate oxygen atoms in the body. Increase oxygen to a cell, and you increase its ability to function properly. Oxygen may also help kill any anaerobic bacteria, and some types of cancer are impeded by the presence of oxygen. 4. Rife frequency generator: Constantly broadcasts and sweeps through many different electromagnetic frequencies, each of which performs a different task. Many of the frequencies are believed to energize specific tissues in the body, while others have been shown to destroy various viruses and bacteria, which is a good thing when attempting to take the strain off of your lymphatic system.  http://www.elflabstech.com/tgt-products.htm

Bio Mat- I truly love this thing. The massage therapists use it on their tables. So you lay down for your massage on this amazing heated mat. Would love one of these too. The mat uses FAR infrared light, negative ions, and amethyst quartz to basically open pathways and promote DNA repair. http://-2.thebiomatcompany.us/home/

Essential Oils and supplements- Used mostly in massage therapy but also by the doctor. They are supposed to do some great things. They test my body using BRS to see what it is saying it needs. They are usually really soothing and smell good. http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/index.html

LUX- This machine basically uses gemstones and colored filters with light to target different areas of the body and promote healing. I don't have a website for a specific vendor or that Hansahttp://www.positivehealth.com/article/energy-medicine/gem-lamp-therapy-for-health

Theralumen- This is the one machine I don't like. It is a pain to use. You have to hold it in your mouth, kind of under your tongue but it can't touch anything either. You use it about 15 minutes at a time. It is a type of laser light therapy. I believe it helps kill bacteria, etc... http://www.advancedlightdevices.com/theralumen/

Massage- I keep forgetting to ask my therapist what type of massage she does. She uses some different techniques than what I am used to and as I said before she really works some stuff out. She is awesome and that is probably my favorite therapy. I will get more information for you. I know she helps with muscle tension of course, but she also gets things moving and I believe helps move some of the lymph fluid and other stuff along.

Water- There is an amazing "water fountain" in the lobby of Hansa. I so want one. Not only is it healthy water is so cool to look at. I believe the water we drink at Hansa is considered living water. I will post a picture of the water fountain at some point but you may see one on their website. http://www.vibrantvitalwater.com/index.html Here is a picture of the fountain http://www.vibrantvitalwater.com/zen-cart/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=79

I know I could go into a lot more about energy medicine, bio-photons, the medical uses of light but I think this is enough for now. It comes down to light, love, and being positive.  There is a book I was told to check out called that I believe is called Messages in the Water. Anyways, it talks about waters makeup etc...and how research shows being positive, negative, an so on towards water can affect the actual water crystals. A lot of the girls are walking around with positive messages on their water bottles. May be worth a try. I will have to look it up but thought you might look to check it out as well. So enough for today. I am doing ok. I have a slight headache on and off,some pain, all the normal stuff. Other than standing up straighter, having an easier time regulating temperature (my feet are a little cold today), and having less muscle tension in my shoulders, I don't "feel" much different. However, I know we are making some progress and it took my a long time to feel this bad so I know the changes I notice may not be over night. Still have high hopes and I am glad I had the chance to come.