Today marks the end of day three and I must admit I am feeling ok. In fact a thing or two may even be a little bit better. Despite an excruciating headache last night, I feel asleep easier than the night before and slept really well with out waking up a bunch. That is a big deal for me since I usually am awake through out the night. Weather it has to do with my new supplement or not I don't know for sure but I will take it regardless. Also for the second day in a row my feet haven't been cold. I know for many of you that sounds silly but when you are cold and your feet are chilled inside your Uggs in a house that is 72 degrees to the point that you have to get into a hot bath multiple times a day to get warm then this is a big deal. So yay for warm feet. The joint and muscle pain that was really bad has eased up as well. So far I am really impressed with everything.
Today was very similar to the last two days. My treatments don't vary much other than their order and the areas of the body they are targeting. Maybe this weekend I will take the time to write up a little definition of each treatment. I realize that I have not explained all of them adequately. Anyways, I really wanted to tell you a little more about the bio-resonance scanning or as I call it sign language for the body. This technique of asking the body questions is done a couple of times a day. The massage therapist uses it to determine what essential oils you may need and what things may be going wrong. It was so interesting because I had my massage this morning and the first thing she told was that I needed something for gastro stuff. (TMI coming) I told her my digestion was actually doing better but she said, well your body still says it needs it. Then I told her that I was having some cramps and ovary pain that wasn't normal this time of the month. She said that is all related. Then she told me I needed some stuff for sore muscles. I hadn't even told her my my arms and legs were really achy but she knew. I am believing more and more every day. The even crazier thing was tonight I did get kind of sick to my stomach. So my body told her before me. Crazy! I was also having some low back pain. She worked a lot on that area and said she felt like it was not all muscle but that I might have a descended colon, so my colon had dropped. That was confirmed a little later by the doc.
I went and saw the doctor after my massage. We discussed symptoms and what had improved then it was time for some work. He did some BRS and and some more myofascial release with the percussor (?). Her went beyond my spine this time and worked on the arms and legs and the organs. He agreed with the colon and it seems like most of my organs were out of place. He fixed it while I was laying down but when I sat up the organs moved again so he did the therapy while I was sitting up. Then we discussed treating my scars. I did tell him, that my scars had been treated with the light therapy at my doctors but he wanted to do them again using his procedure to make sure they were clear. First he determined which of my four needed attention. It was only my thyroid and my port scar that needed work. We used the laser, oil, and a special pen type device that send a tiny shock to clear up any bound energy in these scars. Although the pen thing was a little uncomfortable he had an amazing way to show me it worked. This blew me away. Dr. J brought out this doll that sings when you hold her hands. She has two little metal buttons so to speak on her hands and when you hold them in yours you complete the circuit and she begins singing. (I think it was ring around the rosie) Then I held one hand, he held one hand and then touched me with the other and she sang again. This showed that we could complete the circuit together. Then he repeated this and touched me along my thyroid scar, she wouldn't sing but made some static noise. Then he did this on my port scar and there was nothing. So he treated my scars, and repeated the test with the doll and this time she sang on my thyroid scar and made static on my port scar. It was very cool. I am learning so much and totally believe in energy medicine. You would almost have to see this for your self. Tomorrow we are going to treat some cranial-sacral issues that are effecting my brain and what not. So I am sure I will have a lot to report tomorrow. I have a slight headache creeping back, but overall I don't feel to bad. I detoxed a bunch of lymph, joint, and I thing gallbladder stuff out of my foot bath today. I will be detoxing myself and my family from here on out. Everyone needs to do it. There are going to be some major changes in our house about food choices, chemicals, use of plastics, etc...It is crazy how much junk we are exposed to and what it does to us.
With that I am off to detox in the bath and get some much needed rest. Here is to another night of improving sleep and no more cold feet! As always, thanks for the support.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Hansa Day 2- The Proof is in the Water
Be still and know that I am God.- Psalm 46:10
Day two is coming to a close and I am ready for bed. I'm sorry if this ends up being a short update but I am still a little on information overload and am really tired. I also have a horrible headache which I can't seem to figure out if it is sinus, tension, or both. Just one for thing for them to tackle tomorrow.
So today I started out by seeing my doctor, Dr. Jowdy (he reminds me of Clark Kent a little). If he helps me get me better he really will be Superman. Anyways, there were a couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday that popped into my head that the doctor had mentioned. To start, when doing the second test yesterday Dr. J was able to determine that both of my shoulders are out of alignment, my right wrist and left ankle are out of alignment and I have 37 pelvic misalignment's. During the CRT he was impressed with how my thyroid responded being that I only have half left. To digress for just a minute, when I was a senior in high school, my mom noticed a lump in my neck. Long story short it was a non-malignant tumor that had to be removed and it took the right side of my thyroid with it. I have not been on thyroid medication until about 6 yrs ago. The only reason I was put on it was because I was growing more tumors even though the "function" was considered normal. I needed to keep my levels in a certain range to prevent tumor growth (at least that is what I was told). So during my second test, the bio-resonance scan, it was determined that there was cell replication at a faster than normal rate going on in my thyroid. That basically indicates more tumor growth. The hope was to slow or stop it before I left. So going back to today we tested my supplements and medications. Keep in mind I am on almost nothing right now, compared to what I was and I am okay with that. I don't know how much anything was helping. So in testing, (the brs again) it was determined that I did need my thyroid medication. However, when Dr. J picked out and tested my homeopathic supplements my test for the thyroid medication changed to not needing it. AND the replication no longer existed. So basically, I may be able to stop the thyroid med and not grow anymore tumors. Crazy I know but amazing at the same time. Basically we ran through what needed to be dealt with through the scan and I think viruses then bacteria and what ever else. So I started my supplements right there in the office and I believe I will be tested everyday to see how things are progressing. Then my treatment will be tailored to that.
My treatments today were essentially the same. I added the FAR sauna and the UVinator (I think that's the name). The massage was good. Dr J did do some adjustments today and some myofascial release. It was a different kind of chiropractics then I was used. Basically everything revolves around energy. It was good. I had problems going to bed last night but once I fell asleep I think I slept better. That is one little improvement. We decided we will only discuss my ongoing everyday symptoms during my daily doctors appointment. He won't bring up the symptoms that only happen occasionally. I have to let him know what is going on. It is all part of being positive. I believe I will get better. It will happen. That makes me excited. I have also had a wonderful time meeting some other patients including a family who is here for their teenage daughter dealing with Lyme. I had met them before we came on one of the Lyme groups and it has been so great to be able to talk with them in person. What an amazing journey this is for all of us.
I did the Ionic foot bath again today with different results. I took more pictures that I will post at some point. It is so cool to see it directly relates to how you are feeling or things the doctor is targeting. I had major toxins from the joints, which made sense because my joints were killing me this afternoon and this evening. I also had a lot of lymphatic stuff which we targeted today. So I guess that is about it for now. This headache is still nagging and I would like to try and sleep it off with out taking anything so a quick bath and off to bed. Until tomorrow...thanks again for the prayers, support and kind words. They are such a help and encouragement.
Day two is coming to a close and I am ready for bed. I'm sorry if this ends up being a short update but I am still a little on information overload and am really tired. I also have a horrible headache which I can't seem to figure out if it is sinus, tension, or both. Just one for thing for them to tackle tomorrow.
So today I started out by seeing my doctor, Dr. Jowdy (he reminds me of Clark Kent a little). If he helps me get me better he really will be Superman. Anyways, there were a couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday that popped into my head that the doctor had mentioned. To start, when doing the second test yesterday Dr. J was able to determine that both of my shoulders are out of alignment, my right wrist and left ankle are out of alignment and I have 37 pelvic misalignment's. During the CRT he was impressed with how my thyroid responded being that I only have half left. To digress for just a minute, when I was a senior in high school, my mom noticed a lump in my neck. Long story short it was a non-malignant tumor that had to be removed and it took the right side of my thyroid with it. I have not been on thyroid medication until about 6 yrs ago. The only reason I was put on it was because I was growing more tumors even though the "function" was considered normal. I needed to keep my levels in a certain range to prevent tumor growth (at least that is what I was told). So during my second test, the bio-resonance scan, it was determined that there was cell replication at a faster than normal rate going on in my thyroid. That basically indicates more tumor growth. The hope was to slow or stop it before I left. So going back to today we tested my supplements and medications. Keep in mind I am on almost nothing right now, compared to what I was and I am okay with that. I don't know how much anything was helping. So in testing, (the brs again) it was determined that I did need my thyroid medication. However, when Dr. J picked out and tested my homeopathic supplements my test for the thyroid medication changed to not needing it. AND the replication no longer existed. So basically, I may be able to stop the thyroid med and not grow anymore tumors. Crazy I know but amazing at the same time. Basically we ran through what needed to be dealt with through the scan and I think viruses then bacteria and what ever else. So I started my supplements right there in the office and I believe I will be tested everyday to see how things are progressing. Then my treatment will be tailored to that.
My treatments today were essentially the same. I added the FAR sauna and the UVinator (I think that's the name). The massage was good. Dr J did do some adjustments today and some myofascial release. It was a different kind of chiropractics then I was used. Basically everything revolves around energy. It was good. I had problems going to bed last night but once I fell asleep I think I slept better. That is one little improvement. We decided we will only discuss my ongoing everyday symptoms during my daily doctors appointment. He won't bring up the symptoms that only happen occasionally. I have to let him know what is going on. It is all part of being positive. I believe I will get better. It will happen. That makes me excited. I have also had a wonderful time meeting some other patients including a family who is here for their teenage daughter dealing with Lyme. I had met them before we came on one of the Lyme groups and it has been so great to be able to talk with them in person. What an amazing journey this is for all of us.
I did the Ionic foot bath again today with different results. I took more pictures that I will post at some point. It is so cool to see it directly relates to how you are feeling or things the doctor is targeting. I had major toxins from the joints, which made sense because my joints were killing me this afternoon and this evening. I also had a lot of lymphatic stuff which we targeted today. So I guess that is about it for now. This headache is still nagging and I would like to try and sleep it off with out taking anything so a quick bath and off to bed. Until tomorrow...thanks again for the prayers, support and kind words. They are such a help and encouragement.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Hansa Day 1- Information Overload
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jerimiah 29:11
I have always loved this verse and it seems to so fitting as to have popped up the last couple of days. I believe it is God's way of giving me hope. This verse is even in the Hansa Center lobby. I saw it when I walked in this morning and it gave me instant peace. Out of everything I took into today, that verse sticks out the most.
Today was indescribable. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I know I got so much more than I thought possible. I had not even started any treatments and I was ready to scream to the world, you need to come here. How soon could I book my whole family a trip to come out here and get healthy. I realized very early in my day that I needed to clarify what I am really doing here in Kansas. I am not here for Lyme Disease treatment. I am here to restore my bodies balance and achieve optimum. It may sound strange, but ultimately the doctors at the Hansa Center don't care too much about what specifically is causing your body to malfunction. They care about restoring it's function. I mean they do look at viruses, bacteria, chemical issues, etc...but if you don't have a clue what is wrong with you, you could come here and never know for sure it was Lyme, or EBV or whatever but you would be know bacteria or a virus caused certain things to go wrong and you would work on restoring it. I guess what I am saying is the "name" is not really the issue. This goes along well with the positive attitude that Hansa strives for. I do need to stop identifying myself by my disease. I am not a "lymie" any longer.
As my title implies, I am on information overload. I wish I would have written everything down that the doctor said or recorded it because by the end of the day, it is somewhat of a blur. I am going to do my best to give you a brief rundown of what happened. If I tried to tell you everything in detail, I wouldn't be done blogging by the time I needed to go back tomorrow.
First thing was my CRT test. This involved taking my temperature at over 100 points on the body, subjecting me to cool temperatures for 10 minutes and retaking the temperature at those same points. You know I don't hold back so be ready for TMI. You had to show up this morning with no shower, no deodorant, no teeth brush, and for girls no bra. Yay! Just how I want to start my morning. Anyways, you just had to stay that way until the CRT test was done. Then you could take care of those things. I was the first one in for testing and the first to meet with the doctor to discuss my results. This was probably the most telling test I have ever done. What this test revealed was amazing. It was very evident which systems are off in my body. Long story short, it was confirmatory on a number of things and revealing in some others. The two stand out things I can think of are that my thyroid is doing really well despite only having half of it and maybe I can end up getting off of my thyroid medication. Second alot of my issues especially brain and neurological related are most likely due to CCSVI or chronic cebrospinal venous insufficiency. I have heard of this briefly before but didn't have a clue I might have it. I should know more by the end of my two weeks if the doctors believe I do indeed have it. My symptoms and tests are screaming it so far. If I do, that will involve some in depth testing and procedures probably in Las Vegas. I did briefly read tonight that there is a belief that this is one of the main causes of MS. I am not scared though. I am so excited to feel like we have more information. After reviewing symptoms, concerns, and the CRT the doctor did Bio-resonance scanning. It is almost like a really in depth form of muscle testing. Again, God prepared me for this. A few years ago, I would have walked out of the office thinking this doctor was nuts. God's timing is perfect, what else can I say. That testing basically gave the doctor the top 10 issues to work on. I do have issues with liver, spleen, heart, viruses, adrenals, sympathetic nervous system, and ammonia in the heart and brain among other things. I knew my adrenals were shot and had suspicions on my nervous system. Basically the whole morning was confirmatory and enlightening. I left feeling more hope than I ever had. I basically gave them a lot to work with. :) As the doctor said about my CRT, I don't want to say its abnormal, but it is certainly different. That is me. Normal is boring!
On a side note, my hotel is awesome. I went to "Green Acres" just like a Sprouts to get some groceries but my hotel does serve a breakfast everyday and dinner I think Monday thru Thursday. The weather is beautifully cold. Hansa is directly next door so I walk about 30 seconds to get there. Miss my family like crazy but enjoying the time to focus on my health. Now I need to get to bed and get some much needed rest. I am really tire and my body needs to heal. Taking lost of pictures I will try to post at some point. Not super tech savy but will try. Anyways, I'll check into tomorrow. Thanks for following along and for all of the prayers and support.
I have always loved this verse and it seems to so fitting as to have popped up the last couple of days. I believe it is God's way of giving me hope. This verse is even in the Hansa Center lobby. I saw it when I walked in this morning and it gave me instant peace. Out of everything I took into today, that verse sticks out the most.
Today was indescribable. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I know I got so much more than I thought possible. I had not even started any treatments and I was ready to scream to the world, you need to come here. How soon could I book my whole family a trip to come out here and get healthy. I realized very early in my day that I needed to clarify what I am really doing here in Kansas. I am not here for Lyme Disease treatment. I am here to restore my bodies balance and achieve optimum. It may sound strange, but ultimately the doctors at the Hansa Center don't care too much about what specifically is causing your body to malfunction. They care about restoring it's function. I mean they do look at viruses, bacteria, chemical issues, etc...but if you don't have a clue what is wrong with you, you could come here and never know for sure it was Lyme, or EBV or whatever but you would be know bacteria or a virus caused certain things to go wrong and you would work on restoring it. I guess what I am saying is the "name" is not really the issue. This goes along well with the positive attitude that Hansa strives for. I do need to stop identifying myself by my disease. I am not a "lymie" any longer.
As my title implies, I am on information overload. I wish I would have written everything down that the doctor said or recorded it because by the end of the day, it is somewhat of a blur. I am going to do my best to give you a brief rundown of what happened. If I tried to tell you everything in detail, I wouldn't be done blogging by the time I needed to go back tomorrow.
First thing was my CRT test. This involved taking my temperature at over 100 points on the body, subjecting me to cool temperatures for 10 minutes and retaking the temperature at those same points. You know I don't hold back so be ready for TMI. You had to show up this morning with no shower, no deodorant, no teeth brush, and for girls no bra. Yay! Just how I want to start my morning. Anyways, you just had to stay that way until the CRT test was done. Then you could take care of those things. I was the first one in for testing and the first to meet with the doctor to discuss my results. This was probably the most telling test I have ever done. What this test revealed was amazing. It was very evident which systems are off in my body. Long story short, it was confirmatory on a number of things and revealing in some others. The two stand out things I can think of are that my thyroid is doing really well despite only having half of it and maybe I can end up getting off of my thyroid medication. Second alot of my issues especially brain and neurological related are most likely due to CCSVI or chronic cebrospinal venous insufficiency. I have heard of this briefly before but didn't have a clue I might have it. I should know more by the end of my two weeks if the doctors believe I do indeed have it. My symptoms and tests are screaming it so far. If I do, that will involve some in depth testing and procedures probably in Las Vegas. I did briefly read tonight that there is a belief that this is one of the main causes of MS. I am not scared though. I am so excited to feel like we have more information. After reviewing symptoms, concerns, and the CRT the doctor did Bio-resonance scanning. It is almost like a really in depth form of muscle testing. Again, God prepared me for this. A few years ago, I would have walked out of the office thinking this doctor was nuts. God's timing is perfect, what else can I say. That testing basically gave the doctor the top 10 issues to work on. I do have issues with liver, spleen, heart, viruses, adrenals, sympathetic nervous system, and ammonia in the heart and brain among other things. I knew my adrenals were shot and had suspicions on my nervous system. Basically the whole morning was confirmatory and enlightening. I left feeling more hope than I ever had. I basically gave them a lot to work with. :) As the doctor said about my CRT, I don't want to say its abnormal, but it is certainly different. That is me. Normal is boring!
On a side note, my hotel is awesome. I went to "Green Acres" just like a Sprouts to get some groceries but my hotel does serve a breakfast everyday and dinner I think Monday thru Thursday. The weather is beautifully cold. Hansa is directly next door so I walk about 30 seconds to get there. Miss my family like crazy but enjoying the time to focus on my health. Now I need to get to bed and get some much needed rest. I am really tire and my body needs to heal. Taking lost of pictures I will try to post at some point. Not super tech savy but will try. Anyways, I'll check into tomorrow. Thanks for following along and for all of the prayers and support.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
What A Day
I made it. I am safely in Wichita, Kansas, cuddled up in my bed, and ready for sleep. Today has been a whirl wind of craziness. I wanted to give you a quick update on the start of trip but I am going to make it short. Tomorrow is a big day. I had trouble sleeping last night as the my emotions got the best of me. So between not sleeping well and getting up at 3:45 am to go to the airport, I knew it was going to be a long day. The craziness began first thing as the fog had caused my 6:25 am flight to Denver to be cancelled. From what I was hearing, people were not being booked on a new flight for at least day if not two or three. I was on the verge of tears 10 minutes after getting to the airport. I prayed about it, talked with my husband and used the 1hour and 20 minutes I was in line to calm down and remember God had a plan. I was greeted by a friendly and sweet Frontier airline clerk who did all the she could to make sure I would make it to Kansas today. Long story short I left the San Diego airport at about 8:00 or so with two boarding passes in hand a hour and a half drive upto John Wayne Airport in Orange County. I now went from Orange County,Ca to Dallas, Tx and finally to Wichita, KS landing shortly after 9:00 pm. What a day. This isn't the start I wanted to have to my trip but I am blessed to have made it here safe and sound and it's all part of the plan. The hotel is great but more on that later. I am just happy to be getting settled in. Off to dream land and hopefully lots to say tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
I'm Off to See the Wizard
As 2011 comes to a close I am really looking forward to starting 2012. This is by far one of the most interesting starts to a New Year I have ever had. I must admit that I am a little emotional and having a hard time at thought of leaving of my family for two weeks. That is a long time to be away from your spouse for sure but it seems like an eternity to be away from your children. I have at least one friend who knows how this feels. He has had to leave his family for the same reason I am leaving mine, in pursuit of getting his health back, which in turn means his life back.
Going to see Dr. Jernigan and the whole team at the Hansa Center in Wichita Kansas is a gamble. Like most things in life there is no guarantee. I stand to lose two weeks of time with my family, and almost every last dollar I have for treatment on this trip if it is a failure. But I stand to gain my health and my life back if it is a success. The gains exceed the risks for me. I believe whole heartedly that God has brought me to this point for a reason. I have faith this is exactly where I need to be. As nervous as I am, I also couldn't be more excited. I have no doubt I will learn so much and my eyes will be open to some new ideas and new ways of thinking.
This two week jump start on 2012 is just the beginning for me. As I am still struggling with the fact that I lost my career with the Fire Department that I loved, I am also reminded that I have a world of opportunity at my finger tips. I can revisit the dreams and goals I had that got lost along the way. I can pursue whatever my heart desires now that so many things have been taken from me. I am choosing to see this as a blessing and an answer to a prayer. Not only did God answer my prayer to come home and be with my children (although not is the way I pictured) he reminded me of the things I am passionate about. He reminded me that I had a love and excitement for things that I had long since forgot about. I am excited about my life again and about what the future holds. I feel like anything is possible and I am ready to take on whatever comes my way.
With that, I have some last minute packing to finish and some much needed time to spend with my family. I will do my best to blog about my experience regularly. It all depends on my internet access and how I am feeling. Regardless, you will end up with a full account of my experience. You can continue to support my treatments financial needs through my photography, my donation website, (both have links on my blog) or by donating directly to my donation account at any US Bank (Jessica Madson Donation Account, #153466674998). Of course I always appreciate your prayers, especially extra ones for a safe trip. I want to end by wishing you all a safe, happy, and healthy New Year. Praying God's blessings and protection for you and your loved ones.
Going to see Dr. Jernigan and the whole team at the Hansa Center in Wichita Kansas is a gamble. Like most things in life there is no guarantee. I stand to lose two weeks of time with my family, and almost every last dollar I have for treatment on this trip if it is a failure. But I stand to gain my health and my life back if it is a success. The gains exceed the risks for me. I believe whole heartedly that God has brought me to this point for a reason. I have faith this is exactly where I need to be. As nervous as I am, I also couldn't be more excited. I have no doubt I will learn so much and my eyes will be open to some new ideas and new ways of thinking.
This two week jump start on 2012 is just the beginning for me. As I am still struggling with the fact that I lost my career with the Fire Department that I loved, I am also reminded that I have a world of opportunity at my finger tips. I can revisit the dreams and goals I had that got lost along the way. I can pursue whatever my heart desires now that so many things have been taken from me. I am choosing to see this as a blessing and an answer to a prayer. Not only did God answer my prayer to come home and be with my children (although not is the way I pictured) he reminded me of the things I am passionate about. He reminded me that I had a love and excitement for things that I had long since forgot about. I am excited about my life again and about what the future holds. I feel like anything is possible and I am ready to take on whatever comes my way.
With that, I have some last minute packing to finish and some much needed time to spend with my family. I will do my best to blog about my experience regularly. It all depends on my internet access and how I am feeling. Regardless, you will end up with a full account of my experience. You can continue to support my treatments financial needs through my photography, my donation website, (both have links on my blog) or by donating directly to my donation account at any US Bank (Jessica Madson Donation Account, #153466674998). Of course I always appreciate your prayers, especially extra ones for a safe trip. I want to end by wishing you all a safe, happy, and healthy New Year. Praying God's blessings and protection for you and your loved ones.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
17 Days and Counting
I knew I was behind on an update but I didn't realize it had been a month. A lot has gone on in the past few weeks. Where to begin...Well I took the leap of faith and started acupuncture. I can't tell you how happy I am that I did. I was so nervous going to that first appointment. I still get anxious when they are going draw blood or access my port. So of course the thought of having even needle stuck in some odd place was going to cause a little anxiety. Before I went in I filled out my health history. I was surprised at the amount of detailed information I had to give. I gave the acupuncturist more information than I had ever given any doctor. It was actually somewhat comforting. I brought that with me to my first appointment and we reviewed it before we did anything. I guess while I was on my antibiotic break, this guy had started working at my doctors office doing some pain management type work. We had had a chance to talk a few times before my visit so he knew how apprehensive I was and he already knew I had Lyme. After reviewing my history he checked my pulse and a few other things. Of course with being nervous my pulse was really high. The first thing he did was called cupping. I had heard of it but didn't really know what it was. It involved placing briefly heating up these glass bowls or cups and placing them quickly on my back which created a suction. You leave them on there for 5 or 10 minutes and then take them off. They are supposed to help release the stagnant blood and I believe increase circulation. He told me he knew I would bruise easily so don't be surprised it I had some marks. I did have these big circular almost hickey looking marks all over my back. They didn't hurt though. This procedure was also supposed to help with some of the tension in my shoulders and neck. I have done it on all of my visits except this last one and it has really helped a lot. After the cupping we did some needles. He made sure I was comfortable and didn't do to many because he didn't want to overwhelm me. It was nothing like I had thought and wasn't bad. He told me I would know in probably my first visit if this was for me or not. I was quickly a fan and am still going once a week. I don't know how other practitioners work but as long as he is around I won't see anybody else. His knowledge is amazing and it is evident that he wants you to get a lot out of your experience. He reviews how you are doing before starting, during, and after and makes adjustments as needed. I can say enough about what I positive experience this has been. So for all you San Diego people here is a shout out to Michael at Eight Wave Health in Encinitas. I highly recommend seeing him. He has helped with my diet, and overall healthy living. He has helped reduce my pain and is working on a couple of other issues as well. I couldn't be happier that I gave it a try!
Along with the acupuncture, I continued with the light therapy. I completed 6 treatments over about 3 weeks. I have doing okay symptom wise but I haven't had any significant breakthroughs. At the end of 6 treatments I had an appointment with the doctor to see how he wanted me to continue. He decided instead of taking a break and doing six more that he would start treating me with another type of light therapy. So yesterday I did my first treatment with the new machine. Now this one is different and is administered by the doctor or nurse. There are no glass bottles taped to me. This machine uses coherent and in-coherent light. I can't explain to you the science behind it but there is a lot of positive feed back about this kind of treatment. It is even safe for kids. It can even be used to counteract the bad stuff from vaccinations. I am really hopeful about this. One of the first things we treated with this were all of my scars and my neck from whiplash I've had once or twice. Then we treated some of my viruses, the vaccinations I have had, etc. We will begin focusing on the lyme in future treatments. I haven't been feeling great so it is hard to say weather today is because of the light therapy or something else.
In regards to how I have been feeling. I was thinking I was back to about where I was before treatment but it appears I am not even that far yet. And that isn't my goal. I need to be much better than I was before treatment to really feel like I have gotten somewhere. If you could take me back to when I was about 20, it would tolerable. But realizing that i have been sick for so long, what I felt at 20 wasn't right either. I don't really have an idea of what healthy feels like. I know now the things that bothered me then were signs of a problem even though no doctor would agree to that at the time. I am really set on getting healthy and staying that way. As I was saying, I have been doing okay. I have made some changes in my diet and have lost about 4 pounds. So that makes me happy. I had a little bit of pain and all during my cycle but nothing extreme. Then all of sudden for almost the last week I have been going down hill. I have had some pain, a ton of palpitations and heart racing episodes. I have had some dizzy spells and extra fatigue. In fact Tuesday night I had the worst creepy crawly, weak feeling in my arms and legs that I have ever had. It kept me up most of the night and I was so ready to cut my legs off at the knees and my arms off at the elbow or maybe even the shoulder. That feeling has stuck around since then but is not as intense. I'm getting transient bone pain and muscle aches. I have been muscle spasms at some place on body probably everyday for almost a month. So needless to say I am a little frustrated. I can't say what the cause is since it seems to be out of the blue. A flare, a herx, reactivation of a virus I have no idea. I guess it just a reminder I'm not done yet. I'm sure the stress surrounding the holidays, money, my trips arent' helping. I never know if stress caused it but I certainly know when you feel like this you get more stressed. Such a vicious cycle this is.
Onto something a little happier. I am officially going to Kansas. I fly to Wichita on January 1st and begin treatment January 2nd. I have been in contact with a girl who a has recently gone and has had great results. That gives me a lot of hope and I am so excited to go.The great thing is, some of what my doctor is doing here with the light therapy seems directly in line with what they do at Hansa. My hope is that for the two weeks I am gone, I get a great jump start on restoring my health so that when I come back we can finish up. I get to stay in a nice hotel where all of the rooms are kind of like studio apartments. I have a full kitchen and all so this will a nice retreat to really focus on my healing. I can't say I won't be lonely and somewhat distracted by leaving my family behind. However, I believe that this is where I am supposed be and it will be worth it if I can come back feeling better. I will doing my best to update regularly when I am back there. I will at definitely keep a journal so I can always blog about it later if I need too. I am trusting God that this is right thing to do and that not only will he take care of my family while I am gone, but that he will continue to provide for us financially. Between the light therapy, acupuncture, and this trip the available funds for treatment will be down to nothing. God has provided for us this far and I believe he will continue to do so. In His time, according to His plan and will for my life.
To end on a happy note, I have a new excitement and passion for what the future holds. In fact, I even signed up for a college class for next semester. I am ready to put in the effort to make my dreams a reality. If I don't get to update before I leave I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
You can continue to support me and my family by praying, by buying some of photography, or by making a donation to help pay for treatment. You can now donate directly to a donation account at US Bank. Just tell them you would like to make a deposit to the Jessica Madson Donation Account and give them account number 153466674998. Thanks for following along on my journey and for all of your support.
Along with the acupuncture, I continued with the light therapy. I completed 6 treatments over about 3 weeks. I have doing okay symptom wise but I haven't had any significant breakthroughs. At the end of 6 treatments I had an appointment with the doctor to see how he wanted me to continue. He decided instead of taking a break and doing six more that he would start treating me with another type of light therapy. So yesterday I did my first treatment with the new machine. Now this one is different and is administered by the doctor or nurse. There are no glass bottles taped to me. This machine uses coherent and in-coherent light. I can't explain to you the science behind it but there is a lot of positive feed back about this kind of treatment. It is even safe for kids. It can even be used to counteract the bad stuff from vaccinations. I am really hopeful about this. One of the first things we treated with this were all of my scars and my neck from whiplash I've had once or twice. Then we treated some of my viruses, the vaccinations I have had, etc. We will begin focusing on the lyme in future treatments. I haven't been feeling great so it is hard to say weather today is because of the light therapy or something else.
In regards to how I have been feeling. I was thinking I was back to about where I was before treatment but it appears I am not even that far yet. And that isn't my goal. I need to be much better than I was before treatment to really feel like I have gotten somewhere. If you could take me back to when I was about 20, it would tolerable. But realizing that i have been sick for so long, what I felt at 20 wasn't right either. I don't really have an idea of what healthy feels like. I know now the things that bothered me then were signs of a problem even though no doctor would agree to that at the time. I am really set on getting healthy and staying that way. As I was saying, I have been doing okay. I have made some changes in my diet and have lost about 4 pounds. So that makes me happy. I had a little bit of pain and all during my cycle but nothing extreme. Then all of sudden for almost the last week I have been going down hill. I have had some pain, a ton of palpitations and heart racing episodes. I have had some dizzy spells and extra fatigue. In fact Tuesday night I had the worst creepy crawly, weak feeling in my arms and legs that I have ever had. It kept me up most of the night and I was so ready to cut my legs off at the knees and my arms off at the elbow or maybe even the shoulder. That feeling has stuck around since then but is not as intense. I'm getting transient bone pain and muscle aches. I have been muscle spasms at some place on body probably everyday for almost a month. So needless to say I am a little frustrated. I can't say what the cause is since it seems to be out of the blue. A flare, a herx, reactivation of a virus I have no idea. I guess it just a reminder I'm not done yet. I'm sure the stress surrounding the holidays, money, my trips arent' helping. I never know if stress caused it but I certainly know when you feel like this you get more stressed. Such a vicious cycle this is.
Onto something a little happier. I am officially going to Kansas. I fly to Wichita on January 1st and begin treatment January 2nd. I have been in contact with a girl who a has recently gone and has had great results. That gives me a lot of hope and I am so excited to go.The great thing is, some of what my doctor is doing here with the light therapy seems directly in line with what they do at Hansa. My hope is that for the two weeks I am gone, I get a great jump start on restoring my health so that when I come back we can finish up. I get to stay in a nice hotel where all of the rooms are kind of like studio apartments. I have a full kitchen and all so this will a nice retreat to really focus on my healing. I can't say I won't be lonely and somewhat distracted by leaving my family behind. However, I believe that this is where I am supposed be and it will be worth it if I can come back feeling better. I will doing my best to update regularly when I am back there. I will at definitely keep a journal so I can always blog about it later if I need too. I am trusting God that this is right thing to do and that not only will he take care of my family while I am gone, but that he will continue to provide for us financially. Between the light therapy, acupuncture, and this trip the available funds for treatment will be down to nothing. God has provided for us this far and I believe he will continue to do so. In His time, according to His plan and will for my life.
To end on a happy note, I have a new excitement and passion for what the future holds. In fact, I even signed up for a college class for next semester. I am ready to put in the effort to make my dreams a reality. If I don't get to update before I leave I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
You can continue to support me and my family by praying, by buying some of photography, or by making a donation to help pay for treatment. You can now donate directly to a donation account at US Bank. Just tell them you would like to make a deposit to the Jessica Madson Donation Account and give them account number 153466674998. Thanks for following along on my journey and for all of your support.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Beam Me Up Doc
The the last few weeks have been a little crazy but I guess with me that is nothing new. There has been a lot going on with the kids and certainly a lot going on with me. I have taken a few rides on the "emotional" roller coaster. For some strange reason I still don't like that ride much. I have gone from happy to sad, frustrated to at peace, hopeful to hopeless. You get the picture. I should have expected some turmoil for the simple fact that we went to church. You don't need all of the details but like a lot of people it is easy to get in the habit of skipping church. I don't feel good, my husbands working weekends so it's hard for me to take the girls by myself, my daughter has a softball game and a million other reasons. My husband and I both knew we wanted to get back to church. So just last weekend we went. Not only once but twice. Our daughter sang for school at Saturday night church and we went to our church on Sunday morning. God welcomed us back with open arms and two great sermons. God really spoke to me and I was just kind of filled with peace. That should have been my warning, it was like the calm before the storm. The devil had to come in and start messing things up. So this past week has been especially tough. As I sit here tonight though, I am doing okay. Still working on trusting God completely and not stressing out or worrying about anything that we are facing. I just need to take it a moment at a time and know God has a plan.
So let me tell you about what has gone on treatment wise and where that is going. That of course will lead into the money part of things. Yesterday I completed day number 30 of my IV Rifampin. Too my surprise that is all I am going to take of it. Even more surprising is that I have mixed emotions about only doing one month. We never did find a cheaper source for that medication so I am excited about not having to spend another $1400+ however that doesn't mean my treatment got any cheaper. I don't know 100% why the doctor had me stop after only one month when we were really planning on 2 if not 4 months of it initially. I did feel like there was some minor improvement although it was hard to describe exactly what was better. I definitely had some returning symptoms and some new ones. The headaches that had started continued and I have had a nasty tension headache almost everyday for the past month. I also developed bad heartburn. I think the doctor was hoping for some more improvements. He seemed to key in on brain issues. "How is your brain fog and concentration? Any better?" Well I left my IV antibiotics at home twice when I went to the doctor, and not only did I go the wrong way to the doctors, I also went the wrong way to take the kids to school. That last one is a big one since the kids school is like two blocks away and on the same street we live on. I would say um no improvement in the brain area. Due to that and the doctors excitement over some new treatment he said stop the IV and lets have you try this light therapy. This sounded good to me. The only down side is the cost. At a $150 bucks a treatment, twice a week for a total of 12 treatments that puts us around $1800. Of course this wouldn't be an option if it weren't for my great friends and family and the fundraisers that have been going to help us.
As I said, yesterday I finished day number 30 of that IV med and today I started light therapy. Let me just tell you that if anyone had walked in during my treatment, I don't have any doubt in my mind that they would have called the authorities and tried to convince them that I needed to go to the hospital and be put on a 72 hour hold for a pysch evaluation. Just imagine, you walk into a room, and see me laying back with about 12 glass vials (very much like the little perfume sample bottles) taped to my stomach and I am holding what looks like a grocery store scanner or radar gun to my forehead. I am not lying to you. I almost wish I had a picture. So either I am nuts or I am trying to contact the mother ship, which I guess would also make me nuts. Beam me up doc! Maybe the aliens can fix me. All I can say is I had a good laugh at myself during all this. I'm thinking how a few years ago I would have run from a doctor or person trying to get me to do something like this. But God took the time to prepare me for the journey I was about to embark on and now I not only put radar guns on my forehead but I am even considering acupuncture. Anyone that knows me well can tell you that me and acupuncture would be a true miracle but I will save that discussion for another day. In any case, this treatment takes me a little over an hour because there are 10 points on the body you use this light and you do it in two rounds for different amounts of time. I have heard some good things about it so lets just pray that it works. I will do the treatment myself and do about 6 of them at which point I will take a month off before I would consider doing the other 6. I have started to feel a little worse in the last few days but today I really felt miserable. Tired, headache, lots of pain...it is always hard to tell for sure what is going so whether the treatment stirred things up I don't know for sure. That is my thought though. I guess I will know more on Monday when I go for round two.
This leads into my other treatment plans. After much deliberations, prayer, discussion, etc., I am planning on going to the Hansa Center in Kansas and have made my reservations. I had so much to consider when making this decision but here is what it came down to. First off this place has just been on my heart since I read about it. The more I learn the more I like it. Now they had an anniversary deal for a flat fee that was a couple thousand dollars cheaper than it is normally to go for two weeks. Of course that got my attention. After my fundraiser and some other help it looked like I may be able to consider going. I talked with the center again and wanted to confirm that they had no payment plans. That is when they told me that they do work through Care Credit and have a deal with 6 months no interest financing. I was beyond excited. So I went home and applied immediately and received instant approval for about half of what I needed to go. In my mind it was a sign that I had to go. Unfortunately my family didn't necessarily see it that way and we had some intense and emotional discussions on the issue. When all was said and done though I booked my appointment for January 2 through 13. If all goes as planned, I will be spending the first two weeks of 2012 in Wichita, Kansas hopefully getting my health back. The only thing that would make it better would be to have my family with me. Being away from my husband and kids for two weeks is going to be really tough. But I hope to come back so much closer to being the mom and the wife that I desire to be. What a way to start the new year. I am excited beyond belief. There is always a chance that I won't end up going but I am going to do everything I can to make sure I get to keep this opportunity. The last step is booking my flight. My hotel is reserved already. I have been checking flights and they are reasonable right now. I just need to confirm what refund or cancellation policies are. It looks like I would be flying Frontier which I have heard good reviews on. The cheapest flight so far, with tax and fees and all is about $300 round trip. I just need to know that my money is not totally lost if I have to cancel my trip. That deal was through Priceline so I have a little more research to do. I don't want to wait to the last minute either. I am flying out on New Years Day so I am hoping that keeps the price a little lower.
That brings me to the money. Oh how I wish money was never an issue. I am working on not making it one but right now it is still a dark cloud looming overhead. I think the issue is more with family than with me. I have really begun to feel a peace that God is taking care of it. However, the devil seems to be going after my family and they are just not at the same place I am. Because we are in this together their concern, worry, and opinion play a big part in how I proceed. This is where some of the concern with Kansas came in. If I go, and it doesn't work, then will I have just spent all of our money and have no money left for treatment? I see their point but I am trusting God on this and I feel like this is what I need to be doing. Of course add in things like Christmas, vehicle registrations, vehicle maintenance, etc...and it is easy to go into a tailspin of worrying and thinking the worst. I have continued to see God bless us though and have also felt like we are blessed so much more that we realize sometimes. It is easy to say that we don't have money to spare for others but the reality is we do. If I have money for a Starbucks even once, or a new jacket for my kids, or for cable or a cell phone I have money for others. The message we got from church had so much to do with this topic. If we look at where we are spending our time and our money, we will get a good picture of what is important to us. It seems the more we focus on others and help those in need the more we are taken care of. I am so on board. I am just praying God reveals this as clearly to my family. I am not ready to panic yet. God has our back. I am excited to see how He works things out.
I could go on but at this point I will be lucky if anyone read this all the way to the end. Thank you again for keeping on my crazy and wild journey through life with Lyme. I will try to update a little more often so my posts aren't so long. At least it may be good enough to put you to sleep right?
So let me tell you about what has gone on treatment wise and where that is going. That of course will lead into the money part of things. Yesterday I completed day number 30 of my IV Rifampin. Too my surprise that is all I am going to take of it. Even more surprising is that I have mixed emotions about only doing one month. We never did find a cheaper source for that medication so I am excited about not having to spend another $1400+ however that doesn't mean my treatment got any cheaper. I don't know 100% why the doctor had me stop after only one month when we were really planning on 2 if not 4 months of it initially. I did feel like there was some minor improvement although it was hard to describe exactly what was better. I definitely had some returning symptoms and some new ones. The headaches that had started continued and I have had a nasty tension headache almost everyday for the past month. I also developed bad heartburn. I think the doctor was hoping for some more improvements. He seemed to key in on brain issues. "How is your brain fog and concentration? Any better?" Well I left my IV antibiotics at home twice when I went to the doctor, and not only did I go the wrong way to the doctors, I also went the wrong way to take the kids to school. That last one is a big one since the kids school is like two blocks away and on the same street we live on. I would say um no improvement in the brain area. Due to that and the doctors excitement over some new treatment he said stop the IV and lets have you try this light therapy. This sounded good to me. The only down side is the cost. At a $150 bucks a treatment, twice a week for a total of 12 treatments that puts us around $1800. Of course this wouldn't be an option if it weren't for my great friends and family and the fundraisers that have been going to help us.
As I said, yesterday I finished day number 30 of that IV med and today I started light therapy. Let me just tell you that if anyone had walked in during my treatment, I don't have any doubt in my mind that they would have called the authorities and tried to convince them that I needed to go to the hospital and be put on a 72 hour hold for a pysch evaluation. Just imagine, you walk into a room, and see me laying back with about 12 glass vials (very much like the little perfume sample bottles) taped to my stomach and I am holding what looks like a grocery store scanner or radar gun to my forehead. I am not lying to you. I almost wish I had a picture. So either I am nuts or I am trying to contact the mother ship, which I guess would also make me nuts. Beam me up doc! Maybe the aliens can fix me. All I can say is I had a good laugh at myself during all this. I'm thinking how a few years ago I would have run from a doctor or person trying to get me to do something like this. But God took the time to prepare me for the journey I was about to embark on and now I not only put radar guns on my forehead but I am even considering acupuncture. Anyone that knows me well can tell you that me and acupuncture would be a true miracle but I will save that discussion for another day. In any case, this treatment takes me a little over an hour because there are 10 points on the body you use this light and you do it in two rounds for different amounts of time. I have heard some good things about it so lets just pray that it works. I will do the treatment myself and do about 6 of them at which point I will take a month off before I would consider doing the other 6. I have started to feel a little worse in the last few days but today I really felt miserable. Tired, headache, lots of pain...it is always hard to tell for sure what is going so whether the treatment stirred things up I don't know for sure. That is my thought though. I guess I will know more on Monday when I go for round two.
This leads into my other treatment plans. After much deliberations, prayer, discussion, etc., I am planning on going to the Hansa Center in Kansas and have made my reservations. I had so much to consider when making this decision but here is what it came down to. First off this place has just been on my heart since I read about it. The more I learn the more I like it. Now they had an anniversary deal for a flat fee that was a couple thousand dollars cheaper than it is normally to go for two weeks. Of course that got my attention. After my fundraiser and some other help it looked like I may be able to consider going. I talked with the center again and wanted to confirm that they had no payment plans. That is when they told me that they do work through Care Credit and have a deal with 6 months no interest financing. I was beyond excited. So I went home and applied immediately and received instant approval for about half of what I needed to go. In my mind it was a sign that I had to go. Unfortunately my family didn't necessarily see it that way and we had some intense and emotional discussions on the issue. When all was said and done though I booked my appointment for January 2 through 13. If all goes as planned, I will be spending the first two weeks of 2012 in Wichita, Kansas hopefully getting my health back. The only thing that would make it better would be to have my family with me. Being away from my husband and kids for two weeks is going to be really tough. But I hope to come back so much closer to being the mom and the wife that I desire to be. What a way to start the new year. I am excited beyond belief. There is always a chance that I won't end up going but I am going to do everything I can to make sure I get to keep this opportunity. The last step is booking my flight. My hotel is reserved already. I have been checking flights and they are reasonable right now. I just need to confirm what refund or cancellation policies are. It looks like I would be flying Frontier which I have heard good reviews on. The cheapest flight so far, with tax and fees and all is about $300 round trip. I just need to know that my money is not totally lost if I have to cancel my trip. That deal was through Priceline so I have a little more research to do. I don't want to wait to the last minute either. I am flying out on New Years Day so I am hoping that keeps the price a little lower.
That brings me to the money. Oh how I wish money was never an issue. I am working on not making it one but right now it is still a dark cloud looming overhead. I think the issue is more with family than with me. I have really begun to feel a peace that God is taking care of it. However, the devil seems to be going after my family and they are just not at the same place I am. Because we are in this together their concern, worry, and opinion play a big part in how I proceed. This is where some of the concern with Kansas came in. If I go, and it doesn't work, then will I have just spent all of our money and have no money left for treatment? I see their point but I am trusting God on this and I feel like this is what I need to be doing. Of course add in things like Christmas, vehicle registrations, vehicle maintenance, etc...and it is easy to go into a tailspin of worrying and thinking the worst. I have continued to see God bless us though and have also felt like we are blessed so much more that we realize sometimes. It is easy to say that we don't have money to spare for others but the reality is we do. If I have money for a Starbucks even once, or a new jacket for my kids, or for cable or a cell phone I have money for others. The message we got from church had so much to do with this topic. If we look at where we are spending our time and our money, we will get a good picture of what is important to us. It seems the more we focus on others and help those in need the more we are taken care of. I am so on board. I am just praying God reveals this as clearly to my family. I am not ready to panic yet. God has our back. I am excited to see how He works things out.
I could go on but at this point I will be lucky if anyone read this all the way to the end. Thank you again for keeping on my crazy and wild journey through life with Lyme. I will try to update a little more often so my posts aren't so long. At least it may be good enough to put you to sleep right?
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