In case you missed anything up to this point, check out Parts 1, 2, & 3 HERE:
In my last blog post, I talked about how I was starting to feel hopeful again after some realizations about moving forward in my healing. In this post, I want to share with you what steps I took next that ultimately led me to where I am today. Truly I learned during this time that Lyme Disease is a horrible thing to go through, but it is possible to heal from it. You just have to keep fighting! :)
We left off last time with me being preggo and FINALLY getting LLMD (Lyme Literate Provider) treatment lined up! Yay! Huge step forward toward healing right there for me.
My LLMD ran what she felt like were the best quality tests on top of reviewing my entire history and symptoms. I ended up diagnosed with Lyme, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Anaplasmosis, and some opportunistic infections: namely EBV (Epstein Barr virus) & HHV (human herpesvirus). I was started on treatment and supplements immediately. Treatment included antibiotics and supporting my immune system and gut health initially. It was a bit more limited than most due to me being pregnant - we couldn’t jump in on the strongest options or herbal options as safely. But we did do combos of antibiotics and gentle detoxing, along with quality supplements to bolster my natural immune system’s ability to fight back.
Also at this time I was still seeing a rheumatologist due to a variety of autoimmune diagnoses over the years. My labs with the rheumatologist were getting worse - my inflammatory markers were worsening and I wasn’t having good relief of symptoms (at least not without significant side effects) with my current medication regimen. I was advised to start a chemotherapeutic agent to treat my arthritis and autoimmune issues and was told I was being worked up for a Lupus diagnosis.
But it was as I began treatment with my LLMD that I started to realize that the likely answer to all of my rheumatological issues was probably all related to LYME.
That realization ended up being true by the way. Fast forward a bit and all of my autoimmune “stuff” started to slowly, but surely, clear up. Of course all of this healing evolved and took TIME too. That’s the reality of healing - it cannot be rushed, but it CAN be helped along and optimized.
Here is where, for me, more TIME was part of the remedy. That, and my thinking “bigger picture” about healing.
Treatment helped, even though it wasn’t always able to be very aggressive while I was pregnant and breastfeeding. And over the next 10yrs I was pregnant and breastfeeding A LOT haha. I had 5 pregnancies and 4 babies that I went on to breastfeed at least a year. All of this meant I could only safely use certain treatments for tick borne illnesses, so treatment was slower-going for a large amount of time. Still though, I was making forward progress!
I also must mention that I was utilizing different therapeutic modalities for healing during my treatment too, including: myofascial release, essential oils, CBD, Functional Medicine involvement for a time, chiropractic care off and on (now ON!), talk therapy, hormone fine-tuning as needed throughout all the pregnancies/post-partum, cardiovascular function tweaking, neurotransmitter/neuro-hormone optimizing, gut healing, immune boosting. Most recently I’ve also added Zyto scanning, which we’ll talk more about in the next (and final!) part of this story.
What is possibly MOST important to mention is that lifestyle changes were HUGE and NECESSARY for my recovery as I went along, especially when my treatment options were limited during pregnancy/breastfeeding. What I learned about these changes though is that lifestyle is what provides me SUSTAINED health and healing. This includes detoxing AND removing toxins, gut health and healing, immune support, stress and sleep management, trauma therapy/EMDR/etc, emotional healing, spiritual awareness and health, and more.
Next time we’ll talk more about where I’m at NOW in my healing and what happened in the last couple years with my seemingly “perfect” setup for healing.
Let’s make sure you’re connected with me so you stay plugged in to allll the holistic healing goodness and community that’s there for YOU! Hop into Lyme-y & Crunchy for all kinds of Lyme healing encouragement!
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