I can't believe it's been over 2 months since my last blog post.  It's the longest I've gone without writing one; which could be a good thing!

On the 15th of December, which is in 9 days, I will have been on the Buhner protocol for exactly 4 months.  Is it working?  Yes.

Before I started the Buhner protocol, I was skeptical when I read a review on it in which a person claimed that in just a few weeks, many of their symptoms have dissipated.  Another claim was that in just 6 months, all of their symptoms were gone!  It just seemed too good to be true and that if it really was as great as it was being proclaimed, why didn't I know about it all along? Why was it not constantly plastered in my face?  How come I've never seen vast numbers of raves about it on online forums? Because that's the stark reality of Lyme Disease.  

The other day I had visited the local health food store in search of a specific trace mineral known as Molybdenum.  If you've never heard of it, don't beat yourself up.  Molybdenum's popularity in the world of minerals is comparable to that of the white crayon in the crayon box.  It exists but people tend to avoid it as it only serves useful under the appropriate circumstances.  Today was different though as my circumstances warranted the use of the white crayon.

As I would later learn, I was herxing bad but not from Lyme Disease.  Oh no, this recent state of debilitation is credited entirely to candida die off.  For so long, I questioned the ineffectiveness of standard detox methods (e.g., epsom salt bath, sauna, burbur) I had been utilizing to reduce a suspected Lyme Disease die off.  These methods of detoxification took the edge off but for a reason that had since eluded me, their detrimental effects remained.

After seeing my naturopathic doctor, it has been determined through applied kinesiology and obvious symptoms that I am in remission.  However, I am skeptical but I may also have no legitimate reason to be.

You see, I still have muscle twitching, yellow spots in my vision, brain fog and some muscle pain.  Though these are symptoms commonly associated with Lyme Disease, they are also indicative of nerve damage and a rampant candida infection.  The conclusion is that my body is no longer fighting Lyme Disease.  I may have misconstrued nerve damage and candida for a Lyme infection that gave up not too long ago.

Well I am herxing a little bit this morning mainly with brain fog but I don't attribute it to Lyme.  This herx I believe is due to candida die off which would have been directly related to the delicious and excessive amount of turmeric I added to my dinner last night.  No more than an hour later I had extreme pains in my small intestine but after riding it out, the pain ceased within a couple hours.

The only other time I had pain that bad was after consuming raw coconut and oil of oregano, both of which are big anti-fungals just like Turmeric.  I'll be sure to watch how much Turmeric I use in my eggs from now on.

See, what has occurred here is a phenomenon that is nothing but overlooked.  I unintentionally used food as medicine.  See most people in the industrialized world are lead to believe that there exists just disease and a cure, known or unknown.  It should be obvious that this perspective has been drilled into our heads by modern day corporations.

3 days ago I hit the 9 month mark for my Lyme Disease protocol.  As I should probably be feeling proud of myself for religiously adhering to it for so long, I feel otherwise.  I'm growing impatient.

Believe me when I tell you that I have come to terms with Lyme Disease.  I understand that I had to sacrifice all of the treasures of my life in order to preserve and salvage the one I hold most dear.  My own life.  It's just after being unwillingly obedient for such an extended duration, one naturally grows impatient.

I've made it clear that if I knew the exact date or at least the month of when I would achieve remission, I could guarantee that this fight would be in the bag but there is a problem.  I don't know the date I'll achieve remission nor could I ever before that day comes.  It's still not and will never be a reason to lose hope or doubt as we continue to endure.

From what I have gathered from the people whom I've talked with who reached the day we all yearn for, it takes roughly a year to a year and a half to reach remission form Lyme Disease.  Obviously this is based off of a protocol that works and there are many. Some will require more time and some have done it in less but one must consider the many different factors that affect each of us differently such as coinfections, diet, environment, stress level, optimism, etc.

Also if you're on a protocol for Lyme Disease and it's not working, get yourself on a new one!  Just because your protocol hasn't been working doesn't mean you need to lose faith or believe remission is out of your reach.  It does mean that you just haven't found the right protocol yet.  What works for one surely doesn't work for all.

The human body is a remarkable piece of engineering and if given the appropriate tools and circumstances, it can heal itself from just about anything.  Why?  Well because that is what it was designed to do.  Whether you're consciously aware of it or not, your body is constantly performing functions in order to maintain life.  So why not give it a helping hand?

It's true.  I am healing.  Each day is surely another step in the right direction but I'm not quite there yet.  I'm still fighting my battles and even in the dawn of remission, it's still hard to cope.

I think about every aspect of my life being affected in some way or another by Lyme Disease.  You know, I've lost good friends, I had to drop out of college, I became incapable of working a job at all but what really hits home is the loss of passion to embrace these treasures.

Did you ever just stop to look at something?  Whether you hate or love it, there is a passion that burns deeps.  You feel a certain way about its existence and in turn you become connected to your surroundings.

I feel disconnected from my surroundings.