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.

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.

Well I didn't think I'd be herxing this bad almost 10 months into treatment but I am.  The healing process with Lyme Disease is very strange and unique.  I find that bad days will remain as debilitating as they will ever be no matter how far you've progressed with treatment.  In between the bad days are good days and they're a little different.  They seem to be more enjoyable as treatment progresses which has been my only indication through out all of this fight that I am exponentially getting better.

Today marks 2 months since I've been on Cumanda.  I have to say that I'm ambivalent about its effectiveness but only because I never had an obvious indication it was working.  The goal or instructions for Cumanda was to climb to 30 drops a day within 15 days and I did this without breaking a sweat.  Never once did I herx badly but I did have some strange and unusual symptoms while I increased the Cumanda to 30 drops a day.

The real herxing came when I added Samento on February 5, almost 2 months ago.  My intentions are to reach 20 drops of Samento a day total and I just can't seem to get over 17 at the moment.  It hasn't been an easy climb as I've had a lot of stagnant dosages.  I find myself staying at a certain amount of drops per day for almost a week or more with Samento.  Surely I will say that I completely understand why it is a huge factor in many holistic Lyme protocols. 

On a side note, there is a huge difference between Cat's Claw and Samento.  Despite both coming from the exact same plant (una de gato), Samento is a thousand times more powerful due to its deficiency of TOA, which remains in Cat's Claw.  Read more..

I am suppose to end my use of Cumanda today according to the Cowden protocol but I have different plans.  Being that I am herxing, which let me remind you is a good thing, I'm going to continue using it.  The reason is simply because I'm herxing.  I'm following the old adage here, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it."  If I happen to be on a protocol combination at the current moment that is effective, why would I discontinue it?   

As of lately, I've been wondering how long I've actually had Lyme Disease and (a) possible coinfection(s) for.  I'm 24 years old now. The prominence and true wrath of this plague took over when I was 21 years old.  I had major digestive and anxiety issues spawn out of the blue in high school when I was 17 years old.  I can even remember having strange neurological issues all the way back to middle school when I was 13 years old.  Never was Lyme Disease ever considered to be the possible cause for these unanticipated and never before had symptoms until everything got black in 2009 at 21 years of age.

I mean it makes sense that if you've had an illness plaguing your body for an extensive period of time, surely it won't be an overnight fix.  You also have to consider that some damage to the physical body will most likely have occurred.  Let's say hypothetically that I did contract Lyme Disease when all of these unusual symptoms began.  I would have been around 13 years old.  I'm 24 now.  That's a decade's worth of free reign over my body.  I can not even fathom how deep this bacteria may have embedded itself into my physical body.  I do have to give credit though to my immune system for doing what it could have and still does under such conditions.  For I know dealing with Lyme Disease on a biological level is a shot in the dark for it, but I am beyond grateful for the genetically obligated effort it put forth.

As we all know, battling Lyme Disease and its cronies is the ultimate test of patience.  I know a lot of people end up quitting their treatment protocols because they can't handle the herx.  Some people have more important issues and obligations in their lives to adhere to and simply can not dedicate their time to the commitment required to heal from Lyme Disease.

I know its not easy putting your life on hold.  I mean, in an essence, your life isn't really on hold as you're still aging while enduring Lyme Disease.  I feel it's more on the lines of perspective.  We feel that because we're unwillingly obligated to undertake Lyme Disease, we create the abstraction that our life is on hold.  It's not on hold.  It never was on hold and it never will be on hold.  Time doesn't stand still for those who are ailing.  It will portray zero mercy or compassion for those who feel these deserve it, simply because their life didn't go as planned.  

The clock will keep ticking and what becomes of that time will ultimately and entirely depend on the choices you make.  Any choice you make is perfectly fine as long as you approve of the consequences.  There is no right or wrong direction to head in but instead an internal satisfaction to please.  It's all a mind game.  If given the appropriate circumstances, your immune system and Lyme treatment protocol will take care of your physical body but what or who is going to mend or fix your mind? 

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 been about 7 months since I've been on my treatment protocol for Lyme Disease and I have to say it's still rough.
Undoubtedly, I have made great progress and am heading in the right direction.  Symptoms are coming and going and overall, it's just a progressive state of healing.  It just astounds me the length of time it takes to completely recover from this disease.

I think if someone asked me if I was given the opportunity to completely avoid contracting Lyme Disease in the first place, I'd say no.  If I had the chance to completely eradicate this plague from my body, as impossible as it presents itself, I'd most likely decline the offer.

My refusal to accept such an offer should be a reflection of the confidence and faith I posses to beat this plaque on my own.  I have accepted what I have encountered in this life.  With everything experienced in life, whether it be positive or negative, one never stops learning to appreciate.

I've recently added Samento to my protocol and at the same time am completely backing off of the Oil of Oregano.  This is just something I do every 2-3 months to keep the bacteria on their feet.

There is no doubt that this new combination of Cumanda and Samento is really stirring things up.  I've heard people say this before and it's so true.  If you're feeling good, simply up your dose or change your antibiotic and you'll see how sick you still are.

Jogging, push ups and sit ups have become a part of my daily routine again.  The jogging is still a little difficult as it seems to exacerbate whatever the Samento has already messed with.  I'm just trying to keep my mind in a good, healthy state.  Being ill for so long and seeing the same things day after day after day really takes its toll on your mind.  I'm trying to change things up to keep myself from losing my mind.