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?
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?
 | After all, killing the bacteria is what treatment is all about and herxing is the best proof this is occurring. I may not get this opportunity down the road again so why waste it? Compare this thought to that of a wolf chasing down a buffalo. The buffalo has been caught but the wolf decides to let it go and eat the next buffalo that is caught. The wolf doesn't think like that. In reality, he isn't all that confident that he may catch another buffalo just as I may not be able to reproduce a herx in the future. |
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?
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?
