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Health Update January 2020

Hello again friends, thanks for coming back to SGL. It has been several months since I’ve done a health update and I honestly debated about continuing them. But, as I decided the beginning of last year, I need this monthly posts to help me keep an idea of just how I’ve been. It’s so very easy to get lost in the day to day haze of pain and brain fog that I can’t recollect the better days – or the worse ones.

The other thing I wanted to do was to change up the format for them but I couldn’t figure out a way to do that, that would still provide the information that I need (and that I want to share). If you have any suggestions, or a blog to recommend that does regular health updates, I am definitely open to hearing them.

fightinglymemigraines

As a look at Overall Health, it’s harder to peg this one down since it’s been so many months. I have had good stretches alongside ones that I barely dragged through each day. I do feel like I’m in the middle of a better stretch – this would mean that my fatigue isn’t so overwhelming, migraines are calmer/respond to treatment, brain fog tends to be a little less, etc. And let me tell you, I’m so thankful for this pause in extreme pain.

Let’s move on to the rest of the update, shall we?

Here are the notes that I kept on my phone:

Nov 30 – exhausted and headachy all day. Took 2 short naps. Cycle due any day. Hungrier than normal past few days.
Dec 2 -mega fatigue all day. Took 2 naps. Migraine kicked up bad , hard to get the pain to ease. Tylenol, Bayer, ice pack and a nap finally did.
11th – woke up with fatigue and migraine, pretty severe till @2pm. Felt better but still both present all day. A bit moody in evening
12th – woke up pretty good, pain hit @2pm, finally eased @4. Left calf and foot hurting and painful cramps. Poor circulation in legs recently . A bit moody in evening again.
14- woke up exhausted. Fatigue staying all day so far. Some head pain as well
Dec 29- very busy day in bend. drove home in evening. No major migraine/fatigue/crash whole time we were there. Did really well
Dec 30 – woke up very tired but ok. Took nap early afternoon. Ran errand. Felt really good early evening. Aches and migraine kicked up in evening. Soaked feet and took tylenol, eased it.
Dec 31 cycle started. Felt pretty well all day, tired but not terribly.
JAN 1ST- cycle aches all day. Lazy day with minimal activity. Joint pain increased in evening. Went to bed with ice pack on knees. It’s been weeks since I needed that

Jan 14 – introduced bananas back into my diet. Felt good in am, very tired by noon. Pretty short attention span all day. About an hr nap after lunch. Exhausted and achy pain suddenly in evening. Was able to calm it down decently with ice and tylenol.

Sept 12, 2019

Sept 24, 2019

Migraine: the severity has decreased most of the time. Sometimes, I get sideswiped by a particularly nasty one however. I’m still taking 4.5 mg of the Low Dose Naltrexone every night and I believe these have helped a lot.

Sleep: I’m getting about 7 hours each night, with the normal 2 or 3 wakings. I am also putting this to the LDN’s. I do frequently take involuntary naps however.

Memory/Brain Fog: This has improved some, but when the brain fog hits – it hits hard and doesn’t want to lift. Sometimes I won’t notice how bad it is until I leave the house/try holding a conversation with someone

Sept 26, 2019

Oct 18, 2019

Vision: I have had several scintillating scotomas, and do occasionally have times where my eyes just don’t want to focus.

TMJ: My jaw doesn’t pop very often at all anymore and mostly, this pain has diminished. It’s never gone completely, but many days it’s not so severe that I am distracted by it.

Fatigue: I am able to push myself more than I have in years, probably. But, of course, I do have days where I just am relegated to the couch because I am so fatigued. Or that I just need to space out what I plan, to give my body the rest it needs. – this hasn’t changed much from my last update back in August

Oct 24, 2019

Nov 10, 2019

Fibromyalgia: This is a persistent, constant pain. Especially in my knee, elbow, ankle joints. Frequently it rears in my hip as well. I have noticed the random twitches that I get have been increasing over the months.

Weight Loss: Not at all. It’s been more of a weight gain issue. Very frustrating.

Mood: This has been very back and forth lately.

Digestion: This has been good for me – which means, still not where it should ideally be, but for me, it’s okay.

Dec 14, 2019

Earlier this month, I did some blood tests and am waiting to talk with my doctor about the results. I am, of course, hoping that they will reveal just what is going on inside me and will give us a path on which to base the new protocol that I’m going to start.

Over the month of December, I cut out ALL sugars – even natural – in the hopes that it would ease some of the inflammation in my body. But it didn’t seem to do anything, so I’ve been able to add bananas and honey back in. I’ve been adding them back in very slowly, trying to keep track of how I react. I am looking forward to adding strawberries back into my diet soon!

Jan 7, 2020

Jan 13, 2020

I hope the pictures (that I grabbed from my Instagram account) give you maybe a better idea of the ups and downs these past months. Due to a lot of negative comments, I’ve really cut back on the ‘pain’ photos that I feel tend to capture the level of pain that I’m in, so it makes it a bit harder to really get the point across. Because of that, I’ve noticed that I don’t share quite as much on IG as I used to. But since it’s still the biggest part of my life – this fighting for my health – I’m going to try and share more of both the dark days and the better days. I’d like to also increase how much I talk about chronic illness here on SGL. If there’s any topic you’d be interested in reading about, please ask!

If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, THANKS! I appreciate you giving me some of your precious time,

Blessings,

Laura

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fighting lyme disease, health, late stage lyme, lyme, lyme disease, migraines, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj

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Categories health

Health Update August 2019

10 Sep

Hello again friends. Thanks for stopping by SGL for this month’s health update. Fighting Lyme Disease is definitely the hardest thing I’ve done – and that will probably always be true. This journey to health is so up and down that it’s easy to get disheartened. Thankfully, I’ve been coming out of the crash I was in and have been able to enjoy the last bit of summer. As well as start preparing for a new addition to our little family come the beginning of October.

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: There’s improvement in the wind, folks. I stopped taking the atovaquile/Malarone and my fatigue diminished greatly.

8-5 tired all day and dealt with keeping migraine down BUT, was up and about a lot. Had odd energy, pretty clear brain too
8-6 crushing fatigue late am on. Some fibro in feet and calves.
RELATED to: eating corn? Overdoing it yesterday?
8-7 better, about halfway between the 5th and 6th. Still fatigued but up and about.
8-8 low energy and so fatigued again
8-17 Started cordyceps 1/day am. Decent energy, tho tired in am, fatigue hit afternoon but didn’t nap! Fell asleep at 9pm.
8-20 increased cordyceps 2/day. Fatigue still very strong.
8-23 drove to bend. Seized back had eased enough from Wednesday eve. Felt pretty well all day, took short nap late afternoon.
8-24 – stomach upset off and on all day. Decent energy. Some fibro flaring in my feet.
Since stopping the Malarone on the 22nd, fatigue has eased considerably. Rash on face is still present, flares every 4 to 5 days probably. (Strange)

Migraine: One near-nuclear migraine with several that were really hard to get the pain level down. But, I really am surprised at how these have minimized. Now, before you get too excited, I do still have pain every day. But there’s been more days that I didn’t take any Clonidine til evening. I am chalking this improvement up to the 4.5 mg of the LDNs that I take every evening. (Low Dose Naltrexone).

Sleep: I’m getting more like 8 to 9 hours each night, with the normal 2 or 3 wakings. I am also putting this to the LDN’s. I haven’t been needing naps daily either, which is so very nice.

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Memory/Brain Fog: This has improved a little bit more – I’m noticing I’m able to recall words/names easier. But when the brain fog hits – man, it hits. *same as last month

Vision: The scintillating scotomas have eased since I stopped the Malarone. I did start to lose my vision once this past month.

TMJ: It’s been hurting a bit more but I still am blaming that on the fact that when I nap, I don’t put in my night guard. It has been quite tense this past week though.

Fatigue: As I said, this has decreased even more. I am able to push myself more than I have in years, probably. But, of course, I do have days where I just am relegated to the couch because I am so fatigued. Or that I just need to space out what I plan, to give my body the rest it needs.

Fibromyalgia: Thankfully, this has eased as well! I only get the nerve pain in my feet when I’ve been walking a lot (or have sugar). My calf has calmed down SO much. My back has seized up twice this month but I think that’s because of my weight.

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Weight Loss: Nope. But, I’m trying to get out and walk more and do mini workouts when I feel well enough to.

Mood: I’m very pleased to report that this has mellowed out again and I’m certain it’s because I started back up on Xiao Chai Hu Tang. Remind me to stay on these chinese herbs. It’s worth it. *I’m leaving this up because I’ve increased this to 2 tsps a day and it’s so worth it.

Digestion: This has been a little more touchy lately. Out of the blue my stomach will get really upset. I have some ideas of what maybe I’m not digesting well but…

Now, if you’re interested in what prompted me to stop taking the Malarone after a month of taking it, I’ll tell you. My doctor really wanted me to stay on it but a few days before heading to visit my parents, I was thinking about it and the 3 hour drive and all, and I realized that I just couldn’t do one. more. day. of taking the pills that were making me feel like I was going to fall asleep at any moment. Or that were causing major brain fog, increased scintillating scotomas and increased fibropain. I debated about it, researched it, but decided that I know my body best, and that I was just at the end of what I could stand. Within just 12 hours of stopping, I could tell a difference. And then, just days after, there was even more of a change. I’m so glad I remembered to be my own advocate.

~Laura

How are you feeling lately?

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, health, health update, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease

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Categories health

Mar/Apr Health Update

19 Apr

Well, this has been waiting for me to finish it for about a week now. My ability to focus has been really quite terrible lately, you guys. It’s a subtle thing though. Since I’m completely in control of my schedule, I can flit around to different things without realizing just how quickly I move on to something new… But, to move on to more exciting news, I’m doing some better! Read on!

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: I would say that while I’ve had some low lows, I’ve done pretty well this past month-odd. Daily, noticeable pain and fatigue but not everyday has been debilitating. I keep seeing more glimpses of ‘me’ in the mirror – you know, when I’m not asleep or laying on an ice pack.

Migraine: Only one visual aura and nuclear migraine this time around (and that while on vacation of course). I attempted going off clonidine for a few days but that didn’t work as well as I thought it would. I’m still trying to get the edge off the pain.

Sleep: I’m getting about 8 hours with 2 or 3 wakings in the night. Most nights I am completely exhausted but have to wait til I can get the pain down to a decent level to go to bed. OR I’ve taken such a long nap during the day that I’m just not tired enough at a reasonable hour. Eesh.

Feeling like half of myself that morning

Memory/Brain Fog: Brain fog has stayed around, sadly. It’s kept my ability to focus on things at a minimum.

Vision: I only had one visual aura! The beginning of March I did have a strange… quality to my vision at times but that has since gone away.

TMJ: It pops only occasionally now but still aches so much that my teeth hurt daily. The front of my neck has started hurting again as well. I really need to get in to my bodywork doctor soon.

Fatigue: sadly, this has stayed strong. Naps are pretty frequent, ranging from twenty minutes to three hours. Eesh. Mostly though, if I space my activities out, I do pretty well. I have gotten back on the liver, daily, and it is definitely helping.

Screenshot_20190418-085844_Instagram

Fibromyalgia: It’s decreased slightly. My left calf is still tense/self flexing throughout the day and occasional cramping in my feet. Most of the time I can kind of ignore it, although when it settles into my knees like it likes to do, it’s harder to ignore (like right now)

Weight Loss: Oy. I was losing steadily and slowly and now it’s just to the point where I’m hoping I can start working out again so I don’t end up at the weight I was when I first started losing a year ago. Augh. < this is the same as last month! Oy.

Mood: Well, this has evened out again – without the use of Xiao Chai Hu Tang.

Digestion: Much improved. I’ve even increased the amount of vitamins/supplements I take and my stomach is still doing fine. I’m so relieved.

Since I wrote the above, I’ve been in to see my main doctor. It was a good appointment, and as she’d been studying Lyme again lately, she was excited about what she’d learned. Due to that, she’s had me start doxycycline and I’ve got to get to Costco to get my prescription of Armor thyroid to start as well. I don’t believe I’ve ever taken an antibiotic before (?) so any advice that you may have, I would love to hear them. At the top of the notes she printed out for me, she wrote “Laura, you are doing great! Things will go perfect.” Which is more encouraging than the normal version of ‘we can figure this out’ don’t you think?

a quick selfie while on vacation

*I’ve been on the doxy for a few days, and without knowing if how I’ve been doing is related to that or not… I need to document it. I started it the 15th of april, and took a detox bath that afternoon – and had a terrible reaction to the bath. I was weak and my heart was pounding and as the day continued, my head got worse and the aching increased. And I was SO hungry in the evening. Eesh. The next day I was better but again, crazy hungry in the evening. The morning of the 18th, a terrrible, horrible, no good cramp in my left calf woke me up. I could feel my right calf cramping up as well. It went on forever (I really have no idea in reality…) before it eased.

I plan on looking up the info she was sharing with me and then I’ll pass it along to you!

~Laura

Tags: brain fog, chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, health, health update, late stage lyme, lyme disease, memory loss, natural treatment for lyme, sleep, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj, visual auras

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Categories health

Health Update Nov/Dec 2018

22 Dec

I really had to go back and check when I last shared a health update because it does not feel like it’s been a month already! These weeks have gone by so fast, and because of that, I have not kept very good track of how I’ve been doing. Eesh.

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: Fatigue and Fibro have both eased, even before my nutrient IV last week! In between the awful bouts of pain, I’ve had times of almost excess energy. Strange. And wonderful. I’ve been steadily adding my supplements/vitamins back in. Although I did realize that Resveratrol (2/day) causes upset stomach for me! Less than 24 hrs on it and I was having the same problems that I had a few months ago. I cut back to 1/day and am fine again. So. Shrug.

Nov 28- decent day, took 2 naps, 3hrs total. Fibro still flaring and fatigue pretty strong
Nov 29- started 21day workout challenge.

Dec 11- IV today
Dec 14- a noticably better day overall. No clonidine till @ 10pm. Only slight fibro until later evening. Very tired all day and a little spacy but best day I’ve had in weeks probably
Dec 16- tired all day, oddly energetic late evening. Two clonidine for migraine. Minimal fibropain until evening, left calf cramped. Mood good.
Dec 17- energetic, a bit tired in am but worked out, cleaned bathrooms and juiced. Left calf still tight. Migraine kicked up in evening, very tired in evening

Screenshot_20181222-080835_Instagram

Migraine: These are still daily – and pretty intense every day, but I feel like they are responding to treatment better lately.

Sleep: I’m still getting just about 7 hours exactly with 2 or 3 wakings in the night. Most nights I am completely exhausted but have to wait til I can get the pain down to a decent level to go to bed. Sometimes my naps ruin going to bed at a halfway decent hour and other nights I’m still falling asleep on the couch at 9pm.

Memory/Brain Fog: After a full month on Turmeric instead of Neuroflam, I think it’s working – at the very least I haven’t noticed a big decrease in my memory. The only thing is that I have had a shorter attention span lately. I’m not sure if that has to do with this or just fatigue?

Vision: There hasn’t been any vision loss this month – huzzah! But I have had semi-frequent blurring.

Screenshot_20181222-080915_Instagram

TMJ: This has stayed the same – I’m attributing it to the fact that I haven’t been to my bodywork doctor in about four months. It pops painfully most every day and aches so that my teeth hurt daily.

Fatigue: Thanks to getting regular IV’s again, while this is still strong, it isn’t quite so…overwhelming. Naps are a necessity almost every day, and often they are unexpected (read: I sit down to work on my book/blog/crochet project and suddenly I’m waking up two hours later)

Fibromyalgia: I’m happy to report that this has eased slightly. I think it’s because of the extra thing we added to my nutrient IV last time. (of course, I cannot remember what it was called, but it was specifically to see if it helped with inflammation in the joints/the awful aching) My left calf is still tense/self flexing throughout the day and I’ve been getting cramps in my feet/calves again. I’m glad that they haven’t started again in my hands/elbows though. Ice is still the current magic treatment – be it on my calves or neck. If I’m resting, I’ve got one on me.

Weight Loss: sort of?

Screenshot_20181222-081007_Instagram

Mood: Even though I’m only taking 2 Xiao Chai Hu Tang a day (instead of my previous 4), this has stayed good.

Digestion: This has also been good (well, for me). BUT. As I said at the beginning of this post – I did realize that Resveratrol (2/day) causes upset stomach for me! Less than 24 hrs on it and I was having the same problems that I had a few months ago. I cut back to 1/day and am fine again. So. I’m glad that I realized it quickly.

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And that’s it for this month! I’m remaining hopeful that this coming year will be full of further improvements. So much so that even I can’t miss them. Heh. Happy Holidays and I’ll see you again next week with this month’s Book Reviews!

~Laura

P.S. Did you see this post – How Much More Will Chronic Illness Steal From Me? that I wrote on the emotional side of living with chronic illness? This one, Chronic Illness Silence, I wrote this time last year about how hard it is to share about what chronic illness sufferers go through. This one , The Dark Before the Dawn, is a late night conversation on pain.

P.P.S. For a more upbeat tone, go check out Hesitant Fate, just a short story I wrote from a writing prompt.

P.P.P.S. Watch next month for my Top Reads and Top Posts of 2018!

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj

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Categories health

Health Update Oct/Nov 2018

21 Nov

Hello friends! Thanks for coming by SGL for today’s update on my health. Just a quick intro for anyone new here – I have been diagnosed with Lyme Disease along with some lovely friends – like Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, TMJ, Chronic Migraines and a handful of other stuff. The co-infections of Lyme are brutal. Brutal, I tell ya. I think I can accurately say that I’m on the road to health – it’s just a switchback, up and down type of road. If you want to read a bit more – go check out my About Me page. But for now, I’ll dive into the update – hoping that this time next year I’ll be able to see even more improvements in my health.

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: Fatigue to the max lately. Fibropain as well. I’m sure that not having an IV for almost two months (!!) has a lot to do with how badly I was flaring in October. Since then, my fatigue and fibro have continued to be intense but it is a bit less – and I’m hoping that getting them regular again will keep chipping away at it.

Oct 15- exhausted, brain fog, nap in afternoon helped but by evening whole body ached and hard to get to sleep. Severe pain.
Oct 22- awful fibro flare in evening, in all limbs. Took 2 fibronol, 1 St John’s, 2 magnesium, 1 berberine, used tens unit on elbows and rubbed magnesium lotion on elbows and hands. Migraine kicked up but clonidine calmed it. Scale for fibro – 8
Oct 29 stomach slowly feeling better. Taking minimum vitamins and supplements. Took 2-3 hr nap because fatigue was so intense. Day 17
Oct 31- seems that when I limit my iberogast as well, that my stomach is some better. Today was the best day in weeks for it, although water still tastes awful and I’ve still got some iron breath. Fatigue has been very present past few days, did get to the grocery store this am before it hit. Fibropain still present in joints but not as severe.
Nov 6- IV finally! Some fatigue in am but feeling decent. Exhausted by mid afternoon/evening. Fibropain present in joints all day
Nov 7- some migraine in am. Fibropain all day in joints, especially knees. Fatigue hit hard@ 7 pm. Went to bed at 10pm
Nov 8- woke up at 4am till 730, slept again till 93pam. Weary but feel pretty good. minimal attention span.

Migraine: Some days I’m thinking about how much better this area is and then others I’m struggling to keep the pain down to a survivable level.

Sleep: This hasn’t changed much at all – still needing an ice pack most every night, and typically change it out at least once. It would be nice if sleep actually helped my fatigue.

Screenshot_20181120-082932_Instagram

Memory/Brain fog: I am doing something scary – I’m going to see if taking Turmeric pills has the same result as taking the Neuroflam. I’m hoping it does because as much as I love the Neuroflam, it is at least $60 a bottle. (Turmeric/curcumin is a main ingredient in the Neuroflam) My attention span has been spotty often lately. Augh.

Vision: First – I haven’t had any visual auras! I’m very relieved by this. Thing do get blurrier than they should at times.

TMJ: This has increased in popping and pain. I’m attributing it to the fact that I haven’t been to my bodywork doctor in about three months. It pops painfully most every day and aches so that my teeth hurt daily.

Fatigue: Such a big struggle still – but since my IV I have been able to struggle through getting things done a little more during the day. Unexpected naps have been happening regularly though. Blink once and it’s an hour later.

my only pic from my last IV! we did a push on everything which makes it SO much faster!

Fibromyalgia: Such a main point of pain. It’s a constant burning, tingling, throbbing in my limbs, as well as occasional cramping in my feet, calves and hands. The overall aching has been keeping me up late at night, unable to get to sleep. I’m still on ice at least once each day, but it’s typically a pretty fair bit of swapping out ice packs. I’ve continued using the Tens Unit on my legs as well as using Mg lotion.

Weight Loss: YES! Little by little it’s happening

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Mood: This has stayed pretty good lately – although I do feel like some of that might be that I’m just not thinking about anything serious.

Digestion: I almost forgot to add this and it was SUCH a problem for over a month. My digestion was so bad that even water tasted awful. I finally figured out that my stomach was needing a rest from all of the supplements/vitamins that I’ve been taking for so long. I cut it down to five or six a day – instead of the… forty (probably more) a day I was taking. It took only a few days for it to start helping and now I’m slowly adding things back in. It’s nice to not be taking so many pills but I can tell that I definitely need more than what I’m currently on.

To read where I was at last year in this journey- click here – it’s also when my doctor first uttered the most beautiful three words she’s ever said to me.

20181103_162405

~Laura

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, chronic pain, ebv, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj

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Categories health

Health Update Sept/Oct 2018

16 Oct

Well, folks, over a week ago I was thinking about the little improvements that have been happening and realized how nice it was to be able to see them! And then, if you saw my FB or IG posts, you know that last tuesday I crashed and burned harder than I have in months. OY, but isn’t that how it goes? It doesn’t take away (fully) from the improvements but it takes away some of the optimism. I do want to look at where I was at this time last year though to maybe get some of that optimism back…hopefully. So let’s get to it!

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: Flaring severity has decreased. Brain fog has eased. Fibromyalgia has increased. I’m still exhausted and completely tired of fighting for my health. I’m READY to move on to the next thing in my life to focus on – like becoming a published author maybe?

After a blood test last month, we learned that : my LDL’s are high, my adiponectin is high (dr wrote ‘fat burn’ next to it =) ), Omega-3s are low and that I most likely have SIBO. My doctor has thought that before but with the results of this test, we’ve decided to work on treating it.

I’ve started Resveratrol (2/day), Bearberry (1/day), increased Iberogast to 14 drops/day.

Aug 16. Started DIM Detox, 1/day today only? Feel pretty good, tired. Napped. Worked on book! Low migraine late am. Fibropain shoulders down, minimal in wrists and hands.
Aug 17- bodywork appt am. Migraine and fibromyalgia flared pretty badly in evening
Aug 20- energy in am, minimal pain until early afternoon. Migraine and fibromyalgia flared pretty bad in evening, as has been usual.
Aug 24- fatigue has eased and flaring in the evening has calmed down as well. Still some brain fog, fibromyalgia in joints/just all around aching that’s pretty painful and distracting. increased Iberogast to 14 drops/day last week. Am increasing liver, seeing if it helps with fatigue.
THESE above are ALL Sept dates!!!
Sept 28- migraine flared in evening with fibro Oct 1- Increased Noni Fruit 3/day Oct 2nd- decent fatigue all day went errand running and to the dog park. Fatigue kicked up late afternoon along with migraine. Fibro flaring later evening, especially in right hand. Day 17
Oct 4- fibro flaring last few days. Migraine kicking up off and on all day. Back pain is pretty constant for a few weeks now. started resveratrol 1/day
Oct 5&6 upset stomach all day. Fatigue but still able to get up and do things. Brain fog gone
Oct 9 vision loss in am, avoided severe migraine. Slept most of the day, fatigue/recovery from the morning. Awful

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Migraine: These have been both marginally better, and much worse. — While I have had a slight decrease in severity some days, I also had a visual aura this past week so I feel like it evens out in the end.

Sleep: my doctor had me start taking 5Htp to help with my sleep (among other things) and it did help – a lot – I was waking less during the night, sleeping longer and feeling a wee bit more rested. The problem was that it was causing nightmares and messing up my stomach a lot. I have since gone off of it because the stomach stuff was just too rough. So, I’m back to seven hours tops of sleep with multiple wakings. With frequently needing an ice pack or heating pad.

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Memory/Brain fog: The answer is the same as last month – Neuroflam. It is a lifesaver. Not that I’m clear of either memory problems or brain fog but they aren’t so …debilitating now.

Vision: As I said, I had one vision loss this week, although it didn’t progress fully it was the worst I’ve had since June/July. I was able to halt the full nuclear migraine that follows though.

Getting some editing done

TMJ: While it still isn’t popping too much, I would say this has increased lately because it aches SO OFTEN and my teeth just hurt frequently.

Fatigue: This has either been calm enough that I’ve been able to do minimal things (light cleaning, dog park, slow walks,etc) off and on thru the day or it has just hit me hard that I’ve been stuck on the couch for days on end.

Fibromyalgia: Once again, the biggest pain the past month. Well, along with the fatigue. There’s just a constant burning, tingling, throbbing in my limbs anymore, as well as occasional cramping. The cramping had disappeared for a few weeks but now it’s back occasionally. The overall aching has been keeping me up later at night, unable to relax enough to get to sleep. I’m still on ice at least once each day, but it’s typically a pretty fair bit of swapping out ice packs. I have been using the Tens Unit on my legs this past week and it helps so much! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.

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Weight Loss: YES! It’s not much but I’m pleased with any.

Mood: Thankfully this has evened out again!

~Laura

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic illness, chronic migraines, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease

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Categories health

Health Update: May/June/July 2018

31 Jul

I am going to admit something to you right away – I’m starting this but have no idea when it’ll get finished and posted! With my OH’s graduation and party on Sunday, my parents coming into town today and donation boxes/a dog park run to do before they get here, I’m just not sure how much of this I’ll actually get written today. But, “Well begun is half done”.

**Update: It’s now July 30th and I am just now getting back to this post! The party has been thrown (along with a second one beginning of this month) the parents have come and gone, along with another couple of guests, many dog park runs have occurred and I’m woefully behind on so much that I’ve intended to do. But, this is step one in getting back on track!

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: I have been a bit better this month. Fatigue has still been a major problem. My back seized up early one morning and it took almost two weeks before it stopped hurting. I’ve seen some improvement in my every-few-weeks flaring, which has been such a relief.

May 14 saw bodywork Dr. Worked on whole left side.
May 15 saw main Dr. Going to start neuroflam. Also went major grocery shopping today. Was worn out in afternoon, dehydrated, some brain fog. Took detox bath in evening, wiped me out.
May 16- woke up with severe fatigue. Slept again until noon. Joints achy and a 7 migraine. Fatigue isn’t so severe this afternoon.
May 18- a better day. Was able to do some light cleaning, cooking, etc. Migraine didn’t hit till later afternoon and then harder in evening. First evening in at least a week that my hip hasn’t hurt and my calf hurts half as bad. Fatigue isn’t near as bad but still underlying.
May 20- monthly started. Hungrier than normal. Not much fatigue. Went to the beach for the morning. Severe migraine early afternoon partly from lack of food. Some cramping/tingling in feet, calves and hands
May 23- took Abby to the park, went to get my hair cut and to two stores.. Worn out and a migraine trying to come in evening. Hip didn’t hurt though!
May 24- woke up early with bad migraine and very hungry. Had a snack and slept again. Migraine was still bad when I woke up, but early afternoon it has eased some. Strong fatigue today.
May 25- woke up feeling better enough that I drove to Eugene in the afternoon. Hit with 8 migraine in the evening, and Soo hungry but ice, clonidine and food kept it from increasing. Took a short nap around 8pm.
May 30 – fibropain flaring all week. In hands especially tonight, maybe because I worked in yard this am. Migraine flaring up to an 8 but then stopping. Fatigue hit hard yesterday, easing off today.
–have been ‘seeing’ things in the corner of my eye. A bit of heart pounding. Fingers hurting/have to focus to straighten all the way.
June 3- severe migraine out of the blue in evening. Vision gone in left eye. Debilitating. Day 15.
June 4- recovery day and keeping the pain down.
June 5 – fighting migraine down. Hit hard in evening. To a level 9. IV today, glutathione push.
June 6- pretty good today. Upset stomach in late am and late evening. Clonidine keeping migraine down. Some fibropain.
June 11-fatigue hit hard all day. Migraine tried to flare throughout the day. Took 2 naps. June 13- decent fatigue but was able to get up and putter around the house as well. Took a long nap. detox bath in the evening.

Have been struggling with bad fatigue for a week and a half. One vision loss migraine.
June 26th iron and nutrient IV.
June 29- best I’ve felt in a long while. Energy, mental clarity,
July 1- day 15, fatigue and some mood issues. Needed a nap in the afternoon. Fibropain pretty strong in joints in late evening. But such an improvement from this time last month
July 19- back feeling a little better in am. Took Abby to the park. Afternoon, fatigue hit hard. Fibro flared in evening. Slept on ice pack all night
July 20- back still hurting (a week and a half now) mainly on left side. Possible kidney moved down again?

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* I’ve been on the DIM Detox since the end of May and I have slowly but steadily seen an improvement in my mid-month flaring like we were hoping! I did have to cut back to 1/day after increasing to 2/day and having a flare but it’s helping!!!

Migraine: These have slowly decreased from May to end of July. I haven’t had a ‘nuclear migraine’ (aka, vision loss/debilitating) since beginning of June. They are still daily, of course – finish?

Sleep: This hasn’t changed much other than, with the fatigue, I’m needing more naps. Not every day, thankfully, but a lot of times when I do nap, it’s a few hours before I wake up. Which then makes it hard to get to bed before midnight… I am glad that I still don’t need melatonin to get to sleep like I did for so long!

Memory/Brain Fog: This was a big enough of a struggle that I started taking Neuroflam (thankfully I can get it for about $30 cheaper than this amazon price). To experiment, I have been off of it for a few weeks…and I think it really was helping. OY. I was hoping to save that money but anything that helps with mental clarity is worth it. I’ve been so foggy that sitting down and writing (either on here or on my book) has been such a trial that I just haven’t done it. Sadly.

It took at least half an hour to get the needle in to a good vein this time. Second try with the Iron push. Verdict? Doesn’t kick the fatigue.

Vision: Since the beginning of June, I haven’t had full vision loss but I have had some minor sparkles, spots or blurriness. I have been able to attribute them to exhaustion or hunger. When they have been tied to the oncoming of a severe migraine, I’ve been able to halt it from fully forming.

Fibromyalgia: Ahhh, joint aches. Self-cramping. Sporadic tingling. Pain that is trying to claw its way out of my body. This has increased over the months and I’m thinking that it’s due to the fact that I’ve been having cane sugar occasionally. As well as starch. I am okay with never feeling the need to move just because the pain is so bad.

TMJ: This is one thing that has eased off and stayed down, mostly. My teeth will still ache and my jaw is almost always tender to the touch. It doesn’t pop too often.

Fatigue: This has been a doozy for a while now. My last two IV’s, we’ve gone without the glutathione and done Iron and nutrients but it’s not kicking the fatigue like the glutathione. OY.

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Weight Loss: I was doing good on this for about a month and then…I stopped working out and more lax on what I would eat. I’ve started working out again though so I’m hopeful I can start losing some again!

Mood: Overall, this has been good- even- calm. A few times a month (?) it goes more wacky than it normally would.

Bladder: since May, I haven’t had any other …strange behaviors in this quarter.

I follow Aubrey on Instagram and just had to share this bit of humor.

If you want more frequent updates on my health journey – as well as Abby adventures, crochet projects and whatnot – follow me on Instagram!

*Disclaimer: I will say though, that I tend to share more…. real-life photos there than I do here. I only share a portion of them here on SGL. I have gotten some comments on my ‘death/zombie’ photos and such – if you don’t want to see pictures of someone in chronic, debilitating pain, I suggest you don’t follow me on IG. or Facebook, heh. I know it can be hard to see and read about, but this is my life and the life that so very many people are living. We didn’t ask for this. If you don’t like it, and there’s nothing wrong with that, please don’t make critical comments about our hard days – even if you mean them in jest. They still wound us. I appreciate each one of you that follows my blog, IG or Facebook.

I caught Abby being a goof the other morning, here it is, just to make you smile,

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, chronic pain, ebv, fibromyalgia, health, health update, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj

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Categories health

24 Jul

I’m sharing this post – a Letter to Lyme Disease – that is especially fitting for me lately. I hope you’ll take the time to click over and read it as it speaks to what those of us with chronic pain go through emotionally as well as physically.

“I’m getting very tired of having to lay on an ice pack all the time. It’s the main thing that has been keeping my migraine down these past weeks. But. It would be nice to not have to be switching them out all the time. I miss the softness of my pillows.”

~Laura

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic illness, chronic migraines, chronic pain, health, late stage lyme, lyme disease

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Categories health

Health Update April/May 2018

8 May

Once again, I am so glad I do these updates! It helps so much in keeping track of where I’ve been – and where I am. While I have been frustrated lately on just how expensive all my treatment is – how come insurance just won’t cover lyme treatments?! – I have to admit that it is all worth it. Out of curiosity, I brought up last year’s update and the difference is striking. I don’t take melatonin or theanine to sleep anymore – ever! While my fibromyalgia is still painful, I can crochet pretty much as long as I want and it doesn’t get to the point of making me cry/scream. I no longer have disassociation. I am able to keep up with housework better overall. The things that I started taking/increased are all some of my favorites now – St. John’s Wort, Butterbur/Petadolex, iron supplement, etc. I have decreased the ceanothus to once a week though because I react to it so strongly.

fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: It’s a bit tricky to know how to summarize… The fatigue, fibro and migraines just seemed to hit and not want to ease for several weeks. Going to IV and bodywork didn’t help as much as they normally do. But the last few (?) weeks, I have noticed a bit of an improvement. Often, I see it in individual days rather than an increase over several days…

Mar 22- fatigue and migraine today. Crashing in evening with fibropain and migraine. Two or three clonidine.
Seem to flare on days 15 and 22
Mar 24 – fuzzy brain and fatigue. Migraine hard to calm down throughout the day.
April 4th – IV (push, not drip) yesterday. Woke up with a headache. Took 2 clonidine during the day to keep it down from a bad migraine. Felt pretty good otherwise. Had energy and ability to focus. Left calf tensed up quite a bit this evening – migraine flaring
April 5th – severe fatigue today. Migraine off and on. Hard time focusing. Left calf tight and foot tingling late evening. Three clonidine today
April 8th- a little fuzzy brained all weekend. Fatigue too. Some cramping.
April 9- took one drop clonidine am. Mega fatigue hit late morning. Bad migraine early afternoon and most of rest of day. Started SAT.
April 13- increased SAT to 2/day. Some fatigue and migraine
April 16- bodywork Dr.
April 17- calves cramping. Some fatigue. Nightmares
April 18- foggy brain and fatigue. Calves still cramping. Increased SAT to 3/day
Have mostly forgotten to take daily liver the past week. Haven’t noticed any difference? Fatigue has eased although it is still present. Brain fog is the same. Was busier this past week odd than have been in a while and have not CRASHED like I thought I would. Sensitive to smells and loud noises.
April 23rd- started Mineral complex again. Migraine off and on all day. Energy even though I’ve been tired and took two naps. Was a productive day.
April 24- was tired but not overwhelming. Took one nap, maybe two. Fibropain flaring in late evening, hip hurting too, going to bed a little early, hoping to sleep it away
April 26- fatigue hit today, even more so in the evening. Was hard to even eat dinner. Taking iron supplement didn’t help, like it normally does. Was also hungrier than normal. Front of neck has hurt a lot the past few days. Increase Mineral Complex to 2/day
April 28 – woke up feeling pretty good, fatigue eased. Front of neck still hurt but eased as day progressed. Took Abby to the park with start of migraine but eased by evening. Went to movie, took 3 clonidine before and during. Didn’t crash like I expected to afterward.
April 29- woke up feeling even better today, still with some fatigue. No clonidine so far. April 30 – increase Complete Mineral Complex to 3/day. May 4th – start Molybdenum

Migraines: While I haven’t had any level 10’s (and just a few times of a hint of my vision going), these have been bad. And have often not responded to anything I do to get them down. And then other days, one clonidine is all I need. Very back and forth.

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Sleep: I am able to sleep longer than normal – up to 8 hours some nights! It’s been so nice. But. I have been waking up more often to use the bathroom.

Memory/Brain Fog: this has increased, frustratingly. Quite often, I won’t realize how bad it is until I leave the house.

Vision: Like I mentioned above, I had a few times of vision loss. But it was very minimal – the sparklers in my left eye that is the precursor to it, and then nothing else.

Fibromyalgia: This is just bad enough to be obnoxious but not debilitating. My left calf is always tense/hurting. My joints ache frequently and have had some random stabbing pain in my palms or base of feet.

TMJ: The front of my neck has HURT so much these past weeks. Even going to the bodywork doctor didn’t help it like it normally does. My jaw isn’t popping quite as much but my teeth still ache frequently.

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Fatigue: This has eased….most days, thank goodness. I do think the H2PLX has helped a lot. I tried going off my iron supplement and while I didn’t think at first there was any difference, there was. (it got to the point that I’d fall asleep mid-project…or almost fall asleep in the checkout line at the grocery store.) I now am taking it most every day again.

Weight Loss: I have been able to lose a tiny bit!

Mood: This has calmed back down again and I am so very thankful for that.

Bladder: Ahhhh, this one. This one has me a bit baffled. All of a sudden last week, I was needing to use the bathroom about every 10 minutes. And I’d wake up about 5 times a night. GAH. I don’t know why either. Thankfully it’s calmed down but it’s still more…active than it should be.

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~ Check out It’s the Lyme Life – may 2017 and Encouragement for living with Chronic Illness (the start of a 4- part series) for more!

Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic illness, chronic migraines, chronic pain, ebv, fibromyalgia, health, health update, late stage lyme, lyme disease, migraines, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease, tmj

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Categories health

Health Update Jan/Feb 2018

21 Feb

If you follow me on Instagram, you know a little bit of what this update is going to say since I shared some of this last week. I’ll admit that I kept putting off writing this post. I’ve found it hard to want to share – which feels a little strange but there’s something scary about saying “I’m feeling some better!” I feel the weight of expectation landing squarely on my shoulders. Expectation that I won’t have any more set backs. Expectation that I’ll soon be back to full health. Expectation…expectation… Perhaps it’s just all in my mind, but they have held me back. So, I’m facing them and finally writing this post because I NEED to. I need to document this. fightinglymemigraines

Overall Health: One word: improvement. Do you know how scary that word is to type? I’m noticing I’m able to do things that I wouldn’t have months ago. Fatigue is still a big struggle. Focusing on one task has been tricky.

January 16-23 – all symptoms started easing. Needing naps occasionally- cut back on dosage of dmsa which helped with fatigue a lot. Only mild flaring in evenings now, including the restless fibropain. Still struggles with mood after increasing xcht to 3/day. Started h2plx on the 20th. Am avoiding fruit in the am, since the 20th to see if I have any changes in how I feel. Increased B2 to 2/day on the 23rd.
25th – woke up tired and decent fatigue but wasn’t couch bound. Migraine didn’t kick in till around 130pm.
1-26 felt good today. Did a bunch of cleaning and took Abby to the park. One? Two? Clonidine. Increased horse chestnut to 2/day till day 28.
1-27 upset stomach all day but felt good despite that, took one clonidine late afternoon. Took Abby to the park. Quick grocery store trip ( used a basket instead of a cart!), Worked on book.
1-28 feel good but so tired- couldn’t nap so took Abby on a walk.
1-29 felt good again, took Abby to the park. Migraine in afternoon, mostly kept down with clonidine. Some minor brain fog. Increased h2plx to 2/day
1-30 IV. Cycle started. Fatigue but still feel decent. Took Abby on a walk in am.
2-7 been feeling pretty well the past week. Been able to do quite a bit. Think I overdid it today though – with a lack of veggies, causing some cramping and my left calf is very tight. Brain fog has been increasing. Not feeling able to handle decisions/lots of stuff going on around me. This is my last week of chelation!!
2-9 fatigue has followed me all week – thanks in part to the chelation. Hip has been hurting the last two nights. Some minor fibropain in my left hand and left calf. Still avoiding fruit in the am as I’ve noticed that I am not as hungry throughout the day. Have even not been hungry for some meals this past few weeks.
2-15 have been doing well this past week. A bit of migraine and fibromyalgia flare up, but it wasn’t bad. Sleeping better and sometimes longer. Energy. More mental clarity. Hip has been hurting lately. Jaw pops/hurts a lot

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Migraines: These have decreased – yay! There have been a few days that I haven’t taken any clonidine – and several where I just needed one.

Sleep: This has stayed the same – with maybe some slight improvement? – where I’m getting 7 hours a night (almost to the minute). I wake up about 2 times a night. I’m not needing as many naps during the day – but often even when I do, I can’t fall asleep.

Memory/Disassociation: I’m starting to think I can take the disassociation aspect off of this list! Memory has improved slightly (?)

“and then, one day, you see a spark of your old self again.”

Vision: No visual auras at all this month. My eyes have been more blurry than normal when I’m tired lately.

Fibromyalgia: I can’t believe how much this has eased. My left calf still is tense most days. I’ve been able to crochet/ write just about as much as I want. When it does increase, it’s more in my joints – wrists, elbows, knees and ankles.

TMJ: It’s been popping a lot along with my teeth aching the past few weeks. I’ve had to push out my bodywork appointment almost two weeks and I am sure that’s a big part of this.

Fatigue: This eased dramatically once I cut back (and then finished) my chelation dosage. It’s still strong though, to where it is the main symptom I have day to day.

Weight Loss: I’ve lost almost all that I had gained in Nov/Dec. I have been able to get out and walk Abby a lot more these past few weeks.

Mood: Yay for mood consistency again!

Bladder: This has eased a bit I think. It’s at least to the point of my normal (which still isn’t where it needs to be)

All in all, I can’t quite believe the progress I’ve seen this past month. I’m finding myself saying ‘ I couldn’t have done ________ a few months ago’, quite a bit! I am still, of course, ill – fatigue holds me back daily, mental clarity is still something I lack often, etc. I just read through January 2017‘s update and can’t believe how far I’ve come in a year.

~Laura

Tags: health update, late stage lyme, lyme disease, natural treatment for lyme, symptoms of lyme disease