Week #10

Greetings ~

So today marks the beginning of week #10 on the Salt/C protocol. I am really amazed at the overall positive effects, and how much better I feel. I have more days of feeling really well, and better energy levels most of the time (I still get extremely fatigued sometimes). Some days I have my full, "normal" energy levels and feel like I'm "myself" again. The herx reactions even seem to be easing up a bit, but I hear that around week 12 the life cycle of the bacteria circles back around and it can be a pretty heavy-duty herx time. So we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks with that.

I've been dealing with a little nausea, and have determined it's probably from the Vitamin C, so I'm going to have to go back to using a buffered C that is time-released, I think. I switched a few weeks ago to taking C in capsules instead of tablets (easier to swallow). I'm going on-line today to see if I can find a buffered C in a capsule form, but have a feeling it'll be back to the "horse pills" (huge tablets).

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I was really herxing and having blurry vision and brain-fog along with it. My vision is back to "normal blurry" rather than "extreme blurry" and, for now anyway, the brain-fog is gone. The joint pain in my shoulders and elbows is down quite a bit, and I'm able to lift heavier things. The worst of the pain continues to be in my hip joints, but it's also better than it was. My knees are doing better, which gives me much hope, and I've had more days when I feel like I'm walking normally without pain.

I've come a LONG way from those initial months where I could literally hardly move and was in excruciating pain all over my body, and all I could do was sleep, read and eat. I have a very full life once again, although I definately have to pace myself, and I literally pencil-in rest/nap times on busy days.

I can really relate to much of what lyme patients talked about in the DVD "Under Our Skin." They spoke about how lyme is in many ways an "invisible" disease. To look at me, you probably wouldn't know how I truly feel. If you know me well you might notice that I don't walk as smoothly as I could, and you would see I've lost weight, and maybe notice circles under my eyes. That's if you're really looking closely and paying attention. But most people would have no clue that I am in pain, or where, that some days it's hard to think straight, etc. Of course that is true for many people with any variety of conditions, not just lyme disease. I have become much more attuned to other people's outer appearance, and I can tell when someone is walking gingerly or moving slower than they should. It is amazing, really, how many folks are in pain, and accept it as a "normal" part of aging, or as something they can't do anything about. Well maybe some of it IS normal, but I believe much of it is a result of our exposure to a toxic world of pesticides, smog, heavy metals and other types of chemicals and substances we've been exposed to. Clearly there are ways to deal with it and improve health, although it's a lot of hard work, and I am in HUGE favor of reducing/eliminating the toxins in our world so that we don't have to go through these kinds of chemically-induced diseases and illnesses, and so that our children and our grand-children don't have to, either....

The world is an amazing, awe-inspiring place. Humankind has trashed and thrashed it shamelessly, and we have finally started to wake up to that fact. We have a lot more to wake up to about respecting all of life and living with integrity, kindness and compassion - with true humanity toward others. Awareness and action are the two keys to turning things around. For me personally, what I can do right now is treat others as I prefer to be treated, live a clean lifestyle, choose organics, use chemical-free cleaning products, share my experiences, reach out and help others where I see a need that I can fill, and set the best example I can. I don't need to be perfect, but I do need to be conscientious. Once this crazy-busy summer is over I'd like to get involved with a group here on the island called Transition Whidbey, which is working to pull the community together to ensure that we all know how to best help one another and work together as a team during all phases of life and whatever experiences may come our way.

Ariana will be here tomorrow (YESSSS!) and I can't wait to see her. I'm teaching a Reiki class on Saturday, resting and playing on Sunday, and then Erick and I are off for a week in Sedona on Monday, while Ari and friends hold down the fort here. I have scouted ahead and know where all the veg-friendly restaurants and grocery stores are in AZ (they weren't there back in the day when I was growing up, but it's good to know they're there now!), and so we'll see how my body handles a week off its usual routine. I know my mind, heart, and spirit are gonna LOVE it, so I think my body will handle it, too, although I'll still have to pace myself a bit. Erick and I are both really excited about a week of adventure and play, after this year of him holding down three jobs plus acting in three plays, and me mostly in recovery mode, along with being an active board member at the children's theater, practicing and teaching Reiki, and having fun as a "big sister" to Morgan.

Hope you are happy and healthy wherever you are. More soon,

Sukie