I haven’t taken a biology course since high school.  I’ve read a lot and watched a pathophysiology course on video at one point (skipping the section on cancer for some reason). So I know a few things, I understand a few things, and I know that my hypotheses are based on shaky logic.

Still, there is something to be said for an amateur who can make observations without preconceptions. I observe what happens to me and my body. I listen to other people talk about their symptoms. I read what is known about Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses and try to work from there.

When I look back at what I tried to explain yesterday, I didn’t quite make my point clearly. That’s a result of brain fog and pain, both of which suck up my attention. What I tried to do was list out what the vagus nerve is responsible for and what happens when it is irritated, damaged or stimulated. Then I matched up my symptoms during menstruation (and at other times). Then I added in some information I’ve learned about Bartonella and the symptoms that it causes.

Tonight, I’ve built a little on last night’s hypothesis that Bartonella has infected my vagus nerve. I often think I had Lyme disease from the time I was a child. Now, given the symptom profile of Bartonella (which is somewhat different than Lyme disease but contains many overlaps), I think it was Bartonella I caught as a child, then got infected with Lyme (and Babesia) in my 20s.

There were the mystery illnesses of my childhood. There were serious, intense headaches when I was 10 that caused me to miss school and take heavy painkillers. There were the neurological problems I had in my lower spine that affected my legs when I was 11 (that impeded my ability to walk, climb stairs, play, etc.). There were the problems I had when I was 16, the lack of apetite, the insomnia, the knee pain, the menstrual symptoms, the extreme emotional responses to things that happened around my period. Then, over and over in my life, starting when I was 8, there were bouts of digestive problems without clear causes from my esophagus to my colon and everything in between.

What does Bartonella look like? It has lots of central nervous system symptoms (insomnia, agitation, severe mood swings and outbursts), some musculoskeletal symptoms but usually in the context of neurological symptoms (especially in the lower back), lots of gastrointestinal symptoms, gradual onset of illness, or opportunistic onset of illness. I had all of those for many years in waves of symptoms when I was facing other emotional or physical stresses. Then, since I got really sick, I’ve had some of the other classical symptoms, sore soles in the morning, pain down the sides of my legs, elevated temperature in the morning.

I’m not sure why it makes sense to me that Bartonella could be infecting my vagus nerve. I still stand by that hypothesis one night later. Now I think the infection landed there by the time I was 15 years old. I may have had the infection before that in other nerves. Not that I can go back and check. So it will never amount to more than a personal hypothesis.

Coiling

I’m back on track. I let two days go by and I could feel a different kind of fatigue (as in Babesia, not menstrual) creeping up.

• Bartonella, abdomen, 5 minutes; chest, 2 minutes
• Babesia, chest, 5 minutes; liver, 5 minutes; ilium, 1 minute each side; knees/elbows, 1 minute
• Candida, abdomen, 10 minutes; chest, 2 minutes; face, 2 minutes

Detox

I’m back on my regular protocol.

• homeopathic support
• kombucha
• juiced greens
• skin brushing
• daytime nap (2 hours)
• BioMat
• castor oil pack on abdomen

Body

My pain level today was through the roof. I think I woke up sweaty this morning, but honestly, the sensation I most remember is hand pain.

I woke up not feeling groggy or sick. My feet hurt a bit. But my hands, oh my aching hands. In fact, the first time I woke up for a moment to shift positions, my right arm flopped onto my left arm as I turned onto my left side. Somehow the inner bone of the elbows landed on each other with a loud and painful crack that brought tears to my eyes.

The hand pain made me late for meeting my mom. I hate making her wait. I was almost in tears by the time I saw her because I was aggravated that I’m still sick, that I still have to sit in the shower when my blood pressure is low (like it was this morning after I ate and got nauseated), that I have mornings when my hands are so stiff, uncoordinated and painful that it takes a long time to wash my hair. I’m so tired of this illness.

That was my morning.

We went to see my aunt. I was more car sick than usual.

When we got home, I went for a short walk. Then I had lunch and coiled. Then I never got back up off the bed from coiling and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, my pain level was through the roof again. My entire legs were in extreme pain. My arms hurt like nobody’s business. And my jaw was locked in a tight, agonizing grip. Even my teeth hurt. That put me in a terrible mood for the next few hours as the pain slowly dripped out of my system.

It never totally disappeared. My shoulders hurt. I have floaters in my vision. My fingers are giving me a hard time with the typing. My night is dragging on longer than normal because I slept (losing two hours) and haven’t been able to function well since I awoke.

I’m thinking that the best thing I can do this week is make time for extra naps to let my body to the internal work with whatever energy I have.

Disclaimer

• Surviving Vagus
• B-12

Categories: healing process

Tags: babesia, bartonella, candida, menstruation, symptoms

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