Prior to this weekend, I hadn’t been to Columbus for 6 years…or maybe 7. I’d seen my friend, John, and his partner, Tara, on other occasions in NY since then, since I’d gotten sick. This was the first time I was more or less well enough to travel to them. I got to meet their children for the first time. What angels! They’re loving and intelligent and playful and full of laughter. Within an hour of my arrival, I had two angels sitting in my lap at the same time.
At the farm
We played a lot, all 5 of us. We went to the park. We sat around the house. We napped (which I needed as much as the children). We even went to a farm. It was such a fun weekend.
Tara and John are amazing in the kitchen. Tara, especially, made heavenly dishes with only the foods on my safe list. I never eat that well for so many days in a row. The food was so tasty that they made the same things for themselves and their son, not needing to have something more substantial or separate. One of my highlights was the peanut sauce that Tara made to put over fried tofu and string beans. I was in heaven.
John made falafel for me, with homemade tahini sauce. I’ve been craving it for 4 years. It was delicious…even without the garlic. They were so good to me.
I really enjoyed the family time. I’ve known John for 13 years. He feels like family to me. They all do. It got me to thinking about all the ways I try to convince myself that I’ll be okay if I never have any children of my own. I came away from my time in Ohio thinking that I don’t have to settle before I even try. That’s a massive change in the way I’ve been seeing my recovery path and my future.
In a certain way, that’s what really brought heaven to the weekend: getting close and connected to people I care about and as a consequence starting to believe that there will be life post-Lyme and I will be whole again.
Friday
Coiling
- Babesia, ilium, 1 minute each side; knees/elbows, 1 minute; liver, 5 minutes; chest, 5 minutes
Detox
- skin brushing
I made a decision based on gut instinct that I should go back down to 1 packet a day of 5 LAC. I think 2 packets are too strong. After making that decision, I reread the box and it says to be careful (and use a doctor’s supervision) if taking it when one has immune system problems. I’m considering slowing down and taking 3 LAC some days and 5 LAC other days, but that’s not an active decision just yet. Friday, I went down to 1 packet a day of 5 LAC.
Body
I did okay on the plane, but I was tired and achy. (I honestly can’t remember much else.)
Saturday
Coiling
None
Detox
None
Body
I didn’t sleep well any of the nights I was away. The bed was perfectly comfortable. The air conditioning was moderate, but I could still feel it in my back in the morning. I was just sleeping the light post-Herx sleep.
Saturday, I was exhausted. We all were pretty tired. So we lounged a lot, napped for a long time and perked up in the evening. For me it was the familiar tired of the Herx working it’s way out and the fatigue of travel catching up with me.
Lots of Lyme smelling urine. Chest rash in full swing, especially in the evenings and after the shower.
Sunday
Coiling
None
Detox
- skin brushing
Body
Night sweat. Chest rash.
My most prominent symptom was moderate back pain. I was able to function around it. I was also dealing with a lot of light sensitivity, which I handled with my super duper sun glasses, and didn’t get more than a minor headache.
At the same time, I could feel a physical discomfort level starting to creep up and pull at the edge of my attention.
Monday
Coiling
None
Detox
- skin brushing
Body
Big night sweat. I had to change my shirt in the middle of the night.
My aches and pains were creeping up. My digestion was starting to be off (even with the good food). I was getting a different kind of tired: Babesia tired. All I wanted to do was sit on the porch with an infant in my lap.
More than the physical symptoms, I felt sad. Sad to say goodbye to John and Tara, wishing that we lived in the same city. Sad to say goodbye to their beautiful children who will have grown so much by the next time I see them. Sad to be going home to fight the next big round of Lyme flares. And, I realized, sad to be in the Atlanta airport because it reminds me of a dear friend who got lost along the way.
The flights back were a little harder on my body, partly because there were two of them and partly because they were at night. I did my best to stretch during the second flight, but my back felt pretty bad by the time I got home (at midnight, no less, because of delays in Atlanta).
Tuesday (today)
Coiling
- Babesia, ilium, 1 minute each side; knees/elbows, 1 minute; liver, 5 minutes; chest, 5 minutes
- Bartonella, 5 minutes, abdomen; 2 minutes, chest
- Candida, abdomen, 10 minutes; chest, 2 minutes
I got a massive headache after coiling for Babesia. Other people who coil warned me that it grows fast once you get past a certain point, so if you skip a few days, you can feel the die-off. Now I know. I’ve been fighting this headache all evening. Welchol isn’t really helping.
Detox
- skin brushing
- kombucha
- welchol
- rest
Body
I was a wreck today. I was up too late last night. I couldn’t sleep this morning. I couldn’t focus. I just needed a chance to settle down and be still in my apartment. I managed to do my coiling and eat. That’s about it.
Mild night sweat last night. Bad chest rash last night and again all day, flaring up for an hour at a time then calming down, until about 8pm and it’s been bad since then.
I have a pretty bad headache, but only mild light sensitivity, so I’ve been able to blog.
My knees have been bothering me all day. That’s one of my characteristic signs of fatigue.
All in all, the pains and such were worth it to see John and Tara, but I don’t think I should take a break from coiling again for quite a while.
Categories: healing process, Herx reactions, using the coil machine
Tags: babesia, bartonella, candida, food, lyme, symptoms
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Coiling for Lyme 