I’m writing from Williamsburg, Virginia, where I’m spending the winter holidays with my sister and her family and my parents. It’s a pleasure to be here. I love playing with my nephew, hanging out with my sister, getting into winding, ridiculous conversations with my parents, discussing running shoes with my brother-in-law and going for walks in a woodsy neighborhood.
In the weeks between Thanksgiving and my arrival here, I had a lot to do, partly figuring out my coiling schedule now that I have two coils to use, packing, spending time on the phone with my (new) boyfriend, and a December weekend away with friends. I’ve been running around and tiring myself out more regularly. I’m newly motivated by the osteoporosis diagnosis to walk more, to go outside more, to clean the apartment, to tire myself out before I rest. It means I end up in bed resting a fair amount, but not sitting still so much, doing things like using the computer or watching movies.
Being at my sister’s house means that I notice the ways I’m disabled more than I do when I’m at home. I go up and down the stairs in her house multiple times a day. On the one hand, this feels pretty amazing. Last year, as I had just ended the Rocephin treatments, I was able to go up and down, but I had lots of joint pain as I did so. This year, the pain is not so bad from the staircase. Instead, I notice the constant fatigue. I can barely keep up with what’s going on in the house, while I watch my sister and brother-in-law cook, clean, bike, work, take care of their son and socialize. I’m in awe of what they accomplish as I sit at the kitchen table, too tired to help with the dishes.
I use my energy to play with my nephew, to go for walks, to prepare my food and to take care of my body. It means I’m constantly fighting to keep my attention on what’s going on in the house. I feel too tired to really engage in conversations or show how happy I am to be here. Instead, I quietly avoid complaining about how tired I am or how much pain I deal with in the first half of the day.
On the body front, I’ve been having lots of pain in the mornings. Well, until about noon or 1pm. I wake up every day with pretty severe pain in my spine and back muscles. Some mornings, like today, I can feel my individual vertebrae because each one hurts. Yesterday morning, I had some kind of neurological pain from the middle of my back to the back of my knees. It was horrible. The first half of each day, I’m not able to participate in the workings of the house.
Still, I consider these to be good problems to have. I have enough energy to play and hang out rather than being stuck in a horizontal position all the time. I’m with my family and we all love each other in the funny, interactive way that makes us all know we belong together. There is no aggression or ill-will aimed at each other, something I’ve seen in the families of my friends. That makes it easy to be together and each show up with our own strengths and weaknesses.
Coiling
For the past several weeks, I’ve been keeping to my coiling schedule. Monday to Friday, I do the 5 day Lyme protocol. Daily, I coil for Babesia, whole body, twice a day. Daily I do maintenance coiling for Bartonella and Candida on my abdomen and chest. I’ve kept track in a notebook so I know exactly what I’ve done, even on the days when I’m not blogging.
I brought the coil machine to Williamsburg with me. That meant a 9.5 hour car ride with my parents to get here. On that day, I only coiled in the evening, a little each of Babesia, Bartonella and Candida. In preparation, I doubled up on Lyme the day before, so I would still get my whole body covered for the week.
I like the idea of doubling up on the Lyme coiling, maybe getting it done in 3 days each week. It seems more feasible now that the Herx is primarily in my back and legs, and only seems to happen after I coil my spine and head. It has me thinking about what the spring will bring, and whether I can do my body twice each week. Maybe it would be overkill because the bacteria don’t reproduce that rapidly, or maybe I can get it down to almost no Herx more rapidly. We’ll see.
Detox & Supplements
I went to my Lyme-literate physician two weeks after Thanksgiving. He took a look at my supplement list and pulled a few things off. I finished up what I had of Zinc and he said I could discontinue it. He also told me I could stop the Selenium as soon as I finished the bottle. Also on the chopping block were NAC, krill oil and the second calcium supplement I was taking for my bones. We added in vitamin K2 to be consumed with my primary calcium supplement and my vitamin D supplement and a hearty meal. To replace the krill oil, we added in phosphatidylcholine. It seems krill oil helps keep cholesterol low which is not what I want since mine runs too low anyway.
I have mixed feelings about stopping NAC. It is supposed to help stimulate the production of glutathione, which has a neuroprotective effect. On the other hand, it might be keeping my blood sugar too low. So I’m taking a break (starting today) and I’ll see if it makes a difference.
Since the osteoporosis diagnosis, I’ve been more conscientious about having a few servings of dairy every day. I was craving it before then, since maybe September, but now I give in to the craving. It seems like the best way to consume absorbable calcium. Mind you, I still can’t eat what comes out of a cow, but I’ve been eating sheeps’ milk products, goats’ milk products and buffalo mozzarella.
For detoxing, besides the various antioxidant supplements, I’ve been drinking kombucha daily, skin brushing daily, and taking diatomaceous earth 4-5 times a week. I’ve also been moving around a lot more, which is a way to build up the amount of mild exercise I can handle. Until yesterday, I was taking Renavive, one pill per day, as a mild kidney cleanse. I finished the bottle and won’t start again until I start having big Herxes from either Bartonella or the next Lyme season.
Heading Forward
I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging while I’m on vacation with my family. I’m using my energy for the people around me and my physical maintenance. I’m sure I’ll be back a few times, but not daily until January.
But then I’m also spending the time thinking about where my life is going. I’m daydreaming about engaging in more exercise, finishing my novel, working on a friend’s poetry book, spending time with my boyfriend and friends, and napping to keep up with all that. I’m hoping that by the summer, I can start running, a little at a time. Even before that, I’d like to start exercising 3 days a week, which will mean that I do nothing else those days. I guess that would be great. It means taking the next step to getting my body back to a healthy state. What a concept. Then, with health, I can dream about doing anything, anything at all.
In other words, I’m looking forward to the new year, eagerly imagining that as I coil, I will begin to win against these infections and see more results. I’m glad I’ve gotten as far as I have, and I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.
Categories: detoxification support, healing process, Herx reactions, using the coil machine
Tags: babesia, bartonella, candida, lyme
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Coiling for Lyme 
I love Williamsburg, Virginia. I’m so glad you’re enjoying your visit. Hope you and your family have a beautiful holiday season.